Dagum
I knew the Bucs would not win many games this year. But I didn’t expect them to be cover-your-eyes terrible. This is Ray Perkins level ineptitude. Tim Tebow returned for the Gators, not that he was really needed. Bobby Bowden’s chance to silence the growing furor over his future was squandered by Mickey Andrews’ defense.
Hot Bobby
Bobby Bowden. The man. The myth. The legend. To put it any other way (on all counts) would be unfair. I don’t like the team that he coaches. And I’ve made quite a bit of fun at the man’s verbal affectations over the years. But the guy turned a program around 180 degrees, and then drove them to the top of the mountain. You can’t deny any of that. But you also have to point the finger with regards to the small hand full of players who were not fine and upstanding gentlemen.
All that being said, he should probably be allowed to go out on his own. But, he should also be willing to listen to people around him when they say that maybe it is time for him to make that decision sooner instead of later. I’ve seen plenty of Noles fans who say something to the effect of “if Jimbo was so great, shouldn’t we be winning?” I think that has some validity. But it does seem like Jimbo Fisher is not the final arbiter in Nole Nation.
The way that Jim Smith and others involved with the Seminole program have gone about ousting Bobby is reprehensible. They should have brought him into a meeting, and discuss it like adults. And in private. Now that it is out in public though, I think that level-headed Seminoles fans should quietly and calmly urge their Saint to retire. Hand over the team to Fisher. And become a highly compensated “consultant” to the University and the athletic department. I belive that the Seminoles cannot return to prominence in their current fragmented state. Two bosses are worse than no bosses.
Side Note: Do NOT do a Google Image Search for “hot bobby”. Well, unless men doing things with other men is your thing. NTTAWWT
Half Speed
Superman returned to the field. As it turned out, he probably didn’t need to come back this week. The Gators defense ruled the game from start to finish. Addazio seemed to only read from two or three pages from the playbook. I would rather they had sat Tebow and run a better offense. As the game turned out, Tebow had to take more hits because the game was close. On the other hand, it was good to get him action in a game at full speed.
What concerned me more was that in the two biggest games so far, the offense was held back. Arkansas is going to challenge the defense next week. And that unit cannot carry the team all year. So it would be nice to see the offense playing up to their expectations, and with the entire playbook. I understand why on Saturday night. But either way it does not instill much confidence in the unit.
Arkansas sports the NCAA’s 95th best defense, and 15th best offense. Compared to 1st and 6th, respectively, for Florida. On paper, it should be a massacre when Florida has the ball. Which should allow the defense to go crazy. But unless Meyer and Addazio allow the team to play wide-open it may not happen. This is what worries me.
TV Times for upcoming games:
vs. Arkansas - 10/17 3:30 PM ET on CBS
at Miss. State - 10/24 7:30 PM ET on the Worldwide Leader or the Deuce
vs. Georgia - 10/31 3:30 PM ET on CBS
Road To Pasadena
The Harris Top 10 (to switch gears)
1. Florida
2. Alabama
2. Texas
4. Virginia Tech
5. Boise State
6. USC
7. Ohio State
8. Cincinnati
9. LSU
Okay, so UF/Alabama are co-number-ones for all intents and purposes. Presuming they meet in Atlanta the winner goes to Pasadena. That’s about as easy a call as one can make to this point. If Texas takes care of Oklahoma on Saturday, they’re also in the driver’s seat. Thus, barring something awfully strange, making it a three team race. However, should Texas lose the situation changes dramatically. This is where Virginia Tech starts to get some hope of playing for the glass football. With a Texas loss, the Hokies move up to the defacto 2nd spot along with USC. But I would think that VT gets the nod just because they have had better games through the season, and a “better” loss. The only thing that could work against VT could be if Alabama wins the SEC. The human polls have shown that they are not big fans of rematches. And their vote counts for 2/3rds of the BCS ranking. Given all of that, here is my re-tooled top 10.
1. Florida/Alabama
2. Texas
3. Virginia Tech
4. USC
5. Boise State
6. Ohio State
7. LSU
8. Cincinnati
9. Iowa
10. TCU
0-16, Looking Better Every Day
I’m going to say it until it happens. Start. Josh. Freeman. There is ZERO excuse not to put him on the field now to start learning the game at NFL speed.
Now that that’s out of the way, what the hell? What’s morbidly funny is that once you get past the individual stats, the Bucs look like they might have won the game, or at the very least kept it close. First downs, time of possession, 3rd down efficiency, and yards rushing all are in favor of the PiPP. But turnovers and big plays were the story. The Eagles only made it into the red zone one time, and scored. But the defense gave up those big plays that allowed for 3 other touchdowns to come from long distance. From the distance of the box score, this one seems a lot like the Dallas game. If you watched it, was it closer than the score? Or much worse?
Can we please let Clayton go? He’s all mouth and no hands. He had one good season, and then a few good games. That’s not good enough in this league kid. Maybe it wasn’t Gruden’s fault after all.
Sunshine Scooter’s Headgear Record
Lee Corso is 3-3 so far this season with his famous “headgear” game picks. However, he is on a 3 game losing streak having selected LSU, Penn State, and Oklahoma the past three Saturdays. I don’t know what this means, but I found it funny.
Running Items
Breath Of A Salesman
Those indecipherable Nike “Combat Football” spots with Adrian Peterson bother me in so many ways. But the one that got me once I figured out who was featured, AP is not a player who is likely to spend too much time out in the elements. Consider that he plays 8 games a year under the roof of the Metrodome. Add in the annual date with Detroit at Ford Field and that’s a guaranteed 9 dates indoors every year. This year, the Vikings will play at St. Louis and at Arizona; both domes. So for 2009 Peterson will only have the opportunity to play outdoors 5 times.
Rush Watch 2009
I just realized that I missed this for TWO straight weeks.
Week of 9/21-27:
Ole Miss @ South Carolina* - 139-65 Ole Miss
USF* @ FSU - 153-19 USF
Mich St @ Wisconsin* - 193-90 Wisconsin
Miami (FL) @ VT* - 272-59 VT
Iowa* @ Penn State - 163-109 Iowa
ND* @ Purdue - 167-74 Irish
LSU* @ Miss. State - 151-30 MSU
I think the LSU-MSU stat is the exception that proves the rule almost. MSU was over-matched on paper, but worked their way to within three feet of beating the Tigers. Their ability to run the ball had to be a factor in that.
Week: 5-2, Overall 18-10
Week of 9/28-10/4:
Mich @ Mich State* - 197-28 MSU
FSU @ BC* - 188-70 BC
LSU* @ Georgia - 156-45 LSU
Auburn* @ Tenn - 224-151 Auburn
Oklahoma @ Miami (FL)* - 153-140 OU
Week: 4-1, Overall 22-11
Week of 10/5-11:
Auburn @ Ark* - 242-221 Auburn
UGA @ Tenn* - 162-89 Tennessee
Kentucky @ South Carolina* - 205-128 UK
Ok State* @ Texas A&M - 169-109 OSU
Alabama* @ Ole Miss - 200-72 Bama
Florida* @ LSU - 193-66 Florida
GT* @ FSU - 401-180 GT (yes, you read that right)
Michigan @ Iowa* - 195-83 Michigan
Week: 5-3, Overall 27-14
So, through what SI.com calls the 6th week of a 15 week season, in a rivalry or hotly contested game the team that can run the ball better is about 66% more likely to win the game. Though I think the next logical step in this analysis would be to correlate time-of-possession and turnover margin with the rushing numbers. Keeping the other team’s offense off the field and protecting the ball are keys to victory.
Watch List 10/15-10/19
Cincinnati at South Florida - 7:30 PM ET ESPN
Oklahoma vs. Texas - 12 PM ET ABC
Georgia at Vanderbilt - 12:21 PM ET SEC Network
Arkansas at Florida - 3:30 PM ET CBS
USC at Notre Dame - 3:30 PM ET NBC
Reverse Watch
Joe Buck. Come on. Really?
About 9 minutes to go in the first quarter of the Dallas-KC tilt, The Buckinator spat out “a double reverse!!!” When in fact it was the single reverse.
Remember, for it to be a reverse, the ball must reverse direction on the field.
Citi National Championship (Not The Rose Bowl)
Florida vs Texas
Super Bowl XLIV
Minnesota vs Denver
