ThursdayThings kicked off with a bang, with Oregon State beating USC. USC was a huge favorite in this game, and they were coming off another bye week, but they got rocked early and couldn't recover. I still think USC wins at least 10 games on their schedule but they always trip up somewhere, and Oregon State is a popular place for them to lose. This game alone should have been the indicator that upsets were bound to take place during the college football weekend.
FridayI was busy working at a high school football game, so I don't have anything that stands out. My high school team won, so that was nice. Connecticut did beat Louisville and go 5-0 though, but I didn't get a chance to watch the game.
SaturdayWhat a Saturday it was. Let's go over all the upsets.
Mississippi (Ole Miss) 31 -
Florida 30Florida was another 20+ point favorite, except they were playing at home and Ole Miss got them. It it is hard for me to say this but Lee Corso was right, they are a team of individuals and not a "team." He didn't say they would lose their game, but he said they weren't as good as people thought. How important are defense and special teams? Ask the Florida PAT team. I'm sure they looked at the film and will have some words for the line. Finally, the last offensive play from Florida, that could not have been more predictable. They had the heavy "Wild Tebow" formation, strong right. Guess where they ran it? To the right. That my friends, was not predictable in the slightest. I guess you can't do the same thing over and over all the time. The jump pass might have been a better route on that play; it always seems to work. But I'm not Urban Meyer.
Navy 24 - Wake Forest 17It's no wonder the ACC is getting a bad rep when you have a team getting beat by Navy. Mistakes all over the game cost W.F. this one. I can't say that I watched it or even cared, but seeing the upset of the #16 team will always raise some eyebrows. Speaking of the ACC...
Maryland 20 - Clemson 17
At least an ACC team won this game. ;-) I'm not sure how this team's psyche is since the 'Bama game. They got beatdown on the national stage and although they did alright against much inferior opponents, they are struggling. Incredibly, in Clemson's last 11 losses they have been favored each and every time. One of my friends, a Clemson fan, has a pretty funny picture that describes the situation well.
Michigan 27 - Wisconsin 25
Michigan scored 20 points in the 4th quarter to beat the Wolverines. Historically the Badgers have always struggled in
The Big House and I guess Saturday was no exception. Michigan looked like an awful team in the first half but they came back and made it a game and then some in the final stanza. This game may be the "light switch" game for this Michigan football team.
Alabama 41 - Georgia 30
It wasn't even close. Saban surely knows his environment well, and he had his team ready to go against Georgia. I guess you can't completely call this an upset, because even America (and Lee Corso) picked Alabama. At least Georgia did the respectable thing and came back to make the game closer than it actually was. If they had recovered a
very good onside kick they probably would have scored at least once more. The anti-Georgia (NOT Bama) fans I watched the game with were very happy to see the "Roll Tide" breeze through the Bulldogs. Sadly, many of them won't be so happy when 'Bama is rolling through the team of their own liking.
Other ponderings from Saturday
LSU is a quiet number 3. They don't have the most flashy players and feature the little hype from the media, which sets up perfectly for another great LSU season. They always seem to play great as a true
team, and even though they play close against many, they win more often than not.
Notre Dame shocked many people, including me, with their beatdown of Purdue. Lou Holtz almost has me drinking the Kool-Aid now; but I will still hold my guard based on last year alone (even though looking at last year is a dangerous thing to do in sports). I know my cousin, and my friend, who are both ushers at Notre Dame, have to be happy about the start of the season. I don't know where the turnaround came from but I think their confidence will keep building each and every week.
Illinois kept it closer with Penn State then I thought they would, especially since they were playing at Penn State. Illinois usually plays well in big games but they seem a little too one dimensional to be a top tier team in the Big Ten this year.
North Carolina had the finish of the day in my opinion. Miami was driving down field and Marve threw a pass to the end zone. It looked like Miami had the touchdown but the receiver couldn't pull it down, allowing the UNC defender to pick the play and finish the Hurricanes off. The looks on the fans' faces was worth more than the ending of the football game. Jubilation to shock and awe was the theme of the day.
SundayBrett Favre threw for six touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals. Fantasy players are probably kicking themselves again after the Ronnie Brown thing last week, and the Favre-fest this week. Who's the surprise guy this coming week, Plaxico Burress................... ;-p ?
Tennessee is probaly the best team in the AFC. Their 4-0 start, with their number one quarterback going down is quite the feat. You wonder if they can keep this going throughout the year? I think they will finish strong though, considering the AFC doesn't look as tough as in years past.
Kansas City crushed Denver! Denver's record probably isn't indicative of how bad they really are. San Diego should take the AFC West, and Ed Hochuli can rejoice that they make the playoffs after his blown call. Ed's still the best in the business. Was I talkig about a football game? Oh yea, Kansas City showed up and the Lane Kiffin to Kansas City watch may not surface like I thought they may.
Washington is playing well right now, and they always play the Cowboys tough. They will be an interesting team to watch this year; however, I'm not completely sold on Campbell's abilities. We'll see how much they ask of him down the stretch. He is a good quarterback, but I want things to get more interesting before I base a solid opinion on him.
In other news, I did
terrible in my NFL and College Pick 'Em picks. But never fret, I will get better, no matter what it takes, as long as my owner doesn't fire me...
Monday...
Scott Linehan was relieved of his duties, while the talk fired up again in Oakland and
Tuesday...
Lane Kiffin was fired for cause (meaning no pay, for now). As an Oakland fan I have a lot to say about this but it would deserve its own thread based on all the things I have to say about the Oakland Raiders and
Al Davis.
A bright spot for Tuesday was college football where
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) scored 14 points in the 4th quarter, including a hail mary (or maybe just a
Glory Be based on the short distance) that gave them a tie. They made the oh-so important extra point (cough... Florida) that won the game. Not too bad for a Tuesday night game of two teams that only their students/alumni care about.
Final Thoughts
Postseason baseball is here and I have to say I like some of the teams playing in the playoffs. If I had to rank who I wanted to win the most right now it would go like this:
1) LA Dodgers - Manny and Joe Torre in the Classic would be oh so sweet to me, because I am a very anti- Red Sox, anti-Yankees fan. Plus, they have Chad Billingsley, a local Ohio native that grew up and played baseball in Defiance, which is near my hometown.
2) LA Angels of Anaheim - They seem to be a forgotten team on the East coast, but I wouldn't mind them making some noise.
3) Tampa Bay Rays - I guess taking the
Devil out of them was great after all. I just hope games don't get blacked out in their area based on attendance.
4) Chicago White Sox - They have the old guys of Jim Thome and Ken Griffey Jr., along with the "enks." That's good enough for me.
5) Milwaukee Brewers - I don't really think they have a shot of doing anything because C.C. can't pitch every game, but they're okay by default. Plus Prince Fielder is the son of a great Tiger, Cecil Fielder.
6) Philadelphia Phillies - Definitely by default. I have no feeling positive or negative for this team; they're okay though.
7) Boston Red Sox - They're the new Yankees, and I can't cheer for that.
8) Chicago Cubs - Keep the streak alive. I
love curses and if the Cubs win all I have left is the Browns, which is a completely different sport.
The Detroit Tigers played a meaningful game in late September. It was meaningful to the White Sox, and the Twins at least. It kept the Twins out of the playoffs, since Chicago beat them, and also provided history to the White Sox. They beat three different teams in three days. All three teams were from the American League Central. Well Detroit, at least you were the best last place team of all the last place team; which is kind of like being the coolest kid on the short bus.
Last but not least,
College GameDay will be at Vanderbilt for the first time ever this Saturday! I think both Auburn and Vanderbilt will be unranked by the end of the season, so they better enjoy this attention now.
It's good to be back. Like Herold Reynolds is to baseball, I am the same to blogs: brilliant.
