12-9
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL VS
DUKE :-(
FRESNO STATE VS MISSISSIPPI :-(
WISCONSIN VS NEBRASKA :-)
NORTH CAROLINA VS EAST CAROLINA :-)
NEW MEXICO STATE VS NEW MEXICO :-)
VIRGINIA TECH VS CLEMSON :-)
SOUTH CAROLINA VS
AUBURN :-(
GEORGIA VS MISSISSIPPI ST :-)
LOUISIANA TECH VS HAWAII :-(
BAYLOR VS KANSAS
STATE :-)
COLORADO STATE VS
SAN JOSE STATE :-(
TEXAS A&M
VS ARKANSAS :-)
ALABAMA VS FLORIDA :-)
OSU VS MICHIGAN STATE :-) :-/
COLORADO VS WASHINGTON STATE :-(
TEXAS TECH VS KANSAS :-)
U
CONN VS WESTERN MICHIGAN :-(
SYRACUSE VS RUTGERS :-)
WAKE FOREST VS BOSTON
COLLEGE :-(
ILLINOIS VS
NORTHWESTERN :-)
NAVY VS AIR
FORCE :-(
This week was better for my NCAA picks, I was afraid I had peaked too early because I had a steady decline after week 2 and only my NFL picks were saving me. I'm still waiting for the results so I don't know where I rank yet for the week. I did notice that I picked Wake Forest but underlined Boston College, that's what I get for doing my picks at 1am. Many of the games this week were close and there were a few surprises, so here are my post-game comments:
This week was better for my NCAA picks, I was afraid I had peaked too early because I had a steady decline after week 2 and only my NFL picks were saving me. I'm still waiting for the results so I don't know where I rank yet for the week. I did notice that I picked Wake Forest but underlined Boston College, that's what I get for doing my picks at 1am. Many of the games this week were close and there were a few surprises, so here are my post-game comments:
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL VS DUKE: I didn't see the win by Duke coming and they even came back in the fourth quarter from a 10 point deficit. FIU won on the road against Louisville and at home against UCF so they're a decent team, but a sack in the fourth quarter caused a fumble that was recovered by Duke and setup a touchdown on the next play. Then Duke marched down the field for a second TD with 7:30 left that remained unanswered. Turnovers are so costly.
FRESNO STATE VS MISSISSIPPI: This was a good game until the last quarter when Ole Miss scored 11 unanswered points. It looks like a couple of turn overs and missed field goals were what did Fresno State in.
WISCONSIN VS NEBRASKA: Wisconsin and Nebraska looked very evenly matched early on and with both teams wearing red and white it was hard to tell them apart, but after Nebraska got a second TD in the second quarter it would be their last and that was where any similarity ended. Nebraska's defense rushed Wisconsin's QB, Russel Wilson, frequently in the first quarter and even sacked him, but Wilson was cool and collected and the pressure didn't rattle him one bit as evidenced by his 255 passing yards and 14 for 20 completions. Watching him was fun.
NEW MEXICO STATE VS NEW MEXICO: New Mexico State got three TDs the first quarter and New Mexico managed to do something a few times, but it's not even worth looking up what that was. It's my understanding NMSU is the worst team in the Football Bowl Series (FBS) so to get beat 42 to 28 by them at home is pretty bad. There's some drama going on with New Mexico and they fired their head coach last week. I don't know what he did but to be fired mid-season must mean someone really doesn't like you.
COLORADO VS WASHINGTON STATE: Well, Colorado was doing well against Washington State until they allowed TWO touchdowns in the last 3 minutes of the game! This was Colorado's big debut in the Pac-12 and they were leading until late in the fourth quarter when the Cougars scored a TD with 3:03 left. Washington State decided to forego an onside kick and got the ball back with 1:50 left and made a final TD with 1:34 left. The Buffaloes got the ball back one more time but promptly fumbled it and the Cougars recovered it for the win. Colorado's coach was not happy that the team snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
WAKE FOREST VS BOSTON
COLLEGE: I had picked Wake Forest but mistakenly underlined Boston College and naturally Wake won. Too bad it couldn't have been one of those situations where Boston College won to the amazement of the world and I looked like a genius.
ILLINOIS VS NORTHWESTERN: With Northwestern QB Dan Persa returning after recovering from a torn Achilles tendon it made a big difference for the Wildcats. They had the lead for most of the game until the last 8 minutes when Illinois got a TD to pull ahead by 3. Northwestern answered back with another TD to take the lead back then Illinois kicked a field goal with 18 seconds left. The Illini did have 8 penalties that cost them 70 yards, there also seemed to be little defense.
ACCUWEATHER.COM VS WEATHER.COM: I was trying to decide if I should go down to campus and tailgate last Saturday because I heard it would be rainy and nasty, so I went to Weather.com and it confirmed what the local Mighty Ben Gelber predicted. Then I went to Accuweather.com and they predicted it would be mostly sunny and 50 with some rain at 11am that would clear out. Let's just say Weather.com won BIGTIME over Accuweather.com and I picked the wrong team. It was rainy and cold and there was even some serious wind that kicked up for awhile, it was the kind of cold that goes right through you and I couldn't feel certain body parts at times. It's strange how despite all that you can still have fun.
Ohio State Segment (AKA “Punting Exhibition”)
You have to hand it to the Ohio State defense for holding Michigan State to one TD and a field goal considering they had 321 total yards and averaged 5.1 yards per play. That’s quite an accomplishment after being on the field most of the game. Compare that to Ohio State with only 178 total yards and an average of 2.8 yards per play. Ohio State’s only TD came in the last quarter with a pass by Joe Bauserman who was filling in for the aching Braxton Miller after being sacked more than an Idaho potato. Braxton was sacked NINE times!! ABC’s play-by-play announcer, Sean McDonough, commented that if this were a fight it would be stopped. Kudos to Miller for only one fumble that he recovered and for throwing only one interception despite all the pressure. (He rarely had time enough to throw the ball, however.) If I were Braxton I would have serious words with one offensive line coach, Jim Bollman, whose “Dancing Bear” O line were thrown around like rag dolls. Ohio State’s line has the same size as Wisconsin’s but our line doesn’t surge or do what other lines seem to do.
I do feel badly for Luke Fickell and the rest of the team.
They weren’t supposed to be in this position: Fickell wasn’t supposed to be
thrown into a head coaching position prematurely, Braxton Miller wasn’t
supposed to be quarterbacking prematurely, the team was supposed to have a
seasoned star quarterback to get the ball to the receivers…or scramble when the
offensive line sucked. Fickell won’t be there beyond this year, but I have to
give him props for stepping up to the plate when he was setup to fail. He
worked with what was handed to him and you can’t say a word against him. None of
this is his doing and he’s a victim of someone else’s mistakes right along with
all the fans. And now with the three suspended players who were scheduled to return
for the Nebraska game being suspended again…I don’t believe it would’ve
mattered, there are too many problems with the team. God bless Fickell for doing the best he can with what he has and I hope he has great
success in his future, what a great spirit.
While tailgating in unseasonably cold and rainy weather I had several offers for tickets that I turned down, including a guy who offered tickets in A Deck for $20. I replied to his offer saying, “You give ME $20 and I’ll think about it.” I’ve been saying for the past couple of years that a price correction has been needed, they've raised ticket prices, parking prices, and even tailgate space prices have gone through the roof. I realize that when the team is winning it's a supply and demand thing but it's supposedly non-profit (ha) and amateur (unless you’re talking about Pete Caroll's USC), but last Saturday they couldn't give tickets away and my husband heard someone in the press box say you can't charge people $70 (face value) for this, and he’s right. But season ticket holders won't give that up their right for a couple of bad years, they'll sell their tickets at a loss to keep their slot. It's the secondary market that won't support it, including tailgate space and fan gear. Who wants to buy a replica of a 2011 Nike Pro Combat jersey when it’s a reminder of one of OSU’s worst seasons?
Bad Call of the Week (AKA: The Emperor Has No Clothes)
Blatantly
bad calls are made by officials on a regular basis, but it's their
strange penchant of persisting in unreality despite replay technology
that makes me think they're a secret cult out to get us all.
Florida looked very strong against Alabama the first quarter but they started to slip in the second quarter and got behind two TDs. They needed to score before the half when their QB was sacked resulting in a clear fumble and a live ball. The ref didn't blow his whistle and an Alabama player scooped up the ball and half-heartedly ran towards the end zone because a different clueless official blew his whistle, meanwhile the ref was carefully watching because he knew the ball was live. What followed was interesting and scary, the ref who knew the ball was live went over to the clueless official and sort of talked to him. I say "sort of" because he never really faced him and didn't seem to say a lot. Not only did the ref know the ball was live he knew his cohort was wrong. I couldn't wait to see how the Brotherhood would handle this one, how would the ref correct his obviously mistaken brother while not breaking rank? Here's how he handled it...he didn't. The Brotherhood continued the game and acted like it never happened. I don't know how they did it, it was like they pulled a Jedi mind trick because everyone -- coaches and all -- went along with it!
In watching coverage about Amanda Knox this week CNN reporter
Drew Griffin, who has covered many prosecutions gone awry, said they all have the
same theme: police or a prosecutor who has a theory they formulate very early on
and stick with it despite what the evidence shows. Now I know where they get NCAA
football officials.
Fashion Segment
With so many
new, throwback, and limited edition uniforms in college football these
days it deserves its own section. This section will also include
commentary on fashion statements made by anyone involved in college
football: coaches, officials, fans, and announcers. No one is safe. In
some instances links must be used instead of images due to copyright
restrictions.
There weren't any new uni's again this week and Brent Mussburger hasn't worn any strange colors lately so it's a bit difficult to find good material. And with everyone at the Ohio State game wearing rain gear it was hard to find fashion faux pas. Instead, I'll post a few pics I snapped whilst tailgating.
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| Brutus Having Fun |
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| Columbus' Finest |
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| An appropriately attired Mini Cooper |
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| Drum line! |
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| Columbus Fire Department with some goofy fan |
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| The latest in parking fashion |
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| $20 Seats |
The End
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