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2008/9 COLLEGE Football Thread

Thursday's results

#23 Wake Forest 41
Baylor 13

Nice win for Wake... taking care of business against a team they should beat
The didn't play around, and they need to build momentum in the ACC

Georgia Tech 41
Jacksonville State 14

Interesting game, even though it was just Jax State
Paul Johnson's offense got cranked up, so let's see what they do against real football teams

Miami 52
Charleston Southern 7

Another "hmmmmmm" game... Randy Shannon needs to instill "winner" in this group and he is off to a great start this year.
Can he keep it up against real competition?
Let's see when they play the Gators (fingers crossed).

South Carolina 34
NC State 0

Any time you shut out a major college team, it is significant
Spurrier went with Smelly after his starter was ineffective... and it paid off
Historically the Gamecocks start strong and fade late
Can Spurrier keep them this focused all year?

Stanford 36
Oregon State 28

Neither team is that good... but probably the most exciting game on Thursday
Went down to the wire

***********************************
Top 25 Games on Saturday

Georgia Southern at #1 Georgia
Each team has suspended players... 8 for GSU and 6 for UGA
Dawgs should roll in this game, and if they are truly a championship team, they will
Historically Richt is reluctant to pile on the points, but now is the time to dominate teams

Youngstown State at #2 Ohio State
Perennial whipping boy for the Buckeyes and this year is no different
We won't learn anything about Ohio State until the USC game

#3 USC at Virginia
Virginia is weak... new QB, new O Line and USC's strength is defense
USC wins big and starts the chest thumping for the Ohio State game

Chattanooga at #4 Oklahoma
Most teams are starting with a warm up game as you can see
This may be the biggest miss-match of them all
The Sooners use this as a preseason scrimmage to get players experience

Hawaii at #5 Florida
Not the same Hawaii team from last year... new QB and new coach
Florida takes out their frustration on Hawaii and tries to send a message to UGA

#20 Illinois at #6 Missouri
One of the more interesting games of the opening week
Only one of two matchups of top 25 teams
If Illinois wants to be taken seriously, they have start winning these games
If Mizzou wants to play with Oklahoma and Texas, they have show they belong in the conversation
Chase Daniels makes a statement here and Missouri wins a tough game

Appalachian State at #7 LSU
This game has been moved up to an 11:00 start due to the weather in the gulf
App State took Michigan down last year, so LSU won't be surprised
LSU will want to keep pace with UGA and Florida... and they win decisively

Villanova at #8 West Virginia
New coach, but same Pat White
West Virginia has way too much for Villanova

#24 Alabama at #9 Clemson
Best game of the day, and we will learn a lot about both teams
Saban has youth on this Bama team that is hungry
Bowden has experience on his Tiger team that wants respect
This has all of the markings of a classic
First game jitters? Anything can happen...
Clemson in a close game... too much experience and JPWilson makes a mistake late

Louisiana Monroe at #10 Auburn
Alabama lost to Louisiana Monroe last year
They are playing Auburn, not Alabama
They get their butt kicked this time

Florida Atlantic at #11 Texas
This may be close early, but Texas has too much for Florida Atlantic
Texas will have some weaknesses exposed, but they pile it on late

Eastern Washington at #12 Texas Tech
Graham Harrell and Crabtree go wild putting up numbers
This could look like a basketball score... on one side anyway
Crabtree catches 4 TDs and Harrell throws at least 6

Akron at #13 Wisconsin
The Badgers are overrated, but they are playing a HS team
Wisconsin builds their reputation on a cupcake again

Florida International at #14 Kansas
Kansas had a nice run last year, but this year they come back to earth
This will be a closer game than it should be

Northern Arizona at #15 Arizona State
Arizona State has high expectations
They come out strong and take care of business

Northern Iowa at #16 BYU
BYU is looking for respect from the BCS this year
They run up the score

#17 Virginia Tech at East Carolina
VT has a lot of unknowns this year, but they will get a chance to work out the kinks
They win big, with defense scoring and setting up scores
A blocked punt or FG from Beamer Ball

#18 Tennessee at UCLA (Monday)
How does the Neuheisel era begin?
Look for the Vols to run the ball hard and often and dominate the line
UCLA is not ready yet... but give them a few years

Tennessee Martin at #19 South Florida
South Florida wants to take their place in the Big East
They win big to show they belong

Washington at #21 Oregon
I am not a believer in Oregon... I watched them wilt without Dixon last year
But Washington isn't a good team, even fighting for Willingham's job
Oregon wins, but they will have to earn it

Coastal Carolina at #22 Penn State
Penn State wins big and makes a statement for Paterno
But we will still not know how good Penn State is

Bowling Green at #25 Pittsburgh
Pitt is the darling of Big East right now
They are riding the wave of their win over West Virginia last year
It is a new year, and they should win handily, but do they have enough to make a run?


Well, there you have it... those are my picks
What are yours?

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
Don't look for me to be on the boards for a while.....I will be banging my head through the wall trying to figure out how Tommy Bowden got a contract extension at Clemson. What an awful game. He looked like a deer in headlights the second they came out of the tunnel.

The whole ACC sucked this week and it really proved how weak the entire conference is. VTech's loss to East Carolina certainly wasn't a shocker as ECU can play, but Glennon played awful. I don't think that redshirt will be on Tyrod Taylor too long.
 
MacDawg said:
#24 Alabama at #9 Clemson
Best game of the day, and we will learn a lot about both teams
Saban has youth on this Bama team that is hungry
Bowden has experience on his Tiger team that wants respect
This has all of the markings of a classic
First game jitters? Anything can happen...
Clemson in a close game... too much experience and JPWilson makes a mistake late
Click to expand...

Clemson deserved to lose - they played like utter crap almost all night. The Crimson Tide was playing for blood, and it showed.

If they can keep it up, it looks like Saban will be worth the 5 million or so we're paying him.
 
Week 1 Highlights

UPSETS

#24 Alabama at #9 Clemson
Best game of the day, and we will learn a lot about both teams
Saban has youth on this Bama team that is hungry
Bowden has experience on his Tiger team that wants respect
This has all of the markings of a classic
First game jitters? Anything can happen...
Clemson in a close game... too much experience and JPWilson makes a mistake late
Click to expand...

Alabama 34
Clemson 10

Wow, what a butt kicking!
Clemson wasted no time in trashing their season
JPWilson was efficient, poised and everything Harper wasn't
But much of that was the offensive and defensive line play of both teams
Clemson ended the game with 14 rushing attempts and 0 yards... that's right 0 yards
So much for Thunder and Lightning (James and Spiller)
'Bama rushed for 239 and passed for nearly 200
Either 'Bama looked scary good or the Tigers looked that bad

#17 Virginia Tech at East Carolina
VT has a lot of unknowns this year, but they will get a chance to work out the kinks
They win big, with defense scoring and setting up scores
A blocked punt or FG from Beamer Ball
Click to expand...

East Carolina 27
Virginia Tech 22

The ACC laid yet another egg with Virginia Tech loosing to ECarolina after NCState's meltdown against SCarolina
Herbstreit called this upset and Pitt's too
Too much inexperience on VT
Beamer Ball belonged to ECarolina with a blocked punt/TD for the win

Bowling Green at #25 Pittsburgh
Pitt is the darling of Big East right now
They are riding the wave of their win over West Virginia last year
It is a new year, and they should win handily, but do they have enough to make a run?
Click to expand...

Bowling Green 27
Pittsburgh 17

So much for the wave of enthusiasm for Pitt and their challenge for the Big East
They better watch out next week against Buffalo or they will be 0-2 in the Mac!


Utah 25
Michigan 23

Not a battle of ranked teams, but a significant game nonetheless
Rich Rod's group goes down in a game that was worse than the score indicated
Utah dominated in the battle of the spreads
Clearly Michigan is not ready for prime time this year
Not quite the upset against App State last year, but a very disappointing showing

Louisiana Tech 22
Mississippi State 14

This was supposed to be a year of improvement for State and a coming out party
So much for those aspirations again... State can never quite get over the hump
This set back will haunt them all season

Other Top 10 games

Few surprises here...

#1 Dawgs roll over Georgia Southern
Offense is efficient and sharp
Moreno with 3 TDs and the freshmen get involved
AJ Green and Caleb King both looked good
Defense is a little lackluster, but GS scores came late

#2 Ohio State beats Youngstown
Pryor gets his debut and looks good
Beanie Wells gets hurt and may miss some playing time

#3 USC pounds Virginia
Sanchez answers questions about his knee and preparation
Offense spreads it around so McKnight doesn't necessarily shine (60 yds/6 carries, 0 TDs)

#4 Oklahoma over Chattanooga
OU puts up 50 in the first half
Predictable outcome over a HS team

#5 Florida over Hawaii
Tebow 9 rushes for 37 yds and 0 TDs
137 yds and 1 TD passing
Florida runs the ball against a bad Hawaii team for 255 yds

#6 Missouri over #20 Illinois
52 to 42 shoot out
Chase Daniels had 323 yds and 3 TDs
BUT Williams for Illinois had 451 yds and 5 TDs!!
Both teams went well over 500 yds total offense

#7 LSU over Appalachian State
Early start did not affect LSU at all as they roll
Hatch and Lee split time at QB for LSU

#8 West Virginia over Villanova
White throws 5 TDs for WV
Successful start for the new coach, unlike Rich Rod at Michigan

#10 Auburn over La. Monroe
Auburn's new spread offense runs for 321 and passes for 85
They will need more balance in the SEC games

What we learned from the opening week...

The elite teams took care of business the way they were supposed to
Teams like Michigan, VT and Pitt took steps back and proved they aren't ready
Clemson showed they are after all Clemson, but they have Bowden on a contract extension now
'Bama showed they may be ready to challenge LSU and Auburn in the West


On to Week 2!


Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
An interesting story in case you missed it... this was posted on SI.com (emphasis is mine)

Treatment of a 3rd stringer v. major contributor at Ohio State
Also, differences between #1 UGA and #2 Ohio States disciplinary programs

Tressel won't suspend starter
Posted: Friday August 29, 2008 08:04AM ET

Third-string quarterback Antonio Henton missed seven games last season while waiting for his case to play out following an arrest for soliciting a prostitute. Defensive tackle Doug Worthington, a major contributor on the defensive line, will play against Youngstown State on Saturday following a July DUI arrest, though his case was continued Monday and his pretrial hearing won't occur until Oct. 1. The athletic department policy at No. 1 Georgia, for instance, calls for a suspension for 10 percent of the season for first-time alcohol offenses. Under Ohio State's athletic department policy, mandatory two-game suspensions for drug and alcohol violations occur only with second offenses. (Defensive backs Donald Washington and Jamario O'Neal are serving two-game suspensions for unspecified violations of team rules.) The decisions in the cases of Worthington and Henton (a criminal offense not related to alcohol) were left to coach Jim Tressel, and different players and different circumstances led to different disciplines. This despite the fact that a DUI might be viewed as a potentially more dangerous offense than solicitation.
Click to expand...

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
MacDawg said:
Week 1 Highlights

UPSETS



Alabama 34
Clemson 10

Wow, what a butt kicking!
Clemson wasted no time in trashing their season
JPWilson was efficient, poised and everything Harper wasn't
But much of that was the offensive and defensive line play of both teams
Clemson ended the game with 14 rushing attempts and 0 yards... that's right 0 yards
So much for Thunder and Lightning (James and Spiller)
'Bama rushed for 239 and passed for nearly 200
Either 'Bama looked scary good or the Tigers looked that bad



The elite teams took care of business the way they were supposed to
Teams like Michigan, VT and Pitt took steps back and proved they aren't ready
Clemson showed they are after all Clemson, but they have Bowden on a contract extension now
'Bama showed they may be ready to challenge LSU and Auburn in the West


On to Week 2!


Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
Click to expand...

I thought we played well last night. Cody is the real deal on the DL. JPW was very efficient. They didn't ask him to do too much. The RB's ran hard and we dominated both sides of the LOS.
 
The ACC can't seem to get anything right these days...

Posted on AJC.com
(requires registration I believe)

Men parachute into wrong football stadium
McClatchy Newspapers
Saturday, August 30, 2008

Duke officials were a bit surprised when, at 6 p.m. EDT on Saturday, about an hour before the scheduled kickoff of their game against James Madison, two men parachuted into Wallace Wade Stadium and landed at the 35-yard line with a game ball.

Problem was, the Blue Devils — who were warming up on the field along with their guests from Virginia — weren’t expecting it.

“All we know is, they must have missed their jump site,” a team official said.

And they did — because the jump site was meant to be about eight miles away.

North Carolina was scheduled to receive the game ball for its contest against McNeese State via an aerial team at about that time in Chapel Hill.

According to UNC assistant athletic director for promotions Michael Beale, the plane was in the air, but the jumpers from Virginia-based Aerial Adventures opted to cancel the leap into Kenan Stadium because of a severe weather front — which would later delay both games.

Evidently, when the clouds eventually opened, the pilot thought they were over the correct stadium, and the skydivers jumped — realizing only when they landed in Wallace Wade that they were in the wrong place.

The two men immediately scrambled off the field with the game ball, and when UNC associate athletic director Rick Steinbacher was informed by a reporter of what had happened, he immediately called Duke officials to confirm the miscue, and offer his apologies.

“In about five years, maybe this will be funny,” Steinbacher said. “Right now, I’m just glad no one was hurt.”
Click to expand...

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
MacDawg said:
Don't think you will have to worry about FSU or UM this season ;)
How the mighty have fallen!

If Randy keeps recruiting like he has, and I do expect him to, Miami will be back to top 5 each year like in the past. There is so much talent this year as freshmen, but of course they will have growing pains this year, but I am optimistic.
Click to expand...
 
rfrankl said:
MacDawg said:
Don't think you will have to worry about FSU or UM this season ;)
How the mighty have fallen!
Click to expand...

If Randy keeps recruiting like he has, and I do expect him to, Miami will be back to top 5 each year like in the past. There is so much talent this year as freshmen, but of course they will have growing pains this year, but I am optimistic.
Click to expand...

Yes, Shannon has recruited well, AND he is instilling a different attitude in the program. The past few years were very disappointing for Hurricane fans, but I think they could be on track. The defense should be stout, and that will keep them in most every game. I would LOVE to see them knock off the Gators next week, but that may be a bit much for this year. I agree... give them a couple of years and they may make it all the way back. I think they are on a better path than FSU is... as much as I respect what Bobby has done there... they need to move past his legacy and start a new era. God knows the ACC needs a competitive team.

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
Cave Man said:
Until there's at least an 8-team playoff, the "NCAA Football Champion" will remain mythical.
Click to expand...

Gives us more to talk about ;)

March Madness is only mad in March
Once the "champion" is crowned, it is over

In football, we argue all "off season" about how unfair it was!
Much more fun! And everyone gets to play!

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
Amazing UCLA game tonight. I've never seen a quarterback make such a huge change from one half to the next.
 
dmr727 said:
Amazing UCLA game tonight. I've never seen a quarterback make such a huge change from one half to the next.
Click to expand...

Congrats to UCLA on a huge win! Tennessee had the opportunity to make their statement like Alabama did, and they didn't man up... UCLA did. This was supposed to be a mismatch, but it was anything but. Four first half picks and they couldn't put the Bruins away. The UCLA defense played well, and the Vols have a lot of work to do to get ready for the SEC season now.

Doesn't quite make USC tremble, but UCLA can build on this win for this season and the future. They believe now... and their confidence will only grow.

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
Hey, all...

Has anyone found a full iCal schedule for the upcoming games? Yahoo has them available for individual teams (I have UGA's), but I would like something for the conference slate each week. Or even a comprehensive schedule that would refresh with game times as announced and scores updated weekly.

Any ideas?
 
reubs said:
Hey, all...

Has anyone found a full iCal schedule for the upcoming games? Yahoo has them available for individual teams (I have UGA's), but I would like something for the conference slate each week. Or even a comprehensive schedule that would refresh with game times as announced and scores updated weekly.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

That would be great! I hope we hear something about it!

Polls are out for week 2 and USC has jumped UGA and Ohio State to #1 in both polls. The Dawgs are #2 in both. This on the strength of USC's big win over powerful Virginia in the ACC. :rolleyes: The voting remains close for the top 3. One of them will drop in 2 weeks when USC and Ohio State play each other.

The Dawgs lost another player to injury, this time a defensive lineman. That and their schedule continue to make people doubt the Dawgs. That's why they play them!

Woof, Woof – Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
This week's Top 25 games

Thursday night

#24 South Carolina at Vanderbilt
South Carolina historically starts strong and fades late in the season.
Tennessee looks vulnerable this year, so the Gamecocks have a chance to move up in the East to take on UGA and UF.
To do that, they need to win the games they are supposed to win... like Vanderbilt.


Saturday games

Central MIchigan at #2 Georgia
The Dawgs take on a CM team that has won the MAC the past few years and touts a QB with Tebow like numbers.
Granted the competition has not been the same, but impressive stats nonetheless.
He is being praised as a Heisman candidate.
This is a game the Dawgs can't overlook and they must dominate again...
and for the love of God, stay healthy

Ohio at #3 Ohio State
Even without Beanie Wells the Buckeyes should roll over Ohio in preparation for next week's game with USC.
Don't look for the starters to play as long as they did last week, they can't afford to lose anyone else either.

Cincinnati at #4 Oklahoma
Should be another tune up game for the Sooners.
They looked good against Chattanooga last week, but this week should be a little more interesting.
OU dominates, but it takes a little longer... no 50 at the half this week.

Miami at #5 Florida
Plz, plz Miami, show up against the Gators and make a statement.
Don't let Tebow beat you... blitz him, and disrupt him.
Make someone else beat you... or better yet... beat them.
I don't see it... but would love this to be the upset of the week.

Southeast Missouri State at #6 Missouri
Missouri in a laugher this week after a challenge in week one.
Chase Daniels has another big day and you will start to hear more Heisman talk about him this week.

#8 West Virginia at East Carolina
The Pirates took down Virginia Tech, and they won't be underestimated this week.
Skip Holtz will need to work his magic again.
Pat White looked good last week throwing the ball, but this will be a tougher game.
If EC can hang tough till the 4th... then the game gets interesting. Should be a good game.

Southern Miss at #9 Auburn
Auburn's offense needs to get on track this week.
Running is not so much a problem, but they need to work on the passing game.
The rumbling you hear is the Alabama train heading down the track in the West...
even though it was supposed to be Auburn's year.

#10 Texas at UTEP
Texas rolls again this week and builds momentum for the season.
Colt McCoy looked OK last week, but he needs to put this team on his back and lead them.

Marshall at #11 Wisconsin
Ho hum... is Wisconsin ranked again?
They build their resume on Marshall this week, but they will wilt when they play better teams.
Wisconsin is the Clemson of the Big 10, always ready to take the next step, but never delivering.

#12 Texas Tech at Nevada
Another big day for the Red Raiders.
Harrell and Crabtree hook up more this week than last.

Tulane at #13 Alabama
I don't expect a letdown from 'Bama yet.
Saban has this team believing the future is now.
It may very well be.
One game does not make a season, but they were impressive in the opener against Clemson.
Maybe they are that good.
Maybe Clemson was that bad.

Louisiana Tech at #14 Kansas
Louisiana Tech knocked off Mississippi State last week.
I don't think they catch Kansas napping, but they will play them tough into the second half.

Stanford at #15 Arizona State
I am very interested in this game because the Dawgs play Arizona State in 2 weeks.
Stanford took down Oregon State last week.
Let's see what both teams have.
I expect ASU to win, but I want to see how they play.

#15 BYU at Washington
Utah's win over Michigan has just upped the ante for a BYU team that is picked to compete for a BCS Bowl berth.
Washington continues to struggle.
BYU should win, but it could be closer than expected.

#17 South Florida at UCF
South Florida dominates and takes advantage of the Pitt loss by establishing themselves as one of the leaders in the Big East race.

Utah State at #18 Oregon
Oregon won big against Washington last week.
That trend continues as they build confidence for a run at the Pac 10 title and a showdown with USC the first week in October.

Oregon State at #19 Penn State
Penn State ran the score up last week.
They will be able to do the same this week if they so choose.

Mississippi at #20 Wake Forest
With Virginia Tech and Clemson both going down last week, Wake Forest seems to be the cream of the crop in the ACC.
Ole Miss is an up and coming team with Houston Nutt.
Wake better not overlook the Rebels or the ACC will look even worse than it already does.

UNLV at #22 Utah
Utah's win over Michigan will have to be judged as the season goes on.
How bad is MIchigan? We don't know yet.
How good is Utah. We don't know that yet either.
We do know they are better than UNLV.

Eastern Illinois at #24 Illinois
Illinois showed it isn't ready to play with the big boys when they lost last week to Missouri.
They get healthy and take it out on Eastern Illinois.



OK, there you have it. That is how I see this week's games stacking up.
How about you?


Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
MacDawg said:
The Dawgs are #2 in both. This on the strength of USC's big win over powerful Virginia in the ACC. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

You mean that USC thrashing Virginia was less impressive than Georgia beating Georgia Southern and Ohio State beating Youngstown state? Our margin of victory was as large as your total offense over Georgia Southern...

Oh, by the way, we backed off in the end.
 
Badandy said:
You mean that USC thrashing Virginia was less impressive than Georgia beating Georgia Southern and Ohio State beating Youngstown state? Our margin of victory was as large as your total offense over Georgia Southern...

Oh, by the way, we backed off in the end.
Click to expand...

Ah, trash talking... my favorite! ;)
How late did Sanchez and the starters play? :rolleyes:

And mighty Virginia is no better than Ga. Southern and would probably lose to them. They lost their whole team from last year and are picked last in the gawd awful ACC if I am not mistaken... right down there with Duke.

But bask in the glory of beating up on a weak team... they don't award the championship in week 1. Actually, the most impressive win of the weekend was Alabama over Clemson, the top team in the ACC... maybe they should be ranked #1.

USC has a great team and I think they should show it next week against Ohio State. They will most likely be right there at the end with the relatively weak schedule they have. (Ohio State is the only Top 10 team they play). I hope they play UGA for the championship because I believe they are the 2 best teams. Alas... I fear my Dawgs may stumble in the schedule they have... but if you are a champion, you should be able to beat the best. I will root for the Dawgs and hope they can stay healthy.

Good luck against Ohio State next week!

Update: Vandy knocks off South Carolina Thursday night 24-17
This is the same team that routed NC State the week before... but they can't take a step in the SEC against Vandy

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
Kudo's to Miami, they played a great game, but the Gators won in the end, ( the coaching staff at Florida finally figured out THEY could affect a pressure defense).

Florida still has a lot of questions, but they disappointed the haters this week!:D
 
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