For of Paul's work, check him out on Chuckoliver.net
I could go several ways with this piece. I could say that it was embarrassing, that it ruined a promising season before it started, that it was catastrophic…. But I don’t feel that way completely. Coaches will tell you when they watch the game tape that it’s never as good as you thought and it’s never as bad as you thought. The fact of the matter is this is a dreadful loss for Ole Miss. A loss that will almost assuredly keep them out of a signature bowl game. A loss to a school that isn’t even in the same subdivision as Ole Miss much less the vaunted SEC can mean several things, loss of senior leadership; overconfidence; poor coaching decisions; bad luck or even all of the above.
Folks I don’t need to restate, when it’s 31 – 10 at the half, the game should not be at all in doubt. It looks like I felt a little too good about the front 7 or didn’t pay enough attention to a porous secondary. Or I gave them too much credit for showing up and playing as hard as they could for 4 quarters. The Rebels defense only managed about 2.5 Quarters in this one.
Ole Miss won the battle with the NCAA but they forgot to win the war. A decision that was incorrect in regards to Jeremiah Masoli was righted. Houston Nutt didn’t know quite what he had in Nathan Stanley and depth was thin. He did what he had to do to make sure he had enough firepower on offense. That offense scored 48 pts. That should be more than enough….unless you play in the SEC West it seems.
Defensive Coordinator Tyrone Nix has got to be disgusted with himself and how his team played in the 4th quarter and the overtime period. They could not make a stop against Jacksonville State no less. The Rebels played very soft zone coverage in the second half and they mustered almost no pressure until the overtime period. They played the 4th quarter as if they had a 100 pt lead. Not only did they quit which is a significant indictment, they didn’t look all that ready nor fit to play football against the other team on the field, never mind the Gamecocks they faced don’t hail from Columbia, South Carolina…these Gamecocks reside in Alabama.
Let me take a brief pause from eviscerating the Ole Miss defensive effort (it was very poor) and credit the real hero’s of this game. Yes Ole Miss is supposed to be better than Jacksonville State. They have more money; they have more cache; they are the SEC program…. But they weren’t the best team on the field in this game at full time. It wasn’t luck that won this game for Coach Jack Crowe and his team. It was effort. They actually wanted to win this game. Ole Miss just wanted it to be over at half time. Former Alabama Mr. Football Coty Blanchard a freshman QB and also the team’s punter led the Gamecocks back in the 4th Quarter shredding the Rebels open and receptive soft zone that never stiffened even in overtime. Former overlooked Georgia High School Stars Alan Bonner (Newnan) Calvin Middleton (North Cobb) and QB Marques Ivory (Northside Warner Robins) all played huge roles in this win but the magnificent 30yd strike that Coty Blanchard tossed on 4th and 15 in double overtime was the stuff of legend. The fact that a true freshman made that pass at that time against an SEC caliber defense… improbable to say the least but it was a great play on both ends. Then to manage a falling down almost goof of a pass to Middleton under extreme pressure to convert the 2pt and win…. It was an amazing comeback really. When you consider that Jacksonville State played 2 different Quarterbacks and STILL scored on their last 6 possessions has to say something about the Ole Miss defense and how much they were not prepared for what they saw in this game. Jacksonville State was absolutely the better team on the field for at least the second half last Saturday and that is really hard to swallow if you’re an Ole Miss Rebel.
Even with the complete and total defensive breakdown, there were bright spots for the Rebels. First off, Nathan Stanley has made the most of his off season. He looked very sharp starting the game and threw for 3 touchdowns. They also ran the ball well with Boldin who averaged over 6 yards per carry but it remains to be seen if they can do it against an SEC defense. The other good news is that Masoli can even play at all. He didn’t look as sharp as Stanley but he’s only had a very short time to mesh with the offense and he will come around. Masoli will be vital to this team if they are going to bounce back and make something of themselves this season. His rush for the first down in overtime indicates the kind of ability he has and how important his talents are to his new team.
The other really good news is that this game doesn’t count for anything for more than a week or so. Sure, it could effect bowl standing, but if you handle your business in the SEC that won’t matter. Houston Nutt has said that this was his worst loss in his career and he’s had a few bad ones. No doubt this hurts, but it’s not impossible to rebound from this. They do have a talented team they just need to wake up and play like it. It’s an embarrassing loss, but it’s just one loss. No reason to let this one beat them the entire season. They obviously can score points and they have a lot better defense than they let on last Saturday. In another town at another time Houston Nutt took a very talented Arkansas team who lost their opener in a fairly embarrassing fashion and got them to the Georgia Dome for an SEC championship game. It doesn’t look good at this point…but they can recover from this and become a pretty good football team. This all said welcome to Michigan’s hell. Ole Miss will be the butt of jokes for years to come after this game they must accept their fate, own it and move on.
Lastly, the joy that people have found calling this loss karma for accepting Jeremiah Masoli into the program at Ole Miss is a bit comical to me. Masoli is an elite talent at QB. Ole Miss had an opening and needed at least the depth and talent Masoli provided. He looked at his options and took advantage of a rule that allowed him to play. Morality and therefore Karma does not exist in college football no matter how much some wish it to be so. Houston Nutt did his job as head football coach finding a way to make his team better before the season started. Unfortunately maybe too much of his focus was on the offense. Tyrone Nix has got quite a bit of explaining to do and he’s got a hard road ahead of him getting his squad ready for SEC play. They cannot afford another effort like that, otherwise resume’s will need to be sharpened.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Darn you Hokies!
Boy did the Hokies blow it! As I watched the Virginia Tech Hokies take on the Boise State Broncos at FedEx Field on Monday night, I was sure that Frank Beamer would break his infamous streak of season-opening losses and his habit of losing regular season games to ranked non-conference opponents on neutral fields. Late in the fourth quarter, the Hokies stopped the Broncos and got the ball back with a 30-26 lead and Boise State unable to stop the clock with under three to play. After two running plays, it was 3rd and eight with just over two minutes to play when Beamer and his staff had a brain-fart. The Hokies elected to throw a low-percentage deep ball into tight coverage over simply running the ball and milking the clock. The pass fell incomplete and suddenly a huge punt return had the Broncos in business. Several plays later, the Broncos scored the go-ahead TD and the Hokies were cooked.
I am not playing the “hindsight is 20/20” card here; I was yelling at the television WHILE it was happening, you should RUN IT. Tyrod Taylor was on fire for most of the game, but he was the most effective on the run with short passes. I realize that if the Hokies connect on that pass, then it is ball game: over, but again, I go back to the low-percentage pass selected and thrown. Why in the WORLD would you risk stopping the clock with an incompletion when you could have run about 43 seconds off of the clock before punting?
The Broncos had the ball down around the fifteen yard line of Virginia Tech at the 1:20 mark which is about when the Hokies should have been just punting the ball away with a running play on 4th and four. True Ryan Williams did not get off for any big yardage (though he did rush for two scores and he caught a third), but you are telling me that Taylor couldn’t have scrambled around for about four yards and killed eight seconds before taking forty seconds to punt it away and making Boise State make a miracle run with 1:10 instead of 1:50? That is MAJOR at the end of a game.
The Hokies’ shot at a national title is likely done but a BCS bid is still available. Too bad a poor play call that could have iced the game is to blame. Credit the Broncos for making the plays at the end. Fault the Hokies for allowing time for the Broncos at all.
I am not playing the “hindsight is 20/20” card here; I was yelling at the television WHILE it was happening, you should RUN IT. Tyrod Taylor was on fire for most of the game, but he was the most effective on the run with short passes. I realize that if the Hokies connect on that pass, then it is ball game: over, but again, I go back to the low-percentage pass selected and thrown. Why in the WORLD would you risk stopping the clock with an incompletion when you could have run about 43 seconds off of the clock before punting?
The Broncos had the ball down around the fifteen yard line of Virginia Tech at the 1:20 mark which is about when the Hokies should have been just punting the ball away with a running play on 4th and four. True Ryan Williams did not get off for any big yardage (though he did rush for two scores and he caught a third), but you are telling me that Taylor couldn’t have scrambled around for about four yards and killed eight seconds before taking forty seconds to punt it away and making Boise State make a miracle run with 1:10 instead of 1:50? That is MAJOR at the end of a game.
The Hokies’ shot at a national title is likely done but a BCS bid is still available. Too bad a poor play call that could have iced the game is to blame. Credit the Broncos for making the plays at the end. Fault the Hokies for allowing time for the Broncos at all.
What's happening in Gwinnett sports
This is Score Atlanta's Gwinnett Prep Beat for last week. Enjoy.
North Gwinnett was at it again last week, once again hosting a nationally-ranked out-of-state powerhouse, and once again the Bulldogs left the field victorious. One week after “one heck of a challenge,” from Bob Jones of Alabama, head coach Bob Sphire and his team welcomed in Crenshaw of Los Angeles, California for a nationally-televised tilt on ESPNU. Entering the game, Sphire said that the “community (was) going to be really excited,” and it was after Brandon McGowan returned a third quarter fumble 43 yards to put North Gwinnett up 14-12. The Bulldogs recorded two interceptions in the second half and used a Jeff Hatley field goal to reach the final margin of 17-12. Ethan Kilgore had a first half score and CJ Uzomah played mostly at QB in the second half as the Bulldogs rallied to a victory.
The win over Crenshaw capped a hectic stretch for North Gwinnett where, over the last five weeks, saw the Bulldogs host the Atlanta Falcons’ Friday Night Lights scrimmage, then host Grayson in a televised scrimmage on Fox 5. The Bulldogs then opened the season against Lassiter in the Georgia Dome as part of the Corky Kell Classic, only to return home the next week to face Bob Jones in the Progressive Football Challenge then host Crenshaw on ESPNU. Coach Sphire said of the stretch, “no rest for the weary,” but also intimated that he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I can’t blame anybody but myself (for the schedule). This was the plan when I was hired.” North Gwinnett will a much-needed off-week to enjoy its new No.2 Class AAAAA ranking before hosting Collins Hill next week.
Speaking of Collins Hill, the Eagles were ranked in the Class AAAAA top ten just one week after upsetting Roswell 13-9 and Brookwood invaded “The Hill” for a huge Region-7/Region-8 match-up. The Broncos and Eagles went back and forth, needed two overtimes before the Broncos escaped The Hill with a 45-38 win. Collins Hill QB Taylor Heinicke passed for 399 yards but it wasn’t enough to finish off the rally as Brookwood made one last defensive stand in the second OT to steal the win. Nick Thompkins had 149 yards rushing for the Broncos while Jamaal Cole also broke the century-mark with 124 yards and three TDs.
One interesting note about Collins Hill’s football squad: this year’s edition features a European flavor with senior TE/DE Ville Tanskanen. Coach Kevin Reach said of Tanskanen, a native of Finland, “he’s been very solid for us.”
In a rematch of the 2006 Class AAAAA state championship game, Peachtree Ridge nudged off Roswell for a 24-17 win thanks to a Billy Best-to-Ahmaad Harris 5-yard connection for the game-winning score with under one minute to play. Peachtree Ridge improved to 2-0 and will face Newnan in this week’s Georgia Public Broadcasting Friday Night Game of the Week.
Norcross improved to 2-0 and Parkview fell to 0-2 as the Blue Devils won 14-0, giving coach Maloof his 100th career win. Seth Hinsley and Kendrix Huitt both scored rushing touchdowns for Norcross. In other games, Kent Rollins of South Gwinnett threw two second-half TD passes and ran one in from thirty yards out as the Comets held on to beat ML King 44-41. Duluth improved to 2-0 with a 24-14 win over Northview and GAC knocked off Druid Hill 48-7 to improve to 2-0 after going 1-9 last year.
Outside of the gridiron, Collins Hill softball hurler Kayla Floor tossed a no-hitter as the Eagles defeated Duluth in a Region 7-AAAAA contest. Floor K’ed 12 in five innings of work and received some help offensively from McKenzie Halstead and Brittany Roley. In other softball news, Brandi Jones of Brookwood was impressive on the mound and at the plate in a 3-2 win over Parkview. Jones was 2-3 at the dish and picked up the win over the Lady Panthers. North Gwinnett creamed Peachtree Ridge on the softball diamond 11-3 thanks to 11 Lady Bulldog hits, including four from Lacey Najafi. And finally Grayson Rams pitcher Kanani Cabrales struck out eleven batters in a 4-1 win over Newton. Cabrales went seven innings, allowing just three hits, while collecting three hits at the plate herself. Shelby Smith scored twice for Grayson.
North Gwinnett was at it again last week, once again hosting a nationally-ranked out-of-state powerhouse, and once again the Bulldogs left the field victorious. One week after “one heck of a challenge,” from Bob Jones of Alabama, head coach Bob Sphire and his team welcomed in Crenshaw of Los Angeles, California for a nationally-televised tilt on ESPNU. Entering the game, Sphire said that the “community (was) going to be really excited,” and it was after Brandon McGowan returned a third quarter fumble 43 yards to put North Gwinnett up 14-12. The Bulldogs recorded two interceptions in the second half and used a Jeff Hatley field goal to reach the final margin of 17-12. Ethan Kilgore had a first half score and CJ Uzomah played mostly at QB in the second half as the Bulldogs rallied to a victory.
The win over Crenshaw capped a hectic stretch for North Gwinnett where, over the last five weeks, saw the Bulldogs host the Atlanta Falcons’ Friday Night Lights scrimmage, then host Grayson in a televised scrimmage on Fox 5. The Bulldogs then opened the season against Lassiter in the Georgia Dome as part of the Corky Kell Classic, only to return home the next week to face Bob Jones in the Progressive Football Challenge then host Crenshaw on ESPNU. Coach Sphire said of the stretch, “no rest for the weary,” but also intimated that he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I can’t blame anybody but myself (for the schedule). This was the plan when I was hired.” North Gwinnett will a much-needed off-week to enjoy its new No.2 Class AAAAA ranking before hosting Collins Hill next week.
Speaking of Collins Hill, the Eagles were ranked in the Class AAAAA top ten just one week after upsetting Roswell 13-9 and Brookwood invaded “The Hill” for a huge Region-7/Region-8 match-up. The Broncos and Eagles went back and forth, needed two overtimes before the Broncos escaped The Hill with a 45-38 win. Collins Hill QB Taylor Heinicke passed for 399 yards but it wasn’t enough to finish off the rally as Brookwood made one last defensive stand in the second OT to steal the win. Nick Thompkins had 149 yards rushing for the Broncos while Jamaal Cole also broke the century-mark with 124 yards and three TDs.
One interesting note about Collins Hill’s football squad: this year’s edition features a European flavor with senior TE/DE Ville Tanskanen. Coach Kevin Reach said of Tanskanen, a native of Finland, “he’s been very solid for us.”
In a rematch of the 2006 Class AAAAA state championship game, Peachtree Ridge nudged off Roswell for a 24-17 win thanks to a Billy Best-to-Ahmaad Harris 5-yard connection for the game-winning score with under one minute to play. Peachtree Ridge improved to 2-0 and will face Newnan in this week’s Georgia Public Broadcasting Friday Night Game of the Week.
Norcross improved to 2-0 and Parkview fell to 0-2 as the Blue Devils won 14-0, giving coach Maloof his 100th career win. Seth Hinsley and Kendrix Huitt both scored rushing touchdowns for Norcross. In other games, Kent Rollins of South Gwinnett threw two second-half TD passes and ran one in from thirty yards out as the Comets held on to beat ML King 44-41. Duluth improved to 2-0 with a 24-14 win over Northview and GAC knocked off Druid Hill 48-7 to improve to 2-0 after going 1-9 last year.
Outside of the gridiron, Collins Hill softball hurler Kayla Floor tossed a no-hitter as the Eagles defeated Duluth in a Region 7-AAAAA contest. Floor K’ed 12 in five innings of work and received some help offensively from McKenzie Halstead and Brittany Roley. In other softball news, Brandi Jones of Brookwood was impressive on the mound and at the plate in a 3-2 win over Parkview. Jones was 2-3 at the dish and picked up the win over the Lady Panthers. North Gwinnett creamed Peachtree Ridge on the softball diamond 11-3 thanks to 11 Lady Bulldog hits, including four from Lacey Najafi. And finally Grayson Rams pitcher Kanani Cabrales struck out eleven batters in a 4-1 win over Newton. Cabrales went seven innings, allowing just three hits, while collecting three hits at the plate herself. Shelby Smith scored twice for Grayson.
Friday, September 3, 2010
The Picks are here! The Picks are here!
Yeeee-aaaaah Boyee, the Picks blog has returned to SportsbyFletch has a long winter, interesting spring and hot summer. As we gear up for the second-best weekend of the year (Thanksgiving is CLEARLY No.1), let's pause for a moment to reflect on last night's college football action. South Carolina won, and looked pretty good in the process (hopefully inflating their heads and giving Georgia plenty of film to break down for next week.) while Pittsburgh let me down. You lost to UTAH!?!?! You have Dion Lewis. You suck Wanny! (PS, why is a RANKED Pitt team going out to Utah? What is up with that? you tell THEM to come to YOU!) Finally, USC traveled to Hawaii for its not-bowl game bowl game and dispatched the Warriors Georgia-Style with a 49-36 win (actually, Georgia didn't give up that many points.) I saw an interesting graphic that Matt Barkley, ENTERING the game was already 15th on the USC career completions list. More ammo for me when I say he is the best QB in the country. Oh, Pryor, you say? He had a bunch of TDs last night as Ohio State waxed Marshall, big whoop. It was WeAreMarshall, sans a shirt-less Matty Mac. Get over it. Barkley is better.
Let's move on to our picks. (So far I am 4-1 as I also nailed Miami's win. You'll have to trust me on my picks)
Youngstown State @ #19 Penn State. Hey, Ohio State let Youngstown State go be kilt by someone else this season. Good for Sweatervest. JoePa moves one win closer to 400 and hopefully retirement.
Samford v #20 FSU. First game for Jimbo, wait hasn't he been the coach for the last three years? The REAL story is the first game for Mark Stoops. FSU cruises
Illinois @ Mizzou. No Juice for Zookie and Mizzou has Blaine Gabbert. Advantage: Mizzou. The Tigers are Winnahs
#5 Texas v Rice. I am hoping this game is at Dallas Cowboys stadium. Why in the WORLD are these big teams traveling to smaller schools to play games. YOU ARE FREAKING TEXAS! The Horns hook-em
Purdue @ ND. Brian Kelly is the new coach and Lou Holtz once again thinks the Irish will go undefeated. Well they are playing Purdon't. They'll be 1-0. TJ Jones from Gainesville, GA, and despite the alcohol arrest he will START. Weird, TKing is in a car with 4 other people and an open container and he loses a game. Tai-lor Jones gets popped for underage drinking at a party and he gets to START. PLEASE DON'T TRANSFER TO NOTRE DAME TAVARRES!
UK @ Louisville. the debuts of Joker and Charlie Strong as head coaches. Charlie will eventually rebuild the defense but Joker has been hanging around Lexington for a while, molding the offense. Two words wins this one for the Wildcats: Randall Cobb.
UConn @ Michigan. I love that people from UConn don't like it to be called UConn. I guess how folks from Georgia don't like the UGA. Whatever. Call it UGA if you want to. I'm calling UConn winners this week. After watching Pitt choke away last night's game v Utah, I am now on the UConn for Big East title bandwagon. Go Huskies!
North Texas @ Clemson. After hating Clemson for so many years and calling it Klimpsen, why do I suddenly root for the Tigers? Possibly because I don't live in Tiger country anymore and perhaps it is because of DABO. I am a victim to the Dabo-spell. I love the guy...and I am a Georgia fan. Go Dabo! Tigers rag all over North Texas.
UCLA @ K-State. Remember when Logan Gray wanted to go play at K-State? That still makes he laugh a bit. K-State has a fine running back and it is hard to win in the Little Big Apple...but I'm taking UCLA. They HAVE to step it up, especially after last night.
Richmond @ UVa. For more coverage of Virginia, including how they can go 12-0, visit the Virginia page on http://chuckoliver.net I hear a handsome man writes about UVa over there. I am a fan of London. Daddio is a fan of London (though I think he wishes Tubs had taken the job.) London beats his old team in this one.
San Jose State @ #1 Bama. I see the NCAA read SBF yesterday and decided to rule on Dareus. I apologize to the Tide faithful out there, but honestly, you were going to walk in those two games. San Jose State and Penn State. 2-0. EASY. (Now Cake will throw stuff at me)
Arkansas State @ #22 Auburn. Hey Texas and Pitt, this is how it is supposed to work. You are ranked, the crap teams come to YOU! You think Auburn would ever go TO Arkansas State? Doubt it. It would prolly be an upgrade over the Plains, but they wouldn't go. Take a page out of the SEC book. The crap comes to YOU!
Memphis @ Miss State. Dan Mullen starts gearing up for the Dawgs RIGHT HERE. Wait, what? Georgia is going to easily win that game? Oh well. The other bulldogs win this one.
Northwestern @ Vandy. The winners go 1-0. The losers get jobs at the White House. Congrats Northwestern. You will win the game.
#21 LSU @ #18 UNC. Too bad for Carolina that 17 people will be suspended, likely not all for this game. This game could have been REALLY good if UNC's defense was allowed to play. I think the NCAA got this one wrong. These guys chose to come back to school instead of going pro, but now their draft stock just took a hit with the suspensions. The NCAA punished these guys for exploring the NFL and deciding to come back. (Sort of. The tutor thing is not good either). Now LSU will roll up the Heels and the ACC will take another hit. And the WORST part: I bet a bunch of LSU people won't return to Louisiana for another 5 years. Thank GOODNESS the Saints won the super bowl last year. It got all of those homeless people that came over after Katrina BACK to Nawlins.
Navy @ Maryland. Speaking of the ACC taking a hit.....
#3 Boise State v #10 VaTech. COME ON HOKIES. I cannot believe I wrote that. Something else I wrote was what Beamer's pregame speech should be. Go to http://chuckoliver.net to see what I said. Hokies win to take one fly out of the ointment. PLEASE HOKIES!
SPECIAL PICKS
Lock of the Week
Miami (OH) v #4 Florida. Urban will run the score up to show everyone that John Brantley is a GREAT QB. We don't miss Tebow! And Florida's old Asst AD, who is now Georgia's AD said that he only wants one FBS out-of-conference opponent for Georgia from now on. Great. Crappy games to come and folks poking fun at the Dawgs like they do with Florida. I will go bob for apples in a port-a-potty
UpSet of the week
#24 Oregon State v #6 TCU. I need the Beavers (hey now) to upset TCU to take out another fly in the ointment. Come on Beavers. This one might be legit though as the Rodgers Bros are pretty dadgum good. Throw in my like for Mike Riley and you have a BIG upset in the making. Too bad TCU's qb has Dalton for a last name. JCole will be rooting for him.
Local rooting interest.
SoCar State @ #16 Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets continue to schedule crap for its opening game. Paul Johnson is a genius (just ask him) so SURELY he knows that the Jackets can schedule a tough opening opponent, right? Tech wrecks SoCar State, who doesn't even have a mascot.
UL-L @ #23 Georgia. I don't know what the spread is, but odds are the Dawgs won't cover it. CMR has never done a 70-7 game in his time at Georgia and I don't really want him to show the goods this week with the two toughies coming up the next two Saturdays. I'd love for Aaron Murray to throw for two scores, maybe run one in and for Caleb King to run for two. Maybe give Munzenmaier a score and who knows, the defense or special teams can grab one too. I'd be happy with 52-7. Is that asking for too much?
Let's move on to our picks. (So far I am 4-1 as I also nailed Miami's win. You'll have to trust me on my picks)
Youngstown State @ #19 Penn State. Hey, Ohio State let Youngstown State go be kilt by someone else this season. Good for Sweatervest. JoePa moves one win closer to 400 and hopefully retirement.
Samford v #20 FSU. First game for Jimbo, wait hasn't he been the coach for the last three years? The REAL story is the first game for Mark Stoops. FSU cruises
Illinois @ Mizzou. No Juice for Zookie and Mizzou has Blaine Gabbert. Advantage: Mizzou. The Tigers are Winnahs
#5 Texas v Rice. I am hoping this game is at Dallas Cowboys stadium. Why in the WORLD are these big teams traveling to smaller schools to play games. YOU ARE FREAKING TEXAS! The Horns hook-em
Purdue @ ND. Brian Kelly is the new coach and Lou Holtz once again thinks the Irish will go undefeated. Well they are playing Purdon't. They'll be 1-0. TJ Jones from Gainesville, GA, and despite the alcohol arrest he will START. Weird, TKing is in a car with 4 other people and an open container and he loses a game. Tai-lor Jones gets popped for underage drinking at a party and he gets to START. PLEASE DON'T TRANSFER TO NOTRE DAME TAVARRES!
UK @ Louisville. the debuts of Joker and Charlie Strong as head coaches. Charlie will eventually rebuild the defense but Joker has been hanging around Lexington for a while, molding the offense. Two words wins this one for the Wildcats: Randall Cobb.
UConn @ Michigan. I love that people from UConn don't like it to be called UConn. I guess how folks from Georgia don't like the UGA. Whatever. Call it UGA if you want to. I'm calling UConn winners this week. After watching Pitt choke away last night's game v Utah, I am now on the UConn for Big East title bandwagon. Go Huskies!
North Texas @ Clemson. After hating Clemson for so many years and calling it Klimpsen, why do I suddenly root for the Tigers? Possibly because I don't live in Tiger country anymore and perhaps it is because of DABO. I am a victim to the Dabo-spell. I love the guy...and I am a Georgia fan. Go Dabo! Tigers rag all over North Texas.
UCLA @ K-State. Remember when Logan Gray wanted to go play at K-State? That still makes he laugh a bit. K-State has a fine running back and it is hard to win in the Little Big Apple...but I'm taking UCLA. They HAVE to step it up, especially after last night.
Richmond @ UVa. For more coverage of Virginia, including how they can go 12-0, visit the Virginia page on http://chuckoliver.net I hear a handsome man writes about UVa over there. I am a fan of London. Daddio is a fan of London (though I think he wishes Tubs had taken the job.) London beats his old team in this one.
San Jose State @ #1 Bama. I see the NCAA read SBF yesterday and decided to rule on Dareus. I apologize to the Tide faithful out there, but honestly, you were going to walk in those two games. San Jose State and Penn State. 2-0. EASY. (Now Cake will throw stuff at me)
Arkansas State @ #22 Auburn. Hey Texas and Pitt, this is how it is supposed to work. You are ranked, the crap teams come to YOU! You think Auburn would ever go TO Arkansas State? Doubt it. It would prolly be an upgrade over the Plains, but they wouldn't go. Take a page out of the SEC book. The crap comes to YOU!
Memphis @ Miss State. Dan Mullen starts gearing up for the Dawgs RIGHT HERE. Wait, what? Georgia is going to easily win that game? Oh well. The other bulldogs win this one.
Northwestern @ Vandy. The winners go 1-0. The losers get jobs at the White House. Congrats Northwestern. You will win the game.
#21 LSU @ #18 UNC. Too bad for Carolina that 17 people will be suspended, likely not all for this game. This game could have been REALLY good if UNC's defense was allowed to play. I think the NCAA got this one wrong. These guys chose to come back to school instead of going pro, but now their draft stock just took a hit with the suspensions. The NCAA punished these guys for exploring the NFL and deciding to come back. (Sort of. The tutor thing is not good either). Now LSU will roll up the Heels and the ACC will take another hit. And the WORST part: I bet a bunch of LSU people won't return to Louisiana for another 5 years. Thank GOODNESS the Saints won the super bowl last year. It got all of those homeless people that came over after Katrina BACK to Nawlins.
Navy @ Maryland. Speaking of the ACC taking a hit.....
#3 Boise State v #10 VaTech. COME ON HOKIES. I cannot believe I wrote that. Something else I wrote was what Beamer's pregame speech should be. Go to http://chuckoliver.net to see what I said. Hokies win to take one fly out of the ointment. PLEASE HOKIES!
SPECIAL PICKS
Lock of the Week
Miami (OH) v #4 Florida. Urban will run the score up to show everyone that John Brantley is a GREAT QB. We don't miss Tebow! And Florida's old Asst AD, who is now Georgia's AD said that he only wants one FBS out-of-conference opponent for Georgia from now on. Great. Crappy games to come and folks poking fun at the Dawgs like they do with Florida. I will go bob for apples in a port-a-potty
UpSet of the week
#24 Oregon State v #6 TCU. I need the Beavers (hey now) to upset TCU to take out another fly in the ointment. Come on Beavers. This one might be legit though as the Rodgers Bros are pretty dadgum good. Throw in my like for Mike Riley and you have a BIG upset in the making. Too bad TCU's qb has Dalton for a last name. JCole will be rooting for him.
Local rooting interest.
SoCar State @ #16 Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets continue to schedule crap for its opening game. Paul Johnson is a genius (just ask him) so SURELY he knows that the Jackets can schedule a tough opening opponent, right? Tech wrecks SoCar State, who doesn't even have a mascot.
UL-L @ #23 Georgia. I don't know what the spread is, but odds are the Dawgs won't cover it. CMR has never done a 70-7 game in his time at Georgia and I don't really want him to show the goods this week with the two toughies coming up the next two Saturdays. I'd love for Aaron Murray to throw for two scores, maybe run one in and for Caleb King to run for two. Maybe give Munzenmaier a score and who knows, the defense or special teams can grab one too. I'd be happy with 52-7. Is that asking for too much?
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Rajaan Bennett to be remembered tomorrow night
Georgia Public Broadcasting will be live Friday night at McEachern High School as the Indians take on Lowndes in the Friday Night Game of the Week. Before the game, McEachern will retire the late Rajaan Bennett's number and unveil a memorial so future generations can remember Bennett. Be sure to tune in to gpb.org/sports starting at 7pm.
Coming into the 2009 football season, Bennett was on everyone's list for top senior running backs, but he was behind the likes of Mack Brown, Ken Malcolm and Storm Johnson. On September 11, GPB was at Woodstock High School when Bennett proved just how dominant he could be, rallying his team from a seemingly insurmountable halftime deficit to score three TDs on 22 carries including the game-winning score in overtime. By the end of the year, it was obvious that Bennett was the most valuable back to his team in the entire state. Bennett finished with 1,857 yards and 28 TDs as the Indians went undefeated in the regular season en route to a region championship and a spot in the Georgia Class AAAAA state playoffs.
Before the season, Bennett wasn't on the radar of many college programs but by the end of the year, schools from around the south were trying to nab Bennett. This past February, Bennett committed to Vanderbilt because he realized that student comes first in the term student-athlete. Sadly, Bennett would never step foot on the Nashville campus as a student as his life ended in a tragic incident just days after National Signing Day.
The McEachern family and the Powder Springs community poured forth with support, and on Friday night, the program will retire the No.5 he wore and dedicate a memorial to Bennett. Bennett will not be forgotten anytime soon and Friday night will be meant to honor the memory of a young man that was the son, brother, student, teammate and friend we all should strive to be.
Coming into the 2009 football season, Bennett was on everyone's list for top senior running backs, but he was behind the likes of Mack Brown, Ken Malcolm and Storm Johnson. On September 11, GPB was at Woodstock High School when Bennett proved just how dominant he could be, rallying his team from a seemingly insurmountable halftime deficit to score three TDs on 22 carries including the game-winning score in overtime. By the end of the year, it was obvious that Bennett was the most valuable back to his team in the entire state. Bennett finished with 1,857 yards and 28 TDs as the Indians went undefeated in the regular season en route to a region championship and a spot in the Georgia Class AAAAA state playoffs.
Before the season, Bennett wasn't on the radar of many college programs but by the end of the year, schools from around the south were trying to nab Bennett. This past February, Bennett committed to Vanderbilt because he realized that student comes first in the term student-athlete. Sadly, Bennett would never step foot on the Nashville campus as a student as his life ended in a tragic incident just days after National Signing Day.
The McEachern family and the Powder Springs community poured forth with support, and on Friday night, the program will retire the No.5 he wore and dedicate a memorial to Bennett. Bennett will not be forgotten anytime soon and Friday night will be meant to honor the memory of a young man that was the son, brother, student, teammate and friend we all should strive to be.
Katching up with Kadetrix Marcus. SAOV recap
Earlier this week, Kadetrix Marcus of Stephenson appeared on Score Atlanta's The Official Visit, and co-hosts Fletcher Proctor and Scott Janovitz talked about the recruiting process with the safety. Marcus’s humility was immediately evident as he described his experience. When discussing the dislikes of recruiting, Marcus said, “I hate taking schools out of the process. I feel bad for them. But I do like having choices and visiting places and meeting new people.”
Marcus gave a top three of South Carolina, Tennessee and South Florida. He declared the Gamecocks his favorite to date because Spurrier was the first to offer the safety. “They’ve showed a lot of love and they’ve recruited some of my friends to go there too.” It did seem though that Derek Dooley and the Tennessee Volunteers were hot on the Gamecocks’ heels after Marcus recently returned from a visit to Knoxville.
“The facilities are really cool. I like the weight rooms and the coaches I met at the camp.” Marcus noted that Dooley was a “really good guy,” during the camps. “He coached me up in some defensive back drills, and I chat everyday with the coaches on Face-Book.”
And Marcus was also quick to note that the coaches learned not to try and draw comparisons with former Vol great, and Georgia-native Eric Berry, because Marcus doesn’t see himself a Berry-clone. “I don’t really model myself after anyone. I want to bring my own legacy wherever I go.”
Miami and West Virginia rounded out Marcus’ top five and Miami has an ace in the hole in Tyrone Cornelius, a former Stephenson legend that committed to the Hurricanes last season. The Canes have “a lot of tradition,” says Marcus, as well as a friend in Cornelius that is trying to get the safety down to South Beach.
Friends and teammates other than Cornelius are playing a large role in the recruiting process for Marcus. Teammates Tarik Cook, Jared Boyd, Willie Davis and Jordan Mincy are all weighing offers and several have pledged to a major BCS program and everyone is helping each other out. “We help make decisions and we share information. We’re like a family.”
In the end though, Marcus will have to make his own decision and several factors will go into that decision. Marcus said he will look at the environment of the school as well as the scheme and most importantly, the academic courses available. Location certainly doesn’t matter to Marcus. “I haven’t gotten any offers from Georgia Tech or Georgia, but I don’t mind leaving the state. I’m happy to leave.”
Wherever Marcus decides to go, and he says he’ll decide by December to possibly enroll early, he expects to make an early impact in year one. “I want to get my grades in order, but if I graduate early, I can do that and maybe get in some early playing time.” He lists his strengths as being a great hitter, a reader of offenses and he can come up in the box. “I want to motivate my teammates and be a good leader.” Motivating teammates and providing leadership is certainly the way to start paving your own legacy.
Marcus gave a top three of South Carolina, Tennessee and South Florida. He declared the Gamecocks his favorite to date because Spurrier was the first to offer the safety. “They’ve showed a lot of love and they’ve recruited some of my friends to go there too.” It did seem though that Derek Dooley and the Tennessee Volunteers were hot on the Gamecocks’ heels after Marcus recently returned from a visit to Knoxville.
“The facilities are really cool. I like the weight rooms and the coaches I met at the camp.” Marcus noted that Dooley was a “really good guy,” during the camps. “He coached me up in some defensive back drills, and I chat everyday with the coaches on Face-Book.”
And Marcus was also quick to note that the coaches learned not to try and draw comparisons with former Vol great, and Georgia-native Eric Berry, because Marcus doesn’t see himself a Berry-clone. “I don’t really model myself after anyone. I want to bring my own legacy wherever I go.”
Miami and West Virginia rounded out Marcus’ top five and Miami has an ace in the hole in Tyrone Cornelius, a former Stephenson legend that committed to the Hurricanes last season. The Canes have “a lot of tradition,” says Marcus, as well as a friend in Cornelius that is trying to get the safety down to South Beach.
Friends and teammates other than Cornelius are playing a large role in the recruiting process for Marcus. Teammates Tarik Cook, Jared Boyd, Willie Davis and Jordan Mincy are all weighing offers and several have pledged to a major BCS program and everyone is helping each other out. “We help make decisions and we share information. We’re like a family.”
In the end though, Marcus will have to make his own decision and several factors will go into that decision. Marcus said he will look at the environment of the school as well as the scheme and most importantly, the academic courses available. Location certainly doesn’t matter to Marcus. “I haven’t gotten any offers from Georgia Tech or Georgia, but I don’t mind leaving the state. I’m happy to leave.”
Wherever Marcus decides to go, and he says he’ll decide by December to possibly enroll early, he expects to make an early impact in year one. “I want to get my grades in order, but if I graduate early, I can do that and maybe get in some early playing time.” He lists his strengths as being a great hitter, a reader of offenses and he can come up in the box. “I want to motivate my teammates and be a good leader.” Motivating teammates and providing leadership is certainly the way to start paving your own legacy.
Time to stop dragging your feet NCAA
The 2010 college football season kicks off tonight and I could NOT BE HAPPIER. (Well, maybe if Georgia was playing tonight) Southern Miss is taking on South Carolina and Weslye Saunders will likely miss the game due to an internal matter. Everyone knows though that Saunders was one of the names released as having attended the now infamous Miami agent party.
Saunders also was involved in the hotel scandal at South Carolina, but I guess good thing he was, because the NCAA doesn't seem to want to rule on the players' eligibility anytime soon.
HEY NCAA, YOU KICK OFF YOUR SEASON TONIGHT! PERHAPS YOU SHOULD HAVE COME TO A CONCLUSION BY NOW. And if you haven't, oh well. Time is up. In or out. Yes or no. Make a decision. Don't make Georgia play ULL without AJ Green (I'm still mad at TMZ for that false claim which still got investigators down to Athens. I didn't realize the NCAA watches that douche with the long blond hair). Don't make Alabama play without Marcel Dareus against SJSU if he REALLY is eligible.
And the biggest case out there....don't make UNC face LSU without their 10 or so players due to both Agent-gate and Tutor-gate if they are really eligible. And if they are NOT, SAY SO, so Butch Davis can construct his team accordingly.
You guys are dragging your feet for NO reason at all. Come to a conclusion already. SH*T or get off the pot. Because you are pissing me off on the GREATEST DAY OF THE YEAR!
Saunders also was involved in the hotel scandal at South Carolina, but I guess good thing he was, because the NCAA doesn't seem to want to rule on the players' eligibility anytime soon.
HEY NCAA, YOU KICK OFF YOUR SEASON TONIGHT! PERHAPS YOU SHOULD HAVE COME TO A CONCLUSION BY NOW. And if you haven't, oh well. Time is up. In or out. Yes or no. Make a decision. Don't make Georgia play ULL without AJ Green (I'm still mad at TMZ for that false claim which still got investigators down to Athens. I didn't realize the NCAA watches that douche with the long blond hair). Don't make Alabama play without Marcel Dareus against SJSU if he REALLY is eligible.
And the biggest case out there....don't make UNC face LSU without their 10 or so players due to both Agent-gate and Tutor-gate if they are really eligible. And if they are NOT, SAY SO, so Butch Davis can construct his team accordingly.
You guys are dragging your feet for NO reason at all. Come to a conclusion already. SH*T or get off the pot. Because you are pissing me off on the GREATEST DAY OF THE YEAR!
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