I know, I've been negligent. I've been too heartbroken to focus on football. Each day I'm reminded of the possibility of an Ohio State-FSU national championship game, which would send me on a drinking binge so intense that I might never fully recover. So for now, I say roll tide and go bears. Baylor should be ranked #3. I'm putting that out there. I know they haven't played Texas Tech or Oklahoma State yet, but guess what? Ohio State hasn't played anyone. I'm much more impressed with Baylor, and the Bears should 100% be ranked ahead of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad buckeyes.
For this weekend, I'm a Wake Forest fan. The 2 "good" games outside of the SEC were last night, and Oregon was atrocious. Made me wonder how anyone thought they could contend for a national title. Just awful. Stanford got lucky, but they played smart and took advantage of Oregon's football team completely forgetting how to play football. The final score made it look much closer than it was. Oregon should be embarrassed by that display.
As for this weekend, let's go Huskers! Michigan is not good. If you can't beat them, you're not good. I'd also like to see Houston beat UCF. Alabama will beat LSU again. And Gators. This one would really help with bowl eligibility. South Carolina and FSU still loom....wins over Vandy and Georgia Southern may be necessary to make a bowl game. Regardless, I've never been on board with Will Muschamp. I've made that clear since the start. I wanted Kevin Sumlin as coach, and everyone said I was crazy. I don't know who I want now, but I do know I want Muschamp and Pease OUT. They've had their chances. They've done nothing. Muschamp is afraid to beat his alma mater, and I can't continue living in a world where Florida continues to lose to Georgia. Georgia sucks. I also need someone on the coaching staff who can recruit a decent quarterback! Brantley? Brissett? Driskel? Murphy? Chris Leak, can you maybe take on that responsibility? Clearly no one else can...I'm hereby assigning that job to you. Find UF a QB ASAP. Thanks.
Chris Doering will be serving as the "celebrity" Mr. Two Bits for homecoming. We could really use the Wuerffel/Doering pair on offense right now.
Ah, to have a quarterback...
Thankfully, today officially marks the start of the Florida basketball season. Our boys tip off at 3pm, playing the Ospreys of North Florida. Unfortunately, we'll be short-staffed "indefinitely." We'll beat UNF, though. I'm worried about who will be available Tuesday. I can't have us losing to an overrated Big Ten team - especially one my brother attended. Billy Donovan, please take a page out of the Ole Miss playbook and leave the remainder of the Harris/Finney-Smith suspensions for the start of SEC play. And if they can't play, let's just hope enough of our team is healthy enough to beat Wisconsin. I'll say it before anyone else says it, and I'll say it proudly as usual: THE BIG TEN WILL NOT WIN A MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP THIS SEASON. My brother has this pattern of making stupid bets with me. Usually he'll bet me something like "$20, 1,000:1 odds, Purdue goes undefeated." And I say, "Okay, easiest $20 I'll ever make." And I win. This year he bet me $1, 5000:1 odds, Wisconsin goes undefeated in basketball. Of course I took the bet. Can't make an easier dollar.
Also, I'm planning to go to two Gator basketball games next month, and I could not be more excited. Hopefully the team will be healthy by then!
All 3 of my teams are on the road this week. Nebraska's backup QB
will start on the road at Purdue, and that's the one I'm least worried
about (because it's Purdue...I mean, they're one of the worst teams in
one of the worst conferences). Nebraska should beat Purdue. But the other 2 games are cause for
concern.
Rutgers plays tonight in the biggest test of
the season for the Scarlet Knights: on the road at overrated
Louisville. Sure, Rutgers is only a successful 2-point conversion away
from an undefeated season, but that near meltdown at SMU was a bit
troubling. Props to SMU on that 2-point conversion in regulation
- though I'm still 100% sure the touchdown that brought you to that
point was a foot short. It doesn't matter now since the better team
won, but the officiating was quite poor. Start the video below at about 9:00. He didn't get in. But for tonight, let's go RU! Chop Louisville!
The Gators looked fine against Arkansas. But I mean, it was Arkansas. It was Bielema. I can't take them seriously right now. And I was satisfied with Nebraska's relatively easy win over Illinois, who is not good.
The most disappointingly overrated team of last weekend: Northwestern. Are you kidding me, Wildcats? Ohio State is not good!!!! How much did Urban pay you guys to lose that game? If Ohio State plays any team with so much as a hint of a defense, they're going to get slaughtered. Braxton Miller is not good, and Hyde only looks good because of his level of competition. And Kenny Guiton, who is clearly the best player on Ohio State, is back to riding the bench. Great coaching by Meyer...
While Northwestern clearly shouldn't be ranked, there was one team last weekend who shouldn't be anywhere near the top 25. In fact, I don't know if they belong in the top 100. You know who I'm talking about. The Maryland Terrapins. They just climbed inside their little shells for 4 quarters and let FSU have its way. That was just embarrassing - and not just for Maryland. It's embarrassing that the voters actually snuck Maryland into the top 25 to make it look like FSU destroyed a ranked team.
Washington played a close game with Stanford and I came away disappointed. That game pretty much came down to whoever had home advantage would win. I'm excited for Washington-Oregon this weekend, and I really hope the Huskies feed off the home crowd and can stop Oregon's explosive offense, which I think is far superior to Stanford's. Let's go Huskies!
As much as I despise Georgia, I see Missouri's undefeated run ending this Saturday in Athens. I don't think Oklahoma is that good this year, but I don't think Texas has a prayer in this year's Red River Rivalry. The Sooners will be eating Bevo for brunch. I actually think South Carolina is going to struggle at Arkansas after that pathetic display against Kentucky, which they only won by one score. I understand how important Clowney is to the team's success, but it still shouldn't have been so close at home against a team like Kentucky. I think South Carolina comes away with a victory at Arkansas, but not by much. And Northwestern loses at Wisconsin.
And then there's the big one. Florida goes on the road to LSU. Well, the good news is LSU's defense has looked sad in every game, and Florida's defense is arguably the best in the country once again. The bad news? Florida's offense has been far from impressive, and LSU is averaging more than 45 points per game. The Gators are only giving up about 12 point per game. So who wins out? Florida's defense or LSU's offense? I'm just happy it's not a night game in Death Valley. Don't let me down, Gators!!! BEAT LSU!!!
Thank you, USC. Thank you, thank you, thank you. FINALLY. No more Kiffin. Will anyone else want him? He's clearly not a good coach. Or a good person. All I know is he better not end up coaching the New York Jets.
From the Florida-Tennessee game in 2009. I flew down just to watch Lane Kiffin lose and cry.
The Gators beat Kentucky. I never get tired of saying that. Longest active win streak in an uninterrupted series - 27 in a row. GO GATORS!
But Wisconsin couldn't quite pull through for me, so I wasn't exactly satisfied. As usual, Wisconsin played a close game and lost at the end. Even with a new coach, they have the same approach to college football. I'm more interested in what Wisconsin's former coach is up to this weekend...
Bielema, you're not ready for THE SWAMP. You kept it close with the money badger, but they have no defense. Florida is has a fantastic defense. Arkansas does not have a fantastic defense. This is not the sorry Big Ten. This is REAL college football, Bielema...I wouldn't expect to make it to a bowl game this year. Earlier this year, someone told me they expected Arkansas to start 4-0 and lose every other game. I said Arkansas was losing at Rutgers. Sure, the Scarlet Knights took a while to get going. But they pulled off the win. The Swamp is a much more hostile environment than High Point Solutions Stadium.
Rutgers will beat Southern Methodist (sorry, June Jones!). Nebraska should beat Illinois. Really, really pulling for the Terps at FSU this weekend! Pulling for a big upset at Stanford too - let's go Huskies!! Is Northwestern actually any good? I'm thinking no, but I'm also thinking Ohio State is tremendously overrated. Also, they benched their better QB. SO LET'S GO WILDCATS!
Most importantly, Florida will beat Arkansas to improve to 3-0 in the SEC. GO GATORS!!!!
I know I've complained a lot about Driskel (because he's a turnover machine) and I have jokingly said I'd break his legs. I just want to be clear...I didn't actually want Driskel to break his leg. I just wanted him to sit on the bench and give someone else a chance. I wish Driskel a speedy recovery. At the same time, I hope Tyler Murphy can make the most of this opportunity and finally give the Gators a QB worth cheering for (for the first time since Tebow). Also wishing Easley a speedy recovery.
So Murphy stepped in and helped the Gators beat Tennessee for the 9th consecutive time. Nebraska (sans Martinez) beat South Dakota State, not surprisingly. And Rutgers had the best comeback of the week. Take that, Bielema! Rah Rah! A friend of mine who works for Arkansas texted me to gloat in the third quarter of the game. He spoke a little too soon. Way to finish, RU! (side note: the Gators men's basketball team could learn a thing or two from the Rutgers football team about how to close games...)
For those who haven't heard it directly from me, I'd like to reiterate: I think Ohio State is better with Guiton than Miller. I said this after the Purdue game last year and I stand by it. Don't get me wrong, they're not winning a championship this year with Guiton either. I just think they're so invested in the Miller hype that they're ignoring a better player. No surprise, though, given who Urban Meyer let play RB at Florida... Two words about their game this weekend: ON WISCONSIN.
Bucky the Badger at Nebraska's Homecoming Game in 2012
Picks this week:
If it wasn't clear, I'm picking Wisconsin to upset the tremendously overrated Buckeyes. Ole Miss, you've had a decent start, but Nick Saban will pay the refs whatever is necessary if this game gets close. I'm honestly still not impressed with Alabama, but they'll win this game. Oklahoma will beat Notre Dame - but who cares? Torn on LSU-Georgia....but I think I'm going with LSU. Georgia showed they don't play well against Tigers, so I'm picking cats over dogs. Rutgers and Nebraska are off this week, so that leaves me just one team to worry about: FLORIDA.
Ronald Reagan was President of the United States the last time Kentucky beat Florida in football. None of the players on either team were alive the last time it happened. They live in a world where Florida doesn't lose to Kentucky in football. And I think that stays the same.
Okay, so Alabama vs Texas A&M was good if you ignore the fact that neither team felt like showing up on defense. But really, where are all the good games?
Arizona State-Stanford COULD be good...but who knows. I'm not sold on either team. Arizona State arguably beat Wisconsin because the refs were confused.
Stanford's defense struggled with Army. I don't think there are any good teams in college football this year. But what I can tell you for sure in the Pac 12 is that Cal is absolutely awful. Ohio State plays no one, and I was really hoping Cal would come through with a big upset. Instead, they basically gave Ohio State a 6 minute head start in which the buckeyes scored 21 points. After that, Cal actually outscored Ohio State by 3 the rest of the game, but it was too little too late. Let's go FAMU Rattlers! Beat those silly, overrated Buckeyes!
Oregon's offense looked good as usual, but they'll slip up. Likely at Washington. Auburn, you had a nice start...but LSU wins this weekend.
Rutgers - you better beat Arkansas. Nebraska - I don't care who is injured, you better beat South Dakota State after that pathetic display last week. I mean really...did you just decide to only play for one half? Awful. Basically just proved how awful the Big Ten is. Don't even get me started on Michigan-Akron. Zips should have won....but I guess Hoke gave the refs just enough money to blow the game.
Let's be real...there's only one game I really care about this weekend. LET'S GO GATORS. BEAT THE VOLUNTEERS AGAIN!!!!!
Why does Tennessee have checkerboards in the end zones? ...Because they can't spell Tennessee.
I've had a really busy week, and I'm still trying to recover from that complete Jeff Driskel meltdown last week. What makes me sadder is knowing (as a life-long Jets fan) that the Jets will probably draft Driskel. Driskel, you are now Brantley 2.0. Congratulations, you failed. Maybe you should have stuck with baseball.
I'm going to pick Oregon over Tennessee. Tennessee just better lose next weekend, that's all I know. Nebraska, please get your revenge on UCLA today. You're at home - no repeat performance of what you did against Wyoming. I hope Ole Miss blows out Texas. Rutgers will beat Eastern Michigan. Louisville will beat the SEC's worst team. I'm also picking Arizona State to beat Wisconsin.
Cal SHOULD have beaten Ohio State last year in Columbus. I'm not buying this last-minute decision nonsense on Miller that Meyer is talking about. That's a bunch of garbage. He will play, and he'll play most of the game (unless of course he gets scared and has another "injury" ...he's like the Greg Oden of football). Hyde isn't playing though. And they gave up 20 points AT HOME to BUFFALO. I'm all about Cal in this game. LET'S GO GOLDEN BEARS!!
And of course...there's really only one game that counts for anything this week: Alabama @ Texas A&M. I think Johnny Manziel is kind of an ass. And I really don't like Nick Saban. You know, I really don't want an Alabama three-peat, but I am so sick of hearing about Johnny Football - so as much as it pains me to say these words: Roll Tide.
Most importantly, the Gators can't disappoint me this week. Thankfully. Last week they gave me enough disappointment for the entire season. I'm ready to see what Tyler Murphy is capable of....
GO GATORS. Big showdown in South Florida this weekend - but I'll get to that.
First, let me say that Oregon State, USF, Kansas State and Iowa are not good. Let me add that Georgia and Ohio State, two teams I loathe, are seriously lacking on defense and it makes me oh-so-happy.
Nebraska, get your act together. That was a pathetic win. And Rutgers? You broke my heart. I know it was late and you wanted to go to bed....but next time just kick the PAT.
Gators...you did what you had to do to beat Toledo. We still own the state of Ohio. I wasn't necessarily impressed, but I didn't expect to be. A smart team of coaches would hold something back for Miami and surprise them...so I'm hoping for a big win over that tropical depression. Also, FAU didn't even look that bad against Miami. I hope Miami wasn't holding much back - but we've all seen ACC defenses. (I'm thinking Georgia should consider joining the ACC after that performance against Clemson.)
Now, there aren't too many fantastic games this weekend, so I'm pretty disappointed in the scheduling. I mean, give me a break. Ohio State/San Diego State is (where I live) on ABC at 3:30pm. Umm, really? That's a more anticipated matchup than Florida-Miami?? Just because Ohio State is insanely overrated? Just another prime example of Big Ten bias. Apparently putting a MEANINGLESS Michigan-Notre Dame game in primetime wasn't enough. So now I have to watch the hungover Gators play at noon in the hot Miami sun. I don't care if Miami is unranked in the AP poll and ranked last in the USA Today poll. This is a rivalry game that is only played every 5 years, and well, it's just plain disrespectful to put it on the air that early. Yeah, I get it, Miami is a thing of the past. But the Gators are in the SEC! Not the always overrated Big Ten that hasn't won a championship since a questionable call more than a decade ago!
And with that mini rant, I give you some picks for this week:
Ohio State will beat SDSU - but not by as much as you think. They will lose on the west coast next weekend. I'm picking South Carolina over Georgia because a) I hate Georgia; b) I like Steve Spurrier; and c) Georgia has no defense, evidently. I'll pick Notre Dame (coin flip) in a game I don't care about at all. Oregon should slaughter Virginia. Houston beats Temple. Cincy beats Illinois Rutgers beats Norfolk State. Nebraska pulls it together and more impressively beats Southern Miss.
And come on. You already know.
GATOR NATION, BABY. Beat the Hurricanes. Eat some ibis for brunch. GO GATORS!!!
So, who will be good this year? I'm really not sure. Injuries and departures have me less than optimistic about the Gators, but I support my team unconditionally. Thursday night we'll see the SEC beat the ACC (battle of the Carolinas) and Rutgers beat Fresno State. Rah! Rah!
On Friday - Texas Tech and SMU could be interesting. I hope FAU is good and beats those Hurricanes...but I don't expect it.
As usual, not many good games the first weekend - but still, it's college football season, so I'm excited! I'm interested to see how good Mississippi State is this year, and I think Oklahoma State will be a good first test for them. I think Alabama will follow South Carolina's lead and beat an ACC team in Virginia Tech. That one could be ugly. I'm really not sure why Clemson is ranked so high, and as much as I hate Georgia, I'm predicting 3 SEC over ACC victories this weekend.
Side note: I hope Taylor Martinez has a good year. Nebraska will have no problem handling Wyoming.
Of course, I am very much a Buffalo Bulls fan on Saturday, but I won't be watching them play the evil Buckeyes because a much more important team plays 21 minutes after that game starts. The Gators own the state of Ohio, so I'm confident Florida will beat Toledo. GO GATORS!!!
Alligator at the American Museum of Natural History
Okay, I have to get this off my chest. These are my own personal views and do not reflect any school, company or organization with which I am affiliated. But this has to be said.
I am a longtime ESPN viewer, and I'm extremely disappointed with the dissipating quality of programming. When I watch games or game analysis on ESPN, I now feel the same way Mark May feels when he goes on the air with Lou Holtz: completely frustrated that I'm listening to someone who has no idea what he's saying. Every year Lou Holtz says the same thing "Notre Dame will win the national championship." It's like he doesn't even know we're not in the 1980s anymore. Maybe his world is some weird version of Groundhog Day, and every day is January 2, 1989. Fast forward to 2013, Notre Dame truly finds the luck of the Irish (Should have lost 2-3 games easily) and they'll play for a national championship. Do I think they'll win? Absolutely not. The SEC owns college football. I may not like Alabama, but I respect SEC football. But until they play next week, Lou Holtz looks slightly less out of his mind.
Today I sat through 2 BCS games, featuring Stanford and 3 BCS misfits (Wisconsin, Northern Illinois & FSU). I was actually happy to see Corso pick Northern Illinois, though I have a feeling he was told by his fellow FSU fans to do so because he's known for being wrong. But it was better than seeing his usual biased nonsense. Seriously, the 3 weeks this year that FSU's rival, Florida, was featured on GameDay, Corso picked 2 live dogs (for Texas A&M and Tennessee), and then when he was finally smart enough to pick the Gators, he had to be a jerk by doing the FSU chop while holding an alligator - in Gainesville. Nice, Corso. How'd it feel to see the Gators beat your precious Seminoles IN TALLAHASSEE? Yeah, you got that pick wrong too.
Anyway, ESPN has started saying a lot of things that just...irk me. Like how most announcers on ESPN obviously don't know the primary definition of "fortuitous." But I let that slide because most of them didn't go to school to develop their vocabularies, and I'm sure they've been hit in the head a lot. But because of those types of people, the meaning they have ascribed to the word is now acceptable in the English language. I guess this shouldn't surprise me in a world where "f-bomb" and "amazeballs" are in English dictionaries.
My linguistics background is hardly the main source of my frustration. But perhaps a lexicology review would help. For example, when someone on ESPN refers to FSU as a "national power," I get confused. In my vocabulary, "national power" means someone who actually plays and beats - or at least plays close games with - strong competitors. I think of a "national power" as someone who contends for a national title...or has won a national title in the last decade. ESPN's definition is..."losing to NC State, but beating Boston College and losing at home to best team on the schedule (Florida)." Agree to disagree?
According to ESPN, FSU has a "great defense" that is "a different animal." In my mind, this would be more along the lines of....Alabama's defense from last year. You know, holding quality opponents to low scores and shutting out LSU in a national championship game. ESPN's definition is apparently "holding Murray State to 3 points and shutting out Savannah State." Another difference of opinion?
Maybe ESPN is just excited about FSU because of Corso...or because Samantha Steele married an overrated former Seminole. Who knows. But that's another thing: replacing Erin Andrews with Samantha Steele. A Florida grad with a Liberty grad. Who do you think knows more about the college football experience? Just saying... Don't get me wrong - I don't think she's bad at her job, but she seems so nervous on camera, doesn't always seem to know about the stuff she's clearly reading, and well, Erin was just better.
So obviously I'm a Florida alum and I'm biased and I'll never credit FSU with anything other than it's clown college. And obviously I've stated in the past that I don't exactly have a fondness of the Big Ten....but my biggest pet peeve of all this year was the constant reminder - for at least 3 months before the season even started - that "the Big Ten is back." According to ESPN, being "back" means...the conference champion finished 8-6 as a BCS misfit. They went what, 2-5 in bowl games?
I can't get over this one. And all the hypothetical nonsense about Ohio State...and "what if they didn't impose the bowl ban?" I'll tell you what would have happened: they would have had to forfeit all wins later because they're cheaters. Plain and simple. Also, teams would have actually cared about beating them. I'm sorry, but a truly elite team does not need overtime AT HOME to beat Purdue. A 5-loss Oklahoma State team just beat Purdue on a neutral field 58-14. UCF made it a game with the Buckeyes. Cal completely outplayed Ohio State in Columbus. They barely beat Michigan State (by 1 point), who finished with only 3 conference wins. Needed overtime to beat Wisconsin - who went to the Rose Bowl by default because 1/3 of the Big Ten Leaders division was ineligible. Let's be real. If Ohio State had any postseason hope, teams would have cared to beat them.
Go ahead. Say I'm biased and uninformed. But what I'm saying is true. ESPN should have asked for a dictionary for Christmas. And now that it's basketball season....see my post from last year about Joe Lunardi's true accuracy. But judging by all the Big Ten football hype, I can't say I'm surprised that ESPN gives credit and praise where it's not due. If I say to someone "Duke will make the field of 68," that person will stare blankly and maybe even throw something at me. But when Lunardi says such blatantly obvious things, he probably gets a raise.
::SIGH::
Anyway, it's officially January 2nd (after 2 in the morning now) and I'm too excited to sleep because the Sugar Bowl is today, which means GATOR TIME!
Sorry, Charlie (Strong), but I'm all about the orange and blue.
