Buckeye Blogger NetworkWell, it’s the day that I’m certain you have all been anxiously awaiting, leading us to only one choice for today’s soundtrack. Well, Ok… two, and anything from these guys would also suffice.
Spark Something Great
Buckeye 411
provide viewers a unique look into his life away from the sidelines. Urban offers insight into why he came back to coach, the passion he has to coach college athletes and what it truly means to “get away.” The episode is about more than just fishing as a sport; it captures how the spirit of the outdoors brings families closer as Urban and his son Nate tackle shark, barracuda, black jack, grouper and tarpon.
Not to be left out, Coach Hoke will head over to Long John Silvers’ for their “Whitefish Wednesdays”. Hushpuppies, beware.
Coach Meyer’s episode will air on Saturday, July 12th at 7:00 PM ET on the Outdoor Channel. Consult your local blah blah blah
Oh, college football… How I love you!!
2012 Version
Well, that happened.
While a lot of people were saying that Alabama was ripe for a loss against a Texas A&M team that’s been playing really well over the past few weeks, most of this felt like lip service. You know, the kind of things that ESPN makes one person say on the Gameday set in order to appear unbiased.
And then- “Johnny Football”.
There are a lot of reasons why Alabama lost- coming off of an emotional win on the road in Death Valley, LSU’s offense showed a lot of people the issues that the Tide have in their secondary, Saban’s fear of the high speed offense is based on his knowledge of his team’s weaknesses; but the fact of the matter is that the Aggies outplayed Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, in several key areas of the game.
The Crimson Tide defensive front was stifled, for the most part, by the aTm offensive tackles. Combined with concerns about a quarterback’s mobility, the Tide were not able to mount the type of disruptive pressure that they are so used to.
Alabama’s offense made key mistakes and turnovers, and seemed out of rhythm all night long. The three turnovers didn’t help, particularly when the Tide defense couldn’t get any of their own… and the mental errors were even more egregious. On the final interception, it seems to me that the receiver on the end of the line of scrimmage did a poor job getting depth in the end zone, making it easy for defenders to cover both him and the primary target. In addition, with Bama’s defense stiffening and forcing a punt, to have a member of their punt return/block team create a neutral zone infraction for an automatic first down is an aggressive penalty, but one that is terrible to have happen in that circumstance. Again, the intensity was there for the student in question, but the lack of focus eventually cost them a final chance at victory.
Yeah, He's Good
But we can’t miss the point here- this game was won by Johnny Manziel’s continual ability to make plays and put the Tide defense on their heels.
After the third week in a row with this type of performance (Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State), the redshirt freshman has lifted himself into Heisman candidacy- and for good reason. Given the lack of a clear “star” this year, given Matt Barkley’s struggles, the game this weekend was his “Flutie to Phelan” moment; outstanding performance in high profile opportunity. I’ll leave the debate to others, but will certainly enjoy watching the electricity that all of these candidates provide.
Even if he doesn’t win this year, you’ve got to think that next year’s Heisman race is going to be something spectacular- Braxton Miller, Johnny Manziel, Marcus Mariota, Teddy Bridgewater, Everett Gholston, Tahj Boyd, DeAnthony Thomas… and those are just the ones I’ve got off the top of my head.
(And since I’m on the topic, I think that Marquis Lee needs to be included in this year’s debate. But that’s just me).
Does this loss end the run of SEC titles in the final year of the BCS? Well, not exactly… more on this in a bit.
Yesterday, Jim Tressel was awarded this by the University:
No cake? Seriously?
And today, the Buckeyes were named the number one team in the country by both the Associate Press and the Coaches Polls.
Being number one in October is nice, but there’s a lot of football yet to be played. Tress himself said (emphasis added):
“You take a look at the Top 10 week to week and the precarious nature of any ranking is obvious – just review the change in the makeup of the Top 10 between the beginning of the season until now. The Buckeyes know what’s it’s like to have a target on our back, especially since we are now well into Big Ten play. We expect that every team will give us its best shot. How we respond will determine our ultimate ranking.“
However, it would be special, to say the least, if the season also included another trophy along the way-
Glenville bound
The first AP poll is out, and has the Buckeyes at number two. Deuces, baby.
#2 is fine with this little guy
Alabama is #1, in spite of losing a good portion of their defense. Boise State is at #3, Florida at #4.
The Big T1e2n has three teams in the top ten, with Nebraska and Iowa at 8 and 9. Wisconsin is at #12, with the Hurricane team they destroyed in the bowls coming in at #13. Penn State comes in at #19.
While I’m not a huge fan of preseason polls (the ACC with five teams in the top 25?) it does put the Buckeyes in an advantageous position. As we know, there have only been nine teams in 60 years to start and end the year at #1; the last being USC’s 2004 “season that didn’t happen“. Before that, you’ve got to go to 1999 and then 1993.
‘Cause, as you know, it’s not where you start, but where you finish.
