Thoughts on Saturday games

- Even though they lost to an upstart North Carolina today, Miami is not far from coming back to prominence. They have some talented players with tremendous speed.
- Tennessee needs a new qb right now. Crompton looks lost out there, can't make the reads, can't get on the same page with his receivers. They also need to bench Arian Foster and play back up rb's Montario Hardesty and Lennon Creer more, they are better backs. Vols may not even crack .500 this year. Also, new offensive coordinator, Dave Clawson needs to go.
- Auburn needs to bench their starting qb, Chris Todd and start Kodi Burns. Burns can run, Todd cannot...it's pointless to run the spread with a qb who can't run.
- Houston Nutt is one of my favorite coaches. He always seems to pull off unlikely wins with less talented teams. Of course today's win over Florida didn't go without a little luck. He already has Ole Miss looking like his old Arkansas teams.
- Impressive win for V Tech on the road at Lincoln.
- When is Texas actually going to play somebody?
- Another big win for Alabama. Last week I said they could win the SEC West...this week I'm saying they can win the SEC and play for a national championship. That was more than an impressive win at Athens. By the way, I picked Bama to win tonight.
- I had a feeling Georgia was overrated when they snuck past South Carolina. Their win at Arizona St. was not very impressive either.
- Ohio St. looks to be getting back on track now that they have Beanie Wells back and are starting Terrelle Pryor at qb. Big test next week against Wisconsin, speaking of which...
- How did Wisconsin blow that game today? That will go down as Rich Rodriquez' first signature win at Michigan.
- Notre Dame looked impressive today against Purdue. They played well against a very good offense and moved the ball at will.
- I still think Ohio St. is going to win the Big 10, but Penn St. is looking really good!
- The Pac 10 sucks, that's all there is to it.

My power rankings for this week:

1. Oklahoma- sheer body of work. They look like the most complete team...for now.

2. Alabama- They have blown out Clemson, Arkansas and Georgia. Not bad for early season!

3. Missouri- The offense is flawless, the defense leaves much to be desired.

4. Florida- Despite the loss today, still one of the best teams in the country.

5. USC- They'll be back. Nobody plays perfect every week.

- Teams I thought about for the power rankings:
BYU, Penn St., LSU, Tennessee...just kidding

Thoughts on USC/Oregon St.

Wow! What a shocker! Though the Beavers have beat the Trojans in Corvallis two out of the last 3 times they've played, I thought SC would win last night. USC's offensive line was the weakness on offense. The Trojans couldn't get a consistent ground game going and Mark Sanchez had no time to throw. Also, Sanchez kept looking for the big play rather than the short stuff. There were a few times when he had a TE open short, but ignored him in favor of trying to hit a receiver deep. The defense was uncharacteristically bad. They couldn't stop the run to save their lives!

The BCS implications of this loss are huge. Because they are in a weak conference this year, USC had to go undefeated to ensure a spot in the BCS championship game. If a team from the SEC and a team from the Big 12 have 1 loss they will be favored to play in the game rather than USC because of conference strength. USC cannot afford to lose another game this year and hope that everyone from the Big 12 and SEC have 2+ losses to have a chance at this point. This game was a great example of why I love inter-conference play, these teams know each other! Ohio St. may have been intimidated by USC, but Oregon St. knows what there up against and that the Trojans are beatable.

Fantasy analysis

Now I'm going to list fantasy players on the rise and fantasy players on the decline or busts:

On the rise:

Darren McFadden- RB- Raiders
Jay Cutler- QB- Broncos
Tony Sheffler- TE- Broncos
Philip Rivers- QB- Chargers
Chris Chambers- WR- Chargers
Dewayne Bowe- WR- Chiefs
Felix Jones- RB- Cowboys
Chris Johnson- RB- Titans
Matt Forte- RB- Bears
Calvin Johnson- WR- Lions
Jonathan Stewart- RB- Panthers
Michael Turner- RB- Falcons

On the decline/busts (injuries don't count):

Edgerrin James- RB- Cardinals
Larry Johnson- RB- Chiefs
Chargers Defense
Marc Bulger- QB- Rams
Torry Holt- WR- Rams
Steven Jackson- RB- Rams
Marvin Harrison- WR- Colts
Ocho Cinco- WR- Bengals
Brett Favre- QB- Jets
Laverneus Coles- WR- Jets
Hines Ward- WR- Steelers
Joey Galloway- WR- Bucs

Random thoughts on the NFL

- If Al Davis fires Lane Kiffin, who will he replace him with? Who would want that job? Seriously? I think he would promote Rob Ryan, the defensive coordinator.

- Sean Payton is crying about a no call neutral zone infraction at the end of the Broncos game. Granted, it was a missed call, but the Saints 1)could not gain a yard and 2) could not make a field goal. Try playing some defense next time. By the way, I don't think the Broncos defense is quite that bad...they've played two really high powered offenses the last 2 weeks.

- The Browns really aren't that bad of a team, they're just poorly coached. Plus, Derek Anderson's deal with the devil seems to have expired. Ditto for Marc Bulger and Jon Kitna.

- I'm glad the Chargers finally won a game, I'm sick of hearing their whinning!

- I'm impressed with Aaron Rodgers. Because he played his college ball for Jeff Tedford, I really thought he'd stink up the place.

- Looks like Matt Ryan is the real deal. Not many rookie qb's play like he has so far. Reminds one of Peyton Manning as a rookie.

Surprisez/disappointments

Here are my surprises and disappointments in College football so far this season:

Surprises-
- Alabama- They have a shot at the SEC West this year.
- LSU- Have played well despite questions at qb. Also a legitimate shot at SEC West.
- Vanderbilt- They'll go bowling this year.
- East Carolina- No longer a BCS buster, but still making a name for themselves.
- Wake Forest- Could win the ACC for the 2nd time in 3 years.
- North Carolina- Big win at Rutgers, don't underestimate these guys.
- Penn St.- JoePa's off to a great start, legit contenders for the Big 10.
- Utah- BYU better watch out for these guys, they always play the Cougars tough.

Disappointments-
- Any Pac 10 team not named USC- Specifically Cal, Oregon, UCLA, ASU and Oregon St.
- West Virginia- Pat White really isn't a good passing qb.
- Tennessee- Fire Fulmer and replace him with Butch Davis PLEASE!!!!
- South Carolina- Spurrier seems to have lost his touch.
- Michigan- We knew they wouldn't be great, but not this bad! They stink!
- Clemson- Embarassing loss to Bama.
- Pretty much most of the ACC and Big East-

Rocky Bottom...

So I went to the Tennessee/Florida game and here are my thoughts: The Gators are for real and should win the SEC and appear in the BCS championship game. They have unbelievable speed, are well coached, and have a relatively easy schedule. The Vols on the other hand need lots of help...let's see, where to start...hmmm...how about coaching. The game has clearly passed Fulmer by, he never was a great x's & o's coach...his niche has always been recruiting but that has dropped off over the last few years. He is not going to out coach most of the other SEC coaches. In the 90's, Tennessee would win by just having more talent on the field than almost anyone else. The list of Vols from the 90's who went on to play on Sundays is quite impressive. That isn't the case anymore. The Vols aren't any more talented than anyone else. Time to move on Phil...The hiring of offensive coordinator Dave Clawson is not looking like a great hire either. The offense can't seem to gel or find an identity. Defensive coordinator John Chavis does not know how to scheme the spread offense, rather than attacking the spread, he plays a bend but don't break style that gets eaten alive. Special teams has been atrocious, the Vols need to hire a special teams coach.

Update on Stump the Stevo

I got the best of Cory this week. He got 8/10 missing Fresno St. and Michigan for a total of 52 points. I got 9/10 missing Fresno St. for a total of 53 points. I'm in the 91st percentile while he is in the 75th percentile.

Thoughts on Saturday's games

Ohio St. could've hung in the game in the first half but offensive penalties killed them. They were able to move the ball but penalties negated a touchdown and forced them to settle for a field goal after being at the 5 yd line. A loss for the Buckeyes will have a bigger impact on them than a loss for USC would've. Ohio St. is still the best team in the Big 10 but that ain't sayin' much!

Other than USC, the Pac 10 has had a rough weekend. Oregon needed OT and a massive comeback to beat Purdue. Cal got spanked by Maryland, the final score is deceiving. Stanford was spanked by TCU. Washington took a drubbing at the hands of Boomer Sooner. UCLA got waxed by BYU. Arizona is losing to New Mexico. I'm now thoroughly convinced the Big 12 is the second best conference, surpassing the Pac 10.

Georgia is NOT the second best team in the country. The defense is good. Knowshon Moreno and Matt Stafford are the real deal, but Stafford has no reliable receivers. They are a little vanilla on offense. They are a little overrated.

I'm starting to think both Alabama and LSU are better than Auburn in the SEC West. Auburn implemented the spread offense this year, but just having the spread offense isn't enough. You need to be able to execute as well.

Missouri is scary good. They are quickly becoming everyone's dark horse for the BCS game.

Currently, the 5 best teams in the country are:

USC
Florida
Oklahoma
Missouri
Georgia

Saturday matchups

I expect USC to win big...especially since Beanie Wells is not playing. The Buckeyes offense just doesn't look the same without him. I expect USC's defensive front seven to dominate the line of scrimmage and get to OSU qb Todd Boeckman quite a bit. I'm not looking for a classic here.

Michigan v. Notre Dame is about as intriguing as San Diego St. v. UNLV. I'm giving the Irish the benefit of the doubt since it's in South Bend.

Oregon wins at Purdue and I think Fresno St. is going to upset Wisconsin today. Georgia beats South Carolina, Auburn over Mississippi St., Oklahoma over Washington. BYU over UCLA. V Tech over G Tech.

South Florida had an impressive win over Kansas last night and North Carolina made a statement at Rutgers Thursday night.

Stevo's been stumped!

Congrats to Cory for beating me at college pick 'em this week. We picked all the same winners except the Duke/Northwestern game. I had Duke and he had Northwestern. He scored 43 points with 8/10 right and I scored 41 points with 7/10 right. See I can be stumped!

Random thoughts from this past weekend that may interest only me...

- I'm jumping on the East Carolina bandwagon! They dominated West Virginia! They deserve their ranking in the top 25 this week!

- Jake Locker should not have been flagged for excessive celebration. I think BYU would have gone on to win in OT anyway, but that call was lame.

- Ohio St. is NOT going to beat USC even with Beanie Wells. USC will open up that stable of running backs and keep the OSU D off balance. I do think the Ohio St. secondary is good enough to match up with USC's WR's though. USC's defense will be the biggest factor dominating the line of scrimmage and giving Boeckman no time to throw or do anything else. It will look a lot like the LSU/Ohio St. game last year.

- Houston Nutt has Ole Miss on the right track. They look like his old Arkansas teams already.

- The loss of Tom Brady is devastating! (unless you hate the Patriots) Matt Cassel is not the answer either! That guy wasn't even a starter in college! Patriots are in trouble.

- Peyton Manning looked rusty last night. He couldn't handle the blitz and wasn't accurate. I think the Colts will regroup, but their defense was not impressive at all.

- The Bears may be back. Decimated by injuries last year, the defense looked back to old form. The offense looked back to form as well (no serious passing game but a strong running game).

- I have loved the Carolina Panthers ever since John Fox became their head coach! They always take on the following identity when healthy- Big, physical O-line with emphasis on running game. Jake Delhomme when healthy is a steady playmaker. The passing game will consist mostly of quick strikes to Steve Smith (when he comes back). The defense is always big and physical with great pass rushing D-line and quick linebackers. They out-muscled San Diego and hit 'em in the mouth. The Chargers are typically the more physical team. The Panthers (again, when healthy) just find ways to win...but it's usually ugly.

- I was impressed by the following teams yesterday: Bills, Falcons, Panthers, Steelers, Eagles, Bears and Saints. I was also impressed with the Dolphins and the Chiefs even though they lost.

- I was not impressed by the following teams yesterday: Seahawks (injuries at WR killed them), Chargers, Texans, Colts, Jaguars and Rams.

Thursday night thoughts

• South Carolina looks like the 3rd best team in the SEC East. The defense is stout.
• The Giants can still generate a good pash rush even without Strahan and Osi.
• The Redskins offense looks inept at best. Jason Campbell looks like he doesn't know what he's doing.
• I love the way Clinton Portis plays! I saw him drop a chip block on a DE and he put the guy on his back! An often overlooked trait of a great RB is their blocking ability. He's also a tough inside runner for a guy that is not very big.
• Someone should create a drinking game that involves taking a drink every time Madden says the word "bootleg." That would be one drunk person by the end of the night!
• Eli relies on Plaxico Burress a little too much in the passing game.
• I would hate to have to try and tackle Brandon Jacobs as he's running towards me! That dude is a load!

Rocky Top Lament...

Last night at about 10pm mountain standard time you could hear much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth coming from my house. The Vols offense was TERRIBLE! Crompton was the main problem. Inaccurate passing, hanging on to the ball too long, and poor foot work led to his less than 50% completion rate. Why did they insist on Crompton throwing more than 35 passes when he clearly was not playing well? Arian Foster and Montario Hardesty both ran the ball pretty well, perhaps they should have had a few more carries. The defense, which had been dominant throughout was finally worn down by the 4th quarter. Special teams was awful too. Why did they squib kick with 2 minutes left to give UCLA great field position? The missed field goal in OT and the blocked punt were just plain unacceptable. They had a chance to put it away in the 1st half with 4 int's but the offense couldn't capitalize. Then, they had a chance to put it away in the 3rd quarter until Arian Foster fumbled at the 5 yard line. That would have put them up 21-7 and given the defense the opportunity to just tee off on them. That was one of the most frustrating games I have EVER watched.