We're off and running into the 3rd week already. My goodness, I swear we were just starting camps a few days ago!
I digress... I'll start with thoughts from last week of the games I saw some action in and then a few boxscore takes...
I saw a good amount of Kansas and Illinois. This was a where the better team didn't win. The team that executed and stayed away from mistakes enjoyed the victory. This was just a sound win by the fighting Illini vs a ranked team that many (myself included) have higher hopes for. This will be Illinois all year, a team that stays in games and tries to capitalize off mistakes.
The Michigan State offense looked so much different this week. Totally different. Excellent balance and quite aggressive. Now, Chiles has the free reign out there and this will continue to lead to great plays and turnovers as well. For now, they seem content to let him grow on the job. They certainly are not slowing the game down for him. Fun player. I followed the Marsh recruitment quite a bitt and figured this is the next really good MSU WR. Now, this is pretty quick but this constitutes a breakout game in my book. This is a fun duo, no doubt. Carter ran the ball much better as well. The defense is average(or maybe a bit better), as you would expect, but they settled in after a few early Maryland punches. Overall, solid game for Sparty and a big road win. Maryland and Edwards played solid but the running game couldn't stay consistent like the first week. Part of that is Sparty playing solid, for sure. This is Maryland though, they have reached their football heights in this conference.
I know we have a few MSU guys roaming the forum... Here is my thought... Suppose Chiles and Marsh continue to grow and excel? Do you worry about the big boy schools hitting them up in Free Agency? I also randomly caught some interesting info a few weeks ago with regards to Sparty and a money guy, More on that when recruiting season heats up.
The Penn State game was baffling. They couldn't make a stop that 1st half it seemed like. They were outgained pretty well in that first half. Yes they won, but this wasn't some dominant 2h surge. They needed every point and then a pick 6. I am very curious to see their next few games. Granted, WVU moved the ball a bit, but this was just unexpected.
Boise really ran the ball well on Oregon. The Ducks, while still able to score quickly, do not seem to be as persistently overwhelming on offense like in past years. Turnovers, penalties and the lack of yards per carry are the early ailments. Ducks lucky to get a win, to be honest.
I was trying not to watch too much of the Cy Hawk battle. That is just a tough watch, even for a guy that likes old-school manball. The first TD drive by ISU was so big, to let them know they had a chance. That following Iowa score usually is the end of things though -- but one play and 75 yards can change many a game. Good win college football. Why? We need Iowa to lose a few so they don't slip into the playoff. No one needs to be spending the Holidays watching Cade side-arm 8 foot passes.
Rutgers really started off slowly, again. I had changed my position from full-game to 1st half once the steam hit. Frankly, that was a lucky 1st half cover. That started the onslaught though, as Rutgers went wild in the 2h again. This could be a trend? At least vs lesser teams. Noted.
Nebraska was one of my initial big leans for TT's and side. As the numbers got away from me I decided to watch and hope to jump on something in-game. Tooo late, they absolutely destroyed a bad Colorado team. This one may be worse than last year. Nebraska football this year is absolutely beautiful to watch. Excellent mix on offense and the Blackshirts starting to make some noise. Great atmosphere Saturday night!
Washington started slow, but won pretty easily. EMU did what they do, cover as a dog. Will Rogers with a VERY efficient 4 TD and 21-26 outing.
I know most of the forum faded Wisconsin. That 14-0 start had to have ruffled a few feathers. That was it though, as Dakota battled back to make this a competitive one. Wisconsin got a lot of guys involved in the running game.
I didn't see any of the Ohio State game. They jumped right on WMU from the start and never let up. I know many bettors were very happy with this game. The yardage was 683-99. Absolutely a dominant performance. Jeremiah Smith already excelling in his first two games. I cannot find anything to complain about in this box.
I fell asleep during the USC game -- This was just a thrashing. The running numbers are what should really make fans excited. Now, we honestly won't know about this defense in totality for awhile. The schedule features some very average offensive teams for the next little bit. I now think with this ability to build into the season that USC could be a but better record-wise than expected. Either way, they have a week of rest before heading to A2 for their next game.
Lastly, let us talk about 'that game'. There was a reason I didn't push to go down to Ann Arbor for that game. I had planned on this for years, but frankly I had a bad feeling all off-season about this game. Now, did I expect that? Of course not. I thought the defense would be able to contain somewhat for a half at least. Nope. Here is the thing -- Texas has the best OL in the country, a Heisman QB perhaps and went out and grabbed great talent at WR in the free agency period. This team also has guy that want to avenge post-season failure. Watching the 1st half, with the run game especially was basically like watching '21 and '22 Michigan. I simply have to admire it. Now,, we'll see if that defense can rise to the occasion vs a real offense -- but this is a team that is in the conversation for a National Championship.
Some quick UM tidbits --
The QB situation isn't pretty. We knew that coming into the spring. Yes, winning a championship was great but that also negated the portal period in the winter for shopping a QB (pro decisions and coaching decisions as well). There wasn't much out there in the spring, but they could have least tried to bring someone else in. Too bad Tuttle got hurt, because he would be solid to at least game-manage. I don't hate Warren, but he hasn't had the reps and without big WR's, this is a tall task.
Why did Wink wait till halftime to make adjustments? No clue. He told FOX crew at halftime that he planned on changing things up at halftime. Uh, too late bub.
Michigan by all accounts (insiders on team sites and true insiders that post) had a creative gameplan but ditched it with the early deficit. Why? The 33-22 pass to run ratio certainly wasn't a better option. None of that would have mattered, except keeping a closer game for a bit longer.
Now, this team needs to get back to fundamentals on both sides. The 18 new starters need to communicate better and stay true to their assignments.
Their is still a shitload of talent on defense. I know that Texas OL humbled them, but now is the time to recommit to being that dominant DL. You have one prep game and then have to live up to expectations in two weeks at 3:30 pm eastern. This is a honeymoon year, but that is basically a must win with this schedule looking even harder.
Oh, stop forcing Don as an every-down back. I want 18-20 touches but that needs to be in a variety of situations including catching the ball. Let Kalel Mullings carry the ball before mid-2nd quarter. He is Haskins, let him EAT!
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Week #3 is here!
Alabama heading to Madison is quite fun. I'll be keeping track of the SEC thread by @gps_3 before making any decisions here. This is a hefty tariff on the road, but Wisconsin isn't exactly putting a lot of fear into anyone...
Initial lean in the Michigan game would be to an over... I see @bookieassassin like's that as well... good company...
I'll read up more on CMU, otherwise that game provides very little to me right now...
Oregon is laying 16.5 or so in the September Civil War. With the struggles of these first few weeks, this seems a but high?
Notre Dame off the huge upset is back in the thick of it renewing the rivalry with Purdue. Anxious to read @PaintCrew here. He seems to like the early start for the Boilers!
Nevada and Minnesota tickets are as low as 11 dollars.
Apple Cup also in September. This is simply weird. I know our guy @jimmymo has a big opinion here. Check his thread!
Iowa looks to bounce back vs Troy. This is a 22.5 and 39 game. Ugly, yup. Heck, the Troy team total will be around 7.5. Yikes.
Layup game for the Huskers. A good time to work in some other guys. This has to be a nice feeling right @huss @cubsker @Colin Wynner ?
Indiana and UCLA in a basketball blue bloods of yesteryear. I'm glad to see the Hoosiers play a real team, or whatever UCLA is claiming themselves to be. The Bruins snuck one out vs Hwaii a few weeks ago. This type of game honestly should give us good feedback on these squads.
Maryland is a slight road fav at Virginia. Intriguing game here to be honest. This total is mid-50's right now. Is that high? Or should we see plenty of tempo?
I failed to mention N'western up top so I'll give them a shout-out down here... Eastern Illinois comes to town after that classic Friday night in the Academic Bowl. Who cares?
TALK TO ME!
I digress... I'll start with thoughts from last week of the games I saw some action in and then a few boxscore takes...
I saw a good amount of Kansas and Illinois. This was a where the better team didn't win. The team that executed and stayed away from mistakes enjoyed the victory. This was just a sound win by the fighting Illini vs a ranked team that many (myself included) have higher hopes for. This will be Illinois all year, a team that stays in games and tries to capitalize off mistakes.
The Michigan State offense looked so much different this week. Totally different. Excellent balance and quite aggressive. Now, Chiles has the free reign out there and this will continue to lead to great plays and turnovers as well. For now, they seem content to let him grow on the job. They certainly are not slowing the game down for him. Fun player. I followed the Marsh recruitment quite a bitt and figured this is the next really good MSU WR. Now, this is pretty quick but this constitutes a breakout game in my book. This is a fun duo, no doubt. Carter ran the ball much better as well. The defense is average(or maybe a bit better), as you would expect, but they settled in after a few early Maryland punches. Overall, solid game for Sparty and a big road win. Maryland and Edwards played solid but the running game couldn't stay consistent like the first week. Part of that is Sparty playing solid, for sure. This is Maryland though, they have reached their football heights in this conference.
I know we have a few MSU guys roaming the forum... Here is my thought... Suppose Chiles and Marsh continue to grow and excel? Do you worry about the big boy schools hitting them up in Free Agency? I also randomly caught some interesting info a few weeks ago with regards to Sparty and a money guy, More on that when recruiting season heats up.
The Penn State game was baffling. They couldn't make a stop that 1st half it seemed like. They were outgained pretty well in that first half. Yes they won, but this wasn't some dominant 2h surge. They needed every point and then a pick 6. I am very curious to see their next few games. Granted, WVU moved the ball a bit, but this was just unexpected.
Boise really ran the ball well on Oregon. The Ducks, while still able to score quickly, do not seem to be as persistently overwhelming on offense like in past years. Turnovers, penalties and the lack of yards per carry are the early ailments. Ducks lucky to get a win, to be honest.
I was trying not to watch too much of the Cy Hawk battle. That is just a tough watch, even for a guy that likes old-school manball. The first TD drive by ISU was so big, to let them know they had a chance. That following Iowa score usually is the end of things though -- but one play and 75 yards can change many a game. Good win college football. Why? We need Iowa to lose a few so they don't slip into the playoff. No one needs to be spending the Holidays watching Cade side-arm 8 foot passes.
Rutgers really started off slowly, again. I had changed my position from full-game to 1st half once the steam hit. Frankly, that was a lucky 1st half cover. That started the onslaught though, as Rutgers went wild in the 2h again. This could be a trend? At least vs lesser teams. Noted.
Nebraska was one of my initial big leans for TT's and side. As the numbers got away from me I decided to watch and hope to jump on something in-game. Tooo late, they absolutely destroyed a bad Colorado team. This one may be worse than last year. Nebraska football this year is absolutely beautiful to watch. Excellent mix on offense and the Blackshirts starting to make some noise. Great atmosphere Saturday night!
Washington started slow, but won pretty easily. EMU did what they do, cover as a dog. Will Rogers with a VERY efficient 4 TD and 21-26 outing.
I know most of the forum faded Wisconsin. That 14-0 start had to have ruffled a few feathers. That was it though, as Dakota battled back to make this a competitive one. Wisconsin got a lot of guys involved in the running game.
I didn't see any of the Ohio State game. They jumped right on WMU from the start and never let up. I know many bettors were very happy with this game. The yardage was 683-99. Absolutely a dominant performance. Jeremiah Smith already excelling in his first two games. I cannot find anything to complain about in this box.
I fell asleep during the USC game -- This was just a thrashing. The running numbers are what should really make fans excited. Now, we honestly won't know about this defense in totality for awhile. The schedule features some very average offensive teams for the next little bit. I now think with this ability to build into the season that USC could be a but better record-wise than expected. Either way, they have a week of rest before heading to A2 for their next game.
Lastly, let us talk about 'that game'. There was a reason I didn't push to go down to Ann Arbor for that game. I had planned on this for years, but frankly I had a bad feeling all off-season about this game. Now, did I expect that? Of course not. I thought the defense would be able to contain somewhat for a half at least. Nope. Here is the thing -- Texas has the best OL in the country, a Heisman QB perhaps and went out and grabbed great talent at WR in the free agency period. This team also has guy that want to avenge post-season failure. Watching the 1st half, with the run game especially was basically like watching '21 and '22 Michigan. I simply have to admire it. Now,, we'll see if that defense can rise to the occasion vs a real offense -- but this is a team that is in the conversation for a National Championship.
Some quick UM tidbits --
The QB situation isn't pretty. We knew that coming into the spring. Yes, winning a championship was great but that also negated the portal period in the winter for shopping a QB (pro decisions and coaching decisions as well). There wasn't much out there in the spring, but they could have least tried to bring someone else in. Too bad Tuttle got hurt, because he would be solid to at least game-manage. I don't hate Warren, but he hasn't had the reps and without big WR's, this is a tall task.
Why did Wink wait till halftime to make adjustments? No clue. He told FOX crew at halftime that he planned on changing things up at halftime. Uh, too late bub.
Michigan by all accounts (insiders on team sites and true insiders that post) had a creative gameplan but ditched it with the early deficit. Why? The 33-22 pass to run ratio certainly wasn't a better option. None of that would have mattered, except keeping a closer game for a bit longer.
Now, this team needs to get back to fundamentals on both sides. The 18 new starters need to communicate better and stay true to their assignments.
Their is still a shitload of talent on defense. I know that Texas OL humbled them, but now is the time to recommit to being that dominant DL. You have one prep game and then have to live up to expectations in two weeks at 3:30 pm eastern. This is a honeymoon year, but that is basically a must win with this schedule looking even harder.
Oh, stop forcing Don as an every-down back. I want 18-20 touches but that needs to be in a variety of situations including catching the ball. Let Kalel Mullings carry the ball before mid-2nd quarter. He is Haskins, let him EAT!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Week #3 is here!
Alabama heading to Madison is quite fun. I'll be keeping track of the SEC thread by @gps_3 before making any decisions here. This is a hefty tariff on the road, but Wisconsin isn't exactly putting a lot of fear into anyone...
Initial lean in the Michigan game would be to an over... I see @bookieassassin like's that as well... good company...
I'll read up more on CMU, otherwise that game provides very little to me right now...
Oregon is laying 16.5 or so in the September Civil War. With the struggles of these first few weeks, this seems a but high?
Notre Dame off the huge upset is back in the thick of it renewing the rivalry with Purdue. Anxious to read @PaintCrew here. He seems to like the early start for the Boilers!
Nevada and Minnesota tickets are as low as 11 dollars.
Apple Cup also in September. This is simply weird. I know our guy @jimmymo has a big opinion here. Check his thread!
Iowa looks to bounce back vs Troy. This is a 22.5 and 39 game. Ugly, yup. Heck, the Troy team total will be around 7.5. Yikes.
Layup game for the Huskers. A good time to work in some other guys. This has to be a nice feeling right @huss @cubsker @Colin Wynner ?
Indiana and UCLA in a basketball blue bloods of yesteryear. I'm glad to see the Hoosiers play a real team, or whatever UCLA is claiming themselves to be. The Bruins snuck one out vs Hwaii a few weeks ago. This type of game honestly should give us good feedback on these squads.
Maryland is a slight road fav at Virginia. Intriguing game here to be honest. This total is mid-50's right now. Is that high? Or should we see plenty of tempo?
I failed to mention N'western up top so I'll give them a shout-out down here... Eastern Illinois comes to town after that classic Friday night in the Academic Bowl. Who cares?
TALK TO ME!
