Oregon vs. UCLA

UCLA-13, #2 Oregon-60

Well, let's not mince words: Oregon's offense is unreal. I mean, if you're looking for an offense that is just plain fun to watch (so long as you're not on the opposing team) then look no further. Right now the 2 of you who willingly slog through my novel-sized Saturdays in Review are saying, "Bones, last week you whined and complained like a pathetic little schoolgirl about the Auburn/Arkansas score because you claim to like 'defensive football.' Now you're telling me that this fifty some-odd point per game offense is 'fun to watch.' You're a hypocrite who uses too many run-on sentences and/or sentence fragments depending on the week!"

Allow me to address these complaints: First off, hi, Mom. Sorry about all of the misplaced commas.

Secondly, I did not say that I don't appreciate a good offense. I just hate watching bad defense. 65-43 is not good offense. It's really just awful defense on both sides' part. Oregon's offense takes good defenses and shreds them. UCLA didn't look bad on defense. Their players were doing everything they needed to, tackling and going to the football with speed and aggressiveness. They were actually tackling for the most part (no team does 100% of the time). The Ducks were just finding holes in the UCLA line, and the game was out of hand by the end of the first half.

I know I'm gonna sound like Lee Corso here as I point out the stupidly obvious, but every defense has holes. It is a physical impossibility for a defense to cover all 53.3 yards of the field's width AND however many yards of the field's length lay between the line of scrimmage and the goal line. The best defenses cover their general area, and they slow down or stop offenses by knocking down passes and tackling running backs as quickly as they possibly can. Unless a defense is playing a team that is utterly inferior to them, they won't hold their opponents to 0 yards or less. It happens, but it's rare. So rare, in fact, that even slaughter games usually feature at least some offense of some sort from the team on the losing end. The Alabama Crimson Tide, for example, have a top-10 defense in terms of points and yards allowed. Yet even lowly Duke scored 13 on the Tide starters in a 62-13 snore fest.

To put it another way, defenses are the equivalent of playing with the black pieces in chess. For you non-chess players out there, black goes second. The black pieces are forced to be reactionary until white makes a mistake and black is able to take the initiative. Defense is, by its very nature, reactionary. The offense determines the style of the game; a triple option offense forces the opposing defense to play differently than they would against a spread. A 4-3 defense does not make a triple option team begin passing the football. Furthermore, a quick offensive change will normally net points or yards and force a defense to make changes, whereas a quick defensive change might net points, but will usually just create a stop or cause a turnover. That's certainly not a bad thing, but it doesn't show up on the scoreboard, which means that the average fan who just looks at scores for teams that he doesn't root for will not really notice it. Even the most mediocre offenses will score (Last place San Jose State scores about 9 points per game), and even the best defenses will allow points (Sheer coincidence: 1st place TCU allows about 9 points per game).

Somewhere in there, there's a point. And that point is that an offense like Oregon's is not remarkable because they score, but because of how much they score. (Duh.) They find holes like no offense I've seen, and in doing so they make the defenses they face look silly. Oregon's backups scored a touchdown in 4 plays on UCLA's starters in the 4th quarter. The Ducks didn't punt until 6:31 in the 4th. Most terrifying of all, the Ducks' defense is good, too. They're not big, but they're quick. Oregon is the front runner in a good Pac-10, but the road is not without pitfalls. Next Saturday's trip to Southern Cal, a game against a good Arizona squad, and the rivalry game with Oregon State are all big games for the Ducks, but there's a very real chance that Autzen's favorite team could play in the National Title game. There's also a chance they wind up in the Holiday Bowl if they lose all 3 of those games, so I guess we'll all just have to wait and see.

Some random notes from the game: Oregon's uniforms are still ugly...UCLA did do one thing offensively: they finally scored on Oregon in the 4th quarter. Mind you, that was against the Ducks' backups, but life's little victories are what keeps us all going...Does it seem cruel to anyone else to make the Duck mascot do pushups for every point?...Why do commentators insist on reminding us that Southern Cal has "found their rhythm?" What sense does that make? Yeah, they've lost 2 of their last 3, but they beat a .500 team in Cal! Southern California: football powerhouse. Give me a break!...And that's it for now. Sorry to any UCLA fans who are offended by their team's 4 mentions in this 900 word article, but if your team had shown up I wouldn't have had to write all about Oregon. Here's looking forward to Saturday!

Thursday in Review?

...I know, what the heck? Still, some things do bear mention after tonight's throttling of Kansas State by Nebraska:

#6 Nebraska-48, Kansas State-13

OK, I'm very tempted to say that this game proved something, but it really doesn't. Nebraska, right now, looks like the favorite in the Big 12, but the Big 12 has been a very underwhelming conference of late. Don't get me wrong, I like Nebraska, but I'm totally unsure of how well they'll fare against the best teams on their schedule. Nebraska's nonconference schedule was pathetic. Their upcoming game with Texas was supposed to be a big proving ground, but now it's a matchup between a Top 10 team and an unranked opponent. Rankings wise, the best two teams on Nebraska's schedule are Oklahoma State and Missouri, neither of whom were even ranked to start the season! In other words, Nebraska is basically the same as last year's Texas team...

I'm really not sure what to make of Nebraska. They're not a bad football team by any stretch of anyone's imagination, and Taylor Martinez is a quick and agile quarterback who has been slashing up defenses with ease. Of concern, however, is the fact that Nebraska won't face a good defense this season. Texas has an adequate defense, but their offense is so anemic that it will be a major upset for the Longhorns to knock off the Huskers.

In short, Nebraska, of all the major conference teams, has the easiest path to going undefeated up to its championship game. Note that's not much of an accomplishment: the Big 10, Pac-10, and Big East don't have championship games, the ACC has no undefeated teams, and the SEC is good (unlike the Big 12). Also note that I'm not saying Nebraska will go undefeated, or that Alabama is doomed to fail. I'm merely saying that the current system rewards being the lone decent team in a major conference (See also: Southern Cal 2002-2007). So, Nebraska remains an enigma. Are they a powerhouse waiting to explode on the national scene? Or are they a team that's set up to get pantsed in the Big 12 Championship game/National Title game? Time, as is so often the case, will tell.

After all the intrigue surrounding Nebraska, Kansas State is easy: They're mediocre. Have been for a few years now.

See you guys for the Saturday in Review!

Thursday in Review (9/2/10)

Thoughts and ramblings on the first round of games, courtesy of a misanthrope (look it up!) with DirecTV...

Marshall-7, #2 Ohio State-45

Here's one of the myriad problems with week 1 of the season: most teams play "warm up" games like this one. I'm curious, though, as to why the lesser teams have to wait a week for warmups. Why doesn't everyone just find a lesser team and pummel them? Or why doesn't college football have a meaningless preseason like the NFL? Instead, we have a system where good teams that take risks are punished, while teams that take the easy road are given a leg up. Sure, Ohio State plays Miami (the good one) next week, but the rest of their nonconference schedule consists of Marshall, Ohio, and Eastern Michigan. Other schools are even worse: Texas' best nonconference foe is UCLA, Nebraska's best is Washington, and there's a host of other examples. Playing one good nonconference game should not be a license to screw around with the other 3, but in our current system this is really the only option. Think about it: Oregon State plays TCU and Boise State. If they drop those 2 games, win their other nonconference game, and sweep the Pac-10, they still go to a BCS bowl, but there's no way they'd play for the title. A playoff with conference winners (or common sense) would remedy this situation and encourage aggressive scheduling. As it stands, we're supposed to be impressed with teams "daring" to play a ranked nonconference opponent, while ignoring weak sauce games like this.

As to the game itself, what do you want? The score tells most of the story, though it was kinda cool to see Marshall run a blocked punt back for their only points. Let's move on...

Florida A&M-0, #13 Miami-45

(NOTE: No real analysis here, game was as dull as a bowling ball)

So to prepare for one another Ohio State and Miami played a mediocre Conference USA team and a decent 1-AA team, respectively. This raises more than a few questions: How is that realistic? Does anyone think that OSU and Miami's 2nd teams couldn't provide more challenge to the starters than these squads? I guess the hitting is more "realistic" with a cupcake opponent, but is that it? Are these games anything more than glorified scrimmages? If Ohio State really is the 2nd best team in the country, then how does pummeling Florida A&M serve as a preparatory step? And will I really continue with the hackneyed gimmick of asking rhetorical questions? The answer to the last one is "no."

#14 USC-49, Hawaii-36

O, how the mighty have fallen! The Southern California Trojans treated this as though it were a major win, the right way to start of the Lane Kiffin era. Really? This? Beating last year's 5th place team from the WAC? Oops, started asking questions again, my bad. Watching the game, though, it was clear that the Trojans are probably going to struggle this year. Hawaii's not anywhere near the best team that Southern Cal will play this season, and Southern Cal never really put them away until about halfway through the 4th quarter when they responded to Hawaii's late score with one of their own. Hawaii's offense kept scoring on a very porous Trojan defense, and only Hawaii's awful defense allowed Southern Cal to win the game. Fortunately for the Trojans, they play a rather pathetic nonconference schedule, meaning that they don't have any real challenges on the schedule until October, which will give the defense some desperately needed time to gel.

As to the Southern Cal offense, they proved that they could score against a WAC team which, unless that team's name is "Boise State," isn't saying much. The SC offense was well balanced, with virtually equal passing and rushing yardage. Unfortunately, they actually hung up LESS yardage than Hawaii did, though that was largely a consequence of field position. Hawaii's not a terrible team, but they're nowhere near the national threat they were considered to be in 2007, and Southern Cal will finish in the middle of the Pac-10 again if they keep playing the way they did on Thursday.

#15 Pitt-24, Utah-27

Normally I'd just riff on Utah for being a boring state, but this was actually the best game of the night by leaps and bounds. The game was a pitched battle, with both teams putting up some rather embarrassing penalty numbers while putting on a very good show. The Utahns (Utahers? Utahites? Utahonians?) who showed up to support the Utes provided a suitably hostile environment to test the Pitt Panthers, a test which the Panthers ultimately failed.

Given that I'm writing this on what is technically Saturday (it's really early...), it'd be a waste of everyone's time to try and describe the entire game. You could have watched the highlights a few hundred times by now. Instead, let's focus on the final play of regulation: the Pitt field goal to send the game into overtime. Just in case you didn't know, the Panthers were driving, trying to win/tie the game with time running out. With 3 seconds left on the clock, their kicker trotted out and nailed a 30 yard field goal. Except that Utah's coach had called a last second timeout.

So they lined it up again, he kicked it again, but this time he missed! Utah wins! Except their coach had called a timeout.

So, for a third time, Pitt kicks a field goal. This time he hits it, Utah's coach doesn't call timeout, and the game goes into OT.

Now, a few seasons ago this was a HUGE deal. Heck, coaches calling timeout to ice the kicker at the last second was such a trend during the 2007 season that it was added as a feature in EA's NCAA game for the following year. Thankfully that trend died down a bit after coaches realized that it had minimal effect on most kickers, and allowed more than a few missed kicks to be retried, therefore completely backfiring on its users. Last season there wasn't much mention of the tactic at all, a far cry from the NCAA meetings in early 2008 where a rule change was discussed to stop the rather underhanded tactic from being used. One can only hope that this trend isn't going to crop up again. Calling timeout while a kicker is on the field is one thing. Heck, one can even wait until the lines are all set. But for crying out loud, why call timeout right before the snap? It's underhanded, it's unnecessary, and most of the time it doesn't even work! Remember this one? And for crying out loud, coaches, if you're going to pull this little stunt, don't do it more than once! If Utah's coach had called one timeout, then allowed the kick, they would have won the game then and there. Instead, in a classic case of shutting the barn door after the horse has already run away, Coach Whittingham did not call timeout on Pitt's last kick, which sailed, in a very ugly line, through the uprights. The timeout tactic is simply low, and it really needs to be addressed by the NCAA somehow. I mean, come on, some of the most famous misses in college history have come after no timeouts at all!

I guess I'm making too much of it, Pitt threw an interception on the first play of OT and Utah won anyway. However, now it is time for...

Tales from the Bottom 95

I didn't announce it on here or facebook, yet, but I have a new home on the web, here's the link! I'll still post everything on here that I did on there, but the other site provides news and updates from many authors instead of just 1...What better way to kick off the season than with the historic Wake Forest/Presbyterian College game? Seriously, that was the first game of the year?...Tulane only beat their 1-AA cupcake by 6. Gonna be a looooong season in New Orleans...South Carolina took care of Southern Miss, which really is problematic. If the Gamecocks had just gone ahead and gotten upset, they wouldn't have gotten their fans' hopes up again...Quick nod to Middle Tennessee State, who held their own against Minnesota right up to the closing whistle, and very nearly won...Buffalo opened up their season (and their new coach's era) with a win...Florida Atlantic beat UAB in what was apparently a very thrilling game. I am basing this totally on the box score, though...

That's all for Thursday. Hopefully I'll be able to do one of these for Saturday as well.

Other days in review

Sitting here on a Friday night/Saturday morning the day before the Tennessee/Vanderbilt game listening to music that was recorded about 20 years before I was born. Yeah, I'm cool. But you don't read this because of how cool I am, you read because of the fact that you like your college football spiced with sarcasm and guile and you like it 4 days late. I can do that! Let's look at the games that have been played thus far this week, including a game from this year's nominee for most overrated team:

Colorado-28, #12 Oklahoma State-31

Throughout the majority of this game, the announcers were talking about Oklahoma State's shot at getting into a BCS bowl. Really? Let's look at the current standings...

#1 Florida and #2 Alabama have cupcake games this week, followed by games against inferior rival schools the next week. Barring an apocalypse level meltdown this week or a semi-apocalyptic disaster the next, both of these teams will go into the SEC Championship game undefeated. The winner goes to the National Championship game, the loser probably goes to the Sugar Bowl.
#3 Texas, keeping with the season's theme, will play a pathetic opponent this week (Kansas and their apparently abusive coach) and then they will play rival Texas A&M. Following that, they will play Nebraska or Kansas State for the Big 12 title. Then they will play in the National Title game unless lightning strikes and they lose. If, for some reason, they do lose that game, then Texas still goes to a BCS Bowl and the Big 12 Champ goes as well.
TCU won't lose any of their remaining games, and they're pretty much guaranteed a shot in a BCS game.
#5 Cincinnati could still lose, but they or Pitt will be the Big East champs, clenching another spot in the BCS.
#6 Boise State, in a similar vein to TCU, will have gone undefeated, and they beat their lone major competition (Oregon, a win that's worth more than any on Oklahoma State's schedule). They should go to a BCS bowl.
#7 Georgia Tech is going to the ACC Championship. Because the ACC's down this year, only the winner of the ACC will go to the Orange Bowl. But, let's be honest, that should be GT.
#8 LSU probably won't go to a BCS game. Still, according to the computers, they have a better shot than the Cowboys of Stillwater.
#9 Pitt or Cincinnati will get the Big East's bid. So...let's move on.
#10 Ohio State has already clinched a BCS bid.
#11 Oregon leads their conference. Either they or #17 Stanford will get the PAC-10's berth.

There are 10 berths in the BCS. You're telling me that one of those bowls would realistically take Oklahoma State over any of the 11 teams ranked above them? Considering that Oklahoma State's best win is still Georgia! If you want to see words you never thought you'd read, stay tuned. I hope Oklahoma crushes Oklahoma State next week. Nothing would please me more than to see OSU lose to all 3 decent teams they've played this season. As it was they looked bad against Colorado. Yes, there are injuries and the Dez Bryant suspension. You know what? It's still friggin' Colorado!


Let's move on, shall we? There's nothing left for us to see here.

#7 Boise State-52, Utah State-21

First off, note that Utah is a boring state.

Well, the 3rd most important school in Utah (a title everyone wants, dontcha know?) actually stuck with Boise for one and a half quarters before Boise dropped three touchdowns on them in the final 4:47 of the first half. Anytime you give up 21 points inside the space of 5 minutes, it's not a good sign. When you do that against a team that outclasses you pretty heavily, it sinks any upset bid.

Boise's a good team, and their win over Oregon looks better than it did when the Ducks' disaster unfolded back in September. The question, however, is whether Boise can beat a conference champion at a neutral sight. Actually, thanks to the idiots who think Oklahoma State deserves to be in a BCS game, the question right now is whether Boise (which has beaten a currently ranked team, unlike another school I've been ripping in this post) will even get the opportunity to play a conference champ. They keep doing what they must, however, which is win. So long as they do that, it'll be difficult to deny them a BCS berth...

PS: Note that, while I still eschew the meaninglessness of "head to head" matchups as a barometer of team performance, do pay attention to the fact that Boise State beat Louisiana Tech by 10 at LTU, while the LSU Tigers only beat the Bulldogs by 8 at home. Just some food for thought.


Finally, to explain why this coming week might be a bit different, I will be headed to the Tennessee/Vanderbilt game tomorrow. I will still try and post a "regular" bit ASAP. Plus, I'll try and include a description of the wildness that is Neyland Stadium. For now...sleep.