Louisvile...

Is not a very good team.  They looked great against UConn (and what does that say about the Huskies?) but, beyond that game, they've been thoroughly unimpressive.

Take a look at their game tonight against Memphis (before Doc Saturday does in his excellent weekly segment, "Life in the Margins):  not only were the Cards out-gained by 182 yards but they benefitted from 2 fourth down conversions and 3 Memphis turnovers.  Louisville was, on a play-by-play basis,  absolutely dominated.  In fact, the Cardinals would not have even been in this game had it not been for several marvelous Memphis miscues (see what I did there?  Pretty cool, huh?).

Louisville totaled a respectable 35 points, 7 from a fumble return, 7 from a kickoff return, and 7 more from a missed field return.  Were that not enough, they even managed to be unimpressive during their two legitimate scoring drives: one drive went all of 38 yards, leaving the Cardinals with but a single actual drive.  

Ughhh.  So much for UConn's one decent win.

Beating a Dead Horse

The ACC's failures the past weekend have been well document.  So well documented as to become as cliche as OSU=EPIC FAIL and ess-eee-see speed.  The WWL has covered it, the Sporting News has it locked down, and every blogger on God's green earth has at least one post on the topic.  I, however, will not be celebrating (or lamenting) the misery that was ACC football (really Maryland, 14-7 over Delaware?  What the fuck was that?). 

Well...maybe not.  

Were it not for the ACC's poor showing everyone would be hopping on the "drop the Big East from the BCS" bandwagon again (likely with a passion and vehemence not seen since the aforementioned SEC-Lite made off with Miami, VaTech, and BC).  

Pittsburgh loses to BGSU, Syraucse gets handled by Northwestern, and Louisville...oy fucking vey, where to start?

Even the BE's wins seem gilded at best.  UConn had 5 turnovers against Hofstra and WVU was actually outgained by Nova (the 'Cats had 45 more yards and 7 more first downs than the 'eers).  While Pat White's aerial renaissance overshadowed the latter, its still worth noting that the Mountaineer defense gave up nearly 400 yards to Villanova.  

While Cincy and USF certainly dominated this weekend, the rest of the league was lackluster at best.  RU has a chance to redeem the conference this afternoon against a pretty solid Fresno squad.  

That being said: Go Knights!

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.

Keeping Up with the Joneses- OMG PRYOR!!!!!11! Edition

SMQ- Mr. SMQ has an excellent look at Pitt up on his site.  The only thing Mr. SMQ fails to mention is the frequent and sustained idiocy that is Dave Wannstedt.  Unfortunately even the Wannstache can't stymie the damned awesome that is Lesean McCoy, who will be a bastard for Big East defenses for years to come.  

Cincinnati Enquirer- OSU, Jim Delany, and Gordon Gee are douche bags.  Ohio State has decided to move their 2012 game from Paul Brown Stadium to Columbus.  The contract, signed when Cincy was still a member of Conference USA and therefore lacking any and all negotiating leverage, does in fact stipulate that OSU can essentially play the game where they damn well please.  

Brian Kelly wants to play Ohio State annually, something OSU clearly has zero interest in.  Kelly intends on becoming "such a pain in Jim Tressel's butt that sooner or later he's going to go 'We have to do something about it or move out of the state."  Later that day, Kelly was heard mumbling something along the lines of, "taking that fucker's [Tressel's] job, when he's busy chauffering Meyer around fucking Gainesville."

Syracuse.com- Orange O-line coach wants his unit to lose weight, or else.  

If you're going to lose every game by three scores you may as well look good while you do it.

And finally...

Sportsline.com- All-World QB and general dick head Terrelle Pryor has committed to play for Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes.  

In other news, Michigan fans hate sour grapes.

Keeping Up With the Joneses-Friday, March 14

NJ.com: Rutgers began spring practice and their quest to replace departed Ray Rice. Rice left school early and left RU with only two experienced running backs on the roster, Mason Robinson and Kordell Young (who is coming off an ACL injury), who combined for a 56 carries last year.  Joe Martinek, a freshman from Hopatcong, NJ looks to make a dent in the RB depth chart during the spring.  I mention Martinek because he was hands down one of the best high school javelin throwers I've ever seen and I'm honestly disappointed that he is pursuing spring football rather than outdoor track.  

Kicker San San Te looked sharp on Thursday and nailed a 45 yard FG with Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" blaring over the stadium speakers.  I'm not sure what makes this more noteworthy, the fact that RU's kicker has three monosyllabic names or that Bruce is fucking everywhere in this state.

AP: Four Mountaineers, amongst them NOELDEVINENOELDEVINENOELDEVINE, pled no contest against battery charges filed in Feburary outside of a Morgantown nightclub.  To be entirely fair, what the hell else is there to do in Feburary in Morgantown, West Virginia. 

In related news, the Morgantown PD has fielded several calls from Bob Stoops inquiring about the arresting officers.