CBE Classic Review

For my money, the most impressive slate of teams in the semifinal round of a tournament so far has occurred in the CBE Classic, consisting of the #1 team in the land, a Big 10 favorite and two other major conference up and coming teams. Just a quick look at these four teams and what we learned about them in their play in Kansas City:

4) Maryland obviously had a rough time, running into a buzzsaw in UCLA in the first round and then having to match up against a difficult Missouri team a day later. While I still think Maryland has a strong chance at making the NCAA tournament, they have some major issues. Perhaps most important is their complete inability to hit the three-point shot, only hitting one in each game, and both of those coming at the end of games when they were scrambling to get back in it. I think this is going to be a season-long problem as I’m not sure anyone on their team is capable of doing that reasonably well. The second major problem for this team is taking care of the ball. Turning the ball over 44 times over the course of two games and only hitting two three-pointers is a sure recipe for failure against top competition. Certainly Gary Williams will get the most out of his team, but I don’t think this team has the necessary components to be a serious contender come March.

3) Missouri certainly gave their fans a fun time in Kansas City, and their fast-paced, high-pressure style is likely to give opposing teams fits throughout the season. They put together a furious comeback against Michigan State in the semifinal round, only to have it thwarted in crunch-time by veteran Drew Neitzel, but came back on Tuesday to handle Maryland. Missouri doesn’t have a lot of height, but they are a very athletic team that will pressure the ball full court from the opening jump to the closing buzzer, and their ability to spread the court offensively and get penetration from guards Stefhon Hannah and Keon Lawrence and knock down three-pointers with Hannah, Lawrence and junior swingman Matt Lawrence. Throw in athletic do-everything forwards DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons and this is a team that could cause serious problems late in the season.

2) Michigan State was perhaps a Drew Neitzel stomach bug away from winning this tournament, albeit at the expense of UCLA that had injury issues if its own. Regardless, the Spartans showed well in this tournament and given their young talent, figure to be a team that will improve over the course of the season. Freshmen Kalin Lucas, Chris Allen and Durrell Summers give this team a big more balanced scoring punch than they had last year, and that combined with Neitzel and talented sophomore forward Raymar Morgan could make for the best offensive Spartan team in some time. Throw in the typical Izzo grinders in the middle and these guys will be a tough out.

1) The coming-out party for Kevin Love is complete, and despite his excellent showing, these Bruins go home a runner-up were it not for the play of role players like Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Alfred Aboya, Lorenzo Mata-Real and Russell Westbrook. UCLA’s experience shone through in a tough second-half comeback against Michigan State Tuesday night, as they outscored a game Spartan team by 16 in the final 20 minutes, after a uninspiring first half performance. But, of course, the big story is Love, who really did live up to expectations, proving himself a phenomenal rebounder, a skilled passer, a wily scrapper in the post, a tough competitor and a player seemingly beyond his years. After the Bruin offense struggled in the first half Tuesday, the ball was rerouted through Love a bit more often in the second half, and the offense clicked, highlighted by a couple nice high-low passes from Love to teammates. Considering the success that UCLA experienced without point guard Darren Collison, UCLA definitely looks like a very strong contender to be dancing deep into March, and even early April.

ACC College Basketball Preview

Predicted Order of Finish

With the majority of a team that was a second-half fade away from a Final Four appearance back, North Carolina clearly remains the team to be in this conference. Beyond that, Duke and NC State look to be the only real viable contenders to the throne, but a notch below the Tar Heels. The next tier consists of a group of six or seven schools who will be competing for perhaps three spots in the Big Dance. I give the nod to Maryland, Virginia and Clemson there, but it certainly wouldn’t surprise me if somebody like Boston College gutted one out and snuck in, or if Jack McClinton led Miami to the dance.

1. North Carolina
2. Duke
3. NC State
4. Maryland
5. Virginia
6. Clemson
7. Miami
8. Boston College
9. Virginia Tech
10. Georgia Tech
11. Florida St
12. Wake Forest

Preseason All-Conference
First Team
F Tyler Hansbrough Jr UNC
G Jack McClinton Jr Miami
G Sean Singletary Sr Virginia
F Brandon Costner So NC St
G DeMarcus Nelson Sr Duke

Second Team
G Tywon Lawson So UNC
F Deron Washington Sr Va Tech
F James Mays Sr Clemson
G Tyrese Rice Jr BC
F James Gist Sr Maryland

All Freshman Team
F Kyle Singler Duke
G Taylor King Duke
G Jeff Jones Virginia
F JJ Hickson NC St
C Solomon Alabi Florida St

Top 5 Out of Conference Games
11/17 Virginia @ Arizona
11/28 UNC @ Ohio St
11/28 NC State @ Michigan St
12/20 Duke @ Pitt
1/1 Clemson @ Alabama

Top 5 In-Conference Games
2/6 Duke @ UNC
2/20 UNC @ NC State
3/2 Clemson @ Maryland
3/5 Duke @ Virginia
3/8 UNC @ Duke

Predicted NCAA Tournament Invites (6)
UNC
Duke
NC St
Maryland
Virginia
Clemson

Pac-10 College Basketball Preview

Predicted Order of Finish

This is always a crapshoot, but this season perhaps more than usual. I think UCLA is the clear-cut favorite, but I don’t think anyone would be surprised to see Arizona or Washington St or Oregon or Stanford win this thing. Further, beyond the one spot, everything is real tight. I expect teams one through nine to be tough outs every single time and legitimate contenders to make the NCAA tournament (although Arizona St, and maybe even Washington are a little bit longer shots than the rest) and I expect a strong six teams to eventually earn tickets to the big dance, with the seventh place team sitting on the fence with an argument as to why they should get in too. About the only real sure thing here is that Oregon St is the odds on favorite to finish last in the conference.

But, since meaningless conjecture seems to be the hip thing, I’ll throw my hat in the ring too.

1. UCLA – gotta be the favorite, but one key injury could certainly change things in such a competitive league.
2. Arizona – there is really no reason to pick this team for this spot given their recent history, but I think Chase Budinger is a special player and there is no doubt they have the talent to wind up here.
3. Washington St – most of the key pieces return for Tony Bennett, but these guys aren’t going to sneak up on anybody this year, not that they need to.
4. Oregon – arguably the MVP in last year’s conference is gone, but plenty of veteran talent remains.
5. Stanford – a big question mark in Brook Lopez and his academic situation, but an even bigger question at the point guard position.
6. USC – this may be a little low for this team, but somebody has got to finish down here. Lots of talent in OJ Mayo and Taj Gibson and Dwight Lewis and Daniel Hackett, but they sure are missing some key players from last year’s successful tournament run.
7. Cal – I’ll match Cal as the potential 7th place team in the Pac-10 against any other conference’s potential 7th place team. Hell, I’ll match them against a 7th place team in any other conference in any other year in history.
8. Washington – Coming off a very disappointing year last season, there is still a lot of potential up here if they can get more consistent performances from Justin Dentmon and their young players Quincy Poindexter and Adrian Oliver.
9. Arizona St – Herb Sendek has his first major recruit coming to Tempe in James Harden, and the talent level is definitely up from last year, however there is just too much talent above them in this conference for the Devils to make any significant move up the standings this year
10. Oregon St – the cupboard is more or less empty and Jay John is getting his resume prepared

Preseason All-Conference
First Team

G Darren Collison Jr UCLA
G Kyle Weaver Sr. Wash St
F Chase Budinger So Arizona
F Kevin Love Fr. UCLA
C Brook Lopez So Stanford

Second Team
G Derrick Low Sr Wash St
G Bryce Taylor Sr Oregon
F Quincy Poindexter So Washington
F Taj Gibson So USC
C Devon Hardin Sr Cal

All Freshman Team
G OJ Mayo USC
G Jerryd Bayless Arizona
G James Harden Arizona St
F Kevin Love UCLA
F Davon Jefferson USC

Top 5 Out of Conference Games

11/25 Arizona @ Kansas – the opener of the inaugural Pac-10/Big 12 challenge should be a battle.
11/29 Oregon @ Kansas St – we get to see Oregon on the road and the talented Kansas St freshmen.
12/2 Texas @ UCLA – UCLA’s most significant non-conference game.
12/4 USC @ Memphis – part of a rough three day stretch for USC that also includes a visit from Kansas to the Galen Center
12/29 Arizona @ Memphis – you gotta give credit to Arizona for consistently scheduling one of the nation’s toughest non-conference slates.

Top 5 In Conference Ganes

1/5 Washington St @ Washington – this game should give us a good preview of where these two teams, especially the Huskies, stand early in the season.
1/12 WSU @ UCLA – perhaps the two pre-season conference favorites hooking up in Pauley.
1/19 USC @ UCLA – the cross-town rivalry ignited anew behind two superstar freshmen.
1/26 Stanford @ Cal – this season’s Bay Area rivalry may be the most heated in years.
3/2 UCLA @ Arizona – as the season winds down and March starts up, the Pac-10’s biggest basketball rivalry tips off at the McKale center.

Predicted NCAA Tournament Invites (6)
UCLA
Arizona
Washington St
Oregon
Stanford
USC

Boston College at Virginia Tech

Huge game on a rainy Thursday night in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech playing a bit short-handed, minus All-American linebacker Vince Hall and starting true Freshman QB Tyrod Taylor, although that second part might actually be a good thing for the Hokies, allowing them to start senior QB Sean Glennon, who is definitely a more experienced man at the helm, despite giving up a lot of athleticism.

Boston College on the other hand hadn't played anyone of note in over a month and they looked a little bit rusty in the first half, especially Heisman Trophy candidate QB Matt Ryan, who was under pressure most of the first half from a heavy duty Virginia Tech defense.

The Hokies got a controversial TD in the first half on a pass from Glennon to wide receiver and special-teamer extraordinaire Eddie Royal to cap a 16 play, 91 yard, seven minute and 13 second drive with a catch on which it appeared he failed to get a foot down in the end zone while maintaining possession of the football. Nevertheless, even after further review, the play stood and the Hokies took a 7-0 lead into the locker room.

The Hokies added a FG in the 3rd quarter to extend their lead to 10, while the Boston College offense looked completely lost under the pressure of the Virginia Tech defense.

However, when the Eagles took over at their own 8 with just over four minutes remaining and began to drive, the game underwent a major change. Ryan hit WR Brandon Robinson for 25 yards on 2nd down, then again for another 22 on the next play. Another 20 or so to TE Ryan Purivs, 10 more on a scramble by Ryan and finally a beautiful throw and catch from Ryan to WR Rich Gunnell in the front left corner of the end zone for a 16-yard TD to put Boston College on the board for the first time with 2:11 in the 4th.

On the ensuing kickoff, Boston College tried an onside kick, which hit a Virginia Tech player and ricocheted back into the arms of an Eagle at their own 34. At this point, the momentum is clearly in favor of Boston College and Matt Ryan finally looks confident behind center and the Hokie pass rush is no longer as effective as it was for the first 55 minutes of the game. Ryan gets about 20 on a pass to Robinson, into Hokie territory and another 15 to Gunnell gets the Eagles down onto the edge of FG range for their kicker. Another 12 to WR Kevin Challenger after Ryan buys time in the pocket puts BC squarely in range to tie up the game, but a couple plays later, Ryan scrambles around in the pocket a little too long and one of his lineman picks up a hold penalty, pushing the Eagles back to the fringes of FG range. However, on the next play, Ryan again scrambles around for extra time and is rewarded by finding RB Andre Callender wide open on the opposite side of the field in the end zone for the go-ahead TD, giving BC their first lead of the game with just 11 seconds on the clock.

Boston College pulls out a win that looked exeedingly improbably 55 minutes into the game, and in doing so, Matt Ryan, despite unimpressive numbers overall (25-52, 285 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) remains one of the favorites in the race for the Heisman Trophy. But, much more importantly to Ryan and his BC teammates, the Eagles remain in strong contention for a National Championship.


Elsewhere tonight, Air Force turned the ball over five times en route to giving the game away to a New Mexico Lobo team that probably was nowhere as good as the Air Force squad. However, give credit to Rocky Long's squad for forcing those turnovers and for getting just enough offense out of RB Rodney Ferguson (146 yards on 41 whopping carries) to win in Albequerque and gain a bit of an advantage over Air Force in the race for the Mountain West.

Boise State at Fresno State tomorrow night; not an uninteresting game at all. Wouldn't amaze me to see the Bulldogs pull that one out as Boise tends to have trouble away from the blue turf.

College Football Season Recap, Part II

Picking up where I left off last night, with the top 5 college football games I have seen so far this season.

5) Oklahoma vs. Texas at the Texas State Fair in Dallas – A great college football rivalry, and a great game not in the least diminished by each team suffering a loss in the previous week. An exciting and even first half, highlighted by the passing combinations of Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and his duo of spectacular receivers Malcolm Kelly and Juaquin Iglesias and Texas’ Colt McCoy and his athletic tight end Jermichael Finley, winds up tied at 14 at the break. Texas took the opening half kickoff and marched downfield impressively, seemingly on their way for a tiebreaking TD until RB Jamaal Charles was stripped by Oklahoma’s Curtis Lofton just as he was going into the end zone and. A couple drives later, Sooner RB Demarco Murray made one of the most spectacularly athletic runs of the season, hurdling a Texas defender at the line of scrimmage and then sprinting 65 yards for the go-ahead TD. After Texas tied the game back up at 21 on their next possession, the Sooners took over and mounted what is quite possibly the drive of their season, taking the ball from their own 6 after a misplayed kickoff and marching 96 yards on 12 plays, highlighted by several clutch completions to Iglesias and capped off by a 35 yard TD to Kelly. The remainder of the game saw Texas fighting valiantly to tie the game back up, but on their last best chance, McCoy had a pass go off of the hands of Charles and get picked by Sooner playmaking defensive back Reggie Smith.

4) California at Oregon – Cal’s second appearance in my top ten games of the season, and one much more fondly remembered than their appearance in my 10th spot. This game was certainly expected to be an offensive shootout, but both defenses were in control of the first half, playing solid defense for much of the first half. Even the lone TD of the first half was definitely well-earned by the Ducks after a 15 play, 80 yard drive gave them a 10-3 halftime lead. The second half again opened with both defenses seemingly a step ahead of the offenses, but Cal’s second drive of the half which resulted in a 25 yard TD to Desean Jackson on a post-corner route seemed to open the floodgates a bit. Oregon responded with a quick strike of their own on a 42 yard TD strike to Cameron Colvin, and then Cal came right back to tie the game at 17 at the start of the 4th quarter, and then added another TD on a great move by Jackson after a little dump off in the flats that turned into a 32 yard TD to give the Golden Bears their first lead of the game. But again Oregon responded, taking a drive based on the short passing game all the way down the field to tie the game back up on a sneak by Duck QB Dennis Dixon. But on Oregon’s next drive, with the Ducks pinned inside their own 10, Dixon was picked off by Bear linebacker Anthony Felder and Cal RB Justin Forsett took three plays to go 21 yards and give Cal a 7 point lead with 3:11 remaining. But Oregon was not done and they marched downfield quickly, threatening the Bears until Dixon had a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage and intercepted inside the Cal 20. However, the Duck defense remained stout and gave the Oregon offense one more chance from their own 23 with under 2 minutes. They got big plays from RB Jonathan Stewart (26 yards on a great run after a little dump off from Dixon), Colvin (about 20 yards on a nice catch) and WR Jason Williams (another nice catch down inside the 5), but on the next play Colvin fumbled the ball while trying to reach the ball out over the pylon in the corner of the end zone to score the tying TD, and the play is ruled a touchback, sealing the game for the Golden Bears.

3) Auburn at LSU – LSU’s first appearance in my top 10 list, but I doubt this is the last time you will see them. LSU was coming off of two emotional games on back-to-back weekends, but didn’t have a chance to let down as they invited the Auburn Tigers into Baton Rouge. LSU may have been a little down in the first half as they turned in possibly their sloppiest half of the season and trailed 17-7 at the break. Things looked up a bit at the start of the second as the Bayou Tigers did add a FG to pull within a TD, but on the next drive, QB Matt Flynn hit a wide open WR Brandon LaFell down near the Auburn 20, but LaFell had trouble grabbing the ball and bobbled the ball up in the air where it was picked off by Auburn defensive back Patrick Lee. Then, on the ensuing Auburn offensive series, LSU All-American defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey is the recipient of a brutal (and illegal, although a penalty was not called on this play) chop block and limped off the field, not to return again. A couple drives later, after LSU had added another FG to pull within 4, they got a big 30 yard gain on a play over the middle to TE Richard Dickson and then another 20+ yards on a reverse to Trindon Holliday and finally a 5-yard completion to RB Jacob Hester for the go-ahead TD. After LSU added another FG to extended their lead, Auburn responded with a drive of their own, resulting in a 4-yard fade pass to WR Rodrigues Smith for a TD to cap an 83 yard drive and give Auburn a 1 point lead with just over 3 minutes remaining. LSU mounts a drive of their own against the clock and the tough Auburn defense, and, despite perhaps being aided by the officials on two different calls, got down to around the Auburn 25 as the clock was ticking down. On a 3rd down, as everyone in the stadium expected LSU to run a little QB sneak to set the ball in the middle of the field for their kicker, Matt Flynn instead dropped back and heaved a ball into the end zone where it settled down perfectly into the hands of WR Demetrius Byrd for the game winning TD with only one solitary tick remaining on the clock.

2) Florida at LSU – As good as that Auburn/LSU game was, it was not even their best game of the season in my opinion (and Auburn’s, I would guess). This Florida/LSU matchup lost a tiny bit of its luster when Florida lost the previous week to (hmmm, symmetry?) Auburn, but it was still one of the most highly anticipated games of the season, and it lived up to the hype and then some. The first half of this game was highlighted by Jesus Christ in Cleats, aka Tim Tebow, leading his Florida offense against the vaunted Tiger defense, and doing it well: ripping off runs up the middle and completing some nice passes to get Florida out to a 17-7 lead at the end of the first half. But LSU was going nowhere and they showed it immediately as Hester ripped off a 20 yard run on the 1st play of the half. Later in the drive, on a 4th and 5, LSU lined up for a FG but instead ran a beautiful fake with Flynn picking up the 1st down on a run (although this was only LSU’s 2nd prettiest fake FG of the year) to keep the drive alive. The drive would eventually end in a 7-yard Kielan Williams TD run to bring LSU back within a FG. However, Florida was not done, and as the LSU crowd roared and laughed over the news that USC had lost to Stanford, the Gators marched right down the field and shut up the Tiger faithful with a 30-yard TD pass to TE Cornelius Ingram. However, a couple drives later, JCinC had a pass deflected at the line and intercepted by the LSU defense deep in Gator territory and a couple of plays later, LSU was back within a FG. After stopping the Gator offense again, LSU had the ball back with time running down and the eye of the tiger. They picked up 20 on a 4th and 1 run by Hester, down to the Florida 15. Then, on the next series of downs on 4th and 1 at the Florida 6, they convert their fifth 4th down conversion of the night (on five tries) instead of kicking the game tying FG on another run by Hester, and then a couple of plays later Hester takes it the rest of the way in to put the Tigers up 28-24 with just over a minute left to effectively seal the win for LSU.

1) LSU at Kentucky – And as good as that Florida/LSU game was, that was still not the best LSU game of the season (although, again, you might get a bit of a disagreement from LSU fans here). One week after the huge victory over defending national champion Florida in the Swamp and one week before a huge battle with rival Auburn, LSU had to slip into Lexington for a battle with the upstart Wildcats and their phenomenal QB Andre Woodson. It was clear from the start that Kentucky had a little mojo going as their first drive ended in a TD after they had a poor throw by Woodson tipped by an LSU defender and deflected into the hands of 2nd string TE TC Drake for his first catch, and first TD, of the year. However, things began to look bleak for the Wildcats as the Tigers ripped off the next 17 points in a row, until Kentucky got a big 50-yard hit to WR Steve Johnson and then a 12-yard scramble by Woodson for the TD just before the half. However, LSU started out the second half strong too, ripping off the first 10 points to extend their lead to 27-14. But Kentucky showed a little moxie on their next drive, getting some good gains from junior RB Tony Dixon and from freshman RB Derrick Locke, and finally a 10-yard TD pass to TE Jacob Tamme. From there, the Kentucky defense clawed their way to a couple consecutive stops of the LSU offense, while adding two FGs of their own to knot the score at 27, where it remained until the end of regulation. After trading touchdowns in the first overtime, and then field goals in the second overtime, Kentucky got the ball to start the third overtime and picked up a couple key 3rd downs, one on a completion to Dickie Lyons Jr down to the 6 yard line, and then another a few plays later when LSU was called for defensive holding on Tamme. However, Kentucky had no success running the ball from the 3 against the tough LSU defense, and after getting called for a delay of game penalty (which may in fact have been a blessing in disguise to give them a bit more room for the passing game), Woodson found Johnson in the end zone for an 8-yard TD, delivering a beautiful strike under pressure and taking advantage of a fallen LSU defender, grabbing a 6-point lead after the failed mandatory 2-point conversion. After Hester picked up 6 yards on the 1st play of the next LSU possession, and then another 2 on 2nd down, Hester limped off the field with a bit of a leg injury, leaving LSU with 3rd and 2 from the 17. However, that was about as far as the Tigers would get, after the Kentucky defense stopped two straight runs up the middle by RB Charles Scott, sealing an improbable and perhaps program-defining win for head coach Rich Brooks and his Wildcats.

College Football Season Recap

So last night I looked ahead to this weekend's games, and tonight, as a way of catching up for the "missing" first eight weeks of the college football season, I'll begin to recap my version of the top 10 games of the season so far. Now I'm sure there will be very worthy games missing from my list, but I am going to restrict my list to games that I have actually watched. Given that I watch six, eight or ten games a weekend (gotta love TiVo), I've certainly got quite a few candidates to choose from.

Anyway, here we are, without further ado, the first half of my list of the top 10 college football games so far this season.

10) Cal @ UCLA - Okay, as a self-confessed Bruin fan (and a long suffering UCLA football fan at that) I do have to sneak one UCLA game onto this list. This spot could have just as easily gone to Maryland @ Wake Forest or Hawaii @ San Jose State, but that UCLA win against Cal was certainly a very big win for the program, and here a few days later, I'm still excited about that one. Just excited enough to totally expect Dorrell to lead his Bruins to a horribly uglified loss in Pullman this Saturday. Anyway, by means of recap, this game was highlighted by Pat Cowan coming back early after a rough knee injury about a month earlier in a win over Washington to cement his status as the Major Applewhite to Ben Olson's Chris Simms. If it wasn't crystal clear before this game, it certainly was after. Olson may be the prototypical NFL-type QB physically, but Cowan is without a doubt just the better QB for this program. But the real MVP for UCLA in this game was the tough defense and, more specifically, sophomore cornerback Alterraun Verner, who had a great interception in the 3rd quarter, ripping the ball out of Lavelle Hawkins' hands on a key third down, and, near the end of the 4th quarter, icing the game for UCLA by cutting in front of Desean Jackson, picking Nate Longshore's pass and returning it about 70 yards for the TD.

9) TCU @ Air Force - Air Force seemed totally overmatched in this game for the longest time, but fought and clawed and scratched and stuck around to give themselves a chance to win at the end. After being down 10-3 at halftime, Air Force saw TCU drive 70+ yards on them on their first 2nd half possession to get down to 1st and goal, until the Falcon defense stepped up, forced a field goal attempt, and then proceeded to block the field goal. On the next drive, TCU drove down deep on Air Force again, but then linebacker Drew Fowler picked off a pass at the Air Force 5 yard line to keep Air Force right there. TCU did add a TD later to go up 17-3, but Air Force kept fighting, getting a TD midway through the 4th quarter, and then a 71 yard run by Jim Ollis off of the option to tie the game up with just under six minutes remaining. Air Force drove again as time ran down in the 4th, but threw an interception into the end zone and wound up going to overtime. TCU clanked a FG off of the goalpost on their first drive, and Air Force got a few yards and then simply settled into the middle of the field to hit a 32 yard FG to seal an improbable win.

8) Navy @ Pittsburgh - Okay, so if you like defense, this game probably was not your cup of tea, but it was quite an entertaining game for the offensive fan. After Pittsburgh punted on their first drive, the next six drives, three for each team, resulted in touchdowns. Navy QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada and Pitt RB Lesean McCoy certainly were the highlights for their respective offenses. The second half saw the defenses step up slightly more (very, very slightly) and actually force a few punts and even a few FGs, and at the end of regulation we were all tied up at 38. On Pitt's first drive in overtime, Navy has them stopped and attempting a FG, but a Navy defender lined up offsides, giving Pitt a first down and another chance which they turned into a TD. Navy answered on their first play with Kaipo-Noa hitting RB Reggie Campbell for a 25 yard TD on a clear-out throw into the flats. In the 2nd OT, Navy settled for a FG on their possession. With the door open, Pitt decided to go for a win after they had moved the ball all the way down to the Navy 1 on a 3rd and goal. However, on that 3rd down, they threw into the end zone incomplete, and then on 4th again they threw a fade pattern into the end zone, again incomplete. Questionable playcalling by Wannestedt at the end to be sure, but an entertaining game straight through.

7) Arkansas @ Alabama - Early on, this game seemed like it was going to be a complete blowout/snoozefest. Alabama absolutely dominated the 1st quarter, moved the ball at will and forced Arkansas into offensive mistakes, taking a 21-0 lead into the 2nd quarter. However, Alabama made a couple mistakes (every 'Bama player biting on a play action on a 3rd and 1 and giving up a 42 yard TD pass to WR Crosby Tuck, and then John Parker Wilson throwing an INT to senior CB Matterral Richardson that led to an Arkansas FG before the half. Alabama came out strong again in the 2nd half, scoring the first 10 points to increase their lead to 31-10, almost ready to put the game away until Arkansas took the ball back over and decided to get physical, leading a drive dominated by their running game and All-American-type RBs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, before ending up with a TD to TE Andrew Davie. From there, Alabama turned the ball over twice, each time leading to a pounding Arkansas drive that resulted in a TD, and the next thing you know, a 21 point lead has disappeared and we're in the middle of a tie ballgame. It seems Bama is dead. They go three and out. Their offense is doing nothing positive. Arkansas takes back over, marches right down the field and QB Casey Dick hits FB Peyton Hillis for to put Arkansas up 38-31, seemingly on their way to putting this game away. But Alabama gets back up off the mat, gets a bit of a drive going and stops the bleeding with a FG, bringing them within 4 with just over 4 minutes left. Arkansas takes over, but potential Heisman Trophy candidate Darren McFadden is on the sidelines with cramps, and the Crimson Tide defense finds just enough energy to stop the Razorbacks and get the ball back for their offense at their own 27 with 2:13 remaining. John Parker Wilson leads the Tide on a tough drive before hitting senior WR Matt Caddell for the game winning TD with eight seconds left.

6) Fresno State @ Texas A&M - A&M completely dominated the first half, running the ball at will, confusing Fresno State QB Tom Brandstater, and generally making Fresno State seem like they absolutely do not belong on the same field, taking a 19-0 lead into halftime. However, when Aggie QB Stephen McGee fumbled on the first possession of the 2nd half, the Bulldogs took over and finally mounted their first attempt at coherent offense of the day, eventually getting a TD to TE Bear Pascoe to get Fresno St on the board, and from there it looked like the teams had switched uniforms for the 2nd half with Fresno State eventually tying the game up at 22. However, A&M mounted a drive entirely on the ground in response, taking 10 plays to go 88 yards in 4:44 with McGee and RBs Javorskie Lane and Mike Goodson seemingly eating up yards on the ground at will, with Lane eventually taking the ball in from 7 yards with under 2 minutes remaining. However, Fresno State was not done, and they responded with a drive of their own, going 80 yards and getting the game tying TD on a 3 yard TD pass from Brandstater to Pascoe on a 4th down with 5 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime. After the teams traded FGs in the 1st OT, and then grinding TD drives in the 2nd, A&M got a strong TD run out of Lane to take the lead, and then followed that up with another strong run from Lane to convert the mandatory 2-point conversion. Fresno State was able to match the first half of that equation, with Brandstater finding Pascoe again for the TD, but on the 2-point conversion, Brandstater threw incomplete and the Aggies escaped with the victory, 47-45.

My top five college football games of the season still to come, hopefully tomorrow.

College Football Preview, Week of Saturday, October 27

So far, it has been one of the greatest college football seasons in memory, certainly the most enjoyment I can remember getting out of a college football season, and here we are, about to turn the corner into the home stretch. It seems like every weekend has not only had a few marquee matchups between highly ranked teams and perennial contenders, but also games featuring the new guard rising up and challenging (and quite often defeating) those perennial contenders. This weekend will likely feature more of the same. Here is a bit of a peak ahead at what I am looking forward to this weekend.

1) Boston College at Virginia Tech: The weekend gets off to a great early start on Thursday night with Boston College taking its undefeated record and #2 BCS ranking into Lane Stadium for their biggest test of the season so far, and their first real test since the middle of September. I am personally looking forward to this game for a chance to see Boston College play for the first time this season. I believe that I have seen every other contender play at least once, so it'll be a good chance to see what the Eagles have going for them. Virginia Tech has been up and down a bit this year, with the ups generally the result of their consistently strong defense and special teams, and the downs the result of an anemic and inconsistent (at best) offense. Freshman QB Tyrod Taylor was injured two weekends ago against Duke and remains questionable for Thursday night's game.

2) Kansas at Texas A&M: Kansas is another undefeated squad traveling into a bit of danger as they prepare to head to College Station on Saturday. They have had a very potent offense this season, especially against some of the overmatched opponents they faced early in the season, but Colorado held the Jayhawks in check a bit last weekend in their first trip out of the state of Kansas this season. The Aggies had a horrible outing a couple weekends back against a Texas Tech team that likes to throw the ball around a bunch, and must play much better defensively this weekend to keep this game close. Expect A&M to try to shorten the game and keep the Jayhawk offense off the field with a liberal dose of Stephen McGee, Javorskie Lane and Mike Goodson.

3) USC at Oregon: There are quite a few games this weekend in the Pac-10 that are going to go a long way towards clearing up that race, of which this is just one. The starting QB situation for the Trojans may be the biggest question mark. Senior John David Booty, a preseason All-American candidate and Heisman trophy front-runner seems to be ready to return from a broken right middle finger. However, given Booty's less than stellar play at the start of the season, and the spark that sophomore Mark Sanchez has given the Trojans in the last two weeks, there seems to be some question as to whether Booty is still the guy for USC. Either way, the Trojans are going to have their hands full against a potent Duck offense, although this will certainly be the strongest defense that Dennis Dixon and crew have faced this season.

4) Georgia vs. Florida: The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Despite the SEC's best efforts to do away with that moniker, a great name like that just has to stick. Some of the luster may be off of this game after Georgia got drilled by Tennessee a few weeks back, but what can I say: any excuse to watch Jesus Christ in Cleats (i.e. Tim Tebow) is a good excuse for me. Florida is probably the best two-loss team in the country, and they still control their own destiny in terms of getting back to the SEC Championship game and a potential rematch against LSU that just about everyone (outside of a few other cities in the South) is dying to see.

5) West Virginia at Rutgers: These two teams played a barnburner of a game to end last season's Big East play and these teams are once again in a log jam of teams trailing unlikely Big East leader Connecticut at this point. If you like watching the running game, you'll enjoy this game, featuring three of college football's most exciting runners, Rutgers' RB Ray Rice, and West Virginia's combo of RB Steve Slaton and QB Pat White.

6) Ohio State at Penn State: Ohio State is just now getting into the meat of their schedule and now we'll start to see just how good they are. Their defense looks to be another in a long line of great Buckeye defenses, but the offense remains a bit of a question, although they certainly have a ton of talent, not only in the big guys up front, but in a their horses at the skill positions. Penn State, also has some talented receivers and backs, and the typical tough Nittany Lion defense. This should be a grinder of a game Saturday night.

7) California at Arizona State: Cal has gone from being a team on the verge of being number one in the country, to a team coming off two straight conference losses and looking an undefeated fourth ranked BCS team straight in the eye in a tough conference road game. And for Arizona State, certainly their toughest test of the year. For both these teams, the defense is again the question mark. Both offenses seem capable of scoring points almost at will at times, while their defenses, despite some talented athletes, can be quite porous. The health of Cal QB Nate Longshore will be a big issue. Longshore did start for the Bears in last weekend's loss to UCLA, so he should be good to go again, but his effectiveness is a bit of a question mark. Also, Arizona State is coming off the loss of its leading rush leader, Ryan Torain, last week against Washington. Keegan Herring and Dimitri Nance were effective in relief, but the Sun Devils will need repeat performances from their two backs to remain undefeated.

Those figure to be seven very entertaining games, and certainly we can expect to see some other quality football played at other venues around the country. South Florida at Connecticut, Clemson at Maryland, UCLA at Washington State, South Carolina at Tennessee and even Mississippi State at Kentucky also figure to be second-tier games to keep an eye on.

An Inauspicious Beginning

"Seemed like such a good idea at the time." - David Nelson

"Hey, why not do a blog? Come on, everybody's doing it." - My mind, when left unoccupied for a few minutes.

So, what the hell? A blog. More or less for my own entertainment, but a blog nonetheless.

Now, I'm not that interesting of a person, not particularly bright or insightful. I don't have a wildly exciting job. I'm not all that interested in detailing the intricacies of my day to day life (cabbage and tofu stir fry for dinner! Whoopee!!). So what the hell am I going to write about? Well, we'll see exactly where this goes (if anywhere), but, since I am doing this mostly for my own entertainment, I suppose I'll write about things that interest me: namely college football and basketball, music (I'm sure I'll wind up with several somewhat detailed reviews of 30-year-old Grateful Dead concerts), a book every now and then, maybe a movie here and there, and just any old something or other that I feel might be of use to me at a later date (but which in reality, I will probably never think about again). Sounds delightfully effective!

And if anyone winds up reading any of this, my apologies in advance for wasting your time with my inanities.