Thursday, August 31, 2006
Sure Happy It's Thursday
Oh, the Thursday night game. What was once only a gimmick to get some live sporting content on ESPN and to get Division I-AA teams some easy exposure has become a staple of the college football universe.
After all, no self-respecting D I-A team would forgo decades of tradition and play on a day other than Saturday, right? But when ESPN drives a satellite truck full of cash up to your stadium’s front gate and you think about all the 5-star recruits seeing your game, in primetime, unopposed by any other game, Saturdays look overrated. There are programs who seemingly have built themselves on the foundation of excusive national exposure on Thursday night. Is it just me, or does feel like every other Thursday either Florida State or Virginia Tech is playing?
Unfortunately, now that the Thursday might game has become so popular, there’s a glut on the market. Everybody wants a piece of the pie. Problem is, there’s not that much pie to go around. There are 29 total Division I games being played tonight, 16 of them involving D I-A teams. Only a handful of these games are on TV. I understand that in some markets, Thursday games draw bigger crowds than Saturday games. But without the added benefit of TV exposure, I don’t see the point of so many games on Thursday.
But you have to revel in the glory of college football, no matter what day it’s played on. So I’ve decided each week to preview the Sure Happy It’s Thursday (S.H.I.T.) Game of the Week. Because there’s nothing like Thursday night football to make you say “Oh, S.H.I.T, the weekend’s almost here!”
Sure Happy It's Thursday Game of the Week: Temple at Buffalo
If there was ever a Sure Happy It's Thursday (S.H.I.T) game, it had to be this one. Now, I could break this game down by statistical analysis of both teams, offensive and defensive tendencies, or strength of roster and recruiting classes. Then again, it’s Temple and Buffalo. So let’s look at two really important categories for each team: whose mascot would win in a fight and who has more impressive alumni.
Round 1: The Mascots
Buffalo’s mascot is not an actual buffalo. I think this is a mistake, because they had the unique opportunity to become the first school to combine both their mascot and school name. Like Cher, Madonna, or Prince, they could have had instant, one-name recognition: “Buffalo.” I am relived that they resisted the temptation to call themselves the Buffalo Wings. According to the school’s website, the athletic teams at SUNY Buffalo used to be called the Bison. However they "wanted to distinguish themselves from professional teams in the Queen City," so they changed their name to Bulls. To review, they didn’t want to be confused with the Bills, so they chose Bulls. Huh?
Temple’s mascot is the Owl. I could look up why they choose the Owl, but I’m just going to assume it’s either because owls are wise or because former basketball coach and campus icon John Cheney looks like an owl. In a fight, I have to go with the owl. I know the owl is smaller and weaker, but it is a nocturnal creature and is smart enough sneak up to the bull in the middle of the night and tip it over. Round 1 goes to Temple.
Round 2: Alumni
I already know that Bill Cosby is a Temple alumnus. Since Temple has the ‘Cos in its corner, I expected the Owls to have a huge advantage before I even looked up any Buffalo alumni. I was impressed however, that Buffalo counters with Coca-Cola Enterprises CEO John Alm and the man with the coolest name ever for a journalist, Wolf Blitzer. Buffalo looked strong in this category until I found Temple’s secret weapon: Bob Saget. With Cosby and Saget as a one-two punch, how could I not give this category to Temple? Not so fast my friends! Remeber Saget’s famous line from Half Baked: "I used to suck dick for coke.” For Coke? Looks like Bob is Mr. Alm’s bitch. In a stunning upset, Round 2 goes to Buffalo.
Round 3: Tiebreaker: Better-Looking Cheerleaders
I could only find one picture of any Buffalo cheerleaders up close. Conversely, Temple seems to fairly proud of their cheerleaders. The fact that photographers apparently don’t want to get within 20 ft of a Buffalo cheerleader says it all for me. Round 3 and the match goes to Temple.
So there you have it. In the first S.H.I.T. Game of the Week, Temple should be able to pull one out against the Bills Bison Bulls tonight. In reality, the best way to make this match up truly interesting would be to release a herd of buffalo and have them chase the Temple players Pamplona-style through the streets of Philadelphia.
Enjoy the first night of college football, 2006 edition.
UPDATE 9/1 7:30 am: Unfortunately, my S.H.I.T. pick turned out to be just that, as Buffalo beat Temple 9-3 in overtime.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
3 Thoughts and a Cloud of Dust: Quarterbacks, Quarterbacks, Quarterbacks
--Rocky Top Talk points out the similarities between Cal's quarterback situation right now and Tennessee's quarterback situation last year. It is honestly a little creepy how analogous the two are, right down to the types of quarterbacks and Tedford's comment about how "sombody has got to take the first snap." Makes me feel better about the Vols' chances.
--Another feel good for UT: Cal's newly appointed starting QB Nate Longshore had this to say about playing in Neyland Stadium Saturday: "I'm fired up to play at Tennessee. It's pretty loud on the video game, so I'm sure it will be 100 times louder in person."
Yeah, Nate. 100 times louder, at least. Do these guys have any clue what they're about to experience?
--As far as how UT's quarterback is doing, there's an article on Volquest [$] about how Tennsessee's offense will answer the bell on Saturday. Along those same lines, I'm interested in the comments Coach Fulmer made yesterday. As I pointed out below, CPF used the words "eager" and "anxious" several times Tuesday, mostly to describe his feelings about the offense. Those words are very similar, but have different connotations. Is Fumer anxious, nervous, even a little scared about seeing Ainge take the field Saturday? Or is he eager, excited, enthusiastic about the potential of the offense? I know I'm a little of both.
We've made it through hump day. It's almost Football Time in Tennessee!
Synonymmetry
Eager. Anxious.
Fulmer used both terms repeatedly in his press conference on Tuesday (he even threw in a couple of "work like heck"s for good measure). And although headlines in the Tennessean and the Daily Times chose to focus on different words, they both get the message across that Fulmer's feeling the same thing we all are: it's time to get it on.
Monday, August 28, 2006
There Ain't No "D" in "California"...
...or is there? As if I weren't vexed enough about the Cal Bears coming to Knoxville on Saturday, there's an article in today's Tennessean that says this year's Cal defense is the best that Tedford's had since taking over as head coach in 2002. So, in addition to worrying about RB Marshawn Lynch and WR DeSean Jackson, I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of the week about CB Daymeion Hughes jumping an errant Erik Ainge pass and taking it to the house, DT Brandon Mebane eating both Michael Frogg and Josh McNeil before halftime, and LB Desmond Bishop stuffing Arian Foster like a green pepper.
Of course, how much does it really mean that this is Tedford's best defense ever? Cal plays in the PAC-10, where defenses are more like swiss cheese than brick walls. The bag of garbage I carried out to the curb this morning might be the best bag of garbage I ever had, but it still stunk. Am I calling Cal's defense a stinky bag of garbage? Well, not yet. Ask me this time next week.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Take Me To Your Leader
--Coach Phillip Fulmer has decided not to name team captains until after the season. If any of the players got their feelings hurt over the move, they're not showing it publicly. In fact, Fulmer says "I don't think they care right now because they see the leadership growing." Hey, if the players are happy and the big man's happy, then I'm happy. Until this blows up in his face. Then I'm pissed.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
3 Thoughts and a Cloud of Dust: Frogg, Karl, and Q
--A month ago, if you would have told me that Josh McNeil wasn't starting the Cal game, I would have thought the o-line was in big trouble. But now that the news has come down that Michael Frogg will be snapping the ball on September 2, I feel pretty good about it. Fulmer has said that both McNeil and Frogg will play, and he seems pretty comfortable with it, at least publicly.
My initial fear coming into summer camp was that there wasn't another true center on the team and that McNeil not starting meant another player would have to play out of position. But maybe we have more depth than it seemed. Besides these are the stories that make college football fun: a former walk-on beats out the high-school all-American for the starting job.
--Speaking of good stories, look for Ryan Karl to become a fan favorite this year. He's the kind of player fans like, a life-long Vol fan who was underrated coming out of high school but worked and waited for his chance to shine.
--Freshman receiver Quintin Hancock has been making noise for a few weeks now. It will be interesting to see if he contributes much this year. This is one of those cases where I wish our coaching staff would show more creativity and let some young playmakers try to do some things.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
...and Cal's not Alabama
There's a couple of interesting Tennessee-related items over at College Football Resource. In addition to a preview of the Cal game, there's also a power ranking of the SEC.
As far as CFR's rankings go, he pegs the Vols at #8 in the conference. I know that after last year's showing, it's hard to expect much from the Big Orange. But if the team with the most wins over the last 80 years is only 8th in the conference, I think that says a lot about the strength of the SEC.
I'm not going to say much about the Cal/UT preview at CFR, it's been pretty well hashed and re-hashed in the comments section of the post. He doesn't give the Vols much of a chance to win the game, but as View From Rocky Top points out, CFR seems to know more about Cal than he knows about UT. To whit, CFR says that Marshawn Lynch is a god in the form of a running back, but says Arian Foster is a steaming bowl of poo. OK, he doesn't say that, but I do think he greatly undervalues Foster. Foster may not "look" like the next great back to come from UT, but neither did Travis Stephens.
The line in the game preview that really stood out to me was a line that I'm sure was mean to be innocuous. One reason CFR believes Cal will beat UT is that "Tennessee isn't Texas Tech." Now, the context it was used in was in reference to the 2004 Holiday Bowl where Tech whomped an uninspired Cal team. But the first thing I thought when I read it was, "Damn right we're not Texas Tech." Tennessee won't use a gimmicky offense to try and confuse the Bears' defense. The Vols will try to play good old fashioned "Tennessee football." They'll play for field position, running most of the time and mixing in play action passes. You'll see the Vols lean heavily on the defense, and if that unit pulls throught, the Vols will be in excellent position to win the game.
Tennessee's not Texas Tech...remember that, Cal.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Once Again, Heisman and Vols Don't Mix
Earlier this week, Heisman Pundit posted his thoughts on David Cutcliffe's reputation as a quarterbacks coach. Basically, HP believes that Cutcliffe is overrated because he has mostly coached can't-miss prospects, namely Peyton and Eli Manning. It is a semi-defensible argument, albeit one that View From Rocky Top does a good job of poking holes in. I'll let VFRT's counter argument stand and not even bother with the main part of HP's post.
What I do want to delve into is the comments section, which pretty much evolves into this argument: Jeff Tedford is a better QB coach than David Cutcliffe because Tedford takes unheralded signal-callers and makes them high draft picks, while Cut gets highly-touted guys and manages to not screw them up. I can't debate the fact that Cutcliffe's guys have been higher-ranked coming out of high school, but I still think there's more to the Cut-Tedford debate than that simple fact.
In the comments, HP says
"[Tedford's QBs] may not do well [in the NFL], but they get drafted high. So they make money, which if I am a recruit, is what matters."
And that probably rings true for many recruits, but I've followed recruiting enough to know that all recruits can't be lumped under one blanket statement. If I were a recruit, I'd rather play for the guy who had a hand in making two of the NFL's hottest commodities rather than the coach who produced a player hated in Detroit and another replaced in Baltimore.
Furthermore, HP says
"Shuler was a top recruit who was destined to be drafted high by the NFL. Cutcliffe did nothing to mold an already impressive prospect and prepare him for the league.
On the other hand, Tedford took Dilfer, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, A.J. Feeley, Kyle Boller and Aaron Rodgers and sent them to the NFL, usually as high draft picks."
Cutcliffe did as much as he could to prepare Shuler while he was at Tennessee. It was Shuler's ill-fated decision to leave school early and enter the NFL in not-ready-for-primetime shape. And I don't think we can blame Shuler's career-ending injuries on Cutcliffe. And although Tedford has sent all those QBs to the NFL as high draft picks, they haven't shown themselves to be any more prepared for the league than Shuler (other than maybe Dilfer).
Let's look at the marquee quarterbacks each man has coached. Cutcliffe had Andy Kelly, Heath Shuler, Peyton Manning, Tee Martin, Romero Miller, and Eli Manning. Tedford coached Trent Dilfer, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, A.J. Feeley, Kyle Boller and Aaron Rodgers. I'll ignore Ethan Flatt for Cut and Joseph Ayoob for Tedford.
Being that this is a college football blog, I want to focus on these players' college careers. As college starters, Tedford's charges have four rings among them, Dilfer with two WAC championships and Harrington with two PAC-10 titles. Cutcliffe's boys also have four conference championships: Kelly twice, Peyton and Martin once each. But theirs are of the SEC variety, which definitely carry more weight than any WAC title and in most circles are more prestigious than a PAC-10 title. Don't forget to add Martin's BCS championship (HP conveniently did).
Although I want all former Vols to have great success in the NFL, I mostly want them to win championships while at UT. Cut has had a variety of QBs win championships over an extended period of time in the toughest conference in football. Some of Tedford's guys have had some success in some weaker conferences.
I will argue that Cutcliffe has an offensive system that not only prepares good quarterbacks for the NFL (the Mannings) but also gets the most out of less talented QBs (Kelly, Martin, Miller) and minimizes their shortcomings. Meanwhile, Tedford has a great offensive system...for the west coast. His guys look impressive torching defenses in the WAC and PAC-10, but those inflated stats betray them when they get to the NFL and are found to be overrated.
I will even go so far as to argue that Cutcliffe does more when he is given less. Two of Cut's greatest success stories are two of the less-heralded QBs he's had: Andy Kelly and Tee Martin. The "Big 3" of Shuler, Manning, and Manning have one ring between them. The bulk of Cutcliffe's hardware comes from Kelly and Martin. Conversely, Tedford had to rely on his best two, Dilfer and Harrington, to bring him a ring.
Cut's system may not be as flashy, but it has proven results. Will the results continue this year with Ainge? All of Big Orange Country is holding its breath to find out.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Go College!
Since there's really nothing else going on right now, ESPN.com has started a NFL vs. college football debate. Pat Forde has one of the main articles from the site. Haywood Harris also wrote about the subject in the Maryville Daily Times. Harris argues that both college and high school football hold more interest than their professional counterpart. And I agree wholeheartedly.
No doubt that as far as quality of athlete and level of skill, the NFL towers over any other kind of football. But I am equaly sure that college fans care more, have more invested in their team than the average NFL fan. For an NFL fan, the game is an important part of his life. For the college fan, the game is his life.
Besides, there sure aren't any 108,000 seat NFL stadiums.
Monday, August 14, 2006
ugh.
Saturday’s scrimmage was probably one of the most dissected in Vol history, so there’s not much more I can add. I will state the obvious: if the offensive highlight of the day is your kicker scoring on a fake field goal, you didn’t have a very good day.
Scrimmage articles here, here, and here if you need to catch up.
A final note about the scrimmage: yes, Crompton did perform better than Ainge on Saturday. But before we all start yelling about a quarterback controversy, let’s remember the old coaches' saying about how the most improvement is shown between the first scrimmage and second, between the first game and the second. Let’s see if Ainge does any better next time out before we all start reaching for the kool-aid.
Just my $0.02. Go Vols!
Saturday, August 12, 2006
The Wearin' O' No Green
Good news: for the first time in 8 years the coaches are taking the skirts green jerseys off the quarterbacks for today’s scrimmage. That means for the first time since 1998 the QBs will play actual football before they actually play football.
Hmmm...1998, that was a good year, wasn’t it?
I’ve heard lots of Vol fans call for the removal of the green jerseys for a long time (myself being one of them). Of course, if Ainge or Crompton comes out of this scrimmage with some kind of injury, most of the Vol nation will call Fulmer an idiot. Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Quarterback-center exchange
--Turns out, Peyton Manning's rich! Who knew? And if Peyton donates $1 million a year for the next 5 years, he'll qualify for a parking pass at home games.
--Speaking of former QBs, Tee Martin has found a new career as a coach. I hope he becomes very, very successful.
--I don't know whether to be encouraged or discouraged by this bit from The Tennessean:
Center search: Junior Michael Frogg and redshirt freshman Josh McNeil are still the front-runners, but Fulmer threw a new name out there in the race for starting center: walk-on Cory Sullins, a 6-1, 276-pound freshman from Cottontown.
"It's very competitive," Fulmer said. "Michael will have a good day, and then Josh will show some things. But (Sullins) might be the best one: a little walk-on."
The good news is that Fulmer, an old offensive lineman and a head coach who has been very hands-on with his o-line lately, doesn't seem all that worried that a walk-on and a former walk-on are battling a blue-chip recruit for the starting center spot. I have been worried for a while that if McNeil isn't ready to be an SEC center by September, then we'd have to pull another lineman over leaving the Vols without their best 5 limemen at their 5 best positions. But maybe one of these other guys really can play if Phil needs him to.
--One weekend closer to kickoff. GO VOLS!
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
3 Thoughts and a Cloud of Dust: Rocky Top, Mapu, and a Little Pad Poppin'
--Everyone loves a good list, right? So check out this list of top fight songs from SI On Campus. Rocky Top makes the top five (ahead of the Notre Dame Fight Song), which leads to some pretty funny comments posted by the haters. My favorite comes from a Minnesota fan talking about the Gophers playing UT in the '86 Liberty Bowl and hearing Rocky Top played 25+ times: "every time the chorus came up, the stadium shook like a white trash Nuremburg." And that's the point, isn't it?
--From reports coming out of practice, J.T. Mapu looks to be a major factor this fall after coming back from a two-year Mormon mission. Coach Steve Caldwell, who recruited Mapu, was quoted as saying "I think, at times, he looks better than he did when he was here the first time," and position coach Dan Brooks says Mapu is ahead of where he thought he'd be. Volquest.com also has an article about how impressive Mapu's been so far. UPDATE: UTsports.com has a nice Mapu article, too.
I've already pointed out how important I think Mapu's ability to contribute in a big way is for this season. So needless to say, all of this positive hype about JT is a very good sign, especially considering how this offseason has been more focused on team than individuals than last year's publicity machine.
--Of course, right now any good news we get out of camp is just talk, we'll have to see what the boys look like September 2. If, like me, you're tired of all the preseason chatter and want to see some hitting, UTsports.com has a nice little video of the Tennessee drill from Tuesday night's practice. Notable: Jacques McClendon (#65) is a man child. As hard as it is for a true freshman to make an impact on the o-line, I think this kid will get some real p.t. this year.
GO VOLS!
Saturday, August 05, 2006
5 Signs the Vols Are Making Me Prematurely Old, Part 3
#2: The Symptom: Upset Stomach
The Cause: Phil Fulmer
Ok, it was too easy too easy to make the connection between “stomach” and “Fulmer,” but the big man’s performance last season was enough to make any Vol fan a little queasy. UT fans have extremely high expectations year in and year out. Winning a national championship might be a little too lofty goal in most seasons, but wining a SEC championship is not. Should the Big Orange fail again this year, Fulmer will probably be on a very hot seat; and if they fail spectacularly like they did last season, Phil might be gone altogether. That scenario begs the question: if not Fulmer, then who?
Being the head coach at Tennessee is not an easy job. At Florida, FSU, Miami, USC, Texas, and a handful of other schools there is enough in-state talent to roll out of bed and pick up a top10 recruiting class. Not the case in the Volunteer State. Any coach who takes the reins in Knoxville has to be willing to hump it as a recruiter. CPF has gladly taken on that responsibility and done quite well at it. It is not a given that another top coach would work as hard as Fulmer on the recruiting trail. Another thing: when it comes to the coaching fraternity Fulmer may not be the flashiest, funniest, or prettiest, but he is the winningest. That is not something to take lightly.
The Cure: The return of Young Phil
When Fulmer first took the head coaching job at UT he was lean, energetic, and innovative. The stress and years of high expectations from Vol faithful have taken their toll on the coach. Also, Fulmer seemed to rest on his laurels a little too much after winning the national championship in 1998. Saying that Phil Fulmer need to get hungrier probably opens up too many opportunities for Krispy Kreme jokes, but in a football sense that is exactly what needs to happen. CPF needs to be that wide-eyed coach of 1992 again.
and finally...
#1:The Symptom: Confusion/Disorientation
The Cause: Too many Question Marks
Any Vol fan who says he knows what to expect out of this season is either lying, crazy, or drunk. Pretty much anything is in play starting in September. UT has the raw talent to go 11-1 and be playing for an SEC championship on Dec. 2. They also have enough head cases and demons left over from last season to go 5-7 and be looking at a total overhaul. There are question marks at almost every position on the field, and even some in the coaches’ booth. Trying to figure out the answers is enough to make any Vol fan’s head spin.
The Cure: Getting some answers.
The following questions hold the key to Tennessee’s football season:
1. Do we have a quarterback? Hopefully, the lasting image of Erik Ainge will not be of him flinging a heave of stupidity out of the end zone in Baton Rouge. Ainge has to be the man this year in order for UT to have success. Otherwise, we spend a year breaking in a talented but inexperienced Jon Crompton and hoping he can be the man next year.
2. Is the O-Line any good? Aaron Sears is a player, but if Josh McNeil isn’t an SEC-caliber center, we won’t have our best 5 at their best positions.
3. Do the receivers finally start making plays? Jayson Swain, Robert Meachem, and Bret Smith sure looked like all-Americans a few years ago on signing day. They have failed to live up to the hype so far, but their ability to make some plays and take pressure off of the QB this season will be a key to the Vols success.
4. Can the front 7 hold the line? Last year, the one bright spot was the play of the D-line and linebackers. This years group probably won’t match that same level of excellence, but they do need to be solid. A new group of linebackers will have much of pressure heaped upon them, but one key will be the return of JT Mapu coming off his hiatus for mission work If Mapu can step in and be a factor early, it will add much needed depth to a line that lost a lot of its playmaking ability form last year.
5. Will the secondary step up? The good news is that the secondary comes back pretty much intact from last year. The bad news is that last year, the secondary was sporadic at best. The secondary ranked 54th in the nation last season in pass defense, good enough to be middle of the road nationally but not nearly good enough to compete in the SEC. If the secondary isn’t improved this year, it won’t matter how good the front seven play.
Given all the uncertainty, all the storylines and all the hope surrounding the coming season, it should make for one heckuva year. GO VOLS!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
5 Signs the Vols Are Making Me Prematurely Old, Part 2
Today I continue listing the ways my beloved Vols are causing me to feel much, much older than I am.
#4: The Symptom: Persistent Headache
The Cause: Steve Spurrier
As if the Evil Genius didn’t ruin enough of the 90’s for me, the SOB had to come back to torment me now. And he stepped into Neyland Stadium last October as if it were 1995 all over again. That night something didn’t feel right. Peyton Manning (God bless him) was in attendance to have his number retired. Spurrier was leading the least talented team he ever brought to Knoxville onto the field. And there was an air in the stadium that having Peyton and El Visor on the same turf again wasn’t a good thing. Realistically, #16 being retired had nothing to do with the fact that UT played horribly that night, but it still felt all too familiar.
The Cure: The turn of the century all over again
For all of Spurrier’s early success against Fulmer, the two split the previous 4 meetings before last year. Phil bested Steve in ‘98 and’01with Visor Boy winning the two in between, and even one of those was the Jabar Gaffney “no catch,” so CPF seemed to have turned the corner against his nemesis before last year. If Stevie makes Phil look silly again this year (which is entirely possible). my head might explode. However, a win in Columbia would be a pretty strong painkiller.
#3: The Symptom: Chest Pain
The Cause: Playing a SEC schedule
Every fan thinks his conference is the toughest. Honestly, the talent level of players in all of the BCS conferences is pretty even (except, of course, in the Big East, which shouldn’t even be a BCS conference anymore). The thing that makes the SEC different is that in the South, it just matters more. The fans think of football as religion, and the players get that. It’s why no SEC team is safe playing any conference game, except against Kentucky, maybe. So it’s no wonder that I still feel tightness in the chest over a conference schedule that starts with Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and a trip to Columbia to face the aforementioned Spurrier and the ‘Cocks. And that’s just through October.
The Cure: A strong start
Getting through October at .500 in the SEC will be tough enough, but it might not make my angina go away. A 3-1 start is asking a lot, but it could be just what the doctor ordered. 4-0 would cause a heart attack of a different sort.
Next time: Confusion!