The College Football Thread 8/30 - 9/3

[Guest]

It's just the receivers. That's the only problem.

 

Booty hasn't been under any pressure, the one bad throw he made got picked off because the receiver couldn't run a route. The run game is good, they've rotated 3 guys at RB and made plays.

 

Oh well, no sense in overanalyzing it. It's JUST Idaho. And it's just about to be 35-3 thanks to Stafon Johnson, the new LenDale White.

 

I know what you mean Teke. Just wanted to get that out there before anyone comes in with the SC slamming. LSU buttraped Mississippi State. I have no idea why anyone would complain.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

On a homerish note, USC's only playing good. Not great, just good. Their defense (especially run) is insane, offensively it hasn't been so good. Lots of dropped passes by young receivers.

 

The Nebraska game is going to be a little bit of a problem. We can run the ball all game, but their defense is too good to keep that up over 60 minutes.

 

Like the announcers mentioned, I thought USC was just holding back so Nebraska didn't have much to plan against.

[Guest]

Seems like. The playbook has been out routes, sweep plays and runs up the middle.

 

My buddy just got in for SC. Nice guy, the first day I practiced with the varsity team in HS he took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. Didn't get messed with by the bigger guys.

[ANKLELOCK 0]

QUOTE(ANKLELOCK @ Sep 1 2007, 09:24 PM)

Either Tennessee' defense completely forgot how to tackle or Cal's skill players are REALLY FUCKING GOOD.

 

 

Reminds me of this:

 

 

QUOTE(ANKLELOCK @ Aug 8 2007, 10:03 PM)

I know this is a belated reaction to the preseason polls but...Cal voted ahead of Tennessee again? When they return roughly the same amount of starters?

Do they never learn?

 

 

and

 

 

QUOTE(ANKLELOCK @ Aug 9 2007, 03:05 PM)

No, learn that when a team gets a new asshole ripped by another team and loses the majority of the defense while the other team retains more starters at key positions including the Quarterback who threw for 300 yards and four TDs against aforementioned team the prior year, it probably means that the first team

shouldn't be perceived as "better".

 

 

Well, I was wrong, obviously, Cal is better. However, logic still dictates that a team that got beat that bad and returned about the same shouldn't have been ranked ahead of the team that beat them.

 

In a side note, Fulmer's gameplan couldn't have been worse. Foster had a 7 yard average and only got the ball 13 times. Tennessee could've slowed the game down and kept it away from their Offense but welcomed a shootout instead. Stupid.

 

Only thing stupider would be if we actually kicked the ball to DeSean Jackson. Oops.

 

Considering Cal's O is probably better than any SEC O and they scored two non-offensive TD, I'm not willing to say our defense completely sucks, but it really needs to improve.

 

Kinda sad, though. Once upon a time, Tennessee not being in the top ten was unheard of. These last Five, going on Six years are unacceptable.

[Open the Muggy Gate 0]

Eh, the last said about the Tennessee game, the better.

 

Now will somebody tell all the defenses in the nation that COLT BRENNAN LOVES TO TOSS THE BALL A GREAT DISTANCE FOR SCORING PURPOSES?!

[teke184 0]

Eh, the last said about the Tennessee game, the better.

 

Now will somebody tell all the defenses in the nation that COLT BRENNAN LOVES TO TOSS THE BALL A GREAT DISTANCE FOR SCORING PURPOSES?!

As Peyton Manning proved against my HS in his senior season, knowing what the opposition will do doesn't mean there's a damn thing you can do to stop it.

 

(We played about 8 guys in the defensive backfield and he STILL kept finding open guys.)

[Art Sandusky 0]

I'm not surprised that Tennessee went down tonight, because Cal is really fucking good. I swear they were mustard-colored blurs flying around at times. The Vols could only get a ground game going using misdirection, as anything up the gut was stuffed like a pink slip up Lloyd Carr's ass. Their corners kept the young receivers from letting Ainge throw downfield as well. Speed, speed, speed. Some power too, but Cal mostly used quickness to murder us.

 

Now then, Tennessee should have won this game. Those two short pass calls on two third and long plays when the Vols were only down seven were absolutely fucking retarded. Besides the obvious "throw past the markers" point, each was just a screen with little to no blocking. Robert Meachem could make three dudes miss in the open field last year, but there's no Meachem anymore in that receiving corps. That team was storming back after going down 38-17 and looked undeniable even though they were stopped on four straight plays by the endzone mere minutes earlier. I was convinced we'd win until those two inexplicable playcalls. We had them. WE HAD THEM.

 

Even though it was a loss to a very good-great team, I won't feel better until we beat Florida. Yes, until, not if.

 

EDIT: Arian Foster's rushing average was misleading. Half of his runs were for little or no gain, with the inflation coming via the one long run the Tennessee O-line managed to bust all day.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Is the Hawaii game nationally broadcast? I would like to see Colt Brennan and it doesn't look like Idaho is going to do much, if anything...

[Guest]

I've been looking for a stream of it, can't find it.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Speaking of Colt Brennan, with how fucked up Colorado is, I bet they are kicking themselves for kicking Colt off their team.

[ANKLELOCK 0]

Kotz, I remember a few good 6-9 yard runs in addition to the run your speaking of. Anyway, I don't see your optimism for the Florida game. If we struggled this much against Cal's speed, there is no way we can stop Harvin.

[Art Sandusky 0]

The focus that Cal had for this week is probably held by Tennessee for the Florida game. Southern Miss won't be a walkover, so we'd better not almost fuck up like we did last year in the second game of the year against Air Force. I want to see an evisceration of Southern Miss and then beat the piss outta Percy.

[UZI Suicide 0]

It's just the receivers. That's the only problem.

 

Booty hasn't been under any pressure, the one bad throw he made got picked off because the receiver couldn't run a route. The run game is good, they've rotated 3 guys at RB and made plays.

 

Oh well, no sense in overanalyzing it. It's JUST Idaho. And it's just about to be 35-3 thanks to Stafon Johnson, the new LenDale White.

 

I know what you mean Teke. Just wanted to get that out there before anyone comes in with the SC slamming. LSU buttraped Mississippi State. I have no idea why anyone would complain.

 

I don't agree that it was the receivers. They've been fine aside from Ausburry's end zone drop. Booty looked like shit tonight. A lot of throws over the head, behind and in front of his intended receiver (that's no surprise, I think Booty sucks).

 

Of course, the play calling is pretty conservative too.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Cal wanted revenge from last year. That's why they were focused. What's Tennessee going to use for motivation? They lost in 2006 after losing in 2005 so that revenge angle isn't going to work for them. (to Kotz)

 

To Uzi: I agree, sadly. Booty isn't making me feel good about the offense this year, as long as he is under center.

[Guest]

Booty looked like shit tonight.

22-33 for 206 and 3 TD's. I'd love to say that Booty was shit, but he wasn't, not tonight anyway.

[ANKLELOCK 0]

I will say the Pac-10 has earned my respect. I really don't follow them, so after the Cal game last year, especially considering that same Cal team went on to share the conference crown, I kinda figured it was USC and the 9 dwarfs. But if UCLA, Oregon, and the Trojans are as good as Cal, thats a pretty good lineup.

 

I haven't seen Tennessee grasping at air as much as they did tonight since I can't remember.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

So with college football pretty much just about concluded tonight, any chance Appalachian State gets looked at for a promotion to Division 1-A/FBS in one of their lower conferences? Two straight titles and a win over Michigan should warrant that at least.

[Fökai 0]

Is the Hawaii game nationally broadcast? I would like to see Colt Brennan and it doesn't look like Idaho is going to do much, if anything...

 

No, it's on pay-per-view available to the islands, but my HDTV unscrambled it.

 

Let me tell you, this team is SCARY. Yeah, maybe it's the opposition, but I've never seen such a well-rounded Hawai'i team before. In the first five minutes of the 4th quarter, they've had a blocked field goal, blocked PAT, kick return TD and an interception. It's not a matter of the system being responsible for their success anymore, it's a bunch of play makers who understand the system. This is the third year in which I've had that feeling.

 

Let me say one thing: they're lucky that the defense is getting a second wind, because Graunke (Colt's backup) is looking like shit right now. The crowd booed him after a drive in which he had two lame duck throws, including one where he throw a 30-yard wobbler (after a botched snap) into triple coverage for an INT.

[teke184 0]

So with college football pretty much just about concluded tonight, any chance Appalachian State gets looked at for a promotion to Division 1-A/FBS in one of their lower conferences? Two straight titles and a win over Michigan should warrant that at least.

There's a moratorium on teams moving from I-AA to I-A, AFAIK. Western Kentucky U, who got stomped by Florida today, is a provisional I-A member and is the last one for a while.

 

(Florida A&M was trying to become one of the first Historically Black Colleges or Universities to move to the I-A level, but they got hit with a lot of NCAA sanctions for academic fraud, poor bookkeeping on their athletes' eligibility, etc. that scuttled that for the time being.)

 

 

That being said, App State is good enough to be able to walk in and pull a Marshall, as Marshall rode Randy Moss, Chad Pennington, and other stars from their I-AA days into a I-A classification and several bowl wins, putting the team on the map.

 

 

 

The standards for I-A teams is spelled out here: http://www.clt.astate.edu/marburger/new_ia_standards.htm

 

While it may be outdated, the gist is 5 home games a year, an average home attendance of 15,000 per game, giving out a certain number of football scholarships per year, having scholarships for a certain number of sports, and either giving out 200 total scholarships to athletes OR spending at least 4 million on scholarships.

 

 

 

 

 

App State's biggest problem in moving up would be to find a conference.

 

 

The Sun Belt is an obvious choice because it has open slots and is in the same rough geographical area. However, it's the shittiest conference in DI-A and you only look as good as the people you're beating.

 

Conference USA would be a better choice, but it has a full 12 teams right now. If a school like Tulane or Rice were to pull out, App State would be a natural fit because of their proximity to East Carolina and Marshall.

 

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Thanks to both Fokai for describing Hawaii's game tonight and Teke for explaining the Div 1A/1AA thing.

[Danville_Wrestling 0]

So with college football pretty much just about concluded tonight, any chance Appalachian State gets looked at for a promotion to Division 1-A/FBS in one of their lower conferences? Two straight titles and a win over Michigan should warrant that at least.

 

There's a moratorium on teams moving from I-AA to I-A, AFAIK. Western Kentucky U, who got stomped by Florida today, is a provisional I-A member and is the last one for a while.

 

As someone who attends WKU I was puzzled that we got a promotion to I-A. Granted, we won I-AA in 2002 but we've struggled over the last few seasons in the Gateway Conference. We'll be headed to the Sun Belt if we step up from provisional status but I'd prefer going to the MAC. It's just tough to get motivated to go to games because the only "rival" in that conference would be Middle Tennessee State.

 

Part of me also wonders if WKU will be able to meet the 15,000 attendance requirement to make the move to the next level. They are adding more seats to our football stadium but I still don't know if that gets up to 15,000 or not.

 

Either way, not a big deal for me. I root for UK football and by the time I leave WKU they'll still be on experimental status anyway.

[Rendclaw 0]

So with college football pretty much just about concluded tonight, any chance Appalachian State gets looked at for a promotion to Division 1-A/FBS in one of their lower conferences? Two straight titles and a win over Michigan should warrant that at least.

 

 

All I know is that unless Michigan runs the table, people are going to be in the streets of A2 looking to put Carr's head on a pike. Nuff said.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Cal wanted revenge from last year. That's why they were focused. What's Tennessee going to use for motivation? They lost in 2006 after losing in 2005 so that revenge angle isn't going to work for them. (to Kotz)

If you think there needs to be an angle for Tennessee to focus against Florida, you're nuts. What's vital is the guys who had zero experience going in to tonight's game will have two games under their belt by then, with one already against an extremely talented team at the skill positions.

 

Note: I don't want to turn into Kotzaramu here, but maybe it's just me thinking I'm posting too much about one team.

 

On the whole day/week, I'm glad Michigan lost in such spectacular fashion. I'm more glad that it was against a sort of local school (they're SoCon, as is the College of Charleston [no football there], so their win will get huge press in the paper tomorrow), and one that has that video. Wake/BC was the best game I got to actually sit and watch almost completely. Wake's effective but toe-curlingly boring brand of offense will improve, but no ACC title this year. Offensive impotence doomed Notre Dame, which sucked because Georgia Tech looks liberated without the Gilded Tattoo under center.

 

National healing aside, Virginia Tech is going to annoy everyone as the year goes on by running a lot and pulling touchdowns out of their asses. LSU will beat them next week when someone goofs and they're two hours late to the game. Despite the loss, VT authorities, um, coaching staff will insist that everything was fine. Otherwise they're a safe pick for the ACC yet again. What did I say about K-State/Auburn? Heck of a game that was a blast every time Tennessee/Cal went to commercial. Wisconsin might be for real. After all, one out of the top three ranked Big Ten teams at the start of the season always ends up being overrated and Michigan answered that question in a hurry. Nebraska killed Nevada and I couldn't even watch the pistol offense. I don't care if they got thumped, I love watching them more than any other non-Vol team.

 

I apparently missed a good Missouri/Illinois game because I'm rusty with switching between six different channels. I'll be better next week. Everyone who was supposed to crush their opponents did without much trouble, but Georgia out and out handling Oklahoma State was surprising. This is their funky undefeated year, I'm telling you. Bizarro seasons always suck, and the story of the day only makes me dread the Georgia fans who crawl out of the woodwork here when they start doing really well.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Oh, and in FCS football news, Portland State got off to a bad start in the Jerry Glanville era, as they lost to FCS Championship runner-up McNeese State 35-12. That doesn't bode well for the defense that Glanville is supposed to be bringing in, since they gave up 395 total yards, and the Run n Shoot hasn't come out yet, since they couldn't score a touchdown. The shame was PSU QB Brian White had a decent day passing the ball, but they couldn't get anything done in the red zone, and I don't think Glanville's the kind of guy who likes to have a strong aerial attack anyways.. which sucks because Tim Walsh (our old HC) was brilliant offensively.

 

I'm going to go to the home opener next Saturday against UC Davis. Hopefully they can notch a win there.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

Oh, and in FCS football news, Portland State got off to a bad start in the Jerry Glanville era, as they lost to FCS Championship runner-up McNeese State 35-12. That doesn't bode well for the defense that Glanville is supposed to be bringing in, since they gave up 395 total yards, and the Run n Shoot hasn't come out yet, since they couldn't score a touchdown. The shame was PSU QB Brian White had a decent day passing the ball, but they couldn't get anything done in the red zone, and I don't think Glanville's the kind of guy who likes to have a strong aerial attack anyways.. which sucks because Tim Walsh (our old HC) was brilliant offensively.

 

I'm going to go to the home opener next Saturday against UC Davis. Hopefully they can notch a win there.

 

I'll be curious to get your reactions to how the game goes next week in person. They played 2 QBs (Did they sit the first guy for White in the 2nd half or vice versa?) and they went a combined 23/42 for 276 yards. If Mouse is teaching them the legit Run and Shoot, it'll be a tough learn, esp. for a first game. In essence, the QB/WRs make their own read of the defense and change based on what the defense does. I'd honestly expect the offense to really start gelling by game 3 (vs. Sacramento State) or else they're in for a tough year as their schedule isn't very easy.

[Guest Vitamin X]

As long as we beat the crap out of the Montana teams, I'll be happy. McNeese is a tough first game.

 

One thing also about the Portland State team is that this is a pretty young team, and they don't have many returning starters, so there's definitely going to be something of a learning curve.

[J.B. Buzzkill 0]

Speaking of Colt Brennan, with how fucked up Colorado is, I bet they are kicking themselves for kicking Colt off their team.

 

Dunno about that. Cody Hawkins looked pretty damn good yesterday. And he's a frosh, so injuries aside, he's gonna get better.

[iggymcfly 0]

OK, I've got a Top 25 together. It's pretty rough and honestly the difference between #5 and #20 is tiny, but it will be a good starting point to go off of for the rest of the season.

 

1. USC

2. LSU

3. Louisville

4. Oklahoma

5. Wisconsin

6. West Virginia

7. Georgia Tech

8. UCLA

9. Florida

10. California

11. Texas

12. Ohio State

13. Penn State

14. Florida State

15. Rutgers

16. Virginia Tech

17. Nebraska

18. Georgia

19. Texas A&M

20. Oregon

21. Alabama

22. South Carolina

23. Miami

24. TCU

25. Auburn

 

Close: Missouri, Hawaii, Tennessee, Oregon State, BYU, Michigan

[teke184 0]

Arkansas isn't close, yet Michigan is and Auburn is at 25?

 

 

Auburn's offense has questions and Michigan's head is up their ass, while Arkansas won somewhat comfortably, albeit against inferior competition to K-State and App State, respectively.

 

(Troy is the best Sun Belt team, but that's like saying you've got better job security than Lloyd Carr right about now.)

[iggymcfly 0]

Sorry, I'm just not buying into Arkansas at all this year. As good as McFadden is, the rushing game's not going to be the same this year losing 3 first or second-team all-SEC linemen. And the defense which wasn't all that great last year lost a lot too. If you want to say Auburn doesn't belong in the Top 25, I won't argue with you though. It was about a 5-way tossup for the last spot and I gave Auburn the benefit of the doubt based on their past history.

 

As for Michigan, I think we all know they're not as bad as they played last week. They're favored by 7 against Oregon this week who I have at #20 and they've still got a great shot to win the Big Ten. I'm trying to weight the performance on the field heavily and that's why Michigan's not in the Top 25, but honestly I'd probably have to take the Wolverines over TCU or Auburn on a neutral field.