Week 0 What Are We Learning

It’s not a stretch to say that Dan Mullen could’ve lost to Idaho State. Cooke took a RS last year, he was starter ‘23 and his INT issues from then have carried over to ‘25. If not for some of those reckless throws, Mullen wakes up feeling different today. UNLV trailed or was tied frequently and only won by 7 with a +3 TO margin. Good for ISU make some noise this year Bengals.
 
s--k said:
Noted, out of respect for your fandom I will see if I can remember that in threads I expect you to participate in, but I will still be calling them that in FCS threads.
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Complete fandom
 
s--k said:
It’s not a stretch to say that Dan Mullen could’ve lost to Idaho State. Cooke took a RS last year, he was starter ‘23 and his INT issues from then have carried over to ‘25. If not for some of those reckless throws, Mullen wakes up feeling different today. UNLV trailed or was tied frequently and only won by 7 with a +3 TO margin. Good for ISU make some noise this year Bengals.
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I had Idaho St +26.5 and when I saw it jump to 28.5 and then 30.5 started double guessing. Had Rebel D capped as suspect and they were. Out of position too many times. Never thought Bengals could go toe to toe though.

After watching Rebel D believe they will get better as they did somewhat in 4th quarter.
 
V.K. said:
I had Idaho St +26.5 and when I saw it jump to 28.5 and then 30.5 started double guessing. Had Rebel D capped as suspect and they were. Out of position too many times. Never thought Bengals could go toe to toe though.

After watching Rebel D believe they will get better as they did somewhat in 4th quarter.
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Give Mullen a couple years and I think UNLV will be a powerhouse in the West. He can recruit better than anyone I can think of out here. Granted it's UNLV and not USC or UCLA but got my eyeballs on this whole thing
 
VegasMLDogs said:
I was at the UNLV game and it was ugly. Big regression from last year. Missed coverages that left ISU players wide open, big gashes and our kicker sucks. Beware for now.
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No shit?! You think he’s taking the last payday like the Cincinnati job for (name escapes me)?
 
Good info, because wheels come off quick in this instance.
Bob Toledo at Tulane years etc…
NIL changes all but wow
 
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) - Iowa State coach Dan McCarney thought the kick was good, and so did his players.

Luckily for Alabama, the Cyclones' potential game-winning field goal floated wide right by a few inches to preserve the Crimson Tide's 14-13 victory in the Independence Bowl on Thursday night.

It capped a miserable special teams performance by Iowa State (7-5), including two missed field goals in the fourth quarter and a blocked punt that set up Alabama's go-ahead score.

"I thought it was good," McCarney said of Tony Yelk's 47-yard attempt with 38 seconds left. "The guy who has the best seat in the house said it was no good, so I have to trust his judgment."

Alabama quarterback Andrew Zow lofted a 27-yard scoring toss to Terry Jones Jr. with 4:44 left two plays after Waine Bacon blocked Yelk's punt.

"Thank God Terry Jones had long fingernails," Alabama coach Dennis Franchione said. "It seemed like that ball was in the air for about 10 minutes."

Iowa State had a chance to go ahead, driving into field-goal range in the final minute. Yelk and teammates began celebrating as his kick headed for the uprights, thinking the kick was going through. Instead, it was his third miss.

Alabama (7-5) picked up its fourth straight victory despite a sputtering offense and Iowa State quarterback Seneca Wallace's 284 yards passing.

It was the Tide's record 29th bowl win, but the first since a 17-14 victory over Michigan in the 1997 Outback Bowl.

The Cyclones, playing Alabama for the first time, were trying to gain some recognition playing in back-to-back bowls for the first time in 23 years.

"Nobody's going to take away what we did this season," McCarney said. "Slowly but surely, we've garnered a lot of respect for our program. We're building a program we can be proud of."

Bacon blocked Yelk's punt on what seemed to be a slow-developing play, and Shontua Ray recovered the ball.

"We just knew we needed a big play in the game at that point in time," Bacon said. "I swam away from my blocker and the punter was right there in my face. I just put my hands up and blocked the ball."
Two plays later, Zow tossed the ball over Jones' shoulder to make up for a poor day. Zow was 11-of-19 for 119 yards with an interception, but he rushed for an 8-yard score in the first half.

Wallace, meanwhile, was 25-of-42 and constantly put the Cyclones in scoring range.

Yelk hit a 36-yarder and a 41-yarder but missed from 25 in the first half and 40 and 47 in the fourth quarter.

"I just told him to keep his head up," Wallace said. "Everybody makes mistakes."

Iowa State took over from its own 9-yard line after the Tide's final score. Wallace converted a 26-yard pass on second-and-25 to Jack Whitver and hit Lane Danielson on a 14-yarder on fourth down.

Two incompletions and a delay of game halted the drive.

The Cyclones outgained Alabama, 456 yards to 269.

"We were unable to do what we wanted to do from an offensive standpoint," Zow said. "We needed a break, and we got it with the blocked punt."

Iowa State's Ennis Haywood ran for 135 yards on 20 carries against a defense that had allowed opponents just 48 yards on their last 59 rushes.

Ahmaad Galloway led Alabama with 90 yards on 16 carries.

The Cyclones struggled to cash in on big plays in the first half, but led 10-7 at the break.

They opened the game with Wallace's 39-yard pass to Craig Campbell to Alabama's 27 but settled for Yelk's 36-yard field goal.

Iowa State made it 10-0 with Joe Woodley's 1-yard score, set up by Danielson's 33-yard reverse play.

Alabama then drove 80 yards on 10 plays, capped when Zow faked an option pitch and danced untouched into the end zone.

The Cyclones had first-and-goal from the 10 late in the half, but wound up letting Yelk try a 25-yard kick, which went wide right.
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I had to look it up, if anyone else is interested.
 
s--k said:
I had to look it up, if anyone else is interested.
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Flew into Dallas and drove over to Shreveport to meet friends. Thing I remember most was Julius Michalek tripping over the stairs a couple rows in front of us. If you don't follow CBB he was a very tall and distinguishable Euro. That was hilarious.

Mom picked me up at DFW, she's die hard Hawkeye so we parlayed that game with the Alamo Bowl against Texas Tech. That was right after I got layed off from the airline after 9/11 but still had flight benefits so we made the most of it. 2 bowl games in 3 days! Then I came back to PHX and ended up doing a guy's trip to the Rose Bowl for Miami/Nebraska. Man that was CFB to the n'th degree.
 
That was the year Nebraska lost to Colorado and still made the Natty game

Dorsey, Andre, Portis destroyed them
 
s--k said:
I had to look it up, if anyone else is interested.
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Was not a fun night at the casino. Bama fans trying to console us by telling us how they were impressed with Seneca. No one wanted to hear that bullshit.
 
Stanford might go winless in B12. They are awful. Tells me what a good coach JH is. Shaw kept it going a little longer then he faded. Been total shit since. Like Urban in the MAC then at Utah, coach was everything pre NIL portal. Still critical but $ co #1.
 
Hawkeye so we parlayed that game with the Alamo Bowl against Texas Tech.
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Was that the year family members of a player were killing driving to the game and Iowa took the tigerhawk logo off their helmet and shut out TT in the bowl right? We played Iowa just because that
 
What we learned:

Iowa St: OL looked weak both run & pass. Their secondary is vulnerable but they miss TT and Baylor on schedule, so other than ASU and TCU, it may not cost them much. Well-coached as always - the penalty differential and 4th down effeciency (3-3 vs 1-4) made all the difference.
K State: pass rush and rush D looked good; pass D could be shaky. Johnson hasn't really progressed as a passer.

UNLV: shaky all around. Lot of people downgraded their PR during offseason but maybe not enough.

Fresno: slight downgrade but not overly discouraged for Entz G1 (KU played clean game & is the best team on their schedule); stress, Fresno will be an under team
Kansas: difficult to judge too much on a blowout but KU O was really efficient

SHSU: Longo in over his head with bad D will be an over machine at times. Don't think he has the pieces he needs to run his O and the D is starting the season short on numbers/depth.
WKU: OC + QB addition looks to be solid; difficult to judge D vs Longo G1

Stanford: Ugh. Tree are essentially Hawaii PR-wise. So, Stanford is a middling MWC team.
- They will have to rely on running game and cannot play from behind (QB is ass)
- Could take some serious drubbings on east coast trips (Miami, UNC). Fade vs SJSU in W4.
Hawaii: Would maybe be slight upgrade but for QB injury ?
- They are not a well-coached team but will be competitive especially at home so long as QB is healthy
 
SIAP

When the clock hit zero in Honolulu, a silence fell before Aloha Stadium erupted. Hawaii’s Kansei Matsuzawa, who once learned football by watching YouTube videos in Tokyo, drilled a 38-yard field goal to deliver a 23-20 upset over Stanford. It was Hawaii’s first win over a Power Four program since 2019, and it came off the foot of a kicker who didn’t touch a football until age 20.

Matsuzawa’s story is as improbable as the finish.

First, his transition: a soccer player in Japan, he saw his first NFL game and decided he wanted to try American football. With no coaches, he taught himself how to kick by studying clips on YouTube.

Second, his persistence: after two seasons at Hocking College in Ohio, where he hit 12 field goals with a long of 50, he transferred to Hawaii in 2023. He redshirted, adapted to a new culture, and worked to earn trust from coaches.

Third, his breakthrough: in Week 0, Matsuzawa went 3-for-3 on field goals and perfect on two PATs, capped by the game-winner against Stanford.

For Hawaii, it was a victory years in the making. For Matsuzawa, it was proof that belief and discipline can carry you across oceans. His next goal? Keep building confidence one kick at a time.

www.sportingnews.com

Hawaii kicker wins the internet with unbelievable backstory | Sporting News

Hawaii’s Kansei Matsuzawa, who learned how to kick on YouTube in Japan, hit a game-winning field goal to lift the Rainbow Warriors over Stanford in Week 0.
www.sportingnews.com www.sportingnews.com
 
BiffTFinancial said:
What we learned:

Iowa St: OL looked weak both run & pass. Their secondary is vulnerable but they miss TT and Baylor on schedule, so other than ASU and TCU, it may not cost them much. Well-coached as always - the penalty differential and 4th down effeciency (3-3 vs 1-4) made all the difference.
K State: pass rush and rush D looked good; pass D could be shaky. Johnson hasn't really progressed as a passer.

UNLV: shaky all around. Lot of people downgraded their PR during offseason but maybe not enough.

Fresno: slight downgrade but not overly discouraged for Entz G1 (KU played clean game & is the best team on their schedule); stress, Fresno will be an under team
Kansas: difficult to judge too much on a blowout but KU O was really efficient

SHSU: Longo in over his head with bad D will be an over machine at times. Don't think he has the pieces he needs to run his O and the D is starting the season short on numbers/depth.
WKU: OC + QB addition looks to be solid; difficult to judge D vs Longo G1

Stanford: Ugh. Tree are essentially Hawaii PR-wise. So, Stanford is a middling MWC team.
- They will have to rely on running game and cannot play from behind (QB is ass)
- Could take some serious drubbings on east coast trips (Miami, UNC). Fade vs SJSU in W4.
Hawaii: Would maybe be slight upgrade but for QB injury ?
- They are not a well-coached team but will be competitive especially at home so long as QB is healthy
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Great stuff
 
M.W. said:
That sequence did it for under and then over bettors.
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I missed the 4th.

I submitted an under bet during the 2nd quarter, 47.5...

Obviously, that had value for most of the 2nd half.

Feeling OT, more so fearing, I took half the bet back 'over' 39.5 early 4th quarter.

I didn't realize what had happened till hours later.

That prob saved me from chest pains!
 
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