SATURDAY: 3 WHO IMPRESSED, 3 WHO SURPRISED & 3 I SAW COMING
After watching 13 hours of games, we couldn't watch anymore. Hawaii-UNLV & K-State-UCLA would have to be determined without our bloodshot eyes. I laid down at 12:25 & was sound asleep in about 9 seconds. I was awakened at 2:25 by a full bladder & jam-packed sinuses. I gave up about 30 minutes ago & came down to the office to put down a few thoughts about what I observed yesterday.
But first, I need to report good news on the TV front, the Mitsubishi is working fine now. Once again I need to salute my oh so patient wife as she sat silently watching my knowledge of electronics being overcome by a few "senior moments". She could have questioned my skills, she could have made a snide comment or she could have just come out & said "do you have a clue what you're doing"? But she didn't, leaving me with a certain amount of my dignity. Actually, as the "fixin" concluded & the power was restored, little was said & as the 52-inch screen came to life in all it's 1080P high definition glory, I think I said "cool, it works". Tho Linda said nothing, I'm sure, she was shaking her head or rolling her eyes after watching me in action. Some days I look pretty damn smart & others, well I'll just say "cool, it works".
I told you Friday about Cal running back Jahvid Best & I said he was my Heisman dark horse behind Tim Tebow & Colt McCoy. Nice timing, Best showed the Minnesota Gophers who was 'best' yesterday, running for 131 yards & all 5 of his team's touchdowns. That's almost 500 yards & 9 touchdowns in 3 games.
Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh seems to improve every time I see him play. The 6-4 300-pound Suh batted down 4 passes yesterday, got a sack & 2 tackles for losses. He has a non-stop motor & should be a top-10 draft pick next April.
Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones set freshman records yesterday with 6 touchdown passes. Sam Bradford he ain't, but still, 6 touchdowns? Pretty impressive substitute.
I've been harping on USC, their coach & his inability to be humble sometimes. They lost yesterday to a team, that prior to last week, had lost 15 straight. Carroll's program may start to unravel, his coordinators turnover quickly as they are offered head coaching jobs or jobs in the NFL, both paying more than the Trojans can afford. His best players leave before their eligibility is used up, because they can go to the NFL. With that working against you, if a couple of recruiting mistakes are made, you can be in trouble quickly. I think the Trojans are looking at this scenario right now. The 2009 edition isn't what it's been the last 5-6 years.
I have one thing to say about the Nebraska-Virginia Tech game. If you didn't see the ending of that game coming about midway thru the 3rd quarter, then you haven't watch enough football. Va Tech returned the opening kickoff 80 yards & scored a touchdown in a few plays. After that, the Hokies did absolutely nothing on offense, zero, zilch, nada, they were pathetic. Nebraska on the other hand, once they got into the 2nd quarter, moved the ball fairly well but stalled in the redzone. The Cornhuskers could only manage 5 field goals. They had 2 touchdowns called back because of penalty, one overturned on review & one drive they had late in the 3rd quarter capsulized their afternoon in Blacksburg. They get a 1st & goal at the 6, get a touchdown called back on a holding penalty, now it's 1st & goal at the 16. Flagged for false start, now it's 1st & goal at the 21. Get an 18-yard gain nullified on another holding call, now it's 1st & goal at the 31 yard line. No gain on 1st down, incomplete on 2nd down, sacked for a 5-yard loss on 3rd down. Now they're out of field goal range & they punt. Of course the punt goes into the endzone, making it a net 16-yard punt. Nebraska coach Bo Pellini will replay that series over & over. I told Linda right then "I think I'll win with Nebraska +5, but they're going to blow this game". With the Huskers leading 15-10, less than 90-seconds left in the game, Va Tech at their own 11 facing a 3rd & long it happened. Danny Coale, a lumbering wide receiver got behind the secondary & tho QB Tyrod Taylor had been awful all day, he hit Coale in stride at the 50. Coale was forced out of bounds at the 2-yard line. Va Tech then proceeded to fart around losing 9 yards in the process, but on 3rd & goal from the 11, Taylor found WR Dyrell Roberts in the endzone for the winning score. That was a long plane ride home to Lincoln, but just as I thought, I won my play & the Huskers lost.
If Houston can't win the Conference-USA championship, someone ought to investigate. The 2-0 Cougars are in a conference with 11 other teams, teams that have a composite record of 16-17. Usually teams fatten their early season record scheduling mostly stiffs. It appears the rest of this conference, is in fact, the scheduled stiffs of real football teams.
Three games yesterday really surprised me yesterday. I wasn't shocked by Florida State beating BYU, Bobby Bowden didn't win over 300 games because he's a fool. It was the ease in which they did it & the margin of victory, 54-28 on BYU's home field. The Cougars had played dominating football in their first 2 games on the road, beating Oklahoma & crushing Tulane. They appeared to be a sound, fundamental team with a good quarterback & a decent supporting cast. They were never really in this game & that's what surprised me.
After watching the Boise State-Fresno State track meet on Friday night, I didn't expect to see another on Saturday, especially in the Southeastern Conference. Georgia bested Arkansas 52-41 in a game that saw a combined 1,015 yards of offense & both quarterbacks throwing for 5 touchdowns apiece. Certainly not your typical SEC defensive struggle. It was up & down the field pretty much all evening for both teams, very unusual.
The Baylor Bears were beaten at home by Connecticut 30-22. I honestly think if the Huskies played 10 games at Baylor, Baylor would win 9 of them. Not yesterday. The Bears lost 2 fumbles & QB Robert Griffin threw a pick. Connecticut ran for 235 yards & their time of possession was within 16-seconds of doubling Baylor's. I'm not selling Connecticut short, they're a coming program, but Baylor looked as tho they had moved firmly into the second tier of the Big-12. Maybe not.
Arizona's All-Pac-10 TE, Rob Gronkowski, will likely be redshirted for his junior season. It was announced yesterday his chronic back problems, that have kept him from playing so far in '09, will require surgery & he will be lost for the year. Gronkowski is my top-rated junior tight end.
A team I have to recognize is the Cincinnati Bearcats. They are 3-0, having demolished Rutgers on the road & yesterday whipping a decent Oregon State team in Corvallis, 28-18. QB Tony Pike looked good in both games & wide receiver Mardy Gilyard will make a fine pro. Quick, fast, dependable hands & one of the best return men in the country. I picked Rutgers to win the Big-East Conference, admittedly with a coin-flip, but Cincinnati is a genuine top-15 team.
But first, I need to report good news on the TV front, the Mitsubishi is working fine now. Once again I need to salute my oh so patient wife as she sat silently watching my knowledge of electronics being overcome by a few "senior moments". She could have questioned my skills, she could have made a snide comment or she could have just come out & said "do you have a clue what you're doing"? But she didn't, leaving me with a certain amount of my dignity. Actually, as the "fixin" concluded & the power was restored, little was said & as the 52-inch screen came to life in all it's 1080P high definition glory, I think I said "cool, it works". Tho Linda said nothing, I'm sure, she was shaking her head or rolling her eyes after watching me in action. Some days I look pretty damn smart & others, well I'll just say "cool, it works".
I told you Friday about Cal running back Jahvid Best & I said he was my Heisman dark horse behind Tim Tebow & Colt McCoy. Nice timing, Best showed the Minnesota Gophers who was 'best' yesterday, running for 131 yards & all 5 of his team's touchdowns. That's almost 500 yards & 9 touchdowns in 3 games.
Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh seems to improve every time I see him play. The 6-4 300-pound Suh batted down 4 passes yesterday, got a sack & 2 tackles for losses. He has a non-stop motor & should be a top-10 draft pick next April.
Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones set freshman records yesterday with 6 touchdown passes. Sam Bradford he ain't, but still, 6 touchdowns? Pretty impressive substitute.
I've been harping on USC, their coach & his inability to be humble sometimes. They lost yesterday to a team, that prior to last week, had lost 15 straight. Carroll's program may start to unravel, his coordinators turnover quickly as they are offered head coaching jobs or jobs in the NFL, both paying more than the Trojans can afford. His best players leave before their eligibility is used up, because they can go to the NFL. With that working against you, if a couple of recruiting mistakes are made, you can be in trouble quickly. I think the Trojans are looking at this scenario right now. The 2009 edition isn't what it's been the last 5-6 years.
I have one thing to say about the Nebraska-Virginia Tech game. If you didn't see the ending of that game coming about midway thru the 3rd quarter, then you haven't watch enough football. Va Tech returned the opening kickoff 80 yards & scored a touchdown in a few plays. After that, the Hokies did absolutely nothing on offense, zero, zilch, nada, they were pathetic. Nebraska on the other hand, once they got into the 2nd quarter, moved the ball fairly well but stalled in the redzone. The Cornhuskers could only manage 5 field goals. They had 2 touchdowns called back because of penalty, one overturned on review & one drive they had late in the 3rd quarter capsulized their afternoon in Blacksburg. They get a 1st & goal at the 6, get a touchdown called back on a holding penalty, now it's 1st & goal at the 16. Flagged for false start, now it's 1st & goal at the 21. Get an 18-yard gain nullified on another holding call, now it's 1st & goal at the 31 yard line. No gain on 1st down, incomplete on 2nd down, sacked for a 5-yard loss on 3rd down. Now they're out of field goal range & they punt. Of course the punt goes into the endzone, making it a net 16-yard punt. Nebraska coach Bo Pellini will replay that series over & over. I told Linda right then "I think I'll win with Nebraska +5, but they're going to blow this game". With the Huskers leading 15-10, less than 90-seconds left in the game, Va Tech at their own 11 facing a 3rd & long it happened. Danny Coale, a lumbering wide receiver got behind the secondary & tho QB Tyrod Taylor had been awful all day, he hit Coale in stride at the 50. Coale was forced out of bounds at the 2-yard line. Va Tech then proceeded to fart around losing 9 yards in the process, but on 3rd & goal from the 11, Taylor found WR Dyrell Roberts in the endzone for the winning score. That was a long plane ride home to Lincoln, but just as I thought, I won my play & the Huskers lost.
If Houston can't win the Conference-USA championship, someone ought to investigate. The 2-0 Cougars are in a conference with 11 other teams, teams that have a composite record of 16-17. Usually teams fatten their early season record scheduling mostly stiffs. It appears the rest of this conference, is in fact, the scheduled stiffs of real football teams.
Three games yesterday really surprised me yesterday. I wasn't shocked by Florida State beating BYU, Bobby Bowden didn't win over 300 games because he's a fool. It was the ease in which they did it & the margin of victory, 54-28 on BYU's home field. The Cougars had played dominating football in their first 2 games on the road, beating Oklahoma & crushing Tulane. They appeared to be a sound, fundamental team with a good quarterback & a decent supporting cast. They were never really in this game & that's what surprised me.
After watching the Boise State-Fresno State track meet on Friday night, I didn't expect to see another on Saturday, especially in the Southeastern Conference. Georgia bested Arkansas 52-41 in a game that saw a combined 1,015 yards of offense & both quarterbacks throwing for 5 touchdowns apiece. Certainly not your typical SEC defensive struggle. It was up & down the field pretty much all evening for both teams, very unusual.
The Baylor Bears were beaten at home by Connecticut 30-22. I honestly think if the Huskies played 10 games at Baylor, Baylor would win 9 of them. Not yesterday. The Bears lost 2 fumbles & QB Robert Griffin threw a pick. Connecticut ran for 235 yards & their time of possession was within 16-seconds of doubling Baylor's. I'm not selling Connecticut short, they're a coming program, but Baylor looked as tho they had moved firmly into the second tier of the Big-12. Maybe not.
Arizona's All-Pac-10 TE, Rob Gronkowski, will likely be redshirted for his junior season. It was announced yesterday his chronic back problems, that have kept him from playing so far in '09, will require surgery & he will be lost for the year. Gronkowski is my top-rated junior tight end.
A team I have to recognize is the Cincinnati Bearcats. They are 3-0, having demolished Rutgers on the road & yesterday whipping a decent Oregon State team in Corvallis, 28-18. QB Tony Pike looked good in both games & wide receiver Mardy Gilyard will make a fine pro. Quick, fast, dependable hands & one of the best return men in the country. I picked Rutgers to win the Big-East Conference, admittedly with a coin-flip, but Cincinnati is a genuine top-15 team.
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