NCAA Football '12-13

[Valmy]

Oh hey.  While Texas is busy losing:

My faith never waivered.  But we got to run the ball better early in the game.  We also need to come to grips with the fact our vaunted defense is just plain mediocre.  But mediocre is better than what alot of teams are fielding out there these days.

Huge win.  Sets up a showdown with WV next week....one in which I do not really have a good feel for.

Well except Texas will not be giving up 70.

[Valmy]

Hm.  This is stupid.  Last year, I'd be all cool about the D needing a stop to win the game.  This year, with a lot of the same guys?  Yeah, they're probably going to put more points on the board.

They are not good this year.  Not bad or anything but they are not who we thought they were.  I have come to terms with that.

Anyway next week is the second major Big 12 matchup of the year with the first being K-State at Okie.  The WV fans will be here in force I am really looking forward to it. 

[MadBurgerMaker]

My faith never waivered.

You must have missed the defense giving up huge yardage and the lead late in the 4th quarter, while the Horns were busy averaging like 2.5 ypc and had lost Malcolm Brown on O.  Thankfully, Bergeron didn't get that last TD until there were less than 30 seconds left, and they STILL got to the Texas 30 on their stupid lateral play that should have been immediately buried.  If Bergeron had gotten in instead of being stopped at the 2 the play before, they would have probably been taking shots at the end zone at the end of the game.  It was bad, man.  Real bad.  It's interesting how much Ash has turned around after last year, and is now essentially winning games that the D has given away.

E: 

They are not good this year.  Not bad or anything but they are not who we thought they were.  I have come to terms with that.

They are pretty good though.  They (the DBs, not the LBs, I don't know whats going on there) consistently get into position to make plays, etc, then they just throw a shoulder into it trying to get on Sportscenter or something, bounce off, and give up 50 and a TD.  That is what is so stupid, and is what very nearly cost Texas the game last night.  If they actually tackled, instead of just hit, they probably wouldn't be giving up like 33ppg or whatever it is vs. AQ teams. 

[Valmy]

You must have missed the defense giving up huge yardage and the lead late in the 4th quarter, while the Horns were busy averaging like 2.5 ypc and had lost Malcolm Brown on O.  Thankfully, Bergeron didn't get that last TD until there were less than 30 seconds left, and they STILL got to the Texas 30 on their stupid lateral play that should have been immediately buried.  If Bergeron had gotten in instead of being stopped at the 2 the play before, they would have probably been taking shots at the end zone at the end of the game.  It was bad, man.  Real bad.  It's interesting how much Ash has turned around after last year, and is now essentially winning games that the D has given away.

Texas beat the defending conference champions on the road in a huge matchup.  This was the first of their four huge monster games in a row.  It is axiomatically impossible to win a game in these four games and have it be 'bad, man.  Real bad'.   And Texas led most of the game.  And as far as the 2.5 ypc well the strategy is to bunch up front and make David Ash beat you.  Well David Ash is beating people, but that is by design.  The defense of the other team wants to make sure that is the guy who has to win the game for Texas.  Now that he is doing that Texas is going to be very hard to defend.  We all wish Texas could just line up and flatten people, and while they are doing that late in the game now as the defense tires the offensive line still has a way to go to just enforce its will on people, especially against 8 men in the box.

They are pretty good though.  They (the DBs, not the LBs, I don't know whats going on there) consistently get into position to make plays, etc, then they just throw a shoulder into it trying to get on Sportscenter or something, bounce off, and give up 50 and a TD.  That is what is so stupid, and is what very nearly cost Texas the game last night.  If they actually tackled, instead of just hit, they probably wouldn't be giving up like 33ppg or whatever it is vs. AQ teams.

No they are not.  The defense neither tackles well nor sheds blockers well.  They were getting beat up front and in the backfield.  And the DBs are there to make plays because that is what the spread offense is designed to do: force the DBs to make open field tackles.  Now I never played football so I am not sure exactly why mediocre and bad defenses appear to have problems with the concept that tackling is done with your arms and hands and using your body weight.  But since they obviously do wrapping up must take a great deal of discipline and skill.  I mean really Adrian Phillips?  Trying to take somebody with your head?  I mean Big time college football players are workout warriors with fantastic balance you are not going to be just knocking them over so I am pretty sure they are not trying to do that.  But there must be some sort of psychological or physical reason why defenders try to do that because I am almost 100% positive no coach has ever told them to not try to wrap up the guy they are tackling.  It is also a mark of a not very good defense.

The corners and Defensive Ends are pretty good but man that OSU running game was ripping through that defense, they just couldn't get off blocks.

[Eddie Teach]

But there must be some sort of psychological or physical reason why defenders try to do that because I am almost 100% positive no coach has ever told them to not try to wrap up the guy they are tackling.

Trying to make the highlight reel.

[Valmy]

Trying to make the highlight reel.

I find that hard to believe because all of Texas' bad defenses have this tendency.  And they were never on highlight reels, maybe blooper reels or the highlight reels for the other team's offense.  The guys who were on highlight reels were the ones who were like Michael Huff and tackled correctly.

[Eddie Teach]

Knocking somebody down looks more badass than pulling them down, this is probably what's going through the defender's mind. So they focus more on the angle and momentum and less on getting their hands in the right place.

[MadBurgerMaker]

That's exactly right.  It's highlight reel shit, and you see it at all levels, in every game, every weekend.  A whole lot of the time, the defenders end up bouncing off and looking dumb.  Sometimes, they knock the piss out of their "target," and boom they're on Sportscenter.

Also, Valmy, this was not a "huge monster game."  This is not the same Oklahoma State team that won the conference last year.  They were unranked and lost (badly) against the only quality team they played, for god's sake.  What this was was the first "real" team Texas has faced, after several cupcakes in a row.  The first huge game is next week against undefeated, top 10 WVU.  Then there's another one with OU.  Baylor, like OSU, is not a monster huge game. 

[Valmy]

Knocking somebody down looks more badass than pulling them down, this is probably what's going through the defender's mind. So they focus more on the angle and momentum and less on getting their hands in the right place.

That is about as logical as wide outs just refusing to catch balls correctly and trying to make a one handed catch on every play just to show how awesome they are.  I just have a hard time believing defenders are that stupid.

[Valmy]

Also, Valmy, this was not a "huge monster game."  This is not the same Oklahoma State team that won the conference last year.  They were unranked and lost (badly) against the only quality team they played, for god's sake.  What this was was the first "real" team Texas has faced, after several cupcakes in a row.  The first huge game is next week against undefeated, top 10 WVU.  Then there's another one with OU.  Baylor, like OSU, is not a monster huge game.

Based on what man?  I have watched most of OSU's games this year, including the Arizona game, and they are still a team with a good defensive front seven and a high powered offense that can both pass and run with the best of them.  THey were, and I expected them to be, a tough matchup for Texas.  They returned plenty of guys from last year, have a great coaching staff, and were at home where the crowd would be fired up.

Wait why exactly is WV which beat Baylor by one score at home so big but Baylor is not?  Where is the logic in that?  NIck Florence and that offense are amazing and TExas will have to bring it on offense and not make mistakes or they could get run.  I mean they practically are the exact same team as WV.  Both games are going to be dogfights that are going to be very hard for Texas to win make no mistake.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Based on what man?  I have watched most of OSU's games this year and they are still a team with a good defensive front seven and a high powered offense that can both pass and run with the best of them.  THey were, and I expected them to be, a tough matchup for Texas.  They returned plenty of guys from last year, have a great coaching staff, and were at home where the crowd would be fired up.

That's all great and all, but they managed to lose to now 3-2 Arizona by 20 or whatever it was.  They're just not the same team, and just because they matchup well and are all fired up to ruin the Horns season doesn't make it some sort of war between titans of college football.  They are what they are:  a pretty good team that probably isn't going to win the conference unless some silly shit happens.  It's not like last year where they were a choke away from going to the National Championship.  If Texas (this year's version) was playing THAT team last night, that's a huge game.  This one was more of the usual college football thing:  Don't lose.  If that's what makes for a monster game, then every game every week is gigantic, right?

Wait why exactly is WV which beat Baylor by one score at home so big but Baylor is not?  Where is the logic in that?  NIck Florence and that offense are amazing and TExas will have to bring it on offense and not make mistakes or they could get run.  I mean they practically are the exact same team as WV.  Both games are going to be dogfights that are going to be very hard for Texas to win make no mistake.

Because WVU is not Baylor, and is an undefeated top 10 team?  Why do you think Baylor is some huge game, or at least any more so than any other game in college football where if you lose once you could ruin your season?  Florence is good, and it'd be cool to have him playing for Texas, but RG3 he isn't, and holy fuck that D is bad.

E:  Now don't get me wrong.  I'm not saying these teams are like Kansas or New Mexico or whatever.  They're still conference games and they're good teams, but let's not get crazy and start calling them monster matchups.  If these are monster games, what the hell are BCS games or that thing in Dallas in a couple weeks or the L to Kansas State later on?  Ultra super monster games?

[katmai]

ZOMG, Huskies made it back into AP. #23 after beating Stanford, course they get to go to Oregon and face #2 team next week, so be short stay

[MadBurgerMaker]

Oh here's the new rankings:

Associated Press Top 25
1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Florida State
4. LSU
5. Georgia
6. South Carolina
7. Kansas State
8. West Virginia
9. Notre Dame
10. Florida
11. Texas
12. Ohio State
13. Southern California
14. Oregon State
15. Clemson
15. TCU
17. Oklahoma
18. Stanford
19. Louisville
20. Mississippi State
21. Nebraska
22. Rutgers
23. Washington
24. Northwestern
25. UCLA
Complete details
09/30/2012
   
Coaches Poll
1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. LSU
4. Florida State
5. Georgia
6. South Carolina
7. West Virginia
8. Kansas State
9. Texas
10. Notre Dame
11. Florida
12. Southern California
13. TCU
14. Oklahoma
15. Clemson
16. Louisville
17. Oregon State
18. Stanford
19. Mississippi State
20. Nebraska
21. Rutgers
22. Northwestern
23. Cincinnati
24. Texas Tech
25. Boise State
Complete details
09/30/2012

[CountDeMoney]

Beating up on cupcake teams early, only to falter late in the season against real opponents?

Yeah, they're the new Kansas State.

Snyder's K-State is different.  They do things like blow out #1 OU in the conference championship game.

Maybe New Snyder, but I remember Old Snyder, choking to Texas A&M at the end of the year, Colorado, Oklahoma (twice), Nebraska, back in the 90s when they built upon nice preseason rankings only to get smacked in the face with real opponents when it counted, and they folded like lawn chairs.

I miss those Kansas State teams.  So predictable when I gambled on late season ball. 

[CountDeMoney]

Towson dropped 22 on LSU? 


"Hmm not bad"

You know how mommy cats teach their kittens how to kill, showing them the prey for a while, playing with it for a bit before finally letting it die?
It was sorta like that.  LSU's 3rd stringers were learning how to kill, and they took their time.