Dawg Thoughts
Been a while since I've written, but I think I'll write a little more now that Heather is in a more difficult rotation and will be around less. Have to keep myself busy, maybe this isn't the most productive way, but at least its not (too) harmful.
Crazy game last weekend. I was expecting a tough game, but I wasn't expecting the complete dud that it was for 3.5 quarters. I knew the Buffalos had a pretty good defense and that their offense just wasn't executing well to win games...but that they would put that all together soon. And I knew they'd be well coached and hungry. That's a proud program that has won the Big XII North 4 out of the last 5 years and they were going to be tough. But I'm also one of those pessimistic fans and I was also (sorta) worried about Western Kentucky and UAB. I knew it would be tough but figure in the second half we'd pull away.
Here are some thoughts on the Colorado game, just for some closure:
Depth: I think that's what won us the game. You can tell the Buffs defensive line was getting tired towards the end of the game.
RBs: Lumpkin looked the best, but don't count out Thomas Brown. The holes weren't there for him, all year really. And they've been tackling him well. He's been strong in kick returns and receiving so I expect him to bounce back and have a big game soon.
QBs: Didn't help Stafford that the wide outs kept dropping balls. Staff was playing well, but as his receivers started to grease their hands, his confidence went down. And that's where you saw him throwing behind guys or overthrowing balls. Cox came in the guys started to play better around him. Maybe its leadership, who knows. But neither played bad and both deserve playing time this week.
WRs: They did catch the ball and make plays towards the end of the game, including the maligned MoMass. Moved the chains when we had to.
TE: Glad Millner had that catch. He's had it pretty tough past couple of years, with dropping passes and making special teams mistakes, and I'm glad he made a big catch. Hopefully that will get his confidence up and he'll play up to his potential.
Def: Tony Taylor gets a game ball in my opinion. He was everywhere, in the backfield and had the interception to seal the game.
Special Teams: Improved as the game went along, and that's good. We've got to remember that we have a lot of freshmen there too, with guys like Prince Miller getting a lot of PT in punt coverage.
Coaching: We got outcoached, but Richt made the right decisions when he had to. I like the bravado and 'marbles' that he showed going for it on 4th and short twice in the second half...but if he had gotten 3 both of those times the game would've bee a little different. Yes, it's easier to say it now that I know we didn't get the first down, but I wanted points of any kind. But I do like the aggressiveness. Yanking Staff was the right choice at the right time, but there were a couple of Richt of 2001 clock management blunders that irked me. First was the timeout for the extra point. We've got one of the best kickers around, so take the 5 yard penalty. We might have needed the timeout more than those 5 yards. And second, the timeout at the last drive that Cox called, when the clock was stopped anyway because MoMass ran out of bounds. It did work out thogh, I think the TD came in the very next play. Defensively, I thought we did a poor job of adjusting to Colorado's scheme. Yes, we only allowed 3 points after the half, but it took us too long to adjust. Should've been done in the first quarter, not the third. We came through when we had to.
So that's behind us now. We showed a lot of grit and won against a decent team (don't look at the record) on a tough day even though we played like crap for most of the game. Hopefully that's a good wake-up call, and good for those youngsters to learn how to win.
This week: Ole Miss
It's a late night game in Oxford (9:12pm kickoff) and you know the Rebel fans will be drunk and obnoxious and hungry for an SEC win. This is a team like Colorado, that has some talent but is seriously underachieving. I don't think we have a letdown like last week, and hopefully come out guns blazing. Our lines should be much better and it won't matter who's handing the ball off to our running backs.
One thing I do hope to see is Blake Barnes late in the game. The Mississippi native has stuck around and taken being the 3rd QB very well so far, and he deserves some playing time, especially when Oxford is less than an hour from his hometown.
Top 25
I think I've waited long enough before ranking teams. Here's my top 25:
1.Auburn - Toughest schedule so far, and toughest defense around.
2.Ohio State - Defense is playing really well right now, which is scary.
3.Southern Cal - Looks like Jarrett's injury isn't that serious.
4.Michigan - Playing as well as anyone right now.
5.LSU - Assuming Auburn is #1, this team is right behind them.
6.West Virginia - Poor game against ECU last weekend, they still have a lot to prove.
7.Texas - QB play will improve as the year goes along. Don't think they lose again.
8.Florida - Showed some toughness at Tenn, but they have a brutal schedule and don't think they can go unscathed.
9.Louisville - Not the best game last week, but this team keeps on winning.
10.Virginia Tech - Front runner to win the ACC.
11.Oregon
12.Clemson - Special teams mistake cost them a perfect season...but they could still win the ACC.
13.Georgia - Undefeated, but a lot of questions...
14.Oklahoma - Should be undefeated, if not for officiating blunders in Eugene.
15.Iowa - Won't be undefeated for too much longer.
16.Tennessee
17.California - Playing very well lately
18.TCU - Haven't seen them play, but winning big vs Texas Tech is good.
19.Notre Dame - Got away with one last week. They'll probably win out until USC and still make it to a BCS bowl.
20.Nebraska - Big XII up for grabs.
21.Georgia Tech
22.Florida State
23.Missouri
24.Boise St
25.Boston College
Others: Texas Tech, Rutgers, Wake Forest, Penn St, Purdue
Heisman Watch
1.Troy Smith - his team will keep winning and he'll keep making plays.
2.Adrian Peterson - will have to beat Texas to have a shot.
3.Calvin Johnson - Sky is the limit for him, well actually a really short and erratic QB is what limits him right now.
Give some love to: Garrett Wolfe - has been piling up stats against bad competition, but has proven he can get it done against the big boys.
Thanks for playing: Brady Quinn - he didn't lead the comeback last weekend. His defense did. He looked awful with exception of two series in the fourth quarter.
Crazy game last weekend. I was expecting a tough game, but I wasn't expecting the complete dud that it was for 3.5 quarters. I knew the Buffalos had a pretty good defense and that their offense just wasn't executing well to win games...but that they would put that all together soon. And I knew they'd be well coached and hungry. That's a proud program that has won the Big XII North 4 out of the last 5 years and they were going to be tough. But I'm also one of those pessimistic fans and I was also (sorta) worried about Western Kentucky and UAB. I knew it would be tough but figure in the second half we'd pull away.
Here are some thoughts on the Colorado game, just for some closure:
Depth: I think that's what won us the game. You can tell the Buffs defensive line was getting tired towards the end of the game.
RBs: Lumpkin looked the best, but don't count out Thomas Brown. The holes weren't there for him, all year really. And they've been tackling him well. He's been strong in kick returns and receiving so I expect him to bounce back and have a big game soon.
QBs: Didn't help Stafford that the wide outs kept dropping balls. Staff was playing well, but as his receivers started to grease their hands, his confidence went down. And that's where you saw him throwing behind guys or overthrowing balls. Cox came in the guys started to play better around him. Maybe its leadership, who knows. But neither played bad and both deserve playing time this week.
WRs: They did catch the ball and make plays towards the end of the game, including the maligned MoMass. Moved the chains when we had to.
TE: Glad Millner had that catch. He's had it pretty tough past couple of years, with dropping passes and making special teams mistakes, and I'm glad he made a big catch. Hopefully that will get his confidence up and he'll play up to his potential.
Def: Tony Taylor gets a game ball in my opinion. He was everywhere, in the backfield and had the interception to seal the game.
Special Teams: Improved as the game went along, and that's good. We've got to remember that we have a lot of freshmen there too, with guys like Prince Miller getting a lot of PT in punt coverage.
Coaching: We got outcoached, but Richt made the right decisions when he had to. I like the bravado and 'marbles' that he showed going for it on 4th and short twice in the second half...but if he had gotten 3 both of those times the game would've bee a little different. Yes, it's easier to say it now that I know we didn't get the first down, but I wanted points of any kind. But I do like the aggressiveness. Yanking Staff was the right choice at the right time, but there were a couple of Richt of 2001 clock management blunders that irked me. First was the timeout for the extra point. We've got one of the best kickers around, so take the 5 yard penalty. We might have needed the timeout more than those 5 yards. And second, the timeout at the last drive that Cox called, when the clock was stopped anyway because MoMass ran out of bounds. It did work out thogh, I think the TD came in the very next play. Defensively, I thought we did a poor job of adjusting to Colorado's scheme. Yes, we only allowed 3 points after the half, but it took us too long to adjust. Should've been done in the first quarter, not the third. We came through when we had to.
So that's behind us now. We showed a lot of grit and won against a decent team (don't look at the record) on a tough day even though we played like crap for most of the game. Hopefully that's a good wake-up call, and good for those youngsters to learn how to win.
This week: Ole Miss
It's a late night game in Oxford (9:12pm kickoff) and you know the Rebel fans will be drunk and obnoxious and hungry for an SEC win. This is a team like Colorado, that has some talent but is seriously underachieving. I don't think we have a letdown like last week, and hopefully come out guns blazing. Our lines should be much better and it won't matter who's handing the ball off to our running backs.
One thing I do hope to see is Blake Barnes late in the game. The Mississippi native has stuck around and taken being the 3rd QB very well so far, and he deserves some playing time, especially when Oxford is less than an hour from his hometown.
Top 25
I think I've waited long enough before ranking teams. Here's my top 25:
1.Auburn - Toughest schedule so far, and toughest defense around.
2.Ohio State - Defense is playing really well right now, which is scary.
3.Southern Cal - Looks like Jarrett's injury isn't that serious.
4.Michigan - Playing as well as anyone right now.
5.LSU - Assuming Auburn is #1, this team is right behind them.
6.West Virginia - Poor game against ECU last weekend, they still have a lot to prove.
7.Texas - QB play will improve as the year goes along. Don't think they lose again.
8.Florida - Showed some toughness at Tenn, but they have a brutal schedule and don't think they can go unscathed.
9.Louisville - Not the best game last week, but this team keeps on winning.
10.Virginia Tech - Front runner to win the ACC.
11.Oregon
12.Clemson - Special teams mistake cost them a perfect season...but they could still win the ACC.
13.Georgia - Undefeated, but a lot of questions...
14.Oklahoma - Should be undefeated, if not for officiating blunders in Eugene.
15.Iowa - Won't be undefeated for too much longer.
16.Tennessee
17.California - Playing very well lately
18.TCU - Haven't seen them play, but winning big vs Texas Tech is good.
19.Notre Dame - Got away with one last week. They'll probably win out until USC and still make it to a BCS bowl.
20.Nebraska - Big XII up for grabs.
21.Georgia Tech
22.Florida State
23.Missouri
24.Boise St
25.Boston College
Others: Texas Tech, Rutgers, Wake Forest, Penn St, Purdue
Heisman Watch
1.Troy Smith - his team will keep winning and he'll keep making plays.
2.Adrian Peterson - will have to beat Texas to have a shot.
3.Calvin Johnson - Sky is the limit for him, well actually a really short and erratic QB is what limits him right now.
Give some love to: Garrett Wolfe - has been piling up stats against bad competition, but has proven he can get it done against the big boys.
Thanks for playing: Brady Quinn - he didn't lead the comeback last weekend. His defense did. He looked awful with exception of two series in the fourth quarter.
posted by oreo | 12:02 PM
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