The Coach's Poll is out, which means its the best time of the year... Fall! And with fall comes... College Football!
*thunderous applause*
We're just four weeks away from the opening kick off, and training is in full swing. This year marks the first that post season playoffs will determine a national champion, and the first that the American Athletic Conference (AAC) will show up on the grid iron.
So post your thoughts on how Clemson is going all the way this season. You can talk about the other 119 teams too, if you must.
Yikes man, I think you spelled "Clemson Tigers" wrong. Pretty confident there isn't a 'D' in there. :P
I dunno. I'm interested to see how they fare without Chip Kelly. They've got so much raw talent on the field I find it hard to believe that they'd dip, but at the same time they very well could slip up with the coaching change.
In other news, the NCAA has announced they will suspend Johnny Manziel for half a game versus Rice this weekend. You guy's thoughts on this?
I don't understand how you release a joint statement in which you say you couldn't find any proof Manziel committed a violation, and yet you still suspend him for a half. Albeit harmless (unfortunately), however just because the NCAA have been such a group of fluff-ups this year doesn't mean they shouldn't try and stop the bleeding.
Aggreed. The NCAA is recognizing it has very little actual power over schools, especially when popular opinion is going against them and they're facing lawsuits left and right (RE, paying student athletes). Its just a bunch of old men who are trying to show they still have a few teeth.
I'm more interested in how his off-field antics affect his standings with NFL teams. Because its pretty clear to me he has a lot of maturing to do in the next year before he hits the draft. So half a game could have an impact, though not necessarily on the field. Don't think he'll hit the 3000/1000 club again though.
Well Michigan rolled. Devon Gardner threw like my sister, but the running game seemed pretty consistent.
Ohio and Michigan State each had struggles against inferior opponents.
Clemson vs. Georgia was an awesome game. I think the Bulldogs win comfortably between the hedges, but hey, it's about winning in the situation you're put in, and Clemson's offensive talent blew away an SEC defense. White receivers galore!
And Johnny Football looked like an ***.
P.S. I was disappointed that Washington State's QB pissed the game away against Auburn. Now I'll have to listen to their fans talk about winning the SEC for another week -_-
Happy with the win, and especially happy that it'll dampen the SEC homer's spirit a bit. A friend of mine who sat near the tunnel that Georgia was exiting through said that people started changing "S-E-C" which is just fine in my book.
Venables' system seems to have gel'd a bit with our defense. There were several mis reads, our prevent set up is terrible, and the SS was way out of position when Gurley broke his epic run (was yanked from the game after that play, and rightly so), but they came through when it mattered. I'm most surprised with the D-Line; they seemed to meet Gurshall in the hole or in the back field on a nice bit of plays to set up gang rap- tackles. And Murray seemed to barely escape sacks on two or three occassions; Vic Beasely finnaly turned out to be the pass rusher we all though he'd be four years ago. >.< But kudos to Venables for calling blitzs and keeping the scheme shifting. Three delay of game penalties on Murray means you've got him rattled. So hopefully our D will be average this year, rather than a head-ache inducing sub par.
As far as offense, there were a bunch of mental errors. Watkins and Bryant each dropped what should have been TDs, and our O Line seemed to have the usual troubles with pressure up the middle. I'll leave you with the fact that Hot Rod finished with 20 less yards than Gurley, against an SEC D. ^^
Just has to be seen how much of this can be attributed to first week jitters and playing a top team. If we can get past FSU undefeated, and avoid a probable trap game the week after against Maryland, we should be good going into Williams-Bryce against the game hens. The streak must turn around.
And avoid losing to nC State on Thursday night, which has to happen to Clemson/FSU every year... :/
Kinda bummed that LSU won, but I don't think any one really expected a successful passing game from Les Miles. TCU sold out on the run, and I don't really think they can be blamed based on history. Still, LSU's special teams looked off - giving up a TD is never good, nor is a Roughing the Passer on your top DE.
And pumped that Boise lost. I hate Boise, almost as much as I hate Georgia.
So 5 of the 6 teams I care about won. Michigan I knew would win, playing a warm up. Same with Florida. IU usually beats ISU. Washington played well. Purdue lost....and wait? Did AF actually play?
Alabama...It's looking like 2010 to me. The offensive line just isn't up to snuff right now, but the defense looked great. But you know, it's pretty impressive when you can dominate a team while sucking at the same time. If the offense can get it together, nothing will get in the way of another championship.
Considering its three new starters on the line, I thought they played fairly well against a rather strong VT front seven. I think it'll come down to whether or not they can consistently provide enough protection for McCarron to get his progressions in. He's a pro style QB, so no pocket = no good.
Not to mention Alabama's special teams unit did incredibly well. VT isn't that strong anymore in my opinion. They'll probably end up in the middle-ish at the end of the season.
Johnny Football is still good but that unsportsmanlike and selfish act near the end of the 4th was unnecessary. He thinks he's the ****. He's ****y and arrogant now.
