Off Tackle

BlogPoll Final Ballot

2008-01-10T00:16:00.000-05:00

My final ballot can be viewed here. The deadline is tomorrow morning. Comments are welcome and appreciated until then.

BlogPoll Ballot Draft: 11/20

2007-11-21T00:06:00.000-05:00

With a little bit of luck, the response to the reviewers of the first academic paper that I have been a part of writing will be submitted tomorrow. I'm very much looking forward to having a bit of time to write for fun again, as opposed to writing for work.

I'm looking forward to the game against our neighbors to the west on Friday. It will be the first Lonestar Showdown that I've had the pleasure of attending. I'll have plenty of commentary on that this weekend. After that, the coaching search should be fun to follow. Until then, here is this week's ballot:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	LSU	1
2	West Virginia	5
3	Kansas	--
4	Missouri	1
5	Ohio State	1
6	Oregon	5
7	Arizona State	2
8	Oklahoma	4
9	Georgia	1
10	Texas	--
11	Florida	--
12	Southern Cal	--
13	Boston College	--
14	Virginia Tech	--
15	Illinois	1
16	Virginia	1
17	Cincinnati	2
18	Clemson	--
19	Boise State	3
20	Tennessee	1
21	Wisconsin	2
22	Auburn	2
23	South Florida	3
24	Connecticut	2
25	Hawaii	5

Dropped Out: Michigan (#17), Penn State (#25).

BlogPoll Ballot Draft: 11/13

2007-11-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

I didn't watch very much football this weekend, so I fear that this might not be my best effort. Here is this week's ballot:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oregon	1
2	LSU	1
3	Kansas	1
4	Oklahoma	1
5	Missouri	2
6	Ohio State	5
7	West Virginia	1
8	Georgia	1
9	Arizona State	1
10	Texas	7
11	Florida	5
12	Southern Cal	3
13	Boston College	3
14	Virginia Tech	1
15	Virginia	6
16	Illinois	3
17	Michigan	5
18	Clemson	2
19	Cincinnati	7
20	Hawaii	3
21	Tennessee	5
22	Boise State	2
23	Wisconsin	3
24	Auburn	10
25	Penn State	--

Dropped Out: Connecticut (#11), Alabama (#18), California (#22).

BlogPoll Ballot Draft: 11/06

2007-11-06T23:41:00.000-05:00

This week's ballot is presented sans comment because of a massive perturbation methods exam on Thursday. If you have any questions, I'll respond in the comments. If I could just stop ranking at 16, I would.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	Oregon	3
3	LSU	1
4	Kansas	3
5	Oklahoma	3
6	West Virginia	--
7	Missouri	2
8	Arizona State	4
9	Georgia	2
10	Boston College	7
11	Connecticut	1
12	Michigan	3
13	Virginia Tech	3
14	Auburn	--
15	Southern Cal	1
16	Florida	3
17	Texas	1
18	Alabama	1
19	Illinois	7
20	Clemson	6
21	Virginia	5
22	California	2
23	Hawaii	2
24	Boise State	1
25	Penn State	1

Dropped Out: South Florida (#13), Purdue (#22), Wisconsin (#24), Wake Forest (#25).

BlogPoll Ballot: 10/30

2007-10-30T23:01:00.000-04:00

This is another mess this week. If I could stop ranking after 15 or so I would. Virginia Tech stays high, largely as a function of having losses to #2 and #3. Georgia is also much, much higher than I would like, but who else is there? UCONN is being propped up by the win over USF, who is in turn being pushed higher by Auburn.

Alabama has quietly put together a nice season - I had largely written them off for dead. Wake Forest is another team that has quietly piled up some victories.

I saw Kansas in person last week and came away a little bit unimpressed. Their special teams were pretty poor and they couldn't seem to salt the game away against A&M. I will say that the run defense was very good, but I'm afraid that it was more a function of stacking the box than being truly stifling. At one point late in the 3rd quarter, I looked up and the scoreboard showed 39 yards rushing for A&M. Given that, the Aggies being in a position to attempt a Hail Mary is truly amazing.

Here's the ballot:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	LSU	--
3	Boston College	--
4	Arizona State	--
5	Oregon	--
6	West Virginia	1
7	Kansas	1
8	Oklahoma	1
9	Missouri	6
10	Virginia Tech	--
11	Georgia	10
12	Connecticut	14
13	South Florida	7
14	Auburn	3
15	Michigan	5
16	Southern Cal	3
17	Alabama	6
18	Texas	1
19	Florida	7
20	California	3
21	Hawaii	4
22	Purdue	4
23	Boise State	3
24	Wisconsin	2
25	Wake Forest	1

Dropped Out: Kentucky (#14), South Carolina (#16), Rutgers (#18), Virginia (#22), UCLA (#24).

BlogPoll Ballot: 10/23

2007-10-24T00:33:00.000-04:00

Here is this week's ballot. Things are crazy around the office so I haven't had a lot of time to write up a justification for my picks, but you have any questions please drop them in the comments and I'll respond. Here we go:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	1
2	LSU	2
3	Boston College	--
4	Arizona State	5
5	Oregon	6
6	South Florida	5
7	West Virginia	1
8	Kansas	4
9	Oklahoma	4
10	Virginia Tech	3
11	Auburn	3
12	Florida	3
13	Southern Cal	4
14	Kentucky	7
15	Missouri	3
16	South Carolina	10
17	California	7
18	Rutgers	7
19	Texas	4
20	Michigan	4
21	Georgia	5
22	Virginia	2
23	Alabama	3
24	UCLA	2
25	Hawaii	6

Dropped Out: Kansas State (#16), Cincinnati (#21), Texas Tech (#22).

BlogPoll Roundtable

2007-10-20T00:38:00.000-04:00

Many thanks to Straight Bangin' for hosting this week's roundtable. With no further ado:

1) Coming into the season, many people had October 6th circled on their calendars because it was thought that the LSU-Florida game would be the single match-up that wielded the most influence over the rest of the sport. Now that a singular cataclysm has given way to a weekly series of upheavals, is there a single remaining game that has the greatest potential to deliver on the promise of unique significance foretold in ~~scripture~~ the preseason blogosphere? Which one is it and why?

Well, there are certainly a number of big games left. Cal-USC, Michigan-OSU, and South Carolina-Florida, just to name a few, are all intriguing match-ups that will likely have BCS implications. Still, with all the carnage this season, I just don't see a single game garnering the hype or anticipation that Michigan-OSU did a season ago. With every team seemingly having a flaw, no two titans are on a collision course. I'll admit, I like the change of pace.

2) Bill Callahan's tenure has been so embarrassing for Nebraska fans that the school just fired the athletic director who hired him. Meanwhile, Tom Brady is doing just fine without Charlie Weis, even though he invented offense; Dream Coach Pete Carroll is facing criticism for his team's preparation and attitude; the Urban Meyer Revolution is televised but not as advertised due to an unreliable running game; Mack Brown's players get arrested a lot; and so forth. Don't get me started on Lloyd Carr. All around the country, coaches are under duress, even the beatified ones. Name a coach or two (or three) who most deserves the criticism and explain why.

Are our own school's coaches eligible here? If so, why not Coach Fran? Here's a guy that seemed to have finally turned a corner by winning a game in Austin. Everything was going great, from recruiting to new facilities. Expectations were very high for this season. And you know, sometimes Aggies take flak for their eccentricities, but dammit, this is a loyal fanbase. This team is still technically tied for first place in the Big 12 South. You're telling me that the same fans that like to note that A&M was 6 points from 12-0 last season couldn't stir up a little optimism this week? People call Aggies delusional all the time! But instead of optimism it's doom and gloom, waiting for the inevitable axe to fall on Coach Fran. Why? Because he lost the support of the rank-and-file Aggies with his shady shenanigans. And for what? An extra $14K on top of his 2 million-dollar-a-year contract. Shameful.

3) With few elite teams, a plethora of pretenders, and the aforementioned steady procession of upsets, filling out a ballot each week can be challenging. What is the single hardest decision you'll have to make this week when voting?

I really think that the toughest team to evaluate is Boston College. It seems like their wins keep coming against programs that are down this year (GT, NC St., ND). Hopefully the BC-VT game this weekend will clear things up.

The other area that I always struggle with is the middle of the pack in the SEC. LSU, South Carolina, Florida, Auburn and Kentucky all seem like easy placements right now. I just have no idea what to do with Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama.

4) This one is similar to the last question: many teams have sent voters mixed signals all year. Is BC really a top-five team? What am I supposed to do with South Carolina? Are there even two good teams in the Big Ten? Borrow a page from EDSBS and give me two teams to buy and two teams to sell.

I'm buying Kansas, who doesn't have to play Oklahoma, Texas or Texas Tech this season. If they can sidestep CU in Boulder this weekend and A&M at Kyle Field next week, they could well be undefeated when they play Missouri to close the regular season.

I'm also buying South Carolina. I think that they'll get by Florida in a squeaker and capture the SEC East.

I'm selling Arizona State and in a hurry. They have yet to beat an above average team. Their next four games are: Cal, @Oregon, @UCLA, USC. Tough stretch.

I'd also sell Hawaii, who have been unimpressive at times this season. They close with the four toughest games on thier schedule: Fresno State, @Nevada, Boise State, Washington. If they play like they did against LaTech or SJSU in any of those last four games, an undefeated season is a pipe dream.

5) Now that we know the strengths and weaknesses of many teams, explain to me how your team will make out over the remainder of the regular season.

Well, Nebraska is really struggling to stop the rushing attack right now, and that is one thing that A&M can definitely take advantage of (assuming that the coaching staff doesn't get cute and adjust their way into another disaster). I think that if A&M sticks to the gameplan and focuses on holding the ball and shortening the game, they will probably win. Callahan is already done but Coach Fran still has that glimmer of hope.

With the offensive firepower that Oklahoma and Missouri bring, I'm ready to write those two games off. A win in either would surprise me at this point. A&M just can't defend the intermediate pass when they are in the zone and the Missouri TE's are going to have a field day with that. Oklahoma, on the other hand, should be able to take advantage of the same weaknesses against the run that Oklahoma State exposed earlier this year. Both of these road games could get ugly.

That just leaves the last two home games, against Kansas and Texas. Despite my 'buy' above, I'm not exactly sold on Kansas winning this one, I just like the way that the match-ups fall for A&M. The best Jayhawk is a CB and A&M refuses to acknowledge the forward pass. Score!

Texas seems prone to fits of self destruction this season and it's hard to say which Texas will show up. I bet A&M wins one of the two home games.

So that puts us at 2-3 to close the season, 7-5 overall. Not bad considering, but I'll admit to having dreamt of so much more only a few short months ago...

BlogPoll Ballot Draft: 10/14

2007-10-14T20:46:00.000-04:00

Here is this week's ballot. Comments are appreciated as always. USF and tOSU were a virtual tie in my mind at #1. I went with USF because I think the Auburn-WVU wins are slightly more impressive than Washington-Purdue. Here it is:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	South Florida	4
2	Ohio State	1
3	Boston College	1
4	LSU	3
5	Oklahoma	3
6	South Carolina	1
7	Kentucky	13
8	West Virginia	7
9	Arizona State	9
10	California	8
11	Oregon	5
12	Kansas	1
13	Virginia Tech	3
14	Auburn	--
15	Florida	1
16	Kansas State	1
17	Southern Cal	6
18	Missouri	9
19	Hawaii	7
20	Virginia	4
21	Cincinnati	9
22	Texas Tech	4
23	Texas	3
24	Michigan	2
25	Rutgers	1

Dropped Out: Florida State (#19), Illinois (#21), Colorado (#22), Alabama (#23), Connecticut (#25).

BlogPoll Ballot Draft: Beautiful Mess Edition

2007-10-08T23:27:00.000-04:00

So, uh, here is this week's draft ballot. Comments are welcome and appreciated. I'm as lost as I've ever been, and I love it. UConn in the 25th slot? Why not! Texas A&M, in sole possession of 1st place in the Big 12 South and unranked? You better believe it. 4 Big 12 North teams ranked? You betcha. Something tells me this is going to get more interesting before it gets less so. On to the ballot:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	LSU	--
2	California	1
3	Ohio State	1
4	Boston College	2
5	South Florida	--
6	Oregon	1
7	South Carolina	2
8	Oklahoma	4
9	Missouri	4
10	Virginia Tech	4
11	Southern Cal	9
12	Cincinnati	7
13	Kansas	9
14	Auburn	1
15	West Virginia	2
16	Florida	--
17	Kansas State	6
18	Arizona State	7
19	Florida State	7
20	Kentucky	12
21	Illinois	5
22	Colorado	4
23	Alabama	3
24	Virginia	2
25	Connecticut	1

Dropped Out: Wisconsin (#10), Georgia (#18), Michigan State (#20), Purdue (#21), Miami (Florida) (#23), Rutgers (#24).

BlogPoll Ballot: 11/02

2007-10-02T22:19:00.000-04:00

Here is this week's ballot. A little commentary follows, but I have exam Thursday (Perturbation Methods, ick) so the explanation is short and posting will be pretty light all week. I'll probably have my response to the latest BlogPoll Roundtable up tomorrow. The ballot is due at 10AM tomorrow. Comments, critiques and suggestions all always welcome.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	LSU	--
2	Southern Cal	--
3	California	1
4	Ohio State	2
5	South Florida	12
6	Boston College	4
7	Oregon	--
8	Kentucky	3
9	South Carolina	4
10	Wisconsin	2
11	Kansas State	15
12	Oklahoma	9
13	Missouri	1
14	Virginia Tech	6
15	Auburn	11
16	Florida	8
17	West Virginia	12
18	Georgia	--
19	Cincinnati	3
20	Michigan State	5
21	Purdue	--
22	Kansas	--
23	Miami (Florida)	--
24	Rutgers	9
25	Arizona State	1

Dropped Out: Texas (#9), Clemson (#19).

This is the first ballot I've put together this season entirely without looking at the previous ballot. My apologies to Cincinnati, I don't know why I liked them better last week. LSU is still #1, although I suppose that is getting to the point of not needed explanation any more. South Florida is higher than I would like, but BC's resume looks less impressive than it did a couple of weeks ago and I'm not really sold on anybody else in the top-10, save perhaps Oregon.

I'm inclined to view Oklahoma as an upset victim who was caught off guard, but WVU, Florida and Texas as pretenders who got exposed. That is clearly the subjective part of my rankings and should be taken with a grain of salt. All I can say is that things should sort themselves out as more results come in.

Michigan State really improved in my eyes, although it could just be that Wisconsin (and the whole Big Ten really) is bad. I'm not sure about that one yet.

Missouri is probably high, but Illinois is looking like a pretty good team and Mizzou hasn't lost yet. Also a little too high is VT, buoyed by their loss to LSU earlier this season. The big jump for them has more to do with teams losing and me not looking at last week's ballot.

I started with a list of 47 teams, listed their good wins (wins against the other 46 teams on the list) and their losses. Then I tried to make a reasonable ballot by dragging a team up the list until I felt comfortable with where they were. This is probably 60% resume, 30% expectation and 10% scotch. If you are curious, the next half dozen teams were GT, Clemson, Alabama, Colorado, Texas and Virginia. It was tempting to try and find a place for CU (losses to FSU and ASU, both in my top 25) and Virginia (beat GT, lost to Wyoming(!)) but I just couldn't do it.

Miami Game Review

2007-09-26T23:32:00.000-04:00

I sucked it up tonight and re-watched the first half of the Miami-A&M game from last week. As often seems to happen, it wasn't nearly as horrifying as I remember. The loss still stings, but the whole season isn't for naught just yet.

Coach Fran has taken a ton of heat this week for his light use of Jorvorskie Lane, but I can honestly see what he was thinking. In the first quarter, Lane was very effective as a decoy. Unfortunately Miami adjusted and A&M didn't. Still, for all of A&M's bumbling, the game was 14-0 with around 30 seconds to play in the first half. By the time they slunk off to the locker room, it was 24-0. Those 10 points absolutely killed any momentum that A&M had built with a missed Miami FG and an Aggie defense that was showing some signs of life. Some unit by unit thoughts:

The Offense
I suppose that Lane and the WR's are pretty blameless, what with the whole never touching the ball thing, but pretty much everything else went wrong at one point or another. The offensive line was terrible for most of the first half. Miami's defensive lineman held a significant quickness advantage and used it well. It was rare to see members of A&M's backfield with time to make plays. The pass blocking has become a huge liability and is probably my greatest concern going forward.

When McGee did have enough time to throw, he rarely seems to have a progression. On the play that Joey Thomas laid a wicked block on Calais Campbell, a McGee scramble, Kerry Franks was open near the sideline. On the interception intended for Martellus Bennett, Earvin Taylor came free across the middle. McGee is tremendous runner and a gutsy leader, but perhaps it's time to face the fact that he has serious limitations as a passer and the offensive line isn't helping.

The Defense
Watching the game live, I really thought A&M's poor play was making Kyle Wright look good, but on review I probably wasn't giving him enough credit. Wright played a good game and he was very accurate in the short and medium passing game. Watching him throw a deep ball is still painful, though.

The real story of this game was Miami's ability to convert on a number of 3rd and longs on the first drive of the game. A&M's run defense was generally good on 1st and 2nd down, only to let Wright make the 3rd down conversion look easy. Sometimes it was soft spots in the zone between the linebackers and safeties and sometimes it was shoddy tackling, but Miami converted a half dozen 3rd downs in the first half that should have been stopped. If the pass rush ever comes together, I have to believe it well help greatly here.

In the secondary, A&M's safeties never seem to rotate well. It's been a weakness all season and I'm not sure if it's personnel or scheme, but it needs to get fixed before A&M faces anymore deep bombs that hang up like punts. Both of those plays really hurt.

The Coaching
There has always been a vocal minority of online-Aggies calling for Coach Fran's head, but I was astounded by the number of people calling for him to be fired following this game. I've always believed in supporting the current coach, but I'm just not sure that I have it in me to argue for this coaching staff anymore. This is where things get ugly, when the majority of fans start to fall silent and the loud fringes begin to call for a change. And, perhaps as a sign of my own discontentment, I'm alright with that.

The announcers pointed out that the coaches should have talked to Cody Wallace after he tried to return one kick and before he fumbled the second. This, to me, is ridiculous. If you are going to use lineman at all as kickoff blockers, the coaching staff had damn sure better drill "FALL ON IT" into their heads long before they ever see the field. Then, when Wallace returns the first one, you take him off the return team for not following explicit directions, end of story. Instead Miami cashes in for another 3 points.

I'd really like to see A&M get extra LB's on the field earlier near the goal line. I understand the concerns about a pass, but Miami's wildcat formation was very effective. On the first Miami TD, Jordan Pugh was actually in good position to string the play out, but was held something fierce. If a stronger player is in that spot, he can work enough separation to make the holding penalty obvious and get a call. This is minor compared to the first couple of points, but it bothers me nonetheless.

A&M's second drive looked like it might be going places until they ran into a 3rd and 13 just outside of FG range. In an attempt to get the 1st down, the Aggies ran a play that involved two receivers running past the 1st down marker and 3 running short routes. Play designs like this seem inexcusable. If you aren't going to send those players out on reasonable routes, at least use them to block and try to keep McGee from getting killed.

The thing that really bothered me about Coach Fran (and what has caused me to be so laid back about the possibility of regime change) actually happened in the post game press conference with his statements about Miami just being a better team. This struck a nerve with me and deserves some discussion, but I really don't have time to go into it, so I'll save it for later. In the meantime I need to get some sleep. I have a hot date tomorrow with a cruel mistress known as proper orthogonal decomposition. Plus, if all goes well, I intend to do a bit of wrestling with LaTeX. (Ironically, only nerds can read that last sentence and think, "I've been there," rather than thinking something dirty. Grad school is fun.)

Here's hoping for a better all around effort against Baylor this week.

BlogPoll Ballot: 9/26

2007-09-26T00:23:00.000-04:00

Here is this week's ballot, presented without commentary. It's been crazy at the office all week but I'll finally have something about the Miami debacle tomorrow. This week's ballot:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	LSU	1
2	Southern Cal	1
3	Oklahoma	--
4	California	1
5	West Virginia	3
6	Ohio State	1
7	Oregon	5
8	Florida	4
9	Texas	2
10	Boston College	--
11	Kentucky	4
12	Wisconsin	1
13	South Carolina	4
14	Missouri	7
15	Rutgers	3
16	Cincinnati	--
17	South Florida	--
18	Georgia	8
19	Clemson	3
20	Virginia Tech	4
21	Purdue	5
22	Kansas	4
23	Miami (Florida)	3
24	Arizona State	2
25	Michigan State	1

Dropped Out: Penn State (#6), Alabama (#14), Texas A&M (#19), Arkansas (#20), Louisville (#23), Nebraska (#25).

BlogPoll Ballot: 10/19

2007-09-18T23:39:00.000-04:00

Here is this week's ballot. I'm pushing the deadline, so I probably won't have time to make changes before the deadline. I always appreciate comments and things to consider next week, though. Explanation follows the ballot as always:

Rank	Team	Delta	Qual. Wins	Losses
1	Southern Cal	2	@Neb.	None
2	LSU	1	VT, @MSU	None
3	Oklahoma	1	Miami	None
4	Florida	1	Tenn., Troy	None
5	California	1	Tenn.	None
6	Penn State	--	None	None
7	Ohio State	5	@Wash.	None
8	West Virginia	5	None	None
9	South Carolina	--	@Georgia	None
10	Boston College	7	@GT	None
11	Texas	3	None	None
12	Oregon	3	@Mich.	None
13	Wisconsin	3	WSU	None
14	Alabama	12	Ark.	None
15	Kentucky	11	Lou.	None
16	Cincinnati	3	Ore. St.	None
17	South Florida	6	@Auburn	None
18	Rutgers	7	None	None
19	Texas A&M	1	None	None
20	Arkansas	9	Troy	@Alabama
21	Missouri	1	None	None
22	Clemson	4	FSU?	None
23	Louisville	9	None	@Kentucky
24	Virginia Tech	--	None	@LSU
25	Nebraska	7	None	USC

Dropped Out: UCLA (#7), Georgia Tech (#16), Washington (#21).

-USC is back on top this week. This was really a tossup between USC and LSU. USC's big win was on the road, giving them a slight edge on my ballot.

-Ohio State gets a big bump for beating a good Washington team on the road.

-West Virginia wins the "team I can find quite as much disdain for" award.

-BC looked pretty good at GT, they move way up.

-Alabama and Kentucky are the big movers, beating Arkansas and Louisville who both fall 9 spots.

-Rutgers and South Florida both benefit from teams sliding out in front of them.

Tale of the Tape: Fresno State Edition

2007-09-12T23:49:00.000-04:00

EDIT/UPDATE: I realize that the spacing on the comments on the individual plays is all messed up. I'm not good with html and it shows sometimes. I will fix it as soon as I can. In the meantime, the play-by-play is really hard to read. You might want to just skip to the commentary at the bottom.

The idea/inspiration for this post comes from mgoblog who does a superb job of breaking down the tape after every Michigan game. It's one of the things that I look forward to reading about Michigan each and every week. I've always wanted to try something similar and I finally have the technology to attempt it (although not the mastery of said technology, but more on that in a sec).

I didn't attend the game this week, instead choosing to stay home and watch Michigan's glorious victory over Oregon (oops) while I DVR'ed both games. Michigan was playing on the HDTV while Texas A&M played on the 24" TV that I usually keep in the bedroom, but is now stationed in the middle of the living room floor. (Living on my own in grad school does have some advantages.)

I set the A&M game to record for 3 and half hours, way to short in retrospect. Still, I had it covered as I realized my gaffe and told my DVR manually to start another recording. What I did not realize was just how full my DVR was. When the second part of the recording started, it immediately began to overwrite the first part of the game, which of course was lost forever. Realizing my mistake later that I night I was livid until I remembered that FSN frequently shows games again in the middle of the night. A quick check of the program guide revealed an early morning reshowing, which I recorded.

It wasn't until I had devoted a significant amount of time on Sunday to starting this post that I realized FSN had cut out a big chunk of the first half. I was peeved but soldiered on, figuring that cutting out part of the first half allowed the second half and overtime to be shown in their entirety. How foolish I was. Knowing now how much of the game was actually missing, I probably wouldn't have attempted this fiasco, but it is what it is. I suppose I learn and move on. Next time I'll check the little manual-deletion-only option when I set up the recording.

What follows is the play-by-play account of the game, copied verbatim from Aggie Athletics. For the plays that I have film, I have added my commentary in bold following the play. It's not the easiest thing to read, but it is significantly easier to put together than the snazzy tables that mgoblog uses. Having done this for one week, I have no idea how he has the time to keep this up. It requires an incredible amount of time to do right, a level that I didn't even scratch.

Following the play-by-play summary are my thoughts on the game. If you're not really interested in individual plays, you should be able to scroll down and just read that part. To evaluate the defense I've adopted a primitive +/- system. On pass plays I occasionally resort to giving a plus or a minus to the entire secondary. From a TV angle, not knowing the intended play, it can be difficult to judge individual players. When possible, I've given a plus to a player for an outstanding play or a minus for a mistake. Very occasionally a play warrants a +2 or a -2, but I've tried to use those sparingly.

After doing this, I really feel like I understand A&M's philosophy better on both sides of the ball. (Although, can anyone truly claim to understand the defensive philosophy? Ba-da-ch!) It's been very enjoyable and I hope to try this again the next time A&M has a televised game. Comments, criticisms and suggestions are always appreciated. With no further ado:

Play-by-Play Summary

Play-by-Play Summary (1st quarter)
2007 Texas A&M Football
Fresno State vs #23 Texas A&M (Sep 08, 2007 at College Station, TX)

A&M wins the toss and defers. Fresno to receive at the north endzone.

F 1-10 F30 TAMU ball on TAMU30, 7S-Szymanski, Matt kickoff 70 yards to the FS0,
18-Wylie, Devon return 27 yards to the FS27 (36-Lewis, Anthony).
Szymanski puts the ball just inside the endzone, something that he is doing with
regularity this season. The coverage is fine.

F 1-10 F27 1-Miller, Lonyae rush for 1 yard to the FS28 (85-Bryant, Red;25-Pugh,
Jordan).
Tupe (+1) gets great penetration by going around the tackle here and gets an arm on
Miller. Miller regains his balance, but Pugh (+1) fills nicely from the secondary.

F 2-9 F28 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 13-Crawley, Jason for 8 yards to the FS36
(9-Dixon, Alton).
Throw goes to the inside receiver who has found a soft spot between Tupe and Dixon
(coverage -1). Dixon is there quickly to stop any additional yardage, but you hate
to see 8 yards come this easy.

F 3-1 F36 1-Miller, Lonyae rush for no gain to the FS36 (4-Gorrer, Danny;85-Bryant,
Red), PENALTY TAMU face mask (4-Gorrer, Danny) 15 yards to the TAMU49,
1ST DOWN FS.
I didn't see a facemask here, but the official has a much better angle to see the
tackle by Gorrer. Either way, he picks up the first down without the penalty.

F 1-10 A49 1st and 10.
F 1-10 A49 7-Brandstater, T rush for 1 yard to the TAMU48 (4-Gorrer, Danny).
QB scramble (coverage +1). Dixon and Harrington both get a little bit of pressure
from the right side. Gorrer breaks off his coverage in the flat and forces
Brandstater out of bounds. Nice play all around.

F 2-9 A48 2-Smith, Clifton rush for 6 yards to the TAMU42 (37-Tupe, Misi).
Direct snap to Smith. This wildcat formation sure is getting popular. Dixon (-1)
is playing right up on the line, but Pascoe neutralizes him and he loses contain.
When Dodge fills from the inside the RB bounces it out for a nice gain.

F 3-3 A42 7-Brandstater, T pass incomplete to 13-Crawley, Jason (27-Peterson, Jord.).
Dixon and Peterson actually have pretty good coverage here (although the receiver
is slightly behind them both). Brandstater makes a nearly perfect throw but the WR
can't catch it cleanly. Peterson does a good job of not giving him a second chance
on the juggle.

F 4-3 A42 35-Zimmerman, Kyle punt 42 yards to the TAMU0, touchback.
--------------- 6 plays, 31 yards, TOP 02:48 ---------------

A 1-10 A20 TEXAS A&M drive start at 12:12.
A 1-10 A20 24-Alexander, Chr. rush for 4 yards to the TAMU24 (7D-Roberts,
Jason;32-Brown, Quaadir).
FB dive to Alexander isn't terribly well blocked but he gets low and pushes the pile
for a respectable gain.

A 2-6 A24 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 8 yards to the TAMU32, 1ST DOWN TAMU,
out-of-bounds (19-Haynes, Marvin).
McGee fakes the dive to Lane but keeps it himself. Good job of getting out of
bounds once he has the 1st down and avoiding a big hit. Martellus Bennett does a
great job holding up on the corner to allow McGee to get outside.

A 1-10 A32 7-McGee, Stephen pass complete to 13-Bennett, Martel for 4 yards to the
TAMU36, out-of-bounds (32-Brown, Quaadir;2D-Jenkins, Damon).
This looks like a designed throw all the way to Bennett on a five yard out route.
Pierre Brown is the outside receiver and he runs the coverage off. Fresno State
closed very quickly to prevent any YAC.

A 2-6 A36 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 5 yards to the TAMU41 (54-Jacobs,
Ben;19-Haynes, Marvin).
This looks like a zone run all the way. Goodson eludes a LB that slipped through on
a blitz and then cuts it up for a decent gain.

A 3-1 A41 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 1 yard to the TAMU42, 1ST DOWN TAMU

(54-Jacobs, Ben).
This is just a run up the middle out of the I-formation. Fresno State wins the
battle at the line initially and stands up the play, but the left side of A&M's line
(Clark, Yoder and Elder, although I have no idea why Elder lets himself get pushed
clear around Wallace, it seems almost as if he is zone blocking this) keeps pushing
and Goodson is able to fall that way for the first down. Shaky play.

A 1-10 A42 7-McGee, Stephen pass complete to 8-Franks, Kerry for 5 yards to the
TAMU47 (3-Harris, Moses;31-Riley, Marcus).
Fresno State is playing pretty soft against the pass here and A&M seems content to
take advantage of that. Not a great throw by McGee as Franks has to go way up to
catch it. If the throw is better, Franks might be able to make a little more on
this play. As it is, FSU comes up quickly.

A 2-5 A47 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 4 yards to the FS49, out-of-bounds (32-Brown,
Quaadir;2D-Jenkins, Damon).
Speed Option to the right. Both Taylor and Corey do a nice job of blocking
downfield.

A 3-1 F49 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 18 yards to the FS31, 1ST DOWN TAMU
(54-Jacobs, Ben;28-Jefferson, A.J.).
Speed Option to the left. This time McGee keeps it himself. The line blocks this
well and the outside guy for FSU elects to go after Goodson preemptively. Joey
Thomas has a tremendous block to give McGee the corner, Taylor pretty much pancakes
a guy and Corey holds up well. You can say one thing for A&M's receivers, they sure
can block.

A 1-10 F31 7-McGee, Stephen pass incomplete to 6-Brown, Pierre.
Brown is very open on this play but McGee is pressured and overthrows him. FSU
brings a linebacker and a corner from the right side. Alexander picks up the inside
guy (LB). There is a play action to Lane and then he is tasked to block. As a
result, he is way up in the middle of the pocket and can't get back to the outside
quickly enough to take out the CB.

A 2-10 F31 7-McGee, Stephen pass incomplete to 3-Goodson, Mike (11-Clutts, Tyler).
Batted pass here. It's Corey Clark's guy, but if he didn't get it, the next guy
might've. Not a great play by McGee.

A 3-10 F31 7-McGee, Stephen pass complete to 13-Bennett, Martel for 13 yards to the
FS18, 1ST DOWN TAMU (19-Haynes, Marvin).
FSU only rushes three and McGee has time. This is the same out play to Bennett
where the outside receiver (I think it's Brown again) runs the coverage off and
Bennett cuts to the outside. McGee puts it right on the numbers and Bennett shows
good awareness to cut upfield and get the 1st down.

A 1-10 F18 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 18 yards to the FS0, 1ST DOWN TAMU,
TOUCHDOWN, clock 08:08.
7S-Szymanski, Matt kick attempt good.
This is the option play that A&M likes to run to Lane so much. Jorvorskie goes up
the middle and McGee can either give it to him or go around the outside with the
other RB (Keondra Smith in this case). The LBs read the option and go with McGee.
Meanwhile the A&M line just blows everything up and the hole that Lane runs through
is about 5 yards wide. He is 8 yards downfield before he is touched. Then he shows
off his tremendous balance by spinning off of a hit and stumbling into the endzone.
This play couldn't have been executed better.

===========================
FRESNO STATE 0, TEXAS A&M 7
===========================

--------------- 12 plays, 80 yards, TOP 04:04 ---------------

7S-Szymanski, Matt kickoff 70 yards to the FS0, touchback.
F 1-10 F20 FRESNO STATE drive start at 08:08.
F 1-10 F20 1-Miller, Lonyae rush for 9 yards to the FS29 (26-Gregg, Devin;1B-Bennett,
Mich.).
F 2-1 F29 2-Smith, Clifton rush for loss of 2 yards to the FS27 (37-Tupe,
Misi;50-Dodge, Mark).
F 3-3 F27 PENALTY FS delay of game 5 yards to the FS22.
F 3-8 F22 7-Brandstater, T pass intercepted by 26-Gregg, Devin at the FS41, 26-Gregg,
Devin return 0 yards to the FS41, out-of-bounds.
I missed this whole segment on the replay, but I remember this play. Gregg made a
tremendous catch while flying out of bounds. Plays like this are why Gregg is a
turnover machine.

--------------- 3 plays, 2 yards, TOP 01:50 ---------------

A 1-10 F41 TEXAS A&M drive start at 06:18.
A 1-10 F41 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 7 yards to the FS34 (32-Brown,
Quaadir;7D-Roberts, Jason).
A 2-3 F34 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 4 yards to the FS30, 1ST DOWN TAMU

(11-Clutts, Tyler;54-Jacobs, Ben).
A 1-10 F30 PENALTY TAMU false start (70-Wallace, Cody) 5 yards to the FS35.
A 1-15 F35 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 2 yards to the FS33 (32-Brown, Quaadir).
A 2-13 F33 PENALTY FS offside defense (94-Monga, Jon) 5 yards to the FS28.
A 2-8 F28 7-McGee, Stephen pass complete to 13-Bennett, Martel for 4 yards to the
FS24 (32-Brown, Quaadir;31-Riley, Marcus).
A 3-4 F24 Timeout Texas A&M, clock 03:13.
This is where the tape picks up again.

A 3-4 F24 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 3 yards to the FS21 (31-Riley, Marcus).
QB draw. Wallace doesn't get a good block and McGee is forced to far to the left
for Elder to help. If Wallace holds up, Elder is a good position downfield and this
play probably goes a lot bigger.

A 4-1 F21 PENALTY TAMU delay of game 5 yards to the FS26.
I think this is intentional with McGee trying to pull the defense offsides. I don't
like the call though as it sets up a tougher field goal for Szymanski.

A 4-6 F26 7S-Szymanski, Matt field goal attempt from 43 MISSED - wide right, spot
at FS26, clock 02:21.
Szymanski just doesn't hook this one enough.

--------------- 6 plays, 15 yards, TOP 05:56 ---------------

F 1-10 F26 1-Miller, Lonyae rush for no gain to the FS26 (95-Smith,
Henry;92-Harrington, C.).
Henry Smith (+1) holds up nicely in the middle and makes the initial contact.
Harrington cleans it up.

F 2-10 F26 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 85-Pascoe, Bear for 5 yards to the FS31
(46-Featherston, M.).
Relatively short pass. Featherstone (-2) is late in coverage and then misses the
tackle. Pascoe drags Dixon for awhile before help comes. Sloppy play by the Ags.
Review saves the day as his knee was down when he caught the ball.

F 3-5 F31 21-Mathews, Ryan rush for loss of 3 yards to the FS28 (49-Obiozor,
Cyril;91-Heard, Kellen).
FSU goes for a bit of misdirection. Kellen Heard (+1) dominates the guard and blows
the whole thing up. Anthony Lewis (+1) fills nicely. Really the whole line played
this perfectly.

F 4-8 F28 35-Zimmerman, Kyle punt 40 yards to the TAMU32, 27-Peterson, Jord. return 14
yards to the TAMU46 (11-Clutts, Tyler), PENALTY FS illegal formation 5
yards to the FS49, 1st and 10, TAMU ball on FS49.
Peterson looks credible here as a punt returner for the first time this season.
Nice play by him.

--------------- 3 plays, 2 yards, TOP 00:00 ---------------

A 1-10 F49 TEXAS A&M drive start at 00:22.
A 1-10 F49 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 2 yards to the FS47 (54-Jacobs, Ben;41-Ike,
Ikenna).
Same play as the earlier TD (Keondra Smith is even in at RB. I hope this isn't a
tell). This time FSU stays home. The A&M line doesn't get nearly as much push and
the linebackers fill.

====END OF 1st QUARTER=====
FRESNO STATE 0, TEXAS A&M 7
===========================

Play-by-Play Summary (2nd quarter)

A 2-8 F47 Start of 2nd quarter, clock 15:00.
A 2-8 F47 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 3 yards to the FS44 (54-Jacobs, Ben).
Lane runs outside to the right. This is well blocked, but Lane has no speed
advantage over the LB and he is caught as the LB flows down the line. There just
aren't enough maroon shirts to block the white shirts. Alexander is hurt on this
play as Lane falls across his legs.

A 3-5 F44 7-McGee, Stephen pass incomplete to 6-Brown, Pierre (41-Ike, Ikenna),
PENALTY FS personal foul (32-Brown, Quaadir) 15 yards to the FS29, 1ST
DOWN TAMU, NO PLAY.
McGee gets hit as he throws and the ball ends up behind Pierre Brown on the crossing
route, otherwise it's a first down. This is initially well blocked but Elder gets
overpowered and needs help from Lane, leaving Lane's man free to cut inside the
double team and get to McGee. Wallace also gets beat pretty badly and his man
contributes pressure. The penalty call is good, although I think the blow to the
head is accidental as he is trying to block the pass. (This is much like an
accidental high stick in hockey, the stick infraction is still penalized, even
though the intent is not there simply because the player is responsible for
controlling the stick.)

A 1-10 F29 7-McGee, Stephen rush for no gain to the FS29 (3-Harris,
Moses;11-Clutts, Tyler).
McGee keeps the ball and tries to go outside. FSU has great contain and bottles this
up immediately. Roger Holland misses a block on the contain man.

A 2-10 F29 7-McGee, Stephen pass complete to 20-Corey, Michael for 5 yards to the
FS24 (4-Owens, Damion).
This is safe play without much upside. The protection rolls right with McGee and he
finds Corey waiting in front of the coverage in the flats.

A 3-5 F24 7-McGee, Stephen pass incomplete to 81-Thomas, Joey (3-Harris, Moses).
McGee throws a bullet right into the stomach of Thomas. The coverage was tight,
perhaps too tight. The fans in the stands sure thought it should have been PI, but
FSN doesn't show a good replay.

A 4-5 F24 7S-Szymanski, Matt field goal attempt from 41 BLOCKED, recovered by FS
TM-TEAM at FS24 spot at FS24, clock 12:33 (blocked by 69-Jackson, Andrew),
TM-TEAM for no gain to the FS24.
I think it's Bear Pascoe that blocks this one (I'm really starting to dislike him).
Tough to say who is at fault here. The kick looks ok, Kirk Elder probably gets
pushed back too far though, so I'll blame it on the blocking.
--------------- 6 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00 ---------------

F 1-10 F24 2-Smith, Clifton rush for 6 yards to the FS30 (18-Brown, Arkeith;37-Tupe,
Misi).
This looks like a zone running play. Paul Freeney (-1) sees the play going right and
goes with it, allowing the RB to cut back into a wide open field. Pugh is well
blocked downfield and everybody has to play catchup.

F 2-4 F30 2-Smith, Clifton rush for 6 yards to the FS36 (18-Brown, Arkeith;25-Pugh,
Jordan), PENALTY FS holding (62-Popovich, Cole) 10 yards to the FS20,
NO PLAY.
Good call on the holding. Lucas Patterson (+1) gets great penetration and has to be
tackled by the guard.

F 2-14 F20 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 5-Moore, Marlon for 14 yards to the FS34,
1ST DOWN FS (50-Dodge, Mark), PENALTY TAMU personal foul
(1B-Bennett, Mich.) 15 yards to the FS49, 1ST DOWN FS.
A&M brings only two on the initial blitz so Brandstater has all day. Eventually
Bennett decides to come as well, only he gets there late and takes the penalty.
This is a dumb penalty and A&M takes way to many of those. As for the pass itself,
the receiver seems to find a soft spot between Dodge and the sideline and in front of
Jordan Pugh (coverage -1).

F 1-10 F49 22-Harding, A rush for 4 yards to the TAMU47 (25-Pugh, Jordan;85-Bryant,
Red).
RB draw. Obiozor rushes too far up field and Patterson gets tackled. Henry Smith
looks good in pursuit.

F 2-6 A47 7-Brandstater, T pass intercepted by 18-Brown, Arkeith at the TAMU27,
18-Brown, Arkeith return to the TAMU27, PENALTY TAMU holding (25-Pugh,
Jordan) 10 yards to the TAMU37, 1ST DOWN FS, NO PLAY.
A&M brings five on the rush but they all get picked up. Brown has the interception,
but the flag is thrown on Pugh. FSN never shows a replay, but based on where Pugh
and the receiver are, the call looks plausible.

F 1-10 A37 1st and 10.
F 1-10 A37 22-Harding, A rush for 2 yards to the TAMU35 (85-Bryant, Red;50-Dodge,
Mark).
RB draw. A&M stunts Bryant (+1) around Smith and he is unblocked, forcing the RB to
cut up into his own blocker who has been forced back by Harrington (+1). Bryant and
Dodge then combine on the tackle.

F 2-8 A35 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 2-Smith, Clifton for 4 yards to the
TAMU31, out-of-bounds (1C-Carpenter, Mar.;92-Harrington, C.).
This is set up like a swinging gate. Brandstater throws the screen to Clifton Smith
but both Harrington (+1) and Carpenter (+1) beat their blockers to force Smith out of
bounds.

F 3-4 A31 7-Brandstater, T pass incomplete to 13-Crawley, Jason (1C-Carpenter, Mar.).
Brandstater has to dodge Amos Gbunblee (+1) and then throws out to the sideline.
Nice play by Carpenter (+1) to break up the pass.

F 4-4 A31 39-Stitser, Clint field goal attempt from 48 MISSED - wide left, spot at
TAMU31, clock 09:51.
He just misses this.
--------------- 7 plays, 45 yards, TOP 00:00 ---------------

A 1-10 A31 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 9 yards to the TAMU40 (41-Ike, Ikenna).
This is well blocked by the line and Lane breaks a tackle for the extra yardage.
Nice play.

A 2-1 A40 Timeout Texas A&M, clock 09:15.
McGee is livid about having to take this timeout although I'm not really sure why.

A 2-1 A40 7-McGee, Stephen pass incomplete to 13-Bennett, Martel.
The game tape skips ahead again here. It resumes after the half.

A 3-1 A40 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 7 yards to the TAMU47, 1ST DOWN TAMU

(28-Jefferson, A.J.;2D-Jenkins, Damon).
A 1-10 A47 7-McGee, Stephen pass complete to 1E-Shankle, E.J. for 3 yards to the 50
yardline (31-Riley, Marcus).
A 2-7 A50 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 3 yards to the FS47 (11-Clutts, Tyler;32-Brown,
Quaadir).
A 3-4 F47 7-McGee, Stephen pass complete to 13-Bennett, Martel for 12 yards to the
FS35, 1ST DOWN TAMU (3-Harris, Moses;20-Bell, Lorne).
A 1-10 F35 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 8 yards to the FS27 (31-Riley,
Marcus;7D-Roberts, Jason).
A 2-2 F27 3-Goodson, Mike rush for no gain to the FS27 (54-Jacobs, Ben;20-Bell,
Lorne).
A 3-2 F27 7-McGee, Stephen pass complete to 44-LaMantia, Nick for 1 yard to the
FS26 (19-Haynes, Marvin).
A 4-1 F26 7S-Szymanski, Matt field goal attempt from 43 GOOD, clock 04:31.

============================
FRESNO STATE 0, TEXAS A&M 10
============================

--------------- 10 plays, 43 yards, TOP 00:00 ---------------

7S-Szymanski, Matt kickoff 57 yards to the FS13, 18-Wylie, Devon return
24 yards to the FS37, out-of-bounds (30-Bryson, Chevar).
F 1-10 F37 FRESNO STATE drive start at 04:31.
F 1-10 F37 2-Smith, Clifton rush to the FS40, fumble forced by 92-Harrington, C.,
fumble by 2-Smith, Clifton recovered by TAMU 27-Peterson, Jord. at FS37.
--------------- 1 plays, 0 yards, TOP 00:14 ---------------

A 1-10 F37 TEXAS A&M drive start at 04:17.
A 1-10 F37 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 18 yards to the FS19, 1ST DOWN TAMU
(32-Brown, Quaadir;19-Haynes, Marvin).
A 1-10 F19 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 3 yards to the FS16 (54-Jacobs, Ben;92-Borg,
Kenny).
A 2-7 F16 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 4 yards to the FS12 (41-Ike, Ikenna;20-Bell,
Lorne).
A 3-3 F12 7-McGee, Stephen pass complete to 3-Goodson, Mike for 12 yards to the
FS0, 1ST DOWN TAMU, TOUCHDOWN, clock 02:14.
7S-Szymanski, Matt kick attempt good.

============================
FRESNO STATE 0, TEXAS A&M 17
============================

--------------- 4 plays, 37 yards, TOP 02:03 ---------------

7S-Szymanski, Matt kickoff 70 yards to the FS0, 18-Wylie, Devon return
15 yards to the FS15 (44-LaMantia, Nick;1E-Shankle, E.J.), PENALTY FS
illegal block 7 yards to the FS8, 1st and 10, FS ball on FS8.
F 1-10 F08 FRESNO STATE drive start at 02:14.
F 1-10 F08 2-Smith, Clifton rush for 2 yards to the FS10 (92-Harrington, C.;37-Tupe,
Misi).
F 2-8 F10 2-Smith, Clifton rush to the FS7, fumble by 2-Smith, Clifton recovered by FS
2-Smith, Clifton at FS7, 2-Smith, Clifton for 4 yards to the FS11 (50-Dodge,
Mark).
F 3-7 F11 7-Brandstater, T sacked for loss of 11 yards to the FS0 (85-Bryant, Red),
PENALTY FS intentional grounding (7-Brandstater, T) 0 yards to the
FS0, 85-Bryant, Red safety, clock 01:03.

============================
FRESNO STATE 0, TEXAS A&M 19
============================

--------------- 3 plays, minus 8 yards, TOP 01:11 ---------------

39-Stitser, Clint kickoff 67 yards to the TAMU13, 6-Brown, Pierre return 22
yards to the TAMU35 (4-Owens, Damion;23-Jorde, Jake), PENALTY TAMU
holding (71-Babalola, Yemi) 10 yards to the TAMU25, 1st and 10, TAMU
ball on TAMU25.
A 1-10 A25 TEXAS A&M drive start at 01:03, 7-McGee, Stephen pass complete to
3-Goodson, Mike for 1 yard to the TAMU26 (11-Clutts, Tyler).
A 2-9 A26 7-McGee, Stephen pass incomplete to 1E-Shankle, E.J..
A 3-9 A26 7-McGee, Stephen pass incomplete to 2-Taylor, Earvin.
A 4-9 A26 PENALTY TAMU delay of game 5 yards to the TAMU21.
A 4-14 A21 16-Brantly, Justin punt 39 yards to the FS40, 2-Smith, Clifton return -1
yards to the FS39 (50-Dodge, Mark;2-Taylor, Earvin).
--------------- 3 plays, minus 4 yards, TOP 00:38 ---------------

F 1-10 F39 FRESNO STATE drive start at 00:25.
F 1-10 F39 7-Brandstater, T pass incomplete to 8-Davis, Sharrod.
F 2-10 F39 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 2-Smith, Clifton for 31 yards to the
TAMU30, 1ST DOWN FS (26-Gregg, Devin;50-Dodge, Mark).
F 1-10 A30 Timeout Fresno State, clock 00:08.
F 1-10 A30 7-Brandstater, T pass incomplete to 13-Crawley, Jason.
F 2-10 A30 39-Stitser, Clint field goal attempt from 47 MISSED - wide left, spot at
TAMU30, clock 00:00.
--------------- 4 plays, 31 yards, TOP 00:25 ---------------

A 1-10 A30 End of half, clock 00:00.

=====END OF 2nd QUARTER=====
FRESNO STATE 0, TEXAS A&M 19
============================

Play-by-Play Summary (3rd quarter)

A 1-10 A30 Start of 3rd quarter, clock 15:00, FS ball on FS30, 39-Stitser, Clint
kickoff 70 yards to the TAMU0, 6-Brown, Pierre return 15 yards to the TAMU15
(30-Bates, Nick).
Nobody picks up the first guy. Not good at all.

A 1-10 A15 TEXAS A&M drive start at 15:00.
A 1-10 A15 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 3 yards to the TAMU18, out-of-bounds
(28-Jefferson, A.J.).
Wallace is late getting to the LB who is free to flow to Goodson, forcing him to
bubble his run out a bit. LaMantia engages but can't keep the block. A&M is really
missing Alexander on this play.

A 2-7 A18 7-McGee, Stephen pass complete to 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. for 8 yards to the
TAMU26, 1ST DOWN TAMU, out-of-bounds (31-Riley, Marcus;28-Jefferson,
A.J.).
McGee has all day. I think that this is a check down to Lane in the flats. The
throw is a little low but catchable and Lane rumbles down the sideline for the first
down. From a different angle, McGee is staring down Goodson, who is lined up as a WR.
Looks like Lane was the second option here.

A 1-10 A26 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 9 yards to the TAMU35 (11-Clutts,
Tyler;31-Riley, Marcus).
Goodson picks his way up the middle. This is well blocked and Goodson gets caught in
traffic behind the offensive line 5 yards downfield. The tackler actually comes from
behind. Nice play.

A 2-1 A35 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush to the TAMU33, fumble by 11-Lane, Jorvorsk.
recovered by TAMU 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. at TAMU33, 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. for 2
yards to the TAMU35.
This play is well designed and well blocked, Lane just doesn't catch the ball on the
option pitch.

A 3-1 A35 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 4 yards to the TAMU39, 1ST DOWN TAMU
(41-Ike, Ikenna;32-Brown, Quaadir).
Awesome QB sneak. McGee gets behind the line and they just blow Fresno State back.
Very impressive play.

A 1-10 A39 7-McGee, Stephen sacked for loss of 8 yards to the TAMU31 (32-Brown,
Quaadir), fumble by 7-McGee, Stephen recovered by FS 4C-Chisom, Todd at
TAMU32.
And I take back all the nice things I just said about the line play. FSU brings 6
rushers. Lane does a good job of picking up the first guy through the middle. McGee
is looking left and never sees the LB who comes around the DT. I think this goes on
Yoder as he and Wallace double-team the DT and then he disengages to try and pick up
the LB. He is late though, and all he can do is wave at the blitzing LB like a matador,
leaving himself on the ground as McGee gets crushed.
--------------- 6 plays, 17 yards, TOP 01:41 ---------------

F 1-10 A32 FRESNO STATE drive start at 13:19.
F 1-10 A32 21-Mathews, Ryan rush for 14 yards to the TAMU18, 1ST DOWN FS
(26-Gregg, Devin;25-Pugh, Jordan).
Bryant (-1) gets double-teamed and absolutely blown off the LOS, leaving a big hole.
Dodge (-1) fills to the wrong side of Bryant and its off to the races.

F 1-10 A18 21-Mathews, Ryan rush for loss of 2 yards to the TAMU20 (95-Smith,
Henry;18-Brown, Arkeith).
Henry Smith (+1) and Cyril Obiozor (+1) own the guard and the tackle, respectively,
and this play is over before it starts. Brown is there to help clean up.

F 2-12 A20 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 13-Crawley, Jason for 4 yards to the
TAMU16 (25-Pugh, Jordan;49-Obiozor, Cyril).
A&M brings Arkeith Brown on a blitz and pays for it with the opening in the flat.
Pugh holds on tight and Obiozor gets there quickly in support. This is a good play
considering the blitz. I like it.

F 3-8 A16 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 85-Pascoe, Bear for 16 yards to the TAMU0,
1ST DOWN FS, TOUCHDOWN, clock 11:37.
39-Stitser, Clint kick attempt good.
A little bit of a weird scheme by A&M here. They line Obiozor up like he is going to
blitz and then drop him into coverage on the snap. Tupe is right there as well, but
he blitzes. Bear Pascoe (I'm really starting to dislike him and, as I recall, it only
gets worse) runs right by Obiozor (-1) who never really has a chance here. Pugh
meets him at the goal line with obvious results given the huge size difference.
============================
FRESNO STATE 7, TEXAS A&M 19
============================

--------------- 4 plays, 32 yards, TOP 01:42 ---------------

39-Stitser, Clint kickoff 65 yards to the TAMU5, 6-Brown, Pierre return 32
yards to the TAMU37 (4-Owens, Damion;23-Jorde, Jake).
I love Pierre Brown as a kick returner. A&M sports a huge advantage in the KO/KR game.

A 1-10 A37 TEXAS A&M drive start at 11:37.
A 1-10 A37 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 6 yards to the TAMU43 (31-Riley, Marcus).
Goodson around the outside. If Keondra Smith can hold the block on the OLB, this is
going for significantly more.

A 2-4 A43 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 1 yard to the TAMU44 (4C-Chisom, Todd;96-Ramos,
Wilson).
Goodson is already dodging guys in the backfield after Clark whiffs on his block.
This messes up the intended hole and it's all down hill from there. Good job by
Goodson not to lose yards.

A 3-3 A44 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 2 yards to the TAMU46, out-of-bounds
(19-Haynes, Marvin).
FSN comes back from the injury commercial and chooses to show some goofy fan and his
wife so the beginning of the play is cut off. All I can say is that it's an option.
The DE forces McGee to pitch early and the safety does an unbelievable job of flying
up to the line and hitting Goodson before he crosses the LOS. This makes me think
that perhaps the option pass is open to exploitation.

A 4-1 A46 16-Brantly, Justin punt 27 yards to the FS27, downed.
--------------- 3 plays, 9 yards, TOP 01:29 ---------------

F 1-10 F27 FRESNO STATE drive start at 10:08.
F 1-10 F27 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 2-Smith, Clifton to the FS30, fumble
forced by 37-Tupe, Misi, fumble by 2-Smith, Clifton recovered by TAMU
77-Patterson, L. at FS30.
Screen Pass here. I think that Tupe (+2) was actually blitzing, but he is stopped at
the line and immediately reads the pass. Tupe chases the play down and forces the
fumble as Dodge is already making the tackle. Lucas Patterson (+1) almost bats the
pass down in the backfield, sticks with the play and is rewarded when a loose ball
materializes right in front of him.
--------------- 1 plays, 3 yards, TOP 00:08 ---------------

A 1-10 F30 TEXAS A&M drive start at 10:00.
A 1-10 F30 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 9 yards to the FS21 (32-Brown,
Quaadir;8-Davis, Sharrod).
This is well blocked by the entire line. Yoder is the pulling guard. He and
LaMantia hit the hole about the same time and bury the DL that is waiting. Lane is a
good 6 or 7 yards downfield before he is touched. Good execution here.

A 2-1 F21 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 4 yards to the FS17, 1ST DOWN TAMU
This is just a standard JORVORSKIE SMASH on a short yardage. Lane finds a crease
between Elder and Babalola and is in the process of making a LB look silly when both
of the safeties arrive to ensure that this play won't show up on the season highlight
reel. (And I really mean that, without the timely help, Lane might have killed that
poor LB.)

(54-Jacobs, Ben;96-Ramos, Wilson).
A 1-10 F17 3-Goodson, Mike rush for loss of 1 yard to the FS18 (96-Ramos, Wilson).
Based on the way LaMantia and Corey are blocking this play, I think that it's
supposed to be bounced outside all the way. A LB blitzes outside-in and forces
Goodson to stay in the middle of the line longer than he would like. The eventual
tackler is initially double-teamed by Babalola and Elder but he eventually squirts
through. The two lineman continue downfield though, so I think that perhaps Goodson
was supposed to be out of harms way by this point. This one gets chalked up to a
timely blitz in the right place by FSU.

A 2-11 F18 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 3 yards to the FS15 (31-Riley,
Marcus;54-Jacobs, Ben).
Goodson reads a hole inside of Babalola but the LB overpowers a Pierre Brown block
and fills.

A 3-8 F15 Timeout Texas A&M, clock 07:29.
McGee continues to look ornery every time he calls a timeout. The film jumps ahead
again here. Arrgh.

A 3-8 F15 7-McGee, Stephen pass incomplete to 13-Bennett, Martel.
A 4-8 F15 7S-Szymanski, Matt field goal attempt from 32 GOOD, clock 07:19.

============================
FRESNO STATE 7, TEXAS A&M 22
============================

--------------- 6 plays, 15 yards, TOP 02:41 ---------------

7S-Szymanski, Matt kickoff 70 yards to the FS0, touchback.
F 1-10 F20 FRESNO STATE drive start at 07:19.
F 1-10 F20 Timeout Fresno State, clock 07:18.
F 1-10 F20 21-Mathews, Ryan rush for 7 yards to the FS27 (37-Tupe, Misi;1C-Carpenter,
Mar.).
F 2-3 F27 21-Mathews, Ryan rush for 5 yards to the FS32, 1ST DOWN FS (37-Tupe,
Misi;9-Dixon, Alton).
F 1-10 F32 21-Mathews, Ryan rush for 5 yards to the FS37 (50-Dodge, Mark;9-Dixon,
Alton).
F 2-5 F37 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 5-Moore, Marlon for 5 yards to the FS42,
1ST DOWN FS (27-Peterson, Jord.).
F 1-10 F42 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 6-Ajirotutu, Seyi for 33 yards to the
TAMU25, 1ST DOWN FS.
F 1-10 A25 21-Mathews, Ryan rush for 5 yards to the TAMU20 (29-Hodge, Stephen;91-Heard,
Kellen).
F 2-5 A20 21-Mathews, Ryan rush for 8 yards to the TAMU12, 1ST DOWN FS
(50-Dodge, Mark;25-Pugh, Jordan).
F 1-10 A12 22-Harding, A rush for 2 yards to the TAMU10 (1B-Bennett, Mich.;50-Dodge,
Mark).
F 2-8 A10 21-Mathews, Ryan rush for 10 yards to the TAMU0, 1ST DOWN FS,
TOUCHDOWN, clock 03:06.
39-Stitser, Clint kick attempt good.

=============================
FRESNO STATE 14, TEXAS A&M 22
=============================

--------------- 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 04:13 ---------------

39-Stitser, Clint kickoff 65 yards to the TAMU5, 6-Brown, Pierre return 18
yards to the TAMU23 (44-Padilla, Frank;10-Lang, Tim).
A 1-10 A23 TEXAS A&M drive start at 03:06.
A 1-10 A23 3-Goodson, Mike rush for no gain to the TAMU23 (31-Riley,
Marcus;54-Jacobs, Ben).
A 2-10 A23 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 5 yards to the TAMU28 (31-Riley, Marcus),
PENALTY TAMU holding (64-Elder, Kirk) 10 yards to the TAMU13, NO
PLAY.
A 2-20 A13 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 5 yards to the TAMU18 (4-Owens,
Damion;47-Machado, Ryan).
A 3-15 A18 7-McGee, Stephen pass incomplete to 3-Goodson, Mike.
A 4-15 A18 16-Brantly, Justin punt 46 yards to the FS36, 2-Smith, Clifton return 8
yards to the FS44 (50-Dodge, Mark).
--------------- 3 plays, minus 5 yards, TOP 02:13 ---------------

F 1-10 F44 FRESNO STATE drive start at 00:53.
F 1-10 F44 21-Mathews, Ryan rush for 16 yards to the TAMU40, 1ST DOWN FS

(26-Gregg, Devin;18-Brown, Arkeith).
F 1-10 A40 21-Mathews, Ryan rush for 7 yards to the TAMU33 (9-Dixon, Alton), PENALTY
FS holding off-setting, PENALTY TAMU face mask off-setting, NO
PLAY.

=====END OF 3rd QUARTER======
FRESNO STATE 14, TEXAS A&M 22
=============================

Play-by-Play Summary (4th quarter)

Tape resumes here..
F 1-10 A40 Start of 4th quarter, clock 15:00.
F 1-10 A40 22-Harding, A rush for 5 yards to the TAMU35 (91-Heard, Kellen;85-Bryant,
Red).
A&M's defense is looking tired here. Nobody gets a lot of push, but Bryant sticks
with it and flows down the line to make the tackle. On the replay, Heard actually
makes first contact after shedding his blocker. Nice play by him.

F 2-5 A35 21-Mathews, Ryan rush for 1 yard to the TAMU34 (91-Heard, Kellen).
This time Heard (+1) stands up the center and then tries to eat the RB as he comes
through the hole

F 3-4 A34 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 5-Moore, Marlon for 25 yards to the TAMU9,
1ST DOWN FS (26-Gregg, Devin;4-Gorrer, Danny).
Quick pass to the inside receiver. Dixon (-2) moves about 3 feet from the snap of
the ball until the WR catches the ball as he runs past him. Gregg is the last
defender and almost whiffs on the tackle. Thank goodness for long shoelaces and tall
grass.

F 1-G A09 22-Harding, A rush for 2 yards to the TAMU7 (37-Tupe, Misi;77-Patterson,
L.).
Thanks to Patterson holding up against a lineman, there isn't a ton of room here.
Tupe fills the gap nicely.

F 2-G A07 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 13-Crawley, Jason for 5 yards to the TAMU2
(37-Tupe, Misi).
Play-action pass. Harrington is dropped in the zone coverage and the WR finds a hole
between him, Dodge and Tupe (coverage -1). Brandstater does a good job of standing
in against some pressure. Tupe lays a big hit on the WR after the catch but it's
too little, too late.

F 3-G A02 22-Harding, A rush for 2 yards to the TAMU0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 11:53.
7-Brandstater, T pass attempt to 6-Ajirotutu, Seyi good.
I think this one is on the coaches. The ball in on the 2 and A&M has 6 and half guys
in the box. Bennett (-1) gets single-teamed out of the play and FSU has more than
enough blockers to slip one through to each Dodge and Tupe. There just isn't anybody
left to make the tackle. As for the two point conversion, A&M actually defends it
pretty well. Brandstater somehow fits the ball in a tiny window.
=============================
FRESNO STATE 22, TEXAS A&M 22
=============================

--------------- 7 plays, 56 yards, TOP 04:00 ---------------

39-Stitser, Clint kickoff 70 yards to the TAMU0, 6-Brown, Pierre return 24
yards to the TAMU24 (38-McCree, Sonny;47-Machado, Ryan).
A 1-10 A24 TEXAS A&M drive start at 11:53.
A 1-10 A24 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 1 yard to the TAMU25 (11-Clutts,
Tyler;54-Jacobs, Ben).
This looks like more zone blocking. Lane cuts it up one gap early, right into guy
who's blocked. If he goes around this block, I think he gets five yards or so.

A 2-9 A25 7-McGee, Stephen pass complete to 8-Franks, Kerry for 9 yards to the
TAMU34, 1ST DOWN TAMU (31-Riley, Marcus;3-Harris, Moses).
One of McGee's better throws this season. He has all day and finds Franks waiting
in a hole in the zone. It worries me that there isn't a progression here. McGee
stares Franks down the entire play.

A 1-10 A34 7-McGee, Stephen pass incomplete to 81-Thomas, Joey.
Option pass. Babalola misses his block entirely (although it was a tough assignment
as the rusher was lined up outside of Joey Thomas. I'd rather see Thomas chip that
guy). Bennett is wide-open five yards down the field, but Thomas looks pretty open
as well (he has position on the safety). McGee gets hit from the backside as he
throws this and that leads to the inaccuracy.

A 2-10 A34 7-McGee, Stephen pass complete to 13-Bennett, Martel for 2 yards to the
TAMU36 (3-Harris, Moses).
Smith motions out to make this a five-wide set. FSU only rushes four so McGee has
all day. Everybody looks covered, although it's tough to tell on TV. McGee doesn't
make a very good throw as Bennett has to fall back towards him to make the catch.

A 3-8 A36 7-McGee, Stephen pass incomplete to 13-Bennett, Martel.
McGee has some time, the DT comes on a delayed stunt though. McGee looks around
but nobody seems open. Finally he lofts one over Bennett on the wheel route as he
gets hit.

A 4-8 A36 16-Brantly, Justin punt 46 yards to the FS18, 2-Smith, Clifton return 16
yards to the FS34 (86-Gbunblee, Amos).
Corey is the first man down the field and he overruns this. Peterson and Taylor
both get blocked and Anthony Lewis whiffs on a bad arm tackle. Poor punt coverage.
--------------- 5 plays, 12 yards, TOP 02:24 ---------------

F 1-10 F34 FRESNO STATE drive start at 09:29.
F 1-10 F34 1st and 10.
F 1-10 F34 22-Harding, A rush for 6 yards to the FS40 (50-Dodge, Mark;9-Dixon, Alton).
This play is not shown.

F 2-4 F40 22-Harding, A rush for no gain to the FS40 (50-Dodge, Mark).
This should have been a 15 yard facemask penalty on Dodge. A&M gets very, very lucky.

F 3-4 F40 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 5-Moore, Marlon for 8 yards to the FS48,
1ST DOWN FS (9-Dixon, Alton;37-Tupe, Misi).
Easy slant pass in front of the zone coverage. Why put the first line of defense
behind the first down line? Dixon closes quickly, but the damage is done.

F 1-10 F48 22-Harding, A rush for no gain to the FS48 (1B-Bennett, Mich.).
Henry Smith (+1) does a nice job of taking on two blockers and not giving any ground.
Bennett (+1) sheds his blocker and makes the tackle.

F 2-10 F48 22-Harding, A rush for 2 yards to the 50 yardline (1B-Bennett, Mich.).
Bennett gives a lot of ground before shedding his blocker and making the tackle.

F 3-8 F50 7-Brandstater, T pass incomplete to 85-Pascoe, Bear (1B-Bennett, Mich.).
Bennett (+1) initially drops into coverage, then, when Brandstater starts to roll out,
he comes in and forces the throwaway. Hard to believe, but this is Brandstater's
first incompletion of the second half. (coverage +1)

F 4-8 F50 35-Zimmerman, Kyle punt 38 yards to the TAMU12, fair catch by 27-Peterson,
Jord..
--------------- 6 plays, 16 yards, TOP 02:53 ---------------

A 1-10 A12 TEXAS A&M drive start at 06:36.
A 1-10 A12 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 23 yards to the TAMU35, 1ST DOWN TAMU
(31-Riley, Marcus;4-Owens, Damion).
This is well blocked. Taylor has the initial block on the corner that springs it and
then Babalola, Bennett and Franks all get nice blocks downfield.

A 1-10 A35 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 3 yards to the TAMU38, out-of-bounds (20-Bell,
Lorne).
Babalola can't hold the corner and McGee has to pitch this early. Taylor makes a
nice block, but nobody picks up the man that forces Goodson out of bounds.

A 2-7 A38 PENALTY FS offside defense (4T-Tolbert, C) 5 yards to the TAMU43.
A 2-2 A43 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 4 yards to the TAMU47, 1ST DOWN TAMU
(32-Brown, Quaadir;20-Bell, Lorne).
McGee elects to keep the ball and run around the end. If Taylor is able to find the
defender, this probably goes for a lot more. Still, A&M will gladly take the first
down.

A 1-10 A47 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 6 yards to the FS47 (4-Owens, Damion).
Again McGee elects to keep the ball. The was the first play that caused me to
grimace as McGee flies through the air in pursuit of extra yards.

A 2-4 F47 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 13 yards to the FS34, 1ST DOWN TAMU
(7D-Roberts, Jason;31-Riley, Marcus).
Another dive to Jorvorskie with a huge hole. Bennett gets a nice block at the second
level and Lane rumbles through a tackle. A&M is rolling here.

A 1-10 F34 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 9 yards to the FS25 (11-Clutts,
Tyler;19-Haynes, Marvin).
LaMantia gets a nice initial block but can't hold it. Goodson eventually gets
tackled by LaMantia's man. Still, a nice play.

A 2-1 F25 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 8 yards to the FS17, 1ST DOWN TAMU
(31-Riley, Marcus).
McGee keeps it again. Nice blocks by Thomas and Babalola to form the hole.

A 1-10 F17 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 9 yards to the FS8 (28-Jefferson, A.J.).
Well blocked run for Lane. Jorvorskie actually eludes the first tackler and then
runs over a guy to get an extra couple of yards. He is a man of many talents.

A 2-1 F08 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 3 yards to the FS5, 1ST DOWN TAMU

(41-Ike, Ikenna;32-Brown, Quaadir).
There isn't a hole here but Lane just keeps driving his feet and eventually is able
to spin/fall forward for the first down.

A 1-G F05 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 5 yards to the FS0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 01:52.
7S-Szymanski, Matt kick attempt good.
FSU is expecting the McGee/Goodson option here and gets Lane up the middle instead.
Good call. Clark owns a DL and opens a hole. Lane actually gets hit by about 3 guys
between the 2 and the 3 yard line. In slow motion it looks like a bowling ball
plowing into some pins, as the defenders fall backwards and lane sort of rolls into
the endzone. Tremendous.

=============================
FRESNO STATE 22, TEXAS A&M 29
=============================

--------------- 10 plays, 88 yards, TOP 04:44 ---------------

7S-Szymanski, Matt kickoff 70 yards to the FS0, touchback.
F 1-10 F20 FRESNO STATE drive start at 01:52.
F 1-10 F20 7-Brandstater, T rush for 6 yards to the FS26 (9-Dixon, Alton;50-Dodge,
Mark).
Brandstater has a little bit of time, but he is eventually flushed by Harrington (+1).
Good job by A&M as the clock is running. (coverage +1).

F 2-4 F26 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 85-Pascoe, Bear for 8 yards to the FS34,
1ST DOWN FS, out-of-bounds (4-Gorrer, Danny).
Tupe (-1) has the coverage here and he is nowhere close to Pascoe. Bad play by A&M
this late in the game. Gorrer might have been able to help but he was too busy
taunting the receiver that he had just pushed out of bounds. Pascoe almost runs him
over trying to stop the clock.

F 1-10 F34 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 2-Smith, Clifton for 2 yards to the FS36
(92-Harrington, C.).
Brandstater throws a perfect pass over the shoulder of his RB in the flat.
Harrington (+1) is nearly perfect in coverage though and gets the immediate tackle.

F 2-8 F36 7-Brandstater, T pass incomplete to 6-Ajirotutu, Seyi (9-Dixon, Alton).
Brandstater has all day to throw this and he puts it right on the numbers of his WR.
Good thing Dixon (+1) is there for a beautifully timed hit.

F 3-8 F36 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 18-Wylie, Devon for 44 yards to the
TAMU20, 1ST DOWN FS, out-of-bounds (4-Gorrer, Danny).
This was A&M's biggest and most important defensive breakdown in the game.
Brandstater rolls and can't find anybody open. He decides to try and force the ball
to Wylie. Instead of playing it safe, Arkeith Brown (-2) goes for the deflection and
misses. He is then way out of position for the tackle and the WR is off and running.
Gorrer finally runs him down at the 20. This is huge mental mistake by Brown this
late in the game. If he instead allows the catch and make the tackle, FSU has to
burn a timeout or hurry up and run a play inside 30 seconds remaining.

F 1-10 A20 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 85-Pascoe, Bear for 17 yards to the TAMU3,
1ST DOWN FS (50-Dodge, Mark;25-Pugh, Jordan).
Pascoe finds a hole in the zone between Dodge and Tupe (coverage -1). This soft
zone is killing A&M in the redzone.

F 1-G A03 Timeout Fresno State, clock 00:25.
F 1-G A03 7-Brandstater, T pass incomplete to 5-Moore, Marlon.
Dixon comes on the blitz and rushes things. Gregg and Dodge have this well covered.
(coverage +1)

F 2-G A03 7-Brandstater, T pass incomplete to 85-Pascoe, Bear.
Brandstater has plenty of time and then rolls out into Bryant's (+1) rush.
(coverage +1)

F 3-G A03 7-Brandstater, T pass incomplete to 85-Pascoe, Bear.
Dixon (+1) comes unblocked and forces the quick throwaway. Nice time for that blitz.

F 4-G A03 Timeout Fresno State, clock 00:10.
F 4-G A03 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 85-Pascoe, Bear for 3 yards to the TAMU0,
TOUCHDOWN, clock 00:05.
39-Stitser, Clint kick attempt good.
Harrington comes completely untouched. Brandstater is running for his life and just
flicks a little prayer to the back line. Somehow Pugh (-1) has completely forgotten
about Pascoe in the back of the endzone and Fresno State gets tremendously lucky in
tying this thing up. Arrgh. Plus, how can you forget about Pascoe? He's been
shredding A&M all game long.
=============================
FRESNO STATE 29, TEXAS A&M 29
=============================

--------------- 10 plays, 80 yards, TOP 01:47 ---------------

39-Stitser, Clint kickoff 43 yards to the TAMU27, 6-Brown, Pierre return 9
yards to the TAMU36 (39-Stitser, Clint).
A 1-10 A36 TEXAS A&M drive start at 00:05.
A 1-10 A36 End of game, clock 00:00.

=====END OF 4th QUARTER======
FRESNO STATE 29, TEXAS A&M 29
=============================

For some reason, FSN decided to cut the entire first overtime out of the replay.
I swear that they gave a couple of kids with scissors total editorial control on
what they cut from the game. Arrgh.

Play-by-Play Summary (OT quarter)

A 1-10 A36 Start of OT quarter, clock 15:00, Change of possession, TAMU ball on
FS25, 1st and 10.
A 1-10 F25 TEXAS A&M drive start at 15:00.
A 1-10 F25 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 12 yards to the FS13, 1ST DOWN TAMU
(7D-Roberts, Jason).
A 1-10 F13 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 1 yard to the FS12 (31-Riley,
Marcus;54-Jacobs, Ben).
A 2-9 F12 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 2 yards to the FS10 (28-Jefferson,
A.J.;3-Harris, Moses).
A 3-7 F10 Timeout Texas A&M, clock 15:00.
A 3-7 F10 7-McGee, Stephen pass incomplete to 6-Brown, Pierre.
A 4-7 F10 7S-Szymanski, Matt field goal attempt from 27 GOOD, clock 15:00.

=============================
FRESNO STATE 29, TEXAS A&M 32
=============================

A 1-G A30 Change of possession, FS ball on TAMU25, 1st and 10.
--------------- 5 plays, 15 yards, TOP 00:00 ---------------

F 1-10 A25 FRESNO STATE drive start at 15:00.
F 1-10 A25 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 5-Moore, Marlon to the TAMU1, fumble
forced by 1C-Carpenter, Mar., fumble by 5-Moore, Marlon recovered by TAMU
26-Gregg, Devin at TAMU0, touchback, PENALTY TAMU personal foul
(95-Smith, Henry) 13 yards to the TAMU12, 1ST DOWN FS, NO PLAY.
F 1-10 A12 22-Harding, A rush for 1 yard to the TAMU11 (91-Heard, Kellen;25-Pugh,
Jordan).
F 2-9 A11 22-Harding, A rush for 1 yard to the TAMU10 (4-Gorrer, Danny;85-Bryant,
Red).
F 3-8 A10 7-Brandstater, T rush for 2 yards to the TAMU8 (1B-Bennett, Mich.).
F 4-6 A08 39-Stitser, Clint field goal attempt from 25 GOOD, clock 15:00.

=============================
FRESNO STATE 32, TEXAS A&M 32
=============================

F 1-G F30 Change of possession, FS ball on TAMU25, 1st and 10.
--------------- 4 plays, 17 yards, TOP 00:00 ---------------

F 1-10 A25 FRESNO STATE drive start at 15:00.
F 1-10 A25 22-Harding, A rush for loss of 3 yards to the TAMU28 (92-Harrington, C.).
This is just a quick pitch to the left out of a shotgun formation. Harrington (+2)
easily defeats Pascoe's block (perhaps the first mistake Pascoe makes in this game)
and runs the play down from behind. Great play.

F 2-13 A28 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 85-Pascoe, Bear for 12 yards to the TAMU16
(25-Pugh, Jordan).
And Pascoe comes right back with another big play. Brandstater makes a nice throw
as Pugh (-1) isn't far behind Pascoe. Still, Pugh runs way up the play and allows
Pascoe to slip behind him. He needs to turn earlier to run with the receiver.

F 3-1 A16 22-Harding, A rush for 4 yards to the TAMU12, 1ST DOWN FS (4-Gorrer,
Danny;1B-Bennett, Mich.).
I don't actually think that A&M does a bad job defending this play. It looks like
the RB is about to run into one of his lineman when a sliver of a hole opens and he
somehow squirts through. It's a tough time in the game for things like this to
happen, but I don't see how any single player could have done better here. Perhaps
A&M needs a 3 LB set for times like this?

F 1-10 A12 22-Harding, A rush for 2 yards to the TAMU10 (1B-Bennett, Mich.;37-Tupe,
Misi).
Bennett (+1) doesn't do much against the blocker, but does shake off the block when
the RB approaches. A very large number of his tackles came this way.

F 2-8 A10 22-Harding, A rush for 8 yards to the TAMU2, 1ST DOWN FS (9-Dixon,
Alton;25-Pugh, Jordan).
Bennett (-1) tries the same trick here, shaking his blocker as the RB arrives, but
this time the RB runs through his arm tackle. Inside of the 10 that tackle has to
be made. A&M is only playing with 6 men in the box and it costs them. Tupe is
blocked directly and can't impact the play. Dodge gets taken out by the FB and
pulling guard, both coming through the hole. Pugh (-1) comes up in run support but
doesn't see the RB hiding behind his blockers (and the RB is fairly low, still
stumbling from the Bennett contact. This is a very ugly play to give up this close
to the goal line.

F 1-G A02 22-Harding, A rush for 1 yard to the TAMU1 (50-Dodge, Mark;91-Heard,
Kellen).
This is a much better play by the defense. Henry Smith (+1) takes on two blockers
and isn't moved. Heard (+1) doesn't allow any push by his blocker and mucks up the
play. Obiozor (+1) steams across the line and occupies two blockers and Tupe (+1)
fights off a Pascoe block and is the first man to the ball.

F 2-G A01 22-Harding, A rush for no gain to the TAMU1 (46-Featherston, M.;95-Smith,
Henry).
I believe that this is the exact same play FSU just ran. Again the whole right side
of the line looks good, but it is Obiozor (+1) that creates the most havoc. Matt
Featherstone and Arkeith Brown both fill, but neither seems intent on finding and
wrapping up the ball carrier who spins down dangerously close to the goal line.

F 3-G A01 22-Harding, A rush for 1 yard to the TAMU0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 15:00.
39-Stitser, Clint kick attempt good.
Apparently the third time is the charm for FSU. This time Obiozor (-1) can't hold
and a blocker gets through to Tupe to boot. Dixon comes on a run blitz and Gorrer
is the only guy with a shot at stopping this. Too bad that the pulling guard throws
an easy block.

=============================
FRESNO STATE 39, TEXAS A&M 32
=============================

F 1-G F30 Change of possession, TAMU ball on FS25, 1st and 10.
--------------- 8 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00 ---------------

A 1-10 F25 TEXAS A&M drive start at 15:00.
A 1-10 F25 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 4 yards to the FS21, out-of-bounds (20-Bell,
Lorne).
McGee fakes the inside hand-off to Lane and runs the option with Goodson. It's
interesting how A&M blocks this. Babalola initially acts like he is blocking the
inside run and then turns and follows the play out. He is unable to catch up with
LB, who forces the pitch. Fresno again has a safety flying up on this play and he
ends up with force out.

A 2-6 F21 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 1 yard to the FS20 (54-Jacobs, Ben).
Very similar play, but to the other side of the field this time. The LB reads the
play all the way and forces a very early pitch. Bennett doesn't get a very good
block on the OLB and he and the safety converge on Goodson quickly. More on this in
the commentary.

A 3-5 F20 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 12 yards to the FS8, 1ST DOWN TAMU

(28-Jefferson, A.J.;3-Harris, Moses).
This is an option to the left, out of the power-I, WR/FB in motion formation. Both
the LB and the safety fly to Goodson long before McGee is ready to pitch. Clark does
a nice job sealing the corner of the line and McGee has a huge seam to cut to (with
both contain men already far in the backfield). Bennett and Corey both have nice
downfield blocks and McGee has a first down before anybody touches him.

A 1-G F08 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 2 yards to the FS6 (20-Bell,
Lorne;2D-Jenkins, Damon).
Same formation as the last play, this time with Lane as the deep back. He runs the
ball off tackle. Corey looks indecisive and doesn't block the first guy on the
outside. As a result, LaMantia can't block the LB and he whiffs on the outside guy
anyway. Lane never has a chance and makes a heck of a play to get the two yards he
does.

A 2-G F06 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 4 yards to the FS2 (54-Jacobs,
Ben;11-Clutts, Tyler).
McGee splits out as a WR and the ball is snapped directly to Jorvorskie who runs up
the middle. Fresno would be caught unaware if A&M could get this play off quicker.
A big hole is open in the middle of the line but, with five wideouts, nobody is
around to block the second level defenders and spring this play for a TD.

A 3-G F02 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 2 yards to the FS0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 15:00.
As the teams are lining up for this play, Fresno State has another injured player.
This is good for A&M as Lane had initially gone off for a breather. With the extra
time, he is back on the field. This is the same Lane-up-the-middle play that has
been so devastating all game long. Jorvorskie is able to just power his way to the
TD.

A 1-G F03 Timeout Fresno State, clock 15:00.
7S-Szymanski, Matt kick attempt good.

=============================
FRESNO STATE 39, TEXAS A&M 39
=============================

A 1-G A30 Change of possession, TAMU ball on FS25, 1st and 10.
--------------- 6 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00 ---------------

A 1-10 F25 TEXAS A&M drive start at 15:00.
A 1-10 F25 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 2 yards to the FS23 (50-Banks,
Cornell;7D-Roberts, Jason).
Same power-I formation. Goodson starts left but LaMantia misses his block and
Goodson is forced to cut right. It looks for a moment that he might break it
outside, but all his cutting has left many of his blockers on the wrong side of
their defenders and the defenders are free to pursue.

A 2-8 F23 3-Goodson, Mike rush for 1 yard to the FS22 (41-Ike, Ikenna).
This is the Lane TD play, only with Goodson in place of Lane. The line doesn't get
much push and there really isn't anywhere for Goodson to go.

A 3-7 F22 7-McGee, Stephen rush for 8 yards to the FS14, 1ST DOWN TAMU
(32-Brown, Quaadir;41-Ike, Ikenna).
McGee runs the option and again takes advantage of the two defenders flying to
Goodson. Bennett gets a nice kick-out block and McGee is able to sneak across the
first down line.

A 1-10 F14 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 6 yards to the FS8 (41-Ike, Ikenna;50-Banks,
Cornell).
Lane again up the middle. The line is all over the place but Lane is able to pick
his way through. Lane fumbles but falls on it immediately.

A 2-4 F08 Fumble by 11-Lane, Jorvorsk..
A 2-4 F08 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 3 yards to the FS5 (54-Jacobs,
Ben;7D-Roberts, Jason).
Similar play to the last one. The line push is very 'meh' and Lane barrels into the
middle for a couple of yards.

A 3-1 F05 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 2 yards to the FS3, 1ST DOWN TAMU
(41-Ike, Ikenna;4T-Tolbert, C).
Lane again up the middle, this time out of the split back formation (like his
previous TDs). The ball isn't really secure and he takes a pop a couple of yards
behind the LOS from a LB. Lane keeps his balance though and tiptoes around Cody
Wallace where he is met by another FSU defender a yard or so from the first down
marker. Jorvorskie puts his head down though, driving the FSU player backwards for
the extra two yards and the first down. This is an incredible effort play and
quintessential Lane.

A 1-G F03 11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush for 3 yards to the FS0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 15:00.
For the fourth straight play, Lane takes the ball up the gut. The blocking is
pretty good here. Babalola and Elder double-team and crush one DT. The DE can't
close down quickly enough and Lane powers through his puny arm tackle for the TD.

A 1-G F03 Timeout Texas A&M, clock 15:00.
11-Lane, Jorvorsk. rush attempt good.
A&M spreads it out and again runs Lane up the middle. The blocking is superb and
Lane is never touched. Fresno State is very, very tired at this point.

=============================
FRESNO STATE 39, TEXAS A&M 47
=============================

A 1-G A30 Change of possession, FS ball on TAMU25, 1st and 10.
--------------- 7 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00 ---------------

F 1-10 A25 FRESNO STATE drive start at 15:00.
F 1-10 A25 7-Brandstater, T rush for 5 yards to the TAMU20 (4-Gorrer, Danny).
Brandstater has a bunch of time. Eventually Harrington (+1) comes all the way around
the pocket and chases him out (coverage +1).

F 2-5 A20 22-Harding, A rush for 2 yards to the TAMU18 (37-Tupe, Misi;4-Gorrer,
Danny).
Henry Smith (-1) gets moved out of the way, but Tupe does a nice job filling this
hole.

F 3-3 A18 22-Harding, A rush for 4 yards to the TAMU14, 1ST DOWN FS,
out-of-bounds (25-Pugh, Jordan).
Both Gorrer (-1) and Bennett (-1) surrender the corner here. Pugh is flowing to the
ball, but can't get there in time. Costly time to give up a key run.

F 1-10 A14 22-Harding, A rush for 1 yard to the TAMU13 (77-Patterson, L.;50-Dodge,
Mark).
Patterson (+1) runs through TWO blocks to make this tackle. Very nice play.

F 2-9 A13 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 13-Crawley, Jason for 4 yards to the TAMU9
(25-Pugh, Jordan;49-Obiozor, Cyril).
Dixon blitzes and that opens the quick pass in front of Pugh. Still, Pugh does a
good job of closing quickly.

F 3-5 A09 7-Brandstater, T pass complete to 85-Pascoe, Bear for 9 yards to the TAMU0,
1ST DOWN FS, TOUCHDOWN, clock 15:00.
Brandstater rolls out. Somebody is coming hard, but I can't tell who, he almost
makes the sack and definitely pressures the throw (on replay it is clearly Misi Tupe).
Pascoe finds a soft spot in the coverage (coverage -1) between Cyril Obiozor and
Jordan Pugh and Brandstater delivers a mildly catchable throw (although Pascoe makes
a great catch).

F 1-G A03 Timeout Fresno State, clock 15:00.
7-Brandstater, T pass attempt failed.
Brandstater has time here, there isn't a ton of pressure. Still, this throw feels
rushed. Coverage is good across the board (coverage +1) and Devin Gregg (+1) is
running step for step with the receiver. Great, timely defensive play.
=============================
FRESNO STATE 45, TEXAS A&M 47
=============================

--------------- 6 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00 ---------------

=============================
FRESNO STATE 45, TEXAS A&M 47
=============================

If you are still reading, you deserve a medal. If you skipped down from the top, welcome to the analysis section. I'm going to start with some commentary on the offense and then move to the defense. The +/- for the defensive players is tabulated at the beginning of that section.

OFFENSE

Stephen McGee
Much has been made on discussion boards this week about A&M's passing game and the role of McGee in it. Based on the film that I watched, I really believe that McGee was a competent thrower this past Saturday and the lack of production comes from a decision on behalf of the coaches to run the ball more. When McGee had time to throw, he usually delivered accurate passes. It is not his fault if the coaches don't call plays with deep routes more often. When they did, there was usually too much pressure to complete the pass. If I have any criticism of McGee, it's his lack of a progression. It was very rare to see him look at more than one receiver in a given pass play. This may not come this season, and that has me a little bit worried. McGee's running and leadership in this game were, as always, exceptional.

Mike Goodson
Another source of hand-wringing this week is the lack of production from Goodson. This is silly. On tape, it is very apparent that every time A&M ran the option with Goodson, both a safety and a linebacker would fly to him. Fresno State made it a priority to take Goodson out of the game; Lane and McGee made them pay dearly. By the fourth quarter, Goodson was being used effectively as a decoy to set up big runs, usually by McGee, but occasionally by Lane as well. Also encouraging was Goodson's use in the pass game. I'm a big proponent of this and I think that Goodson will be more effective in the week's to come, following Lane's 4 TD explosion.

Jorvorskie Lane
Hands down the best player on the field this week. He gave a superior effort this week. Classic J-Train... in fact, this might be the game that most defines his time at A&M.

Martellus Bennett, Joey Thomas
I would still like to see Bennett used more in the vertical passing game, but A&M didn't really need him to do that this week. Thomas just missed having a catch for a big gain, but McGee didn't have time to get him the ball. Both were superb blockers this week. I'm not a bit worried about either one.

The Wide Receivers
Corey and Taylor especially contributed as blockers this week. I only saw Roger Holland on one play this week and it's pretty clear that he isn't ready to contribute as a blocker just yet. Knowing this, I wonder why the coaches insist on using him this way. Franks had a nice catch or two, but both he and Pierre Brown were pretty quiet. If I was worried about one thing on the offense, it's that this group never seems to be open.

Chris Alexander, Nick LaMantia
I love LaMantia as a special teams player. He is an energy guy who gives his all on every play. Still, Alexander is a special talent at the FB position and LaMantia was a long way from replacing him after the injury. The offense is much more effective with Alexander in the game. A&M needs a healthy Alexander when they go to Miami.

The Offensive Line
These guys were up and down. The pass protection, especially on delayed blitzes and stunts needs work. The run blocking was generally very good, although there were a few breakdowns evident on key plays. One thing I was surprised by was how much switching the line did back and forth between the power and finesse styles. This unit is good, but Jorvorskie Lane makes them look even better in the power running game.

DEFENSE

Player +/-/T
Harrington 7/0/7
Bennett 3/3/0
Obiozor 3/2/1
Gbunblee 1/0/1
Freeney 0/0/-1
H.Smith 4/1/3
Bryant 2/1/1
Patterson 3/0/3
Heard 3/0/3
Tupe 4/1/3
Dodge 0/1/-1
Featherstone 0/2/-2
Lewis 1/0/1
Gorrer 0/1/-1
A. Brown 0/2/-2
Carpenter 2/0/2
Pugh 1/3/-2
Dixon 2/3/-1
Gregg 1/0/1
coverage 7/5/2

The Defensive Line
A&M has clearly defined a rotation here, and I think that this is the most improved unit on the defense. Harrington and Smith were both outstanding. Bryant quietly had a nice game and both Heard and Patterson have very bright futures. Opposite Harrington, Bennett is great against the pass and runs that come inside him. He is fair shakier at keeping contain on outside runs. Cyril Obiozor is effective as a down lineman, but seemed to struggle when asked to drop back in zone coverage. I'll admit it, this group has me excited.

The Linebackers
I thought Misi Tupe played one heck of a game. He's quick and his instincts usually put him in the right place. The score on Mark Dodge is misleading. I only saw him make one mistake all game. On the other hand, he didn't make any flashy plays. He is rock solid. Anthony Lewis looked good in limited minutes. Matt Featherstone is going to be good but isn't quite there yet.

The Defensive Backs
Another guy with a surprising score is Alton Dixon. He was asked to blitz a lot. I thought he played above his score. Overall, the defensive backs haven't looked great these last two weeks, but I really believe that it's scheme related. The big plays don't help. If Arkeith Brown makes a tackle on the big pass of the last play of regulation, there are a lot less worried A&M fans in the world. Carpenter was very, very impressive. I hope he plays more next week. With all the spotty film I didn't see much of Jordan Peterson. Devin Gregg was his usual solid self. This defense puts Jordan Pugh in a lot of tough positions. He makes the best of it in run support, but I wonder if he isn't a better fit somewhere else with a bulkier player at WHIP.

If you've made it this far, well that's it. Gig 'Em.

Week 2 BlogPoll Ballot

2007-09-11T22:44:00.001-04:00

I ran into laptop problems tonight (the battery... it's not infinite) so I'll have the Fresno State wrap-up posted tomorrow night. I think that it's going to be a good post. In the meantime, here is my BlogPoll ballot for this week.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	LSU	1
2	Oklahoma	1
3	Southern Cal	2
4	California	--
5	Florida	11
6	Penn State	2
7	UCLA	2
8	Texas	5
9	South Carolina	9
10	Wisconsin	3
11	Arkansas	3
12	Ohio State	1
13	West Virginia	3
14	Louisville	8
15	Oregon	2
16	Georgia Tech	10
17	Boston College	6
18	Nebraska	3
19	Cincinnati	7
20	Texas A&M	1
21	Washington	5
22	Missouri	3
23	South Florida	3
24	Virginia Tech	19
25	Rutgers	1

Dropped Out: Miami (Florida) (#12), Auburn (#20), Oregon State (#21), Boise State (#22), TCU (#24).

What an unbelievable mess, eh? After #4 I feel like I'm out of top 10 teams. After #8 I can't find anybody I like in the top 15. Big movers are:

-Florida - I just can't find anybody I like less.

-South Carolina - Big win and I had them pretty high in the preseason.

-Louisville - They fall because the defense looked terrible this week.

-Georgia Tech - Not ranking them last week was a mistake on my part. Again, I dislike them less than a lot of teams.

-Cincinnati - I really, really wanted to put them on my preseason ballot because of all the returning talent. A completely different coaching style/system scared me away, but I regret that now.

-Virginia Tech - Did not look good. I'm open to moving them up if they bounce back.

Curtis Granderson Joins 20-20-20-20 Club

2007-09-07T21:35:00.000-04:00

Curtis Granderson just hit his 20th home run of the year tonight. He already had 21 triples, 36 doubles and 85 singles for the year. This puts him in elite company. Only Willie Mays (1957) and George Brett (1979) have had 20-20-20-20 seasons since World War II. With 19 steals, he will likely join the 20-20-20-20-20 club before the season ends. Congratulations to a fantastic young baseball player.

BlogPoll Roundtable #2

2007-09-04T23:54:00.001-04:00

The roundtable is hosted this week by Hey Jenny Slater. My responses:

1. By the end of the season, some previously unheralded teams' bandwagons will be so full they'll be having to bump passengers and offer them free vouchers and first-class upgrades; others will have emptied out in a big way. On whose bandwagon are you already scrambling to save a seat? Conversely, which team's bandwagon is being driven by Toonces the Driving Cat, prompting you to leap off now before it careens over a cliff to its fiery death below?

Save me a seat on the bandwagons of Boston College, Cal and Miami. I think that Miami will bounce back in a big way, BC should contend for an ACC title and this could be the year Cal finally breaks through.

I'm staying away from Florida, who I think is in for a wild ride this season.

2. What do you think was opening weekend's biggest mirage -- either a "big win" over a team that isn't really as good as everyone thinks, or an embarrassing loss (or embarrassingly close win) that won't seem quite as embarrassing by season's end?

I think that by the end of the season, Syracuse will be less embarrassed about getting blown out by Washington then they are right now. Despite a schedule that could have been designed by Alberto Gonzalez (and his loose definition of torture) I think that Washington is going to be darn good this year.

3. Compared to how you felt Friday night, how do you feel now about your team's chances this season? I'm not just talking about your impressions of your own team -- also take into account their prospects relative to this year's opponents, whom you've also gotten a little more acquainted with after this past weekend's action.

It's tough to project much about the Aggies from a grinding, sometimes sloppy, win over a I-AA opponent. Looking ahead at the schedule, Oklahoma State, Missouri and Texas all looked very beatable and that gives some reason for optimism. On the other hand, Miami, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma all looked very strong. Overall I think the schedule looks tougher than it did a week ago. At this point, I'd be quite happy with another 9 win regular season.

4. Looking at how those future opponents performed this past weekend, which developments are you most excited about? Which of your opponents' performances have you a little worried?

I was very enthused to see the Texas offense struggle. Oklahoma seems to have a quarterback though, and that's a bummer.

5. There are now 32 bowls in D-IA football, meaning 64 bowl teams, meaning any given team now stands a better-then-50-percent chance of going to a bowl. To get that number under 50 percent, we'd have to eliminate three bowls. Which ones would you get rid of?

1. Motor City Bowl - The MAC champion deserves better and how much fun can it be for two midwestern teams to get to go all the way to Detroit in December?

2. GMAC Bowl - It's way too late in the year (Jan. 6th), in Mobile, and features exclusively mid-majors.

3. The PapaJohns.com Bowl - Was it really necessary to name this after the website? Couldn't it just be the Papa John's Bowl? Or the "This-isn't-actually-a-bowl-because-we-didn't-need-another-bowl Bowl"?

6. And finally, in 50 words or less, how happy are you that it's finally football season again?

Well, I'm a Michigan alum. I was under the impression that we have almost 12 months until football season starts. Is this not the case? Just in case somebody decides to play this season, I've got the HDTV installed and the ESPNHD flowing. It's going to be a fun year.

BlogPoll Ballot, Post Carnage Edition

2007-09-04T23:26:00.000-04:00

I'm still just a bit put out with the Michigan result. I seriously considered throwing Appalachian State in the 25th spot, but they don't seem to be eligible. Without enough evidence to put together a credible resume method, although I'll switch over in a week or two, I tried to judge how good each team looked and combined this with my preseason expectations. Here we go:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	--
2	LSU	--
3	Oklahoma	2
4	California	3
5	Virginia Tech	2
6	Louisville	6
7	Wisconsin	6
8	Penn State	3
9	UCLA	--
10	West Virginia	--
11	Ohio State	6
12	Miami (Florida)	2
13	Texas	7
14	Arkansas	1
15	Nebraska	6
16	Florida	3
17	Oregon	3
18	South Carolina	10
19	Texas A&M	1
20	Auburn	2
21	Oregon State	4
22	Boise State	4
23	Boston College	3
24	TCU	--
25	Missouri	2

Dropped Out: Michigan (#4), Florida State (#16).

As you can see, Michigan was the big faller. A few teams (Louisville, Ohio State, Nebraska) took big jumps because teams fell out ahead of them. The Virginia Tech running game doesn't have me convinced and they slide a bit. Texas should be self-explanatory. I thought South Caroline struggled too much to warrant the high ranking that I had given them. Other than those, I think the ballot is pretty standard. Comments and suggestions are always appreciated.

Montana St. Postgame Comments

2007-09-02T23:03:00.000-04:00

It's Sunday night and I'm finally feeling rehydrated so I'll get some thoughts about the game on paper before they flit out of my head. I haven't come across any video from the game, so everything here is based on my observations from the game. Without video I find it nearly impossible to evaluate offensive line play and the run defense. Like I said, I'm working from memory, so if I get something wrong please feel free to correct me in the comment section.

A win here is win. You don't get style points for beating I-AA teams no matter how you go about doing it, so better to play conservatively and move on. In the end, I felt like this was a workmanlike, grinding win. Nothing that A&M did was flashy. Some areas of concern were apparent, but I see also plenty of reason for optimism (especially in the passing game). So, while I would probably rate the Aggie's overall performance as solidly "meh", its a "meh" that I found myself very satisfied with.

Offense
-Stephen McGee seemed to struggle early in the passing game (his rushing ability was good all game long). Somewhere in the middle of the 3rd quarter though, he seemed to settle in and his throws became noticeably more accurate. This wasn't really reflected in the stats though because...

-The wide receivers couldn't catch a cold. On several occasions passed hit receivers in the hands and were dropped. EJ Shankle may be lightning quick, but until he can reliably catch the football I don't think he'll see the field much. Three completions to WR's on the game isn't going to get it done. This needs to improve. (Although, like I said, McGee got better as the game went along. I'm think the pass game will improve and I'm excited to see how much better they are next week.)

-Mike Goodson was probably A&M's best all-around player. I was very happy to see him used in the pass game. He is going to be very, very effective this season.

-Martellus Bennett was pretty quiet, although he did have the best pass break up of the game. Too bad the pass was about to be caught by Chris Alexander in the back corner of the endzone.

-Micheal Corey played a lot at WR. He was surprisingly effective in the spring game and I hope he continues to play. Corey seems like an enthusiastic blocker and his height makes him a potential threat in the red zone, something that A&M needs.

-Chris Alexander quietly had a great game. Jorvorskie Lane was Jorvorskie Lane.

-Jerrod Johnson flashed the raw athleticism that gets everybody so excited in the fourth quarter. He is one heck of a runner. Watching his TD pass live, I really thought it was a poor throw with a great catch. On replay though, Johnson put the ball the only place he could. Good work by Terrance McCoy to recognize this and make a nice low catch for the score.

Defense
-Micheal Bennett was very, very good when rushing the quarterback. He batted down two passes and by getting up the air, rushed a third throw that ended up being a functional throwaway. I'm not really sold on him against the run, but it will be nice to have pressure coming from both sides this season.

-I didn't really see much from the rest of line. (And that isn't necessarily a bad thing, just nothing stands out in my memory.) Chris Harrington and Cyril Obiozor both had nice numbers. Lucas Patterson looked competent and I find that encouraging.

-At linebacker, Mark Dodge and Misi Tupe looked like A&M's best options. Matt Featherstone and Anthony Lewis played extensively, both are great athletes, but neither exhibited the instincts that Dodge and Tupe possess. Lewis had a nice blitz or two and I didn't see a play out of either that made me groan. The future seems bright at this position.

-In the secondary, both Jordan Peterson and Arkeith Brown had textbook pass break ups. Marquis Carpenter had a nice game (including an interception) and looked like he was having a lot of fun. Montana State's biggest pass play of the game came right before the half. Live it looked like Peterson got burned, but on replay I think that perhaps Devin Gregg was supposed to have the deep spot in the double coverage. Gregg was outrun deep, something that will have to be fixed as the season goes along.

Special Teams
-The kickoff and kick return teams were excellent. Both of these units should be a plus for A&M this season.

-The punt unit looked good but not spectacular. They should be fine.

-I was all set to praise Jordan Peterson here for making some good decisions and not trying to do to much in the punt return game. Then he goes out and badly muffs a punt catch and now I'm not sure what to think about this area. Peterson isn't dynamic enough to justify his continued use here if he doesn't have great hands. If Shankle's hands improve, I could see him being good here.

-Like I said, comments are welcome and encouraged.

Stunned, Speechless

2007-09-01T16:52:00.000-04:00

This one's going to take some time to get over. It's not everyday that the alma mater becomes the greatest victim of an upset in college football history. I tell myself that I still have the Aggies, but I don't really mean it. The peaks never seem as high as the valleys are deep.

Final Preseason BlogPoll Ballot

2007-08-29T00:09:00.001-04:00

Well, here's the final version of my preseason ballot. I took into account the responses to the latest roundtable and adjusted some flaws that I was aware of (like Wisconsin). A couple of quick comments follow the rankings.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	--
2	LSU	--
3	Virginia Tech	--
4	Michigan	--
5	Oklahoma	--
6	Texas	1
7	California	5
8	South Carolina	1
9	UCLA	1
10	West Virginia	4
11	Penn State	--
12	Louisville	2
13	Wisconsin	3
14	Miami (Florida)	1
15	Arkansas	2
16	Florida State	1
17	Ohio State	4
18	Texas A&M	4
19	Florida	1
20	Oregon	3
21	Nebraska	1
22	Auburn	4
23	Missouri	1
24	TCU	1
25	Oregon State	1

Dropped Out: Georgia (#19).

Mostly I slid teams around to where I felt most comfortable. The only rankings I'm not happy with are Texas at #6 and Cal at #7. Only I like the teams behind them even less.

The biggest change was dropping Georgia from the poll in favor of Oregon State. I started my first poll this year by putting together a list of about 50 teams that I thought deserved further scrutiny. I then went through and considered coaching situations, returning contributors and the positions that the returning starters played. When I did this, Georgia wasn't anywhere near the top 25. Somewhere along the way I convinced myself to put them back in, but I'm returning to my original take after some strong arguments from around the blogosphere. (The question marks on the offensive line finally won me back over.) I also slid Auburn down a bit.

Cal is the biggest mover, but for no better reason than that I couldn't find a team in the next three or four to put in that seventh spot. Of course, I have something of a history for gloriously overrating Cal. I think that I paid my penance for last year's preseason #1 as I sat through the second half of the Holiday Bowl though. If Cal lays another turd against Tennessee on Saturday, I promise to banish them from my rankings until they beat USC.

Texas A&M drops a bit because I hate being a blatant homer and I may have talked myself into thinking the defense is a lot better than it is. We'll see how they look on Saturday.

BlogPoll Roundtable: Preseason Poll Edition

2007-08-26T23:34:00.000-04:00

For the Preseason BlogPoll Roundtable, Brian from mgoblog asks two simple questions:

Who is overrated?

Who is underrated?

The rankings indicated are from the first preseason BlogPoll.

Overrated:

#7 Florida
The Gators strike me as the kind of team that could very well upset LSU in Baton Rouge and then get blown out in their next game at Kentucky. I just don't see where the consistency is going to come from. Tim Tebow is talented but is also Florida's leading returning rusher. The leading returning rusher among the running backs is Kestahn Moore who managed 282 yards a season ago. In other words, despite four returning starters on the offensive line, I think that the running game is going to be bad. According to my Phil Steele preview, the defense plans to start 6 players in their second season (4 So., 2 R-Fr.). There is talent across the board, but I think the lack of experience could well mean a wild ride for the Gators in 2007.

#23 Hawaii
Colt Brennan has really pretty numbers, but is that enough to make Hawaii a top 25 team? The defense wasn't particularly good last season, allowing 24.1 points per game (and that was the best in recent memory). Gone are the top two pass rushers (Purcell and Alama-Francis). Against teams with a credible track record (Alabama, Boise State, Fresno State, Purdue and Oregon State) the defensive points allowed per games jumps to 34.6. Yikes. Hawaii will also need to find a way to replace Nate Ilaoa, their only running threat besides Brennan. All in all, I expect Hawaii will run off a bunch of victories against second rate competition, but they don't belong in the top 25 until they prove that they can beat somebody good.

Underrated:

#8 Virginia Tech
This is probably a quibble, but I really believe that the Hokies are a top 5 team. The offensive line should be improved in front of a backfield that returns all rushers of note from last season (including Branden Ore who was pretty good). On the passing side, QB Sean Glennon is experienced and has his top two wideouts back. The defense is deep and relatively experienced. I think Virginia Tech is poised for a big year.

#22 South Carolina
I think that this is the year that the Gamecocks take a big jump under Steve Spurrier. He has been around long enough for the offense to sink in (third year). Speaking of the offense, they will need to replace Sidney Rice and three starters from the line, but eight lineman return with starting experience and WR Kenny McKinley quietly had a nice season. On defense South Carolina returns 10 starters from a unit that wasn't terrible. South Carolina should take another step forward this season.

Miami (FL)
I have to admit that I was surprised to see Miami get so few votes in the first BlogPoll. The coaching change gives me some hesitation, but Randy Shannon is coming from within the program, so I can't imagine the learning curve being steep. The offense returns 9 starters (including 4 on the line and QB Kyle Wright who had last season shortened by an injury). I think the offense will be much improved. The defense should be pretty good again, especially in the back seven. Barring another complete meltdown, Miami will be much, much better in 2007.

TCU
Texas Christian is my token mid-major. (I figured that since I don't think much of Hawaii, I ought to have at least one.) The Horned Frogs return 9 starters on a defense that allowed only 12.3 points per game last year. The offense may need a bit of work, but top rusher Aaron Brown returns. All told, I think this defense is good enough to warrant a top 25 ranking.

Preliminary Preseason BlogPoll Ballot

2007-08-20T23:37:00.000-04:00

So the BlogPoll is trying something new this year. All of the voters are going to submit two preseason ballots. The first is due by Wednesday. Then, after a week of discussion, the final preseason ballot is due. Presented below is my first crack at the ballot. Comments, as always, are appreciated. I've added some of my thoughts after the top 25.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	25
2	LSU	24
3	Virginia Tech	23
4	Michigan	22
5	Oklahoma	21
6	West Virginia	20
7	Texas	19
8	UCLA	18
9	South Carolina	17
10	Louisville	16
11	Penn State	15
12	California	14
13	Miami (Florida)	13
14	Texas A&M	12
15	Florida State	11
16	Wisconsin	10
17	Arkansas	9
18	Auburn	8
19	Georgia	7
20	Florida	6
21	Ohio State	5
22	Nebraska	4
23	Oregon	3
24	Missouri	2
25	TCU	1

Dropped Out:

I actually feel pretty good about the top 6. USC is the runaway #1, and both LSU and VT should have experienced offenses and ferocious defenses. After that, Michigan has questions in the back 7 seven on defense and Oklahoma needs a QB. 6th feels about right for WVU.

After that, things get a little wonky. The Texas secondary makes me a little nervous and ranking UCLA and South Carolina this high makes me very nervous (although both return a ton of starters and the Gamecocks at least have a proven coach). Louisville also feels a little high, given the coaching change and the upheaval in the running game.

I think that Penn State is about right given the returning talent. Cal might be a bit high (defensive turnover makes me nervous) but that offense is going to be something else. After that, Miami is a wild card. They have the talent to warrant a ranking this high. With a new coach coming from within the program, adjustment should be fairly minimal, but they still could be all over the place.

When I put together this list I tried not to consider a team's schedule (I've always meant for my ballot to be more of a power poll). This has perhaps led me to overrate Texas A&M, who checks in at 14th based largely on returning talent on both sides of the ball.

Florida St. is another team that I'm not sure what to do with. The defense should be above average but I'm not sold on the offense. If Jimbo Fisher lives up to his hype, I could see FSU shooting up my ballot as the season progresses.

Wisconsin will probably be higher in my next ballot. I'm not really sure why I was so down on them on this ballot, except that I think the offense might be too run-heavy. Please consider this an anomaly that will corrected in the next ballot.

Next up is a pack of four SEC teams (Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia and Florida). I'm pretty sure that at least a couple of these teams belong in the top 15, but I couldn't figure out which to move up. Instead, I'm just going to leave them together down here until somebody emerges or I hear a convincing argument for one of the teams.

Ohio St. is 21st, but this is probably also low. The defense and running game should be strengths and they have been successful with that combination in the past. They will probably also receive a bump before the next poll.

Nebraska, Oregon and Missouri all seem to have significant replacements to make on defense but all three should have good offenses. They are all top 25 caliber teams but I struggled to place all three teams. I closed out my ballot with a mid major in TCU (who barely edged out Boise State and Hawaii in my mind).

Tennessee is the most notable omission, but I couldn't find anybody that I would like to replace them with. Any suggestions?

There were a number of sleeper-type teams that I would have liked to find a place for including Vanderbilt, Kentucky, USF and Cincinnati. Ultimately I just couldn't find a team to bump to make room.

The other teams that I seriously considered were Clemson, BC, Oregon St., Rutgers, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Arizona and Arizona State.

Season Preview: The Running Backs

2007-08-13T22:10:00.000-04:00

I started several weeks ago by discussing A&M's quarterback situation. With the team in camp, it's time for the next installment in that series. Today, a review of the Aggie's running backs.

Returning Starters, Jorvorskie Lane (Jr.), Mike Goodson (So.) and Chris Alexander (Sr.):
In 2006 this was the deepest, most talented position on A&M's roster. Expect no less in 2007 with underachieving Courtney Lewis being the only loss. The Aggie's return one of the best inside-outside combos in the nation with the gargantuan Lane and the lightning quick Goodson. Fullback Chris Alexander is one of the Big XII's most underrated players.

Lane (740 yards, 4.4 ypc, 19 TD) exhibits tremendous footspeed for a player his size, allowing him to change directions with astonishing quickness. This gives him a shiftiness that makes him nearly impossible to hit squarely or bring down for a loss. Combine all of this and you have one of the best short-yardage backs in college football. Some Jorvorskie highlights:

Mike Goodson (929 yards, 6.7 ypc, 4 TD) emerged midway through last season to give A&M a speedy option to complement Lane. Although he struggled with fumbles early in the season, Goodson cemented his status in the RB rotation with a long TD against Baylor to seal the win. This season he should be even more involved in the offense. Here of some of Goodson's better plays from a season ago:

Chris Alexander (76 yards, 5.4 ypc, 1 rushing TD, 3 receiving TD) is one of the hardest working players in the country -- he just never takes a play off. Robert Cessna had a great writeup about him last week. Here is a YouTube compilation of some of Alexander's greatest blocks:

All three backs should figure in the passing game. Both Lane and Alexander are dangerous as check down receivers in the flats. Goodson looked effective on screen passes in the spring game and should add that dimension to the Aggies this fall.

The Backups:
Texas A&M boasts one of the deepest sets of running backs in the Big 12. Cornell Tarrant (RS-Fr., 6'0", 193 lbs.) possesses a rare blend of power and speed and will likely get every opportunity to impress early in the season against Montana St. and UL-M. Keondra Smith (So., 5'9", 199 lbs.) is a steady runner who looked very effective in the Maroon and White Game. Also in the mix is true freshman Bradley Stephens (5'10", 193 lbs.), one of the gems of A&M's 2007 recruiting class who may or may not redshirt.

Aggie Roundtable, Take 5ish

2007-07-26T00:16:00.000-04:00

My apologies for missing last week's roundtable. This week's questions come from Load Option. Other responses can be found at TAMABINPO, the12thManchild and the AggieSportsBlog.

1. What play in our offense would you like to eliminate or see called less often? Give a valid replacement play or series that will attack the same area, i.e. if you hate the option to the short side of the field, how do you propose we attack the C & D gaps shortside to keep the defense honest?

I didn't watch much film from last year, that's something that I intend to do a better job of this season. I've had the DVR for some time and just added HDTV last week.

Based on what I remember from last season, A&M had a formation that they went to in short yardage situations that involved lining Jorvorskie Lane up in a power-I with a WR as the second fullback. The WR was then motioned out to the wing prior to the snap. A&M ran two plays out of this formation, either the Jorvorskie Smash or a play-action pass, usually to Chris Alexander in the flat. Both plays worked well early in the season, but teams became increasingly prepared for this set. In particular, the fourth down stop of Lane against Army and a key redzone incompletion against Oklahoma come to mind as failures.

All I would really like to see here are a few more plays out of this formation. Perhaps a quick pass that uses the size advantage of Martellus Bennett and Joey Thomas or running a triple option with Lane off tackle and using a WR like EJ Shankle as a pitch man.

2. What was your favorite season of Aggie offensive football? Give a year and explain why.

Well, I haven't been around long enough to have more than one year to choose from, so it has to be last year. I actually did enjoy it quite a bit though. I played for a high school that threw the football about as often Haley's Comet comes around. In other words, I'm a run-first guy. The Aggies did a lot of running last season and had enough different looks to keep the defense relatively honest using just the run. There is just something magical about lining up against Texas, both teams knowing that the run is coming, and still overpowering them for a key first down.

3. If you could steal any assistant coach from one of our conference opponents, either to improve our program or weaken their program, which coach would you take and why.

I came across something the other day about the Texas Tech wide receivers coach and some of his unorthodox methods. I can't remember where I saw it, so I can't give a hat tip, but I'm going to steal that answer. Tech always seems to get a lot out of receivers that other teams have overlooked. This may be cheating though as I see that the coach in question has moved on to Arizona. Still, I'm sticking with Sonny Dykes, formerly of Texas Tech.

4. Given that we have gone back to the old timing rules during games, do you expect our defense to experience a slight setback in total yardage given up per game? What about points per game?

Obviously the increased length in the game can only lead to more opportunities for the opposition to score, so the question becomes, "will the Aggies be better than a season ago on defense."

Talentwise, I would tentatively say yes, they will be better. I think that the secondary in particular should be improved despite the loss of Melvin Bullitt. Ultimately though, I think that the more difficult schedule, playing good offensive teams in every road game, will lead to an increase in both the yards and points allowed. I don't, however, think that the increase will be large.

5. Playing athletic director for a day, if given the chance, what sport would you add to A&M's athletic department, assuming the funding is there for scholarships, facilities, support, etc.

Well, this one is easy enough. I'd add hockey in a heartbeat. A&M would be a natural rival for Air Force, although they would most likely have to join the CHA. Still yearly non-conference matchups with Army, Air Force, and the Colorado powers (Colorado College and Denver) would be a blast. The Aggies would also have a leg up on tapping warm-weather states with growing youth hockey programs (like Texas, Georgia and California).

6. Fran tells you he's going to let you coach a whole game as an assistant coach. You can coach any position you want, including both coordinator positions. Which coaching job would you take, and why?

Once a nose guard, always a nose guard I say. I'd be the defensive line coach, although offensive coordinator is mighty tempting. I just think that I'd be most prepared to coach the defensive line and have the least chance of screwing something up there.

7. Ignoring LSU, Arkansas, and the former SWC teams, what BCS team would you like to see A&M start a non-conference series with? Do you want to play home-and-home or at a neutral site?

I really hate these new neutral site games that teams like Notre Dame are playing. ND-Wazzou in San Antonio? Ludicrous I say! That said, I'd like to see A&M play either Iowa or Michigan State in a home-and-home. I took a road trip to Iowa in 2005 for the Michigan game and loved every minute of it. They have a great fan base that is very friendly and very well informed. It was a real pleasure to join them for a game.

Michigan State is only about 25 miles from my hometown. My dad had season tickets there from the time he graduated (late 60's) until he retired (2002). Despite the massive stadium alterations that they've made, a road trip to Spartan Stadium would bring back some great memories and be a chance to visit home...two birds with one stone and all that.

Aggies: More Than Meets the Eye, Part I

2007-07-09T21:17:00.000-04:00

So, as I was sitting in the theater thinking about the greatness that is the Transformers movie, I got to thinking about which characters reminded me of Aggie Football players. This is the first in a series that I will be rolling out all week. Comments and suggestions are always welcome. The first three:

Jorvorskie Lane: Unicron
The fan website unicron.com describes Unicron better than I can hope to:

Known as the "chaos bringer" Unicron was created shortly after the dawn of time. He is the most massive and deadly of all Transformers. His goal is to absorb the Universe; planet by planet, solar system by solar system. With each world he devours, he grows in size, strength, energy, knowledge and power. He carries out the assimilation these worlds with total ambivalence to the lives of those he destroys.

Of course it makes just as much sense this way:

Known as the "chaos bringer" Jorvorskie was created shortly after the dawn of time. He is the most massive and deadly of all Aggies. His goal is to absorb the Universe; planet by planet, solar system by solar system. With each world he devours, he grows in size, strength, energy, knowledge and power. He carries out the assimilation these worlds with total ambivalence to the lives of those he destroys.

Stephen McGee: Optimus Prime
The leader of the Aggies meets the leader of the Autobots. Both are awesome in ways that I cannot hope to put into words...enough said.

Yemi Babalola: Bumblebee
In the live action movie, Bumblebee is sent to Earth to be the personal protector of Sam. In real life Yemi Babalola was called to Aggieland to be the personal blindside protector of Stephen A. McGee. (Okay, so I don't actually have any idea if McGee's middle name starts with an "A", but stick with me here.) In the cartoon, Bumblebee is constantly trying to prove himself capable of hanging with the larger Autobots. Babalola was a lightly regarded recruit coming out of high school who is constantly showing that he belongs at the highest levels of college football.

I'll be back later this week with Part II.

Aggie Roundtable, Take 3

2007-07-08T23:40:00.000-04:00

I contributed the questions this week, so I suppose that I shouldn't refuse to answer any. As always, check out TAMU and Baseball, The12thManChild and the AggieSportsBlog for the full tour.

#1. If you could go all crazy diaper-wearing-astronaut and cruise around to
Big XII campuses, which players would you kidnap and make Aggies? (Hat tip
to Burnt Orange Nation (grr) for coming up with this concept.)

First I would shore up the receiving corps, the only real weakness on the offense. This would mean the additions of Limas Sweed (Texas) and Malcolm Kelly (Oklahoma). Sweed brings a great combination of size and speed and Kelly may be the best "big receiver" in the conference. Next I'd add some depth to the DT rotation. I think Frank Okam (Texas) is the best choice for a brainy addition to the interior. A LB would be nice so I'll go with Bo Ruud (Nebraska) who has the best combination of talent and experience in the conference. Finally I'd like to upgrade the secondary with a true lockdown corner. Aqib Talib (Kansas) is the best choice here.

#2. Describe your perfect fall Saturday. (Note: if this doesn't include a college football game, a man card will be deducted.)

My perfect Saturday starts on a November day in Ann Arbor. I'm up early to head down to Elbel Field to tailgate with friends. As I walk out of my dorm (Mosher-Jordan of course) it's crisp and fairly cold. The sky is pale blue and cloudless. After tailgating I head over to the band building and catch the step show as the day starts to warm. After the show I head across the railroad tracks and join the thousands of people headed for the stadium. I'm in my seat at least 20 minutes before the game, enough time to read the free program and BS a bit with the people I sit with. The opponent is Ohio State (of course) and Michigan wins by 142 points.

#3. A&M's road schedule is formidable this season. Which game presents the biggest challenge? Which game is the most winnable?

I think that Oklahoma will be the toughest game to win this season. I'm not wild about the way that A&M's defense matches up against the Sooners and Norman is a tough place to win.

For some reason, Missouri doesn't really scare me. I think that will be the most winnable (although hopefully not the only road win) this season.

#4. What was the greatest sporting moment you've ever experienced/witnessed? Did you experience it in-person or on the television/radio?

My greatest sporting experience was probably watching the Detroit Red Wings beat the Philadelphia Flyers in 1997 to claim their first Stanley Cup in over 40 years. It was the first team that I really followed to win a championship. (I followed the Pistons during the Bad Boys era but was really too young to have an appreciation for their accomplishments.) Although this was a TV experience, I was still euphoric. Another great Red Wings moment I remember watching on the TV was the brawl against the Avalanche on the March 26, 1997.

As far as in-person experiences, my most memorable was probably the Michigan hockey team coming from behind to upset Denver in the '02 West Regional to advance to the Frozen Four. I've never been in a louder arena. An honorable mention goes to the '03 Midwest Regional at Yost and the 2003 Michigan-Ohio State football game (the 100th meeting and the last time Michigan won.)

#5. Which Aggie football player most resembles a Transformers character and why? (i.e. Jorvorskie Lane = Unicron the dude who eats planets)

I'm afraid that this question requires a bit more response than I have room for here. A full discussion will be posted tomorrow.

I Passed!!!

2007-07-05T21:41:00.000-04:00

Well, I have good news and bad news. First the good. I finally passed my department's PhD qualifier exam. I passed the structures and the dynamics on the first try, but had to have an oral exam to prove my fluids prowess. Now the bad. I'm mentally exhausted after cramming fluids for the better part of two weeks. I'll have my roundtable contribution up this weekend along with a post I've been working on for a couple of weeks.

Gig 'Em.

Aggie Roundtable, Take 2

2007-06-28T00:10:00.000-04:00

I should have my qualifying test wrapped up in the next week or so. Until I do, roundtable answers will continue to be short. Many thanks to Ryan from TAMBINPO for providing this week's questions. My fellow Aggie pundits have responded here: Ryan, R, Brad.

1. New uniforms have been unveiled. What are your favorite & least favorite thing about them (and any other comments you might have)?
Overall I have a negative view of the new jerseys. I like that the maroon jerseys are relatively unchanged. The pants really aren't my thing though. I'm more of a solid-color-pants guy. A&M is a school that is proud of its traditions. As a result, I'd love to see the Aggies in more of a traditional look. My ideal would be single color jerseys (maroon home, white road). The home jerseys would say "Aggies" on the front and have relatively simple numbers. The road jerseys would say "Texas A&M" instead but would be just as plain. The pants would be a single color (white home, maroon road probably). For reference, the new jerseys:

2. Do you have plans to make any away games this season? If so, which one(s), why that game....and can I come too?
I would love to make the trip to Lubbock and check another stadium off my list, but this far out I have no idea how feasible that will be. Last year's trip to Baylor was a blast and two years ago I made it to Iowa and Northwestern. If I make a road trip in a third straight season I'm pretty sure that the rules of Aggie-dom mean that I must declare it a tradition.

3. Favorite Aggie players past & present -- name'em (and if you have a good story feel free to share it).
I haven't been around enough to really have a favorite past player, so I'll cop out and say Melvin Bullitt was my favorite graduating senior a season ago. As for current players, I will go with Chris Harrington (very underrated in my opinion) and Devin Gregg who had a knack for forcing big turnovers last season. An honorable mention goes to Ben Bitner for being crazy. (Unless Mr. Bitner is reading this, in which case I was just joking... please don't hurt me.)

4. Pre-season magazines have recently hit the stands. Do you get into them? If so how many do you buy and which is your favorite.
I've been working my way through Phil Steele, which is excellent as always. On a whim I also picked up The Sporting News which is currently embedded in the drywall across from my couch. TSN was really down on Texas A&M without ever really justifying it. I get the feeling that they really don't like Coach Fran. They also listed Coach Lloyd Carr as being overrated. I saw that and it was all downhill from there.

5. How closely do you follow recruiting? Are you:
a) Recruiting guru....."OMG! Have you seen the 2009 recruiting rankings yet?";
b) Casual follower....."Awesome! I just read that we inked a 5* tailback!;
c) Couldn't care less....just suit'em up and we'll see how we do in the fall.
I'm a little of (a) and a little of (b). I like to know what's going on, so I subscribe to Billy Liucci's service at TexAgs (which is superb by the way). I don't think that I've ever been tempted to start a sentence about recruiting with "OMG" though, so I'm not sure that I've reached the option (a) level just yet.

6. What do you think are our most overrated & underrated strengths for this upcoming season?
I think that the secondary is underrated. A&M has about 10 top notch athletes on the two-deep. I'm betting that 4 or 5 will show the football skills to excel. I'm especially excited about Devin Gregg, Danny Gorrer, Arkeith Brown and Jordan Pugh.

The most overrated group has to be the tight-ends. All you hear about is Martellus this that Martellus that. If he contributes to the offense for more than a quarter at a time, I'll happily revoke this statement but I'm just not seeing it. Joey Thomas is alright, but I'm not sure that he is any better than a solid backup which doesn't match the hype on TexAgs. Like I said, I'd love to be wrong here but I just don't feel confident about this position.

With apologies to the great Red Green, until next week, keep your stick on the ice!

Inaugural Aggie Blog Roundtable

2007-06-20T23:38:00.000-04:00

Well, I received my scores on my first attempt at my departmental qualifiers yesterday, and mine still require some work. Since I have an oral retest on one section coming in the next week, my first contribution to the roundtable will be a bit rushed. I promise to have more to say in the future. (For the record, talking Aggie Football is much, much more enjoyable than studying viscous fluid flow.) My thanks go out to Brad at the12thmanchild.com for putting this whole thing together and coming up with the first round of questions. The other participants are TAMABINPO, The12thManChild, and the AggieSportsBlog. With no further ado, my answers:

1. What was your favorite single play from the 2006 Football season?
My favorite play was without a doubt Jordan Peterson chasing down a Missouri receiver to knock the ball from his hands inside the one yard line. The play completely changed the nature of that game and in some ways served as a microcosm of the entire Aggie season. It seemed at times that A&M was always on the edge of disaster, only to force an improbable turnover (often inside the five yard line) and retake control of the game. (For another example, see the interception after the offensive pass interference call on Limas Sweed in the texas game.)

2. What is the most underrated sports blog/site, besides yours, on the
Internet today?
I did my undergrad at Michigan where I obsessively followed the hockey team. The best Michigan Hockey analysis on the web comes from The Blog That Yost Built. This blog also covers a lot of Detroit Red Wings (my favorite pro team, ever), Detroit Pistons and Michigan Football. The writing is so good that I'm more than happy to overlook the frequent Green Bay Packer discussion. A strong honorable mention goes to Ronald Bellamy's Underachieving All-Stars who has, hands-down, the best college football prose in the world.

3. Forget about the "who will win the Big XII" discussions, who do you
think will finish last?
In the south, Baylor is going to be just awful this season. Bell, Ziegler, Shelton and Mosley are all gone (so, umm, pretty much all the offensive skill players are new). On defense the corners, Wilson and Arline will be missed. Even the superb Daniel Sepulveda has moved on to the NFL. The north race is much harder to call, but I can't imagine Meyer and Blythe are going to be enough to keep Iowa State from being very mediocre, especially with a new coach.

4. Pull out the Magic 8Balls, will Acie Law get drafted higher than
#15, breaking the A&M record set by Antoine Wright in 2005?
Acie won't fall past the Clippers at #14, so yes, he will be the highest player drafted in A&M history.

5. Where's your favorite place to eat in B/CS?
While I love Burger Boy, Freebird's, Fitzwilly's and Antonio's, for some reason I love FatBurger the most. I don't know if it's the garnishment bar where I can load up on tomatoes, the big screen TV or the proximity to my office, but FatBurger is always the place I head when it's my turn to pick the lunch location. Some of the best lunches I've had since moving to B/CS were last summer during the World Cup at FatBurger.

A First Season Preview -- The Quarterbacks

2007-05-28T22:32:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm through qualifiers (for good if I passed, but let's be real here). Now that I have some of this precious quantity called 'free time' again, this site will be seeing updates once more. With the beginning of the football season barely three months away (Sep. 1st, Montana State), I'm going to start rolling out the position by position review/preview to transition back into football coverage and commentary. Today, the quarterbacks:

Returning Starter, Stephen McGee (Jr.):
A season ago McGee was more than competent, completing 194 passes for 2295 yards on 313 attempts. He generated 12 touchdowns to a mere 2 interceptions. Perhaps even more important was McGee's rushing ability, something he demonstrated by carrying the ball 146 times for 666 yards and 4 touchdowns (good for 2nd, 3rd and t-2nd on the team, respectively). Although the low number of interceptions certainly says good things about his throwing discipline, McGee displayed an annoying tendency to scramble in the face of any pressure throughout the season. Also a concern were the large number of near interceptions on poor throwaways that didn't manage to reach the sidelines. Both of these weaknesses in McGee's game speak to a need for greater poise in the pocket on his part.

Looking forward to the coming season, another year in the system should give McGee a greater command of the offense and will hopefully lead to the passing game playing a larger part in A&M's offense. Much will depend on the receivers, but more on that in a later preview. The leadership and determination that McGee brings, combined with his physical gifts, give him the potential to be one of the top quarterbacks in the Big XII. As long as he stays healthy, this will be a position of strength.

The Backups:
The backup quarterback race appears fairly open coming out of the spring. Redshirt freshman Jerrod Johnson is tremendously talented but also very raw. Senior T.J. Sanders has the most time in the system but very little game experience. Barring an injury to McGee, Sanders will most likely see little time this season as the staff looks to give mop-up time to Johnson in preparation for things to come.

The other name to keep an eye on is true freshman Ryan Tannehill from Big Spring, TX. He enrolled in January and was very good in the spring game. I wouldn't be surprised if he redshirted, but he seems to have the talent to make things interesting this fall if Johnson doesn't lock down the backup position.

In summary, when measured by talent, quarterback is one of the deepest positions on the team. Beyond McGee though, the talent is very, very green--an injury to him would certainly put the Aggies in a precarious position, although one inviting a young player to step up. Quarterback should be a team strength this season.

New Color Scheme

2007-04-23T01:40:00.000-04:00

I'm been looking to move away from a default template setup for some time, now seems appropriate. I like the maroon background and the settings for the main posting box. The title and sidebars still need work. Until I get more time to tinker, they will just have to stay ugly. My apologies for the eye strain.

Gig 'Em.

So Damn Sad

2007-04-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

This past Monday an unthinkable horror occurred in Blacksburg, Virginia. As the nation shows solidarity today with Virginia Tech, this blog has adopted a new color scheme to show my support for Orange and Maroon Effect Day. While I can only speak for one Aggie, I'm confident that the entire Texas A&M family stands behind the Hokies as they begin to honor the victims and move forward.

I must confess that I've struggled to put words to the events that unfolded at VT last Monday. On Wednesday, Dennis Miller appeared on the O'Reilly Factor and did a much better job than I ever could.

And I'll tell you anybody who speaks in the wake of such a devastation with a high degree of certitude, I find myself tuning out...I think, like I said in the immediate aftermath of an event that is this staggering, this hard to get your head around, I think one's official statement would be befuddled, willing to listen all sides, and try to figure it out.

Then Miller turned to a figure that I've found myself drawn to as well.

Let me say this. I'm intrigued by this character Liviu Librescu, the 76-year-old aerodynamics teacher at the college. Now listen, I think in our society we have somehow in current day America been denuded out of the gene that makes us want to survive at all costs.

I think Librescu, a 76-year-old Holocaust survivor who, if you do the math, was probably 12 when he first saw the face of evil, I'm sure looked up at that narrow window and that door and saw the same sick glint, that dead shark thing in that eye that he had seen as a young man. And he went towards it to stop it.

Professor Librescu did some research in the area of aeroelasticity, a field that I've just begun a research project in. My boss is also originally from Romania and somehow these two facts really made the whole tragedy hit home for me. While Librescu was a hero, it's a shame that it took such an event to reveal it to those of us who did not know him.

I would just encourage you all to give an extra hug to your loved ones this week. If you're the praying type, perhaps you could add a prayer for the 32 families that find themselves unable to do the same.

Here.

Spring Game Thoughts

2007-04-15T23:55:00.000-04:00

Well, I've moved to the new Blogger, so expect some layout changes around here in the near future.

In the meantime, I took the opportunity to take some notes at the Maroon and White game. It was tough to really analyze the offensive line or the defense so I'm a little light in these areas. Please feel free to add any of your own impressions in the comments below.

-I thought that the short passing game was pretty good. It was windy, but the deep passing game was pretty awful.

-Stephen McGee couldn't stay in the pocket even in a spring game. Expect plenty of scrambling from him again this season. Overall I thought his arm looked good. He's clearly the best QB on the team.

-The book on Jerrod Johnson seems to be pretty much spot on. He is a freakish athlete and already looks great running the option. He has an incredible arm but his accuracy needs work. The few times that the pressure got to him, Johnson looked absolutely lost. All the physical tools are there and I look forward to watching him mature into a heckuva quarterback.

-Ryan Tannehill REALLY impressed me. He has deceptive speed and a big arm. Top to bottom I think that A&M has the most talented threesome of quarterbacks in the Big XII.

-Michael Goodson may have been the star of the game. Every time he touched the ball good things seem to happen. He has set himself up nicely to have a huge season this year.

-Jorvorskie Lane was Jorvorskie Lane. I don't think that he has improved much from a year ago, but he is still a massive back with the ability to pick up the short stuff up the middle and occasionally rumble for something more.

-Cornell Tarrant carried a tremendous amount of buzz out of the spring. He didn't impress me in the first half, but the longer the game went the better he got. By the fourth quarter he looked unstoppable. I don't know if the quality of the opposition declined or if Tarrant just got more comfortable. Either way, Tarrant does a great job of cutting in the open field to leave defensive backs behind. He has talent, no doubt.

-Keondra Smith really stood out to me. In the first half he was much better than Tarrant and seems to be someone that will be able to provide solid carries should the injury bug strike. A&M's running back depth is unreal.

-The only wide receiver that stuck out to me was Howard Morrow. He had a couple of nice kick returns and made a difficult catch to pull down a Johnson touchdown pass. Still the lack of production from anybody else worries me.

-On defense Johnathon Batson and Mark Dodge had their names called a lot. I'm expecting big things from each this season. DeMaurier Thompson put a slobberknocker on Tarrant in the first half. I didn't notice too much else out of the defense

-Matt Szymanski missed an XP. The kicking game worries me again.

That's all I've got for now. The term is winding down so the next few weeks will have light posting while I try not to fail out of school. I'm looking forward to customizing the site a bit with the new Blogger, so look for that too. Please leave any thoughts you have on the spring game in the comments section.

Gig 'Em.

New Coach Enroute?

2007-04-09T11:19:00.000-04:00

New Coach enroute?

-----UPDATE-----
And back to Wichita.

If I understand correctly, Turgeon will meet with the Wichita State team tomorrow to say goodbye and then be officially announced as the next Texas A&M coach tomorrow afternoon. I'll keep an eye on the flights and let you know.

Katz Says Turgeon

2007-04-09T00:13:00.000-04:00

ESPN's Andy Katz is reporting that A&M is expected to host Wichita State's Mark Turgeon on Monday. I'll keep an eye on the flights tomorrow, but this rumor is being confirmed by another reliable source. Assuming that all goes well, Turgeon could be introduced as early as Tuesday.

Turgeon was never the big-name guy, but he is a rock-solid coach that has built an impressive program at Wichita State, with a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2006. He played his college ball at Kansas (where he won a national championship) so he is familiar with a good chunk of the Big 12. Throw in some experience as an NBA assistant and this would be a very solid hire for Bill Byrne.

I'll keep you posted.

Turgeon's Wichita State profile.

----UPDATE----

The Houston Chronicle is now reporting that Mark Turgeon is the man. I'm a little surprised that this came tonight and not tomorrow, but I still think that its a solid hire and the sooner it becomes official the better.

Texas A&M has reached an agreement for Wichita State coach Mark Turgeon to take over as the new Aggies men's basketball coach, two people with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed Sunday night.

The Chronicle says that it still might be Tuesday before an official announcement, but that appears a formality at this point.

Gig 'Em Coach Turgeon!

Pelphrey to Arkansas

2007-04-08T22:44:00.000-04:00

Per Fox Sports, John Pelphrey is heading to Arkansas.

I'm going to file this under "good news" as Pelphrey wasn't someone who had been building buzz on the Aggie message boards.

Hopefully I'll have more information tomorrow. There is a believable rumor percolating that Bill Byrne is going hard after a certain big name and the mid-majors are being thrown around as cover. If I hear anything else I'll pass it along.

Gig 'Em

Some Thoughts on the Coaching Search

2007-04-08T13:25:00.000-04:00

Well, we're now in to our second full day of post-Gillispie A&M basketball and all indications are that the coaching search is humming along. It wouldn't surprise me terribly if A&M announced its next coach as early as tomorrow or the next day; Bill Byrne is really keeping things under wraps (the way it should be). Some thoughts that I've gathered from various sources:

-The Houston Chronicle's Terrance Harris has an early top 7:

1. Mark Fox, Nevada

2. Reggie Theus, New Mexico State

3. Mark Few, Gonzaga

4. Chris Lowery, Southern Illinois

5. Alvin Brooks, A&M assistant coach

6. Mike Montgomery, former Stanford and NBA coach

7. Doc Sadler, Nebraska head coach

-The Las Vegas Sun says that Nevada's Mark Fox isn't interested.

-Robert Cessna of the B-CS Eagle presents a comprehensive list:

In the 24 hours after Kentucky introduced Gillispie, A&M's list of possible replacements grew by roughly one an hour as the rumor mill got cranking.

That formidable list includes A&M-Corpus Christi's Ronnie Arrow, A&M assistant and former Houston head coach Alvin Brooks, Pitt's Jamie Dixon, Baylor's Scott Drew, Gonzaga's Mark Few, Southern Cal's Tim Floyd, Nevada's Mark Fox, Virginia Commonwealth's Anthony Grant, Miami's Frank Haith, Florida State's Leonard Hamilton, UNLV's Kruger, Southern Illinois' Chris Lowery, Winthorp's Gregg Marshall, former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery, South Alabama's John Pelphrey, former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson, Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings, Oral Roberts' Scott Sutton, Oklahoma State's Sean Sutton, New Mexico State's Reggie Theus, Wichita State's Mark Turgeon and New Orleans' Buzz Williams.

-Doc Sadler (Nebraska) has also bowed out.

Some Analysis

Taking the Cessna and Harris lists and removing Fox and Sadler, you still have quite a few names floating around. Everything that I have read indicates that Lon Kruger is very happy at UNLV and Mike Montgomery has been in the Bay-Area forever so I doubt that they are serious candidates. And Nolan Richardson? Really?

Chris Lowery just signed a contract extension and I don't particularly want a coach that would bolt after making a new agreement (fool me once...). Rumor has it that Bill Byrne really likes Tim Floyd, but with OJ Mayo incoming I think that he is the longest of long shots. I'll add Jamie Dixon to the list of coaches that would be good hires, but I just don't see coming to Aggieland. For Dixon this would be, at best, a lateral move. Gonzaga's Mark Few has turned down big name programs before. It would surprise me very much if he made a jump now. Where does that put the list? Well,

Unrealistic (but would be great hires!):
1. Jamie Dixon
2. Mark Few
3. Chris Lowery
4. Tim Floyd

Some more realistic names (not really in order):
1. Mark Turgeon, Wichita State
2. Alvin Brooks, A&M assistant
3. Reggie Theus, New Mexico State
4. Greg Marshall, Winthrop
5. Ronnie Arrow, TAMU-CC

And, finally, the guys I have no read on at all (from Cessna's list):
1. Scott Drew, Baylor
2. Anthony Grant, VCU
3. Frank Haith, Miami
4. Leonard Hamilton, FSU
5. John Pelphrey, South Alabama
6. Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt
7. Scott Sutton, ORU
8. Sean Sutton, OSU
9. Buzz Williams, NO Hornets

More to come later.

UPDATE:
MGoBlog did some great summaries on the potential candidates at Michigan and many of the same names are coming up for A&M.
Theus, Lowery, Marshall and Grant
Montgomery and Kruger

Good Friday, Bad Surprise

2007-04-06T10:38:00.001-04:00

According to ESPN, Billy Clyde Gillispie is taking the Kentucky job. While it will be easy for the Aggie faithful to be bitter and go the negative route. I think that this is wrong and that Coach Gillispie should be commended for the strides that the Texas A&M basketball program has taken during his tenure.

The most important thing now is for A&M fans to get behind Bill Byrne who needs to move quickly and efficiently to find the next coach. The job should be attractive to another up and coming mid-major coach, what with the soon-to-be-built facilities and proximity to fertile recruiting grounds. My hope is that if Byrne can find a new coach in the next few days, the majority of the recruiting class can be salvaged and that the team can be kept together. The AD has yet to make a bad hire and I expect that streak to continue here.

To the Aggie fans, let's stay classy here and show everybody that this isn't Arkansas.

To Coach Gillispie, thanks for all that you did while you were here.

Gig 'Em.

An Update!

2007-03-27T21:02:00.000-04:00

First, my apologies for the lack of content since the beginning of the year. I'm in the first year of my PhD program and it has been crazy. Midterms are finished for me, so content will be sporadically coming back in the next few weeks. I'll also be working on updating my links on the right (the 12thManChild has deserved a link for about 6 months, I'll get on that here shortly). I'm also planning to migrate over to the new version of Blogger.

Qualifiers are at the end of May. Assuming that I pass, regular content will resume then. To anyone who is still checking this space, thank you for your visits and your patience.

Gig 'em Ags.

BlogPoll Final Ballot

2007-01-10T01:36:00.000-05:00

My apologies for the recent lack of content. I went home to Michigan for the break, and I would be lying if I said that I was happy with the world of sports. I'm back in College Station again, and the posts will follow accordingly. I think that the pain of Texas A&M's crushing at the hands of Cal will be offset by the hope that I hold for the future. I'm definitely looking forward to breaking down what went right and what went wrong this season, and every look ahead to next season looks positive.

Presented below is my final ballot for the 2006 season. Any opinions submitted before 10AM tomorrow will certainly be taken under consideration. Without further delay...

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida	2
2	Southern Cal	3
3	Ohio State	2
4	Michigan	2
5	LSU	1
6	Louisville	2
7	Wisconsin	--
8	Boise State	6
9	Auburn	2
10	West Virginia	2
11	Rutgers	2
12	Arkansas	2
13	Oklahoma	5
14	California	6
15	Wake Forest	--
16	Brigham Young	8
17	Georgia	9
18	Notre Dame	9
19	Georgia Tech	3
20	Boston College	3
21	Penn State	5
22	Virginia Tech	6
23	Texas A&M	5
24	Texas	5
25	TCU	1

Dropped Out: Tennessee (#17), Nebraska (#21), UCLA (#25).

BlogPoll Ballot Regular Season Final Edition

2006-12-06T01:05:00.000-05:00

Well, this is the last ballot before the bowls begin. The ACC continues to vex me and I'm not sure where exactly Boise State fits in. Needless to say, I'm pretty disappointed over Michigan getting snubbed, I think that they are the second best team in the country. A&M is set to play Cal in the Holiday Bowl which should be interested. If A&M can limit the number of mistakes that they make on offense and manage to get pressure on Nate Longshore on defense, I like their chances. More on this later this week. The ballot:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	Michigan	--
3	Florida	1
4	Louisville	1
5	Southern Cal	2
6	LSU	--
7	Wisconsin	2
8	Oklahoma	1
9	Notre Dame	3
10	Arkansas	2
11	Auburn	1
12	West Virginia	4
13	Rutgers	2
14	Boise State	1
15	Wake Forest	2
16	Virginia Tech	2
17	Tennessee	--
18	Texas A&M	1
19	Texas	1
20	California	3
21	Nebraska	--
22	Georgia Tech	4
23	Boston College	1
24	Brigham Young	--
25	UCLA	1

Dropped Out: Georgia (#25).

Week 14 BlogPoll Ballot

2006-11-29T01:00:00.000-05:00

It's late so this is being presented without comment. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	Michigan	--
3	Southern Cal	--
4	Florida	--
5	Louisville	1
6	LSU	6
7	Oklahoma	3
8	Arkansas	3
9	Wisconsin	2
10	Auburn	1
11	Rutgers	4
12	Notre Dame	3
13	Wake Forest	8
14	Virginia Tech	3
15	Boise State	3
16	West Virginia	--
17	Tennessee	2
18	Georgia Tech	4
19	Texas A&M	7
20	Texas	12
21	Nebraska	1
22	Boston College	9
23	California	3
24	Brigham Young	--
25	Georgia	1

Dropped Out: Oregon (#23), Maryland (#25).

Texas, Our Texas

2006-11-27T20:22:00.000-05:00

I'm a big believer in the theory that football teams need to learn to win, that programs are built one win at a time. It's no coincidence that a young Ohio State team swung a huge upset in Ann Arbor in 2001 then went on win the MNC the following year. Or that Auburn pulled out a tight win over Alabama in the Iron Bowl in 2003 to set up their own undefeated season. Even more immediately, Texas came from behind to conquer Michigan in the 2005 Rose Bowl, setting the stage for the glory to follow.

It's certainly not my intent to predict a national championship for Texas A&M, but I find it hard to feel this week that the Aggie football program is headed anywhere but up. After all the heartache and pain that was Texas Tech, Nebraska and Oklahoma, Coach Fran finally has the win that will forever define the 2006 version of the Aggies. With a single interception by Japhus Brown (where has he been all season?) all the disappointment of three losses by a combined six points lifted and the future looks bright indeed.

My thoughts on the game itself:
-Much has been said already about the OPI call on Sweed in the endzone. The stillframe certainly shows that Gorrer took a full blow in the face, but watching the game live I thought that it was a weak call at best. The Aggies were victimized by a push-off against Nebraska on the game-winning touchdown and they were probably due for a break. This is, of course, no solace to Longhorn fans.

-The other controversy seems to be surrounding Kellen Heard's late hit on Colt McCoy. I've seen a number of Aggie fans on TexAgs.com that question whether there even should have been a penalty, but I think that the officials handled the situation correctly. I've finally found a camera view that shows the entire sequence and the hit was clearly late. Even if the play had still been going, Heard deserved a similar penalty for blocking from behind. I do however stop short of calling for a suspension for Heard or any other of the other overreactions I have seen online. I'm confident that the Aggies will handle punishment in-house properly. In the future refs and fans are sure to watch Heard very closely and if cheap shots develop into a pattern I will be forced to change my mind. (And yes, I'm aware that Heard has taken a number of personal fouls this season, but I'm hoping that the ejection will serve as proof of a need for a turnaround. Here's hoping he takes the hint.)

Heroes of the Game
-On offense, I'll go with the offense line who gave the running game just enough room to pound the best rushing defense in the Big XII into oblivion when it counted.

-On defense, Mark Dodge not only had the big interception, he also made the tackle that killed the Longhorn's opening drive. I'm looking forward to him as a full-time starter next season.

-Justin Brantly had another nice game punting the ball to lead the special teams.

Thoughts on Texas

2006-11-22T15:37:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to jot down some quick thoughts I had this week before I dash out the door. I'll be out of town for Thanksgiving until at least Friday.

-I've seen lots of predictions of Texas by a wide margin this weekend. I just don't see it. If the Aggies have proven anything this season, it's that they consistently play to the level of their opponent, regardless of quality. Close games against bad teams (Army, Kansas) have been just as numerous as good games against good teams (Oklahoma, Nebraska) and are only outnumbered by riveting games against mediocre teams (Texas Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma State). I see no reason that the Aggies won't make this interesting.

-A&M's defense has been terrible early in games. Texas has enough weapons to continue this trend. I think that both Limas Sweed and Jamaal Charles will have first quarter touchdowns, but the Aggies should settle in and fix things before halftime.

-I can't predict how the A&M offense will be with a straight face. Coach Fran never seems to employ the same strategy twice. Picking the offensive stars is a crapshoot, but I'll go with L'Tydrick Riley finally catching the ball and Martellus Bennett showing another glimmer of promise. Mike Goodson is really, really good but he is no longer a secret. I suspect that Texas will sell out early to stop the run and hopefully that translates into a big day for Stephen McGee.

-Prediction? Alright, homerism says A&M 27, Texas 21. Rationalism says Texas 35, A&M 17. Make it A&M 23, Texas 21.

Thoughts on the passing of Coach Schembechler

2006-11-22T10:27:00.000-05:00

I really wanted to get this post up over the weekend, but with the overwhelming disappointment that was Michigan-OSU 2006, I just couldn't string coherent sentences together. Everybody in the media seems to be sharing their favorite Bo Schembechler story, and I thought that I would add mine.

I'm a proud member of the University of Michigan Class of 2005. When our commencement speaker, John Seely Brown, was announced, there was quite a bit of grumbling on campus that it wasn't a bigger name. Of course many of the engineers were happy as Brown helped invent GUI's and spellcheck, but the general feeling on campus was disappointment.

When the big day rolled around, the University also presented a number of honorary doctorates to distinguished guests, including the guy that founded H&R Block, and of course, Bo Schembechler. I want to say that Brown's speech made some great impression on me, but it largely didn't. Bo's speech on the other hand was short, to the point, and funny as always.

It was no surprise to me at the time that Coach Schembechler received the largest ovation that day, after all I was standing and cheering alongside my fellow graduates. It wasn't until after he died and ESPN was running all the tributes that it dawned on me just how long he had been retired. The average student in the class of '05 was six or seven years old when Bo stepped down. And yet, everyone in that crowd knew what he meant to Michigan.

In a little more than a year and a half, Michigan has lost Don Canham, Vic Heyliger and now Bo Schembechler. Even though these losses are painful, they shouldn't be allowed to intrude on the memory of the great accomplishments of these great men. May they all rest in peace.

*Video of Coach Schembechler's commencement address here.

Week 13 BlogPoll Ballot

2006-11-21T23:42:00.000-05:00

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	Michigan	--
3	Southern Cal	--
4	Florida	2
5	Arkansas	2
6	Louisville	1
7	Wisconsin	3
8	Texas	1
9	Notre Dame	1
10	Oklahoma	2
11	Auburn	3
12	LSU	3
13	Boston College	8
14	Georgia Tech	5
15	Rutgers	11
16	West Virginia	3
17	Virginia Tech	6
18	Boise State	2
19	Tennessee	2
20	California	9
21	Wake Forest	3
22	Nebraska	--
23	Oregon	1
24	Brigham Young	2
25	Maryland	9

Dropped Out: Clemson (#25).

I'm pretty happy with the top 6. 7-12 feels pretty interchangeable and after that it's anybody's guess. For some reason Boston College keeps surging up my ballot, perhaps I will have to readdress my bias rankings in the offseason.

Tomorrow morning I'll have my thoughts on the Texas game. Until then, Gig 'Em Ags.

BlogPoll Final Ballot, Week 12

2006-11-15T08:57:00.000-05:00

I took another look at my ballot and came up with the following. The changes came in the 12-20 region where I shuffled some SEC teams up and Maryland down. It isn't perfect, but I'm much happier with this iteration.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	Michigan	--
3	Southern Cal	5
4	Rutgers	6
5	Louisville	1
6	Florida	1
7	Arkansas	2
8	Notre Dame	3
9	Texas	2
10	Wisconsin	6
11	California	8
12	Oklahoma	8
13	West Virginia	1
14	Auburn	10
15	LSU	--
16	Maryland	2
17	Tennessee	5
18	Wake Forest	1
19	Georgia Tech	2
20	Boise State	5
21	Boston College	8
22	Nebraska	1
23	Virginia Tech	1
24	Oregon	1
25	Clemson	1

Dropped Out:

Week 12 BlogPoll Draft Ballot

2006-11-13T23:29:00.000-05:00

Texas A&M is off this week and I'm still dealing with the sting of having three losses by a combined 6 points. I'll have something appropriately weepy up later, but things are hectic now so it will be a couple of days. Next week is of course Texas so that should be fun. I'm not wild about putting Oklahoma in a BCS game, but it sure would be nice to steal one in Austin. On to the rankings:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	Michigan	--
3	Southern Cal	5
4	Rutgers	6
5	Louisville	1
6	Florida	1
7	Arkansas	2
8	Notre Dame	3
9	Texas	2
10	Wisconsin	6
11	California	8
12	Maryland	6
13	Oklahoma	7
14	West Virginia	--
15	Auburn	11
16	Wake Forest	3
17	LSU	2
18	Tennessee	6
19	Georgia Tech	2
20	Boise State	5
21	Boston College	8
22	Nebraska	1
23	Virginia Tech	1
24	Oregon	1
25	Clemson	1

Dropped Out:

Shortened Thoughts This Week:

-Last week I went high on Rutgers and got yelled at. I'll try it again this week.

-I adjusted my criteria a bit to remove some subjectivity. To be a "Team Under Consideration" a team from a BCS conference must have a .500 record both in-conference and overall. For mid-majors the standard is a .700 winning percentage. I then consider each of these teams' wins within this group and also each of their losses. This provides a resume that I then attempt to place relative to everyone else.

-In a vacuum, Michigan would be my #1 team, but I'm a superstitious alumnus.

-A&M is again the last team out.

-Louisville stays high largely as a result of Kansas State's win over Texas.

-USC has a spectacular resume. I could see Cal pulling the upset, but based on accomplishments they are clearly the best 1 loss team in the country.

-Anything past 11 is a crapshoot and yes, Maryland is probably higher than they should be.

-I can't get excited about LSU. The win over Tennessee was nice, but after that the best win is Kentucky.

-After all this I'm not as happy as I was. Look for an update tomorrow before the deadline.

Thursday Night Thoughts

2006-11-09T23:03:00.000-05:00

Perhaps I should have left Rutgers at #3. It will be interesting to see how the Scarlet Knights finish the season, but if they win out they will undoubtedly be #2 on my ballot at the end of season. What a tremendous game to watch, congrats to Rutgers on the biggest win in school history. On to the Nebraska pregame thoughts:

Keys for A&M This Week:

-Score touchdowns when in the redzone. This seems self-explanatory, but the Aggies have been settling for field goals all season and it finally cost them last week against Oklahoma. You would think that a team with Jorvorskie Lane wouldn't have this dilemma, yet it persists.

-If I could convince Coach Fran to run one play, it would be to audible into a "long handoff" when teams line the cornerbacks up way off the line of scrimmage. A big part of Oklahoma's coverage success was giving the Aggies such a cushion. If a defense is giving up five easy yards, I say take them.

-The defense needs to come to play right from the get go. On several occasions A&M has been gashed for big yardage and bigger points in the first quarter.

-This will be the last game for the seniors at Kyle Field. I'd like to see Chad Schroeder and Justin Warren have big games and go out on a high note. If Schroeder can open up the offense, the rushing attack should be dominant in the second half. Warren has the ability to lead the defense to a big day.

Gig 'Em Ags.

BlogPoll Roundtable v.2.4

2006-11-08T23:02:00.000-05:00

This week the roundtable is being hosted by Hey Jenny Slater. Many thanks for hosting. My responses:

1. We're just a few weeks away from the end of the regular season, so everybody should have a pretty good handle on how good their teams are and what sort of records they can expect to finish with. Looking back over the season, which was the game where your team really defined itself in 2006, for good or ill? Or to look at it another way, which game, win or loss, was most representative of your team's attitude and style of play this season?

I think that the win that best sums up the Aggies this season was the game against Army. A&M played to the level of the competition, something that they've done with alarming frequency this season. At times they tried their best to blow it, shooting themselves in the foot as soon as momentum seemed to be swinging their way. The Aggie losses against Texas Tech and Oklahoma were arguably A&M's best chances to make a statement win, but in both games were doomed by late breakdowns after spotting the opposition an early lead.

Still, with all this frustration, with a late stand (win against Nebraska) its tough not to view this season as a victory, with the program heading in the right direction.

2. Are there any teams you think are still hugely overrated? What about underrated?

I have this sneaking suspicion that Rutgers is underrated, but I suppose that question will be answered tomorrow night. From the ranks of the mid-majors, Middle Tennessee State has quietly put together quite a season with all three losses coming against quality opposition (Maryland, Oklahoma and Louisville).

As for an overrated team, I'll nominate West Virginia with a win against Maryland being the best result they've managed this season. Some semblance of defense would go a long way to improving my opinion of the Mountaineers.

3. Did your team play any Division I-AA opponents this year? If so, do you think it benefited your team at all? If you were a coach or an NCAA official, what policy would you have toward scheduling D-IAAs?

I'm ashamed to admit that Texas A&M scheduled the Citadel for the first week of the season. I'm a little ambivalent on the practice of playing I-AA teams, but when your other non-conference opponents are ULaLa, La Tech and Army, a game against the Citadel is just sad. If I had my druthers, A&M would schedule and play at least one quality team a year and no I-AA's. I love the opportunity to see other teams from around the country in person, and my dream schedule would reflect this.

4. Which not-a-typical-national-powerhouse team (i.e. no Ohio States or USCs) has played well enough this year to set themselves up for a breakout season in '07?

A&M is a good candidate here with freshman Mike Goodson looking like a breakout star. His backfield companions, Stephen McGee and Jorvorskie Lane are both sophomores. The future looks bright.

For a pick that reeks a little less of homerism, I'll instead go with Wake Forest. Quarterback Riley Skinner is a redshirt freshman and the Demon Deacons only start 8 seniors (3 offense, 5 defense). With the season winding down they've positioned themselves to contend this season and should be among the teams to watch in the ACC next year.

5. Take a look at your team's bowl prospects this season. Which bowl(s) do you think you have a reasonable shot of ending up in? Of the teams you might likely face in a bowl, which team would you most want to play and why (maybe you've always wanted to see how your team would match up with them, maybe there's an old score you want to settle, or maybe you just want to finish the season with an easy win)? Conversely, which potential opponent would you really like to avoid in a bowl game?

If A&M beats Nebraska on Saturday, they will most likely play in the Holiday Bowl. A loss would almost certainly make the Aggies Alamo Bowl bound. A Holiday Bowl berth would likely pit A&M against the loser of Cal-USC and the Aggies don't match up particularly well with either team. Of the two I'd probably rather see USC, with a chance for revenge. (Three years ago I traveled all the way from Michigan to watch my alma mater take on the Trojans in the Rose Bowl. That didn't turn out so well and I haven't looked at USC the same since.)

I wouldn't be broken hearted to see the Ags in the Alamo Bowl, hopefully getting a win to propel them into next season. A matchup with Penn State would be a nice land grant school match up.

6. In a roundtable question during the off-season, we were asked whom you'd pick if your current coach fell deathly ill and you had to select another coach to lead your team to victory. Let's turn this around and imagine that you've somehow schemed your way onto the search committee to select your biggest rival's next head coach. Which rival would that be, and which coaching sooper genius would you try to stick them with?

Good question. I wouldn't want to pick someone who would just go out and get fired, George O'Leary style. On the other hand, it can't be anyone with a prayer of even moderate success. I wouldn't wish Coach Fran on anyone so he is out. (Not because I don't like him, I actually do. My concern is for my cardiovascular system, seeing as how Coach Fran has a policy of not attempting to put a game away with more than two minutes on the clock. That, and a habit for not scoring when in the redzone.)

All that said, I would stick Texas with Chuck Amato. He wins just enough games to not get fired, but can't ever seem to get over the top and sustain success. If Amato wasn't available for any reason, I'm sure that Glen Mason could do an admirable job fulfilling the same goals. Third place goes to Ron Zook for his incredible in-game skills.

Week 10 BlogPoll Final Ballot

2006-11-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

So I slept on my ballot, and much like the absentee ballot I sent to the township clerk last week, I had some regrets. Angry commenters/fiscal conservancy have convinced me that I was too high on Rutgers/Republicans. Unfortunately I can't go back and vote for more libertarians, but I can shuffle Rutgers down and let some better teams find their way to the top. My final ballot (the college football one):

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	Michigan	--
3	California	1
4	Auburn	6
5	Florida	--
6	Louisville	3
7	Texas	1
8	Southern Cal	1
9	Arkansas	1
10	Rutgers	2
11	Notre Dame	--
12	Tennessee	9
13	Boston College	1
14	West Virginia	1
15	LSU	3
16	Wisconsin	1
17	Georgia Tech	--
18	Maryland	8
19	Wake Forest	3
20	Oklahoma	6
21	Nebraska	5
22	Virginia Tech	2
23	Oregon	3
24	Clemson	8
25	Boise State	4

Dropped Out: Texas A&M (#19), Brigham Young (#23), Washington State (#24), Tulsa (#25).

Week 10 BlogPoll Draft Ballot

2006-11-06T23:10:00.000-05:00

My original ranking method involved a strict insistence on transitive rankings. With the increasing chaos in the rankings, I abandoned this method last week. This week I'm trying out a subjective resume scheme where I pick out a number of teams under consideration (the subjective part) and review the wins that each team has against this group. Also considered were each team's losses. It's far from a perfect system (see Rutgers) but overall I'm pretty happy with the results. As always, first the rankings and then my thoughts. Any input in much appreciated.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	Michigan	--
3	Rutgers	9
4	Texas	2
5	Florida	--
6	California	2
7	Auburn	3
8	Louisville	1
9	Southern Cal	2
10	Arkansas	2
11	Notre Dame	--
12	Tennessee	9
13	Boston College	1
14	West Virginia	1
15	LSU	3
16	Wisconsin	1
17	Georgia Tech	--
18	Maryland	8
19	Wake Forest	3
20	Oklahoma	6
21	Nebraska	5
22	Virginia Tech	2
23	Oregon	3
24	Clemson	8
25	Boise State	4

Dropped Out: Texas A&M (#19), Brigham Young (#23), Washington State (#24), Tulsa (#25).

Some Thoughts:
1. Ohio State - I almost put Michigan here, but just couldn't pull the trigger. The win against Texas is very strong.

2. Michigan - Hopefully they get the kinks worked out and take care of Indiana.

3. Rutgers - Probably to high for Rutgers, but my criteria comes out with 4 quality wins against no losses. The games against Louisville and WVU will be huge.

4. Texas - Perhaps the most improved team in the country.

5. Florida - Just a hair behind Texas, but a loss to Auburn is worse than a loss to Ohio State.

6. Cal - Tempted to move them past Florida and Texas, but the Tennessee game wasn't even close. Another much improved team.

7. Auburn - I go back and forth with Auburn and Florida. Which is better, wins against Tennessee and LSU or WSU, LSU and Florida? I may have mistepped here.

8. Louisville - I think the second best win Louisville has is against MTSU. I just can't move them higher right now.

9. USC - Seems about right.

10. Arkansas - Another team that is awfully tough to rank. Do you put more weight on the loss to USC or the win over Auburn?

11. Notre Dame - Notre Dame always look better when you don't consider margin of victory (and I largely didn't).

12. Tennessee - Had they beaten LSU, they would be in the top 5. Seems harsh, but there it is.

13. Boston College - Four good wins (CMU, Clemson, BYU and VT) but also a very bad loss (NC State).

14. West Virginia - Good win against Maryland is the only thing keeping them in the top 20 on the ballot.

15. Louisiana State - Finally a quality win. Seems about right.

16. Wisconsin - Awfully similar resume to WVU (PSU~Maryland, Michigan~Louisville).

17. Georgia Tech - The ACC is causing me more problems right now than any other conference all year.

18. Maryland - I was really sleeping on these guys, losses to WVU and GT.

19. Wake Forest - Another ACC question mark. Good win against BC.

20. Oklahoma - Watching them this weekend the defense is something else. The offense...not so much. More on Oklahoma in a later post.

21. Nebraska - Maybe a little high?

22. Virginia Tech - Looks like they've turned the season around. Losses were to GT and BC.

23. Oregon - Somebody has to go down here.

24. Clemson - I kind of wanted to drop them, but just couldn't.

25. Boise State - Probably should be a bit higher, but hard to place. Good wins against Hawaii and Oregon State.

"Teams Under Consideration" (in order of ranking)
Texas A&M
Oregon State
BYU
Washington State
Hawaii
Missouri
Tulsa
Ohio
Central Michigan
Western Michigan
South Florida
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Navy
MTSU
Houston
San Jose State

Week 9 BlogPoll Draft Ballot

2006-10-31T21:38:00.000-05:00

Midterms are still persisting (my last is Friday). Until I'm through those, posting will remain light. USC losing to Oregon State and Clemson's surprising loss at Virginia Tech have combined caused my ballot to implode. What you see below is nothing more than my best guess and any input would be much appreciated.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	Michigan	--
3	Tennessee	8
4	California	8
5	Florida	5
6	Texas	2
7	Southern Cal	4
8	Arkansas	--
9	Louisville	3
10	Auburn	1
11	Notre Dame	4
12	Rutgers	1
13	West Virginia	1
14	Boston College	3
15	Wisconsin	--
16	Clemson	11
17	Georgia Tech	2
18	LSU	2
19	Texas A&M	1
20	Virginia Tech	6
21	Boise State	--
22	Wake Forest	1
23	Brigham Young	1
24	Washington State	2
25	Tulsa	--

Dropped Out: Nebraska (#18), Missouri (#22).

Some Thoughts:
1. Ohio State - Another blowout.

2. Michigan - Perhaps the most boring team in the country. They keep winning though.

3. Tennessee - I can't put them below Cal so here they go.

4. Cal - Count me back on the Bear's bandwagon.

5. Florida - Probably the best defense not based in Ann Arbor.

6. Texas - Almost blew it in Lubbock, but live to fight another day. I can't wait for T+1.

7. Southern Cal - Finally got caught by an inferior team. Win over Arkansas still looks good.

8. Arkansas - Seems about right until further notice.

9. Louisville - The best all around team in a strong Big East.

10. Auburn - I don't know about Auburn anymore. Here for now.

11. Notre Dame - I can't stand Charlie Weis (and the 60 Minutes piece didn't help) but he has a capable football team.

12. Rutgers - Ray Rice was injured at the end of the UConn game. If he isn't 100% by the time that the big games come, Rutgers could drop in a hurry.

13. West Virginia - Great rushing offense, no defense. Too flawed to be in the top 10.

14. Boston College - Quite possibly the most underrated team in the country. Probably should be higher.

15. Wisconsin - They beat the bad teams and lose to the good ones.

16. Clemson - I took a chance and put them in the top five. Note to self: Tommy Bowden still the coach.

17. Georgia Tech - Another team that I feel a giant meh towards right now.

18. LSU - See Georgia Tech

19. Texas A&M - Win at Baylor is better than it looks on paper. Not a great one loss team, but a one loss team nonetheless. They certainly don't lack exciting finishes.

20. Virginia Tech - I was hasty in dropping them.

21. Boise State - How the human polls have them ahead of Rutgers, I'll never understand.

22. Wake Forest - Yup.

23. BYU - The Arizona loss looks more like a missed opportunity every week.

24. Washington State - Should have been up here last week. 3 losses are to Auburn, USC and Cal.

25. Tulsa - The class of C-USA. Only loss to BYU. This week's game at Houston should be telling.

I'll Take It, Part III

2006-10-28T11:12:00.000-04:00

I finally had a chance to watch part of last weeks games against OSU on Thursday. It wasn't particularly pretty, but like the title says, I'll take it. This Aggie team seems to be getting a knack for putting together late games drives. Even if its bad for my heart, A&M sure is a lot of fun to watch.

I'm heading up to Floyd-Casey in Waco this afternoon to see the Baylor-A&M game, so I'll have a report on that sometime next week. Posting will be sporadic again this week, but my last midterm is on Friday so after that I'm pretty much in the clear.

Heroes from the Oklahoma State game:
Offense - Stephen McGee for not losing his cool on the last drive of regulation and guiding a young Aggie team to another road victory.

Defense - Danny Gorrer who had his best game of the season, recording a big interception in the endzone and helping limit Bowman and Woods.

Special Teams - Red Bryant and this one wasn't even close. Nothing like a blocked extra point in overtime to bring home the win.

BlogPoll Ballot Rough Draft

2006-10-24T15:20:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of content this week. I have midterms coming up in both classes I'm taking, plus both professors chose to also assign major projects dues in the next few days. I haven't been sleeping much. I'm throwing up my BlogPoll draft, comments are always welcome. Later this week I'll talk a bit about the OK-State game, but it wasn't televised so I don't have much. This weekend I'm heading up to Waco for the Baylor game so that should be fun and give me plenty to talk about next week.

Not much changed this week in my ballot. So many teams survived scares that I chose not to penalize any of them. Georgia Tech looked pretty poor, but some of the teams that will be big movers this week (Clemson and Rutgers come to mind) were already pretty high on my list so they stay put. A big Oregon drop also hurt Oklahoma and I was feeling the love for the mid-majors so BYU and Tulsa take their places. With no further ado:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	Michigan	--
3	Southern Cal	--
4	Texas	--
5	Clemson	--
6	Louisville	--
7	Notre Dame	--
8	Arkansas	--
9	Auburn	--
10	Florida	--
11	Tennessee	--
12	California	--
13	Rutgers	--
14	West Virginia	1
15	Wisconsin	1
16	LSU	1
17	Boston College	2
18	Nebraska	2
19	Georgia Tech	5
20	Texas A&M	2
21	Boise State	3
22	Missouri	4
23	Wake Forest	2
24	Brigham Young	2
25	Tulsa	1

Dropped Out: Oregon (#18), Oklahoma (#21), Pittsburgh (#23).

A Last Look Back at Missouri

2006-10-18T22:37:00.000-04:00

Ah, Missouri. At long last the statement win that this Aggie team so desperately needed. I could prattle on about my massive Jorvorskie Lane man-crush or how welcome the return of the vertical passing game is, but this win belongs to one group, the defense.

Four times in the last five games the A&M defense has looked hard at the opposing offense and forced them to give the ball back inside the five yard line. Against Mizzou the word of the day was relentless. Whether it was Jordan Peterson forcing a fumble mere inches from the goal line on a play that the normally stout 12th Man had written off, or the defense swarming to the ball on a key fourth down play in the closing moments of the game, this defense was utterly relentless for the entirety of the paltry 18:30 that the Aggies let the Tigers control the ball. The stats are nearly flawless: 1 for 8 on third downs, 1 for 3 on fourth. 3 forced fumbles and a fearsome running back held to 37 yards. As a team Missouri managed only 2.8 yards per carry and no offensive points in the second half.

Players like the constantly improving Peterson, the dogged Brock Newton and the leader Melvin Bullitt are all coming of age and cementing their place in Aggie lore before our very eyes. Misi Tupe quietly had what was almost certainly his best game this season and Justin Warren and Devin Gregg are the anchors of this defense. Oklahoma State is in a mere three days, but for this one week, it was all about the tenacious defense and for that, I'm proud to be an Aggie.

The Heroes:
-Jorvorskie Lane for another week in which he was the second half offense, racking up 127 yards and another TD. Honorable mention to Mike Goodson who is not only fun to watch, but who scored the game winning TD and to Kerry Franks who seems to have single-handedly revived the vertical passing game.

-The whole defense who played as a team and made the stops when it counted. Special mention to Jordan Peterson, Melvin Bullitt, Devin Gregg, Misi Tupe and Cyril Obiozor.

-Justin Brantly came up big in the punting game again with a 58 yarder and a 48.3 yard average. It doesn't exactly fit here, but I would be remiss if I didn't also bring up Missouri punter Adam Crossett who boomed a 79 yard beauty that was easily the best punt that I've ever witnessed in person. It was a masterpiece, if somewhat painful for the Aggies in attendance.

Midseason BlogPoll Roundtable

2006-10-16T22:14:00.000-04:00

This week the rountable is hosted by Oklahoma blogger My Opinion on Sports. Many thanks to him. Speaking of Oklahoma, I bought season tickets this summer expecting to see two legitimate stars in Bomar and Peterson. The fact that neither will be suiting up at Kyle Field this November is a huge disappointment, no matter how much it helps the Aggies' chances. On to the questions:

1. Which coaches are clearly on the hot seat at this point? Who is surprisingly not?

I think that this list begins and ends with John L. Smith. Michigan State seems to be undergoing another monumental collapse down the stretch. Another name that I wouldn't have expected to see here but clearly belongs is Larry Coker. I was surprised that he wasn't fired today, things are even more of a mess than I thought at Miami.

It would seem that Chuck Amato has moved himself out of the fire, and I find that amazing. Houston Nutt always seems one disaster away from getting fired, but his Razorbacks are serious contenders in the SEC.

2. Pick three of the undefeated teams and state your case as to why they wonÃ’t run the table.

West Virginia - they won't get by Louisville, Rutgers AND Pittsburgh. One of those teams will have a good enough day on defense to knock off the Mountaineers.

USC - I think that Cal beats them, and maybe Oregon too.

Ohio State - I thought about going with Rutgers here, but I think that they have the right team to upset Louisville. Instead I'll go with the blatant homerism and pick my alma mater to beat the Buckeyes.

3. Which conference is playing the best football right now?

I think that the ACC and Big XII can be discarded out of hand, both are having down years. I don't think that the Pac-10 has the depth (Stanford, Arizona, WSU, Oregon State and UCLA are all somewhere between terrible and inconsistent). Ditto for the Big Ten (or Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin and everybody else).

That leaves the SEC and the Big East. Everybody knows about the SEC so I'll go with the Big East because I like competitive football. Rutgers, WV, Louisville and Pittsburgh are all quality teams and I think that this is going be a wild conference race coming down the wire. Add in frisky Cincy and always dangerous USF and this is a finish worth watching

4. Which team is playing above and beyond your expectations this season?

I didn't think that Tennessee was particularly good entering this season. That prediction didn't turn out so well.

5. Which team is crashing and burning in regards to your expectations?

This has to be a tie between Miami and Florida State. I had both figured for good defenses with offenses that would be good enough to win 9-10 games. That of course wasn't even close.

6. Is your pre-season BCS championship game prediction still alive?

My top two teams were Auburn and Cal. It would take a minor miracle for this to be the title game matchup. Both are capable of winning out, but I rather suspect that the winner of Ohio State-Michigan will have one of the title game spots. I wouldn't be surprised if either Auburn or Cal grabbed the other spot though. After the Tennessee game I was feeling pretty silly about the Cal pick, but the Bears have really bounced back and a solid stretch run and a victory over USC away from making me look good.

BlogPoll Draft Ballot

2006-10-15T14:12:00.000-04:00

As always, first the draft ballot and then some thoughts. Comments are very much appreciated.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	Michigan	1
3	Southern Cal	6
4	Texas	4
5	Clemson	1
6	Louisville	2
7	Notre Dame	4
8	Arkansas	4
9	Auburn	4
10	Florida	8
11	Tennessee	6
12	California	5
13	Rutgers	3
14	Georgia Tech	--
15	West Virginia	5
16	Wisconsin	10
17	LSU	2
18	Oregon	1
19	Boston College	6
20	Nebraska	2
21	Oklahoma	1
22	Texas A&M	4
23	Pittsburgh	3
24	Boise State	--
25	Wake Forest	1

Dropped Out: Missouri (#15), Iowa (#20), Georgia (#21), Washington (#23).

My Thoughts:
1. Ohio State - Another week, another big win.

2. Michigan - I watched the whole game against PSU and it wasn't as close as the score indicates. The sooner Mario Manningham is back, the better.

3. USC - Keep winning, but largely being propped up by Arkansas at this point. I would love to see them lose to Cal or Oregon to break up the transitive rankings.

4. Texas - Giving up 30+ points to Baylor isn't good, but Colt McCoy appears to be getting better.

5. Clemson - Clemson really bothers me. On one hand they have been unstoppable. On the other they lost to Boston College, so do they deserve to be ranked ahead of the Eagles? I've decided that a wonky one point loss on the road very early in the season isn't so bad so here they stay.

6. Louisville - Cincy also gave fits to tOSU so I'm not going to hold last week against Louisville. Brohm is back and I think that this is the best team in the Big East.

7. Notre Dame - I'm not sold on ND here, any suggestions?

8. Arkansas - Only loss is to USC, they are better than they were then and the game against Vandy isn't looked as bad as it did a week ago. Driven up by Auburn.

9. Auburn - Huge win over Florida. The SEC is going to give me headaches.

10. Florida - I think that Florida is actually a better team than Auburn, but the evidence on the field says here they go.

11. Tennessee - Another team that I would like to have higher but are being driven down by Auburn.

12. Cal - See Tennessee.

13. Rutgers - I really like Rutgers, especially after they smoked a good Navy team. The ability to run the ball bodes well.

14. Georgia Tech - Seems just about right, but comments would be appreciated.

15. West Virginia - WV does not have a good defense. Every time I see them on TV I come away unimpressed.

16. Wisconsin - Looking better and better every week. Held tough against a very good Michigan team.

17. LSU - Help?

18. Oregon - Below Cal, above Oklahoma.

19. Boston College - To me BC is the hardest team in the country to rank. Any help would be much appreciated.

20. Nebraska - Ask me again after they come to College Station.

21. Oklahoma - Losing Adrian Peterson is huge, but I'm going to hold off judging them until after we see how the team responds and whether or not the backup is any good.

22. Texas A&M - I'll try this again, although last time it didn't work. Still 6-1 with a win over Missouri isn't too shabby. The offensive is well balanced and specializes in wearing down teams then running all over them late. The defense is much improved from a year ago.

23. Pittsburgh - The MSU loss looks bad, they've been good otherwise.

24. Boise State - I'll admit that I ranked them before I watched last night's game, but this feels about right. The pass defense is a concern.

25. Wake Forest - Another 6-1 team that I'm not sure about.

Last team out: Missouri

Like I said, any help or insight would be welcome.

I'll Take It, Part II

2006-10-09T23:04:00.000-04:00

When it comes to conference games, a win's a win, right? The Aggies weren't pretty this past Saturday, but they did manage to get a key win in the conference road opener and moved within a single win of becoming bowl eligible. These are all steps in the right direction with another opportunity for a statement game coming up this weekend against a solid Missouri team. Both the Tigers and the Aggies are solid contenders for the Manning/Palmer memorial trophy presented to the team that shows the most improvement following the graduation of a star quarterback.

Looking back though at the Kansas game, the story has to be wasted opportunities and one clutch drive to win the game. The defense played their best game to date and Jorvorskie Lane continues to be Jorvorskie Lane. Some other random musings:

-I don't like to call individual players out in this space, so I won't name names, but one of our offensive linemen was just bad on Saturday. The painful part wasn't that he was being beat physically, but rather that he was consistently beating himself mentally. Hopefully the coaching staff will get this straightened out this week in practice and the individual will be ready to play this week.

-It was really good to see Martellus Bennett getting involved in the passing game once again, especially early in the game. I wish though that I knew where the vertical passing game is hiding as the Aggies will need it down the stretch.

-Right now I would say that Chris Harrington is the best defensive lineman on this team. His ability to get pressure throughout the game cut down on the time that the back seven needed to hold coverage and made the whole defense look better.

-When Cornish was able to get through a hole in the line he absolutely gashed the defense, especially early in drives. This needs to improve before the Aggies face Adrian Peterson or Jamaal Charles.

-Justin Warren had what was probably his best game of the season and both Melvin Bullitt and Michael Bennett made big plays to kill potentially big running plays and sap momentum from drives. Kudos to both of them.

-The special teams were bad, bad, bad. KU's special teams on the other hand, were actually pretty good and of course, that only made it worse, leaving A&M with terrible field position all day. This was somewhat surprising as the Aggies have been solid all year in this area. Hopefully this was more of a blip and less of a sign of underlying weakness.

-Mike Goodson had a number of very nice runs. I have a feeling that he is going to be a heck of a player before he leaves Aggieland.

-I was impressed with McGee on the final drive of the game, but I do wish that when he throws the ball away he would throw it a little further out of bounds. In the last two games he has had three or four passes *almost* intercepted.

-The possession receivers were just that, possession receivers and it paid off big on the final drive as they played within themselves, took what the defense was giving and made the catches when given the opportunity. When this offense is clicking it is very, very hard to stop without bringing a heavy blitz (and opening oneself up to the goodness that could be Michael Goodson on the screen play).

The Heroes (and yes I'm skipping the special teams player this week, I just couldn't come with one, suggestions are welcome):
-Earvin Taylor who was visibly slowed by and injury suffered earlier this season. He gutted it out, making multiple catches including the slip screen that went for big yardage and put A&M in a position to go to the Jorvorskie smash for the win.

-Chris Harrington who found a way to get pressure on the Jayhawk quarterback at the biggest times and was the best all around lineman this week.

I'll be back later this week with a look ahead at what the Aggies could stand to do better against Missouri. Until then, with apologies to comedic genius Red Green, keep your stick on the ice.

BlogPoll Draft Ballot

2006-10-08T14:20:00.000-04:00

I'll have some detailed analysis of the Kansas-A&M game up tonight. For the time being I'll say that I'm very happy with the win and looking forward to another statement game opportunity this weekend against Missouri. As always, first the ballot and then some thoughts. This is a draft and any input would be very much appreciated.

1. Ohio State
2. Florida
3. Michigan
4. Louisville
5. Tennessee

6. Clemson
7. Cal
8. Texas
9. USC
10. West Virginia

11. Notre Dame
12. Arkansas
13. Auburn
14. Georgia Tech
15. Missouri

16. Rutgers
17. Oregon
18. Nebraska
19. LSU
20. Iowa

21. Georgia
22. Oklahoma
23. Washington
24. Va Tech
25. Boise State

Some Thoughts
1. Ohio State - Here until further notice

2. Florida - I'm really impressed with Florida, two huge wins in the bad against LSU and Tennessee

3. Michigan - Michigan remains an enigma, having yet to be challenged this season. Penn State is going to be fired up though.

4. Louisville - Just keep rolling along

5. Tennessee - Came from behind and obliterated Georgia. Plus the Cal win looks better every week.

6. Clemson - Good road win over a scrappy Wake Forest team. Clemson is talented enough to deserve being ranked this high but needs consistency now.

7. Cal - This may be a little high for the Bears, but I've always been high on them. If they keep this up my preseason #1 ranking won't look so bad. Now if they only hadn't laid that egg in Knoxville I would look like a genius.

8. Texas - Good win over Oklahoma. Certainly the favorites in the Big XII South.

9. USC - Probably glad to be done with the State of Washington. I would be amazed if USC survived this season unbeaten. A poor showing against Washington though is cancelled out by the strong play of Arkansas.

10. West Virginia - Big win over an SEC team on the road. I don't know what to make of West Virginia.

11. Notre Dame - To close for comfort against a BAD Stanford team. I've got them as a midrange 1 loss team right now.

12. Arkansas - Really shoot up the poll this week after beating Auburn who I can't really justify ranking ahead of the Razorbacks. Only loss was to USC so while 12th is awfully high, I'll still be able to sleep at night.

13. Auburn - All the talk about how good the top teams in the SEC are and you lose to Arkansas?

14. Georgia Tech - Showed grit against Maryland. I've got Tech as the second best team in the ACC.

15. Missouri - Statement win in Lubbock this weekend. The Tigers come to College Station this weekend so ask me again how good they are after I see them in person.

16. Rutgers - DNP

17. Oregon - Did not look good against Cal hence the fall.

18. Nebraska - Seems about right

19. LSU - I don't really know what to think about LSU, but the loss to Auburn is looking worse than it did a week ago.

20. Iowa - Solidifying the third place spot in the Big Ten but certainly have the ability to play the spoiler.

21. Georgia - Well, they had a lead against Tennessee. 55 points, really?

22. Oklahoma - Losses to Texas and Oregon but a nice win against Washington.

23. Washington - What a difference 3 seconds make. As a Michigan alum I'm just glad that Michigan State never seems to go after Spartan alum Coach Willingham.

24. Boise State - Probably should go undefeated, but I said the same about TCU.

25. Boston College - Beat Clemson.

BlogPoll Roundtable 2.4

2006-10-05T20:37:00.000-04:00

Thank to Iowa State blogger Cross Cyed for hosting this week. With no further ado:

1. We're about halfway through the season at this point. Have you gotten a gauge on your team's chances this year to make noise in conference play, or is the team still a total freaking mystery?

Given the loss to Texas Tech and with games remaining against texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Missouri it would take a significant turnaround for A&M to contend for a Big XII South title this season. That said, the Aggies are perfectly positioned to play the spoiler, with all of those teams except the Longhorns coming to Kyle Field.

2. Many of the bigger conferences such as the Big 12 and the Big 10 use a rotating schedule to determine conference games each year. What are your feelings on the current system used in your conference? Does a rotating schedule work? Has your team always caught a break?

The sheer size of the Big XII takes any scheme that involves playing the other 11 teams out of the equation. This season the Aggies certainly haven't caught a break playing three of the top four teams in the North Division (they play Missouri, Nebraska and @Kansas while missing a miserable Colorado team, a rebuilding K-State and an enigmatic Iowa State). I'm not upset though, as the creampuffs that A&M opened against more than make up for a tough conference slate.

I actually like the rotating system as they tend to let some mini-rivalries stew a bit. A good example would be Michigan-Penn State. The years off seem to make those games better, more tense. Plus, Ames, Iowa seems awfully far to have to go every two years. Of course, they probably feel the same way about Austin, College Station and Waco.

3. In an effort to get to know more about college football, both nationally and regionally, what have you done to expand your college football horizons? Have you caught yourself watching games from other conferences, or taking an interest in games that show up on ESPNU or Fox Sports?

Being a Michigan alum in Aggieland, I ordered ESPN Gameplan to keep up with the Wolverines and it has been amazing. There is just something special about sitting in your boxer shorts at 11 AM watching Wake Forest battle Duke or Vanderbilt valiantly struggle against Arkansas.

I also find myself in something of a pickle regarding how I feel about the weeknight games on ESPN. On one hand, I'm a purist who thinks that college football is just that much more special when its played on a Saturday afternoon. On the hand, I love college football and having it on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday means that I can see so much more of it. Overall I suppose that I'm in favor of it, especially when it gives me the opportunity to watch NC State against FSU rather than do homework or laundry or something productive.

4. What would you change about the current exposure your team gets, either on the radio, television, print, or on the internet?

I'd personally like to see some more Aggie games picked up on the television. This season ESPN picked up the Army game which was a disaster and the Texas Tech game which of course the Aggies lost. I think that the A&M rushing offense would get significantly more respect if anyone had watched as teams like ULaLa and La Tech were absolutely bowled over.

5. During last Saturday's game against I-AA Northern Iowa, Iowa State trailed 21-7 at the half. The Cyclone Marching Band played a variety of songs from animated shows, including selections from South Park titled "Blame Canada" and "What Would Brian Boitano Do?" Needless to say, the Cyclones outscored the Panthers 21-6 in the second half. If you had to pick one song for your favorite team to rally to, what would it be? Because we all know what they did for the 2005 White Sox, Journey and "Don't Stop Believing" are not to be considered.

The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band doesn't play such drivel! Why would they, that would make their halftime shows entertaining after all. I'm going to get in trouble for saying this, and I love the military precision and all, but I miss the Michigan Marching Band busting out Bon Jovi and having thousands of students sing along. In terms of a rallying song to get pumped up to, in high school I always preferred "Bawitdaba" by Kid Rock. Not only did it get me ready to take the gridiron, I used it to get ready to kick some Quiz Bowl butt too. And I wish that I was making that up.

PS: While spell checking this beast, I was also watching the NCST-FSU halftime show. Lou Holtz just reference former Georgia quarterbacks David Greene and JD Stokely. You just can't make this stuff up.

Texas Tech Reaction

2006-10-02T23:03:00.001-04:00

I've had 48 hours to mull this game over and it still stings just a bit. I'm proud of the way that the Aggies played, especially in the second half, but a win sure would've been nice. Following the loss, TexAgs.com had a pretty major meltdown with a significant number of posters calling for Coach Fran to be fired. I can't say as I agree as this team is still 4-1.

I won't comment too much on the first half except to say that it was pretty miserable with the offense not able to move the ball at all through the air and defense playing soft. I think that a big part of the defensive struggles can be attributed to getting killed by the crossing routes when the linebackers didn't get back quickly enough in the zone to take it away.

The second half was a completely different story with the rushing attack moving the ball at will and the defense coming up with big stop after big stop (although several Tech drives were derailed by poor throws and shoddy execution). By the midway point of the 4th quarter, Kyle Field was absolutely rocking and things were looking up.

Ironically, both the offense and the defense finally ran out of gas at the worst time imaginable. The offense was held to a field goal on a drive where a touchdown would have almost certainly meant victory and the defense just couldn't get it done on the last drive of the game. The key play came on a 4th and 5 when Jarrett Hicks made a good catch on a perfect throw from Graham Harrell to keep the drive alive. On the came winning catch Jordan Peterson had superb coverage and was beaten by one of the best executed deep bombs I've seen this season. Despite the loss, I was ecstatic with both the adjustments A&M made and its second half intensity. From a football standpoint it was a great game with an exciting ending and one that I was glad to see in person.

The Heroes:
Offense - Jorvorskie Lane, Mike Goodson and Courtney Lewis. The run game was superb and is the biggest bright spot going forward from here.

Defense - This one is awfully hard. In the first half I thought that everybody was bad. In the second half pretty much everybody was good. I'll go with Jordan Peterson who seems to get better every game.

Special Teams - Kerry Franks who is very, very fast.

Things To Work On For Next Week:
-The zone defense was pretty bad and the linebackers need to get back in time to take away the crossing route.

-A&M has yet to come out and start a game well. Some 1st Quarter intensity would go a long way, especially considering that A&M's strengths fit well with grabbing a lead and burning time by pounding the football.

-Kansas in general will be a very big game. If A&M can suck it up and get a road win I think that they will be alright down the stretch with a great chance of taking care of business and finishing 8-4 (with an outside shot at swinging an upset and going 9-3). A loss this weekend though would put this team in serious danger of having the kind of tailspin that has plagued A&M in recent years. Either way we should know soon.

Gig 'Em.

Texas Tech Reaction

2006-10-02T23:03:00.000-04:00

Week 6 BlogPoll Draft Ballot

2006-10-02T09:04:00.000-04:00

I'll have some thoughts on the game up tonight. Despite all the doom and gloom over at TexAgs.com, I'm surprisingly upbeat this week. Thinking about Harrell or Johnson or Hicks still causes me to go into convulsions, but I thought that the Aggies played hard in the second half which would tend to be the opposite of the kind of loss that would send a team into a tailspin. Like I said though, more analysis tonight.

My top 25 draft ballot, please feel free to comment:

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. Florida
4. Auburn
5. Oregon

6. USC
7. LSU
8. Texas
9. Louisville
10. Clemson

11. Tennessee
12. West Virginia
13. Cal
14. Georgia
15. Notre Dame

16. Georgia Tech
17. Rutgers
18. Oklahoma
19. Missouri
20. Iowa

21. Virginia Tech
22. Nebraska
23. Washington
24. Boise State
25. Southern Miss

1. Ohio State - Moves up to #1 after an impressive victory over Iowa.

2. Michigan - Controlled the whole game, but packed it in a little early on both sides of the ball. That needs work.

3. Florida - They seem to finish well.

4. Auburn - A win is a win, but after holding the ball for the entire third quarter you can't let a team back into it.

5. Oregon - Oregon with a powerful running game just doesn't feel right.

6. USC - Way to close for comfort against a mediocre WSU. I'm not sold yet.

7. LSU - This feels about right.

8. Texas - So does this.

9. Louisville - DNP

10. Clemson - Another blowout, this one over a La Tech team that isn't good, but isn't terrible either.

11. Tennessee - Still being pushed up by the Cal win.

12. West Virginia - Find a defense yet?

13. Cal - I really wish that the Bears hadn't had such a bad showing at Tennessee, I would like to put them higher.

14. Georgia - Georgia may well be in free fall mode now.

15. Notre Dame - The Michigan State win didn't look so good this week.

16. Georgia Tech - Huge road win, definitely helping push the Irish up the poll.

17. Rutgers - I was impressed. These guys have the ideal team to knock off WV. Should be fun.

18. Oklahoma - DNP

19. Missouri - They come to Kyle this month. Ask me again after that.

20. Iowa - Ouch.

21. Virginia Tech - Ouch again.

22. Nebraska - You guys aren't making me feel good about Kansas this weekend.

23. Washington - Can we get some Washington "Return to Glory" shirts made?

24. Boise State - I had dropped them after a less than impressive win over Wyoming, but I think that I was wrong.

25. Southern Miss - This is my weekly stretch (last week it was Texas A&M). They lost at Florida to start the year but have been impressive since. Also considered, Wake Forest and Texas Tech.