Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Apala...no...Applachin...no..., Jeez, There’s Gotta’ Be an App For That

Everyone okay?  Did everyone get a full fix of College Football over the Labor Day Weekend?  Really, if you missed some games, I get it.  Labor Day Weekend has become to College Football what Daytona is to NASCAR:  In other words, the kick-off events seem bigger and more “must see” than the bowls at the end of the season.  From Kenny Hill’s debut with Texas A&M’s rout of USC to last night’s MNF College version between Louisville and Miami, there was a buffet of great games and some eye opening results.

HOWEVA’!  First things first.   And I like the way my brother in law put it:  Two wrongs don’t make a right, but at least Michigan evened the score with these clowns.  My guess…Actually, my HOPE is that this game closes the chapter for Michigan on this episode of division II football and they just move on.  Never the less, all the App state grads will always have 34-32 t-shirts framed on their walls.  It’s just the way it is.  Just like Michigan had 1969 over the suckeyes.  The upsets never go away, it’s just something you need to deal with.

That being said….I liked what I saw in Ann Arbor on Saturday.  Yes, there were some first game jitters to start things out, but overall, I don’t think you can be too upset with what Hoke and company put on the field Saturday.  Biggest take away had to be the 350 rushing yards which I think Michigan had as a TOTAL in a 4 to 5 game stretch last season.  So, yeah, App State and all, but still.  Maybe the Coach Nuss thing will work and come together faster than we all hope.  I like the fact that he’s letting Devin get the ball to people that are somehow open in space, and that’s a very good thing.

I think I like Funchess wearing the #1 jersey.  Let’s just say it’s good to see the #1 out there again and I think the player is more than worthy.  Let’s face it – 3 TD’s in the first half and Michigan took it’s foot off the gas after that…And of course, Funchess displayed his track skills early hurdling an App State defender or two, so all is well there.  If Devin Gardener doesn’t wake up each day thanking his lucky stars, and thanking the spirit of Bob Ufer and Fielding H. Yost that he can more or less throw jump balls to Funchess…He should!

I enjoyed the D’s first half shut out but the 2nd half saw a couple of long drives where the D couldn’t get off the field.  That’s bad…Because, well, App State.

What does it mean going into South Bend?  Hard to say.  The domers boiled Rice until it was so overcooked that it was probably ruined for the rest of the season.  So both teams got a nice warm-up and the real deal is Saturday night…But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, how about a look at

The Rest of the Mess

Starting from last and working my way backward:  Louisville looks like they haven’t missed a beat with the loss of Bridgewater and Strong.  And if you were wondering why the Cardinals held their nose and brought Petrino back…Just look at last night’s game.  As far as the Hurricanes go, I think Al Golden is in some Hot Seat trouble.  His product needs to get a lot better.  I cannot remember looking at a Miami team and thinking that they were not only NOT one of the top 3 teams in Florida (meaning the Seminoles, Gators and the Canes), but I’m not sure that UCF and USF wouldn’t abuse the crap out of the Canes right now….

Gatorland postpones their opener (after the kick-off) against Idaho because the Swamp was too….Swampy?   And lightning…I guess I get that, but how are they gonna' make this up?  Are they going to re-issue tickets?  What about season ticket holders that had their tickets soaked into the back pocket of their jeans?  That’s a headache that nobody wanted…

Let’s get all the Florida schools out of the way and talk a little bit about those Seminoles…Yeah, they came out sleep walking and figuring that a path to their defense of the National Title would be simple.  Okie State at least showed up and I so much wanted to see them close the deal..but alas, Jimbo Fisher and Winston found a way.

UCF and Penn State gave us a Saturday morning treat from Ireland with a down to the wire nail biter that Penn State pulled out with a Figgie…

Satan’s warriors, as expected, got more than they wanted from WVU who also got “This Close” to pulling off the upset…And Satan loses 2 starters on Defense without a “firm decision” as to who the starting QB is…yeah…it’s un-raveling in Tuscaloosa…

Speaking of “This Close”, Wiscy’s defense giving up 17 points to let the Mad Hatter’s Purple Tigers come from behind and secure a victory?  On a fake punt that was called, but had the wrong personnel on the field – That’s the Hatter!!!  And why wasn’t Stave playing?  I didn’t see anything from the new QB that tells me he’s better than the guy sitting on the bench…Jeez…what in the name of “shut ‘em down defense” is the World of Cheese coming to?

Navy hung tough with the suckeyes, but eventually the size and ability of the suckeyes won out.

The Cremesicles just might make some noise in the SEC East and clobbered a respectable (At least, they had been respectable) Utah State team…Could get interesting in the East…

About that SEC East:  Georgia and Gurley with three TD’s?  One a Kick-Off return of over 100 yards?  Against what is supposed to be one of the better ACC teams in Clemson?  Is Dabo’s seat warm?  Is Georgia that good?  Yeah, if Gurley stays healthy….look out.

Ole Miss and Boise State gave us a nice game Thursday, also, with Ole Miss pulling away late…But Bo Wallace is a head case and he will come apart at some point.

There is no Slappy Fan Grief yet, but fear not!  It will return….Until then, let’s look at

The MMQ’s Top 10

With a weekend’s worth of games under our belts, some upsets and some surprising scores, let’s rank who we saw based on what they did on the field.

  1.  FSU- barely.  I’m leaving them here because they don’t play anyone for awhile and the opening game is always the hardest.
  2. Texas A&M – that was a statement game and Sumlin knows what he’s doing. 
  3. Georgia – Cause like, wow….
  4. Sparty – abused some high school on Friday night…
  5. Oregon – Mariota started his claim to the Heisman nicely on Saturday….
  6. UCLA – I’m leaving them here because….
  7. USC – Yeah, it was last night, but Fresno has not been an easy victory lately…
  8. Auburn – Yeah, Arkansas kept it close to the 3rd quarter, but again, Beliema couldn’t seal the deal. 
  9. Satan’s Warriors – just because they don’t play anybody for awhile, either.
  10. Oklahoma – ‘nuff said…
  11. Michigan – Because I said so!!!
Idle Thoughts From Saturday
 
-Funchess wearing the #1…
-I guess I’m okay with that.
-Why are we playing App State again?  This makes no sense.
-Did anyone remember Michigan was pre-season ranked number 5 that year?
-Of course, we were all reminded of it.
-Hard to believe summer’s over and Football has started.
-Was it because it was such a short summer?
-There goes Funchess!
-Gardener hitting a lot of passes…But still, App State.
-Huh, I should pay attention as to how you spell Appalachian State for Monday, er Tuesday.
-Smith and Green…Or Green and Smith.  Smith and Green. 
-Two one syllable running backs.  Easier than Biakabatuka…
-(No – I didn’t need to look that one up!)
-Shane Morris isn’t ready.  I mean, he’s good, but not ready.
-Will there be any big upsets tonight? 
-I wouldn’t call Texas A&M’s beat down of USC an upset..
-A beat down, yes.  Upset, no.
-I think a big upset is two TD’s or more…
-WVU vs. Satan’s Warriors had the ear-marks of an upset…
-Okie State vs. FSU – same…
-But neither doggy could do the deed.
-Atlanta hosts three SEC games over Labor Day weekend.
-Schools down there lose a home game but get a chance to head to Atlanta.
-Which, if you like hot cities in the summer time, great!
-If not…sorry.
-Already looking ahead to the domers…
-I’d be lying if I said I’m not gonna’ miss the domer game on an annual basis.
-What do you do with all the hate?
-Gotta’ find a way to play it in the future…

The Hot Seat

Some coaches are going to start really feeling it soon and their fan-bases simply aren’t going to let up.  Not when the likes of Petrino manage to come back, beg for and receive forgiveness and a head coaching gig and have a shot at taking a pretty good Cardinal team a long way…Fans are demanding more from their coaches.  But everyone cannot go undefeated!  And to start off the Hot Seat Mascot and give us something to actually DO, you’re first week’s vote off will be between Alison Brie from the Pre-Season and Amber Heard!


















Hot Seat Rank

  1.  Will Muschamp:  Leaving him at 1 until he wins a game…
  2. Brett Bielema:  Brett needs some wins…any wins and he needs them fast…SEC land doesn’t tolerate losses…
  3. Beckman:  He’s got problems….
  4. Charlie Weis:  Why are they keeping Wuzzles around?  Just cause? 
  5. Hazell:  Barely beating Western doesn’t move you down on the list…
  6. Norm Chow:  Hawaii.  The Rainbows haven’t mattered in a while.and that’s a fan base that cares.
  7. Mike London:  Needs wins…kept UCLA close, but lost…
  8. Sonny Dykes:  California was pretty good for a while….Wha’ happened?
  9. Dana Holgersen:  Close but no cigar gets old after three years
  10. Andersen:  Wiscy.  Losing a 17 point lead with Stave on the bench has to be lighting up the torch and pitchfork crowd in Madison….
  11. Golden: He needs to win a Big Game...

FMQ

 Not too bad of a start…Maybe we can get some momentum rolling early this year!

 
WVU (+25) @ Bama:  Take WVU and 25 for $30

WIN!  Bank $57
Miami @ Louisville (-4):  Take Louisville and lay the 4 for $30

WIN!  Bank $57
FSU @ OSU (+17.5):  Take Okie State and the 17.5 for $30

WIN!  Bank $57
UCLA (-21) @ Virginia:  Take UCLA and lay 21 for $30

Lose….
Arkansas (+21.5) @ Auburn:  Take Arkansas and the 21.5 for $30

Lose…..
App State @ Michigan (-35):  Take Michigan and lay the 35 for $30

WIN!  Bank $57
PARLAY:  Arkansas - OSU - UCLA for $20

Starting Bank:   $800
Total Win:  $228

Bank:  $1,028

The Week Ahead!

What’s the biggest game on tap for this weekend???  I’m tempted to put up a poll…and I just might!

Is it:

Sparty vs. the Ducks?

Michigan vs. the Domers?

Stanford vs. USC?

Va Tech vs. ohio??

Yeah, Let’s Vote!!!   See the side bar!

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