I don't normally blog about the sports, but I've finally some time to give my take on the opening weekend of college football.
I had to laugh yesterday when Michigan got whooped by Appalachian State. This has to be the biggest upset of all time, and I'm glad it happened to Michigan. I never felt they were deserving of all the hype they drummed up last year and this year in the pre-season polls. There are maybe four or five elite college football programs (tOSU, Florida, Texas, and USC...maybe LSU or Oklahoma). Michigan is not one of those schools. They are pretenders. Their problems are two-fold: no speed and no ability to adjust. Every team that plays Michigan from here on out will hit them with spread offenses and score all over the Maize and Blue. The teams with any kind of athleticism will beat Michigan. They'll be lucky to make a bowl game. Besides, that Mike Hart is a punk.
The thing that no one is talking about when considering the Michigan collapse is that they're glad it didn't happen to their team. My Buckeyes came through and smacked around Youngstown State. Defending champs Florida did the same in their game. Even Texas forgot to show up against Arkansas State but still managed an eight-point win. None of the fans of those teams wanted to be in the same place Michigan is today. I'm glad they were the first big-time D-1 program to lose to a D-1AA school and so is every other fan of a college football powerhouse.
Speaking of my Buckeyes, they were solid in their opener. They played a solid game and didn't embarrass their opponent. I am concerned about the poor performance by Beanie Wells on the ground and the loss of one of their starting defensive ends, but not all that much.
The Big Ten actually looks better, despite Michigan's flop. Michigan State, Purdue, Indiana, Penn State, and Wisconsin all looked impressive in their opening games. Even Illinois looks vastly improved in a losing effort against COMO's own Missouri Tigers. It looks to be a very balanced conference this year. The top teams don't look as strong as a year ago, but the overall strength of the conference looks way better.
Back to Illinois...they look super talented. They nearly pulled off a great comeback versus the Tigers who need to find a defense. The Illini showed some great athleticism on defense and proved to have some game-breakers on O. I bet they'll make a bowl game this year.
Speaking of Mizzou...don't count on them winning the Big 12 North. You can't win a conference without a defense. Their offense looks way more explosive than last year, but they can't stop anyone from scoring. I'd expect a lot more scores like Saturday's shootout.
OK. I'm done with the sports stuff for now. I have something way more interesting in the works.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Sunday Evening Quarterback
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5 comments:
I concur. Except about Illinois. I think Ron Zook is the worst coach in college football. He's a hell of a good recruiter, but he's not a great coach. He recruited all the talent that Florida had last year when they won the National Championship, but he couldn't do anything with them...it took Urban M. to get the job done. What Illinois needs to do is keep him around for five years so he can get a top-notch group of players, put up with a slew of .500 seasons, then fire him for a coach who can do something with the talent.
Zook's the football equivalent of Quin Snyder. Were you here when Quin was at MU? He always had like the 5th best recruiting class in the nation, but the team always struggled to make it into the tournament. Also, Quin was rumored to be a cokehead.
Be careful. You don't work with Quin, do you?
I usually feel the same way about Zook, but he did a pretty impressive job getting his team back into the game. I expect them to have a pretty good year...until they enter the Horseshoe in November.
I was here long enough to see Quin get fired. I had also heard the coke rumor many a times and his alleged fornication with a certain discount chain heiress. It's hard to believe that he came from the basketball loins of Coach K.
Let's hope you aren't eating your words in November when UM and OSU meet!
Who's "anonymous"? It doesn't matter. UM is 1-5 in their last six meetings with tOSU, including three-in-a-row. App. St. beat Michigan. There is almost nothing tOSU could do that would beat that.
Just guess who in your world "anonymous" might be:-)
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