Upon Further Review
Mike Zierath | Staff writer
A tough day for Kirk Ferentz last week.
The season we all wait for is already 25% over. Three weeks in. Three games for most teams. Like the final days of summer, the season we all love will be gone before we know it.
Notre Dame is out of contention.
Oklahoma is out of contention.
USC is out of contention.
Three Blue bloods of college football that we can throw out with the trash. The pre-season hype that all three received was just that. Heck, even I believed that USC might be on the way back. Wrong! Was never on board with the other two.
ACC: “Don’t sleep on Louisville, they are going to be very good.” That was what I said pre-season. Last week I said that it appeared they had the parts in place, but questioned whether or not they could run with the big boys. They can! Clemson better strap it on tight cause Louisville is gonna bring some thunder and lightning wrapped up in one little skinny package named Lamar Jackson. This kid can play and if he isn’t currently the front runner for the Heisman, he should be.
Pitt is still the lead dog on the other side of this conference. They lost a tough one to Okie State, but watch for them to bounce back.
SEC: The East is going to have a front runner, as soon as Florida puts away Tennessee. Florida has the defense, but, we all knew that. It appears they may have just enough offense to roll through that side of the conference.
In my first article, I said it was a four team race between Ole Miss, Alabama, LSU and Texas A&M. I was wrong. I think this side is a two team race. Alabama is, in my opinion, the best college football team I have ever seen. They are good in every facet of the game. I’m sticking with the Aggies as the team that has the right makeup to take them down, head to head. Of course, since Bama has already beaten Ole Miss, and LSU hasn’t lost in conference play, mathematically, the Tigers are still in this as well. Ok, that was just a joke and I’m sure some of you snorted or laughed out loud a little.
Big Ten: It pains me to say this, but, OSU, MSU and Michigan are the cream of the crop in the East. I definitely felt like OSU could stumble, citing youth as the factor that would raise its ugly head, but I might have been wrong. They have looked pretty good. The other two are no slouches. OSU passes the eyeball test right now.
The West is looking like Nebraska’s to lose at this point. I don’t like bugeaters. Never have. Never will. But they are beginning to make me look smart. Tommy Turnover has been Tommy Touchdown. I am pretty sure I told you that if he could find a way to be the latter, things would get pretty interesting. Watching Wisconsin struggle against a team I’ve never even heard of and watching our very own Hawkeyes battered by a very well coached, tough, tenacious, FCS team (no, I didn’t lay on the superlatives to make myself feel better), leads me to believe that Nebraska would have to be considered the front runner. That could change.
Big 12: Oklahoma, OSU, TCU and Texas are probably out of the National picture. The last three could still play their way into the college football playoff picture because they have all had early losses to quality FBS programs. In the preseason, I picked TCU to win the conference. I said that Baylor would have the right motivation and would use it to their advantage. In the Big 12, the ONLY team that is playing something that kind of resembles defense, while running the wide open offensive scheme that seems to be the flavor of choice in that conference, is Baylor. Because of that, it appears they have the upper hand. Sticking with my original choice here though, cause that’s what I do.
Pac 12: Washington is for real. Maybe all that preseason hype I wasn’t buying was a bargain after all. Oregon got clipped by Nebraska. USC got beat by the might Cardinal. They didn’t roll up into the fetal position and quit like they did against Bama, but they did take a beating. Utah is unscathed and will have the Trojans this weekend. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in the USC locker room after they suffer their third loss of the season. That program is a mess. Arizona State didn’t run up the big numbers they had been putting up, but they did win.
Will come down to Washington and Stanford in the North, ASU and Utah in the south.
If I was a picking man, and I am……….I’d say the final four, right now, would look something like this; Alabama, Ohio State, Louisville and………hell, I don’t know. I suspect I should say Stanford, but that would mean every color of red imaginable would be represented in the College Football playoffs.
Real quickly, let’s chat. Many of you know that I get a lot of windshield time. From about the first of August, through the end of college football, my radio dial is set to Sirrus channel 84. I listen to college football analysts all day. Generally, that takes place 3-4 days a week. If I have to hear “Horns Up, Hawkeyes Down” any more this week, I may vomit (Yes, I think every show, every day, has played the FG call at some point).
Yes, I’ve flushed the loss. But it still might be considered one of the greatest upsets of all time! Who would have ever thought that it would rank up there with Appalachian State beating Michigan. Or James Madison knocking off Virginia Tech. How about Boise State beating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl? It happens every year. Someone catches a team looking past them and lays the wood to them and comes out with a victory. Heck, if Ole Miss would have held on and beaten Alabama this past weekend, we might not have had to endure the scrutiny that we’ve been subjected to this week.
I really meant it when I said NDSU is well coached. I meant it when I said they know how to win. I meant it when I said they aren’t afraid to come into Kinnick to play the 11th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes because they had beaten five straight FBS opponents. I also meant it when I said Iowa 45, NDSU 10. That’s what needed to happen. It didn’t. That’s football.
Here’s something else that is football. I talked about recruiting after the week one games. I said, and I believe this, that there are four very important positions you have to recruit well for. Oline, Dline, QB and CB. Iowa’s CB’s got caught cheating a bit. Iowa’s Oline was banged up and somehow only managed a net of less than 40 yards on the ground. Iowa’s Dline couldn’t stop the run and get off the field. Iowa’s QB, who apparently has the green light to change plays, didn’t.
Why didn’t they roll the pocket? Why didn’t they utilize Beathard’s arm a little more? Why isn’t Kirk Ferentz chewing gum on the sidelines?
These are all questions I need answers to, but probably won’t ever get. There is a ton of teaching material in that game. I think some air might have been let out of a few Iowa boys after the ass-whooping they just absorbed. I hope so. They better find some heart, desire and correct their mistakes or it could be a long season.
Heisman: There are some front runners. Lamar Jackson in my book has to be one of those guys. But, we are only three weeks in. Way too early to anoint the player that walks on water. Along with Jackson, Christian McCaffrey has to be considered an early favorite. Mr. Do Everything is doing just that. Running, catching and returning.
Here’s a name to remember: Donnel Pumphrey, San Diego State University. Averaging just shy of 200 yards per game. Has the Aztecs 3-0 and winners of 13 straight, which ranks second, only behind Alabama for consecutive wins (15). He won’t win it because of the East coast bias and the fact that he goes to a small school, but he will be drafted and will be on many of your fantasy teams in years to come.
Mike Zierath | Staff writer
A tough day for Kirk Ferentz last week.
The season we all wait for is already 25% over. Three weeks in. Three games for most teams. Like the final days of summer, the season we all love will be gone before we know it.
Notre Dame is out of contention.
Oklahoma is out of contention.
USC is out of contention.
Three Blue bloods of college football that we can throw out with the trash. The pre-season hype that all three received was just that. Heck, even I believed that USC might be on the way back. Wrong! Was never on board with the other two.
ACC: “Don’t sleep on Louisville, they are going to be very good.” That was what I said pre-season. Last week I said that it appeared they had the parts in place, but questioned whether or not they could run with the big boys. They can! Clemson better strap it on tight cause Louisville is gonna bring some thunder and lightning wrapped up in one little skinny package named Lamar Jackson. This kid can play and if he isn’t currently the front runner for the Heisman, he should be.
Pitt is still the lead dog on the other side of this conference. They lost a tough one to Okie State, but watch for them to bounce back.
SEC: The East is going to have a front runner, as soon as Florida puts away Tennessee. Florida has the defense, but, we all knew that. It appears they may have just enough offense to roll through that side of the conference.
In my first article, I said it was a four team race between Ole Miss, Alabama, LSU and Texas A&M. I was wrong. I think this side is a two team race. Alabama is, in my opinion, the best college football team I have ever seen. They are good in every facet of the game. I’m sticking with the Aggies as the team that has the right makeup to take them down, head to head. Of course, since Bama has already beaten Ole Miss, and LSU hasn’t lost in conference play, mathematically, the Tigers are still in this as well. Ok, that was just a joke and I’m sure some of you snorted or laughed out loud a little.
Big Ten: It pains me to say this, but, OSU, MSU and Michigan are the cream of the crop in the East. I definitely felt like OSU could stumble, citing youth as the factor that would raise its ugly head, but I might have been wrong. They have looked pretty good. The other two are no slouches. OSU passes the eyeball test right now.
The West is looking like Nebraska’s to lose at this point. I don’t like bugeaters. Never have. Never will. But they are beginning to make me look smart. Tommy Turnover has been Tommy Touchdown. I am pretty sure I told you that if he could find a way to be the latter, things would get pretty interesting. Watching Wisconsin struggle against a team I’ve never even heard of and watching our very own Hawkeyes battered by a very well coached, tough, tenacious, FCS team (no, I didn’t lay on the superlatives to make myself feel better), leads me to believe that Nebraska would have to be considered the front runner. That could change.
Big 12: Oklahoma, OSU, TCU and Texas are probably out of the National picture. The last three could still play their way into the college football playoff picture because they have all had early losses to quality FBS programs. In the preseason, I picked TCU to win the conference. I said that Baylor would have the right motivation and would use it to their advantage. In the Big 12, the ONLY team that is playing something that kind of resembles defense, while running the wide open offensive scheme that seems to be the flavor of choice in that conference, is Baylor. Because of that, it appears they have the upper hand. Sticking with my original choice here though, cause that’s what I do.
Pac 12: Washington is for real. Maybe all that preseason hype I wasn’t buying was a bargain after all. Oregon got clipped by Nebraska. USC got beat by the might Cardinal. They didn’t roll up into the fetal position and quit like they did against Bama, but they did take a beating. Utah is unscathed and will have the Trojans this weekend. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in the USC locker room after they suffer their third loss of the season. That program is a mess. Arizona State didn’t run up the big numbers they had been putting up, but they did win.
Will come down to Washington and Stanford in the North, ASU and Utah in the south.
If I was a picking man, and I am……….I’d say the final four, right now, would look something like this; Alabama, Ohio State, Louisville and………hell, I don’t know. I suspect I should say Stanford, but that would mean every color of red imaginable would be represented in the College Football playoffs.
Real quickly, let’s chat. Many of you know that I get a lot of windshield time. From about the first of August, through the end of college football, my radio dial is set to Sirrus channel 84. I listen to college football analysts all day. Generally, that takes place 3-4 days a week. If I have to hear “Horns Up, Hawkeyes Down” any more this week, I may vomit (Yes, I think every show, every day, has played the FG call at some point).
Yes, I’ve flushed the loss. But it still might be considered one of the greatest upsets of all time! Who would have ever thought that it would rank up there with Appalachian State beating Michigan. Or James Madison knocking off Virginia Tech. How about Boise State beating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl? It happens every year. Someone catches a team looking past them and lays the wood to them and comes out with a victory. Heck, if Ole Miss would have held on and beaten Alabama this past weekend, we might not have had to endure the scrutiny that we’ve been subjected to this week.
I really meant it when I said NDSU is well coached. I meant it when I said they know how to win. I meant it when I said they aren’t afraid to come into Kinnick to play the 11th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes because they had beaten five straight FBS opponents. I also meant it when I said Iowa 45, NDSU 10. That’s what needed to happen. It didn’t. That’s football.
Here’s something else that is football. I talked about recruiting after the week one games. I said, and I believe this, that there are four very important positions you have to recruit well for. Oline, Dline, QB and CB. Iowa’s CB’s got caught cheating a bit. Iowa’s Oline was banged up and somehow only managed a net of less than 40 yards on the ground. Iowa’s Dline couldn’t stop the run and get off the field. Iowa’s QB, who apparently has the green light to change plays, didn’t.
Why didn’t they roll the pocket? Why didn’t they utilize Beathard’s arm a little more? Why isn’t Kirk Ferentz chewing gum on the sidelines?
These are all questions I need answers to, but probably won’t ever get. There is a ton of teaching material in that game. I think some air might have been let out of a few Iowa boys after the ass-whooping they just absorbed. I hope so. They better find some heart, desire and correct their mistakes or it could be a long season.
Heisman: There are some front runners. Lamar Jackson in my book has to be one of those guys. But, we are only three weeks in. Way too early to anoint the player that walks on water. Along with Jackson, Christian McCaffrey has to be considered an early favorite. Mr. Do Everything is doing just that. Running, catching and returning.
Here’s a name to remember: Donnel Pumphrey, San Diego State University. Averaging just shy of 200 yards per game. Has the Aztecs 3-0 and winners of 13 straight, which ranks second, only behind Alabama for consecutive wins (15). He won’t win it because of the East coast bias and the fact that he goes to a small school, but he will be drafted and will be on many of your fantasy teams in years to come.
