This could go very poorly, but I'm sitting on my couch, flipping through about ten games it seems. I've already made the early run to the grocery store, so I plan on watching the games for the rest of the day. So, being bored and having a blog, I'm trying one of those liveblog things. This could suck.
11:53 AM. Jahvid Best is really, really good. I don't think the Gophers receiver was in the end zone, but he got popped so hard I'm willing to let him have it. Though I am mad at the announcers for trying to call it a dirty hit. The DB's helmet came nowhere near the receiver. Can we stop trying to turn football into chess? Helmet to helmet hits are bad, but let's only outlaw helmet to helmet, not all hard hits.
11:58 AM. Penn St is struggling with Temple. Temple. I don't have the words. Michigan has a Notre Dame hangover and is tied 10-10, but I don't think that will last. But, of the struggling top 25 teams, I'm interested in UNC. I don't think they are all that good and they struggled with a mediocre UConn team. Now they are tied 7-7 with ECU, who is pretty decent. ECU's gonna take over inside UNC territory. Go Pirates!
12:07. That didn't take long. Penn St scores. Michigan scores twice to go up 24-10.
12:15. I get a sandwich. Best scores another touchdown. There ought to be a rule against this guy. I know the Heisman is sort of a joke, but the Pac-10 has their candidate.
12:28. Don't let teams up off the mat. Cal was killing Minnesota. It was 21-7 with less than 2 minutes left and then Cal commits a silly fair catch penalty to give the Gophers great field position. Gophers take advantage and score a few plays later and now its a 21-14 game at the half. This is completely self-inflicted. Do not let teams back in the game, particularly on the road. Now, the Minnesota crowd is rocking and there's gonna be a game in the second half. Stupid, stupid penalty. I thought kids who went to Berkley were supposed to be smart.
12:39. Saban just called timeout so Bama can attempt a field goal, already up 27-0 against North Texas. Now 30-0. He's a great coach, but wow, he really is a jackass. It's North Texas, coach. It's probably the right call, it just feels sort of icky.
12:47. I hate to rag on another team's traditions because everything looks kind of silly when it's not you. But the Purdue steam whistle is irritatingly dumb. I don't think that could fire me up if I was reborn as a Boilermaker fan.
12:54. Cal continues to implode. The defense starts off the half by getting a three and out, with a sack on third down as an exclamation mark. Then the punt hits a blocker. That's the second huge special teams miscue in this game. Cal is ahead on yards 274-113, but they just keep doing stupid things to let Minnesota hang around. This is how you lose to teams that you are much better than.
12:58. The Gophers fumble the ball back. Jesus.
1:01. The Perfect Brownie pan is no Snuggie. Besides, the gooey inside pieces are the best ones. No one likes the corner brownie. It's all crusty. Perfect brownie, my ass.
1:04. Kentucky dodged a bullet as Louisville's field goal attempt clanked off the uprights. But that was set up by great pass coverage on third down. Give credit to the defense for holding after the offense put them in a terrible position. Only to have the offense turn the ball over again.
1:13. Why shouldn't a quarterback always attempt to ground the ball instead of taking the sack? The penalty is a spot foul and loss of down, the exact thing that would have happened had the QB just eaten the ball and taken the sack. I never understand why more QB's don't attempt to try and get away with a grounding. What do you have to lose? The Louisville QB grounded the ball, but it didn't cost them a field goal opportunity. The turnovers finally caught up to Kentucky, even though they still have a 17-13 lead.
1:20. DECKER!!! Eric Decker has now added a touchdown pass to his two TD receptions. He's just been amazing in this game, and is giving Best a run for his money for Best Player on the Field. Minnesota has tied it up! Great playcall inside the 10.
1:25. Michigan scores on Denard Robinson's run. The Wolverines are up 38-14 so we can safely stop paying attention to it. Purdue is still losing to Northern Illinois, in an almost unwatchable game. Trust me, I've tried. Penn St. is still beating Temple, but the score is 24-6 late in the third. As much as I hate "style points," PSU's schedule is a joke. If you are going to play the Blind Sisters of the Poor each week, all you can do is earn style points. All I've learned about the Nittany Lions is that they are better than some awful teams. It's embarrasing for the sport they can play this many patsies in a row. They have done nothing to justify their lofty rankings and really, they should be winning these games by a much larger margin. It's time to start punishing them for their schedule.
1:33. Awful, awful, AWFUL pass interference call. That was terrific coverage by Cal. Cal's getting punished for playing great defense. And the announcers are actually trying to justify the call. They are wrong. It was awful.
1:37. You make the call. Down by 10, 6:33 left in the game. You just gained four yards on 3rd and 5 to set up 4th and 1 at the 5 yard line. Kick or go for it? Skip Holtz opted for the field goal. I think he'll regret it. UNC is up 7.
1:43. Cal's offense has gone into the tank. They have just gotten their first first down at the half. On third and forever. For a huge gain. Does this finally wake the Bears up?
1:46. Worst call of the day. The UNC QB throws it away, but an ECU blitzer is then blocked into the QB by an offensive lineman. He's flagged for roughing the QB. Once again, you should always ground the football. UNC scores on a short run two plays later. Game over.
1:51. Cal, Purdue, and Louisville score touchdowns at almost precisely the same time. The Cardinals TD was a go ahead score, but the Boilermakers are still down by 7. And blowing that stupid whistle again. How is Cal only leading by seven?
1:54. Minnesota finds the flaw in my ground-the-ball theory. When in the grasp of the opposing team, do not then throw the ball directly to the safety.
1:57. Louisville fumbles the punt. Kentucky is in business, down by 4. Sure, it's been sloppy, but it's been exciting.
1:59. Way to go, Tedford. Up by 7 and on the 35 with 5:00 to play, Cal goes for it on fourth and inches. They get it. I love that call. Cal's offense is the better unit than the defense, so put it in the hands of your offense. Great call.
2:03. First down, Huskies! Northern Illinois looks like they have sealed the first upset of the day. Purdue never really showed signs off life.
2:06. Ho hum. Best scores another touchdown. 35-21 Cal. Time to focus on the Kentucky-Lousville, which is becoming a "whoever has the ball last, wins" sort of game.
2:10. I spoke too soon. There are 25 seconds left in the Purdue game and its 4th and 1. NIU will punt. And Kentucky got a huge interception against Louisville with less than 2 minutes left.
2:12. Incomprehensible call. Purdue calls the hook and lateral, but the lateral goes over the running back's head. NIU recovered the fumble but the refs somehow called it an incomplete pass. Then, Purdue follows that up with an underneath route with 1 second left, needing to gain 60 yards. I'm baffled.
2:20. Knock it down!
2:38. Brandon James. Still good. And that was an egregious face mask. Is Verne Lundquist drinking? How did he miss that?
2:40. Monte Kiffin tries to bail out his kid. But Florida goes for it on fourth.... and gets it. The Gators want blood. They would've kicked against 80% of their foes. Not UT. Not today.
2:44. Two straight plays the refs gave the Hokies a short spot. I thought they got both the 1st down and the touchdown. Both times, VT had to wait a play to convert. No big deal, really. Oh, and USC has already scored a touchdown. Aaron Corp is starting, surprising no one.
2:47. Give the Vols credit. They gave UF some great field position, but the defense bailed them out, keeping the Gators to a field goal. That's a great job by the elder Kiffin.
2:51. Jonathan Crompton is sacked, preventing him from throwing the ball. Perhaps that is for the best. Or the Vols could take EDSBS on his suggestion, and start a giant catfish at QB.
2:54. Crompton's molestache is really distracting. Perhaps that is how the Vols are moving the ball so well. Because this has been a real impressive drive.
3:02. It has been a good drive, even if it's been predictable: run, run, run. The Vols, rightfully, have no faith in Crompton. They even ran on third and nearly 20. Just taking the field goal. But they are following the plan on how to beat Tebow: keep him off the field. Ball control is the way to go. Excellent drive.
3:06. Beamer Ball breaks down. The Huskers have a huge return to reverse the field. It's not often you see VT's special team get burnt.
3:08. Yeah, Jake Locker is good. Big pass followed up by a touchdown run. I sort of hate him. UW needed that badly to keep USC from opening up too big of a lead. 10-7 is manageable.
3:14. Obligatory Oregon uniform joke. Oh, and that receiver was ridiculously open.
3:19. I know we're an LSU blog and therefore can only say negative things about USC, but I absolutely love the way Carroll consistently goes for it on fourth down. Sure, they fumbled and UW recovered, but I love the attitude of "we are always attacking." Oh, and Tebow scores another TD. Inching closer to Faulk and Walker.
Quick aside: it's shameful the way LSU fails to hype it's greatest athletes. How was JaMarcus Russell not a Heisman contender? Why is Kevin Faulk not spoken of in the reverntial tones he deserves? All-Time NCAA Yardage Leader. Yet I'm always surprised when he is on a list with the likes of Walker and Tebow.
3:31: Middle Tennessee St 13, Maryland 7. 2nd quarter.
3:34. Eric Berry! I think he had it. Right now its Offensive PoY versus Defensive Poy and the D is winning. Huge play if it stands.
3:38. Why call a pass play inside the five? Why?! And why on earth do you do it twice?
3:40. Garbage roughing the passing call. Look, Locker is a mobile QB, he's gonna take borderline hits. And the hit wasn't all that borderline. Let them play.
3:46. Nebraska kicks ANOTHER field goal. You gotta get touchdowns... and that is why you don't blitz Tebow. It leaves the middle screen wide open.
3:49. Tim Tebow is such a good runner due to his effort. I love how he doesn't give up on busted plays.
3:56. Just about a perfect first half for Tennessee. They have done everything they wanted to do, and are only down 6. Florida is obviously better, they just can't seem to put it all together.
3:58. What a huge play by the Huskies defense. USC's two minute drill was rolling and they moved the ball 50 yards in about 30 seconds. On 3rd and 1 and no timeouts, the run play is dropped in the backfield. USC couldn't get out there in time for a field goal. That play saved UW 3 points. Great play.
Who feels better about the LSU-UW game? Anyone?
4:09. Terrible punt by Oregon. Utah has to take advantage. Down by 14, you need to at least get 3 before the half.
4:14. I like the call to go for it, but I hated the play call. Why call a pass with only one option? If you're gonna make a call that poor, might as well kick the field goal. Utah is down 14 at the half. Ouch.
4:21. Why on earth did MSU call a timeout?
4:26. Tennessee picked up where they left off. The defense is keeping them in this game. And, if you let a team hang around, an upset can happen.
4:30. Speaking of guys who got away (see the comments), Joe McKnight made a nice move there. BS call to give a first down when the coach tripped over the ref.
4:33. 3rd and 21. Kiffin calls a run. Absolutely no faith in the passing game.
4:38. Tebow vs. Berry. Berry wins the battle again, but Tebow is winning the war.
4:42. USC fumbled inside the 10. I was positive the runner's knee was down but it was not overturned. Self-inflicted wounds...
4:48. It was harder than they would have liked, but UF is blowing this game open. Speaking of blowing it open, Oregon just scored another touchdown. This hurts not only Utah but BYU. BYU needs quality wins.
4:55. Aaron Corp threw into double coverage. It ended the way you would expect, with the ball in the arms of Donald Butler. Washington still hanging around.
5:00. Locker missed a wide open man. I like him and the way he plays, but you cannot miss wide open men on 3rd and 6 in a tie game. Bad time for a bad pass. As you can tell, I'm slowly losing interest in UF-UT. They are gashing off big run after big run.
5:04. 4th and goal from the 38. That's a goal line stand. Bud Foster comes through again. How often does a team have 1st and goal from the five and then be forced to punt?
5:06. Tebow fumbles. Weather in hell said to be unchanged.
5:07. Oregon fumbles. Utah returns it for a touchdown. If BYU fans partied, they would tie would on right now. 28-24, UO. Utah is back from the dead.
5:10. When executed properly, the screen pass is one of my favorite plays in football. Locker just threw a beautiful screen which went for 12 and very well could have gone for 40. UW is moving the ball and, shudder to think, looks like the better, more confident team right now.
5:16. I hate wasting timeouts in a close game. Hate it. The timeout is more valuable as a clock tool in the last two minutes. Really, what play is UW gonna call that will convert 3rd and 21? Send in a play, run it, hope it makes a first but if not, kick the damn field goal. But save the timeout.
5:18. Verne: "Blitz. No, zone blitz." Me: /slams head.
5:21. This is when an upset bid can go awry. UW is up 13-10 and kicking to USC. If the Trojans drive down the field, they can shut this crowd up. UW can't feel like they've already pulled the upset. There's a lot of football left.
5:26. Could the VT-Nebraska game be any more dull?
5:29. Going conservative with the playbook was a bad idea. It's a three-point game against USC. You think that lead will hold? And then a huge punt return. Conservative play is a terrible idea in a game like this. Go for the jugular.
5:34. Huge stop. Didn't just stop the first down, but dropped him for a loss. USC maybe goes for it on 4th and 2. But, it's all tied. Game of the day.
5:37. VT's defense deserves better. 15-10? One first down for the Hokie offense in the second half?
5:40. That pass is how legends are made. 3rd and 15 conversion.
5:42. 3rd and 2. Locker rolls out and gets it! And they ran important clock. USC will not get the ball back. Now, think about winning it.
5:44. Oregon plays for a field goal up by 4 on the 15. That allows Utah to have one last chance at the win. I hate calls like that. Go for it.
5:45. The biggest play in the last decade for Washington right there.
5:47. I hate going for a field goal. Should've gone for the TD at least once.
5:48. Wow. Just, wow.
5:49. Loved seeing Locker hold guys on the sideline. What a heady kid! CHARGE THE FIELD!!! YOU EARNED IT, HUSKY FANS!!!!
Now, on to the LSU game... I'm out.