rssBlog EntriesComments

CigarSmokinFootball

Cigars & Football – A Simple Blend

Cigar Butts Week 12

Cigar Butts Week 12

ACC
244-2Has anyone else noticed that Georgia Tech is doing pretty well? They are now in the lead of the Coastal Division after pounding Clemson, 28-6. Yes, Clemson fans will say, we lost our starting QB to a hand injury, and, they did, but that doesn’t explain their inability to stop the Yellow Jacket triple option attack.

 

Duke, shoulda, woulda, coulda, … but didn’t beat VA Tech. The Blue Devils were playing with matches all game long. They never could open up a big enough lead to put the game away. And, if you play with matches, you’re gonna get burned. Turning the ball over three times is gonna burn you. Duke did, it did, Hokies beat the Devils, 17-16

 
Pitt, poor, poor Pitt. Why can’t they get ahead of the curve? Against North Carolina they opened up a 14 to 0 lead and then let it slip away, losing, 40-35. The Panthers should be better than this, but, alas, they’re not.

 

NC State has made it to bowl eligibility with one game to spare! They defeated Wake Forest, 42-13. Way to go, Wolf Pack!212

 
Florida State had to come from behind, again, to beat Miami, 30-26. The Seminoles never gave up and some will cheer about the greatness of this team. But not here, it’s about time some things were pointed out, like, how they have struggled against unranked teams, and one highly overrated team. That would be Notre Dame. The Noles have Boston College and Florida left after playing only two ranked teams (ND doesn’t count), and falling behind everyone else they will still make the playoffs. Either the Committee sees something I don’t, (Doubtful) or they are too caught up in political correctness to see the truth (More Likely).

 

Big 12, that only has ten teams

 
If you happened to miss out on the TCU vs. Kansas football game, you missed out on an incredible game. The Horned Frogs figured they just needed to show up and the Jayhawks would fall over and play dead. BUT there is a new sheriff in town, Clint Bowen, and he has changed the mentality of this program. The ‘Hawks still lost, 34-30, but TCU watched as every bounce, tip, and blooper went KU’s way. The Frogs came extremely close to losing to Kansas! Who-would-of-thunk-it?

 
160Oklahoma toyed with Texas Tech a while and then in the second half put it away, 42-30. Even with one of the most outlandish costumes….I mean…team uniforms… that Tech could come up with, it didn’t help. Took me until the second half to figure out what it was on the side of the Raider’s helmets.

 
Texas is now bowl eligible after beat Oklahoma State, 28-7. The Longhorns are playing so far above where they were at the start of the season it’s not even funny. What a huge difference Charlie Strong has orchestrated. OSU has asked way too much from it’s young players. Maybe next year the Pokes will be better.

 
Great White North

 
We knew Nebraska was going to have trouble playing a ranked team on the road, but we didn’t know they were going to have that much trouble with Melvin Gordon. He ran over the Cornhuskers for 408 yards and four touchdowns in just three quarters. He was pulled from the game at the start of the fourth. The Badgers won, 59-24. Congratulations to Gordon on setting the single game rushing record. The Curse Of The Hat was evident Saturday.

 
Ohio State met Minnesota in snowstorm. The Buckeyes jumped out to an early lead, only to see the Gophers come back and make a game out of it. The Bucks won, 31-24, but it was a good, hard-fought, game. Couldn’t help but pull for the squad from Minnesota. They can’t get over that mediocrity complex.

 
Northwestern surprised everyone by coming from behind and defeating Notre Dame, in overtime, 43-40! The Wildcats were down by 11 at the start of the fourth and in the last seconds of the game, tied it up. Notre Dame couldn’t get anything going in OT. NW ran three plays that didn’t go anywhere, so they kicked a field goal and won the game. The Irish had done their best to help the Wildcats by turning the ball over four times, but Northwestern returned the favor four times, also. Seriously, someone needs to learn how to hold on to the ball.
Penn State took its time in defeating Temple, but they finally opened up the playbook and won, 30-13, Iowa downed Illinois 30-14, Rutgers became bowl eligible by beat Indiana, 45-23, and Michigan State let Maryland hang around for a while before they scored some touchdowns, instead of field goals, and won, 37-15.

 

PAC-12

 
Thursday night featured USC escaping an upset by California, 38-30. The Bears were behind, 31-9, at halftime, but stormed back to make it close.

 
Washington, in the desert, had Arizona against the ropes, all they had to do was deliver the knock out blow and the upset was theirs. But, the Huskies didn’t do it and the Wildcats came from behind, kicked a 47-yard field goal in the closing seconds to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, 27-26.

 

 
Utah beat Stanford for the second year in a row. The Cardinal needs some work, they’ve slipped down a notch or two. CSF thinks it’s mainly 601their defense, they’re just not frightening other teams anymore.

 
In the late night game, Arizona State tried to purge the Corvallis Curse, (sounds like something out of a Harry Potter book, doesn’t it?). It was back and forth in the first half with the Beavers relying on a rushing attack! Who would have thought they knew how to run the ball? But the Sun Devils, in the freezing cold, fought back and had the lead at halftime. ASU went into the locker room and got warm, the worst thing that could happen to them. When it was time to come out again, their bodies returned to the field, but their spirits remained in the warm. The Sun Devils were completely flat in the second half, reminded me of Georgia against Florida. The Beavers wanted this win and they kept at it, upsetting #6 ASU, 35-27.

 

 

SEC

 
017Was I worried about my Crimson Tide against Mississippi State? You bet your bottom dollar I was worried! MSU wasn’t ranked #1 in the nation for nothing. The first time the Bulldogs got the ball it was on their own three yard line. Two plays later the Crimson Tide tackled Josh Robinson in the end zone for a safety. It was an indicator that the Tide defense was ready to play. That was great because that’s the main reason Bama won. After jumping out to 19-3 lead, MSU regrouped and started moving the ball. A score before half, then receiving the kickoff in the second half, another score. At this point, no matter what else anyone says about the game, the defense won it. If Blake Sims was half the quarterback as Dak Prescott, Alabama would be unstoppable. But Rammer-Jammer won, 25-20, dropping the Bulldogs from the number one perch.

 
Arkansas won its first SEC game under the tutelage of Bielema, beating LSU, 17-0. The Tigers, Louisiana variety, just didn’t have anything left in their tank. After playing two hard games against Ole Miss and Alabama they couldn’t match up against a fired up Razorback team. Seventeen straight SEC losses, then to beat LSU, 17-0. Poetic justice. The Hogs owned LSU all night. (Ed Note: I told you so!)

 
Georgia played like….Georgia! They dominated Auburn all night long. The Tigers, Alabama variety, scored on their first drive and couldn’t do anything after that. Georgia used Gurley and Chubb in a deadly combination for which Auburn had no answer. The Bulldogs won, 34-7. If they Dawgs had played South Carolina and Florida the way they played Auburn, they’d be undefeated and ranked in the top four. Now, they need Missouri to fall to someone just so they can make it to the SEC Championship game.

 
Speaking of Missouri, they played A&M at College Station in a rain storm. The Aggies don’t have a defense in wet or dry conditions, they couldn’t stop the Tiger, Missouri variety, attack. That’s not to say Mizzou had much of a defense but it was better than the Aggies’ and Missouri won, 34-27. All they have to do is defeat Arkansas and a revitalized Tennessee team to make it to the SEC Championship for the second year in a row. Watch out for both. Seriously.

 
South Carolina downed Florida, which, as of reports today, has spelled the end of Muschamp’s tenure as the Gators’ head coach. Let the speculation began, whom is Florida going to hire?

 
Tennessee didn’t waste anytime at all with Kentucky and spanked the Wildcats, 50-16. The Vols might make it to a bowl game. Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

Tagged as: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leave a Response

Please note: comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.