Yesterday was one of those days where it was fun to watch your storyline play out. Remember three huge keys for me OU's poor performance on the road this season , Pat White's improved passing game and WVU much improved defense although it much better then I could have ever expected. Honestly those announcers irrated the crap out of me kissing OU's ass all game and rooting for them. Every time they said no one could have expected this , I wanted to say why dont I send you a copy of my writeup dumbass! I think most know I am not a big fan of anything pertaining to media. I do love the Bill Stewart story though. Having WVU players say this guy is one of us he should be our coach- great story IMO!
I have always enjoyed Bowl Season but this has been great so far. Right now we have had 28 Bowls and I only didnt have strong opinions on two. If I had to chose I had liked Navy and I expected BYU to win and teased them and ML parlayed but never gave serious thought to the line. Took me awhile to get interested in Bowl season. The other 26 bowls if I had played them all I would be 23-3 ATS. Some I would have liked to played but was passed out and missed kickoff. I think I have gone 13-2 ATS here @ CTG plus splitting a parlay which would make me 14-3 ATS. Losing Maryland in the parlay and backing GaTech and Clemson. The reason I am saying this is cause even though I say this alot this game is hands down the toughest to figure out - hands down IMO! So keep that in mind as I am just sharing my logic.....
8 PM : Kansas vs VaTech - Orange Bowl , Dolphins Stadium
I always maintain I do my best to NOT read others opinions on games before I look at them. Here I have seen a comment or two about Kansas being overrated and playing a weak schedule. I agree KU didnt play the toughest schedule but again more representative then SOS is how you handled that competition( how your opponent was playing at the time as well) and for the most part KU blew teams out of the water. Hawaii played a weak schedule and struggled a few times to win. Not the same situation IMO...
Kansas did greatly benefit from starting with 4 straight home games. It's clear though they started the season READY. Early on they didnt play anyone worth a lick. They caught both CMU and Toledo teams who later improve in the midst of struggles and injuries. FIU and SE Louisana are terrible. The outcomes 214 to 23 and while thats amazing one TD allowed was in the final 10 seconds and you could imagine that most 4th quarters saw conservative game calling. It could have been alot worse!! They had 3 conference HOME games vs Baylor , Nebraska as it started to really decline and Iowa State. The did win 179 to 56 though. I think looking at the late season games you can see there defensive numbers dropped off due to better competition.
I felt strongly that Mizzou would beat KU cause there level of football was increasing each week. I know people wont agree but I am not sure today who is better OU or Mizzou. Naturally OU has to be slightily ahead because they won twice but they got on OU on there home field and then after the KU game. Now while I say this I also think KU didnt play that badly vs Mizzou. They started slow but really it was mostly a 2 TD game and they rallied once they got some momentum. You got the feeling by the end of the game that if there was more time KU would have prevailed. Thats my take anyway and from a Mizzou backer that day.
One thing we clearly notice is that KU offense dropped off considerably on the road. They caught Kansas State early when they were playing good football competing @ Auburn before beating Texas with there special teams. So a nice win but not in impressive fashion. Also they had not won there since 1989 and were ranked #24 (KST was). They struggled @ Colorado and A&M both times there defenses were vry good and they werent in real danger of losing the game. However they clearly struggle vs decent defenses. They did open it up on Oklahoma State but again the OSU team was inclined to be in shootouts cause they couldnt stop anyone outside of Indiana. Last game vs Mizzou they started real slow but after attacking a tiring Mizzou defense which really was good by the end of the year.
So what stands out about Kansas is they did play pretty well when traveling but there defense and offense(more the a few) took a few steps back. KU was undervalued all season cause no one believed in them and they covered every number till Mizzou where they were small favs. Is Reesing height a concern? Is Vince Hall playing? Can VaTech run the ball early without Ore?? Will Glennon continue his solid play or is the presuregoing to affect him?
Now VaTech schedule. They looked like shit early and versus weak competition up until the game @ Clemson. The key there was 3 early scores INT return , Punt return and kickoff return all by midway 2nd Q giving them a 24-3 lead and with a great defense they kept it fairly simple after that. Auburn showed what a good defense does to Clemson. Playing @ Duke is useless , the home game vs BC we saw how well the defense played but the offense inability to score allowed BC to hang around and pull out a win despite being outplayed. They won impressively against an overrated GT team but I did like the 480 yds of offense and not suprising the D terrorized another bad offense. Solid win vs FSU but again not impressive. An FSU team up and down all year led to start the 4th before fading and losing Weatherford. For the most part they spanked a sliding Miami team but at one point the Canes trailed by 6 late 3rd quarter before VaTech ran away with it. They beat a very average UVA team who rolled with a great defense problem is VaTechs defense is better and so is the offense. UVA hung around like it did all season before falling this time. The ACC Championship vs BC was revenge but while they prevailed it was another hard fought battle this time with VaTech pulling away late after a 16 all tie at half.
So really down the stretch it was the same deal good special teams , great defense , the reemergence of Bradon Ore and some productive play by Scott Glennon in the passing game. So Ore's early absence could be huge. His final few games YPC were 4.8 , 4.5 , 2.5 , 5.4 , 4.7 ,2.9 . Prior to that he had only 2 games above 4 + YPA in 7 games( Ohio and UNC). KU showed to be solid against the run and so-so vs the pass. Savage @ Okie State did have a good day but none of the other ground games showed up in its first 3 tru road games( T.Temple was okay ). Clearly Glennon is going to have make plays with Josh Morgan here.
Funny part is there really isnt much drama here. VaTech has some with Ore being disciplined for being late and VHall getting hurt non football injury. Naturally one cant forget what happened on the VT campus this summer . With the Hall injury as great as he may be the defense is used to being w/o him so I wont let that sway me much. KU is all about restoring pride to the program thats great and all but non issue for me.
While KU can be passed on we cant leave out having an All American CB . The teams that did pass on them Okie State , Mizzou and even NEB late had some high powered offenses. For all the talk about VT defense they did not play ANY good offenses late in the year. BC has a great QB but as an offense I dont think they are special. So KU should be the best VT has faced since LSU. Also Sharp had just 1 carry being banged up vs Mizzou which supposedlu KU sort of limped into that game.
So what to do , what to do......I guess I like the UND 52 or 1st H Under here cause while KU has a prolific offense it did struggle vs better defenses. While VT will have to show me consistency in the passing game here. For a side right now I think this is a fairly even game and lean KU +3.5 ....I will say I havent seen much of either team and dont know much about VaTechs uses of the 2 QBs...
:cheers:Be Back when I decide.....
I have always enjoyed Bowl Season but this has been great so far. Right now we have had 28 Bowls and I only didnt have strong opinions on two. If I had to chose I had liked Navy and I expected BYU to win and teased them and ML parlayed but never gave serious thought to the line. Took me awhile to get interested in Bowl season. The other 26 bowls if I had played them all I would be 23-3 ATS. Some I would have liked to played but was passed out and missed kickoff. I think I have gone 13-2 ATS here @ CTG plus splitting a parlay which would make me 14-3 ATS. Losing Maryland in the parlay and backing GaTech and Clemson. The reason I am saying this is cause even though I say this alot this game is hands down the toughest to figure out - hands down IMO! So keep that in mind as I am just sharing my logic.....
8 PM : Kansas vs VaTech - Orange Bowl , Dolphins Stadium
I always maintain I do my best to NOT read others opinions on games before I look at them. Here I have seen a comment or two about Kansas being overrated and playing a weak schedule. I agree KU didnt play the toughest schedule but again more representative then SOS is how you handled that competition( how your opponent was playing at the time as well) and for the most part KU blew teams out of the water. Hawaii played a weak schedule and struggled a few times to win. Not the same situation IMO...
Kansas did greatly benefit from starting with 4 straight home games. It's clear though they started the season READY. Early on they didnt play anyone worth a lick. They caught both CMU and Toledo teams who later improve in the midst of struggles and injuries. FIU and SE Louisana are terrible. The outcomes 214 to 23 and while thats amazing one TD allowed was in the final 10 seconds and you could imagine that most 4th quarters saw conservative game calling. It could have been alot worse!! They had 3 conference HOME games vs Baylor , Nebraska as it started to really decline and Iowa State. The did win 179 to 56 though. I think looking at the late season games you can see there defensive numbers dropped off due to better competition.
I felt strongly that Mizzou would beat KU cause there level of football was increasing each week. I know people wont agree but I am not sure today who is better OU or Mizzou. Naturally OU has to be slightily ahead because they won twice but they got on OU on there home field and then after the KU game. Now while I say this I also think KU didnt play that badly vs Mizzou. They started slow but really it was mostly a 2 TD game and they rallied once they got some momentum. You got the feeling by the end of the game that if there was more time KU would have prevailed. Thats my take anyway and from a Mizzou backer that day.
One thing we clearly notice is that KU offense dropped off considerably on the road. They caught Kansas State early when they were playing good football competing @ Auburn before beating Texas with there special teams. So a nice win but not in impressive fashion. Also they had not won there since 1989 and were ranked #24 (KST was). They struggled @ Colorado and A&M both times there defenses were vry good and they werent in real danger of losing the game. However they clearly struggle vs decent defenses. They did open it up on Oklahoma State but again the OSU team was inclined to be in shootouts cause they couldnt stop anyone outside of Indiana. Last game vs Mizzou they started real slow but after attacking a tiring Mizzou defense which really was good by the end of the year.
So what stands out about Kansas is they did play pretty well when traveling but there defense and offense(more the a few) took a few steps back. KU was undervalued all season cause no one believed in them and they covered every number till Mizzou where they were small favs. Is Reesing height a concern? Is Vince Hall playing? Can VaTech run the ball early without Ore?? Will Glennon continue his solid play or is the presuregoing to affect him?
Now VaTech schedule. They looked like shit early and versus weak competition up until the game @ Clemson. The key there was 3 early scores INT return , Punt return and kickoff return all by midway 2nd Q giving them a 24-3 lead and with a great defense they kept it fairly simple after that. Auburn showed what a good defense does to Clemson. Playing @ Duke is useless , the home game vs BC we saw how well the defense played but the offense inability to score allowed BC to hang around and pull out a win despite being outplayed. They won impressively against an overrated GT team but I did like the 480 yds of offense and not suprising the D terrorized another bad offense. Solid win vs FSU but again not impressive. An FSU team up and down all year led to start the 4th before fading and losing Weatherford. For the most part they spanked a sliding Miami team but at one point the Canes trailed by 6 late 3rd quarter before VaTech ran away with it. They beat a very average UVA team who rolled with a great defense problem is VaTechs defense is better and so is the offense. UVA hung around like it did all season before falling this time. The ACC Championship vs BC was revenge but while they prevailed it was another hard fought battle this time with VaTech pulling away late after a 16 all tie at half.
So really down the stretch it was the same deal good special teams , great defense , the reemergence of Bradon Ore and some productive play by Scott Glennon in the passing game. So Ore's early absence could be huge. His final few games YPC were 4.8 , 4.5 , 2.5 , 5.4 , 4.7 ,2.9 . Prior to that he had only 2 games above 4 + YPA in 7 games( Ohio and UNC). KU showed to be solid against the run and so-so vs the pass. Savage @ Okie State did have a good day but none of the other ground games showed up in its first 3 tru road games( T.Temple was okay ). Clearly Glennon is going to have make plays with Josh Morgan here.
Funny part is there really isnt much drama here. VaTech has some with Ore being disciplined for being late and VHall getting hurt non football injury. Naturally one cant forget what happened on the VT campus this summer . With the Hall injury as great as he may be the defense is used to being w/o him so I wont let that sway me much. KU is all about restoring pride to the program thats great and all but non issue for me.
While KU can be passed on we cant leave out having an All American CB . The teams that did pass on them Okie State , Mizzou and even NEB late had some high powered offenses. For all the talk about VT defense they did not play ANY good offenses late in the year. BC has a great QB but as an offense I dont think they are special. So KU should be the best VT has faced since LSU. Also Sharp had just 1 carry being banged up vs Mizzou which supposedlu KU sort of limped into that game.
So what to do , what to do......I guess I like the UND 52 or 1st H Under here cause while KU has a prolific offense it did struggle vs better defenses. While VT will have to show me consistency in the passing game here. For a side right now I think this is a fairly even game and lean KU +3.5 ....I will say I havent seen much of either team and dont know much about VaTechs uses of the 2 QBs...
:cheers:Be Back when I decide.....
