From the Weekend That Was

Didn't get a chance to watch that many games, but from what I did see and read.....

Vandy 34, Miami (OH) 13
Really? Vandy went on the road and smashed anyone? Cue the Thursday night pregame buffoonery when Mark May/Lou Holtz debate whether this is the year Bobby Johnson turns things around. In a related story, Dr. Lou takes a call from a speech pathologist.


South Carolina 34, NC State 0
The first of several disasters for the ACC. To be fair, NC State was actually competitive until their starting quarterback got hurt. Then, Daniel Evans came in for the Wolfpack and Tommy Beecher went out of the game for Carolina. Evans started throwing incompletions and interceptions while Chris Smelley started throwing touchdowns. So grab a clipboard Tommy Beecher and don't screw up charting any plays for the rest of the year.

LSU 41, Appalachian State 13
ESPN kept mentioning how the atmosphere was subdued and LSU fans probably weren't as "fired up" for a 10 am kickoff as they would have been for a night game. Miles and I talked about it and decided that LSU fans could get just as drunk for a 10 am game as they could a 7 pm game. They'd either wake up earlier or drink faster. A resourceful group of people those LSU fans.

Florida 56, Hawaii 10
The beginning of the end for the Daves Network. Buzz Baker, the professional that he is, got drenched from a pregame rain, but by the time the first coach's interview took place, he was wearing a fresh Raycom shirt. The only other thing I took from this game was that Hawaii's starting quarterback could not throw the ball over 35 yards.

Georgia 45, Georgia Southern 21
Whatever.

Louisiana Tech 26, Mississippi State 14
State runs 40 passing plays and 31 running plays. What the hell is Sly Croom doing? Has he already forgotten why he won any games last year? I have no statistical evidence to back this up, but I'm willing to bet that when Wesley Carroll throws more than 20 passes, State's chances of losing increase by 75%. Or better yet, when Carroll's passing attempts are greater than Anthony Dixon's rushing attempts. I'll just put this coaching performance in my case file for why Croom is not a good coach.

Auburn 34, LA-Monroe 0
Compelling and rich.

Arkansas 28, Western Illinois 24
Two, yes two, fourth quarter touchdowns were needed to rally to beat the......the......(looking it up now)....Leathernecks. Fantastic name.

Ole Miss 41, Memphis 24
A consistent offense? Forty one points? Four hundred plus yards of total offense? To quote Seinfeld, "What year is this? How long have I been asleep?" I watched the replay yesterday and couldn't believe what I was seeing: a real football team. Haven't seen one of those take the field in four years. Granted, the defense looks shaky to quite shaky, but I'll ignore that for now and enjoy this rare feeling of hope surrounding this team. At least until Wake Forest smacks us back to reality on Saturday.

Alabama 34, Clemson 10
Can we finally stop all this "Clemson is going to break out this season" business? They're overrated and always will be overrated. Oh, and Tommy Bowden is NOT a good coach. How many times has his dad lost to him so he could keep his job? What makes me sick about Clemson is that they'll probably win 9, maybe even 10 games this year. Look at their schedule. Who's going to beat them? Wake Forest, Florida State, and South Carolina are the only likely suspects.

As for Alabama, their defense was much better than I thought it would be, especially up front. They just killed Clemson there. On offense, they committed to the run and used it to set up John Parker Wilson for some easy throws. They didn't let him throw downfield where he tends to do bad things, like cost his team the game.

Kentucky 27, Louisville 2
I wish I could remember how many horse racing references the ESPN announcers made.

UCLA 27, Tennessee 24
Jonathan Crompton: 19 of 42 for 189 yards and one interception. UCLA's quarterback throws four picks and still wins. If Crompton plays just mediocre, Tennessee wins. And by winning, I mean the game never comes down to a field goal.