Week 2 Review
Week 2 Review
Gridiron contests presented for our viewing pleasure resembled more of what we have become used to than they did last week. We knew LSU was going to be good, very good, and we suspected that Texas was going to be sneaky better than they were last year. Guess it’s a good thing the Horns didn’t open against Maryland, eh? Enough editorializing, down to brass tacks.
LSU 45 Texas 38 – The cocky Texas coach Tom Herman, who crowed about the SEC being not so good after the Sugar Bowl last year, came close to bragging, but, as Dizzy Dean once said, “It ain’t bragging if you can do it.” Texas didn’t do it, but they challenged on their home field in Austin, they surely did. The LSU Tigers were called upon to enter the Longhorn corral and put a stopper in Herman’s mouth on behalf of the SEC. The Bayou Bengals answered the call. The Longhorns played a heck of a game and there are some that will say this proves they are back! CSF is not going that far, but we will admit that they are good, getting better in every phase of the game, and QB Sam Ehlinger has command of their passing game. The stocky signal-caller threw for over 400 yards against a Tiger defense that has been called Defense Back University, DBU. The biggest problem was that current LSU and Ohio State transfer QB Joe Burrow was better and the burnt orange just couldn’t match up with the Bayou Bengal receivers. Texas battled to their last gasp of downs. When the Horns take on the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry, it ought to be a heck of a game. “Hello!” other SEC teams, especially in the SEC West, I hope yall were watching because these Tigers are good and they have their sights set on winning the conference.
Clemson 24 Texas A&M 10 – This was not the game we were expecting, not by a long shot. Clemson is good, but the defending National Champions were not world-beaters in this game. The Aggies put plenty of pressure on the hippy-wanna-be, QB Trevor Lawrence, but he managed to deliver a win, even if he showed signs that he is mortal. If the Aggie defense had not spent SO much time on the field, they would have given him more trouble than he could have handled. Why was the Maroon defense on the field too much? Great question, and I’m going to answer it even if many other writers are skirting around the facts. Kellen Mond played a horrible game. He padded his stats a bit in the fourth quarter when the back-ups were in for Clemson, but during the first three quarters he had trouble remembering that his receivers were human, couldn’t jump tall buildings in a single bound, and couldn’t run as fast as Superman to catch up with the passes he sprayed all over the gridiron. His passes averaged about 8 yards too high. That’s almost an Air Defense concern. As a result, A&M would have the ball, go three and out, and the defense was right back on the boiling turf. The Daughter would love nothing more than to interview Head Coach Jimbo Fisher. He will not like her questions, so I doubt he’ll agree to a sit-down.
Michigan 24 Army 21 – We told everyone that would listen that the Black Knights were going to cause the Wolverines problems. Sooner or later, people are going to listen. The same thing happened last year in Norman Oklahoma, when the Cadets surprised the Sooners for four quarters before falling the first overtime. It took Michigan two overtimes, and the only reason UM won is because of some bad decisions by the Army Quarterback at the end of the game. For some reason, the best triple option rushing team in the country called for a pass in the second overtime that went horribly wrong. Michigan recovered the fumble to end the game. HC Harbaugh showed some sportsmanship when he rounded up his celebrating Wolverine players to stand with the Cadets for the Army Alma Mater. Army led 14 to 7 at halftime, and on the last play of regulation, there was a chance for Army was going to win, but the kick was long enough, just too wide. In Army terms, the elevation was good, but the azimuth was a bit off. We picked the Cadets to win, and I’d pick ‘em again, but we came close. Unfortunately, no cigar.
Colorado 34 Nebraska 31 – At the end of the first half, it looked like the Cornhuskers were going to walk away with this game. Nebraska was leading, 17-0. Then the Buffaloes started mounting their comeback. They scored one touchdown in the 3rd while holding the Huskers scoreless. In the fourth, the Buffs scored 24 points and yielded 14. That made it 31-31. Ole Mo (momentum) was on the Black and Gold side. Colorado got the ball first and kicked a field goal. They then kept Nebraska out of the endzone, but Big Red lined up for a field goal to tie the game. The kick went wide (range okay, azimuth a bit off) and the Colorado students rushed the field. Scott Frost has yet to win an away game and, in honesty, the Huskers being ranked in the top 25 was wishful thinking. I saw it right off, but I, along with the Nebraska faithful, was, uh, hopeful.
North Carolina 28 Miami 25 – For the second week in a row, the Tarheels came from behind and won a game in the last seconds. Do they not know that HC Mac Brown is an old man? I mean, seriously, his heart cannot take many more of these come back wins. UNC does not give up, they have a bunch of spunk in them. They’re not ready to topple Clemson for the ACC crown – who is? – but folks on the rest of their schedule better take note. The Hurricanes are now 0-2. They haven’t started with two losses since before compact discs were invented.
Short Smokes
Alabama showed no mercy against New Mexico State, winning 62-10, as expected.
Georgia did the same against Murray State, 63-17
Ohio State didn’t play Cincinnati on the Bearcats’ home turf, but would it have mattered? Buckeyes won, 42-0
Florida State was forced to go into overtime to overcome UL Monroe, 45-44. Do they still think HC Taggart is the answer? CSF does not.
BYU came from behind to beat Tennessee, 29-26…Ok, ok, yes, I was laughing…again!
Purdue beat Vanderbilt, 42-24. Did not see that one coming.
Maryland whipped up on Syracuse, 63-20. That’s right, 63-20! Syracuse was thought to be a much better team and the Terps were not thought to be THAT good.
Utah had little trouble with Northern Illinois, 35-17
It looked like Oregon was going to score 100 points, but they didn’t. They only scored 77 against Nevada. Needless to say, Oregon won
Wisconsin ran all over Central Michigan, 61-0
Underrated and atrociously uniformed Michigan State beat directional school Western Michigan, 51-17
Iowa shutout Rutgers, 30-0. No surprise there.
Penn State let Buffalo get a false sense of superiority before roaring them, 45-13
Missouri beat up on West Virginia, 38-7. This makes Wyoming look even better
Coastal Carolina beat Kansas, 12-7, in Lawrence KS. Les Miles and KU still have work to do. Has Coastal Carolina ever won another game?
Ole Miss avoided the cellar of the SEC West by beating Arkansas, 31-17
Mississippi State did not have much trouble with Southern Miss, 38-14
Auburn beat Tulane 24-6, but I still don’t think they’re a Top Ten team.
USC and Stanford both played their back up QB’s. Trojans won, 45-20
California and Washington endured a two-hour weather delay before the Bears squeaked by, 20-19.
Minnesota and Fresno State went into two overtimes and the Gophers pulled it out, 38-35
The Warriors, of the Islands of Hawai’i held Oregon State scoreless in the second half to pull out a win, 31-28.
North Alabama had the lead at halftime against Montana, 17-16, then the wheels fell off and the Griz scored and scored and scored and then scored some more, winning the game, 61-17. This is not how my Lions were supposed to play. Oh, well, there’s always next week. Roar Lions!