Not particularly surprising that Arizona fired it’s head coach Mike Stoops during the week. The Wildcats haven't had a good start to the season, and haven't won a Pac-10/12 game in almost a calendar year. College football is definitely a ‘what have you done for me lately?’ world and, lately, Arizona have been comprehensively beaten. It’s a sad end to a season that started with so much promise, but has gone downhill quickly. Stoops’ fall has been on the cards for a while.
California shut down USC’s star WR Robert Woods on Thursday night in San Francisco, but, as well as their defense played, the mistakes on the other side of the football – five turnovers – continually put them in short-field situations, and even having a mediocre night as he was, Trojans QB Matt Barkley is going to make you pay. With Mike Stoops out at Arizona, you wonder how long it might be before Cal’s Jeff Tedford is given his marching orders from Berkeley, too. That’s two bad losses in a row against USC. The Trojans left plenty of points on the field, and the game wasn't as close as the 30-9 final suggested.
The Michigan Wolverines have finally fallen from the ranks of the undefeated, losing 28-14 to their instate rivals, the Spartans of Michigan State. And how did Sparty do it? By taking away the opportunity for QB Denard Robinson to run effectively, thus forcing him to win the game by throwing. Notre Dame tried to do it and couldn't. Northwestern tried to do it and couldn't. MSU did it well, pressuring Robinson into making bad throws. The MSU seniors have won four straight against the Wolverines, something that hasn't happened before in the rivalry’s storied history.
Despite the loss, Michigan aren't looking too bad at 6-1, especially not after the horror season of a year ago, Rich Rodriguez’s last. Let’s be honest, they lost a relatively narrow game to a team boasting one of the best defenses in the nation. We should all prepare to be really concerned when Denard Robinson can throw the football as well as he runs it. I think Brady Hoke’s team can bounce back from this.
I admit that I bought into the Illinois hype and thought they’d probably beat Ohio State on Saturday afternoon. But they didn't, falling 17-7 to the Buckeyes, who suddenly have a chance to right their own shaky season. So much of what Ohio State do depends on the arm of freshman QB Braxton Miller. It would help to have a veteran presence at WR, but the incredibly stupid DeVier Posey remains on the sidelines, and will stay there for all but the last two games of the regular season as a result of the latest off field scandal to plague Ohio State.
Proof that Texas are a better team than they appeared to be last week in the Cotton Bowl against a rampant Oklahoma team came on Saturday afternoon during a tough struggle with Brandon Weeden and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Interesting to start David Ash and end the QB carousel with Case McCoy. With so many freshman and sophomores growing into the faster pace of college football, especially on defense, this might be a team to seriously look out for next year and the year after.
Boise State opened their inaugural Mountain West campaign by rolling up more than 700 yards of offense and 63 points – all scored in the first three quarters – against the over-matched Colorado State Rams. Nothing like a horrible defense to get the much-maligned and consistently criticised run game going. RB Doug Martin had 20 rushes for 200 yards and three scores, while QB Kellen Moore managed 338 yards and 4 TDs through the air. That’s just scary!
Alabama vs. LSU. That’s going to be the game of the season. What more needs to be said?
Oregon continue down the same old path, playing a close game in the first half, before turning on the after burners in the second, to get away and make it look like much less of a contest than it really was, at least judging by the final score. If there’s a better team in the Pac-12 now, I’m yet to see them!
Kitch’s Beast of the Week: Boise State WR Tyler Shoemaker, now Kellen Moore’s favourite target, had 9 grabs for 180 yards and 2 scores as well as a 37-yard run. Pretty solid night for the senior who has 8 TDs on the season.
California shut down USC’s star WR Robert Woods on Thursday night in San Francisco, but, as well as their defense played, the mistakes on the other side of the football – five turnovers – continually put them in short-field situations, and even having a mediocre night as he was, Trojans QB Matt Barkley is going to make you pay. With Mike Stoops out at Arizona, you wonder how long it might be before Cal’s Jeff Tedford is given his marching orders from Berkeley, too. That’s two bad losses in a row against USC. The Trojans left plenty of points on the field, and the game wasn't as close as the 30-9 final suggested.
The Michigan Wolverines have finally fallen from the ranks of the undefeated, losing 28-14 to their instate rivals, the Spartans of Michigan State. And how did Sparty do it? By taking away the opportunity for QB Denard Robinson to run effectively, thus forcing him to win the game by throwing. Notre Dame tried to do it and couldn't. Northwestern tried to do it and couldn't. MSU did it well, pressuring Robinson into making bad throws. The MSU seniors have won four straight against the Wolverines, something that hasn't happened before in the rivalry’s storied history.
Despite the loss, Michigan aren't looking too bad at 6-1, especially not after the horror season of a year ago, Rich Rodriguez’s last. Let’s be honest, they lost a relatively narrow game to a team boasting one of the best defenses in the nation. We should all prepare to be really concerned when Denard Robinson can throw the football as well as he runs it. I think Brady Hoke’s team can bounce back from this.
I admit that I bought into the Illinois hype and thought they’d probably beat Ohio State on Saturday afternoon. But they didn't, falling 17-7 to the Buckeyes, who suddenly have a chance to right their own shaky season. So much of what Ohio State do depends on the arm of freshman QB Braxton Miller. It would help to have a veteran presence at WR, but the incredibly stupid DeVier Posey remains on the sidelines, and will stay there for all but the last two games of the regular season as a result of the latest off field scandal to plague Ohio State.
Proof that Texas are a better team than they appeared to be last week in the Cotton Bowl against a rampant Oklahoma team came on Saturday afternoon during a tough struggle with Brandon Weeden and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Interesting to start David Ash and end the QB carousel with Case McCoy. With so many freshman and sophomores growing into the faster pace of college football, especially on defense, this might be a team to seriously look out for next year and the year after.
Boise State opened their inaugural Mountain West campaign by rolling up more than 700 yards of offense and 63 points – all scored in the first three quarters – against the over-matched Colorado State Rams. Nothing like a horrible defense to get the much-maligned and consistently criticised run game going. RB Doug Martin had 20 rushes for 200 yards and three scores, while QB Kellen Moore managed 338 yards and 4 TDs through the air. That’s just scary!
Alabama vs. LSU. That’s going to be the game of the season. What more needs to be said?
Oregon continue down the same old path, playing a close game in the first half, before turning on the after burners in the second, to get away and make it look like much less of a contest than it really was, at least judging by the final score. If there’s a better team in the Pac-12 now, I’m yet to see them!
Kitch’s Beast of the Week: Boise State WR Tyler Shoemaker, now Kellen Moore’s favourite target, had 9 grabs for 180 yards and 2 scores as well as a 37-yard run. Pretty solid night for the senior who has 8 TDs on the season.
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