Crazy Days Are Here To Stay

Per my agreement with blogspot.com, I, Twig (who else would it be though, really?) am contractually obliged to write my thoughts on college football any day that three top-10 teams lose, especially when the number one team in the nation lost only three days before. Here we go...

• I was as shocked as anyone with the outcome of Thursday's upset in Corvallis, Oregon. I thought that USC would walk through their conference schedule with little to no problem, and that Oregon State wouldn't have a shot in this one. Ooops. However, only three days after their loss, USC has to be pleased with the outcome of the Wisconsin, Florida, and Georgia games today. Even with one loss, the Trojans aren't out of the picture yet, because IF they run the rest of their schedule, they could very well find themselves in position to play for the BCS Championship.



• I guess Urban Meyer's "Best player of the era" quote can officially be put to rest. When was the last time the best college football player of any era lost to Ole Miss AT HOME? Speaking of the upset by Ole Miss, I'm glad to see Jevan Snead have success after getting beat out for the QB job at Texas two years ago. Seems like things are looking alright for both him and Colt at this point.



• Did it take me two and a half paragraphs to mention UT? Wow, I must be coming down with something, I'll have to get that checked out. Anyway, today's victory made me extremely happy, if for no other reason than I don't have to hear it all year from my Uncle Jim, a Jonesboro resident and fan of the Hogs/SEC in general. (Quick side note: two days ago, Jim emailed me predicting a 52-13 victory by the Horns today. I thought that was a bit steep, but it turns out he was pretty close, one more field goal by ArKansas, and he'd have been dead on. Stay tuned for more disturbingly accurate predictions from Jimbo.)

Back to UT: I'm obviously pleased with their overall performance, especially given the duds they dropped in last years non-conference schedule (Uninspired victories over Arkie Stat, TCU, and UCF). They have the same record at this time as they did last year, but there's definitely a better feel about the team, and while they have to go through an absolute gauntlet in Big XII play, I feel they're much better prepared going into conference now that 365 days ago. The one thing that worries me is that the Horns haven't established a consistent threat on the ground yet. Vondrell McGee looks decent, but he seems more like a third down runner than an every down back. Cody Johnson is a bruiser, and honestly, I'm thrilled with how he's playing so far, but again, he's a change of pace, not a 20+ carry back. Fozzy Whittaker looked fantastic in the UTEP game, but he's been injured and hasn't seen the field since then, so who knows about him for the long-term. As great as Colt has been-and he has been terrific-if no one emerges as a consistent rinning threat, UT could be in for some rough times, especially against, oh I don't know, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas Tech-among others-who's outstanding offenses will kill a team that can't control the clock. Also, get well soon Blaine Irby, a class act if there ever was one.

• As for Oklahoma-they look outstanding, they're gonna be number 1 in the next poll, yadda yadda yadda. That's enough about that, I don't want to think about them for as long as possible.


• Before the Alabama-UGA game this evening, the aforementioned Uncle Jimbo from Arkansas (seriously, I couldn't make that up) exchanged text messages about who we thought would win. I was picking the Bulldogs, and was honestly surprised when he texted me that he was picking Bama-by two touchdowns! I didn't think there was any chance of that happening, but low (lo, loe?) and behold, the Tide pulled it out by 11, in a game that wasn't nearly that close. As the final whistle was blowing, I received another text from Jim, who reminded me that 12 points is in fact two touchdowns, and so he was only one point from getting another pick exactly right. So for the record, that's two games that Uncle picked the exact score for, and was a TOTAL of four points off. While he isn't a prophet just yet, the line gets blurrier by the day. (If only I had the picture of you as an overgrown 18 year old wearing cutoff jean shorts and a Texas Longhorn T-shirt that bared your midriff while holding a line of catfish, I would show the world what a smart-looking man your are, Jimbo) Also, he did buy me this thing when I was like one, so he's known what he's doing for a while now:

• While West Virginia fans probably aren't ready to admit it, how much do they with RichRod was still coaching the Mountaineers? Granted, Michigan won't be real good for at least two seasons, but today's come-from-behind win against 'Sconsin showed that he's a legit coach and that he's going to do great things in Ann Arbor. I can't wait to see the Michigan/Ohio State games for the next three years, when T.Pryor comes into his own for OSU, and the Wolverines continue to adapt to the Rodriguez Way.

As far as I know, that's it for now, gotta go get my fantasy football lineup ready for my match up tomorrow with this guy.

Over and Out.