[grokit]

So Cam Newton had quite a day for the Carolina Panthers: 422 yards for the most of any NFL QB during the opening weekend so far, and the most yards ever for a rookie debut. He also threw a pick to go along with his two passing TDs (and single rushing TD) and his team lost.

 

[J W]

I was way off on a couple of my picks. 
 
Neither BYU or Texas are very good. It's really a shame Coug couldn't have held on. 
Auburn. Go figure. 
Air Force/TCU. Air Force made it respectable at the end. Was never close, though, and I was off. 
Cincy started out hot. Tennessee apparently just has a better team. 
Kansas/NIU was a Tit for tat game, but somebody had to win. I picked the wrong side. 
 
It must be unpleasant to be a Dallas Cowboy fan.  
 
There are loads of good match ups in week 3. Maybe Georgia will finally win a game. 
 
And skipping ahead to week 4 we have Oregon State/UCLA. The last PAC team to lose to the mighty Bruins? The beavers! 

 

[virometal]

Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif

- While I was wrong about Bama, I was right about tOSU. They're FAR from the best team in the B10. And while Wisco beating a bad Oregon State team is nothing to get too hot and bothered about, it is very clear that the Badger attack is the real deal, as it's not just about a bruising rushing attack this year. Russell Wilson is a huge addition to that team, and behind that line and with those backs and receivers, Wisco could do better than the 42 ppg they averaged last year.

Really, you're going to call it after two weeks? Maybe I'm really the nutty one, but I want to see tOSU with their guys back, and for Wisky to play someone with a pulse before I fire up the swan song on my pick.

 
SweetAdeline /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Heh, well that post was at halftime, but yeah. Defense has looked real good, especially the front four. But we have struggled so much in run blocking it is hard to not be worried. Our center straight sucks. Our left guard has been pretty bad too. EJ Manuel will probably have all the rushing yards for FSU.

That front four is what worries me the most, since I'm still not sold on the Sooners O-Line, specifically, RG. They appeared a world better, but hey it's Tulsa. That's good news about the FSU rushing attack, or maybe not if EJ goes off, since I think OU's primary defensive liability is MLB. 
 

 

[Skylab]

Yeah, OK...maybe my hatred for the Buckeyes is blinding me. I don't have a great affection for the Badgers, but I do think they will be they are the class of the Big Ten. Nebraska has some real talent but they struggled with Fresno...of course no clue what Fresno is like this year. As you point out, Virology, lots of football yet to be played. We will see how tOSU plays against the also depleted 'Canes in the battle for who has more suspensions. I'm going to pick the Buckeyes, but I will be rooting for the 'Canes. I'm ready for the Bucks to have a bad year.

Thinking more about the UM ND game, I'm tempted to say, as exciting as the game was, that what we were watching was two teams with some very serious problems on defense. As such, I will pick Sparty very big over ND this week.

I will of course also take the Sooners, as I will every week, since they are the only one of my two NCG pre-season picks that can still make it.

I need to look at the full slate for more picks. But here is an interesting stat for you. Through two weeks, the two teams with the most rushing attempts in FBS will be playing each other this weekend. Those teams are Northwestern and Army. I guess that's what happens when your starting QB is still hurt and your number two is more "athlete" than pure QB. But at least so far we are actually getting the yards on the ground.

 

[reginalb]

Quote:

I hope you're not referring to that bleacherreport article as authoritative...

lolwut? I didn't say anything about authoritative. It was a rumor, and remains theoretically possible. But I never implied anything like that.

 
Quote:

I don't like the new ASU uniforms. I'm not terribly conservative, but wish more schools would stick with tradition. Especially Oregon. I always liked the old uniforms and the Donald Duck logo. Becoming Phil Knight's fashion models was not an upgrade.

Actually, it was a huge upgrade. Look at how well the team has done since that switch. No offense, but you are not a 17 year old kid. They think the unis are cool at Oregon. Go to a mall and look at what teenagers are wearing. If you don't have tradition to bank on (and Oregon/Boise/Maryland et. al. don't) marketing gimmicks can be helpful in recruiting.

 
Quote:

So Cam Newton had quite a day for the Carolina Panthers: 422 yards for the most of any NFL QB during the opening weekend so far, and the most yards ever for a rookie debut. He also threw a pick to go along with his two passing TDs (and single rushing TD) and his team lost.

I am so glad AJ Green dropped so many passes in the pre-season, prompting me to bench him and put Steve Smith in as a starter. I am 30% up on the number 2 team in my league in week 1 in FF, and I still have a WR and my defense yet to play. Go MNF. And my top 2 players (Phil Rivers and Michael Turner) had relatively pedestrian weeks. I am hoping these are trends, although the NUMBER of fantasy points Steve Smith put up were clearly a fluke, as well as Mike Tolbert, who I also had starting, I am hoping they continue to put up solid numbers, as Turner and Rivers are going to have better weeks. It's going to be a good year in FF for me.

 

[SweetAdeline]

Quote:

Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Really, you're going to call it after two weeks? Maybe I'm really the nutty one, but I want to see tOSU with their guys back, and for Wisky to play someone with a pulse before I fire up the swan song on my pick.

 
SweetAdeline /img/forum/go_quote.gif

That front four is what worries me the most, since I'm still not sold on the Sooners O-Line, specifically, RG. They appeared a world better, but hey it's Tulsa. That's good news about the FSU rushing attack, or maybe not if EJ goes off, since I think OU's primary defensive liability is MLB. 
 

The main issue with it is controlling the clock. Even if FSU is decently effective in the passing game, if they don't have some balance, in an offensive system like that, OU will run 100 plays and we'll get worked again. That's why I think it will be interesting to see how much option and designed running plays we have for EJ this week. It is what got us by last year when our offensive line was getting mauled by a pretty nasty Clemson front four. Jimbo hasn't run it a single time yet this year though.
 
Should be a great atmosphere in Tally. Really wish I could be there.

 

[virometal]

Oh you know both teams have been vanilla. On the OU side, the first game there was no diamond formation from the offense, plus no 50 front from the D - two formations that achieved success the second half of last year. 
 
We both know the cupboard will be flung open for this game. Maybe that's why this matchup is a bit of a mystery for me. Honestly, I'm so clueless it's hard for me to imagine a surprising outcome for either side.
 
Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I need to look at the full slate for more picks. But here is an interesting stat for you. Through two weeks, the two teams with the most rushing attempts in FBS will be playing each other this weekend. Those teams are Northwestern and Army. I guess that's what happens when your starting QB is still hurt and your number two is more "athlete" than pure QB.

 
Wow, that is interesting, what has it been for NU, a bunch of zone read stuff?

 

[Skylab]

Yup, a ton of zone-read, absolutely. 100+ rush yards Sat from our QB and 50 yards plus from three different RB's. Against BC there was enough passing to make it work well, and against Eastern I'LL, well, they can't handle a FBS-Sized offensive line. Will be interesting to see if we can still run the ball against Army. For sure we will have to be more balanced when we get to the conference games.

 

[reginalb]

     Quote:

Yeah, OK...maybe my hatred for the Buckeyes is blinding me...

Thinking more about the UM ND game, I'm tempted to say, as exciting as the game was, that what we were watching was two teams with some very serious problems on defense. As such, I will pick Sparty very big over ND this week.
 

I am with you about OSU, their wheels are going to come off, too. Too much turmoil for a bunch of teenage headcases to make it through, I think. 
 
And as a Wolverine, I think it's pretty obvious that "Under the Lights" exposed both teams as mediocre. Of course, we all knew Michigan was before the beginning of the year, but why did people think ND would be good? I don't get it. When can we stop pretending they are an elite program?
 

 

[Skylab]

I'm only seeing 4 wins for ND.

 

[Uncle Erik]

reginalb, maybe for some 17 year-old kids. When I was a 17 year-old kid, I picked tradition and went to USC. Oddly, I chose it over ASU and the University of Arizona - I only applied to three schools and was accepted at all of them. Then my sister went off to U of A in Tucson, not wanting to be at the same school I was at.

But there are now two more twists - my sister is working on an Ed.D. at USC and now on the Trojan bandwagon. Even more curiously, I'm getting into a job where it looks like they'll pay for me to get a M.Ed. at ASU.

So it looks like I'll have to get on the ASU bandwagon shortly and become a rabid fan of the new look! I support my schools fully. (I should probably give a shout out to my D3 Willamette Bearcats and Linfield Wildcats!) Further, I will have an excellent time giving my sister crap during ASU/UofA games. Though we'll always be able to hate UCLA together.

Speaking of which, I think the Beavers will take care of UCLA.

Skylab, I agree about ND, but four might be optimistic. It'll be interesting to see how their recruiting goes after a bad season.

 

[TexasBuck]

 
Quote:

     Quote:

I am with you about OSU, their wheels are going to come off, too. Too much turmoil for a bunch of teenage headcases to make it through, I think. 
 
And as a Wolverine, I think it's pretty obvious that "Under the Lights" exposed both teams as mediocre. Of course, we all knew Michigan was before the beginning of the year, but why did people think ND would be good? I don't get it. When can we stop pretending they are an elite program?
 

The lack of a QB is going to be the undoing of OSU, not the turmoil.  The OSU offense is going to face 8-9 men fronts all year long and the QB's aren't good enough to make the defenses pay for it.  Wisconsin looks to be the class of a dreadfully mediocre Big 10 this year.
 
 

 

[_Stooge_]

Quote:

     Quote:
...but why did people think ND would be good? I don't get it. When can we stop pretending they are an elite program?  

ND is over-ranked every single year. It makes me angry sometimes ><
 
On a side note.... How Bout Them Huskers?!?!
 
 

 

[virometal]

Add Nebraska to the countless teams that have begun to run up-tempo. I love fast paced O myself and look at it as value for the dollar. More plays equal more football. As an added bonus, the announcing team has less time to feel. So I have to listen to listen to less Gary Danielson rear kissing the SEC or Kirky Hirby explain how yet another USC Trojan received improper benefits. 
 
Not that huddles are completely bad. I think Joe Pa was able to finish the Times crossword in the press box during the Alabama game. We get more of the crowd reaction shots, which depending on the producing team will involve hot young women half the time. Also, I can make a beer while Mack Brown claps encouragement toward all the Longhorn players taken out of the game. They never seem to notice. 
 

 

[virometal]

I'm on the Lester's tonight! Mark me down for the mad hatter. Who else can't wait for LSU @ Bamar by the way. There will be twitch muscle all over the field.