Random Thoughts on a College Football Weekend

I know we've already had one post on this blog that clearly outlined College Football’s relative inferiority to the NFL, but I spent a full Saturday watching games. I needed to make a post, and CF was on my mind. With that said, here we go (and, as always, in no apparent order):

WVU vs. VT:
I watched the first half of this game from my apartment and the second half from the upper deck of the student section at about the 15 yard line (oversleeping and not wanting to miss a minute of action while you walk over will do that for you). VT ended up winning the game by a final score of 34-17. Unfortunately, 2 first half turnovers by the Mountaineers set up scoring opportunities for the Hokies, and WVU could never catch-up. Tech was very efficient on offense, and I’m convinced Marcus Vick is for real. He compiled the following stats: 15/17 in completions for 177 yards and 2 TDs, and 12 rushes for 74 yards and another TD. While he may have received a lot of hype early in his career for being Mike’s little brother, he deserves all of the attention that he is getting now. (Note: I’m going to completely ignore all of the “attention” that the Mountaineer fans gave him this week and throughout the game for his past indiscretions. I’m not even sure that I would be able to properly handle myself if I was 19 and given pretty much everything I ever wanted, was a celebrity everywhere I went, etc. I’m not trying to excuse his actions or say that he shouldn’t have been punished, but I know the idiots around me during the game would have screwed up just as badly had they been placed in those same situations. For as much as we look up to athletes and expect a lot from them, we have to remember that they are still young kids and most grew up in much more difficult situations that I or most of my friends could imagine...stepping down off my high horse now). As far as WVU goes, the freshman Slaton had a great game. I hope we’ve found our tailback for the rest of the season because he certainly brought a dynamic (speed and quickness) that had been missing from our ground attack. He hit some holes and easily had the best day amongst the backs (11 rushes for 90 yards). The bigger, power backs had more difficulty with the Hokies speed on defense. (Speed, it’s the wave of the future). As far as the passing attack, WVU has to open it up a bit more. You can run the entire game and beat teams like Syracuse, Wofford, East Carolina, and even Maryland, but against the better teams, you have to have a little more balance. We had 20 more rushing attempts than passing attempts in a game where we were down the entire game. I’m not sure I understand the philosophy. It isn’t like the Quaterbacks have shown an inability to complete the pass either. Pat White, who I like a great deal, was 9/11 for 85 yards and 2 TD’s. Not that Rich would ever read this, but THROW THE BALL more. You may be an innovator in the sense that your team runs the “no-huddle” offense and you have some unconventional plays, but someone needs to catch you up to speed on the importance of the Forward Pass. Just for reference, It was a great innovation back in the 1906.

Alabama vs. Florida
I was torn in this game. Being a UGA fan, I wanted the SEC East to be well-represented. However, I hate Florida, my friend Yates attends Dental School there (reason enough), and I’ve always had an unexplained respect for the Crimson Tide. All that being said, I decided that I wanted the Crimson Tide to “roll,” and I was happy to see an easy victory over the Gators. Knowing UF fans, I’m sure it will only be a matter of time before the first fireurbanmeyer.com site pops up as the result of this game. Maybe the same people that did the fireronzook.com site could start working on that? Of course, even though he is the UF coach, I still like Urban Meyer a lot. His team may have not been completely prepared for today's game, but I think that the problem with the Gators today is something that I have been stressing all season long – they are overrated. Look at their schedule thus far; if they had anymore cupcakes they could rival Hostess. And please don’t give me that crap about beating Tennessee as justification for the Gators Top 10 ranking. Tennessee is overrated this year too (although they scare me this upcoming weekend now that they’ve settled on a QB). That game was in Gainesville, which is probably a 10 point advantage for the Gators. The outcome is probably completely different if that game is played in Knoxville or even on a neutral field. As much as I hate to admit it, the SEC East is down a little bit this year. Also related to the Bama/UF game, I wanted to send my best get well wishes to Tyrone Prothro for the Tide who had one of the worst looking injuries I have ever seen. It’s a good thing he is only a junior because I’d hate for a player’s CF career to end on a meaningless TD attempt when the game was well in hand (Mike Shula, what were you thinking? In the words of Bobby Knight, "You will never be your father!").

Vanderbilt vs. MTSU
Vanderbilt loses its bid to start 5-0 and officially usher in the Apocalypse. I only watched the last 45 seconds, but apparently my watching signaled to the Commodores that it was time to revert to their ways of old. Herm Edwards couldn’t have more poorly executed the finish to their last drive. Personally, I’m just glad the kick was blocked, so maybe the poor freshman kicker won’t be scarred for the rest of his career by thinking that he is the one that prevented Vanderbilt from being bowl-eligible for the first time since the year I was born (1982).

Notre Dame vs. Purdue
I confess that I didn’t really watch this game (I’d rather watch the Notebook on back-to-back nights than watch the Irish play – and you think I’m kidding, but I’m not. Maybe I even did...maybe I just said too much). However, I can still say without a doubt that Notre Dame is SO overrated. I know they killed Purdue, beat Michigan, and beat Pittsburgh, but the common denominator in all of these teams is that they are OVERRATED too. Look at their currentrecords, and it is clear that Notre Dame shouldn’t be ranked #13 for these wins. Pittsburgh has “a” win (as in 1). Purdue has only managed to beat might Arizona and Akron, and Michigan has only beaten Northern Illinois, E. Michigan, and now Michigan State (1 respectable win). USC is going to crush Notre Dame; Tennesse will too. Mark my words.

USC vs. ASU
While I normally hate PAC-10 football, I was looking forward to watching this game. Instead, both my local ABC stations decided that I would rather watch Penn State and Minnesota. Thanks guys. As far as USC, they are going to run the table. Having these close games is just a way to provide a challenge for themselves in the second half and to keep themselves in the national spotlight more (they got more attention after they almost “lost” these last 2 games than they received while they were killing teams early in the season). These kids go to school in Las Angeles. They understand the importance of publicity and press, and, just like celebrities, are going to do what it takes to get theirs. They run the table and win their 2nd national title in a row (not 3rd because LSU won the championship in 2003; the AP doesn’t count).