Okay, so when I left work at noon, the only real problem was the wind. Snow seemed only to gather on the grass, not on the sidewalks or roads. That means that besides the face full of snow I was getting on the walk, I had no issues.
A lot has changed since then. The snow is definitely coming down harder. The sidewalks and roads are covered with snow but it's not deep. Part of that may be due to the wind. It's pushing the snow around and not letting it really accumulate in one area. Looking at my parking lot, one car is covered with snow while the other looks barely touched and they've both been there the same amount of time.
Also, the governor ordered that all cars must be off the road by 4 PM. Believe me, I wasn't planning on going anywhere. I'm indoors, I'm warm, and I have plenty of beer. I have no reason to leave.
I may check in later, assuming I still have power.
Friday, February 8, 2013
The Blizzard of 2013 - Post #3
It’s a little after 11 AM and the snow is coming down, but it’s kinda hard to tell how much. The thing with this storm was the fact that we were also going to get high winds. Well, the high winds are here, so its blowing the snow, making it look like the snow is really coming down, but it could just look that way. I mean, if you put flurries into 40 mph winds, it looks like a blizzard.
But, with a little over an hour of snow and nothing is accumulating on the ground, so my guess would be flurries plus high wind equals no real snow fall. The good part is it looks bad so getting out of work early seems like it’ll happen. The bad part is the fact that even flurries in high wind isn’t fun to walk in and I have to get to the Green Line.
Anyway I’ll check in later and maybe we’ll have some snow on the ground!
But, with a little over an hour of snow and nothing is accumulating on the ground, so my guess would be flurries plus high wind equals no real snow fall. The good part is it looks bad so getting out of work early seems like it’ll happen. The bad part is the fact that even flurries in high wind isn’t fun to walk in and I have to get to the Green Line.
Anyway I’ll check in later and maybe we’ll have some snow on the ground!
The Blizzard of 2013 - Post #2
Nearly 10 AM and all is clear in Boston. I just checked the local news again to make sure this thing is actually going to happen. They’re still telling me to expect more than 2 feet of snow. This is shaping up to be more disappointing than when you get socks for Christmas.
Oh wait, I think I’m seeing flurries. We might get a dusting of snow before this is all over. Of course, everyone in Massachusetts knows that the minute snow hits the ground, people start driving like idiots. I’m telling you right now, I don’t care how much snow falls, I was promised that the work day ended at noon and I’m out of here at noon no matter what.
I’ll check in later. The way this storm is going, it’ll probably be sunny out.
Oh wait, I think I’m seeing flurries. We might get a dusting of snow before this is all over. Of course, everyone in Massachusetts knows that the minute snow hits the ground, people start driving like idiots. I’m telling you right now, I don’t care how much snow falls, I was promised that the work day ended at noon and I’m out of here at noon no matter what.
I’ll check in later. The way this storm is going, it’ll probably be sunny out.
The Blizzard of 2013 - Post #1
So, if you haven’t heard, Boston is supposed to be creamed by The Storm of the Century: 2013 Edition. I figured I would start posting entries covering the Blizzard at random points today and tomorrow. I’m doing this for posterity, because according to the news casts and warnings I’ve been reading, I may get trapped in my apartment for weeks and emerge into a post apocalyptic world that will strongly resemble the ice planet Hoth.
Last night, after battling the crowds to get my hands on some last minute provisions, I stayed glued to the local news go I can get the overinflated snow totals (33 inches!). I was told that there would be at least half an inch of snow on the ground when I woke up. After hitting the snooze button on my alarm about five times this morning, I climbed out of my warm bed and looked out the window. Nothing. This doesn’t bode well.
Unlike for Hurricane Sandy, my commute sucked because my bus was full of people and I had some fat woman next to me who kept squishing me against the window on the bus because she kept sliding into me on every turn. I think I have bruised ribs now.
Anyway, got to work without seeing a single snow flake. Lamest Blizzard Ever. I’ll check in later with more news.
Last night, after battling the crowds to get my hands on some last minute provisions, I stayed glued to the local news go I can get the overinflated snow totals (33 inches!). I was told that there would be at least half an inch of snow on the ground when I woke up. After hitting the snooze button on my alarm about five times this morning, I climbed out of my warm bed and looked out the window. Nothing. This doesn’t bode well.
Unlike for Hurricane Sandy, my commute sucked because my bus was full of people and I had some fat woman next to me who kept squishing me against the window on the bus because she kept sliding into me on every turn. I think I have bruised ribs now.
Anyway, got to work without seeing a single snow flake. Lamest Blizzard Ever. I’ll check in later with more news.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Trent's Touchdown: Six Week 4 College Football Games to Watch
Wow, take a few weeks off from writing about college football and the whole season just blows up. Ranked teams are dropping like flies out there, making it legitimately scary for fans of supposedly good teams. We double down on that fear if it’s a Big Ten team, but we’ll talk about that later. Now, on to the Touchdown:
The offensive weapons for Clemson are off the chart. Tajh Boyd hasn’t fallen off at all from his phenomenal year last season. DeAndre Hopkins has actually morphed into a solid number 1 receiver, which can clear the way for Sammy Watkins to be an explosive everyman. The most important key will be Andre Ellington. If Ellington can establish the run, FSU will be in for a long day.
The problem with Clemson is the defense. While they haven’t been stellar, this isn’t the same defense that gave up 70 to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl. If they play it smart, look for run first, and make E.J. Manuel try and win it, Clemson will win this.
Everyone is talking about the FSU defense and how they will stop Clemson. Sure, they have great numbers, but Murray State, Savannah State and Wake Forest aren’t exactly lighting up scoreboards across the country. The FSU defense needs to consistently stop Clemson. Not so easy.
E.J. Manuel needs the game of his life to win this one. He can not longer be a running version of Chris Rix, he needs to be able to live up to his potential and lead a very talented team. If he leads the offense to three and outs or gives up bad turnovers, the defense will give up points to Clemson.
I put the over/under on the amount of times Kirk Herbstreit and Brent Musburger mention Clemson defense coordinator Brent Venables at 14.5. Those two seriously love Brent. It is kind of creepy how they always mention him.
Clemson 35, Florida State 31
We get to see who gets a leg up in the underwhelming Big 12. We might also be watching to see Erin Andrews.
Forget the fact they are playing at home. Oklahoma now reminds me of Ohio State in the 2000’s. They by far outclass every team in their conference, but occasionally lose the games they should win and always underperform against teams in other conferences. I’ll carry some water here and say that Landry Jones is one of the better quarterbacks in the country, but I’ve seen him blow too many games to have any confidence in him.
The key for Oklahoma will be defense. They will stop the K State run game. If they get turnovers, I have no doubt that Jones will torch the Wildcats this year like he did last year.
Kansas State cannot get down early. They need to come out solid and move the ball. The Wildcats need to be prepared to use the intermediate passing game if the Sooners actually stop the run. Since the Sooner defense will be playing the run first, it should open up some passing lanes for Klein to take advantage of.
For the Wildcats to truly be successful, they need to exploit the one weakness of Oklahoma, which is pass blocking. They need to put pressure on Landry Jones and force him to do dumb things. If Kansas State can disrupt the Sooner offense, they will pull it out.
The last time Kansas State beat Oklahoma was the 2003 Big 12 Championship Game. As someone who dislikes Oklahoma, that is one of my top 5 college football memories.
Oklahoma 55, Kansas State 28
We love the resurgence of Notre Dame and the exposure of Michigan as an overrated team. Plus, Michigan/Notre Dame games over the last few years have been what college football is all about.
I have to admit that I was the last person who was buying Notre Dame. After the last two seasons of jumping on the bandwagon early, I was a little gun shy. Plus, my boy Dayne Crist is living it up in Kansas. But you have to love this Notre Dame team.
They remind me of what Big Ten football is all about, if they were in the Big Ten. Notre Dame finally has a defense that can punch you in the mouth and an offense that doesn’t make stupid mistakes. The Fighting Irish will do what they did against Michigan State, run, pass, do the little things, and make you wonder how the heck they ended up scoring. Then the defense needs to contain Denard Robinson’s running ability and let his horrible passing ability seal the deal.
If you read what I wrote about E.J. Manuel earlier, the same can apply to Denard Robinson. He needs to run, he needs to pass, and he needs to carry this Michigan offense on his back. If he is on, Michigan wins, no question about it. However, he is shaky at best and you never really know what you’re going to get. Robinson needs to find that next level. The problem is, I don’t know if he has it.
Michigan needs to find a way to disrupt the Fighting Irish offense. This is only Everett Golson’s fourth start. If the Wolverines find a way to rattle him, he could show his inexperience at the worst possible time.
Thanks to Michigan’s embarrassment against Alabama and near loss to Air Force, I get saved from daily stories about how good Denard Robinson is and that Michigan is back. The Wolverines were overrated to begin the season, so it’s nice they are back where they should be.
Notre Dame 28, Michigan 6
An underrated, overlooked Missouri team looking to their first SEC win against a South Carolina team trotting out a quarterback with an injured throwing arm? We smell upset.
Even with Connor Shaw and his fractured shoulder (his words, not mine), South Carolina still has Marcus Lattimore. If I had a team with an injured quarterback and was relying solely on my running game, I would want Lattimore as my running back. The guy is a work horse who will run over anyone who gets in his way.
While Shaw may be starting, look for Dylan Thompson to come into the game the first time Shaw bounces a pass or takes a bad hit because he’s used to running the ball. While he limits the running attack from the quarterback position, he is a much better thrower and could open up the passing game.
Missouri has their own quarterback issues now since James Franklin sat out last week’s game against Arizona State. If Franklin is healthy, he can lead the Missouri offense up and down the field. He needs to be 100 percent to beat South Carolina.
The problem with Missouri is that they cannot keep up with depth of talent. They showed that clearly in the Georgia game, which was close until the 4th quarter when the Bulldogs put the beat down on Missouri. The Tigers need to recognize this and play within themselves and not get too crazy or this will get out of hand fast.
The big question is will it be injury or bad performance that makes Connor Shaw leave the game? By injury, I mean the only reason his arm is still attached to his body is because of the skin.
South Carolina 28 Missouri 21
We want to see if USC can bounce back from the loss to Stanford or completely implode. Some of us are rooting for implosion.
If there can be a must win game this early in the season, this is it for USC. The main obstacle USC needs to overcome in this game is what is going on inside their head. They need to move past the loss to Stanford and concentrate on a good Cal team.
The defense is fine; it’s the offense that needs to get on track. Watching the last drive of last week game against Stanford, I knew USC would lose because Matt Barkley looked like Peyton Manning against Florida back in the day. The offense needs to click again, which means running the ball down to near the goal line and letting Barkley throw a touchdown pass. This is what USC does, and this is what they need to get back to doing.
Cal needs to play the way they did against Ohio State but actually close out the game. Cal is going to have issues with the USC defense, so they need to concentrate on smacking around a demoralized USC offense. They need to get inside Barkley’s head and hopefully get him to start throwing bad passes. If they get turnovers and good field position, they might win this one.
With finishing up my summer semester in grad school and going to Ireland for a week, I wasn’t up to date on college football. When I heard USC was the top ranked team in the nation to start the season, I nearly drove my car off the road. I mean, this is a team led by Matt Barkley after all.
USC 45, California 14
Because the cable went out and the only thing we can watch is this game on our laptops and smart phones.
LSU is LSU and Les Miles is Les Miles. When you put the two together you get a team that beats teams it should and even beats teams it shouldn’t. You never really know how it happens, but it does. ESPN can’t even explain it, but it usually involves Rece Davis throwing out the term “Mad Hatter”.
LSU will do what they do, which is run the ball and mix in the pass when it suits them. They will rely on the defense for turnovers and field position that a lackluster offense can turn into points.
Well, Auburn is at home. Maybe the fans will stop LSU from entering the stadium.
Two seasons ago I described the decision between LSU quarterback’s Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson as having to decide between rotted meat and spoiled milk. With those two gone, I have to deal with Zach Mettenberger. How can I have fun with one horrible quarterback instead of two?
LSU 45, Auburn 7
When I was watching the end of the Notre Dame/Michigan State game last week, ABC flashed a graphic about the Big Ten versus AQ teams this season. I thought that 4-8 was a suspect number, so I put together the information myself. Low and behold, it was correct. I think the worst part of this is the fact that Northwestern has three of those victories!
This is pretty sad. I understand some of these losses, like Michigan to Alabama and Michigan State and Purdue to Notre Dame and Penn State against anybody. However, I don’t understand Wisconsin losing to Oregon State or Nebraska losing to UCLA. Not taking anything away from those Pac-12 also-rans, but Nebraska and Wisconsin are suppose to be some of the better teams the Big Ten has to offer. Plus, we are not even mentioning how Ohio State almost lost to California, in Columbus!
Normally, I save my disdain for the Big East conference, but I have to point to the Big Ten as the weak link conference this year. I’m not saying the Big East is any good, I’m just saying that the Big Ten is way below expectations. When Northwestern is carrying the conference’s water in non-conference play, something isn’t right. The way it’s shaping up, the Rose Bowl won’t be fun to watch this year.
1) No. 10 Clemson at No. 4 Florida State – 8:00 PM on ABC
Why we’re watching:
Because it’s a matchup of two top 10 teams which will pretty much decide who gets to beat up on Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game.Why Clemson will win:
The offensive weapons for Clemson are off the chart. Tajh Boyd hasn’t fallen off at all from his phenomenal year last season. DeAndre Hopkins has actually morphed into a solid number 1 receiver, which can clear the way for Sammy Watkins to be an explosive everyman. The most important key will be Andre Ellington. If Ellington can establish the run, FSU will be in for a long day.
The problem with Clemson is the defense. While they haven’t been stellar, this isn’t the same defense that gave up 70 to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl. If they play it smart, look for run first, and make E.J. Manuel try and win it, Clemson will win this.
How Florida State can pull it out:
Everyone is talking about the FSU defense and how they will stop Clemson. Sure, they have great numbers, but Murray State, Savannah State and Wake Forest aren’t exactly lighting up scoreboards across the country. The FSU defense needs to consistently stop Clemson. Not so easy.
E.J. Manuel needs the game of his life to win this one. He can not longer be a running version of Chris Rix, he needs to be able to live up to his potential and lead a very talented team. If he leads the offense to three and outs or gives up bad turnovers, the defense will give up points to Clemson.
Interesting Subplot:
I put the over/under on the amount of times Kirk Herbstreit and Brent Musburger mention Clemson defense coordinator Brent Venables at 14.5. Those two seriously love Brent. It is kind of creepy how they always mention him.
Final Score:
Clemson 35, Florida State 31
2) No. 15 Kansas State at No. 6 Oklahoma – 7:50 PM on FOX
Why we’re watching:
We get to see who gets a leg up in the underwhelming Big 12. We might also be watching to see Erin Andrews.
Why Oklahoma will win:
Forget the fact they are playing at home. Oklahoma now reminds me of Ohio State in the 2000’s. They by far outclass every team in their conference, but occasionally lose the games they should win and always underperform against teams in other conferences. I’ll carry some water here and say that Landry Jones is one of the better quarterbacks in the country, but I’ve seen him blow too many games to have any confidence in him.
The key for Oklahoma will be defense. They will stop the K State run game. If they get turnovers, I have no doubt that Jones will torch the Wildcats this year like he did last year.
How Kansas State can pull it out:
Kansas State cannot get down early. They need to come out solid and move the ball. The Wildcats need to be prepared to use the intermediate passing game if the Sooners actually stop the run. Since the Sooner defense will be playing the run first, it should open up some passing lanes for Klein to take advantage of.
For the Wildcats to truly be successful, they need to exploit the one weakness of Oklahoma, which is pass blocking. They need to put pressure on Landry Jones and force him to do dumb things. If Kansas State can disrupt the Sooner offense, they will pull it out.
Interesting Subplot:
The last time Kansas State beat Oklahoma was the 2003 Big 12 Championship Game. As someone who dislikes Oklahoma, that is one of my top 5 college football memories.
Final Score:
Oklahoma 55, Kansas State 28
3) No. 18 Michigan at No. 11 Notre Dame – 7:30 PM on NBC
Why we’re watching:
We love the resurgence of Notre Dame and the exposure of Michigan as an overrated team. Plus, Michigan/Notre Dame games over the last few years have been what college football is all about.
Why Notre Dame will win:
I have to admit that I was the last person who was buying Notre Dame. After the last two seasons of jumping on the bandwagon early, I was a little gun shy. Plus, my boy Dayne Crist is living it up in Kansas. But you have to love this Notre Dame team.
They remind me of what Big Ten football is all about, if they were in the Big Ten. Notre Dame finally has a defense that can punch you in the mouth and an offense that doesn’t make stupid mistakes. The Fighting Irish will do what they did against Michigan State, run, pass, do the little things, and make you wonder how the heck they ended up scoring. Then the defense needs to contain Denard Robinson’s running ability and let his horrible passing ability seal the deal.
How Michigan can pull it out:
If you read what I wrote about E.J. Manuel earlier, the same can apply to Denard Robinson. He needs to run, he needs to pass, and he needs to carry this Michigan offense on his back. If he is on, Michigan wins, no question about it. However, he is shaky at best and you never really know what you’re going to get. Robinson needs to find that next level. The problem is, I don’t know if he has it.
Michigan needs to find a way to disrupt the Fighting Irish offense. This is only Everett Golson’s fourth start. If the Wolverines find a way to rattle him, he could show his inexperience at the worst possible time.
Interesting Subplot:
Thanks to Michigan’s embarrassment against Alabama and near loss to Air Force, I get saved from daily stories about how good Denard Robinson is and that Michigan is back. The Wolverines were overrated to begin the season, so it’s nice they are back where they should be.
Final Score:
Notre Dame 28, Michigan 6
4) Missouri at No. 7 South Carolina – 3:30 PM on CBS
Why we’re watching:
An underrated, overlooked Missouri team looking to their first SEC win against a South Carolina team trotting out a quarterback with an injured throwing arm? We smell upset.
Why South Carolina will win:
Even with Connor Shaw and his fractured shoulder (his words, not mine), South Carolina still has Marcus Lattimore. If I had a team with an injured quarterback and was relying solely on my running game, I would want Lattimore as my running back. The guy is a work horse who will run over anyone who gets in his way.
While Shaw may be starting, look for Dylan Thompson to come into the game the first time Shaw bounces a pass or takes a bad hit because he’s used to running the ball. While he limits the running attack from the quarterback position, he is a much better thrower and could open up the passing game.
How Missouri can pull this out:
Missouri has their own quarterback issues now since James Franklin sat out last week’s game against Arizona State. If Franklin is healthy, he can lead the Missouri offense up and down the field. He needs to be 100 percent to beat South Carolina.
The problem with Missouri is that they cannot keep up with depth of talent. They showed that clearly in the Georgia game, which was close until the 4th quarter when the Bulldogs put the beat down on Missouri. The Tigers need to recognize this and play within themselves and not get too crazy or this will get out of hand fast.
Interesting Subplot:
The big question is will it be injury or bad performance that makes Connor Shaw leave the game? By injury, I mean the only reason his arm is still attached to his body is because of the skin.
Final Score:
South Carolina 28 Missouri 21
5) California at No. 13 USC – 6:00 PM on the Pac-12 Network
Why we’re watching:
We want to see if USC can bounce back from the loss to Stanford or completely implode. Some of us are rooting for implosion.
Why USC will win:
If there can be a must win game this early in the season, this is it for USC. The main obstacle USC needs to overcome in this game is what is going on inside their head. They need to move past the loss to Stanford and concentrate on a good Cal team.
The defense is fine; it’s the offense that needs to get on track. Watching the last drive of last week game against Stanford, I knew USC would lose because Matt Barkley looked like Peyton Manning against Florida back in the day. The offense needs to click again, which means running the ball down to near the goal line and letting Barkley throw a touchdown pass. This is what USC does, and this is what they need to get back to doing.
How California can pull it out:
Cal needs to play the way they did against Ohio State but actually close out the game. Cal is going to have issues with the USC defense, so they need to concentrate on smacking around a demoralized USC offense. They need to get inside Barkley’s head and hopefully get him to start throwing bad passes. If they get turnovers and good field position, they might win this one.
Interesting Subplot:
With finishing up my summer semester in grad school and going to Ireland for a week, I wasn’t up to date on college football. When I heard USC was the top ranked team in the nation to start the season, I nearly drove my car off the road. I mean, this is a team led by Matt Barkley after all.
Final Score:
USC 45, California 14
6) No. 2 LSU at Auburn – 7:00 PM on ESPN
Why we’re watching:
Because the cable went out and the only thing we can watch is this game on our laptops and smart phones.
Why LSU will win:
LSU is LSU and Les Miles is Les Miles. When you put the two together you get a team that beats teams it should and even beats teams it shouldn’t. You never really know how it happens, but it does. ESPN can’t even explain it, but it usually involves Rece Davis throwing out the term “Mad Hatter”.
LSU will do what they do, which is run the ball and mix in the pass when it suits them. They will rely on the defense for turnovers and field position that a lackluster offense can turn into points.
How Auburn can pull this one out:
Well, Auburn is at home. Maybe the fans will stop LSU from entering the stadium.
Interesting Subplot:
Two seasons ago I described the decision between LSU quarterback’s Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson as having to decide between rotted meat and spoiled milk. With those two gone, I have to deal with Zach Mettenberger. How can I have fun with one horrible quarterback instead of two?
Final Score:
LSU 45, Auburn 7
Extra Point:
When I was watching the end of the Notre Dame/Michigan State game last week, ABC flashed a graphic about the Big Ten versus AQ teams this season. I thought that 4-8 was a suspect number, so I put together the information myself. Low and behold, it was correct. I think the worst part of this is the fact that Northwestern has three of those victories!
This is pretty sad. I understand some of these losses, like Michigan to Alabama and Michigan State and Purdue to Notre Dame and Penn State against anybody. However, I don’t understand Wisconsin losing to Oregon State or Nebraska losing to UCLA. Not taking anything away from those Pac-12 also-rans, but Nebraska and Wisconsin are suppose to be some of the better teams the Big Ten has to offer. Plus, we are not even mentioning how Ohio State almost lost to California, in Columbus!
Normally, I save my disdain for the Big East conference, but I have to point to the Big Ten as the weak link conference this year. I’m not saying the Big East is any good, I’m just saying that the Big Ten is way below expectations. When Northwestern is carrying the conference’s water in non-conference play, something isn’t right. The way it’s shaping up, the Rose Bowl won’t be fun to watch this year.
Friday, February 10, 2012
My Presential Platform, Yakov Smirnoff, and Other Thoughts
Seeing all these ads and reading all these articles about running for President got me thinking about my Presidential Platform. Minus my “Liquidation of Idiots” Program and my invasion plans of Aruba, I needed something that would grab the people and rally them to my side. So, I came up with a new governmental department.
I would create a Department of Television, in which the government would subsidize certain shows if they were cancelled. As my Secretary of TV, Seamus would evaluate the current crop of cancelled shows and pick which ones would be saved. If chosen, the government would buy the ad time of the show from the network at an average cost of ad time for the highest rated shows at the time slot and genre, than sell that ad time to companies at a reduced cost (no political ads would be allowed). If the show becomes successful again, the government would reap the reward of higher ad revenue. Also, built in to all shows agreements with DVD, if the show was taken over by the government, the government would receive a portion of DVD and other medium revenues from the purchase.
Now, if this isn’t a winning idea, I don’t know what is. It also has the added benefit of possibly making the government money, instead of pissing it all away like they normally do. Of course, knowing politicians, they would probably find some way to screw it up. I mean, PBS is government subsidized and it’s pretty screwed up.
Speaking of PBS, you may remember a couple of years ago when I posted an open letter to BBC America lightly admonishing them for cancelling Ashes to Ashes after its first season even though the episodes from the second season were already produced and ready to go. Well, a while after that, BBC America threw up the second season, however refused to show the third and final season.
I had just about resigned myself to buying the complete series on DVD in region 2 when I noticed my local PBS station was running Ashes to Ashes. This is the same PBS station that is running seasons of MI-5 and Hustle never before shown in America. So, after re-watching the first two seasons, you could imagine my surprise when my onscreen TV guide started out “In the season 3 premiere…” Yeah, I went absolutely giddy. Seamus told me he hated me since he doesn’t have access to my PBS and my wife simply rolled her eyes and said “that’s nice dear”.
So, I watched the first episode last week and it’s just as good as I had hoped. Not only that, I guess 1983 was the year good music popped up because, while the first two season in 81 and 82 sucked music wise, 1983 rocked. We were given music by The Police and New Order (I still love “Blue Monday”). So, it seems like my local PBS has given the giant middle finger to BBC America. Considering PBS is showing multiple long running British show plus has the amazing Sherlock, it makes you wonder if BBC America has a purpose besides running Doctor Who, Top Gear, and anything with Gordon Ramsay.
Speaking of idiocy, I was recently in a graduate class and the professor asked the class if any of the companies we worked for had recently done anything to better help society or make a difference or some other hippie, tree hugging bullshit. So this girl raises her hand and regales us all with the tale about how her company did away with trash cans. No, she was being serious.
I guess in order to promote recycling; employees only have recycling bins at their desks in order to compel them to recycle stuff that can be recycled. If there is some actual trash that can’t be recycled, they need to walk to the kitchen and throw out the offending item. I cannot express how upset I would be if they tried to pull this bullshit at my work. I would use the recycling bin as my actual trash can. If that got people pissed, I would do the same exact thing, yet at the end of the day take it to the kitchen and dump the entire contents into the regular trash. This is absolutely ludicrous. I’m sorry if I’m to busying doing my job to make you feel better about yourself.
People who are all about being green piss me off. Listen, you think you’re saving the planet or whatever, fine, but don’t shove it down my throat. Even worse are the vegans. I mean, I get you love animals but man climbed to the top of the food chain for a reason. I don’t expect a shark or lion to give me the common courtesy of walking away if they’re hungry.
The worst part about vegans is the fact that they don’t eat dairy. Do those jackholes realize that if you don’t milk a cow it will suffer a great amount of pain before it dies? Think about the consequences of your actions.
Speaking of consequences of your actions, I finally went to see a doctor for a routine checkup and since it had been forever since I last saw a doctor, she decided to run tests which meant drawing blood. I hate needles. Anyway, I make my way over to the lab and wait my turn. I get called in and the nurse has me sit down. She starts talking to me in this thick Russian accent and she looks old enough to remember the Soviet era pretty well.
She asks me how my day is and I start complaining about having to get up early due to fire alarm testing in my building that morning. She starts going off on how that isn’t early and she has to get up earlier every morning. The worst part about it was I tuned her out but all I kept thinking was how she sounded like Yakov Smirnoff. I kept expecting her to say “In Soviet Russia, television watches you!”
The worst part was that I started to smile, but had to try and cover it up. The last thing you want is a woman with a needle thinking you’re not taking her seriously. Things don’t go well in those situations.
I would create a Department of Television, in which the government would subsidize certain shows if they were cancelled. As my Secretary of TV, Seamus would evaluate the current crop of cancelled shows and pick which ones would be saved. If chosen, the government would buy the ad time of the show from the network at an average cost of ad time for the highest rated shows at the time slot and genre, than sell that ad time to companies at a reduced cost (no political ads would be allowed). If the show becomes successful again, the government would reap the reward of higher ad revenue. Also, built in to all shows agreements with DVD, if the show was taken over by the government, the government would receive a portion of DVD and other medium revenues from the purchase.
Now, if this isn’t a winning idea, I don’t know what is. It also has the added benefit of possibly making the government money, instead of pissing it all away like they normally do. Of course, knowing politicians, they would probably find some way to screw it up. I mean, PBS is government subsidized and it’s pretty screwed up.
Speaking of PBS, you may remember a couple of years ago when I posted an open letter to BBC America lightly admonishing them for cancelling Ashes to Ashes after its first season even though the episodes from the second season were already produced and ready to go. Well, a while after that, BBC America threw up the second season, however refused to show the third and final season.
I had just about resigned myself to buying the complete series on DVD in region 2 when I noticed my local PBS station was running Ashes to Ashes. This is the same PBS station that is running seasons of MI-5 and Hustle never before shown in America. So, after re-watching the first two seasons, you could imagine my surprise when my onscreen TV guide started out “In the season 3 premiere…” Yeah, I went absolutely giddy. Seamus told me he hated me since he doesn’t have access to my PBS and my wife simply rolled her eyes and said “that’s nice dear”.
So, I watched the first episode last week and it’s just as good as I had hoped. Not only that, I guess 1983 was the year good music popped up because, while the first two season in 81 and 82 sucked music wise, 1983 rocked. We were given music by The Police and New Order (I still love “Blue Monday”). So, it seems like my local PBS has given the giant middle finger to BBC America. Considering PBS is showing multiple long running British show plus has the amazing Sherlock, it makes you wonder if BBC America has a purpose besides running Doctor Who, Top Gear, and anything with Gordon Ramsay.
Speaking of idiocy, I was recently in a graduate class and the professor asked the class if any of the companies we worked for had recently done anything to better help society or make a difference or some other hippie, tree hugging bullshit. So this girl raises her hand and regales us all with the tale about how her company did away with trash cans. No, she was being serious.
I guess in order to promote recycling; employees only have recycling bins at their desks in order to compel them to recycle stuff that can be recycled. If there is some actual trash that can’t be recycled, they need to walk to the kitchen and throw out the offending item. I cannot express how upset I would be if they tried to pull this bullshit at my work. I would use the recycling bin as my actual trash can. If that got people pissed, I would do the same exact thing, yet at the end of the day take it to the kitchen and dump the entire contents into the regular trash. This is absolutely ludicrous. I’m sorry if I’m to busying doing my job to make you feel better about yourself.
People who are all about being green piss me off. Listen, you think you’re saving the planet or whatever, fine, but don’t shove it down my throat. Even worse are the vegans. I mean, I get you love animals but man climbed to the top of the food chain for a reason. I don’t expect a shark or lion to give me the common courtesy of walking away if they’re hungry.
The worst part about vegans is the fact that they don’t eat dairy. Do those jackholes realize that if you don’t milk a cow it will suffer a great amount of pain before it dies? Think about the consequences of your actions.
Speaking of consequences of your actions, I finally went to see a doctor for a routine checkup and since it had been forever since I last saw a doctor, she decided to run tests which meant drawing blood. I hate needles. Anyway, I make my way over to the lab and wait my turn. I get called in and the nurse has me sit down. She starts talking to me in this thick Russian accent and she looks old enough to remember the Soviet era pretty well.
She asks me how my day is and I start complaining about having to get up early due to fire alarm testing in my building that morning. She starts going off on how that isn’t early and she has to get up earlier every morning. The worst part about it was I tuned her out but all I kept thinking was how she sounded like Yakov Smirnoff. I kept expecting her to say “In Soviet Russia, television watches you!”
The worst part was that I started to smile, but had to try and cover it up. The last thing you want is a woman with a needle thinking you’re not taking her seriously. Things don’t go well in those situations.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Trent's Touchdown: Six Week 10 College Football Games to Watch
Week 10 is here and yet again I'm swamped with work and school. Therefore, you get what you got last week, a list and some pithy comments.
We all know the college football "Super Bowl" is this weekend, but I would keep an eye on the Texas A&M/Oklahoma game. A few weeks ago, it would have been a gimme to Oklahoma, but they have proven they can lose at home against a team with a good offense.
Kansas State could have a nasty surprise for Oklahoma State, thereby taking us one step closer to Boise State in the National Championship Game. Excuse me while I throw up at that thought.
I also think we finally see the wheels come flying off South Carolina. No Marcus Lattimore means they are relying completely on their defense. That won't work against Arkansas. Anyway, see you all next week, here's the Touchdown:
1) No. 1 LSU at No. 2 Alabama – 8:00 PM on CBS
2) No. 14 Kansas State at No. 3 Oklahoma State – 8:00 PM on ABC
3) No. 9 South Carolina at No. 7 Arkansas – 7:15 PM on ESPN
4) Texas A&M at No. 6 Oklahoma – 3:30 PM on ABC
5) Texas Tech at No. 21 Texas – 12:00 PM on FX
6) Purdue at No. 20 Wisconsin – 3:30 PM on ABC
Extra Point:
Blocked by a surprising aggressive special teams play.
We all know the college football "Super Bowl" is this weekend, but I would keep an eye on the Texas A&M/Oklahoma game. A few weeks ago, it would have been a gimme to Oklahoma, but they have proven they can lose at home against a team with a good offense.
Kansas State could have a nasty surprise for Oklahoma State, thereby taking us one step closer to Boise State in the National Championship Game. Excuse me while I throw up at that thought.
I also think we finally see the wheels come flying off South Carolina. No Marcus Lattimore means they are relying completely on their defense. That won't work against Arkansas. Anyway, see you all next week, here's the Touchdown:
1) No. 1 LSU at No. 2 Alabama – 8:00 PM on CBS
2) No. 14 Kansas State at No. 3 Oklahoma State – 8:00 PM on ABC
3) No. 9 South Carolina at No. 7 Arkansas – 7:15 PM on ESPN
4) Texas A&M at No. 6 Oklahoma – 3:30 PM on ABC
5) Texas Tech at No. 21 Texas – 12:00 PM on FX
6) Purdue at No. 20 Wisconsin – 3:30 PM on ABC
Extra Point:
Blocked by a surprising aggressive special teams play.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Trent's Touchdown: Six Week 9 College Football Games to Watch
Unfortunately, I had an extremely busy week so I can only give the good games and not my normal rundown. I will say I was happy with the loss by Oklahoma last week as it helps out Clemson in their improbable run to the National Championship Game.
Keep an eye on the Clemson game, as they always have issues with Georgia Tech. I also think Michigan State keeps the pressure up. They aren't the same team that lost to Notre Dame earlier in the season.
Oh yeah, a big, fat middle finger to Bleacher Report. They keep screwing with my articles and never fix any of the errors they make. I would lace the rest of this with profanity, but I'm better than that. Oh wait, no I'm not. PISS OFF ASS CLOWNS! Anyway, on to the pseudo-Touchdown:
1) No. 9 Oklahoma at No. 8 Kansas State – 3:30 PM on ESPN
2) No. 11 Michigan State at No. 14 Nebraska – 12:00 on ESPN
3) No. 5 Clemson at Georgia Tech – 8:00 PM on ABC
4) No. 6 Stanford at USC – 8:00 PM on ABC
5) No. 15 Wisconsin at Ohio State – 8:00 PM on ESPN
6) No. 22 Georgia vs. Florida – 3:30 PM on CBS
Extra Point:
Lesson to all NFL and college quarterbacks. When you have only one play left, don't throw it out of bounds or to the underneath receiver and hope for another Music City Miracle. Throw it deep to the endzone and hope for the best. It worked for Michigan State.
Keep an eye on the Clemson game, as they always have issues with Georgia Tech. I also think Michigan State keeps the pressure up. They aren't the same team that lost to Notre Dame earlier in the season.
Oh yeah, a big, fat middle finger to Bleacher Report. They keep screwing with my articles and never fix any of the errors they make. I would lace the rest of this with profanity, but I'm better than that. Oh wait, no I'm not. PISS OFF ASS CLOWNS! Anyway, on to the pseudo-Touchdown:
1) No. 9 Oklahoma at No. 8 Kansas State – 3:30 PM on ESPN
2) No. 11 Michigan State at No. 14 Nebraska – 12:00 on ESPN
3) No. 5 Clemson at Georgia Tech – 8:00 PM on ABC
4) No. 6 Stanford at USC – 8:00 PM on ABC
5) No. 15 Wisconsin at Ohio State – 8:00 PM on ESPN
6) No. 22 Georgia vs. Florida – 3:30 PM on CBS
Extra Point:
Lesson to all NFL and college quarterbacks. When you have only one play left, don't throw it out of bounds or to the underneath receiver and hope for another Music City Miracle. Throw it deep to the endzone and hope for the best. It worked for Michigan State.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Trent's Touchdown: Six Week 8 College Football Games to Watch
Here we are at Week 8 of the college football season. Of course, that means that the first BCS standings came out last weekend, but we can get into that later. We have a large slate of conference matchups to look into to, so on to the Touchdown:
1) No. 6 Wisconsin at No. 16 Michigan State – 8:00 PM on ESPN
For all you Wisconsin fans out there, this game is the first time you can actually see if your team is any good. There is no better way to be tested than on the road, in conference, against a particularly nasty defense.
Wisconsin has been absolutely rolling this year, but you need to take their success with a grain of salt. They have played all but one game at home (neutral field against Northern Illinois) and the only quality opponent was an over-hyped Nebraska team that nearly lost at home to Ohio State.
The Badgers do have all the pieces needed that make a Championship team, but we just don’t know if they are actually that good. I’m a huge fan of Russell Wilson, but his numbers were never anywhere near this good when he was at North Carolina State.
Of course, part of his success has to be all the offensive weapons he has at his disposal. Nick Toon is one of the better receivers in the Big Ten and Montee Ball is the best running back in the conference. That will help out any quarterback, even Dayne Crist.
The Spartans, on the other hand, have had a few challenges this year, losing on the road to Notre Dame, but beating Ohio State in Columbus and defeating Michigan at home last week. What was most impressive was the fact that they made Denard Robinson look bad before knocking him out of the game.
The problem all year for Michigan State has been their offense. Kirk Cousins has been steady, but his success last year was due in part to the running game. The running game had been pretty bad for the Spartans before Edwin Baker blew up for 167 yards against Michigan. When the running game is clicking, Cousins can get comfortable and make the throws he needs.
Part of me wants to pick Wisconsin because of MSU’s offensive struggles and the Badgers stifling defense. However, that defense has not faced any real opponents. Michigan State narrowly edges out Wisconsin at home, probably in the last minute.
2) No. 25 Washington at No. 8 Stanford – 8:00 PM on ABC
Wait a minute; Stanford is actually playing a meaningful game before the November 12th showdown against Oregon? The post-Jake Locker Huskies are surprising a lot of people.
This game is actually hard to judge because Stanford hasn’t faced any competition and Washington has only faced Nebraska on the road (and got beaten). You can say that Stanford has an amazing run defense, but I don’t see guys like Juwan Thompson of Duke or Keola Antolin from Arizona lighting the world on fire.
The Stanford run defense will have its hands full with Chris Polk, one of the best running backs in the Pac-12. He is averaging just over 120 yards a game and helps keep the pressure off of Keith Price. Price has been flying under the radar, but he can easily get into a rhythm and will pick apart a defense if given time.
Everyone knows about Andrew Luck, so it seems like a waste to go over all he has going for him. The one thing that needs to be of concern to the Huskie defense is that he doesn’t turn the ball over (6 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio). If Washington wants to win, they need turnovers. Look for the Cardinals to let Stepfan Taylor run the ball so Washington can’t just play the pass.
I actually think it’ll be closer than the point spread thinks it’ll be. Washington can hang around and frustrate Stanford for most of the game, but I think Luck is just too much to handle. Stanford wins, but people will start to take Washington seriously.
3) No. 20 Auburn at No. 1 LSU – 3:30 on CBS
This game just got a heck of a lot more interesting after three players for LSU got suspended for allegedly testing positive for synthetic pot. Off the subject, but what exactly is synthetic pot and how does it differ from the real thing?
So, LSU is now without superstar Tyrann Mathieu, leading rusher Spencer Ware, and reverse defensive back Tharold Simon. This might be a huge issue if this game was against Alabama, but this is Auburn we are talking about.
I’m not trying to diss Auburn, but quarterback Clint Moseley is getting his first collegiate start against LSU. Ask Jacoby Brissett of Florida and Matt Simms of Tennessee how the experience worked out for them. Of course, those changes were due to injury, not ineptitude of the previous starting quarterback.
Moseley does have one saving grace in running back Michael Dyer. Dyer is one of the better running backs in the SEC and did reasonably well against LSU last year. However, last year the key playmaker was Cam Newton.
Offensively, LSU is going to do what it always does, which is slowly and steadily move the ball. The whole LSU philosophy is to slowly break down the other teams will to compete. Expect Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson to grind it out, play a field position game, and not make any stupid mistakes.
I’m actually surprised that the point spread of 21 is not higher. Auburn is going to make dumb mistakes and they are going to turn the ball over. LSU will capitalize on these mistakes. I don’t think LSU will blow them out, but I don’t think it’ll be as close at the score will suggest.
4) No. 4 Oklahoma State at Missouri – 12:00 PM on FX
I promise that this is going to be the last time that I try and sing the praises of Missouri. But when you’re talking about a tough road game for a highly ranked team, I have to write about it.
Oklahoma State has shown no signs of slowing down all year. Even when Brandon Weeden looked human last week against Texas, the team still scored a bunch of points and gained a bunch of yards. With the passing game faltering, the running game and special teams were able to step up to score points.
We also can’t overlook the Cowboys defense. They aren’t great, but they were able to control the Texas offense enough to give Oklahoma State the victory. You don’t always have to be the best, just good enough.
Missouri has multiple ways to test a defense, but they thrive at running the ball, behind running back Henry Posey and quarterback James Franklin. Franklin is also pretty good throwing the ball too, even if he has been throwing to the other team recently (3 of his 4 interceptions have been in the last two games.
Oklahoma State is going to need Weeden to get back to form in order to win at Missouri. That said, I think he does get back on track. However, Missouri has been able to keep their three losses this season close, including a ten point loss to Oklahoma in Norman. Expect another close one, but the Cowboys pull it out in the end.
5) North Carolina at No. 7 Clemson – 12:00 PM on ESPN
After a close call on the road against Maryland, Clemson gets to go home and face a tough North Carolina team. The last thing UNC needed was for wide receiver Dwight Jones to open his yap and motivate the Tigers.
For those of you who don’t know, when Jones was asked about who the best receiver in the ACC was, he said himself. He then went on to explain that Clemson star receiver Sammy Watkins is just a speedster while Jones has more technique and experience. Way to get off on the right foot.
While I like Watkins, I think we should hold off on the C.J. Spiller comparisons until at least his sophomore year. If he’s still taking kick-off returns the distance and pretty much carrying his team to victory, then we start tossing Spiller’s name around.
Everyone has been talking about the explosive offense of Clemson lead by Tajh Boyd, but Byrn Renner is probably the best quarterback in the ACC. His completion percentage and passer rating are the highest in the conference and he hasn’t thrown an interception in October. It also helps he has one of the better wide receivers in the ACC (the previously mentioned Jones) to throw to.
Renner’s big problem is that he doesn’t get enough time to throw the ball. The offensive line is suspect on pass protection and could be the issue for the Tar Heels’. If Clemson is able to shut down running back Giovanni Bernard, it could be a long game from Renner.
As far as Clemson is concerned, they need to work on the defensive issues from last week’s debacle in Maryland. They should be okay since Renner isn’t a running quarterback like C.J. Brown last week. The Tigers should be fine offensively with Boyd, Watkins, Andre Ellington and Dwayne Allen at their skill positions.
Clemson will be challenged by North Carolina, but I fully expect the Tigers to beat them, so long as they don’t look ahead to the showdown with Georgia Tech next week.
6) USC at Notre Dame – 7:30 on NBC
Remember the 2005 USC/Notre Dame matchup that featured Matt Leinhart and Brady Quinn? It ended up being one of the best college football games I’ve ever seen.
This year, we get Matt Barkley and Tommy Rees battling it out to see who can throw this game away. While the smart money is on Rees, never underestimate Matt Barkley’s ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Extra Point:
The first BCS standings of the year have come out and you know what that means. We get tons of articles debating and dissecting the standings. I really don’t have too much of an issue with it for right now. Yes, I think Clemson is a little undervalued and Wisconsin and Boise State are a little overrated, but it’s still early.
Right now, I think we can all agree that whichever two teams of the top four go undefeated deserve to play in the National Championship. While I may be a huge Clemson fan, I accept that an undefeated LSU and an undefeated Oklahoma State deserve to play in the National Championship over an undefeated Clemson.
The same goes for Boise State, Wisconsin, and Stanford. While they may not play in the toughest conferences, their out of conferences schedules are laughable. I’m not going to give Wisconsin, with out of conference foes UNLV and South Dakota, a place over LSU, with out of conference games against Oregon and West Virginia.
However, the rankings actually mean very little right now. We know that at least two of the top 4 will have one loss. We also know that college football is a whacky sport and anything and everything is possible. I could see any team in the top ten emerge to play in the National Championship Game and I wouldn’t be surprised.
It’ll get really fun if there are a bunch of one loss teams at the end of the season and see how that plays out. Even though we all like to complain, most of the time the BCS gets the top two teams correct. As much as I would love a playoff, we would then get into arguments about the teams on outside looking in. Of course, it’s not college football without controversy.
1) No. 6 Wisconsin at No. 16 Michigan State – 8:00 PM on ESPN
For all you Wisconsin fans out there, this game is the first time you can actually see if your team is any good. There is no better way to be tested than on the road, in conference, against a particularly nasty defense.
Wisconsin has been absolutely rolling this year, but you need to take their success with a grain of salt. They have played all but one game at home (neutral field against Northern Illinois) and the only quality opponent was an over-hyped Nebraska team that nearly lost at home to Ohio State.
The Badgers do have all the pieces needed that make a Championship team, but we just don’t know if they are actually that good. I’m a huge fan of Russell Wilson, but his numbers were never anywhere near this good when he was at North Carolina State.
Of course, part of his success has to be all the offensive weapons he has at his disposal. Nick Toon is one of the better receivers in the Big Ten and Montee Ball is the best running back in the conference. That will help out any quarterback, even Dayne Crist.
The Spartans, on the other hand, have had a few challenges this year, losing on the road to Notre Dame, but beating Ohio State in Columbus and defeating Michigan at home last week. What was most impressive was the fact that they made Denard Robinson look bad before knocking him out of the game.
The problem all year for Michigan State has been their offense. Kirk Cousins has been steady, but his success last year was due in part to the running game. The running game had been pretty bad for the Spartans before Edwin Baker blew up for 167 yards against Michigan. When the running game is clicking, Cousins can get comfortable and make the throws he needs.
Part of me wants to pick Wisconsin because of MSU’s offensive struggles and the Badgers stifling defense. However, that defense has not faced any real opponents. Michigan State narrowly edges out Wisconsin at home, probably in the last minute.
2) No. 25 Washington at No. 8 Stanford – 8:00 PM on ABC
Wait a minute; Stanford is actually playing a meaningful game before the November 12th showdown against Oregon? The post-Jake Locker Huskies are surprising a lot of people.
This game is actually hard to judge because Stanford hasn’t faced any competition and Washington has only faced Nebraska on the road (and got beaten). You can say that Stanford has an amazing run defense, but I don’t see guys like Juwan Thompson of Duke or Keola Antolin from Arizona lighting the world on fire.
The Stanford run defense will have its hands full with Chris Polk, one of the best running backs in the Pac-12. He is averaging just over 120 yards a game and helps keep the pressure off of Keith Price. Price has been flying under the radar, but he can easily get into a rhythm and will pick apart a defense if given time.
Everyone knows about Andrew Luck, so it seems like a waste to go over all he has going for him. The one thing that needs to be of concern to the Huskie defense is that he doesn’t turn the ball over (6 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio). If Washington wants to win, they need turnovers. Look for the Cardinals to let Stepfan Taylor run the ball so Washington can’t just play the pass.
I actually think it’ll be closer than the point spread thinks it’ll be. Washington can hang around and frustrate Stanford for most of the game, but I think Luck is just too much to handle. Stanford wins, but people will start to take Washington seriously.
3) No. 20 Auburn at No. 1 LSU – 3:30 on CBS
This game just got a heck of a lot more interesting after three players for LSU got suspended for allegedly testing positive for synthetic pot. Off the subject, but what exactly is synthetic pot and how does it differ from the real thing?
So, LSU is now without superstar Tyrann Mathieu, leading rusher Spencer Ware, and reverse defensive back Tharold Simon. This might be a huge issue if this game was against Alabama, but this is Auburn we are talking about.
I’m not trying to diss Auburn, but quarterback Clint Moseley is getting his first collegiate start against LSU. Ask Jacoby Brissett of Florida and Matt Simms of Tennessee how the experience worked out for them. Of course, those changes were due to injury, not ineptitude of the previous starting quarterback.
Moseley does have one saving grace in running back Michael Dyer. Dyer is one of the better running backs in the SEC and did reasonably well against LSU last year. However, last year the key playmaker was Cam Newton.
Offensively, LSU is going to do what it always does, which is slowly and steadily move the ball. The whole LSU philosophy is to slowly break down the other teams will to compete. Expect Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson to grind it out, play a field position game, and not make any stupid mistakes.
I’m actually surprised that the point spread of 21 is not higher. Auburn is going to make dumb mistakes and they are going to turn the ball over. LSU will capitalize on these mistakes. I don’t think LSU will blow them out, but I don’t think it’ll be as close at the score will suggest.
4) No. 4 Oklahoma State at Missouri – 12:00 PM on FX
I promise that this is going to be the last time that I try and sing the praises of Missouri. But when you’re talking about a tough road game for a highly ranked team, I have to write about it.
Oklahoma State has shown no signs of slowing down all year. Even when Brandon Weeden looked human last week against Texas, the team still scored a bunch of points and gained a bunch of yards. With the passing game faltering, the running game and special teams were able to step up to score points.
We also can’t overlook the Cowboys defense. They aren’t great, but they were able to control the Texas offense enough to give Oklahoma State the victory. You don’t always have to be the best, just good enough.
Missouri has multiple ways to test a defense, but they thrive at running the ball, behind running back Henry Posey and quarterback James Franklin. Franklin is also pretty good throwing the ball too, even if he has been throwing to the other team recently (3 of his 4 interceptions have been in the last two games.
Oklahoma State is going to need Weeden to get back to form in order to win at Missouri. That said, I think he does get back on track. However, Missouri has been able to keep their three losses this season close, including a ten point loss to Oklahoma in Norman. Expect another close one, but the Cowboys pull it out in the end.
5) North Carolina at No. 7 Clemson – 12:00 PM on ESPN
After a close call on the road against Maryland, Clemson gets to go home and face a tough North Carolina team. The last thing UNC needed was for wide receiver Dwight Jones to open his yap and motivate the Tigers.
For those of you who don’t know, when Jones was asked about who the best receiver in the ACC was, he said himself. He then went on to explain that Clemson star receiver Sammy Watkins is just a speedster while Jones has more technique and experience. Way to get off on the right foot.
While I like Watkins, I think we should hold off on the C.J. Spiller comparisons until at least his sophomore year. If he’s still taking kick-off returns the distance and pretty much carrying his team to victory, then we start tossing Spiller’s name around.
Everyone has been talking about the explosive offense of Clemson lead by Tajh Boyd, but Byrn Renner is probably the best quarterback in the ACC. His completion percentage and passer rating are the highest in the conference and he hasn’t thrown an interception in October. It also helps he has one of the better wide receivers in the ACC (the previously mentioned Jones) to throw to.
Renner’s big problem is that he doesn’t get enough time to throw the ball. The offensive line is suspect on pass protection and could be the issue for the Tar Heels’. If Clemson is able to shut down running back Giovanni Bernard, it could be a long game from Renner.
As far as Clemson is concerned, they need to work on the defensive issues from last week’s debacle in Maryland. They should be okay since Renner isn’t a running quarterback like C.J. Brown last week. The Tigers should be fine offensively with Boyd, Watkins, Andre Ellington and Dwayne Allen at their skill positions.
Clemson will be challenged by North Carolina, but I fully expect the Tigers to beat them, so long as they don’t look ahead to the showdown with Georgia Tech next week.
6) USC at Notre Dame – 7:30 on NBC
Remember the 2005 USC/Notre Dame matchup that featured Matt Leinhart and Brady Quinn? It ended up being one of the best college football games I’ve ever seen.
This year, we get Matt Barkley and Tommy Rees battling it out to see who can throw this game away. While the smart money is on Rees, never underestimate Matt Barkley’s ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Extra Point:
The first BCS standings of the year have come out and you know what that means. We get tons of articles debating and dissecting the standings. I really don’t have too much of an issue with it for right now. Yes, I think Clemson is a little undervalued and Wisconsin and Boise State are a little overrated, but it’s still early.
Right now, I think we can all agree that whichever two teams of the top four go undefeated deserve to play in the National Championship. While I may be a huge Clemson fan, I accept that an undefeated LSU and an undefeated Oklahoma State deserve to play in the National Championship over an undefeated Clemson.
The same goes for Boise State, Wisconsin, and Stanford. While they may not play in the toughest conferences, their out of conferences schedules are laughable. I’m not going to give Wisconsin, with out of conference foes UNLV and South Dakota, a place over LSU, with out of conference games against Oregon and West Virginia.
However, the rankings actually mean very little right now. We know that at least two of the top 4 will have one loss. We also know that college football is a whacky sport and anything and everything is possible. I could see any team in the top ten emerge to play in the National Championship Game and I wouldn’t be surprised.
It’ll get really fun if there are a bunch of one loss teams at the end of the season and see how that plays out. Even though we all like to complain, most of the time the BCS gets the top two teams correct. As much as I would love a playoff, we would then get into arguments about the teams on outside looking in. Of course, it’s not college football without controversy.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Trent's Touchdown: Six Week 7 College Football Games to Watch
Welcome to Week 7. Now that I’ve finally gotten used to all the realignment talk and NCAA violations scuttlebutt I hear every day, I know have to be on the look-out for injury updates on players like LaMichael James and Tajh Boyd.
Not only that, but I was shocked by the announcement that Stephen Garcia got booted from South Carolina. Okay, not so much shocked as bewildered. We can talk about Garcia and his issues later. Now, on to the Touchdown:
1) No. 11 Michigan at No. 23 Michigan State – 12:00 PM on ESPN
I remember last year’s match-up between Michigan State and Michigan fondly. Everyone was hyping Denard Robinson, then the Spartans smacked him down and everyone realized that he wasn’t that great. The same sort of thing is happening this year.
No doubt about the fact that Robinson is a dynamic player. I like to think of him as a horribly inaccurate version of Clemson’s Tajh Boyd. Thankfully, Michigan doesn’t count on Robinson to have to throw the ball very often. He has only thrown the ball more than 20 times twice this season and has three interceptions in both games. Not good numbers.
However, running the ball, Robinson is one of the best. He is in the top 10 in the FBS in rushing yards per game. He is allusive and speedy. The key to beating Michigan is containing Robinson and making him throw the ball. That is easier said than done.
Michigan State was able to contain Robinson last year and ended up winning. The Spartans defense is just as tough this year as they were last year. It also helps that they are very good at stopping the run. They should get Robinson to turn the ball over; it is just capitalizing on those mistakes that will be the issue.
The Spartans offense hasn’t been that great this year. After a monster year last year, Kirk Cousins hasn’t been that great. He’s been bitten by the interception bug in the last few games, including two in the nail-biter against Ohio State two weeks ago.
The running game for Michigan State has also been woeful. Le’Veon Bell and Edwin Baker are both better running backs than their numbers suggest. To put it in perspective, Denard Robinson has nearly two hundred more rushing yards on twelve less carries than Bell and Baker combined.
Michigan State is going to want to grind this one out while Michigan is going to want to run all over the field. I think the Michigan State defense is too good to let Robinson control this game. It’ll be close as always, but the Spartans pull it out at home.
2) No. 18 Arizona State at No. 9 Oregon – 10:15 PM on ESPN
Arizona State looks like they have found a way to stop LaMichael James. They let Cal injure his elbow. While there is still doubt on whether James will play, there is no doubt Oregon is still the favorite in this one.
After the loss to LSU to start the season, we haven’t been hearing too much about the Ducks. They have just been going along and steady dismantling teams. With their big playmaker sidelined, look for Kenjon Baker and De’Anthony Thomas to get the ball more. Also, Darron Thomas is going to have to keep doing what he always does, lead the offense and move the ball.
Arizona State has a good offense that relies on the arm of Brock Osweiler. While is touchdown to interception ratio is nearly 2 for 1, he may not have to worry about that. Oregon has been having troubles creating turnovers. He does throw his interceptions in bunches, with all six coming in only three of ASU’s games.
There are only two real ways to beat Oregon. The first is to play a physical, defensive game. This was the type seen by Auburn and LSU. The second is to let it dissolve into a shoot-out and hope for the defense to step up once. The shoot-out strategy hasn’t been successful in the past, but could work this year with the weakened Oregon defense.
Arizona State does not have the ability to play either one of those styles. I like ASU, I think they will be in the Pac 12 Championship Game, but they don’t have the ability this year to hang with either Oregon or Stanford.
The only saving grace for the Sun Devils is that fact that James is probably out. That said, Oregon still have a lot of playmakers on offense. Couple that with the fact that the game is in Oregon and this game is starting to look bad for ASU. I don’t think ASU will get blown away, since Oregon will still be getting used to no LaMichael James. I think the Ducks win by two touchdowns.
3) No. 20 Baylor at No. 21 Texas A&M – 12:00 PM on FX
How do you come back from back-to-back second half gag-jobs against ranked opponents? Barely hold off a third straight second half gag-job on the road, that’s how. Aggie fans had to be a little leery during last weeks Texas Tech/Texas A&M game.
If you like lots and lots of offense and don’t want to be bogged down with pesky things like defense, then this is the game for you.
Baylor has one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in Robert Griffin III. His completion percentage is over 80 percent, he has 19 passing touchdowns compared to 1 interception, and he is a very good running quarterback.
Texas A&M, on the other hand, is led by the underrated Ryan Tannehill, who has had some issues keeping the ball out of opponent’s hands. Tannehill also has the ability to take off and gain yards with his feet. While his team did choke away two leads, he did take both Oklahoma State and Arkansas to the brink.
The problem with this game is the defense. Texas A&M has a woeful defense, probably the worst in the country. They give up too many yards at the worst possible times. They nearly folded completely against Texas Tech last week. When you are facing a quarterback like Griffin and you want to win, you need to be perfect.
This game will dissolve into a shoot-out quickly. You can expect both teams to move up and down the field with relative ease. However, I have to think that Baylor can make more plays down the stretch to pull this out.
4) No. 6 Oklahoma State at No. 22 Texas – 3:30 PM on ABC
Wait, the Texas Longhorns have to face a high octane offensive team from the state of Oklahoma? Didn’t this happen last week?
Anyone who saw the drubbing of Texas last weeks knows the team needs a little help. A good old fashion shoot-out might be just want the doctor ordered. The Longhorns have a good offense, but they are young and are going to make dumb mistakes against quality defenses, as we saw in the Red River Shootout.
The Achilles Heel of Oklahoma State is the defense. It gets overlooked because the Cowboys pour on the points against opponents. The defense gives up, on average, close to 28 points a game. Against a team like Oklahoma, with offensive and defensive balance, this is going to be a huge issue.
Texas, along with a young offensive, has a young and inexperienced defense. A veteran quarterback like Brandon Weeden should be able to pick apart the defense; much like Landry Jones did last week. What Texas needs to do is try and stop the aerial assault, either through tight coverage or a pass rush.
You are going to see a lot of points scored in this game. Texas is going to need a lot of help from its defense if it expects to stay in this game. I think the Cowboys win by at least two touchdowns.
5) No. 19 Virginia Tech at Wake Forest – 6:30 PM on ESPN3
Normally, I don’t like to write about or even think about Virginia Tech football. The main reason is they just play an ugly style of football. It’s effective, just not fun to watch. However, I’m here to pump the tires of the flavor of the week: Wake Forest.
Before we start anointing the Demon Deacons the next ACC Champion, let’s first remember that they lost to Syracuse and their victories have not been against quality opponents. Before Seminoles fans start screaming at me, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, FSU is a paper tiger.
Now, it’s not all bad for Wake Forest. They have one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the country in Tanner Price. Price doesn’t turn the ball over and can sling it all over the field. He could use a bit more help from his running game, but Josh Harris has been improving every week.
As for Virginia Tech, before we start saying that Logan Thomas has arrived, remember his career day last week was against Miami. He is still the same quarterback who looked absolutely pathetic against a still improving Clemson defense and on the road against East Carolina.
Thomas is going to have to be the man in this game for the Hokies to win, considering the Demon Deacons are one of the better teams against the run. David Wilson will still get a lot of carries and a fair number of yards, but Virginia Tech cannot count on him to win the game for them.
For Thomas to truly silence the critics, he is going to have to have a good game against Wake Forest. He will pale in comparison to Price, but he cannot simply give up like he did against Clemson. Wake Forest is going to just attack that Hokie defense, continuing to pass all game long hoping something will stick.
Virginia Tech has yet to have a quality road test this year. This will be a close one, but I think Wake Forest can squeeze out a victory at home.
6) Ohio State at No. 16 Illinois – 3:30 PM on ABC
Talk about two teams on different paths. Illinois is undefeated and looking to make serious waves in the Big Ten. Ohio State can’t get out of its own way. The Illini are bowl eligible while the Buckeyes are going to struggle to break .500. Not a fun time to be an Ohio State fan, but finally a reason to cheer as an Illinois fan.
Extra Point:
Last week I wrote about the feel good story of Russell Wilson. Today, I’ll tell you the tale of Stephen Garcia and wasted talent.
It’s not very often that a top 25 team and odds on favorite to win their division boots their starting senior quarterback off the team, but that is exactly what South Carolina did this week. According to sources, Garcia tested positive for marijuana and alcohol. While Garcia is over the age limit for alcohol, he stated he would not to drink as part of an agreement he made with the school following his fifth suspension.
Yes, you read that correct, fifth suspension. He has violated numerous “team rules”, with an incident involving girls in his hotel room after curfew before a bowl game and an incident involving a life skills and leadership seminar. Those were just the recent problems, he had run-ins with the police during his freshman year for public drunkenness, keying a professor’s car, and pulling a fire alarm.
The main problem with Garcia was that it just seemed like he didn’t give a crap about anything. He was given numerous opportunities to succeed and didn’t follow through. Plus, his play was always very erratic. You never knew if you were going to get the guy who beat defending champion Alabama in 2010 or the guy who completed less than 40 percent of his passes and had two interceptions against Auburn in 2011.
It was a running gag for me to mention week after week how bad Garcia was, even calling for his benching before the Auburn game. However, I figured he would be with the team all season. I just figured he was pulling a Jevan Snead, where he just fell to pieces in his final season. Turns out he just couldn’t leave his troubled past behind.
So, Gamecock fans now get to root for Connor Shaw, who so far has been able to stay out of trouble. As for Garcia, he gets to wonder where it all went wrong while trying out for teams in the Arena Football League and the United Football League. After all, he’s going to need beer money.
Not only that, but I was shocked by the announcement that Stephen Garcia got booted from South Carolina. Okay, not so much shocked as bewildered. We can talk about Garcia and his issues later. Now, on to the Touchdown:
1) No. 11 Michigan at No. 23 Michigan State – 12:00 PM on ESPN
I remember last year’s match-up between Michigan State and Michigan fondly. Everyone was hyping Denard Robinson, then the Spartans smacked him down and everyone realized that he wasn’t that great. The same sort of thing is happening this year.
No doubt about the fact that Robinson is a dynamic player. I like to think of him as a horribly inaccurate version of Clemson’s Tajh Boyd. Thankfully, Michigan doesn’t count on Robinson to have to throw the ball very often. He has only thrown the ball more than 20 times twice this season and has three interceptions in both games. Not good numbers.
However, running the ball, Robinson is one of the best. He is in the top 10 in the FBS in rushing yards per game. He is allusive and speedy. The key to beating Michigan is containing Robinson and making him throw the ball. That is easier said than done.
Michigan State was able to contain Robinson last year and ended up winning. The Spartans defense is just as tough this year as they were last year. It also helps that they are very good at stopping the run. They should get Robinson to turn the ball over; it is just capitalizing on those mistakes that will be the issue.
The Spartans offense hasn’t been that great this year. After a monster year last year, Kirk Cousins hasn’t been that great. He’s been bitten by the interception bug in the last few games, including two in the nail-biter against Ohio State two weeks ago.
The running game for Michigan State has also been woeful. Le’Veon Bell and Edwin Baker are both better running backs than their numbers suggest. To put it in perspective, Denard Robinson has nearly two hundred more rushing yards on twelve less carries than Bell and Baker combined.
Michigan State is going to want to grind this one out while Michigan is going to want to run all over the field. I think the Michigan State defense is too good to let Robinson control this game. It’ll be close as always, but the Spartans pull it out at home.
2) No. 18 Arizona State at No. 9 Oregon – 10:15 PM on ESPN
Arizona State looks like they have found a way to stop LaMichael James. They let Cal injure his elbow. While there is still doubt on whether James will play, there is no doubt Oregon is still the favorite in this one.
After the loss to LSU to start the season, we haven’t been hearing too much about the Ducks. They have just been going along and steady dismantling teams. With their big playmaker sidelined, look for Kenjon Baker and De’Anthony Thomas to get the ball more. Also, Darron Thomas is going to have to keep doing what he always does, lead the offense and move the ball.
Arizona State has a good offense that relies on the arm of Brock Osweiler. While is touchdown to interception ratio is nearly 2 for 1, he may not have to worry about that. Oregon has been having troubles creating turnovers. He does throw his interceptions in bunches, with all six coming in only three of ASU’s games.
There are only two real ways to beat Oregon. The first is to play a physical, defensive game. This was the type seen by Auburn and LSU. The second is to let it dissolve into a shoot-out and hope for the defense to step up once. The shoot-out strategy hasn’t been successful in the past, but could work this year with the weakened Oregon defense.
Arizona State does not have the ability to play either one of those styles. I like ASU, I think they will be in the Pac 12 Championship Game, but they don’t have the ability this year to hang with either Oregon or Stanford.
The only saving grace for the Sun Devils is that fact that James is probably out. That said, Oregon still have a lot of playmakers on offense. Couple that with the fact that the game is in Oregon and this game is starting to look bad for ASU. I don’t think ASU will get blown away, since Oregon will still be getting used to no LaMichael James. I think the Ducks win by two touchdowns.
3) No. 20 Baylor at No. 21 Texas A&M – 12:00 PM on FX
How do you come back from back-to-back second half gag-jobs against ranked opponents? Barely hold off a third straight second half gag-job on the road, that’s how. Aggie fans had to be a little leery during last weeks Texas Tech/Texas A&M game.
If you like lots and lots of offense and don’t want to be bogged down with pesky things like defense, then this is the game for you.
Baylor has one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in Robert Griffin III. His completion percentage is over 80 percent, he has 19 passing touchdowns compared to 1 interception, and he is a very good running quarterback.
Texas A&M, on the other hand, is led by the underrated Ryan Tannehill, who has had some issues keeping the ball out of opponent’s hands. Tannehill also has the ability to take off and gain yards with his feet. While his team did choke away two leads, he did take both Oklahoma State and Arkansas to the brink.
The problem with this game is the defense. Texas A&M has a woeful defense, probably the worst in the country. They give up too many yards at the worst possible times. They nearly folded completely against Texas Tech last week. When you are facing a quarterback like Griffin and you want to win, you need to be perfect.
This game will dissolve into a shoot-out quickly. You can expect both teams to move up and down the field with relative ease. However, I have to think that Baylor can make more plays down the stretch to pull this out.
4) No. 6 Oklahoma State at No. 22 Texas – 3:30 PM on ABC
Wait, the Texas Longhorns have to face a high octane offensive team from the state of Oklahoma? Didn’t this happen last week?
Anyone who saw the drubbing of Texas last weeks knows the team needs a little help. A good old fashion shoot-out might be just want the doctor ordered. The Longhorns have a good offense, but they are young and are going to make dumb mistakes against quality defenses, as we saw in the Red River Shootout.
The Achilles Heel of Oklahoma State is the defense. It gets overlooked because the Cowboys pour on the points against opponents. The defense gives up, on average, close to 28 points a game. Against a team like Oklahoma, with offensive and defensive balance, this is going to be a huge issue.
Texas, along with a young offensive, has a young and inexperienced defense. A veteran quarterback like Brandon Weeden should be able to pick apart the defense; much like Landry Jones did last week. What Texas needs to do is try and stop the aerial assault, either through tight coverage or a pass rush.
You are going to see a lot of points scored in this game. Texas is going to need a lot of help from its defense if it expects to stay in this game. I think the Cowboys win by at least two touchdowns.
5) No. 19 Virginia Tech at Wake Forest – 6:30 PM on ESPN3
Normally, I don’t like to write about or even think about Virginia Tech football. The main reason is they just play an ugly style of football. It’s effective, just not fun to watch. However, I’m here to pump the tires of the flavor of the week: Wake Forest.
Before we start anointing the Demon Deacons the next ACC Champion, let’s first remember that they lost to Syracuse and their victories have not been against quality opponents. Before Seminoles fans start screaming at me, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, FSU is a paper tiger.
Now, it’s not all bad for Wake Forest. They have one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the country in Tanner Price. Price doesn’t turn the ball over and can sling it all over the field. He could use a bit more help from his running game, but Josh Harris has been improving every week.
As for Virginia Tech, before we start saying that Logan Thomas has arrived, remember his career day last week was against Miami. He is still the same quarterback who looked absolutely pathetic against a still improving Clemson defense and on the road against East Carolina.
Thomas is going to have to be the man in this game for the Hokies to win, considering the Demon Deacons are one of the better teams against the run. David Wilson will still get a lot of carries and a fair number of yards, but Virginia Tech cannot count on him to win the game for them.
For Thomas to truly silence the critics, he is going to have to have a good game against Wake Forest. He will pale in comparison to Price, but he cannot simply give up like he did against Clemson. Wake Forest is going to just attack that Hokie defense, continuing to pass all game long hoping something will stick.
Virginia Tech has yet to have a quality road test this year. This will be a close one, but I think Wake Forest can squeeze out a victory at home.
6) Ohio State at No. 16 Illinois – 3:30 PM on ABC
Talk about two teams on different paths. Illinois is undefeated and looking to make serious waves in the Big Ten. Ohio State can’t get out of its own way. The Illini are bowl eligible while the Buckeyes are going to struggle to break .500. Not a fun time to be an Ohio State fan, but finally a reason to cheer as an Illinois fan.
Extra Point:
Last week I wrote about the feel good story of Russell Wilson. Today, I’ll tell you the tale of Stephen Garcia and wasted talent.
It’s not very often that a top 25 team and odds on favorite to win their division boots their starting senior quarterback off the team, but that is exactly what South Carolina did this week. According to sources, Garcia tested positive for marijuana and alcohol. While Garcia is over the age limit for alcohol, he stated he would not to drink as part of an agreement he made with the school following his fifth suspension.
Yes, you read that correct, fifth suspension. He has violated numerous “team rules”, with an incident involving girls in his hotel room after curfew before a bowl game and an incident involving a life skills and leadership seminar. Those were just the recent problems, he had run-ins with the police during his freshman year for public drunkenness, keying a professor’s car, and pulling a fire alarm.
The main problem with Garcia was that it just seemed like he didn’t give a crap about anything. He was given numerous opportunities to succeed and didn’t follow through. Plus, his play was always very erratic. You never knew if you were going to get the guy who beat defending champion Alabama in 2010 or the guy who completed less than 40 percent of his passes and had two interceptions against Auburn in 2011.
It was a running gag for me to mention week after week how bad Garcia was, even calling for his benching before the Auburn game. However, I figured he would be with the team all season. I just figured he was pulling a Jevan Snead, where he just fell to pieces in his final season. Turns out he just couldn’t leave his troubled past behind.
So, Gamecock fans now get to root for Connor Shaw, who so far has been able to stay out of trouble. As for Garcia, he gets to wonder where it all went wrong while trying out for teams in the Arena Football League and the United Football League. After all, he’s going to need beer money.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Trent's Touchdown: Six Week 6 College Football Games to Watch
It’s Week 6 of the college football season. Another week, another round of conference realignment talk. Also, another round of suspensions at Ohio State, but we can talk more about that later. Now, on to the touchdown:
1) No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 12 Texas – 12:00 PM on ABC (at Dallas, TX)
Can we have a moment of silence for Garrett Gilbert’s career at the University of Texas? I guess it’s pretty sad when your high point is a four interception performance in the National Championship Game. May he have better luck at SMU or wherever he ends up.
Enough about that, it’s the Red River Shootout! Oklahoma is the overwhelming favorite, but the game will be tougher than it looks. While the rotating quarterback situation is normally a distraction, the two headed monster of Case McCoy and David Ash seem to work well for Texas.
The team has really started to click since the benching of Gilbert during the BYU game. You can expect Texas to attack the Oklahoma defense with a balanced run and pass attack. Defensively, the Longhorns are going to have to slow down the pass attack of Oklahoma and try and create turnovers.
The turnovers should be an issue. While everyone wants to slobber over Landry Jones’ ability to throw, people seem to turn a blind eye to his 2 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio. My suggestion would be to go off-script and use Dominique Whaley to soften up the Texas defense, than use Jones to pick apart a defense looking run first.
While I think that Texas is overrated at this point, I think they can pull this off. The simple fact of the matter is that Texas has really seemed to have rallied around McCoy and Ash. Texas is also on a whirlwind tour of beating up on teams they lost to last year. Plus, if college football has taught me anything, it is to never bet against a McCoy.
2) No. 15 Auburn at No. 10 Arkansas – 7:00 PM on ESPN
The fight for third place in the SEC West heats up! Normally, I wouldn’t put a third place game this high up, but when four teams in one division are in the top 15, you make special exceptions.
While I’m sure all the Auburn fans are celebrating after their team beat South Carolina last week, they shouldn’t break their arms patting the Auburn defense on the back. The Gamecock offense is centered solely on the running of Marcus Lattimore. The Arkansas offense is centered on the arm of Tyler Wilson.
Auburn has a horrible pass defense. Last game they were effective at stopping the pass, but that was against Stephen Garcia, who finally got benched for Connor Shaw. Look at the numbers that Tajh Boyd put up in the loss to Clemson. Tyler Wilson is expected to put up comparable numbers to Boyd.
You have to give Arkansas a lot of credit. They got beat up by Alabama two weeks ago and go down 35-17 at halftime to Texas A&M before storming back to beat the Aggies by 4. While the Arkansas defense has been serviceable, the offense is what really drives the team.
In order for Auburn to win, they are going to need to score early and often and never let up. They are going to need their defense to come up big and make key stops. That is do-able, if this was last year’s Auburn team. It’s not happening this year. Arkansas is going to try to light up Auburn and will, for the most part, succeed.
3) No. 17 Florida at No. 1 LSU – 3:30 PM on CBS
Les Miles recently said that he wants to get Jordan Jefferson more involved in the LSU offense. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. While Jarrett Lee is not exactly Heisman material, he is an effective game manager for this LSU team. By game manager, I mean that he won’t win you any games and he’ll make mistakes, but not enough to have you lose to inferior teams.
This game was a heck of a lot more interesting before John Brantley went down with a leg injury during Florida’s big loss to Alabama last week. Now, the Florida offense is being lead by a freshman quarterback who trouble getting the snap last week. Basically, the Florida offense is going to be about running early and often.
I don’t completely discount the Gator’s ability to move the ball. Charlie Weis has shown the ability to dumb down his offense for a quarterback who is being called on to replace an injured starter (Tom Brady in 2001). However, Weis wasn’t game planning against the LSU defense.
LSU has one of the best defenses in the country. Their specialty is stopping the run. LSU is going to ride this defense for as long as they can. They will win or lose games based on just how well the defense does. The Tigers defense will try and shut down the Gators and give Jarrett Lee (or Jordan Jefferson) good field position when leading the offense.
Add in the fact that this game is being played at LSU and things do not shape up nicely for the Gators. While I don’t think LSU will do all that much offensively, their defense will handle Florida and win the game for the Tigers.
4) Missouri at No. 20 Kansas State – 3:30 PM on ABC
It kind of says something about your team if you’re ranked and playing an unranked opponent at home and the unranked opponent is actually favored to win. Seriously though, the only reason Kansas State is ranked is because they had to be ranked, after beating an overvalued Baylor team.
I wrote a few weeks ago about how Missouri was one of the best two loss teams in the country. Offensively, they have a very potent running attack no matter who is carrying the ball. Not to take anything away from Henry Josey, but if it wasn’t for injuries he wouldn’t be getting the carries he’s getting. James Franklin is one of the more underrated dual-threat quarterbacks in the country, who can light it up on the ground and through the air.
Kansas State is going to try and lean on its defense, like it did against Baylor and Miami. They gave up a lot of yards to those two teams before making big stops late. The Wildcats are going to need luck on their side to stop Missouri.
Kansas State cannot afford to try and match Missouri offensively. I like Collin Klein as much as the next guy, but his passing numbers are nowhere near as good as they have to be. His main skill is running with the ball but he’ll need to throw to win this game.
Missouri has a lot of things going for them at this point. A win against Kansas State will keep them going in the right direction. I think the Tigers get by Kansas State by at least a touchdown.
5) No. 12 Michigan at Northwestern – 7:00 PM on Big Ten Network
I’m still not sure how Michigan is ranked so high. The only challenge they had was Notre Dame and if it wasn’t for poor defense and Tommy Rees, Michigan would have lost that game. Outside of Kansas State, is Michigan the most underwhelming top 25 team?
I never understood the allure of Denard Robinson. I want a Wolverines fan to rationally explain it to me. He is just a horrible passer. He has one skill set, which is running the ball. Don’t get me wrong, he is an exceptional runner, but that’s his whole game. It’s almost like Michigan runs the Wildcat offense on every snap.
As for Northwestern, Dan Persa is finally back from injury and ready to light the Big Ten on fire. There is a question about his ability to run the ball after his Achilles’ injury from last year, but he can still throw the ball. The main problem for Northwestern is the fact that their back-up quarterback is their leading rusher. They need Persa to be able to run the ball so their offense can click.
A lot of people will talk about the highly ranked Michigan defense. Again, I’m not exactly sure why. Their opponents this year have been Western Michigan, Notre Dame, Eastern Michigan, San Diego State, and Minnesota. That’s not exactly a murderer’s row. Plus, all these games have been at home, a distinct advantage.
In this year’s Big Ten, Michigan is a good team. That just doesn’t translate to actually being a good team against the rest of the country. Northwestern finally got their leader and quarterback back last week and lost on defensive lapses during the final two minutes. I think Northwestern pulls off the upset at home.
6) Ohio State at No. 7 Nebraska – 8:00 PM on ABC
This was supposed to be the game in which Ohio State got back Dan Herron and DeVier Posey. Looks like the NCAA had different ideas. It’s going to be a long month of October for the Buckeyes. Is it wrong that I’m smiling about that?
Extra Point:
I may have had a little fun with Ohio State, but what the heck is going on in Columbus? DeVier Posey and Dan Herron, who just finished a five game suspension for “Tattoo-Gate”, are getting at least one more game tacked on for receiving too much money for too little work for summer jobs.
But fear not, Athletic Director Gene Smith said that there wasn’t a “systemic” problem with Ohio State. He then proceeded to throw everyone but himself and the University under the bus. Is there anyone besides Smith who believes there isn’t a “systemic” problem at Ohio State?
According to Smith, this was about individual failures. Which I might have believed if it had happened to one or two players. However, this has been multiple players with multiple violations that lead to one of the better coaches in college football to have to resign in disgrace. This is an Ohio State failure.
Listen, the issue here is the sense of entitlement these kids feel. Ohio is a severely depressing place, so of course if there are players who make the population as a whole feel just a little bit better about their situation, those players are going to be looked upon as better than everyone else and given special treatment.
Ohio State has done nothing to try and dissuade them of this belief. This was evident after the tattoo incident came to light before the Sugar Bowl last year. Instead of suspending the players involved, the University allowed Tressel to let them play and serve their suspension for the first five games of the following year.
This was a joke, considering Ohio State’s only competition would have been Michigan State during that five game stretch. Basically the school was sending the message that you’ll get suspended if you do something bad, but not for any relevant games.
The University needed to come down hard on these players since they broke the rules, instead of giving them a slap on the wrists. Ohio State felt it was better to win the Sugar Bowl than to enforce the rules. In a cruel bit of karmic payback, Ohio State ended up vacating that Sugar Bowl victory, along with all the other games in the 2010 season. There is no one to blame but themselves.
1) No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 12 Texas – 12:00 PM on ABC (at Dallas, TX)
Can we have a moment of silence for Garrett Gilbert’s career at the University of Texas? I guess it’s pretty sad when your high point is a four interception performance in the National Championship Game. May he have better luck at SMU or wherever he ends up.
Enough about that, it’s the Red River Shootout! Oklahoma is the overwhelming favorite, but the game will be tougher than it looks. While the rotating quarterback situation is normally a distraction, the two headed monster of Case McCoy and David Ash seem to work well for Texas.
The team has really started to click since the benching of Gilbert during the BYU game. You can expect Texas to attack the Oklahoma defense with a balanced run and pass attack. Defensively, the Longhorns are going to have to slow down the pass attack of Oklahoma and try and create turnovers.
The turnovers should be an issue. While everyone wants to slobber over Landry Jones’ ability to throw, people seem to turn a blind eye to his 2 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio. My suggestion would be to go off-script and use Dominique Whaley to soften up the Texas defense, than use Jones to pick apart a defense looking run first.
While I think that Texas is overrated at this point, I think they can pull this off. The simple fact of the matter is that Texas has really seemed to have rallied around McCoy and Ash. Texas is also on a whirlwind tour of beating up on teams they lost to last year. Plus, if college football has taught me anything, it is to never bet against a McCoy.
2) No. 15 Auburn at No. 10 Arkansas – 7:00 PM on ESPN
The fight for third place in the SEC West heats up! Normally, I wouldn’t put a third place game this high up, but when four teams in one division are in the top 15, you make special exceptions.
While I’m sure all the Auburn fans are celebrating after their team beat South Carolina last week, they shouldn’t break their arms patting the Auburn defense on the back. The Gamecock offense is centered solely on the running of Marcus Lattimore. The Arkansas offense is centered on the arm of Tyler Wilson.
Auburn has a horrible pass defense. Last game they were effective at stopping the pass, but that was against Stephen Garcia, who finally got benched for Connor Shaw. Look at the numbers that Tajh Boyd put up in the loss to Clemson. Tyler Wilson is expected to put up comparable numbers to Boyd.
You have to give Arkansas a lot of credit. They got beat up by Alabama two weeks ago and go down 35-17 at halftime to Texas A&M before storming back to beat the Aggies by 4. While the Arkansas defense has been serviceable, the offense is what really drives the team.
In order for Auburn to win, they are going to need to score early and often and never let up. They are going to need their defense to come up big and make key stops. That is do-able, if this was last year’s Auburn team. It’s not happening this year. Arkansas is going to try to light up Auburn and will, for the most part, succeed.
3) No. 17 Florida at No. 1 LSU – 3:30 PM on CBS
Les Miles recently said that he wants to get Jordan Jefferson more involved in the LSU offense. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. While Jarrett Lee is not exactly Heisman material, he is an effective game manager for this LSU team. By game manager, I mean that he won’t win you any games and he’ll make mistakes, but not enough to have you lose to inferior teams.
This game was a heck of a lot more interesting before John Brantley went down with a leg injury during Florida’s big loss to Alabama last week. Now, the Florida offense is being lead by a freshman quarterback who trouble getting the snap last week. Basically, the Florida offense is going to be about running early and often.
I don’t completely discount the Gator’s ability to move the ball. Charlie Weis has shown the ability to dumb down his offense for a quarterback who is being called on to replace an injured starter (Tom Brady in 2001). However, Weis wasn’t game planning against the LSU defense.
LSU has one of the best defenses in the country. Their specialty is stopping the run. LSU is going to ride this defense for as long as they can. They will win or lose games based on just how well the defense does. The Tigers defense will try and shut down the Gators and give Jarrett Lee (or Jordan Jefferson) good field position when leading the offense.
Add in the fact that this game is being played at LSU and things do not shape up nicely for the Gators. While I don’t think LSU will do all that much offensively, their defense will handle Florida and win the game for the Tigers.
4) Missouri at No. 20 Kansas State – 3:30 PM on ABC
It kind of says something about your team if you’re ranked and playing an unranked opponent at home and the unranked opponent is actually favored to win. Seriously though, the only reason Kansas State is ranked is because they had to be ranked, after beating an overvalued Baylor team.
I wrote a few weeks ago about how Missouri was one of the best two loss teams in the country. Offensively, they have a very potent running attack no matter who is carrying the ball. Not to take anything away from Henry Josey, but if it wasn’t for injuries he wouldn’t be getting the carries he’s getting. James Franklin is one of the more underrated dual-threat quarterbacks in the country, who can light it up on the ground and through the air.
Kansas State is going to try and lean on its defense, like it did against Baylor and Miami. They gave up a lot of yards to those two teams before making big stops late. The Wildcats are going to need luck on their side to stop Missouri.
Kansas State cannot afford to try and match Missouri offensively. I like Collin Klein as much as the next guy, but his passing numbers are nowhere near as good as they have to be. His main skill is running with the ball but he’ll need to throw to win this game.
Missouri has a lot of things going for them at this point. A win against Kansas State will keep them going in the right direction. I think the Tigers get by Kansas State by at least a touchdown.
5) No. 12 Michigan at Northwestern – 7:00 PM on Big Ten Network
I’m still not sure how Michigan is ranked so high. The only challenge they had was Notre Dame and if it wasn’t for poor defense and Tommy Rees, Michigan would have lost that game. Outside of Kansas State, is Michigan the most underwhelming top 25 team?
I never understood the allure of Denard Robinson. I want a Wolverines fan to rationally explain it to me. He is just a horrible passer. He has one skill set, which is running the ball. Don’t get me wrong, he is an exceptional runner, but that’s his whole game. It’s almost like Michigan runs the Wildcat offense on every snap.
As for Northwestern, Dan Persa is finally back from injury and ready to light the Big Ten on fire. There is a question about his ability to run the ball after his Achilles’ injury from last year, but he can still throw the ball. The main problem for Northwestern is the fact that their back-up quarterback is their leading rusher. They need Persa to be able to run the ball so their offense can click.
A lot of people will talk about the highly ranked Michigan defense. Again, I’m not exactly sure why. Their opponents this year have been Western Michigan, Notre Dame, Eastern Michigan, San Diego State, and Minnesota. That’s not exactly a murderer’s row. Plus, all these games have been at home, a distinct advantage.
In this year’s Big Ten, Michigan is a good team. That just doesn’t translate to actually being a good team against the rest of the country. Northwestern finally got their leader and quarterback back last week and lost on defensive lapses during the final two minutes. I think Northwestern pulls off the upset at home.
6) Ohio State at No. 7 Nebraska – 8:00 PM on ABC
This was supposed to be the game in which Ohio State got back Dan Herron and DeVier Posey. Looks like the NCAA had different ideas. It’s going to be a long month of October for the Buckeyes. Is it wrong that I’m smiling about that?
Extra Point:
I may have had a little fun with Ohio State, but what the heck is going on in Columbus? DeVier Posey and Dan Herron, who just finished a five game suspension for “Tattoo-Gate”, are getting at least one more game tacked on for receiving too much money for too little work for summer jobs.
But fear not, Athletic Director Gene Smith said that there wasn’t a “systemic” problem with Ohio State. He then proceeded to throw everyone but himself and the University under the bus. Is there anyone besides Smith who believes there isn’t a “systemic” problem at Ohio State?
According to Smith, this was about individual failures. Which I might have believed if it had happened to one or two players. However, this has been multiple players with multiple violations that lead to one of the better coaches in college football to have to resign in disgrace. This is an Ohio State failure.
Listen, the issue here is the sense of entitlement these kids feel. Ohio is a severely depressing place, so of course if there are players who make the population as a whole feel just a little bit better about their situation, those players are going to be looked upon as better than everyone else and given special treatment.
Ohio State has done nothing to try and dissuade them of this belief. This was evident after the tattoo incident came to light before the Sugar Bowl last year. Instead of suspending the players involved, the University allowed Tressel to let them play and serve their suspension for the first five games of the following year.
This was a joke, considering Ohio State’s only competition would have been Michigan State during that five game stretch. Basically the school was sending the message that you’ll get suspended if you do something bad, but not for any relevant games.
The University needed to come down hard on these players since they broke the rules, instead of giving them a slap on the wrists. Ohio State felt it was better to win the Sugar Bowl than to enforce the rules. In a cruel bit of karmic payback, Ohio State ended up vacating that Sugar Bowl victory, along with all the other games in the 2010 season. There is no one to blame but themselves.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Trent's Touchdown: Six Week 5 College Football Games to Watch
Welcome to Week 5 of the college football season. So, after four weeks, we’ve seen suspensions, sanctions, conference switching, ref’s admitting blowing calls, and a whole host of wild finishes. While I’m trying to forget most of that list, I love the wild finishes. Looking at some of the games this week, we should be in store for some good ones. Anyway, on to the Touchdown:
1) No. 8 Nebraska at No. 7 Wisconsin – 8:00 PM on ABC
If you’re going to open up play in your new conference, this is the way to do it. This game could even be a preview of a Big Ten Championship Game. I’m getting chills just thinking about it. Either that or I need to turn on the heat.
So far this season, neither team has faced any competition. I’m not sure if this is the best way for either team to jump into Big Ten play. Both teams are going to get a challenge in this one.
When you talk about the best quarterbacks in college football right now, Russell Wilson from Wisconsin needs to be near the top of the list. He has a completion percentage over 75 percent and doesn’t make dumb mistakes. He makes the defense stop him and his offense.
Of course, passing is easy when every defense is going to be keyed to the backfield duo of Montee Ball and James White. They will be there to punish the Nebraska defense and open up the air to Wilson, as you’re going to need eight guys in the box to think about stopping the Badger’s potent run game.
While Nebraska has beaten up on their opponents, they haven’t looked that great. While they have an athletic defense that can make plays, they are vulnerable to the balanced offensive attack of a team like Wisconsin.
Taylor Martinez has also been less than stellar. While is completion percentage about 50 percent, his true talent is running the ball. He leads the team in rushing, but has a nice compliment in Rex Burkhead to take some of the carries.
If Wisconsin can contain Martinez and make him have to throw the ball, it’ll be a long day for the Cornhuskers. While I don’t think they can do it all game, I feel that Martinez is going to have to throw effectively to slow down the Badger defense. Wisconsin wins this one, but Nebraska keeps it close.
2) No. 3 Alabama at No. 12 Florida – 8:00 PM on CBS
I could steal my own line from above and say how this could be a preview of the SEC Championship Game, but with the strength of the SEC, you never know what could happen. My only problem in writing about this game is the two teams are pretty much mirror images of each other.
Worse yet, the winner will be giving a blue print to the rest of the SEC on how to beat them. Part of me just wants to use the ambiguous “they” when describing the two teams, just to save time. But that would be lazy of me.
While both teams have very impressive defenses, you need to give the nod to Alabama, as they have beaten two ranked teams, while the only moderately good team Florida has beaten was Tennessee. The Tide shut down the high powered offensive of Arkansas last week, making them look average.
Offensively, both teams boost great running backs. However, in order to win this game, the quarterback is going to have to make some plays. I know this is shocking, but I actually trust John Brantley more than I do A.J. McCarron. While their numbers are virtually identical, I think Charlie Weis will put Brantley in more of a position to win, offensively speaking.
All that said, I think the Tide win this one. This is a defensive match and it’ll come down to which defense makes the mistake that costs their team the game. I feel the Alabama defense is just too good to make that mistake. Expect this to be a hard fought game. Roll Tide!
3) No. 13 Clemson at No. 11 Virginia Tech – 6:00 PM on ESPN2
As a Clemson fan, last week I was looking forward to the Florida State game because I knew that FSU was a paper tiger. This week, I’m dreading the Virginia Tech game, because I know that the Hokies are for real.
The thing that mainly scares me is the fact that Clemson’s young offensive stars get their first game on the road against a physical, athletic defense. If you haven’t heard what Tajh Boyd and Sammie Watkins have been doing over the last two weeks, watch College Gameday on Saturday morning for a quick recap.
Virginia Tech, on the other hand, relies mainly on Logan Thomas handing the ball off to David Wilson. What VT is going to do once they get into the main portion of the season is try and emulate LSU from last year.
Virginia Tech is going to let their defense win the game for them by covering for the inadequacies of their quarterback. They will run the ball as much as possible and play a field possession game and hope for a turnover deep in their own territory.
Virginia Tech is just nowhere near as good as LSU was. The Clemson offense is going to make mistakes and that will keep this game closer than it really should be. The only thing the Clemson defense can do is stop the run and thankfully that is all Virginia Tech does. Clemson pulls it out on the road and people start gushing even more over Boyd.
4) No. 14 Texas A&M vs. No. 18 Arkansas – 12:00 PM on ESPN (in Arlington, TX)
Nothing says fun on a Saturday like watching an SEC West throw down. Oops, sorry, I’m already looking into the future. Right now, both teams are in different conferences. Not to worry, I’ll use this line next year.
Both of these teams are coming off of a loss, but the games were completely different. Texas A&M had a complete choke-job (also known as Red Sox-itis) against Oklahoma State, losing 30-29 after being up 20-3 at halftime. Arkansas, on the other hand, got manhandled by Alabama. The Tide defense limited the Arkansas offense to 226 yards, which is over 200 yards fewer than their average.
If you vanish the second half of last week’s game, this looks like a cake-walk for Texas A&M. However, you need to realize that the Aggie defense got absolutely lit up by Brandon Weeden. While Tyler Wilson is not Brandon Weeden, he is reasonable substitute. However, Wilson is going to need help from his running game, which he didn’t against Alabama, in order to slow down the Aggie pass rush.
Texas A&M will need better running from Cyrus Gray, who got a staggering 35 yards rushing against Oklahoma State. The Aggies have no issues at quarterback. As long as Ryan Tannehill can find Ryan Swope, everything will be fine.
This game will dissolve into a shoot-out before the end of the first half. I think the Aggies defense redeems itself and actually steps up and makes a stop when needed. It’ll be close and high scoring and the Aggies get back on track.
5) Auburn at No. 10 South Carolina – 3:30 on CBS
While watching South Carolina this year, you just keep wondering when the wheels are going to come flying off. Seriously, South Carolina is a team I think everyone is just waiting for them to lose.
Amazingly, all of South Carolina’s issues can be found on offense. I think Stephen Garcia has finally decided to stop alternating between being good and bad and just stuck with bad. He threw four interceptions against Vanderbilt last week. I knew he would get picked off, but four! Can we just get Connor Shaw in there and end everyone’s misery?
To make matters worse, Marcus Lattimore finally proved he was human by only rushing for 77 yards last week. The only good thing going for South Carolina is the fact that Auburn’s defense is pretty poor. The Tiger defense gives up way too many yards and way too many points. South Carolina should be able to get back on track offensively.
Offensively, Auburn hasn’t been that great either. Barrett Trotter has been holding his own and Michael Dyer is a good running back. The problem is the fact that the South Carolina defense has been what has been saving the Gamecocks week in and week out. Expect Auburn to have issues moving the ball.
I’m always scared when picking a South Carolina game because they can play amazing one week and putrid the next. I’ll pick South Carolina, but their own ineptitude will keep it close.
6) Michigan State at Ohio State – 3:30 on ABC
This is the last game for Ohio State before the “tattoo suspensions” are lifted. It doesn’t really matter though, considering the Buckeyes will get tattooed in this game and the three following it. Come on, that was funny!
Extra Point:
If you’ve followed Big Ten football this year, you know that Russell Wilson has been lighting the world on fire. Now, if you’re an ACC fan like me, you might be asking yourself why that name sounds familiar. Well, until last year, Russell Wilson was the starting quarterback for the North Carolina State Wolfpack.
But wait, don’t transfer students have to sit out year? That is very true, except there is a little loophole there. If the player graduated and still had eligibility left, he doesn’t need to sit out. Wilson graduated from North Carolina State, yet still had one year of eligibility.
Now you have to be wondering why NC State would let Wilson leave? He did throw for over 3000 yards in the past two seasons. Well, this is where the Colorado Rockies come into the picture. Wilson, also a baseball star at NC State, was drafted last year by the Rockies. He made the choice to skip spring and summer drills to play in the Rockies minor league system.
NC State decided that Mike Glennon was now their starting quarterback. They released Wilson from his scholarship and he transferred to Wisconsin, enrolling in their graduate program in order to play. So, is this good for college football?
Personally, I do not see the harm in it. The main thing everyone always brings up when talking about college football, whether it be an argument about a playoff system or paying athletes, is that the kids are at college for an education.
Wilson worked his butt off to graduate early and decided that he wanted to explore his opportunities in professional baseball so as not to have to commit to football. NC State wanted him to commit fully to football (although this wasn’t an issue when he was playing baseball for the Wolfpack).
While I don’t think there should be ease of transfer for undergrads, when it comes to graduate students, the player should be able to transfer if he wants. These are good kids looking for another year to prove their worth to scouts, not someone jumping for school to school looking for playing time and headlines.
1) No. 8 Nebraska at No. 7 Wisconsin – 8:00 PM on ABC
If you’re going to open up play in your new conference, this is the way to do it. This game could even be a preview of a Big Ten Championship Game. I’m getting chills just thinking about it. Either that or I need to turn on the heat.
So far this season, neither team has faced any competition. I’m not sure if this is the best way for either team to jump into Big Ten play. Both teams are going to get a challenge in this one.
When you talk about the best quarterbacks in college football right now, Russell Wilson from Wisconsin needs to be near the top of the list. He has a completion percentage over 75 percent and doesn’t make dumb mistakes. He makes the defense stop him and his offense.
Of course, passing is easy when every defense is going to be keyed to the backfield duo of Montee Ball and James White. They will be there to punish the Nebraska defense and open up the air to Wilson, as you’re going to need eight guys in the box to think about stopping the Badger’s potent run game.
While Nebraska has beaten up on their opponents, they haven’t looked that great. While they have an athletic defense that can make plays, they are vulnerable to the balanced offensive attack of a team like Wisconsin.
Taylor Martinez has also been less than stellar. While is completion percentage about 50 percent, his true talent is running the ball. He leads the team in rushing, but has a nice compliment in Rex Burkhead to take some of the carries.
If Wisconsin can contain Martinez and make him have to throw the ball, it’ll be a long day for the Cornhuskers. While I don’t think they can do it all game, I feel that Martinez is going to have to throw effectively to slow down the Badger defense. Wisconsin wins this one, but Nebraska keeps it close.
2) No. 3 Alabama at No. 12 Florida – 8:00 PM on CBS
I could steal my own line from above and say how this could be a preview of the SEC Championship Game, but with the strength of the SEC, you never know what could happen. My only problem in writing about this game is the two teams are pretty much mirror images of each other.
Worse yet, the winner will be giving a blue print to the rest of the SEC on how to beat them. Part of me just wants to use the ambiguous “they” when describing the two teams, just to save time. But that would be lazy of me.
While both teams have very impressive defenses, you need to give the nod to Alabama, as they have beaten two ranked teams, while the only moderately good team Florida has beaten was Tennessee. The Tide shut down the high powered offensive of Arkansas last week, making them look average.
Offensively, both teams boost great running backs. However, in order to win this game, the quarterback is going to have to make some plays. I know this is shocking, but I actually trust John Brantley more than I do A.J. McCarron. While their numbers are virtually identical, I think Charlie Weis will put Brantley in more of a position to win, offensively speaking.
All that said, I think the Tide win this one. This is a defensive match and it’ll come down to which defense makes the mistake that costs their team the game. I feel the Alabama defense is just too good to make that mistake. Expect this to be a hard fought game. Roll Tide!
3) No. 13 Clemson at No. 11 Virginia Tech – 6:00 PM on ESPN2
As a Clemson fan, last week I was looking forward to the Florida State game because I knew that FSU was a paper tiger. This week, I’m dreading the Virginia Tech game, because I know that the Hokies are for real.
The thing that mainly scares me is the fact that Clemson’s young offensive stars get their first game on the road against a physical, athletic defense. If you haven’t heard what Tajh Boyd and Sammie Watkins have been doing over the last two weeks, watch College Gameday on Saturday morning for a quick recap.
Virginia Tech, on the other hand, relies mainly on Logan Thomas handing the ball off to David Wilson. What VT is going to do once they get into the main portion of the season is try and emulate LSU from last year.
Virginia Tech is going to let their defense win the game for them by covering for the inadequacies of their quarterback. They will run the ball as much as possible and play a field possession game and hope for a turnover deep in their own territory.
Virginia Tech is just nowhere near as good as LSU was. The Clemson offense is going to make mistakes and that will keep this game closer than it really should be. The only thing the Clemson defense can do is stop the run and thankfully that is all Virginia Tech does. Clemson pulls it out on the road and people start gushing even more over Boyd.
4) No. 14 Texas A&M vs. No. 18 Arkansas – 12:00 PM on ESPN (in Arlington, TX)
Nothing says fun on a Saturday like watching an SEC West throw down. Oops, sorry, I’m already looking into the future. Right now, both teams are in different conferences. Not to worry, I’ll use this line next year.
Both of these teams are coming off of a loss, but the games were completely different. Texas A&M had a complete choke-job (also known as Red Sox-itis) against Oklahoma State, losing 30-29 after being up 20-3 at halftime. Arkansas, on the other hand, got manhandled by Alabama. The Tide defense limited the Arkansas offense to 226 yards, which is over 200 yards fewer than their average.
If you vanish the second half of last week’s game, this looks like a cake-walk for Texas A&M. However, you need to realize that the Aggie defense got absolutely lit up by Brandon Weeden. While Tyler Wilson is not Brandon Weeden, he is reasonable substitute. However, Wilson is going to need help from his running game, which he didn’t against Alabama, in order to slow down the Aggie pass rush.
Texas A&M will need better running from Cyrus Gray, who got a staggering 35 yards rushing against Oklahoma State. The Aggies have no issues at quarterback. As long as Ryan Tannehill can find Ryan Swope, everything will be fine.
This game will dissolve into a shoot-out before the end of the first half. I think the Aggies defense redeems itself and actually steps up and makes a stop when needed. It’ll be close and high scoring and the Aggies get back on track.
5) Auburn at No. 10 South Carolina – 3:30 on CBS
While watching South Carolina this year, you just keep wondering when the wheels are going to come flying off. Seriously, South Carolina is a team I think everyone is just waiting for them to lose.
Amazingly, all of South Carolina’s issues can be found on offense. I think Stephen Garcia has finally decided to stop alternating between being good and bad and just stuck with bad. He threw four interceptions against Vanderbilt last week. I knew he would get picked off, but four! Can we just get Connor Shaw in there and end everyone’s misery?
To make matters worse, Marcus Lattimore finally proved he was human by only rushing for 77 yards last week. The only good thing going for South Carolina is the fact that Auburn’s defense is pretty poor. The Tiger defense gives up way too many yards and way too many points. South Carolina should be able to get back on track offensively.
Offensively, Auburn hasn’t been that great either. Barrett Trotter has been holding his own and Michael Dyer is a good running back. The problem is the fact that the South Carolina defense has been what has been saving the Gamecocks week in and week out. Expect Auburn to have issues moving the ball.
I’m always scared when picking a South Carolina game because they can play amazing one week and putrid the next. I’ll pick South Carolina, but their own ineptitude will keep it close.
6) Michigan State at Ohio State – 3:30 on ABC
This is the last game for Ohio State before the “tattoo suspensions” are lifted. It doesn’t really matter though, considering the Buckeyes will get tattooed in this game and the three following it. Come on, that was funny!
Extra Point:
If you’ve followed Big Ten football this year, you know that Russell Wilson has been lighting the world on fire. Now, if you’re an ACC fan like me, you might be asking yourself why that name sounds familiar. Well, until last year, Russell Wilson was the starting quarterback for the North Carolina State Wolfpack.
But wait, don’t transfer students have to sit out year? That is very true, except there is a little loophole there. If the player graduated and still had eligibility left, he doesn’t need to sit out. Wilson graduated from North Carolina State, yet still had one year of eligibility.
Now you have to be wondering why NC State would let Wilson leave? He did throw for over 3000 yards in the past two seasons. Well, this is where the Colorado Rockies come into the picture. Wilson, also a baseball star at NC State, was drafted last year by the Rockies. He made the choice to skip spring and summer drills to play in the Rockies minor league system.
NC State decided that Mike Glennon was now their starting quarterback. They released Wilson from his scholarship and he transferred to Wisconsin, enrolling in their graduate program in order to play. So, is this good for college football?
Personally, I do not see the harm in it. The main thing everyone always brings up when talking about college football, whether it be an argument about a playoff system or paying athletes, is that the kids are at college for an education.
Wilson worked his butt off to graduate early and decided that he wanted to explore his opportunities in professional baseball so as not to have to commit to football. NC State wanted him to commit fully to football (although this wasn’t an issue when he was playing baseball for the Wolfpack).
While I don’t think there should be ease of transfer for undergrads, when it comes to graduate students, the player should be able to transfer if he wants. These are good kids looking for another year to prove their worth to scouts, not someone jumping for school to school looking for playing time and headlines.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
The Three Best Two Loss Teams in College Football
So, you’ve gotten through the first four weeks of the college football season and your favorite team has two losses already? Fear not, the season is not over. There are still teams with two losses that are playing competitive football and could make a run at something special. So, I’m going to give you three of the two loss teams you shouldn’t dismiss just yet.
1) Georgia (2-2)
Georgia didn’t have it easy to start the season. They had to face Boise State on a neutral field and got SEC East favorite South Carolina at home. So it was unsurprising that Georgia started out 0-2. It was also unsurprising that they won against Coastal Carolina and Ole Miss in the next two games.
Georgia definitely has some positives going for it. Quarterback Aaron Murray gets better with every game, finally emerging as the leader they need him to be. Also, Isaiah Crowell has burst on the scene as an impact running back for the Bulldogs. With offensive stability, they can finally stop leaning on Brandon Boykin as their playmaker.
Defensively, they are getting better. They gave up way too many points to Boise State and South Carolina to responsibly win those games. The defense recently found their groove against lesser opponents, so it is still questionable if they can keep up the intensity.
For an SEC team, the schedule looks pretty favorable for Georgia. They go on the road to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Georgia Tech, get Auburn and Kentucky at home, and face Florida on a neutral field. While they probably won’t be winning the SEC East, they will at least be able to make a nice bounce back from last year, shake things up, and use it as a stepping stone for next year.
2) Missouri (2-2)
Missouri has a rough stretch to start out the season, with road losses to an underrated Arizona State team (in overtime) and the top ranked Oklahoma Sooners. They were able to temper those losses with wins against Miami (OH) and Western Illinois.
While their wins have been against less than stellar opponents, the Missouri losses have been close (17 points total). Added to the fact that they were on the road and it doesn’t seem that bad. The kicking game has failed Missouri this season, as they missed a field goal in OT that would have won it against Arizona State and two field goals against Oklahoma which would have kept the game closer.
The Missouri offense may have lost Blaine Gabbert to the NFL, but they have only been moderately effected. While quarterback James Franklin may not have a great completion percentage, he can make teams pay by running the ball (over 100 yards rushing against Oklahoma). They also have Henry Posey in the backfield, who can easily get 100 yards rushing a game if he gets the touches.
While they aren’t amazing defensively, they are good enough to keep Missouri in most games. They hit a four game stretch starting in late October that is less than desired, where they are at home against Oklahoma State, on the road at Texas A&M and Baylor, and then back home against Texas. If they can win two of the four, that will put them in good position at the end of the season.
3) Notre Dame (2-2)
As much fun as it would be to tweak Notre Dame fans by keeping them off the list, I’d be remiss if I did so. However, I will say that if you told me Notre Dame was 2-2 at this point in the season, I would have predicted the loss to South Florida, but not Michigan.
After the 0-2 start, Notre Dame beat Michigan State (at home) and Pittsburgh (on the road). I was surprised by the victory over Michigan State, seeing as I thought Michigan State was a better team and the fact they were coming off the heart breaking loss to Michigan.
Notre Dame’s big problem is going to be turnovers. Tommy Rees is throwing too many interceptions to make the Fighting Irish a winning team. Rees also uses Michael Floyd as too much of a security blanket, with over a third of his completions going to Floyd. The running game has been important to Notre Dame’s offense, with Cierre Wood able to get important yards on the ground.
Defensively, the Fighting Irish have been better than normal, but not great. There is really no excuse for the defensive lapses that allowed Michigan to win their game. It always seems to be the Achilles Heel of Notre Dame over the past five years or so.
The schedule looks good for the Irish, with only the last game at Stanford looking like a loss. The rest of the schedule is against the dregs of the ACC (at Wake Forest, home against Maryland and Boston College) and the Service Academy’s (Air Force and Navy at home). The USC matchup on October 22 gives you pause, but seeing as it’s at home and USC isn’t really that good, Notre Dame should prevail.
Keep praying to the Touchdown Jesus and Notre Dame could back their way into a BCS Bowl. Or they could continue to turn the ball over, lose winnable games, and make Brian Kelly wonder why he left Cincinnati. Seriously, no one should ever wonder why they left Cincinnati.
1) Georgia (2-2)
Georgia didn’t have it easy to start the season. They had to face Boise State on a neutral field and got SEC East favorite South Carolina at home. So it was unsurprising that Georgia started out 0-2. It was also unsurprising that they won against Coastal Carolina and Ole Miss in the next two games.
Georgia definitely has some positives going for it. Quarterback Aaron Murray gets better with every game, finally emerging as the leader they need him to be. Also, Isaiah Crowell has burst on the scene as an impact running back for the Bulldogs. With offensive stability, they can finally stop leaning on Brandon Boykin as their playmaker.
Defensively, they are getting better. They gave up way too many points to Boise State and South Carolina to responsibly win those games. The defense recently found their groove against lesser opponents, so it is still questionable if they can keep up the intensity.
For an SEC team, the schedule looks pretty favorable for Georgia. They go on the road to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Georgia Tech, get Auburn and Kentucky at home, and face Florida on a neutral field. While they probably won’t be winning the SEC East, they will at least be able to make a nice bounce back from last year, shake things up, and use it as a stepping stone for next year.
2) Missouri (2-2)
Missouri has a rough stretch to start out the season, with road losses to an underrated Arizona State team (in overtime) and the top ranked Oklahoma Sooners. They were able to temper those losses with wins against Miami (OH) and Western Illinois.
While their wins have been against less than stellar opponents, the Missouri losses have been close (17 points total). Added to the fact that they were on the road and it doesn’t seem that bad. The kicking game has failed Missouri this season, as they missed a field goal in OT that would have won it against Arizona State and two field goals against Oklahoma which would have kept the game closer.
The Missouri offense may have lost Blaine Gabbert to the NFL, but they have only been moderately effected. While quarterback James Franklin may not have a great completion percentage, he can make teams pay by running the ball (over 100 yards rushing against Oklahoma). They also have Henry Posey in the backfield, who can easily get 100 yards rushing a game if he gets the touches.
While they aren’t amazing defensively, they are good enough to keep Missouri in most games. They hit a four game stretch starting in late October that is less than desired, where they are at home against Oklahoma State, on the road at Texas A&M and Baylor, and then back home against Texas. If they can win two of the four, that will put them in good position at the end of the season.
3) Notre Dame (2-2)
As much fun as it would be to tweak Notre Dame fans by keeping them off the list, I’d be remiss if I did so. However, I will say that if you told me Notre Dame was 2-2 at this point in the season, I would have predicted the loss to South Florida, but not Michigan.
After the 0-2 start, Notre Dame beat Michigan State (at home) and Pittsburgh (on the road). I was surprised by the victory over Michigan State, seeing as I thought Michigan State was a better team and the fact they were coming off the heart breaking loss to Michigan.
Notre Dame’s big problem is going to be turnovers. Tommy Rees is throwing too many interceptions to make the Fighting Irish a winning team. Rees also uses Michael Floyd as too much of a security blanket, with over a third of his completions going to Floyd. The running game has been important to Notre Dame’s offense, with Cierre Wood able to get important yards on the ground.
Defensively, the Fighting Irish have been better than normal, but not great. There is really no excuse for the defensive lapses that allowed Michigan to win their game. It always seems to be the Achilles Heel of Notre Dame over the past five years or so.
The schedule looks good for the Irish, with only the last game at Stanford looking like a loss. The rest of the schedule is against the dregs of the ACC (at Wake Forest, home against Maryland and Boston College) and the Service Academy’s (Air Force and Navy at home). The USC matchup on October 22 gives you pause, but seeing as it’s at home and USC isn’t really that good, Notre Dame should prevail.
Keep praying to the Touchdown Jesus and Notre Dame could back their way into a BCS Bowl. Or they could continue to turn the ball over, lose winnable games, and make Brian Kelly wonder why he left Cincinnati. Seriously, no one should ever wonder why they left Cincinnati.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Trent's Touchdown: Six Week 4 College Football Games to Watch
Is it Week 4 of the college football season already? This week, the talk hasn’t been about the early season showdowns in the SEC, ACC, and Big 12, but about realignment. With the possible expansions for both the ACC and Pac 12, everyone has been talking about possibilities and consequences. For now though, the talk has died down some, but more on that later. Now, on to the Touchdown:
1) No. 14 Arkansas at No. 3 Alabama – 3:30 PM on CBS
How can you not get excited about a SEC West showdown? One reason not to is the fact that it’s on CBS and I have to deal with Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson. How about ESPN loan out Nessler and Blackledge for this and we all walk away happy?
This is really a tale of two different offenses. The Tide are going to do all they can to limit the weakness of A.J. McCarron. While he has talent, he’s not ready to carry this offense. The Tide are going to depend on Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy to run the ball to soften up the Arkansas defense.
That shouldn’t be too hard, considering Arkansas has a poor rush defense. The Razorbacks gave up over 450 yards of rushing to Troy. While defense may not be the strong suit of Arkansas, they do have a dynamic offense.
The Razorbacks have one of the best passing offenses in the country, led by Tyler Wilson. Wilson’s issue is accuracy, which is not a problem you want against the tough Alabama defense. While they have a competent running back in Ronnie Wingo, expect Arkansas to throw early and often.
Arkansas will want to make this into a shootout, which will favor them. Alabama will want to slow it down and grind it out, which will favor them. As much as I like Arkansas, I think Alabama has this one, but expect it to stay close. Roll Tide!
2) No. 7 Oklahoma State at No. 8 Texas A&M – 3:30 PM on ABC
We have a top tier Big 12 matchup just days after Texas greed scuttled a plan to blow up the Big 12. Oklahoma State was all ready to jump to the Pac 12 and A&M is already off to the SEC, but for now we have to deal with the facts of this game.
Offensively, it’s tough to find a better team than Oklahoma State. They are in the top 10 in a handful of offensive categories. They kind of remind me of that Graham Harrell/Michael Crabtree Texas Tech team from a few years ago. However, appearances can be deceiving.
Brandon Weeden, while having a completion percentage over 70 percent, has an interception problem. Since the Cowboys are a pass happy team, it doesn’t bode well for them. While the offensive line is competent, they’ll have issues stopping the rush of Texas A&M.
Ryan Tannehill, on the other hand, has the ability to keep the ball out of the defenses hands. Tannehill also has the added benefit of having Cyrus Gray in the backfield, who is almost a guarantee to get over 100 yards rushing. The Aggies shouldn’t have much issue moving the ball against a lackluster Cowboy defense.
Much like the Razorbacks, Oklahoma State forgoes defense and wins games by just outscoring their opponents. While working against lesser teams, they will have issues against teams that have a solid defense, like Texas A&M. Expect it to stay close throughout, but the Aggies prevail in the end.
3) No. 11 Florida State at No. 21 Clemson – 3:30 PM on ESPN
Clemson has a massive win over Auburn, but that was just the first of the three games in a row that will push the Tigers to their limits. FSU is facing problems of their own on the injury front after their loss last week to top ranked Oklahoma.
Clemson answered all the doubters last week with their two touchdown victory over Auburn, after being down by two touchdowns themselves earlier in the game. Tajh Boyd had nearly 400 yards passing and 4 touchdowns to end the defending National Champions 17 game winning streak. The one sour note for Clemson in that game was their lackluster defense.
As for Florida State, the team doctor should be able to afford a yacht considering all the injuries that team is dealing with. Most importantly, E.J. Manuel has a sprained non-throwing shoulder, which could keep him out or limit his effectiveness in the game on Saturday. The Seminoles also have injury issues at wide receiver and running back.
FSU can exploit the Clemson defense, but they need to stay mistake free and keep the ball out of Boyd’s hands. FSU also needs to keep play-making wide receiver Sammy Watkins under wraps, after he dominated against Auburn’s secondary. FSU hasn’t won in Death Valley since 2001. I think that is a streak Clemson will help continue this week, but it’ll be a close game.
4) No. 2 LSU at No. 16 West Virginia – 8:00 PM on ABC
Of the many realignment rumors over the past week, one that sticks out is West Virginia’s possible move to the SEC if the Big East falls apart. This game could be a preview of future SEC conference battles if that comes to pass.
To start off, I think I owe an apology to Jarrett Lee. I once compared his play to eating rancid meat. He’s actually not half bad. He reminds of Trent Dilfer during the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl year. He won’t win games for you, but he won’t lose them for you either.
The key to victory for LSU is their defense. They are one of the best defensive teams in the country and proved that in Week 1 against Oregon. They are going to have an equally tough challenge against West Virginia.
West Virginia really doesn’t have a running game to speak of. The basis offensive strategy for the Mountaineers is to give the ball to Geno Smith and tell him to throw it. Giving WVU credit, it’s worked for them, as they are 6th in the country in passing yards per game. Unfortunately for WVU, a one dimensional offense will not work against LSU.
I see the LSU defense causing West Virginia fits and Jarrett Lee using great field position to score offensive points. Expect LSU to win this by at least a touchdown.
5) Vanderbilt at No. 12 South Carolina – 7:00 PM on ESPN2
I’ve been doing the Touchdown for close to 6 years now and I think this is the first time Vanderbilt has ever made it. Congratulations Commodores.
Vanderbilt has flown under the radar starting out 3-0, beating quality opponents like UConn and Ole Miss. The defense for Vandy is going to be the key. They create loads of turnovers and the offense has the ability to capitalize. Expect Vandy to run the ball a lot on offense, as quarterback Larry Smith isn’t exactly wowing people with his abilities.
Speaking of inconsistent quarterbacks, I’m convinced the Stephen Garcia has two settings: Heisman and Spaz. Garcia was in “spaz” mode against Navy last week so the offense turned to Marcus Lattimore to run the ball (246 yards rushing on 37 carries). Expect more of the same from Lattimore this week, considering Vandy leads the FBS in interceptions.
South Carolina seems to want to play every game with a degree of difficulty. Every game this year has been closer than it should have been. It’ll come back to bite them at some point. I think South Carolina wins it, but it’ll be closer than anyone expects.
6) No. 10 Oregon at Arizona – 10:15 PM on ESPN2
Last year I had a man-crush on Jake Locker, this year it’s Nick Foles. Expect lots of passing, lots of offense, and an Arizona loss. With all that said, it should be a fun game.
Extra Point:
Earlier this week, I had written, in my mind, a nice article on the facts and speculation of college football realignment. Not 24 hours later, the Pac 12 said “no thanks” to Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State, thereby blowing up my article.
The reason is the odious Longhorn Network. If you are not accustomed to the Longhorn Network, picture the Big Ten Network, if it only focused on Ohio State. Basically, when Texas and ESPN developed the idea, it was a big middle finger to the rest of the Big 12.
The main reason Nebraska bolted to the Big Ten was that it was tired of being treated like a second class citizen. Once Nebraska left, I figured that the other dominos would fall. While a team like Baylor may not have the cache to find another top flight conference, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M could surely find a new place.
The Aggies were the first out of the shoot with an invite to join the SEC. This, along with the previous defections of Nebraska and Colorado, brought the Big 12 down to nine teams and on the precipice of implosion. This was why Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas Tech all decided to talk to the Pac 12 about a super-conference.
The major stumbling block and eventual deal-killer was the Longhorn Network. Yet again, the monument to Texas self-absorption proved too much for some to handle. The reasoning from the Pac 12 was sound. They didn’t want two separate revenue models, one for Texas and a different one for the remaining fifteen teams.
So, here’s the deal. If you live in Big 12 Country and you love the conference and are scared that it will self-destruct with teams joining other conferences and natural rivalries being lost, you get a convenient scapegoat. Don’t blame Nebraska, Colorado, or Texas A&M. Blame the University of Texas and the Longhorn Network. Instead of “hook’em horns”, flash them a whole new hand gesture.
1) No. 14 Arkansas at No. 3 Alabama – 3:30 PM on CBS
How can you not get excited about a SEC West showdown? One reason not to is the fact that it’s on CBS and I have to deal with Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson. How about ESPN loan out Nessler and Blackledge for this and we all walk away happy?
This is really a tale of two different offenses. The Tide are going to do all they can to limit the weakness of A.J. McCarron. While he has talent, he’s not ready to carry this offense. The Tide are going to depend on Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy to run the ball to soften up the Arkansas defense.
That shouldn’t be too hard, considering Arkansas has a poor rush defense. The Razorbacks gave up over 450 yards of rushing to Troy. While defense may not be the strong suit of Arkansas, they do have a dynamic offense.
The Razorbacks have one of the best passing offenses in the country, led by Tyler Wilson. Wilson’s issue is accuracy, which is not a problem you want against the tough Alabama defense. While they have a competent running back in Ronnie Wingo, expect Arkansas to throw early and often.
Arkansas will want to make this into a shootout, which will favor them. Alabama will want to slow it down and grind it out, which will favor them. As much as I like Arkansas, I think Alabama has this one, but expect it to stay close. Roll Tide!
2) No. 7 Oklahoma State at No. 8 Texas A&M – 3:30 PM on ABC
We have a top tier Big 12 matchup just days after Texas greed scuttled a plan to blow up the Big 12. Oklahoma State was all ready to jump to the Pac 12 and A&M is already off to the SEC, but for now we have to deal with the facts of this game.
Offensively, it’s tough to find a better team than Oklahoma State. They are in the top 10 in a handful of offensive categories. They kind of remind me of that Graham Harrell/Michael Crabtree Texas Tech team from a few years ago. However, appearances can be deceiving.
Brandon Weeden, while having a completion percentage over 70 percent, has an interception problem. Since the Cowboys are a pass happy team, it doesn’t bode well for them. While the offensive line is competent, they’ll have issues stopping the rush of Texas A&M.
Ryan Tannehill, on the other hand, has the ability to keep the ball out of the defenses hands. Tannehill also has the added benefit of having Cyrus Gray in the backfield, who is almost a guarantee to get over 100 yards rushing. The Aggies shouldn’t have much issue moving the ball against a lackluster Cowboy defense.
Much like the Razorbacks, Oklahoma State forgoes defense and wins games by just outscoring their opponents. While working against lesser teams, they will have issues against teams that have a solid defense, like Texas A&M. Expect it to stay close throughout, but the Aggies prevail in the end.
3) No. 11 Florida State at No. 21 Clemson – 3:30 PM on ESPN
Clemson has a massive win over Auburn, but that was just the first of the three games in a row that will push the Tigers to their limits. FSU is facing problems of their own on the injury front after their loss last week to top ranked Oklahoma.
Clemson answered all the doubters last week with their two touchdown victory over Auburn, after being down by two touchdowns themselves earlier in the game. Tajh Boyd had nearly 400 yards passing and 4 touchdowns to end the defending National Champions 17 game winning streak. The one sour note for Clemson in that game was their lackluster defense.
As for Florida State, the team doctor should be able to afford a yacht considering all the injuries that team is dealing with. Most importantly, E.J. Manuel has a sprained non-throwing shoulder, which could keep him out or limit his effectiveness in the game on Saturday. The Seminoles also have injury issues at wide receiver and running back.
FSU can exploit the Clemson defense, but they need to stay mistake free and keep the ball out of Boyd’s hands. FSU also needs to keep play-making wide receiver Sammy Watkins under wraps, after he dominated against Auburn’s secondary. FSU hasn’t won in Death Valley since 2001. I think that is a streak Clemson will help continue this week, but it’ll be a close game.
4) No. 2 LSU at No. 16 West Virginia – 8:00 PM on ABC
Of the many realignment rumors over the past week, one that sticks out is West Virginia’s possible move to the SEC if the Big East falls apart. This game could be a preview of future SEC conference battles if that comes to pass.
To start off, I think I owe an apology to Jarrett Lee. I once compared his play to eating rancid meat. He’s actually not half bad. He reminds of Trent Dilfer during the Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl year. He won’t win games for you, but he won’t lose them for you either.
The key to victory for LSU is their defense. They are one of the best defensive teams in the country and proved that in Week 1 against Oregon. They are going to have an equally tough challenge against West Virginia.
West Virginia really doesn’t have a running game to speak of. The basis offensive strategy for the Mountaineers is to give the ball to Geno Smith and tell him to throw it. Giving WVU credit, it’s worked for them, as they are 6th in the country in passing yards per game. Unfortunately for WVU, a one dimensional offense will not work against LSU.
I see the LSU defense causing West Virginia fits and Jarrett Lee using great field position to score offensive points. Expect LSU to win this by at least a touchdown.
5) Vanderbilt at No. 12 South Carolina – 7:00 PM on ESPN2
I’ve been doing the Touchdown for close to 6 years now and I think this is the first time Vanderbilt has ever made it. Congratulations Commodores.
Vanderbilt has flown under the radar starting out 3-0, beating quality opponents like UConn and Ole Miss. The defense for Vandy is going to be the key. They create loads of turnovers and the offense has the ability to capitalize. Expect Vandy to run the ball a lot on offense, as quarterback Larry Smith isn’t exactly wowing people with his abilities.
Speaking of inconsistent quarterbacks, I’m convinced the Stephen Garcia has two settings: Heisman and Spaz. Garcia was in “spaz” mode against Navy last week so the offense turned to Marcus Lattimore to run the ball (246 yards rushing on 37 carries). Expect more of the same from Lattimore this week, considering Vandy leads the FBS in interceptions.
South Carolina seems to want to play every game with a degree of difficulty. Every game this year has been closer than it should have been. It’ll come back to bite them at some point. I think South Carolina wins it, but it’ll be closer than anyone expects.
6) No. 10 Oregon at Arizona – 10:15 PM on ESPN2
Last year I had a man-crush on Jake Locker, this year it’s Nick Foles. Expect lots of passing, lots of offense, and an Arizona loss. With all that said, it should be a fun game.
Extra Point:
Earlier this week, I had written, in my mind, a nice article on the facts and speculation of college football realignment. Not 24 hours later, the Pac 12 said “no thanks” to Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State, thereby blowing up my article.
The reason is the odious Longhorn Network. If you are not accustomed to the Longhorn Network, picture the Big Ten Network, if it only focused on Ohio State. Basically, when Texas and ESPN developed the idea, it was a big middle finger to the rest of the Big 12.
The main reason Nebraska bolted to the Big Ten was that it was tired of being treated like a second class citizen. Once Nebraska left, I figured that the other dominos would fall. While a team like Baylor may not have the cache to find another top flight conference, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M could surely find a new place.
The Aggies were the first out of the shoot with an invite to join the SEC. This, along with the previous defections of Nebraska and Colorado, brought the Big 12 down to nine teams and on the precipice of implosion. This was why Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas Tech all decided to talk to the Pac 12 about a super-conference.
The major stumbling block and eventual deal-killer was the Longhorn Network. Yet again, the monument to Texas self-absorption proved too much for some to handle. The reasoning from the Pac 12 was sound. They didn’t want two separate revenue models, one for Texas and a different one for the remaining fifteen teams.
So, here’s the deal. If you live in Big 12 Country and you love the conference and are scared that it will self-destruct with teams joining other conferences and natural rivalries being lost, you get a convenient scapegoat. Don’t blame Nebraska, Colorado, or Texas A&M. Blame the University of Texas and the Longhorn Network. Instead of “hook’em horns”, flash them a whole new hand gesture.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
College Football Realignment: 2011 Edition
If you thought the first round of realignment in college football was crazy, the second round is chaotic. It is hard to separate fact from speculation and the good from the bad. So, we’re going to dive right in and take a look at this by conference and see who comes out on top and who is left in the dust.
ACC:
Fact:
The ACC will gain both Pittsburgh and Syracuse. The timing depends on other factors involving the Big East, Big 12, and Pac 12 to be discussed later. The longest it would take would be 27 months, due to Big East Conference bylaws.
Speculation:
UConn and Rutgers are both in talks to join the ACC. It is looking increasingly likely that this will happen. Another wrinkle is the fact that Notre Dame, if feeling they couldn’t make it as an independent, they would first look to the ACC before the Big Ten.
End Result:
So far, it’s a win for the ACC. The conference looked on the brink of collapse at the beginning of the season, with Miami facing the death penalty and talks of Clemson moving to the SEC. Now, the ACC is looking like it’ll have a presence all up and down the Eastern seaboard.
If they can pull in UConn and Rutgers, they’ll be the first super-conference. I can’t be the only one excited about the possibility of a super-conference. Sixteen teams battling for a conference crown. This is good stuff.
SEC:
Fact:
The SEC is adding its 13th member with Texas A&M. Additional candidates will pop up once everything shakes out.
Speculation:
Two top teams on the SEC radar are West Virginia and Missouri. If the Big East and Big 12 merger or implode, look for WVU to definitely make the move. It would be a smart pick-up for the SEC. Missouri would be a good addition to the SEC West.
End Result:
Solid results for the SEC so far. Texas A&M is a good pick-up and WVU and Missouri would definitely help solidify the conference as the best in the country. The SEC, like the ACC, will pick who they want and are in the driver’s seat as to who they’ll accept. It’s a good position to be in these trying times.
Big East:
Fact:
The conference is losing Pittsburgh and Syracuse. However, they will be gaining TCU before the next football season.
Speculation:
Doom! The Big East is on the brink of losing UConn and Rutgers. If they go forward with the Big 12 merger, they will most likely lose West Virginia. Of course, this will free up both Pitt and Syracuse to move under the 27 month window.
End Result:
I do not see the Big East surviving. Of course, this is a good thing for college football. The quality of football in that conference was sub-par at best. Although, if the Big 12/Big East merger goes through, I don’t see the quality really picking up.
The one team you feel sorry for is TCU. They wanted a nice easy conference to dominate and get an automatic BCS bid. Now, they’re like the youngest child watching the bitter divorce of their parents. They’re not quite sure what’s going on, but they know they’ll get screwed in the end.
Big 12:
Fact:
Texas A&M has left for the SEC. Texas and Oklahoma have given their Presidents permission to talk to the Pac 12 about joining, which is a move that will bring Texas Tech and Oklahoma State with them.
Speculation:
If the move of the four schools to the Pac 12 goes though, there are a number of things that could happen. There is the possibility of the aforementioned merger with the Big East, in which Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, and Missouri would absorb all the remaining Big East teams.
The Big 12 could just cease to exist, leaving the above mentioned teams to find their own conferences. Scuttlebutt on Saturday was the Baylor and Iowa State were in talks with the Big East and Missouri is known to fancy the SEC.
End Result:
Not good. While Texas greed is the reason for the end of the Big 12 as we used to know it, it’s almost sad to see the once mighty conference left to scramble for scraps. The best the Big 12 could hope for would be the merger deal, while keeping West Virginia and Missouri. However, I predict that WVU becomes the 14th member of the SEC, while Missouri tries to get into either the SEC or Big Ten.
Pac 12:
Fact:
No moves as of yet. However, the speculation is enough to set the world on fire.
Speculation:
Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech are in talks to move to the Pac 12, making it a super-conference. Texas, as always, still has the ability to scuttle any deal. However, this looks like it might happen.
End Result:
A Pac 16? It’s a no-brainer. If they pull this off, the Pac 16 is the big winner in the realignment shuffle. Oklahoma and Texas are massive prizes and will mean good things for the new conference. The main hurdle is how to make the new conference work. My guess would be that they will make the announcement and the ACC will follow suit.
Also, everyone needs to find a way around the particularly loathsome Longhorn Network, which will have issues considering the Pac 12 already has a conference network. The Pac 12 has the edge here, since they don’t need Texas. However, with the defection of Texas A&M and the fact Missouri wants out, Texas is going to need to do something fast.
End Conclusion:
There are people who are going to support realignment and those against it. It’s like a Presidential Election, there is always going to be a group of people upset by it. However, I see this as a natural evolution of college football.
The problem all started when Texas wanted their own network and the Big 12 decided to let them have it. Nebraska didn’t like it and bolted to the Big Ten. It all started a domino effect. The thing is that as college football becomes big business, schools are going to do what is in their financial best interest (or what they think will be in their financial best interest).
Nebraska was tired of being the red-headed stepchild of the Big 12 and wanted more of the pie. This year, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M, and Syracuse all found greener pastures in different conferences. The landscape of college football is changing daily and teams are scrambling to find solid ground.
There are even more possible moves that I didn’t mention above. One interesting possibility is the merger between the Mountain West and Conference USA, which would give the newly formed conference an automatic BCS bid. With the Big East on the verge of losing their automatic bid, this could be huge.
According to a recent poll done by Baylor, 76 percent of college fans would be disappointed with super-conferences. Of course, the poll was done in Big 12 states, so I don’t know how much stock can be put into it. The problem is that this is going to happen. If you could find me one person in the 76 percent who is going to boycott college football because of this, I’ll eat this article. Just make sure you pass me some ketchup.
ACC:
Fact:
The ACC will gain both Pittsburgh and Syracuse. The timing depends on other factors involving the Big East, Big 12, and Pac 12 to be discussed later. The longest it would take would be 27 months, due to Big East Conference bylaws.
Speculation:
UConn and Rutgers are both in talks to join the ACC. It is looking increasingly likely that this will happen. Another wrinkle is the fact that Notre Dame, if feeling they couldn’t make it as an independent, they would first look to the ACC before the Big Ten.
End Result:
So far, it’s a win for the ACC. The conference looked on the brink of collapse at the beginning of the season, with Miami facing the death penalty and talks of Clemson moving to the SEC. Now, the ACC is looking like it’ll have a presence all up and down the Eastern seaboard.
If they can pull in UConn and Rutgers, they’ll be the first super-conference. I can’t be the only one excited about the possibility of a super-conference. Sixteen teams battling for a conference crown. This is good stuff.
SEC:
Fact:
The SEC is adding its 13th member with Texas A&M. Additional candidates will pop up once everything shakes out.
Speculation:
Two top teams on the SEC radar are West Virginia and Missouri. If the Big East and Big 12 merger or implode, look for WVU to definitely make the move. It would be a smart pick-up for the SEC. Missouri would be a good addition to the SEC West.
End Result:
Solid results for the SEC so far. Texas A&M is a good pick-up and WVU and Missouri would definitely help solidify the conference as the best in the country. The SEC, like the ACC, will pick who they want and are in the driver’s seat as to who they’ll accept. It’s a good position to be in these trying times.
Big East:
Fact:
The conference is losing Pittsburgh and Syracuse. However, they will be gaining TCU before the next football season.
Speculation:
Doom! The Big East is on the brink of losing UConn and Rutgers. If they go forward with the Big 12 merger, they will most likely lose West Virginia. Of course, this will free up both Pitt and Syracuse to move under the 27 month window.
End Result:
I do not see the Big East surviving. Of course, this is a good thing for college football. The quality of football in that conference was sub-par at best. Although, if the Big 12/Big East merger goes through, I don’t see the quality really picking up.
The one team you feel sorry for is TCU. They wanted a nice easy conference to dominate and get an automatic BCS bid. Now, they’re like the youngest child watching the bitter divorce of their parents. They’re not quite sure what’s going on, but they know they’ll get screwed in the end.
Big 12:
Fact:
Texas A&M has left for the SEC. Texas and Oklahoma have given their Presidents permission to talk to the Pac 12 about joining, which is a move that will bring Texas Tech and Oklahoma State with them.
Speculation:
If the move of the four schools to the Pac 12 goes though, there are a number of things that could happen. There is the possibility of the aforementioned merger with the Big East, in which Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, and Missouri would absorb all the remaining Big East teams.
The Big 12 could just cease to exist, leaving the above mentioned teams to find their own conferences. Scuttlebutt on Saturday was the Baylor and Iowa State were in talks with the Big East and Missouri is known to fancy the SEC.
End Result:
Not good. While Texas greed is the reason for the end of the Big 12 as we used to know it, it’s almost sad to see the once mighty conference left to scramble for scraps. The best the Big 12 could hope for would be the merger deal, while keeping West Virginia and Missouri. However, I predict that WVU becomes the 14th member of the SEC, while Missouri tries to get into either the SEC or Big Ten.
Pac 12:
Fact:
No moves as of yet. However, the speculation is enough to set the world on fire.
Speculation:
Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech are in talks to move to the Pac 12, making it a super-conference. Texas, as always, still has the ability to scuttle any deal. However, this looks like it might happen.
End Result:
A Pac 16? It’s a no-brainer. If they pull this off, the Pac 16 is the big winner in the realignment shuffle. Oklahoma and Texas are massive prizes and will mean good things for the new conference. The main hurdle is how to make the new conference work. My guess would be that they will make the announcement and the ACC will follow suit.
Also, everyone needs to find a way around the particularly loathsome Longhorn Network, which will have issues considering the Pac 12 already has a conference network. The Pac 12 has the edge here, since they don’t need Texas. However, with the defection of Texas A&M and the fact Missouri wants out, Texas is going to need to do something fast.
End Conclusion:
There are people who are going to support realignment and those against it. It’s like a Presidential Election, there is always going to be a group of people upset by it. However, I see this as a natural evolution of college football.
The problem all started when Texas wanted their own network and the Big 12 decided to let them have it. Nebraska didn’t like it and bolted to the Big Ten. It all started a domino effect. The thing is that as college football becomes big business, schools are going to do what is in their financial best interest (or what they think will be in their financial best interest).
Nebraska was tired of being the red-headed stepchild of the Big 12 and wanted more of the pie. This year, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M, and Syracuse all found greener pastures in different conferences. The landscape of college football is changing daily and teams are scrambling to find solid ground.
There are even more possible moves that I didn’t mention above. One interesting possibility is the merger between the Mountain West and Conference USA, which would give the newly formed conference an automatic BCS bid. With the Big East on the verge of losing their automatic bid, this could be huge.
According to a recent poll done by Baylor, 76 percent of college fans would be disappointed with super-conferences. Of course, the poll was done in Big 12 states, so I don’t know how much stock can be put into it. The problem is that this is going to happen. If you could find me one person in the 76 percent who is going to boycott college football because of this, I’ll eat this article. Just make sure you pass me some ketchup.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Trent's Touchdown: Six Week 3 College Football Games to Watch
Welcome to Week 3 of the college football season. I think ESPN is calling this “Road Test Weekend”. While an apt title, I wonder who comes up with this stuff. If any games this week are as thrilling as the Notre Dame/Michigan game last week, we’re in for a treat. Anyway, on to the Touchdown:
1) No. 1 Oklahoma at No. 5 Florida State – 8:00 PM on ABC
This game is a must-win for both of these teams if they want to play in the National Championship Game. Oklahoma no longer has a conference championship game to show off in and FSU belongs to an overall weak conference, so this is it.
Both teams have been impressive to start the season, but that’s inconsequential as the opponents have all been easy. So, here’s what we know. Oklahoma can light it up offensively. I may not like Landry Jones, but does have the ability to spread the ball around and make plays (when he’s not throwing interceptions).
The Oklahoma defense will have their hands full with E.J. Manuel. While I don’t trust Manuel, he has the ability to fire up his team and take off running if needed. He can be a little erratic when throwing the ball but he’ll most likely be targeting Rodney Smith at wide-out. FSU will definitely have problems running the ball against the tough Oklahoma defense.
Oklahoma probably has the most well-balanced offense in the country and has a good enough defense to contain most of the teams they’ll face this year. The Sooners need to come out fast, take the crowd out of it, and give Landry Jones enough of a cushion so he doesn’t feel pressured to have to perform (like last year’s game against Missouri).
Oklahoma wins this one by two touchdowns, but FSU keeps it interesting through half-time.
2) No. 15 Michigan State at Notre Dame – 3:30 PM on NBC
This game last year put everyone on notice that Michigan State was for real. This could be just the statement game they need to get everyone’s attention this year again.
With all the conference realignment talk in the Big Ten, Wisconsin being the team to beat, and Ohio State’s drama, Michigan State has flown under the radar. Proof positive of that statement is the fact that 0-2 Notre Dame is actually favored to win this game.
In my mind, Kirk Cousins is probably the best quarterback in the Big Ten. He throws quality balls and doesn’t make dumb mistakes. He should have no issues throwing on the Notre Dame defense, as they need to stay cognizant of the MSU rushing attack, which can eat a defense up if they aren’t prepared.
Things aren’t looking good for Notre Dame, especially after that last second loss to Michigan last week. The worst part about that is the fact that Notre Dame had the ability to put that game away early and let the opportunity slip through their fingers.
The decision by Brian Kelly to start Tommy Rees is actually starting to look like a good decision. While he did have two picks, he was effective moving the ball through the air. MSU is going to need to blanket Michael Floyd, as Rees always goes to Floyd when he’s in trouble. The Irish need to use Cierre Wood and a running game to ensure that MSU doesn’t focus solely on the pass.
All signs point to this being a close game. Notre Dame has the ability to keep every game close before finding a way to lose. Michigan State pulls this one out in the last two minutes of the game, leaving Irish fans miserable, despondent, and clinging to the argument that Rees is better than Crist.
3) No. 6 Stanford at Arizona – 10:45 PM on ESPN
Finally, I can stop talking about the running game because this game features Nick Foles and Andrew Luck, the two best quarterbacks in the Pac-12. Okay, I will bring up the running game, but it won’t be complimentary.
If you don’t know who Andrew Luck is, just stop reading right now, because college football is not for you. Even though Stanford has had no real competition, they have done what good teams do against inferior opponents and give us a few minutes of Sportscenter highlights out of the deal. Stanford has also been able to use its running game to make defenses stay honest. Stepfan Taylor isn’t going to light the world on fire, but he can give you 50 to 75 yards a game.
Arizona, on the other hand, has no running game. I think I can gain more rushing yards than Keola Antolin and Ka’Deem Carey combined. The Arizona offense is all on the shoulders of Nick Foles. Foles has a completion percentage above 75% and nearly double the passing yards of Luck.
However, with such a one sided offensive attack, it’s easy for defenses to key on Foles and not have to worry about any other threats. Expect the Stanford defense to do just that. Arizona will have a much tougher time on defense as the Stanford offense is a more balanced attack.
If you’re a fan of aerial displays, this is the game for you. If Arizona goes down early, they’ll give up all pretense of running and let Foles throw it until his arm falls off. Stanford wins this game, but it’ll be closer if Arizona finally learns how to run the ball.
4) No. 21 Auburn at Clemson – 12:00 PM on ABC
This is a rematch of last year’s game which pretty much told the world that Cam Newton was for real. Thankfully, for Clemson fans, Newton is in the NFL and don’t have to worry about him anymore. Of course, neither do Auburn fans, but that’s another point entirely.
The defending National Champions are getting no respect this year, mostly for good reason. This year should be a window into what would have happened to Auburn last year if Newton wasn’t around. Their offensive running game is suspect, which is kind of sad when you have Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb in the backfield. If that wasn’t enough, the defense is pretty bad and that’s not a description you want when you’re in the SEC West.
Clemson has been offensively sound, with Andre Ellington running the ball for big yards. However, they let bad teams stick around for far too long in games. This is going to come back to big them if they don’t take advantage of the opportunities they have. The Clemson defense isn’t too great either and gave up huge rushing numbers to Wofford.
Like last year, this game will be close. However, unlike last year, Clemson will be able to pull it out in the end.
5) No. 23 Texas at UCLA – 3:30 PM on ABC
For all you Texas fans out there, last year, this game marked the beginning of the end. We’ll see if this year will bring about different results.
The most intriguing part of this game is the whole quarterback situation for both teams. Let’s start with Texas since I’m giddy that we have another McCoy at Texas. That’s right; Case McCoy came off the bench to save Texas’ bacon against BYU last week. He rallied the team around him and he led them to victory. Don’t expect to see Garrett Gilbert anytime soon.
As for UCLA, Kevin Prince left last week’s game with a minor concussion, but he is cleared to play. It’s just a question of whether he’ll start, as Richard Brehaut did pretty well in relief. Even with the UCLA quarterback situation in flux, you can count on Derrick Coleman to put up some good rushing yards to help out.
I learned a long time ago to never bet against a Texas team led by a kid named McCoy. If only for that reason, I’m thinking Texas wins it. It’ll be close though, considering Texas is getting used to a competent quarterback.
6) No. 17 Ohio State at Miami – 7:30 PM on ESPN
This game is fun just because you can come up with so many jokes for it. How about the Convict Bowl? Can we just use this game as a scared straight video for kids about to start playing in college? Is this game sponsored by the NCAA Investigations Department? Come on, think up your own, it’s fun.
Extra Point:
If you’ve paid attention to college football this week, you know that the NCAA smacked down Boise State for rules violations. They will lose nine scholarships over a three year span and the athletic department will be on three year’s probation. In addition, the NCAA also reduced the number of spring and preseason practices BSU can hold.
Before the NCAA handed down the penalties, Boise State did what all good college programs should do. They created self-imposed sanctions. While the school did reduce the number of scholarships and practices, the NCAA felt this wasn’t enough.
Head coach Chris Petersen said he was “surprised by the findings”. Actually, anyone who has followed college football for the last year shouldn’t be surprised. The NCAA has a bit of a black eye over the last year, with a vacated National Championship, a vacated Heisman Trophy, and a vacated ACC Championship. Let’s not forget the Ohio State and Miami scandals.
The NCAA needed to drop the hammer. While in the past the self-imposed sanctions would have been enough to let the NCAA walk away from this, the current climate in college football today necessitates that the NCAA call down the thunder on the slightest indiscretion. Know this, if your favorite team is the target of a NCAA probe, prepare for the worst.
1) No. 1 Oklahoma at No. 5 Florida State – 8:00 PM on ABC
This game is a must-win for both of these teams if they want to play in the National Championship Game. Oklahoma no longer has a conference championship game to show off in and FSU belongs to an overall weak conference, so this is it.
Both teams have been impressive to start the season, but that’s inconsequential as the opponents have all been easy. So, here’s what we know. Oklahoma can light it up offensively. I may not like Landry Jones, but does have the ability to spread the ball around and make plays (when he’s not throwing interceptions).
The Oklahoma defense will have their hands full with E.J. Manuel. While I don’t trust Manuel, he has the ability to fire up his team and take off running if needed. He can be a little erratic when throwing the ball but he’ll most likely be targeting Rodney Smith at wide-out. FSU will definitely have problems running the ball against the tough Oklahoma defense.
Oklahoma probably has the most well-balanced offense in the country and has a good enough defense to contain most of the teams they’ll face this year. The Sooners need to come out fast, take the crowd out of it, and give Landry Jones enough of a cushion so he doesn’t feel pressured to have to perform (like last year’s game against Missouri).
Oklahoma wins this one by two touchdowns, but FSU keeps it interesting through half-time.
2) No. 15 Michigan State at Notre Dame – 3:30 PM on NBC
This game last year put everyone on notice that Michigan State was for real. This could be just the statement game they need to get everyone’s attention this year again.
With all the conference realignment talk in the Big Ten, Wisconsin being the team to beat, and Ohio State’s drama, Michigan State has flown under the radar. Proof positive of that statement is the fact that 0-2 Notre Dame is actually favored to win this game.
In my mind, Kirk Cousins is probably the best quarterback in the Big Ten. He throws quality balls and doesn’t make dumb mistakes. He should have no issues throwing on the Notre Dame defense, as they need to stay cognizant of the MSU rushing attack, which can eat a defense up if they aren’t prepared.
Things aren’t looking good for Notre Dame, especially after that last second loss to Michigan last week. The worst part about that is the fact that Notre Dame had the ability to put that game away early and let the opportunity slip through their fingers.
The decision by Brian Kelly to start Tommy Rees is actually starting to look like a good decision. While he did have two picks, he was effective moving the ball through the air. MSU is going to need to blanket Michael Floyd, as Rees always goes to Floyd when he’s in trouble. The Irish need to use Cierre Wood and a running game to ensure that MSU doesn’t focus solely on the pass.
All signs point to this being a close game. Notre Dame has the ability to keep every game close before finding a way to lose. Michigan State pulls this one out in the last two minutes of the game, leaving Irish fans miserable, despondent, and clinging to the argument that Rees is better than Crist.
3) No. 6 Stanford at Arizona – 10:45 PM on ESPN
Finally, I can stop talking about the running game because this game features Nick Foles and Andrew Luck, the two best quarterbacks in the Pac-12. Okay, I will bring up the running game, but it won’t be complimentary.
If you don’t know who Andrew Luck is, just stop reading right now, because college football is not for you. Even though Stanford has had no real competition, they have done what good teams do against inferior opponents and give us a few minutes of Sportscenter highlights out of the deal. Stanford has also been able to use its running game to make defenses stay honest. Stepfan Taylor isn’t going to light the world on fire, but he can give you 50 to 75 yards a game.
Arizona, on the other hand, has no running game. I think I can gain more rushing yards than Keola Antolin and Ka’Deem Carey combined. The Arizona offense is all on the shoulders of Nick Foles. Foles has a completion percentage above 75% and nearly double the passing yards of Luck.
However, with such a one sided offensive attack, it’s easy for defenses to key on Foles and not have to worry about any other threats. Expect the Stanford defense to do just that. Arizona will have a much tougher time on defense as the Stanford offense is a more balanced attack.
If you’re a fan of aerial displays, this is the game for you. If Arizona goes down early, they’ll give up all pretense of running and let Foles throw it until his arm falls off. Stanford wins this game, but it’ll be closer if Arizona finally learns how to run the ball.
4) No. 21 Auburn at Clemson – 12:00 PM on ABC
This is a rematch of last year’s game which pretty much told the world that Cam Newton was for real. Thankfully, for Clemson fans, Newton is in the NFL and don’t have to worry about him anymore. Of course, neither do Auburn fans, but that’s another point entirely.
The defending National Champions are getting no respect this year, mostly for good reason. This year should be a window into what would have happened to Auburn last year if Newton wasn’t around. Their offensive running game is suspect, which is kind of sad when you have Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb in the backfield. If that wasn’t enough, the defense is pretty bad and that’s not a description you want when you’re in the SEC West.
Clemson has been offensively sound, with Andre Ellington running the ball for big yards. However, they let bad teams stick around for far too long in games. This is going to come back to big them if they don’t take advantage of the opportunities they have. The Clemson defense isn’t too great either and gave up huge rushing numbers to Wofford.
Like last year, this game will be close. However, unlike last year, Clemson will be able to pull it out in the end.
5) No. 23 Texas at UCLA – 3:30 PM on ABC
For all you Texas fans out there, last year, this game marked the beginning of the end. We’ll see if this year will bring about different results.
The most intriguing part of this game is the whole quarterback situation for both teams. Let’s start with Texas since I’m giddy that we have another McCoy at Texas. That’s right; Case McCoy came off the bench to save Texas’ bacon against BYU last week. He rallied the team around him and he led them to victory. Don’t expect to see Garrett Gilbert anytime soon.
As for UCLA, Kevin Prince left last week’s game with a minor concussion, but he is cleared to play. It’s just a question of whether he’ll start, as Richard Brehaut did pretty well in relief. Even with the UCLA quarterback situation in flux, you can count on Derrick Coleman to put up some good rushing yards to help out.
I learned a long time ago to never bet against a Texas team led by a kid named McCoy. If only for that reason, I’m thinking Texas wins it. It’ll be close though, considering Texas is getting used to a competent quarterback.
6) No. 17 Ohio State at Miami – 7:30 PM on ESPN
This game is fun just because you can come up with so many jokes for it. How about the Convict Bowl? Can we just use this game as a scared straight video for kids about to start playing in college? Is this game sponsored by the NCAA Investigations Department? Come on, think up your own, it’s fun.
Extra Point:
If you’ve paid attention to college football this week, you know that the NCAA smacked down Boise State for rules violations. They will lose nine scholarships over a three year span and the athletic department will be on three year’s probation. In addition, the NCAA also reduced the number of spring and preseason practices BSU can hold.
Before the NCAA handed down the penalties, Boise State did what all good college programs should do. They created self-imposed sanctions. While the school did reduce the number of scholarships and practices, the NCAA felt this wasn’t enough.
Head coach Chris Petersen said he was “surprised by the findings”. Actually, anyone who has followed college football for the last year shouldn’t be surprised. The NCAA has a bit of a black eye over the last year, with a vacated National Championship, a vacated Heisman Trophy, and a vacated ACC Championship. Let’s not forget the Ohio State and Miami scandals.
The NCAA needed to drop the hammer. While in the past the self-imposed sanctions would have been enough to let the NCAA walk away from this, the current climate in college football today necessitates that the NCAA call down the thunder on the slightest indiscretion. Know this, if your favorite team is the target of a NCAA probe, prepare for the worst.
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