Another Big Weekend: 9-4-1

Last Weekend: 9-4-1 (20-7-1 overall)


Did Florida Try to Cover?

You bet they did. Ahead of Miami 23-3 with barely over a minute to go, Florida coach Urban Meyer wasn’t satisfied with taking a knee. Instead his team was passing its way down the field, and even threw incomplete into the end zone. The only thing that stopped the Gators was running out of downs. So, instead of taking a knee, Meyer trotted his field goal kicker out for an easy 29-yarder that yielded a push for all those Gator fans who gave the 23.

Whatever happened to sportsmanship? It doesn’t exist in in-state rivalries, even rivalries that are played just every five years like this one. Meyer has always been about piling on, even going back to his days coaching Bowling Green.

And did you notice the cold greeting Miami coach Randy Shannon gave Meyer after the game? Shannon sprinted out to midfield, touched Meyer’s hand like it was a handoff in a relay race, and kept on sprinting past. There’s no doubt he was not happy about the Gators trying to rub it in. In fact, when his team got the ball with 20 seconds remaining, it did what Florida should have, taking a knee, thus ending the game.

You Gotta Love Brian Kelly

You gotta love Cincy coach Brian Kelly. ABC played a pregame conversation between Kelly and Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. As Kelly looked around the stadium, which was quickly filling up, he teased Stoops, saying, “Looks like you might have a sellout today.” Stoops, though, didn’t know he was being kidded. “We’ve sold out every game for 10 straight years,” he said. “Yes,” Kelly responded, "and you’re also 54-2.”

Kelly’s team was much faster than we thought, and although we had Oklahoma as a best bet (the Sooners did eventually cover), there’s no doubt that the Bearcats were the faster team. The lack of depth was the eventual difference between the two. But before you jump on Kelly’s team next week, make sure their backup QB, Tony Pike, can get the job done, now that starter Dustin Grutza is out for a month (broken leg). Pike was just 3-11 for 21 yards against Oklahoma.

Talk About Leaving the Cupboard Bare

When Bill Doba left Washington State last year he took it all with him. The program is a mess, recruiting has been dreadful and to make matters worse, the Cougars had eight scholarships pulled for lack of academic progress.

The results are showing under new coach Paul Wulff. Last week Oklahoma State visited Pullman and laid a 39-13 whipping on the Cougars. The difference in speed between the two teams was startling. Then on Saturday, Cal came into Pullman like it was their home field, and buried Wulff’s team 66-3.

Last week we warned you that Washington State’s only win this year might be against Portland State. Now we wouldn’t even bet on that. Against Cal, the Cougars looked like they were going in slow motion. What a sad state of affairs for alumnae like former ABC-TV great Keith Jackson.

Other Impressions Georgia Tech’s got themselves a terrific running QB, in Josh Nesbitt, to run coach Paul Johnson’s option attack….Houston Nutt’s got a pretty good passer too in Jevan Snead. There’s no doubt Mississippi is going to be a lot better this year….Notre Dame doesn’t look a drop better than last year’s slow team. And how embarrassing is it for Charlie Weiss to nearly lose at home to San Diego State, which lost the week before to Cal Poly. SDSU coach Chuck Long had difficulty answering the post-game question of who was better, Cal Poly or Notre Dame.

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino is off to a very shaky 2-0 start after needing a TD in the final two minutes both against Western Ill. and U.L. Monroe to avoid embarrassing defeats. They're not going to be able to make the line high enough next week when the Hogs go to Texas. TCU is flying under the radar according to our Texas connection Cactus Jack. The Horned Frogs totally shut down New Mexico at New Mexico opening week, 26-3, holding the Lobos to just 56 rushing yards on 32 carries, and only 126 passing yards completing just 7 of 23 attempts. Last week they creamed Sephen F. Austin 67-7.

Baylor also has a pretty resourceful QB in freshman Robert Griffin. And let’s hear it for the Big 12, which went 12-0 last week….Boston College QB Chris Crane is better than advertised. He can throw accurately and isn’t afraid to tuck the ball under and take off….Akron beating Syracuse at Syracuse no less, was no accident. The Zips out-gained the Orange in nearly every category including time of possession. Now the question is, can they handle Ball State’s versatile attack this week?

Look for this Week's Picks This week’s picks will begin being posted Thursday, with our thoughts on N.C. State at Rutgers and Friday’s top 20 match of Kansas at South Florida