Sunday, September 6, 2009

Sore Sooner Shoulder downs Oklahoma

I thoroughly enjoyed watching all the great action today on college football’s opening Saturday, although one thing did irritate me. I have no idea who decided that people in Baltimore should get the Michigan vs. Western Michigan game over #9 Oklahoma State vs. #13 Georgia. I was highly pissed off seeing this because I was looking forward to watching a great game between two top 15 teams. When you have regional coverage and you have two teams from Michigan, shouldn’t that game only go to the surrounding areas around Michigan? Total bullcrap! Anyway, let’s take a look at some of the important results from yesterday’s games:

#20 BYU 14, #3 Oklahoma 13 – Without question, the biggest story from yesterday’s action was the injury to Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford. Bradford took a hard hit late in the 2nd quarter and his throwing shoulder was driven into the ground. He ended up being diagnosed with a sprained AC joint in his shoulder. This type of injury usually will keep a player out 2-4 weeks depending on the grade of the sprain and how much pain the player can deal with. With Bradford out in the 2nd half, the game became a real defensive struggle. Both Oklahoma and BYU came to play on the defensive side of the ball. Oklahoma backup QB Landry Jones could not get anything going and BYU was able to hold Oklahoma’s run game in check. A late surge and huge drive was orchestrated by BYU QB Max Hall, who won the game for BYU by throwing a 7-yard TD pass with 3:03 left in the game. Obviously, this win is huge for BYU and it now gives them a huge boost and will allow them to try and become the latest BCS buster. For Oklahoma, the hopes of a National Championship season may now be over. They will have to rely on their defense and running game until Bradford can return. Bradford may now be hard pressed to make a run at winning the Heisman trophy for a second straight season. Pollsters do take injuries into account, but Oklahoma will have to make a major statement when Bradford returns and hope their offensive line gels because they were the source of Oklahoma’s problems last night.

#4 USC 56, San Jose State 3 – For the first quarter of this game, USC looked extremely sluggish and it seemed as if talk of contending for a National Championship, let alone a Pac 10 title, might be a little wishful thinking. Oh how suddenly things can change. USC quickly kicked it into gear in the 2nd quarter and ending up cruising and blowing out San Jose State. Freshman QB Matt Barkley started slow, but he settled into the game going 15-for-19 for 233 yards and 1 TD and let the Trojans’ powerful running game and stingy defense take over. Barkley and the Trojans will get a much tougher test when they travel to Ohio State next week. Before this week, many assumed that Ohio State would go into that game as the favorite, but that might change this week…

#6 Ohio State 31, Navy 27 – And the reason why it might change is because Ohio State received a huge scare at the hands of Navy. Ohio State did not have many problems moving the ball and scoring, but the problem was that they struggled getting a handle on Navy’s triple option offense. The Buckeyes also made a crucial mistake by going for a 4th and 2 instead of kicking a field goal that would have given them a 32-14 lead. Instead, they were stuffed and the momentum changed for Navy. They were able to eat up huge chunks of yards on the ground and kept making big plays until they got to within 29-27. The dream of a monumental upset died though when Navy threw an interception on the 2-point conversion and Ohio State returned it for 2 points of their own to win the game 31-27. Navy is certainly no slouch and they come to play every week, but now many are wondering how good Ohio State will be this year. We will find out next week and USC might be favored to win even on the road. It will most likely come down to how USC freshman QB Matt Barkley handles the pressure of his first huge college game.

#5 Alabama 34, #7 Virginia Tech 24 – The score of this game was certainly closer than it should have been. I really enjoyed watching this one as it was a hard fought contest and pretty fascinating. Alabama was not very sharp early on in this game and they allowed Virginia Tech to hang in it by giving up a kickoff return touchdown, coughing up two bad turnovers, and committing a few silly penalties. While this was happening, Alabama was absolutely punishing Virginia Tech when it came to ball control and the ground game and ended up outgaining Virginia Tech 498-155 in yards. The talent gap between the two teams finally showed up in the 4th quarter as Alabama was able to pull away and win the game. The Crimson Tide defense looks like a beast and if the offense can continue to improve, Alabama might have a shot to give Florida a run if the two meet in the SEC Championship game. Virginia Tech has a great deal of work to do, but it seems like they still might be able to have success in an obviously weaker ACC.

#9 Oklahoma State 24, #13 Georgia 10 – As I mentioned earlier, I was very mad I did not get a chance to watch this game on TV. Georgia got off to a very quick start, driving right down the field and taking a 7-0 lead. It seemed as if this might be a mismatch, but the Oklahoma State defense surprisingly stepped up huge and held Georgia in check until the Cowboys’ offense was able to shake out of a sluggish start. QB Zac Robinson hooked up with his star receiver Dez Bryant for 2 TDs and Oklahoma State was able to cruise home to victory. The performance of the defense is a great sign for Oklahoma State. Many assumed that they would need to try and win shootouts and outscore their opponents every week, but that might not be the case. The Cowboys could end up being real players in the Big 12 now, especially with the early struggles of Oklahoma. Georgia will obviously need to find some answers on offense or they will not be able to make a serious challenge in the SEC. It looks like replacing Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno might be a tough task.

#11 LSU 31, Washington 23 – Washington was able to put in an inspired effort to hang with LSU, but it was not enough for them to pull off a victory. I was surprised that Washington was able to hang with LSU for so long, but I guess the 2500 mile road trip actually can take a toll. LSU was able to put together some good drives in the 2nd half to take over the game and they looked pretty solid. It should be a great race in the SEC West this year, but Alabama would have the inside track in my opinion.

#12 California 52, Maryland 13 – Well my home state Terps put in a thoroughly embarrassing performance last night. I thought they might be able to hang close with Cal, but it is obvious that they are nowhere close to Cal’s level this year. Costly turnovers and numerous mistakes killed Maryland and Cal RB Jahvid Best just ran wild over them. I’m sure Cal was looking for revenge in this game after last year’s loss at Maryland, but it was worse than that. I am getting a bad feeling that the Terrapins are just not that good this year and they might struggle to make a bowl game. However, the entire ACC had a hard time this weekend, so maybe Maryland can have enough success in the conference to get to .500 and be bowl eligible.

#22 Iowa 17, Northern Iowa 16 – This game almost turned into the biggest upset of the weekend. It was a mighty struggle for Iowa. They were able to develop no sort of rhythm on offense and they blew many opportunities that would have allowed them to put the game away. I did remark in my preview that Northern Iowa is one of the top teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) and they could hang around in this one. That prediction was absolutely true as Northern Iowa looked like the more together team out there and they almost were able to use that to overcome the talent gap. Iowa had to block two 40-yard field goals in the final seconds to avoid the upset. Iowa will need to make some serious improvements or it could be a very mediocre season for them.

#23 Notre Dame 35, Nevada 0 – Maybe all the talk about Notre Dame being a serious contender is actually true. The Fighting Irish turned in an extremely impressive performance as they beat up on Nevada in every facet of the game. QB Jimmy Clausen looked more mature and he seemed like he was in mid-season form as he threw for 315 yards and 4 TDs. Notre Dame had huge plays on offense and their defense was able to keep Nevada’s running game and QB Colin Kaepernick in check and off balance. It seems as though Notre Dame may hang around all year and they could surprise everyone.

#1 Florida 62, Charleston Southern 3
#2 Texas 59, Louisiana-Monroe 20
#9 Penn State 31, Akron 7
#15 Georgia Tech 37, Jacksonville State 17
#19 Utah 35, Utah State 17
#21 North Carolina 40, The Citadel 6
#24 Nebraska 49, Florida Atlantic 3
#25 Kansas 49, Northern Colorado 3
As you can see, 1/3 of the Top 25 was able to take care of business and cruise in their “cupcake” games to start the year. Florida and Texas looked pretty sharp and they could be on a collision course for the BCS Title game in January.

And on two final notes…it seems as though Michigan was able to rally around Coach Rich Rodriguez and they beat Western Michigan with no trouble at all. And in Tennessee, the Lane Kiffin era began with a 63-7 stomping of Western Kentucky. I hope Lane enjoys this one because it might be a different story when Tennessee plays Florida.

The Game’s Quick Hits

NFL Cut Down Day: One of the most surprising cuts happened early in the morning Saturday as it was reported the New York Giants cut WR David Tyree. Tyree was one of the heroes of Super Bowl XLII, making a tremendous against his helmet catch to prolong the winning drive for the Giants. Obviously, Tyree did not develop into enough of a big play receiver for the Giants to keep him. If anything holds the Giants back this season, it will most likely be the lack of a threat at WR.

Even though QB Colt Brennan is on IR and out for the season now, the Redskins cut former Missouri QB Chase Daniel. This comes as a bit of a surprise since I though Daniel had some potential and was a solid QB at Missouri. Of course when we are talking QBs and the Redskins, Daniel Snyder will not be satisfied until he gets a superstar at the position. The Redskins will now only carry QBs Jason Campbell and Todd Collins on the 53 man roster.

Another big surprise was The Raiders cutting QB Jeff Garcia. I have no idea why in the hell Oakland would cut him, but I guess that is why the franchise continues to lose year after year. The Raiders lured Garcia to Oakland with hopes that he would have a fair shot to beat out JaMarcus Russell for the starting job, but it is obvious now that Al Davis was not going to give up on Russell and demote him. I believe though that Garcia would be a team player and accept the role and the Raiders are fools for not keeping him because it is always a good thing to have a solid backup QB in the NFL. Hopefully Garcia can find another job out there because I believe he still has some juice left and he can help a team.

The Bills ended up cutting RB Dominic Rhodes after signing him in the offseason. With RB Marshawn Lynch being suspended for three games, it seems puzzling that the Bills did not stick with a solid veteran back like Rhodes. And with the performance of their offense in the preseason, the Bills need all the help they can get.

- Sean O’Hair was able to fire a 7-under par 64 to catch the steady Jim Furyk at 12-under par and share the lead after the 2nd round of the Deutsche Bank Championship. The pristine conditions in the morning allowed a slew of players to shoot low rounds and set the pace between 8 and 12-under par after two rounds. Tiger Woods played later in the day and again was not able to put everything together. He did manage to sink some putts on the back 9 however, and ended up shooting a 4-under par 67 to put him 7 shots back at 5-under par heading into the final two rounds. I still maintain the opinion that Tiger is too far off of his best game to have a chance to win this tournament. He is fighting his putter too much and at a tie for 28th place, I think too many people are between him and the top of the leaderboard. He almost made me eat my words last week, but I don’t think he gets that close this time. Unless he goes out and shoots a 63 or 64 tomorrow…

- MLB News and Notes: Yankees closer Mariano Rivera had a bullpen session on Saturday and reported no pain in his sore left groin and might be able to return to the mound on Sunday. Obviously, the Yankees need a healthy Rivera to have a shot at winning the World Series. A big hitting lineup will only take you so far and it is going to take solid pitching and someone who can close down games to get the job done. Rivera is still in fine form this season, leading the majors with 38 saves…A federal judge has dismissed Roger Clemens' defamation suit against his former trainer, Brian McNamee and Clemens can not file the suit again, only appeal it. This was a pleasing bit of news to see. I have no love for Roger Clemens and have always though he was an arrogant jackass to be quite honest. It seems pretty obvious that he was using performance enhancing drugs, yet he continues to deny it in hopes of saving his chances to make the Hall of Fame and chooses to try and sue his trainer, who I believe is telling the truth. Of course this could end up being a money grab attempt by McNamee, but when the guy is only a trainer, I don’t think he was lying to Congress. I hope something comes out later to bust Clemens further because I can not stand the guy and his attitude.

- The United States soccer team rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat El Salvador 2-1 in a World Cup qualifying match last night. Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore scored for the U.S., who is now in prime position to qualify for their 6th straight trip to the World Cup. Congratulations to the U.S. team on a nice win. Although soccer will never become a huge phenomenon in this country and the U.S. stands no chance in hell of winning a World Cup any time soon, it is still nice to see them get to compete with the best in world every four years. I am not trying to hate on soccer, but it is just a fact that the best athletes in this country choose to play football, baseball, and basketball over soccer. Soccer is the only sport out there in most of the rest of the world, so I can not foresee a time when U.S. soccer will be on top of the world.

- Reports are saying that Indy Car racer Danica Patrick will start to race in some NASCAR events next year and may begin a transition to the NASCAR circuit. Sources are saying that she will not give up Indy Car racing entirely and would only compete in select Nationwide and Truck Series events next year. She will not take a full plunge into NASCAR until she is sure she could do well and is looking to take a path similar to the one Tony Stewart took. I will give some credit to Patrick for actually proving over time that she has the skills to compete. She has steadily improved in the Indy Car standings every year and has shown potential. I used to think that she was just a hype machine and would fizzle out, but she does have talent. I would still like to see her actually win some races, but maybe that is still to come on the horizon.

- U.S. Open Update: Things are starting to get interesting as we hit the first weekend of the U.S. Open. Andy Roddick, who came in as the #5 seed and brimming with confidence after his epic Wimbledon final with Roger Federer, was taken out in the 3rd round by 55th-ranked John Isner in five sets. Men’s #1 seed Roger Federer, who got tested by #31 seed Leyton Hewitt, and #4 seed Novak Djokovic both needed four sets to survive and advance. Federer got off to a slow start by losing the first set, but he showed his championship will to win by playing through it and reeling off 3 straight sets to win. On the women’s side, the surprise of the tournament continues to be 17-year old American Melanie Oudin, who beat #29 seed Maria Sharapova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

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