As if being a Cleveland fan isn't painful enough, Cris Sykes went out and got married a couple weeks ago. The good news for us is though ... he's back baybee. No more honeymoon planning, flower ordering, meetings with the caterers. And back to wasting his life away working for the man and writing for The Blurbs. In this new weekly column, Sykes looks at the week that was in college football.
Week one of the college football season is in the books. There were some great games, some shocking upsets, and some really ugly football. Some coach’s seats got a little hotter. Some got a little cooler. Here are my completely random and meaningless thoughts of the weekend that was.
Where else to start than with the #1 team in the land? The Ohio State Buckeyes used their opener to get some looks at different guys, and hopefully show Texas no hints of what to expect from the young defense in week 2. Troy Smith was as solid as you would expect in week 1 and Ted Ginn was close to uncoverable against a completely overmatched defense. We got a glimpse into the future with Chris Wells’ first live action and touchdown. Let’s just hope he re-thinks this entire “Beanie” thing.
The next logical move is over to the ever-warming chair that Lloyd Carr plants himself in. Starting QB Chad Henne was a very ugly 10-22 for 135 yards. Against Vanderbilt. They had to already start overusing their mini workhorse ... as Mike Hart was forced to carry the ball 31 times to secure the victory.
Now you want to talk about a really hot seat? Larry Coker and the Miami Hurricanes are doing their best to tarnish the legacy left behind by all the former Canes. Stupid penalties. Missed assignments. One play best describes the state of Miami football: Florida State punts, Miami not only has 12 men on the field, they also throw an illegal block in the back, and gain a return of 2 yards. Going into their last possession of the game, they have 5 YARDS in the 2nd half and a QB who looks scared to death. Bye, Larry.
Texas looked ready in their tune-up for the Bucks. Of course it was against North Texas, which would be like the Buckeyes opening with Ashland University, but hey 56 points is still a lot. And with their #1 cornerback arrested early Monday AM, Coach Mack Brown could have a tough decision to make.
Maybe USC won’t miss all those guys. I heard most of the national media suggest that Arkansas would be a tough win for them to open the season. Ummm, I see about 50 reasons why the folks that follow the “Men of Troy” shouldn’t be too worried.
Congratulations to Frank Beamer! You managed to find a way to play a team that I did not even know had a football team. Who is next Frank? Willoughby Middle School? Watch out, my nephew is their tailback and he has some pretty solid moves. Keep those tough schedules coming Frank.
So is that the Brady Quinn that is allegedly the best QB in the country? 14 points against the Rambling Wreck (sorry Spoon) is not very impressive. Why in the world did Georgia Tech not throw it deep to Calvin Johnson at least once a series ... if not every play. That guy is great. Size, speed and hands. As well as underused. I thought Chan Gailey was an offensive genius. Guess not.
Phillip Fulmer appears to have quieted some of the criticism coming off his worst season at Tennessee. The Cal Golden Bears came to Knoxville, and heard “Rocky Top” over and over again. A 35-18 final was not even close to a fair indication of how ugly this game was for the team that was supposed to steal USC’s throne out West. Whoops.
For all the bad moods that come from half the country being 0-1, nobody, I repeat NOBODY is in a mood even close to as sour as new Colorado Head Coach Dan Hawkins. Yes, you are 0-1, which is bad. You lost to a team from Montana, which is worse. You lost to Montana State which might be as low as you could get seeing as they play Division 1AA. Then you're forced to hear this dandy of a quote from the Montana State coach: “It would mean more if we can beat Chadron State next week”. When you are a D1 school, and you lose to a D1AA school, and they are already looking ahead to their next match up, go back to the drawing board. From the salt in the wounds department: Montana State’s starting strong safety, Tyrone Henderson, was kicked off Colorado’s team in the off-season and just enrolled at Montana State a week ago. Think he sent out some smack Saturday night?