College Football - Week 3 REWIND - Apparently, QBs are really important, who knew?

This week we learned that it is kind of important to have an at least competent QB, who knew?  For Week 3, I bring you the tale of the quarterbacks:

• Notre Dame, lose your starting RB and QB? No problem.  That defense really came to play with an impressive showing against the yellow jackets.
• Meanwhile, ND's old QB, Everett Golson and Florida St scored 7, count them, 7 offensive points against Boston College.
• LSU rolls, literally, all over that Muschamp "redefined" Auburn defense.  But really, who needs a QB when you have Leo Fournette?
• Lambert found his groove, going 24-25 passing as Georgia dismantles South Carolina.
• Maybe Northwestern's win over Stanford wasn't a fluke, as they get a win over a pretty good Duke team.
• Speaking of, Stanford's QB put up 41 against that "vaunted" USC defense, leading them to an impressive win.
• Texas found their QB in Heard, but seemed to lose their kicker along the way, missing the final TD extra point to lose.
• OSU has 3 highly recruited QBs, one of which now plays wide receiver (embarrassment of riches much?), but still managed to struggle against Northern Illinois.
• Miami, you were literally up 33-10 with 9 mins left to go.
• Oh Arkansas, my how far you've fallen, losing for a second week in a row, this week to the red raiders of Texas Tech....

But, the game of the night of course, Ole Miss's impressive (?) win against #2 Alabama.  It is hard, if not impossible, to argue that this was the biggest win of the season thus far.  However, just how much credit can you give Ole Miss when:

• Alabama coughed up the ball 5 times
• Alabama dominated TOP (58%)
• Alabama had nearly twice as many first downs
• Alabama had more offensive yards
• Ole Miss was the recipient of the luckiest TD all season

And yet, Ole Miss still only won by 6.  Now I'm not saying Ole Miss isn't a great team, that offensive line is fierce, and that receiving core may be the best in the country...but I will go out on a limb (?) and say they don't go undefeated and will double down and say they are not the team from the West making the trip to Atlanta in December.

Still, Ole Miss brought us the pleasure of seeing this all night.

Vandy and Florida update:

• Vandy drops 47 on Austin Peay that lost by 46 to southern miss, so I guess Vandy is at least as good as the golden eagles?  However, just what do we make of Clemson only beating Louisville by 3?  Wondering where I'm going with this?  Well...remember, Houston put up 34 against that Louisville team to win by 3.  So does that mean Houston is as good as Clemson, or Clemson is as good as Houston?  Either way, that Vandy trip to houston is gonna be ugly.
• Florida makes it 29 straight against that feline school north of Tennessee.  Now I watched this game, but multiple times I wondered, am I simply watching a replay from last year?

Gonna be a great Week 4, be on the look out for my Week 4 Preview on Friday!

The Top 4 Best Tailgates:
1.  The Grove
2.  Indy 500
3.  The Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party
4.  <Insert your vote for #4 in the comments below>

College Football - Week 2 REWIND - Teams on the Rise, SEC on Alert

What a weekend of football!

Here are some highlights from week 2:

• Michigan St. looks strong, real strong.  And Oregon, miss Mariota yet?
• SEC had a down week to say the least, leaving us with plenty of questions.
• Michigan looks like they are finally turning things around.
• Houston upsets Louisville, leaving Vandy fans to wonder, will we even see 2 wins this year??
• The Irish pull out a close one against Virginia, but lose Zaire for the season.  Gotta feel bad for those Damers.
• BYU pulled out another stunner against Boise St.
• Oh, and Texas fired their AD.

If you missed it, the SEC looked turrible (with a couple exceptions) this past weekend:

• Jacksonville St almost beat Auburn, which would have easily been the biggest upset since App St. against Michigan many moons ago.
• Ok, riddle me this.  How do you throw for 412 yards and only score 10 offensive points?  A football field is only 100 yards.  The answer is, Bielema ball.  Arkansas loses to Toledo.
• ECU makes it close in Gainesville, with some ugly play by the Gators, only to be best described by McElwain as "embarrasing."
• Tennessee.  Oh Rocky Top, you'll always be, plaaaaying not to lossssssse.  Good ole Rocky Top, can't hold onto a 14 point 4th quarter leaaaaaaaad.
• And finally, Mizzou squeaks out a close one against Arky St.  Though to be fair, Arky St. is a pretty good Sun Belt team...

Oh, and I called it.  Kentucky over South Carolina.

Teams on the Rise:
TAMU
USC
Ole Miss
Mich St
Ga Tech

Teams on Alert:
All of the SEC (except Bama, TAMU, and Ole Miss)
Baylor
Louisville (if not already)

Vandy and Florida update:

• Vandy looked "better" than they did against WKU.  Their defense looks legit.  So does their offense.  And by that I mean, expect a pick-six and/or INT in the redzone every game.
• Florida's discipline, or lack-there-of, was highlighted against ECU.  They have much to improve this week if they want to avoid a similar fate as the gamecocks against the wildcats this weekend.

The Top 4 Shows of All Time:
1.  Breaking Bad
2.  Lost
3.  West Wing
4.  The Wire

Domestic Duty Deadline for Week 2

What's that saying, plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery?

I'm going to "borrow" a concept from my friends at Solid Verbal, the concept of "Window of Opportunity (WOO)."

This is the idea that if you have some domestic duties to attend to on Saturday, like going to home depot, maybe even bed bath and beyond if you have time, then it'd be best to accomplish these tasks prior to the "important" games on Saturday.

In other words, if you're not one of those crazy college football fans that posts up in front of a TV from the start of GameDay to the end of pacific coast games, then this is the time I'd advise you begin to make your way to one of those color tube objects.

For our purposes, we'll call it the Domestic Duty Deadline.  It will make a regular appearance on my Weekly previews.

This week, Domestic Duty Deadline: 5:00pm CDT.  That's the start of the Tennessee at Oklahoma game.  Most weeks it won't be this late, so start banking some of those brownie points now, to cash in later on into the season.

CFB - Week 2 Preview - The state of Oregon vs. the state of Michigan

Week 2 leaves quite a bit to be desired, but there's still plenty to watch for this weekend.

Games with major implications:

• Notre Dame at Virginia:  Notre Dame looks really good, but don't look past Virginia.  UCLA might have dismantled Virginia last week, but that was way more about UCLA's new freshman QB.  Virginia has a good defense, a heck of a lot better than Texas' (my how far you've fallen Coach Strong).

• Tennessee at Oklahoma:  Could a team have more hype around it in the SEC than Tennessee?  The game is actually a pick'em, and will be a true litmus test for both teams.  Oklahoma should win this game, but don't count Tennessee out (did I just say that?).

• LSU at Mississippi St:  Ever since the SEC started allowing cowbells back into Starkville in 2010, the stadium has developed a reputation, well at least for being loud that is.  Anyway, this is LSU's first game (last week against McNeese St was canceled due to weather), its on the road, and they are starting a QB that is pretty unproven (to say the least).

The state of Michigan vs state of Oregon:

• Oregon at Michigan State:  The "biggest" game of the weekend.  Spartan Defense against Duck Offense, which will prevail?  You'll want to be in front of a color tube for this one.

• Oregon St at Michigan:  Let's not forget the "other" Oregon and Michigan teams.  Just so happens Oregon St is also traveling to the state of Michigan this week, except this one shouldn't be nearly as close.

Games that may be better than you expect:

• Houston at Louisville:  Houston is better than people realize, and that Louisville play calling last week was terrible.  I'm not saying Houston wins, but it could get spicy.  Seriously, those uniforms tho...

• Kentucky at South Carolina:  This is my upset special of the week.  Kentucky pulled off an insane upset last year at home (3 TDs in the final 8 mins including a pick-six to win), but this year Kentucky is much improved.  If that South Carolina defense holds strong, the Gamecocks should walk away from Columbia with a win.  But that's a big IF.

• Boise St at BYU:  Losing Taysom Hill for the season was a big loss to college football, not just BYU.  However, don't count them out just yet.  Boise St defense looked stout against Washington last week, but BYU is a whole other test.

Game of the week not worth watching:

• Army (who lost to Fordham) at UCONN (who beat villanova 20 - 15).  'Nuff said.

Vandy and Florida games:

• UGA at Vandy:  Georgia, for some unknown reason, has struggled at Vandy in recent years. barely winning in 2011, and losing in 2013.  This one, however, should be no contest.  I'm pretty sure UGA will score more than 14 against that Vandy defense, and a little birdie told me that UGA's defense is better than WKU's.  This one could be ugly.

• ECU at Florida:  ECU isn't as good as they've been in years past, and Florida looks like they might finally have an offense.  However, there are still quite a few unanswered questions down in Gainesville.  If I were a betting man...I'm not sure Florida covers 20.5 points this week.

If you're looking to watch your team play, here's the full slate of TV/Streaming schedule to catch your game:
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/9/10/9297653/ncaa-football-tv-schedule-2015-streaming-online

Enjoy the games this week!

College Football - Week 1 REWIND - Those uniforms tho...

College football is BACK!

Week 1 answered some questions, left others unanswered, but mostly gave us a taste for what is sure to be an exciting football season!

Here are some highlights from the weekend:

• Is Notre Dame that good...or Texas really that bad?  My guess, a mixture of both
• LSU fans were left wanting as they missed out on a beat down of McNeese St
• Stanford still hasn't figured out how to play offense since "Suck for Luck" was a popular motto in Indiana
• Vandy answered all of our questions.  And by that I mean, if you picked the under 3.5 wins on the season, you're sittin pretty
• SEC had a strong showing, now with a record 10 teams in the AP top 25
• Ohio State isn't perfect, except for when the ball is in this guy's hands:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq6ComNZ_Vs

We had some "unexpected" losses this weekend...though, shouldn't we have known better?

• Kansas.  It's the Missouri valley conference.  Really?
• Army lost to a Patriot League team (Fordham)
• Go Temple, screw you Franklin
• Could it be any more heartbreaking than to lose on a last minute hail mary?  Condolences to all those Big Red fans

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Vandy has now been eliminated from the CFB playoff race...
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/13602944/eliminator-week-1-already-eliminated-cfb-playoff-race

But seriously, the highlight of the weekend was Louisville.  Those uniforms tho...

In the spirit of the CFB Playoff, each week I will bring you my own Top 4.  This week, my:
Top 4 Condiments:
1.  BBQ Sauce
2.  Ketchup
3.  Ranch
4.  Tobasco

1 week down, 13 more to go, and I'll leave you with this ridiculous leap.

Picks have posted - Lock time establish

Yahoo finally got their stuff together and have posted the first week's picks, and boy what a plethora of exciting games...

• Army vs. Fordham
• Buffalo vs. Albany
• Iowa St. vs. Northern Iowa

(my apologies in advance if you attended one of these fine institutions)

Never-the-less, this also means the first week's deadline is up.  Make your picks by:

5:55pm CDT this FRIDAY!

More to come on this week's picks.  And if you haven't already signed up, please see previous posts below for directions on how to sign up!