College Football 2015: My Top 5 Heisman Candidates After Week 4

We’re about a quarter of the way through the 2015 season, and the first few weekends have provided plenty of storylines: underdog wins, injuries to key players and spectacular individual performances. That is, of course, what the Heisman Trophy is all about, so four weeks down, here are my top five Heisman candidates (in no particular order) as the race to win college football’s most prestigious individual award really hots up.

Leonard Fournette (Louisiana State, Sophomore, Running Back)

Surely, Fournette is the leader in the club house, and the rest of the nation is chasing him. If you were unsure fourteen days ago, the fact that the giant LSU back has run for nearly five hundred yards in two weekends’ worth of work should have convinced you.

In four games so far, Fournette has amassed 642 yards. That amounts to just a touch over 160 yards a game, and he’s scored eight touchdowns to boot. Extrapolate those numbers out over twelve or so games, and they’re staggering.

The fact that Les Miles’ squad doesn’t have a quarterback of note means that Fournette is the main man in their offense, and that equals plenty of carries. Plenty of carries, of course, equals plenty of exposure. The flip side of that is that a heavier workload means more chance of injury. Safe to say that everyone in Baton Rouge will be hoping and praying that Fournette stays healthy.

Fournette has already had success against two SEC squads, Mississippi State and Auburn, and, the way he is running – finding the gap, hitting it, and accelerating away into the secondary almost in the blink of an eye – I don’t see why he won’t have similar success as LSU heads into the teeth of their conference schedule. A few more performances like we’ve seen the last two weeks, and the voters would be hard pressed to award the trophy to anyone other than Fournette. Each week, the guy makes a case for being the best running back we’ve seen in the last decade. Certainly, he’s right up there.

Cody Kessler (Southern California, Senior, Quarterback)

Arguably the most underrated quarterback in the entire nation, Kessler is having himself another whale of a season. His most recent accomplishment was orchestrating a rout of Arizona State in Tempe, throwing five touchdowns to just one interception – in the red zone, and his first of the year – as the Trojans offense had their way against a bad Sun Devil squad.

The thing about Kessler is that he’s been playing well even when the defense hasn’t. Case in point, the Stanford game that the Trojans lost 41-31. He was just as good as counterpart Kevin Hogan but didn’t get the chocolates because his defense didn’t turn up. He completed passes at better than 78% in the Stanford loss, which is nothing to sneeze at.

Generally, Kessler makes few mistakes, and has the benefit of an absolute plethora of targets, both out of the backfield and at wide receiver. Having the likes of two-way star Adoree’ Jackson and gun receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is all well and good, but Kessler consistently puts the football on the money, helping those guys, and so many others, to make big plays in Clay Helton’s offense.

So far on the season, Kessler has thrown for 1297 yards, at an average of 324.3 per game, and has fifteen touchdowns to the lone interception he threw in Tempe. Those are definitely Heisman-type numbers. My concern is that Smith-Schuster and Jackson are taking away some of Kessler’s attention.

Trevone Boykin (Texas Christian, Senior, Quarterback)

The Horned Frogs quarterback was many people’s (including mine) pre-season Heisman pick, and he hasn’t done much wrong so far, leading TCU to a 4-0 record that has been all about offense and scarcely about defense. That’s the Big XII to a tee, I guess.

Luckily for Boykin, the Heisman Trophy is – or, at least, should be – about the best individual performance on the season, which means we can remove from the conversation the shoddy defense that the Horned Frogs have been playing. In some ways, perhaps, the fact that TCU can’t stop anyone on that side of the ball is actually furthering Boykin’s legend. Week in, week out, he has to bail his defense out of trouble. He’s going to get many more opportunities to do that this season.

Last week’s 485-yard passing effort to drag TCU to a lucky 55-52 victory over Texas Tech in Lubbock, was arguably Boykin’s best offensive performance of his career. He was slinging it all over the joint, but particularly to Josh Doctson, who snagged eighteen passes and three of Boykin’s four touchdowns. It was a nationally-televised game, and surely Heisman voters were taking notice of what Boykin was doing. Sure, Tech’s defense isn’t great, and that’s putting it nicely, but, even so, he shredded them completely.

On the season, Boykin has thrown for 1470 yards and fourteen touchdowns. Like Kessler, he’s relatively safe with the football, having thrown only three interceptions, and he is throwing an average of 367.5 yards per game.

Maybe Boykin has fallen a little behind Leonard Fournette in the Heisman race, but he’s right amongst it, and only needs a little Fournette stumble to leap back to the lead.

Nick Chubb (Georgia, Sophomore, Running Back)

Something of the forgotten explosive back in the SEC due to Leonard Fournette’s recent exploits, I still love what Chubb can bring to the table, and think he’s right up there as a legitimate Heisman candidate.

Granted, his numbers don’t yet hold a candle to Fournette’s – 599 yards and 6 touchdowns on the year, at just under 150 yards per game, and one receiving touchdown to boot – but they’re still very respectable numbers, but perception is key, and with Fournette dominating headlines it’s been hard for Chubb to sneak in and grab some column inches for himself.

That should change, because the Bulldogs have Alabama this week, and if Chubb can find some holes against a pretty solid Crimson Tide defense, there’s going to be a lot of people tuned into the game on CBS, and they’re going to take note. Georgia are probably the best team in the SEC East – apologies to Florida – and that’ll help.

Perhaps the one downside to Chubb is that he shares time in the Georgia backfield with Sony Michel and, to a lesser extent, Keith Marshall. He also has a pretty good quarterback in Greyson Lambert vying for exposure, and, of course, Fournette doesn’t have that problem down in Baton Rouge.

Regardless, I love the way Chubb plays. If he keeps rolling up yards and scores, he’ll be well and truly in the conversation come November.

C.J. Prosise (Notre Dame, Senior, Running Back)

We all expected to be talking about Irish QB Malik Zaire or perhaps RB Tarean Folston as Notre Dame’s serious Heisman threats, but season-ending injuries to those two – not to mention a raft of others – has seen unknowns stepping up to fill the void in South Bend, and the Irish remain undefeated at 4-0 ahead of a giant game at Clemson this weekend.

Prosise has numbers very similar to Nick Chubb at Georgia, amassing 600 yards at 150 per game as the Irish have fought off Massachusetts, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Texas to open the season. His best game was against the Yellow Jackets, a 198-yard/three touchdown performance that included a scintillating 91-yard run to pretty much ice the game for the Irish. In many ways, it was his breakout performance, and one that made the national media sit up and take notice.

Opening with a 98-yard rushing effort against Texas, after he was thrust into the main role in the Notre Dame backfield, Prosise has gone from strength to strength. Particularly over the last two weeks, we’ve really seen how good the senior from Virginia can be. Another big test against Clemson on the road and in a hostile environment, which looms as a great chance for Prosise to further his Heisman credentials.

A few more big performances by Prosise against the meat of the Irish schedule – Stanford and USC – and he’s going to be talked about for the Heisman.

Album Review: 1989 by Ryan Adams

I’m not ashamed to admit that I listened to Taylor Swift’s 1989 when it was released, and whilst the entire album didn’t reach out and grab me by the scruff of the neck or anything like that – I’m not a Swiftie, or anything – there were a few good songs on there, catchy and appealing in that sort of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it world of pop music, where the big name is very shortly forgotten in favour of another.

Apparently, Ryan Adams, the American singer-songwriter saw something more in mega hits like ‘Bad Blood’ and ‘Shake it Off’, and decided that he would cover the entire album in his own style. Interesting choice, and maybe a gamble, considering how protective Taylor Swift’s legion of fans are where her music is concerned. Thankfully, Ms Swift herself seems to approve.

Yet, it was a good choice. The Ryan Adams 1989 is deeper and more serious than Swift’s work, the entire album reminding me of Nebraska­-era Bruce Springsteen, which was, according to press I’ve read surrounding this release, apparently what Adams had in mind. It works. It really works. Suddenly, it’s not the pop sounds that you focus on – that you can’t get away from on the Swift version – but the depth of the song-writing. There are some great lyrics here, and I would never have known it, were it not for this project.

Say what you will about Taylor Swift’s ascension to the top of the pop music world, after making a similar ascension to the top of the country world, but she writes (or, at least, co-writes) her own stuff, which is a hell of a lot more than you can say for a lot of artists out there. Even in country, which was one of the last bastions of the great, mass-appeal singer-songwriters. Even Garth Brooks didn’t write the songs on his comeback album!

As on the original album, ‘Welcome to New York’ is my favourite, and the Ryan Adams cover is one of the few songs to feature a full band. Mostly, it’s Adams and his guitar and his great voice. No wonder it’s reminded so many people of Springsteen. The Boss was just about all on his lonesome on Nebraska, and look how that turned out.

If you’re looking for something a little different to the norm, I would highly recommend 1989. The songs have such great depth to them, and are so serious, almost dark in places, that you have to remember the original versions were written as arena-happy anthems. The Ryan Adams version is a more personal album – like it’s just you and him in some small room together – and it works nicely.



College Football 2015: Ohio State Doesn’t Deserve It’s AP Top 25 Ranking

The fact that the Ohio State University Buckeyes remain at the head of the AP Top 25 class is a surprise, given what has happened so far this year. Sure, they’re the defending National Champions and they haven’t lost a game – unlike many popular playoff picks – over the first month of the season, a combination which is usually enough to ensure that the best team in the land last year remains

Yet, you look deeper at the manner in which the Buckeyes have won their four games this year – Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois, Hawaii and Western Michigan – and shake your head in wonder when the AP rankings are released each week, with Urban Meyer’s squad remaining on top.

I’ve watched the first three Buckeye games this year, and haven’t seen anything to really excite me. This is a football team, at least on the offensive side, that hasn’t hit their stride yet. Quarterback play has been erratic, with Cardale Jones pulled in favour of J.T. Barrett as the Buckeyes relied on a defensive score to beat Northern Illinois, not exactly a powerhouse program. Nor has the running game looked all that good. Ezekiel Elliott is yet to really dazzle us like he did during Ohio State’s improbable run to the National Championship back in January.

At the moment, Ohio State’s most impressive win was their opener, against Virginia Tech on the road at Lane Stadium. Yes, the Blacksburg, Virginia venue can accurately be called a hostile environment, but the Hokies themselves? They haven’t been great this year, losing this past weekend to East Carolina. The lacklustre season that VT has produced since their Labour Day clash with the Buckeyes seriously devalues OSU’s most notable triumph.

Also, consider that the Buckeyes were in a real fight, actually trailing at half time, and the game was changed when Hokie QB Michael Brewer, a guy who had great success against the Buckeyes in Columbus last year, left injured. That was what allowed OSU to pull away. You wonder what might have happened if Brewer hadn’t been forced to leave the field.

The opponents that the Buckeyes have played so far this year don’t strike fear into the hearts of anyone. Not for a team with as much talent as Ohio State can put on the field for any given play. A defensive bail-out got them past Northern Illinois, they did just enough to get the win against Hawaii – without ever impressing – and the Western Michigan game was another ho-hum affair.

Compare these results to the non-conference cupcake schedule of teams like Baylor and Georgia and even Ole Miss. These heavyweights are putting up giant scores, total routs. Just this weekend, Baylor stacked seventy on Rice this weekend, and Ole Miss scored that many and more two weekends in a row.

Ohio State haven’t impressed anyone who isn’t a diehard fan. Their status as the best team in the nation is a tenuous one at the moment. Their ability to execute is being called into question as they head into Big Ten conference play this weekend – starting with a 4-0 Indiana squad – yet they sit atop the national rankings when there are better teams beneath them.

Take Ole Miss for example, or even Michigan State. The Rebels beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa two weekends’ ago – not an easy accomplishment, despite the ridiculous suggestion that the Crimson Tide are somehow fading – and even the Spartans can lay claim to a victory against Oregon. How good that particular triumph looks in light of the Ducks’ beating at the hands of Utah is questionable, but at least they have taken on some serious opposition. The Ducks might not figure nationally this year, but are still certainly on track for probably nine wins. That’s no small fry team.

It’s staggering that there’s no love for UCLA, either. The Bruins looked dangerously impressive against Arizona in Tucson on Saturday night, belting the Wildcats solidly in the first half, turning the second thirty into little more than a chance for their back-ups to get into the game. UCLA took care of business convincingly early in the season, put the breaks on a seemingly unstoppable Brigham Young team – granted, that win now is uncertain following BYU’s capitulation at Michigan – and really sent a message in primetime on Saturday night. All of this despite key injuries on the defensive side.

The same can be said for Notre Dame. Despite an injury toll bigger than just about any team not named UCLA, the Irish are hanging in there, and although some of their wins haven’t been hugely convincing – most notably, the miraculous escape at Virginia, a team slaughtered by UCLA earlier – they’ve rebounded nicely with a giant victory over Massachusetts and now face Clemson in Clemson on Saturday night.

However, none of this seems to matter. There are better football teams languishing beneath the Buckeyes, who escape with victories like Houdini but seem to lead a charmed life in the polls. It seems to be that way because of last season’s heroics. That was then, and this is now. In name, it’s the same team. In action and execution, it certainly isn’t.

Memo, AP voters: time to look at the present not the past. The Buckeyes aren’t deserving of the top spot. Just because they haven’t lost this year doesn’t mean they should automatically claim the No. 1 position. They’re not playing like the best team in the country, which means that they shouldn’t be ranked that way. Teams can slide for bad wins, you know? It’s happened before. It should happen again next week if the Buckeyes don’t impress.

Book Review: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

 

 

I realise I’m late to the Dan Brown party, and despite some people telling me that he’s one of the worst writers ever – yet not as bad as E.L. James, she of Fifty Shades fame – I decided I’d read Angels and Demons because…well, I was looking for something a little different to what I normally read.

 

The premise of the prequel to The Da Vinci Code is simple: a ancient and secretive anti-religious group called the Illuminati have surfaced after centuries of extinction to steal a specimen of antimatter, a science experiment that, when detonated, would result in widespread destruction. It’s a double disaster for the Catholic Church, who’re dealing with the return of their sworn enemies, and must also deal with the fact that the Illuminati have planted the antimatter somewhere in or under the Vatican. There’s a ticking clock, and at midnight, an explosion will destroy much of the ancient city.

 

Enter American symbolist Robert Langdon, who joins forces with a scientist from CERN, Vittoria Vetra, and is dispatched by CERN’s crippled director, Maximillian Kohler, ton Rome to uncover the location of the antimatter before it’s too late. All of this in the midst of an uncertain time for Catholicism: the pope has recently died, and a new one is being elected on this very day.

 

The Illuminati have a Middle Eastern assassin working for them, and thanks to the treachery of someone on the Vatican inside, the four cardinals considered most likely to ascend to the role of pope have been kidnapped. They are each to die on the hour, each hour leading up to midnight, in a manner symbolic to the Illuminati thinking. It’s up to Langdon to uncover the clues and save the cardinals – and, for that matter, the rest of the Vatican, and, really, the entire Catholic church.

 

Of course, there is lots of intrigue, plot twists, confusing allegiances and even some action as the book races from one hour to the next, Langdon and Vetra follow the clues left for them by the Illuminati assassin and save the Catholic Church as we know it. Other than Langdon and Vetra, I found it best not to trust anyone.

 

The story was well set up and executed. It really wasn't until the last few chapters that everything started to make proper sense. There are a few false dawns where you think you’ve figured it all out – only for Brown to pull another twist, and, if nothing else, the unravelling mystery certainly keeps you guessing.

 

It’s fair to say that Brown’s writing is less technical and detailed than, say, Tom Clancy. The ebook version I read was a little over five hundred pages, but I raced through it in three days. 500 pages of Dan Brown is a hell of a lot different to 500 pages of Tom Clancy. That’s not to say Angels and Demons wasn't an enjoyable enough read.

College Football 2015: Week 4 Villains

For every hero there’s a villain, and college football is no different in that regard. Here are a few who let themselves down this weekend:

College GameDay: the venerable and normally excellent ESPN pre-game show is pretty much the gold standard as far as such shows go, but last weekend wasn't their finest hour, as a weeks’ worth of bad publicity detailed.

Some questionable signs – one that suggested Ole Miss’ non-conference schedule was as easy as their female students, and another making fun of Urban Meyer’s medical condition that saw him quit Florida – were allowed to go to air. Needless to say, the controversy swirled, particularly after Meyers’ family made comment, and the show sustained a rare black eye. Fan signs are one of the hallmarks of GameDay, but producers have a duty to ensure nothing controversial gets to air, and they failed miserably on this account.

Texas Christian’s defense: the Horned Frogs offense might be humming along nicely, but their compatriots on the other side of the football aren’t exactly playing at a championship level. TCU gave up 607 yards and 52 points to unranked Texas Tech. The Horned Frogs were lucky to win, and their defense needs serious work. Maybe they’ll score more points than they give up in the wild Big XII but that approach won’t fly in the playoff, should the Horned Frogs reach that stage.

Virginia: the Cavaliers couldn’t do much right on Friday at home against Boise State. The opening play from scrimmage saw QB Matt Johns have a pass intercepted by 300-pound Boise defensive lineman Justin Taimatuia and taken back for a pick-six touchdown. Johns threw two more picks and was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone which resulted in a safety. There were two other turnovers – for five in total – on a night where the Cavs were embarrassed 56-14.

Missouri: lost 21-13 to Kentucky to continue an incredibly lackluster season in Columbia. The Tigers will certainly drop from the AP Top 25 after their latest performance.

Arizona State: four turnovers and a shocking lack of general fundamental execution saw the Sun Devils in a 35-0 hole at half time against USC at home. On a night when ASU were looking to jump back into the Pac-12 race, they were shown up by a more committed opponent. It’ll be interesting to see if there’s any talk through the week about the future of head coach Todd Graham.

Oregon’s defense: I’ve asked questions of their ability in past weeks, giving up big yardage totals to schools like Eastern Washington, and I guess we now have our answer on the Ducks. They were terrible on Saturday night, giving up 530 yards and 62 points to Utah at home. That’s the most shocking thing of their capitulation: it happened at Autzen Stadium, which has been something of a graveyard for visiting teams in recent years. Not tonight, and not again anytime soon if the Ducks defense continues to play like it did tonight.

Georgia Tech: remember back when the Yellow Jackets were expected to be serious ACC contenders? Those days seem a long way away now, after back-to-back losses (to Notre Dame and then Duke) in which Paul Johnson’s men have played terribly. Saturday’s loss is going to make their pursuit of the ACC coastal division championship hard.

Texas: another week and another special teams disaster costing them a probable win. This time, it was Australian-born punter Michael Dickson who missed the snap deep in Longhorn territory, and managed to get away only a miniscule punt, which allowed Oklahoma State to kick a field goal and win a game that seemed to be headed to overtime. The Longhorns fall to 1-3 on the season, and that’s a fairly deep hole to dig out of. So, we can expect another week of loud talk in Austin.

Auburn: another loss, this one 17-9 to Mississippi State, and there are surely going to be more questions asked of highly-paid defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, not to mention head coach Gus Malzahn, after the Tigers fell to 0-2 in conference play. Amongst the ugly numbers for Auburn: they were just four of thirteen on third down. You’ll never win football games with a conversion rate as bad as that. It seems a long time ago that they were ranked sixth in the nation, and being talked about as potential playoff candidates.

Brigham Young: the Cougars offense looked as anaemic as any unit we’ve seen this season, barely totalling a hundred yards of total offense. QB Tanner Mangum, who’s looked like a superstar since replacing injured starter Taysom Hill, averaged a putrid two yards per pass in the Cougars’ 31-0 loss to Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Tennessee: the Volunteers gave up two touchdowns in the last five minutes – including a 63-yard game winner – to lose to hated rivals Florida in one of the more miraculous finishes in the long history of tight games between these two schools. Like Auburn, pre-season predictions of SEC glory for the Volunteers seems a long way away now.

College Football 2015: Week Four Heroes

Another surprising week of college football is in the books, so it’s time to shine a light on those teams and individuals who distinguished themselves on the gridiron:

Boise State’s defense: the Broncos, who are statistically one of the hardest teams to run on in the entire country, showed that they are equally adept at shutting down opposition passing games, too. On Friday night in Charlottesville, the ball-hawking Bronco defense intercept Cavaliers quarterback Matt Johns three times – including a pick-six on the opening play of the game from scrimmage – and forced two other turnovers and a sack in a 56-14 primetime rout.

Stanford: one week after their run game dominated USC in the Coliseum, they went on the road again, this time to Corvallis to play Oregon State in what was looming as something of a trap game after last week’s victory. No problems for the Cardinal. Despite QB Kevin Hogan appearing to be injured – he was in a moon boot after the game – the offense did enough to secure a 42-24 win. Hogan was 9-14 for 163 and two touchdowns. After an opening weekend loss to Northwestern in Evanston, Stanford has rebounded in astounding fashion.

Utah: the Utes are the real deal, ladies and gentlemen. How do we know for sure? Well, they went up to Eugene – one of the toughest places to go and win in college football – and absolutely dominated Oregon, rolling up 500 yards of total offense to go along with more than sixty points in a 62-20 win. The Ute defense forced three turnovers, and chased Ducks QB Vernon Adams from the game. The Pac-12 south is going to be a serious battleground this year.

Duke: surprised us all beating Georgia Tech 34-20 on the back of a solid defensive effort and a large slice of offense from RB Shaquille Powell, who ran for three touchdowns. The Blue Devils also returned a kick-off one hundred yards the other way. A total team effort, and a big win.

Josh Doctson: the Texas Christian receiver had a massive impact on Saturday, as the Horned Frogs barely outlasted a persistent Texas Tech squad 55-52 win. Doctson snagged eighteen passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Not a bad day out!

Michigan: the biggest win of the relatively short Jim Harbaugh came on Saturday in the Big House, where the Wolverines beat Brigham Young 31-0. Not many of us saw that one coming.

Brett Rypien: the Boise State freshman quarterback in his first start threw for three touchdowns and 321 yards as the Broncos went on the road to beat Virginia 56-14. Rypien is a highly-touted prospect out of high school in Spokane, Washington, and, thrust into the starting position after an ankle injury to Ryan Finley last weekend. It’s Rypien’s team now, and he’ll doubtless be glad to have plenty of offensive weapons to target, and a snarling defense, too.

Leonard Fournette: once more, the Louisiana State running back shredded a defense, eclipsing the 200-yard mark. This week, it was Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, and he ripped off 244 yards and two touchdowns. LSU won 34-24.

Indiana: after a 31-24 victory over Wake Forest, the Hoosiers are 4-0, their longest winning streak in twenty-eight years.

UCLA: the Bruins are the real deal, routing Arizona 56-30 on the back of another stellar performance from freshman quarterback Josh Rosen. He was 19-28 for 284 yards and two touchdowns passing, and added one rushing score.

Florida: very quietly, the Gators have opened the season 4-0, thanks to a comeback that featured two touchdowns in the last five minutes of the game. Jim McElwain’s squad deserve more notoriety than they’ve received so far this year.

Kentucky: the Wildcats beat South Carolina earlier in the year, and knocked off another SEC heavy in Missouri, thanks to two touchdowns from QB Patrick Towles. Kentucky, more known for basketball than football, are really surprising people this year. One of the feel-good stories in the SEC.

USC: the Trojans needed a big, statement-type win in Tempe against Arizona State, and they got it, charging to a 35-0 lead at half time – including two touchdowns scored in the last 0:24 seconds of the half – en route to a strong 42-14 victory over the Sun Devils. Both JuJu Smith-Schuster and Adoree’ Jackson had more than a hundred yards receiving. Crucially on Saturday night, the Trojan defense looked as good as it’s offense did. QB Cody Kessler, who had five touchdowns on the night, just keeps rolling along. Surely he’s a serious Heisman candidate now?

Jeremy McNichols: the Boise State running back recorded his FBS-leading tenth touchdown on the year. He’s a key cog in the Bronco offense, and defenses have had all sorts of trouble slowing him down, both on the ground and in the passing game. A dangerous weapon for freshman quarterback Brett Rypien.

College Football 2015: 5 Things to Watch in Week Four

Each week, I’ll cast my eye over the upcoming slate of games, and provide a few storylines worth keeping an eye on.

Auburn’s defense: Will Muschamp, the defensive coordinator for the Tigers, is the highest-paid assistant coach anywhere in the country, which, of course, means that the pressure is turned all the way up because his players gave up 45 points and 485 yards to a rampant Louisiana State squad last Saturday in Death Valley.

As you probably know, the bulk of that yardage – 228, to be exact – and three touchdowns came from star back Leonard Fournette, who Auburn defenders had previously said would be easy to tackle. Leaving a player bulletin board material is never a smart idea, particularly not when said player is of Fournette’s ilk. Auburn were embarrassed in many ways, and drop way out of the AP Top 25 rankings this week.

The Tigers get a chance to make amends for an inept defensive performance this weekend, when Mississippi State come in to Jordan-Hare Stadium. Whilst it’s not the FCS squad Auburn were probably wishing was on their schedule now, the Tigers must go out and show some improvement defensively.

It won’t be an easy task, and if Auburn’s D mails it in again this week, there’ll be plenty of criticism – probably warranted – directed at Will Muschamp thereafter. He’s simply not earning his salary at the moment.

Arkansas: After talking up the SEC’s schedule compared to that of Ohio State and the Big Ten, Bret Bielema’s ranked squad lost first to Toledo and Texas Tech, and Bielema himself engaged – not for the first time, it has to be said – in a verbal sparring contest, this time with Tech’s Ryan Gosling-lookalike coach Kliff Kingsbury. That’s Bielema’s style, no doubt, and one of the reasons why a lot of his coaching brethren in the Big Ten had little time for him, and weren’t too disappointed when he left.

The road doesn’t get much easier for the Razorbacks, who travel to Dallas, Texas, and face a rejuvenated Texas A&M squad on neutral ground. Arkansas really need a good showing against the Aggies, but if the Hogs play the way they have over the last two weeks, it could be a long day in the House that Jerry Jones built. The vaunted Arkansas run game has scarcely surfaced in their two losses, and their offense isn’t built around twenty or thirty pass plays.

Expect Bielema to be answering even more tough questions if Arkansas aren’t at least competitive against Kevin Sumlin’s men.

USC: The Trojans were smashed square in the mouth by a committed Stanford offense that they were powerless to stop for most of the game last Saturday at the Coliseum. Worse than the loss, rumours circulated that players were fighting with one another heading up the tunnel after the game.

Serious conflict in the locker room is never a good look, and it gives USC the sort of dysfunctional feel fans thought they’d left behind when Lane Kiffin departed. Ironically, that happened two years’ ago, late at night, when the Trojans got home from a walloping at the hands of – yep, you guessed it, Arizona State.

Defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox is trying to fix troubles with the defense, which looked at sea for all but the opening quarter, and, let’s be honest, he has a lot of work to do. It was tough to watch the Trojan D get dominated by that Cardinal run game.

Steve Sarkisian’s squad now head out into the desert to take on an Arizona State squad that’s fallen outside the AP Top 25 national rankings, and the Trojans need a win to take some of the heat off their woes. It won’t be an easy game to win, with the Sun Devils also looking to get a one-loss season back on track.

The Trojans can kiss goodbye their Pac-12 or national playoff hopes if they don’t win this weekend, and extract a little revenge for being embarrassed by ASU the last time these two met in Tempe. The offense was pretty good against Stanford – they put up 31 – and you expect that the same against the Sun Devils. All eyes will be on Wilcox’s defense.

Cardale Jones: Nothing like a good quarterback controversy, is there? The National Championship-winning quarterback for Ohio State had his worst career outing last weekend against Northern Illinois – one of the shocks of the weekend was how hard NIU made the defending champions battle for their win. He completed just 4-9 for 36 yards and two interceptions.

That displeased Buckeye head coach Urban Meyer, who removed Jones in favour of J.T. Barrett – remember the two duelled pretty seriously for the starting gig in camp – who wasn't that much better, but at least he threw a touchdown.

Meyer has announced that Jones will get the start, and will be the guy under centre unless he starts playing poorly against Western Michigan as he did against the Huskies. We’ll see whether Jones reverts to his old self, proving true the adage that even champions have a bad day every now and again, or whether Barrett gets the chance to make that starting position his own. Who ever thought we’d see so much intrigue in a game featuring the top-ranked team in the country and a middling MAC squad!

UCLA: the Bruins lost their star linebacker Myles Jack for the season to what coach Jim Mora called a “significant” knee injury. The two-way player has been amongst the Bruins’ best this season, and sealed their last-start win against Brigham Young with an interception of Tanner Mangum as the Cougars were driving. Jack was a key cog in the Bruins defensive machine, and seeing how they adapt to life without him will be very interesting, as they face a pretty good Arizona Wildcat squad.

Enjoy your football weekend, everyone!

Book Review: Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz

Aside from a few movie novelisations (do they count, really?), Trigger Mortis is the first James Bond novel that I’ve read. Picking up directly after Bond has dealt with Goldfinger, the opening chapters of the book deal with 007’s relationship with Pussy Galore, the lesbian gangster who featured prominently in Goldfinger. It turns out that she followed Bond back to London and they two are living together, not quite in marital bliss, despite objections from M and others at the Secret Service.

Despite Trigger Mortis being released just a week ago, this is Bond at his 1950s best, though Bond confronts things like lung cancer, has a conversation with a good friend who is an unashamed homosexual, and, of course, displays his unending hatred for the Russians. On this occasion, SMERSH are working with a Korean to try and get ahead in the all-important space race.

What interested me was the fact that an early section of the book was actually attributed to Ian Fleming, the man who created 007 (and would probably be amazed if he were alive to see the longevity of the womanising British secret agent, both in film, book and gaming) and had written, for a TV show that never got off the ground, a few hundred words about Bond in a car race in Germany.

From that snippet of plot detail came the rest of Trigger Mortis, and Horowitz, whom I didn’t know existed until I saw a newspaper article about this book, has done a good job staying true to Fleming’s bond. 007 is in fine form here, following the trail from the legendary Nürburgring circuit, where he stops a Russian attempt on the life of a champion British race car driver, through to the United States, and specifically in the subway network beneath New York City, where the final confrontation between Bond and the bad guy takes place.

The Korean mastermind, Sin, is a typical sadistic villain, up there with the best of them that Bond films and movies have ever produced. The Russians, of course, are floating around in the background, always looking for a way to undermine British and American interests. Other than Pussy Galore, there are other love interests for Bond – including the brilliantly named American agent Jeopardy Lane – and more than enough plot-twists, great gadgets and close escapes to keep me turning the pages.

In fact, Trigger Mortis wasn't an easy book to put down. The action and plot flowed nicely, and one never overpowered the other. The ending was gripping, and the entire scheme of Sin’s, working with the Russians, was more nuanced and layered than I’d been expecting.

Based on the reviews I’ve read, Trigger Mortis has been very well received by a lot of people, so hopefully Horowitz gets another chance to write a Bond adventure.

Album Review: Wild Ones by Kip Moore



Kip Moore found success with his debut album, 2012's Up All Night, reaching the top of the charts with three singles - including one of my all-time favourite modern-country tunes, 'Somethin' About A Truck' - but found it harder than he expected to complete follow-up. In fact, after a lukewarm response to a few singles released over the last few years - I should note that I really loved both 'Dirt Road' and 'Young Love', but I was clearly in the minority on that front - Moore did a Kenny Chesney and scrapped the original work, deciding to record a brand-new album.

Unlike Chesney, Moore didn't have the advantage of being able to take a year off of touring, so Wild Ones was written and recorded in the midst of a pretty hectic touring schedule. Safe to say, the move to start over was a good one, because Wild Ones is a heavy collection of working-class songs that bridge the gap between modern-country and old-school heartland rock. 

It's no surprise, then, that Moore lists artists like Bruce Springsteen and Bob Seger, perhaps the two best proponents of heartland rock that ever walked the earth, as idols. You can hear the influence of both men on Moore's album, but, crucially, he hasn't gone straight down the line in copying with The Boss and Bob have done. Moore has mastered their sound, attached it to his own lyrical composition, and the results are pleasing.

There's a temptation to toss Moore into the same boat as the Florida Georgia Line's and Luke Bryan's of the world, and I guess with the bro-country leaning 'Somethin' About A Truck', you can understand why some might, but Wild Ones comes in short on the pop-friendly hooks that were present in his first release, and long on meaningful lyrics. Moore's throaty voice brings a wonderful intensity to every song. His voice is celebrated, and there are thousands of people who swear that he's one of the best live performers in country.

The title track and 'Lipstick' are two of my favourites, and when Moore graduates to arenas - surely, not too long away now - they're going to be front and centre on the set-list. 'Girl of the Summer' and the heavy 'Come and Get It" are my picks, but there are few songs that aren't good here.

Moore has co-written every one of the thirteen songs on Wild Ones, with help from songwriters like Rodney Clawson and Brett James (who also has producer credit), and despite the fact that this was a Nashville production through and through, there are many moments when you'd swear you were listening to a rock album. Play Wild Ones for someone who doesn't know that they're listening to something from the country section of the iTunes Store and they'd never guess.

There will be detractors because of how Moore's sound leans towards rock rather than traditional country, but the music songs good, and that's all that should matter.

Album Review: Southern Drawl by Alabama



It's been a long time - 2001, in fact; fourteen long years - since Alabama, one of the most influential and best-selling groups in the history of any musical genre, gave us a collection of new material, but 2015 finds the band enjoying a new surge of popularity, and, thanks to their re-emergence from the cold, as it were, a new album hit the shelves this week, and, to the relief of many, I'm sure, there's plenty of that old Alabama magic.

Perhaps you were worried that the now three-piece outfit from Fort Payne, Alabama, helmed by lead singer Randy Owen, had sold out, and would be dabbling in EDM, rap or hard rock, as so many other country artists have done of late? Well, worry not. The band sounds pretty much the same as they did on their last studio album, When it All Goes South, and on so many classic recordings before that.

Which isn't to say that Owen and band-mates, Jeff Cook and Teddy Gentry don't remind us that they were probably the first country group to experiment with pop, rock and even gospel sounds in their music, way back when. The title track, one of my favourites, is a hard-driving song with plenty of guitar and heavy drums, the sort of arena-friendly anthem that is going to sound great live. Sure, it's a formulaic song in a way, going through all the things that make the South great, but it's so damn good to hear the boys back at it that you kinda don't care. It's also a track that Jason Aldean would be proud of.

Perhaps the best part are the slow songs, epic and sprawling ballads, which allow the three-piece harmonies to shine, and remind us of vintage Alabama, when the band were at their peak, cranking out #1 hits like there was no tomorrow. Alison Krauss' appearance on 'Come Find Me' is a welcome one. She's as good a female singer as there is in bluegrass-country.

The silly 'Hillbilly Wins the Lotto Money' is a low-point for me, but there are few weak songs on the album, and the penultimate track 'Footstompin' Music' allows for an epic fiddle solo. It's a song that evokes memories of 'Mountain Music' or 'Song of the South' and it's fun.

Sure, there's no 'Dixieland Delight' equivalent here, but considering the band has been studio-dormant for more than a decade, the thirteen-track Southern Drawl is a more than acceptable return. Here's hoping we don't have to wait another fourteen years for some new Alabama music.

Album Review: Burning Bridges by Bon Jovi

As the title of Bon Jovi’s thirteenth studio album suggests, it’s the end of an era for the New Jersey outfit. It’s the first album to not feature the guitar wizardry of founding member Richie Sambora, who left the band a few years’ back for reasons that haven’t really been made clear to those of us outside of the band’s inner circle.

Tying in to the end of an era theme, this collection marks the final release on Mercury Records, as the band have moved on and will allegedly release a new album on an as-yet-unknown label, followed by a world tour. Presumably, also, without Sambora, whose stage presence and insane guitar chops are missed by all and sundry. Perhaps, even, Jon Bon Jovi himself.

If you thought Jon Bon Jovi was happy enough to be moving on, you’d be wrong. The title track features some pointed lyrics – “After 30 years of loyalty, they let you dig the grave / Now maybe you can learn to sing or strum along / Well I’ll give you half the publishing / You’re why I wrote this song.” – that can only be aimed at Mercury. So, there’s some angst between the two parties, which leads me to think that the band was shunted out. It’s a pretty interesting move on the label’s part, given the insane amount of success Bon Jovi has brought Mercury over the years.

So, the premise of this album is to fulfil the band’s contract with Mercury, which they’ve done by releasing a collection consisting of a few new tracks and other songs that were left on the cutting room floor. And, when I listened to Burning Bridges for the first time, I had the immediate feeling that JBJ and co should’ve left those songs where they were.

This is the worst Bon Jovi album I’ve ever heard. The songs are bland, boring, formulaic, and devoid of some of the trademarks that have seen the New Jersey rock band catapult to worldwide stardom. It’s clear almost instantly that Sambora is sorely missed. Not just because there are few in the world who can rival him on guitar, but because of his song-writing ability, too. It just doesn’t feel right. You can’t replicate a guy like that. John Shanks is a good player, but he isn’t Richie Sambora. Few are.

I’ve never been a guy who latches onto an entire album of any band or singer, but I can usually find more than four or five tracks that impact me enough to make me want to put them on my iPod. Not so here. Burning Bridges, for the most part, is a forgettable selection of songs. I have three songs from this collection on my Bon Jovi playlist, one being ‘Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning’, the only track where Sambora has a co-write. The rest…well, the less said about them, the better.

In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Jon Bon Jovi said it’s something “are going to be very proud of in the spring when we put it out,” so I can only hope that this is merely a bump in the road for the band. Time will tell.

For now, I’ll stick with my vintage Bon Jovi albums, and wait for some new solo material from Richie Sambora.