While Mizzou was pasting Wyoming, there's a whole big world going on out there. Let's talk about it.
1. Kudos to Texas A&M. The Aggies put up a hell of an effort against Clemson, which looks to me to be the only team that could stay on the field with Alabama on a regular basis. A&M scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to get within 28-26 but fell short on a two point conversion and lost to the Tigers 28-26. I'm still not sold on A&M and Jimbo Fisher as being a match made in heaven that's going to lead the Aggies to the promised land they haven't visited--but have often talked about--for the last 80 years. But we'll see. Saturday night certainly was a very positive first step even if it wasn't a win.
2. Other first steps haven't gone as well.
I'll address some of these individually in more depth later because this edition of ten thoughts is largely basking in the failure of others. But there can't be a more horrific failure so far than Kevin Sumlin at Arizona. I mean, the Wildcats were down 31-0 to Houston at halftime. Just a complete and utter trainwreck.
3. Meanwhile, the program that was supposed to be a trainwreck in Arizona looks pretty good.
God I love Herm Edwards. His Arizona State Sun Devils overcame a ten point deficit to beat Michigan State 16-13 last night and are now 2-0. They get San Diego State next week before going to Washington for a game that suddenly looks pretty intriguing. I hope Herm does well out in the desert.
4. Enough of the positive thoughts. Let's start ripping on people. We begin in the state of Florida where football isn't going so well.
Florida State, fresh off week one's worst performance in a beating by Virginia Tech, staged a furious rally to knock off....wait for it...Samford. I mean, it's almost like the Seminoles were a mediocre team last year and then replaced a national championship coach with a guy that everybody keeps telling me is a really good coach but has never proven to actually BE a really good coach. Here is Willie Taggart's career resume:
Western Kentucky: 3 years, 16-20
South Florida: 4 years, 24-25
Oregon: 1 year, 7-5
He has been a head coach for eight years at three schools. He has a winning record at one of them and even that was significantly worse than that program has been in recent history. He left all three programs at the end of a regular season before a bowl game. Hell, at this rate, maybe he can go 6-6, lead Florida State to the Cheez-It Bowl and get hired away by the Carolina Panthers. If you google up the term "falling up," I assume it takes you to Willie Taggart's Wikipedia page.
I was a sixth grader in Mrs. Arnell's class at Line Creek Elementary School the last time the Kentucky Wildcats beat Florida on the football field. Mark Stoops was not old enough to drink legally. Dan Mullen was not old enough to drive. That all ended last night. The Wildcats won 27-16 in the Swamp. It so distressed running back Adarius Lemons that he announced his intentions to transfer 35 MINUTES AFTER THE GAME ENDED
Also, sophomore cornerback Marco Wilson is out for the season with a torn ACL. Everything is fine in Gainesville.
5. Meanwhile, the much anticipated return home of the prodigal son to Lincoln didn't go so well. Scott Frost lost his opener at Nebraska 33-28 to Colorado when the Buffs scored on a beautiful touchdown pass with a minute left (at the end of a drive in which a defensive penalty on third and long extended the drive and was shortly followed by a 4th and 15 conversion by CU) and the Huskers' final drive ended at the 20 yard line. Also, starting QB Adrian Martinez left the game with a knee injury--last I had seen his status was unknown. Nebraska has lost five consecutive games and seven of its last eight. I don't really want to do the research to find out if that's ever happened before, but I bet there's a decent chance it hasn't. The Huskers are now 31-2 in their last 33 season openers. Oddly enough, the other loss was to BYU to open the 2014 season. The final? 33-28. I think Frost is a good coach. I think he'll do fine in Nebraska. The question I've always had is, if he's 9-4 in year four, is that good enough for Husker fans? Because a lot of advantages that Nebraska had in the 80s and 90s, they don't have anymore. And they're not likely to get any of them back. I think averaging nine wins at Nebraska is perfectly fine. But I'm not sure Nebraska fans will ever think it is.
6. Georgia put everyone on notice that it is still the king of the SEC East. Sure, the Bulldogs lost a lot off last year's team that was a play away from winning the national title. But I said all offseason that the gap between the Bulldogs and the next best team in the division was bigger than the gap between No. 1 and No. 2 in any other division in college football. I still believe that. UGA dismantled South Carolina 41-17 at Williams-Brice Stadium in a game the Cocks have been pointing to all offseason. The Bulldogs ran for 271 yards while holding South Carolina to 54. If Kirby Smart can just get his players to carry the ball actually ACROSS the goal line, the Dawgs might be really scary. NOTE: I am posting the French version of this tweet because I feel like it.
7. Oklahoma is a problem for the Big 12. UCLA and Florida Atlantic isn't murderer's row, but the Sooners have won two games by a combined score of 112-35 and they're just worlds better than anyone else in the Big 12. Will Grier and West Virginia look to be the only team that might challenge that. The Sooners and Mountaineers play the final regular season game in the Big 12 in Morgantown in prime time the day after Thanksgiving. I expect they'll stage a rematch the following week in the Big 12 Championship Game. Because elsewhere, Texas beat mighty Tulsa 28-21 and Kansas State was railroaded 31-10 by Mississippi State in Manhattan. I think Oklahoma State is probably the third best team, but I don't think it's nearly as good as OU is.
8. The last time the Kansas Jayhawks won a road game, Danario Alexander was catching 1,800 yards worth of passes for Mizzou. It was September 12, 2009. Exactly 3,283 days later, the Jaybirds won 31-7 at Central Michigan. Before you criticize me for incorrect capitalization, they won a road game for the first time in almost nine years. I'll give them the capital K for a day.
9. Tough day to be a Mizzou non-conference opponent.
Eastern Michigan 20, Purdue 19 in West Lafayette
Navy 22, Memphis 21
And Wyoming lost to the Tigers
Mizzou's three FBS non-conference opponents are now 2-5. The wins have come against Mercer and New Mexico State. Obviously Purdue's loss is far worse than Memphis' loss, but there's still no reason Missouri shouldn't be 4-0 in non-con games. Combine it with Florida's struggles and the fact Tennessee and Arkansas are bad (courtesy mention for the Razorbacks giving up 25 straight points to K.J. Carta-Samuels and previously winless Colorado State to lose 34-27 last night) and there is really no reason whatsoever Barry Odom and crew should win fewer than eight games. Honestly, at this point, nine doesn't look to be out of reach and even ten shouldn't look impossible.
10. Five games I'll watch other than Mizzou/Purdue next week:
Vanderbilt at Notre Dame, 1:30, NBC: The Commodores have looked better than expected in the first two weeks. I doubt they can pull this off, but it's a decent way to pass some time in West Lafayette.
LSU at Auburn, 2:30, CBS: This game looks pretty appetizing. Winner is the biggest challenger to Alabama in the SEC West...unless Mississippi State is.
Boise State at Oklahoma State, 2:30, ESPN: Fun matchup. Should be a lot of points.
Alabama at Ole Miss, 6:00, ESPN: The Tide might score 100. Ole Miss gave up 38 to Southern Illinois yesterday...in the first half. Sure, the Rebels won 76-41, but it was like Mizzou's win over Missouri State last year. Three-alarm fire on the defensive side.
Ohio State at TCU, 7:00, ABC: Please, little baby Gary Patterson wrapped in swaddling clothes, beat the Buckeyes. I don't even feel bad rooting against them.
Bonus game: North Texas at Arkansas, 3:00, SEC Network: I'm calling for the upset.
1. Kudos to Texas A&M. The Aggies put up a hell of an effort against Clemson, which looks to me to be the only team that could stay on the field with Alabama on a regular basis. A&M scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to get within 28-26 but fell short on a two point conversion and lost to the Tigers 28-26. I'm still not sold on A&M and Jimbo Fisher as being a match made in heaven that's going to lead the Aggies to the promised land they haven't visited--but have often talked about--for the last 80 years. But we'll see. Saturday night certainly was a very positive first step even if it wasn't a win.
2. Other first steps haven't gone as well.
I'll address some of these individually in more depth later because this edition of ten thoughts is largely basking in the failure of others. But there can't be a more horrific failure so far than Kevin Sumlin at Arizona. I mean, the Wildcats were down 31-0 to Houston at halftime. Just a complete and utter trainwreck.
3. Meanwhile, the program that was supposed to be a trainwreck in Arizona looks pretty good.
God I love Herm Edwards. His Arizona State Sun Devils overcame a ten point deficit to beat Michigan State 16-13 last night and are now 2-0. They get San Diego State next week before going to Washington for a game that suddenly looks pretty intriguing. I hope Herm does well out in the desert.
4. Enough of the positive thoughts. Let's start ripping on people. We begin in the state of Florida where football isn't going so well.
Florida State, fresh off week one's worst performance in a beating by Virginia Tech, staged a furious rally to knock off....wait for it...Samford. I mean, it's almost like the Seminoles were a mediocre team last year and then replaced a national championship coach with a guy that everybody keeps telling me is a really good coach but has never proven to actually BE a really good coach. Here is Willie Taggart's career resume:
Western Kentucky: 3 years, 16-20
South Florida: 4 years, 24-25
Oregon: 1 year, 7-5
He has been a head coach for eight years at three schools. He has a winning record at one of them and even that was significantly worse than that program has been in recent history. He left all three programs at the end of a regular season before a bowl game. Hell, at this rate, maybe he can go 6-6, lead Florida State to the Cheez-It Bowl and get hired away by the Carolina Panthers. If you google up the term "falling up," I assume it takes you to Willie Taggart's Wikipedia page.
I was a sixth grader in Mrs. Arnell's class at Line Creek Elementary School the last time the Kentucky Wildcats beat Florida on the football field. Mark Stoops was not old enough to drink legally. Dan Mullen was not old enough to drive. That all ended last night. The Wildcats won 27-16 in the Swamp. It so distressed running back Adarius Lemons that he announced his intentions to transfer 35 MINUTES AFTER THE GAME ENDED
Also, sophomore cornerback Marco Wilson is out for the season with a torn ACL. Everything is fine in Gainesville.
5. Meanwhile, the much anticipated return home of the prodigal son to Lincoln didn't go so well. Scott Frost lost his opener at Nebraska 33-28 to Colorado when the Buffs scored on a beautiful touchdown pass with a minute left (at the end of a drive in which a defensive penalty on third and long extended the drive and was shortly followed by a 4th and 15 conversion by CU) and the Huskers' final drive ended at the 20 yard line. Also, starting QB Adrian Martinez left the game with a knee injury--last I had seen his status was unknown. Nebraska has lost five consecutive games and seven of its last eight. I don't really want to do the research to find out if that's ever happened before, but I bet there's a decent chance it hasn't. The Huskers are now 31-2 in their last 33 season openers. Oddly enough, the other loss was to BYU to open the 2014 season. The final? 33-28. I think Frost is a good coach. I think he'll do fine in Nebraska. The question I've always had is, if he's 9-4 in year four, is that good enough for Husker fans? Because a lot of advantages that Nebraska had in the 80s and 90s, they don't have anymore. And they're not likely to get any of them back. I think averaging nine wins at Nebraska is perfectly fine. But I'm not sure Nebraska fans will ever think it is.
6. Georgia put everyone on notice that it is still the king of the SEC East. Sure, the Bulldogs lost a lot off last year's team that was a play away from winning the national title. But I said all offseason that the gap between the Bulldogs and the next best team in the division was bigger than the gap between No. 1 and No. 2 in any other division in college football. I still believe that. UGA dismantled South Carolina 41-17 at Williams-Brice Stadium in a game the Cocks have been pointing to all offseason. The Bulldogs ran for 271 yards while holding South Carolina to 54. If Kirby Smart can just get his players to carry the ball actually ACROSS the goal line, the Dawgs might be really scary. NOTE: I am posting the French version of this tweet because I feel like it.
7. Oklahoma is a problem for the Big 12. UCLA and Florida Atlantic isn't murderer's row, but the Sooners have won two games by a combined score of 112-35 and they're just worlds better than anyone else in the Big 12. Will Grier and West Virginia look to be the only team that might challenge that. The Sooners and Mountaineers play the final regular season game in the Big 12 in Morgantown in prime time the day after Thanksgiving. I expect they'll stage a rematch the following week in the Big 12 Championship Game. Because elsewhere, Texas beat mighty Tulsa 28-21 and Kansas State was railroaded 31-10 by Mississippi State in Manhattan. I think Oklahoma State is probably the third best team, but I don't think it's nearly as good as OU is.
8. The last time the Kansas Jayhawks won a road game, Danario Alexander was catching 1,800 yards worth of passes for Mizzou. It was September 12, 2009. Exactly 3,283 days later, the Jaybirds won 31-7 at Central Michigan. Before you criticize me for incorrect capitalization, they won a road game for the first time in almost nine years. I'll give them the capital K for a day.
9. Tough day to be a Mizzou non-conference opponent.
Eastern Michigan 20, Purdue 19 in West Lafayette
Navy 22, Memphis 21
And Wyoming lost to the Tigers
Mizzou's three FBS non-conference opponents are now 2-5. The wins have come against Mercer and New Mexico State. Obviously Purdue's loss is far worse than Memphis' loss, but there's still no reason Missouri shouldn't be 4-0 in non-con games. Combine it with Florida's struggles and the fact Tennessee and Arkansas are bad (courtesy mention for the Razorbacks giving up 25 straight points to K.J. Carta-Samuels and previously winless Colorado State to lose 34-27 last night) and there is really no reason whatsoever Barry Odom and crew should win fewer than eight games. Honestly, at this point, nine doesn't look to be out of reach and even ten shouldn't look impossible.
10. Five games I'll watch other than Mizzou/Purdue next week:
Vanderbilt at Notre Dame, 1:30, NBC: The Commodores have looked better than expected in the first two weeks. I doubt they can pull this off, but it's a decent way to pass some time in West Lafayette.
LSU at Auburn, 2:30, CBS: This game looks pretty appetizing. Winner is the biggest challenger to Alabama in the SEC West...unless Mississippi State is.
Boise State at Oklahoma State, 2:30, ESPN: Fun matchup. Should be a lot of points.
Alabama at Ole Miss, 6:00, ESPN: The Tide might score 100. Ole Miss gave up 38 to Southern Illinois yesterday...in the first half. Sure, the Rebels won 76-41, but it was like Mizzou's win over Missouri State last year. Three-alarm fire on the defensive side.
Ohio State at TCU, 7:00, ABC: Please, little baby Gary Patterson wrapped in swaddling clothes, beat the Buckeyes. I don't even feel bad rooting against them.
Bonus game: North Texas at Arkansas, 3:00, SEC Network: I'm calling for the upset.
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