Post-Game Wrap Up: Hofstra

I'd have put this up earlier were we not playing Hofstra.  Its so tough to get up for a IAA team coming off an under-whelming 7-5 season and replacing 14 starters.  Its ever tougher, however, to adequately judge a performance against such a team.  A win is obviously expected.  But what should we have looked for between the lines?

Aside from the W, I would have called the game a success if Donnie Brown notched 100+ yards in the first half (check), the defense shut out or otherwise dominated Hofstra (big check), and Lorenzon played mistake free and connected for at least three passes of 20+ yards (not so much).

First, what went right:

-Donnie Brown was an animal.  He exhibited excellent burst and hit holes hard.  While he didn't exhibit extraordinary power or elusiveness, Brown continues to prove that you simply cannot throw an arm tackle at him.

-Scott Lutrus.  Several TFL and a fantastic pick.  No point in beating a dead horse, Scottie was all over the field.  

-Pass Rush.  5 sacks, two of which were credited to JR DE Lindsey Witten.  I thought Lindsey should have been given another sack but I'm not going to cry about it.  Witten owned the backfield.  UConn has just found their situational pass-rusher extraordinaire.  

Now what went wrong:

-Lorenzon.  What.  The.  Fuck.  His three picks (should have been four, one was dropped) were HORRIBLE.  Not one of the balls can be attributed to great coverage or any fantastic defensive effort; they were just ill-advised throws.  The Courant, in an article this morning, echoes my sentiments that Lorenzon looked to be pressing.  While this does not portend good things for the offense, its the first game of the season so I won't read too much into it.  For everyone calling for Zach Frazier (like the guy sitting behind me at the game): its early.

-Offensive Play Calling.  Vanilla.  Plain-Jane.  Fucking Boring.  Pick and choose your adjective because the play calling was mind-blowingly unimaginative.  We must have picked up a copy of the playbook that Michigan scratched during the off season because I saw more stretch-zone plays in one half than I saw all of last season.  Five or six plays stand out as being run again and again and again: the aforementioned stretch zone, a toss sweep, a simple (manly) iso, and a waggle in which the backside WR ran a drag parallel to Lorenzon.  

      I'm willing (praying, actually) to believe that the play-calling was symptomatic of coach-paranoia; why give Temple more film than they need?  One could also chalk it up to the injuries to Dixon and Todman, with those two in the game one would expect we could/would open the offense up.

Final Verdict: Meh.  

                          -I still expect to beat Temple next week, but it will not be an easy game.  If Lorenzon can forget about Thursday and Todman heals up we may be able to pummel them, however I have no reason to believe that we won't do everything in our power to keep Temple in the game.  Five turnovers next week would be damning.  

Keeping Up with the Joneses: Realists See the Glass as Half Empty Edition

Tom Luicci, Star Ledger-  Joe Martinek is still in the mix to replace Ray Rice  There are a few ways to look at this.  The optimists and Knight faithful would have you believe that for a lightly (if at all) recruited running back from the suburbs of Jersey, Martinek is pretty good.  Us realists see the glass as half empty; that Martinek is still poaching carries from Jourdan Brooks, Mason Robinson, and Kordell Young speaks volumes as to the caliber of tailback at RU.   

While I'm personally rooting for Martinek to wrest some carries away from the aforementioned three (he's a sentimental favorite of mine, being one of the best damned javelin throwers I've ever seen), his personal success does not necessarily portend success for RU.  

Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician- Brilliant tee-shirts!  Remember kids: its not pessimism if its a blatant truth!

Cincinnati Enquirer- On the heels of his (last ditch, desperate) lawsuit, Matt Mauk will be given yet ANOTHER appeal by the NCAA.  He will be given the chance to address the Reinstatement Committee in person

I wouldn't expect the NCAA to rule on Mauk's case for another 6-8 weeks.  The Committee has got to be pissed that Mauk would have the audacity to take their ruling(s) to court and I would expect retribution in the form of some lengthy delay and many postponements.  Mauk is about to get a first hand lesson in collusion when he is ruled eligible in time to practice for the bowl game!  

In unrelated news, Dustin Grutza has been named the starting QB.

Addicted to Quack- Another Pac-10 QB goes down!  Too damn bad that the conference's only healthy QB is Tavita Pritchard.

So far nothing specific on Costa's knee.  This could be a blessing in disguise for the Ducks.  I'm thoroughly convinced that uber-athlete frosh Chris Harper is the Duck's best QB.  While not as experienced as Costa and certainly not as polished a passer, Harper brings Dixon-esque speed to the table.  And if you'll be so kind as to recall, prior to the Arizona game, Dixon, en route to a sure-fire Heisman, had the Ducks on a crash course for the National Championship.

Looking Forward...

Sunday/Monday I expect to have preview up and running.  Check back Sunday evening!

Todman Update

Freshman RB Jordan Todman left practice last Saturday with some manner of shoulder injury.  He went for an MRI and a number of "tests" on Monday, thus far it seems unlikely that Todman will be available for Thursday's opener against Hofstra.  

Todman exhibit tremendous (ess eee see?) speed throughout fall camp and he was/is expected to provide an exciting wrinkle in UConn's offense this season.  His speed could prove to be a major asset as the season rolls on.  The offense's lack of a big play threat last season has been well documented and, likewise, lamented universally.  While the sudden development of WRs Ellis Gaulden and Kashif Moore are expected to allow the team to stretch the field, the addition of Todman could make this offense downright nasty.  

Well...that last sentence may be more hyperbole than fact.  However when your passing offense averages a very pedestrian 6.7 yards per attempt you really have nowhere to go but up.  

I'd expect Todman to play a Maclin/Harvin utility role in the offense.  Edsall would be remiss to limit him to a few spot carries off the bench.  His speed makes him so much more valuable than a mere "change of pace" back and I hope to see him split out wide or even put in the slot du temps en temps.  

Oregon State experienced tremendous success running James Rodgers on fly-sweep after fly-sweep...just a hint Coach Edsall...just a hint.

Keeping Up With the Jonses: Burns like Victory Edition

USA Today- Former Bearcat Matt Mauk continues his quest for another year of eligibility.  This time going as far as receiving an injunction against the NCAA's latest ruling and even filing a lawsuit claiming that his requests for a sixth year were "wrongfully, arbitrarily, and capriciously denied..."  

In spite of the injunction granting him the right to practice with the team, head coach Brian Kelly will have none of it. 

"Thats ludicrous to think that we would put him on the field and put our football team in harm's way," Kelly is quoted as saying.  If Mauk were to practice with the team and the lawsuit were to rule in the NCAA's favor, then one would assume they might be a little pissy about the whole bit.  The NCAA is as tired of Mauk's Sisyphian quest as you and I are and would doubtless love to hammer Cincy for having an ineligible player on the team.  (see: Oklahoma- Quinn, J.D. and Bomar, Rhett).  

L.A. Times- Part of me wishing I were making this up.  But the other part of me finds this hilarious.  

About a quarter of USC's team is sidelined by...wait for it...jock itch.  

Choice quote comes courtesy of wide receiver Travon Jefferson: "It burns."  (emphasis Jefferson's).  

The only thing that could possibly make this better is if somewhere in Palo Alto Jim Harbaugh is gathering up some hooker's panties to throw in with USC's laundry.  

Yahoo Sports- Matt Hinton, formerly of SMQ fame, has a profile on Rutgers OT, and rising superstar, Anthony Davis.  Hinton even goes as far as comparing Davis to Bama's Andre Smith.  

It seems like a legitimate comparison, as Hinton puts it Smith is only "a Gameday profile or a Thursday night close-up away from becoming a blue-chip stock."  Both with highly touted recruits, amongst the best in the nation at the time, both played early, often, and well, and both are all kinds of big (Davis tipping the scales at 6'3", 330 lbs and Smith weighing in at 6'4" 330 lbs).   

Top 25: Justifications, Prognostications, and Hastily Put-Together Garbage

Conspicuously Abesent: Rutgers, Kansas, VaTech

-In case you haven't gotten it by now: I don't like Rutgers.  No sir, not one bit.  However, my bias is by no means responsible for their absence from my top 25.  To put it simply: Rutgers is not top 25 caliber.  I do not see how this offense will continue to produce without the pinball Ray Rice and All Big East tackles Pedro Sosa and Jeremy Zuttah (not to mention guard Mike Fladell).  Sure Mike Teel, Kenny Britt, and Tiquan Underwood put up some fabulous numbers but their outrageous production was due almost entirely to a miserable non-con schedule.  Look at Teel's conference vs. non-con splits (sans the Army game in which he threw a measly four passes).  Against OOC teams (the 82, 119, 44, and 90th ranked pass efficiency D's in DI...and D-IAA Norfolk State) Teel threw for 13 TD's against 3 INT's for 295.2 ypg and 62.6 completion pct.  Not bad.  Now look at his conference numbers.  7 TD's against 9 picks, 236.7 ypg, and 58.5 completion pct.  Quite the split there.  Do any of us think these numbers improve without Rice and three new starters on the o-line?

Kansas, oh Kansas.  Where do I begin.  Rock M Nation covered Kansas as well as anyone could hope here.  Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech rotate onto the schedule this year, and those three games, as well as a sneaky tough matchup against Colorado (a game the Jayhawks should have lost in 2007) and a trip to Columba, could all easily end in loses.  I'd be shocked to see Kansas stay home for the post season.  Likewise, I'd be shocked to see them win more than 7 games.

VaTech could win their division and still be unworthy of a top 25 ranking.  The only reason anyone lists the Hokies in their preseason polls are because of the belief that a Bud Foster D is a Bud Foster D is a Bud Foster D.  Unfortunately for the Hokies, Bud Foster is about all they have left on defense.  They've lost 3 starters on the defensive line, standout linebackers Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi, and stud corner Brandon Flowers.  While there is hope for the defense (like I said, Bud Foster is still calling the shots), not even the most optimistic of Hokies can reasonably expect much from the offense.  Gone is Brandon Ore, down go Jahre Cheeseman and Kenny Lewis, gone are the top five (breath deep, repeat: top fucking five) receivers, and gone is tackle Duane Brown.  The two highlights on offense are an inexperienced sophomore QB in Tyrod Taylor (the QB of the future is, sadly, not the QB of the now) and an incoming frosh RB Ryan Williams.  If you thought the Hokies had trouble scoring last year (see 7 points against LSU and ECU, 10 against BC, and 23 against Ohio), you ain't seen nothing yet.

Hey!  USC isn't your top 3!  Dude!  

It seems that everyone is pegging USC somewhere in the 1-4 range and they don't know why.  They do it because USC...well...they're USC.  Its as if they are entitled to a high preseason ranking.  Yet the Trojans are as vulnerable as they've ever been in the past seven or so years.  They return one starter from the o-line, are breaking in a new quarterback (who is out for a few weeks with a dislocated patella), feature a mess of unproven talent at RB, and a mess of yet to (and unlikely to be) realized talent at wide receiver.  Even last year the Trojan offense was by and large very average.  The few games they dominated (633 yards against Illinois to cap off the season, 509 against Wazzu, and 508 against ASU) came against clearly inferior teams. 

Against Arizona (a narrow 20-13 win) their drive chart from the middle of the first quarter until the tail end of the third looks like such: punt, interception, interception, end of half, punt, punt, punt.  All told, those "drives" totaled 28 plays for 65 yards, with 43 of those yards coming on one 12 drive that ended in that last "punt".  Even the Trojan scoring drives were thoroughly unimpressive; other than a 10 play, 85 yard march for a TD in the first and a 15 play, 95 yard drive ending in a field goal to put the game away, they mustered a 10 play, 21 yard drive resulting in a field goal (the mighty Trojans...21 yards in 10 plays) and a 25 yard touchdown pass from Sanchez (he of "hide the patella" fame) to the departed Fred Davis.  

Similar to the 'Zona game was the Trojans' win against Oregon State.  Again, look at the drive chart.  The longest drive of the game was 54 yards, resulting in a TD.  Other than that you have 9 yards in 7 plays for a FG, 47 yards in 4 plays for a TD (26 of those yards came on the TD pass),  and 14 plays in 3 yards for another TD.  Mind you this was entirely in the first half.  The second half was a completely different story, reading: punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, end of game.  Their average second half drive was 4.5 plays for 19 yards.  I understand the Beavers had a wicked awesome defense (giving up only 70 rushing yards per game...yikes!), however a team purportedly possessing as much talent as USC should have done better than that.  

My point is: USC should expect to see their offense drop off (perhaps significantly if the o-line can't gell and the wide receivers continue to underachieve) from last year.  And when they did all of that last year...eesh.  Top 5, certainly not.  Top 10, certainly, by based entirely upon the strength of their defense. 

LSU?  Top 5?  But...but...that can't be!

Admit it.  If Perrilloux were still a Tiger, LSU would be a run away number 1.  Even without Perrilloux this team is still absolutely loaded.  In fact, they may well be better than they were last year.  

Consider this.  Gone is Early Doucet, but Terrance Tolliver, Demetrius Byrd, Brandon LaFell, and Richard Dickson all return.  Gone is the steady "war-daddy" Jacob Hester and with him his team leading 1103 rushing yards, but the explosive Keiland Williams, Charles Scott, and Richard Murphy all return.  Ciron Black and Herman Johnson continue to anchor the best left side of any o-line in college football.  And, in spite of the loss of all-everything Glenn Dorsey, the d-line is still the best in America...and may even be better than last year's! 

In fact, the only holes this team has are at quarterback, obviously, and in the secondary, where they lose Craig Steltz, Johnathan Zenon, and Chevis Jackson.  Personnel wise, the holes in the secondary will be filled the immensely talented Chad Jones (LSU's top recruit last year) and Patrick Peterson (top incoming recruit); schematically, however, expect any deficiencies in the secondary to be more than masked by pressure generated by a murderer's row of a defensive line.

Another Top 25...how cliche!

I feel obligated to apologize for my lengthy hiatus.  (Not that any read the blog in the first place).  Real life caught up with me for a bit.  But now that we are a mere 18 days from the beginning of the season its only appropriate I kick off the preseason the only way I know how...with a top 25!  

1. Florida

2. OSU

3. Oklahoma

4. LSU

5. Mizzou

6. Georgia

7. USC

8. WVU

9. Clemson

10. Auburn

11. Wisconsin

12. Oregon

13. USF

14. BYU

15. Texas Tech

16. Penn State

17. Tennessee

18. Wake Forest

19. Texas

20. Cal

21. Arizona State

22. Cincinnati 

23. Utah

24. Illinois

25. Arizona

Justifications, false conceit, admissions of inevitable contrition, and apologies to come later today!