Didn't watch much (as in 2 or 3 drives) of the Oklahoma State v. FAU game last night but OkState was certainly not very impressive.
The Ags have an off week (mighty SMU next Saturday) but tomorrow will still be fun with Michigan/ND & OSU/tu
Go Buckeyes!
Oh and for all you college baseball fans out there: EA Sports is releasing a College Baseball game for PS2/Xbox. Looks pretty sweet
http://sports.ign.com/articles/6...8/
648278p1.html
And if you decide to blog about it, please credit "Texas A&M & Baseball" blog because that's where I found it.
Permalink to post:
http://tamu-and-baseball.com/
arc...0904.html#links
Approaching half time and Ohio's defense is completely dominating Pitt. Comfort level for tomorrow afternoon just went up 1.
Somewhere Walt Harris is smiling. Check that, he's laughing his ass off.
Of course, so is Solich.
Unbelievable. If things don't turn around, and I mean like next week, there may not be a Year Two of the Wannstedt Era. Either Tyler Palko has one of those top-secret Kurt Warner injuries, or Wannie just doesn't have a clue about who's good on his football team.
Oh, and Solich is a pretty good coach, too.
Pitt's defense actually improved this week.
But Palko looked awful tonight. Cavanaugh is quite skilled at finding new and interesting ways of ruining quarterbacks.
And right now, every Chicago Bears fan is smiling.
I am really becoming a fan of this guy. He puts all he has into Nebraska football and gets the shaft after so much success. It made me realize that under Nebraska's expectations Lloyd would have been fired long ago. Solich was what, 6th in winning percentage over his tenure for all of Div.1A football? I think he is going to bring Ohio to bear as a power in the MAC fairly quickly. Maybe one year we can even see Miami of Ohio and Ohio U beat up on the $uckeyes! Oh how I would relish that. It would be even better than the back to back losses to CMU that the Spartoon suffered back in the day. Ahh... the memories...
The sad state of Michigan football, circa 2005: left hoping that a MAC school can do who your team has recently been unable to do-- beat your archrival.
The Pitt/Ohio game was so bad that I actually fell asleep watching it (just after the 1st quarter). Pitt looked terrible.
I feel sorry for Solich....the guy used to coach at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln and now his fans have to use thundersticks.
ps. don't worry about giving me credit for the NCAA baseball game....I didn't discover the link, someone sent it to me
Um, remember that hype about the UM defensive line? Uh, fuck whatchu heard. Pat Massey is a disaster.
We stink.
Charlie Weis v. Lloyd Carr is a mismatch.
When did our program become BYU?
Hold the panic. Nothing much doing yet, and the defense is staying home on Weis' dinky stuff.
Offensive playcalling staying mule stubborn for UM.
And just like that, ND scores. Revise panic comment.
Too bad about that tip ball going to the ND receiver anyway.
I like Grady but so far he's no Hart. Offense needs to be more ridiculous.
Kansas State is certainly not impressing at Marshall (what, KState is playing an away non-conference game? someone mark that down as a record).
Maryland is up on Clemson at halftime....haven't watched much of that one, just during commerical breaks.
I think it's clear what Michigan's problem is: The offense isn't sophisticated enough.
BTW, let's not get ahead of ourselves with Solich. This is the same Bobcats team that got blown out of the stadium by Northwestern six days earlier.
They're still the fourth-best team in the MAC East.
What's up with Henne?
Henne has been horrible today. Bad reads, bad throws.
I don't think anyone thought UM would waste a decent performance from the D by playing its worst offensive game since Utah.
Brian, the BGS guys might have made a good point about Henne's release point.
What did that Sporting News preview say about Michigan players not having any heart.
BTW, I'd love to see Brian rip the defensive coordinator for this one.
BTW, let's not get ahead of ourselves with Solich. This is the same Bobcats team that got blown out of the stadium by Northwestern six days earlier.
I agree, however Solich vs. Wannstedt is like Lennox Lewis against Webster.
Clemson wins another close one, 28-24 over Maryland.
I'm wishing we could get a big lead early, or something, but a win is a win is a win.
Um. Anyone wonder why Okalhoma is so excited about winning a squeaker against...Tulsa?!?
Brian - it's time to give ND a little bit of credit and admit that 1) they do have some talent and 2) they do have real coaching now.
As always, I'll root for UM the rest of the way out - especially against OSU.
Well that was pitiful. The offense at least. Save for the first drive, the defense was actually pretty good and got better as the game went along. Really shut down ND in the 2nd half.
But the offense, oh my. Grady needs some glue on his hands. Two weeks in a row he fumbles within the 5 yard line. Then Henne throws the ball out of the endzone on 4th and goal. Then Henne fumbles on the one inch line. Then 4th and 15 and he throws a 5 yard pass at a covered tight end?!? Is he trying to impersonate Joey Harrington?? The offense really beat themselves today. They were given ever chance to punch the ball in the endzone and they failed miserably.
Well...the honeymoon is over for Chad. Just a horrible, horrible game on his part. Yes, he was in on his first sneak and it should have been reviewed. That still doesn't give him an excuse to fumble in the endzone or to throw the ball away on 4th down. This was such a frustrating game to watch....If only the game was 5 quarters. Notre Dame has scoreboard though, so congratulations to Irish fans.
Oklahoma looked TERRIBLE again. They should be glad that outside of the fans in the stadium only those in their region got to see it on FSN.
It was MUCH closer than the final would indicate. It was a 2point game as late as 9 minutes in the game.
The game would best be described as Adrian Peterson beat Tulsa. He had 237 of OU's 266 total yards. If you didn't see his 41 yard TD run, stay up late until you see it on sportscenter....He literally ran over the first defender, fought off the second (who was hanging from the ball) and stiffarmed the third enroute to the endzone.
Bomar was 5-of-13 for 41 yards with 2 INTs.
Big XII teams can stop one dimensional opponents. Baylor should be looking forward to an opportunity for a 4th ever Big XII victory
I think Grady's fumble at the 5 was yet another boo-boo on Chad Henne. It looked to me (after replaying it) that Henne tried to hand the ball off fairly high, right around the upper breastplate, instead of low into the breadbasket area.
Michigan going down.
Oklahoma is not a top 25 team.
Cal's Ayoob has 4tds in the 1st half!
Mich St looks good, albeit its Hawaii
Would I be the only one to suggest that Steve Breaston may be a bit overrated? I just have never seen him catch anything special. He might make a good cornerback if we didn't need any interceptions. He missed two very catchable balls. While they were both tough, I think the lack of hands takes him out of the running for 'Next Big Thing'.
Good game, mister.
ND sucks, UM doesn't, and that wasn't fair. But I'll take it.
What's up with Hawaii's uniforms? Silver?
I caught a good chunk of the Oklahoma game...the Sooners will not be in my ballot this week.
Iowa is finally on the board in Ames, but I don't like their chances.
So that's what worst case scenario looks like? Had to watch it with 2 ND fans who decided it would be fun to use TIVO to rewind Breaston's almost catch about 45 times... Damn catholics, with their stupid technology...
Yep, you gotta admit Breaston is overrated right now. I mean, it's hard not to be when TSN calls you the #1 WR in the country, but seriously, he has never shown himself to be a deep threat, despite quite a few opportunities the past three seasons (and especially the last two games). We REALLY missed Braylon today. Hart, too--just the luck of the Irish to avoid playing him AGAIN!
If there's one positive that came out of this, it's that Manningham may be ready for prime time. A clutch TD on 4th down, and might have had another without the (uncalled) interference right after.
Michigan offensive playcalling was atrocious. I am sure some of the injuries along with Henne's decision to have a brain fart made them more vanilla-esque.
"Run on first down... get nowhere because our O-line was depleted and be in a predictable pass position on second/third down, and watch Henne get drilled and blitzed because the defense didn't have to worry about anything."
Next, why was Henne staring down his receivers? Didn't he like look off to bait the safety in the rosebowl? What made him decide to stop with that. Why don't we ever pump fake on a pass play. I mean a 7 step drop, I'm sure we can cut it to 5 and pass... right?
Defense was good. Everyone was ripping them a new one, but I had faith in Hermann on this game for defense. Remember its mobile QBs that give him trouble, standard offenses tend have trouble against him. See the past couple year Purdue games. At least all his criticism has got his LBs playing well.
I blame this loss on Henne, LCarr, injuries, and Irish luck BS factor. Henne for sucking and overthrowing 341243243 passes, 34434324 bad decisions, and 0/3 red-zone offense. LCarr for not allowing for more diverse play calling predictable and easy to read... allowing ND's defense in getting relaxed. Injuries, cuz frankly, anyone who tells me missing 3 o-linemen, 1 starting star tailback, 1 good tall red-zone possession receiver, and 1 good athletic, tall, good blocking tight-end who'd be money in the red-zone didn't make a differnce on our offense.... is an idiot... F U Notre Dame fans who reply to this. Irish luck... they always overachieve against us partly due to their luck. I am willing to bet USC beats them by 40... they will not cover the long ball vs USC.
That being said, I am not overly concerned. Our defense is fine. Our offense needs to adjust to injuries. Henne got rid of his bad game in one of LCarr's standard September loss. LCarr will be criticized to death for terrible play calling on offense... and we might open up the playbook. Now that both our offense and defense have been ripped a new one, we might actually shape up some and run the table (wishful thinking).
Assuming OSU beats Texas tonight... I don't see anyone running the table except USC (because they don't play in a real conference). FSU and VT play in real conferences now, so no one is coming out of the ACC undefeated. Georgia has the best shot IMO in the SEC, but they will lose at some point. Louisville better not be considered over a 1 loss team from other conferences. So I can see Michigan being back up top around early November. Hopefully they win-out.
Keep drinking the Kool-Aid, Bob.
See you next year when we go for 4 out of 5.
Just think how we'll do when we get talent! Along with all of our unfair LUCK!
Good luck with your conference games; it should get easier for you from here.
^^ See?! See what I mean about Irish fans?! Eeeeeeeyuck!
This just in....
LLLoyd didn't beat you.
Breaston didn't beat you.
Henne didn't beat you.
Your game plan didn't beat you.
The officials didn't beat you.
Notre Dame beat you. The better team won.
Brief first thoughts over at my site. Also included, video of Breaston playing badly, which I ironically had to make room for by removing video of Breaston playing well.
Had to include the video 'cause it's just so bizarre and they didn't show replays or comment on it at all.
that Vince Young INT was a classic VY play. Those happen too often which is why he gets the bad pub as a passer.
OSU has made some nice defensive adjustments since texas's second possession.
'bama isn't looking too great thus far tonight (I love picture in picture TVs)
I was amazed by two things. First, why wasn't Henne's head in the game? He was somewhere else mentally today.
Second, I did not expect this to be the defensive game it was.
Unfortunately I have only seen highlights. Unlike you fortunate enough to have tivo, I know how to program my VCR, and I'm going to watch the tape before I say much more.
Texas ohio state so far: as good as advertised.
what a catch by 'bama receiver (#4)....the guy caught it around the defender's head.
that might have been the best reception I've seen in a LOOOOOOOONG time
I'm feelin' an ESPY
"I blame this loss on Henne, LCarr, injuries, and Irish luck BS factor. Henne for sucking and overthrowing 341243243 passes, 34434324 bad decisions, and 0/3 red-zone offense. LCarr for not allowing for more diverse play calling predictable and easy to read... allowing ND's defense in getting relaxed. Injuries, cuz frankly, anyone who tells me missing 3 o-linemen, 1 starting star tailback, 1 good tall red-zone possession receiver, and 1 good athletic, tall, good blocking tight-end who'd be money in the red-zone didn't make a differnce on our offense.... is an idiot... F U Notre Dame fans who reply to this. Irish luck... they always overachieve against us partly due to their luck. I am willing to bet USC beats them by 40... they will not cover the long ball vs USC."
Is this what eating crow causes one to do? Make excuses and turn into Mark May? It's sad, yet I do not feel badly.
I feel strangely reassured about the rest of the Michigan season after watching us lose. The D actually dominated ND's offense after the opening drive. The offense just laid an absolute stinker, especially after Hart went out.
But am I really that worried about the offense? No. I'm more pleased with the play of the D. The O will be fine.
It is amusing to watch us lose to Notre Dame again with, shall we say circumstances at the goal line.
My favorite part of the game:
Michigan Recruits being hit by water bottles thrown on the field by Michigan fans. Priceless.
ND fans... why are you on this site? Secondly... shouldn't you be partying enjoying your win, not on some website?
Third... I could care less about the loss... MSU will beat you, USC will beat you, Tennessee will beat you, and Purdue will beat you. Repeat this 3 years in a row... and you lose. I don't care how many star recruits you get... your d-line was 4.5 stars apparently... but that didn't stop them from being 2 stars against USC or BC or Pitt last year.
Guys, nyet on the flaming in this thread. This is supposed to be constructive for the blogpollers to get opinions on what happened. Flame away on the post below this one. Anything further in this thread that's not useful and constructive will be deleted.
Gloaters are the lowest form of fan on the planet, by the way.
So. A completely mismatched South Carolina team stayed in it with the "D.J. Shockley for Heisman" Bulldogs. A (poorly thrown) two-point conversion incompletion was the turning point, with 6 minutes left in the game. I want to see some "E for Effort" votes in the blogpoll this week for SC. They're a team that shouldn't have stayed with Georgia, but they did. They certainly looked better than Oklahoma, for instance. (Oh, and: go irish.)
OSU vs TU is turning out just as I said it would in my picks.
Immpecable defense and step-up of star A.J. Hawk are leading to OSU domination.
Now all they need is to score a touchdown after entering the red zone.
Agree about Breaston right now. Most of his passes tend to be the quick 1 yard type then whatever he can muster on the run. That's two weeks in a row now that he's had a long ball on his hands and he couldn't pull it in. Times like those that I miss Braylon because Michigan is definitely lacking that deep ball threat (doesn't help Arrington, one of their taller receivers, got hurt). Hope to see more of Mario Manningham, though!
The loss of Hart hurt. He didn't run well, but it appeared the screen pass threat was taken away by his loss. I like Grady, though. He's like a bulldozer or bowling ball when he crashes up the middle.
Don't forget Henne had like five balls batted down, a la John Navarre. Never the less, don't forget he's still a true sophomore, he's young, he's still going to make mistakes and learn from them. I don't know if I agree with all these fans calling for his head already. Last week everyone and their mothers praises him against NIU. One bad game later and they call for his head, it's ridiculous. What a lack of faith fans have these days. I'm sure Gutierrez can play well against Eastern, gain a lot of praise, but what happens if he plays bad against a good opponent? Call for his head, go to the third string?
Seriously ND fans. Please have something better to do than keep rubbing it in here. I realize it's been a while since we've won consistently, but let's not act like we forgot what it's like.
What was Tressel thinking with the constant QB flip-flop? Oh well...makes me happy to see them go down. Great game for the most part!
that texas/OSU game was incredible.
What a day of football (and LSU/ASU is still going).
Big ups go out to Iowa State who upset Iowa (which, by the way, was my pick in the Roundtable #2 question regarding the off the radar upset....ps. the link from the BlogPoll Central page to the 1st two roundtables don't work)
Big XII was saved by texas & ISU....New Mexico knocked off Mizzou, OU showed nothing other than Peterson--again, KState should have lost but didn't thanks to a "Marshall"
all the others were victories over puff teams
I don't think anyone is seriously calling for Henne to be benched. He had a bad game, but that happens. It does not help that we do not, at the time, have a consistent deep threat. Avant isn't quite fast enough and Breaston can never seem to haul them in. It was telling that we went downfield twice to a true freshman (Manningham) down the stretch, one on a 4th down. You can imagine Lloyd would have preferred a more experienced intended target.
(Speaking of which, wasn't Manningham's TD awfully reminiscient of Desmond's catch in '91? Too bad it will probably be forgotten since we lost.)
Of course, I'm not talking about the degree of difficulty of the catch, but the context (4th and short, about 25 yards away in the 4th against ND in the Big House).
OSU-Texas was a good game, but neither team looked top-notch.
Then again, maybe I have been spoiled out here with my Trojans.
Look for a new #2 in my ballot.
the day's still not over! wow! LSU and ASU are making a game of it. LSU blocked a field goal and a punt and returned them for a touchdown each, but ASU answers with a touchdown to stay ahead 24-21 and now LSU goes down the field to score a touchdown! 24-28 LSU
Sooner Slayers TCU are trailing SMU 21-10 in the 4th.
Polling Question:
The AP/Coaches' polls made a habit of rewarding teams like clemson, TCU, and notre dame (though the last seems valid) with spots in the 15-25 of their polls after beating a similarly ranked team while unranked. Do you think it may be premature or hasty of those voters to do that as we watched clemson struggle with the terps and TCU is struggling with SMU?
Something to think about for your ballots BlogPoll members.
Do you think it may be premature or hasty of those voters to do that
Absolutely.
OTOH, I think it's entirely reasonable to hammer highly-ranked teams for struggling early. Which, I suppose, is why I won the Mr. Manic Depressive Award this week.
Three things:
1.) BG's defense scares me. A lot.
2.) That tOSU-Texas game was fantastic, and I don't like either team.
3.)
Dear Jim Tressel,
Please play Justin Zwick as much as possible.
Thanks,
djl
That was not a fantastic game.
The way I look at the teams who are rewarded with big wins is pretty much that if they flame out, then move'em out of your poll. These polls aren't permanent and that's why we vote each week.
Typically, I'm least sure about the last 3 or 4 of my picks anyways because there are usually a lot of teams in that range and it's pretty much a tossup (esp. this early in the season).
Also, I don't usually get to watch, or don't watch due to better games, the games of the fringe teams.
just my two cents.
also, why do yall think that the tu/OSU game was so ?
Hey, here's my pending ballot for the blogpoll:
http://iknowcollegefootball.blog...oll-
ballot.html
Tell me if I'm wrong or right.
That was not a fantastic game.
It was entertaining as hell, especially considering what was on the line.
OK, what really ticked me off about ND-Michigan was that Michigan fans threw objects on the field.
Not once. twice.
No warnings.
No flags.
If this were a Texas Tech game at Jones SBC Stadium the flags would have immediately come out.
Actually, quite a few fans over on the Rivals board were calling for Henne to sit, and one of the analysts on ABC I think during the OSU/Texas game said it might be time to start Gutierrez.
On the flip side, it could be exactly what Chad needs. Seems like every year Red Berenson will bench one of his hockey players for a weekend series after a poor performance and they'll return with a vengenance. Maybe it'll work for Lloyd, too.
I think that would be a questionable move. The QB has to have the confidence of his teammates. Pulling him in and out of the lineup can only shake their faith in him. I don't mind getting Gutz some PT against EMU, but I think we need to stick with Henne and ride him out.
"If this were a Texas Tech game at Jones SBC Stadium the flags would have immediately come out."
that's true but tech has a bit of a reputation for stuff getting a tad out of hand ;)
Quoting the great Ron Burgendy:
"Boy, that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast!"
hey brian, I submitted my ballot but it looks like it was taken as a week 2 ballot because I looked at the voter-grid and it put it under week 2. let me know if I need to resubmit.
Georgia didn't look so hot this week. I can't really put my finger on it, but for some reason, South Carolina always plays UGA tough. The last four years are prime examples of how a better Georgia team escapes So. Carolina with a victory. Something usually happens, like a tipped ball intercepted for a touchdown. More common are bizarre bounces and scratch-your-head officiating.
Was the hype of D.J. Shockley overblown after week one? Sure. But don't consider this the beginning of the end, because he is still a difference maker. So. Carolina has one of the best (if not the best) secondaries in the SEC. UGA's advantage in the game was supposed to be the offensive and defensive lines, and despite 200+ rushing yards, both played poorly: insufficient pass protection and almost non-existent pass rush. Georgia shot themselves in the foot with bonehead plays followed by penalties followed by more boneheadedness. I would attribute the lack of offense to the missed blocks and ill-timed penalties instead of Georgia's usual offensive ineptitude from poor execution (which I think is a good sign). The defense still looked good, with really only two blown coverages...which, unfortunately, happened on back-to-back plays. Without that pick for a TD and the INT at the half (c'mon Bailey...it's a fade...at least fight for the ball!) UGA wins more comfortably, like 24-10, and everyone is feeling peachy. I still think UGA is a top 10 team, probably around #7. South Carolina is not receiving the credit they deserve right now (which I bet Spurrier is hoping will continue). They WILL beat someone they aren't supposed to beat...I'm just glad it wasn't Georgia this year.
My other takes:
Ohio State is not as good as the game will make them look. They were unable to put the game away, which is a bad sign of things to come.
Texas is pretty solid. I have to give them credit. They weren't the best team on the field Saturday night, but they have the ability to strike when they get the chance. A team that can hang around for three and a half quarters despite being beaten the bulk of the game is a good team. Their defense is average, and they need some compliment to Vince Young, but after jumping this hurdle, who is left to beat?
LSU affirmed my #2 ranking by winning in a hostile crowd in Tempe. The bad news for LSU? Even if they go undefeated, Texas will get the invitation to the Rose Bowl.
Arizona State is a good team, but not elite. If they are able to hang with USC, they could be a top ten team when everything shuffles out.
The mustache must only work if it is a full mustache. Wannie needs some hair transplant surgery to make sure Pitt wins a game this year.
you do, akij. it should be fine now.
LSU isn't going undefeated. Tennesse and Florida will shred their defense if what we saw Saturday is the best Bo Pellini can do. The complete absence of pressure on Keller was a disgrace to the legacy left by Saban and Muschamp. I'm glad we got out with a win, but giving 550 yards of offense, including 460 yards passing? That's not acceptable. It's NOT the mark of a Top 5 team.
my thoughts of the weekend are up at my site along with my Week 3 poll
akijan, i'm getting a 404 for your ballot link.
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