The Ole College Try

Here is this week's wrap-up of the college football season, told from a couple of days distance simply to let some of the stories simmer a bit and to gain a bit of perspective. Although you may have a different take on the past weekend, I can only truly comment on games that I have seen, and this is my perspective.

Heisman Watch (Since the World Wide Leader tells us its never too early)

Big 3 Edition (Since the tv told me only 3 exist)
Favorite - Colt McCoy - Texas - 337 yards and 3 TDs against Wyoming. Tebow had 5 TD's, but his sloppy first quarter play keeps him in second in this close race.

Quarterback Edition (other than the big 3)

Aaron Opelt - Toledo - 319 yards and 4 TDs passing to go along with 109 yards and 2 TDs rushing, against Colorado. Just a truly dominating performance for those who watched it.

Running Back Edition

Favorite - Jahvid Best - California - Still with the best chance (pun intended) to usurp the big 3, following up his 137 yards against Maryland with 144 against Eastern Washington. His total of 281 yards come on only 27 carries.

Sleeper - Ralph Bolden - Purdue - The nations leading rusher to date, with 357 yards, with Northern Illinois next on the agenda.

Statistical Favorite - Taylor Potts - Texas Tech - Since I already mentioned Opelt, Potts is the latest Red Raider to throw out huge numbers. So far 861 yards and 9 touchdowns through the first two games.

Miscellaneous Position - Freddie Barnes, WR - Bowling Green - 25 receptions so far this year. 25!

Defensive Leader - Rahim Moore S - UCLA - His two interceptions against Tennessee give him 5 for the season. On pace for 30 this year. (My guess is that he does not, I repeat, not, keep that pace).

Rising - Jimmy Clausen - Notre Dame - 651 yards, 7 TDs and no interceptions. Despite the loss to Michigan, Clausen is becoming the player everyone at Notre Dame thought that he should be.

Falling - Still Sam Bradford - Oklahoma - due to injury.

Player to Watch

Tate Forcier - QB - Michigan - If you saw the game, then you know why. Just completely in control.

My New Favorite Player

Tate Forcier - QB - Michigan - Exciting, and he beat Notre Dame!

Goat of the Week (Player Edition)

Cody Hawkins - QB - Colorado - Not so much because he played like a goat, or because he gave the game away (in fact, he played fairly well and with a ton of heart and determination against Toledo 356 yards, 4 TDs, 3 INTs), but, if Colorado is losing to Toledo, Hawkins is the symbol of how far that program has fallen.

Goat of the Week (Coach Edition)

Lane Kiffin - Tennessee - Fourth and goal from the 3 and you run? First and second down I understand. Third down, you sometimes pass and sometimes run. But, if you do not have a dominating offensive line, you have to either kick or pass. No arguments.

Predicted BCS Championship Game Matchup
Texas v. Florida - No reason to change it yet, especially since Oklahoma State has fallen back to earth.

Rant(s) of the Week
Helmets are meant to stay on your head. I don't know what the problem was Florida, or more specifically Riley Cooper, but your helmet should not pop off every time you make a hit or get hit. Fix that immediately before someone is seriously injured.

Congratulations of the Week

Central Michigan and Dan LeFevour - Big in-state win against Michigan State. LeFevour set the MAC Total Offense record (See below). Keep in mind, this is the Dan LeFevour, who threw for more yards and rushed for more yards that Tim Tebow two years ago, Tebow's much heralded Heisman year.

Under Performance of the Week

Oklahoma State - Big win against Georgia in week 1 to give you a top 5 ranking, then you give it back with a very humbling loss to Houston. Not the way to get it done.

Game of the Week

Colorado - Toledo - Easily the most entertaining game, with 1,075 yards of total offense and 7 touchdown passes. Toledo won 54-38.

Play(s) of the Week

Andrew Aguila - K - Central Michigan. First, a picture perfect onside kick that nobody from Michigan State even had a chance to recover. Then, hits the game winning 42 yard field goal (after missing from 47 - the miss nullified by a penalty). Then with 3 seconds remaining, hits the front line of the Michigan State return team starting the clock, making any return impossible.

Trivia Question of the Week

As mentioned earlier, Dan LeFevour set his conference Total Offense Record. Whose record did he break?

Last Week's Trivia Answer

Last week's question was, "Florida's Brandon James returned a kickoff against Charleston Southern for a touchdown. In what year was the last time previously that Florida had returned a kickoff for a touchdown." The answer was 1999. It had been 10 years since the Gators had returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

Matchup(s) to Watch (5 this week - because I said so)

5. Texas Tech v. Texas - Big revenge game for Texas. I want to see how Tech responds, even without Harrell and Crabtree.

4. Ohio State v. Toledo - Could this be a letdown for Ohio State? A big chance for an exciting Toledo team.

3. Florida State v. BYU - This might be the most athletic team the BYU plays this year. Plus, Florida State has a lot to prove after the close loss to Miami, and the narrow victory over Jacksonville State.

2. Tennessee v. Florida - Tennessee's first visit to Gainesville in the Kiffin era. Kiffin against Meyer. Attitude versus attitude. Plus, I will be present.

1. Georgia Tech v. Miami - First, the Hurricanes are my favorite team. Second, this is a legitimate top twenty game, with conference championship implications. Plus it could be payback for the 1,400 yards rushing Georgia Tech had in last year's game. Game two of Miami's killer 4 game run.

Picks of the Week

This is the first of this year's "picks of the week" segments that will occur weekly at We Make It Rain. It is a tried and trued concept, plus I can keep track of what I would have earned had I actually bet on all of the games (since gambling is illegal). Each pick is using the spread (straight up is for wussies), and the betting line is from the same website each week as of the time of typing the entry. I will keep a running tally of my record, plus my winnings/losses. We will pretend that I bet $100 on each game, with one game each week going for $250. Winnings/Losses will be calculated including a 10% vig, which just makes the math that much simpler. On to the picks.

Tennessee Titans +6 at Pittsburgh Steelers
Scroll down a couple of blog entries to see my pick in this game.

New Orleans Saints -13 v. Detroit Lions
High scoring and high flying Saints versus doormat Lions. The Lions will improve from last year, since, well, they have to, but not yet.

Philadelphia -2 1/2 at Carolina Panthers
I don't really know what to do here, I just think Delhomme might be running out of gas. Do not underestimate the loss of Jim Johnson to the Eagles Defense.

Houston Texans -4 1/2 v. New York Jets
Rookie Quarterback, meet Mario Williams and Demeco Ryans.

Dallas Cowboys -5 1/2 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Not sold on Dallas going to the playoffs, but sold on their firepower versus overmatched Buccaneers. Watch for the penalties on Dallas' offensive line, though (false starts and holdings), as a sign of the future.

Denver Broncos +4 1/2 at Cincinnati Bengals
Not that I think the Broncos are going to be good this year, but it has been a while since Palmer was great due to injuries, and Elvis Dumervil can pressure the QB.

Atlanta Falcons -4 v. Miami Dolphins
Miami takes a step back this year, while the Falcons take another step forward.

Kansas City Chiefs +13 at Baltimore Ravens
Real big number for an early season game. Ravens may win 12-0.

Indianapolis Colts -7 v. Jacksonville Jaguars
A rivalry that is a shadow of its former self.

St. Louis Rams +7 1/2 at Seattle Seahawks
Everybody seems to be making a big deal of Hasselback's return to Seattle, however, they also have Julius Jones as a running back.

Washington Redskins +6 1/2 at New York Giants
The Giants Offense (minus Brandon Jacobs) needs to show me something before I lay 6 1/2 against a division rival.

San Francisco 49ers +6 at Arizona Cardinals
Shaun Hill is better than most people think, and with Singletary at the helm, the defense will be much improved. Arizona may win, but San Fran will keep it close.

Chicago Bears +4 at Green Bay Packers
I see this game coming down to a field goal, so I'll take the 4 points. Plus, the Bears took Indianapolis last year on the opening Sunday night game

New England Patriots -10 1/2 v. Buffalo Bills
Buffalo is in disarray, and none of it is TO's fault. Yet.

Oakland Raiders +9 v. San Diego Chargers
Something tells me that Shawne Merriman's Choke of Love isn't going to go away. The Chargers are better, but this is my flyer for the week.

BIG BET OF THE WEEK

Minnesota Vikings 3 1/2 at Cleveland Browns
Vikings have a lot of hype, and a powerful defensive line. Cleveland has a lot of quarterback controversy, and .... nope, that's all I got.

Previous Week's Record: N/A
Year to Date: N/A
Winnings (Losses): N/A

The Ole College Try

Once again, I will doing a weekly wrap-up of the college football season, told from a couple of days distance simply to let some of the stories simmer a bit and to gain a bit of perspective. Generally this column will come out on Tuesday. Although you may have a different take on the past weekend, I can only truly comment on games that I have seen, and this is my perspective.

Heisman Watch (Since the World Wide Leader tells us its never too early)

Big 3 Edition

Favorite - Colt McCoy - Texas - 317 yards and 2 TDs in a laugher against Louisiana-Monroe. Of course, McCoy is aided by Tebow playing less than one half and Bradford's shoulder.

Quarterback Edition (other than the big 3)

Max Hall - Brigham Young - 329 yards and 2 touchdowns in Brigham Young's thrilling defeat of Oklahoma, including the game winning touchdown pass with 3:03 remaining.

Running Back Edition

Favorite - Jahvid Best - California - He has the best chance (pun intended) to usurp the big 3, and he started off successfully with 137 yards on only 10 carries in a old-fashioned whooping of Maryland.

Sleeper - Matt Asiata - Utah - Started Utah's potential undefeated campaign with 156 yards (albeit on 36 carries).

Rising - Nobody is rising after only one week.

Falling - Sam Bradford - Oklahoma - due to injury.

Statistical Favorite - Aaron Opelt - Toledo - 423 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 52-31 defeat at the hands of Purdue.

Miscellaneous Position - Jordan Shipley, WR - Texas - 180 receiving yards and 1 TD for Texas. Easily Colt McCoy's favorite target. (And did you hear, they are roommates?!)

Defensive Leader - Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith CB - UTEP - 18 tackles against Buffalo. 18!!! As a cornerback!!!

Player to Watch

Jacory Harris - QB - Miami - A little bit of a homer pick as the Canes are my favorite team. But, it was a helluva start to a very difficult starting schedule with 386 passing yards against Florida State. Even if the Canes are not yet championship material, they will certianly be entertaining.

My New Favorite Player

Byron Haut - Boise State - Boy can he take a punch! (Really this award goes to Jacory Harris). This leads me to ...

Goat of the Week (Player Edition)

LaGarette Blount - RB - Oregon If you even have to ask, but for posterity's sake, his after game punch of Haut, and his tantrums directed towardteammates and security were completely uncalled for. Not sure season-long suspension is the correct penalty though.

Goat of the Week (Coach Edition)

Jim Tressel - Ohio State - A field goal at that point makes the score 32-14, and the game is over. Why did you go for it? Navy almost made you pay!

Predicted BCS Championship Game Matchup
Texas v. Florida - With Florida's schedule, and Sam Bradford's injury, this is the most likely outcome at this point. Still waaaaayyyy too early to tell.

Rant(s) of the Week
Ok, so LaGarette Blount needed to be punished for his behavior, but his entire senior season? Why not suspend him for 4 games plus the bowl? OR the first 3 conference games plus the bowl? His entire senior season - that is just plain ludicrous!

Congratulations of the Week

Brigham Young - Even with the injuries to Bradford and Greshem, this was a huge win for Brigham Young, and could be a big step toward the BCS Championship game for the Cougars.

Under Performance of the Week

Ohio State - Way too close of a game for Ohio State if they want to be in the National Championship hunt.

Iowa - Yes, you get 2 blocked field goals, but the fact that you needed both of them to win against Northern Iowa is pathetic.

Trivia Question of the Week

Florida's Brandon James returned a kickoff against Charleston Southern for a touchdown. In what year was the last time previously that Florida had returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

Matchup(s) to Watch

3. Marshall v. Virginia Tech - Marshall has historically had an effective offense. Virginia Tech is coming off a week in which in gave up 498 yards.

2. Notre Dame v. Michigan - Not because everybody says this is supposed to be a big game, but because it will be interesting to see Michigan's two freshmen quarterbacks Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson in their first big college game. Perhaps Rich Rodriguez does know what he is doing.

1. USC v. Ohio State - Last year we had the Collision in the Colosseum, or as those of you who read this blog remember I correctly predicted USC's blowout by glossing the game "The Suckfest in South Central". Sorry to disappoint you Buckeye fans, but if you couldn't slow down Navy's running game, what do you think you are going to do to Joe McKnight, Stefan Johnson, et. al. Another blowout, which I am calling, "The Horseshit in the Horseshoe".

Opening Night Quick Hit

Just for the record, I am selecting Tennesse +6 over Pittsburgh tonight for $100. For those followers of my usual weekly picks column, the full column will appear in an entry prior to the weekend beginning, but to preserve the authenticity of the selection of tonight's game, and to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, I am announcing the Thursday night selection, today.

Enjoy the NFL everybody.

And So It Begins

As we are solidly in the middle of the first weekend of college football, I figure that there is no better time to unveil my pre-season All-American team. Although there are more than 11 offenseive and defensive players listed, the team is selected to account for the various offenses and defenses used around the country (trip receivers, spread, 3-4, 4-3, etc.). I chose to explain my picks in some instances, and not in others. Why? Because I am busy watching football. Now here are the Pepster Preseason All-Americans.

Offense

QB - Colt McCoy, Texas - Led his team in passing and rushing last year, and his completion percentage is off the charts.

RB - Jahvid Best, California; Jonathan Dwyer, Georgia Tech; Jazquizz Rodgers, Oregon State - Best might be the best player in the country, averaging over 8 yards per carry last year.

WR - Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State; Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati; A.J. Green, Georgia - Gilyard is probably the best player nobody has ever heard of, and A.J. Green is the best sophomore receiver in the SEC, not Julio Jones.

TE - Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma; Aaron Hernandez, Florida - Gresham came back instead of being a sure-fire first round draft pick last year and Florida's offensive hopes depend a lot more on Hernandez than people realize.

T - Trent Williams, Oklahoma; Ciron Black, LSU - Both big and strong, and keys to their respective offenses. Black is a fourth year starter. Williams is the only returning starter on the line for Oklahoma.

G - Sergio Render, Virginia Tech; Rodney Hudson, Florida State- Render is a mountain. Tech will need him to jump start their running game.

C - Maurkice Pouncey, Florida - Florida deserves multiple offensive All-Americans, especially since I did not select Jesus at the quarterback position. And frankly, I can't tell the Pouncey brothers apart.

Defense

DE - George Selvie, South Florida; Jan Jorgensen, Brigham Young - Just watch Selvie play and you will see why. Jorgensen is the conference career sack leader, in a conference that does a lot of passing. My apologies to Greg Hardy and Sergio Kindle.

DT - Terrence Cody, Alabama; Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma - Not only are they immovable objects in the middle of the line, they make plays as well behind it.

OLB - Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri; Eric Norwood, South Carolina - Norwood is a beast, while Weatherspoon just makes tackles.

ILB - Brandon Spikes, Florida; Joe Pawelek, Baylor - You know I watch too much football when I place a Baylor player on my preseason All-American team. I think Spikes is the best player on the Gators, but somehow this will be misinterpreted as a dig at Tebow.

Keep an eye on Sean Spence, Miami.

CB - Trevard Lindley, Kentucky; Janoris Jenkins, Florida - Jenkins is a phenomenal athlete, and Lindley has garnered votes for All-American each of the past two years.

S - Taylor Mays, USC; Eric Berry, Tennessee - The easiest position to select on the team.

Special Teams

K - Shane Popham, Wake Forest - Not that I think is particularly that good, just wanted to see if anybody actually paid attention to whom I selected at kicker, and he seems to have kicked 1,000 field goals against FSU.

P - Zoltan Mesko, Michigan - Simply because of his name.

R - Brandon James, Florida - If he sees a hole, he's thinking touchdown.

Forgive me for any typographical errors, I didn't feel like proofreading with games on the television. Stay tuned for my weekly college football updates.

For the Rest of Our Lives

I am a couple of weeks late on commenting on this subject, but despite the untimeliness, this post needs to be written.
A couple of weekends ago, the University of Florida's football Coach Urban Meyer and quarterback Tim Tebow appeared on ESPN SportsCenter's "Sunday Conversation", and a couple of very interesting stories were spotlighted. Of course, the Philippines missions and the competitiveness were once again foisted upon us by the World-Wide Leader. But that isn't what caught my attention. To me, the most interesting part was when Coach Meyer started to tell the story of Tebow's speech to the team at halftime of the BCS Championship game against Oklahoma. After returning to the locker room tied 7-7, Tebow took over in the locker room. That conversation is linked to the title of this post. Click on the title, we will wait.

OK. We are back! Now, that seems like a darn good halftime speech. However, if he had a great speech writer, he might have spiced it up a little, perhaps, something like this:

At the beginning of the game, Meyer said 60 minutes for the next 60 years of our lives. I say Fuck that. Fuck that. Let's go out there, play the next 30 minutes for the next 30 minutes, and leave it on the field. We have the opportunity to play like gods for the next half of football, but we can't be afraid to lose. There is no room for fear in this game. If we go out there and half-ass it because we are scared, all we're left with is an excuse. We're always gonna wonder. But if we go out there and give it absolutely everything ... that's heroic. Let's be heroes! Come on. Whaddya say boys?!

Now wouldn't that have been a rousing speech at halftime? Well, it was. At least for the Coyotes in Varsity Blues.

Tim Tebow basically plagiarized Jonathon Moxon (James Van Der Beek for our lady readers). Not basically - he did. Tebow said that the team had "30 minutes for the rest of their lives". Come on. Really? And this guy is supposed to be the greatest leader in the history of college football?! At least copy Coach D'Amato from Any Given Sunday. (Side note - both Varsity Blues and Any Given Sunday were released in 1999).

I guess kids today do receive their learning from Hollywood, or at least, those that are home-schooled.

And, since I mentioned the movie, I had to add this little ditty ...

They Grow Up Quick

One of the best, and most overlooked, aspects of being a sports fan is watching athletes develop their talent, and progress from a very young age through their athletic maturity. No sport allows the entire public to have the opportunity to experience this phenomenon to the extent of baseball, due primarily to the fact that the Little League World Series (and now even the regionals), are televised nationally.

Now, almost every single player in the Little League World Series never plays professional sports, due to a variety of reasons, including the fact that some of these kids hit their peak athletic talent at age 13, they stop growing, they get injured, or because some of them just don't want to pursue professional athletic careers.

However, every once in a while, the nation is treated to a world class professional athlete that we remember from their childhood achievements. The most obvious example is Chris Drury, the fireballing pitcher from Trumbull, Connecticut that went on the star at Boston University and in the NHL. OK, so maybe nobody actually saw him professionally, since he plays hockey, but you get the idea.

Tonight, we all have another such opportunity to reminisce about the Little League World Series, as a former participant from Chico, California takes the hill for the National League in tonight's All-Star Game. Facing Roy Halladay in tonight's game is none other than Kelly Leak.



That's not Kelly Leak? My Bad.