October

[highfly24]

Well this month got off to a pretty incredible start for fans. That Tennessee/Georgia game was a stunning ending. No idea how the Tenn DB was baited at the 20 when only a TD could cost them the lead. Say what you will about the penalty but after it was called, why did Butch Jones load up the line like he was preparing for an onside kick? I guess it could have prevented a squib kick but I'm not fully convinced. Either way, we all saw the final play what a finish.

Clemson played a solid game and got a big win, once again proving how difficult it is to win at night in Death Valley. The game had some breaks in flow but it was a good game and followed up the Tenn/UGA game nicely. I thought L'ville was going to pull it out on the final drive but it just didn't happen.

Washington has its own game thread but they completely shut down McCaffery. 1 loss could doom them tho as the non-con wasn't strong but they are the lone Pac 12 team capable of getting in at this point.

Did not watch much of the UNC/FSU game but that was one long FG for the win. Florida State continues to try and skip the first half of play and it has cost them yet again. Not sure why the have no focus in the first half but I guess Tenn is doing the same thing.

Indiana with a surprise win and Iowa State almost pulled off their yearly upset in Ames, maybe Oklahoma.

[Spence]

I have really been impressed with Washington so far.

[Eric]

I gotta give the preseason pundits some credit on Washington and Tennessee. I'm usually skeptical of teams that get hyped up in the preseason. It's usually all talk no action. Think UCLA going back for the last 5 years or stuff like that. I thought Washington and Tennessee would both be easily top 25 caliber teams, but I didn't think they would actually be competing for the playoffs. Of course Tennessee could be a paper tiger as this kind of luck usually expires before long. Washington appears to be legit and their Pac-12 slate is not really that difficult with Stanford already out of the way and Oregon taking a massive step back under Helfrich.

[Eric]

I'm also not surprised that Michigan State got knocked off in Bloomington. MSU's QB issues are rearing its ugly head again much the same way it did before Connor Cook established himself. O'Connor can scramble a bit, but he is going to limit the offense. That's why I was so surprised that MSU knocked out Notre Dame, although Notre Dame's defense has shown itself to be pretty terrible. Michigan State, Michigan, and Wisconsin are all going to have issues once they reach the postseason because they all have extremely mediocre QB play. If you can imagine it, I'd probably make the case that Troy or Ball State or North Dakota State has better QB play than these three schools. I might even take Tyler Rogers of New Mexico State over any of our QBs. They're literally that terrible. Which is also why none of these teams has a prayer against Ohio State. You have to spot Ohio State 35 points against a great defense, so your job is going to be score 40 on them. Tell me how Wilton Speight leads Michigan's offense to 40 points. You can't. And our defense is not going to save us because, if you line up and run a basic pro style or if your spread has average players, we can shut you down. But Ohio State just runs circles around us ever year, it doesn't matter. Michigan could be the #1 defense in the country heading into that game and OSU would still get like 530 years and score 6 touchdowns.

[Eric]

Well, apparently Tyler Rodgers has 9 INTs to 7 TDs. So maybe scratch him off the list. But I'd still definitely take Logan Woodside (who was amazing against BYU last Friday) or Cooper Rush over Speight, O'Connor, or Houston/Hornibrook.

I'm still dreaming of Taysom Hill having transferred to Michigan this past winter instead of returning to BYU, but ah well . He looks good against UCF and Hawaii, but it's masked by making easy throws. The rest of the team is doing all of the leg work. He's confused in the pocket and can't make good downfield throws. He's going to get us killed against Ohio State. We still might win 11 games in spite of the mediocre QB play.

[Spence]

I'm also not surprised that Michigan State got knocked off in Bloomington. MSU's QB issues are rearing its ugly head again much the same way it did before Connor Cook established himself. O'Connor can scramble a bit, but he is going to limit the offense. That's why I was so surprised that MSU knocked out Notre Dame, although Notre Dame's defense has shown itself to be pretty terrible. Michigan State, Michigan, and Wisconsin are all going to have issues once they reach the postseason because they all have extremely mediocre QB play. If you can imagine it, I'd probably make the case that Troy or Ball State or North Dakota State has better QB play than these three schools. I might even take Tyler Rogers of New Mexico State over any of our QBs. They're literally that terrible. Which is also why none of these teams has a prayer against Ohio State. You have to spot Ohio State 35 points against a great defense, so your job is going to be score 40 on them. Tell me how Wilton Speight leads Michigan's offense to 40 points. You can't. And our defense is not going to save us because, if you line up and run a basic pro style or if your spread has average players, we can shut you down. But Ohio State just runs circles around us ever year, it doesn't matter. Michigan could be the #1 defense in the country heading into that game and OSU would still get like 530 years and score 6 touchdowns.

Ohio State has played pretty well, but they haven't played anyone good yet. There is a lot of talent on this team. Very young talent who can at any minute get very over confident and then fold like a blanket if they get slapped in the face. They also don't know they aren't supposed to win this year - which is good. They aren't without holes though. They put a lot of pressure on the linebackers when they play zero coverage - which is often - and are open to being picked apart underneath on quick routes. I also teams can run up the middle on them. Although they have been better against power runs lately. If they try to attack the edge, it won't work. On offense the line is very sloppy at times and has trouble holding their blocks. Again, they are getting better week by week, so I'm not complaining, but they aren't as good as people think yet.

Ohio State has a chance to have a special season if they keep getting better. The defense will really get tested this week. The offense with get tested several times in the coming weeks. We just have to see how the young players respond the first time they really get hit in the mouth. We will see how it all goes. I do know one thing. Ohio State - now as always - relies on the run and if you stop the run, you can beat them.

[donovan]

Seems to me your observation is accurate. This year's scheduling has "good" teams really not playing anyone very good. I foresee a lot of changes, no upsets, just reality settling in. On the West Coast I think Washington is solid, kind of how Peterson builds teams. Stanford is good and will do fine. Oregon is just mediocre. Coaching not good. Washington State will improve and be a spoiler. Oregon State is sad. UCLA and USC are UCLA and USC. Utah will not be that great. BYU is very mediocre. Boise State will be Boise State.

[Eric]

You knew the Wazzu turnaround was coming. They did the same thing last year when they lost to Portland State and then managed to have a very good season in conference play. I may be getting ahead of myself, but could they really win out until the Apple Cup? It has to be a possibility, but the Pac-12 is usually so deep in terms of who can knock of whom, so I guess we won't know until we get there. As long as they have just one loss in conference play, they can win the division if they knock off Washington at the end of the year.

[Eric]

RE: Michigan, I have to say I like our chances a little bit more against OSU after watching them annihilate Rutgers and seeing Ohio State struggle against Wisconsin. But....It was Rutgers

The QB play is still going to be a problem and I'll have to see Michigan stopping Ohio State on defense before I even believe it's a possibility. Again, just spot them their 530 yards and 5 TDs.

[donovan]

You knew the Wazzu turnaround was coming. They did the same thing last year when they lost to Portland State and then managed to have a very good season in conference play. I may be getting ahead of myself, but could they really win out until the Apple Cup? It has to be a possibility, but the Pac-12 is usually so deep in terms of who can knock of whom, so I guess we won't know until we get there. As long as they have just one loss in conference play, they can win the division if they knock off Washington at the end of the year.

Leach is as protective of his players as any coach there is. He doesn't go for tomfoolery but he is rugged, you have to be to play on the Palouse.

[donovan]

And behold, I come across this ESPN article. Mike Leach when he is best..

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/17819437/washington-state-cougars-coach-mike-leach-issue-arizona-state

[Spence]

RE: Michigan, I have to say I like our chances a little bit more against OSU after watching them annihilate Rutgers and seeing Ohio State struggle against Wisconsin. But....It was Rutgers

The QB play is still going to be a problem and I'll have to see Michigan stopping Ohio State on defense before I even believe it's a possibility. Again, just spot them their 530 yards and 5 TDs.

I didn't think Michigan would win last year. This year is different. Any team with as good a defense as Michigan has can win any game. Ohio State needed to be punched in the mouth in Madison and luckily for them they got the win. They have lots of talent, but like Michigan last year, lack experience. Watt and Cichy just had their way with our young o-lineman. Defensively Ohio State is getting lots better. Their problems have every thing to do with being aggressive. Playing Wisconsin and Penn State at night will help that cause. Penn State isn't great, but they have a great running back and the task will be to stop the run playing cover zero. Ohio State is very good at cover zero. They played zone against Wisconsin a lot and that caused problem. They will have to learn to play cover 1 before we play Michigan.