College Football Week 1 Wrap

Yes sir! The college football season is under way. Last year we looked at specific games and would inevitably shortchange some, so we are going to try a new format this year to start out.

Best Game

"Fight em til hell freezes over... then fight em on the ice"

Many would probably go with Boise State vs Virginia Tech here, but I am going TCU vs. Oregon State. The Boise game was full of bad penalties, some shaky tackling throughout a good stretch of the game, and while the skill level was very high, I was less impressed by it than the TCU game. Both teams executed extremely well for much of the game, and if not for that bad snap that effectively ended the game, we may have had a game winning drive put together by Oregon State’s newcomer QB Ryan Katz. TCU looked like a legitimate title contender, and Oregon State was right there with them thanks to some outstanding defense and timely offense.

The Rodgers Brothers had a hard time getting things going for big stretches of the game, but that had much more to do with the quality of TCU’s 4-2-5 defense than anything else. Quizz, a player I think will be like Jahvid Best this year, ended with a very respectable 18 rushes for 75 yards, but they needed a lot more if they were going to upset the Horned Frogs, who really shut the Oregon State offense down for good stretches of the 4th quarter.

Ultimately, the best team won, and the team with the best uniforms won. Couldn’t have been a bigger fan of the “Til Hell Freezes” unis. The only downside of TCU is Andy Dalton’s hidden ginger mane. However, Boise had better look out when the Beavers roll into town because that is a very good football team that has got to be one of the dark horse favorites to win the Pac 10.

Player of the Week

Week 1's winner

I could go a lot of places here statistically. I could go with QB Denard Robinson of Michigan running for 197 yards and throwing for 186. I could go with TJ Yates’ 410 passing yards to nearly lead an undermanned UNC squad past LSU, or Jheranie Boyd for having 221 yards as Yates’ main target. No, I am going with Austin Pettis of Boise State. Yup, the guy with 6 catches for 73 yards and 2 TDs. Why does he deserve it over the amazing statistical games listed above? How about for being clutch. See, those 2 TDs were huge, and one of them was on the game winning TD, but he also blocked the kick that got Boise their first touchdown. He is certainly not alone as far as big performers in that game, but he was incredibly clutch, and came up with big plays when Boise needed them.

Austin Pettis is the first winner of the OTC Player of the Week.

Clown of the Week (Team)

This one is all about Ole Miss, though Kansas deserves some mention as well. Ole Miss invited a patsy to Oxford so they could open the season in style by letting Jeremiah Masoli and the Rebels walk all over some school called Jacksonville State of the FC. Oops. Jacksonville State was down, but not out and came back to stun Houston Nutt’s Rebels in overtime. That’s right. Ole Miss lost to Jacksonville State. I dare you to tell me where Jacksonville State is. No, you can’t google it. No, it isn’t in Jacksonville, FL.

Ok, you can google it..

Coming in a close second is Kansas, who lost 6-3 to FCS team North Dakota State. Yes, 6-3. Sometimes the comedy just writes itself.

Clown of the Week (Player)

There was no obvious winner here from what I have seen, so we are going with Mike Pouncey for repeatedly failing to snap the ball correctly. More on Florida later, so Mike gets a little bit of a break this week.

Three Things That Impressed Me

Off to a good start.

1. Notre Dame looked like a well-coached team. Purdue is not nearly as bad as they looked this weekend, and Notre Dame was able to run the ball win an efficiency Irish fans haven’t seen in a long time. The Count of Monte Crist-o (pending approval, my nickname for Dayne Crist. The Count for short) also impressed with his arm strength in executing Kelly’s offense pretty damn well for a first-time starter. Lots of reason for optimism in South Bend, albeit in moderation.
2. North Carolina‘s ability to fight back despite being undermanned was very impressive. Without a doubt, some blame goes on LSU for not playing well enough, but tons of credit go out to UNC, who was missing 8 starters and almost beat a very talented team with 2nd teamers. Lots of teams would have just rolled over after going down while undermanned, but I think that UNC has a lot to work with going forward. We all know they are talented, but now it looks like they have heart on their side too.
3. Mark Herzlich was back on a football field this weekend, and it was great to see. The one-time ACC Defensive Player of theYear and Cancer survivor made his triumphant return to BC this weekend. There is really not even room for comedy here as it is really just a great story. No word on if Al Skinner’s mustache was in attendance to welcome him back.

Three Disappointments

1. Analysts assumed Pitt would roll into Utah and take care of them. There is no such thing as an easy road game in college football against a FBS team. None. Kyle Whittingham has a pretty good team up there and assuming that a good, but overhyped Pitt team will roll up and roll out with a win in the stadium with the longest home winning streak in the country is crazy. Deon Lewis is still really good, but come on analysts.
2. Oklahoma looked pretty bad in the 2nd half against Utah State in continuing their tradition of sucking in week 1 every year. This is a team that people are somewhat unsure of coming into the year and now we know that they are just like every other Oklahoma team without elite talent and will probably disappoint.
   

   It is days like those that make Urban wonder why he ever left his one week retirement.

3. Florida looked very bad. They couldn’t get the center-QB exchange right, and even when they did, the offense looked anemic at best. The defense and special teams set up most of their points, and John Brantley did not make the splash many were expecting of him to. I took a while deciding how to sum up how Florida looked this week. Do I go with some witty reference to an ugly sports star like Ronaldinho? Do I open up the can of worms that is the Oakland Raiders? Do I go with an awful movie, like any movie with Nicholas Cage, to explain it? Or do I make a list of rhetorical questions so I can make an excuse for using them all? Sorry, went a little high brow there.

Water Cooler Game

Maybe a little nitpicky, but definitely different from “Best Game” and this one goes to the Boise State vs. Virginia Tech game. It was not at all the Boise State team we expected to see (not many mistakes, trick plays, and just generally solid play), but we got something potentially scarier. True, the defense gave up 30 points and was far less stout than we were expecting, but this Boise State team was just pushing Virginia Tech off the ball in the first quarter, and had all the athletes and then some that VT did. This was not some overachieving team made up of unknown guys; this was an athletic, talented, well-coached group of guys. They lost the Uniform War to VT, but Boise should no longer be considered a Cinderella. However, the rest of the schedule would imply that they are just that, and I do not think this team is good enough to play for a national title. They might end up in the National Title game, and they might not, but this particular Boise State squad, although they are the grind-it-out type of team you need to be to win as a smaller school, is not deserving of a national title shot. If they had come out and shut down VT and won 20-7 or something, I may be singing a different tune, but they missed many key tackles and were not as crisp as they would have needed to be to get the OTC stamp of approval. It might be unfair that we are judging them in week 1 about deserving to play for a title, but they play no one else after Oregon State next week.

However, you would think that Boise was the only team participating in the game from reading the above paragraph. VT played pretty well, although they got out-Beamerballed early in the game and missed too many tackles at bad times to deserve to really win. Ryan Williams was a beast yet again and could help that team go a long way in the rejuvenated ACC, and Tyrod Taylor, while not always pretty with his arm, was pretty effective for the last 3 quarters. I was not expecting VT to put up 30 points, and that has got to be considered a success for them, even though the defense did not quite do its job for long enough stretches. Not a bad showing by VT, especially considering that very few thought they would win this game, so while they cannot be happy with a loss, they showed some promise.

Pretty good start to the year, so get ready for next week. Ohio St. vs Miami should be one hell of a clash, so stay tuned.

College Football Week 13

Saturday night in Palo Alto, an era ended. You could say it ended far sooner than that, but Saturday night was Charlie Weis’ last game as head coach of Notre Dame. Jimmy Clausen threw for 5 TDs and the Irish fell anyway behind Toby Gerhart’s big night. As a Notre Dame fan, I could not help but feel like that was how the Weis years went. He kept going deep and connecting on his recruiting trips, but it did not change the results on the field. His superior players were not learning once they got into the program, simply progressing at their normal rate without the coaching they desperately need at the college level. Notre Dame has as high a skill level as anyone in the country, but the players are not learning. Charlie keeps calling pretty good games, but he is getting paid for the 6 days between games too, not just Saturdays. Weis failed because he did not coach. He did a great job coordinating the offense, and running his team on Saturday, but he did not do enough coaching tp be successful. It did not help that John Tenuda’s defense, which is built on pressure, rarely pressured the QB and turns decent players into superstars. I am not speaking about Gerhart here, who is great, but guys who are just pretty decent and have monster days against the hapless Irish defense. The only thing that really remains is to see who replaces Weis, and frankly, I am ok not caring until after Bowl Season.

As a Notre Dame fan, I am just worn down from the high expectations, constant failures and continuous search for ANYONE who can win. I can’t talk about it much more without just getting mad, so let’s turn to the actual contenders instead of the paper tigers like Notre Dame. Florida and Alabama both took care of business to make sure that the SEC Championship is between two teams without blemish. Granted, Alabama struggled against Auburn, but it was an in-conference road game with an in state rival. You can throw out the records when it is a rivalry like that, and for most of the first half Auburn looked like the better team. However, Bama got rolling at the end of the first half and turned it into a close game until the final drive when Greg McElroy lead the Tide to the endzone to clinch the win. I would not call it exciting, but it was certainly necessary if the two top teams were to meet in the SEC Championship Game.

This week is among is most worthless of all weeks to be honest. The conferences with title games already had them set and the conferences without title games still have games next week. All in all, really nothing was decided this week. Boise officially wrapped up the WAC, but that surprised no one, the SEC title game was already set, the Big 12 title game was already set, the Big Ten is already set, and all things considered not a lot happened on the conference scene. We will get to the Georgia-Georgia Tech shortly as it did have potential BCS implications, but when you think about it, this week can best be summed up by what did not change. Charlie Weis continued his brave march toward unemployment, Alabama and Florida made sure they would decide things with both teams perfect next week, and everything else, with the exception of Georgia Tech-Georgia went according to plan. I guess it kept things set for next week, but it could have been a lot better this week.

As promised, here is your Georgia-Georgia Tech talk. I have developed a serious love for the option in major college football programs. It is simple, effective, low risk, and tactically sound, and yet teams avoid it like the plague. Yet when it comes time to face it, they look like the ones with the plague as they fail to soundly tackle and remained disciplined. Would I want my Irish running it again like they did with Bob Davie? Probably not, but if I was a team without an offensive identity and plenty of athletes I would be dumb not to try it. This all brings us to the game. I know Georgia Tech lost, and I give lots of credit to Georgia for responding after last year’s collapse and showing up their in-state rivals. Georgia’s talent level is undeniable, but the surprising part of this game is that the defense stepped up. Maybe if this had happened sooner, Georgia would not have been a huge disappointment, but that is neither here nor there, the point is that now, if Georgia Tech loses to Clemson in the ACC Title Game, they will be in trouble. Clemson will get a BCS spot, something that is probably not great for the BCS, and Georgia Tech will drop to a far inferior bowl game. Maybe i am alone in wanting to see the Ramblin’ Wreck in the BCS, but I want to. Let’s get a quick conference wrap-up before we wait on next week.

Big 12– It is Texas’ to lose. Nebraska has a good defense but it should not matter. On one hand I would like to see TCU or Cincinnati get a bump with a Texas loss, but the Horns should take care of business.

Big 10- Has been Ohio State for an eternity it feels like.

SEC- Florida v. Alabama in Atlanta. It should be a great one, but I am taking Florida.

Big East- Cincinnati v. Pittsburgh in a non-title game. I would take Cincinnati, but I would bet on a good game after Pitt lost the backyard brawl to WVU. Maybe Brian Kelly’s last game as UC Head Coach?

ACC- Georgia Tech v. Clemson. Georgia Tech is the pick, but you never know. Clemson is enigmatic across all of its athletic programs and I am not sure why. Oliver Purnell seems to always over or under-achieve and the football program always zigs when you expect a zag.

That is all i got for this week. Enjoy the week.

College Football Week 7

The Red River Shootout

Landry Jones lost this game. I understand that he was not slated to start and that the game would have ended a bit more like I expected had Bradford stayed healthy, but he didn’t and Jones faded down the stretch. I will give Landry Jones all the credit in the world for keeping the Sooners in the game and really playing pretty well up until about 8 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. I was to make this very clear. I do not care what string QB you are, you cannot throw 2 picks on potential game-winning drives. Colt McCoy even bailed him out by throwing a red zone pick right after Jones’ first pick, but the second pick cut even deeper. You cannot do that if you expect to win games, especially against competition as good as Texas.

Texas proved it was not on the same level as Alabama and Florida, floundering against a stout Oklahoma defense and just struggling generally to move the ball. They probably should have lost this game, but they didn’t and will march on to meet their demise another week.

Buckeyes Bucked

Terrelle Pryor did his best Rex Grossman impression fumbling twice and throwing two picks in a somewhat embarrassing loss to the Boilermakers. Of course, this upset came on the road in conference as most upsets do but it is still no excuse for a team vying to be nationally viable. Pryor played so badly that even ESPN was asking if he should be starting elsewhere on the field. Even some die-hard Buckeyes fans think Pryor would be better off as an elite TE than a QB. I will not go as far as to say there is serious trouble in Columbus, but there are probably not too many happy campers on campus tonight.

Conference Upsets

Georgia Tech bested the Hokies at home, Florida almost dropped a conference game at home, Colorado rocked the Jayhawks and Texas Tech made losers out of Nebraska in Nebraska. All of this was very exciting, but honestly, not unpredictable. Once again, the conference road game strikes and all it leaves in its wake are wondering where it went so terribly wrong. The only truly shocking result of the bunch is that Florida almost dropped a game at home, again, to a dangerous Razorbacks team. Some weeks, Florida looks untouchable (like last week at LSU), but then looks extremely vulnerable at home. I am not sold on them as Championship contenders though there are not a ton of teams that can fit that billing. Alabama is putting together a pretty compelling case, but they will meet Florida in Atlanta for the SEC Championship. This is shaping up to be an extremely exciting year and yet another year when multiple teams will be able to lay claim to BCS bids and potentially get denied. Boise State and TCU are putting together solid bids, Virginia Tech lost, and Texas has looked extremely shaky all year. Alabama has been the most impressive, but it will be a lot of fun to see the BCS squirm as they try to defend who makes what bowl game.

It pains me to talk about this next one but it has to happen

Irish fall to Trojans………… Again.

Some thought this would be the year. Those some were wrong. USC went up big in the 3rd quarter, but the Irish showed a ton of heart and fought back, eventually leading to 3 plays from the 4 yard line with 9 seconds left. For a second, it looked like Kyle Rudolph hauled in a tipped ball in the end zone, but it looked like his knee was down out of bounds as he caught it. The next two passes were incomplete, including a slight slip on the final play by Duval Kamara, making Clausen’s errant pass irrelevant. So close, yet so far away. As an admitted Notre Dame fan, I was not expecting good things to come from this game without Michael Floyd and with a suspect defense. I would not say that the Irish played extremely well, but they were advantageous in cashing in on the opportunities given to them by USC. It was a valiant fight back, but it should not have been as close as it was. Maybe the Irish will be able to beat them when they get a defense capable of stopping teams not named Nevada. Until then, my Notre Dame fan-hood will be without reward. At least I have a Heisman candidate I can believe in Jimmy Clausen. If only he had a real defense behind him, maybe they would be 7-0 right now. If only… if only…

On the other hand, I know it gives Notre Dame Haters everywhere reason to rejoice so I guess it is whatever is best for the greater good, right? Although USC might be the only program more reviled, Notre Dame remains number one for most. Get ’em next year Irish.

The only other big game worth talking about was the Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech game, but I will let you reference my previous thoughts on it (as shown here) as they have not changed on the matter. A win for VT would make them a legitimate contender; a loss would confirm they are just another team that is good but not elite.

Good week of football, only one more week until we get to do it again.

CLOWN OF THE WEEK: This one is a little Marquette-centric, but I need to call out MUTV’s coverage of Marquette Madness (our version of Midnight Madness). I understand it is done by students, but I am not sure if it could have got more amateur. Tons of technical difficulties, weak reporting, and commentary completely unrelated to what was going on on the court. In the words of Lou Williams of the 76ers, “C’mon Son”!

College Football Roundup Week 3

Not a lot of apparent big name matchups this week, but still plenty of excitement this Saturday. If you are a Notre Dame hater, stick around to hear this Irish fan blister them over their horrific showing.

(3) USC  13     Washington  16

This game was not entirely unpredictable with a backup QB for USC and a much improved Huskies team, but regardless of circumstance, when a team with 2 wins in 2008 beats the #3 team in the country, it is deserving of some publicity. Washington is a legitimate team this year under Steve Sarkisian as they proved against LSU and proved again against USC. Jake Locker is still a playmaker and the defense has been outstanding thus far this year. USC also seems a bit different this year. They used to be a bit like the Patriots in that no matter what the team looked like, you trusted that Pete Carroll would bring the best out of them and they would be serious contenders for a BCS Championship, but this year they have looked very normal. Ohio State played them tough and is a pretty good team, but the USC teams of the past really would not have let a team hang around like that. The same goes for this week; USC teams of the past probably would have closed them out, but could not do it. I realize that they were playing on the road against a pretty decent team with a backup quarterback, but the old USC would have won. This is not the same USC team. As a Notre Dame fan (more on them in a bit, and not at all positive) I am thrilled, but as a college football team, I am just confused. Props to Washington for doing it, but still a shocker for a program like USC.

Notre Dame: Trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory

Michigan State  30     Notre Dame  33

I am a Notre Dame fan. So when you read this, please keep in mind this is the opinion of a fan. I could not stand watching that game today. Michigan State, a team that lost to Central Michigan last week, had no business being within 20 points of Notre Dame, but for some reason Notre Dame loves to do their best not to win games. Notre Dame was giving away penalty yardage like Goodwill gives away clothing, missing big stops like Jameer Nelson on Derek Fisher, and losing momentum like a Howard Dean presidency in 2004. On top of that, they lost their Michael Floyd, who is without a doubt Jimmy Clausen’s favorite target and one of the best receivers in the nation when healthy. This game should not have been close and with the injury of Floyd, I am 100% backing off my thoughts about the USC-ND game. What a depressing game to watch as a ND fan. They have outstanding players who just cannot make important plays when they need to. I do not even care about the game-saving pick because it frankly should not have come to that. The game would not have needed saving if the Irish would have made one big stop in the first half. The drive that most comes to mind is with Notre Dame leading 13-3 and coming off a touchdown, they kicked off and Michigan State took over. Michigan State ran the ball once, and after the second run, got a late hit call on Robert Blanton. That moved them to their own 40. Then they handed off again and Kyle McCarthy (eventual savior) was called for a late hit. Now the ball on the Notre Dame 40 and about 12 yards of that has been done by State. Pass down the middle and a pass interference call. The ball is now on the ND 30 and Sparty has accounted for about 12 yards of it. Then Sparty makes a pretty good call with a WR pass (with a WR who was a HS QB) 30 yards for a touchdown. 4 plays, 80 yards, is how it is listed, but a little bit of intelligence and it never happens. You have to make a team move the ball on the road and Notre Dame’s defense just does not get it.

In fact, unless they give me a truly legitimate reason to write about them, I am swearing off writing about Notre Dame as a team for the year. I will talk about Jimmy Clausen, who was once again outstanding, but not the team. Clausen threw for 300 yards again and was pretty much perfect in the first half before injuring his ankle. He is for real, not just a product of a system. I do not know his NFL prospects, but he is not to be written off. However, until Notre Dame learns to make big plays when they are needed, especially on defense, they do not deserve to waste your time in this weekly article. Moving on.

Rocky Top’s Smooth Start

Tennessee  13     (1) Florida  23

Florida makes its first appearance in the College Football Roundup after winning fairly comfortably despite the close score. Tennessee actually played pretty well, but the Vols are a threat down the road a bit, not this year. Being able to stick with Florida obviously bodes well for them for years to come, but whether Lane Kiffin can calm down after a fairly boisterous offseason remains to be seen. It is one thing to be loud to get the name of your program out there, but the line between promotion and just being a nuisance is thin and we will see if the younger Kiffin can achieve the former rather than the latter.

I was unable to really see this game, but after seeing highlights, it seems it is time I lived up to my promise to talk about Eric Berry, the standout safety in Knoxville. Similar to Taylor Mays, he is a physical freak: 5’11” 203 with a sub 4.40 40 yard dash and like Mays, hits harder than a cougar on prom night. The only real difference is that Berry is a much more developed cover corner but still gets into the backfield and is disruptive. He is one of those once in a blue moon kind of a guy who demands the attention of every man on the offense. He is great in coverage, an outstanding tackler and projected by Mel “The Hair” Kiper as high as 2^nd overall. Maybe someday he will get a ridiculously awesome yet somehow scary and intense commercial like Adrian Peterson. (If you don’t know, now you know. Click it, you will not be disappointed).

A Few Other Notes

Texas Tech really impressed me in Austin. I did not see the game because I had a few prior engagements, but purely looking at the score I am seriously impressed. Think of it this way: Team A lost its 2 best players to the draft last year and has had a horrendous record in Team B’s Stadium and Team B is the #2 team in the country. You say blow out? I would have too, but the Red Raiders did the opposite of their Silver and Black brethren and hung in there. I give TTU a ton of credit but also question Texas’ credentials. I mean they were in a tight contest with Wyoming last week for a half and now did not show up at home against a rival, albeit a secondary rival. Again, I did not see the game, but just looking at the score, I am impressed.

Another game I did not see much of was Georgia at Arkansas. Rather than talking about a game I did not see much of I would much rather talk about the hardest thing to do, at least lately, in college football: Winning a road game on the SEC. No matter how good the home team is in the SEC every road game is a possible upset. I do not know whether to attribute it to the fanaticism of the fans, the proximity of the fans to the players in SEC stadiums or what, but it is a serious deal anytime a SEC team goes on the road. I am not sure if my “proximity to the field” theory holds any water, but when you watch SEC games, it seems like the fans are almost spilling onto the sidelines and end zones. It must be harder to hear on the field with that but maybe all that is in my head. Regardless, any time there are almost 100 points scored, it is entertaining football. Bad football at times? Possibly, but always exciting and not a type of game often associated with the SEC. Alright time for a wrap up.

CLOWN OF THE WEEK: I’m not sure if this was this week, but calling Kanye a clown after that is never really out of the question.

STAT LINE OF THE WEEK: I do not have a stat for this week. Any suggestion, please comment.