College Football 2012-13

OH...HELL...YEAH!!! :banana-dance: :banana-guitar: :banana-blonde: :banana-dreads: :banana-tux: :banana-stoner: :banana-wrench: :banana-rainbow: :banana-rock: :banana-ninja: :flags-texas: rcs-cheers:

Good call on the Cuse, Joe.

 

Congrats Matt, glad to see the paramedics weren't needed and you got the deserved victory. That was the first time watching the kid play and...WOW. Johnny Football will obviously make his own legacy and already has the great nickname, but his playing style and feel for the game reminded me of Doug Flutie and Jake Plummer (2 of the best college QBs in my lifetime). The defense played better than I expected and of course came up with the key interception at the end.

Good call on the Cuse, equally bad one on Auburn :angry-banghead:

 

Bigger match ups next week, but the top teams have still got to win:

#1 Kansas State at Baylor. The Bears can score, but the Wildcats will score more.

#13 Stanford at #2 Oregon. The Ducks defense is racked with injuries (6 starters out), to the point that the backup QB and The Black Mamba DeAnthony Thomas took snaps w/the D this week. Stanford will pound the rock w/Stefan Taylor and hope to control the clock. I'll take the Ducks to explode at some point, but the Cardinal could spoil the show.

Wake Forest at #3 Notre Dame. The Irish should have no trouble w/the Deacons as they get ready for the big one at the LA Coliseum next week.

#18 USC at #17 UCLA. JIm Mora has instilled discipline and have a talented freshman QB in Brett Hundley. Add a solid running game w/Johnathan Franklin and there is every reason to believe they can avenge last year's 50-0 humiliation to SC. The Trojans have to be the biggest disappointment in college football this season, Look no further than the inconsistent O-line and the underachieving D line as the main reasons. The pressure on Lane Kiffin will be turned up if he loses the next 2 weeks.

 

It's a quiet football weekend. I refuse to ppv to see A&M play Sam Houston St, so no Aggies for the first Saturday in a long time for me.

My bold prediction....another undefeated team will go down this week.

Baylor has no shot against K St. The Cub defense is dire and K St will be able to limit their offense.

I don't like Stanford against Oregon either. The injuries mean it has a chance to be close, maybe. But I still think it's a bad matchup for the Cardinal.

Notre Dame will play down to Wake, but Wake stinks so the Irish should win in similar fashion to last week.

So the upset is...the Badgers hanging an L on Ohio St. Ohio St has been in some close games with marginal competition and I can see Camp Randall being enough to push Wisconsin past them in a close game.

 

Hosting for Thanksgiving so not going to be around much the rest of the week so better get to the match ups (and there are plenty of rivalry games), but not without looking back on the fall of KState and Oregon. One word that should never be discounted by college football fans (but we always do it) is PRESSURE. If KState took the same team into Waco, but with a 9-2 record instead of 11-0 and #1 ranking they probably win the game easily, but the pressure was piled on and Baylor destroyed them. Oregon had a chance to go up 10 its late in the 3rd quarter, but the Kicker felt the pressure and missed it right, overcompensated and missed the kick left in OT, and boom the Ducks were done. Huge credit goes to Stanford for shutting down the interior running game of Oregon, and Chip Kelly felt the pressure in the final minute with some idiotic play calling with the ball inside Stanford territory.

Games of the Week; #1 Notre Dame at USC. SC is a certifiable disaster, people are calling for Lane Kiffin's head or at least his Dad's job as defensive coordinator. Monte Kiffin installed an NFL D, but hasn't adjusted since they don't play against those types of offenses. Does anyone think that Stanford's talent on D is far superior to USC'? The Trojans will be without Matt Barkley, but the freshman coming Max WIttek can sling it. Everything says the Irish should handle business, but remember the word in all caps above. Other games w/one word predictions

#19 Michigan at Ohio State (would be ranked #2 if not on probation); Buckeyes.
#5 Oregon at #15 Oregon State; Ducks
#4 Florida at #10 Florida State; Seminoles
Auburn at #2 Alabama; Tide
#21 Oklahoma State at #12 Oklahoma: Sooners

Quick thought on others;

Arizona State at #24 Arizona; I don't know why we're ranked either, but Cats smack Scummies around...fingers crossed.
#12 South Carolina at #11 Clemson. Any rivalry is spiced up w/Spurrier running his mouth. Tigers to shut him up.
#8 Stanford at #17 UCLA. Going with Bruin fans to Rose Bowl, all the pressure is on Stanford to win Pac 12 North, UCLA

 

Man, I missed badly last week, but so did most people. Almost got Wisconsin over Ohio St, but not quite.

Much as I'd like the Domers to lose, I have zero faith in SC. Defensively, this is a better matchup for SC than their other losses. Offensively, I don't think ND has anyone who can stop Lee. But the Irish seemed destined and SC is giving a FR his first start...so ND wins.

Ohio State over Michigan. Just not impressed with Meatchicken on any level and this is the Nuts bowl game.
Beavers over the Ducks is my upset special. I thought State was going to be the one to trip up the Ducks and with the Pac Championship and Nat'l Title shots gone, it won't surprise me to see Oregon play flat. Plus, weird things happen in the Civil War when it's played in Corvallis.
Noles over the Gators. Florida's D is sick, but their offense is anemic. Being in Tallahassee only helps Free Shoes U's chances and I think they score just enough.
Bama/Auburn really isn't worth mentioning. Auburn mailed it in weeks ago and blood rivalry or no, this is going to be ugly. Toomer's trees showed more life than the Tigers this year.
I'm really tempted to take the Pokes over the Sooners b/c Oklahoma has been playing some really uninspired ball and OSU has been building momentum with some nice outings. But Okie Lite stinks in Norman.
UCLA over Stanford. I just don't see how the Cardinal don't have something of a hangover after that game and playing on the road won't help. The Bruins are in a similar boat emotionally though. The difference is I've been impressed with UCLA's front 7 and I think they'll put more pressure on Stanford's qb than Oregon managed.

In the others, I like Zona over State, Clemson over SC east, texas over TCU in their new ridiculous annual TDay home game and A&M to smack Mizzou around. Johnny Football is going to make it hard for the voters to hang onto that FR stigma.

 

What a glorious day out at my favorite place in the world to tailgate, The Rose Bowl. As a neutral going with a bunch of Bruin fans it wasn't hard for them to even admit that Stanford was simply superior on the day. Have to give it up to Stanford coaching staff and the players, no hangover whatsoever. Now the weird situation of turning around and playing UCLA back-to-back in the Pac 12 title game.

Props to both Ohio State and Notre Dame for going undefeated. Not going to lie, I generally root against both teams, but have to give credit for going 12-0.

Watching Arizona give the game away in the 4th quarter to those Scumbags on Friday was painful.

Matt, kid's name might have to be changed to Johnny Heisman, looks like it's down to him or Manti Te'o. 2 things going against him are his being a freshman (anyone voting against him for that reason is an idiot) and the power of being a great player for Notre Dame. The fact Te'o led the Irish to the Natty Title game could be the deciding factor.

 

Yeah Joe, it'll be a travesty if the kid doesn't win. Te'o is massively overhyped. I feel for him for the off field stuff and his courage and leadership are admirable, but best player? He's not even the best lb in the country...or even close. Of course, the Heisman is an overhyped trophy looking at the list of former winners, so maybe Manti should win it.

The A&M game was wild. When Manziel went down clutching his knee, the crowd went as silent as I've ever heard 80k+. Then after a couple of minutes, that same 80k+ started chanting John-ny, John-ny. Pretty cool. Glad he was able to come back healthy. He was so close to breaking the SEC total offense mark when he went down, it would have been a shame to fall short in that manner.

So we've got the Domers and Bama or Jawja. I think Bama has the better chance to beat ND, but I think either team can do it. I just don't trust UGA qb Murray. He's had quite a few stinkers in big games and a multiple turnover game would probably be enough to get you beat against the Irish.

 

One obvious choice for game of the week, but several other big games;

#3 Georgia v #2 Alabama from Atlanta: I want to pick Georgia so bad, but having a hard time since Mark RIcht never wins big games. This Alabama team is a no where close to last year's squad. Their schedule has been comical, they avoided Florida, Georgia, South Carolina from the SEC. The Tide played 2 really good teams, and lost at home to one (A&M), and needed a last minute drive to beat the other (LSU). Bama's big weakness on D is their inability to rush the passer, can Aaron Murray of Georgia step up?? Betting on the Dawgs against ranked teams means going broke, but I'm the moron going back to double down. Georgia and specifically Mark Richt will never have a better opportunity than right now, will they walk through the door??

#21 Northern Illinois v #17 Kent State; The country's most underrated conference this season deserves a shout out. Kent State to beat Belle's alma mater (old FUSA poster)

#16 UCLA at #8 Stanford; These 2 played last Sat. Same result, Stanford wins.

#18 Texas at #6 Kansas State; Big bounce back for K State.

Upset Alert; #12 Nebraska v Wisconsin. The Badgers have lost 5 games, but 4 were by a field goal (including to the Huskers), the other to Ohio State by 7. Time to win a close one for a change.

EDIT **Congrats Jump on Louisville going up to Rutgers and winning the Big East. Looks like they'll be heading to the BCS and the Orange Bowl.

 

Gotta admit, I spent a good chunk of the evening staring at the TV with my mouth agape last night. It began with the pick six on the first play from scrimmage and stayed open pretty much for the next three hours. I honestly didn't think Louisville could begin to match up with a 3rd ranked SEC power like Florida, but I'm happy to say I was wrong. Was most worried about the Card's poor tackling defense, but the Gators pretty much self destructed on offense. Kept waiting for the rally that never materialized. I don't think Louisvile football has EVER scored on the first play from scrimmage at the beginning of BOTH halves of the same game (thanks for trying that onside kick at the start of the second half, Coach Muschamp). I'm just glad Miami fired the coach who recruited Teddy Bridgewater, causing him to reopen his recruitment. Even happier Charlie Strong convinced him to come to The Ville. The pigskin future looks pretty bright right now for our "basketball" school.

 

Congrats Jump on The Ville's performance. Was in Vegas for two days, and couldn't bet the Cardinals fast enough (got 14.5 points) on the first day and Oregon (gave 7.5 points) on the second day, sadly had to leave before Texas A&M played, because you knew they were going to torch Oklahoma. Louisville's D played with a chip on their shoulder, so credit to the coaching staff and the players.

The two best teams in college might just be Texas A&M and Oregon. Matt, Johnny Manziel is so much fun to watch, you had to be loving life watching the beatdown they put on the Sooners. 500+ yards from the kid?? Would pay big money to see the Aggies square off against another freshman phenom, Marcus Mariota. Saw enough of KState to know Oregon was going to run them off the field. The Ducks not only play fast they are fast.

The system in place now pits Notre Dame against Alabama for the National Title tomorrow night. The Irish are undefeated and I think Brian Kelly will have them ready to play. The Tide aren't as good as either of the two teams Nick Saban has guided to the championship, but they are resilient. Alabama achilles heel is their pass defense, can the improving Everett Golsten throw the ball well enough? I'll go with the upset and take ND.

 

The Irish Kool Aid sure went down well :character-koolaid: Give Nick Saban a month to prepare and he'll give his team the best chance to win. That was a snooze fest, it took less than a quarter to realize that Bama's O Line overmatched the strength of Notre Dame which was their defensive front. He padded his numbers in garbage time, but Everett Golson simply wasn't good enough with his arm to exploit Bama's weakness which was their pass D. Alabama could of put 60 on the board if they wanted to, hopefully by adding a game, we'll be able to have a better chance of seeing the best two teams play.

 

Using the transitive property, I believe last night's result means that Johnny Manziel has won the national championship.