2011 - week 4

Another solid weekend of football. A new number one emerged, and teams at the top flexed their muscle.

I'll get right to it.

Nowhere close to being ready/pardon my rant.

Arkansas came into this season with talk of being a better all around team than last year, even with the departure of stud Ryan Mallett. Through the first three games, everything looked great. The offense was humming along, and the defense was solid. But what seems to always happen is the programs that have had more success and more tradition over a longer period of time, will always be better than you. The Hogs went into Tuscaloosa, AL and looked like they never should have gotten off the bus. All week we heard it was the Arkansas offense versus the Alabama defense. And guess what, the Alabama defense dominated. As defenses always do!!! I know the media has to have something to talk about leading up to a big game, but I am sick and tired of hearing people try to guess which side of the ball is going to win out. I'll tell you, it's the defense. ALWAYS. Not only did the Bama defense completely shut down the Arkansas offense, it hit them in the mouth. Tyler Wilson was hit so many times he had to be taken out of the game in the second half. Every time Jarius Wright caught the ball, he was leveled by Bama corners, literally knocked off his feet. Greg Childs is still nowhere to be found, and the running game racked up a huge total of 17 yards. I don't even have time to go into the lies from the Arkansas coaches about how good the defense was supposed to be. Bama turned in their best offensive performance of the season BY FAR against the Hog "defense." Bama QB AJ McCarron was supposed to be the inexperienced one in this game, but he looked like the veteran who was more ready. Running back Trent Richardson single handily was almost better than the ENTIRE Arkansas offense. He accounted for 211 total yards, while Arkansas as a team had 226. It was just a weak showing by an Arkansas team who thought they were ready to compete with the big boys, and they were shut up. The elite programs in the country will always be better than you. You may win some games against them here and there, but it won't be many. And if they have a down year or two, don't worry, they'll make the necessary changes and get back to beating the programs who thought they could pass them up. Programs like Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio State, LSU, Florida, and USC will always come back around and show you why they have won more games and championships than you have. They have the tradition, so they get the better players, and the better coaches. It will always be this way. Arkansas is not one of those programs. Final score 38-14, Alabama.

Another test passed with ease.

LSU decided to have the hardest possible 4 game stretch to start the season you could imagine. They have played three ranked teams, one at a neutral site, and the other two on the road. Most teams would be happy with a 2-2 record after, but the Tigers went 4-0 convincingly. Their latest victim came at 16th ranked West Virginia. A solid program with a good offense and speedy play makers. No problem for maybe the best defense in the country, who forced four turnovers in this contest. Cornerback Tyrann Mathieu makes more plays by himself than most defenses as a whole. Every time I look up, he's catching an interception, or recovering a fumble, or making a good tackle, or blocking a punt, or something. They guy is ridiculous. The big question mark this season was of course the LSU offense, not anymore. It is still not a spectacular offense, but it is getting better. More importantly, it is getting the job done now. 180 yards passing for Jarret Lee, and 186 yards rushing as a team. How much more balanced do you want to be? Final score 47-21, LSU.

Blowout of the week - Wisconsin over South Dakota, 59-10.

Best game no one talked about/tale of two halves.

Oklahoma State and Texas A&M were both ranked in the top 10, but you wouldn't have even known it. A&M looked like the better team in the first half, jumping out to 20-3 halftime lead, and completely in control. But as they always say, you have to play all four quarters, because Okie State came out of the second half firing. Mike Gundy, now 44, must have "MANned" up on the team in the locker room. They scored 27 unanswered points, and took control of the game back. Receiver Justin Blackmon continues his case for the best receiver in the game, catching 11 passes for 121 yards and a td. A&M finally decided to play the second half and scored to be down by three with just over two minutes to go. But the Pokes held on and in one of the most bizarre decisions ever, thought it was a good idea to have Justin Blackmon take a direct snap and run it out of their own end zone for a safety to run out the clock. Did Gundy not know you can just take a knee? Weirdo. Final score 30-29, Oklahoma State.

Another quiet team.

Remember that team that could run all over everyone, started the season ranked third, and played in the national championship game last year? Oh yeah, Oregon. They are still ranked in the top 10, but after their loss to LSU, you haven't heard a word about them. As long as they're not playing an SEC team, they can run on anyone. Against a "formidable" opponent in Arizona, the Ducks racked up 415 yards rushing, with LaMichael James having 288 by himself. When your quarterback only has to pass for 101 yards and you still put up 56 on a conference foe, your doing something right. Oregon will still win the PAC 12 and get to a BCS bowl. Final score 56-31, Oregon.

Speaking of "formidable."

I guess we read too much into Vanderbilt's 3-0 start. I took too much into account wins over reigning Big East champ UConn, and Ole Miss, who still can't figure out what's going on. They got their test against South Carolina, the favorite in the SEC East. It wasn't pretty, but SC shut them down. Total yards for the game for Vandy, 77. Yes, 77. SC running back Marcus Lattimore got 77 all alone, and that is a really low output for him. Start looking out for Gamecock true freshman defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. The number one player overall coming out of high school, forced two fumbles, and seems to already be making a big impact. This game told me that South Carolina still isn't as good as people think, and neither was Vandy. Don't be so quick to jump on the bandwagon, geez Final score 21-3, South Carolina.

Closer than the experts think.

Oklahoma was a 21 point favorite over Missouri, but I just thought it would be a better game than that. And it was. Missouri has one of those offenses that will annoy the crap out of you, and win a lot of games, but won't ever get them to the next level. I'm sorry, that offense just won't do it. Anyway, with James Franklin running the show at Mizzou now, it looks to be in good hands. But not good enough when you play in Norman. OU is something like 438-2 at home since Stoops took over. Offensively it was another solid performance by the Sooners, who tallied 592 total yards. Ryan Broyles showed up with three touchdown grabs, and running back Dominique "The Walk On" Whaley solidified the running game. The defense gave up some big plays, and raised more questions than before. If OU is to run the table, the defense needs to get better. With games remaining against A&M and Okie State down the road, it could be tough going. Thankfully the offense is potent. But, defense wins championships. Final score 38-28, Oklahoma.

Boise State beat Tulsa 41-21. I only mention them every week because they should go undefeated, and we'll have to talk about them possibly playing for the national title in some warped universe.

A fast fall.

Just two short weeks ago, Florida State was the fifth ranked team in the country, and was preparing for a home showdown against number one Oklahoma. But a hard fought loss, and an injury to starting quarterback EJ Manuel didn't help with their next game. Clemson was coming off an "impressive" victory over Auburn at home, and riding high. Surely Fla State could pull it together and not start the season 2-2? Nope. Backup QB Clint Trickett, cousin of Junior Samples, played very well, throwing for 336 yards and three scores. But Clemson seemed to have more play makers, especially freshman Sammy Watkins. I mentioned him last week when he exploded against Auburn, and he did it again. This time catching 7 passes for 141 yards and two td's. Did I mention he was a true freshman? Clemson starts 4-0 for the first time in a decade, but don't worry, they won't be a factor in the ACC race. Florida State needs to find answers quickly. Final score 35-30, Clemson.

Stat of the week.

And stat of the year so far. Baylor QB Robert Griffin, has more touchdown passes, 13, than incompletions, 12. WHAT?! That's insane! He tacked on five more td passes this last weekend in an easy win over Rice. Baylor, like Vanderbilt was, is 3-0, and gets their first "test" of the season having to go to Kansas State. K State is coming off a nice win over Miami. Even if Baylor doesn't finish the season the way they have started, Griffin deserves all the accolades. A good kid.

Hometown metroplex update - North Texas gets a win over a Big 10 school, granted it was Indiana. But hey, they are still North Texas.

Until next week.

2011 - week 3

Another great weekend of football, the big time matchups didn't disappoint. I apologize for the no show last week, sometimes there is just not enough time in the day. I don't get paid for this, so sue me. Anyway, let's jump right in.

A good Thursday nighter.

Mississippi State and LSU was one of the better matchups for a Thursday night game we had seen in a while. Miss State was coming off a heart breaker of a loss to Auburn, and LSU was still rolling along. Miss State is a good team, and would contend for their conference title if they didn't play in this particular conference. LSU pretty much took care of business however, with their defense stifling the opposition once again. They held a normally good offense to just 193 total yards. And hey, LSU QB Jarret Lee actually passed for more than 100 yards, getting up to 213. LSU is not going to run all over people on offense, but they are going to do just enough to win a lot of games. They don't need to score a lot with that defense. Miss State is on the verge, but they are still not there. Final score 19-6, LSU.

Boise State beat Toledo 40-15 Friday night.

The streak is over.

Auburn was somehow still riding a 17 game win streak, longest in the nation, going into last weekend. And after two games of grind it out paired with sheer luck wins, I wondered how long it was going to last. Clemson had something to say about it, especially true freshman Sammy Watkins, who had 10 catches for 155 yards and two scores. But it was the Auburn defense that really lost them the game. No longer is $Cam Newton there to bail them out by scoring when they need him to. In fact, the offense is still quite good. But Auburn is going to have to learn how to stop someone this year. For the first three games, they have allowed total yards of 448, 531, and most recently 624 to Clemson. That's not going to help you win very many games. Final score 38-24, Clemson.

Blowout of the week - Missouri over W. Illinois, 69-0.

Still unimpressed.

I thought this was the best South Carolina team ever? Through three games, including ones against East Carolina and Navy, they have won by a total of 25 points. They had to put on a furious rally to come back from behind to beat East Carolina. And had to get 236 yards and three touchdowns from Marcus Lattimore(the only good thing on the team) to beat Navy by three. Apparently slow starts are how they like to operate. If they do that against the meat of the SEC schedule, it will be a long season. With the way Florida is looking, it may be one and done for the Gamecocks in the SEC title game. I hope so.

Speaking of over hyped at all times.

Notre Dame finally got a win. Some would consider it "impressive" over 15th ranked Michigan State at home, but they're overrated too. The Spartans even out gained the Irish 358 to 275, but penalties(12) and turnovers(2) allowed them to lose the game. One turnover was on the Notre Dame six yard line, you can't be doing that. They even tried to re hash old, good memories by attempting a fake field goal just before halftime, that of course failed miserably. On the other side, Tommy Rees seems to be the "best" option at QB for the Irish. When you pass for only 161 yards, but still win by 18, you'll take that. Jury is still out on Notre Dame. Final score 31-13, Touchdown Jesuses.

The NCAA sanctions/infractions/suspensions bowl.

Maybe the two programs who's players thought free stuff was just a part of the game the most, and who both got caught, also decided to play each other. We all know the Ohio State story, and the more recent story of Miami players who also thought it was ok to receive all kinds of benefits from a booster. Hint, its not ok, never was. Suspensions galore, possible giant sanctions coming for both schools, but you still have to put a team out there. And in Miami's case, they were the only ones who did. Ohio State looked completely out of sorts. Only gaining 209 total yards of offense, and having to rotate quarterbacks to find one that worked. While on the flip side, Miami running back Lamar Miller rushed for 184 all by himself. Miami QB Jacory Harris returned from his suspension, which will become more later I'm sure. He played well though, throwing for a couple of td's. Buckeye coach Luke Fickell just looks lost. He doesn't look like the head coach of an elite program. I'm thinking Ohio State let's him coach for maybe one more year, then they go out and get a bigger name. He's not going to get it done. Final score 24-6, Miami(FL).

End of an era.

A short, not very good era that is. The Garret Gilbert experiment is over at Texas. A highly touted recruit, and what looked to be a ready to go heir apparent to Colt McCoy. But it wasn't so. In 2010, he "led" them to a 5-7 record, their first losing season since '97. Gilbert got the nod to start this year just before the season started over guess who, Case McCoy. Yes, Colt's little brother. But after an unimpressive game one win, he started the second and completed two passes, with two interceptions, and he was outta there. In comes younger McCoy and some guy named David Ash, who apparently only knows how to run the Wildcat formation. I don't think he can actually throw the ball, I have yet to see it. They split time and pull out an improbable comeback victory over BYU two weeks ago. This week younger McCoy(I may call him that from now on) gets the start and splits some time with Ash again, and play well to win big over UCLA in Pasadena. They help Texas put up 488 total yards of offense, and really played efficient football. Oh and don't forget the other younger brother of a former star, Jaxon Shipley, younger brother of Jordan Shipley. So not only did we have to suffer through the McCoy, Shipley fathers were rommates a billion times, now we have to listen to the younger brothers are carrying on the tradition nonsense. And the announcers saying stuff like,"McCoy to Shipley, haven't we heard that before?" HAHA and insert laughing hysterically. Gross. Oh yeah, UCLA is terrible, seems Rick Neuheisel isn't doing a very good job at taking back Los Angeles. Final score, 49-20, Texas.

What?!

Did you say Vanderbilt? Yes, that Vanderbilt. The same program that has been to one bowl game in the last 20 plus years, and is the laughing stock of the SEC. Well that Vanderbilt is 3-0 after wins over reigning Big East champion Connecticut two weeks ago, and a 30-7 shellacking of Ole Miss last week. I watched some of that game, and it literally looked like Ole Miss was the Vanderbilt of old. Completely out of whack, not ever able to get anything going. Analyst Andre Ware said it best, "is it just me, or does Vanderbilt look like the faster, more experienced team here?" The answer was yes. Real test comes this weekend, when they travel to South Carolina.

Impressive stat of the week - Georgia Tech avenges last year's loss to Kansas with 768 total yards of offense. Yes, that is just one team, not the total of both teams.

Best game nobody saw - Houston came back from 34-7 with 5:11 left in the third quarter to win 35-34, nice. Houston QB Case Keenum needs 17 more td's to become the all time leader in touchdown passes in college football history.

Hometown SMU update - The Ponies won big 40-7 over Northwestern State.

And the big one.

A 1 versus 5 matchup in week 3? Yes please. Oklahoma traveled to Florida State in a humongous meeting in this young season. OU QB Landry Jones has struggled on the road in his tenure as the starter, so a win here would do wonders for his confidence. He didn't play outstanding(199 yards passing 1 TD, 2 picks), but he played well enough to get the W. Most importantly, he made the plays when it counted. It was a well fought game throughout. The Noles looked like the Florida State of old. Good defense, and talent all around. But on this night, OU had just a little bit more. Even with OU taking a 13-3 lead into halftime, you got the feeling it still wasn't over. Even when Fla State starter EJ Manuel went out with a shoulder injury, backup Clint Trickett(from Mayberry?) came in and provided a spark. A 56 yard td pass in the fourth quarter to tie it up gave FSU all the momentum. But this time Jones came through. He immediately drove them down, and on a double move, found reciever Kenny Stills open in the end zone to take the lead back. Those were the plays missing in years past with Landry(yes, named after Tom Landry), but not anymore. If he keeps it up this season, OU will make it to the national title game. Final score 23-13, Oklahoma.

Hogs win 38-28 over Troy. Closer than I would have liked.

Until next week.

2011 - week 1

Whew. That was intense, and awesome. What a great way to start the season. I was wondering if you wanted some better games? Let's get right to it.

Best individual start.

Wisconsin would have demolished UNLV whoever was at QB, but Russell Wilson, who transferred over from NC State couldn't have dreamed of a better start. He went 10-13 for 255 yards and 2 scores, and scored on a 46 yard run. The Badgers were already ranked 11th thanks to a strong defense and fantastic running game with Montee Ball and James White. But now with Wilson looking like he'll be every bit as dynamic as people thought, Wisconsin could run the table. Watch out for them. Final score 51-17, Wisconsin.

Friday night lights.

No it wasn't a Texas high school game, but it felt like one. Baylor and TCU played one of the best games of the year in week one. TCU was coming off a magical 2010 season in which they beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Baylor, for them, was also coming off a great season in which they got to a bowl game for the first time since World War I. TCU was replacing starting QB Andy Dalton, who had been there for 13 seasons, along with a number of other starters from a year ago. I just had a feeling Baylor was going to pull this one out, and it looks like I'm a genius. Even after TCU lead after the first quarter, I knew the game wasn't over. Baylor outscored the Frogs 20-7 in the second, and completely took over the momentum. They kept it going into the second half when they jumped out to a 47-23 lead in the third quarter, and seemed to be able to score at will. But TCU decided it wasn't over either. They came roaring back to take a one point lead with just 4 minutes to go! WHAT?! It was time for Baylor QB Robert Griffin to take that next step and pull the upset. And that's exactly what he did. He lead them down the field, and the Bears kicked a field goal with just over a minute remaining! Baylor then picked off TCU quarterback Casey Pachall on TCU's attempt at coming back to end the game. Man, that's how you make a name for yourself. Griffin was unstoppable, and the rest of the Big 12 will have a lot of trouble with him this year. Final score 50-48, Baylor.

Don't listen to the hype.

Why I didn't listen to my own advice when it comes to Notre Dame I'll never know. It's been well documented how much better people, and the media, think Notre Dame is than they really are. It all stems from their tradition, but they haven't done much of anything since about 1991. And whaddya know, South Florida goes into South Bend and beats them. Granted the Irish turned it over five times, three inside the red zone, but hey, that's part of the game. At one point head coach Chip Kelly was so mad it looked like his face was going to explode, literally. He only let starting QB Dane Crist play the first half, then pulled him for Tommy Rees. Rees will be the starter for the next game at Michigan too. But until I see it, which may not be ever again, Notre Dame will not get me on the hype machine. Final score 23-20, South Florida.

Slow starts and unimpressive wins.

South Carolina, everyone's pick to win the SEC East, needed a rally to come back from 24-14 halftime deficit against East Carolina. As stated before, Spurrier letting five-time-suspended-from-the-team QB Stephen Garcia come off the bench was no surprise. He started Conner Shaw to "send a message" I'm sure. But he won't do that again. Garcia plays the rest of the way. Final score 56-37, South Carolina.

The score of the Texas-Rice game was 13-6 at halftime. So much for the Mack Brown re-imagining of the program for 2011. That's not to say it won't get going at some point, but come on, it's Rice. They needed a trick play reverse pass to get the momentum going. Final score 34-9, Texas.

Kansas State beat E. Kentucky 10-7. Yep.

Missouri squeaked out a win over Miami(OH) 17-6.

USC needed Matt Barkley to break a school record for completions in a game(34), and Robert Woods to catch 17 of them to beat Minnesota 19-17. Neat.

The "what in the hell was that?" game of the week.

The defending national champs needed a late miracle rally to beat Utah State, at home. This actually was a good game just for entertainment. Auburn was down ten with just 3:38 to go, scored, then recovered the onside kick! Then went down and scored again to finish them off, 42-38. The offense will always be ok under Gus Malzahn, but the defense I'm not so sure about. Exciting, but weak.

Also weak.

But not in a football sense, was Maryland's uniforms. I mean did they decide, "hey, I have a great idea. Let's take the colors and design of the Maryland state flag, put it on each side of the jersey and the helmet in a way that will make it the ugliest uniforms in the history of college football. How does that sound?" Because that's exactly what they did. At least they beat Miami who were playing without half of the team due to suspension. Look for yourself: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/09/06/140226571/maryland-debuts-uniforms-and-the-country-cringes

Not a good audition.

If SMU was trying to let the Big 12 know how they would fare if they joined the conference, they didn't make a good first impression(as if we didn't know this already). Sure SMU has been to a couple of bowl games the last two years, but did we really think they could join the Big 12 if A&M left? Starting QB Kyle Padron decided to throw interceptions on their first two possessions, and got pulled immediately. Ironically A&M, the team leaving, was the opponent for this audition, and it wasn't even a game. SMU's defense had no chance of stopping the Aggies offense(458 yards total). And despite a valiant effort by backup QB J.J. McDermott, it was never going to be. A&M not only showed they are a good team, but also that SMU doesn't belong. Final score 46-14, Texas A&M.

Stanford QB Andrew Luck's unnecessary second season of NFL draft film because he's going to be the number one pick barring an injury, went pretty well. He passed for 171 yards thanks to short fields all game long, and threw a couple of td's, and ran for another.

Now the big games.

Although most people will look at the final score and the name of the team and take way too much into consideration, Boise State was impressive...puke. They did have to travel to Atlanta in Georgia's backyard, and pulled it out. A huge 'but' though, this is not the same Georgia team from a few years ago. I know they're ranked, but they shouldn't be. They were 6-7 last year, and will probably be the same this year. Head coach Mark Richt doesn't have it anymore. There is some talent in Athens, but it's not working like it used to. QB Aaron Murray is a good quarterback, but he doesn't have many weapons. And they are going to rely on a true freshman running back to carry the load. Nonetheless, Kellen Moore of Boise State was his methodical self, throwing for 261 yards and three scores. Boise State should go undefeated again(pray they don't) and will have a chance to play for the national title. The question will always be, can they do it in a big time conference? Final score 35-21, Boise State.

Defense wins again.

Have you ever heard me say defense wins championships? I thought so. Well Oregon now knows that too. LSU brought the hammer down in Jerryworld on the flashy, fast-paced offense that hasn't worked when they play a real defense. Case in point. LSU was playing with their backup quarterback because of well, you know why, as well as missing one of their starting wide receivers. QB Jarret Lee only passed for 98 yards, yes, 98 yards, and they put up 40 points and won by 13. Why you ask? LSU forced four turnovers, and held Oregon to well under their season average from a year ago of points and yardage. LaMichael James rushed for about 121 yards a game last season, in this game he was held to just 54. That fast-paced thing doesn't work when the defense is just as fast, and they hit you in the mouth. Guess what? Defense wins championships. Final score 40-27, LSU.

My two faves.

Oklahoma rolls in their home opener over Tulsa, looking like the number one team should look. Landry Jones lit it up all over the field, as did Ryan Broyles, who catches double digit passes seemingly every game(14 in this one). But we expected that from them. The real story was Dominique Whaley, a walk on who walked four td's in. No, I've never heard of him either, But he rushed for 131 yards as well. Looks like OU's running game is in good shape too. Final score 47-14, Oklahoma.

The Hogs took care of business over lowly Missouri State. The Tyler Wilson era started well, with him throwing for 260 yards and leading Arkansas to touchdowns on their first four possessions. The defense also played well, in what should be a real strength of the team this year. They held MO State to just 163 total yards of offense for the game. The star of the game was Joe Adams however, who returned not one, but two punts for touchdowns. Arkansas has so many play makers this year, there may not be enough time in a game to get all of them the ball. But I'll take that problem any day. Final score 51-7, Arkansas.

Until next week.