This Week in College Football 9/14 - 9/16

[CanadianChris 0]

There's no way Young would ever be just another good college player that flamed out in the pros (even if he does end up flaming out in the pros). He's the most memorable college player of my lifetime.

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

There's no way Young would ever be just another good college player that flamed out in the pros (even if he does end up flaming out in the pros). He's the most memorable college player of my lifetime.

 

Exactly. The guys who get remembered that way are systems QBs from programs that were always pumping out players with great college stats (such as all of Spurrier's guys, all of Bowden's early 90s guys, everyone from Texas Tech now, and so on). Vince Young was a unique player and his performance in the 2006 Rose Bowl is one of the greatest in the history of sports.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Meanwhile, in the 2006 season outside of the Big XII South:

 

Is it nuts to genuinely expect Nebraska to upset USC and Tennessee winning by 20+ points?

[Damaramu 0]

Yes but apparently Zac Taylor has guaranteed victory for Nebraska. Ok.......

 

Oregon's coach also claimed that OU recognizes they escaped against Oregon last year. We didn't escape shit. We out played them. Hell if Peterson doesn't fumble on the one foot line then the final score is 24-10 and it looks worse for them.

[Guest]

I believe the last person to guarantee a win over USC was Daymeion Hughes of Cal last season. They got blown out. Before that, it was Larry Birdine (If that's his name, I barely remembered it).

 

Great track record.

[CanadianChris 0]

Whose guarantee is more nonsensical, Taylor's over USC or Roy Williams' over the Bears? I'm torn.

[teke184 0]

Whose guarantee is more nonsensical, Taylor's over USC or Roy Williams' over the Bears? I'm torn.

Roy Williams' guarantee...

 

At least Nebraska has scored a touchdown this year.

[Damaramu 0]

I believe the last person to guarantee a win over USC was Daymeion Hughes of Cal last season. They got blown out. Before that, it was Larry Birdine (If that's his name, I barely remembered it).

 

Great track record.

 

 

Just for the record I'm shockingly on your side. As much as I hate USC I now see the talent they have after watching the Arkansas game. My official prediction is 52-10 USC. I'll be shocked if Nebraska keeps it closer than 17. USC's offense will just run wild in the Coliseum.

 

 

Apparently OU fans are dubbing this the biggest non-conference game in the history of the school. I don't see that because well it's Oregon and we've played teams like Miami, USC, and Notre Dame in the regular season non-conference in the past. I think it's just that there's a lot on the line(moreso than in a long long time) and this will tell OU a lot about themselves. Plus Autzen is one of the hardest places to play. I'm still picking Oregon but I'd be estatic if OU pulled it out.

 

What are OU's key to victory? Also is there any way Oregon loses this game? Because some people have called into the radio lately and said there's no chance in hell of Oregon losing the game.

I think they have to jump out to an early lead and keep it and make some big plays on special teams and defense. Plus Peterson needs to rush for 150 yards and 2 TDs.

I still don't agree with Belotti saying OU escaped last year. They just outplayed Oregon plain and simple. The intereception by Ingram did save the game but it was a damn good play and wasn't lucky really at all.

 

Also I've figured out who OU could lose to this season and damn it will not be an easy road. They could lose at Oregon, to Texas, at A&M, at Missouri, and at OSU! I'm not saying they're going to lose all of them but it'd be a damn miracle for them to escape all those without a loss. However they will not lose at home which means Texas Tech, Iowa State, and Colorado are all going down. Oh and they'll beat Baylor at Baylor....duh.

 

Oh and I discovered OU is setting up home and home series with FSU, Ohio State, LSU, Tennessee, and Notre Dame. Not to mention Miami! Calm the fuck down Bob!

[iggymcfly 0]

I don't think USC will run Nebraska off the field or anything, but they should still beat them pretty handily. They had an extra week to prepare and it's their home opener, so you know they'll come out motivated. Plus, I don't think Nebraska can match them at the skill positions. They just don't have the talent yet.

 

If I were going to make a prediction, it would be:

USC 35 Nebraska 17

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Meanwhile, in the 2006 season outside of the Big XII South:

 

Is it nuts to genuinely expect Nebraska to upset USC and Tennessee winning by 20+ points?

Yes. Though I haven't decided which is more nuts. Probably the USC upset because I can write off the Tennessee stuff as superfan talk. The way the team is right now, I don't think they match up well at all with Florida, and I'm envisioning about a 10-point win for UF currently.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Defensively, we look great against Florida. After years of plodding power teams, the defense this year is full of speed. Speed itself doesn't mean jack, but they're well-coached and won't have too many problems keeping up with the untested Gator spread offense. Offensively, we're good for three, maybe four touchdowns if Florida doesn't commit any turnovers and especially if Ainge steps up his game like he has the first two games this year. He was 21 for 24 at one point deep in the Air Force game last week, right before his sole interception of the day.

 

Besides, as big as the opener with Cal was, this is always the biggest game of the year now. The young'uns have confidence from both a spanking and a close game over talented teams, and it'll be Tennessee's third straight game at home. Yes, already. I'm optimistic because Florida hasn't really played anyone yet. Southern Miss gave them a game for a half, but that was it. They're damned good I'm sure and they're definitely worthy of great concern, but this is one of the few years where I feel really confident in 'em going into this game.

[Guest]

I don't think USC will run Nebraska off the field or anything, but they should still beat them pretty handily. They had an extra week to prepare and it's their home opener, so you know they'll come out motivated. Plus, I don't think Nebraska can match them at the skill positions. They just don't have the talent yet.

 

If I were going to make a prediction, it would be:

USC 35 Nebraska 17

I feel the same. USC 28 Nebraska 17. That's if USC comes out flat, but if they come out with guns blazin', they'll roll. USC just has too many players to throw the ball to and too many quality backs.

[Black Lushus 0]

Nebraska's defensive backfield is way too easy to exploit...USC should drop bombs on them all night and try not to concentrate on the run too much, THAT'S Nebraska's defensive strong suite.

[Damaramu 0]

Oh man! It wasn't even Zac Taylor that made the guarantee! It was the backup QB!

Where does the backup get off talking shit?

[Black Lushus 0]

I was gonna say, Zac Taylor seems to be too smart to say something that retarded.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Defensively, we look great against Florida. After years of plodding power teams, the defense this year is full of speed. Speed itself doesn't mean jack, but they're well-coached and won't have too many problems keeping up with the untested Gator spread offense. Offensively, we're good for three, maybe four touchdowns if Florida doesn't commit any turnovers and especially if Ainge steps up his game like he has the first two games this year. He was 21 for 24 at one point deep in the Air Force game last week, right before his sole interception of the day.

As far as defense goes, I'm more concerned by the two starters who are hurt and going to be out for this game. Leak is a good QB and shouldn't have much of a problem attacking the reserves. I'm also not sure about Ainge stepping up as hugely as he might have to; the Gators are a lot more skilled on D than Cal or Air Force. Homefield is a big deal but I've seen Tennessee get whacked at home enough over the past two years against decent squads to believe it's not going to be too massive a factor.

[AboveAverage484 0]

Wow, lots of good games on this week, the rankings should be shaken up considerably after Saturday.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Since it's not in Bored's pick-off, anyone have predictions for the WVU/Maryland game tonight? I think he was right not to include it because I'm expecting a total shitkicking. Like, 45-17, something along those lines. It's sad that this is probably WVU's 3rd or 4th toughest game of the season, but I'll be watching to see how good they really look.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Maryland with the Upset!

 

..

 

haha..

 

It'll be over by halftime..

[nogoodnick 0]

Being an Oregon fan I believe they will win. Stopping Adrian Peterson really may not be as big of a deal as long as they play mostly mistake free football. Oregon escaped Cal last year after a 195 yard performance by Marshawn Lynch and beat Fresno State this weekend after giving up somewhere around 200 yards on the ground. As long as the offense is rolling and they give Paul Thompson a bad day it should work out because I dont see Peterson being slowed down too much by an Oregon defense missing some of its biggest playmakers from last year. There are still a lot of questions on defense and starting corner Jackie Bates is out for the year but there is a lot of good athletes and J.D. Nelson is one of the hardest hitting and most underrated defensive players in the country.

 

This is a big game for OU because of what it means to their season but it is definitely the biggest game ever played in Autzen Stadium. A win on national TV against one of the countries premiere programs would probably shoot the Ducks up to the top 10 or very near. This game is a chance for some very good players to get some recognition nationally. RB Jonathan Stewart is going to be on of the top Heisman candidates next year if he can stay healthy. Dennis Dixon runs a 4.4 and throws an extremely accurate ball and has the deepest, most athletic receiving corps in school history. If anyone watched the Fresno game they would've gotten to see backup running back Jeremiah Johnson put on a stiff arm clinic.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see Oklahoma win this game but I don't think it will happen. I'm more worried about them being overly confident and overlooking Arizona State in their next game. I'm going to be at the game on Saturday and it should be very competitive. And Dama you could say OU escaped last year because Oregon was driving pretty well before Brady Leaf threw that bad pass.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

This game will be over by the end of the first quarter at this rate.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Maryland tries a reverse on the kickoff return and fumbles at the 10. Fucking hilarious.

 

Slaton, incidentally, is a fast little bastard.

 

Edit: Okay, this offensive system is unreal. Slaton is pulling out Reggie Bush moves. On that last touchdown, the staggered blocking across the whole width of the field was brilliant.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I can comfortably go to bed at the half knowing the Terps are toa..er..Turtle Soup.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Ok. I didn't buy into the high ranking WVU had before this game, but this incredibly fast offense is changing my mind.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Im thinking the Terps gameplan is to get the starters for WVU out by the 2nd quarter so they can make a 40 point comeback on the 2nd stringers..

 

WVU would be stupid to play Slayton any further in a rout of this magnitude. Hes got like 140 yards on 7 carries though.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Slaton barely played in their first 2 squashes either. Got to give some playing time.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I'm really weirded out by the CGI booth that Fowler and Herbstreit appear to be sitting in.

[ANKLELOCK 0]

Says a LOT about this rivalry.

 

-Credit UTsports.com

 

Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer had a pretty good afternoon Wednesday at Haslam Field.

 

The Vols coach was greeted on the practice grounds by both players -- Inquoris Johnson and Justin Harrell -- injured in last weekend's win over Air Force. And as uplifting as it was to see Johnson released from the hospital, even more amazing was the picture of Harrell in full practice uniform.

 

Preparing for Saturday's visit from Florida.

 

"We had one of the most unique things happen Tuesday in that Justin Harrell came to us and said, `Coach, I feel like I can play,'" Fulmer said of his senior defensive tackle. "We conferred with the doctors and there is no chance for further injury to his arm if he's padded up well. He practiced today and did just about everything there was to do.

 

"I don't know whether he'll get five snaps or 50 snaps, but he's going to be able to play in this football game. And this is a one-game deal. He has to have the surgery because if it goes longer than a couple of weeks, the muscle starts to atrophy," or shrivel and shrink from disuse.

 

Head athletic trainer Jason McVeigh said late Wednesday that Harrell, who ruptured his biceps tendon in the third quarter against Air Force, is scheduled for surgery early next week.

 

McVeigh also reported that Johnson was released from UT Medical Center on Wednesday and is doing well.

 

The junior defensive back sustained a severe injury to his right upper extremity in Saturday's game. Johnson underwent surgery to repair blood vessels and McVeigh said the UT Sports Medicine Staff continues to monitor his progress.

 

"Inky came out to practice and that was a very emotional moment for all of us," Fulmer said. "He got them excited about the game. His spirits are really good. I told him we were all praying for him and he said, `Coach, I'm blessed.' He just had a lot of energy about himself.

 

"He's tired, he's been through a lot, but he's got a tremendous attitude. He's a tremendous young man. Whatever he does in life, he will be very successful."

 

And Fulmer said he's never seen anything in his coaching career like Harrell's return to practice.

 

"What a great statement to want to be out there with his teammates," Fulmer said. "The love and passion he has for his team is just unbelievable."

 

Add an early-practice appearance from the Pride of the Southland Marching Band -- a little extra hoopla surrounding this weekend's SEC opener -- and Tennessee's head coach had a pretty good afternoon.

[CanadianChris 0]

38-10 UWV at halftime. Oof.

 

And WV's coach is saying they need to play smarter? You're up by four touchdowns!!

[Slayer 0]

Maybe he went to the Lou Holtz school of humility