It was great to see college football back on the TV. Watching college football in my time zone takes a little bit more pre-planning than back in the states. The first kickoff for me doesn't start until 6 pm. That means the last kickoff of the night usually happens around 3 or 4 am. Of course, the best games are generally the later kickoffs. My ritual is to watch the first games and by the time they are wrapping up, Alicia is in bed. Generally, the 2nd game is usually a Pac-10 game and is of less importance. About half time of the second set of games is when I go down for a nap. If for some reason, those games are really appealing, then I just pop a red bull and hope the wife lets me sleep in.
This weekend started off with the Gophers/Orange(men) being shown at 6 pm. Alicia was going to a movie with a friend, so Lucy was 'extra' tired and went to bed a little early so daddy could concentrate. It was an excruciating game to watch. The Gophers have switched their offense to the spread option of the last 2 seasons to a more pro style offense that closely resembles what they were doing 3 seasons ago when they were consistently one of the top ten teams in the FBS in rushing every year. Well let me re-phrase that, the formations looked similar, the results where not even close. The run game was pretty anemic, but was some how out done by the lousy QB play and overall play calling. This was Adam Weber's 26th start. That is a ton of starts for a college QB. But he's been starting since he was redshirt freshman. The good thing about Weber has always been his completion percentage. He's always been around 60%. Against the Orange(men) he was struggling mightily around 30%.
And the most perplexing part of the game was the lack of balls thrown towards Adam Decker. He is clearly our best player on offense, which is a little disheartening considering he is a tall slow white guy playing wide out. But he makes plays and has the ability to catch any ball in traffic. He got the ball late in the game, but doesn't excuse the fact he was ignored for 3 quarters.
The good news is, the Gophers walked away with a win. They open their new stadium next week versus the Falcons of the Air Force Academy. I couldn't think of a worse choice for a the first home game, but what do I know? The Academy isn't necessarily a powerhouse, but their spread option causes good defenses problems. Plus, they aren't really a big draw, so a lose looks especially bad. Their D is worse than the gophers, so the game might total in the hundreds.
In other news around the FBS, BYU knocked off the #3 team in the land Oklahoma. I hope Sam Bradford is able to recover from his injury in time for the NFL combine. If he falls out of the top ten, then you'll be less likely to see guys stick around for one more year of college football. He was draft eligible last year, but wanted to stick around for a shot at a national championship. Obviously, that is out the window, but hopefully his future isn't.
The team I was most impressed with is Alabama. They completely man handled Virginia Tech. I was too much of a ninny to bet it, but I did take them in both of my pools. Their O line looked very seasoned considering all of the new starters. And their linebacker corp is just unfair. Hightower and McLain sound like a crappy action movie, but they are 2 Bama LB's who are 6'4" 250 and move like race cars. I know I picked Ole Miss to win the SEC west, but I'm now leaning more towards Bama.
It's hard to quantify who looks worse, the ACC or the Big Ten, but it doesn't look like either will be competing for a National Championship this season. The best team in the ACC got clobbered by Bama. Illinois, a team picked by many to be a dark horse B10 title team, got thumped by a rebuilding Mizzou. PSU and Michigan won easily but they second teams were pretty ineffective in the second half's which is a clear sign that they aren't a very deep team. Add that with OSU inability to close out a severly out classed Navy team, and there is no reason to consider these two conferences in the National Championship discussion.
Two more games left on the docket tonight. The Big East opens their season with Cincinnati, last years champ headed to Rutgers. Rutgers is giving 4.5 in this one. Rutgers loses some talent this year, but they have a the best O line/D Line combo in the big east. Brian Kelly has been a miracle worker at Cinci and won the conf title last year even after using every QB on his roster. I'm giving the points in this game and feel pretty confident about it. It's worth 2 units.
FSU plays host to Miami. I think both of these squads are loaded with talent and this game could probably go either way. I look for a close game that is dominated by defense. I'll take the points and hope that this one comes down to a field goal. Miami +6.5.
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