Official College Football thread - Week 8 [Archive]

Lathum

10-17-2011, 03:17 PM

Hoping we can shock Stanford but not holding out much hope. We can score with them but I think they will wear us down as the game goes on. If we can force a few turnovers and control the clock with Polk and Price keeping plays alive we have a shot. Of course that is easier said than done.

Karlifornia

10-17-2011, 04:02 PM

U Dub seems better than years past. I think Washington will cover...Stanford 33, Washington 16

Matthean

10-17-2011, 04:13 PM

I just checked, Wisconsin looks to be a 7 point favorite. That seems like an easy pick.

larrymcg421

10-17-2011, 04:48 PM

Hoping for a huge Miami upset against Ga Tech.

digamma

10-17-2011, 04:52 PM

Hoping for a huge Miami upset against Ga Tech.

Me too, considering Miami is the favorite.

tarcone

10-17-2011, 05:14 PM

Iowa gets Indiana at Kinnick. Iowa should win. But who knows? Im hoping for a blow out, though.

larrymcg421

10-17-2011, 05:42 PM

Me too, considering Miami is the favorite.

Maybe I'm being too pessimistic. I'm surprised to see that line given the way Miami has played this year. Even last week's win was not very impressive as they did everything they could to blow a huge lead.

Logan

10-17-2011, 05:57 PM

Rutgers travels to Louisville Friday night. A little worried about the short week, coming off preparation for Navy.

bob

10-17-2011, 06:01 PM

Maybe I'm being too pessimistic. I'm surprised to see that line given the way Miami has played this year. Even last week's win was not very impressive as they did everything they could to blow a huge lead.

You clearly did not see GT last weekend. Or the weekend before. Or large parts of the weekend before.

larrymcg421

10-17-2011, 06:08 PM

You clearly did not see GT last weekend. Or the weekend before. Or large parts of the weekend before.

Perhaps, but Miami's defense is likely a good cure for Georgia Tech's ills and you never know what to expect from the Miami offense when Jacory is back there.

JonInMiddleGA

10-17-2011, 06:10 PM

Perhaps, but Miami's defense is likely a good cure for Georgia Tech's ills

I hope so. Maybe they 'Canes will put their defense on the field when they have the ball, GT might be able to defend that a little bit.

panerd

10-17-2011, 06:16 PM

Hoping Mizzou can pull out the upset against OSU. We owe them from few years ago when they kept us from the #1 ranking. They have looked pretty solid so far though but I think it should be a decent game. Can't say I am happy with the 11 AM start.

MrBug708

10-17-2011, 06:25 PM

Arizona just fired stoops and they are still a four point favorite

JonInMiddleGA

10-17-2011, 06:46 PM

Arizona just fired stoops and they are still a four point favorite

Seriously? Damn, that just sounds odd (in a ha-ha way, not in a I disbelieve you way). I wonder how many times that's ever happened (unless there was a I-AA opponent in the wings or something).?

mauchow

10-17-2011, 07:00 PM

I just checked, Wisconsin looks to be a 7 point favorite. That seems like an easy pick.

10.5 now.

dawgfan

10-18-2011, 03:37 PM

U Dub seems better than years past. I think Washington will cover...Stanford 33, Washington 16
Yeah, I'm having a hard time believing the line has actually grown to 21. By all rights, Washington should give the Tree a much tougher game this year.

On offense, we actually look quite a bit like Stanford - multiple formations, tons of shifts and motion, strong running game, highly efficient passing game. The difference is defense - Stanford has been rolling on defense this year even with the graduations and the loss of Skov to injury, while UW's defense started quite poorly and is only just now starting to round into shape.

Huskies have to hope the massive DT tandem of Ta'amu & Tokolahi can slow down the Cardinal run game. Not that you really want to pin your hopes on forcing Luck to throw, but a lot of Stanford's success is built on grinding down defenses and winning the 2nd half decisively. UW has started to develop some depth on the DL with RS-Fr Lagafuaina and true Fr Shelton providing some quality snaps spelling the starting two, so there's some hope the Huskies don't wear down as quickly as other Stanford opponents.

Obviously this would be a huge win for Sark in his rebuild of the Huskies. Interesting to note that Sark is actually ahead of Harbaugh's pace in terms of yearly progression:

Prior year: 1-11 vs. 0-12
1st year: 4-8 vs. 5-7
2nd year: 5-7 vs. 7-6
3rd year: 8-5 vs. 5-1 (so far)

Karlifornia

10-18-2011, 07:44 PM

He should be ahead of Harbaugh..he has larger pool to recruit from.

I definitely agree that stopping Stanford's run will be key for the Huskies. If they can also control the clock a bit and keep the ball out of Luck's hands it would serve them well.

CU Tiger

10-18-2011, 07:57 PM

Clemson plays North Carolina for homecoming on a 12:00 kick-off.
I have a bad feeling about this game and have all year, I fear the fun run ends Saturday

dawgfan

10-18-2011, 09:07 PM

He should be ahead of Harbaugh..he has larger pool to recruit from.
Recruiting for Stanford is a different beast than pretty much any other football program. The Cardinal definitely have a much smaller pool to choose from given the academic requirements, but at the same time, the academic rep of Stanford combined with the location and their placement in the Pac-12 means they land a much higher percentage of their targets than most schools.

digamma

10-18-2011, 11:52 PM

Clemson plays North Carolina for homecoming on a 12:00 kick-off.
I have a bad feeling about this game and have all year, I fear the fun run ends Saturday

Bernard is a really solid back for UNC. If you contain him, I don't think Renner can beat you. Their D always gets so much credit for their athletes, but they don't play together very well. I think Clemson rolls, and hope your run ends the following weekend. ;)

Ksyrup

10-19-2011, 06:53 AM

Ksyrup

10-19-2011, 12:25 PM

http://www.thewareaglereader.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Picture-722-480x226.png

Matthean

10-19-2011, 01:34 PM

Not surprised about the MSU part. Their D coordinator even said he wants 60 minutes of unnecessary roughness and hopes its "Just not called every play."

Passacaglia

10-19-2011, 01:41 PM

Is it just my eyes, or are some percentages bold and some not?

Ksyrup

10-19-2011, 01:43 PM

I don't know why, but it looks like they are in bold. Here's the full article:

What's the Dirtiest College-Football Rivalry? - WSJ.com (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204479504576639093283303646.html)

Logan

10-19-2011, 02:10 PM

Louisville coach Charlie Strong just got a new 7 year deal. His contract was previously up in 2015 and his base salary increased from $1.6 million to $2.3 million.

Strong is obviously a well regarded coach, but I'm still surprised to see an extension like that the day after the firing of the offensive coordinator he hired.

Passacaglia

10-19-2011, 02:20 PM

Ksyrup

10-19-2011, 02:31 PM

So the UK/Jacksonville State homecoming game is going to be interesting. JSU is a solid program, ranking 8th in FCS. They almost beat FSU at Doak a few years back. And UK is the suckiest suck that ever sucked at football.

The big news out of this is Danny Sheridan installed JSU as a 9 point favorite over UK - then pulled the line and claimed it was a mistake. But there's no line on the game now. It wouldn't shock me to learn that was the real line, but he pulled it for political reasons. SEC can't have a team as an underdog to an FCS team.

That said, I'll be surprised if UK wins.

Matthean

10-19-2011, 07:43 PM

LSU Tigers suspend Tyrann Mathieu, Therold Simon, Spencer Ware - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7123703/lsu-tigers-suspend-tyrann-mathieu-therold-simon-spencer-ware)

LSU suspends 3 players due to failed drug test. The cynic in me thinks it's for one game since 'Bama would be game number 2.

Matthean

10-20-2011, 06:08 PM

CU Tiger

10-20-2011, 09:59 PM

FSU's got Maryland this week, coming off a near-upset of Clemson with a new QB. This game will basically decide whether this year is just a stepping stone, or a setback. Not feeling good about it at all. That's probably due to the fact that it's mid-October, and the best team we've beaten is Duke.

On the positive side, we're 1-0 when I've missed the game due to my daughter's softball tournament, and we've got another one this Saturday.

FSU will win by 3 touchdowns at least.
1) Clemson amde a ton of mistaks in that game
2) FSU has a better D than Clemson
3) There is now film on the mid line zone option that UMd used extensively last week.

bhlloy

10-20-2011, 10:00 PM

So is Rick done, or does he get the rest of the season to turn it around? Doesn't help that he's getting taken behind the woodshed by the team who just fired their coach prematurely.

MrBug708

10-20-2011, 11:09 PM

I would be surprised if he makes it to the weekend

Matthean

10-20-2011, 11:25 PM

Down 42-7 at half and your team is part of a rather large fight doesn't do wonders for job security.

bhlloy

10-20-2011, 11:27 PM

Yeah I didn't see the fight. What's the excuse for UCLA's higher standard of athlete coming off the sideline this time?

MrBug708

10-20-2011, 11:36 PM

Yeah I didn't see the fight. What's the excuse for UCLA's higher standard of athlete coming off the sideline this time?

Breaking up a fight

Ksyrup

10-21-2011, 06:56 AM

No offense to you Pac-12 guys, but I don't get to see much Pac-12 football outside of Oregon and USC, but on behalf of all college football fans everywhere, I implore ESPN to cancel this Thursday night deal with the Pac-12 after this year. Talk about some craptacular teams and games. I'd rather watch non-AQ teams play entertaining/crazy games like they have on Friday nights. It must be the Craig James ESPN curse.

Lathum

10-21-2011, 08:36 AM

bronconick

10-21-2011, 08:42 AM

Weekday games are usually better when they're non-AQ games. Major conferences have agreements for noon, 330, 7 and 8 pm Saturday games on assorted channels for the matchups that don't suck, so if you're on during the week, it's either two awful teams or one good/great team pummeling an awful team.

Ksyrup

10-21-2011, 09:23 AM

Maybe they should switch to an ACC game so we can get an exciting BC-NC State game. Maybe Duke-Maryland would be more interesting? :rolleyes:

I recognize all conferences have their fair share of shit teams and match-ups. I'm just pointing out that this is (I believe) the first time the Pac-10/12 has started playing Thursday nights on a consistent basis, and there hasn't been a good or competitive game involving good or competitive teams yet.

It used to be that these were spotlight games where you wanted to get your best teams to play. Now it seems to be the place to stuff your 5th best game of the week. And we lose.

Honolulu_Blue

10-21-2011, 09:28 AM

Big Ten right to suspend William Gholston - Big Ten Blog - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/36292/big-ten-right-to-suspend-william-gholston)

MSU's Gholston finally gets suspended for one game. Interesting that it came from The Big Ten versus MSU themselves.

It's not too surprising. It's exactly what happened with Jonas Mouton a few years ago. He punched some guy during the Notre Dame game. Michigan waited for the Big Ten to act, they suspended him one game and that was the end of it.

Ksyrup

10-21-2011, 09:33 AM

Maybe they should switch to an ACC game so we can get an exciting BC-NC State game. Maybe Duke-Maryland would be more interesting? :rolleyes:

The other thing I was pointing out here is that for a lot of the country, this is virtually the only exposure to the Pac-12 we will get during the year. So it would be a good idea if they put something on national TV that closely approximates good football. Because otherwise, this Thursday night series is doing more harm than good and will help explain why Stanford will be sitting in line behind the other undefeateds at the end of the year.

General Mike

10-21-2011, 09:42 AM

Ksyrup

10-21-2011, 09:46 AM

Within the state of KY, it's clear which programs are headed in which directions. At least by the look of things.

Also, this was a preemptive increase to bring Strong's contract more in line with Big 12 coach salaries. :D

General Mike

10-21-2011, 10:12 AM

He's 9-11 so far. He lost to FIU and Marshall, and you need to give him $3 Million more over the length of his previous deal, and then add on 3 more years?

Ksyrup

10-21-2011, 10:20 AM

I know. And he had shit to work with and it shows, but his recruiting is strong so far and they obviously know they have a coach on the rise and are willing to pay him to bring the program back up. My guess is he's still well-regarded enough that he could go elsewhere before (assuming it happens) the program tanks under him.

Compare that to where UK is, not even 2 years after Rich Brooks retired and left Joker Phillips with a string of 4-5 straight bowl games. He went 6-7 last year and barely made a bowl, and will be lucky to pull off 4 wins this year, all the while losing a 4-star QB recruit from Texas who quit the team in the summer and having to get a vote of confidence before a homecoming game against an FCS school who was favored by Vegas until they pulled the line.

dawgfan

10-21-2011, 01:42 PM

I would be surprised if he makes it to the weekend
Any early favorites among the Bruin faithful?

dawgfan

10-21-2011, 01:52 PM

Dola - I suppose most Bruin fans would prefer that Dan Guerrero is replaced first before he makes another questionable football hire. For a program that has been relatively cheap with their hires, I was rather surprised to see that Guerrero was the highest paid AD among the Pac-12 public universities. I'm guessing that his hire of Howland is not enough to overcome his hires of Dorrell & Neuheisel.

miked

10-21-2011, 08:29 PM

The RU-Louisville game is brutal. Nova with 2 picks off tipped passes, Te has missed FGs of 31 and 27, yet we are tied 7-7 thanks to a blocked punt with 2 minutes left. Apparently RU has the 3rd most blocked punts in CFB since 2002. Interesting.

The only thing that is softening this horrible performance is that WVU is getting worked down 21-9 with their only TD being a horrible looking pop up pass from Gino Smith that somehow the WR grabbed and broke 2 tackles.

Buccaneer

10-21-2011, 08:43 PM

Go Cuse and Louisville.

Lathum

10-21-2011, 08:45 PM

Watching the game on espn3 with no sound, any word on the injured Louisville player?

Lathum

10-21-2011, 08:46 PM

dola-would be nice to see RU win and get bowl eligible again. A lot of current RU students don't remember the early days, but for a lifelong RU fan I don't take any of their recent success for granted.

DeToxRox

10-21-2011, 09:40 PM

Impressed by Syracuse so far tonight.

QuikSand

10-21-2011, 09:43 PM

So, maybe WVA may want to assign someone to cover a tight end at some point?

Buccaneer

10-21-2011, 09:46 PM

So, maybe WVA may want to assign someone to cover a tight end at some point?

Hush.

Lathum

10-21-2011, 09:56 PM

ARGH!!!

MArc Harrison!

Swaggs

10-21-2011, 09:58 PM

So, maybe WVA may want to assign someone to cover a tight end at some point?

Maybe they'll catch that during film study this week.

Buccaneer

10-21-2011, 10:02 PM

How can a crappy team like WVU be ranked so high when they haven't beaten or played anyone good (and their only quality game they lost)?

Young Drachma

10-21-2011, 10:04 PM

Ugh, Rutgers. C'mon.

Young Drachma

10-21-2011, 10:08 PM

Glad they were listening.

Lathum

10-21-2011, 10:09 PM

Wow, terrible boneheaded throw by the Louisville QB gives RU the ball on the 20 down 2 instead of on a kick off down 5.

Young Drachma

10-21-2011, 10:10 PM

UGH. W. T. F. Interception Louisville by Rutgers. Jesus.

Rutgers people, what happened to much balleyhooed Chas Dodd?

Swaggs

10-21-2011, 10:17 PM

The Big East needs euthanized.

Buccaneer

10-21-2011, 10:19 PM

I don't know what the official word is but I have believed that SU's game with WVU was their big rival game. So sweet to blow them out on national tv.

Buccaneer

10-21-2011, 10:38 PM

Sorry but Rutgers loss makes tonight all the much sweeter. Two unexpected (but hoped for) outcomes!!

MrBug708

10-21-2011, 11:17 PM

UCLA has 6 players suspended at least a half while Arizona has four players suspended at least a half

kingfc22

10-22-2011, 12:46 AM

Watching the game on espn3 with no sound, any word on the injured Louisville player?

Broken neck, but he has feelings in his extremities.

Link (http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7132957/louisville-cardinals-cb-anthony-conner-breaks-neck-collision)

miked

10-22-2011, 06:59 AM

UGH. W. T. F. Interception Louisville by Rutgers. Jesus.

Rutgers people, what happened to much balleyhooed Chas Dodd?

I just don't understand. They had a sophomore all Big East QB who they replaced with Dodd when he was a freshman. Said "great" QB transfers out because they are going to go with Dodd, who they promptly bench for a freshman QB again.

Jon

10-22-2011, 09:11 AM

I just don't understand. They had a sophomore all Big East QB who they replaced with Dodd when he was a freshman. Said "great" QB transfers out because they are going to go with Dodd, who they promptly bench for a freshman QB again.

Dodd (a recruit with no other D1 offers) was recruited to be a backup to said "great" QB. Said great QB was beaten out in practice by Dodd, so he transfers. Dodd gets beat out in practice by Nova, who just so happens to be the QB recruited by Frank Cignetti--- the new OC who came over from Pitt. (I apologize if I'm saying stuff you know already.

There seems to be 2 schools of thought (1) Rutgers is trying to convince the Don Bosco seniors (many of whom are good friends of Nova) to come to Rutgers or (2) Cignetti watched all of Dodd's throws and saw that his style doesn't fit the new offense.

I think they decided to hitch their wagon to the freshman QB to give him experience and he's making Freshman mistakes. If you had told me that Rutgers would be 5-2 at the midpoint of the season and in competition for the Big East title I would have laughed.

MizzouRah

10-22-2011, 11:37 AM

Defense, hello? Anybody there?

RomaGoth

10-22-2011, 11:57 AM

Illinois is such a fraud.

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 11:58 AM

Welp I'm 1/4 of the way to suicide.

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 12:22 PM

Well over a quarter of the way now.

Ole Miss 17, Arkansas 0.

Is this some kind of joke? Really? Because it isn't funny. Not at all.

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 12:28 PM

17-7 now. Dennis Johnson for 53 yds. Need a defense badly.

tarcone

10-22-2011, 12:28 PM

There you go. Big TD for Arkansas

MizzouRah

10-22-2011, 12:48 PM

Down 24-17 to the #4 team in the nation and you make a big stop, get the ball back with 1:30 left in the half and then sit on it. UGH!!!

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 12:49 PM

Welp. I'll take 17-7 at half. We are a second half team, but wow. This is really unacceptable defensively.

tarcone

10-22-2011, 12:56 PM

Iowa spanking the Hoosiers, 35-14.

Vandeberg 8-10 for 205 yards and 3 TDs
Coker 16 rushes for 94 yards and 2 TDs
McNutt 5 catches for 164 yards and 3 TDs

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 01:18 PM

17-10 Ole Miss, early 3rd quarter.

Matthean

10-22-2011, 01:24 PM

Illinois could be a team to go from 6-0 to 6-5. Their next three are @PSU, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 01:39 PM

17-17 Midway through 3rd quarter.

Lathum

10-22-2011, 01:43 PM

Killer turnover by Mizzou

Scarecrow

10-22-2011, 01:46 PM

This just in...

K-State is really good, and KU is really bad!

Swaggs

10-22-2011, 01:50 PM

Just read that every opponent that Kansas has played this season has been undefeated. Pretty impressive stat for eight weeks into the season.

Scarecrow

10-22-2011, 01:52 PM

You know how teams will put their back-up quarterback in a blowout??? K-State just drove 77 yards in 9 plays for a TD without a QB on the field.

sterlingice

10-22-2011, 01:53 PM

Just read that every opponent that Kansas has played this season has been undefeated. Pretty impressive stat for eight weeks into the season.

And we've helped almost all of them add one more win *sigh*

Sunflower massacre this week 59-14 KSU right now. Except for McNeese State to start the season, we've given up 40 or more every week.

SI

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 01:55 PM

24-17 Arkansas. I can breathe, but I'm still not happy.

Lathum

10-22-2011, 02:03 PM

This just in...

K-State is really good, and KU is really bad!

K-State is good but their upcoming schedule is brutal

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 02:07 PM

After a safety, Arkansas leads 26-17 with the ball to start the 4th quarter.

Matthean

10-22-2011, 02:09 PM

Purdue wins and now have won 6 of 7 over Illinois.

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 02:24 PM

4th and 45s are hard

sterlingice

10-22-2011, 02:28 PM

WOO! KU with a TD with 6 seconds left!!!

...to make the final score 59-21. D'oh

FBI Agent: Don't worry Mrs. Simpson we've helped hundreds of people in danger. We'll give you a new name, a new job, new identity.
Homer: (Raising hand) Oooh, I want to be John Elway! (Homer starts daydreaming about being John Elway. The ball is snapped to Homer and he dives over the pile into the end zone.)
Announcer: Elway takes the snap and runs it in for a touchdown! Thanks to Elway's patented last second magic, the final score of Super Bowl XXX is Denver 7, San Francisco 56.
Homer: Woo Hoo!

SI

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 02:51 PM

29-25 Arkansas still leads, Ole Miss just scored after several miracle 4th down conversions.

Now comes the miracle on-side kick. 1:30 or so to play in the game.

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 02:53 PM

And there it is.

terpkristin

10-22-2011, 02:53 PM

Here's hoping this isn't <b><i>too</i></b> embarrassing, that at least the Terps show up to play.

/tk

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 02:54 PM

Luckily, Ole Miss still sucks.

Worst played game of the season and we still win on the road. I should probably be happy, but it is pretty hard.

Bye the way, eff off Houston Nutt.

terpkristin

10-22-2011, 02:56 PM

Here's hoping this isn't too embarrassing, that at least the Terps show up to play.

/tk

I mean, I know the uniforms (and helmets, ugh!) are embarrassing, but I'd like to see the Terps actually play today.

I know we're a young team with a new coach. Still, our performance against Clemson last week was uninspiring.

/tk

tarcone

10-22-2011, 02:59 PM

Iowa wins 45-24. The Hoosiers score late to beat the spread.

mauchow

10-22-2011, 03:20 PM

LSU's defense is tough.. I'd LOVE to see how the Badger's OLine would fare against those beasts.

digamma

10-22-2011, 03:28 PM

Rules question.

Is offensive facemask a spot foul? (I thought it was.)

Situation in GT game is a 40+ yard run. Ball carrier is called for a facemask on a stiff arm during the tackle. In the same tackle, the defender is called for a horse collar tackle.

Penalties offset and back to the line of scrimmage.

If it is a spot foul, then only a penalty on GT would have been assessed at the spot of the facemask, 30 plus yards down the field. Play would have resulted in a first down. Instead, because of the Miami penalty it ends up being a 40 yard penalty instead of a net 15 or so yard gain.

I honestly don't know what is supposed to happen there from a rules perspective, but it seems like a pretty peculiar result.

DeToxRox

10-22-2011, 03:58 PM

It's insane that GT is in the middle of a 10 minute, 20 play drive.

JonInMiddleGA

10-22-2011, 04:17 PM

It's insane that GT is in the middle of a 10 minute, 20 play drive.

... and trails 21-7 at the half.

GT special teams should have to ride to the game separately, in the proverbial short bus.

bronconick

10-22-2011, 04:24 PM

Why did ABC pick Nebraska-Minnesota for most of the country @3:30? It's like watching a snuff film.

digamma

10-22-2011, 04:25 PM

It's really astounding.

13 yard punt

8 yard KO return

Fumbled punt for Miami TD

Give up 60 yard KO return

What am I leaving out?

JonInMiddleGA

10-22-2011, 04:28 PM

Why did ABC pick Nebraska-Minnesota for most of the country @3:30? It's like watching a snuff film.

Not a lot to choose from, only 5 B10 games today.

Wisky-Sparty is on ESPN prime tonight, Iowa routed Indiana already, Penn State-Northwestern may not be any better. Not sure what the rules governing selection are, could be something prevented them from taking Illinois-Purdue.

JonInMiddleGA

10-22-2011, 04:30 PM

It's really astounding.

13 yard punt

8 yard KO return

Fumbled punt for Miami TD

Give up 60 yard KO return

What am I leaving out?

The fact that CPJ didn't think he needed to hire a special teams coach.

Either there's an actual ST coach on The Flats next year or it's time for a new head coach that will bring one in. I'd settle for either because the CPJ Follies are getting pretty damned tiresome to me. The offense is a beautiful thing when it works but that doesn't seem to be often enough to overcome the numerous other shortcomings. When a grumpy old man like me grows tired of someone's grumpy old man schtick, that's not a good sign.

JonInMiddleGA

10-22-2011, 04:33 PM

From the GT Athletics FB page (posted by a fan/follower) --
I'm a Ramblin' wreck from Georgia Tech and a hell of a football letdown

digamma

10-22-2011, 04:53 PM

The fact that CPJ didn't think he needed to hire a special teams coach.

Either there's an actual ST coach on The Flats next year or it's time for a new head coach that will bring one in. I'd settle for either because the CPJ Follies are getting pretty damned tiresome to me. The offense is a beautiful thing when it works but that doesn't seem to be often enough to overcome the numerous other shortcomings. When a grumpy old man like me grows tired of someone's grumpy old man schtick, that's not a good sign.

Splitting hairs, but I think the special teams problems are more on recruiting than anything else. Too many true freshman and starters playing special teams and not enough depth. The inability to recruit a quality kicker in a place like Atlanta is astounding. Other than that it's just a lack of athletes. Part of that is still working out of the Gailey reduced scholarship and uneven class follies, but this is the last year where you can blame that at all.

JonInMiddleGA

10-22-2011, 05:27 PM

Splitting hairs, but I think the special teams problems are more on recruiting than anything else.

That could be argued somewhat reasonably about a number of GT issues.

DeToxRox

10-22-2011, 07:09 PM

USC looks damn impressive right now.

MizzouRah

10-22-2011, 07:17 PM

Killer turnover by Mizzou

Yeah, that killed that game.

MizzouRah

10-22-2011, 07:18 PM

This just in...

K-State is really good, and KU is really bad!

I hope I'm wrong, but I think OU beats them by 20+ next week.

Eaglesfan27

10-22-2011, 07:36 PM

USC looks damn impressive right now.

Yes, they do. I've been hearing all week long how good the team was feeling in their preparation. Glad to see it translate on the field. This team is fired up and playing great right now.

sterlingice

10-22-2011, 08:05 PM

I hope I'm wrong, but I think OU beats them by 20+ next week.

I predict we will lose by 20 again next week :(

Texas coming off of 2 losses and then a bye week. We might give up 70

SI

bhlloy

10-22-2011, 08:11 PM

Yes, they do. I've been hearing all week long how good the team was feeling in their preparation. Glad to see it translate on the field. This team is fired up and playing great right now.

Way to completely jinx it. We're losing by 20 now, write it down.

Eaglesfan27

10-22-2011, 08:12 PM

Way to completely jinx it. We're losing by 20 now, write it down.

:(

Karlifornia

10-22-2011, 08:13 PM

Chris Polk is a beast. Stanford needs to start tackling.

Big Fo

10-22-2011, 09:03 PM

Ugh, like South Florida all over again.

mauchow

10-22-2011, 09:07 PM

Yuck

MizzouRah

10-22-2011, 09:19 PM

I predict we will lose by 20 again next week :(

Texas coming off of 2 losses and then a bye week. We might give up 70

SI

Rough year for you sir!

Eaglesfan27

10-22-2011, 09:36 PM

Great catch by Robert Woods to put USC up 31-17 midway through the 4th.

Eaglesfan27

10-22-2011, 10:03 PM

Not the 30 point win I was hoping for after the first 20 minutes, but USC with a solid 31-17 win over ND. :)

kingfc22

10-22-2011, 10:23 PM

Barring an OU comeback, Boise St or Oklahoma St. will likely be #2 in two weeks after LSU/BAMA square off.

kingfc22

10-22-2011, 10:27 PM

TD Spartans. Wow

M GO BLUE!!!

10-22-2011, 10:27 PM

Whoa...

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 10:27 PM

oh
my
god

I think he got in btw

Julio Riddols

10-22-2011, 10:27 PM

What a finish. That'll be replayed for a long time.

Lathum

10-22-2011, 10:28 PM

under review!

Matthean

10-22-2011, 10:28 PM

As much as I hate MSU right now, that's a score.

Swaggs

10-22-2011, 10:28 PM

Sure looks like he broke the goal line without having a knee down (before getting pushed back).

I'd hate to be the ref in the booth on this one.

Cuckoo

10-22-2011, 10:28 PM

Very surprised at how poorly OU has played, the worst I've seen from them in a LONG time. They are failing at all the little things, and unless they can pull off a complete 180 in the 2nd half, it'll be the end of an incredible winning streak at home that dates back to 2005.

DeToxRox

10-22-2011, 10:29 PM

No one can ever convince me Bielema is a good coach. Ever. Not ever.

mckerney

10-22-2011, 10:30 PM

Go Spartans!

Swaggs

10-22-2011, 10:30 PM

TroyF

10-22-2011, 10:30 PM

Happy as hell for Michigan State fans. As for the scumbag coach and leadership of the university, it makes me sick.

StLee

10-22-2011, 10:30 PM

Wow... just... wow... Definitely a game of inches

M GO BLUE!!!

10-22-2011, 10:31 PM

Great win for State. I honestly did not think they could beat Wisconsin.

Swaggs

10-22-2011, 10:32 PM

Awesome shots on the replay.

His extra, brief push got him in before he got slammed.

TroyF

10-22-2011, 10:32 PM

Good job by the refs. That was a tough call to make, as that's likely the Big Ten's last shot to get into the BCS title game (unless there are a lot of upsets) and they could have called it inconclusive pretty easily.

I actually think they SHOULD have ruled inconclusive. I didn't see anything that proved the ball crossed. It LOOKED like it crossed, but proof? You couldn't see the ball. How can you say it did? Michigan St. deserved to win the football game, so I'm not bothered by it, but I think the replay booth needs to learn what definitive actually means, because I didn't see anything in the replay that showed it was a TD. Again, think it's a TD shouldn't work in that case.

DeToxRox

10-22-2011, 10:33 PM

State is a very solid team. Wisconsin is very poorly coached team who will always struggle in close games because of it. Gonna' be tough to beat the Huskers in Lincoln next week for MSU though and if they don't, a shot at the Big Ten title may end up falling to the wayside.

M GO BLUE!!!

10-22-2011, 10:34 PM

Really? Not one penalty called against State?

Julio Riddols

10-22-2011, 10:35 PM

TroyF

10-22-2011, 10:35 PM

Really? Not one penalty called against State?

Nope, not even the play early in the game where another classy State player twisted the helmet of a player already on the ground. Two weeks in a row. Dirtbags.

kingfc22

10-22-2011, 10:35 PM

Stanford rolls up over 440 yards rushing... Domination.

TroyF

10-22-2011, 10:37 PM

Looked pretty obvious to me that he got in by a good enough margin to eliminate all doubt.. I mean the ball just has to touch the plane at the front of the white line.. If they had said inconclusive people would be calling bullshit for a long time.

On the last replay they showed, it looked like you could see the ball and it was crossed. I still don't believe that was definitive, but it looked a lot clearer on that angle.

mckerney

10-22-2011, 10:39 PM

No one can ever convince me Bielema is a good coach. Ever. Not ever.

But he looked so great against the worst schedule in the country without playing a road game.

Matthean

10-22-2011, 10:40 PM

Even State fans had this picked as a blowout. I fear looking at Facebook right now. I loath this team and yet they keep doing stuff like beating the Badgers for the second year in a row. Inexcusable. This is a team that got beat 31-13 by ND and ND had 3 TOs. They beat a OSU team 10-7 that was missing 5 players and ran an offense worse than my nephew's team and he's in the 8th grade. But hey, I guess you can always go play Indiana and post another 50+ on them.

M GO BLUE!!!

10-22-2011, 10:42 PM

Nope, not even the play early in the game where another classy State player twisted the helmet of a player already on the ground. Two weeks in a row. Dirtbags.

Well, it's only a penalty if it is outside of the rules. We know how they play, so it's not a penalty!

I could have sworn that on one play that last drive the left side of their line moved just before the snap, but I must have been wrong as there was no flag.

Matthean

10-22-2011, 10:46 PM

I could have sworn that on one play that last drive the left side of their line moved just before the snap, but I must have been wrong as there was no flag.

I think it was the TE; yes, he moved early.

Matthean

10-22-2011, 10:52 PM

Gonna' be tough to beat the Huskers in Lincoln next week for MSU though and if they don't, a shot at the Big Ten title may end up falling to the wayside.

One thing going for State is Nebraska isn't a good passing team. A passing team has the chance to torch them. Unfortunately, there's nobody in the Big Ten who can nail them for it. Wisconsin was supposed to have a balanced attack to do it but yeah.

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 10:52 PM

Man Texas Tech is taking it to Oklahoma. 31-7 now early 3rd quarter.

rowech

10-22-2011, 10:56 PM

I actually think they SHOULD have ruled inconclusive. I didn't see anything that proved the ball crossed. It LOOKED like it crossed, but proof? You couldn't see the ball. How can you say it did? Michigan St. deserved to win the football game, so I'm not bothered by it, but I think the replay booth needs to learn what definitive actually means, because I didn't see anything in the replay that showed it was a TD. Again, think it's a TD shouldn't work in that case.

I'm looking at all of this stuff late but I agree with you. I don't see how in the hell that call is overturned unless I'm missing a video angle, a still shot, or something I haven't seen yet. It MIGHT have been a TD but it sure isn't conclusive.

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 11:04 PM

I think you guys must've been missing a shot because I saw one that was very clear and one that was pretty clear in addition to that.

M GO BLUE!!!

10-22-2011, 11:06 PM

Matthean

10-22-2011, 11:09 PM

I give them the touchdown.

One thing I could not at all believe was that the clock actually continued to run for three seconds after the incomplete pass. There should have been :07 left when that final play started. Who is running the clock up there in East Lansing these days?

I only got to watch the last couple of minutes and the play clock was horribly run. At least one extra second ran off in a number of situations.

Big Fo

10-22-2011, 11:25 PM

That was an interesting time to try the fake punt (Texas Tech was up 14 with around a quarter of the game left and it didn't work out). Oklahoma might just come back from 28 down.

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 11:27 PM

24. It was 31-7.

dawgfan

10-22-2011, 11:27 PM

Stanford rolls up over 440 yards rushing... Domination.
First off, it's a complete joke to see a team like Boise State ranked ahead of Stanford. Stanford is easily a top-5 team, and they'd tear the Broncos a new one.

Second, Jesus Fucking Christ I'm sick of pathetic defensive performances by the Huskies. I thought we were past that now, but Stanford just did whatever the fuck they wanted running the ball tonight, and the Huskies were utterly helpless to stop them. The Huskies are making some progress in getting tougher and more physical, at least on offense, but Stanford just showed them how far they still have to go.

I've been attempting to maintain some patience with Nick Holt and the defensive coaches - I've been saying Husky fans need to wait until next season is complete and they've had 4 years to change things around - but a "performance" like this one makes me wonder if Sark shouldn't pull a Harbaugh and bring in a new DC for his 4th season.

Matthean

10-22-2011, 11:29 PM

That was an interesting time to try the fake punt (Texas Tech was up 14 with around a quarter of the game left and it didn't work out). Oklahoma might just come back from 28 down.

TT should have got the FG instead of going for it. My theory is keep putting points on the board to keep things going for you and to force the other team to keep up. Missing the fake punt is just another chance to breathe life into OU.

MJ4H

10-22-2011, 11:35 PM

I think you guys must've been missing a shot because I saw one that was very clear and one that was pretty clear in addition to that.

Looks pretty hard to argue with this, but this isn't even the most definitive angle I saw.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/Gorgonian14/2011-October-22-23-45-452.jpg

Matthean

10-22-2011, 11:37 PM

Within the first couple of minutes in the 2nd half I knew OU was winning. 31-24 TT and yet I still have no doubt OU is winning.

Matthean

10-22-2011, 11:57 PM

Kudos to TT for looking to prove me wrong.

Matthean

10-23-2011, 12:17 AM

OU FG hits the goal post. TT up 10 and under 3 minutes.

jbergey22

10-23-2011, 12:28 AM

No one can ever convince me Bielema is a good coach. Ever. Not ever.

Well he does tend to finish higher in the season standings then he does in the recruiting standings.

He may be a poor game coach but I think he does a nice job of getting his players better. Its not like Wisconsin is bringing in great classes every year.

Matthean

10-23-2011, 12:30 AM

OU made it mildly interesting, but they still fall. Will be interesting to see if they can make it back into the title race in a year with a number of unbeatens remaining.

jbergey22

10-23-2011, 12:35 AM

OU made it mildly interesting, but they still fall. Will be interesting to see if they can make it back into the title race in a year with a number of unbeatens remaining.

Stanford and Oklahoma State have to be happy about today. Especially Stanford. Oklahoma St controlled their own destiny in a way by facing Oklahoma later in the year.

mckerney

10-23-2011, 12:44 AM

I give them the touchdown.

One thing I could not at all believe was that the clock actually continued to run for three seconds after the incomplete pass. There should have been :07 left when that final play started. Who is running the clock up there in East Lansing these days?

The clock shown on TV also started about 3 seconds late on the play.

Schmidty

10-23-2011, 12:55 AM

Just finished watching watching the recording of the MSU-UW game. My voice is gone. That was awesome. I'm very happy right now. :)

Reading all of the MSU hate in this thread and around the web makes me smile. TroyF calling them dirtbags and Matthean whining about them is so cute. Scoreboard boys!!

bhlloy

10-23-2011, 02:04 AM

Not the 30 point win I was hoping for after the first 20 minutes, but USC with a solid 31-17 win over ND. :)

I'm drunk, I come home to find USC rolled ND somewhat convincingly and Dayne Crist was the goat, perfect night :D

Matthean

10-23-2011, 07:28 AM

Reading all of the MSU hate in this thread and around the web makes me smile. TroyF calling them dirtbags and Matthean whining about them is so cute. Scoreboard boys!!

They are dirtbags. This is simply a repeat of last year where we learn how lacking the Big Ten is. I just hope MSU decides to show up against a quality bowl opponent because their options just got harder, and Dantonio has yet to win a bowl game with MSU. Being the big fish in a little pond only gets you so far in terms of credibility. If you want to look at scoreboards, how about 31-13 and 49-7. Those are the scores of the last two games MSU has played against non-Big Ten teams that have a pulse.

Thomkal

10-23-2011, 08:52 AM

Completely disgusted with Coastal Carolina right now. Coming off the big loss to Liberty they got a Gardner-Webb team at home. coming into town with a five game losing streak and down to their third string QB. GW led most of the game until Coastal got an 80 yard punt return TD with just under 2 minutes to play to go ahead by 1.

They got called for excessive celebration on the TD cause the coaches couldn't control the players on the sidelines, kick return for GW got them to midfield and two Coastal penalties on the return got them within easy FG range. They were able to run out the clock and get the game winning FG to knock off Coastal.

I knew the ranking they were given was not deserved, but didn't think they would be amongst the worst teams in the Big South either. Now they have to go all the way to New York to play Stony Brook which will likely be another loss and have nothing left to play for after that. Very disgusted.

CU Tiger

10-23-2011, 09:00 AM

Nice win by my Tigers yesterday, bit surprised by the nature to be honest. To score 59 in 3 quarters and sit the starters for the 4th I would ave never believed coming in. Even the defenselayed better (final score a bit misleading as 3rd string d gave up 2 long drives)

With Wisky and Sooner losses Clemson may have an outside chance if they can remain unbeaten. Any team that wins a BCS conference and 2 out of conference games against SEC teams should look good in the formula....but all that is a long way away and lots of land mines between here and there.

booradley

10-23-2011, 09:18 AM

Wake Forest pips Duke 24-23, beating the Devils for the 12th year in a row! Wake is now 5-2, 4-1: we are just 1 win away from being bowl eligible, which is amazing following the horror scene that was last year.

Dr. Sak

10-23-2011, 10:13 AM

I actually think they SHOULD have ruled inconclusive. I didn't see anything that proved the ball crossed. It LOOKED like it crossed, but proof? You couldn't see the ball. How can you say it did? Michigan St. deserved to win the football game, so I'm not bothered by it, but I think the replay booth needs to learn what definitive actually means, because I didn't see anything in the replay that showed it was a TD. Again, think it's a TD shouldn't work in that case.

I thought it was a touchdown the moment it happened.

I am fairly certain that this will end up in my training video either this week or the next. If I remember, I will try to clip it and show you guys.

Schmidty

10-23-2011, 11:26 AM

Blah, blah, blah blah.

Sour grapes? Cheer up, there's always next season young man.

mauchow

10-23-2011, 11:30 AM

Yeah, about the end of the game for the Badgers - I was sitting at a bar watching it. The second it happened I picked up and left - I knew it'd be overturned. What a horrible night. THe Badgers started out hot and then got a bit too relaxed, Wilson made some costly mistakes, Abbrederis dropped a touchdown pass, mis-timed his jump on the final play of the game, Bielema called a timeout with 30 seconds to go in the game when MSU was ready to go into overtime, so many bad things happened today. If we meet them in Indy again, that game will be bigger to the boys than the Rose Bowl will be, imo. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Bama/msu type game from last year.

MrBug708

10-23-2011, 12:23 PM

If Stanford can beat Oregon, they just earned a spot in the title game

Crapshoot

10-23-2011, 02:07 PM

Stanford has a shot at the national title which seems surreal, though many many hurdles still to go. They're above Boise in the BCS, and one of LSU-Alabama will drop after nov 5. This year, they get to play Oregon at home which should help. still, has any team with the academic hurdles Stanford faces competed this far in modern day CFB? even Notre Dame isn't close.

Matthean

10-23-2011, 03:14 PM

Sour grapes? Cheer up, there's always next season young man.

Has nothing to do with MSU beating Michigan. I simply don't respect the Spartans. As someone born and raised in Spartan country, I want to. They just keep failing at it.

Schmidty

10-23-2011, 03:16 PM

Has nothing to do with MSU beating Michigan. I simply don't respect the Spartans. As someone born and raised in Spartan country, I want to. They just keep failing at it.

That's ok. I don't think they (or I) care if you respect them. :)

tarcone

10-23-2011, 04:44 PM

An interesting side note. Iowa moved their 2nd string QB to LB. AJ Derby was recruited as an athlete, but promised a shot at QB. He won the 2nd string job, but got arrested this season for public intox and punching out a bus window. He was suspended for 2 games and lost his 2nd string job. He is 6'2" 234 lbs.

Easy Mac

10-23-2011, 05:10 PM

Thomkal

10-23-2011, 06:53 PM

Furman losing to Coastal continues to baffle me, especially since we just beat the #4 team in the country.

It baffles me too. :) Probably just being the first game and not being ready to play yet, and a lot of luck. :)

Ksyrup

10-24-2011, 07:28 AM

Stanford and Oklahoma State have to be happy about today. Especially Stanford. Oklahoma St controlled their own destiny in a way by facing Oklahoma later in the year.

Nothing changes at all for OSU. The OU game is still going to knock them out if they lose, regardless if OU has no losses or 2 losses. If anything, it lessens the impact of a win (marginally, but still) over OU that they aren't still undefeated when they play.

OSU and KSU both have a fairly tough schedule coming up. Tough to see either of them surviving it.

Ksyrup

10-24-2011, 07:31 AM

We were at softball all day Saturday, so I didn't get to see a second of FSU. Glad they won it fairly easily, though.

The more I think about it, the more ticked I am that we were rated so high at the beginning of the year solely for ESPN/ABC to tout an early season top 5 game. We are clearly another year, probably two, away from really being a legit contender. I expected more this year, but you can tell in the shuffle of older guys for Jimbo recruits that this year was about transitioning to the guys he recruited/wants on the field. And that transition sometimes doesn't happen painlessly, especially when you add in a bunch of injuries and 4 new starters on the OL.

MacroGuru

10-24-2011, 07:54 AM

Didn't post about BYU as we played an FCS team halfway into the season. Idaho State was thumped as it should have been. Big matchup for BYU as they play TCU in Jerry's house on Friday night.

Butter

10-24-2011, 08:30 AM

The more I think about it, the more ticked I am that we were rated so high at the beginning of the year solely for ESPN/ABC to tout an early season top 5 game.

Yes, that must've been the sole reason.

Ksyrup

10-24-2011, 08:40 AM

I believe it was.

FSU was 9-4 last year and got trounced in the ACC Championship game. We beat a disfuntional, falling apart UF handily. We beat South Carolina in the bowl game, largely because we knocked Lattimore out early in the 1st quarter. We played a solid game, but USCe wasn't that great, especially without their RB. We recruited well. Our new starting QB wasn't going to be a total newbie, thanks to injuries that got him some playing time the previous 2 years. That's about it.

Did that add up to a top 5 ranking? Even factoring in the horrid ACC, I don't believe so. The ESPN talking heads talked FSU up (I think Robert Smith had them as high as #3, and most of their people had them in the top 7-8 at worst). I thought, at best, we should have been maybe top 15. The Tally folks were saying ESPN was targeting the OU game since spring, and needed a hook to bring the GameDay crew there. I'm absolutely convinced they pushed FSU for top 5 to sell the game. And I believe it was the highest rated college game so far this year, so they got what they wanted, and now FSU is dealing with "failed expectations" in a season they probably weren't going to win more than 10 games, at best, anyway. And with Miami and UF looking like they've regained their footing, 8-4 sounds more reasonable.

With everything that's come out about ESPN, there's no reason to turn away from a plausible conspiracy theory, IMO.

digamma

10-24-2011, 10:58 AM

I believe it was.

You're being silly. Almost all publications had FSU in the top 5 or at the worst top 10.

Here's a quick (but incomplete composite) that shows FSU was ranked in the top 5 or 6 by Athlon, Lindy's and Sports Illustrated. Even the Vegas guru himself Phil Steele, who advertises that he is right more than everyone else, had them at #10.

If you buy your conspiracy theory, you have to go pretty deep into a tangled web of nefarious television executives.

Ksyrup

10-24-2011, 11:03 AM

Those mags came out well after the hype began. Shortly after recruiting ended, actually. They were talking Gameday visit during spring practice.

I'm not suggesting they were all in on it; I'm suggesting they were influenced by it.

Ksyrup

10-24-2011, 11:23 AM

Oof.

BryanDFischer (http://twitter.com/#!/BryanDFischer) Bryan Fischer
Kansas is allowing 50 points and 550 yards per game. Still have the 2nd, 7th and 12th-ranked offenses to play.

sterlingice

10-24-2011, 11:39 AM

Oof.

BryanDFischer (http://twitter.com/#%21/BryanDFischer) Bryan Fischer
Kansas is allowing 50 points and 550 yards per game. Still have the 2nd, 7th and 12th-ranked offenses to play.

I don't think that's right. Using PPG, 7th is Baylor and 13th is A&M but we already got lit up by #2 Okie State to the tune of 70, thank you very much. We don't need to play them again.

EDIT: I guess in YPG, that's Baylor, A&M, and Mizzou.

SI

bronconick

10-24-2011, 12:01 PM

I thought FSU was somewhere between 10 and 15 this year, and from the moment that they had the #1/2 ranked recruiting class, the hype just kept going up. Their QB was taken #12 and was probably a reach, but still obviously not easy to replace, and the O-line was always thin, having to replace the center (originally with a JC transfer), one guy who had concussions to the point where he was a shadow of his former self, and a 4 time all-conference guard. One tackle gets injured, and his replacement is a 17 year old true freshman. Whoops.

I'm just waiting to see what the final score of the game vs. NC State is so I know what side of the line to bet on vs. BC.

Ksyrup

10-24-2011, 12:05 PM

Kodos

10-24-2011, 12:35 PM

No one can ever convince me Bielema is a good coach. Ever. Not ever.

After their last 2 games against Indiana, I was quite happy to see that Wisconsin lost to MSU. I hope Bielema never wins anything of consequence in his coaching career.

jbergey22

10-24-2011, 02:17 PM

If Stanford can beat Oregon, they just earned a spot in the title game

I think Stanford will beat Oregon but I dont think they are in the clear from Oklahoma St taking that final spot. In fact if Okie St wins out I think it will be them vs LSU/Bama winner.

Matthean

10-24-2011, 02:17 PM

I would have had them somewhere between 12 and 15, as an optimistic fan. To me, it's a huge jump to top 5 from there, especially on the strength of a recruiting class, the majority of which you wouldn't expect to make THAT big a contribution in the first year.

Saban after his first full class, which ranked #1, went 12-2 losing only to Florida, who won the title, and Utah. I do think anytime a team is doing a change over at OL expectations need to be put in perspective. I think there was a year where much was expected of OU, but they had a inexperienced line. They fell far from expectations. The same year a lesser ranked team had a veteran line and they far exceeded expectations.