Wednesday, October 29, 2014

ACC Update

The national focus regarding Florida State football seems to be on anything but tomorrow's game against a slid Louisville squad. From the controversy over the second to last play in the Notre Dame game to continued off-the-field problems for FSU players and the recent unveiling of the playoff rankings, there are plenty of distractions for the undefeated defending national champs. Say what you want about Jimbo Fisher, and he is giving plenty of fodder to critics, he has proven the ability to keep his players available, when perhaps some of them should not be, and focused when there is a task at hand. Beating Louisville will go a long way toward wrapping up the ACC Atlantic Division while solidifying the Noles' placement near or at the top of the rankings. Of course the Cardinals have something to say about that. Their defense will pose a challenge to FSU, especially when FSU runs the ball. Well, tries to run the ball. This game should come down to how well the Cardinals defense stops the FSU passing attack. If they can prevent Jameis Winston from getting into a groove they had an excellent chance of pulling the upset. As for the Louisville offense, you have to wonder if they can keep up. There really is no previous game to look back on from this season as the offense is at its healthiest now in time for the biggest game of the year. Expect coach Bobby Petrino to pull out all stops as he must see this game as a way to return to his past glory. The game should be fun and I feel will go down the wire. Can FSU hold on as they barely did against ND?

Monday, October 27, 2014

Here We Go

As the first ranking of teams by the final four committee approaches--the announcement comes tomorrow--the bad side effects of such a system have made themselves apparent. The only focus of the national media--when not moralizing on off-the-field issues--is on the teams still in the running for final four spots. Well not all the teams. Nobody is saying boo about teams like Utah. But the point is, they will not write about the actual games themselves nor any races for conferences championships or bowl berths. Players? You have to be a screw up. Quick, who lead the two divisions of the Big Ten? What are the two divisions of the Big Ten? ACC Coastal? Pac 12 South? Did you know Colorado State is 7-1? Georgia Southern 6-2? That Indiana RB Tevin Coleman has 1192y rushing? That Western Kentucky QB Brandon Doughty has thrown for 2871y and has a 24-4 TD-INT ratio? That Louisville S Gerod Holliman and Ole Miss CB Senquez Golson each have eight interceptions. But the only thing that matters, seemingly, is the number of SEC West teams that deserve a spot in the final four. Hours are spent trying to determine which teams will "win out" even though we are always wrong guessing eventual records of teams. Let the games play out and CELEBRATE the season as it unfolds.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Today's Picks

Let's get to it. Iowa +4.5 at Mary West Virginia +8 hosting Baylor KSU +7.5 at OU Florida Atlantic +4.5 hosting Western Ken Duke -3 hosting UVA Air Force -9 hosting New Mex Cincy -13 hosting SMU Cal +7 hosting UCLA MSU -17 at IU Ark +3.5 hosting Georgia Okie State +10 at TCU Wash +21 at Ore Good luck

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Winston

What does this guy have to do to get suspended? Clearly he is challenging his head coach and school--but they do not care. After all, by consistently pushing off any investigation into this kid's multiple mistakes and potential crimes they are encouraging him to do more and more. And with the NCAA so toothless they can probably continue to push the envelope in keeping him on the field. The ACC is keeping quiet as they have only one program anyone respects so why bite that hand? Just as we saw with Cam Newton and Johnny Manziel, the powers that be clearly want this guy on the field and will continue to stall until they can release something inconsequential after the fact. That they're doing this encourages others to do the same--and we are now being overrun by Heisman winners embarrassing the sport instead of representing what is good about the it--and the future is daunting. The fact that two undefeated national powers are squaring off Saturday night and all anyone wants to talk about is this idiot's mistakes is sad and pathetic.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Today's Picks

Here we go (and yes I need to present my results so far at some point soon): Northwestern +4 at Minny Rice -1.5 at Army FSU -24 at Cuse Cincy +17.5 at Miami Georgia Tech -3.5 vs Duke Clemson -10 hosting Lou Aub -3 at Miss St UNC +17 at ND Bama -9.5 at Arkie Wash +3.5 at Cal LSU +1 at Florida LSU under 47 A&M -3 hosting Miss Air Force +7.5 at Utah State Good luck

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Florida Football Broken Again?

Where do we go from here Florida fans? Just when you thought that maybe the dysfunction of last year had been exorcised by the team's fourth quarter rally this past Saturday that led to a 10-9 win over Tennessee and a 3-1 record, you had to pay attention to the news and realize that whatever good vibes you may have felt were long gone. More importantly a member of the Gators family--the backup QB that led rally--is being accused of sexual assault. And then as that QB Treon Harris is suspended while the Gainesville police are investigating the charges, the third string QB Skylar Mornhinweg gets into a fight with a teammate that requires minor medical treatment. With Florida fans already looking to tar and feather starting QB Jeff Driskel for his awful play, the team is treading water with LSU on the horizon. Obviously that what's-his-name Meyer coach made some deal with the devil for national championships and the devil is still collecting. Hopefully the accusations against Harris are proved false. If not, Florida needs to do right by the victim. As for the rest of the nonsense, the team needs to stay focused and stay out of trouble. Fight hard and climb to 7-8 wins and try desperately to turn the page on past troubles.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

College Football Polls Blown Up

Does anyone want to be in the top ten? After the carnage Thursday night through yesterday the polls look a lot different than they did last week. The number of undefeated teams is shrinking rapidly and projected final fours need to be written in pencil. Who did survive? Well last year's championship battlers Florida State and Auburn are now 1-2 in the coaches' poll. Baylor, who has not played anyone, is third and Mississippi moved up seven spots to fourth. Notre Dame, Mississippi State (boy the Egg Bowl this year will be must watch TV), Alabama, Michigan State, Oklahoma and Georgia round out the top ten. Oregon, at 11th, finds itself out of the top ten while its slayer Arizona sits at 13 behind TCU. This is a fluid process and teams like TCU can prove they are real with continued good play and wouldn't you know it, they have Baylor scheduled for next week. This promises to be a crazy season although this past weekend was especially so.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

BYU Season Derailed

You cannot have a much worse night than the one experienced yesterday by BYU. Not only did they lose to a three TD underdog, but that dog happened to be an in-state rival. They lost their perfect season and their chance to move up from 18th nationally on a weekend that promises upsets. Most importantly they lost star QB Taysom Hill to a fractured leg. The highest-ranked "other" program, not counting Notre Dame, the Cougars were aiming for an undefeated season and a major bowl. The national championship playoffs were probably out of reach but BYU was hoping to reach the top ten. Now they have to rebound without their star QB, a player who had elevated them to the little attention they did achieve in wins over Texas and Virginia. BYU can take solace in the performance by Utah State as the Aggies were led by their backup QB Darell Garretson, who threw for 321 yards and 3 TDs in replace of injured star QB Chuckie Keeton. Sub Christian Stewart did not play well but he will have to step it up quickly as three of the team's next four games are on the road. As for Utah State, the win--their first on the road in the Wagon Wheel rivalry since 1978--was a great boost with conference play coming up. The Aggies are in the very competitive Mountain division of the MWC and will need to continue playing at this high level with Air Force and Colorado State next up.

Today's Picks

Here we go: Illinois-Purdue under 54 ECU -41 over SMU Miss State -2 hosting Texas A&M No Texas +12 at IU ND +2 hosting Stanford USC -12 vs ASU Air Force +3.5 OU -4.5 Bama -6 at Miss NC State +14 at Clemson West Va -28 hosting KU Colorado +6 vs Oregon State Rice -7 vs Hawaii LSU-Auburn under 58 Rutgers -2 hosting Michigan Miami +1.5 at Tech Nebraska-MSU under 60 Good luck

Friday, October 3, 2014

First Televised College Football Game

Tonight's Fordham game--go Rams--against Lafayette, which will air on CBS Sports, will be a stepping point to a discussion of college football and sports broadcasting history. Recently, on September 30, the 75th anniversary of a milestone college football game came and went without too much fanfare (I must give credit to the Wall Street Journal for their article). On that day in 1939 the Fordham Rams scheduled a tune-up game against Waynesburg that was aired on NBC television. It was not only the first college football game ever aired on television but also beat the NFL to the punch by three weeks. Due to the need to be as close to their signal at the Empire State Building, NBC asked Fordham, a national power in the 1930s, to play the game at the then second-rate, now torn down, Triborough Stadium on Randall's Island. Used to playing before packed crowds at the Polo Grounds the Rams agreed to have the Waynesburg game televised and not the more important Alabama contest scheduled for a week later or any of the other contests against powers that came to New York that year like Pitt and Rice. Although Waynesburg opened the scoring on a 63-yard run by Bobby Brooks, the Rams soon took charge and coasted to a 34-7 win. The Rams outgained the visiting Yellow Jackets 337-157y. It is estimated that 1000 sets tuned in to the broadcast with Bill Stern supplying play-by-play and a young Mel Allen providing updates. Only one camera was used. On October 22nd the Brooklyn Dodgers football team hosted the Eagles on television to begin the media's long romance with the pro game. New York being the epicenter of television in 1939 allowed the Dodgers baseball team to become the first in that sport to host a televised game with the Reds in town in late August of that year and four months earlier the Columbia baseball team had the first-ever televised sporting event when they hosted Princeton. Then on February 28 of 1940 college basketball was first televised when Fordham played Pitt at Madison Square Garden. There will be a bigger production for tonight's game but hopefully a similar outcome.

Oregon Loss First in Wild Week?

Will this be one of those blow-up-the-top-ten weeks of college football? The potential carnage began with Arizona's upset of Oregon last night. The Ducks did not look like a top five team, but who has this year? After one month of spotty scheduling whereby only one maybe two of the top teams gets tested, this weekend features one tough game after another. Add in the fact that it is early enough for us to not even know how good some teams are and the potential for higher ranked teams falling to lesser ranked ones is greater. Clear the day and sit back. Should be fun. As for the game last night, Arizona impressively kept the pressure on Ducks QB Marcus Mariota--as we knew they, and everyone playing Oregon, would, but their offense impressively took what the D gave them and did not panic. When facing an explosive team like Oregon some offenses wilt under the pressure of having to keep pace but the opposite is always better. Take your time. Arizona scored four TDS and the shortest of the four drives was 71 yards and that one took a whopping 15 plays. Short passes, tough runs and the occasional Oregon penalty was all that was needed. And anyone questioning an Arizona offense built around freshman QB Anu Solomon, especially on the road in a tough environment, should remember that coach Rich Rodriguez has done this before (Pat White). As for the conference the game, and USC's win over Stanford, may be a sign that the power is shifting from the North to the South but it is only October 3. And on October 11 Tucson will be the place to be as the Cats host USC. You'll need to clear your evening for that one.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Time to Reboot Michigan Football

It seems clear to all that the Michigan football program will be under new management next year. The vultures circling around head coach Brady Hoke are growing more brazen. They smell blood and will not give up until Hoke is gone. It also seems clear that AD Dave Brandon will be thrown to the curb with him. Whether or not QB Shane Morris--and the school is finally admitting that he had suffered a "mild concussion"--should have returned to the game the other day is now becoming the driving force to folks hoping for change. That does the topic of brain injuries in football a disservice as we are cherry picking here. If Hoke was popular we would not be making as big a deal over this situation. But since he is not the story has grown bigger than if, say Nick Saban, had done the same. Now, of course, we can say that Saban would not have done this but let's make one thing clear. A lot of concussed football players are returned to games. Many successful coaches have made this same mistake. My point is that the importance of following protocol in this situation is the same for all coaches. Let's not make it too big a story in Ann Arbor because everyone already wanted the football program changed and then not make it a story somewhere else. The irony here is that Hoke was a goner because of the scoreboard. The team has fallen apart in this his fourth year and keeping Morris out of the game would not have saved his job. I am surprised that he has not been fired yet but perhaps the powers that be want to determine the fate of everyone responsible for this mess before acting here. Something does have to happen soon because the new coach will have to retain the excellent recruits Michigan has reeled in for next year. The wealth of talent on this team and the financial resources available still make this job attractive. But there is a big difficulty facing whomever does take the Michigan job. The Wolverines are surrounded by enemies in Michigan State, Notre Dame (now off the schedule but still a rival for local power) and Ohio State who are all in excellent health. There is only so much talent and press to go around. Michigan must hire someone up for the challenge of competing with these heavy hitters in the race for Midwestern supremacy. The job is not for the weak of heart.