August 31, 2006
Today's the Day we've all been waiting 8 months for
Well, that magical time is here boys and girls. College football's 2006 season begins in just a few short hours.
Here are some notables of the action taking place today, Kickoff Thursday
-Northwestern's emotional turmoil in the off-season will no doubt inspire the team as they begin the '06 campaign with a trip to Oxford, Ohio to take on MAC powerhouse Miami.
-Steve Spurrier has his Gamecocks on the road to open the season and the SEC schedule on the same night, as South Carolina makes a visit to Starkville, MS to take on Mississippi State.
-In Pac-10 Action, Arizona State tries to wade thru the recent controversies as they open the season at home against the Mighty Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona, a Division I-AA Big Sky school.
-The post Dan Hawkins era begins tonight in Idaho as Boise State welcomes the Sacramento State Hornets
-Jordan Palmer takes his high flying UTEP offense to San Diego to take on new Aztecs head coach Chuck Long and his SDSU squad.
Here is the remainder of Today's action, with 16 games in all on the slate tonight.
Comments:
CANES ALUM said:
posted on September 1, 2006 5:05 PM — 71.101.27.11 — link — abuse?
Shouldn't this read that the real college football season starts September 4. All the games with top 25 teams this weakend involve good teams playing patsies. Maybe some day a team from that weak SEC will grow some balls and play a good out of conference team, but until then we get the crap from that conference like LSU, Auburn, Florida playing high school teams for their first couple of weeks.
Tomcat said:
posted on September 1, 2006 5:35 PM — 69.152.139.90 — link — abuse?
So far so good.ISU over Toledo in a close one. Does anybody remember the prediction Scary isnt it.Utep Miners won and threw what was it four picks?There line was getting beat, they threww four picks and still won over San Deigo State.I'll stick with my earlier predictions. The Big XII will win all their games the first week.
Hookem-Horns Sicem-Bears Gigem Aggies
Go Blazers Beat OU some wishful thinkingJC in SoCAL said:
posted on September 1, 2006 6:21 PM — 208.57.88.168 — link — abuse?
How bad was the South Carolina game? Here's to another year people saying the SEC has really tough defenses to mask the hopelessness of their offenses. What a snoozer that game was. Drop passes, horrible blocking, c'mon I thought this was D-1????
TN TW said:
posted on September 1, 2006 7:34 PM — 70.19.95.47 — link — abuse?
..speaking of wishful thinking...go Vols.
hope Cal's backup QB stinks, 'cause their RB is the best player on the field.
only hope we have is that the D is ready.
TN +3? would still take Cal even in Neyland if it didn't go against my principles.
hoping to be happily suprised.
also hoping for some SEC dominance this year. I'm tired of hearing friends from the PAC act as if they're in the same league because of one or two teams. Ditto every other conference as far as I'm concerned.
anybody else going to lose sleep tonight?
Go football.
Rusty Shackleford said:
posted on September 1, 2006 11:17 PM — 64.12.116.199 — link — abuse?
How about youngstown state? that's the division 1aa champions of this year baby, GO PENGUINS! But as for division 1a, WAR EAGLE, it will either be Auburn vs. Ohio State in the nat. champ. or Auburn vs. Notre Dame. ARKANSAS KILL USC!
mooka said:
posted on September 2, 2006 2:50 AM — 68.107.102.29 — link — abuse?
Yea, that SC V Miss St. game was pretty weak. Terrible play calling from Miss St. It looked like They actually had more talent than SC, but had no idea what to do with the football. And what's up with that new clock rule??? That sh__ sucks!!
Saturday morning is coming. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas. I'll come back on here after I watch a weak Florida St. Seminole team beat up on an even weaker Miami Hurricane team. I take that back(about Florida St.). They aren't really weak. Regardless they will still smack Miami all over the field. Please just tell me they finally found a field goal kicker!!Defensive Minded Nebraskan said:
posted on September 2, 2006 7:46 PM — 216.170.43.211 — link — abuse?
September 16th is the start of the real season... Nebraska vs. USC my prediction is.. Nebraska 31 USC 21, NEbraska will give up the intermediate pass for virtue of the deep ball.. and pound SC's defense with the all powerful clock eating run, mixxed in with passes to Swift, Herian, Mueller, Nunn, Phillips, Lucky, ect. ect. ect. Taylor is not greedy to whom gets the ball... i see Booty throwing it deep to Jared in desperation alot in this one... and plenty of big hits to rock the house.
FSU0897 said:
posted on September 2, 2006 7:46 PM — 12.227.149.133 — link — abuse?
Boy,
Cal does not look like they belong on the same field as Tennessee. This is one heck of a beating the number 9 team is taking. Cal always has great expectations and they wind up sucking. This Lynch guy was supposed to be a Heisman candidate? The Vols are looking real good.
Franko G said:
posted on September 2, 2006 9:52 PM — 70.171.12.221 — link — abuse?
Hey So Cal!!!
How bout them SEC Boys! Tennessee just OWNED Cal in Neyland!
What you gonna say now?
SEC has superior defense.
SEC has solid offense.
Pac10 has terrible defense.
Pac10 offense is bloated due to the awful defenses they play week in and week out out west.
That much was proved by Tennessee today. You got a middle of the road Tennessee team dominating a popular pick to win the Pac, Cal.
So I ask once again So Cal-
How bout them SEC boys?!!!!
OU Fan said:
posted on September 2, 2006 11:54 PM — 72.161.217.88 — link — abuse?
Kudos to all of the teams that won today, except for Cal. They got wooped. The Sooners had better get their act together if they want to win football games, but I am happy with the win. All of the top 25 teams looked solid today. This season will be a good one and next weekend will determine if Texas is as good as they say they are. As for Oklahoma, Oregon will be tough one but I believe the Sooners can pull it off, they just need to practice on holding the football, Thompson needs to throw the ball just a little bit lower, and hopefully the defense had a wake up call tonight. Good job to UAB, they played tough. AD, you did good and keep on doing what you do best. The SEC looks to be tough this year, so does USC and Notre Dame. We'll have to see what happens next weekend. Texas sucks!! Go Sooners!!
Cuda said:
posted on September 3, 2006 11:07 AM — 24.22.65.30 — link — abuse?
Teams that looked impressive to me:
Oregon Ducks (that Stewart is a beast)USC Trojans (took those pigs behind their own woodshed, though I am not too surprised though. They will still improve too, man)
Tennessee Volunteers (though I do not think Cal is that good)
West Virginia (I guess Slaton had a alright game-203 yards)
Texas (especially the D)
Montana State
i love college football said:
posted on September 3, 2006 3:31 PM — 70.179.187.179 — link — abuse?
i know it was not televised but if anyone got the chance to watch LSU play they looked very good i think theyve been underrated jamarcus russle has improved a great deal. tenessee looked great too they have also been underrated but will surely move up now. oklahoma is over rated they seemed to strugle a great deal with their opener and we wont get into the colorado game. all in all i think Tenn LSU Texas and Ohio State will have great years along with auburn and florida notre dame also could and usc wont win the pac 10 our get a bcs bowl
Bring Brady Back MgoBlue said:
posted on September 3, 2006 5:19 PM — 216.46.213.254 — link — abuse?
Hey TN TW waz up man your conf has a loss??????
Yeah the SEC has some really good teams but also has some really horrible teams like Vandybilt ya know the team that BEAT Tennessee last year! They put up 7 points against Michigan... 7!!!! that was an SEC team buddy and they put up 7!!!!! points WOW I am so impressed!!!!! can't you tell!!!! dude look the SEC has some very good teams but that does not make the SEC THE BEST! yeah only the Big ten is undefeated after weak 1 !!! mostly becouse of weak games....wait Michigan played an SEC team so I guess that was Michigan hardest game! so ya better rank em #1 cuz I guess if TN TW is right Michigans schedule can only get easier! Big ten 11-0!
1-0 in the SEC! EAT that!Mitch P. said:
posted on September 3, 2006 7:59 PM — 68.220.157.91 — link — abuse?
The Vols look like they're back - or Cal just never shook off the offseason rust. Hope it's the former. As a Gator fan, I'm a little worried about that game now, especially after our performance against Southern Miss. As much as I like UCF, UF had better blow them out or I think we're in for a worse record than last year.
waynem said:
posted on September 4, 2006 1:08 PM — 12.22.37.94 — link — abuse?
If I have to listen to Brent Mushmouth tell me one more time about "what a story this young man has" or hear one more telecast stateing that Brady Quin is the next coming I swear I will forsake the stinking network that employees mushmouth for the rest of eternity...
gaffbag said:
posted on September 4, 2006 1:15 PM — 71.235.82.248 — link — abuse?
GameDay Final BitTorrent?
Anybody know where one might be able to find a download of GameDay Final in its entirety? I'd love to start building up a collection of the seasons highlights week in and week out -- and between watching other games and going out on Saturday nights it's really tough to catch the full show.
FSU0897 said:
posted on September 4, 2006 9:41 PM — 12.227.149.133 — link — abuse?
Oh fellow Nole fans...
Jeff Bowden is doing great so far (SARCASM)...offensive line is looking like last year. Defense looks good. At this point we are down 10-3. At least we made a field goal.
This has a familar feeling, doesn't it?
The Mayor said:
posted on September 4, 2006 11:39 PM — 24.23.202.200 — link — abuse?
FSU / Miami...what a joke. 13-10. How many times did we hear the word "miscue" in the telecast. Again, nothing but gafffs out of these two. You can't say it was all defense, these offenses were pathetic, just like last January.
How can they possibly be in the Top 20?
I would have Oregon, Clemson and Tennessee over these clowns. Maybe even Cal.
By the way, Herbstreet is on peyote, Stanford over Oregon and Miami to win the national championship? Nice weekend for picks Herb for picks...
pac 10 apologist said:
posted on September 5, 2006 1:15 AM — 24.167.154.120 — link — abuse?
Wow the Pac 10 really stepped up and showed why there the best conference in the nation. No longer a one team conference, the West needs to start getting some respect. The ACC SEC or Big 10 don't have as much depth as the Pac 10 evidenced by Cal getting manhandled by a middle tier SEC team. SUCKAS out west can't handle the big boys. Y'all got one team only. Same as it ever was and will always be bow down to the South.
Tampa Hurricane said:
posted on September 5, 2006 8:08 AM — 24.96.199.254 — link — abuse?
Hopefully this game will be the last FSU/Miami that Larry Choker is allowed to coach. Miami proved they have better players on both sides of the ball, but a terrible coaching staff on the sidelines. How many times will a major program let its coaching staff cost it a game?!? There were numerous times that the coaches were slow in play calling, personel moves, etc. I know that it was the first game of the year, but the Miami coaching staff looked like they didn't belong on a high school sideline, let alone a major college program's sideline.
MIAMI PLEASE FIRE LARRY ChOKER!
Tampa Hurricane said:
posted on September 5, 2006 8:11 AM — 24.96.199.254 — link — abuse?
That ESPN halftime show was terrible if you watched it. Lou Holtz is looking and sounding like Gary the Retard from the Howard Stern Show. Lou should be placed in an old folks home and kept off of national television. Why does ESPN even need 5 people to keep repeating the same facts about FSU anyways?
FSU0897 said:
posted on September 5, 2006 10:27 AM — 24.249.192.6 — link — abuse?
The Mayor -
C'mon man. It is the first game of the year for both of these teams and the defenses both played lights out defense. That is pretty tough sledding for an offense right out the gate. I will be willing to go out on a limb and say that these are the best two defenses either team will face all year, so there was bound to be some ugliness (I can't explain the center hiking hte ball into his own butt crack for the Canes - that was just bizarre). I watched everything I could this weekend and a lot of teams did not look so great on offense against teams pretty inferior talent. Other than, FSU/Miami and Tennesse/Cal - there were not any other teams I can think of with ranked teams playing each other.
Look at the "almighty" Notre Dame - they got smacked around by GaTech. If the Jackets would have been deeper on defense, they would have won that one.
It is funny that there has not been more buzz around this site about how ND played.
Tampa Hurricane said:
posted on September 5, 2006 10:31 AM — 24.96.199.254 — link — abuse?
Cock-on-Fire you should be a comedian. With the exception of that dumb ass Ryan Moore, Miami is a clean program that is trouble free. Once that joke of a coach Larry Choker kicks Moore off the team than nothing bad can be said about Miami football, except their coaching staff sucks.
Tampa Hurricane said:
posted on September 5, 2006 12:12 PM — 24.96.199.254 — link — abuse?
Miami proved that they have the best safety combination with no close competition. I can't wait to see the defense play after a couple of games are under their belts. UL against UM is going to really show what a great defense can do to a great offense!
Tommie Trojan said:
posted on September 5, 2006 2:20 PM — 206.135.38.195 — link — abuse?
No need to apologize for Cal. They are a communist country mascarading as a football team out of Berkeley. In no way are they affiliated with the Pac-10. I called it exactly right when I have explained that Cal and Notre Dame do not pose much of a problem for USC this year. Cal could never win BIG GAMES consitently. How did Notre Dame get ranked # 2? Puleazzze!
Although, I would root for any Pac-10 team to win any game, I have always wanted Cal to lose all games. Clearly, the SEC got the best of the Pac-10 over the weekend, and will probably take three of the four games (as Arizona will never beat LSU). Problem is: all four games were mismatches to begin with. I would say that the Cal-Tennessee game should have been the closest. But, Cal as usual, totally embarrasses the Pac-10 again.after week 1:
1. Texas
2. USC
3. Ohio State
4. Auburn
5. West Virginiawe'll see how it all shakes down in a couple of more weeks. Goin' by last week: I don't see how Ohio State is gonna be able to beat Texas. And, although Nebraska played a real good game, they are gonna be in some serious trouble two weeks from now. Arkansas was not that bad and will have a good year.
Tommie T
Mooka said:
posted on September 5, 2006 3:14 PM — 138.163.0.41 — link — abuse?
Props to SEC Football in the fist week of CFB. 3 teams in the top ten and 2 more right outside at 11 and 12. Even though some haters may say they are overrated at least we now know for a fact they deserve that spot more than a weak a__ PAC-10 team (hands off USC and temporarily off UCLA). I believe Texas is the number 1 team right now. Looking forward to the match-up w/ Ohio next weekend.
Tampa Hurricane said:
posted on September 5, 2006 3:46 PM — 24.96.199.254 — link — abuse?
The Mayor from you post 20 everyone can tell you don't know anything about college football. Anyone with football knowledge would not have Oregon, Clemson and Tennessee picked above Miami or FSU. Miami had a terrible offense due to them having the worst coaching staff in college football. They did prove that they have the best defense in college football! There is not another team that can come close to the two safeties that Miami is fielding! The Mayor are you a typical PAC-10 fan that doesn't realize that teams need play both offense and defense. As USC proved last January, you need to be able to stop a team from scoring to have a chance to win.
So Cal USMC said:
posted on September 5, 2006 3:54 PM — 204.62.68.23 — link — abuse?
Thats true, the So Carolina-Missi State game WAS a real snoozer... (I have So Carl WRs on my Fantasy team, I lost this week)
Boston College vs C Michigan was wacky.
Colorado/Dan Hawkins... not good (same for Duke and New Mexico).The ACC had the Worst week.
GTech lost to Notre Dame
UNC lost to Rutgers
Virginia lost to Pitts
Duke lost to Non-D1A State
BC won, but was under-whelmingIrishJT said:
posted on September 5, 2006 7:07 PM — 71.207.229.9 — link — abuse?
Is anyone concerned that all of the pundits have dubbed Troy Smith a "threat" on the ground? He had negative yards rushing against Northern Illinois. It's great to win against a perennial loser, and having Ted Ginn's sure hands is one way to get 3 TD passes, but a "threat."
Quinn wins the Heisman...hands down.
VolsFan17 said:
posted on September 5, 2006 10:02 PM — 72.149.174.232 — link — abuse?
Tampa Hurricane might be an idiot. He said a good offense would have put 50 on Cal... Did you watch the game? Tennessee took there starters out 3 minutes into the third quarter after we hung 21 on them in 6 offensive plays. We might could have scored 75 on them had we really turned it up. I mean good gosh man... 21 points in 6 plays and 500+ in offense on what "should be as good as any defense they will face all year" what a joke. Hate on Tennessee all you want. The SEC is the toughest conference hands down in the country. Line em' up. Like a guy said earlier.. Cal got embarassed by a middle tier team in the SEC. We went 5-6 last year and call went what.. 10-2.. 9-3.. who knows. Either way, the offenses are just as good as the defenses in the SEC. And they are both better than anywhere in the country!
Mooka said:
posted on September 6, 2006 3:25 AM — 138.163.0.38 — link — abuse?
Tampa,
don't be so mad at coker. Miami still has an outstanding defense. They just need to improve their offense. The personnel moves you are talking about happened on defense, so I don't think that was a deciding factor for the loss. Your offense really sucks though.
Tampa Hurricane said:
posted on September 6, 2006 3:30 PM — 24.96.199.254 — link — abuse?
VolsFan17 thanks for proving that all inbred hicks like you don't know anything about football. How can you say about Cal that they "should be as good as any defense they will face all year"? Cal should be one of the worst defenses you will face all year as the Pac 10 doesn't play defense. The offenses in the SEC are no where near as good as the defenses in the SEC, and Tennessee will start to show how terrible their offense is when they start to play against teams that know how to play defense.
Tampa Hurricane said:
posted on September 6, 2006 3:38 PM — 24.96.199.254 — link — abuse?
Mooka some of the personnel moves also happened on offense. They had numerous delay of game penalties and wasted time outs because they didn't know what play was going to be called or had the wrong personnel in for the play called. As everyone that watched the game saw, FSU was jumping our routes and not once did Choker have the common sense to run a stop-n-go pattern with Miami's speedy receivers to take advantage of this. Miami does have the best defense in the nation, but unless like in the past with Rolle, Taylor, etc. the defense makes multiple scores, Miami will have trouble putting points on the board unless Choker learns how to properly call plays. Why would you wait until late in the game to give a true freshman running back a carry and to make that worse have it when you are deep in your own territory? Choker should have given Baby J some carries in the first half to get his nerves settled instead of thrusting him into his first playing time when it was most critical.
Miami is still a powerhouse football program, but until we fire Larry Choker, we will not be able to contend for national championships. And as all Miami fans know, there is no reason to consider a season successfull unless you win it all. Second place is the first loser.
FIRE LARRY ChOKER!!!VOLPIMP said:
posted on September 6, 2006 5:58 PM — 208.0.27.10 — link — abuse?
I have to say this Tampa Hurricane and VolsFan 17 are both wrong. Cals defensive woes started with a young corner that couldn't cover a much larger, stronger receiver. Poor tackling the whole game. Now anyone who actually watched the game knows that the way it was progressing Tennessee would probably have had 50 points before the end of the 3rd quarter if Phil hadn't pulled the starters as early as he did. As far as the Fire Larry Coker campaign goes that just proves there's a little inbreeding in your own backyard Tampa. Coker didn't fumble inside his own 20, a lost down that killed a drive. Miami had control at half and came out flat at home, bottom line. That lies on not just Coker but the guys doing the hitting too. In my opinion FSU and Miami both played not to lose instead of to win. Where was the wide open, air it out offense these two have always had? As a season opener it's just not a good game for either of these squads. Wasn't this year or last. Back to UT/Cal, they lost a starter at corner this summer, put him in and it's a different game. I'm not knocking my Vols, they played a darn near perfect game, but it will take a few nmore games before I pencil them in the BCS. Cal was 8-4 last year, and probably overrated as well, much like we are at 11 in the AP. The coaches poll is a little more down to earth.
Tommie Trojan said:
posted on September 6, 2006 9:02 PM — 206.135.38.195 — link — abuse?
Yeh, I'm a little upset with some of the bias that flies around. I cannot understand how after week one - Ohio State hangs onto the Top Spot. Seems to me that Texas does deserve to be Numero Uno until somebody knocks them off. And, USC ought to be # 2 until somebody other than Texas can handle them. Now, maybe Ohio State will pull one out this weekend and deserve it's ranking - but, I wouldn't presume that that will happen. Texas has great players all over the place. It clearly wasn't just a one man team.
I see it like this. Ohio State loses A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter from that defense. That cannot help them. Now, we know the offense will be fine and the defense will probably be a little weaker this year. Now, Texas loses Vince Young and that's about it. The offense still looks loaded with Colt McCoy back there. The defense is still phenomenal. USC loses three great offensive players and simply reloads. Booty will be just as good as Leinart and the freshmen backs will be just as good as Bush and White were when they were freshman. All the other players have only grown up one year including the defense - which looks vastly improved.
So, the question is: while USC has been winning 46 of the last 48 games (including last years loss to Texas after two straight National Championships) - how in the world does Ohio State leapfrog both USC and Texas and emerge as the # 1 team? The Longhorns have won 20 something straight games. Prior to that loss to Texas at the end of last season - USC had won 33 in a row. What did Ohio State do? Want to know? Beat the most overrated team ever. That's right - they beat Notre Dame. Who had lost to USC by 31 for three straight years prior to getting lucky last year and losing by only three in South Bend. Nevertheless: four straight losses to USC. So, how does Notre Dame get to be pre-ranked at # 2 and still retain a # 4 ranking after barely nipping the vaunted Georgia Tech team? It probably has to do with the tremendous comeback that they mounted at Stanford last year in order to pull out that huge three point victory!
No, I'm sorry. Ohio State does not deserve to be the Top Dog until they have beaten somebody. Notre Dame does not deserve to be in the Top Five until they can take care of somebody who resides in the Top Five. Notre Dame was pummeled by Ohio State. How did that propel them to neck and neck status with Ohio State anyway? Didn't they lose Fassaro and Stovall? Those were pretty fair players. I don't see as how Quinn got better people to throw to. So, I wish all these voters would stick to who it is who actually wins the games and leave all the speculating for actual results. Both Ohio State and Notre Dame are gonna get plenty of opportunities this year to test their mettle. Let's wait and see if they can even play with the BIG BOYZ before we hand them the mantle.1. Texas 2. USC 3. Ohio State 4. Auburn 5. West Virginia 6. L.S.U. 7. Notre Dame 8. Georgia 9. Oregon 10. Virginia Tech
Can't wait for Texas and Ohio State. Will be pullin' for Texas so that we can have a rematch. But, sadly, I have preticted that USC will demolish Ohio State for the National Title. I hope I'm wrong and we get another shot at Texas.
Tommie T
The Mayor said:
posted on September 7, 2006 4:45 AM — 24.23.202.200 — link — abuse?
Tampa Windbag
I may not know as much as you do about college football but I know the word "miscue" when I hear it...and I heard it a lot on Monday nights broadcast. These defenses are good, but the offense was truly terrible. You guys always talk about "balance." A low scoring ACC/SEC game is due to the defense being so good. When a Pac-10 team scores 50 points, it's because the defense we face is so "bad." Talk about bias.
To be fair, I did not see Tennessee or Clemson play, so I shouldn't have made that crack. But I still believe I am as entitled to my opinion as you are TH, and what I saw on Monday was not Top 20 material, even for a first game.
I also love how you guys turn on a coach with an .850 winning percentage, even ESPN was perplexed by that one.
The Mayor said:
posted on September 7, 2006 4:51 AM — 24.23.202.200 — link — abuse?
Tommie rojan,
I agree with the bias of the polls. My Ducks fell 10 places over the off season...I like UT this weekend at home.
It's little soon to place the Ducks in the top 10 though. With the third hardest schedule this year, I don't look for the Ducks to go 10-1 into the Bowls...but we might be at the Holiday Bowl again. Fine with me, love San Diego...
Cal was a big disappointment last weekend. But don't overlook them. Looking forward to November 11th, no matter what our record is...
Tampa Hurricane said:
posted on September 7, 2006 8:29 AM — 24.96.199.254 — link — abuse?
The Mayor,
Our coach may have an .850 winning precentage, but that was mainly done with Butch Davis' players. If you look at his record, it has been downhill from 0 losses to 1 loss all the way down to 3 losses. For a Pac 10 fan, you may be willing to accept your programs being average, but Hurricanes demand excellance. The reason that ESPN is perplexed by the demand for Choker being fired is because they are used to being average. Look at the teams the Holtz has fielded in his recent coaching history and you will see he would have been greatful for a 3 loss season. Choker knew about the pressure with coaching at the U and he decided to take the job with its expectations, so he can't be suprised when people are demanding his firing for not living up to expectations.
As for the teams not looking like top 20 material on Monday, their offenses both did look terrible; however, you need to remember that it is two great teams facing each other in the first week of the season with no preseason games. The other top 20 teams that you are comparing them to were playing teams that were well below their talent level, which makes them look better. If other teams had to face a tough opponent during the first week, then you would be singing a different tune. The only other top 25 match-up had it looking like one team didn't belong in the top 100 (Cal) so you don't have any games to truely compare the Miami/FSU game to.
Tampa Hurricane said:
posted on September 7, 2006 9:03 AM — 24.96.199.254 — link — abuse?
Alabama fans can you please explain to me why Juwan Simpson was allowed to play in the Hawaii game? During the summer, he was arrested for marijuana possessing and for having a stolen handgun, yet he was not suspended from any games?!? Is he such an important part of your defense that he is allowed to get away with any crimes that he commits? It's great that this story never broke on fanblogs due to the fact that the people that write the stories are SEC biased. With the way that Mack Brown recently handled a star player with similar charges against him, the Alabama fans should be disappointed with their program.
Tampa Hurricane said:
posted on September 7, 2006 10:00 AM — 24.96.199.254 — link — abuse?
The Mayor,
With you being a Pac 10 fan, I can't make any comment about the way you think about winning because I don't know enough Pac 10 football fans personally to make the comparison, but I will make the comparison that being in Tampa I am able to make SEC/ACC. With winning I know multiple SEC fans and they all think that winning the conference championship is their main priority for the football season and anything above that is a bonus. For Miami football, we could care less about conference championships. There is only one goal that a great football program should have and that is national championships. I have had this discussion multiple times with my co-workers (Florida and Auburn) and they don't understand that that is a loser mentality. Major college programs should not be proud of winning multiple conference championships and not the national championship. Part of the reason that Miami fans believe this is due to the success of our program in the past 25 years. While I was attending UM for my Bachelor and Masters degrees, Miami won one national championship in football (lost another on a terrible call) and two national championships in baseball. That's in a five year period, so you can understand how alumni demand success with our programs.
Choker is not continuing that success. He won his championship with the players from Butch and after those players left the program started losing 3 games per year. That is 3 too many in the mind of a Hurricane. Miami only had 1 first round draft pick in the last years draft due to Chokers lack of coaching skills (he misused multiple players). ESPN doesn't realize that when you are a program that demands perfection, winning 85% of the time just isn't good enough.
Gerald said:
posted on September 7, 2006 10:16 AM — 216.113.128.239 — link — abuse?
Tommie Trojan:
"Yeh, I'm a little upset with some of the bias that flies around."
Oh please. If anyone should be upset with the bias, it shouldn't be Southern Cal, who has won 2 of the last 3 national titles and 3 of the last 4 Heisman Trophies. Instead, it should be someone like AUBURN, don't you think? You know ... 13 - 0? 4 players taken in the first round, 3 of them in the first 9 picks? No national title, none of their players won any position awards (i. e. the Outland, Thorpe, Butkus), none of their players were even invited to the Heisman ceremony. And oh yeah, there was that nonsense national consensus about how they couldn't score and didn't play anyone.
I am sorry Tommie Trojan and USC fans, but there is absolutely no evidence that USC is the victim of any bias from the media. If anything, the media is biased FOR USC. For instance, last year I kept hearing about how the Trojans were the most talented squad ever, how they were going to break the record for first round picks in the draft with Bush/Leinart going 1 - 2 and with LenDale White, Darnell Bing, Dominique Byrd, Winston Justice, and one of the interior OLs all going in the first. Turned out that only Bush and Leinart went in the first, Byrd didn't go until the 3rd, and Bing didn't go until the 4th, and even there the Raiders moved him from safety to linebacker! Now on one hand, I will grant you that the interior OL who went in the 2nd to Arizona isn't that big a deal, as interior OLs generally don't get drafted high, and he will start as a rookie. But LenDale White ... people were talking about how Bush and White were OBVIOUSLY better than Brown and Williams. Well, where both Williams and Brown were opening day starters, Bush will be second string in New Orleans to Deuce McAlister, and White will be third string in Tennessee! Can you believe that the media is still bashing Houston for not taking Bush #1 overall when he won't even be starting for the team that he went to at #2? Now do not get me wrong, USC was still obviously a great, talented team, clearly the best in the nation this, er, century (all five years of it). They just weren't as talented as the media claimed they were. So no, Trojan fans, there is absolutely no bias against USC on the part of the media. Now as for us SEC fans who do not give USC their deserved due credit, that is another issue altogether. But then again, the media hates SEC fans too ... calling us good old boys, rednecks, hillbillies, and that sort of thing. Not that I am BITTER or anything like that :-)
Gerald said:
posted on September 7, 2006 11:05 AM — 216.113.128.239 — link — abuse?
IrishJT:
"Is anyone concerned that all of the pundits have dubbed Troy Smith a "threat" on the ground? He had negative yards rushing against Northern Illinois. It's great to win against a perennial loser, and having Ted Ginn's sure hands is one way to get 3 TD passes, but a "threat."
Now this is just bizarre. There are ways to assert that Brady Quinn is better than Troy Smith without resorting to utter nonsense like this, and as a fan of a school that has high standards of academics and character, you ought to be able to use at least one of them. Let me help you out a bit: Troy Smith had 611 rushing yards last season playing in a system that was nowhere near as wide open as Vince Young's or Brad Smith's. And of his 16 passing TDs last year (against only 4 INTs), only 4 went to Ted Ginn. And the year before, Smith actually had almost as many rushing yards as passing yards, because back then he was a runner who could barely throw the ball.
Now I could care less who wins the Heisman because Vince Young exposed what a sham that process was by outplaying both Heisman winners Leinart and Bush put together in the same game on their own home field with everything on the line (sorry USC fans, but it is true). So give it to Quinn, media, if it makes you feel good. But that won't change the fact that Troy Smith is a very good player.
And as for Troy Smith's negative rushing yards against NIU ... Vince Young had the same type of games towards the end of the season. Why? Texas was keeping him in the pocket to improve his passing skills to get him ready for the USC game. USC tried all game to bait him into throwing the ball deep so they could get some cheap turnovers, but Young instead took what they gave him ... 267 yards on the short and intermediate stuff that they left wide open. So, I'd say that what Texas did with keeping Young in the pocket to force him to work on his passing worked pretty nice, don't you think? Even if it did cause him the Heisman, because thanks to that strategy Young didn't go over 1,000 rushing yards until the bowl game that everyone thought Texas was going to lose.
Now gee, do you possibly think that just maybe Ohio State is trying the same thing with Troy Smith that worked for Texas with Vince Young? That just MAYBE Ohio State knows that since THEY PLAY TEXAS AND THE NATION'S #1 DEFENSE IN AUSTIN THIS WEEK, that it just might be a good idea to keep Troy Smith in the pocket to work on his passing the week before because they know that Smith will have to be productive throwing the ball in order to beat Texas? The same Texas that lost THEIR TOP TWO DEFENSIVE BACKS TO THE DRAFT? Hmmm ... maybe THAT is why Smith did not try to run against NIU?
Like I said, you smart high character Notre Dame fans ought to be able to figure stuff like that out much better than us SEC hillbillies can.
mooka said:
posted on September 7, 2006 2:17 PM — 68.107.102.29 — link — abuse?
Oh Lord, is the hype starting already for USC? I think we can all acknowledge they are one of the best, but there are other teams just as talented out there if not better. Until they start playing those tough teams I think they fit in good at 3-5.
So Cal USMC said:
posted on September 7, 2006 6:37 PM — 204.62.68.23 — link — abuse?
Franko G... relax. The SEC went 2-3. The SEC is still RANKS FOUTH in their record against other BCS teams in the BCS era (since 1998), only the Big East has a worse record than the SEC. On top of THAT, specifically talking about the PAC and the SEC, the SEC benefitted from Homefield 3 out of 3 times!
To quote Chris Rock, sorta: You Supposed To Take Care of Yo Kids, You Dumb %@*#!Should I run down the "oh-so-great" SEC offenses from just a year ago??? Its a Chicken-or-the-Egg sorta thing with the Offense vs Defense discussions at this point. And it only week one, relax Franko.
And again, as Ive been saying all along, we wont know where team A-c-t-u-a-l-l-y rank, or where conferences rank, until they play the L-a-s-t G-a-m-e of the Season! And by the way, I had Tennessee Winning the SEC this year at one point! So what are you telling me anyway?.. if anything, my assessment of Tenny looks pretty good after week one; but not so good about Cal; you cant be right all the time (Note: I changed my SEC pick last minute to Auburn over Tennessee, and changed by PAC pick to USC right before the season kicked-off). AND I picked the SEC, the PAC, and the Mt West to be conferences that would be notably Improved this year! My Mt West pick looks the worst. I expected a Cal Win but also a UCLA Loss... it went the other way, my PAC pick is still heading in the right direction overall. The SEC even after going 2-3 in week 1, did well with that win over Cal.
So Cal USMC said:
posted on September 7, 2006 7:02 PM — 204.62.68.23 — link — abuse?
Tommy T, its Always ONLY about THIS SEASON! This is No carry-over -- Not for USC, not for Texas, not for any team, any conference, etc.
But based on Week 1, I have to AGREE that Ohio St in not the No. 1 team. Mooka who looked the best to YOU ??? There are about 5 or 6 teams that have recieved First Place votes in the Polls, its not like USC is gettin "undeserved" recognition, er, hype. Who do you have in the Top 10 Mooks?
Tommie Trojan said:
posted on September 7, 2006 8:33 PM — 206.135.38.195 — link — abuse?
SC USMC:
I think that great football schools will always have some kinda of carry over. Why then is it always the usual suspects at the top? They recruit about ninety different people to make up any one team. Only about twenty or so leave each year. That leaves about 78% of the players from the previous team still there. High recruiting standards have got to be taken into account when trying to understand who really has the strongest teams. Sometimes one or two great players can make a difference. But, overall the deepest programs are going to win the day.
All I'm saying is that is is quite odd to have Ohio State leapfrog Texas and USC when both of those teams are still peaking. I look for Texas to win again this coming weekend. We'll see. If Ohio State does win the game, then they will have my vote for Numero Uno (and rightfully so), as USC was not able to do it. And, I would keep Ohio State on top until somebody is able to beat them. That is just the way I see it. The Trojans will not be able to claim the Top Spot until they are able to beat either Texas or Ohio State after this weekend. They'll have to win out in order to get the chance. So, I'm being fair here. I still think that USC might be the best team - but, they do not deserve the # 1 ranking right now.Tommie T
IrishJT said:
posted on September 7, 2006 9:34 PM — 71.207.229.9 — link — abuse?
Dearest Gerald:
You disappoint me. You seem to imply that Tressel somehow planned for Troy Smith, during his own Heisman campaign, to have negative yards rushing...or at least that they don't mind. Troy Smith scrambled plenty of times. Ohio State did not look an unbeatable team AT ALL. So again, somehow between a Northern Illinois thrashing and a Notre Dame victory, Troy Smith emerged among the pundits as the leading Heisman candidate. No one still has answered "why?"Also, there's nothing "dumb" about the SEC or SEC fans. And finally, Brady Quinn wins the Heisman because he is the best quarterback in college football, best suited to play in the NFL and most likely to have Troy Smith as his third-string backup. Hype, media blitz, whatever...you cannot discount the body of work Brady Quinn will have put together over last year and the better numbers he'll have put up this year.
War Eagle! Go Irish! Gerald, read a book.
Mooka said:
posted on September 7, 2006 10:02 PM — 68.107.102.29 — link — abuse?
All honesty USC looked like the team to beat. Along with Texas, Ohio St., and WVU, Tenn. We don't know enough about LSU, Auburn, or Florida be/c they played some weak teams, but come to think of it, so did the first couple of teams mentioned with the exception of Tenn. Since all of these teams had blow out games I will base my ranks on mistakes made.
1) Texas
2) USC
3) Ohio St.
4) WVU
5) Tenn
6) LSU
7) Auburn
8) Florida
9) Georgia
10)Florida St.My picks may be a little biased towards SEC, while I place them in the top 10 I think they do deserve to be there, while none proved yet to be put in the top 5 except for Tenn. My only point about USC is there is still alot of talent that also deserve top spots and they are playing those top teams (ie Tex v Ohio St). We won't see a real competitive game from USC until they play a team like that. Seriously, Texas was the only good team USC faced all season long last year. This year all of those teams mentioned are just as talented as Texas was last year, yet you never see USC face those teams. You might see them play a good match against ND once every 10 years, but even then, that would be a huge upset in my book (notice no ND in my top 10). I base my hype theory with USC for the simple fact we never get to see what they are truly made of during the regular season.
Mooka said:
posted on September 8, 2006 12:09 PM — 138.163.0.46 — link — abuse?
Irish JT,
This is only a theory, but I believe the reason Troy Smith is the front runner is be/c right now his team is #1 and the front runner for the NC. Usually those are the type of candidates they have on top in the race for the Heisman. I agree, Brady Quinn is the best QB in the nation, but if he can't lead his team to a BCS/NC, I don't think he will win the Heisman. I know you are pulling for Texas this weekend.
So Cal USMC said:
posted on September 8, 2006 2:51 PM — 204.62.68.23 — link — abuse?
Tommy T, let me re-phrase. Im not saying that recruits/personnel dont carry-over from year to year... I'll put it this way: Texas shouldnt "keep" its No. 1 standing "just because" no one has beaten them, thats the issue I have with what youre saying.
I understand that this early in the Season we're mostly rely-ing on what happend last year, who returns, who's gone, etc, plus the Week 1 results, which aint much to go by. But as the weeks go on, the further we get from Pre-season, the "perception" we have of teams based on last year should give way to the Results on the field this year.
Now having said all that, on a side-not, looking back at some of the top few team of 2005; the final BCS Rankings (Unofficial, post-Bowls)...
1 Texas
2 USC
3 Penn St
4 Ohio St
5 West Viginia
6 LSU
7 V Tech
8 Bama
9 TCU
10 Oregon
10 Georgia
12 UCLA
13 Notre Dame
14 Wisconsin
15 Florida... now where the hell are teams like Penn St, Oregon, Bama, TCU, and UCLA ranked right now??? How are Louisville, Oklahoma, Michigan, and Clemson! ranked above any of those other teams in this week's Polls???
- Week 1 -
* Oklahoma beat UABirmingham un-impressively; not much better than how Bama and TCU got their wins over Hawaii and Baylor. So why is Oklahoma ranked ahead of them? Why are Bama and TCU displaced? Oklahoma hasnt proven itself to be better than them.
* Louisville beat Kentucky (59-28), Michigan beat Vandy (27-7), Neither one of those results validate where those teams are Ranked... atleast not any moreso than Oregon killing Stanford (48-10), Penn St handling Akron (34-16), UCLA rolling up Utah (31-10). Of all of those beaten opponents, Utah is probably the best out of the bunch, and UCLA isnt even Ranked !!!?!!! What kinda shyt is that?!And what the Fugk are, 0-1, Cal and Miami even doing in the Top 40 let alone the Top 25 at this point? What Pitts did to Virginia was about as impressive, or as validating, as what half the teams in the Top 25 did to their opponents (if not more so).
Gerald said:
posted on September 8, 2006 4:20 PM — 65.12.162.103 — link — abuse?
IrishJT:
It is you who disappoint me. Let me remind you of your own words.
"Is anyone concerned that all of the pundits have dubbed Troy Smith a "threat" on the ground? He had negative yards rushing against Northern Illinois."
I replied that Troy Smith had 611 rushing yards last season and half as many rushing yards as passing yards the year before. You mentioned Brady Quinn's body of work; well Troy Smith's body of work over two seasons means more than one game against a team that OSU blew out.
"It's great to win against a perennial loser, and having Ted Ginn's sure hands is one way to get 3 TD passes, but a "threat."
I replied that Ted Ginn wasn't even Troy Smith's top target last season, indicating that Smith does have ability to throw the ball and is merely the product of an excellent receiver. I did NOT mention, though I could have, that Quinn's cause was aided by having a bunch of junior and senior targets in Samardzija, Fasano, and Stovall, and this year has 5th year senior Rhema McKnight.
"And finally, Brady Quinn wins the Heisman because he is the best quarterback in college football, best suited to play in the NFL and most likely to have Troy Smith as his third-string backup."
Again, I could care less about who wins the Heisman. I do concede that Brady Quinn is a better NFL prospect. But similar to Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, Kordell Stewart, Vince Young, Alex Smith, Jake Plummer, and for that matter Roger Staubach, Warren Moon, and Joe Montana, Troy Smith will certainly play in the NFL, and his being a first round draft pick is not out of the question, especially if he and his team improve upon last year's performance. Smith's skills as a pocket passer are already better than those of Stewart, Young, and Vick. His numbers are better than McNabb's and rival Plummer's. And his height rivals all listed above except Smith and Young, and his arm strength compares favorably with all above except Stewart, Vick, and McNabb. Rather than backing up Quinn in the NFL, he will almost certainly be playing against him, just as Vince Young will be playing against Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler very shortly. And as for who succeeds in the NFL, well let us just say that if you go back to the 1998 draft, the dropback passers Tim Couch, Akili Smith, and Cade McNown all failed. Meanwhile, the running QBs Donovan McNabb and Daunte Culpepper went on to become multiple Pro Bowlers. Add that to the failures of Joey Harrington and David Carr to do anything, and it is foolish to say that Quinn's NFL career will be better, since as a matter of fact not only is Harrington backing up Culpepper in Miami, but Harrington was thoroughly outplayed by Miami's 3rd string running QB Cleo Lemon, and is only listed 2nd on the depth chart because he has NFL starting experience and Miami gave up a draft pick for him.
Again, Quinn is far more likely to win the Heisman than Troy Smith, but saying anything beyond that is just unsupported by facts. And you are right, I do need to read more books as opposed to the football articles, statistics, and historical data that I have instead been wasting my time with.
So Cal USMC said:
posted on September 8, 2006 8:44 PM — 204.62.68.23 — link — abuse?
Mooka,
Wow, what a fugken list, Aha ha... I'll just put it this way, broaden your horizons a bit. Geezus Cryst.Moox, USC faced 5 Top 25 teams last year. USC has beaten the most Top 25 teams, the most Top 10 teams than any team in the Country over the past 4 seasons.
Penn St, Oregon, VTech, UCLA have all adressed their biggest concerns, so to speak, in their first-game performances. And they were all Rated in the top 15, top 10 last year... WHY would you have them displaced by 5-6 teams, over-Ranked 9-3 teams, poser Conference-Champs, etc, from last year at this point???1. USC
2. Texas
3. West Virginia
4. Ohio St
5. LSU
6. Oregon
7. Penn St
8. Georgia
9. V Tech
10. UCLA
... Notre Dame, Auburn, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Texas Tech, Tennessee, Pitts, TCU, Iowa, Bama, Arizona St, Florida St, Boise St, Clemson, Oklahoma, Florida, Louisville, Minnesota, Michigan should be in the mix for the rest of the top 30 or so (no 0-1 Miami, Cal, or Georgia Tech)Mooka said:
posted on September 9, 2006 12:16 AM — 68.107.102.29 — link — abuse?
This isn't last year, and yes, even then ND wasn't all that great in my book. You wanna talk about broaden horizons? Every team USC played was ranked 20-25(talk about top 25; more like bottom). Those SEC teams I mentioned all played 4-5 in the top 15 (let's say, the real top 25)last year. That's called competition my friend. The only top 15 team USC faced last year was ND, and like I said, they didn't deserve to be there last year either as shown in their great bowl efforts. Well guess what, it's more of the same this year. USC doesn't play anybody. If USC were to go to the NC this year they would lose AGAIN. Plain and simple. They just don't have a very competitive schedule. I will still keep them in my top 5 for now be/c I didn't notice many mistakes against a pretty good (1st half) ARK team. That's one thing I give USC...great play execution due to great coaching. With that in mind they should be able to compete with some of the best during regular season, so why don't they?
FSU0897 said:
posted on September 9, 2006 9:16 PM — 12.227.149.133 — link — abuse?
Clemson Fans -
You've got to be feeling pretty good about the game next week, because I cannot see how FSU fans can be real optimistic. I am not watching the game, but I see we are tied with Troy (thanks to a come from behind effort), we have a giant 28 yards rushing, and Troy has laid 258 yards on our D. I pray that they overlooked Troy towards the game with you all, but somehow it is not looking that good.
Oh boy...
IrishJT said:
posted on September 11, 2006 8:55 AM — 71.207.229.9 — link — abuse?
Gerald,
Do you remember saying that Texas had the #1 defense in the country? Do you remember implying that Ohio State let Troy Smith have negative yards rushing so as not to showcase his rushing talents against Texas? Do you remember saying that Brady Quinn will win the Heisman and that Troy Smith MIGHT be a first round NFL pick? Do you remember stating that you need to read more books instead of all of the statistics and football data that you claim to plow through?Here are some more stats to chew on while you pick yourself out a good book:
Troy Smith Rushing Yards '06: -14 & ZERO TDs
*Brady Quinn: 15 yards & 1 touchdown
Troy Smith Passing Yards '06: 566 yards
*Brady Quinn: 533 yards
Troy Smith TD passes: 5
*Brady Quinn: 3
Texas Defense (supp'd #1): 348 yds/24 pts.*2006 Heisman Trophy Winner.
Anyone else ready to say that Troy Smith is overrated?? I guess Tressel insisted he have negative yardage against Texas this week so he didn't showcase his talent in prep for mighty Cincinnati next week.
Texas was a one man show last year and they proved that on Saturday. I think it is great that OSU won because I think they'll lose 2 games in the Big Ten. Texas plays in the chump Big 12, where Montana St can compete. Even if you combined the best teams in the Big East and the Big 12, you would end up with a 5 or 6 team conference. WEAK, WEAK, WEAK!!
Go Irish!! War Eagle!! Go Cincy!!
OU Fan said:
posted on September 11, 2006 2:09 PM — 69.179.197.88 — link — abuse?
IrishJT, the Big 12 is not a weak conference. I do think that Texas is overrated though. Colorado did get beat by Montana State, but its Colorado for crying out loud. They are horrible. Also, I'll be laughing at you when the Irish get creamed at USC. I also think Michigan might pull off an upset. Peterson will win the Heisman. Notre Dame sucks!! Go Sooners!! Whoooo!!!!
IrishJT said:
posted on September 12, 2006 9:18 PM — 71.207.229.9 — link — abuse?
OU Fan,
You didn't happen to work at a car dealership with Rhett Bomar last summer by chance?Notre Dame sucks??? Wow. That's almost as ridiculous as saying the Big 12 is NOT a weak conference. Teams like Mizzou, Baylor, Texas Tech, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Colorado, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State...those all are really teams that I would fear on an annual basis. Throw in UAB, Washington, Oregon and Middle Tennessee and what do you have??
Answer: The mighty Oklahoma Sooner's schedule.What a joke? Notre Dame sucks, ay? Who got more votes to be #1 in the country last week? Which team, Oklahoma or Notre Dame, is ranked in the Top 3? Ok, Top 5? Alright, Top 10? Which team has had more felons graduate from its program?
Gimme a break. I like Oklahoma and used to root for "The Boz", but blowhards like you give OU a bad name and make most of us wanna by OklaSt foamy #1 fingers. Playing 3 ranked teams each year is really an accomplishment. Notre Dame normally has that covered by week 4. This year will be no exception either (GaTech will be ranked 25th after this week).
Read a book.
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Cuda said:
posted on August 31, 2006 6:57 PM — 24.22.65.30 — link — abuse?Finally!!!