T1B

A month in. We've had a chance to see our teams in action. What have you learned about your squad. Are they better, worse, or about the same as you projected? What are your adjusted expectations for your team?

Leading off.....Michigan.

Game one vs. Central Michigan went exactly according to script. The team had been killing it since January in the weight room and per the blogs were ready to kick serious ass. They did, as they should.

Next came UM/ND under the lights II. Michigan moved the ball at ease vs the Irish. Devinard got a tad careless with the ball and kept the domers in the game longer than they should have. Michigan missed an opportunity to blow ND out.

Akron....holy hell! What happened here? A team that has won one game each of the past three years, that last beat an FBS team three years ago....takes Michigan to the last play of the game and should have won. I know that The Horror (App St) happened under Lloyd's watch, but keeping an inferior opponent in the game felt strangely like the Rrod years. Surely it was a letdown game after a very emotionally charged win a week earlier. Devinard looked uninterested and coughed the ball up in a variety of ways enroute to a Houdini job. With senior leadership there is no way Michigan will under prepare for a lesser opponent again.

UCONN....Holy Fuck! Late 3rd quarter and UM finds itself down two td's. How did we get here? A Devinard pick six, a punt that deflects off a guy giving UConn a 7 yard field, and an offensive line that could not block my wife from getting to my cock. The defense plays well against a team that couldn't score if it were A.P. on shore leave, but played well nonetheless. Any road win is a good win, more so if it's a young team's first plane ride.

So where is Michigan.......

We are what I thought we'd be, 4-0. The bye week comes right on cue. The o-line must tighten up and blow B1G teams off the line. If they don't come together UM will lose 3 games. If Devinard cannot regain the confidence he played with last year and zip the ball on the deep out routes and crossing routes and seam routes to the TE's we may lose 4. If he throws first and runs only out of necessity (with any oline competence) we go to the B1G CCG. If the light comes on and the o-line gels with Fitz and D-Green (who will emerge in the conf. slate) the sky is the limit.

gun to my head? 10-3.

Go Blue!

Mechicken is not a very good football team... and the bye week will not help their hideous condition.

Their next game in a couple weeks (at home)... will end up in a loss to Minnesota.



Minnesota's QB should play both ways... when he's not being the team's QB.

He should be playing DT for the Gophers.


That guy has some wheels for a guy his size and he's a fucking load to bring down.



Good luck with that.

Colorado:

If you'd told me a month ago that CU would be undefeated right now, I'd have been pretty stoked. Of course, I'd have assumed that they'd be 3-0 with a win over Fresno St.

Instead, CU is 2-0 with wins over CSU and then-FCS #5 Central Arkansas, with the Fresno game still up in the air due to crazy-ass flooding in Boulder. Assessing the Buffs would be a lot easier if they'd actually played FSU last week. As it stands, there's reason be hopeful, but I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid just yet.

The good:
The Buffs put up 10 more points against Colorado St. on a neutral field than the No. 1 team in the country did at home. They've shown an early ability to overcome adversity, rallying to win after blowing double-digit leads in both games. The defense looks much improved and has made big plays in both games to shift the momentum back in the right direction. Oh yeah, and we might just have the best wide receiver in the entire goddamn nation in Paul Richardson.

The bad:
They've blown double-digit leads to CSU and a fucking FCS team. Every punt and kickoff is a terrifying experience. A three-week break after just two games could produce more rust than rest. They play in the toughest conference in the nation.

At this point, it's nearly impossible to evaluate this team objectively. This Saturday's game at Oregon St. will make things a lot more clear. A win means a bowl game is a realistic possibility. An ugly loss means the two wins we have may be all we get this year (which, btw, is still twice as many as we had last year).

The season could ultimately hinge on what becomes of the Fresno game. Since the teams don't share a bye week, the earliest they could make it up is 12/7 (CCG weekend), and FSU may very well have another date that night. The other option is to just cancel the FSU game and try to schedule a different opponent on our only other bye week, 10/19. Possible opponents include SDSU, SJSU (Coach Mac's former team, so maybe he could pull some strings) or another FCS school. If it comes down to another FCS school and the Buffs ultimately finish 6-6, they could petition the NCAA to count the second FCS win toward their bowl eligibility.

Gun to my head: 5-7
It's one more win than I predicted at the beginning of the season, but I need to see how they play against an AQ school before I can realistically predict a bowl berth.

WolverineSteve wrote:Next came UM/ND under the lights II. Michigan moved the ball at ease vs the Irish. Devinard got a tad careless with the ball and kept the domers in the game longer than they should have. Michigan missed an opportunity to blow ND out.

Wow, really? You should send a thank you note to Brian Kelly and Chuck Martin for not calling more running plays.

We're a pretty bad football team right now.

I knew we would struggle on offense since Coach Taggart is employing a new system and the personnel we have was recruited to run a much different offense. Our offense has given up 5 TD's to the opposing defense through 3 games.

Defense has looked ok, but we'll see if there really has been improvement when Miami comes to town this weekend.

Sudden Sam wrote: Could easily lose this weekend.

Quit being so emotional. Bama will kill 'em.

LSU:

Best offense we've had in years, which isn't saying much. Defense is down a good bit but will still win a few games for us the rest of the way. 2-3 losses and a mediocre bowl win. Les does stupid stuff and some people will still call him a genius instead of the retard he really is.

Python wrote: Best offense we've had in years, which isn't saying much.

Agree. Offense looks very good... by LSU standards.

Defense is down a good bit but will still win a few games for us

Disagree. While the defense lost 14 starters the the pros last season, they still look like a damn fine unit to me. Looks like a top 5 team to me, until something changes that.

My team:

Best offense ever, which is actually saying a lot. Mariota takes things to a new level -- got both the arm, the brain, and the wheels to make big plays, which he's done in spades. Being 4-deep at WR also adds a new dimension. DAT is a threat to score every time he touches the ball, and his 3rd year in, he's very workmanlike about it -- seems to enjoy standing on the sideline watching the 3rd stringers playing in the blowouts. Beyond DAT, Byron Mashall has been a little disappointing at RB -- sure, he's getting carries at RB at Oregon, so he obviously doesn't suck, just not up to the standards we've been spoiled with in recent years. But we fear not, since freshman Thomas Tyner is eventually going to assume those duties, and the nation will be shocked at what he can do.

The defense lost some guys to Sundays, but the next-in-line are very good. But with Alioti's fast-and-loose style, things haven't quite meshed completely. The secondary has played lights-out, but the front 7 aren't quite getting the run stopping that's going to be needed to stop the big power teams, but it seems to improve every week... and when you score 60 a game, you've got a bit of c cushion for defensive lapses.

Expectations? 13-0, then we'll see what happens after that.

schmick wrote:The issue is Kiffins lack of confidence, not only confidence in himself but confidence in his OL and QB.

Actually, Kiffy's confidence lack is with the defense. He doesn't feel he has enough horses so he wants a ball control offense that will keep the D off the field.

Sounds about right to me and they should hurry up and sign him to a long term contract while the price is ebbing...

Don't know about all these start of the season bye weeks....tough to get a thorough read. We've beaten who we should've (including Huskers) and will face Utah in Utah which had been nightmarish with former limp coaching.

This season will boil down to two weekends. We'll be 5-0 going into murderers row with consecutive weekends AT Oregon & AT Stanford. After that we travel to Arizona and then play in the south central mausoleum.

If we can split the the oregon/stan games and run out, we should be in place for a tidy BCS bowl game.

After the Utah game we have ANOTHER bye week vs. Kal.

At least Chizik didn't leave as big a mess as Tot Bowden did; it took Tuberville two years to get Auburn back to a bowl game. Looks like Malzahn will get there in one year.

AU is one or two linebackers away from having a respectable defense, and one veteran QB away from contending for a Conference championship.

Chizik was a linebacker when he played at Florida, but he couldn't recruit any while at AU. Hopefully, Rodney Garner will fix that.

Michigan State

Offense - bad
Defense -good

That's about it.

The Seer wrote:
After the Utah game we have ANOTHER bye week vs. Kal.

Silly ruin...


Psst... Cal is 7-4 over the last decade or so against fUCLA.


How'd last year taste ?





Note: Bigelow going to the house on you !

schmick wrote: At least USCs players can safely cross a road

And the Father of the year award goes to...


Horrible, even for you Schmick.

schmick wrote:At least USCs players can safely cross a road

Yeah, but their kickers have a bitch of a time near cliffs.

*shaking head*

For all intensive purposes, Mizzou should be 4-0 going into the conference against the ‘dores. With SEC defenses playing decidedly un-SEC-like football this year, the Tigers actually have a puncher’s chance to compete in the East.

Mizzou WILL score points. Franklin appears to look more like the guy that accounted for 4,000 yards of offense and 36 touchdowns back in 2011, than the guy who missed four games with injuries and accounted for less than half those numbers last year. Granted, an early steady diet of the Toledo’s and Murray State’s of the world can do that for you.

In addition, the O-line is healthy, and you cannot discount the return of Henry Josey to complement the tandem of Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy in the run game. Mix in a stable of big-time wide-outs led by Marcus Lucas and DGB that will one day play on Sundays, and we should go bowling this season.

The question is, of course, can Mizzou score more points than their competition? Despite recently sending several D-linemen and ‘backers to the NFL, the secondary remains (very) suspect. The return of starting linebacker Andrew Wilson to the lineup against Indiana last Saturday after sitting out the first half for a ‘targeting” call he suffered against Toledo (bullshit) made all the difference in shutting down the high-flying Hoosiers. Bottom line, the D is thin in depth and cannot suffer a lot of attrition if the Tiger’s wish to compete in conference this season. I see a whole lotta 42-38 games in our future…

M2 wrote:Psst... Cal is 7-4 over the last decade or so against fUCLA.

UCLA is (50-32-1) against California

This is fun!

regardless of today's outcome, i think this is an 8 or 9 win maybe 10 type OU team....unless Blake Bell or D catches hellfire in a bottle (whatever the fuck that means).

state of the program overall, i like the assistant coach changes Stoops has made since last year...and i like the young guys....still a little concerned about Heupel as OC....but, show us Josh. his period of being immune to criticism as a former great player is over. he spent one year under Leach, really....smart player; but no one is really in love with his play calling....but we never are....

i think OU is headed in a nice direction for the upcoming years....state of program. state of this season, dunno....7-10 wins.

Dinsdale wrote:Disagree. While the defense lost 14 starters the the pros last season, they still look like a damn fine unit to me.

BBBWWWAAAHHHAAA!!! Please stick to Orgeon football. Our defense is not good at all.

Python wrote:

Dinsdale wrote:Disagree. While the defense lost 14 starters the the pros last season, they still look like a damn fine unit to me.

BBBWWWAAAHHHAAA!!! Please stick to Orgeon football. Our defense is not good at all.

What do you mean?

They held UGA to 44 points, only 3 above their average so far.

The pass defense, while looking pretty lost most of the time, was just playing possum.

Yeah, I was off on that one.

What happened that the SEC became the "no-defense-conference"? The Big12 is going to start to make fun of your defense.

Yep. The only thing I can guess is we've tapped out on talent across the league? No clue really. All I know is the SEC will not be National Champs this year.

Python wrote:All I know is the SEC will not be National Champs this year.

Maybe we should go ahead and play the games anyway.

While the SEC has been on a hell of a run, we all know there's an ebb and flow of power in CFB, always has been. The ACC wasn't going to stay shitty forever, and the PAC doesn't take kindly to not being dominant. The rest of us will enjoy laughing at the crap the B12 has become, but I doubt that lasts long (they'll start playing defense someday), and they'll be kicking everyone's ass soon enough (if Texas' greed doesn't destroy the conference).

When it comes to LSU, I generally err on the side of caution, since they've kept the cannon loaded enough to absorb atrition (not that atrition isn't exactly the same for every school) for a loooong time. I guess losing 43 starters to the NFL is going to take a year to get over.

I suppose it speaks well of LSU football that we're talking doom-and-gloom about a team that's still in the top 10.

FWIW, I'd take LSU over tOSU if they were to play this saturday (and I'd take the over, if it was less than 100).

Mettenraper is getting his game on this season.

Python wrote:The only thing I can guess is we've tapped out on talent across the league?

Ya'know, you got me thinking, Py... maybe the SEC's success over the last several years is their "undoing"? With the huge influx of TV money, there's more competitive teams in the SEC. South Carolina is pulling some very good players (and one who I thought was going to have the greatest season EVER, but seems to be mailing it in), MSU is buying landing some top recruits, Florida is always going to get their share, now ATM is in the mix... hell, Vandy has landed a few good ones. Bama and LSU aren't getting the pick of the litter like years past (although it seems like Florida stepped in when Bama was under sanctions, and that party is over).

The CFB dynamic is kind of strange this year. Hell, I'm not sure Louisville couldn't beat anybody right now (but we won't know until January, when they actually play a team that doesn't invoke giggles).

Dinsdale wrote:Ya'know, you got me thinking

Sorry everybody.

So Bama plays A&M, LSU, and... ?

If there's more than 3 undefeated teams, that alone should keep them out of the Championship Game.

Not quite tOSU weak, but freaking weak.

And tOSU weak isn't quite Louisville weak.

Dinsdale wrote:So Bama plays A&M, LSU, and... ?

Georgia in Atlanta, most likely, which should be enough to get 'em over the top. That said, you don't get style points for rolling Mississippi...

Sudden Sam wrote:I'll be the first to agree, the Tide has a fairly easy road this year. Just the way the rotating schedule panned out. We'll have Florida or Georgia or South Carolina next year as the non-rivalry East game. Just the way it works.

No way an undefeated Louisville or Ohio State should get by the Tide if UA wins the SEC title.

Or Clemson.

Win the SEC, we'll be there.

What if tOSU runs the table and Alabama loses to LSU along the way to winning the SEC title?

Goober McTuber wrote:

Sudden Sam wrote:I'll be the first to agree, the Tide has a fairly easy road this year. Just the way the rotating schedule panned out. We'll have Florida or Georgia or South Carolina next year as the non-rivalry East game. Just the way it works.

No way an undefeated Louisville or Ohio State should get by the Tide if UA wins the SEC title.

Or Clemson.

Win the SEC, we'll be there.

What if tOSU runs the table and Alabama loses to LSU along the way to winning the SEC title?

Then Stanford will play Clemson in the MNC.

Mikey wrote:

Goober McTuber wrote:

Sudden Sam wrote:I'll be the first to agree, the Tide has a fairly easy road this year. Just the way the rotating schedule panned out. We'll have Florida or Georgia or South Carolina next year as the non-rivalry East game. Just the way it works.

No way an undefeated Louisville or Ohio State should get by the Tide if UA wins the SEC title.

Or Clemson.

Win the SEC, we'll be there.

What if tOSU runs the table and Alabama loses to LSU along the way to winning the SEC title?

Then Stanford will play Clemson in the MNC.

I wasn't asking you.

Mikey makes me laugh.

Loving Oregon's chances against Tree.

Matter of fact, I'm about 90% confident.

Dinsdale wrote:Mikey makes me laugh.

Loving Oregon's chances against Tree.

Matter of fact, I'm about 90% confident.

Pretty sure you said something similar last year.

Difference is, Stanford is better on both sides than they were when they stuffed your running game at Autism.

When you stuffed I'm Smater Than You, There's No Way You Can Stop Thi's arrogant ass ran the same play over and over and over?

Yeah, bet on that happening again.

OK maybe you'll double your score this time. You'll lose by 14 if you do.

Sudden Sam wrote:

Goober McTuber wrote:

Sudden Sam wrote:I'll be the first to agree, the Tide has a fairly easy road this year. Just the way the rotating schedule panned out. We'll have Florida or Georgia or South Carolina next year as the non-rivalry East game. Just the way it works.

No way an undefeated Louisville or Ohio State should get by the Tide if UA wins the SEC title.

Or Clemson.

Win the SEC, we'll be there.

What if tOSU runs the table and Alabama loses to LSU along the way to winning the SEC title?

The Buckeyes would undoubtedly finish ahead of Alabama.

But playing their schedule, they shouldn't...even considering Alabama's schedule this year.

Shut the door, you SEC Ball Sucking Homeboy. Their schedules aren’t terribly different. Each has their cupcake, each has 3 ranked teams (though the SEC teams tend to be obviously overrated). The advantage would have to go to tOSU for daring to schedule 37-time defending national champions from Cal.

Dinsdale wrote:When you stuffed I'm Smater Than You, There's No Way You Can Stop Thi's arrogant ass ran the same play over and over and over?

Yeah, bet on that happening again.

What ever happened to propping the team that beat you?

Goober McTuber wrote:

Dinsdale wrote:When you stuffed I'm Smater Than You, There's No Way You Can Stop Thi's arrogant ass ran the same play over and over and over?

Yeah, bet on that happening again.

What ever happened to propping the team that beat you?

I did. Last year. Then Mikey-Come-Lately decided to start running his mouth.

"WE SHUT DOWN THE RUNNING GAME AT AUTZEN!!!!!"

The poor fool seems to forget that if past performance is indicative of future results, My Squad dropped an asskicking for the ages in Palo Alto the year before. And I think Tree's QB at the time might have been a little better.

53 points... in your house. And Oregon is a much better team now, with a lot more offensive weapons.

So, how's that "b-b-b-b-b-b-but in previous years" thing working out for you?

Now that I've seen a few Furd games, I'm not too worried (which I have been over the three seasons prior).

I'd say Mikey should act like he's been there before... but he hasn't.

A reasonable explanation. Carrion.

Dinsdale wrote:

Goober McTuber wrote:

Dinsdale wrote:When you stuffed I'm Smater Than You, There's No Way You Can Stop Thi's arrogant ass ran the same play over and over and over?

Yeah, bet on that happening again.

What ever happened to propping the team that beat you?

I did. Last year. Then Mikey-Come-Lately decided to start running his mouth.

"WE SHUT DOWN THE RUNNING GAME AT AUTZEN!!!!!"

The poor fool seems to forget that if past performance is indicative of future results, My Squad dropped an asskicking for the ages in Palo Alto the year before. And I think Tree's QB at the time might have been a little better.

53 points... in your house. And Oregon is a much better team now, with a lot more offensive weapons.

So, how's that "b-b-b-b-b-b-but in previous years" thing working out for you?

Now that I've seen a few Furd games, I'm not too worried (which I have been over the three seasons prior).

I'd say Mikey should act like he's been there before... but he hasn't.

Apparently your memory doesn't go back more than two years, homeboy.
They did shut down the running game, and the passing game pretty much...in your house...last year.
Before that game you were just as much of a condescending asshole as you are now. Sorry your year was ruined - best to get ready for it to happen again.
Defense won it last year, and the defense is better this year, plus the offense is a whole lot better.

And if all you can bring is spluttering rant you might as well wipe the saliva off your chin and just shut it down.

Mikey wrote:Sorry your year was ruined

I guess that's the difference between Stanford and Oregon -- finishing #2 in the country means the season is "ruined" (at least to you).

And Stanford lost to the Fuskies. THAT is what Ducks fans consider having a season ruined.