Kentucky Report: A short little shout-out to the Wildcats, who beat the overmatched and undertalented Norfolk State Spartans 38-3. Another stand-out performance by the Kentucky defense, holding the Spartans to 165 total yards offensively, but also 1-13 on third downs. The Cats committed 2 turnovers and the offense again looked anemic (save for Randall Cobb), and that's a bit worrisome, but there are many more positives than negatives. It's Norfolk State, I get it, but a win is a win. And it's a nice little encore to the Louisville game. Believe in blue!
The rest of the country...
The Good:
- Oklahoma, Georgia, Missouri... TCB: As in, takin' care of business. Big wins by all of these Top 6 schools when others didn't put up quite as impressive numbers. With USC idle, and Florida and Ohio State not looking dominant, these schools may have gained some favor with the folks voting in the polls.
- Cal: After last Week 1's win against Michigan State, a good majority of the folks in the know gave Cal props, but tempered it with the idea that it was flukey and/or MSU wasn't that great. To silence the voices of discontent, Cal drops 66 on Washington State. Bully for you, Jeff Tedford.
- Penn State: Oregon State comes to town, the blogosphere, College Gameday, et al predict a possibility of upset, Penn State pummels the Beavers 45-14. It doesn't silence the critics of the off-field drama, but it certainly shuts up the folks bitching about the on-field performances.
The Bad:
- West Virginia: Was WVU a little overpriced? Sure. ECU underranked? Probably. But the bottom line is the talent at WVU is significantly better than ECU, and that's a game they need to win. It won't be long before WVU begins its backslide into mediocrity and ruins the only argument that Big East fans have that their conference isn't complete trash.
- Ohio State: Sure, Beanie was hurt. Sure, you're probably looking forward to USC. But Ohio State let a MAC team hang around long enough to actually have a shot at winning this thing. This is more of a game where Ohio lost more than Ohio State winning. If OSU shows up like that this week against USC, it's going to be a bloodbath of the highest order.
- Pittsburgh: Continuing the Big East's demolition, the Pitt Panthers, reeling after Week 1's upset from Bowling Green, took on another MAC school in Buffalo. Instead of laying the wood to UB, the Panthers only win by 11. This is a team in trouble. Serious, deep, mustached trouble.
- Notre Dame: Could have been looking forward to Michigan, could have just been rust as it was game one. Whatever the reason, the Irish needed late game heroics to beat San Diego State. At home. Sigh...
The Ugly:
- Officiating. Games are being decided by a 7-man crew wearing stripes as opposed to an 11-man crew wearing helmets and jerseys. The most egregious error comes in the BYU-Washington game, where a celebration penalty pushes UW back 15 yards for the PAT that is subsequently blocked. Mistakes will happen, sure. But to have games decided by the officials is simply unacceptable. To have them decided on penalties that are ridiculous to begin with is an absolute tragedy and completely counter to what the NCAA and college football is all about.
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3 comments:
Reginald... I disagree!
The Ugly, while a valid opinion, shouldn't even be argued today. As you know, the rules clearly state that a player must place the ball in a dead zone or give it over to the official after scoring a touchdown. Tossing a ball high in the air is prohibited as well.
NCAA is cracking down on individual celebration and "showboating". This isn't anything new this year. Is this an inane rule? Sure, maybe. But so are Blue Laws. We may not like them, but rules are rules and laws are laws. Officiating crews are told what rules to enforce, and this is one of them. Washington should have simply had better blocking - the officiating crew didn't block that kick. Just Border's two cents.
One thing everyone forgets in this. BYU still had to make the play to block the kick. The officials didn't decide the game. It was the BYU player blocking the punt.
It's a horrible rule but give BYU some credit.
This is not 'Nam, Walter. There are fucking rules here man.
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