Weekend Observations
Two weeks into the college football season and we've seen the #3 and #5 teams taken down. And in both instances the losing teams were overwhelming favorites. A sign of things to come? Just may be. I'll dig into everything below, but the one common theme that has stood out to me these first two weeks of the season is, other than Florida, there doesn't seem to be any other truly dominant looking team. Sure, USC nutted out a big win on the road and Texas finally showed up in the last minute of the first half and rolled from there, but you can't tell me that even those guys look truly dominant. This is going to sound "homer" of me, but I think out of 'Bama, Florida, USC, Texas and Penn State, the Horns or Nittany Lions have the best chances to go undefeated and that's because they play such an easier schedule than those other guys. Let's take a closer look.
Texas' Tale of Two Halves:
Even though I expected this (and called it here), it was frustrating to see the ultra-conservative play calling that we saw in the first half. One series in particular that still kills me is when Texas started the drive on their own 2 and ended up only gaining 3 or 4 yards before having to punt from well inside their 10 yard line. They then proceed to run what has to be one of the top 3 lamest fake punt attempts ever....and if the punter had actually lowered his head and thrust forward he would have picked it up. Piss-poor first half to say the least. And that INT that Colt threw - that's 2 consecutive weeks of just God-awful picks. He ended up with some fantastic numbers, but lucky for him, most of the talking heads were likely glued to ND/Michigan.
They of course did a complete 180 in the second half and turned it on which is great, but they've got some things to work on heading into next week's match with Tech. Don't get me wrong, Tech has little to no chance next week, but the Horns do need to pick it up. The difference in level of competition will be much, MUCH greater for Tech than it will be for Texas next week and I honestly think Tech is going to fall apart somewhere near the early part of the third quarter.
I liked what Newton showed in the running back position and I *really* liked the play of the receivers - especially Kirkendoll. And Shipley was Shipley again - a very quiet 121 all-purpose yards. Like I said, great second half, horrible first half.
Sleep Well Rich Rod:
I don't want to say I told you so, but.....I told you so. I was switching back and forth on this, but what a hell of a game this was. I do love that Weiss lost this game with all the manufactured hype around the Irish this year, but you can't say they didn't play a good game. They were able to come from behind to take the lead twice and I don't care who you are or who you're playing against, that's impressive.
I think it's fair to say that Rodriguez is making good progress on implementing his offense. And finding the QB will only help to solidify things. Although they didn't have any standout performances (stat wise) at receiver, they had A LOT of contributors. Meanwhile, should ND lose Tate and/or Floyd for any significant period of time, they will be in big trouble this year.
But that's not likely and you have to admit ND has a pretty wicked offense. It's consistency on their defense that needs attention (for both teams actually). Given what happened to Michigan State on Saturday, they could come in pissed off and looking for a fight. Of course I can also see ND stomping a hole in them, but we'll get to that later this week. Fun game, great win for Rich Rod and I imagine we'll see some glimpses of growth and confidence a bit this year.
The Dennis Green Award Goes To...
Oklahoma State - "They are who we THOUGHT THEY WERE." And then you have to go and put them on the cover of SI two out of three weeks? C'mon. Not cool, Time, Inc. I don't know much about Houston, but I have consistently heard good things about their team (long before this game). So I guess there's something to it. Either way, what happened to that newly toughened defense? I was talking it up last week, maybe there's a Rant curse? Either way, this team has a lot of sh*t to figure out - to follow up that Georgia win with that egg at home, no es bueno. Which brings me to...
The Big 12:
Ugh - not a good couple of weeks for the conference. Two out of 3 of the conferences "best" going into the year take a nasty loss in two consecutive weeks. And how bad is Colorado? Better question, how pissed is the AD for signing his extension through 2012 last year? I don't know, maybe they'll turn something around in conference play, but I bet it won't be in Austin in 4 weeks. And good news for Okie State is they can take out their frustrations on Rice much like their rivals up the road did against Idaho State.
Gut check games next week for some teams and unless the Big 12 can pull some good games/wins next weekend, they will be well-deserving of the "overrated" label. Nebraska visits Virginia Tech, Baylor gets Big East's UCONN after a bye week, Colorado gets a (at least from what I've seen) dangerous Wyoming team and of course, Tech and Texas. Going to be interesting - and this furter supports the theory that if Texas goes undefeated with 2 other teams, they will get left out. No doubt. Not with this schedule. And if they lose a game? Forget about it. If you're a Texas fan and you've emotionally invested yourself to the fact that Texas will play for a title - root HARD against Southern Cal, Florida, Alabama and Penn State. Hell, root against everyone else except your remaining opponents.
Other Random CFB Thoughts:
I had a better day than I thought I would - and this includes having two of my starters get injured and leave the game. Soooo, I've got some work to do on my team this week once I assess the status. Slaton broke my heart today, as did the Texans.
I've got a solid 24 point lead over my opponent this week, but I'm done and he's got Randy Moss and Greg Olson still left. I'd be surprised if I lost this week, but anything can happen - hell, ElwayNation got 35 freaking points thanks to the Eagles getting 5 INTs. I have to imagine that's pretty rare...right?
Non-Football Thoughts for Week:
Texas' Tale of Two Halves:
Even though I expected this (and called it here), it was frustrating to see the ultra-conservative play calling that we saw in the first half. One series in particular that still kills me is when Texas started the drive on their own 2 and ended up only gaining 3 or 4 yards before having to punt from well inside their 10 yard line. They then proceed to run what has to be one of the top 3 lamest fake punt attempts ever....and if the punter had actually lowered his head and thrust forward he would have picked it up. Piss-poor first half to say the least. And that INT that Colt threw - that's 2 consecutive weeks of just God-awful picks. He ended up with some fantastic numbers, but lucky for him, most of the talking heads were likely glued to ND/Michigan.
They of course did a complete 180 in the second half and turned it on which is great, but they've got some things to work on heading into next week's match with Tech. Don't get me wrong, Tech has little to no chance next week, but the Horns do need to pick it up. The difference in level of competition will be much, MUCH greater for Tech than it will be for Texas next week and I honestly think Tech is going to fall apart somewhere near the early part of the third quarter.
I liked what Newton showed in the running back position and I *really* liked the play of the receivers - especially Kirkendoll. And Shipley was Shipley again - a very quiet 121 all-purpose yards. Like I said, great second half, horrible first half.
Sleep Well Rich Rod:
I don't want to say I told you so, but.....I told you so. I was switching back and forth on this, but what a hell of a game this was. I do love that Weiss lost this game with all the manufactured hype around the Irish this year, but you can't say they didn't play a good game. They were able to come from behind to take the lead twice and I don't care who you are or who you're playing against, that's impressive.
I think it's fair to say that Rodriguez is making good progress on implementing his offense. And finding the QB will only help to solidify things. Although they didn't have any standout performances (stat wise) at receiver, they had A LOT of contributors. Meanwhile, should ND lose Tate and/or Floyd for any significant period of time, they will be in big trouble this year.
But that's not likely and you have to admit ND has a pretty wicked offense. It's consistency on their defense that needs attention (for both teams actually). Given what happened to Michigan State on Saturday, they could come in pissed off and looking for a fight. Of course I can also see ND stomping a hole in them, but we'll get to that later this week. Fun game, great win for Rich Rod and I imagine we'll see some glimpses of growth and confidence a bit this year.
The Dennis Green Award Goes To...
Oklahoma State - "They are who we THOUGHT THEY WERE." And then you have to go and put them on the cover of SI two out of three weeks? C'mon. Not cool, Time, Inc. I don't know much about Houston, but I have consistently heard good things about their team (long before this game). So I guess there's something to it. Either way, what happened to that newly toughened defense? I was talking it up last week, maybe there's a Rant curse? Either way, this team has a lot of sh*t to figure out - to follow up that Georgia win with that egg at home, no es bueno. Which brings me to...
The Big 12:
Ugh - not a good couple of weeks for the conference. Two out of 3 of the conferences "best" going into the year take a nasty loss in two consecutive weeks. And how bad is Colorado? Better question, how pissed is the AD for signing his extension through 2012 last year? I don't know, maybe they'll turn something around in conference play, but I bet it won't be in Austin in 4 weeks. And good news for Okie State is they can take out their frustrations on Rice much like their rivals up the road did against Idaho State.
Gut check games next week for some teams and unless the Big 12 can pull some good games/wins next weekend, they will be well-deserving of the "overrated" label. Nebraska visits Virginia Tech, Baylor gets Big East's UCONN after a bye week, Colorado gets a (at least from what I've seen) dangerous Wyoming team and of course, Tech and Texas. Going to be interesting - and this furter supports the theory that if Texas goes undefeated with 2 other teams, they will get left out. No doubt. Not with this schedule. And if they lose a game? Forget about it. If you're a Texas fan and you've emotionally invested yourself to the fact that Texas will play for a title - root HARD against Southern Cal, Florida, Alabama and Penn State. Hell, root against everyone else except your remaining opponents.
Other Random CFB Thoughts:
- My apologies aggies out there - I promised to pay attention to them and get into that this week, but that's tough to do during a bye week. I promise, next week it will be here.
- Here's another sting for Texas fans - Wyoming was projected to finish last in the Mountain West conference. Sheesh. Really need a complete game.
- I didn't touch on this above, but GREAT game by the Texas defense. In all reality, the defense was only really responsible for giving up 3 points - the other 10 points came off the punt shenanigans and Texas' failed fake punt attempt on their own 5. Great day for the defense. Another solid game by Acho.
- LSU just looks like a mediocre team to me. When they get into conference play they're going to have to play much better. They're winning and that's what matters, but they've let two underdogs hang around for most of the game. Over the next four games we'll get to see what these guys are made of (MSU on the road, Georgia on the road and Florida at home). They are certainly a lucky recipient of a lot of teams ahead of them losing - these guys are NOT a top 11 team.
- How was Ohio State in the top 10? There's no denying it - these guys are just OK. As I said on Friday, if there's a team more overrated than those guys, I don't know who it is. And another thing, USC was not at all who I thought they were. That last drive was really impressive, but they were by no means dominant. Much like their "shocking" losses to Stanford and Oregon State, these guys are vulnerable.
- Good luck next week Lane Kiffin. Don't worry, we'll be watching. That is not at all what you wanted the week before heading into the swamp next week.
- Don't look now, but Chizik may just be raising an eyebrow or two down in Auburn. Two games, 500+ yards of offense in both games. Let's just keep that on the back burner for a few weeks. They'll get a good, solid test next week when West Virginia heads down south. Put that on your list of good watches - two high-flying offenses.
- I just read that UCLA QB Prince has a broken jaw and will be out for a month or so. OUCH.
- After reading all week how Terrell Pryor is like Vince Young, I was reminded this weekend that Pryor is not really that much like Vince Young.
- Some good games to look forward to next week: Georgia Tech at Miami (Thurs), Michigan State at Notre Dame, Tennessee at Florida, Tech at Texas, Nebraska at Virginia Tech, Florida State at BYU - awesome how things become more interesting with a few surprising losses.
- I can't tell you how happy I am to see NFL on Sundays now - I freaking love NFL games. I watched the entire Giants/Skins game and loved every second of it.
- Speaking of "they are who we thought they were", way to make a statement Houston Texans. That was U-G-L-Y.
- On the flip side - kudos to Mark Sanchez for a nice debut. Solid, solid game for the rookie.
- My Giants looked very good - couple of bonehead, ill-advised plays by Eli, but he ended up having a great game. 20-29 for 260 and a TD. He had a pick off a tipped pass, but it was not a good decision. He also gave up a fumble. Other than that, the Giants looked like a very solid team and most importantly, they answered a lot of question at the receiver position - they've got a nice committee. Osi had a nice return causing, picking up and returning a fumble for a TD.
- Nice little day for Drew Brees - one of those record breaking nice little days.
- I watched the bulk of the Cowboys game and I was not at all impressed with the game, but the stats look pretty impressive. Either way, that was just an OK showing against a shady Tampa Bay team. As expected, lots of questions at offensive line. How does Felix Jones get the ball only 6 time?
- Great way to start the year Denver - I bet everyone had a nice little sigh of relief.
- Rough start Matthew "The $41 million man" Stafford - sub .500 passing percentage, 3 INTs and no touchdowns. Welcome to the NFL kid. You can rest your sore body on that pile of money.
- Kurt Warner may have used up all of his lives - he was utterly pitiful against...San Francisco? At home? I know it's one game, but he just looked so bad - and it looked a little to me like his receivers were none to pleased with him in a couple of situations. We could be seeing a very gradual passing of baton. And we'll also soon learn just how valuable Todd Haley was to that offense.
- I got to watch the entire Giants/Skins game and I'll say this - Jason Campbell is not the main problem in Washington. That dude made some great throws today and he was 19-26 for 211, a TD and a pick. And the pick was a tight, questionable throw, but it was also a hell of a sideline play by the defense. I've always said this, I like his skills. I think he could do very, very well on a more functional team.
- When I saw Cutler throw 4 INTs on Sunday night I laughed and laughed - I hope he continues to tank it.
- Heads up, Green Bay is good. Real good.
I had a better day than I thought I would - and this includes having two of my starters get injured and leave the game. Soooo, I've got some work to do on my team this week once I assess the status. Slaton broke my heart today, as did the Texans.
I've got a solid 24 point lead over my opponent this week, but I'm done and he's got Randy Moss and Greg Olson still left. I'd be surprised if I lost this week, but anything can happen - hell, ElwayNation got 35 freaking points thanks to the Eagles getting 5 INTs. I have to imagine that's pretty rare...right?
Non-Football Thoughts for Week:
- Way to remind everyone why you're a whiny little brat Serena. I'll never say she's not really good at tennis, but I've never liked her or her sister and this reinforced it. Classless, immature act. And her press conference afterwards? Are you kidding me? You suck Serena, go away.
- The wife dragged me to Bess for brunch, after church. Had a burger that was soooo mediocre. Cool looking place, I guess and I'm sure other things are better, but I was pretty underwhelmed. The wife had (essentially) eggs benedict, but it had truffle oil? C'mon, what is that crap?
- I don't know how much the "Rock Band" folks paid for the Beatles music, but they'll make their money back ten fold at least - very cool looking game.
- Loving the rain. Loving it. Keep it coming.
- So the wife forced me to watch some of the MTV Video Music Awards last night and a couple of observations. First off, this thing looked like a handful of idiot interns put this thing together in about 2 weeks. What a joke of a production - is this really what they WANTED it to be like? Horrible, just horrible. Second, when this nice young girl (Taylor Swift I think is her name) won her award Kanye West's dumb ass comes out of the audience takes the microphone and tells the audience that Beyonce's video (which didn't win) was the best video ever made. Nice Kanye, another classy move by one classy guy. Kanye, you are a worthless, talentless, ghetto punk hood. That's all you've ever been and all you'll ever be - no matter how much money you have. And quick note to Beyonce - if you don't *immediately* come out and condemn Kanye's actions, you are no better than he is. Do yourself and your reputation a favor and keep your distance from this hoodlum.
- And that's why MTV may be the biggest joke on cable. Nice, classy show you got there guys, keep up the good work.
posted by The Bearden Wonder at 4:34 PM
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