Sunday, September 30, 2012

Recap of Saturday's Games

I, of course, had a good week of picking games since I neglected to post them.  And so the 7-3 record does not count.  It is all making sense however.
Once again LSU had a so-so effort and their spot as the second best team in the SEC remains in doubt. Georgia and South Carolina can, at times, look as good as anyone but need more consistent play.  A mini tournament between those three and Florida this upcoming Saturday should go a long way in determining these positions with LSU traveling to Gainesville and South Carolina hosting Georgia.
West Virginia won the barn-burner with Baylor as the Big 12 remained a gunslinger's conference.  If Texas can play good enough defense they may be able to hold on there but their team as a whole needs to play a little better than it did Saturday versus Okie State.  The upcoming West Virginia versus Texas match-up will tell us a lot about the conference as a whole with the winner claiming a spot as a national championship contender.
The Big Ten needs a legitimate team to hold off Ohio State as best in show.  Nebraska travels to Columbus this weekend.  Will they play as well as they did in the second half against Wisconsin or as poorly as they did in the first half?  The Leaders Division rep in the conference title game is going to be hard-pressed to whiff the rankings.  Hopefully it will be a club with a winning record.  Purdue?
Meanwhile the Big East, with Cincinnati beating Va Tech on last-second heroics, and the Sun Belt, with Middle Tennessee running all over Georgia Tech, claimed more pelts Saturday--both from the reeling ACC.    Sure Florida State has a shot at a national title, and it was good to see Duke go 4-1, but the conference as a whole is playing a lot of mediocre ball.  Can Miami upset Notre Dame in Chicago?

Friday, September 28, 2012

ACC Recap

Thanks to some wild early season games and crap reporting, the ACC is quickly being presented as Florida State and, well, everybody else.  But with so much football still to be played let's see what the rest of the conference is up to, especially with FSU playing out of conference this weekend (at USF, who is 1-0 lifetime against the Noles).
There is a lot of interesting action Saturday, with Miami looking to go 3-0 in conference and clemson hoping to bounce back after their loss to FSU last weekend.  And can Duke finally snap a long winless streak against Wake, now sitting at 12?
After being blown out September 8th at Kansas State, Miami has disappeared off the national radar--not counting reports of further allegations against the program.  But being that as it may, this Saturday's game against North Carolina State has major implications for the Canes in the Coastal division and to see if the Wolfpack can remain contenders in the Atlantic (even if everyone else is conceding that race).  Miami's triumph over Georgia Tech may have been crazy, but they are now 2-0 in conference play with both victories coming on the road.  Their next four conference games are at home and with FSU and Virginia Tech included in that span the game Saturday is a must win.  Unfortunately Miami no longer has the death grip on opposing teams that it once enjoyed and with a young team it will be hard pressed for them to continue to win wacky games.  Get that W tomorrow, go 3-0 in conference and dream big.  Just do not look ahead to Notre Dame as the Wolfpack are much too good for that.  The key may be the Wolfpack line's ability to keep QB Mike Glennon safe and sound as he has been sacked 12 times this year and thrown four picks.  He and his line are better than that.
Can Clemson bounce back on the road against BC without Sammy Watkins?  The last time they traveled to Boston they fell 16-10 two years ago despite being favored by 7.  Somehow the Eagles D needs to limit the big play capability of QB Tajh Boyd et al, while the ever-struggling BC offense must continue to show improvement.
Can Duke finally beat Wake Forest?  QB Sean Renfree has already thrown for 9 TDs and 1,078y this season as the Blue Devils are 3-1.  But so too is Wake and they have played better competition.  So this one should go down-to-the-wire.
The rest of the intrigue this weekend in the ACC is with the continuation of an unofficial Big East-ACC competition as FSU plays at USF, which could be interesting as that game comes between the big clemson win and next week's match against NC State.  The veterans will remember the USF upset win of 2009.  Hopefully this game will be exciting.  Virginia Tech, meanwhile, plays Cincinnati in Landover.  The Hokies must win to keep their slim hopes of relevance this season while the Bearcats need to prove they are a legitimate 2-0 team.  Based solely on their games against Pitt, won easily by Cincy while Virginia Tech laid an egg, and you would favor the Bearcats.  But it is not as easy as that.  Still cincy can supply pressure, which Virginia Tech will need to prove that they can handle.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Pac 12 Update

The conference death march begins for Washington tonight as they host 8th-ranked Stanford. They follow this tough game with contests at Oregon, home against USC, at Arizona and then home against Oregon State.  Good luck.
With injuries on the line and matching up against a program that has administered 40+ point beat-downs on them the past two seasons, the Huskies have their work cut out for them.  I normally stay away from road favorites like this but Stanford will run all over Washington and having to play home games at the Seahawks field (but without replacement refs) will further dampen upset chances for the home team.  Take the Cardinal and give the points.
So with Stanford probably holding serve tonight, the pressure will then move onto the other North contenders Oregon and Oregon State.  The Ducks should be able to handle Washington State, which leaves the toughest match-up to the Beavers, who need to travel to Arizona.  It is all about defense for Oregon State, who has overcome their usual slow season start to wrack up impressive wins against Wisconsin and UCLA.  The Cats offer a completely different look, of course, but the question will be if the home team can shake off their Saturday night beating at the hands of Oregon.  Soph QB Sean Mannion has been wonderfully efficient for Oregon State, completing 65% of his passes en route to a 141 QB rating and will have to continue to move the ball against a suspect Arizona stop unit.  Arizona QB Matt Scott is the key to their spread offense and he will have to score points in the red zone this week--after failing to score last week despite six trips to the red zone.  The Beavers do bring an experienced defensive secondary to Tucson, led by star CB Jordan Poyer.  All-in-all I look for the Beavers to win for the sixth straight time at Arizona.  Take those points.

Monday, September 24, 2012

One Thing We Learned Saturday

There is a Midwestern-based conference getting good football results.  Unfortunately for the Big Ten, it is not them but the MAC who had four schools knock off teams from bigger conferences.  Northern Illinois scored 17 in the 4th Q to knock off Kansas, Ball State knocked off South Florida on a late TD pass, Central Michigan upended Iowa by 1 on a last-second 47y FG by K David Harmon and Western Michigan beat UConn.  The MAC has been rather quiet of late but this year they took more pelts than usual out of conference and should now receive attention for what promises to be a spirited conference race.  So later in the season when the MAC takes over Tuesday and Wednesday night football you should pay attention.
Meanwhile the best win for the Big Ten this weekend was Minnesota beating Syracuse.  Wisconsin and Ohio State struggled with lesser opponents, while Iowa and Illinois were knocked off by lesser lights although not lesser teams.  Louisiana Tech, which routed the Illini on the road, is an excellent team and should be in the hunt for a top 20 spot.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

View From Bennett Ave

There are a number of reasons as to why the NFL is more popular than college football.  One is that there is no one person/office in charge of promotion.  That leaves all of the programs, conferences and television networks to themselves.
And, as we know, these individuals do only what is in their own best interest.  And so we have the current television predicament in which every major game today is being shown at virtually the same time.  Gone are the days of important games being played during the day, with a few exceptions, as the networks have finally realized that Saturday night is ripe for viewership.  Now the casual interested-in-only-one-program fan will not care but folks like me--and there are plenty of you out there--will have to either choose tonight between FSU-Clemson, Michigan-ND, OU-KSU et al or channel surf and not get a true sense of any one game.  It is a ridiculous situation and one that cannot help promote a great sport.
The NFL, meanwhile, had the Giants on Thursday night, has the usual variety of games on Sunday afternoon, and then offers interesting match-ups Sunday and Monday nights.  College football cannot even keep folks entertained at noon and then 3:30, which used to be packed, overs a couple of decent contests.  So, I guess the answer is to go out and watch games and I'll take the family to the 12:30 Columbia-Fordham battle for the Liberty Cup.

Today's Picks

I am back and ready to share some wisdom.  Well, my predictions anyway.  I am 4-7 on the season but will get over .500 with a nice day today.
Clemson +14.5 over FSU: Yes Seminoles are loaded but Sammy Watkins will have another statement game for Tigers
WEST VIRGINIA 26.5 Maryland:  Mountaineers cannot be stopped by lowly Terps
Rutgers +8.5 over ARKANSAS: Rutgers D hits hard enough to keep this one close--and if it is close after 3 Hogs could collapse.
Virginia+18.5 vs Tcu: Too many points
Syracuse even at MINNY: No Gray, no way for Gophers
Kansas State +14 at OU:  Yeah, I know last year's game was a rout.  But since then the Sooners have not looked like a top five program, especially at QB, while KSU is even better, especially at QB.  Bill Snyder has been looking forward to this game for 11 months
Utah +7 at ASU: Have to ride one Utah team.
Good luck

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Reflections on Saturday

Alabama is trying its best to separate itself from the pack out of necessity.  Their schedule is so weak (no Florida, Georgia or South Carolina from East) apart from the LSU game that they are going to need to appear so much better than everyone that to deny them a national championship spot if they lose a game would be ridiculous.  It worked last year and the media are back on the case doing the Tide's PR for them.  If only they had scheduled Louisiana Monroe this season.
I have been saying for months that there was no way USC was going undefeated and they showed why last night.  They are just not tough enough on the lines.  Plus last year's second half run was fueled by the us-versus-the-world/this is our bowl game mentality that disappeared this off-season with every first place vote.   That was their edge last season.  The big problem, of course, is that they went all in for this season and the outlook for next year does not look too sunny.  Meanwhile UCLA just keeps rolling along.  Expected sanctions against Oregon may create a conference power vacuum up north although Stanford looks poised to keep on humming.  They may never beat USC on the recruiting trail for playmakers but they do know how to develop tough guys for the trenches.
Notre Dame displayed a great deal of young talent last night and is almost all the way back.  They really want revenge against Michigan next week too.  But October not only features Stanford and Oklahoma but a tough match-up against BYU right between the two powers.  You really want to play some team ranked 122nd in the country between those two big games the way Alabama does it.
I doubt anyone will give them any credit--and the biggest win was turned in by a team leaving next year--but let's hear it for the Big East.  Pitt looked dead in the water a week ago but was sparked by a return to full health by stud RB Ray Graham to stun Virginia Tech.  Louisville and Connecticut made it a clean sweep over the ACC by beating UNC and Maryland (take that Randy Edsall!) but, sadly, winning on the field never means anything in these wars between conferences.
The SEC East race should be a good one.  Florida had the big play on display in subduing Tennessee.  Georgia just needs to keep everyone healthy and off suspension while QB Connor Shaw needs to stay healthy (although sub Dylan Thompson can play). 

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Today's Picks

Congratulations to Bergen Catholic High School, where I had the pleasure of attending (not that they would remember me) so many years ago, for its big win last night over Bishop Gorman out in Las Vegas.
Now here is the important stuff.  I sit at 1-0 mainly because I have not published some of my other winners before their games kicked off.  I apologize to you my faithful readers.
Today I like:
Wake +28 vs FSU.  How many times does Wake Forest have to win this game before the spread lowers to single digits?  I love having 4 TDS and the better coach.
Va Tech -10.5 over PITT.  The Panthers stink and Virginia Tech needs to garner some attention.
 Cal +17 vs OSU.  Too much respect for Meyer against physical Bears.
STANFORD +8.5 against SC. Cardinal front seven can control Trojan line while run game can exploit Trojan DL.
MISS +10 vs Texas.  I need more proof from Longhorns while Rebels will have fired up home crowd.
Uva +10 at GTech. Yep loving dogs this week.
Tcu -21 at KANSAS.  But not a dog this bad.
TENN -3 over Fla.  Won, barely, with Gators last week but they did not impress and got beaten up.
UCLA -17 over Houston.  Bruins pull away in 2nd half.
Enjoy and good luck.  And do not forget to watch BYU-Utah and Utah State versus Wisconsin.  Believe in those Utah teams!

Friday, September 14, 2012

Big East As Usual

Last night's 23-13 win by Rutgers at South Florida was typical for the conference.  The game was hard fought and won by the underdog.  The two were evenly matched and battled to the end.  And of course both teams made enough mistakes to look like a peewee team at its first practice.  Rutgers now joins Cincinati atop the conference with Louisville still the favorite.  It should be a fun and wild season--just do not expect many unscathed, and therefore ranked, teams.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Irish on Move

Although I am a fan of the Big East I cannot find anything wrong with Notre Dame's move to the ACC.  They had to align themselves with one the the big boys and while the ACC is the weakest of the big conferences on the field, they are run very well, dominate many of the other sports and provide a huge geographical boost to any conference member.  By agreeing to play five games a year versus ACC competition Notre Dame is locked into 2-3 games per year on the Eastern seaboard and what is wrong with that?  The Irish already target that area for recruiting and this can only help.  For its fan base the move is a good one as they can reunite with former conference rivals Pitt, BC and Syracuse in basketball and play in places that are easy to get to.  Most importantly this deal allows the Irish to remain a national university in a way a move to the Big Ten would not have.  More money, even more exposure, better bowl possibilities, great recruiting opportunities.  What's not to like?

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Spreading the Joy of Utah Football

What is going on in the Beehive State?  34th in U.S. population and considered outside the grain for as long as anyone can remember, the fine state of Utah not only fields three FBS programs but fields three excellent FBS programs.  Not one of the major powers comes sniffing around for Utah high school players and while these programs by necessity have to recruit from outside the state's borders they are rarely luring four and five star studs.  I cannot say that I know how they are getting it done but I do know that if I was a coach of a struggling program overwhelmed by bigger fish in my neighborhood I would be flying out to Salt Lake City and asking questions.  Maybe there is something in the water.  Come bowl time we will be watching Utah State, BYU and Utah all suiting up and you have to like there chances.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Notes From Week Two

USC has a pair of dynamic receivers.  That is really the best thing I can say about them from Saturday's game.  Barkley is good but the offense is oddly conservative so I am not sure he deserves too much credit.  Stanford this Saturday will be a much better test of course.
Gene Chizik is 21-31 as a head coach without Cam Newton.
Firing a coach after two weeks is crazy.  I hope the Wisconsin situation gets straightened out before conference play.
Has anyone located Louisiana Monroe on a map yet?  I am happy for head coach Todd Berry, who took his lumps as the head man at Army earlier last decade.  And while everyone is blaming the Arkansas loss on new head coach John L. Smith, the blame should not only be shared by Bobby Petrino but on those administrators who hired him in the first place.
There have been plenty of nice wins from supposedly lesser conferences throughout the early season.  I will start spreading the love soon.
Those who think Notre Dame will never return to the top ten are crazy.  They have a lot of young talent (at one point three true freshmen were in the defensive lineup in the second half against Purdue) and another great recruiting class building.  Teams had better beat them now.
Although I love that Jim Grobe remains at Wake Forest, I cannot for the life of me understand why a bigger program has not come calling.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

View From Bennett Ave

One of the dilemmas of a college football writer is to actually go to live games.  Sure, that is the fun part but then you do not get to see other games beyond DVR (and that is no fun).  Fortunately today's slate of games leaves something to be desired and so I can watch USC live versus Syracuse.  While I do not expect the game to be a nail-biter it will be good to watch SC live since I rarely get to do that (of course I am no fan but...).
So enjoy what you are viewing.  As for picking games I will say that Florida is my favorite for today.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Week One Concludes

Two different ESPN commentators complained about boring college football games yesterday.  That drives me crazy.  If you cannot appreciate the importance of yesterday's Tech versus Tech ACC struggle then move on to another sport (because of course every other sport has exciting, multi-score games every time folks suit up).  The other complaint was about the Alabama rout, which is completely dumb because there was an exciting ACC-SEC tussle on another ESPN network.  When you have a clunker NFL prime-time game you are stuck.  With college you almost always have a choice.
And while yesterday's game pitted two teams not quite ready this season for prime time, it was a huge game for the Coastal Division and as such was compelling.  With UNC ineligible and Miami down a peg, the Coastal will be up for grabs between the two Techs and UVA.  Why this game was scheduled for yesterday and not November is beyond me.  But they played last night and the game went to OT.  Were there some missteps?  Sure.  Was it exciting at game's end?  Yes.
The biggest off-the-field news in the ACC yesterday was the announcement by Florida State that standout DE Brandon Jenkins (41 tackles, 8 sacks in '11) has been lost for the season with a Lisfranc injury to his left foot.  Normally I would feel bad for a program to lose a player of Jenkins's stature in a meaningless win but the third DE for the Noles is Tank Carradine, who contributed 5.5 sacks off the bench last season, and the 4th DE is probably Mario Edwards, the super recruit signed in February.  FSU was hoping to overwhelm opposing lines with a deadly combination of talent and depth and losing Jenkins hurts, but if one program could lose a stud DE it was this one.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Sunday Recap

The two games yesterday may have been off your radar for various, holiday weekend-related, reasons but both Louisville and Baylor displayed talented squads that could both make a little noise this season.
Louisville was favored against the weakest SEC team but the way they dominated them behind QB Teddy Bridgewater was impressive.  Bridgewater hit on 19-21 passes for 232y and led the Cardinals on TD drives of 99y, 85y and 93y with first three possessions.
Baylor QB Nick Florence threw for 341y and 4 TDs in leading the Bears, who did not need anyone currently playing in the NFL to subdue SMU.
These were not earth-shattering wins.  But the way these teams thumped lesser lights was eye-opening.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

First Saturday

My family and I had a good time at Scott Stadium yesterday watching Virginia handle Richmond 43-19.  While we would have wanted to watch a more competitive game our seven-year-old was happy that a school with the same name as her Mom scored a lot of points.  She also liked the horse the Cavalier rode into the stadium.  The Wahoos looked good and Coach London played a ton of kids.  Junior QB Michael Rocco, from nearby Lynchburg, threw for 311y in the winning effort although it must have been bittersweet for Rocco and his family as his uncle Danny Rocco is the first-year head coach of the Spiders.
As for the rest of the nation, most of the top teams held serve with Michigan the big loser.  While they were not expected to beat Alabama, they did nothing to disprove the theory that athletic defenses can stop QB Denard Robinson and when you stop Robinson you stop the Wolverines.  Robinson's long run was 9y.  Enough said.
The Big Ten as a whole looked shaky with Wisconsin and Iowa surviving scares and Penn state losing to Ohio.  With so few big games the teams that won them, like Clemson yesterday and Tennessee on Friday, improved their stock greatly.
The biggest loser may be USC in the long run with more charges against their program.  We have known about the free car Joe McKnight used but it was not part of the current troubles.  Good luck with that.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Morning Football

I am loving this early morning football, although my friends out west must be rather tired.  Can we move the MAC to Saturday AM?
Notre Dame is showing that a full roster of talented players can return the glory.  Of course having a redshirt freshman QB and a true freshman starting CB will eventually cost them against what is now the nation's toughest schedule.  Still, they look good so far.