Sully's Big Blog! Commentary on College Football, Weekly Games, And Strange Statistics!

Top 25 Weekend Wrap-up

1. Alabama… this team has left no doubt but that they are far and away the best college football team in America… The tail whipping (52-0) they put on Arkansas was classic. This was clear domination from the opening kick-off to the ending horn.

2. USC… Lost to Stanford, 21-14, this marked the fifth time in six games that the Cardinal’s had beaten the Trojans. In fact, Matt Barkley, USC’s all everything QB, who has beaten every other team in the PAC 12…. is 0-4 when lined up against Stanford.

3. LSU… hammered Idaho, 63-14, a team from the WAC, as warm-up for their trip to Auburn, Alabama next Saturday. The Tigers have won 41-14 over North Texas, 41-3 vs the PAC 12’s Washington, & this week stomped the Vandals by 49…I am looking forward to their first SEC road venture.

4. Oregon… took on Tennessee Tech from the Ohio Valley Conference and as expected annihilated them, 63-14 (Note: identical to LSU’s score). This week they face Arizona (3-0) and while the game is in Oregon… The Wildcats have scored 115 points the past two weeks and this battle may well be the best game out in PAC 12 country!

5. Oklahoma: Idle

6. Florida State: Looked really good against a Wake Forest team that beat North Carolina last week. The Seminoles jumped on the Demon Deacons early and never let up, beating on them to the tune of 52-0. This team has great team speed and great talent… but their concentration and focus week in and week out is yet to be determined!

7. Georgia: beat Florida Atlantic out of the Sun Belt, 52-20. The Bulldogs are 3-0 and welcome Vandy to Athens this week…with Tennessee @ home & South Carolina in Columbia to follow. The next three weeks will go a long way in determining Georgia’s 2012 fate!

8. South Carolina: Beat UAB, a member of C-USA, 49-6! This game was a tune up for the Missouri Tigers… who leave Columbia MO and head for Columbia SC. The Gamecocks have scored 40 plus in their last two games after struggling to put points on the board against Vanderbilt in their road opener!

9. West Virginia:  The Mountaineers took on James Madison from the CAA, an FCS team, and had little to no trouble handling the Dukes, 42-12. Next up for West Virginia is Maryland @ home.

10. Clemson: welcomed Furman from the Southern Conference (SoCon) and quickly made them feel unwelcome by putting a 41-7 tail whipping on them. Now comes another game of the century… the Tigers travel to Tallahassee to take # 3 FSU @ Doak Campbell!

11. Va Tech: Lost to Pitt in a 35-17 shocker. Tech came into the game 2-0 while Pitt stumbled in its first two games but came out firing against the Hokies. Next up for the Tech is Bowling Green out of the MAC!

12. Michigan State: lost to Notre Dame 20-3, the Spartans were simply not able to run against the Irish front seven (50 total yards)… State being forced to pass 40 plus times… sealed their fate. Next up for MSU is Eastern Michigan… something tells me they are going to a big dose of running back…. Le’Veon Bell!

13. Ohio State: did not play well but managed to hold on against Cal, 35-28 @ the Horseshoe…. Next up for the Bucks is UAB out of C-USA!

14. Arkansas:  has now lost two in a row… the best thing that one could say about their game with Bama… is that they were not competitive… and I mean….the best thing one could say to describe the Razorbacks performance against the Tide!

15. Texas: outscored Ole Miss 66-31. Given all the talk about the Horn defense… not the kind of performance the Texas faithful were looking for… but it is a win. The Longhorns have a bye and then travel to Okey State, welcome West Virginia and then head to Dallas to take on the Sooners. The next four weeks will decide Texas’ Season!

16. Florida: has passed two big tests thus far… beating Texas A&M at College Station & then Tennessee in Knoxville. Impressive… next up Kentucky @ home! Florida will move into the Top Ten if they survive the four games, after hosting Kentucky, … LSU at home, @ Vandy, South Carolina @ Home, & Georgia in Jacksonville… top ten… hey … if they win all of these games… they should be second… Bama is now and will be then … still the king of the hill!!!

17. Kansas State: K-State struggled to beat North Texas 35-21 … hopefully they were looking down the road to Oklahoma! The Wildcats hit the road as they head to Norman to take on the mighty Sooners. Kansas State better bring its defense this time, as in the last three meetings OU has scored 58, 42, & 58… and you got it.. won them all!

18. TCU: beat Kansas 20-6 and struggled in doing so… this week they host Virginia, who was popped 56-20  last week by Georgia Tech! The Horned Frogs schedule is relatively light until the 27th of October… and then … lookout …  as their last four games are against OK State, @ West Virginia, Kansas State, & @ Texas!

19. Stanford: when you beat someone 4 of 5 times, the reasonable expectation is that you will likely win the next one… unless you are the Cardinal playing the Trojans. Then you shock the world….  Ok …..  the college football world …  when you make it 5 of 6! Stanford beat USC… yet again… this  time 21-14 and derailed SC’s plans for an invite to the BCS National Championship Game!

20. Michigan: The Wolves hammered U-Mass 63-13 and now head to South Bend for their annual 4 point win! The lest three meetings have all been down to the last minute, with Michigan finding a way to beat the Irish in each of these games. Last year ND took the lead with 30 seconds to play, 31-28, and put the kick-off out of the end-zone … The Wolverines got the ball with 30 seconds to play and an 80 yard field to traverse… no problem… a 35-31 victory … the two previous scores were 38-34 & 28-24!

21. Louisville: Head Coach Charlie Strong has Louisville playing its best football since Petrino left for greener grass! Last week they jumped on UNC early and then had to hold off a surging Heel advance to win 39-34!  The Cardinals travel to Miami to take on FIU at FIU Stadium!

22. Notre Dame: played surprisingly well against a very good Michigan State team and literally stuffed MSU’s running game (50 yards rushing)! Now comes State’s “Big Brother”  Michigan … at least according to Michael Hart… not sure…. but I suspect…. MSU is  not accepting of the sibling chronology!! South Bend will be rocking… I wonder if Game day is heading to Indiana? Last year 114,000 plus attended this game! Another night game for these two… I can’t speak for you… but the only way I would be driving at 10 p.m. in South Bend ….would be in an M1 tank!

23. BYU: lost a heart breaker in the “Holy War ” against Utah, 24-21…missed a field goal or two at the end of the game. BYU, an independent, vs Utah, a PAC 12 member, had a wild finish. The question I would like answered is the game ended at 11:58 p.m… if the field goal was good…OT would have taken the game into Sunday… BYU will not play… …on Sunday… period! So would they have forfeited? I guess we will never know!

24. UCLA: No question, but that the Bruins are the surprise team out west. Jim Mora seems to have figured out what mystified Rick Neuheisel.. how to win games! The UCLANS are off to a 3-0 start and should be favored in their next four contests and maybe in their next seven. The Bruins end the season by hosting SC and then Stanford…  could get real interesting out west!

25.  Mississippi State: continues to roll… they beat Troy this week 30-24 in an underwhelming performance. They did have an impressive outing against Auburn and are heading into the soft part of their schedule (except for Tennessee on the 13th of October) over the next five weeks. So we should see them continue to rise in Sully’s CFP Top 25.

Go to Sully’s top 25 to see how things have changed this week! And as always enjoy the games!

 

 

 

Posted in ACC, Alabama, Arkansas, Big 12, Big Ten, BYU, Clemson, FBS Independents, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Kansas State, Louisville, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, PAC 12, SEC, South Carolina, Stanford, TCU, Texas, UCLA, USC, Virginia Tech, West Virginia |

WAC Update

The WAC (which is playing its last year as a FBS Football Conference) has two teams visiting BCS Conference affiliates. Utah State travels to Madison to take on Wisconsin (Big Ten) & Idaho heads southeast to battle LSU (SEC). Three other teams are strapping it on against FBS Non-BCS opponents… Louisiana Tech hosts Rice (C-USA), San Jose State welcomes Colorado State (MWC), & New Mexico State travels to El Paso to face UTEP (C-USA). UTSA (University of Texas at San Antonio) plays the only FCS opponent the WAC faces this week, Georgia State (CAA)… on the road… go figure. While Texas State at San Marcus has a bye week!

Posted in Georgia State, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State, Texas State, Utah State |

Sun Belt Update

The Sun Belt is up against it this week… to put it mildly….  Troy is at Mississippi State (SEC), Louisiana Lafayette travels to Stillwater to challenge Oklahoma State (Big 12), Western Kentucky heads over to Lexington to battle Kentucky (SEC), Arkansas State flies to Lincoln, Nebraska (Big Ten) to face an angry bunch of Huskers, Louisiana Monroe is on their way to Auburn, (SEC) Alabama at the writing of this blog to face the Tigers….. who are fresh off a loss to Mississippi State, North Texas is heading to Kansas where in all likelihood…. a house will land on them… also known as Kansas State (Big 12), Florida Atlantic is headed north to Georgia (SEC), and finally… not to be outdone…. South Alabama has decided in their first year as an FBS team…. its time to take on NC State (ACC) ….again…. they actually played them a year ago! Of the 10 teams in the SBC… 8 of them are playing AQ Conference teams… only Florida International University (FIU) at University of Central Florida (UCF) (C-USA) and Middle Tennessee is at Memphis (C-USA). It is worth noting not one of these teams is at home…. all ten SBC games are on the road.

Posted in Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana, Middle Tennessee, South Alabama, Sun Belt, Troy, ULM |

MAC Update

The Mid American Conference (MAC) is stepping up and taking on four BCS conference opponents (all Big Ten Teams), Western Michigan is @ Minnesota, Eastern Michigan is @ Purdue, Ball State visits Indiana, Massachusetts is in the Big House against Michigan. Mac teams will line up against three FBS Non-BCS conference foes this week as well, Northern Illinois at Army, Ohio @ Marshall, & Miami of Ohio @ Boise State. Interesting to note not one of these games is being played in a MAC Stadium! A conference game is also on the docket… with Bowling Green visiting Toledo, Akron plays the only FCS on the schedule this week, Morgan state,  Kent State, Buffalo, & Central Michigan all have bye weeks,

Posted in Akron, Ball State, Big Ten, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, MAC, Miami OH, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, U-Mass, Western Michigan |

Conference-USA Update

This week C-USA members are challenging three BCS Conference teams… UAB travels to Columbia, South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks, Houston heads west to tangle with the UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl, while SMU hosts Texas A&M @ Gerald J. Ford Stadium. The conference is also getting it on with five FBS, non-BCS conference opponents, Central Florida welcomes FIU to Bright House Networks Stadium, Marshal host Ohio, Memphis awaits Middle Tennessee @ the Liberty Bowl, UTEP has invited New Mexico State to El Paso, & Rice takes to the road to Louisiana to challenge Louisiana Tech in Ruston, Louisiana. While Tulsa takes on Nicholls State…. the only game against an FCS team this week. There is also a major conference game this week as East Carolina travels to Harrisburg, Mississippi to rangle with Southern Mississippi. Tulane has a Bye week!

Posted in C-USA, East Carolina, Houston, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Rice, SMU, Southern Miss, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, UCF, UTEP |

Mountain West Update

The Mountain west is taking on three BCS conference affiliates this week… New Mexico is @ Texas Tech; UNLV host’s Washington State, & Fresno State welcomes Colorado to Bulldog Stadium! Interesting that 2 of the 3 games are being played in MWC venues. Conferences members are also taking on four FCS teams… Nevada is home against Northwestern State (Southland Conference), San Diego State has invited North Dakota (Big Sky Conference) to Qualcomm Stadium, Wyoming awaits Cal Poly (Big Sky Conference) @ War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, & Hawaii says aloha to Lamar University in Honolulu at Aloha Stadium. The Mountain will also challenge two FBS (85 scholarship programs) from Non-BCS or  Non-AQ Conferences… Boise State awaits Miami of Ohio (MAC) on the Blue Field, Colorado State is home against San Jose State (WAC) @ Hughes Stadium. Air Force has a bye week!

Posted in Air Force, Boise State, Mountain West, Nevada, PAC 12, San Diego State |

Big East: Best & Worst Games of Week 3

Best: Virginia Tech 2-0 @ Pittsburgh 0-2 gives the Big East a chance to gain a little respect around the country. Pitt, under new Head Coach Paul Chryst, is off to an extremely rough start… losing to an FCS team, Youngstown State, 31-17 and Big East Conference foe. Cincinnati, 34-10… needs to right the ship ASAP. While Va Tech comes rolling into Pittsburgh….. with wins over Georgia Tech, 20-17 in OT and an FCS opponent, Austin Peay, 42-7. These teams were once both in the Big East and will be in the same conference next year when Pitt joins the ACC! The teams have not played in the past five years. Right now… on paper… this does not appear to be a good game… but given the Panthers situation.. they will bring what the have into Saturday’s contest…. I, for one, am interested to see what they actually do have to bring!

Worst:  Delaware State @ Cincinnati is an absolute clunker! While usually competitive in the MEAC …. the best the Hornets have been is 3-8 since 2009… and with no relief in sight. They played Michigan in 2009 and…you got it …… got hammered 63-6. Cincy is 1-0 easily dispatching Pitt 34-10 . This game will be over in the 1st quarter and the Bearcats better hope they get through injury free… as they have a bye week and then take on Va Tech @ FedExField!

Posted in AAC, Cincinnati, Delaware State, North Carolina |

PAC 12: Best & Worst Games of Week 3

Best: No question the game to see out west is SC 2-0 @ Stanford 2-0. It will/may surprise to shock many of you to learn that Stanford has beaten USC four of the last five meetings (2007, 24-23; 2009, 55-21; 2010, 37-35; 2011, 56-47 in OT). The Trojans lone win in the past five years came in 2008, a 45-23 dusting of the Cardinal. That said… Stanford is out of Luck this year… figuratively and literally … Andrew… as in Andrew Luck has left the building. USC is eyeballing this game as payback and an obstacle to their national championship aspirations for 2012 … no way do they look past this game…. with or without Luck…. Stanford will have Southern Cal’s total focus come Saturday!

Worst: Tennessee Tech 2-0 @ Oregon 2-0… Tech has beaten Hampton  41-31 and North Greenville 42-14… these two games certainly have prepped them for the speed they will see on Saturday… not! The Ducks will score and score and score and score and score and score…until time expires…it will not matter how they sub… the bottom third of their roster is significantly better than the Golden Eagles starters! Tennessee Tech has played a FBS team in each of the past three years with the average lost being 42 to 6 … and none of the teams they have played (Iowa, Arkansas, &Kansas State)  have anything like Oregon’s speed.

Posted in Ohio Valley, Oregon, PAC 12, Stanford, Tennessee Tech, USC |

ACC: Best and Worst Game in Week 3

Best: North Carolina @ Louisville….. UNC is smarting from their 28-27 lost last week to Wake Forest. Per usual… the Tar Heels have speedy talent, very good skill, and are well coached … also … per usual… the Heels have a knack to do the inexplicable. I know the game was in Winston-Salem…I know WF is an in-state rival … and I know Jim Grobe (Wake’s coach) may be …or is… the best kept secret re: outstanding coaches in America college football. That said…still …. UNC loss remains a mystery! Meanwhile… Charlie Strong’s Cardinals are rolling along at 2-0. The home team in this series is 3-1… UNC won last year 14-7 …@ home. This is the only meeting of these teams in the past five years. This should be a highly entertaining game with speed and lots of it…all over and on both sides of the field!

 Worst: North Carolina Central @ Duke, these teams have played only once… in 2009, when the Blue Devils pounded the Eagles, 49-14, in Durham. It should be noted that NC Central is also located in Durham… so not only is this an in-state battle it is also an inter-city struggle. Duke has not played well in road openers going 3-14 and just 3-3 against FCS opponents (all three losses to Richmond) since 2006. NC Central is 0-3 in games against FBS teams and was punished last year by Rutgers 48-0. This game is an everything to lose and nothing to gain scenario for Duke… and given their history… a dangerous venture!

Posted in AAC, ACC, MEAC, North Carolina |

Big 12: Best & Worst Game in Week 3

Best: Texas 2-0 @ Ole Miss 2-0. Texas has opened the 2012 campaign with wins over two Mountain West teams, Wyoming 37-17 & New Mexico 45-0… while the Rebels have beaten an FCS team, Central Arkansas 49-27 from the Southland Conference & UTEP 28-10 a team from C-USA. The last time these teams met was in 1966 (Bluebonnet Bowl… Texas won 19-0). This is the first time Mississippi has opened the season with three straight home games since 1996! The Rebels are 1-5 all time against the Longhorns and 0-6 against BCS non conference opponents. Meanwhile Texas has won 11 straight true road openers… its last loss was to Stanford in 2000. This is a SEC / Big 12 Battle…. and even though it is between one of the Big 12’s best and a down SEC team… the game still will generate national interest.

Worst: Western Illinois 2-0 @ Iowa State 2-0. Last year the Leathernecks went 2-9 and while they are currently 2-0; one of the wins is against a Division II team and the other over Butler, who went 5-6 a year ago. This is the first meeting between the schools! Iowa State beat a good Tulsa team, 38-23 and last week, beat in state rival, Iowa, 9-6. If the Cyclones are focused… this game and next week bye set them up nicely for their first conference game @ home against Texas Tech! Remember ….. the point of Best and Worst is from a fan ‘s perspective… not the team’s.

Posted in Florida State, Ole Miss, SEC |