NCAA Football 2017 season

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 11:40 am

As a current Arizona Wildcat and an alum of Texas Tech, seeing the result of the ASU game made me smile.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 12:26 pm

Lorini wrote:So much for the 17 point point spread for the USC game, at least they won.

Texas played an incredible game except for the last 45 seconds of each half.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 12:27 pm

While I don't usually like playing the comparative scores game, I know lots of pollsters do. In that regard, yesterday was not kind to the P12. Two of their ranked teams lost outright in games they absolutely should have won (Stanford and UCLA). USC struggled against a Texas team that got obliterated by Maryland at home just a couple weeks ago. Oregon's close win over Nebraska looks less impressive after they drop one to NIU (side note: how hot is Mike Riley's seat right now?). Utah's win over BYU looks less impressive after they get throttled by Wisconsin (and we didn't really look great against SJSU, despite the score). ASU loses again, and OSU looks absolutely terrible. The only two teams that really look the part so far are Washington and Washington State, and I have exactly zero confidence that Wazzu can keep things going through a whole season.

Still, it's early and there's lots of football to be played. Really excited to get conference play going next week, and have no idea what to make of Arizona. They've been a thorn in Utah's side for years now, and we desperately need to get a win in Tuscon next week. Since we skip the two bad teams in the P12 North this year (OSU and Cal), we're going to need every single win we can find. After 3 games, I still think this is probably a 7 win team, and maybe we get to 9 if we get a few good bounces and stay relatively injury free.

In terms of Utah's game, I can't imagine what this team would be without Darren Carrington and Matt Gay. Carrington is single-handedly carrying our offense, with his third game over 120 yards receiving last night. Matt Gay (a walk-on former soccer player that none of us had ever heard of before) is now 11 for 11 on FG attempts, including a 56-yarder with room to spare yesterday. I think we can still be very good if we can cut out some of the stupid mistakes and penalties, but the complete lack of a running game is very concerning. The QB has been our leading rusher for the last two games, and that's...not good.

WYBaugh · Post by **WYBaugh** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 12:53 pm

Skinypupy wrote:Florida...holy shit!!

If you're Tennessee, how on earth do you let a receiver get behind you like that?

We were extremely lucky. Go to OT and no way the Gators win.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:04 am

rshetts2 wrote:Michigan's defense has been stellar but if they do not find their offence soon, it could be a real tough season in the Big 10 for them. I really don't think Speight is the answer.

It's funny, but I was more concerned about how the D would hold up against a disciplined triple option attack than I was about the offense being able to score. The issue really seems to be the red zone (1 TD in 10 trips this year), as they seem to move it fine outside of the red zone. I don't know what it will take to solve that, but I hope they can figure it out quickly. What was supposed to be an easy game coming up against Purdue suddenly looks tough after they dominated an SEC team on the road to the tune of 35-3 (Mizzou caveats apply, but still). I don't know if Speight is the answer, either (doesn't look good at this point, though), but if he's not the answer, then I'm not sure there is one on the roster (who is ready to play). I really don't think Harbaugh would be reluctant to make a move if he thought another QB would be better than Speight at this point. My guess is that O'Korn is just not Big Ten starter material, and that he feels Peters is too inexperienced to be given the reins - particularly when all of the receivers are pretty green. If we could build up a big lead at some point, maybe Peters could see the field to start building up his experience, but at this point, I think that Speight is probably the best of the not so great options. He at least knows the offense cold and where everyone should be at any given time.

Skinypupy wrote:The only two teams that really look the part so far are Washington and Washington State, and I have exactly zero confidence that Wazzu can keep things going through a whole season.

Keep in mind that Rutgers outplayed Washington for most of their game (the week before losing at home to the Eastern Michigan Emus). I don't put much stake in that personally given that it was Week 1 (first game of the year in college football is often a goofy outlier) and it was a west coast team traveling to the east coast, but if we're about score comparisons . . . .

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Wed Sep 20, 2017 8:10 pm

Utah has the #1 most difficult strength of schedule for the remainder of the season.

Guess we'll find out pretty quickly if this team is for real or not.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Wed Sep 20, 2017 8:27 pm

Skinypupy wrote:Utah has the #1 most difficult strength of schedule for the remainder of the season.

Guess we'll find out pretty quickly if this team is for real or not.

Well, I don't really believe in ESPN's FPI. FWIW they have Oklahoma (I'm ok with that, but...) and tOSU as #1 and #2 (followed by Alabama and then Clemson). tOSU over Clemson right now? yeah, I don't think so.

However, that schedule is pretty darned tough. Better win this weekend against richrod...

...of course, we've got our own hobgoblin to slay this weekend, as we've lost 9 straight to Stanford.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Wed Sep 20, 2017 9:11 pm

Agreed. The FPI shows Utah with only a 30% probability of beating Arizona on Friday. That seems awfully low, considering the performance of both teams to date.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 4:40 pm

Nebraska fired their Athletic Director. I'm thinking this is not a good time for Mike Riley to engage in any major remodeling projects at home.

msduncan · Post by **msduncan** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 10:44 pm

Lassr wrote:Bama got the win but defense is really hurting with the 5-6 missing LBs out with injuries. Should get 2 back next week but the two best ones are out for the year. Offense is improving slowly but D is a weak point this year.

Actually 3 back this week.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 10:41 pm

Virginia smacking Boise st around on the blue turf

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sat Sep 23, 2017 2:22 am

Utah won the game (a rarity against Arizona at their place), but may have lost the season tonight. Rumors are a broken collarbone for the starting QB, and a broken/severely sprained ankle for Kylie Fitts (our best defensive end). Troy Williams is a competent back-up who won 9 games last year. We'll still have a chance to be in every game, but Huntley seemed like he might be something really special.

Right when we finally get a glimmer of hope at the QB spot...

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 9:33 am

Holy crap, the Pac-12 is such a mess this year. Washington and USC are the obvious front runners (although USC has looked vulnerable), but the rest of the conference is muddy as hell. Teams that are supposed to be bad are hanging with or flat out beating teams that are supposed to be good (exhibit 1: ASU over Oregon), and I really have no idea what to make of the 3 through 11 spots. About the only team that truly looks hopeless is Oregon State.

I can't help but wonder if we see three coaching changes this year: Gary Anderson at OSU, Jim Mora at UCLA, and RichRod at Arizona. All three have to be on massive hot seats at the moment.

Eightball · Post by **Eightball** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 8:15 pm

Skinypupy wrote:Utah won the game (a rarity against Arizona at their place), but may have lost the season tonight. Rumors are a broken collarbone for the starting QB, and a broken/severely sprained ankle for Kylie Fitts (our best defensive end). Troy Williams is a competent back-up who won 9 games last year. We'll still have a chance to be in every game, but Huntley seemed like he might be something really special.

Right when we finally get a glimmer of hope at the QB spot...

Feel your pain. Marylands starting QB went down in the game in Texas for the year, but the freshman backup was ready to play. Except now he just hurt his leg against UCF and his backup sucks big time. If Kasim Hill doesn't recover soon, this is a lost season for the Terps sadly.

Lorini · Post by **Lorini** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 10:00 pm

USC powers on.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 11:58 pm

Lorini wrote:USC powers on.

"Powered" might be a tad strong.

Lorini · Post by **Lorini** » Mon Sep 25, 2017 9:15 am

Scoring 30 points is powered. I didn't say elegant or clean but I'll stand behind powered.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Mon Sep 25, 2017 10:57 am

At the beginning of the week, I was quite nervous about the Purdue-Michigan game. Purdue was getting a ton of hype, had curb stomped an SEC opponent on the road, and was generally full of positivity with new head coach Jeff Brohm. By kickoff, though, I had convinced myself that Michigan was going to win something like 45-3. In the end, it was somewhere in the middle, with Michigan trailing at the half, but pulling away for a comfortable 28-10 win. The offense had a pulse (with John O'Korn coming in for injured Wilton Speight and looking nothing like the lost lamb he was in the Indiana game last year), and was 3-3 on TDs in the red zone (after being 1-10 coming into the game). The defense was again dominating. After figuring out Brohm's offense, the D gave up 10 yards in the second half. Now we've got a bye week before Sparty comes calling.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon Sep 25, 2017 8:11 pm

Felony fraud charges favored for Florida footballers:

Felony charges have been recommended for the nine Florida players who have been suspended for the duration of the 2017 season thus far.

Ahead of the season opener against Michigan, Florida announced suspensions for nine players, including Antonio Callaway, the team’s top receiver, and Jordan Scarlett, the team’s top rusher. The suspension stemmed from an investigation into the players allegedly using “school-issued, cost-of-attendance credit cards to buy electronics from the school bookstore and then selling those items for cash.”

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sat Sep 30, 2017 9:51 am

Random thoughts from last night:

Fell asleep before the end of the game last night, but wasn't terribly surprised to see that Wazzu took down USC. The Trojans have a ton of talent, but haven't played up to it at all this year. Leaves the P12 South more open than I expected, and we'll see if anyone can take an advantage of it (hint: probably not Utah). Colorado, maybe?

Darnold is good, but for every amazing play, he makes an equally key mistake. He's lucky he didn't have 4 picks in the first half last night.

Watching Luke Falk is amazing. Granted, he's very much a system QB, but the fact he was a walk-on is mind blowing. Set the P12 record for completions last night. Good for him...I wish Utah would have paid more attention to him (he's a local kid).

Wazzu looks really good, and actually has a defense to match their offense for the first time in forever. That game looms large on the horizon, and I'm really interested to see if they can maintain their success over a whole season.

Oh, and BYU...oof. Granted they were on their third string QB (who is apparently a Hobbit), but losing to Utah State like that is just brutal. 7 turnovers, ouch. They're in a really tough spot with Detmer. Whatever he's trying to do is obviously not working, but how to you shove an institutional legend out the door? Glad I'm not in Kalani or Holmoe's shoes.

Lorini · Post by **Lorini** » Sat Sep 30, 2017 10:07 am

It wasn't good when they were tied at the half which is when I fell asleep. USC needed to show what I thought was their power, but clearly I was wrong

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 9:02 am

In case you're wondering:

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 3:01 pm

Skinypupy wrote:Random thoughts from last night:

Fell asleep before the end of the game last night, but wasn't terribly surprised to see that Wazzu took down USC. The Trojans have a ton of talent, but haven't played up to it at all this year. Leaves the P12 South more open than I expected, and we'll see if anyone can take an advantage of it (hint: probably not Utah). Colorado, maybe?

Darnold is good, but for every amazing play, he makes an equally key mistake. He's lucky he didn't have 4 picks in the first half last night.

Watching Luke Falk is amazing. Granted, he's very much a system QB, but the fact he was a walk-on is mind blowing. Set the P12 record for completions last night. Good for him...I wish Utah would have paid more attention to him (he's a local kid).

Wazzu looks really good, and actually has a defense to match their offense for the first time in forever. That game looms large on the horizon, and I'm really interested to see if they can maintain their success over a whole season.

Oh, and BYU...oof. Granted they were on their third string QB (who is apparently a Hobbit), but losing to Utah State like that is just brutal. 7 turnovers, ouch. They're in a really tough spot with Detmer. Whatever he's trying to do is obviously not working, but how to you shove an institutional legend out the door? Glad I'm not in Kalani or Holmoe's shoes.

One thing to remember about USC. They were starting 3 new OL, and have been hit with a rash of OL injuries - they lost both starting Tackles against Wazzu, and had to burn 2 redshirts for OL in that game. Also, unlike the past few years, they lost their #1 receiver (JuJu Smith-Schuster) and weren't able to reload with someone as good or better (yet), as they have the past few years (they also lost Adoree Jackson, who could also break games open when he played receiver in addition to his CB/KR duties).

Darnold is still a very, very good QB, but his support infrastructure is not what it was last year, nor even what it was earlier this year.

PS. Skiny - bigimg is your friend

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 3:04 pm

Also -the Pac-12 makes its move in China (finally?):

The Pac-12 Networks on Thursday morning announced a major distribution deal, in China.

Alibaba will broadcast 175 live events annually. Terms were not disclosed, but the deal runs through 2023-24, thereby aligning it with the conference’s Tier 1 contracts (ESPN and Fox) and making every shred of Pac-12 content available for bid, everywhere, in five or six years.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sun Oct 08, 2017 12:06 pm

Can we all just agree that yesterday didn't happen?

Utah chokes up an entirely winnable game vs. Stanford with stupid special teams errors, not being able to punch it in with 1st and goal from the 2, and our backup QB's complete inability to hit wide open receivers. If you would have told me before the game that we held Brice Love to 160 yards/1TD and that they only got 188 yards passing, I'd say Utah wins that game 9 out of 10 times. The loss is frustrating, but not terribly surprising. I knew we were in trouble when Huntley went down vs. Arizona (who got a really surprising win vs. Colorado), and Williams showed last night exactly why he lost the starting job this year. He's remarkably consistent at getting the same stats every game: 250 (or under) yards, 1 TD, and 2 INT's (usually in the red zone). He is what he is, and with him at the helm, we'll probably end up about where I expected this year at 6-7 wins. Not gonna get easier traveling to USC next week.

But hey, at least we're not Michigan or Oklahoma.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Sun Oct 08, 2017 12:34 pm

No lamentation of the women over Michigan getting thumped by Michigan State?

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Sun Oct 08, 2017 5:25 pm

Skinypupy wrote:Can we all just agree that yesterday didn't happen?

Utah chokes up an entirely winnable game vs. Stanford with stupid special teams errors, not being able to punch it in with 1st and goal from the 2, and our backup QB's complete inability to hit wide open receivers. If you would have told me before the game that we held Brice Love to 160 yards/1TD and that they only got 188 yards passing, I'd say Utah wins that game 9 out of 10 times. The loss is frustrating, but not terribly surprising. I knew we were in trouble when Huntley went down vs. Arizona (who got a really surprising win vs. Colorado), and Williams showed last night exactly why he lost the starting job this year. He's remarkably consistent at getting the same stats every game: 250 (or under) yards, 1 TD, and 2 INT's (usually in the red zone). He is what he is, and with him at the helm, we'll probably end up about where I expected this year at 6-7 wins. Not gonna get easier traveling to USC next week.

But hey, at least we're not Michigan or Oklahoma.

Technically, all 3 of you lost at home to unranked teams

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sun Oct 08, 2017 8:55 pm

Hurts a lot less when you're not top 10 to start with.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Mon Oct 09, 2017 12:47 am

Skinypupy wrote:Can we all just agree that yesterday didn't happen?

Endorsed.

Jaymann wrote:No lamentation of the women over Michigan getting thumped by Michigan State?

Not entirely sure 14-10 is getting thumped. In a game where defenses were strong and offenses were struggling, not turning the ball over 5 times probably helped State a bit.

PLW · Post by **PLW** » Mon Oct 09, 2017 10:08 am

ImLawBoy wrote:
Skinypupy wrote:Can we all just agree that yesterday didn't happen?
Endorsed.

Jaymann wrote:No lamentation of the women over Michigan getting thumped by Michigan State?
Not entirely sure 14-10 is getting thumped. In a game where defenses were strong and offenses were struggling, not turning the ball over 5 times probably helped State a bit.

Hells no. We finally won a game convincingly.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon Oct 09, 2017 3:31 pm

Gary Andersen out at Oregon St.

Oregon State University and Andersen have mutually agreed to release each other from all future contract obligations and payments, which were guaranteed through the 2021 football season.

"After many discussions with Scott, waiving my contract is the correct decision and enables the young men and the program to move forward and concentrate on the rest of this season," Andersen said. "Coaching is not about the mighty dollar. It is about teaching and putting young men in a position to succeed on and off the field. Success comes when all parties involved are moving in the same direction."

Classy guy and good coach, but Oregon St is a really, really tough place to succeed. Very surprised that the buyout payments were waived, even if I don't think coaches should be making so much money, it is a very unstable profession, and I hope he has something, as it has to be tough.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Mon Oct 09, 2017 3:34 pm

I like Anderson (he's a former Utah guy, after all), but boy has he had a strange career path over the last few years. Great DC at Utah, has success as HC at Utah State, makes the huge jump to Wisconsin, takes a completely unexpected significant downgrade to Oregon State, and now he's out.

Will be really interesting to see where he ends up next. I think he's a far better defensive coordinator than he is a head coach, so maybe that's the next move.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Mon Oct 09, 2017 3:46 pm

Skinypupy wrote:I like Anderson (he's a former Utah guy, after all), but boy has he had a strange career path over the last few years. Great DC at Utah, has success as HC at Utah State, makes the huge jump to Wisconsin, takes a completely unexpected significant downgrade to Oregon State, and now he's out.

Will be really interesting to see where he ends up next. I think he's a far better defensive coordinator than he is a head coach, so maybe that's the next move.

Yeah, he paid Wisconsin $3M to make the jump to Oregon State. He was supposedly frustrated with the academic standards for athletes at Wisconsin. Is something strange going to come out of this, or he just burned out from the bad start?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:40 pm

It's a good thing I don't have any plans to head anywhere.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 4:04 pm

ImLawBoy wrote:
Skinypupy wrote:I like Anderson (he's a former Utah guy, after all), but boy has he had a strange career path over the last few years. Great DC at Utah, has success as HC at Utah State, makes the huge jump to Wisconsin, takes a completely unexpected significant downgrade to Oregon State, and now he's out.

Will be really interesting to see where he ends up next. I think he's a far better defensive coordinator than he is a head coach, so maybe that's the next move.
Yeah, he paid Wisconsin $3M to make the jump to Oregon State. He was supposedly frustrated with the academic standards for athletes at Wisconsin. Is something strange going to come out of this, or he just burned out from the bad start?

I knew Anderson left money on the table, but I just found out today that it was $12 million. There has to be more to this story...no coach is that principled.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 9:04 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:

It's a good thing I don't have any plans to head anywhere.

Welcome to Dallas!

All lanes of southbound Interstate 35E are closed at Marsalis Avenue in Dallas Friday evening after "chunks" of concrete fell from the overpass, police say.

There is no word on the extent of the damage to the bridge or what caused the pieces to fall.

Luckily, that's southwest of the stadium area:

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 11:13 pm

And Clemson goes down to mighty Syracuse. Biggest upset of the season so far?

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 11:38 pm

LSU lost to Troy this year. I'd say that was the biggest upset, but since LSU beat Syracuse I guess this game takes the title.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Sat Oct 14, 2017 12:48 am

McNutt wrote:LSU lost to Troy this year. I'd say that was the biggest upset, but since LSU beat Syracuse I guess this game takes the title.

LSU lost at home. Big difference.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Sat Oct 14, 2017 12:55 am

Falk has three picks and Cal is up two Td's on wazzu