SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE--Week 5 Review and Week 6 Line Predictions

[RJ Esq]

301 florida atlantic
302 middle tenn st

303 louisiana tech
304 boise state

305 pittsburgh
306 south florida

307 memphis
308 uab

309 oregon state
310 utah

315 boston college
316 north carolina state

317 rutgers
318 west virginia

319 penn state
320 purdue

321 iowa
322 michigan state

323 indiana
324 minnesota

325 maryland
326 virginia

327 connecticut
328 north carolina

329 south carolina
330 mississippi

331 texas tech
332 kansas state

333 kansas
334 iowa state

335 duke
336 georgia tech

337 auburn
338 vanderbilt

339 unlv
340 colorado state

341 ohio
342 western michigan

343 stanford
344 notre dame

345 army
346 tulane

347 temple
348 miami ohio

349 illinois
350 michigan

351 missouri
352 nebraska

353 texas
354 colorado

355 florida state
356 miami florida

357 arizona state
358 california

359 florida
360 arkansas

361 kentucky
362 alabama

363 smu
364 central florida

365 eastern michigan
366 bowling green

367 navy
368 air force

369 nevada
370 idaho

371 san diego state
372 tcu

373 washington state
374 ucla

375 washington u
376 arizona u

377 northern illinois
378 tennessee u

379 ball state
380 toledo

381 akron
382 kent

383 utep
384 so mississippi

385 oklahoma
386 baylor

387 texas am
388 oklahoma state

389 ohio state
390 wisconsin

391 rice
392 tulsa

393 oregon
394 usc

395 wyoming
396 new mexico

397 hawaii
398 fresno state

399 western kentucky
400 virginia tech

401 ul - lafayette
402 ul - monroe

403 florida intl
404 north texas

 

[RJ Esq]

 

[RJ Esq]

Tide Handles UGA, 'Funeral' an Apt Description

from The FanHouse - NCAAfootball
Filed under: Alabama, Georgia, SEC

Last week while Georgia coach Mark Richt was coming up with clever things to say to the press, Saban was working on his game plan. While Knowshon was trying on his new black jersey, the 'Bama defense was watching film. In Athens on Saturday, it was pretty clear that the only thing that had been blacked out was UGA's offense.

Alabama jumped out to a 31-0 point half-time lead. While Georgia put a dent in that lead in the fourth quarter, the outcome was all but certain by then.

Alabama's much-maligned quarterback, John Parker Wilson, didn't do anything flashy, but he did go 13/16 for 205 yards and touchdown. He managed the game as well as any signal caller has for the Tide in recent memory. He was efficient, accurate, and didn't make bad decisions.

On the other side of the ball, Georgia's Stafford did not have his best game. While he ended up throwing for nearly 300 yards, he was continuously throwing the ball into tight spots -- double coverage, tightly-covered receivers with safety help, and worst of all, tightly-covered receivers in double coverage with safety help. In truth, Stafford is extremely lucky that he only threw one interception.

In the running game, the Heisman-hyped Knowshon Moreno managed a paltry 34 yards rushing while 3 different Alabama backs found the end zone on the ground.

At the end of the day, the only phase of the game that Georgia won was special teams. They recovered an onside kick, blocked a punt, and ran another one back for a touchdown. These plays are the reason that the final score ended up being 41-30 rather than 55-15.

It was a dominating and impressive win by Alabama.

Where do the teams go from here? SI.com's Andy Staples hints that this may be the end of Georgia's BCS title hopes. Which, if I may be frank, is nonsense. A one-loss, conference champion Georgia team could easily go on to the BCS title game. Who would go instead? USC? Penn State? The challenge, however, is winning the rest of the games. After a weekend of mostly lackluster SEC games, that feat is looking much more attainable.

There will be #1 votes in the polls on Monday for Saban's Tide, there will be talk of conference and national championship contention. There will be a collective glow around the fan base. By Tuesday that glow will be joy rather than alcohol. Probably. That said, like Georgia, the Tide has a long path ahead of them. Alabama simply cannot sustain injuries right now. Having an offensive lineman go down right now would turn what looks like a 10-win season into a battle for a respectable bowl game. The team is also extremely young, and a hallmark of young, talented players is winning games that they're not expected to and losing games that they're not expected to.

For everyone else, your best bet is to just avoid Alabama fans for a few weeks. No, really. As an Alabama alumnus myself, I'm the first to admit that, as a group, 'Bama fans had been fever-pitch obnoxious before Saturday's drubbing of a talented Georgia team and it's only going to get worse. After the decade that Tide faithful have endured, however, a little gloating is well-deserved.

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">6:30 AM (1 hour ago)
Big 12 Football Report, v 1.5 - South Division Review

from Burnt Orange Nation by PB @ BON
A weekly report on the weekend of Big 12 football.
Previous weeks: 1, 2, 3, 4
NON-CONFERENCE REVIEW

In lieu of the usual game-by-game rundown, this week's report offers a big picture review of the now concluded non-conference slate as well as a look ahead to conference play. Teams are reviewed in order of projected finish, with likely national ranking (released later today) preceding teams in the Top 25.


#1 Oklahoma Sooners (4-0)

<table style="text-align: left;" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left;"> Opponent
</td> <td>Result</td> </tr> <tr> <td>UT-Chattanooga</td> <td>W, 57-2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Cincinnati</td> <td>W, 52-26</td> </tr> <tr> <td>@ Washington</td> <td>W, 55-14</td> </tr> <tr> <td>TCU</td> <td>W, 35-10</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Offensive MVP: Sam Bradford, QB - Texas fans should have no trouble understanding the joy Sooners fans must feel watching their starting quarterback put up numbers almost too good to believe: 83 of 115 passing (72.2%), 1, 293 yards, 16 TDs, 2 INTs, for a QB Rating of 209.1. Bradford can, has, and will continue to make every throw in the book, able to pinpoint short outs or effortlessly launch 50-yard bombs to a (frighteningly often) wide open Manuel Johnson.
Defensive MVP: Travis Lewis, LB - Recruiting nerds may remember the name of Oklahoma's redshirt freshman linebacker from 2006, when the four-star prospect decommitted at the last moment from Nebraska to attend Oklahoma. Though OU's defensive line deserves a healthy share of the plaudits, Lewis has stood out at a position which had the potential to be an Achilles' heel for the Sooners in '08. Lewis has 1 interception and his 32 tackles lead the team and include 4.5 tackles for a loss (3 sacks).
Big 12 Schedule - at Baylor, vs Texas (Dallas), vs Kansas, at Kansas State, vs Nebraska, at Texas A&M, vs Texas Tech, at Oklahoma State
Projected Big 12 Finish: 8-0, 1st, South Division - The Sooners are the clear favorites in the South thanks to Bob Stoops' best offensive team since he arrived in Norman in 1999. Offensively, Manuel Johnson and Jermaine Gresham are absolutel nightmares to cover, the offensive line is the best in the conference, and Sam Bradford makes the position look effortless at times. Scarier still, Demarco Murray is a better athlete than he is football player right now; as he improves his body control and reads blocks and running lanes better, he's going to be even more effective than he already is. The defense is as yet untested, and despite some mild concerns in the back seven, the front four are so disruptive that the unit overall is well above average.
#5 Texas Longhorns (4-0)

<table style="text-align: left;" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left;"> Opponent
</td> <td>Result</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Florida Atlantic
</td> <td>W, 52-10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>@ UTEP
</td> <td>W,42-13</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Rice
</td> <td>W, 52-10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Arkansas
</td> <td>W, 52-10</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Offensive MVP: Colt McCoy, QB - It's not so much that Colt McCoy raced passed Major Applewhite to become Texas' all-time leader in career touchdown passes, it's how he's done it--blending picture perfect passing with effective, purposeful rushing. He'd be the talk of the town in any other conference; in the Big 12, he's 'merely' another superstar.
Defensive MVP: Roddrick Muckelroy, LB - His 30 tackles--12 more than the next player on the roster--certainly help him stand out statistically, but his excellence (and importance to the team) are best illustrated anecdotally. Take, for example, a particularly nice place on Saturday, when Arkansas--trailing 24-3--moved to the Texas 39 before facing 3rd and 14. As Casey Dick dropped back to pass, Muckelroy (who had lined up just behind Roy Miller and faked a blitz) correctly read Dick's eyes to the strongside, and drifted back to perfect coverage help position. Good thing, because Dick completed a 10-yard pass to Greg Childs and freshman safety Blake Gideon missed the tackle, freeing him to pick up the first down... except for Muckelroy, who solidly wrapped Childs three yards short of the marker. Texas held on 4th and 3, scored again just before half, and the game was over at halftime, 31-3. For a young back seven still learning where to be on the field, Muckelroy has been excellent in everything he's been asked to do, including pass coverage--his big weakness in 2007.
Big 12 Schedule - at Colorado, vs Texas (Dallas), vs Missouri, vs Oklahoma State, at Texas Tech, vs Baylor, at Kansas, vs Texas A&M
Projected Big 12 Finish: 6-2, 2nd, South Division - If the 'Horns were to win in Boulder and then upset Oklahoma in Dallas a week later, it would be time to start talking about Texas as more than an excellent team more likely to make the big splash in '09 than '08. Not that OU isn't the Big One every year, but this is a Texas team that's still got a lot of room to grow and improve and which should be a tougher out each successive week, so clearing the first hurdle would be enormous. Most likely, the Longhorns will drop a game or two in the brutal stretch between Oklahoma and Texas Tech, but this is already a very good team with room to get better.

#6 Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-0)

<table style="text-align: left;" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left;"> Opponent
</td> <td>Result</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eastern Washington
</td> <td>W, 49-24</td> </tr> <tr> <td>@ Nevada
</td> <td>W,35-19</td> </tr> <tr> <td>SMU
</td> <td>W,43-7</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Massachusetts
</td> <td>W, 56-14</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Offensive MVP: Shannon Woods, RB - Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree are the household names, but Shannon Woods is every bit as important to Texas Tech. A year ago when Woods worked his way deep into Mike Leach's doghouse and was benched for most of the season, the Red Raiders' rushing production plummeted to 2.8 yards per carry during Big 12 play. With Woods (43 rushes, 280 yards, 6.4 per rush, 7 TDs) the primary tailback thus far in 2008, Texas Tech's averaging 5.9 yards per carry. If Woods could produce in conference play at a level anywhere near that which he has through the first four games, defending Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree would move from hard to harder.
Defensive MVP: McKinner Dixon and Brandon Williams, DEs - The Red Raiders have handled the cupcakes (EWU, SMU, UMASS) on their schedule with ease, but Graham Harrell and the offense sputtered a bit in Reno against Nevada. It mattered not, thanks in large part to the defense, which repealed the Wolfpack on drive after drive in Texas Tech territory, highlighted by four critical sacks. Tech has 11 sacks on the season (9th most nationally) and is thriving on pressure defense thanks to 9 QB takedowns from their two excellent ends McKinner Dixon (4) and Brandon Williams (5).
Big 12 Schedule - at Kansas State, vs Nebraska, at Texas A&M, at Kansas, vs Texas, vs Oklahoma State, at Oklahoma, vs Baylor.
Projected Big 12 Finish: 6-2, 3rd, South Division - Assuming Tech can handle business as a road favorite in three of its first four Big XII games, their season's pivotal stretch begins November 1st when they try to snap a five-year losing streak to the Longhorns. Their last victory over Texas in 2002 was also in Lubbock, but the stakes could be higher this time around if Tech enters the game ranked in the Top 5 at 8-0. Following Texas the Red Raiders will host pesky Oklahoma State (winners of 3 of the teams' last 5 meetings), who feature an offense plenty explosive to play Tech's style. If this is indeed Mike Leach's big year, Tech might just find itself 10-0 on November 22nd when they travel to Norman. But that's a long way away; without seeing how well Tech runs the ball in conference play and whether this defense really is an improved unit, the projection remains conservative, noting the team's considerable upside.

#21 Oklahoma State Cowboys (4-0)

<table style="text-align: left;" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left;"> Opponent
</td> <td>Result</td> </tr> <tr> <td>@ Washington State
</td> <td>W,39-13</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Houston
</td> <td>W,56-37</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Missouri State
</td> <td>W,57-13</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Troy
</td> <td>W,55-24</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Offensive MVP: Offensive Line - Not only have tailbacks Kendall Hunter (80 rushes, 618 yards, 7.7 per carry, 8 TDs), Keith Tolston (41-368-9.0-5), and Beau Johnson (37-252-6.8-2) each been so successful that it hardly seems fair to reward any one over the others, but the unbelievable performance by all three speaks to the amazing job the Cowboys' offensive lineman have done. With 9 of their top 10 O-Linemen returning, this figured to be a team strength, but the numbers being put up by Oklahoma State on the ground thus far have been beyond what anyone could possibly have predicted. This unit is the reason Oklahoma State is the most dangerous team in the country that no one is talking about.
Defensive MVP: Ricky Price and Perrish Cox, DBs - Perrish Cox (one of the conference's most gifted all-around CBs) and Ricky Price (who has successfully completed his transition from wide receiver to become a very solid playmaker at safety) anchor a quietly excellent secondary, both in terms of talent and--at least thus far--production. Oklahoma State is allowing just 5.0 yards per pass attempt, a big reason why opponents have converted just 14 of 55 third downs on the season.
Big 12 Schedule - vs Texas A&M, at Missouri, vs Baylor, at Texas, vs Iowa State, at Texas Tech, at Colorado, vs Oklahoma.
Projected Big 12 Finish: 5-3, 4th, South Division - Without question, the conference's wild card, Oklahoma State has a brutal schedule which both makes their own contention something of a longshot and provides them with the opportunity to play 2008 Big XII kingmaker (or spoiler, depending on the perspective). Road games at Missouri, Texas, and Texas Tech provide the brutality, but the Cowboys look explosive enough on offense to upset one of those three or Oklahoma in the season finale, potentially ruining someone's conference title dreams and making OSU a fascinating team to watch in the coming weeks.

Baylor Bears (2-2)

<table style="text-align: left;" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left;"> Opponent
</td> <td>Result</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wake Forest
</td> <td>L, 13-41
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Northwestern State
</td> <td>W,51-6</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Washington State
</td> <td>W,45-17</td> </tr> <tr> <td>@ Connecticut
</td> <td>L, 28-31
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Offensive MVP: Robert Griffin, QB - No surprise here, of course, but whereas in past years being Baylor's offensive MVP has been like being named the best-read 9th grader in Oklahoma, Griffin has been one of the nation's most productive quarterbacks and very nearly as outstanding as the conference's highly-touted superstars. Given his exceptional athleticism, the rushing success (83.5 ypg, 6.1 ypc, 5 TDs) isn't a big shock, but the proficiency with which he's passing the ball (47-78, 756 yards, 7 TDs, 0 INTs, 171.3 QB Rating) has been most impressive. Best of all for Baylor fans, he's a true freshman ushering in a new era under a new coach who looks very much like he can get the most out of this rare talent.
Defensive MVP: Joe Pawelek, LB - Second Team Big XII a season ago, Pawelek is well on his way to improving on his strong '07 numbers, leading the Bears with 48 tackles, 2 passes broken up, 4 quarterback hurries, 2 interceptions, and 1 fumble recovery. Though Baylor doesn't have the talent to slow down the juggernauts in the Big XII this year, the unit held its own during non-conference victories over Washington State and Division 1-AA Northwestern State, and kept Baylor close enough to nearly upset Connecticut in Hartford.
Big 12 Schedule - vs Oklahoma, vs Iowa State, at Oklahoma State, at Nebraska, vs Missouri, at Texas, vs Texas A&M, at Texas Tech
Projected Big 12 Finish: 2-6, 5th, South Division - Though the conference slate will be a tough proving ground for Briles' squad, victories over Iowa State and, in particular, Texas A&M would both keep the Bears cleanly out of the cellar and help give the team confidence that it's on the path to something bigger and better in the coming years with Robert Griffin.

Texas A&M Aggies (2-2)

<table style="text-align: left;" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left;"> Opponent
</td> <td>Result</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Arkansas State
</td> <td>L, 14-18
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>@ New Mexico
</td> <td>W,28-22</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Miami
</td> <td>L,23-41</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Army
</td> <td>W, 21-17
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Offensive MVP: Jerrod Johnson, QB - Sophomore Jerrod Johnson has been very solid replacing the injured Stephen McGee, to the tune of 35-61 passing for 452 yards, 7 TDs and just 2 INTs (150.9 QB Rating), but while that hasn't translated into much offensive firepower for the Aggies, his presence is important as visible evidence to a frustrated fanbase that 2008 is more than an exercise in mediocrity. Poor football is easier to swallow if it's being played by younger talent fans believe can and will develop into winning players.
Defensive MVP: Jordan Pugh, S - It's difficult to find an MVP of a group that's allowing 5.3 yards per play, but the Aggie's junior cornerback is doing his part in helping the team at least field a respectable pass defense (5.6 yards per attempt). Defensive end Michael Bennett (21 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 2 fumble recoveries) stands out statistically, but with A&M allowing an atrocious 5.2 yards per rush on the ground, it's difficult to make the case for any member of the defensive line being an MVP of any kind.
Big 12 Schedule - at Oklahoma State, vs Kansas State, vs Texas Tech, at Iowa State, vs Colorado, vs Oklahoma, at Baylor, at Texas
Projected Big 12 Finish: 2-6, 6th, South Division - If A&M plays in the Big 12 as it has in the non-conference schedule, their visit to Ames may be the only win on the schedule. But the team has enough room to improve that winning at Kyle Field over Kansas State and/or Colorado isn't out of the question. However, avoiding the cellar likely means winning in Waco, but Baylor's thus far looked the superior team.






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[RJ Esq]

Upset Saturday!

from Conquest Chronicles by Paragon SC
WOW, What a day!
Friday sucked...I got all sorts of text messages, e-mails and voice mail messages poking and prodding me about our loss to Oregon St. on Thursday, couple that with a bunch of work issues and a few other things - well, it was a bad day!
So I figured I could really watch some games yesterday without having to worry about USC playing and going through all the nervousness that I always feel on game day...well what a day it was.
After all I saw yesterday I know one thing for sure... for at least the first half of their game against UGA Alabama looked liked THE best team in the nation. UGA never knew what hit them. Alabama came back to earth in the 2nd half much to the chagrin of Nick Saban but they looked aboslutely solid in the first half. UGA made some adjustments in the 2nd half and a great punt return for a TD made the game interesting but it wasn't enough. Once Alabama went up 4 TD's it was going to be tough for UGA to come back no matter how "bad" Alabama played. Regardless, it was an absolutely monster game!
Wisconsin goes down to Michigan in the Big House...I didn't see any of the game eccetp for their faile 2-point coversion at the end so I can't really comment on it.
Illinois made it interesting on their first two drives but PSU was just too much in Happy Valley. The Illini got as close as being 7 behind mid-way through the 2nd half but a 94-tard kick-off return for a TD proved to be a back breaker. Illinois hung in there but it wasn't enough. PSU can be beat, they didn't really dominate and they let Illinois hang around a little too much, they never really put them away. PSU has yet to go on the road and face a quality team so while they have looked good so far I am not yet sold on their dominance. Their game against Ohio State will be the most telling. They will move up in the polls this week but over all body of work is is a bit thin.
A brief thought on Ohio State...the are rejuvenated with Pryor at the helm. Beanie's return gave them a bit of a spark as they beat previously unbeaten Minnesota. I would not write them off just yet, they will be in the mix at the end of the season. Its going to be a fun game next year in Columbus...
The big news of course is that Florida lost at home to an Ole Miss team that is improved but still not in the upper echelon of the SEC. Jevon Snead really kept his cool and found a way to beat the Gators. Percy Harvin had an absolutely monster day but it wasn't enough. The difference? A blocked PAT, Florida got the the ball back but was then stuffed on a 4th and one. Tebow didn't look as sharp as he has in the past and they had a real tough time on 3rd down conversions. As I said in my fan post yesterday considering how bad Ole Miss was last year and that they beat Florida in the Swamp this loss by the Gators makes it a bigger upset than USC's loss to Oregon St.
Here's why. (emphasis mine)

What probably will happen is that USC will be punished more severely for losing to a team in what is perceived as a relatively weak Pac-10. Florida, by virtue of its membership in the SEC, won't take as much of a hit because, as we sportswriter-types always tell you, anybody can beat anybody in the SEC.

While the SEC is the better conference top-to-bottom, it isn't so much better that it deserves a double standard. USC lost on the road to a program that has won three bowl games in the past four seasons. Florida lost at home to a program that hasn't played in a bowl game since Eli Manning's senior season in 2003. Had Florida lost to LSU or Georgia, that defeat probably wouldn't have killed the Gators' national-title hopes provided they could win out. The Ole Miss loss should. National champs should not lose at home to three-touchdown underdogs.
Of course, last year's national champ lost a pair of regular-season games, so none of this may matter by November. But I get the sneaking suspicion that pollsters will end up deciding who plays in the national title game by quality of losses, not quality of wins. Instead of style points, teams will be judged on who beat them. If the SEC champ has a loss to Georgia, LSU, Auburn, Alabama or Florida, bienvenido a Miami. If the Big 12 champ has a loss to Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri or Texas Tech, come on down. So where does that leave USC? We'll have to wait and see how Oregon State performs the rest of the season before passing judgment.
​

Of course you won't hear the gnashing of teeth over this Florida loss by any of the T.V. pundits but trust me its significant. Listening to Herbstreit bash USC and then talk about how Florida will be in the tiltle game only show that he knows as much as the rest of us do...the only difference is that he gets paid to talk about ti and looks like a fool when he does it. And don't get me started about granny Holtz his thoughts get dicounted 80% befoore he even opens his mouth.I don't even listen to him anymore.
Florida's loss certainly doesn't let USC off the hook for getting manhandled in the trenches on Thursday but there needs to be some consistency. In fact, unless I see the same team that watched on Sept. 13th and a major beat down against the Ducks next Saturday I will not be convinced that SC will even win the Pac-10. Oregon State starts slow every year. We saw it against Penn State and Stanford this year, they were slow out of blocks against Cincinnati last year and Boise State in 2006, yet Oregon State always finishes the season with 9-10 wins. Then there is their bowl record. They may not be BCS bowl games but they win and that counts for something...Oregon State is not an average team.
If we're going to talk about strength of schedule you need to look at it carefully. Another thing to look at is that Oregon State's loss to PSU was on the road...grasping at straws on my part? Probably, but there is still a lot of football to play and we have hardly scratched the surface of the season. SC needs to take of their own business if they are going to get back into the title chase but yesterday's upsets only prove that you never really know how things are going to shake out until they actually do.

 

[carolinablue]

<HR style="COLOR: #d1d1e1" SIZE=1> <!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->
301 florida atlantic
302 middle tenn st -2.5

303 louisiana tech
304 boise state -21.5

305 pittsburgh
306 south florida -12.5

307 memphis -6
308 uab

309 oregon state
310 utah -9.5

315 boston college -14
316 north carolina state

317 rutgers
318 west virginia -12.5

319 penn state -14.5
320 purdue

321 iowa
322 michigan state -7.5

323 indiana
324 minnesota -8.5

325 maryland -17.5
326 virginia

327 connecticut
328 north carolina pk

329 south carolina
330 mississippi -4.5

331 texas tech -8.5
332 kansas state

333 kansas -12.5
334 iowa state

335 duke
336 georgia tech -7.5

337 auburn -7.5
338 vanderbilt

339 unlv -3
340 colorado state

341 ohio
342 western michigan -9.5

343 stanford
344 notre dame -8.5

345 army
346 tulane -15.5

347 temple
348 miami ohio -7.5

349 illinois
350 michigan -3.5

351 missouri -6.5
352 nebraska

353 texas -24.5
354 colorado

355 florida state
356 miami florida pk

357 arizona state
358 california -14.5

359 florida -24
360 arkansas

361 kentucky
362 alabama -14.5

363 smu
364 central florida -12.5

365 eastern michigan
366 bowling green -24

367 navy
368 air force -3

369 nevada -28.5
370 idaho

371 san diego state
372 tcu -21.5

373 washington state
374 ucla -14.5

375 washington u
376 arizona u -14.5

377 northern illinois
378 tennessee u -18.5

379 ball state -16.5
380 toledo

381 akron -2.5
382 kent

383 utep
384 so mississippi -12.5

385 oklahoma -28.5
386 baylor

387 texas am
388 oklahoma state -21.5

389 ohio state -4
390 wisconsin

391 rice
392 tulsa -18.5

393 oregon
394 usc -10.5

395 wyoming
396 new mexico -21.5

397 hawaii
398 fresno state -24.5

399 western kentucky
400 virginia tech -34

401 ul - lafayette -6
402 ul - monroe

403 florida intl -9.5
404 north texas

 

[RJ Esq]

<table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3" class="storytitle">So ... What Does This All Mean? </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="primaryimage" valign="top">

Florida QB Tim Tebow
</td> <td width="3" nowrap="nowrap">
</td> <td valign="top"> <table bgcolor="#f5f5f5" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" width="60%"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td valign="middle" nowrap="nowrap">By Pete Fiutak
CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Sep 28, 2008
</td> <td nowrap="nowrap">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

After a crazy weekend with so many upsets, what does it all mean? What's the national title pecking order? Who's the big winner and who's the biggest loser? Should USC still be in the national title hunt? Now Florida's national title dream is gone after losing to Ole Miss at home, right? Hardly.
</td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="3">
[FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif]What Does It All Mean?[/FONT]
[FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif]
What's the fallout for the top teams that lost this weekend? [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif][SIZE=-2]

By Pete Fiutak [/SIZE][/FONT]
So now what?

The No. 1 (USC), No. 3 (Georgia), No. 4 (Florida) and No. 9 (Wisconsin) all took it on the chin this weekend, and now the college football world is in an upheaval before October has rolled around.

Are we destined for a BYU vs. Boise State national championship? Is there going to be another two-loss team playing for the national title? Did these teams lose early enough for everything to change back around? Here's what this weekend likely means going forward.

1. The Florida and Georgia losses don't really matter if one of them wins out.
Considering the way the SEC has won the last two national title games, and considering the respect the league has gotten from the start this year, if everything else is equal, the SEC champion will be at the top of the pecking order when it comes to playing for the national title. If Florida wins out, it'll have to beat LSU, Georgia, Florida State, and the SEC West champion, while Georgia can still win out and have wins at LSU, Florida, at Auburn, Georgia Tech, and the SEC West champion on its résumé. If either of those two runs the table, it's in unless Penn State and the Big 12 champion are unbeaten.

A one-loss SEC champion will get in over an unbeaten South Florida, BYU, Utah, or Boise State, and it would get the nod over a one-loss USC ... but barely. However, now there's no margin for error for the Gators and Bulldogs. Neither team will get the respect LSU received last year, and neither will get the benefit of the doubt if there's a second loss and an SEC title. When all is said and done, the SEC champion will probably end up playing for the national championship.

2. And the big winner is ...
The Big 12. All that love that went to the SEC for having five teams in the top ten will now shift to the Big 12, who could have three teams (Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas) in the top five with Texas Tech in the top ten and Oklahoma State about to rocket up the rankings over the next two weeks thanks to a layup against Texas A&M next week. Of course, everyone will start picking each other off. Oklahoma State goes to Missouri in two weeks, the same day Oklahoma and Texas square off, but for the next 14 days, everyone will be gushing over the Big 12, cementing the conference as the clear-cut No. 2 league behind the SEC. That's important, because if this comes down to a fight between one-loss teams for who deserves to be in the national championship, on merit, it's going to be hard to not take a one-loss Big 12 team over anyone but the SEC champion.
3. Who also benefits?
The Mountain West. For BYU or Utah to play for the national title, one has to win out and just about everyone else needs to have two losses. A one-loss USC, SEC or Big 12 champion gets in over an unbeaten Mountain West champion, but a two-loss team doesn't. A one-loss Big Ten team probably wouldn't get the benefit of the doubt over an unbeaten BYU or Utah.

4. Can USC still play for the national title?
That's going to be the biggest debate over the rest of the season if the Trojans keep winning. One more loss and it's all over, and one near-miss could become a death blow. But if Ohio State starts to rock, and that win over the Buckeyes becomes more impressive, the voters are going to blow off the Oregon State loss just because this is still USC, and the track record of performing well in big games is nearly flawless. There's also the repeat factor. No one wants to see a USC - Ohio State Rose Bowl, and, as crazy as this might sound, there will be voters who'll justify in their own minds the idea of putting the Trojans in the national title game because 1) they could beat anyone in America and 2) they really, really don't want a repeat in the Rose Bowl.

However, it'll be hard to sell USC on merit. If USC ends up playing for the national title over a one-loss Oklahoma or a one-loss Penn State, there will be a major uproar. And lock everything down if USC gets in over an unbeaten BYU or Utah after the way the Pac 10 has performed this year. Of course, the Trojans have to take care of business first and win out impressively.

5. Can Wisconsin recover and still be in the national title hunt?
Maybe if everything lines up perfectly, but it's not going to happen. The Badgers blew it, plain and simple. Saturday was shaping up better than they could've ever dreamed, but then they choked it all away. On the plus side, the collapse flew under the radar because of all the other upsets; the voters might have glossed over it and it might be forgotten about if the Badgers come back roaring.

There might be some thought that the Michigan game was a fluke; a one-time anomaly for a mediocre Wolverine team that had everything come together at the right moment. If the Badgers can be impressive over the next two weeks and beat Ohio State and Penn State impressively, all of a sudden they're the head-and-shoulders favorite to win the Big Ten title. While the Michigan loss proves they can lose at any time, there's no one else on the schedule, including Illinois and with the possible exception of Michigan State in East Lansing, that should pose any real challenge if this UW team really is good enough to beat both Ohio State and Penn State. Remember, Ohio State worked its way into the national championship last year by hanging around and letting everyone else shoot themselves in the foot. However, there's a ceiling on this Badger team as long as the quarterback play remains shaky.

6. The big loser is ...
The BCS. The BCS has to fill ten slots, and there's still that goofy rule in place that states only two teams from the same league can get in. The SEC and the Big 12 are mortal locks to get two teams in, and the Big Ten, ACC, Big East and Pac 10 champions all get a spot. That leaves two spots open. The ACC and Big East have virtually no shot of getting a second team in, and the Pac 10 will probably get shut out of a second spot unless Cal or Oregon come through strong. The Big Ten might take a second spot, and in a perfect world for the BCS, that would go to the Ohio State/Penn State loser, but that might not happen if either of them blow it against Wisconsin over the next two weeks. Do unbeaten non-BCS league teams like Boise State and BYU get the final two spots, and what happens if there aren't any unbeaten non-BCS league teams?

7. As it stands now, the national title pecking order is (for right or wrong) ...
1. Unbeaten SEC champion, 2. Unbeaten Big 12 champion, 3. Unbeaten Big Ten champion, 4. One loss SEC champion, 5. One loss USC, 6. One loss Big 12 champion, 7. One-loss Big 12 champion, 8. Unbeaten Mountain West champion, 9. One loss Big Ten champion, 10. Two loss SEC champion. (Note: The ACC doesn't have an unbeaten team and likely has no shot of anyone, except maybe Virginia Tech, getting into the national championship.)
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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">12:28 AM (7 hours ago)
You Know Who Didn't Lose Saturday? Oklahoma and Texas

from The FanHouse - NCAAfootball
Filed under: Oklahoma, Texas, Big 12, General CFB Insanity

All too often when talking about a weekend full of upsets -- and did we ever have some upsets in college football -- the talk revolves around the losers. Thing is, the nature of losing is that voids are created, voids which must be filled by someone. We can argue just how worthy those somebodies are, but if there's a top 10 you gotta put somebody in there at the end of the day.

This week's big winners are Oklahoma and Texas. Not only did they win, but they played great against name opponents. Oklahoma cruised past TCU 35-10 (darty-quick receiver Manuel Johnson blowing by the opposition above) while Texas was the latest school to ritually flog Arkansas, 52-10. Oklahoma's questionable performances in big bowl games after high rankings is well known, but by virtue of their success here they are about to be No. 1 when the rankings come out. Texas may also slide into the top five despite serious questions about their run game and ability to be a national player without Vince Young on the roster.

Conference peers Colorado and Nebraska quietly lost, but by virtue of a bye week Missouri and Texas Tech were winners as well. That means the Big 12's four best teams (and I think we can throw in one-loss Kansas) remain strong brands as we steadily march towards the midpoint of the 2008 college football season.

As we all know, Oklahoma lost to Colorado and Texas Tech in 2007 after looking invincible early last year. But as mentioned earlier, with everyone else losing and the Sooners again destroying whatever's in front of them, there's no place else to go but up. I hunch they'll lose again at some point, as will Texas (Kansas State is a particularly sticky opponent) and the college football free-for-all will remain until the final weeks.

Crazy, but since last year that's been our game. I prefer a bit more order, but everyone seems to be having fun (nevermind my tears over what happened Thursday night) and the conversation is a bit more lively when everyone's so on edge waiting for upset losses. Roll with it, I guess.





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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">10:20 PM (9 hours ago)
Bo Makes Freshman Mistakes

from Big Red Network
One of Husker fans' favorite passtimes in the wake of loss is to second-guess the head coach. It's cathartic, even if it's a bit unfair. Let me make it clear. I'm still glad Bo Pelini is NU's head coach. Nevertheless, I did take issue with some of his calls throughout the game.
I walked out of the stadium less than a half hour ago, so there may be some things I missed. For example, who won the coin toss? If the Huskers elected to receive, I don't like the call. If they didn't, it's obviously a non-issue. Also, were those ACC officials? Seriously, I'd like to know.
Early in the game the Huskers were set to go for it on 4th and 1 on their own side of the field. That's not something you do against the weaker teams on your schedule, so I question whether it sends the wrong message to the team that you need to gamble to beat that opponent - that you can't beat them straight up. When it failed (or rather, the Huskers took a 5-yard penalty), it seemed to contribute to the negative tone early that got things snowballing against the Huskers.
Another issue (perhaps more a Shawn Watson than Bo Pelini issue) is that we seemed to concede the running game offensively if we only got 3 yards on first down. Second and seven can be a good running down, but it seemed as though we always felt the need to pass in that situation. In a game where you want to minimize your own mistakes, running the ball seems like a wise idea and as the Huskers featured the run more in the second half, good things started to happen offensively.
I also questioned the way Bo used his timeouts at the end of the game. It ended up being a bit of a non-issue (since Virginia Tech ran the ball three times rather than pass on 3rd down). But I think the textbook says take your timeouts on first and second down in case your opponent passes on third down. Ultimately it didn't matter, but it could have.
But the real reason I'm questionning Bo is the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty he took late in the game. Considering the situation, it just was not fair to do to those kids. They were fighting to win a game, and he advances the ball halfway through the redzone because he couldn't control his temper. It was no wonder that Suh got an additional unsportsmanlike conduct penalty soon after. Pelini has no moral authority to forbid those kinds of penalties when he's out there blowing his top. He's done it twice now (going back to the Alamo Bowl in 2003) in five games. It's not like the 1 free throw a hoops coach costs his team with a technical foul. This is premium red zone real estate that he just gave away because he was disappointed with a call. This simply cannot happen again.
The shame of it is, it also tarnishes what was an extremely exciting finish. I had a similar feeling to when I went to the 1994 Orange Bowl against Florida State and the Tyrone Williams late hit penalty helped push the Seminoles into field goal range for the winning margin. Yes, the officials could have swallowed the whistle at that point. But ultimately, the player has to play within the rules and not put it into the hands of the official.
I also gained a lot of pride for this group of kids. When it was 28-10, I got worried that they might just meltdown and let the Hokies steamroll them. Instead they fought hard and made it a game. I was ready to rename Joe Ganz Joe Cool because of the way he was making the plays Nebraska needed late. I wanted to sing the praises of Nate Swift. I desperately wanted to trumpet the return of the Huskers to the top 25. Instead, we'll probably remember this as a game where 3 late flags that didn't need to happen may have cost the Huskers the game. And that stinks. Maybe like that Husker team, Nebraska will gain confidence that they can play with BCS teams and raise their game against the Tigers. I'd gladly trade the win over the Hokies to get a win over Missouri.
But Bo's right when he says he needs to be smarter. Because like it or not, the team follows his lead. Good and bad. His good habits helped them compete with a quality team. His bad habits may have cost them an opportunity to beat that team. Perhaps he should take his lead from Joe Cool, so that he doesn't lose his.






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[RJ Esq]

My team won 37-21, why do I feal I am eating crow?

from Fanblogs.com by Ben Prather
Maybe because Utah should have won 56-0 if they are anything like I think they should be? Maybe because I talked up TCU all week and Oklahoma decided to show up and make a statement?
I had the pleasure of watching TCU vs. Oklahoma right next to UAB vs. South Carolina. In both cases one team did not look like they belonged on the field with the other. The establishment I was at had mercy on UAB and changed the channel to South Florida vs NC State. Although the score was similar it was apparent that in this case the teams were a lot closer. The one consolation is that TCU appeared to be able to play Oklahoma's second string.
Wyoming's disappointment to Bowling Green was not completely unexpected.
SDSU finally one a game vs Idaho and New Mexico is the state champion after a win over New Mexico State. CSU lost to California, ending the MWC winning streak over PAC 10 foes. None of this was a surprise, but UNLV's embarrassment by Nevada was unexpected.
This season has been good for the MWC, but this week was ugly. BYU can be glad they took the week off.
For the mid majors, Fresno State had a close win over a discredited BCS team and ECU lost a tough conference match.
This much is certain, either the MWC champion is not a legitimate BCS contender or TCU is not a legitimate MWC contender. Time will tell.

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">10:10 PM (10 hours ago)
Line Predictions Week 6

from underdogsofwar.com by TheGarfather
This week’s random guesses.
FAU -7 @ MTSU
LT @ Boise State -20 (I consistently prove that I have no idea how to line games like this)
Pitt @ USF -14 (if the Bulls get everyone back healthy they win this)
Memphis -3 @ UAB
Oregont St @ Utah -7
Cincinnati -6 @ Marshall
BYU -30 @ Utah State
Boston College -2 @ NC State
Rutgers @ West Va -7.5
Penn State -11 @ Purdue
Iowa @ Michigan State -10
Indiana @ Minnesota -2.5
Maryland -13.5 @ Virginia
Conn @ UNC -5
South Carolina @ Miss -4
Texas Tech -10 @ Kansas State
Kansas -9 @ Iowa State
Duke @ Georgia Tech -4.5
Auburn -3.5 @ Vanderbilt
UNLV @ Colorado State PK
Ohio @ Western Michigan -7.5
Stanford @ Notre Dame -7
Army @ Tulane -17
Temple @ MiamiOH -10
Illinois -1.5 @ Michigan
Missouri -14.5 @ Nebraska
Texas -17 @ Colorado
Florida St @ MiamiFL -4
Arizona St @ Cal -6.5
Florida -20 @Arkansas
Kentucky @ Alabama -15.5
SMU @ Central Florida -12.5
EMU @ Bowling Green -14
Navy @ Air Force -3.5
Nevada -20.5 @ Idaho
SDSU @ TCU -24.5
Washington St @ UCLA -10.5
Washington @ Arizona -17.5
Northern Ill @ Tennessee -22
Ball State -5 @ Toledo
Akron -1 @ Kent
UTEP @ USM -10.5
Oklahoma -26.5 @ Baylor
Texas A&M @ Oklahoma State-16
Ohio State -7 @ Wisconsin
Rice @ Tulsa -15
Oregon @ USC -20
Wyoming @ New Mexico -7.5
Hawaii @ Fresno State -25
WKU @ Virginia Tech -28
ULL -3 @ ULM
FIU @ NT Pick Em
–TheGarfather






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[RJ Esq]

Good news: Masoli shines at helm; better news: no QBs get hurt

Posted by John Hunt, The Oregonian September 27, 2008 20:35PM

Categories: Breaking News, Football
PULLMAN, Wash. -- Suddenly the quarterback situation looks just fine.
In Oregon's 63-14 win over Washington State on Saturday, Jeremiah Masoli not only threw for two touchdowns and played a turnover-free game, but he also stayed healthy -- and that's saying something for a team that has gone to its fifth-string quarterback two seasons in a row.
"Masoli is getting more comfortable with the offense," head coach Mike Bellotti said. "In the absence of Justin Roper, he's put himself in position to be a very good leader for us."
Bellotti said that if Roper, who has missed two games after tearing the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, is a full-go in practice this week, it will be a two-man competition between Roper and Masoli to see who will quarterback the Ducks at USC next Saturday.
After the position looked so dire a couple of weeks ago, the Ducks seem to have plenty of options. They even played a quarterback at wide receiver against the Cougars.
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Who should be the Ducks starting quarterback against USC?



<input class="pds-checkbox" id="PDI_answer5006986" value="5006986" name="PDI_answer5006986" type="checkbox"><label for="PDI_answer5006986">Chris Harper</label>
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<noscript> Who should be the Ducks starting quarterback against USC?
( surveys)</noscript>Chris Harper lined up in the slot for at least a dozen plays and played a little quarterback, too. He ran five times for 15 yards and had a 35-yard touchdown run called back because of a holding penalty. "It's cool," Harper said. "As long as I can get the ball, I'm good. Whatever way I get it -- punt returns, kick returns -- it doesn't matter. Coaches are trying to find ways to get the ball in my hands."

Dean Hare/Associated PressJeremiah Masoli's stats on the day: 9 of 16 for 161 yards and 2 touchdowns

Thomas Boyd/The OregonianChris Harper's stats on the day: 5 receptions for 15 yards

Thomas Boyd/The OregonianDarron Thomas' stats on the day: 0 for 3 passing, 6 carries for 24 yards and 1 touchdown rushing
Harper didn't catch a pass, although he was open on several plays, and he didn't throw one, either. Darron Thomas, a near-hero in last week's 37-32 loss to Boise State in which he threw for 210 yards in the fourth quarter, came down to earth at Martin Stadium. He missed on all three of his passes, including overthrows of wide-open Drew Davis and Aaron Pflugrad that could have been scores. He ran one in, though, in the fourth quarter.
But this was Masoli's game. With a fumble here and a concussion there before Saturday, Masoli had yet to establish himself as a quarterback in his first season with the Ducks after playing one year in junior college. That changed on one very smooth afternoon in Pullman.
He hit 9 of 16 passes for 161 yards, averaging more than 10 yards per throw. Everything worked. On a play where it appeared he made the wrong read in not giving the ball to running back LeGarrette Blount, Masoli kept the ball and gained 24 yards.
"He made good choices, good throws," said Bellotti, who was also impressed with Masoli's running (five carries for 36 yards). "He's physical and he's quick. We don't want to make a living with that, but as a changeup, yeah."
Asked whether he made the decision tougher when Roper returns, Masoli smiled.
"Maybe," he said.
It has gotten to the point where there's hardly a discussion about the merits of a two- or three-quarterback system. Everybody is fine with this mix.
"It was fun to throw a lot of points on the board," Harper said. "It was good for the morale of the team."
After all, when you have your health -- and a 49-point win -- you have everything.

 

[RJ Esq]

Tide over the top, and taking expectations with them

By Matt Hinton

Alabama might want to spend a little more time on its complacency-time return coverage: against Clemson, the Tide allowed the Tigers a brief glimpse of hope on a C.J. Spiller kick return to start the second half, and Georgia looked ready to storm back into tonight's rout on Prince Miller's punt return to open the fourth quarter. You get the feeling this might hurt them, eventually.
Otherwise, this team looks completely for real. This is the Tide's second complete, thorough stomping of a top ten team in the span a month There's no dismissing that. The running game gets most of the the attention because of the massive, borderline dominant offensive line, but take a look at tonight's line on ho hum John Parker Wilson, ostensibly the weak link of the offense: 13 of 16, 205 yards (12.8 per pass), 1 touchdown, no turnovers. He was rarely pressured, has a legitimate, reliable go-to guy in Julio Jones, was completely in command on the road against what's supposed to be one of the toughest, fastest defenses in the country, and looks for all the world like a solid, competent veteran in the Matt Mauk mold, unspectacular but capable of doing everything he needs to do to carry the Tide to win after win. As long as he's protected as well as he's been protected, and the defense continues to take the run away before halftime. If you didn't know anything else about tonight's game except that Knowshon Moreno wound up with all of nine carries for 34 yards, you'd still recognize that as the death sentence it was for Georgia.
By the time Georgia woke up and kicked back a little, Stanford Stadium was, as predicted, downright funereal. This eliminates the Dawgs from nothing -- there's a long season ahead, with a strong precedent for one-loss teams from this conference -- but for Alabama, it's a step up to an entirely different class. You know, the one they've been acting like they're still a part of for the last 15 years, only without much chance this edition might evaporate into a mirage.

 

[RJ Esq]

A Squeezed Out Orange Victory!

from Track Em Tigers by Acid Reign


.....Despite another week of offensive inconsistency, the Auburn Tigers pulled out a desperate 14-12 win over a determined Tennessee football team! In a game where BOTH offenses barely managed 400 yards, combined, Auburn failed to break. The Vols had NUMEROUS chances on Auburn's side of the field, but could not finish the Tigers off. The Tiger offense was in disarray. Auburn could hardly throw a pass to a receiver, and those guys were having trouble catching it. Brad Lester and Tristan Davis were out the whole game. Ben Tate was down with a twisted knee. Somehow, seldom-used Mario Fannin and Kodi Burns had Auburn at 3rd and 5 from the Auburn ten yard line.

.....While CBS was running their ten thousandth commercial, Kodi Burns made a clutch pass to Montez Billings for ten yards, just a step ahead of an onrushing Tennessee defender, for a key first down. With only 2:04 left, Tennessee used their final timeout, and Auburn had only to run the clock out.

.....This game was a continuation of Auburn's offensive woes, despite some interesting new formations and offensive innovations. We used a one-back, under center set quite a bit in the first half. The offensive line is still getting penalized at an alarming clip. For the second week in a row, Auburn was held under a hundred yards rushing, despite brief appearances by Kodi Burns, and Mario Fannin, at quarterback. The trio of quarterbacks only managed about 125 yards passing. The drops resurfaced, but only four, this game, and at least one would have been a really difficult catch. In the second half, there were no drops, because the receivers had no chance to even get their hands on some awful passes.

.....Special teams were somewhat improved, mostly by the return of punter Clinton Durst, who brought Auburn's punting average back up over 40 yards per attempt. Kick returns improved, with Mario Fannin averaging 20 per, but the onsides kick possibility is STILL there. We only have three guys on the front line, running backwards before the kick, head turned away from the ball. While Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer was too tight to call it, someone else IS going to convert another one on us, if we don't get that fixed. Wes Byrum missed a medium-short field goal attempt, and a new problem surfaced on punt coverage: missed tackles. Fortunately, the entire punt team played hard, and Jones was unable to break a big one.

.....The Auburn secondary is even thinner this week, but the walking wounded managed to hold up, against a very inconsistent Vol attack. While Tennessee has a receiving corps every bit as talented and fast as LSU's unit, the Vol quarterbacks were unable to connect. Tennessee had first half success running the football, but in the second half, the door was slammed, by eight Auburn Tigers playing the run. Auburn dared Jonathan Crompton to beat them, and the junior could not eliminate the mistakes.

Grades

Defensive Line: A-. Occasionally, Auburn's inside men had trouble with mammoth UT interior linemen. Auburn's ends, however, caused huge problems for the Tennessee tackles. Antonio Coleman and Antoine Carter got several runs at the QB, untouched.

Linebackers: B. In the first half, there was some over-pursuit, which allowed Gerald Jones and Montario Hardesty to spearhead a pair of field goal drives. In the second half, Tennessee's running game ground to a halt, with the exception of one timely quarterback draw on 3rd and long.

Secondary: C+. Bonus points for strong run support, but these guys did not stick to receivers well. Against an accurate quarterback, this could have been ugly.

Punting: B. Not Durst's best game, but even when he doesn't hit it well, he seems to get a roll. Those punting yards were crucial, in this game. The coverage had their worst game of the year, although not catastrophic. Even with a few missed tackles, tenacity was the word.

Punt Returns: B-. No turnovers, but Dunn made a couple of questionable decisions, letting one ball roll 20 yards to be downed inside the ten, and fielding a bouncing ball up around midfield, in traffic. Dunn did keep us out of coffin corner territory twice, with good fair catches.

Kick Returns: C. While 20 yards per return is respectable, the security of the front line is still in question.

Kickoffs: C. Auburn was pedestrian, here. Dennis Rogan ran north and south behind strong blocking, for about a 20 yard average. Morgan Hull was respectable, but not spectacular.

Place Kicking: D:. Wes Byrum missed a 32 yard field goal, his only field goal attempt. Byrum did hit two of two on extra points.

Offensive Line: C. There were some strong blocks, but also some protection problems, as both Bosley and Ziemba had trouble with a few 4-man rushes. Penalties on the line continue. Tyrone Green was awfully good, though, pulling on those "wildcat" plays. He blocked two or three guys, on some of those. Consistency and mental errors are the biggest problems with this year's line.

Receivers: B-. Despite four drops, this group blocked ok, and ran good routes. There were some good catches, such as the touchdown to Dunn (which I erroneously credited to Tommy Trott), and the key first down from Burns to Billings. The receivers came up with 17 balls on 29 throws, which is a good day, any way you slice it.

Running Backs: B. These guys are being asked to do it with no lead blocker, and against stacked fronts. Teams really don't respect our passing game. There were no fumbles, and Ben Tate rescued both quarterbacks on a couple of messy handoffs.

Quarterbacks: C+. Yes, we only passed for about 125 yards. However, Todd was pretty sharp in the first half. Kodi Burns was dynamic when he came in, and make no mistake. Tennessee was coming AFTER Burns, with the blitz, and he made plays. The grade falls off with horrible throws in the second half by Chris Todd. A LOT of it had to do with the play calls, but still, the ball must be thrown where the receiver has a chance. The QB controversy is alive and well. I think we'll see both guys, in the coming weeks. Let's hope Coach Franklin sticks with whomever gets the hot hand!

.....If it wasn't evident before, it should be clear now: Late in games, with the lead, Auburn must continue to try to score. We are NOT a grind-it-out running team. Running Tate up the middle to start an obvious run-the-clock drive is only going to waste minimal time, and put us into second and long.

.....Honestly, Auburn did NOT play well enough to win, today, against a quality SEC team. Fortunately, we were facing one of the most disorganized, chaotic Vol offenses I've ever seen. Before the season, I touted Jonathan Crompton's experience. With this Clawson offense, the Vol receiving corps and quarterback never seemed sure of what route to run, or throw. Wasted passes were the order of the day. While the Vol attack had some minimal success running the ball in the first half, the passing was miserable. And finally, who runs a rub screen, on a two-point conversion? You've GOT to throw it into the end zone! There's no second down!

.....For Auburn, this game was a win, and you have to be happy with beating Tennessee! Otherwise, it was a one step forward, one step back effort. Next week, the Tigers travel to Nashville, to face a rested, 4-0 Commodore team, followed by hosting a shell-shocked Razorback team at home, that's given up a hundred points in the past week. It never gets any easier, in the SEC! War Eagle, Tigers! And good night!

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">Sep 27, 2008 (13 hours ago)
What's an optimist to do? Tennessee Volunteers 12, Auburn Tigers 14

from Rocky Top Talk by Joel
I've been blogging about the Tennessee Volunteers since August, 2005. I've written my way through The Season of Which We Do Not Speak, Cutcliffe's Renewal, and 2007, the season during which we nearly drove off the cliff multiple times but somehow fishtailed, spun, and wobbled our way to Atlanta. (I would have capitalized all of that, but it would have been way too much work.) Anyway, I devote an average of 20-25 hours per week blogging about the Vols. Adding those hours to a demanding 50-hour per week day job, family, and church makes me a busy man. Why do I do it?

For the buckets o' cash, of course. I'm making $75k per month from my INTERNET MARKETING WEB 2.0 EBAY WORK FROM HOME WITH ONLY A COMPUTER BUSINESS!!!

Right.

I blog about the Vols because it's fun. A lot of fun. And if I can buy myself an ice cold Coke at the end of the day with my "earnings," well that's just gravy. Or soda. Whatever.

Where was I?

Oh, yeah. The whole blogging thing is terrific fun. Or I should say terrific fun most of the time. There are times when it feels more like work than escape, and frankly, if it stays that way for too long, the can of Coke at the end of the day just doesn't get the job done.

So we all need to find our ways to cope, and for me that means staying positive. Yeah, seriously. I need to in order to maintain the motivation to post throughout the rest of the season. I fear that my enthusiasm for waking up at 5:30 in the morning to write will wane if I allow pessimism to rule, so I will do my best to squash it into the treads of my sneakers. I will continue to examine the team as objectively as I can, hopefully doing another Upon Further Review later this week, grading the players, and otherwise acknowledging our mistakes and inabilities, but when criticizing, I will try to do so respectfully. That is important to me because I know for a fact that some recruits, players, coaches, and the families of players and coaches read this site. I say that not to impress anyone but to impress upon you all that the words I publish on this site are chosen as carefully as the ones I would choose if I were speaking to instead of about these guys. I will at times lapse into negativity, but I'm always uncomfortable there, and I simply cannot maintain it long term, especially knowing who is likely lurking. So I will stay positive and attempt to cope with the negative through humor.

Please don't misinterpret this. I am not criticizing anyone for being negative. We got reasons, you know? Man, do we have reasons. Nor am I saying I don't want anyone to post dissenting or critical opinions here. I want RTT to be a place of diverse opinions. I do ask that all opinions be expressed respectfully, but I don't want my personal goal of remaining positive to have any chilling effect on anyone's willingness to post a contrary view.

All right, then. So what is an eternal optimist to do with this season so far? What do we do with a terribly disappointing opening game that shattered a summer's worth of anticipation? What do we do with a disturbing trend of giving free points to the other team in the danger zone or on special teams and blowing almost certain points in the opportunity zone? What do we do?
For me, I don't want to clamor for a coaching or quarterback change. Those things will happen or not depending on more important factors than whether I put my opinions in print. Do I find it frustrating that those in charge don't fix things that are obviously wrong more quickly? Yeah, but I'm just going to wait because I don't like what the alternative does to me.
Instead, I will simply change my focus a bit for the remainder of the season. It used to be that we could watch the horse race all season with each of our games pivotal on our road to an opportunity for a championship of some kind. Not true anymore, but that doesn't mean that all is lost. For the rest of the season, I will root for the team without expecting too much out of them. I will view games like the simple weekend diversions they are, something to simply watch and enjoy rather than live or die with. A game for the game's sake, rather than a game that we need to win in order to consider an entire season a success or a failure. An opportunity to catch a sporting event and hang out with friends and family.

Sort of like regular season baseball.






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[carolinablue]

Lines I will be keeping an eye on in week 6...

BYU - anything less than 35 might be worth a play vs Utah State
Tulane - should get some value (14-17?) due to Army overachieving
Va Tech - special teams should kill WKU, just need offense to do its part
BGSU - have the offense to put up 45+ on Eastern
WMU - might get value after yesterday's performance, hoping for under 7
UCF - better than what they showed yesterday, hoping for value here
Nevada - I will never bet Idaho again, ever..hoping for 28 or less
TCU - hoping for value as SDSU isn't as good as Idaho made them look
ULL - gaining confidence every week, hoping for a small # on the road
Tulsa - they should put up 60 on Rice, will take over anything <80 haha
New Mex - Wyoming is awful, wish NM wouldn't have come back though
Fresno - anything under 24 is worth a look in my book vs Hawaii
Maryland - UVA offense is horrible, Terps should run wild even on road
Utah - How can Oregon St not have a letdown after last week?

 

[RJ Esq]

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Box Scorin': Wolverine wake-up call

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton
Weird, wild and eye-popping stats from Saturday's action.

• After gaining one first down in the first half, Michigan's 80, 85 and 77-yard touchdown drives in the span of about 15 minutes against Wisconsin were the Wolverines' three longest drives of the season.
• The Tebow Child's 319 yards passing in Florida's loss to Ole Miss was his career-high against an SEC defense, and Tebow wasn't intercepted for the sixth straight game dating back to last November.
• UCLA, which totaled (not averaged, totaled) 153 yards rushing on two yards per carry through its first three games, ran for 234 on six yards per carry in the Bruins' loss to Fresno State.
• Houston rolled up 621 yards total offense in its 41-24 win over East Carolina. In the Pirates' 2-0 start, Virginia Tech and West Virginia combined for less than 500 yards.
• Rice scored eight touchdowns on eight possessions in the first half of its 77-point barrage again North Texas. The Mean Green added another three touchdowns of their in the first half, but turned the ball over six times for the game, two of them returned directly for Owl touchdowns in the second half.

• Oklahoma, averaging 218 yards per game on the ground in its first three, was held to 25 yards rushing by TCU in the Sooners' 35-10 win. Talk about selling out on defense: instead, Sam Bradford passed for 411 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions and six passes longer than 20 yards.
• Oregon scored touchdowns on eight of its first ten possessions in a 63-14 demolition of Washington State, half of them on drives beginning inside the Cougars' 40-yard line. The Ducks ran for 346 yards, but didn't have an individual 100-yard rusher.
• West Virginia outgained Marshall more than 3-to-1, 493 yards to 158.
• Michigan State and Indiana somehow crammed in eight touchdowns, four field goals, two safeties, three turnovers and 13 punts. How many possessions were in this game?
• Ohio U. and Virginia Military combined for 1,011 yards and 82 points in the Bobcats' 51-31 win.
• Riley Skinner threw as many interceptions as Navy attempted passes -- four apiece -- in Wake Forest's 17-14 loss to the Midshipmen.
• Eastern Michigan was shut out in a 37-0 rout against Northern Illinois despite only two turnovers and two punts. EMU missed a field goal and failed to convert four different fourth down tries.
• Army passed four times for four yards, and only lost to Texas A&M by four points.
• Rhode Island earned more first downs than Boston College, 19 to 17, and lost, 42-0.
• Colt McCoy completed 17 of 19 passes in Texas' obliteration of Arkansas, and his backup, John Chiles, completed four of four.
• Curtis Steele ran for 203 yards on 9.2 per carry in Memphis' 29-17 win over Arkansas State






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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">Sep 27, 2008 (14 hours ago)
For one more week, Michigan avoids the morgue

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton
Scroll down or click here to join the Doc's weekly live blog.

Michigan 27, Wissconsin 25. At halftime, you could have driven a stake in Michigan's season: down 19-0, with exactly one first down in 30 minutes, en route to a 1-3 start and -- if they're lucky against the rest of the Big Ten's middle class -- a bowl game named for a sporting goods or automotive company. This is the business end of the stick everyone expected to accompany the transition to the Rodriguez administration.
The second half, though, was the other end of that stick, the one aimed at the old school regime as much as at opponents: it's probably no coincidence that the greatest comeback in the history of Michigan Stadium occurred almost immediately after the lo-fi, grind-till-you-die philosophy of the Shembechler Dynasty left the building. The Wolverine offenses of the past 40 years didn't fall into the kind of funk Michigan was in in the first half very often, but they certainly never came to life as suddenly as Rodriguez's misfits against Wisconsin. If you were watching another game, you may have seen the highlight of the Wolverines' defensive touchdown to take the lead, off a caroming Allan Evridge pass early in the fourth quarter, and thought "fluke." But surrounding that were touchdown drives of 79, 85 and 77 yards, from basically a dead start. Wisconsin will lay the loss on four turnovers -- the last inside the UM ten-yard line -- but Michigan is still despairing the transition if Steven Threet didn't hit another gear around the middle of the third quarter.
It's always good for the Big Ten when Michigan is successful, although winning one tough game may not necessarily mean that. It does mean the conference lost one of its potential bellwethers: with the Badgers' loss and Ohio State in the doghouse until at least November, no matter what, the Big Ten's only mythical championship banner is carried by Penn State. For the sake of the league, the Lions had better look good tonight against Illinois.






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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">Sep 27, 2008 (14 hours ago)
Part Of The Deal (& Keeping Faith)

from Bruins Nation by Nestor
This is one of those games that is going to have my stomach tied up in knots all weekend.
Bruins led by the come back of Kahlil Bell gave everything they have ...

Photo Credit: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images (via Yahoo Galleries)
... but they fall just short, losing a heart breaker to a determined Fresno State team 31-36. Here is the box score and quick AP recap.
I know I am going to think about that holding call in first kick off return all weekend.
I know I am going to think of about that Marlon Moore punt return for TD when not a single Bruin touched him all weekend.
I know I am going to think about two aggressive coaching decisions and about Coleman (who had an amazing afternoon) all weekend and wonder what if.
I know I am also going to think about how the Fresno State offense carved up our D under neath and sliced diced our young defense, and racked up one clock eating (and demoralizing) drive after another.
But you know what ... it is all good. There is nothing fun about close losses. I don't believe in moral victories. But this afternoon's heartbreak hopefully will be an inspiration for this team to work even harder, stick together, and turn up their intensity and focus another notch to come back and get it done next weekend.
I will have lot more on this game tomorrow when I can gather my thoughts. But before I go, I am going to not only urge patience, but I am also going to ask everyone to stop pointing the fingers at our defense. Those kids and coaches have done their fair share of heavy lifting last three years when they had to carry the team. Yes, they had a rough day, but I truly believe it's part of the same growing process for a young team, which the offense has gone through on the other side.
I can see the signs ... of a young team putting it together bit by bit. But it is going to take a lot of time. But that' part of the deal of a rebuilding process resulting from a decade long mediocre (or some would say nonexistent) leadership at the top of the program. We will get there ... but it will take time.
Thread it up my friends and keep the faith.






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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">Sep 27, 2008 (15 hours ago)
Tennessee Volunteers vs. Auburn Tigers Postgame Ramblings

from Rocky Top Talk by hooper
Joel normally puts his knee-jerk postgame ramblings up, but he's got some manual labor to tend to first, so I'll get mine up now rather than later.
Things I saw:
1. Great Defense Auburn fans will be quick to remind us that their offense has been anemic this year. They're right. Still, UT's D really locked in on the Tiger offense for the entire second half. Most of the second half was played in Auburn's end of the field, and there were several drives where a safety was a concievable possibility. Of Auburn's 14 points, only 7 came against the defense. Most importantly, the defense varied their schemes, removing some of that deadly predictability we saw during the UCLA game. Give the defense credit for a stout effort..
2. Nonexistent Passing This is the most obvious negative, so we might as well get it out of the way. Auburn fans will also tell you that the secondary is their defense's weakness. UT could not exploit it. Crompton was 8/23 and Jones was 0/1. A couple of passes were debatably catchable, but a lot were not. Crompton did throw the ball away a couple of times, a la Ainge, but that doesn't mitigate the bad day of passing he had. Even the most ardent of Cromptonites must now believe a QB switch is likely. We'll see. Give Crompton this, though: when he runs, he's not afraid of getting hit. One of the 1st downs would not have happened if Crompton slid.
3. Punting! It was a huge relief to see a terrific punting effort in the second half. Cunningham did a great job with those punts, overcoming a couple ducks in the first half. Overall, the coverage unit did better, but they still have a long ways to go to properly cover their lanes and hold positions.
4. Rushing First things first: that fumble-Auburn TD was not Foster's fault. He used proper running form when receiving the handoff, and Crompton put it into his elbow. Enough about that. No RB fumbled this time - a significant improvement. However, the complete absence of a passing threat meant that Auburn could tee off on the RBs, and they had no room to run in the second half. The team went for 3.8 yards per rush - a number significantly enhanced by Jones's failed-G-Gun-runback-make-something-from-nothing play. Foster critics will note that Hardesty got more carries (10) than Foster (8). Is that a shift in the pecking order? Maybe; Hardesty did a terrific job of running. If the passing game were any threat, he might have had a huge day today.
5. Coaching The issue will come up, so here's my thoughts. Coaching was mostly alright today. The plays were sufficiently varied, and the offense was split for 24 passes and 33 rushes. That's about as run-heavy as you want to be, or the defense won't honor the pass. (Stop snickering.) You can't ask Clawson to call more run plays. Against a defense as good as Auburn's, the offense has to credibly run and pass to keep things honest. Likewise, Chavis dialed up a great defense today. The second half was closer to defense that UT is used to. There is still much work to do on tackling form, but the formations were much better. That's a huge improvement.
6. Clock Management You must know this about me: Im an advocate of going for 4 downs. Not only does it have a decent chance of success, it opens up the playbook on 2nd and 3rd to things that the defense will never consider. Enough said about that. The coaching staff has a ways to go to understand the clock rules and how they affect 4th quarter play. The last punt virtually guaranteed the game for Auburn, as they could have crippled UT time-wise and timeout-wise, even if they didn't get the 1st down. But the real problem was the prior punt. UT had a 4th and about 3 or 4 on Auburn's 40. One first down gives you a shot at a game winning field goal. A punt (best case, assuming no turnovers) gives you the ball back at about your own 40 with a minute or two left. Even with the offensive problems UT had, going for 4th presented better odds at winning the game. That's the key.

Well, those are my immediate thoughts. I'll sit back and ponder for a while, but what did you see?






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[RJ Esq]

Auburn 14, Tennessee 12: Punting beyond Thunderdome

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton
Scroll down or click here to join the Doc's weekly live blog. Did you miss Auburn's thrilling victory over Tennessee? Poor fellow/gal. Let me sum it up for you:

You can talk till you're red in the neck about hard-hitting defenses in the SEC, but this was one atrociously-quarterbacked game from every angle. Auburn played the exact same defense on each of Tennessee's many third-and-long attempts, and Jonathan Crompton never cracked it; Chris Todd's arm was so limp and his legs so non-threatening in the zone read game that Tigers fans actually erupted when Kodi Burns came onto the field to direct the final few drives in the fourth quarter. The "decisive" touchdown was an unforced fumble that flew out of Crompton's hand before it reached Arian Foster's gut.
Two first downs in the fourth quarter, combined. Tennessee began six straight drives at midfield or in Auburn territory, scored once and punted five times. Auburn will take it, I'm sure, knowing all too well it could have been worse: it could have been 3 to 2. Even that was more entertaining. But when he can get away with it, punting to glory has always been the Tuberville Way.

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">Sep 27, 2008 (16 hours ago)
Slow starts, but it's morning again in Carolina

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton
Scroll down or click here to join the Doc's weekly live blog.

Duke won exactly one ACC game in four years under Ted Roof. When they hired David Cutcliffe, the conference losing streak was 25 games since November 2004, a couple days after George W. Bush's re-election over John Kerry. The Devils' current seniors were freshmen.
So 3-1 is not a small thing, especially when it happens in a 28-0 second half run over a team that won nine games last year. Not to overstate the abilities of Virginia, a team that was expected to be bad and has been much worse in its descent to the bottom of the ACC, but Duke has struggled to score 28 points at all in a conference game for the last decade, much less in a half, while giving up none in return. Today's quasi-rout over the Cavs was very nearly ... no, it was legitimately an impressive win by the Blue Devils. Whaddaya know -- next week, they travel to Georgia Tech to try to match their four-year win total under Ted Roof in Cutcliffe's fifth game.
North Carolina's more frantic win over Miami may not fall into the same category, as far as style points go (Greg Little's helmet-less touchdown notwithstanding, in a game that featured a lost helmet on almost every play, it seemed). But the Tar Heels rebounded from a 14-0 hole at the end of a dismal first quarter to outscore Miami 21-7 in the second half, including 74 and 56-yard touchdown drives in the first quarter. You'll see plenty of highlights of Tremaine Goddard's circus, back-of-the-end zone interception to clinch the game off Aldarius Johnson's fingertips, and UNC probably feels slightly touched by powder blue gods to get away with that play, along with a running game that netted 37 yards rushing. But after folding at home last week against Virginia Tech, rallying from two-touchdowns back on the road behind an all-but-discarded third-string quarterback isn't the worst way for a young team to hold onto its claim as the up-and-comer of the Coastal Division.






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[RJ Esq]

This Is Why You Keep the Chinstrap Fastened

from The FanHouse - NCAAfootball
Filed under: Miami, UNC, ACC, NCAA FB Video
From today's 28-24 North Carolina win over Miami, comes a great block to spring the punt return.

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/H4PStedNMGs&hl=en&fs=1" allowscriptaccess="never" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344">Popout

It looks a lot more brutal than it was, with the helmet flying off.

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">Sep 27, 2008 (17 hours ago)
The Houston Nutt Game: 2008 Edition

from The Sporting Blog

Our lecture begins today on the subject of the phenomenon known as "The Houston Nutt Special." Observed on an annual basis since the beginning of Nutt's career in the SEC, the "Houston Nutt Special" is best defined as the sudden, crushing, and zany defeat of a ranked team by a less-ranked or even unranked Houston Nutt-coached team despite the best predictions of pundits, coaches, and nearly everyone else sizing up the pregame landscape.

For a superb example of this phenomena, please see today's victory for Ole Miss over Florida for a superlative display of Houston Nutt's ability to reverse the poles of reality to his liking. Florida, a team with zero turnovers on the season going into the game, coughed up three fumbles in the third quarter alone, giving the ball to the Ole Miss offense in Florida territory for easy scores. Also indicative of the Houston Nutt Game: victory despite obvious advantages on the stat sheet; Florida had 26 first downs to Ole Miss having ten, went 5-15 on third down to Ole Miss flopping 1 for 11 on third down conversions, and outgained Ole Miss 443 to 325 overall in yardage.

The most notable feature of the Houston Nutt Game is despite all the numbers, the man usually stands victorious on the sidelines by a slim margin at the end. Last year, it was Darren McFadden's endless stamina that edged out LSU for what at the time could have been a championship-derailing defeat; this year, it was the ferocious play of Greg Hardy and the Rebel defensive line, who kept Tim Tebow scrambling for his life and limited him to 15 carries for 7 yards, that kept Ole Miss in the game when Florida had seemingly put themselves back in contention.

Throw in the fact that every single one of the nine passes that Jevan Snead actually completed mattered--most especially the wide open bomb to Shay Hodge and the gorgeous touch pass to Cordera Eason on a screen, both for TDs--and the formula comes together to equal a stunning upset for Ole Miss and one less pesky undefeated team to worry about for pollsters. (Thanks, Urban. Going for that final first down with a play everyone knew was coming made putting together the top five this week so, so much easier.)

How to cope with this unstoppable phenomena, one might ask? Simple. If you are ranked in the top ten and scheduled to play Ole Miss while Nutt is their coach, attempt to reschedule for a weekend when Ole Miss will be ranked, or even favored. Tell them you have a doctor's appointment, or that the cable guy's coming over but you don't know when, or better yet, that you have a nasty and contagious skin infection that is spread on contact. Trust me: as someone who just watched Florida go into some sort of voodoo swoon for four quarters against the power of the "Houston Nutt Special," it's at least worth a try.





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[RJ Esq]

Florida Decides to Join USC's Upset Loss Pity Party

from The FanHouse - NCAAfootball
Filed under: Florida, Mississippi, USC, Pac 10, SEC

Not content to let USC hog the national stage with its embarrassing nationally televised upset loss to Oregon State, Florida fell to Ole Miss today 31-30. This is starting to feel like the upset-mad 2007 season all over again, which is good for ratings but bad for "order" and the unstable tickers of college football fans throughout the country.

The game was close throughout, but Ole Miss appeared to have a breakthrough with two unanswered touchdowns to take a 24-17 lead. Florida answered with a touchdown drive and appeared to be ready to take control before Jevan Snead tossed a stunningly fast 86-yard touchdown strike that put the Gators in a 31-24 hole with 5:26 left.

Florida answered with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Percy Harvin (who had a great day with 180+ receiving yards) with 3:28 left. Then, the unthinkable: Florida's extra point was blocked, putting them in a 31-30 hole.

They managed to stop Ole Miss, got the ball back and had several shots but failed to get within field goal range, ending the game on downs. Ballgame.

That's a pair of top ten teams falling in the same week, with at least one more on the way (the loser of 3 vs. 8 Georgia/Alabama later tonight).

Amusingly, this game will be treated as a display of the depth of quality play in SEC football, which USC's loss will show just how bad the Pac-10 is. Go figure.

 

[RJ Esq]

Ole Miss stuns Florida: Turns out this "upset" thing can actually happen to anybody

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

Scroll down or click here to join the Doc's weekly live blog.Ole Miss 31, Florida 30. I wrote Friday this was going to happen again, and I wrote this morning that Florida would be dissatisfied after its game with Ole Miss. Granted I didn't think another top-ranked championship contender would lose as a 20-plus-point favorite so soon, or that the Gators would be this dissatisfied. But when both of your projections for the mythical championship game go down to huge underdogs in a span of less than 48 hours, you take what you can get.
Florida was burned both by its well-chronicled weaknesses -- the secondary egregiously missed tackles on Dexter McCluster's tying touchdown run in the third quarter, and missed coverage completely on the 86-yard, Jevan Snead-to-Mike Wallace bomb to go ahead in the fourth -- and by its apparent strengths: everyone in the stadium knew the Tebow Smash was in order on the decisive 4th-and-1 with the game on the line, but that had never stopped Tebow from picking up a crucial yard before. And who misses the tying extra point? Such are the margins between championships and Capital One bowls.
Let's not dance around the insta-zeitgeist here: does a home loss -- only the second under the Urban Meyer administration -- to one of the lesser outfits in the league knock the Gators from mythical championship contention? No more than LSU or Ohio State's losses last year, or Florida's loss to Auburn the year before that, especially with so much time to play. At this rate, there literally won't be enough undefeated teams left if Florida wins out to shut the gates on them (do the math: even if the Big 12 champion emerges unscathed, only Wake Forest or Penn State/Wisconsin is still capable of running the table; a one-loss SEC champion is in it till the bitter end). The key there is "if Florida runs the table," which its defensive effort today renders implausible, to say the least.
So one game at a time, then. This one will make the Gators pariahs, briefly, until another big name goes down (it shouldn't take long, maybe not even until the end of the day), and raise Ole Miss' profile immensely (and, by association, Rebel-conquering Wake Forest's as well, if there's any justice or perspective ... uh, don't hold your breath). Maybe someone will remember the Rebels' 3-21 SEC record under Ed Orgeron and actually write that Houston Nutt is a good coach, worthy of admiration and respect in a conference fllled with highly-paid sideline superstars, and not just kind of crazy. Again, though, don't hold your breath.

 

[RJ Esq]

Virginia Football- No Future II: The Day After No Future

from The FanHouse - NCAAfootball
Filed under: Duke Football, Virginia, ACC

"F*ck everyting, f*ck me"- Titus Andronicus

I could wait and calmly deduce exactly what has gone wrong with Virginia's football program, but sometimes, white hot rage is the only acceptable response. I understand that Virginia lost two first round draft picks (and probably the best player in school history), its starting quarterback, its best returning defensive player and won five games by less than two points en route to a 9-4 season. But when your head coach is being paid over $1.5 million per season, does that even come close to justifying how Virginia has transformed into what is unquestionably the worst team in a BCS conference- say what you will about Syracuse, at least they scored 21 points against Pittsburgh, which is more than UVA has put up against its three DI-A competitors thus far. And yeah, one of them was USC, but the other two were UConn and now, Duke. You won't catch it on SportsCenter, but yes, Duke put a curb-stomping on Virginia to the tune of 31-3. Where to begin? Marc Verica probably played his last game as a starter by throwing four interceptions in the second half, contributing to UVA's six total turnovers. Rashawn Jackson was the leading rusher for Virginia, with 43 yards. He's a fullback. John Phillips led the way with 59 receiving yards. He's a tight end. And although UVA ended up outgaining the Blue Devils, it's indicative of what the program has become under the stewardship of Al Groh and Mike Groh- unexciting, stubborn, and more often than not, losing. Were it not for the aberration of 2007, Groh would be in a position to suffer three straight losing seasons where, more often than not, the team looks completely lost on offense and has no succession plan on defense. Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Northwestern and Duke have one less between them. Virginia can no longer hide behind its assumed academic standards. More thoughts later, but the fact is, following Virginia football is like being a Democrat- please, anyone but the old guy and his incompetent sidekick.

 

[RJ Esq]

 

[counselor]

323 indiana
324 minnesota -8.5

They can't be serious...

 

[carolinablue]

They can't be serious...

I put this at 8.5 b/c of the uncertainty surrounding Lewis going into week 6. Haven't heard any updates on his injury, so based on this and the perception that Indy is heading one direction while Minny the other, this is how I came up with the line. I will be the first to admit I am not an expert at line predictions, so I am sure that I missed more than a few. Just wanted to get the discussion going since I didn't see anyone posting for week 6. Looking forward to seeing what you guys think in terms of where the lines might shake out this week, thanks.

 

[counselor]

I put this at 8.5 b/c of the uncertainty surrounding Lewis going into week 6. Haven't heard any updates on his injury, so based on this and the perception that Indy is heading one direction while Minny the other, this is how I came up with the line. I will be the first to admit I am not an expert at line predictions, so I am sure that I missed more than a few. Just wanted to get the discussion going since I didn't see anyone posting for week 6. Looking forward to seeing what you guys think in terms of where the lines might shake out this week, thanks.

I didn't know this was YOUR line and what it was based on. I thought this was LVTR or whatever the fuck comes out early...:shake:

I would say this line should be no more than a fg, but maybe 4, without or without Lewis. Honestly. If it gets higher than that, I'm definately on IU.

 

[carolinablue]

Definitely makes sense as I could see a line of somewhere between pk to 4, depending on Lewis' status. Like I said, I always tend to be way off on at least a few, so definitely appreciate the feedback, thanks.

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">9:14 AM (24 minutes ago)
Sunday Morning Rewind: ACC chaos don't die, it multiplies

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

Everyone said it coming into the season, and has continued to make the point after each of the first five weekends of the season, but at some point the ACC will have to abandon its role as the living embodiment of entropy and find some kind of structure. This was not that weekend. Duke, thou are tied for first place. Actually, the 1-0 Devils are a half-game back of 2-0 Virginia Tech, whose convincing win in Lincoln solidified the Hokies -- once again -- as the only team in the conference you might even consider setting your watch by. No such status in this conference is ever anything but tentative, but an interception-free, ready-to-scamper Tyrod Taylor at least gives the offense some kind of identity: Tech scored on six straight possessions at Nebraska and dominated time of possession in typically unspectacular Hokie fashion, and even scored via punt block and short fields created by an interception and a good punt return. Virginia Tech is settling into the most methodical, Virginia Tech-iest possible route to the Coastal championship.
Otherwise: gaze into an even messier pit of shrieking chaos than anyone could have imagined. It didn't have to be this way. Wake Forest and Clemson -- the only ACC teams actually in the polls going into Saturday -- were in a position to further separate themselves in the Atlantic Division, the Deacons by dispatching out-of-its-league Navy and the Tigers by opening up a 2-0 conference record over also-ran Maryland. Instead, the Midshipmen raced away from Wake while attempting all of four passes and picking off steady Riley Skinner four times; and Clemson by digging a small hole in its own turf for the offense and crawling inside during the second half, from whence it failed to score in the process of blowing an 11-point lead to the Terps. Not that UMD suddenly sprung to life: its only remotely big play of the half was a 76-yard end-around by Darrius Heyward-Bey that set up a short touchdown run in the third quarter.
But one big play trumps zero, and suddenly it's Maryland -- as in, "remember our double-digit loss to Middle Tennessee State?" Maryland -- that looks like the best team in the Atlantic, three weeks after Ralph Friedgen was left for dead with California and Clemson waiting to commence the burial. That is, if you think tea leaves and the vaguest sense of momentum are worth anything here, and that the slightest sense of order is even possible before November. Wake Forest remains 1-0, and in a pinch, I'm not sure there's a convincing case that any team remaining on the Deacons' schedule actually offers a greater challenge than Navy. Except, of course, Duke -- the Devils convincingly handled the Midshipmen in Annapolis two weeks ago. If you believe in that sort of thing, transitive property says everything's comin' up Cutcliffe.






</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

[JPicks]

309 Oregon State
310 Utah -8

BYU
Utah State +31

339 UNLV
340 CSU PK

367 Navy
368 AFA -4'

371 SDSU
372 TCU -28

395 WYO
396 NMU -10'

 

[RJ Esq]

USC ranked #9 In both AP and USAToday Polls

from Conquest Chronicles by Paragon SC
Read 'em and weep...
<center></center> The Coaches weren't that generous to Alabama. Florida's drop is proportional as is UGA's.
There is still a ton of football to play. SC better count their blessings and get freakin' motivated to take control of their destiny!

 

[RJ Esq]

The Alphabetical: NCAA Football, Week 5

from The Sporting Blog
Each Sunday during college football season, Spencer Hall offers a letter-by-letter analysis of Saturday’s college football games.

A is for Anarchy! Anarchy! Anarchy! Florida, Georgia, USC, and Wisconsin all lose in different varieties of agony in Week 5, a spectacular and bloody beheading of the current aristocracy in college football in a single extended weekend’s action. B is for Broken. As in the bone in USC linebacker Brian Cushing’s hand, though this could just as well have been sprained, as in Rey Maualuga’s knee, or whatever happened to USC safety Taylor Mays, who bled from the mouth after suffering a “bruised chest,” which sounds awfully vague for something that frightening-looking. USC lost on defense and offense Thursday night against the Beavers, but the offensive line for Oregon State deserves special mention for the malicious intent brought to every snap. A look at the injury report tells the tale as much as the 27-21 score how much harm the loss did to USC. Beavers are mean: ask your Swedish grandmother about that.
C is for Cro-mag’d. Humiliating Georgia is one thing, but doing it in a manner that has the fanbase giddily waxing their pickups on a sunny Sunday morning is quite another. It’s not just that Alabama packed the brass knuckles and blackjack for their trip to Athens and, yes, turned the Blackout into “a motherf---ing funeral,” as Alabama strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran would call it.
It’s that Saban’s team, while indelibly his own -- the Cover 2 noose on display should have given you frightening flashbacks of Saban’s LSU teams -- still looked so much like the great Tide teams of the past. The lines were tree-shredder nasty; Coffee, Upchurch, and Ingram pounded north/south runs all night long with obstinate cruelty; John Parker Wilson deserved an Emmy for playing the role of Jay Barker with a better haircut for most of the night.
Your spread foolishness be damned: Bama’s beatdown was pure cromag football in all its brutal, pounding glory.
D is for Digital Difficulties. As in the problems resulting from improperly placed fingers around the nubbly-skinned oblate spheroid, or in layman’s terms: plain ol’ dang fumble. See: Florida, who fumbled three times against Ole Miss, and who then blew tackles and coverages to allow a canny, tenacious Ole Miss team to beat Florida straight up in the Swamp. Florida fumbled twice in the third quarter alone, turnovers that led to a field goal and a long TD to Shay Hodge, a ten point swing that proved fatal.
Good teams take advantage of turnovers. Bad teams help other teams by giving them turnovers. Last weekend, Florida was the former; this weekend, they took their turn at being the latter, and helped along Reverend Nutt’s Oxford Tent Revival in ways that will extend well into recruiting season and beyond. Can we get an amen!(Amen, says a Florida fan in grudging postgame pain.)
E is for Egads. As painful as USC’s loss was (literally and figuratively,) as inept as Florida was made to look by Ole MIss, as badly brickbatted as Georgia was against Alabama ... no victory makes less sense than Wisconsin’s loss to Michigan. None. Going into the fourth quarter, Wisconsin stood poised with P.J. Hill to hammer the nails into a 19-7 victory with the cheese-fed beef of the Badgers’ line and the clock rules behind them.
Then, in horrific succession for Wisconsin’s offense: punt, pick six by Evridge, punt, fumble by Evridge, and then a TD with a failed two-point conversion. Meanwhile the Badgers defense frizzlefried against the run: look no further than the 4:40 mark of the highlights, where lanky, slow QB Steven Threet keeps the ball fooling both the cameraman and common sense simultaneously and running for a 58 yard gain. From there, the Minor/McGuffie connection took care of the rest.

Wisconsin had a clear landing, and then blew a tire on the runway and rolled a 747 into a flaming crash one quarter from safety.
F is for Failure, Total. What, Colt McCoy missed two passes against Arkansas? FAIL. 17-19 for 3 TDs and 9 rushes for 84 yards and two more scores will clearly never do here, since VY would have beat Arkansas by at least eighty instead of a mere 42 points. As for the Razorbacks, if this year doesn’t actually kill every player on this roster, then the 2009 roster will be the toughest, hoariest bunch of greybearded gridiron war veterans in the SEC, the football equivalent of the 1st Infantry in World War II. (The “Big Red One” in their case stands for the lone SEC win they might get this year.)
Hey, Florida comes to town next week! They’re not mad about anything whatsoever. Nope. Not at all.
G is for Gelling. Mike Patrick and Todd Blackledge appear to be gelling nicely after a bumpy start, if the Bama/Georgia broadcast is any indication of an emerging trend. Patrick was enthusiastic and concise Saturday night and kept the non-sequiturs in check, while Blackledge (aside from wearing a ghastly tie) did a superb job delineating Alabama’s gameplan for the viewer. (Not that the gameplan was that complex: “1. Beat hell out of Georgia’s defense. 2. Beat hell out of Georgia’s offense. 3. Repeat until 60:00 elapses.”)
H is for Hoss, Yes That Is My Middle Name. Donald Brown gets the Hoss of the Week for his game-defining performance against Louisville. A Meast-ly 33 carries, 190 yards, and a touchdown in a 26-21 victory for the UConn Huskies, who in a weak year for the Big East look as likely a contender in the conference as any.
I is for Infectious. Turnover Plague struck both Florida and Wisconsin where it hurt most, but the quarantine unit admits another patient: Wake Forest. Last week against Florida State the Demon Deacons benefited from seven turnovers from Florida State and, just to be fair to the universe in general, Wake gave back seven turnovers to Navy, which was happy to grind clock, capitalize on the freebies, and win 24-17. Carson Daly calls it “karma.” (You can learn a lot by watching My Name is Earl.)
J is for Jim McMahon-esque. Recruited at one point by Florida, who according to recruiting legend told him Tim Tebow was being recruited as a linebacker, Jevan Snead’s 9-for-20 performance was an economical piece of revenge in the Jim McMahon mode. Of the nine passes he actually completed against an aggro Florida pass rush, two were for crucial touchdowns Ole Miss needed to keep their foot pressed firmly on Florida’s neck.
The recognition of blown coverage on the long TD to Shay Hodge in the fourth was especially crucial. Remember that when this game is discussed in the postseason to mention that both quarterbacks had open receivers in blown coverage in the fourth quarter. One of them hit his man, and it was not Tim Tebow. Shooting sub-50% and still killing your opponent dead: a positively NFL Jim McMahon-esque performance, and that is meant as the highest form of praise.
K is for Kudo. To Ben Jones of Georgia, who much of the time was left alone one-on-one with the continent known as Terrance Cody, and acquitted himself well against the most difficult one-on-one block in all of college football 2008.

L is for Losing 2.0. It’s not just that Syracuse loses football games, it’s the unique and interesting ways Greg “Gerg” Robinson finds to lose them. This week’s unique cruelty resulted from allowing Pitt to reel off 18 fourth quarter points and fumbling away one chance to stay even with the Panthers and failing to convert a 4th and 4 on the other after actually leading Pitt at the half. Syracuse Football Pain Index, Week 5: Kidney Stone/Childbirth Level.
M is for Miscommunication: Jonathan Crompton is throwing to multiple receivers at Tennessee: his invisible friend Honcho the Ghost Receiver, his friends in the second row of Jordan-Hare, a gopher with particularly good hands he sees popping out of the turf wherever he’s playing on a given Saturday. Against a disjointed Auburn offense that only tallied 226 yards on the day, the Tennessee offense went one worse: nine first downs, 191 yards, and a continued cluelessness and arrhythmia to every aspect of their game. The Clawfense has innovated Tennessee football as promised as now they flub handoffs in the endzone in addition to hanging John Chavis’ defense out to dry.
N is is for Nice Workout, Thanks. Oklahoma, ho-hum, 35-7 over a bandy little TCU in a revenge game where Sam Bradford casually threw for 411 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Red River Rivalry looms huge on the horizon, while TCU is relegated to lower ranks of potential BCS gatecrashers.
O is for Operational. The suddenly prudent Matt Grothe -- who was a random event generator of undeniable talent for the South Florida Bulls in 2006 and 2007 -- is suddenly a sleek model of corporate efficiency, throwing no picks and coughing up no fumbles in the 41-10 win against NC State. The return of a healing Mike Ford to the lineup helps, as well. The running back is the unheralded balancing factor to Grothe in the offense, and will be key in the long run through the Big East.
P is for Push. In “This Week in Piracy,” it’s a push for the brethren of eyepatches and swashbuckling. On the upside, actual live pirates captured a Ukrainian vessel loaded with weapons this week off the coast of Somalia, so it wasn’t all bad news and slack winds for the Jack Sparrows of the world. On the downside, early season boom-kids East Carolina lost to a raging Houston team 41-24, completing their return to the mean and likely exiting the top 25 for the season.
Q is for Quarter of Profligate Offense. Rice’s second quarter freakout against North Texas consisted of 236 yards of offense, five touchdowns with three of them going to wideout/WMD Jarrett Dillard, and a halftime score of 56-20 over the Mean Green, who this year will take this definition of mean “of poor shabby inferior quality or status.” Anytime you put a team temporarily on pace for scoring a hundred is a dark, dark day in a program’s history.
R is for REAAAALLLY? Vanderbilt is sitting atop the SEC East rankings. No, you aren’t seeing bats and receiving sinister instructions from a huge rabbit. Vanderbilt is first in the SEC East.
S is for Stability Regained. It was ugly, irregular, and often chaotic, but Virginia Tech, ever level-headed under the guidance of Frank Beamer, is 3-1 after flopping against ECU and looking suddenly stable now that QB Tyrod Taylor has helped open up their previously anorexic run game. Not everything in college football is running completely against the grain in 2008.
T is for Time-out. Gary Danielson needs a timeout from covering Tennessee football. He became more and more appalled by the offense as the game went on, hammering Jonathan Crompton mercilessly for the second week in a row. Money quote:

”He did exactly what he was supposed to do on that play, I think ... if what he’s supposed to do is miss a wide-open touchdown in the endzone.”​

Toward the end Danielson was just dropping disgusted one-word summaries. “Overthrow.” “Miscommunication.” “Double-covered.” “Ugh.” It’s time for a cooling-off period for Danielson and the Tennessee offense. You know, before someone gets hurt. U is for Unobstructed View. Free of the Little Throw Peep hairdo he cut after the loss to Michigan State, Jimmy Clausen went 20 for 35 for 275 yards and 3 TDs against Purdue, thus announcing to the college football world that this is his new haircut, and it is going to get him so many touchdowns.
V is for Violence. Chavez Grant, momentum, and force in one beautiful sequence.
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/H4PStedNMGs&hl=en&fs=1" allowscriptaccess="never" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344">Popout

Both teams looked rabid in this game, which was perhaps the hardest-hitting football game of the weekend. UNC might have righted a season listing toward mediocrity with the win; Miami will have to recover physically for their impending match-up with Florida State, which is the hot game of the week (in 1991). W is for Wrinkles. Indiana lost to Michigan State, but not for lack of creativity. Bill Lynch’s coaching staff moved QB Kellen Lewis all over the field, putting him at wideout while backup QB Ben Chappell took the snaps under center to pass to Lewis, or to hand off to Lewis on an end-around pass. It didn’t beat the simple math of giving the ball to Javon Ringer 44 times, but it was interesting to watch, especially when Ben Chappell threw an interception and then drew a 15 yard unsportsmanlike call for a late hit on the ensuing chase for the ball. (I said it was interesting, and not 100% effective, mind you.)
BTW, Lloyd’s of London has just refused to insure Ringer’s legs. 44 carries in a single game means Ringer deserves a sedan chair to get around campus for the next week in between practices and workouts.
X is for XOXO. Hugs and kisses to Northwestern, who go for their best start since 1962 this week after beating Iowa, who may have hit a new low by blowing a 17-6 lead, fumbling away chances, and otherwise looking like a team in complete disarray against the Wildcats. Framed in the context of the Randy Walker story and the fact that Pat Fitzgerald still looks just as young as many of his players, the hugs and kisses are completely unironic. Their early success in the Big Ten warms even my cold, dark, gloom-encrusted heart this weekend.
Y is for Yes, We Will Take the Win, Thank you Very Much. Rutgers, on the board with a 38-0 win over Morgan State, but is still very much a win, thank you. No one got slapped, either, which is just icing on the cake.
Z is for Zoltan. Further kudos to Michigan punter Zoltan Mesko, who not only has a name that makes him sound like a sci-fi villain who craves to be Emperor of Space, but who also punted Michigan back into contention by pinning the Badgers deep when it counted most.

 

[Helmut]

OK St at anything under 17, I will be getting the truck fired up.

 

[M.W.]

OK St at anything under 17, I will be getting the truck fired up.

No kidding. They're going to have to put this in the 20's.

 

[Moot]

well I guess we won't be getting any openers at BM tonight? Does anybody knows whats up?

 

[RJ Esq]

Openers are up:

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/odds/las-vegas/

 

[RJ Esq]

well I guess we won't be getting any openers at BM tonight? Does anybody knows whats up?

Site appears to be down right now. Customer service told me to try sport-bet.net.

 

[Dmoney416]

sport-bet.net worked for me.

 

[RJ Esq]

Right now based on the opening lines, I'll be looking at these:

BC
BYU
UConn +
Texas Tech
Florida
TCU
Oregon +
Va Tech

 

[RJ Esq]

sport-bet.net worked for me.

Yeah, I'm signed in there. BM's backup site.

 

[Dmoney416]

Now I'm having problems.

 

[RJ Esq]

Ha. Me too.

 

[Dmoney416]

Anybody with an alternative/another way to get in?

 

[Seabass]

UConn +7.5. Give me a break.

Thought the line would be -3 at most.

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">2:30 PM (25 minutes ago)
Big 12 Football Report, v 1.5 - North Division Review

from Burnt Orange Nation by PB @ BON
A weekly report on the weekend of Big 12 football.
Previous weeks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (South)
NON-CONFERENCE REVIEW

In lieu of the usual game-by-game rundown, this week's report offers a big picture review of the now concluded non-conference slate as well as a look ahead to conference play. Teams are reviewed in order of projected finish, with national ranking preceding teams in the Top 25.


#4 Missouri Tigers (4-0)

<table style="text-align: left;" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left;"> Opponent
</td> <td>Result</td> </tr> <tr> <td>n-Illinois</td> <td>W, 52-42</td> </tr> <tr> <td>SE Missouri St
</td> <td>W, 52-3</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Nevada</td> <td>W, 69-17</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Buffalo</td> <td>W, 42-17</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Offensive MVP: Jeremy Maclin, WR - Chase Daniel is a great quarterback, Derrick Washington is a great tailback, and Chase Coffman is a great tight end. But Missouri's offensive potency derives more from Jeremy Maclin's explosiveness than anything else. Based on what he's capable of, Maclin's merely having a "very good" season so far in 2008 (193.5 all-purpose yards per game), but his presence on the field so affects how the defense must play that his contributions to the Tigers extend well beyond those times when the ball is in his hands. No player (with the possible exception of Percy Harvin) is as big a threat to score as Maclin, a terrifying truth which alters opposing defenses and opens up space for the rest of the excellent Tigers offense to maneuver.
Defensive MVP: Sean Weatherspoon, LB - The First Team All Big XII linebacker from a year ago has been even more active thus far in his junior year, accumulating an astonishing: 48 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 3 interceptions, 3 passes broken up, 6 passes defended, and 1 quarterback hurry. The secondary remains a concern, but Missouri's front seven (6 returnees) is looking solid enough heading into conference play.
Big 12 Schedule - at Nebraska, vs Oklahoma State, at Texas, vs Colorado, at Baylor, vs Kansas State, at Iowa State, vs Kansas (Kansas City)
Projected Big 12 Finish: 8-0, 1st, North Division - If Missouri gets through the first three unscathed, they'll be in commanding position to run the table and play for the Big XII title at 12-0. With the Oklahoma State match up in Columbia, Missouri's perfect regular season hopes appear to hinge overwhelmingly on the outcome of their tangle with the Longhorns in Austin. Whatever happens the previous week in Dallas, Missouri fans should take note: Mack Brown is 10-0 the week after the Red River Shootout, with an average margin of victory of 19.5 points.
Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-1)

<table style="text-align: left;" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left;"> Opponent
</td> <td>Result</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Western Michigan
</td> <td>W, 47-24</td> </tr> <tr> <td>San Jose State
</td> <td>W, 35-12
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>New Mexico State
</td> <td>W, 38-7</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Virginia Tech
</td> <td>L, 30-35
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Offensive MVP: Joe Ganz, QB - It takes a moment to realize the only reason Nebraska's offense appears a little workmanlike is its place alongside the hyper-productive units of the Big XII's top teams. Upon closer inspection, the 'Huskers have been far from sluggish with the football, thanks in large part to quarterback Joe Ganz, who's passing for a very solid 249 yards per game while chipping in here and there with his feet (25 rushes, 123 yards, 1 TD on the season) and even hands (he caught a 20-yard TD reception). Nice a job as Ganz has done, Bo Pelini knows he'll need the running game to become a little more explosive to help our his senior quarterback. With Marlon Lucky looking average in the early going, don't be surprised to see more and more carries go to true freshman Roy Helu Jr..
Defensive MVP: Ndamukong Suh and Zach Potter, DL - The pass defense has a ways to go yet, but 'Huskers' defensive line is one of the conference's best, led by Zach Potter on the end and Ndamukong Suh inside. The two have combined for 34 tackles, including 8 for a loss (4 sacks), Suh has forced a fumble, and both have an interception. Though this is a defense which should steadily improve under Pelini between now and November, time is not on the 'Huskers side as Missouri, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma make up the nastiest portion of a difficult five-game stretch that begins next Saturday against the Tigers.
Big 12 Schedule - Missouri, at Texas Tech, at Iowa State, vs Baylor, at Oklahoma, vs Kansas, at Kansas Sstate, vs Colorado
Projected Big 12 Finish: 4-4, 2nd, North Division - While a 5-3 conference record is certainly achievable, Nebraska is a difficult team to project--a bit of a tweener, with neither an offense high-caliber enough to win shootouts nor a defense well-suited to keep a track meet from breaking out. Like Kansas, they also face a daunting Big XII slate, drawing Oklahoma and Texas Tech away from Lincoln, making wise the Husker fan who takes the long view with this team and new head coach. The rebuild is just getting started.
#16 Kansas Jayhawks (3-1)

<table style="text-align: left;" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left;"> Opponent
</td> <td>Result</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Florida International</td> <td>W, 40-10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Louisiana-Tech</td> <td>W, 29-0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>@ South Florida</td> <td>L, 34-37</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Sam Houston State</td> <td>W, 38-14</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Offensive MVP: Todd Reesing, QB - Kansas cannot run the football, which has meant Todd Reesing quite literally has had to do it all for the Jayhawks offense in 2008. After averaging 34 pass attempts per game in 2007 when Brandon McAnderson provided a devastating punch in the rushing game, Reesing's seen his attempts per game this year spike by more than 10, to nearly 45 per game. He's been up to the task, but the situation does not bode well for Kansas heading into conference play.
Defensive MVP: James Holt, LB - MLB Joe Mortensen was the First Team All Big XII player last year, but OLB James Holt has been the early MVP for Kansas with his team-best 4.5 tackles for loss and 3 forced fumbles, to go along with 24 tackles. If the Jayhawks do have a Big XII run in them this year, it will be because the 9 returning starters on defense come together as a unit disruptive enough to overcome the rushing deficiencies on offense.
Big 12 Schedule - at Iowa State, vs Colorado, at Oklahoma, vs Texas Tech, vs Kansas State, at Nebraska, vs Texas, vs Missouri (Kansas City)
Projected Big 12 Finish: 4-4, 3rd, North Division - It's a little unfortunate Kansas' 2007 and '08 schedules weren't reversed. Last year's team with Aqib Talib, Marcus Henry, and Brandon McAnderson wound up under-appreciated because of the schedule they played (weak non-con and favorable Big XII South rotation of Baylor, A&M, OSU), while this year's Jayhawks team could have really used a less formidable schedule. So it goes. As is, the rushing-challenged '08 Jayhawks draw Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech, and though they're fortunate to face the Texas teams in Lawrence, they'll likely find themselves underdogs in all three games. With high powered Missouri waiting at the back end, four to five losses could await KU.

Colorado Buffaloes (3-1)

<table style="text-align: left;" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left;"> Opponent
</td> <td>Result</td> </tr> <tr> <td>n-Colorado State</td> <td>W, 38-17</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eastern Washington</td> <td>W, 31-24
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>West Virginia</td> <td>W, 17-14
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>@ Florida State</td> <td>L, 21-39
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Offensive MVP: Rodney Stewart, QB - All-everything five star Darrell Scott was supposed to be the freshman leading the Buffs' offensive youth movement from the tailback position, but through four games he's been outshone by the micro Rodney Stewart (5'6", 175), hero of Colorado's victory over West Virginia (28 carries, 166 yards). Stewart solidified his starting position in Saturday's losing effort against Florida State, picking up 107 yards on 21 carries to move his season total up to 349 yards on 62 rushes (5.6 ypc). Scott, meanwhile, has managed just 148 yards on 39 carries--a subpar 3.9 yards per attempt--and now finds himself a back up who will have to play his way into increased usage or hope Stewart slows down.
Defensive MVP: Brad Jones, LB - I guess. This is not a good defense--especially against the run--and one wonders whether super blue chippers Lynn Katoa and Jon Major may get the call sooner rather than later should Colorado continue to struggle against the run. In the meantime, OLB Brad Jones has been better than expected through four games, accumulating 25 tackles, 4 for a loss (2 sacks). He's also scoring well in zen master Dan Hawkins self-styled defensive statistics, which he uses instead of traditional metrics because, c'mon, this ain't intramurals, brotha! Jones has 3 Third Down Stops (tackle, INT, or PBU)(, 6 Quarterback Pressures, and 1 Quarterback Chase Down.
Big 12 Schedule - vs Texas, at Kansas, vs Kansas State, at Missouri, at Texas A&M, vs Iowa State, vs Oklahoma State, at Nebraska
Projected Big 12 Finish: 3-5, 4th, North Division - Colorado could turn this projection on its head over the next two weeks when it hosts the Longhorns and then travels to Lawrence--two contests for which it will be an underdog. Win one or both of those, and a .500 or better conference record is well within reach. But lose both those games, and the Buffs would likely need to beat Oklahoma State in Boulder or Nebraska in Lincoln to get to 4-4.

Kansas State Wildcats (3-1)

<table style="text-align: left;" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left;"> Opponent
</td> <td>Result</td> </tr> <tr> <td>North Texas
</td> <td>W, 45-6
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Montana State
</td> <td>W, 69-10
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>@ Louisville
</td> <td>L, 29-38
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Louisiana-Lafayette
</td> <td>W, 45-37
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Offensive MVP: Josh Freeman, QB - When Freeman's on, he's a marvel to watch--a giant, fluid Ent firing tightly-spiraled bullets right on the money. The problem, of course, was that as a freshman that marvelous player showed up sporadically throughout games, or not at all, and while he made strides as a sophomore, consistency still eluded him. Now, as a junior, Freeman's looking more often than not like the quarterback that has NFL scouts watching lustfully, completing 67% of his passes through four games, at 9.61 yards per attempt, with 11 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions (one of which came on a ball that bounced up and off his intended receiver). Now, of course, he'll have to show he can carry the production forward with consistency, and certainly not just for his sake--as awful as Kansas State's defense is, the Cats' only chance to have a reasonably successful season rests on Freeman playing like a superstar.
Defensive MVP: Courtney Herndon, S - 2007 Big XII Defenisive Newcomer of the Year Gary Chandler began the season as the Wildcats' starting strong safety, but after back-to-back defensive atrocities for KSU, head coach Ron Prince on Sunday morning shook up the depth chart. Replacing Chandler as a starter next week will be junior Courtney Herndon, who's done a little bit of everything while on the field in KSU's first four games--22 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss (1.5 sacks), as well as 1 interception, 2 passes broken up, 3 passes defended, 1 fumble recovery, and a blocked kick.
Big 12 Schedule - vs Texas Tech, at Texas A&M, at Colorado, vs Oklahoma, at Kansas, at Missouri, vs Nebraska, vs Iowa State
Projected Big 12 Finish: 2-6, 5th, North Division - The loser of Kansas Stsate's visit to Kyle Field may well finish the season 1-7, but it wouldn't be a huge shock (as it would with A&M) to see Kansas State win one they shouldn't along the way. When Freeman is at his best, the Wildcats will score points, perhaps enough on a given Saturday to pull of a notable upset. Still, it's hard to call for much success when a team features a defense this bad.

Iowa State Cyclones (2-2)

<table style="text-align: left;" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left;"> Opponent
</td> <td>Result</td> </tr> <tr> <td>South Dakota State
</td> <td>W, 44-17</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Kent State
</td> <td>W, 48-28
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>@ Iowa
</td> <td>L, 5-17
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>@ UNLV
</td> <td>L, 31-34
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Offensive MVP: Austen Arnaud, QB - With Baylor up off the mat, the Cyclones officially become the conference's lone door mat, showing only marginal improvement during Gene Chizik's second year at the helm. But if Robert Griffin has been the one to very loudly announce his and Baylor's presence, Iowa State fans should be encouraged in their own right by sophomore Austin Arnaud's very solid debut as the starting QB. He's completing 65% of his passes at a respectable 7.75 yards per attempt, including 4 touchdowns against 2 interceptions (141.2 Passer Rating). He's not bad on his feet, either, where he's added 90 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns. The Cyclones have a ways yet to go, but having a young quarterback show this kind of promise is a great sign for a program looking to create some momentum.
Defensive MVP: Christopher Lyle and Kurtis Taylor, DEs - Iowa State's defense has struggled mightily, making it hard to single out any shining stars, but Lyle and Taylor have at least performed well in their duties, accounting for 10.5 of the team's 21 tackles for loss, including 4 of the 5 sacks on the year.
Big 12 Schedule - vs Kansas, at Baylor, vs Nebraska, vs Texas A&M, at Oklahoma State, at Colorado, vs Misssouri, at Kansas State
Projected Big 12 Finish: 0-8, 6th, North Division - Avoiding a winless conference season likely means winning in Waco or against Texas A&M in Ames; overall, though, with a porous defense and work-in-progress offense, the outlook is decidedly grim for Iowa State's Big 12 season.






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[RJ Esq]

No, neither site are working right now. Figure that the backup site isn't designed for such traffic.