Gooblog's Weekly College Gridiron Week 4

The Fifth Quarter

An all time low?

            Saturday’s game with Nebraska was nothing short of an ultimate disaster.  Not only did the team come out with a lack of passion or fire on offense, the defense, minus Leonard Johnson’s play, looked about as bad.  I hate ripping on athletes and coaches, but something just frustrates me more than normal about the past 2 weeks’ defeats.  I don’t normally like ripping on coordinators, but certainly some play calling Saturday for our offense was questionable at beast.  The shotgun draw doesn’t work.  Never has.  Never will.  Please don’t call it anymore.  We need Robinson and J.J. coming forward with momentum, perhaps out of an I formation, not waiting to get the ball only to see the defense in their face right as they get the ball.  Another thing is taking shots deep down the field.  Yet so see one.  I saw a few 10 yard slants, but no hint as to opening up the playbook and taking a shot down the field—Personally I think Austen Arnaud is a good quarterback, he just hasn’t had the chance to make some throws downfield to a group of WR’s who can make plays!  A&M comes to town, but they’ve been playing very well the past few weeks, Jerrod Johnson scares the daylights out of me, but hopefully the Clones will show some pride, a little heart, and turn around their season….

Longhorns looking tough

            Boy does Mack Brown have an excellent team down in Austin?  It’s been fun watching baby-faced Colt McCoy mature into an excellent quarterback for the Longhorns.  He completed 29-32 passes Saturday.  3incompletions.  Just look at his stats the past 2 games, both versus top 10 national ranked teams—57 of 66 for 614 yards, 3 TD’s, and no interceptions.  The scary part is these statistics are against, Oklahoma and Missouri, not just your typical bottom-feeder Big 12 teams.  Let’s not forget about the Longhorn D.  DE Brian Orakpo made his case for being the best DE in the country Saturday, constantly applying pressure to Chase Daniel, forcing the Mizzou offense to operate in much quicker conditions than their liking.  I think it’s a blast to watch fiery Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp on the sidelines, boy does he light a fire under his group. 

A Hurricane Brewing?

            Todd Graham will have his name thrown out for coaching vacancies during the winter this year.  He has now had success turning around Rice and now continued success at Tulsa post-Steve Kragthorpe.    The Golden Hurricane offense is overpowering everyone in its path, averaging 56.6 points per game.  Senior quarterback and team leader David Johnson has a 31:8 TD to INT ratio, and leads the country with 212.82 quarterback rating.  To determine if this team is legit, look to the next 3 weeks, as Tulsa goes on the road to play Arkansas and Houston 2 out of the next 3 weeks. 

Tidbit Time

·         The nation’s hardest team to figure out?  Maryland.  The Terps own impressive victories over Cal, Clemson, and a recent shut-out of Wake Forest.  You look at the loss column and it just makes you scratch your head.  A loss to Middle Tennessee State, and a 31-0 thumping to Virginia.  How about their week 1 victory over Delaware State 14-7?

·         Al Groh has hushed critics over in Charlottesville for the time being.  The Cavs started out 1-3 with a 31-3 loss to lowly Duke.  Cedric Peerman has stepped up and led the Virginia offense, the way people thought he would pre-season.  A 3 game winning streak now has the Cavs at 4-3 with a big game on the road at Georgia Tech on tap this weekend.

·         Chase Clement has quietly had a stellar career for the Rice Owls.  He led the Owls to a 45-40 win over Southern Miss last weekend, passing for 444 yards and throwing 6 Touchdowns.

·         UTEP defense surrendered 777 total yards of offense to Tulsa this past weekend, losing 77-35 to the Golden Hurricane.

·         Former University of Iowa assistant Chuck Long is hurting over in San Diego.  The Aztecs lost 70-7 to New Mexico last week, and now move to 1-6 on the year, including a loss to Cal Poly.

·         Des Bryant continues to thrash Big 12 defenses, catching 11 passes for 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns to go with the victory over Baylor last weekend.

TiVo Time

I’ll analyze some match-ups later, but first I want to cover some teams who are on upset alert this weekend

#2 Alabama @ Tennessee (7:45 ET ESPN)

            The question of this game is how much will not having DT Terrance Cody affect the Crimson Tide Defense.  I know he is only a defensive tackle, but Cody truly the key to their defense.  He constantly takes on at least 2 blockers every play, freeing up space for super-soph MLB Rolando McClain to roam the field making tackles left and right.  Nick Stephens has replaced Jonathan Crompton at QB and is coming off his best game last Saturday against Mississippi State.  Stephens can’t afford to turn the ball over and RB Arian Foster must step up in order for the Vols to have a fighting chance.  I like the Vols D to give J.P. Wilson and co. troubles, in part due to the play of sensational sophomore cornerback Eric Berry.  He sure is a tremendous talent.  Goob’s take: I like the Vols to knock off the Tide in a close battle down in Rocky Top, 24-13.

#5 USC @ Arizona (10:15 ET FSN)

            The Trojans come in gaining momentum on their way to another National Title chase after the debacle in Corvallis about a month ago.  They travel to Tucson to take on a very underrated Wildcat team, fresh off a big win against Cal last weekend.  Senior QB Willie Tuitama (what a name!) leads the Arizona offense, throwing 15 TD’s to just 3 picks so far this season.   A name to remember for this game is another water-bug type of running back for the Wildcats in Keola Antolin.  Antolin had been hampered by injuries earlier in the year, but surged through the Golden Bears D last week for 149 yards.  Antolin will remind viewers of Oregon State RB Jacquizz Rodgers, the tiny water-bug runner who helped the Beavers to an upset of the Trojans earlier in the year.  Goob’s take: I really like the Wildcats, but I think their lack of pressure on Sanchez will allow the Trojans to escape with a hard-fought victory, 38-31 USC.

Normal games….

#3 Penn State @ #9 Ohio State (8:00 ET ABC)

            What a game!  It certainly has the makings of a thriller in the horseshoe!  The Nittany Lions travel to Columbus looking for their first victory there in 7 games.  Talented QB Darryl Clark leads the impressive spread-HD offense, with WR Derrick Williams making plays all over the field.  I think the key to this game will be can the Penn State defense contain Terrelle Pryor and keep him in the pocket.  I think this is where the talented QB could make some mistakes—through the air.  Look for the Lions’ Aaron Maybin and Maurice Evans to have big days for the front 7 of the Penn State D.  Pryor has looked phenomenal in recent outings, certainly sparking the Buckeye offense, but there’s just something special about this Penn State team.  I like them to get things done on the road in a close Big Ten grudge match, 17-14 Nittany Lions.

#6 Oklahoma State @ #1 Texas (3:30 ET ABC)

            Holy shoot-out.  McCoy has played brilliantly this season for the Longhorns.  He is clearly the Heismen favorite in my opinion.  We know the Cowboys have an underrated defense, and coordinator Tim Beckmen will have his players ready, but will the Cowboys offense be able to keep up and match the point total Texas will produce?  In order for the Cowboys to have a shot, QB Zach Robinson must step up and have a big game and Okie State must be able to establish a run game with Kendall Hunter against a ferocious Longhorn D led by DE Brian Orakpo.  Goob’s take:  I like the Longhorns to keep rolling, beating the Cowboys 44-28.

#7 Georgia @ #13 LSU

            People are picking the Dawgs to come into Death Valley and win big.  Not so fast my friend.  I think the Tigers are prime for a big win, and desperately need one.  Les Miles will have his men ready for battle come gametime, led by bruising RB Charles Scott.  The X-factor could be shifty and speedy Keiland Williams, whether it be in the return game or new offensive plays coordinator Gary Crowton has devised.  I like the Tigers to win at home, 35-32 LSU.

Other Games to watch this weekend

·         Auburn @ West Virginia - weird seeing no ranking behind these 2 teams.  Can Pat White stay healthy and lead a balanced Mountaineer attack with RB Noel Devine?

·         #8 Texas Tech @ #23 Kansas (12:00 ET ESPN) - How will the Jayhawk D contain Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree?

·         #16 South Florida @ Louisville (3:30 ET) – Will the vastly improved Cardinal defense be able to give Matt Grothe enough fits to spark the upset?

Well that’s all for this week.  Hopefully another VERY good weekend of college football is ahead of us.  Hopefully Lucca’s knee is ok and our basketball season will be okay, until next time…