Dad Gum Kickers!

Wide Right are a couple of dirty words to fans of the Seminoles. It made another appearance this weekend when kick Hopkins missed TWO field goals in the 4th Qtr, to let another ACC win slip away. North Carolina played great, as did NC State the previous week, but FSU should have won both games. As frustrating as it is, I'll be switching back and forth this Saturday night between their game with Clemson, and the Florida - South Carolina showdown for the SEC East title.

To continue my lament on kickers breaking my heart, my old high school out played the Niceville fishheads on Friday night in the district championship game, but missed TWO kicks, a PAT AND a short FG and lost by 1... to quote Joe Paterno's boy Bobby "dad gum it" :)

A week after going to Statesboro to watch Georgia Southern, the Eagles beat the #1 team in the nation; Appalachian State. Hugh victory for Nate Baker and the GSU bunch!

Who thought Iowa State would take Nebraska to OT, or that Texas A&M would beat Oklahoma, OR that LSU would beat Alabama. TCU opened a can on Utah. Oregon and Stanford could beat just about anybody and probably run the score up a bit. The SEC West has FIVE ranked teams and NOBODY would want any of Arkansas about now. The ACC and the Big East should forgo their auto BCS bids and give Boise and TCU a better chance at significant bowl matchups and paydays.

Now, FSU is no longer ranked. Miami is not ranked and the Gators have climbed back into the polls at 24 or 25. The Central Florida (aka UCF) Knights are the highest ranked team in Florida. Let that sink in. If UCF beats Southern Miss on Saturday, they will go 10-2 and be in the CUSA Championship game. Possible to win 11 or 12 games...Big East better take notice of the 2nd largest university in the country.

I watched Mt Dora Bible play for a while on Friday night. They lost in OT, but are a better football team than they they have been. The new coach must be doing something right.

Georgia Southern Football

My nephew Nate is a undergrad assistant coach at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro. I have long been aware of the Eagles and their success, but this weekend I finally made the trip and experienced it first hand.

If you are only a casual fan of football, you will not be able to appreciate the PASSION that Nate brings to the game. He is actually younger than some of the guys on the team, but you could tell that they all respect Nate and his understanding of what GSU is trying to do with their offense and specifically the O line.

Last year I was fortunate enough to go to a Notre Dame game in South Bend. I have also been to Tuscaloosa, Auburn, Oklahoma, Tally, Gainesville, the Cocktail Party, etc., but the GSU experience ranks right up there. Smaller, no doubt. But from the fans on blankets on the hills, to the bald eagle taking flight, it was one of my favorite college football atmospheres. I look forward to going back.

I'm also excited about watching Nate progress through his career. If there was ever anyone in his zone, it is this young man coaching football. So stoked!

We left Statesboro with the Florida - Georgia game underway and me listening on the radio. The 21-7 UF lead at halftime was about as solid as FSU's lead over NC State the other night. When the Dawgs made their run in the 2nd half, we stopped in Brunswick (south on I95) to get some grub and watch the exciting finish of the Cocktail Party :) By the way, the Gator helmets sans stripe threw me off! It took overtime, but that is now 18 our of the last 21 :) A good 50th birthday present for my old pal Duane (today).

I'd like to see the Rangers keep the World Series going a bit longer. Nothing wrong with a 7th game...nah...

Crestview beat Leon. Wow. On to a showdown with the highly favored FISHHEADS :)

November means it is time to start separating the pretenders and the contenders! By the way, I'm not so sure that UCF isn't the best football team in the state I know, the Noles and the Gators would beg to difer, but the Knights are playing well. Unlike the Canes :) :) Oh joy!

Coming up, Noles vs Tarheels, Gators and Vandy. Alabama & LSU. TCU at Utah will be a good one. Sweet!

Out

Rocktober Thursday night!

Christian Ponder's touchdown was pretty amazing. It will be on the highlight films for a while. After the Pack took a 7-0 lead and controlled the 1st Qtr, the Noles bounced back and owned the 2nd Qtr for a 21- halftime lead. Now, the need to play hard for the 2nd half.

The Magic opened the season tonight and it should be a fun season. Dwight Howard was baptized in the Atlantic ocean Sunday afternoon. Cool :)

The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party happens in Jacksonville on Saturday. Georgia appears to be improving, while the Gators have been in quite the funk. Maybe I'm drinking the cool aid, but I think UF beats the Dogs for the 18th time in the last 21 years...

I will be in Statesboro, Ga on Saturday watching Georgia Southern. So this is one of those times where the ear buds will be required to listen to the Cocktail Party game...

Apopka and Olympia would have been a good one to go to tonight. So would Crestview vs Leon tomorrow night. Even Mt Dora Bible has a chance to earn their first ever football playoff berth, if they can beat Lake Mary Prep tomorrow night.

I was impressed by Mizzu last week, but they have their work cut out for them against Nebraska in Lincoln. Go Tigers! Oregon and USC could be interesting.

Ranger and Giants in Game 2 of the World Series as we speak. I like the Rangers, but I also like Buster Posey who was the MAN at FSU.

The number of penalties in the FSU/NC State game is pathetic! SLOPPY!

By the way, I'm watching the sloppy game, and the World Series AND the Magic game on my new 50" Samsung :) The Korean's know how to make a beautiful television :)

Peace

The last night of "no HDTV" for Outlaw

Tomorrow I will buy a new HDTV. I had it narrowed down to the LG 42 LCD at HHGregg. But when I was in the store admiring it, the salesman walked me over to a 50" Samsung Plasma for only $39 more. This is a defining moment as it is a big decision...that 50" Samsung looks GOOD! Stay tuned for the results, or please weigh in if you have some insights on how this should play out!!!

Go RANGERS, beat the dang Yankees.

Oregon plays UCLA tonight. I admire Oregon. They don't worry about their Offense identity. Nope, they try to hang 55 plus on everybody they play. Their QB is a point guard type, distributing the ball to a bunch of guys who look like they are on fast forward speed!

Some good matchups this weekend, even if the Noles and the Gators are off. Auburn & LSU play for Tiger supremacy. Oklahoma goes to Mizzu where College Game Day invades Columbia.

My sister in law is in town and she made a roast today. Oh my goodness :) My daughter is becoming a beast in volleyball and I may get to refi my mortgage for a fixed 3.75 rate. I'm feeling pretty good tonight!

Outlaw

A Bulldog kind of weekend

Friday night was fun, as my class of 1978 watched our Crestview Bulldogs beat Milton 27-21. Crestview has a big kid named Caldwell who will play at the next level and Milton has a star in the making in Paul Young.

FSU barely beat Boston College, but won a game it would have found a way to lose during the past 3 seasons. So, while they are not great there is improvement.

Arkansas vs Auburn was maybe the most entertaining game and I watched most of it with my dad and my cousin Mark. Thought the Hogs got ripped by a couple of bad calls, but the War Beagles keep getting better and lucky, an amazing combination.

Ohio State lost, thank goodness, and Texas held on to beat Nebraska :)

I did not get to watch the Gator debacle as the class reunion on Saturday night was sans TV...some folks are acting like this is an all time low, losing to the MSU Bulldogs, but DAN MULLEN can coach, and he should get a lot of credit for Urban Meyer's success - until last season. Remember, Miss St ALMOST beat Auburn. They are well coached and know what kind of offense they want to be...ouch. Bye week for the Gators, it has to help...

The BCS has Oklahoma and Oregon #1 and 2. Very solid teams, but I would put Oregon, TCU and Boise ahead of the Sooners. OU looked like #1 only once this season, when they crushed FSU. Other than that, they have looked like a top 25 team only.

Life is good guys!

Outlaw

Football FATIGUE?

I'm tired, but probably not because of football. I'm working harder than I would like and my oldest son just left the country...

I jumped on the Rays bandwagon this summer and enjoyed their brand of baseball. The stunk it up the last two weeks, but somehow won the East. Then they lay 2 eggs in their dome, before going to Texas to win both games out there. Go figure. So, I'm all set to be bummed tonight, but I'll try to pull the Rays through. SOMEBODY beat the Yankees!

I was amazed at how good Florida State looked against Miami. Did not see that coming and it begs the question "what the heck happened in Oklahoma"? Get by BC on Saturday and a showdown with NC State on a Thursday night looms.

The Gators got pushed around by LSU most of the night, but still should have pulled it out. Instead they fell for a great fake FG and lost to Lester...I was TICKED! Either use John Brantley and his NFL arm, or put an option QB in there, but MAKE UP YOUR MIND! Dan Mullen where are you? Oh thats right you are at Miss State. If UF does not bring their A game on Saturday night, the Starkeville Bulldogs will surprise them. Miss St is getting better every week.

Crestview beat FWB in double OT. So, maybe my reunion this weekend will include a win over Milton, something we could never do in the 70s.

South Carolina's win over Alabama was no fluke. I will be shocked if anyone goes undefeated in the SEC, too much parity and too many good teams.

Out

Roctober football weekend

Well, it is FSU vs Miami and LSU @ Florida weekend. My wife and I were married on October 1st, 1982 and the next day as we drove up through Alabama to the mountains of Tennessee, I listened to LSU play Florida :) LSU had two great running backs who both went on to play in the NFL. I have had the pleasure of witnessing in person several Gator - Bayou Tiger games. Way back when, college buds Tim Lee and TBone picked me up in Tally and we spent the weekend doing that game circa 1989 or so. I expect Florida to win tomorrow night, but they will have to execute in the red zone a little better than last week....duh! Maybe LESTER Miles will show some more coaching brilliance :)

I have had more football heartaches at the hands of Miami than any other wretched foe. Wide Right 1, 2, 3, etc. One of the game of the century showdowns, my coach bud at FSU got me two great seats and my bro in law Keith and I enjoyed one of those unbeatable days of tailgating and football. It came down to Miami with 4th & goal at about the 9 yard line. I was so close that I could actually see the Cane QB's eyes as he looked over the defense and called the signals. His eyes showed complete confidence and I knew we were doomed. TD pass...Another memorable FSU vs Miami game long ago, my cousin Mark and I were sitting with some of the telephone company big wigs, when Dexter Carter went 24 yards on the opening drive for a TD. We splashed about 30 fans all around us with our supersized stadium drinks as we lost control and jumped up and down like crazy. Good times...I don't have much confidence in the Noles tomorrow night, unless that knucklehead Jacory keeps throwing interceptions. One can hope...

Tonight my Crestview Bulldogs are playing my in laws Fort Walton Vikings. Last I saw it was 6-3 Bulldogs in the 3rd. Neither team is very good this season and next Friday night I get to watch them play Milton as it is high school reunion time. 32.

I will watch the Michigan v Michigan State game tomorrow, and Arkansas v Texas A&M might be good.

Life is good, despite the fact that my HDTV is beyond repair!

FL Outlaw

Tide Rules

Alabama proved they are the best team in the SEC, at least for this week. Oregon looked strong again, and the big 11 continued to play no one. Oklahoma won the Red River game against Texas. FSU won :) Les Miles is the worst coach period.

About the Gators. Even without a running game, they moved the ball very well until they reached the Alabama 5. Then it was slapstick at its finest, only it wasn't funny. Brantley caught heat, but he only made ONE bad play all night, the pick six. Florida's defense actually played well for the most part. The rematch in Atlanta should be a better game.

FSU vs Miami this week and LSU at Florida! Roctober ROCKS!

OK, back to the Bama - Florida game. The stats suggest that this should have been a closer game than 31-6. In fact, the stats show UF had more total yards than Bammer.

Team Statistics (Final)
2010 Florida Football
#7 Florida vs #1 Alabama (Oct 02, 2010 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

UF UA

FIRST DOWNS................... 17 18
Rushing..................... 4 10
Passing..................... 10 7
Penalty..................... 3 1
NET YARDS RUSHING............. 79 170
Rushing Attempts............ 31 34
Average Per Rush............ 2.5 5.0
Rushing Touchdowns.......... 0 2
Yards Gained Rushing........ 108 176
Yards Lost Rushing.......... 29 6
NET YARDS PASSING............. 202 103
Completions-Attempts-Int.... 16-32-3 12-18-0
Average Per Attempt......... 6.3 5.7
Average Per Completion...... 12.6 8.6
Passing Touchdowns.......... 0 1
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS........... 281 273
Total offense plays......... 63 52
Average Gain Per Play....... 4.5 5.2
Fumbles: Number-Lost.......... 3-1 1-0
Penalties: Number-Yards....... 7-49 5-47
PUNTS-YARDS................... 3-187 4-161
Average Yards Per Punt...... 62.3 40.2
Net Yards Per Punt.......... 48.7 38.8
Inside 20................... 2 1
50+ Yards................... 3 1
Touchbacks.................. 0 0
Fair catch.................. 0 0
KICKOFFS-YARDS................ 3-198 6-408
Average Yards Per Kickoff... 66.0 68.0
Net Yards Per Kickoff....... 46.7 45.2
Touchbacks.................. 0 1
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD. 2-6-0 1-41-0
Average Per Return.......... 3.0 41.0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD 5-117-0 3-58-0
Average Per Return.......... 23.4 19.3
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD.. 0-0-0 3-44-1
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD. 0-0-0 0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards........... 0 0
Possession Time............... 32:50 27:10
1st Quarter................. 7:07 7:53
2nd Quarter................. 7:13 7:47
3rd Quarter................. 12:29 2:31
4th Quarter................. 6:01 8:59
Third-Down Conversions........ 3 of 13 4 of 9
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 1 of 3 0 of 0
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 1-4 4-4
Touchdowns.................. 0-4 3-4
Field goals................. 1-4 1-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 2-2 1-8
PAT Kicks..................... 0-0 4-4
Field Goals................... 2-2 1-1

The stats suggest this should have been a closer score but is wasn't. The game was NEVER in doubt. Alabama imposed their will when ever they wanted to. Florida's defense will keep them in most games, but their offense is well OFFENSIVE in it's ineptitude. A scared team gets cute inside the 5 and on 3rd and 1. An aggressive and confident team lines up and smashes ahead. Despite the even stats, the Tide defense was in the backfield on every play, run or pass.

If you have followed the Gators very close last season and this, the offense woes are not new. Even with Tebow the offense was sluggish and inconsistent last year, but he "willed" them to ugly defensive wins in every game but the SEC championship where Nick Saban and his staff were just way too smart and savy for the Gators to sneak by.

By the way, WHY IS POUNCY STILL THE CENTER? HE CAN'T SNAP THE SHOTGUN!

At least my Fantasy team is kicking butt today.

HDTV woe is me...

My 42 inch Vizio crapped out. Right in the middle of football season and the repair guy (who has a sign in his yard suggesting the County may "vacate" the property) says the parts will not be in until THURSDAY. To quote conservative blabber mouth Limbaugh, "held hostage - day 17".

These pictures are just too good not to share. Corso and Herbie remake the Lion King is cute. I added the Adazzio pic for my bud Brent Adams. Guess we have to cut the Gator OC a little slack after the Kentucky performance...nah:)

Some really good games coming up this weekend (with or without my HDTV). Friday night Camden County, Georgia goes down to south Florida to play Fort Lauderdale St Thomas Acquinas. Camden beat Miami Central a few weeks ago and are ALWAYS one of the best teams in the peach state. STA is a program that can get any kid in south Fl, by virtue of their private school status. Should be a good one and while I might pull for Camden, I expect STA to prevail.

Sat at noon has Miami at Clemson. Probably the two best teams in the ACC (although NC State, Va Tech and FSU might beg to differ) knock heads. I think Clemson may overcome the 8 points the Canes are getting in Vegas. The other ACC game worth paying attention to is NC State vs Va Tech. Wolfpack is ranked but their magic may hit the Beamer wall???

BYU might get upset by Utah State.

Texas and Oklahoma meet in Dallas. Horns got spanked last week and Oklahoma has looked pretty weak, except for the butt whoopin they put on FSU. Go figure. Nebraska looks better than either at this point and I still think the cornshuckers are overrated.

Two monster match ups on prime time. Florida at Alabama and Stanford at Oregon. Perfect "picture in picture" time (if I had my TV). Can't wait for these battles!

Yesterday was a Good Day...!

So we did it. My son and I went to both the FSU - Wake Forest game AND the Kentucky @ Florida game. We left home a little after 8:00 and by the time we exited I-10 in Tallahassee, we had tickets lined up for us AND my other son who lives


in Tally. Cousin Tyler had two nice extra seats, complete with chair backs and most important, in the shade! It was brutal hot yesterday. I sat in Golden Chief seats thanks to OLD bud Roger. We stopped by Tyler's and talked to he and Beth and then Tyndall and Mike came over and I was able to see another cousin :). The talk at Tyler's was about Lance's soccer match earlier in the day. Too bad we didn't get to town in the morning, because 3 & 4 year old soccer is a treat. Then we had wings and fish tacos with Josh, BEFORE we went to the stadium to tailgate with Roger and the Camp's group. Did I mention it was hot?
To pull off the college football double header with 140 miles separating the venues, we had to leave the FSU game at half time. It worked out well, as right after the half, the Noles had a weather delay for 30 minutes. We walked back to the car and stopped by to see Michael Carter at work, for a few minutes. Before I shift gears, FSU played pretty well yesterday. They should have a good season, but will probably lose ~ 3 more games and will be underdogs against Miami and Clemson, maybe NC State and certainly Florida. I estimate about 60,000 fans at Doak Campbell for the ACC opener. Quite a few more left when we did at halftime... It was still fun to be there and remember ALL the great memories and fun times cheering on Florida State. It was also great for my sons to get together, since Dent leaves in 2 weeks for a year...

We arrived at the Swamp with about 7 minutes left in the first half. My hope was that we could snag some ticket stubs from people leaving at the half. Turns out that UF doesn't allow reentry anymore either. Plan was derailed...however, as we circled the stadium like it was the walls of Jerico, we looked for weakness in the usher army that guarded our prize. After almost a complete lap, we found a lapse in guard and slipped into Ben Hill Griffin stadium at Florida Field :) Alas, they also have a 2nd layer of sentries guarding each entrance into said section. Again, we staked out the perimeter until we detected the badly needed slacker employee :) We were "in" right as the half wound down and the band stormed the field. The contrast between the two venues was dramatic. I love FSU games and have been to DOZENS of games in Tally and Gainesville over the years. The game experience at the Swamp is so much more passionate. That is the SEC difference I think. Gator fans are fired up the whole game and the stadium itself feels so much closer to the action. There we no empty seats for this game and most fans were on their feet yelling throughout the contest. SEC football is the pinnacle. Florida played up to their potential for the first time last night and the showdown with Alabama next Saturday night will be a MONSTER! :) Let the hype and anticipation begin!

We didn't stay at the Gator game long into the 3rd quarter as UF was rolling and we wanted to see how the Boise State game against OSU was going, as well as the South Carolina at Auburn brawl. So, we slid down to Ocala and watched the exciting finishes of those games at Ruby Tuesday. South Carolina self destructed in the 4th quarter with fumbles and interceptions, but give the war beagles credit for causing the turnovers.

Alabama came back and beat Arkansas to preserve the hype for their showdown with the Gators. Georgia lost to Mississippi State to go 0-3 in the conference...ouch! UCLA went to Austin and spanked the Longhorns, which will not help the promoters of the Red River showdown against Oklahoma on Saturday!

UCF almost beat K-St yesterday and NC State continued their roll by beating the defending ACC champs, Georgia Tech. The Wolfpack could be trouble...

It will be another great week for football, but in my life I will not have too many days like yesterday. What a blessing it was.

Outlaw

A good read in SI.com

Andy Staples put together a nice column on the Fort Campbell, Kentucky high school football team. If this link works...it will be amazing.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/09/15/fort.campbell.military.children/index.html

Good stuff.

I loathe the Yankees...Go Rays!

Nebraska is over rated. South Carolina at Auburn might be a great game... My son Denton and I are going to attempt a double header on Saturday, as we will go to Tallahassee and visit Josh, tailgate with my bud Roger and catch the FSU game against Wake Forest. IF all goes well, we plan to slide out when the Noles have a big lead and see if we can work our way into the Swamp, where the Gators are hosting Kentucky! Wish us luck, or send us tickets to both games :)

College Football Sunday mornin

The Gators beat Tennessee, but they need to move Pouncy to guard and get somebody to snap the ball to Brantley. More importantly they need an offensive identity. Don't think Adazio had a clue.

FSU beat BYU. They looked pretty good, I'm just not sure which team will show up week to week. Some boneheads on defense...Oh by the way Air Force almost beat Oklahoma. Think any of the Falcons would start for the Noles? Nope.

Arkansas beat Jawja tween the hedges. Vandy beat Ole Miss...

Best game of the day was Auburn and Clemson. Clemson had their shot in OT, but the pass went off the finger tips. Kyle Parker got killed in this game and played in misery in the 2nd half and OT. Very impressive. Would not want FSU to play Clemson or Boston College next week.

I kind of like Notre Dame now (KINDA) and they went into overtime at Michigan State. The Spartans faked a long FG to tie it and threw a touchdown pass! Ballsiest call by a coach I've seen in a LONG time. Its after midnight and my eyes are burning, but Arizona and Iowa are tanglin in the desert. I visited Tuscon a few times and well, I don't like the big ten plus 1.

Southern Cal is not very good and that pleases me. Lame Kiffin is a punk.

Locally, Dr Phillips crushed a good Olympia team. Apopka lost to Edgewater, and my Crestview Bulldogs lost to Tate :(

Decided to put Ronnie Brown on the bench and go with Jonathan Stewart tomorrow. Any RB going against the Bucs will have a good day.

Outlaw is OUT.

Texas vs Florida continues

Tonight we have Tampa Plant out in Abilene, Texas taking on the Ahigh Eagles at Shotwell stadium. I don't think there has ever been near as many great interstate high school football match ups. The TV coverage has been increasing each year as well. Again, a team winning from one state does not correlate to that state having better football, but lets face it, braggin rights are fun. Florida has had a very good performance against out of state competition, especially against Texas, and I personally think Texas prep football is the best in all the land. The logo at the top of this post is for FlVarsity, a subset or Rivals and they do a great job of covering Florida high school football. A lot of the top coaches in the state frequent their forums. Good stuff.

NC State is hosting the Cincinnati Bearcats so we do have the college weekend kicking off. The Wolfpack were fortunate to escape UCF last Saturday night.

Another week of college football news and as usual the lead stories are not pretty. Reggie Bush gave his Heisman Trophy up. I wonder how many would be returned if we really knew how many of the winners took money while they were in college...AND Gator speedster Chris Rainy was arrested for stalking his girlfriend. The Slantinel is making a big deal about the # of arrests under Urban Meyer. The problem is that if you want to have the most talented football players on your team, you recruit ...well...thugs, not choirboys. WE cheer them on to unadulterated violence on the field. We expect them to pump their bodies up to monster size and to be testosterone filled gladiators ON THE FIELD. So, it should not shock us when the top college football teams have trouble not breaking the law.

Rainy's Gators go to Knoxville to play the Rocky Tops without him. I think Florida continues to work out the kinks and improve incrementally on offense. Their Defense is the real deal already.

FSU hosts the BYU Cougars and hope to put the CRUSHING that Oklahoma put on them, in the rear view. If you can't play defense, you cannot win championships in football. We had planned to got to Tally for this one, but are waiting a week and will catch the Wake Forest game instead.

Iowa at Arizona is a good non conference battle this weekend. Georgia tries to bounce back from the L at South Carolina, against Arkansas and Ryan Mallet. Notre Dame and Michigan State should be good.



Derrick Jeter is a CHEATER! Go Rays!

FOOTBALL Weekend!

So much going on so fast.

Cocoa High, the lil 2A school has defeated power teams from Miss, Penn and now Texas on successive weekends. The win over Abilene is remarkable. In fact, the 4 game FL vs TX challenge has Texas winning only 1 game, as DeSota beat Miramar 42-41 in OT when Miramar caught the 2pt conversion out of the end zone.

South Carolina started the college action yesterday by man handling Georiga. The Gamecocks appear to be the biggest threat to unseat the Gators in the SEC East. True fresh Marcus Lattimore is real and may turn Spurrier into a run oriented coach...nah :)

South Florida gave the Gators fits early, in the heat stroke waiting to happen at the Swamp. Florida's defense is special and that will give them a chance to win a lot of football games. If you can't stop the other team, you are in trouble, because you can't always outscore them. UF goes to Rocky top next Saturday.

The 3:30 slot had 3 supposedly good games. One was. Notre Dame and Michigan played a classic, and it took a TD by Dennard Robinson with 27 seconds to pull out the W for the Maize and Blue. Miami actually could play with Ohio State, but Jacory Harris completed about as many passes to the Buckeyes as he did to his Canes...over rated!
And the lowlight of my day was the woodshed beating the Noles got from Oklahoma. Bob Stoops actually held his team back in the 2nd half, or the 30 point W could have been 50. As mentioned in the paragraph above, if you can't stop the other team YOU ARE IN TROUBLE. FSU has not covered a Sooner receiver yet, and the game was yesterday. Folks are picking on Ponder, but while he was not awesome, he did not allow 47 points...There will be some empty seats at Doak Campbell on Saturday when BYU comes to Tally. The Mormon Cougars got spanked by Air Force.

The biggest trend of the weekend was how bad the ACC must be. Noles clobbered. Canes lost by 12. Georgia Tech lost to Kansas (and it wasn't basketball). Virginia Tech lost to James Madison. Wow. NC State beat UCF, but barely. Duke scored 48 points but lost to Wake, and Duke's reward is a visit from Alabama next weekend...ouch.

Speaking of the Tide, they could have poured 40 or 50 on Penn State if they wanted to. Trent Richardson made the folks in Tuscaloosa forget about Mark Ingram. Trent is from Escambia High in Pensacola, the same school that Emmit Smith carried the ball for back in the day. Tennessee played Oregon very well in the first half, before the Ducks started running downhill and piled up points.

I don't know who the best teams in the country are or will be at the end of the season, but Alabama looks like they could be in a category all alone. No one else looks close. Oklahoma (at least yesterday), Ohio State, Texas might be worthy as the games go on. I think Florida will be very good by December. Nebraska...still not sold. Southern Cal barely beat Virginia...not good. By the way, one of the best shirts from Saturday was on an Oregon fan and it said "I don't like Lane Kiffin either". That is good.

Georgia Southern lost to Navy by 6 or 7. A very good sign for GSU. We plan on going up to Stateboro for a game in October.

Tired...

The Saints are comin...

So, hard to beat a Thursday night with SEC football AND the NFL opener featuring the Saints and the Vikings!

Auburn will probably win, but Dan Mullen is a good coach, the Gators and Urban Meyer miss him a lot more than they realize!

I don't have a fav team in the NFL, but I do like the Saints and I read Drew Brees book this summer and became more of a fan. I'm giving fantasy football a try this year, so I guess that season starts tonight too :)

Some good high school football this weekend, with the Cocoa, FL vs Abilene, TX game, being the one I'm most looking forward too.

Excitement is building for the great college games on Saturday. The day gets started with Georgia visiting South Carolina in a big game in the SEC East. I liked South Carolina, even before I heard AJ Green was suspended. At 12:20, we get to see of the Gators will have improved the shotgun snap, catching the football by their receivers, and avoiding fumbles. They better, or the highly motivated Bulls will make them pay. UF by 17...
The 3:30 slot requires deft remote control, picture in picture, and or both. FSU goes to Norman, OK to upset the Sooners, Michigan and Notre Dame play (and win) on the Notre Dame network (NBC), and Miami will be in the Horseshoe to play Ohio State. I don't like Miami, they have crushed my spirit so many times. But I'm starting to hate all the hype Ohio State gets. Can I pull for a tie?
Penn State will get pummeled by the Crimson Tide that night, and I say run the score up Nick :)

With all this football bliss upon us, my HD TV died last night. I rushed it to the repair man but have not heard whether or not a need a 2nd mortgage to fix it. In the mean time, Gary brought his Olevia HD over to fill that gap in the living room. sniff...

Labor Day weekend!

Before I get into the football, I'll mention that I spent most of the weekend at SonQuest, a big youth rally in Orlando (as a chaperone). Young people show a spirituality that is so genuine and sincere, I am always encouraged by events like that.

OK, I was able to watch most of the Gator game. Sloppy is the best word for it. Offense always starts with the center - QB exchange and in the shotgun it can get a little hairy. UF's offense is based so much on timing, that poor snaps are a dream come true for the opposition. I concede that Miami of Ohio played their tails off. Some of the Gator's struggles can be corrected, maybe even most. What concerns me is not John Brantley, or Pouncey's poor snaps (OK they do). What concerns me about Florida is that I don't see good offensive adjustments under Adazzio that I did under Dan Mullen. Florida better make some serious improvements between now and Saturday, or the USF Bulls will be trouble in the Swamp. South Florida is MUCH better than Miami, OH.

Thanks to the Sun replay on Sunday nights, I was able to watch the Noles win over Samford. Jimbo's debut was successful and there is reason for optimism in Tallahassee, especially since FSU has struggled against these "warm up" teams over the last few seasons. The Noles better get better in every phase of the game before Saturday, as they take their "chop" to Norman, OK to play the Sooners.

LSU is lucky. TCU prevailed against Oregon State. East Carolina beat Tulsa on a hail mary on the last play of the game. Georgia and South Carolina is a huge SEC game this week, and Ole Miss lost to Jacksonville State. Notre Dame looked good against Purdue and Michigan looked much improved in their win over UCONN.

Now, a little catch up on the high school games. Georgia got two signature wins on Friday night. North Gwinnett beat Crenshaw from LA California and Camden County beat Miami Central 45-42. Other than the Central loss, the Florida teams have had another good weekend so far. Cocoa went to Pennsylvania and beat power Thomas Jefferson like a DRUM. Manattee beat Woodland Hills PA, like a DRUM too. At this moment, PB Dwyer has opened pretty sloppy against Cleveland OH Glenville and are down 6-0. My son went to Texas for the long weekend and was able to watch Abilene High beat Frankinton, LA at Shotwell. Next week Cocoa plays Abilene in the big Texas/Florida challenge. Trinity (Euless) Texas is beating Arkansas power Shiloh Christian 21-7 over on Fox sports. Locally, Dr Phillips crushed Edgewater and Apopak handled Lake Brantley.

Gonna have my first Fantasy Football draft tonight, so we will see how this goes!

Labor Day weekend!

Before I get into the football, I'll mention that I spent most of the weekend at SonQuest, a big youth rally in Orlando (as a chaperone). Young people show a spirituality that is so genuine and sincere, I am always encouraged by events like that.

OK, I was able to watch most of the Gator game. Sloppy is the best word for it. Offense always starts with the center - QB exchange and in the shotgun it can get a little hairy. UF's offense is based so much on timing, that poor snaps are a dream come true for the opposition. I concede that Miami of Ohio played their tails off. Some of the Gator's struggles can be corrected, maybe even most. What concerns me is not John Brantley, or Pouncey's poor snaps (OK they do). What concerns me about Florida is that I don't see good offensive adjustments under Adazzio that I did under Dan Mullen. Florida better make some serious improvements between now and Saturday, or the USF Bulls will be trouble in the Swamp. South Florida is MUCH better than Miami, OH.

Thanks to the Sun replay on Sunday nights, I was able to watch the Noles win over Samford. Jimbo's debut was successful and there is reason for optimism in Tallahassee, especially since FSU has struggled against these "warm up" teams over the last few seasons. The Noles better get better in every phase of the game before Saturday, as they take their "chop" to Norman, OK to play the Sooners.

LSU is lucky. TCU prevailed against Oregon State. East Carolina beat Tulsa on a hail mary on the last play of the game. Georgia and South Carolina is a huge SEC game this week, and Ole Miss lost to Jacksonville State. Notre Dame looked good against Purdue and Michigan looked much improved in their win over UCONN.

Now, a little catch up on the high school games. Georgia got two signature wins on Friday night. North Gwinnett beat Crenshaw from LA California and Camden County beat Miami Central 45-42. Other than the Central loss, the Florida teams have had another good weekend so far. Cocoa went to Pennsylvania and beat power Thomas Jefferson like a DRUM. Manattee beat Woodland Hills PA, like a DRUM too. At this moment, PB Dwyer has opened pretty sloppy against Cleveland OH Glenville and are down 6-0. My son went to Texas for the long weekend and was able to watch Abilene High beat Frankinton, LA at Shotwell. Next week Cocoa plays Abilene in the big Texas/Florida challenge. Trinity (Euless) Texas is beating Arkansas power Shiloh Christian 21-7 over on Fox sports. Locally, Dr Phillips crushed Edgewater and Apopak handled Lake Brantley.

Gonna have my first Fantasy Football draft tonight, so we will see how this goes!

Yes its college opening weekend, but the PREPS!

Both college and high school football have some exciting games to open the season (and a boat load of cream puffs too) then they get down to conference play and the excitement builds again in November. This holiday weekend has some sick inter state match ups for the prep "programs".

LA Crenshaw goes to Georgia to play North Gwinnett

Miami Central (an uber athletic team) takes its undisciplined squad to face Georgia power Camden County.

Defending 4A Florida champ goes to Ohio to play Glenville (Cleveland)

Little 2A Cocoa FL goes up to Pennsylvania this week to take on power Thomas Jefferson, while Bradenton Manatee completes the FL vs PA set, by playing Woodland Hills.

Abilene, TX plays defending Louisiana champ Franklinton, before back to back games the next 2 weeks against Florida teams. Odessa Permian (THE Friday Night Lights team) plays a power from Washington state - Bethel.

ESPN and the Fox networks are broadcasting many of these games, especially on Monday.

Virginia power Oscar Smith takes on Ohio Central Pickerington

Shiloh Christian from Springdale, Arkansas takes on #1 Trinity from Euless, Texas at Cowboy stadium as part of a festival of games, which includes Fort Lauderdale St Thomas Aquinas smacking Dallas Skyline and then some quality Texas teams battling each other. Next weekend has the Texas vs Florida challenge, but more on that after THIS weekend :)

To quote Dicke V, ITS GONNA BE AWESOME BABY! :)

While it is not one of the titanic inter-state match ups, Crestview plays Baker on Friday night in the Bulletin Bowl. Smell those boiled peanuts...

Toe to Leather (or composite) Time!

Thursday, Sept. 2 Network Time (ET)
Southern Miss at South Carolina ESPN 7:30 p.m.
Marshall at Ohio St. Big Ten 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota at MTSU ESPNU 7:30 p.m.
N. Illinois at Iowa St. FSN 7:30 p.m.
Towson at Indiana Big Ten 7:30 p.m.
Pitt at Utah Versus 8:30 p.m.
USC at Hawaii ESPN 11 p.m.

Opening night of the college football season, tears in my eyes…

South Carolina better bring their A game or Southern Miss be their nightmare.

Ohio State will start their much over hyped season by thrashing Marshall.

Minnesota at MTSU is interesting because a big 11 team is playing in Murfreesboro, Tennessee…

Skipping on down to Pitt and Utah match up. This should be a fantastic game. Utah is well coached and has that “no AQ” chip on their shoulder, but Pitt is really strong and will likely be the Big East champ (or UCONN). At altitude is the difference, so I go with the Utes.

Friday has Arizona and Toledo, but folks Friday Nights are for high school football.

Saturday’s top games:

Gators and Noles play at Noon against Miami, Oh and Samford. Should be nice warm ups.
UConn at Michigan – Huskies will ruin the crowd at the big house’s day 
Illinois and Mizzu is a quality opener but the Tigers will prevail.
UCLA at K State could be a shootout, but I like the Bruins
Kentucky and Louisville are state rivals with new coaches. Think SEC…
Purdue at Notre Dame is another cross state rival opener. Irish start their resurgence.
Washington at BYU is a great opener. Will not be a 6-3 boring game. BYU at home can be tough, but I’m taking Locker and the Huskies
Northwestern & Vandy in the brainbowl, but Vandy is the anti SEC team.
Oregon State at TCU. Great game at Cowboys stadium. TCU all the way.
LSU vs North Carolina in Atlanta. LSU is poorly coached, but better than UNC.
Cincinnati at Fresno State should be another shoot out, with the Bearcats winning

Sunday has a couple of games with SMU and Texas Tech being the interesting one. Tech better not take the ponies lightly, but Tubberville should get his first “W” in Lubbock.

Monday:
Maryland vs Navy will be an illustration of how good Navy is these days and how sad the Terps are.
The capper is the Boise State – Virginia Tech battle that night. Va Tech is so good on defense and special teams and so well coached, but I like the BRONCOS to rule.

I Love the "bers"

The “ber” months are finally here. September, October, November and December are the “ber” months and they represent A) FOOTBALL SEASON B) cooler weather. It is too dang hot in central Florida, we need some relief! I never fully appreciated Spring, until I lived in Kansas for a few years. After all that cold, cloudy and dreary weather, the sun finally breaks through one day in March or April and people up north just go nuts with excitement. A lot of employees are suddenly “sick” that day. Well, it is kind of like that in reverse down here. That first cool breeze when you can open the windows and even consider wearing a long sleeve shirt, signals the best time to live in my home state.

Wow, what a tangent that was. My pal Mark played for Cocoa Beach high school back in the 70s. He was a running back and on the last play of one game, at the bottom of the pile (against Monroe HS), an opposing player actually bit the wart off of Mark’s leg. Let that sink in for a moment. The guy had to raise his helmet to be able to reach the target and bit it off and growled as he showed it pinched between his teeth. Now female readers may find this somewhat socially unacceptable, but guys who played football will laugh and try to remember situations that can “one up” this true story.

In case I have not set the record straight (lately), I am a fan of both the Florida State Seminole and the Florida Gators. This is not well received by a lot of folks and most cannot even comprehend the concept. They assume that I am not a “real” fan of either, but they are mistaken. My dad is a Gator fan and the SEC is without question the best and most exciting conference, when it comes to rivalries or “border wars”. Now to really appreciate the SEC, you need to realize that while they HATE each other, when one of em plays somebody out west or god forbid “up north”, there is a cease fire and a solidarity as everyone pulls together to chant “SEC, SEC, SEC!”. FSU is the school closest to my hometown in the Panhandle and I really started pulling for the Noles when Bobby got there in the mid 70s. The run he took them on was so much fun to be a part of. I was lucky enough to know some of the coaches when I lived in Tally and had the pleasure of being in the locker rooms and even sat in on a couple of pre-game speeches and presentations to recruits. So, with that precursor, I have to also mention that I enjoy the rivalry between the Noles and Gators and enjoy the ragging and teasing that goes back and forth. So, when my Garnet and Gold cousin Tyler bagged a couple of gators on his recent legal hunt and captioned the kill picture with “gator bait my a$$”, I had to share!