NCAA College Football 2009 *Catch All*

Seven things I think from the weekend:

1. Most of those games (except VT-Ala, Oregon-Boise St. and maybe a couple of others) were essentially preseason games.

2. Most teams need a preseason games. Yes, the offenses were that bad.

3. Mr. Jefferson's first university beat Mr. Jefferson's second university. Suck on your eight turnovers, Youveeay.

3a. I was at W&M's 1986 win over UVa in C-ville on Halloween Eve. (Yeah, I'm that old.) Man, that was fun. My college roommate was at that game and this one. Man, I'm jealous.

4. USC's Joe McKnight might be that good. And, yeah, Ohio State will get smushed like a bug next Saturday.

5. Despite its invisible offense, Virginia Tech remains the ACC's best team until someone (Carolina? GT) can step up.

6. Notre Dame still blows chunks.

7. Why in the hell is LSU opening its season on the road on the West Coast? What is their AD smoking?

Gumbie wrote:

Just got a chance to watch the Alabama/Virginia Tech game. Wow, VT's offense was horrible, the only reason they even stayed in that game as long as they did was because of special teams and defense.

With the exception of the 2-3 years of Michael Vick, that pretty much sums up VT every year, though yeah, that was a pretty depressing offensive showing even given normal VT standards. No passing game and no rushing game, and our scrambler QB is set up to sit in the pocket. Woohoo! So painful to watch. My only consolation as a Hokie is that my other undergrad school, W&M, beat Virginia! So I guess VT should have a shot at winning at least one game this season. How the hell were they ranked 7th in the pre-season? Looks like I'll have to keep the bar well-stocked this season, it's gonna be a painful ride....

6. Notre Dame still blows chunks.

So, is this just your personal feeling based on an ingrained animosity towards ND or is it an analysis of how they played?

Their opponent (Nevada) got a lot of hype for how good their offense/QB/run defense were, but after Saturday I'm not sure if that is anything other than wishful thinking.

I did not think ND played badly (hence I think you're one of the many who will always dislike ND...it's okay, we're not gonna' hold it against you). If there were troubles, they were that their too-small defensive line got pushed around and their secondary did not seem to be everything they were hyped to be. Both could cause troubles, though they had a number of LBs playing on the defensive line throughout the game trying to keep the QB in check.

So, we'll have to see how the O-line, QB, and RBs respond to a real team. I'm not sure if next week counts (Michigan didn't play anyone either), but ND plays Michigan State in two weeks. That'll be a good measure of how ND is doing -- MSU seems very strong, and I have a lot of respect for their coaching staff.

The U looked pretty good last night. Heck of an enjoyable game. There young QB has some real promise. They were fun to watch for the first time in years. Reminded me of the good ole days.

SpyNavy wrote:

The U looked pretty good last night. Heck of an enjoyable game. There young QB has some real promise. They were fun to watch for the first time in years. Reminded me of the good ole days.

Yeah, I liked that. I was a Canes fan back in high school when I grew up nowhere near a college. I picked them because Boise State was 1-AA at the time and they were on TV a lot and had swagger. (that counted for a lot when you're 11)

They had a fun string of QBs, my favorites being Walsh and Erickson, but the new kid looks really good. Especially that long ball of his. Makes me want to break out NCAA Football 10 with them.

That was a very fun game to watch last night!

The crazy thing is like 6 kids from the same high school (the QB included, plus the top 3 receivers) went to the U from the same Miami High School. Northwestern was a beast of a school when I was growing up and apparently still are. Thats some great continuity.

Ah, FSU should have won, that was a TD pass, darn receiver couldn't catch

Both offenses looked good, obviously both defenses looked lazy.

I dislike Va Tech for the most part, but I think both Miami and FSU will have their hands full against VT's defense. VT right now despite the way they played Alabama or maybe because of it seems to be the clear favorite in the ACC. I can see either FSU or the U surprising them on a very good day though.

Khoram wrote:

My only consolation as a Hokie is that my other undergrad school, W&M, beat Virginia!

Ebirt og!

I was in C-ville in '86 when a very good W&M team (featuring Michael Clemons, later a star in Canada) whupped up on a below average Virginia team. (That was during the George Welch era, when Virginia was actually pretty good.) My college roommate was at that game and at the one Saturday. It's a very, very nice win for a W&M program that's had a couple of down (for them) years.

I've also got Hokies in my family, so I feel for you.

firesloth wrote:
6. Notre Dame still blows chunks.

So, is this just your personal feeling based on an ingrained animosity towards ND or is it an analysis of how they played?

Their opponent (Nevada) got a lot of hype for how good their offense/QB/run defense were, but after Saturday I'm not sure if that is anything other than wishful thinking.

I did not think ND played badly (hence I think you're one of the many who will always dislike ND...it's okay, we're not gonna' hold it against you). If there were troubles, they were that their too-small defensive line got pushed around and their secondary did not seem to be everything they were hyped to be. Both could cause troubles, though they had a number of LBs playing on the defensive line throughout the game trying to keep the QB in check.

So, we'll have to see how the O-line, QB, and RBs respond to a real team. I'm not sure if next week counts (Michigan didn't play anyone either), but ND plays Michigan State in two weeks. That'll be a good measure of how ND is doing -- MSU seems very strong, and I have a lot of respect for their coaching staff.

A bit of both. Notre Dame is easy to dislike, along with Michigan, half the SEC and Oregon's now-suspended jackass of a running back.

But the Notre Dame teams of yore, playing at home against a WAC team that lost in the 2008 edition of something called the Humanitarian Bowl, would have hung 50 something on Nevada. By halftime.

So, no, Nevada was no test. Michigan? Eh. Still rebuilding. I expect ND to beat 'em up pretty badly.

A question b/c you're a fan (not that we'll hold it against you): Clausen has a cannon arm but is prone to making dopey decisions. Did he show anything Saturday to make you think he learned something in the offseason? Not that Nevada's pass defense provided much resistance.

But the Notre Dame teams of yore, playing at home against a WAC team that lost in the 2008 edition of something called the Humanitarian Bowl, would have hung 50 something on Nevada. By halftime.

Not to defend Weis or anything, but he's noted before he doesn't like to run up the score on people. On the other hand, he did go for it on 4th and 5ish in the second half on about the opponents 35 or 40 yard line. WTF? Punt the fricking ball when you're that far up.

So, no, Nevada was no test. Michigan? Eh. Still rebuilding. I expect ND to beat 'em up pretty badly.

I don't know; they've got some very speedy QBs. We'll see how they play, but I think MSU will be a better test to tell us where we are.

A question b/c you're a fan (not that we'll hold it against you): Clausen has a cannon arm but is prone to making dopey decisions. Did he show anything Saturday to make you think he learned something in the offseason? Not that Nevada's pass defense provided much resistance.

I only saw one dopey, semi-freaked out decision. You can't make too many and go 15-18 passing. On the other hand, he is helped by incredible receivers in Tate, Floyd, and the TE Kyle Rudolph. He looked very good (even if I've heard him referred to as the Village Idiot on campus )

I think the keys are still gonna' be O-line and D-line. The O-line looked okay, and Clausen can make good decisions *if he has some time*. The D-line...well, they got pushed around in the running game, but they were playing light, too. They were making free lanes for the LBs to rush through, but it was Nevada. I have no way to judge how they're gonna' hold up (until MSU).

firesloth wrote:

The D-line...well, they got pushed around in the running game, but they were playing light, too. They were making free lanes for the LBs to rush through, but it was Nevada.

That should be a big red flag right there. Nevada shouldn't be able to push ND around like that.

Why can't Charlie Weis find some big hosses who want to play D-line? Every other team in the Big 10 can find 4-5 corn- fed D-lineman who can at least hold a block.

Tonight's game will be fun. Georgia Tech's option offense is a blast to watch. Plus I'm curious to see how Clemson will rebound from last year's chaos.

The ACC needs someone to challenge VT. Maybe one of these two teams will be it.

That should be a big red flag right there. Nevada shouldn't be able to push ND around like that.

Why can't Charlie Weis find some big hosses who want to play D-line? Every other team in the Big 10 can find 4-5 corn- fed D-lineman who can at least hold a block.

Well, to be fair, the had LBs playing DE much of the night in order to keep the QB contained. There are a couple monsters on the line, but they're mostly the strong speed types rather than the mauler types. In the mold of Abriamiri, who turned out just fine. We'll see -- as you say, Nevada is not necessarily a good judge of how things will go in the long term. So, can't get too excited, and I can't get too down on the things that didn't look great until we see how the team responds in a more competitive game. Presumably that will happen over the next two weeks sometime...

I know there's no relation, but whenever I hear them talk about UCLA's quarterback with the last name of Prince, I can't help but think, "Game: Blouses."

God dammit. Crompton still sucks ass. Mr. Crompton meet Mr. Bench.

Game: Blouses.

Oh Oklahoma State. Damn hicks.

Dear Charlie: learn to manage the clock.

firesloth wrote:

Dear Charlie: learn to not eat small children.

Fixed.

boogle wrote:

Oh Oklahoma State. Damn hicks.

That was a trap game if there ever was one, still wouldn't be surprised to see the pokes beat one of the two Big 12 South powers.

It was good to see the Dawgs bounce back and get a must have win against the Chickens. The Ol' Ball Coach looks like he has finally found his QB though, very intersting game between the Rebels and c*cks in a couple of weeks.

Gumbie wrote:

God dammit. Crompton still sucks ass. Mr. Crompton meet Mr. Bench.

Thought Crompton looked better than last season, not sure the Vols have anyone better on the roster though, so you are probably stuck with em.

Here is a brutal takedown of Tresselball by the smartfootball.com guy:

When I watched the game live, I was struck by what I considered poor playcalling and mediocre execution. But after watching the game again in detail, going over replays and studying all the players, I'm convinced the situation in Columbus is nearly hopeless.

And this team is supposedly the class of the Big Eleven. Sheesh.

Enix wrote:

Here is a brutal takedown of Tresselball by the smartfootball.com guy:

When I watched the game live, I was struck by what I considered poor playcalling and mediocre execution. But after watching the game again in detail, going over replays and studying all the players, I'm convinced the situation in Columbus is nearly hopeless.

And this team is supposedly the class of the Big Eleven. Sheesh.

As a fan of Penn State (won the Big Ten last year), I would disagree. But as we've all sucked in out of conference play, there's not much else I can disagree with :-/

Penn State in the Big Eleven is a bit like Virginia Tech in the ACC -- you join up with a bunch of schools that you think are your football peers, and it turns out that they're a bunch of posers. Just hope the rest of 'em don't drag you down like what happened to Florida State and Miami.

But speaking of Miami, the Canes are back! Yeah, OK, it's clear that GT was a bit overrated coming into the season, but Miami looked OK, especially on D.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not a Canes fan. But I'd rather feel hatred toward them than abject pity.

Enix wrote:

Penn State in the Big Eleven is a bit like Virginia Tech in the ACC -- you join up with a bunch of schools that you think are your football peers, and it turns out that they're a bunch of posers. Just hope the rest of 'em don't drag you down like what happened to Florida State and Miami.

But speaking of Miami, the Canes are back! Yeah, OK, it's clear that GT was a bit overrated coming into the season, but Miami looked OK, especially on D.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not a Canes fan. But I'd rather feel hatred toward them than abject pity.

I think GT's triple option will become less and less effective as the Jackets play opponents the second and third time around, especially if Tech doesn't have a QB that can throw the ball when needed.

Badferret wrote:

I think GT's triple option will become less and less effective as the Jackets play opponents the second and third time around, especially if Tech doesn't have a QB that can throw the ball when needed.

Yep. 2.4 yards per carry won't get it done against a QB who goes 6 for 15.

Speaking of QBs, when did Jacory Harris turn into the second coming of Matt Ryan?

Another year, another USC loss to a lower-tier Pac-10 team.

Hooray for FSU and USF. Was hoping for a Texas loss though...

The U looked good - I was impressed. Texas had moments of greatness, but I was more impressed with the RB then the QB in this one. Texas Tech looked pretty good as well.

From a "whoops, wrong forum" post I just created. I need to get this off my chest:

Who's responsible for Lou Holtz's broadcasting career? They should probably be fired. A great coach building an embarrassing legacy on ESPN as a Madden-esque analyst, but without Madden's charm and good looks. His rambling, slurred insights are incoherent, if you can even understand what he's saying.

Sorry about the rant, but I love college football. After watching a whole day of it with Lou Holtz sprinkled throughout, I'm about ready to climb up to the top of touchdown Jesus and jump off.