Winner winner, chicken dinner -- with Mattradamus

Update: the UT/Arkansas game has been moved to September 27th, due to Hurricane Ike.

Week 2 proved to be much more successful than week 1. After a 4-3 start, I came back strong with a 7-0 week. I plan on having an unblemished record again this week. Texas A&M gets an early season bye week, which is about the only way I would have not predicted them to lose. The rest of the Big XII South is in action and the National Game of the week is Ohio St @ USC. Here we go….

Washington St @ Baylor
Baylor pounded a D2 foe last week moving to 1-1 and Washington St was pounded by Cal 66-3 to start their season 0-2.

Why WSU can win:
They're due? I don’t know how to justify saying WSU can win this game. They are in the bottom ten teams in the country in every major offensive category including Points Per Game, where they are 3rd to last, ranking 117th out of 119 teams. There is a 40% chance of rain on Saturday -- maybe Baylor will be Baylor and be awful and find ways to cough the ball up and the WSU defense will put some points on the board.

Why Baylor can win:
I predicted a coming out party for Robert Griffin last week and he didn’t disappoint with 294 yds passing and 3 touchdowns. He will slowly but surely bring in more and more fans on a weekly basis, and this will be the week he can prove he can do it against D1 competition. WSU couldn’t handle the spread offense that Cal and Oklahoma St threw at them, so I don’t believe they will be able to handle Baylor's.

Final prediction and analysis:
Baylor comes out firing on all cylinders and lays the smack down on WSU. After this game, Robert Griffin will be a National name and put himself up there as the front runner for Freshman of the year. Too much fire power for Washington St to handle, but then again a match would spark too much fire for this defense to contain.

Washington St. 10, Baylor 35

Oklahoma @ Washington
Oklahoma and their high octane offense were too much for Cincinnati last week pushing their record to 2-0 and Washington lost in a very controversial game to #15 BYU dropping their record to 0-2.

Why can OU win:
They ran the no huddle offense last week to perfection against Cincinnati and with playmakers such as Bradford, Murray, Grisham, Iglesias and Johnson on the offensive side of the ball they may have the best offense in the country. Defensively they are good at knocking out the other team's QB, including breaking the right leg of the Cincy’s Dan Grutzka last week. If they continue the trend of cheating and playing dirty they will knock Jake Locker out of the game and Washington would stand absolutely no shot of winning this game.

Why can Washington win:
They played a very good BYU team very tough last week and also got experience against another top 25 team in week 1 against Oregon. They won’t be intimidated going into the game. Jake Locker is a capable of throwing and running the football and seems to be that QB who can will his team to a victory. Defensively they were able to limit BYU’s spread offense which is very similar to what OU will bring to the table. Washington is also a team that plays very well at home.

Final prediction and analysis:
Washington’s best friend on Saturday may be the weather. If they can get a typical rainy afternoon that they are used to, this could really slow down the OU offensive machine. In normal conditions OU is just too much. Jake Locker will play hard and make some plays, but his offensive teammates won’t be able to make enough to keep this game close. OU, much like OSU did to start the season, will travel to Seattle and knock off a Pac 10 team.

Oklahoma 49, Washington 17

Missouri St @ Oklahoma St
OSU put on a show last week against a pretty good Houston team with a big time offensive outburst helping them improve to 2-0, while the Bears of Missouri St. lost to the football giant that is Washburn University in a high scoring game leaving them at 0-1.

Why can Missouri St win:
Did you guys see or hear what that bear did to Timothy Treadwell? Bears are ferocious animals. I love watching Bears hunt for salmon, they are also a lot of fun to watch mating. I mean, fighting, yeah fighting. Unfortunately the thing that will stop a bear in its tracks is a gun and Cowboys typically have 2 of them. Interesting side note, Missouri St was the only school other than Texas Tech that I applied to (at the time it was Southwest Missouri St).

Why can Oklahoma St win:
Did you see what they did against a good Houston team? They hung 50+ on the board and made Dez Bryant a household name overnight at WR as he had a couple TD’s and just shy of 250 receiving yards. Hunter and Toston, the RBs who get almost all the carries, are averaging 7 and 8 yards per carry. I’m not sure what is in the water in Oklahoma, other than the blood of many defenseless Native Americans, but OSU and OU may have the top two offenses in the country in my opinion. Who needs a defense when you can put up 40+ on your opponents?

Final prediction and analysis:
Oklahoma State's playmakers will play a half and then let their backups come in and get some game experience. This game is going to be ugly and the Bears will be poached. Not poached as in an egg, but MURDERED.

Missouri St 11, Oklahoma St 71

Arkansas @ Texas (UPSET ALERT)
The ‘Hogs, aka Razorbacks, come into Austin after two close victories against small schools, but wins nonetheless. Texas thumped the Miners of UTEP last week.

Why can Arkansas win:
Even though they have narrowly squeaked by in their first two games, their offense hasn’t been an issue. They are 28th in the nation (higher than UT overall) and 10th passing. The level of competition hasn’t been much too really get enthused about up to this point and I think you will see a different football team come out against UT. Going into the year they had what many would consider top 5 offensive and defensive line units. They haven’t quite lived up to that at this point, but only time will tell. This could be the game where you see that dominance. UT has allowed several yards to schools far inferior to the talent that Arkansas has on its roster, so the ‘Hogs should be able to move the ball on this former SWC rival.

Why can Texas win:
Colt McCoy has played as well as anyone in the country the last two weeks and shows no signs of slowing down. Nobody else really stands out over the last two weeks, which is a good thing, meaning the team is well balanced and you can’t really concentrate on trying to take any one person out of the game. UT plays great at home and will be ready to take on a team that during the Matt Jones era, they feared. Lucky for them Matt Jones is now only snorting cocaine in Fayetteville and not playing QB.

Final prediction and analysis:
I have a hard time believing that Arkansas is as bad as the scoreboard has indicated in their first 2 games. I also have a hard time believing UT is as good as the scoreboard has indicated in their first 2 games. Arkansas will be able to move the ball on the Longhorns throughout the game, but will they be able to get in the endzone more than a couple of times? Texas has moved the ball with relative ease in their first games, but they weren’t lining up against the size and speed that Arkansas will bring to the table. I know for a fact this is the game Arkansas has had in their minds since the schedule was released and I have a strong feeling you are going to see them come out with much more intensity and enthusiasm than they have in recent weeks. I think UT, being UT, will be overconfident coming into the game after their blowout victories and seeing Arkansas' narrow victories. If you are a Longhorn, prepare to get bent over and take the long stroke from Casey Dick as he carves up your defense (and your colon) and puts pressure on your offense to return the favor. Will they do it?

Arkansas 28, UT 27 (goodbye top 10 ranking, time to begin the slide to the middle of the Big XII South pack)

SMU @ Texas Tech
Texas Tech, despite a piss poor game from Graham Harrell (dropping him from all Heisman talk) managed to beat a very good Nevada team in Reno and go to 2-0 last week. SMU bounced back after a week 1 defeat to beat Texas St. last week and even their record at 1-1. Look out for Nevada playing Missouri very tough this weekend.

Why SMU can win:
Sorry Ponies, but you have no shot. You gave up over 30 points to a team that a D2 school held to 20 points the week prior. You are a white belt in the spread offense while Tech is the blackest of all black belts in the offense. Despite their really cool billboards around Dallas, they will be Kimbo Sliced and leave Lubbock wishing they were good enough to play for the Red Raiders. (FYI: the aforementioned billboard has a gigantic calendar on it and it is on the month of June, the copy on the billboard reads, “June isn’t just a month on the calendar anymore, it is the beginning of an era!” This is of course in reference to new head coach June Jones.)

Why Tech can win:
They still haven’t put together a solid offensive game yet! Harrell was awful last week and week 1 was a lot of yardage, but not enough points via the passing game. The best cure for the Nevada game hangover that Harrell has had all week, is a pathetic Pony defense. I think you will see both Harrell and Crabtree regain the form that had them mentioned in the Heisman race at the beginning of the season. If the starters played the whole game, I could see Tech hanging 100 points on the board and Harrell throwing for 700 yards.

Final analysis and prediction:
Unlike in years past when the UNTs and SMUs have actually played us tough here and there, this game will not be the case. Give SMU a few years and I truly believe they will be a good team and will actually steal some recruits from Tech (Dallas vs Lubbock, no brainer), but that is four years down the road. I think the Texas Tech offense is ready to get the ball rolling and you are going to see numbers that will blow your mind Chris Angel style. If you go to the game, please be on the lookout for African Americans sprinting through the streets of Lubbock waving their hands in the air as a result of the disbelief an offense could look so great and numbers go so high. Hair-tree will be back on the Heisman map after their unbelievable games. Look for Texas Tech SS Daniel Charbonaut to get in the end zone with a defensive score.

SMU 21, Texas Tech 71

National Game of the Week:

Ohio St @ USC
Ohio St is coming off a less than stellar game against Ohio which ran it’s record to 2-0 while USC got a break last week after creaming a pretty good Virginia team 56-7 to start the season.

Why can Ohio St win:
Ohio St returns almost in full a team that played for the National Title last season. They bring back an experienced QB in Todd Boeckman, Heisman front runner Chris “Beanie” Wells, Butkus award winner and future top 10 pick, James Laurinaitis, as well as several other players who will be making a living playing on Sundays. Ohio St also brings to the table an overall size advantage in this match up. USC also had a bye week last week which may hurt their rhythm and timing.

Why can USC win:
I’m not sure if this is more of what they can do or more what Ohio St hasn’t been able to do for years against the upper echelon of college football. First, let’s look at what they can do -- they have more athletic ability and more skill players than any team in the nation on both sides of the ball. They have 2 future NFL RBs in CJ Gable and Joe McKnight, some tall fast WR’s and a QB with some big game experience from last year in Mark Sanchez. Sanchez brings the deep ball back to The Coliseum for the first time since the Carson Palmer days after noodle-armed Matt Leinart and John David Booty relied on the short to intermediate ranged passing game. Defensively they have the best back 7 in the country. Brian Cushing and Ray Maualuga may be the best 2 LBs in the nation and future Top 10 NFL draft pick Taylor Mays is roaming the secondary at safety. On top of all this talent and perhaps the best coach in the country in Pete Carroll, they also have to their advantage the fact that Ohio St CAN’T BEAT ANYONE OF NATIONAL RELEVANCE.

Final prediction and analysis:
I thought this was going to be a good game until I saw what Ohio St looked like last week without Beanie Wells. If he isn’t healthy, I don’t think they stand a chance. If he is 100%, I think it will be a ball game. I really think that OSU had their scare last week and were looking forward to this game to show the world they aren’t the same team this year that was embarrassed by SEC schools in the National Championship game the past two years. The reason Wells didn’t play was to rest for this game, he should be ready to go at 100%. With a chip on their shoulder I think they will come out and really control the tempo of this game. USC’s inexperience will show come the second half when they want to speed up the pace and start trying to force the action. This could lead to some HUGE turnovers. I think two things will determine this game. Which QB can maintain their composure and which team will set the tempo early. With that said, give me Boeckman after playing in a National Championship game last year and some big Big Ten games last year over Sanchez, and give me the ball control Ohio St running game with a healthy Beanie Wells over the big play USC offense. I will actually be disappointed if this happens, but this is how I feel it will go down.

Ohio St. 23, USC 20

With the win, OSU all but guarantees themselves -- barring a collapse in conference play -- a chance to play for the National Title.

What in the world is going on with Vince Young?

Might the Golden Boy of Austin follow in the footsteps of other highly-drafted UT flame-outs like Ricky Williams and Cedric Benson? Only time will tell. From the Tennessean...

The Titans probably will have to wait to see Vince Young on the field again, although exactly how long isn't certain. An MRI on his left knee had to be postponed until today, the team said Monday...

Coach Jeff Fisher spoke as much Monday about Young's maturity issues as his injury. The quarterback appeared reluctant to re-enter the game after throwing a second interception and being booed by the home crowd. He sat on the bench alone at one point and brushed off teammates and coaches attempting to console him. When he went back in, he suffered the knee injury a few plays later. "He definitely needs to work through some things, there is no doubt about that,'' Fisher said. "This is not the first time he has been frustrated or he has shown frustration outwardly on the sideline. But he tends to bounce back. He is very competitive. He has a tremendous sense of pride and he doesn't like to make mistakes. I don't necessarily want to see the other side of it, where you have this false chatter and false enthusiasm on the sideline either.''

No big deal. Something every young QB deals with at some point, right? But then there was this bizarre report from ESPN...

Nashville police were asked to search for Vince Young on Monday evening after family members placed a call to the Tennessee Titans informing them of their concern for the quarterback's state of mind.

According to Nashville Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron, Young "abruptly" left his home in Williamson County at around 7 p.m. Monday without his cell phone. Those with him at his home, including family members, were "concerned with his emotional well-being," Aaron said.

Police issued a bulletin to all on-duty officers to be on the lookout for Young and negotiators were also placed on standby, a procedure that is common in such situations, Aaron said. Someone contacted Fisher out of concern for Young, and Fisher contacted the police department, police said. "Not having all the facts available to us and approaching the matter prudently, we contacted Metro Police to make them aware of the situation and asked for their assistance in locating Vince," the Titans said in a statement Tuesday. "He was located at a friend's house, where we made contact with him. "He then came to the practice facility, where it was determined that those initial concerns by his friends and family were unfounded and he returned home without incident," the Titans said. Young left the facility by himself in his own vehicle after speaking with Fisher and officers, police said. Details were first reported on the Web site of WKRN-TV in Nashville, an ABC affiliate. Aaron said there was an unloaded hand gun in the glove compartment of Young's vehicle. But as it is not against the law in Tennessee to transport an unloaded firearm with no ammunition present, it was not an issue for the police department, he said. He could not say if the gun was registered because it was not traced.

It's probably much ado (excuse me, adieu) about nothing, but still. Strange.

Weekend in Review

Welcome to week two of the weekend in review. Let's get to it...

Oklahoma
As I mentioned last week, OU faced a Cincinnati team that went 10-3 last year in the Big East. And as predicted, OU beat the hell out of them. A new star emerged in Ryan Broyles, a Freshman receiver who caught seven passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. OU travels to Washington this week, who's 0-2 after an excessive celebration penalty led to an extra-long extra point which led to an extra-blocked extra point that led to a lot of whimpering Huskies.

Ranking (via Sports Illustrated*)
Last week: 2
This week: 2

Texas
Apparently I went to the wrong school. UTEP girls know how to watch football.

UT won, blahblahblah...This week they face Arkansas, which may be the most confusing and unbalanced team in the history of the game. Their offense is 116th in the NCAA (third to last) and their defense is 2nd (uhh...second to first). How is this possible? Have their games been a series of three-and-outs for four quarters?

It should be a good weekend in Austin. An old Southwest Conference rivalry is renewed and Hailey talks a lot of shit, getting Matt pummeled by a crowd of fed-up Longhorn fans.

Ranking
Last week: 10
This week: 8

Texas Tech
So we beat Nevada last week in a 35-19 stinker. My main concern is that our "much improved" defense still sucks, giving up 488 yards, including 224 on the ground. We've given up 426 yards a game over the first two, which is good for 97th in that category. Bang up job, Ruffin. Really.

To put that in perspective, the team above us in the AP poll, Alabama, is giving up 253 yards a game (good for 26th) and the team behind us in the AP poll, Kansas, is giving up 203 a game (good for 15th). Meanwhile, in terms of defensive rankings, we're sandwiched between Navy and Rice. Dynamite.

Well, I know what you're saying. "Tech is an offensive team anyway!" Which is true. We're 14th in overall offense so far. However. Graham Harrell (297 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT) completed a paltry 19 of his 46 passes against Nevada, which is awful considering our offense relies mostly on quick short routes. Apparently there were some NFL scouts in the stands, which may have given him the jitters? Okay Graham, congratulations, you've successfully murdered any chances of being drafted. Can you please start playing football now?

Now, I'm no mathematician, but a 14th ranked offense and a 97th ranked defense does not a #12 team make. This is typical though. We don't really start playing well until our chances of a breakthrough season have been shot to shit anyway. So just let's go ahead and squeak by SMU and UMass and lose to Kansas State so we can start playing again.

Ranking
Last week: 8
This week: 17

Oklahoma State
Another stellar prediction by Mattradamus (though he underestimated the Cowboys a bit), in a shootout against Houston. Their offense racked up 700 yards, which offset nicely the 483 their defense gave up. This week they take on the mighty Bears of Missouri State, a team that lost in a heartbreaker last week to powerhouse Washburn. I'll let Mattradamus do the predicting, but I'm gonna guess it won't be pretty.

Ranking
Last week: 45
This week: N/A

Texas A&M

I have to admit, I didn't watch one second of this game, so I'm gonna base my entire write-up here on the box score...

124 passing yards for Johnson (who?). Nine yards running for Goodson. Jeez, not much to work with here. Ah, the coach referred to the game as "raggedy." Way to instill confidence in your team, coach. Ugh. Let's move on...

So A&M got a win last week, which is a start. They've got the weekend off to lick their wounds and go to Northgate to get in fights and...uhh...fuck goats, or whatever you do in College Station. The following week, the U is coming to town. That's pretty exciting. Granted, they're not the U of old, but still. A&M could make a statement next week? I guess?

Miami lost 26-3 last week to Florida in a game that was apparently a lot closer than the score indicates. We'll see if they can ride the momentum of a close loss. Jeez, I'm having a hard time coming up with anything positive to say here. Moving on...

Ranking
Last week: 71
This week: N/A

Baylor
A nice win for Baylor pasting Northwestern State 51-6. I don't care who you're playing, that's a nice score. This week they welcome Washington State with a chance to prove...something. That they're better than we think? That Washington State stinks? Who knows.

Ranking
Last week: 89
This week: N/A

This week’s games:
A much heartier slate of games compared to last week, though the Big XII went 12-0 for the first time in its history. A couple notes here -- first off, how is UT favored by that much? I mean, they're better than Arkansas, but...I don't know. Old rivals? An SEC team? That seems a little high. Also, considering the first two games of the season, there's no way in hell Tech is gonna cover a 37 point spread against SMU. They couldn't outscore Lubbock Christian by 37 right now.

Oklahoma (-20) at Washington
Arkansas at Texas (-24)
SMU at Texas Tech (-37)
Missouri State at Oklahoma State (no line)
Texas A&M (off)
Washington State (-2.5) at Baylor

* Again, I’m using the Sports Illustrated rankings because they’re the only ones who rank all 119 teams each week. If you Longhorns can find another one, please share. Although, since you've jumped Tech, I'm assuming this poll is fine now. Rankings for teams outside the top 25 coming soon (as soon as they're available).

Eight is GRRREAT!

UT is now ranked #8...OU, #3, Tech, #12. (AP Poll)

Thoughts on all day football day? OU looked good to start, started to look sluggish--for like a second, annnd? Of course won. I think we have a chance. They are fast. And, they recover quickly. They are sometimes scary. But, I think we can hang in there...Ugh. OU! (sucks)

The A&M game? Well, I'm going to sum it for our Aggie contingency who reside in Austin. GOLF is more important than Aggie Football. Aggie Football got the boot for GOLF. Is there much left to say?

I watched the Tech game on the intranets--one the funniest things ever--it was like amateur porn, but for football. It was purchased for $9. This might give you access all season. For $9. It looked like the company bought 3 seats, 1 50 yd line and 2 in opposing end zones and then used some 3rd rate graphics to let you know it was 1st/2nd/3rd down. Awesome. Nevada advertisers on this thing...also awesome. It was like watching Texas Cable News high school highlights, with Reno advertisers. Tech, your boys looked like they hit the casinos and partied all night the night before the game. Knowing the Tech folks I know, of COURSE they did. The team looked like they were dragging.

I'm lazy, the game was SO late, here's the Statesman's highlight:

Final: Texas defeats UTEP, 42-13
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 12:51 AM

Texas survived a sloppy second half late Saturday and held on for a 42-13 win over a pesky Texas-El Paso squad at the Sun Bowl.

The Longhorns sealed the victory with 13 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. That’s when Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley connected on a 15-yard touchdown pass to give Texas a 35-13 lead.
It was McCoy’s fourth touchdown pass of the game.

Moments later, linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy returned a fumble 26 yards for a touchdown — the Longhorns’ first defensive score of the season.

A record crowd of 53,415 watched the 10th-ranked Longhorns record their second win of the season. Texas used the game to tune up for Arkansas, the Longhorns’ long-time rival from the Southwest Conference. The Hogs hit Austin next Saturday.

UTEP fell to 0-2.

4th quarter highlights (I wouldn't know, I was 1/2 asleep on the couch)

Texas put together an 80-yard drive at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth, capped by Jordan Shipley’s 15-yard touchdown reception from Colt McCoy.

The Longhorns scored again on UTEP’s next play from scrimmage. Terrell Jackson caught a pass for UTEP, but Texas end Sam Acho knocked it loose and teammate Roddrick Muckelroy scooped it up and ran 26 yards into the end zone. It was Texas’ first defensive touchdown of the season.

Texas’ defense came up with a big stop on UTEP’s next drive. The Miners marched to the Texas 25 before Brian Orakpo came up with his second sack of the game, forcing UTEP to attempt a 52-yard field goal that sailed wide right.
--------------------------
'Bout sums it up.

HOOK 'EM!