* Not much to say about Bama, but their marquee win against Va Tech looks a lot better today than yesterday. (Although the biggest winner had to be LSU, whose out-of-conference win looks a HELL of a lot better now.
* Cal is not as good as they will be ranked tomorrow. They played a great first quarter and a great fourth quarter, but the middle 30 minutes are the sort of thing that make Old Blues hold their faces in their hands and moan about how Cal always snatches defeat from the jaws of victory. Riley needs to hunker down a little and the pass defense needs to learn to adapt to marquee receivers – and with Maryland’s loss to Little Middle, Cal now only has this game all year to hang its hat on. Going on the road again next week, to a suddenly wakeful Oregon, and then hosting USC at home – well, let’s just say we’ll know a LOT more about Cal in two weeks than we know now.
* Utah was ranked. BYU was ranked. Both lost to unranked teams. WHERE’S YOUR GOD NOW, MORMONS?
* Sigh. Vandy. I think the exact words you want are “Same,” “Old,” and “Vandy.” The regression to the mean is sudden and unwelcome, but even with the injuries and departures, there’s no excuse for only mustering 3 total points at home to likely the worst team in the SEC West. The Dores didn’t break 100 yards total offense – or manage a drive longer than 4 plays – until the 4th quarter , and despite pinning Mississippi State deep over and over in the first half, utterly failed to capitalize – the three points came following a Bulldog fumble on their own 5 that left Vandy with first and goal.
The truth hurts: Larry Smith is going to be a great quarterback someday, but today’s not the day. 12/32 passing, for a whopping 124 yards, will avail you nothing. Add true freshmen in the backfield – a backfield that amassed a whopping 33 yards rushing – and what you get is a Commodore squad that will struggle all year to build and sustain drives, which means the Vandy defense will be increasingly taxed all game long and lead to breakdowns in the 4th quarter…which, translated, equals “Same Old Vandy.”
Nothing to do now but wait for tomorrow…and if the Redskins shit the bed against the Rams, again, it’s going to be one hell of a long year for football.