Big Week Two
Take a look at this - still early September and we've got a monster weekend ahead of us. It's late and I'm tired so let's skip the foreplay and jump right into the sack.
Wyoming at Texas:
Rrriiiiight...ok, so we know typically defenses gel faster than offenses, but that game in Houston was just...well, weird. As soon as I start bragging on Cody Johnson, he steps out on the field the starter and left the undisputed third back. Oh well, maybe he had a "tweaked" ankle, who knows, but he was unimpressive and did exactly the opposite of what I predicted...run hard and down hill. Newton looked good. There was never a point where the offense looked comfortable and there sure as hell wasn't a moment where we saw even an ounce of emotion from that side of the ball. Gilbert was pretty good - made a few terrible throws, but made more than a few that made me go "wow". He'll be just fine.
Let's not read too much into the final score either - I hate the "what if" game, but there were literally 3 plays between 34-17 and 48-10: tip drill touchdown for Rice at end of first half (great defense on the play by the way), and two pick-six drops by the defense (literally hit them in the hands with a clear path to end zone).
I expect to see a little bit better output, but I wouldn't at all be surprised to see a similar score. There's going to be a lot of emotions flying at this game: first home game for horns, 9/11, and Wyoming is sadly mourning the loss of one of their players. Although they'll have that motivation, they can't hang even as well as Rice did. I expect the Texas defense, which was very impressive, to be even more impressive which is bad news for the Cowboys. The offense will continue to stumble through the awkward transition to a "running team", but hopefully we can get some rhythm going with the backs.
I don't know what the story is with our return game, but those D-backs simply cannot continue to play that role. I don't know why they don't have Monroe, Williams or Chiles back there - clearly they're seeing something in practice that limits that. Or, they're trying to get the better athletes back there. Who knows, but that was garbage. Player of the game for the horns was Kenny Vacarro and I hope to see a lot more of him this weekend.
At the end of the day, Texas has this one week to shape it up before they head into a stretch of Tech, UCLA, OU and Nebraska. Competition is going to kick up a notch. In the meantime, just another pre-season game.
Texas - 36
Wyoming - 9
Penn State at Alabama:
As badly as we may want this game to be good, I think it's going to be tough for Penn State to hang with these guys. Penn State is starting a true freshman at QB and has a slew of inexperience across the board and Tuscaloosa is not a kind place - and yes, I know, I've heard the whole thing about how "Bolden isn't like most freshman" nonsense. Yes, he is. He hasn't played a game there. So yes, he is.
On the flip side, however, the Tide will be without Ingram and Dareus which levels the field just a bit. Although, I still contend that Ingram is just not that intimidating - with Richardson back there, they could go with or without Ingram all year and I don't think it makes much difference.
Interesting story line here if you look at Joe Pa vs Saban - the old school vs the new school. I really want this game to be good and maybe it will, but I'd be surprised if Penn State pulled this out. Hell, I'd be surprised if they finished within 10 points. I hope they beat their ass, but don't see that happening at all.
Alabama - 27
Penn State - 14
Florida State at Oklahoma:
Is it me or is DeMarco Murray entering his 7th season in Norman? This guy's NFL career is damn near over (for RBs) and he hasn't even left college yet (of course he is a Sooner....I'm here all week). I have absolutely no idea what to think about this game - I was shocked at how horrid the OU secondary looked. That won't get it done. I think Phil Steele picked the Sooners to win the national title for crying out loud. That won't happen.
Florida State comes into the season after being ranked over 100 in defense last year so they had better turn that around quick, or Murray will shred them. And who's in charge of that defense you ask??? Well, let me tell you, it's Mark Stoops....so they've got that going for them.
I think this could be a barn burner and I say that assuming that Landry Jones picks it up a bit. I'm giving FSU a fighting chance here, but it's in Norman and so the Sooners get the advantage.
Oklahoma - 38
Florida State - 32
Miami at Ohio State:
And here's the game I want to see. I've got OSU in the national title game in my pick and that may largely depend on how they look here. You've got two young QBs here who have a lot of potential, a lot of hype and a ridiculous amount of athletic talent. I do think Pryor is a hair better than Harris and a little more polished. Don't get me wrong, the Canes will make some plays, but this is in the Shoe and you know....that's a tough place to play.
HOWEVER, I also picked the Canes as my "surprise" team of the year (although they are 15th-ish). If Harris can escape the front four of the Buckeyes and make some plays with his feet, the Canes can edge this out. Mark my words (and I know this is just so profound), but the QB with the fewest mistakes/stupid plays wins.
Miami - 32
Ohio State - 30
The Rest of the Story...
It's here and it's real. Favre looks old. Vikings look shaky. Saints looked rusty. Vikings may not make the playoffs and Saints most certainly won't make the Super Bowl. That's all I got for the opening week.
Non-Sports Thoughts for the Week:
Wyoming at Texas:
Rrriiiiight...ok, so we know typically defenses gel faster than offenses, but that game in Houston was just...well, weird. As soon as I start bragging on Cody Johnson, he steps out on the field the starter and left the undisputed third back. Oh well, maybe he had a "tweaked" ankle, who knows, but he was unimpressive and did exactly the opposite of what I predicted...run hard and down hill. Newton looked good. There was never a point where the offense looked comfortable and there sure as hell wasn't a moment where we saw even an ounce of emotion from that side of the ball. Gilbert was pretty good - made a few terrible throws, but made more than a few that made me go "wow". He'll be just fine.
Let's not read too much into the final score either - I hate the "what if" game, but there were literally 3 plays between 34-17 and 48-10: tip drill touchdown for Rice at end of first half (great defense on the play by the way), and two pick-six drops by the defense (literally hit them in the hands with a clear path to end zone).
I expect to see a little bit better output, but I wouldn't at all be surprised to see a similar score. There's going to be a lot of emotions flying at this game: first home game for horns, 9/11, and Wyoming is sadly mourning the loss of one of their players. Although they'll have that motivation, they can't hang even as well as Rice did. I expect the Texas defense, which was very impressive, to be even more impressive which is bad news for the Cowboys. The offense will continue to stumble through the awkward transition to a "running team", but hopefully we can get some rhythm going with the backs.
I don't know what the story is with our return game, but those D-backs simply cannot continue to play that role. I don't know why they don't have Monroe, Williams or Chiles back there - clearly they're seeing something in practice that limits that. Or, they're trying to get the better athletes back there. Who knows, but that was garbage. Player of the game for the horns was Kenny Vacarro and I hope to see a lot more of him this weekend.
At the end of the day, Texas has this one week to shape it up before they head into a stretch of Tech, UCLA, OU and Nebraska. Competition is going to kick up a notch. In the meantime, just another pre-season game.
Texas - 36
Wyoming - 9
Penn State at Alabama:
As badly as we may want this game to be good, I think it's going to be tough for Penn State to hang with these guys. Penn State is starting a true freshman at QB and has a slew of inexperience across the board and Tuscaloosa is not a kind place - and yes, I know, I've heard the whole thing about how "Bolden isn't like most freshman" nonsense. Yes, he is. He hasn't played a game there. So yes, he is.
On the flip side, however, the Tide will be without Ingram and Dareus which levels the field just a bit. Although, I still contend that Ingram is just not that intimidating - with Richardson back there, they could go with or without Ingram all year and I don't think it makes much difference.
Interesting story line here if you look at Joe Pa vs Saban - the old school vs the new school. I really want this game to be good and maybe it will, but I'd be surprised if Penn State pulled this out. Hell, I'd be surprised if they finished within 10 points. I hope they beat their ass, but don't see that happening at all.
Alabama - 27
Penn State - 14
Florida State at Oklahoma:
Is it me or is DeMarco Murray entering his 7th season in Norman? This guy's NFL career is damn near over (for RBs) and he hasn't even left college yet (of course he is a Sooner....I'm here all week). I have absolutely no idea what to think about this game - I was shocked at how horrid the OU secondary looked. That won't get it done. I think Phil Steele picked the Sooners to win the national title for crying out loud. That won't happen.
Florida State comes into the season after being ranked over 100 in defense last year so they had better turn that around quick, or Murray will shred them. And who's in charge of that defense you ask??? Well, let me tell you, it's Mark Stoops....so they've got that going for them.
I think this could be a barn burner and I say that assuming that Landry Jones picks it up a bit. I'm giving FSU a fighting chance here, but it's in Norman and so the Sooners get the advantage.
Oklahoma - 38
Florida State - 32
Miami at Ohio State:
And here's the game I want to see. I've got OSU in the national title game in my pick and that may largely depend on how they look here. You've got two young QBs here who have a lot of potential, a lot of hype and a ridiculous amount of athletic talent. I do think Pryor is a hair better than Harris and a little more polished. Don't get me wrong, the Canes will make some plays, but this is in the Shoe and you know....that's a tough place to play.
HOWEVER, I also picked the Canes as my "surprise" team of the year (although they are 15th-ish). If Harris can escape the front four of the Buckeyes and make some plays with his feet, the Canes can edge this out. Mark my words (and I know this is just so profound), but the QB with the fewest mistakes/stupid plays wins.
Miami - 32
Ohio State - 30
The Rest of the Story...
- One of the largest 180 degree overreactions in recent memory occurs when Rich-Rod wins at Notre Dame - with the proclamation that Michigan is "back" and that Rich-Rod has all of a sudden bought himself 3 more years.
- That's a tough kick in the Houston Nutts the Rebels took - dude, you just can't lose that game at home like that. You just can't.
- LSU fans - have you gotten that post throw up bile taste out of your mouth? Well, get used to it - as I've repeatedly said and still believe - that's a three-loss team right there.
- UNC fans - as good as you should feel, you too probably still have that bile taste....gotta make those catches there at the end.
- Under the radar good game - Oregon at Tennessee - looks good on paper, but Tennessee is a mess after the great Lane storm of '09. Oregon by 3 touchdowns.
- Don't you kind of feel like the other Florida teams have been down for too long? Very big games for FSU and Miami this weekend - could mark the beginning of the renaissance for both programs....or not.
- P-L-E-A-S-E stop spewing the "if Boise State were in X conference they'd lose half their games" BS. That is soooo stupid and makes you sound stupid. A) they can't control who's in their conference. B) they have a better record against top 10/15 teams than most of these "top tier" teams you mention. C) you know why BSU can't get better games? Because no one wants to play them! Look, this is a good team. Was that first game blown a tad out of proportion? Yeah, you think? But they're good. Period. They're a good team. I know they don't have 4 and 5 star recruits coming out of their asses like USC, Ohio State, Florida, Texas, etc, but they play damn good team ball. Let's just accept that they're good. And remember when everyone said the Big East shouldn't be in the BCS? Now, are those schools better than Boise State? I mean, did you see how that Moore kid quietly, calmly and methodically drove that team down field with no timeouts and under 2 minutes? I wouldn't want to play them.
- I would absolutely hate to be a Virginia Tech fan - they always start the year with a great game and always find a way to not win it. The only one they did win (Nebraska at home last year), they damn-near lost that one. Those poor bastards.
- I've got the Delaware State/Kansas game from last week still on DVR - should I watch it??? Nice way for Turner Gill to start the new regime in Lawrence...a 6-3 loss. It's like a soccer match.
- I love that every time I make a crack about soccer, Madeley calls me out. Latest example: I called pre-season polls as asinine as the fact that soccer matches can and do end in ties. His response: "NFL games can end in ties too." Touche Madeley...touche.
- Hmmm...who's Tech going to blow lead against this week? Find out here: http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/731025?new=true
It's here and it's real. Favre looks old. Vikings look shaky. Saints looked rusty. Vikings may not make the playoffs and Saints most certainly won't make the Super Bowl. That's all I got for the opening week.
Non-Sports Thoughts for the Week:
- Man, I hate most people that drive on 620. THE SPEED LIMIT IS 60!!! NOT 40...60! My word it's maddening.
- HOMEWORK: As most of you know, I've recently taken my new gig with Carino's Italian as their Director of Marketing. Here's what I'm asking - go eat at Carino's. Tell me about it. What did you like? What didn't you like? Go "Friend" us (is that what the kids are calling it these days?) on Facebook - give feedback. I value all 3 of my reader's opinions so when you think about it, go eat there and report back. Readyyyyyy, GO!
posted by The Bearden Wonder at 12:52 AM
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