Week 4

Tough are the weeks when both your teams lose.

Georgia Bulldogs: Embarrassed. Throttled. Routed. Thrashed. Blown out. Unprepared. Out of sync. Lots to fix before UT visits next week. 'nuf said.

Just out of reach - again.

BYU Cougars: Oh so close...again. Three losses, all by less than three points. IMHO, two of those losses were due to Taysom trying to be a hero. But we all want that hero-Taysom to come through like he has before, it just doesn't always work out that way. But he did play his best game so far and I suspect we'll see weekly improvement from here on out.


NOTABLES
This has been a rare September where top teams are emerging now instead of the usual mid-October time frame. The SEC and PAC-12 seem to already eb narrowed to a few true contenders as does the Big-10. Never a dull moment...

The Utah Utes with Whitingham and his staff have shown an ability to control the 4th quarter like no other - clock management, play calling, predicting opponents plays, etc. And it is paying off. Stanford lead a great 2-minute drill with seemingly no concern that it might not work. Tennessee overcame a 21-point deficit to finally beat Florida after 10-straight losses to the Gators. Auburn over an up-and-down LSU team n the final seconds (or final second with the TD called back). Wisconsin looks to be real as does Texas A&M.

Week 3

Where did Louisville come from? And when did they get so good? And how far will they go? They not only looked flashy but dominant as well. You could almost say the same for North Dakota State, asking why they are still an FCS team. And Ole Miss was right there ready for the #1 upset and they let it slip through their hands.

Georgia narrowly escaped...again. But what a show of two great QBs and an exciting look into the SEC-East future. With Eason, Dobbs and Lock set to be around a few more years things will be interesting in the east. Georgia showed they are more than just good running backs with Isaiah McKenzie (aka: Human Joystick) stepping up and playing the star role that Mizzou was not prepared for.

BYU...hmmm. They just seemed stuck last night. They could not find the right combination of plays or players. They had periodic surges on both offense and defense that proved they could take the W, but they could not string enough of those together at once. In the end they came across as bland and timid and unwilling. But that is only my view; I'm sure there is much, much more to the story.

And speaking of Josh Rosen, he has a few things to say about the state of college football. I think he may leave UCLA a better place and make a difference for future players. Read the article HERE.

Week 2

On what was billed as a weak weekend of college football (no Top 25 match-ups) there was still plenty of excitement.

Georgia was one more bad play from losing to FCS team Nicholls. Nick Chubb was stopped over and over again by a defensive line playing their first game of the season. The FCS Southland division has been warned. And Georgia dropped in the polls, as they should.

Oklahoma State also dropped in the polls on a bad play call, that officials later admitted was an incorrect interpretation of the rule book. Were the voters required to drop them? I know the game outcome cannot be changed but can't voters vote by what they know, not the outcome?

And speaking of bad calls...the Holy War between BYU and Utah did not disappoint. I got my scalped tickets money's worth. But seriously, back-to-back targeting calls and ejections with a 15-yarder on the coach sandwiched in between? By all means, eject players who target, and I know replay officials see a lot more footage than the average viewer or attendee, but I saw nothing that merited those calls.

There were a few moments worthy
of waving the Y flag.

And speaking of bad calls (part 2)...the call to go for 2 by Sitake was admirable; great to see some gumption and some risk taking and some aggressiveness and confidence in his team. But, IMHO, did they really have a play ready that would fool Whittingham? Had they practiced it? Didn't Taysom Hill just complete his best drive and groove of the night? Had BYU not just worn out the Utah defense on a well-called, well-executed 75-yard drive? Taking it to OT would have put groovy Taysom and that same worn out defense back on the field and given you a better shot at the elusive W.

Great venue.

NOTE: I may be a bit of a Sunday Morning Coach (SMC) but deep down, I don't really second-guess those guys. I know they are in the heat of the battle, time constrained, know their players capabilities and weaknesses, plus they have a paycheck riding on real-time, hasty decisions. I don't pretend to know better.  

Week 1

The hype over Tennessee has been building for the last few years...they're coming back...young team...tons of returning starters...it's all coming together, etc. But they did not look like that team. Maybe a bit too much pressure. Maybe now the nerves are all worked out, but I doubt it.

Top 10 pre-season favorites LSU and Oklahoma both dropped their opener. The underdog enjoys nothing more than beating the odds. Houston might be the real thing. Wisconsin, I think, was just the benefactor of poor LSU prep.

Great to see Nick Chubb (Georgia) back in action and he didn't miss a beat. He'll carry the team while the QB issue and newbies settle in. Also good to see Taysom Hill and Jamal Williams (BYU) back in the game after a hiatus. They made it clear that they've missed the game as much as BYU fans have missed them.

Bama quieted the critics (myself included...I thought they had too many questions to come out of the gate looking that good) and quickly answered their QB question. But bringing on Sarkisian? Really? I like Sark but it would just look odd to have Sark and Kiffin working together again.

ENDZONE
In the late 70s Fleetwood Mac released a unique song, Tusk, recorded with the USC marching band. For obvious reasons it became a staple at USC games. Rumor has it that Saban himself suggested it become a part of Bama football when he came to the program and the Million Dollar Band has since been playing it each game. This begat false stories of how Mick Fleetwood actually wrote the song about Bama since it's located in "Tuskaloosa" and their mascot is an elephant (although tuskless). Look Mr. Saban, college football is tradition. Nothing wrong with adding new traditions but come up with your own. Stealing traditions is not allowed.

BTW...Tusk was one of the earliest rock videos. See it HERE.