Ok so I'm a little worn out because works has been really rough. But I just wanted to rant a little bit. For everyone who sent me e-mails, texts, calls, telegraphs, smoke signals, singing telegrams about the USC loss last week, I'd just like to say I appreciate it all. That being said, I don't care if Southern Cal lost, They aren't even really Southern Cal, they are more like Northern Southern California. I live 2 miles south of where the "University of Southern California" is, and let me tell you, it's nicer here, we have less smog (we have no smog really). And regardless of what USC wants to pretend they are, it doesn't matter because they live in or around southern California. Where the weather is nice every day, seriously. It was 80 degrees outside today and people in my office were complaining about how it was a heat wave. 80 degrees, heat wave...unreal. So the real loser here is anyone who felt sorry for USC. Because all they had to return to was their perfect weather, beautiful women, and plenty of fun things to do. I know I shed a tear for them.
In all seriousness though what a great weekend of college football last weekend! I mean there were upsets and surprises and fun. I love upsets, I love them. I can't get enough of them, If every team in the top 25 lost in a weekend I would stop watching football and start watching bass fishing because there is nothing more for me to enjoy in the sport at that point. I mean seriously it would be the happiest day of my life, well second happiest, I figure the first happiest will be having kids...or getting a ATV, those things are pretty cool. So many upsets and in all honesty I don't think they are going to stop. It could be exactly like last year where there are no perfect teams and there will be a ton of controversy over who gets to play in what bowl game. It could be really cool, like that time the coin collector left the Ninja Turtles game unlocked so we got a bunch of free games until the arcade manager found us and then we had to leave. But looking at it now, there's a distinct possibility that you get a bunch of teams that have 1 or 2 losses, or even better, you get a bunch of teams from non-BCS conferences that go undefeated. Right now you could get BYU or Utah and then Boise State, Tulsa, and Ball State undefeated. If 2 of those teams go undefeated what happens? What about 3 of them? 4? I'll tell you what happens, I start dancing like Fred Astaire (a fatter less elegant Fred Astaire). So let's see the upsets of these top 10 teams keep coming, let's see this non-BCS guys go unbeaten, I'll be happy as a clam, and you should be too. And if that doesn't make you happy, then you are pro-kicking puppies. You monster.
Comments:
"So I couldn't resist answering a trivia question. A Sooner, I believe, refers to the original settlers of the Oklahoma territory, and because the land was open first come first serve, there was something to do with when the land was opened up, people were already settling, got there 'sooner' something to that respect, like they settled before the date they were supposed to. Now my confidence in answering that correctly has devolved into a rambling 40% true statement.Hope life in sunny San Diego is as continuously beautiful as you describe it to be, and unfortunately, you won't go undefeated this week, the HOOOS will crush Duke leaving the Devils quite blue, and by crush, I mean win in a hard fought 10-7 grindfest.
Take it easy." - Ethan
That's a very very close guess, and I'm going to have a hard time deciding who gets the $5 because both you and my friend Peter contacted me very early about this. Neither of you was exactly right. But you can still split the $5. I actually looked it up, a "Sooner" derives it's name from the "sooner clause" of the Indian Appropriation Act, which stated that no one should be allowed to enter and occupy the land prior to the opening time and that such people would be denied rights to illegally claimed land. So congratulations, you are almost right. In regards to your second comment, San Diego is an awful place full of bad weather and you should never come here. Lastly, the one thing I know I was right about last week was that Duke punished the Cavaliers.
"Will not be the first, last, or the funniest person saying this: sorry about USC Oregon State dude :(" - Rob
Don't be sorry, great game. Also as funny as it may seem, one prominent sports writer actually picked Oregon State to win that game way back in like July. Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated actually said he thought that they would beat USC and Penn State and that they would be the surprise team of the year. Lots of people laughed at him because Oregon State got beaten by Stanford to start the year and then dominated by Penn State. But who's laughing now? That's right, me, I just heard a funny joke about a crab playing soccer, how absurd.
"1) I don't know what is more difficult to believe: that someone would actually subject their son to the naming of Jacquizz, or that said person could rush on USC for 186 yards and 2 touches. The Trojan defense couldn't have tackled the icebox (yes a Little Giants reference).
2) "Knowshon for Heisman" is looking more and more like the most ridiculous statement ever with each passing week. Now with an elbow injury? A deeply injured Georgia team should still beat Tennessee next week.....right?
3) Andy texted me saying "Ole Miss beat Florida", and I had to read it 5 or 6 times until it made sense. A bloced PAT to (basically) lose the game? I know Ole Miss has a history of handing a loss to the Gators, but beating them when they're #4 in the country is impressive. Does this mean that the SEC is deeper than the the Gulf of Mexico, or is this a fluke?
4) Has the ACC solidified their "worst conference in college football" stigma for this year yet? It's not looking too good for their 2 top-25 teams, #20 VA Tech and #25 Wake Forest. Thoughts?" - Cali
My first thought is that you should come visit me in San Diego, thanks. But I'll take these questions one by one.
1) Weird name but I'll be honest, I've never seen something like what he was doing to USC defenders. I wasn't even watching the game till someone called me and asked if I was. Why would I, it's going to be a terrible game? "Because USC is losing by 2 touchdowns that's why." I've never seen a running back slip through defenders, because that's essentially what he was doing. The was getting hit in the backfield, at the line of scrimmage, and was just slipping through peoples arms for 5 or more yards. USC had the perfect defense called, Jacquizz just kept slipping by them. On the one touchdown he scored in the second half he actually went under the defenders arms, Tom and Jerry style.
2) I don't know, I think Tennessee is pretty bad, but they've lost 2 close games this season in conference. Georgia on the other hand will have a huge chip on their shoulder from the Alabama beatdown and they have a week to rest while Tennessee plays this weekend. As for the Heisman my top 5 has looked like this for the past 2 weeks:
1. Chase Daniel, Missouri2. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma3. Max Hall, BYU4. Donald Brown, UConn5. Colt McCoy, Texas
3) That game wasn't on ANYWHERE that I could easily get to because I was at the bar doing laundry. But in Ole Miss's defense they've been competitive in the SEC for the last couple years and their new coach Houston Nutt really knows the SEC. I also think the Gators were a little overrated and that the score of their game against Tennessee wasn't indicative of how close that game was. Also the rankings are pretty much a crapshoot until week 6-8 where the cream rises to the top.
4) They are awful, they don't deserve a BCS bid.but they may be better than the Pac-10, but not as good as the MWC. Scary huh? Well not as scary as this old lady that lives next door, I think she's trying to eat our cat and I can't tell if that's a wig or a cat on her head.
Games:
Kentucky at #2 Alabama - Last year if you got the number 2 ranking in the country it basically was like getting the Black Spot from Treasure Island (if you've never read it go read a book you punk, or watch the Muppet's version). It meant you were going down soon because some pirate was about to straight up stab you or something, I don't know I kinda skimmed that book. I can't help wonder if we might see that start to happen here. We have the Alabama Crimson Tide, who just rolled up the most dominating win of the season against the number two team in the country at the time, they had a huge emotional burst from that game, and everyone thinks they are the greatest thing since unsliced bread (which was pretty good at the time)...See a pattern here? The Kentucky Wildcats are undefeated, they have the best statistical defense in the country, they have never won at Alabama. Sure Alabama will probably cruise and just be happy knowing they are so good, heck they probably won't ever lose again and RB Glen Coffee will continue to put up eye opening numbers. The certainly won't lose to an undefeated Kentucky team who feels like they aren't getting their due even though they knocked off LSU last year and in four games they've only let up 22 points. Gosh, seems like a lock for Alabama (not).
Florida State at Miami (FL) - Remember when this game used to be the biggest in the country? Seminoles versus Hurricanes, wide right field goals, defense and drama and national title hopes oh my? Well it's not anymore. Booya.
#13 Auburn at #19 Vanderbilt - I honestly don't understand why the Vanderbuilt Commodores are ranked and Kentucky is not. I also don't understand why they are called the Commodores even thought they are 500 miles from a body of water that can hold a naval vessel, if you can explain this to me without looking it up you've got five dollars or a milkshake coming your way. Vandy is ranked for the first time in like 4000 years or something and it's apparently because of the spread offense they run and RB Jared Hawkins, although their offensive numbers aren't terribly spectacular. They will run the ball as much as they can, which could be a problem because the Auburn Tigers have a stifling defensive line. These teams are very similar, hard playing bruising defenses, spread attacks that feature a running game more then passing, and they also have the letters A, R, and N in their name, I know I was staggered by that revelation as well. Auburn was a play or 2 from winning against LSU, and they have a better defense, offense, and special teams, but the game is at Vandy. Vandy hasn't been ranked in forever and a day, I just have a feeling that they could pull it off especially since Auburn just got done playing two brutal games.
#24 Connecticut at North Carolina - The Huskies of UConn are maybe the luckiest team in the land. I've watched their last two games and I don't think they really deserved to win either, they certainly tried really hard to lose but unlike the Philadelphia Eagles they were unsuccessful. UConn has the nations leading running back in Donald Brown but like all their games I would expect this one to go something like this. UConn gets down by a couple touchdowns, has a second half comeback, and then you flip a coin to see whether the Tar Heels of NC have what it takes. I saw QB Cameron Sexton come in and play against Miami last week after the starter for UNC got hurt. He has the arm of a pro quarterback, no joke he can really wing it. Toss up game, but I'll pick the home team so that I can field a bunch of e-mails about why the Big East stinks and so does the ACC. We're going to call this the academic game of the week since I don't want to write about Villanova/William and Mary or Cornell/Lehigh.
#23 Oregon at #9 USC - Can two Oregon teams beat the Trojans on consecutive weeks? Short answer no, USC hasn't lost back to back games against Pac-10 opponents since 2001 I believe. They actually haven't lost back to back games period since 2001. Sure the Oregon Ducks will come in with one of their 500 different uniform combinations provided by Nike, and they will run the spread offense very nicely. But if they don't cover their running backs in butter like Oregon State did, they aren't going anywhere. The USC defense is going to be angry, they are going to be mean, and I predict a very one sided home win for the Trojans. Also I predict rain, no seriously it's supposed to rain this weekend, what's up with that?
#14 Ohio State at #18 Wisconsin - One of these teams is a pretender and one of them is a contender. The Wisconsin Badgers got beat by Michigan last weekend in a surprise loss, their offense just isn't balanced enough to take on a good defense, they mainly rely on RB P.J. Hill to do the majority of the work, The Buckeyes have had a couple weeks to groom freshman QB Terrelle Pryor and will be getting back RB Beanie Wells. I've seen enough of Ohio State's offense to believe that they don't really have the tools to play against a good Wisconsin defense. What I'm getting at here is that this game will probably have about as much offensive fire power as a fluffy rabbit with two squirtguns taped to it's side. It very well could be a tough game that comes down to whether Pryor, who was an all world phenom out of highschool, makes mistakes or not. If not, they win, if so, they lose, either way I doubt it will be pretty. Dr. Coin projects Ohio State winning. Have a great weekend, sorry this is so long. So long.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Philly Experience
The first Eagles game I ever went to was against the Giants when I was like 8 or 10. The Eagles had just lost to the Giants. My father and I were walking out of the 700 level and there was this guy in a Giants jacket who was on the ground next to a broken beer bottle in a pool of his own blood/spilled beer. People were walking by spitting on him and such. I asked my father if we should stop to help him and he just continued to usher me out of the stadium. A part of me died that day and I believe that part was my ability to be positive about the Eagles no matter how well they are doing. Winning by 56 points? Should have scored more. Win a game by 21 points? They were a couple lucky plays away from loosing. McNabb went 32/33 for 700 yards and 16 TDs? Why didn't he run for more, where's the goddamn running game.
My first Phillies game at the Vet I saw someone get arrested in the 3rd inning for throwing beer and fighting someone. Two innings later someone dumped beer on me and he got arrested. I did get to see Ozzie Smith do a backflip and worthless Mitch Williams got a save, I think Lennie Dyksrta hit a home run. Then they lost the world series and my cat died. Fucking Phillies.
I've never been to a home Flyers or Sixers game but I did see the Flyers play Washington twice in the first round in DC last year.
My first Phillies game at the Vet I saw someone get arrested in the 3rd inning for throwing beer and fighting someone. Two innings later someone dumped beer on me and he got arrested. I did get to see Ozzie Smith do a backflip and worthless Mitch Williams got a save, I think Lennie Dyksrta hit a home run. Then they lost the world series and my cat died. Fucking Phillies.
I've never been to a home Flyers or Sixers game but I did see the Flyers play Washington twice in the first round in DC last year.
Friday, September 26, 2008
The best there is
Matt Bowen is the best NFL writer in the world right now, his insights are so darn good it makes me surprised we don't see more ex-players. He must be an unusually smart guy.
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/author/matt-bowen/
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/author/matt-bowen/
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Throws discussion
Fun discussion about throws on the internet:
Mobn:
"Greco frankly offers a lot more control to the wrestler in terms of where they land out of the takedown. GSP's style more often than not lands him in guard and requires him to pass. I think we can all agree that Silva's guard has proven dangerous."
Me:
Incorrect given that all of the takedowns in Greco are throws and not leg attacks. It's actually quite difficult to control an opponent you've thrown using just your upper body as leverage. It just so happens that in Greco style competition they don't scramble out of a takedown, they lie on their stomachs so that they don't give up more points. Whereas with a freestyle double leg takedown you have control of your opponents legs at least for a moment and a good takedown will involve resetting your hips so that you can either get behind the person, or into some kind of mount of half guard. Your legs are more powerful then your arms by far, greco takedowns leave the legs open to do as they please while the throw is taking place. Most great wrestlers while they are getting thrown (well to be fair a great wrestler doesn't usually get thrown) are adjusting their body to be in a better position before they land, and since their legs are free there is plenty to do. Whereas when you are getting taken down with a double you can't really do much till you land, scoot your hips out and headlock or try to get in guard, or if it's actual wrestling give up your back. Now Judo throws on the other hand...
Mobn:
"But a Greco throw gives you much better control over where you land in relation to their upper body, as you can control it the whole way down, resulting in landing in side control against a less competent wrestler. I still say that Hendo's style is more likely than GSP's to land in a dominant position, especially considering Anderson's ability to quickly grab guard back from an unwary opponent. "
Me:
Ok I guess, but a greco takedown is also much more likely to not result in a takedown period. A great double leg you can control exactly where you are but you are less likely to land in full mount or side mount.
Elmo Oxygen (on responding to "Now Judo throws on the other hand... ":
"Keep going, this is a pearl of interesting reading in a slop trough full of MMA thread. "
Me:
Judo throws are typically the most controlled throws. You use legs, you use arms, you use weight transfer. Think about the Judo guys you see in MMA, Karo would be the one that comes to my mind first. When he usually executes a throw, it looks big and he uses both his upper body and legs for leverage to get momentum going. He also locks up parts of the opponents body during the throw so that they can be controlled when you hit the ground. You can also execute them pretty much from any standing position. There are so many different Judo throws it's ungodly, there were apparently 40 originally developed but goodness knows how many there really are, and you really have to be good at scrambling if you get thrown because when you land more often then not you are exactly where the Judo guy wanted you to be. In MMA Judo throws typically allow the thrower to control everything that is about to happen because unless you have a strong Judo or wrestling with throw background the tendancy is to just go with the flow, get the wind knocked out of you, or be outright confused. If you've never been thrown by a Judo guy just try to imagine, "All of a sudden you aren't on your feet, and you are flying, and oh look there's the ground how the hell did I get here? Oh gosh that hurt, what is going on?" If you aren't used to defending it you cna get very disoriented.Wrestling (in the US) at lower levels of competition doesn't have alot of throws, but some coaches teach a simple head and arm throw as the first or second move because it can easily win a match and take an inexperienced guy out of their gameplan in an instant. All the fastest pins I ever got were by going straight for a head and arm and pinning someone second later. Judo is lots and lots of throws, here's a small list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judo_techniques
Mobn:
"Greco frankly offers a lot more control to the wrestler in terms of where they land out of the takedown. GSP's style more often than not lands him in guard and requires him to pass. I think we can all agree that Silva's guard has proven dangerous."
Me:
Incorrect given that all of the takedowns in Greco are throws and not leg attacks. It's actually quite difficult to control an opponent you've thrown using just your upper body as leverage. It just so happens that in Greco style competition they don't scramble out of a takedown, they lie on their stomachs so that they don't give up more points. Whereas with a freestyle double leg takedown you have control of your opponents legs at least for a moment and a good takedown will involve resetting your hips so that you can either get behind the person, or into some kind of mount of half guard. Your legs are more powerful then your arms by far, greco takedowns leave the legs open to do as they please while the throw is taking place. Most great wrestlers while they are getting thrown (well to be fair a great wrestler doesn't usually get thrown) are adjusting their body to be in a better position before they land, and since their legs are free there is plenty to do. Whereas when you are getting taken down with a double you can't really do much till you land, scoot your hips out and headlock or try to get in guard, or if it's actual wrestling give up your back. Now Judo throws on the other hand...
Mobn:
"But a Greco throw gives you much better control over where you land in relation to their upper body, as you can control it the whole way down, resulting in landing in side control against a less competent wrestler. I still say that Hendo's style is more likely than GSP's to land in a dominant position, especially considering Anderson's ability to quickly grab guard back from an unwary opponent. "
Me:
Ok I guess, but a greco takedown is also much more likely to not result in a takedown period. A great double leg you can control exactly where you are but you are less likely to land in full mount or side mount.
Elmo Oxygen (on responding to "Now Judo throws on the other hand... ":
"Keep going, this is a pearl of interesting reading in a slop trough full of MMA thread. "
Me:
Judo throws are typically the most controlled throws. You use legs, you use arms, you use weight transfer. Think about the Judo guys you see in MMA, Karo would be the one that comes to my mind first. When he usually executes a throw, it looks big and he uses both his upper body and legs for leverage to get momentum going. He also locks up parts of the opponents body during the throw so that they can be controlled when you hit the ground. You can also execute them pretty much from any standing position. There are so many different Judo throws it's ungodly, there were apparently 40 originally developed but goodness knows how many there really are, and you really have to be good at scrambling if you get thrown because when you land more often then not you are exactly where the Judo guy wanted you to be. In MMA Judo throws typically allow the thrower to control everything that is about to happen because unless you have a strong Judo or wrestling with throw background the tendancy is to just go with the flow, get the wind knocked out of you, or be outright confused. If you've never been thrown by a Judo guy just try to imagine, "All of a sudden you aren't on your feet, and you are flying, and oh look there's the ground how the hell did I get here? Oh gosh that hurt, what is going on?" If you aren't used to defending it you cna get very disoriented.Wrestling (in the US) at lower levels of competition doesn't have alot of throws, but some coaches teach a simple head and arm throw as the first or second move because it can easily win a match and take an inexperienced guy out of their gameplan in an instant. All the fastest pins I ever got were by going straight for a head and arm and pinning someone second later. Judo is lots and lots of throws, here's a small list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judo_techniques
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
College Football Weekend September 27, 2008
A blue moon is a rare occurrence, me actually being right is an even rarer event. So much to my surprise all my picks ended up correct last week, then I won the lotto and a shooting star landed in my back yard. But in all seriousness, I had better check myself before I wriggity wriggity wreck myself. Which is why you can take all my picks to the bank, the MONEY bank (note: I am literally terrible at college football betting,so don't look to me for advice). Anyhow this weekend has some really fun games, so I hope I rock the house again.
Comments:
"Okay, Son, you need to learn to use spellcheck - after all the tuition we paid, you should be able to properly spell Pennsylvania. I recognize that you are your father's son, but bad spelling really isn't hereditary... Mom"
There were no mispellings on the website, no clue what you are talking about (see if you can catch the joke in that sentence). You should go back and check your vision.
"Ok it's been a few weeks, how about a top 25 list?" - Justin
How about you find the cat? She's been missing for days, and I think someone is feeding her because otherwise she'd be back in her loving household...for food...then she would escape again. On the other hand I'm getting more rest since she's not whining outside my door at all hours of the night. But my top 25, how about my top 10?
1. USC - Very good chance to go undefeated, Probably the best bet to be in the National Championship. I'm not sure anyone will be able to really judge how good they are for the rest of the year till they get to a bowl game.
2. Missouri - Great offense, lots of ranked teams on the schedule, hard to say more about them till they play some more.
3. Georgia - Good running game, good defense, I think their quarterback will ultimately decide their season, So whether or not they play for the championship will rest in his hands during one of their conference games.
4. Oklahoma - Good offense, hard to say how good the defense is, we'll find out soon enough this weekend.
5. LSU - Bruising defense, young offense, hard schedule.
6. Florida - This team confuses me like the ending from "No Country for Old Men". They should have more offense, less ambiguity, and a real ending with resolution and a morale so you know you learned something.
7. Alabama - This team is more like "There Will be Blood", you watch them and can't figure out why they are so good, but darn it if they don't give great individual performances.
9. BYU - So good they take up two numbers on the top 10, two shut outs in a row, and two ranked teams left on the schedule, undefeated season will land them in the national title game hopefully.
10. Penn State - I really want to see them play a real team, or barring that, a bunch of attractive women. So I guess if you think that Illinois is a hot chick/good team then I'll get my wish this weekend. Now on to the games.
Games:
Virginia at Duke - This is my "academic game of the week". And you can't complain dad because your own daughter went to UVA and one of my favorite Marines in Iraq went to Duke. That being said, these two teams are pretty bad, but Duke did beat Navy... The Virginia Cavaliers allegedly have some other nickname that is insignificant just like their defense, and I have it on authority that "UVA's QB was dismissed... only making our impending ACC championship run all the more impressive!- Kent" Indeed. Well if they are to begin this run to ACC glory they'll need to beat the Duke Blue Devil's QB Thaddeus Lewis who is a great running threat as well as a decent passer. Well good luck to the UVA whatevers, they will have to stab their way to success, using a pen attached to a chain on a bank counter. In other words, Duke wins.
#24 TCU at #2 Oklahoma - This will hopefully be a good test for the Sooners of Oklahoma (again I'm offering a $5 reward for whomever can tell me what that means or is without looking it up). It's a classic battle of good versus evil...or defense versus offense...or tacos versus a salad (which will I have for dinner!!!!). The Texas Christian University (TCU) Horned Toads have a great defense and a good running game with RBs Ryan Christian, Joseph Turner and Aaron Brown. Oklahoma has an amazing offense and QB Sam Bradford has completed a out worldly 79% of his passes thus far. Defense wins games, but TCU may not be able to keep up with Oklahoma's high powered offense, especially at Oklahoma. I'll take the home team, in a game that will be close at the half, but became unbalanced by the middle of the 4th.
#13 South Florida at North Carolina State - The NC State Wolfpack ruined ECU's fun last weekend, will they continue to be that sober den mother in a group of drunk chicks out on the town by ruining South Florida's night out with BCS hopes? Not sure, the Wolfpack may be tired of holding back her friend's hair, I think she's ready to have fun, Harrison Beck will be at QB for the Wolfpack since the starter was injured. The Bulls of South Florida will hope that apprentice magician/QB Matt Grothe can close the deal and lead the Big East's best hope onwards. NC State had their upset for the year, it's time for the South Florida defense to step up to the plate and buy them a drink of humility.
#22 Illinois at #12 Penn State - The Fighting Illini of Illinois put on a heck of a show against Missouri early in the year, QB Juice Williams reminds me of Donovon McNabb, he's got a great arm and can run when he gets nervous. The Penn State Nittany Lions have scored more points in their first for games this year then in the first four games of any year previous. But they've been playing scrubs, and since they just installed a spread offense it's unclear how well it has taken. Lions QB Daryll Clark has played very well so far but he's not dealt with a defensive secondary as good as Illinois. This game tears me apart, just like all the drama in the Playboy Mansion (Oh gosh will Holly stay or go? Is Kendra engaged to that Eagles player?), I though Illinois was really good, I think Penn State might be better but it's so tough to tell since they've played nobody. But when in doubt I do two things, pick the home team, and then consult my friend Dr. Coin, Dr. Coin agrees that Penn State will win. It could be a very very close game.
#8 Alabama at #3 Georgia - I'm not sure what it is about this game, but for some reason I want to see this game more then I wanted to see LSU v. Auburn last weekend. I want to see what the Alabama Crimson Tide are really made of, are they born again under coach Scumbag Mcgee (Nick Saban), or were they born yesterday? Both teams have mauling defenses, and feature running games as their major offensive weapon. This usually leads to low scoring games. The Georgia Bulldogs will pray that QB Matt Stafford will not lose it for them, he'll be handing the ball to Heisman hopeful RB Knowshon Moreno. RB Glenn Coffee who will hopefully awaken the Crimson Tide of Alabama. This game could come down to experience, Alabama has a great coach, and a very young team, but they play so many true freshman who haven't played in a huge SEC game yet. They may not be ready for the hitting, the atmosphere, the extreme national spotlight, the riotous Georgia crowd. The Bulldogs should win, but I don't expect to see more then 40 points scored, and you can bet on that.
Comments:
"Okay, Son, you need to learn to use spellcheck - after all the tuition we paid, you should be able to properly spell Pennsylvania. I recognize that you are your father's son, but bad spelling really isn't hereditary... Mom"
There were no mispellings on the website, no clue what you are talking about (see if you can catch the joke in that sentence). You should go back and check your vision.
"Ok it's been a few weeks, how about a top 25 list?" - Justin
How about you find the cat? She's been missing for days, and I think someone is feeding her because otherwise she'd be back in her loving household...for food...then she would escape again. On the other hand I'm getting more rest since she's not whining outside my door at all hours of the night. But my top 25, how about my top 10?
1. USC - Very good chance to go undefeated, Probably the best bet to be in the National Championship. I'm not sure anyone will be able to really judge how good they are for the rest of the year till they get to a bowl game.
2. Missouri - Great offense, lots of ranked teams on the schedule, hard to say more about them till they play some more.
3. Georgia - Good running game, good defense, I think their quarterback will ultimately decide their season, So whether or not they play for the championship will rest in his hands during one of their conference games.
4. Oklahoma - Good offense, hard to say how good the defense is, we'll find out soon enough this weekend.
5. LSU - Bruising defense, young offense, hard schedule.
6. Florida - This team confuses me like the ending from "No Country for Old Men". They should have more offense, less ambiguity, and a real ending with resolution and a morale so you know you learned something.
7. Alabama - This team is more like "There Will be Blood", you watch them and can't figure out why they are so good, but darn it if they don't give great individual performances.
9. BYU - So good they take up two numbers on the top 10, two shut outs in a row, and two ranked teams left on the schedule, undefeated season will land them in the national title game hopefully.
10. Penn State - I really want to see them play a real team, or barring that, a bunch of attractive women. So I guess if you think that Illinois is a hot chick/good team then I'll get my wish this weekend. Now on to the games.
Games:
Virginia at Duke - This is my "academic game of the week". And you can't complain dad because your own daughter went to UVA and one of my favorite Marines in Iraq went to Duke. That being said, these two teams are pretty bad, but Duke did beat Navy... The Virginia Cavaliers allegedly have some other nickname that is insignificant just like their defense, and I have it on authority that "UVA's QB was dismissed... only making our impending ACC championship run all the more impressive!- Kent" Indeed. Well if they are to begin this run to ACC glory they'll need to beat the Duke Blue Devil's QB Thaddeus Lewis who is a great running threat as well as a decent passer. Well good luck to the UVA whatevers, they will have to stab their way to success, using a pen attached to a chain on a bank counter. In other words, Duke wins.
#24 TCU at #2 Oklahoma - This will hopefully be a good test for the Sooners of Oklahoma (again I'm offering a $5 reward for whomever can tell me what that means or is without looking it up). It's a classic battle of good versus evil...or defense versus offense...or tacos versus a salad (which will I have for dinner!!!!). The Texas Christian University (TCU) Horned Toads have a great defense and a good running game with RBs Ryan Christian, Joseph Turner and Aaron Brown. Oklahoma has an amazing offense and QB Sam Bradford has completed a out worldly 79% of his passes thus far. Defense wins games, but TCU may not be able to keep up with Oklahoma's high powered offense, especially at Oklahoma. I'll take the home team, in a game that will be close at the half, but became unbalanced by the middle of the 4th.
#13 South Florida at North Carolina State - The NC State Wolfpack ruined ECU's fun last weekend, will they continue to be that sober den mother in a group of drunk chicks out on the town by ruining South Florida's night out with BCS hopes? Not sure, the Wolfpack may be tired of holding back her friend's hair, I think she's ready to have fun, Harrison Beck will be at QB for the Wolfpack since the starter was injured. The Bulls of South Florida will hope that apprentice magician/QB Matt Grothe can close the deal and lead the Big East's best hope onwards. NC State had their upset for the year, it's time for the South Florida defense to step up to the plate and buy them a drink of humility.
#22 Illinois at #12 Penn State - The Fighting Illini of Illinois put on a heck of a show against Missouri early in the year, QB Juice Williams reminds me of Donovon McNabb, he's got a great arm and can run when he gets nervous. The Penn State Nittany Lions have scored more points in their first for games this year then in the first four games of any year previous. But they've been playing scrubs, and since they just installed a spread offense it's unclear how well it has taken. Lions QB Daryll Clark has played very well so far but he's not dealt with a defensive secondary as good as Illinois. This game tears me apart, just like all the drama in the Playboy Mansion (Oh gosh will Holly stay or go? Is Kendra engaged to that Eagles player?), I though Illinois was really good, I think Penn State might be better but it's so tough to tell since they've played nobody. But when in doubt I do two things, pick the home team, and then consult my friend Dr. Coin, Dr. Coin agrees that Penn State will win. It could be a very very close game.
#8 Alabama at #3 Georgia - I'm not sure what it is about this game, but for some reason I want to see this game more then I wanted to see LSU v. Auburn last weekend. I want to see what the Alabama Crimson Tide are really made of, are they born again under coach Scumbag Mcgee (Nick Saban), or were they born yesterday? Both teams have mauling defenses, and feature running games as their major offensive weapon. This usually leads to low scoring games. The Georgia Bulldogs will pray that QB Matt Stafford will not lose it for them, he'll be handing the ball to Heisman hopeful RB Knowshon Moreno. RB Glenn Coffee who will hopefully awaken the Crimson Tide of Alabama. This game could come down to experience, Alabama has a great coach, and a very young team, but they play so many true freshman who haven't played in a huge SEC game yet. They may not be ready for the hitting, the atmosphere, the extreme national spotlight, the riotous Georgia crowd. The Bulldogs should win, but I don't expect to see more then 40 points scored, and you can bet on that.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
College Football Weekend September 20th
There aren't a plethora of good games on this weekend, certainly not like the cornucopia of games we had last weekend. There are some top 25 matchups, but I don't see anything that makes me froth at the mouth, other then the sandwich I made before I started writing this. Usually this makes me think there will probably be a bunch of upsets, but it's any one's guess as to where those will occur, my educated guess of games I'm not going to write about; #21 West Virginia (1-1) at Colorado (2-0), #9 Alabama (3-0) at Arkansas (2-0). But it could also just be a good weekend to spend with your family…or in my case, at the bar/beach.
Comments:
"A couple of things. Kevin Craft... not a walk on, JC transfer, pretty highly recruited too.Is South Florida going to have any sort of offense this year, because I somehow doubt there defense will be as good as last year?How sad that the Temple OWLs are 1-A and not even in the discussion for best teams in Phily? When Army-Navy coming to town sees some of the best college football of the year for a town it is rather frightening.Do you really think Kansas has a legit shot at beating Missouri or Texas? Texas Tech might beat them as well and then assuming they work that out they would likely see Oklahoma too. Do not forget Kansas played a poor schedule last year so expecting them to make a play for a BCS bowl game this year seems farcical(is that a word, hmm if it isnt it should be if only for this situation).How long do you think it takes for Rich Rodriguez to effectively implement his system at Michigan, will it work and maybe as important will the Michigan faithful eat him alive before that takes place?What happens when Missouri plays a team with a good defense? I like Chase Daniel but giving up 42 points to a solid but not spectacular Illinois team is very worrisome. What happens when they play Texas at Austin and will Daniel be able to lead his team to the 60 points it would appear that they will need to win that game over a solid Texas defense. As much as I hate to say it USC looked better, and Georgia is probably better and even Florida looked like they may be stronger. I havent seen Oklahoma or Alabama play yet, but Alabama really gave it to Clemson and Oklahoma dominated Missouri last year.
Good luck
Tim"
Temple is terrible, South Florida may not need a great offense to go undefeated, as they proved in the Kansas game. I think the Big 12 is a toss up honestly, I would be surprised if anyone makes it out undefeated. I think it will take Rich Rodriguez two years and he should be ok after that, that running back they have is pretty darn good. As for Missouri I don't think that many people will be able to effectively slow them down if they are executing well. Something I will answer more in my next comment.
"Historically Texas would certainly be among the best teams in the SEC and probably the nation, but I have not seen enough from those other teams to warrant mentioning them with the upper-echelon SEC teams. I think the biggest difference between those teams and SEC teams is the ability to strap it up and compete with big, physical teams week in and week out. You take a Kansas or Missouri and have them line up SEC defenses every week, and I just don't think they would fair too well. Top to bottom, its just a different brand of football that those teams would not be able to handle (with the exception of Texas in most years) - Darius"
Extremely good point, but I'll also say this, the teams in the SEC don't see those kinds of offenses every week. I don't think anyone with the exception of Auburn runs the spread offense like that. In fact I'm struggling to think of an SEC team that beat a spread offense like Kansas or Missouri run. Physically I think the SEC is the most dominating by far.
"No mention of Connor Dixon's valient 6 touchdown comeback effort against Duquesne in the REAL battle of Pennsylvania football? Shame on you, you magnificent mountain of a man. - Anonymous"
Yes, the real battle of Pennsylvania football actually happens every year when Lehigh plays Lafayette.... Duquesne, Bucknell, Villanova, Lehigh, Penn, and Lafayette ought to have a tournament at the beginning of the year to figure out who rules Pennsylvania. Penn State doesn't get to come unless they have a 85%+ graduation rate for their foootball team in the prior year.
"how about that ACC? completely dominating your precious Pac-10 team (Maryland v Cal). I was at the game too and it was nowhere near as close as the final score, most of the game was 28-6. Maybe we shouldn't rush to judgement just yet, or maybe the Big East and Pac-10 are just as overrated as they have been the last 3 years. - Yale"
I was shocked at how badly the Pac-10 got crushed this last weekend, it makes me wonder if they should do away with automatic BCS bowl bids altogether.
Games:
#4 Florida at Tennessee - Couple weeks ago before the season started this would have been a headline game, probably the headline game. But in that time Tennessee was beaten by UCLA who in turn was disgraced by BYU to the tune of 59-0. The Tennessee volunteers just don't have enough fire power to keep up with Gators QB Tim Tebow and WR/RB Percy Harvin who is apparently healthy. The UCLA game makes me wonder if Tennessee will evey break .500 this year.
Boise State at #17 Oregon - An intriguing matchup, Boise State were the BCS busters who won a Cinderella game against Oklahoma 2 years ago (that game had everything, even the player who scored the winning 2 point conversion run over and propose to his girlfriend afterward). The Boise State Broncos are consistently competitive teams every year and this team still has National Television proposal running back Ian Johnson and a great defense. The ducks of Oregon on the other hand just got off beating Purdue in a game they should have lost, and they are also replacing their starting QB who is out with a knee injury. If this game were at Boise I think the Broncos would take it, but since it's at Oregon…I'm not so sure. Look for a close low scoring game that could go either way, Dr. Coin picks Boise State.
#6 LSU at #10 Auburn - Prior to last week I would have been really excited about this one. Two extremely hard hitting SEC teams getting ready to beat each other up. If my memory serves me correctly, and it almost never does, this is usually the most physically brutal game of the year for the past couple of years. So brutal in fact that neither team plays well the next week because they seem kinda drained or banged up. So you might ask yourself, why then are you not as excited Marty? Because the Auburn Tigers won a game by the score of 3-2 last weekend. Not a typo, Auburn kicked a field goal in the second quarter, and got pushed back into their own endzone for a safety in the 4th. Needless to say no matter how good their defense might be it's doubtful that their offense will put up many/any points against the LSU Tigers defense. This should be a great defensive game, but I don't see Auburn winning with their offense as terrible as it is. Tune in if you love hard hitting defensive games though.
#3 Georgia at Arizona State - I know this seems a little copy and pasteish (pasty?) but prior to last week I would have been really exciting game. But last week the Arizona State Sun Devils were beaten at home by UNLV. QB Rudy Carpenter will need to stay alive against a ferocious Georgia defense. Georgia hasn't been spectacular this year, but after having been dropped from the #1 ranking without losing I'll bet the Bulldogs are looking to make a statement. I suspect this game will be very similar to the Georgia-Hawaii bowl game last year. Georgia will just physically overpower Arizona State.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Notre Dame Fighting Dragons
Apparently Notre Dame has changed to the Rex Grossman "Fuck it I'm going deep" offensive strategy. Total disregard for the defense in the first quarter. Checkdowns are for "pussies" adn we're just going to throw the ball as hard down the field as possible.
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