Author: Mike

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

On By MikeIn navy football29 Comments

It usually takes me several days to finish a game writeup, but I don’t want to wait until the end of the week to talk about Kriss Proctor’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the end of Saturday’s game. Nobody wants to pick at scabs when discussion is better served by moving on. You can’t really talk about the game without mentioning that debacle, though, so here goes.

I think the flag was justified.

First, I want to refer back to a comment I made after the Delaware game:

(By the way, Kriss might want to cool it with the little “let me hear it” thing he did after that first touchdown. The refs are all flag-happy about that stuff this year. Air Force even had a touchdown called back against South Dakota because one of their players was strutting his stuff as he ran into the end zone. Kriss’ run wouldn’t have been called back since his “celebration” came after he had already scored, but we don’t need any penalties on kickoffs either.)

That comment is sort of ironic now. The fact that there’s a little history here (however innocent it was at the time) makes it hard for me to buy into the whole “well everyone was being chippy the whole game” line. I’m sure they were, but I don’t see that as much of an excuse. If this was just a case of a couple of players jabbering after the play, then yeah, the ref should have just stepped in and told them to knock it off. This was more than that, though. Kriss got up, circled the pile, and intentionally (in my opinion) bumped an Air Force player before getting into his face. That guy plays for Air Force so he probably deserved it, but unfortunately, Kriss deserved the flag, too. If you want to be pissed about the refs, make it about the pass interference flag.

If this happened against Army or Notre Dame, Kriss might’ve had a Bucchianeri moment and be persona non grata in the Hall. Fortunately it was just Air Force, so whatever.

STOCK MARKET: WEEK FIVE

On By MikeIn football10 Comments

Mike

STOCK DOWN: Navy. We have all week to talk about the other impacts from Saturday’s loss, but right now let’s just look at what it means for this season. At 2-0 everyone was all sunshine and puppy dogs. Now Navy is 2-2, and the schedule isn’t getting any easier. The next 6 games include matchups with Southern Miss, Rutgers, Troy, Notre Dame, and SMU. And who knows what Army team will show up in December? Getting to bowl eligibility is never a given, something a lot of people have forgotten. Remember all the bitching and whining there was after going friggin’ 9-4 last year? Looks pretty good right now, doesn’t it?

STOCK DOWN: Independence. Chet said that we were waiting for the Big East to show some solidarity before Navy would commit to joining the conference. Is this what he was talking about?

STOCK UP: Andrew Luck. Dude might as well print his own money.

STOCK UP: Georgia Tech. Their defense still stinks, but the spread option is a juggernaut that has pushed them to their best start since the 1990 national championship season. They should get to 7-0 with Maryland and Virginia next on the schedule, setting up a challenging-but-not impossible 3-game stretch against Miami, Clemson and Virginia Tech that could turn the Jackets into national title contenders once again. I should know better than to get ahead of myself, though, especially since Clemson is looking pretty damn great right now. Can’t wait for that game.

STOCK UP: Wisconsin. Nebraska, you’re not in Kansas anymore. On multiple levels.

NOT SURE IF STOCK UP OR STOCK DOWN: Baylor blew a 35-26 lead to Kansas State and lost 36-35 for their first defeat of the year. Meanwhile, Kansas State is 4-0. I’m not sure if that says more about Baylor or Kansas State.

Adam

STOCK UP: My Italian cooking skills. Not gonna lie, when 1 p.m. rolled around – and when Navy’s players were just starting to get out of bed – I had already made several forays over to Food Network. Can you blame me? Watching Giada was a helluva lot prettier than watching the gridiron equivalent of Shock-and-Awe we saw on Saturday.

STOCK DOWN: Texas teams, as in those not located in Austin. Sure, the Longhorns may be a surprise so far this year, but it was a tough weekend for the Lone Star State’s “other” programs. Three Top 25 teams from Texas (SMU TCU, Baylor, and Texas A&M) all lost on Saturday, while two of the state’s undefeated programs – Houston and Texas Tech – had to overcome anemic first halves to hold off what were considered lesser conference opponents.

STOCK UP: WAZOOOO. If you’re one of those college football fans who likes to “adopt” a perennial loser (and seriously, who doesn’t?) than you should start following what’s been going on in Pullman. Beating Colorado might not seem like a big deal for most football teams, but in overcoming a 10-point, 4th-quarter hole, Paul Wulff’s team proved it doesn’t just have big play talent, but also a will to win. Is it too early to jump on the Marshall Lobbesteal for Pac-10 Offensive Player-of-the-Year bandwagon?

STOCK DOWN: Temple. Granted, we knew Toledo was one of the best 1-3 teams in the country coming into the game, but a week after hammering Maryland, Temple proved one-dimensional in a 36-13 loss to the Rockets. Probably not the best note to pitch coming back to the Big East on.

STOCK UP: Dan Persa. I know Northwestern ultimately lost, but it was apparent from watching the Wildcats take on the Illini that the preseason hype generated for Northwestern might have been justified had the starting quarterback come into the year healthy. Kain Colter isn’t a bad quarterback, but he just doesn’t have the same field presence as Persa, nor does he have the senior’s on-field chemistry with Jeremy Ebert, who uncloaked himself this weekend by catching three touchdown passes – all from Persa.

STOCK DOWN: The city of Logan. Unless you’ve ever spent a considerable amount of time there and unless you experienced the transfer of Riley Nelson – Logan High’s onetime hero – than you just can’t understand. I’ll leave it at that.

GAME WEEK: AIR FORCE

On By MikeIn air farce, navy football10 Comments

It’s been a pretty wild 18 months or so for the Air Force football program. The Mountain West has basically disintegrated around them, with cash cows Utah, TCU, and BYU all leaving for greener pastures. The conference had already added Boise State, and will replace the defectors with Fresno State, Nevada, and Hawaii next year. While the Mountain West has been busy transforming themselves back into the WAC, Air Force has been mixed up the same Big East rumors as Navy. (Remember how BYU was excoriated for leaving the MWC? Can’t wait to see THAT double standard exposed). Like everyone else not in the Pac 12, Big Ten, or SEC, the future is a little uncertain for Air Force, at least off the field.

On the field, Air Force had a fantastic year. Well, depending on your point of view they did. For a service academy, it was as good a season as one could hope for. The team won 9 games, won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, and beat a BCS team in their bowl game. That’s a season I’d be thrilled with, but there was also a certain amount of disappointment in Air Force’s performance. As good as it was, it was also a missed opportunity to move up the conference food chain. BYU had an off year, and after Air Force beat the Cougars early in the season it seemed like Air Force would take their place in the Mountain West’s top tier. That didn’t happen; instead, San Diego State emerged as an up-and-coming program and beat Air Force to start a 3-game conference losing streak for the Falcons. As good as Air Force was, they weren’t able to break through to establish themselves as part of the new elite of the conference that will replace the programs that have left.

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STOCK MARKET, WEEK FOUR

On By MikeIn football23 Comments

Mike

STOCK DOWN: Army. I’m done writing about you people. Just let us all know when you decide to be whatever kind of team you’re going to be this season.

STOCK MARKET CRASH: Big East officiating. Our future conference, ladies and gentlemen.

STOCK UP: South Carolina’s defense. Vanderbilt came into yesterday’s game 3-0, including wins over UConn and Ole Miss. Against the Gamecocks, they were held to only 77 total yards while going 1-of-14 on 3rd down conversions and committing 3 turnovers. South Carolina had 6 sacks, all coming from the defensive line.

STOCK DOWN: South Carolina’s offense. Marcus Lattimore can only do so much. Stephen Garcia doesn’t have to be a world-beater, but he can’t throw 4 interceptions, either.

STOCK UP: Arizona State. USC isn’t eligible to play in the Pac 12 championship game as part of its NCAA postseason ban, so it would have felt cheesy to see them win their division but have someone else get the chance to play for the title. Arizona State took an important step towards ensuring that doesn’t happen with their 43-22 win over the Trojans. Cameron Marshall ran for 141 yards and 3 TDs.

STOCK UP (SORT OF): Robert Griffin III. His stock can’t really get any higher than it already is, seeing as how he was sent down from heaven and all, but it should be mentioned that Griffin has 13 TD passes so far this year. He has 12 incompletions.

STOCK DOWN: The Mountain West. Boise State and TCU are good enough to beat anyone. The problem is that New Mexico and UNLV are bad enough to lose to anyone, as demonstrated by the former’s 48-45 loss to Sam Houston State and the latter’s 41-16 faceplant at the hands of Southern Utah. New Mexico’s got a few other problems to deal with, too.

ALONG THOSE LINES…: Minnesota has the most gorgeous stadium in the Big Ten. Unfortunately, they fill it with the worst team.

Adam

STOCK UP: Harvard’s football recruiting. I don’t really care if you hate the NFL (normally, I do too) but you’ve got to appreciate the Buffalo Bills and their fearless leader, Ryan Fitzpatrick. I come from a long line of Bills fans, but through the years I’ve had to watch replays of the 1991 AFC Championship Game just to keep me going. Amazingly, the Bills actually got to say “take that” to Tom Brady on Sunday, moving to 3-0 and giving the down-on-its-luck town a glimmer of hope before hockey season starts.

STOCK DOWN: Non-BCS pretenders. Several non-BCS conference teams had the chance to get to 4-0 on Saturday, and everyone but Boise State laid an egg. A week after winning arguably the biggest game in program history, FIU fell in-conference, while the MAC’s best hope for national exposure (Ohio) lost to Rutgers. Good thing for fans of conference parody parity, bad for fans looking for their conference to bust the BCS.

STOCK UP: Rex Burkhead. For anyone thinking Nebraska’s offense was a one trick pony, think again. Wyoming might have contained Taylor Martinez on Saturday, but the former Plano, Texas prep star Burkhead couldn’t be stopped. 170 yards and two touchdowns ain’t too shaby for only 15 carries.

STOCK DOWN: The ACC. For anyone thinking the ACC was finally going to come around this year, think again. Maryland showed its win over Miami wasn’t a precursor to anything, getting spanked by Temple while flashing their god-awful uniforms. Miami fell to Kansas State, while Virginia and North Carolina State also lost in non-conference games. Hey, at least Boston College won, I guess.

STOCK UP: Football. It sure was nice to enjoy a few hours on Saturday without having to hear the words “expansion” in every other sentance.

STOCK DOWN: The WAC. You think the MWC had a bad weekend, Mike? A week after adding non-football powerhouses Dallas Baptist and UC Bakersfield to its future members list, Karl Benson’s failing conference dropped the ball in three potential upsets. My Aggies lost another heartbreaker, while Nevada narrowly missed surprising Texas Tech in a 35-34 loss. Lousiana Tech — which has been oh so close this year — fell in overtime to Mississippi.

IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING

On By MikeIn conference talk, navy football6 Comments

I have always been a staunch supporter of Navy football remaining independent, for reasons most of you are already familiar with. The Mids are approaching a decade of football success that was jump-started by schedule changes made possible by the flexibility that independence provides. Thanks to its national fan base and their willingness to travel, Navy has managed to secure berths in bowl games for 8 straight years, and has locked in agreements for several more, all on its own. Independence means maintaining rivalries while having the freedom to include a little variety, too; Navy has played at least one team from every conference and has played in every time zone in the country over the last decade. Gone are the days of dialing into Teamline to listen to every game; the same national draw that makes Navy attractive to bowl games has enabled them to secure their own television contract with CBS Sports Network. CBS is even making a movie! It’s a little harder to fend for yourself sometimes, but independence has been good to the Naval Academy.

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