UVA
Virginia took care of business like it needed to against VMI. I was hoping for a shutout but you have to like the result. There isn't much to take from the game. I've watched a half on replay and still need to get to the second half. It was a great win, but it's hard to tell what it means given the opponent. The Cavaliers will have a "show me" game next week at home against Florida State, which has looked very good except in a strange blow out loss to Oklahoma (which has looked below average except for its victory over the Noles). Marc Verica continutes to impress me with the exception of a few throws. The Hoos' inability to pound the ball down the throats of the Keydets with Keith Payne and Perry Jones is concerning. This was one of those games where Virginia should have piled up 250-300 rushing yards but instead only recorded 125.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
-I didn't give much credit to Arkansas, and it almost went out and beat Alabama--and should have, if not for three INTs by Heisman-hopeful Ryan Mallet (probably not as hopeful anymore). Maybe the Tide aren't quite the machine I thought. There are a few chinks in the armor.
-Since when does Ohio State put up 70+ points? This Buckeye team could finally be the one to break through and win a national title for the first time since Maurice Clarett was on the team and relevant.
-Boise State got a nice win at home against Oregon State. Nothing too impressive but its march to 12-0 continues. The Broncos will need help to get to the title game. It won't jump Bama and OSU as long as those teams remain undefeated, and I think it will be hard to get them in ahead of one-loss OSU and Bama teams, too.
-What's up with UCLA? After looking pretty bad in losses to K-State and Stanford, the Bruins have since beaten two top 25 teams in Houston and Texas, the latter of which was on the road. And they didn't just beat Texas, they crushed the Horns. Perhaps UCLA can't be counted out of the PAC-10 race just yet.
-Florida finally looked like itself in a big win over Kentucky, just in time for the showdown with Alabama next week.
-Wisconsin is another team you don't usually associate with scoring 70 points. Does this mean anything? Is this a Badger team that could knock off OSU and get to a BCS game?
-Arizona got a scare from Cal. The Wildcats were probably caught in an emotional hangover from their win over Iowa. Good job to recover just in time and beat the Bears.
-Brian Kelly has not turned around Notre Dame yet. I think he will eventually, but it looks like this year the Irish are headed to another 5 to 7 win season (which is ok with me, I do not like Notre Dame). And what about Stanford. I think they are for real......
-It looks like Virginia Tech's defense is getting into the swing of things with its shutout of Boston College. No one probably thought it in the preseason, but we have an early ACC showdown next week when the Hokies travel to face the undefeated Wolfpack of N.C. State.
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NFL PICKS
1:00
SF at KC
I think the 49ers get that first win, and the surprising Chiefs suffer their first loss. 27-21
Detroit at Minnesota
I like the Vikings to get their first win of the season, quieting, at least for a while, the Brett Favre doubters. 24-17
Atlanta at N'awlins
The Falcons looked like a different team last week in their win over the Cardinals when compared to the Falcon team that scored nine points against Pittsburgh in Week 1. I like the Saints to pull out a tough one, 31-28.
Pitt at TB
No one could have predicted this game to be a matchup of 2-0 teams in the preseason. Charlie Batch is going to be starting for the Steelers and will struggle, but Josh Freeman will struggle more against the Steelers defense, which I expect to force a couple of turnovers. Steelers, 20-12
Dallas at Houston
My Cowboys still have time to make something out of this year, but I don't think they will get on track against the Texans, who are rolling right now. Hopefully Dallas surprises me, but I like Houston to win 34-28.
8:20
NY Jets at Miami
The Jets bounced back last week with a solid win over New England after scoring nine points in a loss to Baltimore in Week 1. Miami is another surprising 2-0 team. I like the Jets to win, but I think the game will come down to the last few minutes. 24-17
Monday Night
GB at Chicago
Chicago is yet another 2-0 team shocking the league. Soldier Field will be rocking on Monday night, but the Packers are a step up in competition from the Bears' previous two opponents, Detroit and Dallas. Green Bay wins 38-24.
Virginia took care of business like it needed to against VMI. I was hoping for a shutout but you have to like the result. There isn't much to take from the game. I've watched a half on replay and still need to get to the second half. It was a great win, but it's hard to tell what it means given the opponent. The Cavaliers will have a "show me" game next week at home against Florida State, which has looked very good except in a strange blow out loss to Oklahoma (which has looked below average except for its victory over the Noles). Marc Verica continutes to impress me with the exception of a few throws. The Hoos' inability to pound the ball down the throats of the Keydets with Keith Payne and Perry Jones is concerning. This was one of those games where Virginia should have piled up 250-300 rushing yards but instead only recorded 125.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
-I didn't give much credit to Arkansas, and it almost went out and beat Alabama--and should have, if not for three INTs by Heisman-hopeful Ryan Mallet (probably not as hopeful anymore). Maybe the Tide aren't quite the machine I thought. There are a few chinks in the armor.
-Since when does Ohio State put up 70+ points? This Buckeye team could finally be the one to break through and win a national title for the first time since Maurice Clarett was on the team and relevant.
-Boise State got a nice win at home against Oregon State. Nothing too impressive but its march to 12-0 continues. The Broncos will need help to get to the title game. It won't jump Bama and OSU as long as those teams remain undefeated, and I think it will be hard to get them in ahead of one-loss OSU and Bama teams, too.
-What's up with UCLA? After looking pretty bad in losses to K-State and Stanford, the Bruins have since beaten two top 25 teams in Houston and Texas, the latter of which was on the road. And they didn't just beat Texas, they crushed the Horns. Perhaps UCLA can't be counted out of the PAC-10 race just yet.
-Florida finally looked like itself in a big win over Kentucky, just in time for the showdown with Alabama next week.
-Wisconsin is another team you don't usually associate with scoring 70 points. Does this mean anything? Is this a Badger team that could knock off OSU and get to a BCS game?
-Arizona got a scare from Cal. The Wildcats were probably caught in an emotional hangover from their win over Iowa. Good job to recover just in time and beat the Bears.
-Brian Kelly has not turned around Notre Dame yet. I think he will eventually, but it looks like this year the Irish are headed to another 5 to 7 win season (which is ok with me, I do not like Notre Dame). And what about Stanford. I think they are for real......
-It looks like Virginia Tech's defense is getting into the swing of things with its shutout of Boston College. No one probably thought it in the preseason, but we have an early ACC showdown next week when the Hokies travel to face the undefeated Wolfpack of N.C. State.
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NFL PICKS
1:00
SF at KC
I think the 49ers get that first win, and the surprising Chiefs suffer their first loss. 27-21
Detroit at Minnesota
I like the Vikings to get their first win of the season, quieting, at least for a while, the Brett Favre doubters. 24-17
Atlanta at N'awlins
The Falcons looked like a different team last week in their win over the Cardinals when compared to the Falcon team that scored nine points against Pittsburgh in Week 1. I like the Saints to pull out a tough one, 31-28.
Pitt at TB
No one could have predicted this game to be a matchup of 2-0 teams in the preseason. Charlie Batch is going to be starting for the Steelers and will struggle, but Josh Freeman will struggle more against the Steelers defense, which I expect to force a couple of turnovers. Steelers, 20-12
Dallas at Houston
My Cowboys still have time to make something out of this year, but I don't think they will get on track against the Texans, who are rolling right now. Hopefully Dallas surprises me, but I like Houston to win 34-28.
8:20
NY Jets at Miami
The Jets bounced back last week with a solid win over New England after scoring nine points in a loss to Baltimore in Week 1. Miami is another surprising 2-0 team. I like the Jets to win, but I think the game will come down to the last few minutes. 24-17
Monday Night
GB at Chicago
Chicago is yet another 2-0 team shocking the league. Soldier Field will be rocking on Monday night, but the Packers are a step up in competition from the Bears' previous two opponents, Detroit and Dallas. Green Bay wins 38-24.
I agree with you about the lack of a running game. I did see on TV and read in the paper though this morning that VMI stacked the safeties close, pressed the receivers and dared Virginia to throw it. So I'm sure Bill Lazor was happy to oblige. Now, that could mean that if they stacked the safeties, they stacked everyone else, and running the ball would have been difficult anyway. At some point though, you would have liked to see some solid running. Oh and there was a play in the second half where Keith Payne moved an entire pile about 10 yards. And when the backup QBs were put in, of course they were more focused on trying to get some throws--which is just fine with me, as long as there are no picks. And there weren't any except one miscommunication.
ReplyDeleteI e-mailed a question to Heather Dinich and have no idea if she'll answer it, so your thoughts on this: How would you assess our chances against FSU's defense given two factors. The first we already know about--the running game. The second is related to that--the third down conversions. Virginia was just 57% against a bad team yesterday. Part of that could be that backups were in the game most of the second half, and by the size of the score we didn't need many third down conversions. But I still feel like it should be a bit higher.
i think our guys were probably a little lackadaisical against vmi. i think theyll be ready for fsu. it will be a challenge for sure but i dont think FSU's defense is still up to par with the defenses they had under Mickey Andrews 5-10 years ago (though they did shutout Wake last week). still 57 percent isnt a bad percentage either way i dont think.
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