Let's talk college football! (1 Viewer)

[Joel Mack]

Of course, being a sophomore at ND makes me just slightly biased...

Fear not, little camper. Reality will set in soon enough...

 

[Jeff_A]

Notre Dame is going all the way this year...

Considering the fact that most teams must go undefeated to win a national title; I figure your prediction has about six hours before it is dashed, Rob.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Notre Dame is going all the way this year

That's the funniest thing I've heard in awhile.
Michigan pulled a wild one out. Thankfully they must not teach Washington students how to count, since a too many men on the field penalty put the Wolverines in position for the winning field goal. Great finish to an excellent game (except for the ugly special teams play for both teams).
GO BLUE!

 

[Jeremiah]

See Scott, no problem, the game was never in doubt:rolleyes
What a great finish to a great game! After the first quarter I was like "Oh ya this might be a route" to my thoughts after the awful draw play called on the final drive "Well, looks like we just are going to get beat by a better football team."
Man was I excited and still am after that final kick. I think this team can be pretty darn good by the end of the year.

 

[Carlo_M]

You're welcome, Scott!
A great game by both teams. But I have to say:
Michigan fumbled at the 1 and shouldn't have scored the TD
Still, a great game. Had its share of mistakes and early-season rust, but by the end both teams looked to be in fine form. I expect good things from both teams this year. Hopefully my Bruins can put Washington down again this year...unfortunately it's up at UW so I'm not too confident.

 

[Vlad D]

I'm sure I'm going to get razzed but I'm going to say it anyway. GO CANES!!

And, yes I am a die hard, true Hurricane Alumnus. Graduated in 1989. I also hate bandwagon fans, and we have a ton here in Miami.

I also believe that Oregon should have played in the National Championship game. Although it wouldn't have mattered, IMO. But hey I'm biased.

Anyway, this should be another great season.

We got some canes over here! Whoosh! Whoosh!

 

[Joseph S]

Considering the fact that most teams must go undefeated to win a national title; I figure your prediction has about six hours before it is dashed, Rob.

Undefeated and and un-scored upon.
12 wins to the championship. Victory March.mp3

 

[Armando Zamora]

Michigan pulled a wild one out. Thankfully they must not teach Washington students how to count, since a too many men on the field penalty put the Wolverines in position for the winning field goal. Great finish to an excellent game (except for the ugly special teams play for both teams).

I couldn't believe it...it was a gift from the college football fairy...here Michigan, we'll give you 15 yards, a first down and an extra time-out (sort of). What a whacky final series!!! Go Blue!!!
For those of you who missed this thriller of a season opener...don't worry...you'll probably be able to watch it in its entirety next week on ESPN Classic...this one was a taylor-made ESPN Instant Classic.

 

[John Thomas]

Gotta bring a bit of balance here: Go VOLS! So they played Wyoming..it was a good warmup. MTSU actually looked quite impressive against Alabama today and will play Tennessee next. Then, it's time for the Gators to come to Rocky Top and get smashed!
Yee-haw and all that (tyring to play up to the stereotype)

 

[Todd H]

I HATE playing Clemson. They always play us tough. Still, a win's a win. We've got two weeks to prepare for the Cocks. Let's hope Richt gets it together by then. Go Dawgs!

 

[Jeff_A]

A great game by both teams. But I have to say:
Michigan fumbled at the 1 and shouldn't have scored the TD

Do you remember the ridiculous amount of forward progress they gave Washington on a key first down conversion in their final scoring drive? I would say that might even things up, Carlo.
I am still convinced John Navarre is in the running as the worst quarterback Michigan has ever had. How does someone taller than any NFL quarterback, let alone the NCAA, have so many balls blocked at the line of scrimmage? His ball flight is far too flat and he has no concept of the word touch whatsoever. This kid has seen no improvement in his (mental or physical) game since his arrival.
Scott, who is the young left-hander waiting in the wings? This could be the second-coming of Rick Leach. Michigan needs to start developing him now!

 

[Armando Zamora]

I am still convinced John Navarre is in the running as the worst quarterback Michigan has ever had. How does someone taller than any NFL quarterback, let alone the NCAA, have so many balls blocked at the line of scrimmage? His ball flight is far too flat and he has no concept of the word touch whatsoever. This kid has seen no improvement in his (mental or physical) game since his arrival.

OMG, Jeff. My thoughts exactly. I changed what I had originally posted because I didn't want to subject all the college football fans on this thread to my rant. However, now that the door is open, here's a snippet of my original thoughts:
[rant]I was never too keen on Navarre as the QB, and I'm sad to say, he didn't win me over after his performance in the opener. I've seen every snap this kid has taken (Gameplan subscriber) and I'm convinced that when he breaks the huddle and a pass play has been called, he already has his mind made up with who he is going to throw to. I mean, you send out three wideouts AND have a back coming out of the backfield...check off damn it...don't stare down your primary receiver and telegraph it to the entire defense!!! Oh, and thanks alot for tackling your own halfback during the hand-off on 3rd and inches inside the five yard line. IDIOT!!! I screamed!!! IMO (and it ain't humble), he hasn't shown any maturity or improvement from last season (yet). At 6'6", he has a bird's-eye view of the entire field. At least, Mini-me could get the ball past the outstretched hands of the D-line. [/rant]
I have other thoughts/rants concerning Navarre and the game, but I'll leave it alone, unless someone wants to pry.
Oy!!! I'm gonna have a coronary by the end of the season...gotta love college football!!

 

[Jeff_A]

don't stare down your primary receiver and telegraph it to the entire defense!!!

Excellent point, Armando! Just one more item on Lloyd Carr's consideration list.

 

[Armando Zamora]

To further substantiate my opinion, Marquise Walker had 86 catches total for the 2001 season. The next player with the most catches for the season...Bill Seymour with 27...BTW, Seymour was the tight end!! The next true receiver with the most catches...Calvin Bell with 21. Did I forget to mention that Bell wasn't even 3rd in catches? Between #2 Seymour and #4 Bell was HB/FB B.J. Askew with 26.

That's a pretty "focused" QB, if you asked me!! Sure, Walker was the go-to-guy last year, but to have that much of a gap between your #1 and #2 receiver in catches...?

 

[Rob Tenniswood]

To all those skeptics that expected ND to lose yesterday to Maryland, I just wanted to say 'neener neener nee-e-e-ner!'

Sorry. But that beautiful 22-0 win against a ranked team. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Irish are back!

 

[Carlo_M]

Do you remember the ridiculous amount of forward progress they gave Washington on a key first down conversion in their final scoring drive? I would say that might even things up, Carlo

I'm definitely not saying that UW wasn't the recipient of beneficial ref decisions. Just that a fumble at the 1 yd line that wasn't called that led to the next play being punched in for 6 points is a bit different than the first down yardage they got.
But hey, it's all woulda-shoulda-coulda. Washington had plenty of chances to win the game, and came out the short end of the stick.
I still can't believe they got caught with 12 men on the field AFTER A FRICKIN' TIMEOUT!!! Talk about a brain cramp. If anything, that right there cost them the game. I know the 47 yarder was good by a large margin, but would anyone at Michigan want that kicker trying from 63?
PS - I'm not a UW fan (Bruins all the way!) I was just commenting on that fumble as I saw it. In the replay it was clearly a fumble, but hey, they don't have replay in NCAA so you live and die by the refs judgments.

 

[Jeremiah]

Man, and I thought I wasn't a big Navarre fan. I did think Navarre has improved since last year but I am still not confident when he is in the game; I agree he has no touch. Notre Dame will be a good test for Navarre to see how far he has come b/c last year he was just awful on the road.

Spincer Brinton is the left hander but he is a Jr. like Navarre(eligibility wise) and unless Navarre melts down like last year we probbaly will not see him.

The man I want to see in the freshman Matt Guiterrez but I am affraid we will have to wait 2 years for that to happen.

Carlo, both teams turned the ball over on the goalline and both teams got a favorable call to retain posestion that led to TD's. But both teams had chances to win at the end.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I agree that Navarre will never be confused with the recent fine Michigan QB's. He may be the first QB in many years never to see time on an NFL roster. How many times can he overthrow his receivers? Unfortunately, Spencer Britton looks like a Navarre clone (tall, uncoordinated and slow). I do not know much about the freshman Guiterrez, but there is no way that Lloyd Carr would go with a freshman QB unless he had no other choice.

Michigan fumbled at the 1 and shouldn't have scored the TD

No argument there, Carlo. Michigan got a break from the officials on that play. They also were very fortunate to keep the ball on the last drive, when Edwards fumbled the ball after a catch, and then just stood there staring at the ball thinking it was an incomplete pass. Only a great hustle play by Butler to fall on the ball saved the drive. Of course, the biggest gift of all was from the Washington defense with 12 men on the field. Without that penalty, UM would have been forced to try a Hail Mary pass on the final play and most likely would have lost (only Colorado can complete those passes in Ann Arbor :frowning: ).
Last year Michigan outplayed the Huskies in Washington, but lost the game. This year Washington slightly outplayed Michigan, but the Wolverines got the breaks. I guess things do even out.

 

[Jeremiah]

(only Colorado can complete those passes in Ann Arbor ).

Now Scott, I don't want to hear anymore foul language from you again, some things are best not talked about
edit: Big game next week with Miami heading over to the Swamp to play the Gators. This should be a great test for both teams.

 

[Carlo_M]

Is that Matt Gutierrez from Concorde De La Salle? That's the team in NorCal that hasn't been defeated in something like 11 years (unless it happened recently). When they played Long Beach Poly last year or two ago, it was on local TV because it was #1 vs. #2 in the nation. Well LBP had superior athletes (I think a half-dozen are at major programs like UCLA/USC and some Florida schools, etc.) but CDLS was much better coached and executed the game plan better - thus winning and preserving their crazy win streak. Matt was the QB on the team and ran the system perfectly. I think he had less talent than the other squad, but he sure could make the progression read and knew what to do when those monsters on LBP's defense bore down on him.

Don't know how he'll do at the college level, but the kid is football smart, that much I do know. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised in a year or two...