College Football 2011

[NW Deserter]

Anyway, as a Bama fan, let me offer a (pre-mature) welcome to the Aggies. And I think we can all agree Franchione sucks? ;)

Why thankya. And yes, we can agree on that. His "talents" are currently at Texas State, which I think is more his speed. ;)

There are still some legal messes to clean up before we get to that stupid finish line...apparently all the big XII-II schools, except for Oklahoma, are following Baylor in abstaining from waiving their rights. It's getting pretty ridiculous.

[adamsputnik]

This expansion talk is both giving me a headache and pissing me off. The fact that it's all really about the money is just a bit sad, really, but this is the world we live in.

[NW Deserter]

I agree with you, adams. For most of the offseason I was enjoying it, since it was a new and exciting opportunity for my school - but at this point I'm just getting weary of the legal backstabbing and money-grubbing. I just wanna play some football.

[Bronn Stone]

I hear tell that Stanford and Cal fans used to use slingshots to send projectiles (usually tame stuff like water balloons) at each other from yonder.

On the alcohol front, I have been to many Pac-10/12 games and never seen alcohol sold on site, but I've been to two bowl games and beer most certainly was available.

The taps were pulled when Cal played Texas Tech in the 2004 Holiday Bowl. But there will be alcohol served at Cal home games this season for those with seats in the club section. Those seats are $80 each. All other 'normal' seats are a bargain at $65. Cal is really raking the fans to build their new stadium.

I cannot say whether or not I ever threw oranges at the Stanfurd Band. I can say I did not ever freeze oranges and then throw them at the Stanfurd Band. I have seen oranges launched via slingshot, but not in decades.

[S John]

The taps were pulled when Cal played Texas Tech in the 2004 Holiday Bowl. But there will be alcohol served at Cal home games this season for those with seats in the club section. Those seats are $80 each. All other 'normal' seats are a bargain at $65. Cal is really raking the fans to build their new stadium.

I cannot say whether or not I ever threw oranges at the Stanfurd Band. I can say I did not ever freeze oranges and then throw them at the Stanfurd Band. I have seen oranges launched via slingshot, but not in decades.

Frozen oranges!?

And people say WVU fans are bad. Someone throws a trash can at Miami's sideline - who I think we can all agree is evil - and now we're the bad guys!

[Bronn Stone]

Frozen oranges!?

And people say WVU fans are bad. Someone throws a trash can at Miami's sideline - who I think we can all agree is evil - and now we're the bad guys!

Cal students in the 80's were very bad. The administration cracked down HARD and such things no longer occur. The students are searched on entry and numerous cameras are focused on the student section at all times. Running on the field can have serious repercussions on your academic record. I have a friend who is a Stanfurd band alum. He said the frozen oranges were rare, but he did take a glancing blow from one. Not a direct hit in the head, thankfully.

[SerFelixCulpa]

I agree with you, adams. For most of the offseason I was enjoying it, since it was a new and exciting opportunity for my school - but at this point I'm just getting weary of the legal backstabbing and money-grubbing. I just wanna play some football.

This is mostly posturing right now, Baylor and maybe the other schools are just going to try to get TA&M to give them as much as they can force them to to get out the door.

From a legal standpoint, the conference has "exit" procedures, i.e., procedures written into the agreements forming the conference that allow for a school to leave provided they follow proper procedure. The schools are actually entitled to leave the conference so long as they follow those procedures. The only real legal roadblock any of the other schools can throw up is to claim that TA&M didn't properly follow proper exit procedure. (And if the procedures are complex enough, it may even have technical merit though I doubt it would be any real gripe.)

However, neither Baylor nor any of the other schools can simply "force" TA&M to permanently remain in a conference simply because they want TA&M to stay or because they make money off the arrangement. They can only force TA&M to stay in as long as a contract or contracts requiring them to do so remains in effect. Once TA&M does whatever those contracts provide in regard to a school leaving...they're out.

TA&M will get free and clear, and probably without a lawsuit: the other schools are just going to make them pay some more as the price for not slowing the process down.

[Gold Storm]

I hear tell that Stanford and Cal fans used to use slingshots to send projectiles (usually tame stuff like water balloons) at each other from yonder.

On the alcohol front, I have been to many Pac-10/12 games and never seen alcohol sold on site, but I've been to two bowl games and beer most certainly was available.

I have been to a couple beer gardens around the stadium, but they control the beer there. However, there are people who sneak in stuff without any trouble at all. When I was a student and standing in the student section, the guy next too me pulled several beers out of his pockets and passed them around.There are a couple guys who sat near where I have tickets, they always have a flask or two on them.

I do not recall any person from the student section throwing anything, the only thing that I can think of was several years ago; Cal was destroying Oregon State (I think it was Derrik Andersen's last Cal game) a student stunk onto the out side track area and stole Cal's flag ran along the endzone and then trew it down and stopped on it.

[Original Ned's Bones]

NW Deserter:

I agree with you, adams. For most of the offseason I was enjoying it, since it was a new and exciting opportunity for my school - but at this point I'm just getting weary of the legal backstabbing and money-grubbing. I just wanna play some football.

Welcome to realignment frustration. I went through this last year as a Mizzou fan. I thought we were going to the Big 10, and then the rug got yanked out from underneath us. I think what Baylor is doing is extremely hypocritical since they weren't too concerned about all the other Texas schools when they left them in the dust during the Big 12 formation. Since coming in the conference on the coat tails of Texas, they haven't contributed anything to the conference. I can't blame them though, they're fighting for their existance. I wish they would get out of the way and let the dominos fall.

I think A&M will make a nice addition to the SEC. Personally, I'm praying for the Big 10 to take Mizzou. It makes more sense geographically, they fit better with Big 10 culture than SEC or Big East, it would give the Big 10 the St. Louis and KC market, and it creates and brings back some great rivalries like MU/Nebraska, MU/Illinois, MU/Iowa. The SEC would be a tough road for Mizzou, but I think they would fall closer to the middle of the pack, than the bottom like the media says. So, if we have the choice and the Big 10 doesn't want us, they should jump on it. I have a sinking feeling we're going to wind up in the Big East, where we will be stuck in our mysery with the likes of Kansas and Iowa State. I just don't care about Kansas at this point, the programs are in two completely different places. I know the rivalry is the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi, but I just don't care, I want to be in a nationally competetive league. We can still schedule Kansas out of conference if we want to keep the rivalry going. Going through what we did last year, I'm not going to celebrate anything until I see the Missouri president in his press conference anouncing the move. Otherwise, it's all speculation and bullshit.

Good luck to you NW Deserter. I hope we can put this to bed soon. The Big 12 is a sad conference and full of mistrust and resentment, the sooner the establishment can let go, the better it will be for everyone.

On to football, did anyone watch the Oklahoma State game last night? I can't stand that oil-funded Sooner-wanna-be team, but if there is a year for them to get somewhere, this is it. They looked pretty damn good. They get OU at home this year as well, so they have a shot at going to the big show this year.

[Rhaco]

I can't blame them though, they're fighting for their existance.

Exactly. No reason Baylor should assist in their own murder just to make things easier for A&M or anyone else.

Personally, I'm praying for the Big 10 to take Mizzou. It makes more sense geographically, they fit better with Big 10 culture than SEC or Big East, it would give the Big 10 the St. Louis and KC market, and it creates and brings back some great rivalries like MU/Nebraska, MU/Illinois, MU/Iowa.

If the Big Ten goes to 14, I'd like the additions to be Mizzou and Pitt. They might not be splashy additions like, say, Notre Dame or Texas would be, but they actually fit in the conference. A Big Ten with Mizzou and Pitt would still feel like the Big Ten to me.

After any major realignment, it'd be nice if some semblance of regionality is left to college football.

[lokisnow]

For long term winning in football, the Big East is best for Mizzou. WV, Pitt and TCU would be our biggest competition, three very beatable teams, Mizzou would become a perennial top twenty team in the Big East and have a much better chance at finally getting to their first BCS bowl (you'd think an AQ team with the last five-six years all being ten win seasons would have made it to one by now).

The Big Ten would be rough competition, very much like being in the Big12 it will be very hard for Missouri to win that conference. The best scenario is expanding to 16 team and landing in a wierd divisional alignment that puts us in the top two or three teams for that division, however, it's more likely we'd wind up in a division with Neb, Iowa, and Wisc and thus probably always be fourth in the pecking order. Pinkle could probably stay the course and continue to grow the strength of the program building a modern day tradition of winning that will create a positive feedback loop as we've enjoyed in the Big12, but we don't easily come up smiling like going to the Big Least would give us.

The SEC would be absolutely brutal. We're a better team than Tenn, Kentucky, Vandy, A&M, Arkansas and (before their recent revival), the Mississippi teams. But it'd be rare that we'd be competitive with the good SEC teams, the best we could hope for in the SEC is results like A&M got in the Big12, mostly middling seasons with 5-8 wins, and maybe once in a blue moon an opportunity to win the conference. Pinkle would essentially be starting all over, having to rebuild the program to higher level of competitiveness and size.

[BLU-RAY]

I assume you mean perennially? I'm not sure Arkansas wasn't at least as good as Auburn and 'Bama last year, and they could be pretty ridiculous again this year.

[Original Ned's Bones]

I'm going to be checking in on Mizzou @ ASU tonight. ASU is getting some hype as the possible top team in the Pac-12 South, but we'll see if they're legit or not. Burfict is legit at LB, that's for sure.

Me too. I think it's going to be an uphill battle tonight for Mizzou. New QB Franklin was about a yard off on all his throws last week, and other miscues completely stalled the offense. I was at the game last week and it was 124 degrees on the field. It was a game that had to wear them down and they have a short week and long travel, with a couple of big injuries. They continue to build on a good defense from last year with a lot of depth, so there is still hope.

Lockesnow, I think you're selling Mizzou short in the Big 10. No they're not going to win the conference every year, but they would compete. Despite last year's MU/Nebraska game, I still think they would trade wins over the next decade. Against Wisconsin? That's a tall order but not completely out of the question once in awhile. I think what gives Mizzou fans some real hope is that Pinkel has realized that a strong front 8 on defense is key if they're going to compete with the big boys. Their defense continues to get better with greater talent, larger and faster players, more physical, etc....The defense is what allowed them to beat OU last year, and if they stay on that trend, they'll have a better chance of competing against the larger opponents. You're right, they probably would be top dog in the Big East, but personally I would rather they be a continual top 25 team with an outside chance of winning some big ones for a shot at the conference championship against the best. Winning a conference with a schedule against the likes of Kansas, Iowa State, and Baylor (no offense, they have a good team this year, but over time?) year in and year out just doesn't excite me. Go big or go home, as they say :)

[Original Ned's Bones]

Well the Mizzou game turned out about how I thought it would. If they would have gotten a win out of that, I would have been floored. Arizona State looked pretty athletic, but they helped Mizzou out a lot by stupid penalties. I couldn't figure out if the officials were extremely flag-happy, or both teams were being super sloppy. I think it was some of both, most calls seemed legit.

Things I liked as a Mizzou fan:

An overall good performance by Franklin, the sophomore quarterback kept it together in his 2nd game, putting the tigers in position to win the game. He showed a lot of heart and games like that will go a long way in his development.

The team kept playing and didn't let the game get out of hand. Almost won the damn thing.

Franklin doesn't rely on 1 receiver as much as Gabbart did.

Things I didn't like:

A ton of penalties. Not Mizzou's typical MO.

More injuries. We lost our 2 starting running backs this week.

Our patched up line is showing. The center couldn't get a clean snap to Franklin the entire first half, and there were a ton of holes in the line.

The defense I was applauding earlier didn't look good at all. They made some key stops late in the game, but they looked pretty bad, allowing 37 points. Our pass defense resembled the awful coverage of 2008.

TJ Moe, Mizzou's fastest go-to receiver seems to be invisible to Franklin, despite being open several times.

Poor field-goal kicking. Usually a strong point for Mizzou. It wasn't the only reason why they lost, but they were in position to win the game, if the kicker would have made a kick he normally makes.

Icing your own kicker? wtf. Pinkel explained afterwards they were trying to draw ASU offsides and it didn't work. Still don't like it. If you wanted more yards you should have tried to run up the middle again on 3rd down instead of that bad pass play.

All in all, I'm not too disappointed by the loss. They are a banged up team with a new quarterback, so I know this isn't their year. Hopefully they'll at least compete and have a solid winning season. I was just amazed that despite everything that was going against them, they were able to come back in a hostile environment and take it to overtime.

[Therawbeats]

Don't like to watch college football as much as NFL, but I love to bet it! Teased Notre Dame +3 and Alabama -3 today

[S John]

West Virginia played the shittiest first half I've seen them play in a long time. It was unbelievably sloppy and bad. Everyone was off, looked really flat. But the second half.... night and day. 45 points in the half, 4 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter alone. Man, I would like to know what Coach Holgorsen had to say in the locker room at halftime. :uhoh:

One thing that drove me a little nuts that hurt us in the first half is that our 'A' backs are all small shifty dudes. They are also all Freshman. They were getting stuffed left and right on short yardage in the first half. WVU does have a couple bigger backs who are primarily used for blocking in this scheme. But it seems that Holgorsen doesn't have a power I formation in the playbook for short yardage. And sometimes, you just need a huge dude to pound out a few yards. Doesn't help that the O-line is no bueno by the looks of things.

Additionally, as WVU has always been a run-heavy team, its a little weird to see us so dependent on the pass. As long as we're scoring though, I'm happy. Another thing about the run game that someone pointed out over on a WVU message board earlier - this is the first time since Amos Zereoue came on the scene that WVU has not had an obvious standout running back. We've had a pretty long run of reloading with an exciting or experienced back at RB in an unbroken chain of Amos Zereoue, Avon Cobourne, Quincy Wilson, Steve Slaton, and Noel Devine. Don't know which of the young guys will step into that role. So far I think it will be Dustin Garrison, but we'll see.

Still don't know what to think about the team overall though. The first true test of what kind of team we've got will be next week @ Maryland.

[kairparavel]

Well hey, Oregon brought their offense today. That was nice.

[BLU-RAY]

John, I'm hoping we have a similar second half to you, we've only put up 17 points and Luck wasn't very good in the first half, but I think Duke pulled out every stop they had in the first, so the second may (hopefully!) be a little more clinical.

[S John]

John, I'm hoping we have a similar second half to you, we've only put up 17 points and Luck wasn't very good in the first half, but I think Duke pulled out every stop they had in the first, so the second may (hopefully!) be a little more clinical.

Oh I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. I don't see the Dookies having a major explosion on offense. One second half TD from Stanford probably puts this one away.

The most interesting story right now is the Chokies down 7-3 to ECU at the half. I expect they'll do what WVU did and wake up in the 2nd half and stomp their opponent.. but God, I hope not.

[HokieStone]

Well, a win is a win. Questionably officiated game - 12 penalties for VT, 0 for ECU - and several the calls were terribly bad, particularly a pass interference on an interception. Our defense is looking pretty good - the only reason ECU got 10 is due to questionable penalties and a bad punt.

Logan Thomas is very much a work in progress. Damn, but I wish we'd been able to redshirt Tyrod 4 years ago...with him at QB as a RS Senior...