Fire Stoops!

Well, the Sooners lost today. The CU Later Buffaloes, as 23 point underdog, beat Oklahoma on the Landthieves' first trip outside the state. So often during a loss, the cries come to 'fire the coach'. It couldn't be the players. It couldn't be that the other team played better, or was better prepared, or - gasp! - had better talent. So, I respectfully submit to you the coaches that should be fired today:

Bob Stoops
Nick Saban
Tommy Bowden
Mack Brown
Rich Rodriguez
Joe Paterno
Mike Belotti

Sure, I don't know why Malcolm Kelly never touched the ball today, or why our previously impenetrable defense spent almost 39 minutes on the field and yielded 380 yards to an offense that had combined for two offensive TDs against FSU and ASU earlier this year. I don't know why Sam Bradford went 8/19. I don't know why DeMarco Murray didn't touch the ball more.

For some reason, w/o breaking down tape, Colorado beat us. You don't have TOP lead of 39-21 without owning the line of scrimmage.

Is the season lost now? I doubt it. Texas, our main competition to win the Little 12 South, lost to Kansas State today. The Longhorns lost today, allowing TDs via interception, punt, and kickoff returns. I read that and think that Mack Brown must have been channelling John Blake this weekend.

Florida is tied with previously awful Auburn as I type this, and SC is in a battle with Washington in Seattle. Shoot, LSU was up 1 on Tulane at the half. The gap between the top and the middle of D-1 is narrower than I believe it's ever been, courtesy of 1) 85 scholarships; 2) 20 hour practice limits; 3) spread offenses; 4) players seeking playing time over winning programs.

I have confidence in the HeadVisor that the team and coaching staff will make adjustments, and the Little 12 championship is still in our sights. Of course, nationally, the conference has been disemboweled with today's losses by the two premier teams, but hey, Notre Dame lost. So we have that going for us.

Boone State Insider Email Announced

Boone State announced a new fundraising idea this week, modeled after Coach Fran's ill-fated "exclusive" email subscription service. The press release follows:


Here at Okie State, we are only charging $10/month, as opposed to the Coach Fran's $100/month. Following are some excerpts that you might receive in Coach Gundy's exclusive emails.


Inside information on the Cowboy players
- I think Bobby Reid is hurt. Seems to be a concussion. Or a knee injury. I can't tell.
- The Woods brothers are talented, but I need me some Selmon brothers.
- Normally Bobby's mom doesn't feed him. He was a little dinged up after the game and his mom was trying to keep Robert Allen from eating his food.
- None of these QBs could carry my jockstrap.
- I could be a better coach if I didn't have to recruit players to wear this ugly bright orange jerseys. Name a good football team that wears bright orange? Illinois? Syracuse? Oh. Tennessee and Florida do? Never mind.
- Next week we'll give you that list of bad players I was talking to Jenni Carlson about.



Inside scoop on the Athletic Department
- "I was talking to Mr. Pickens yesterday and he let me suggest a club for his approach shot on #12. I was so pumped!
- "I have to go hunting with Mr. Pickens and chase down the birds he shoots. He makes me feel like some sort of dog sometimes."
- "It takes a village to educate an athlete. That's why we're building an Athletic Village."



Advice on life
YOU SHOULD HAVE KIDS!
YOUR FAT!
COME AFTER ME!
DON'T READ THE PAPER!


For more information, contact Boone State.

Exclusive NFL Coverage

I saw this evening while watching the USF victory over WVU that Tarvaris Jackson is listed as questionable for the Vikings this weekend. Tarvaris has a QB rating of 40.0. IMO, it's questionable that he should be playing. Period.

Ode to Coach Fran

Cash Machine U bought Coach Fran
From Tuscaloosa he ran.
He sells his email
Fans want him to bail
So he can work on his tan.

Games that tempt me to ignore my family

Overall, this is a pretty lame weekend for college fb watching, IMO.

West Virginia vs South Florida - One of the top two games of the weekend. A battle ot two top 20 teams on Friday night. I wonder if they'll cover the game, or just give us a preview of the ND-Pur'ue game on Saturday, right here on ESPN. Prediction: USF.

Cal vs Oregon - for some reason, the geniuses at USCN decided that we needed to see USC one more time on Saturday night. I think Brent Musburger and Pete Carroll are an item. Anywho, this game has the two highest ranking teams playing one another this weekend, and here in Texas we'll be "treated" to My Little Pony's attempt to avenge last year's defeat in Manhattan. This game is really a tossup. Will the curse of Gordon Reese kick in for Belotti? Will Cal actually win an important game? Prediction: Cal to win...now that Oregon is getting national attention, it's time for someone to drive their season into the toilet.

Florida State vs Bama - the internet exam scandal that rocked Tallahassee earlier this week has also caught Tide faithful by surprise. "Their athletes have to take tests?" asked one Bama fan. Prediction: Bama

Blackberry Found in Stillwater

LandThieves correspondent Dexter Manley found a Blackberry at Monday's OSU press conference. If you know the owner, please have him contact landthieves. He has a very important message.

Maybe this fella shoulda bit Coach Hair Gel...

Earlier this week the OKC Blazers (minor league hockey) bit a horse to prevent a stampede. I'm wondering who he should bite next? Coach Gundy before he talks to the media? Or Jenni Carlson before she writes another column? Vote to the right.

Lauren Caitlin Upton defends Mike Gundy

I personally believe that U.S. Oklahomans have 75% inaccurate newspapers because many are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in Stillwater can't eat their own chicken, and, uh, they're not 40, and I believe that our football program like such as in Delaware and, uh, the Wyoming everywhere like, such as and I believe that they should, our news media over here in the Oklahoma should help the Oklahoma, er, should help South Dakota and should help the Delaware and the Wyoming football teams, so we will be able to build up our future for Boone Pickens' grandchildren.

CU Later Preview Haiku

To win championship
Buffaloes need a fifth down
This week they'll need more.

CU Later - OU Preview

So you're wondering how the Colorado Buffaoloes match up to the

Sooners?

Offense		CU struggled mightily for points against FSU and Arizona State. OU has struggled to hit 70.
Defense		The Buffs aren't as in inept here as they are on offense. The shutout of the Redhawks was an anamoly.
Special Teams		OU is better in the return game. Hartley has yanked a couple of kicks, though. He needs to work on that before I go all 'Mike Gundy' on him.
Stadium Name		Folsom Field vs Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium at Owen Field. Folsom wins for simplicity.
Coaching		The over/under for Fox mentioning that Dan Hawkins used to coach at Boise State and that Boise State beat OU is 8. This is Division 1 Football!
Cool Alumni		Wikipedia does not indicate that Dr. Phil went to CU. CU does count as its former students Rick Reilly of SI, Chris Fowler of ESPN, Jim Barton (co founder of Tivo), and Larry Linville (Frank Berns on M*A*S*H). I have to give the nod to the Buffs for TiVo founder. That device is genius.
5th Downs Needed for Nat'l Champs		Sooners have won "fair and square". So to speak.

Helmet Design Overruled

After BearMeat pointing us to this beaut from The Triumvate of Awesome today, I believe the Longhorns should revisit the new helmet choice. This is much more artistic.

Coach Hair Gel's Rant

Did my own "research" today on how Gundy's rant/tirade/sermon was received. As expected, the media types don't appreciate fellow media types having a new one ripped into one of the brother/sisterhood. I don't say this to denigrate the sportswriters, but I wouldn't expect them to say, "my bad" and start offering AP style articles to sell more newspapers and feel good stories all day.

Dennis Dodd, www.sportsline.com calls for Gundy's suspension or dismissal. Seems a bit much, though Dodd does mention an interesting tidbit about approaching Gundy last year regarding media access. Seems to me like it might behoove one to cuddle up to the newspapers and web types that could give you and your program a lot more positive pub than you're otherwise getting.

SI.com's Stewart Mandel is a bit lighter on Gundy, and admits he's biased, as he knows Carlson personally.

Mike Huguenin at rivals.com takes a shot as well. "Maybe you can use some of the money donated to the athletic department by Boone Pickens and get some therapy".

Mike Strain, of the Tulsa World is pretty neutral, talks more about the media/coach conflicts in the internet/talk radio world.

The posters on various blogs I read run the usual gamut, and you can pretty much figure out the poster's allegiance from their take.

Seems to me like Coach Gundy generated a lot of negative publicity for his program and got more readers of a Jenni Carlson article than she might normally get.

Personally, I found it the following things interesting: a) Gundy didn't read the article; b) but knew it was 75% inaccurate; c) wouldn't talk today about what was inaccurate and what was; d) I want to know which of his players don't do the right thing...might help Carlson on her next column; e) he said the newspaper was brought to him "by a mother - of children" - I guess that rules out his dog retrieving the morning paper for him.

Overall, it just seems to me he needs a few more skins on the wall before he starts bristling at the folks that could provide him free publicity. T Boone 'Greenmail' Pickens doesn't exactly give the program a positive national profile in and of himself.

New Longhorn Helmet Winner

by Edwin Simmons, Austin Correspondent

Austin (LTP) By a margin of 10-3, the Handcuffs helmet has won the voting for next UT helmet. Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds said, "We at the University of Texas are excited about the new helmet design. We want the student-athletes to be reminded that they need to stay off the streets, but also celebrate the fact that those wayward kids can sure play some football."

Around the Big 12

Big 12-AA
Bugeaters: As mentioned yesterday, the Bugeaters squeaked by Ball State. Ball State missed a FG as time expired, as well as dropped a likely TD pass moments earlier. Not a great W for the Husker program.
Missouri: Beat Illinois State. The Tigers victory over Ole Miss looks a little bit better now that Ole Miss extended Florida yesterday.
Willie and Friends: dominated Bye U.
Iowa State: lost 36-35 to previously winless Toledo. Toledo! Iowa State will heretofore be referred to as Baylor North.
Kansas: Kansas gobbled up Florida International, 55-3. KU has yet to play a team from a conference that is an automatic qualifier to the BCS. They have played 2 MAC teams, a team from the Southland Conference, and team from the Sun Belt Conference.
CU Later: the Buffaloes beat Miami OH 42-0. I don't know if this means the Buffs have figured out offense this year or of the RedHawks are awful. Miami OH has one win this year, they beat Ball State by one point.

Big 12-A
Sand Pirates/Boone State: Tech WR Michael Crabtree had an awesome game until he dropped a game winning TD pass in the last 30 seconds of the game. Gundy's Pokes are more more competitive in Stillwater. Coach Hair Gel had this to say after the game. While during the tirade he indicates he doesn't read the paper (someone must have read it to him?), he sure spent a lot of time ranting about Jenni Carlson's column in the Oklahoman.
Texas: - fried Rice. Rice is 0-3 against the Big 12 South this year. They also lost to Nicholls State. Additionally, I don't believe any Longhorns were arrested over the weekend, so they've got that going for 'em, which is nice.
Baylor: Beat Buffalo University - yes there's a Buffalo University - 34-21. We'll know more about Buffalo after they play Ball State this week. Buffalo may not be well known in Division 1-A football, but it was their home opener. As Texas and Boone State can attest, games on the road against random mid major teams can be more challenging than initially expected.
Cash Machine U - complete embarrassment on Thursday against the Miami FL Hurricanes. Disco Tech! has a good analysis of potential jobs for Coach Fran once is released from this coaching obligations in College Station.

Parenting Gone Wrong

I read on deadspin.com this week where one of the 'Girls of the Big 12' this year is Boone State student Sunni Kate Galloway, daughter of Sooner baseball coach Sonny Galloway. As a parent, I am outraged. How could a dad allow this sort of thing to happen? Was she not raised right? Clearly Coach Galloway did not teach this young lady about morals, self esteem, accountability and self discipline. Did no one explain to Sunni that decisions she makes while she is young will impact her for the rest of her life? It also bugs me that she posed for Playboy.

Saturday mid day thoughts

Holy cow. Ball State nearly upset Nebraska before falling 41-40. Ball State is the juggernaut that squeaked by Navy last week. I would imagine that Bill Callahan now is paying someone to dress like him and start his car for him at this point. Boone State is presently leading Sand Pirate U as well, adding to the 'We're mediocre' motto that seems to permeate most of the Big 12 this year.

Nationally, Louisville rolled over and lost to Syracuse today, 38-35. The Cardinal D is atrocious, but we knew that already. The fact that the Orange scored more points today than their previous three games combined is just affirmation of that. I'm a fan of Steve Kragthorpe, who did wonders for Tulsa U, but I have to think the L'ville fan base is less than happy after this loss and the prior week loss to intra-Commonwealth rival Kentucky.

Michigan State turned the ball over on their own 9, which allowed the FishEaters to score an offensive touchdown for the first time this year.

LandThieves Stat of the Night

The Sooners have scored 246 points through four games this year. This is more points than 2 of the 3 seasons that Blake coached, and 9 points short of all three seasons.

Q4 Analysis, OU-Tulsa

Tulsa ball, 3rd and 7 on the 23. Paul Smith avoids running and fires a near pic by Nic Harris. Smith makes a nice return on the punt back to the Tulsa 40. One play, TD! Bradford underthows Iglesias a bit, but he comes back for the ball and makes phenomenal effort in breaking tackles to reach the end zone. The XP is blocked. Sooners 48, Tulsa 21. Tulsa ball on their 20. Nice chat with Dennis Byrd. However, somehow Tulsa's 10 yard run was negated by a penalty apparently. I think ESPN is forbidden from discussing penalties. Smith is now sacked, and it's 3rd and 19. Three and out for the Golden Hurricane. Another nice return by Reggie Smith, Sooners ball on the 29. I'm wondering what the next topic is that they'll discuss while ignoring the game on the field. Well, we have the answer. Now we're going to discuss Chris Spielman's collegiate career. Oh, goody! While we were discussing that Chris Browne ran 14 yards to the 2, and took a vicious hit as he went down. Looks like he hit his head on the turf. I can't imagine him playing again tonight. Enough about that, it's about me. Why is it the ESPN allots 3 hours for a football game? The average this year is around 3:20. This is Tulsa, with a chuck and duck offense. It's going to be close to 4 hours. DeMarco Murray pretty much walks into the end zone for another Sooner score. Lets see if they can make an XP. Sooners 55, Tulsa 21. Tulsa ball on the 21. Tulsa brings in David Johnson, the 2nd string QB for the duration. The first two plays make me think TU is ready to run the clock out and get this one over with, based upon the plays they were running most of the game. Three and out for the Golden Hurricane. I'm assuming Head Visor will be bring in the subs now. Horrible face mask tackle on Reggie Smith on the punt return. Sooner ball on the Tulsa 47. Halzle now in at QB. Bradford's final stats...15-21 for 242 yards and 3 scores. I jinxed Allen Patrick. He didn't get many touches after my proclamation that he'd run for 200. Halzle throws a nice pass to Joe Jon Finley down to the 16. Madu runs it twice, scoring on the 2nd one. Sooners 62, Tulsa 21. The Sooners are now dominating the Hurricanes at the line. Three and out for Tulsa. Sooner ball on the Tulsa 47. Sam Bradford has thrown 14 TD passes in his first four games of the year. That's the 8th highest SEASON total in Sooner history. Keith Nichol is now in to hand the ball off to Mossis Madu for the remainder of the game. Sooners 3nd punt of the night. Tulsa ball on their own 10. I would anticipate the Golden Hurricane doing quite well in Conference USA this year. They can move the ball on anyone. Game over. Sooners win 62-21. Game time ~3:40. Juaquin Iglesias finishes with 7 catches for 141 yards and 2 scores.

Q3 Analysis, OU-Tulsa

TU ball on the 19. Tulsa had one possession longer than 2 minutes in the first half. Smith threw for 264 yards in the first half, so they didn't have trouble moving the ball. First play the Sooners rough Smith. A little screen and they get a 39 yard gain on a pass. Smith is not going to make anyone forget Mike Vick in terms of mobility, but he does a great job of moving around and occasionally running with it.He takes a shot after one of those. These spread offenses have a tough time as the field shortens. 4th and goal, TU. Smith evades Nic Harris and dives into the end zone. A 5:27 drive for the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa 21, Sooners 35. Well, that didn't take long. DeMarco Murray takes the kickoff 81 yards for the score. Sooners 42, Tulsa 21. Ouch! Hard hit on the kick return. Tulsa ball on their own 22. No gain and then a false start leave 2nd and 15. Smith gets a ton of time, fires a strike for a 37 yard gain into Sooner territory. The Sooners owned Time of Possession in the first half, but aside form the kick return, Tulsa has had the ball for 8+ minutes this quarter. DJ Wolfe cut in front of the receiver. If he uses his hands instead of his body, he scores the other way. Instead, it's 2nd and 10. Interception by Lendy Holmes. Smith forced that one. Well, replay shows the receiver seems to stop his route. Sooner ball on the 9. After a short loss by Patrick, Iglesias takes a short pass, makes someone miss and goes for a first down. Patrick is going to run for 200 yards tonight. He's running hard, and the holes are huge. Tulsa lines up in single coverage on Malcolm Kelly and boom, there's a 21 yard gain.First down on the 35. Chris Browne tripped on the 25 yard line or he would have scored. B-u-t-ful throw by Bradford to and catch by Kelly, but it's out of bounds by inches. Hartley misses a FG, his first miss in 14 tries. Hartley has missed badly on a couple of XPs this year, and that FG looked a lot like that. Tulsa ball on the 20. quarter ends with the ball on the 23.

Q2 Analysis, OU-Tulsa

Re: Home Depot commercial: if you bargain with with the missus for new golf clubs, you've got to give her a limit on the 'anything you want'. New appliances in exchange for new sticks is an expensive trade. TU ball on their own 33: The Sooner D giveth, the Sooner D taketh away, as Adams gains 7, then loses. Oskie! Smith scrambles away and throws to an open receiver, who bobbles the pass and he Ryan Reynolds makes the pick.DeMarcus Granger is hurt on the play. Hopefully nothing serious, he's had a good start to the year. Sooners ball on the TU 36: Patrick makes some nice moves to get down to the 14. Somethng you NEVER hear: "Malcolm should have caught that ball". DeMarco Murray eludes a tackler and scores from the 4. Sooners 21, Tulsa 7. My beef w watching Fri night games: the producers presume the game will suck. Right now they are covering ND sucking while Tulsa passes its way down the field. They seem to treat the game like a college football analysis show that happens to be done from the TV booth while a football game is going on. TD Tulsa. Lendy Holmes gets beat deep and Marion scores on a 48 yard bomb by Paul Smith. Tulsa has a lot of fight in them for this game after giving up 21 consecutive points. Sooners 21, Tulsa 14. Unsportsmanlike conduct on the TD sets up a kickoff from the 15. Sooner ball on their own 47. An undiscolsed penalty (broadcast team ignoring the freaking game) by the Sooners negates a 20 yard gain by the Sooners. Another penalty by the Sooners and a pass for no gain gives the Sooners 2nd and 25. 22 yard pass to Iglesias gives OU 3rd and 3. Iglesias is setup for a big year. Kelly continues to draw the foe's best defender, and Iglesias is a great 2nd option. Quentin Cheney drops a low throw by Bradford. First Jermaine Gresham sighting 9 yard gain. Keith Jackson Jr scores on an inside route by holding on during a couple of shots from TU defenders - defenders may be a bad term for the Tulsa defense. They may be better characterized as inhospitable hosts. Sooners 28, TU 14. Tulsa ball on their own 31. Three and out for the Golden Hurricane. Sooner ball on their own 26. The Sooner O-line is starting dominate; Patrick has 43 yards on 2 carries on this drive. Patrick has 111 yards on 13 carries. Sooner ball on the 15. 9 yd run by Murray takes it to the 6. Loadholt at 6-8 350 is blocking a kid that was a WR in high school. Penalties are killing Tulsa. TD Sooners on a run by Patrick. Sooners 35, Golden Hurricanes 14. Hartley keeps licking it into or near the end zone. Tulsa ball on the 21. Tulsa's offense is tricked up. I like it. They know playing it straight up isn't going to work, so they throw a lot of looks at you and spread it out. Beautiful lob pass by Paul Smith for a 53 yard gain to the Sooner 18. Tulsa misses a 35 yard FG. Sooner ball on their own 20. Another burst by Patrick. Then a holding. Don't see the snap into the butt of the man in motion. Sooners recover and let the clock wind down to 23 seconds in the half. Tulsa ball on their 35. Tulsa has no time outs and 65 yards away, but they are not just snapping it and going to the locker room.Two plays takes it to the Sooner 34. Sack by Auston English closes out the half. Tulsa WR Jesse Meyer has 7 catches for 114 yards in the first half. We should consider covering him in the second half.

Q1 Analysis, OU-Tulsa

I thought I'd provide some live, quarter by quarter random thoughts of the game as I watch it on ESPN2. Nice to see Dennis Byrd, former Mustang High, Tulsa U and NY Jets player. If you want to read a good book, read Rise and Walk by Dennis Byrd...Sooners Ball on the 33: Sam Bradford is on the mark again with a quick strike to Malcolm Kelly...Demarco Murray continues to be impressive, dodging several tacklers then dragging a couple for a nice gain to the five...Holy cow, Sam B is human. He throws his second pick of the season, looking to Kelly's side of the field the entire time before firing his way. The Tulsa CB Rodgers appears to have pulled a hamstring on the play. Tulsa Ball on their 37: Now we get to see the Hurricane offense. Tulsa really spreads the field. First down Tulsa on a nice pass by Smith. Holy Cow, Meier was open. Paul Smith does a good job on the play action pass. Huge gain for the Hurricane. TD Golden Hurricane. That's not how Coach Stoops had it drawn up. Tulsa 7, Sooners 0. I can't wait for Good Luck Chuck promos to end. That movie looks awful. Sooners ball on their own 5: first two plays for a loss of one yard. The orange shirt is not a good luck for Chris Spielman. Bradford throws behind Iglesias. Momentum is definitely on the Golden Hurricane's side at this point. Tulsa ball from the Sooner 47: Smith does a great job of moving around. Sooners had a chance to force a three and out but doesn't make the tackle soon enough. The Sooners finally get a hit on smith and sack him for a 9 yard loss. Sooners allow a 18 yard completion. Smith dows a nice job of throwing on the run. Fourth and one for the Hurricane at the Sooners 32. I expect the Tulsa to go deep on this play. Tulsa is out of time outs, and the Sooners just called one. I'm surprised by the play call, and barring a generous spot - OU stops the play. OU Ball on the 28 - Sooners are moving now. Nice decisin by Bradford to take it down and run for a first down. Sooners go deep and get an interference call and are now in Hurricane territory. Wow, Allen Patrick likes to hit people. Sometimes I wonder if we'd be better off with DJ Wolfe at RB and Allen Patrick as a DB. There's a shocker. Patrick actually jukes a DB with a cutback and runs 29 yards for a score. Little early on the high step. Tulsa 7, Sooners 7. I hope Jessica Simpson gets paid by the viewing of her Proactiv ad. Tulsa ball from their 20. Fumble! Hurricanes recover. Smith runs for his life and almost completes a l-o-n-g pass. Third down and 19 again for the Golden Hurricane. First punt for Tulsa coming up. Sooner ball at midfield. Allen Patrick is having a big night. Nice pump fake by Bradford and J Iglesias was more open than a USC Trojan at the 05 Orange Bowl. TD Sooners. Sooners 14, Tulsa 7. At the end of the quarter, Patrick is averaging 7 ypc, Murray 10 ypc, and Bradford 7. Tulsa ball on the TU 20. When TU gives Smith time to throw - or he can dodge enough defenders to have time to throw - he's finding open receivers.

Interesting Games this wk

LSU vs SCEast - Lou Holtz just predicted an upset. Lou has a remarkable ability to pick teams where he used to coach to win every week. I think he has the Jets going to the Super Bowl this year, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers winning the Big 10. He has adjusted his expectations on Notre Dame...now he thinks they are still a Division II contender. Anywho, Lou needs to be subject to drug testing, LSU wins comfortably.

Georgia vs Alabama - Another tought SEC test for the Tide this weekend. Can they keep the momentum against the Bulldogs? As Steve Spurrier mentioned last week, Uga is 0-5 in their last games against the SEC East. The Tide's not in the East, but they have that sort of quality.

Illinois State vs Mizzou - Illinois State is still trying to adjust to the departure of Justin Fuente as assistant coach. Pinkel is preparing the Tigers for their annual late season slide. Unfortunately for the RedBirds, that doesn't start yet.

Notre Dame vs Michigan State - my dad owns a tow truck service, so I'm used to be big wrecks. That's wonderful prep for watching the 07 FishEaters.

TCU vs SMU - Phil Bennett takes his team over to Ft Worth to play the Horned Frogs. TCU's foes are undefeated, with the exception of Baylor, who's only loss is to TCU. SMU continues to struggle. While I'm a big fan of Phil Bennett as a human being, I don't think he'll fare well Saturday night at Amon Carter.

TU Game may be toughest on schedule?

Well, after watching Cash Machine University spit the bit this evening, it seems to me very possible that when we look back on this season, this Tulsa game may be one of our toughest tests of the season. I believe that Texas is still the best foe on the schedule, but ATM no longer looks threatening, Boone State is, well, Boone State, the Sand pirates are an unknown with that exhaustive schedule they've played, and Baylor is still Baylor.

Re: our Big 12 North foes, Mizzou may be a challenge, but we'll know more after their border rivalry game against Illinios State this weekend. I'm not prepared to evaluate Colorado yet, every time I watch them I fall asleep. Well, maybe that's enough of an evaluation right there. I'm not yet fearing Iowa State. I think they will succumb to the curse of Dan McCartney for firing a coach the led them to respectability and not be good for awhile.

Coach Fran and team did a great job of making 'the U' look very good this evening. Kyle Wright looked like a Heisman contender against their D. If Miami is this good, then the 51-10 beating we gave them is all the more impressive. On the other hand, a team that young can be so inconsistent, and often times road vs home can make a ton of difference.

Interesting facts re: tomorrow night's game against the Golden Hurricane...The Tulsa D barely rates as a tropical depression; might even qualify as a light shower: Tulsa allowed 694 yards against BYU last Saturday. In OU's three games to date, they've allowed 539. BYU scored more points against Tulsa than the other two games they'd played combined. BYU had not broken the 20 point barrier against UCLA or Arizona. Of the three teams UL-Monroe has played, their margin of loss was lowest against Tulsa. Tulsa won that game 35-17, but the Warhawks surrendered 49 and 54 points to Clemson and Cash Machine U, respectively.

OU - Tulsa Preview

So you're wondering how the Golden Hurricane matches up to the

Sooners? Well, it's closer than you'd think.

Offense		This is closer than I would have previously expected. TU has more prpven QB, but OU gets the nod on the other skill positions and the O-line.
Defense		Tulsa gave up 40+ points to BYU. Sooners have relinqueshed 26 in three games.
Special Teams		I can't name a player on TU other than Courtney Tennial and Paul Smith. Go read the paper or something if you want special teams analysis.
Stadium Name	Tie	Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium vs Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium at Owen Field.
Coaching		Todd Graham is in his first year at TU. He took Rice from miserable to bowl eligible last year. Also added Mustain from Arkansas staff. I'll stick w Bob.
Cool Alumni		Tulsa claims Dr. Phil as a former student. Apparently he went there on a football scholarship. Other alumni include Steve Largent, Nancy Lopez and Drew Pearson. Senator and anti-global warming advocate Jim Inhofe also attended. We keep playing schools where Dr. Phil went to school.We overlooked Midwestern State when scheduling.
Previous School Name		Nothing rolls off the tongue like "Presbyterian Indian School for Girls".

Tulsa Preview Haiku

Golden Hurricane.
Employs my father-in-law.
Won't help Friday night.

Coach Hair Gel

Saw this hilarious clip on Coach Hair Gel of Boone State on the DiscoTech! site as well. As an additional bonus, we have this comment on Pat Forde's Forde Yard Dash column, "Not to say that Mike Gundy's record is built on a pile of straw or anything, but seven of his 12 victories as coach of the Cowboys are against I-AA or Sun Belt teams." I decided to look a little bit at his record. Coach Hair Gel is 7-1 against those teams, and 5-14 against everyone else. Boone State is 1-7 against the Sooners, Red Raider, Horns and Aggies. The Pokes are occasionally formidable at home, but I don't think their D will stand up to the Sand Pirates this weekend.

UT: Football Recruiting, courtesy of DiscoTech!

Gang, the guys at DiscoTech! have outdone me on poking fun at UT and their 'troubles'. Guys, thanks for passing that along. Hats off to you for some great work.

New UT Legal Awareness Program

Our Austin insider, Edwin Simmons, took this photo of a bulletin board inside the UT locker room today. Clearly this is part of the new get tough policy that Coach Brown has initiated. My apologies for not getting Edwin a better camera so he could get a clearer picture.

Who's the Best #9

There's a clear leader on this number...

Mark Clayton (00-04) - Career leader in Catches and Receiving yards in a game, season and career. All-American in 2003-04. Caught passes for 190 yards against Texas. Career yardage leader by over 1200 yards.

Tink Collins (88-92) - QB for first three years, split end for last two years . Lost out in QB race with current RB coach Cale Gundy.

Anthony Fogle (93-96) - 9th in career tackles for a DB.

Glenn Sullivan (83-85) - Third string QB during national championship season. Two sport athlete who also played baseball, making it to the AAA level in the Cubs organization.

Juaquin Iglesias (05-present) - presently 18th in career receiving yards. Likely to be in top 10 by the end of his junior year, barring injury.

Horns repeat

Mack wished to win the Rose Bowl.
For this reason he sold his soul.
Robbin’ and drinkin’,
What was he thinkin’?
Now half the team’s on parole.

Testigate Further information

Dear Faithful reader: today's beating at work brought a writer's block I haven't experienced yet, but fortunately I found this "nugget" on si.com. I believe they were trying to bury this story on the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attack.

"Thomas told police that when he decided to leave and went to the bar to pay his tab, Beckett grabbed him in the crotch, pulled him to the ground and wouldn't let go, even as bar patrons tried to break it up. When the two men were separated, Thomas looked down and realized the extent of his injuries."

"He could see both of his testicles hanging on the outside of his body," said Thomas' attorney, Carl Hughes. "He was wearing a pair of white shorts, which made it that much worse."

Who wears white shorts anymore? I don't think Clinton and Stacy would approve.

In spite of recent attempts at other sports blogs to discredit the ever popular "jort" (jean shorts, for the uninitiated), I think this is a very compelling argument for the jort. That denim gives you an extra line of defense against this sort of attack.

Anyway, back to the story. The first story indicated Thomas "heard his scrotum tear". Now he had to look down to see the jewels hanging on the outside. Normally, I would question the validity of the plaintiff's inconsistent testimony. However, in this instance, I think the trauma said plaintiff occured we should allow him a bit of latitude.

Utah State Game Summary Haiku

Utah State came to play.
Unfortunately for them,
They're unable to.

Weis Stealing Signs?

I think we can all say after three weeks that Notre Dame staff do not appear to be cheating like Weis' former coaching mates in the NFL. If Charlie knows what the defense is doing, and still can't score TD's then, holy cow, I don't know what to say.

Former Sooner QB Update

Tommy Grady lit up a previously well regarded UCLA Bruin team this weekend, going 17-30 for 246 yards and 3 scores. Rhett Bomar threw 61 times and completed 36 while only hitting the opposing team in the hands once. He totalled 358 yards and 4 TDs in a loss against North Dakota State, and also ran for 103 yards. Add Bradford's stats in there, and present and former Sooner QBs went 72-117 for 859 yards and 10 TDs this weekend, with only two picks.

On a related note, I've seen no news that Jamelle Holieway was arrested this weekend, so it's been a good wknd all around for Sooner QBs.

Around the Big 12

North Division
Bugeaters – the Bugeaters were steamrolled by the SC Trojans 49-31. I started having 2005 Orange Bowl flashbacks and had to turn off this game. The holes the SC lines were opening up in the Husker D was reminiscent of what the Bugeaters did to the opposition back in the day. SC averaged over 8 yards per carry. Nebraska scored the last two TDs in the contest to make the score less embarrassing.
Iowa State – the Cyclones upset the Iowa Hawkeyes 15-13 yesterday. Kicker Bret Culbertson kicked the game winner with 1 second left. The Cyclones are 7-3 vs Iowa in the last 10 games. After considering that Northern Iowa beat Iowa State last week, Governor Culver awarded the Golden Ear of Corn to UNI.
Willie and Friends – the Wildcats beat Missouri State 61-10.
Kansas Jayhawks – Kansas avenged last year’s loss to the Toledo Rockets, beating them 45-13. The Rockets are 0-3 this year, and seem to be stuck on the launch pad. Kansas has dominated Central Michigan, Southeast Louisiana and Toledo while warming up for the big game against Florida International this weekend. So we know nothing about KU yet.
CU Later – the big story coming into this game was if Bobby Bowen could stay up late enough for the entire game, since it started at 10 pm Eastern time. I fell asleep watching it. Hats off to Coach Bowden, he outlasted me. Oh, yeah, the Seminoles won 15-6.
Missouri – the Tigers rolled up 621 yards while defeating Western Michigan 52-24.The Big 12 North has owned the MAC this year, with the exception of Iowa State.

South Division
Boone State – the Pokes started off the weekend of Big 12 college football on Friday night and played like a high school team. They were dominated by the Trojans of Troy, Alabama 41-23. New starting QB Zac Robinson did not fare well, but the biggest problem was the matador tackling technique the Cowboys executed to perfection. Gundy announced that ZR still had the job. Backup QB Bobby Reid sez he didn't lose the job, the coaches made a decision.
Baylor – Baylor squeaked by Texas State 34-27. Blake Szymanski through for 400 yards again. Last week Texas State lost 45-27 to Abilene Christian. The Bobcats are looking forward to conference play against the public schools of the Southland Conference next week 'cuz the Christian schools are killing them. I suspect there's a sign in a dorm in San Marcos that says, "We want Notre Dame".
Texas – the Horns survived a scare against the University of Central Florida Golden Knights, winning 34-27. Going into the season, who would’ve predicted the Horns easiest victory to date would be TCU? Texas has had to recover onside kicks against Arkansas State and Central Florida to preserve narrow victories. Most of the suspensions have been served for the criminal justice field trips the Horns took this summer, so Texas will be at full strength for two weeks before the Red River Rivalry.
Sand Pirates – beat up on Rice 59-24. The Sand Pirates next foe is Boone State. The Pokes can't tackle and Leach likes to score, so this should be a fun game is you're a TT fan.
Cash Machine U – the Aggies dominated 0-3 Louisiana Monroe 54-14 in advance of their game in Thursday night raod game against the Miami Hurricanes.

Big 10 Network Games Preview

Dave Revsine: Here at the Big 10 Network, we wanted to take a few minutes to highlight this weekends games on the Big 10 Network. For this special feature, we’ve asked Miss Cleo to bring back from the dead former Big 10 coaches Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes.

Miss Cleo, do the honors…

Dave: Coach Hayes, thanks for coming back to join us.
Woody: Sure, what’s this all about?
Dave: well, we wanted to ask for your insights on the upcoming games on the Big 10 Network later this weekend. First off we’ve got Citadel at Wisconsin.
Woody: You’ve got to be kidding me. You pulled me out of the afterworld for this? I have absolutely no interest in this game. Didn’t even know Citadel had a football team.

Dave: Well, let’s move on to Coach Schembechler and the next game. Coach, welcome to the Big 10 Network Preview Show.
Bo: Thanks. Glad to be here. I think the keys to the Notre Dame – Michigan game are –
Dave: Sorry to interrupt coach, but actually that’s on another network. We were hoping to get your expert perspective on Akron at Indiana, here on the Big 10 Network!
Bo: Well, I think Gerry Faust is a fine coach and he just got a raw deal over there at Notre Dame. I th—
Dave: Coach Bo, Faust hasn’t been coaching at Akron for quite some time.
Bo: Really? Who are they playing again?
Dave: Perhaps we should just go to the next game. The Buffalo Bulls travel to Happy Valley to take on the Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions. Coach Bo, your thoughts on this game.
Bo: Don’t you mean Buffalo Bills? And if so, why would they be playing a college team? Are they that bad now, or is Penn State that good?
Dave: Actually, Buffalo University has a 1-A football program.
Bo: Well, I’ll be darned. I didn’t know that.

Dave: Coach Hayes, our showcase game on Saturday evening is Duke at Northwestern. Can you give us some insight on that battle?
Woody: Well, that sounds like it might be a good matchup if you’re playing chess or Scrabble, or perhaps a Sudoku tournament. But football Duke-Northwestern in football? I think I’d rather watch bull riding on Versus.
Dave: Coach Hayes – that’s on another network.
Woody: Oh. Sorry, I got sidetracked.

Dave: Well, gents, thanks for your time. Coach Hayes, if you don’t mind can I ask you what heaven is like?
Woody: Don’t know. Next question.
Dave: Really? What’s hell like?
Woody: The only sports channel Lucifer let’s us watch is The Big 10 Network.

Bugeater - Trojan Preview

For the Big 12 vs the Pac 10 match this week, we go to Pac 10 correspondent Snoop Dogg.


"USC West travels ta Lincoln, Nebraska ta play tha Bugeata on Saturday. The Trojans have had an extra wizzy ta prepare fo` this game nigga tha preseason gangsta against tha Idaho Vandals. Nebraska traveled ta Winston-Sizzles North Carolina ta squeak out a victory against ACC juggernaut Wakes Forest and yo momma. The last tizzle tha Bugeata hosted a #1 ranked team, it was 1978 n tha tizzle was tha B-I-Double-Lizzy Sims-led Oklahoma Soona . Nigga get shut up or get wet up. In tizzle game, tha Baller had nine fumbles, giv'n up six of T-H-to-tha-izzem, n zero yards mobbin' (only 2 attempts). Those wizzy tha days…pardon me, I digress ridin' in mah double R.


Southern Cal is now dizzay ta sum-m sum-m like eight healthy tailbacks. Earlia this week, Pizzy Carroll announced T-H-to-tha-izzat saggin' CB Jiznosh Pinkard is out fo` tha season n shit. Wit tha recruit'n successes tha Trojans have had over tha pizzle several years, tizzy shouldn’t be a big issue.


This game also reunites Nebraska QB Sam Kella against his forma Pac 10 foes in tha mutha [word redacted] club. In his one start against SC, Playa had some success in tha fizzay hizzalf, ho-slappin' tha Sun Devils ta an eighteen point lead, but ended up surrend'n five sacks n five interceptions as tha Trojans stored back fo` a 10 point victory.


Trojan Defense versus Huska Offense. Edge – Trojans. Trojans bring several preseason All Americans ta Lincoln so jus' chill. Huska O ta date has been diverse, but unimpressive fo my bling bling.


Trojan Offense versus Killa Defense with the gangsta [word redacted] that keeps ya hangin. Edge – Trojans fo' rizeal. The Pimp D has performed good enough ta suppress Wakes Forest n Nevada, but SC is a different story. The Trojans lost a lot in tha receiv'n corp, but there is plenty or untested, talented options out there cuz I'm fresh out the pen.


Prediction – USC tha 10 point spread. "

Voting for New Longhorn Helmet Begins

By Edwin Simmons, Austin Bureau Correspondent

Texas' football team will have a new game-day helmet, featuring symbols closely associated with the Texas program, beginning in 2008.

Several weeks ago, the Longhorn Athletics Department asked for uniform and helmet design concepts from its fans, students, and local police officers wandering Sixth Street in Austin who felt they had a vision of what the Horns should wear on game day. Many individuals submitted concepts and a committee of department and campus officials poured over the ideas, tweaked them and chose two “finalists” for consideration to be the new look for Texas football.

"We received lots of terrific concepts,” Director of Athletics DeLoss Dodds said. “Although no one design was chosen, our final options are a compilation or hybrid of several of those suggestions.”

Dodds noted that each option represents a distinct activity associated with the university – "Crime" and “Punishment”.

“It is our goal that the option chosen will allow us to more clearly associate our athletics program on a national level with the recent actions of our student-athletes” Dodds said. “These two concepts emerged after thorough discussions with a people on Sixth Street at 3 a.m. one Saturday morning and each of the ideas ties back to our summer of arrests in its own unique way.”

The Athletics Department will collect input, via online voting, until Friday, Sep 21. The vote of the fans is a factor that will be weighed in the final decision. The athletics department will announce its final choice later this fall so that production schedules can be met for the 2008 season.

“Asking for input from our fan base is an important part of the design process,” Head Coach Mack Brown said. “In a political year, you might compare this to a straw poll.”

When the design contest was announced, the folks on Sixth Street said that a return to the school’s symbols – handcuffs and doobies – was critical. In researching the history of Longhorn player brushes with the law the symbols have varied from year to year.

“The burnt orange helmet with Cheech and Chong carrying a joint is more representative of the program. Let's face it, how many of these kids have even seen a cow?” Brown said. “In looking at the arrests we've had since I've been here, I couldn’t help but notice how much variety there's been. We've had DUI, armed robbery, attempted burglary, and marijuana possession - to name a few. The darker colors are much classier and more dramatic.”

In addition, the white helmet maintains a legacy to the classy helmet of yesteryear. The handcuffs will represent the detainment phase of the criminal justice process.

“Making a conscious effort to review our historical roots in terms of criminal history is most appropriate during this unprecedented year of criminal activity by our players," Dodds said. “This initiative ties in nicely with these events."

The Longhorn Athletic Department asks you to remember to vote often and encourage others to vote. As final decision making time nears, we want your sincere feedback. If you would like to offer additional comments for our consideration, you can do so in our comment section.

Separated at Birth

Doing my nightly blog research, and a picture comes up, and I can't see the headline initially (LandThieves budget precludes better monitor) and I'm thinking, "what the heck is Jackie Sherrill doing on the front page of espon.com?" Then I realize it's the resident NFL genius, Bill Belichek.

I submit to you that these two gents look a lot alike.

I thought BB was a "Parcells guy". I think now he's a Sherrill offspring.

What if the Sooners are ranked No 3

Already some folks are worrying about if the Sooners are undefeated and on the outside looking in. Well, here's my analysis.

LSU - hosts ranked South Carolina, defending national champ and 5th ranked Florida, travels to Tuscaloosa for the Saban Bowl, hosts Arkansas, and if they come through that unscathed must beat someone from the East for the SEC Championship, presumably Florida with two months more experience or South Carolina.

USC - Pete Carroll and his TB by committee travel to an improved Washington, travels to ranked Oregon (before they go in their traditional November tank), travel to #8 California, play intracity rival and 11th ranked UCLA at home.

OU - aside from hated rival Texas at a neutral site, the toughest game is probably at Texas Tech. The next three most difficult matchups are at home (Mizzou, Cash Machine U and Boone State).

All this to say that there are enough difficult games out there that I don't anticipate all three making it through the whole way undefeated. And, if they do, I must admit that I believe SC and LSU will venture through a more difficult patch to get there. If they do get through undefeated, as much as it pains me to say it, they're probably more deserving.

On the other hand, if some Big East school breezes through, then it's a travesty and heads will roll.

OU - USU Preview

So you're wondering how the Utah State Aggies match up to the

Sooners? Well, they don't.

Offense		Sooners averaging 65 pts per game. Aggies have scored 17 pts per game against UNLV and Wyoming.
Defense		I don't know anything about the Utah State D. As a writer on a no ad, no pay blog, I don't have to.
Special Teams		Utah State punts and returns more kickoffs than OU, but I give the edge to the Sooners for having more practice on FG, XP and kickoff coverage.
Stadium Name		Romney Stadium vs Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium at Owen Field. Romney Stadium (named after former coach) wins for simplicity.
Coaching		Utah State Coach Brent Guy is Boone State alum. While he has an otherwise impressive resume, he is 4-21 in two plus yrs. USU not recovered from John L Smith leaving for Louisville.
Cool Alumni		Utah State counts NFL greats Merlin Olsen and Cornell Green as alumni,as well as longtime BYU coach Lavell Edwards. All this is offset by allowing Harry Reid to graduate and become a U.S. Senator. OU alumni include Larry Drake (Benny on LA Law), James Garner, Ed Harris (Apollo 13, Truman Show), Jim Ross (pro rasslin announcer). I watched Apollo 13 last week, so the Sooners get the nod.
NASA Moonbuggy Race		Utah State won the award in 2005. LandThieves, uninterested in amassing territory on other planets, have not competed.

Hats off to...

Husker Fans - mix in generosity, serving our country, and Husker fans and you've got the makings of a great story.

Lloyd Carr - didn't know much about Lloyd Carr, and have taken a little bit of perverse joy in watching them slide a bit this year. Carr phoned Coach Jerry Moore of Appalachian State the day after the Mountaineers' historic upset to offer congratulations to Coach Moore. Seems that the Big 10 network didn't facilitate an on field meeting after the chaos of the ending play, and Coach Carr took the time the next day to phone Coach Moore.

It's enough to make me root for the Wolverines on Saturday against the FishEaters.

After a summer of various transgressions across the country from collegiate athletes, this is a nice change o' pace.

This just in from Austin...

I read in the Dallas Morning News today an analysis by Chip Brown where UT Coaches Mack Brown and Greg Davis have realized that...

"The offensive line is inexperienced. And he's got sophomore quarterback Colt McCoy, a laser passer who knows the playbook and can read defenses, and a strong receiving corps."

Really? So, you're telling me that Colt McCoy can't run like Vince Young? Let's see, in 2006, My Little Pony ran for 170 yards on 68 carries. Vince ran for over 1000 yards during his sophomore and junior years, averaging more than 6 yards per carry. So after a game into this season, Davis and Brown figure out that they should pass more and run less, cause Colt's not that as proficient at running, and might be able to read defenses and throw better?

Wow? Do the coaches watch practices in Austin? Or do they just serve as lookouts for the police?

Who's the Best #8

Sonny Brown - campus heartthrob (my ex had the hots for him - and darn near anyone else I fould out later) and DB during the mid 80s. Part of two big goal line stand against the Bugeaters in 1984 as the 6th ranked Sooners upset the top ranked Huskers. Also started on the National Championship team in 1985.
Chad Dainty - was on the 1996 roster. With that name, I can only imagine he transferred to a school in the WAC or Pac10.

Brandon Daniels - tremendous athlete burdened with playing quarterback in the Desert Era. Could do everything but pass the football. Played as a WR, DB and KR during Stoops first year. Led the team in receptions in 1999, and holds Sooner record for most KR yards in a game and season.

Nate Hybl - starting QB in 2001 and 2002. Has 20-3 W/L record during his tenure. Was pulled for White, then replaced White when Jason blew knee out. 4th most career passing yards in Sooner history.

Garrick McGee - highly touted Juco transfer was Sooner QB during Gibbs last year (1994). A victim of the coaching genius of Schnellenberger in 1995, he saw limited playing time his senior year.

Donte Nicholson - juco transfer DB in 03-04. Earned All Big 12 honors in Sr year.

Jerry Parks - infamous in Sooner lore for shooting teammate Zarak Peters in early 1989. There is some debate amongst Sooner historians over what is more shocking in about this event: a) that a player shot another; b) that he was kicked off the team for doing so.

Darrell Shepard - starting QB in 1981, scored 15 rushing TDs for the Sooners that year.

Vote to the right, comment below.

Reason for Longhorn Slow Start Saturday

Sources close to the program indicate that this message on the big screen during Friday's walk through so distressed the UT football team that they lost their focus.

Only after being slapped around by the Frogs during the first half on Saturday were they able to come to their senses and concentrate on the task at hand of slay the invading Frogs.

Synonyms for Rebuilding

As a public service to the ongoing life of Charlie Weis, I'd like to present the following synonyms for rebuilding:


1) remake
2) reshape
3) build again
4) reconstruct
5) dismantle and reassemble
6) convince Ty's recruits at U-Dub to transfer to ND


If you have additional synonyms you believe Mr. Weis could use to spare his life while discussing ND's miserable start to the season, please leave 'em in the comments section.

Utah State Preview Haiku

NASA Moon Buggies.
No match for Sooner Schooner.
Sooners win in romp.

Around the Big 12

Willie and Friends - rebounded from loss to Auburn - and this video - to beat San Jose State.
Missouri - offense rolls over the Ole Miss Rebels. The Tigers had a 35-7 lead before coasting to 38-25 victory.
Bugeaters - Nebraska traveled to Wake Forest and edged the ACC defending champion Demon Deacons 20-17. Nebraska has not lost to a Baptist affiliated school (Baylor, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest) in football since 1956.
CU Later - the Buffaloes jumped out to a 14-0 lead before falling 33-14. One of the Buffalo TDs was a defensive score, so the offense struggled.
Kansas - the Mangino led Jayhawks devoured Southeast Louisiana 62-0. Many teams struggle with easy teams when sandwiched between two tough opponents Central Michigan and Toledo, but Kansas was able to stay focused.
Iowa State - Iowa State played football like a Baptist school, losing to Northern Iowa, 24-13. Chizik's Cyclones are now 0-2 after playing juggernauts Kent State and Northern Iowa. Thank goodness Lenoir Rhyne was booked.

Baylor - the Bears steamed Rice, 42-17. Szymanski, doing his best Sam Bradford impersonation, threw for 6TDs and 412 yards. The Rice D picked the wrong game to roll out their new defensive scheme modeled after the Michigan Wolverines.Unfortunately for them, they got it exactly right. If Rice continues in the Wolverine D formation, aka as chasing the offensive player in to the end zone, they will have a tough time against the Red Raiders this week.
Boone State - 'pokes continue to dominate Florida Atlantic. Bobby Reid was ineffective prior to suffering a game ending injury. Zac Robinson led the pokes to 7 scores in a 42-6 victory. Coach Mike Gundy, channelling Pat Jones who only played Barry Sanders for one year, continues to name Reid the starter.
Cash Machine U - Jumped out to a 19-0 lead before hanging on for a triple OT 47-45 victory at home against Fresno State. Coach Fran wisely showed the bulldogs a lot of the Javorsky Lane show as the day got longer.
Texas - looked awful - with the help of TCU D - for the first half. The Horns dominated the second half, pulling away for a 34-13 victory. Headthief rant: TCU, the 19th ranked team in the country, lost to the #7 team on the road. Of course, the Frogs dropped from the AP top 25.
Texas Tech - the Sand Pirates came from behind to beat UTEP 45-31 in their home opener.

Miami FL Game Review Haiku

Sooners score touchdowns.
Rufneks shoot guns in the air.
Canes did not shoot back.

Miami Game Notes

Great job by the weather forecasters, I wish I could have that sort of inaccuracy to my accounting job. Anywho, on to the game...

If Kirby Freeman is the answer for Miami's QB situation, they are asking the wrong question. He can't throw. The coaches don't believe in him. When you routinely run a QB draw on third and long, you are quite close to just quick kicking. For a few minutes, I thought Randy Shannon had hired Joe Dickinson (Sooner OC, 1998) as the play-caller.

Sam Bradford showed that last week wasn't a fluke. He wasn't as precise as last week, but continued to throw it well against a very quick Miami D. Throught two games, Bradford has 8 TDs and 0 INTs. Malcolm Kelly caught four passes for three TDs. He would have been four out of four, but a pass off of a reverse from Manuel Johnson was short, and Kelly had to come back for the ball. The RBs ran pretty well. Keith Kackson Jr continued to excel, catching 8 passes.

The D was fabulous, holding the 'canes to eight first downs. Most of those came when Kyle Wright was subbing for Freeman. He led Miami on an 18 play 52 yard drive that included two fourth down conversions and a couple of pass interference calls. Wright was taken back out of the game, for reasons unknown until I review the game tape. Reggie Smith recovered a fumble and took it to the house for a score as well.

Rainy Game Memories

With the forecast for lots o' rain tomorrow, I started thinking about the high profile rainy games I've been to in the past. I was a sr in h.s. this year (1983) and was sitting in the south end zone about row 6. This run by Spencer Tillman occured in the north end zone. From my vantage point, it looked like he jumped from the 20. The Bugeaters came from behind to win, and lost to Miami FL in the OB for the National Championship. One of the best games I've ever been to.

Grammar Lesson

Ok, here is an espn headline...

Now, call me crazy, but there's no way that one "could be out indefinitely". You either have a definite return date, or you don't have a definite return date. He "could be out six weeks", which is still indefinite, 'cause it's could, not will. That concludes today's grammar rant.

Games I'm Recording this Weekend

This weekend will be a one-day trip to Norman and back. Here's what I'll be taping...


TCU at Texas - the Horns did not impress against the Arkansas State Indians. There's a part of me that wants to root for Big 12 credibility here (shout out to Boone State and Willie and Friends for losing to non-directional schools last week), but I'm going to ignore that part of me and pick the Killer Frogs.

Ducks at Michigan - Michigan has helped wipe the fascination with Boise State's upset of OU from the nation's consciousness. Now, Michigan can avenge the questionable officiating we experienced last year. Prediction: Big 10 officiating propels Wolverines to victory.


If I had two DVRs...

Notre Dame at Penn State - here's hoping Charlie continues to turn the Irish around. As I've said many times before, if you're going to turn something around, make sure it stops at 180 degrees. Charlie seems like he's headed for a full rotation. Prediction: Penn State, then Joe Pa goes home to catch that new show, Green Acres.

Virginia Tech at LSU - Mike Vick's alma mater vs the man auditioning to be Michigan's coach. It's an intriguing story, which story line will ESPN beat to death? Katrina recovery, year two? healing at Virginia Tech? Will they touch the 'third rail' of Vick? And, there'll be some phenomenal athletes on the field. Prediction: LSU.

Analysis of the 'Canes - Sooners clash that you just won't get anywhere else.

Offense		Sooners QB anxiety less after 21-23 performance by Bradford. It's tough to do that in practice. Kirby Freeman's 9-21 for 81 yards didn't make Randy Shannon warm and fuzzy.
Defense		I think the squads are pretty comparable talent-wise. Edge goes to OU, because for comparable talent, it's easier to stop Miami than Oklahoma.
Special Teams		Miami almost always has a solid return game, but the in end goes to OU, courtesy of Garrett Hartley and the punting tandem.
Stadium Name		Orange Bowl vs Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium at Owen Field. No contest.
Coaching		New Head FB Randy Shannon has been receiving positive reviews. But I'm going with the HeadVisor.
Cool Alumni		Miami FL alumni include Sly Stallone (literally given his degree), Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek producer), and Grace Slick. The U loses points for providing a college to Terrell Owens' agent Drew Rosenhaus and Roy Black, attorney for William Kennedy Smith. OU alumni include Larry Drake (Benny on LA Law), James Garner, Ed Harris (Apollo 13, Truman Show), Jim Ross (pro rasslin announcer). I watched Apollo 13 last week, so the Sooners get the nod.
Nickname honoring death and destruction		Rumor has it that Miami leadership considered Apocalype, Armageddon, Bubonic Plague, Dirty Bomb and Terrorist Attack before settiling on Hurricanes. Makes a naming the school after some cheaters pretty lame.