The reason I benched you? It builds character.: The Ol' Ball Coach made the shocking move of starting Connor Shaw because apparently he wanted to start the game against ECU in a deep hole before inserting Stephen Garcia. Say what you will about Garcia, but he's the best quarterback on the team, and Spurrier will have to ride with him taking the snaps again. ECU is a sneaky team, and would have upset South Carolina had Shaw started the entire first half. Garcia didn't play particularly well (7/15, 110 yards, 1 TD, 56 rushing yards and 2 TDs) but still helped move the offense along, where Shaw went 3/9 for 21 yards, and lost a fumble at ECU's 20 to kill an early drive. The Gamecocks tried to keep ECU in the game though, fumbling four times and losing all four. ECU apparently had the same plan, as they one-upped the Gamecocks with five fumbles, losing four. This was an ugly game too even though the score ended 56-37.
Even God can't save you now: Three games were delayed or called off because of weather this weekend. The one of most consequence was the South Florida-Notre Dame game, where the game was delayed twice, but during neither delay could Notre Dame remember how to play football. The Irish's first four times inside USF's 20 ended in turnovers (two fumbles, two INTs), and they didn't score any points until their ninth drive of the game. This explains how you can double your opponent in yardage gained (ND: 508, USF: 254), and still lose a game. Dayne Crist looked awful in the first half, so after a 2 hour halftime, backup QB Tommy Rees entered the game. He had more success (24/34, 266 yards, 2 TDs), but also threw two interceptions, and a lot of his damage was done in garbage time when the game was out of hand. So in the least shocking turn of events ever, we come to find out that Notre Dame is yet again overrated.
SMU really wants in the Big 12, even after getting smashed on national TV: SMU traveled to Kyle Field to face the #9 Texas A&M Aggies last night, and saw what could be if they become the doormats of the Big 12. Junior QB Kyle Padron, he who threw for 3,800 yards last season, was picked off in each of his first two drives and subsequently benched for backup J.J. McDermott, who played as well as could be expected in relief (21/34, 265 yards, 1 TD). The major story was A&M's defense, which had 8 sacks, even while the SMU offensive line played very well. RB Zach Line played very well for the Mustangs, rushing for 128 yards and a touchdown, but he only averaged about 3.5 yards per carry after SMU's first touchdown (15 carries for 53 yards). A&M's offense was firing on all cylinders. RBs Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael looked phenomenal , combining for 217 yards on the ground and 4 TDs. Ryan Tannehill only had 5 incompletions, most of which were him avoiding pressure and still almost finding a receiver, and looked damn near perfect. The Aggies' offense is scary, and they've got a great shot as a national championship dark horse. SMU looks forward to being the beaten dead horse in the Big 12 in a few years.
Les Miles is a damn wizard: LSU wins yet another big matchup on national TV, and Les Miles still acts like a confused little kid. It's a typical night for the LSU Tigers, and the defense really stepped up to bottle up the potent Oregon offense. Oregon only managed 330 yards on the game, and LaMichael James only rushed for 54 yards. Darron Thomas needed 54 pass attempts to throw for 240 yards, and any defense will take it when the opposing QB's YPA is under 5. LSU's defense was great, but their passing game was equally awful. Jarrett Lee completed 46% of his passes and threw for less than 100 yards. Somehow though, Les Miles pulled another big win out of his hat, and LSU will be in national title contention all year, even with the equivalent of a crippled kid at quarterback.
Robert Griffin's totally the Heisman winner until the end of September when Baylor starts to suck: Robert Griffin looked masterful in the Baylor Bears' major upset of the TCU Horned Frogs, who play defense like they're in the Big 12 now. The 50-48 shootout was entertaining and seemed to be already over once Baylor entered the fourth quarter with a 47-23 lead, but TCU put up 25 points in the quarter to take a late lead. Griffin led the Bears down the field one last time as Baylor kicked a game-clinching field goal with just over a minute left, and the Bears notched their annual major upset of a team in the state of Texas. Expect the Bears to disappear off the map on October 15th when they get throttled by Texas A&M, and then lose a shootout to Oklahoma State on October 22nd.
Good thing we weren't playing a real team: Kansas allowed 24 points to McNeese State, Oklahoma State allowed 34 points to Louisiana Lafayette, Missouri barely beat Miami (OH), Iowa State barely edged Northern Iowa 20-19, and Kansas State stole victory from the clutches of defeat and beat Eastern Kentucky 10-7. The moral of this story is that the Big 12 is far, far worse than I could have ever fathomed.
- Howard suffers a mercy-killing at the hands of Eastern Michigan 41-9. They feel better knowing that their band kicked EMU's band's ass.
- Appalachian State is brutally beaten 66-13 by Virginia Tech. They point back to 2007 and laugh at Michigan to feel better about themselves.
- Oregon State brought in Sacramento State for a beatdown, but instead the bullies left with the black eyes as they lost 29-28 to Sacramento State in a real football game that actually happened.
- Austin Peay traveled all the way from Texas to Cincinnati and surrendered 72 points to a middling Big East team. They take solace in knowing that they weren't the most disappointing team from Texas this week.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment