Toid's Roundup
September 28, 2002 by Toid
There were hardly any Top 25 clashes on the schedules today, but don't think for one moment that cut down on the action!
Let me come right out and say there were some teams that came out on the field amped today. Iowa was one of them. They dismantled Penn State from the start. They lead 23-0 at one point! Beaver Stadium was quiet. The Hawkeyes had flown in and shown the talent that they have. I do give some credit to Penn State for coming back and taking it to OT, but Iowa deserved the win. I think whenever an unranked team is playing an away game in a ranked opponents house, and the score is tied at the end of regulation, the unranked team deserves the win. Penn State got too big-headed after their win against a not-so-good Nebraska team. I won't go so far as Gugals does, but I will say this. Nebraska, just like any other team is allowed to have a few bad games. It's unfortunate for Nebraska that they happened so early in the season. If they manage to finish the season with only 3 or 4 losses, and win a bowl game, it might be a bad year so to speak for Nebraska fans, but it won't be all that bad of a year for Nebraska football. They have a new quarterback. Everybody forgets that Eric Crouch pretty much ran the offense the last couple of years. Nebraska doesn't have an offensive coordinator, and I think that they might have to at least think about one while Jamaal Lord gets aquainted with the system and looks of different defense. I believe next year Nebraska will be no worse than a 2 loss team.
Florida. The Gators escaped with a close one today. Kentucky is another team that showed up to play. It just goes to show that in college football, so much has to do with the emotions in a game. One of the factors I would like to see factored into the BCS more is big games won on the road. This would indicate that without the huge fan support, a team can ignore the crowd and play some football. I was pulling for Kentucky to beat Florida for two reasons. One, I don't like any team from Florida. That's just my personal bias. Second, I think they should of won because they played their hearts out. Florida looked lacksidasial (note: i don't have spell check on so deal with it) today, and deserved to lose because of that. Just because they beat a questionable Tennessee team in the rain, doesn't prove anything. They still got romped by Miami.
Oregon State. What can I say about the Beavers? They just can't seem to pull it off in the Rose Bowl. This would have launched them up the rankings had they won. They hadn't been tested up until this point, and I think it hurt them. It's the same thing that's going to hurt Texas year after year. They never play any decent games before the BIG game (against OU in mid October). Oregon State fell victim to the Sports Illustrated Curse. Whoever seems to make a cover of SI, has a poor week, or fails to live up to the hype. Let's not forget SI picked them to win it all this year. Kudos goes to USC though for bouncing back after the K-State game. I think USC was just looking past K-State to this game, when they should have taken one game at a time.
Iowa State. How good is this team? I think the answer is we still don't know. They beat Nebraska. That's a good win that gives them a leg up in the Big 12 North. I think they can beat Colorado as the Buffs are having a down year, especially after their quarterback controversy. The question is, can Iowa State beat K-State and Oklahoma. If they can dismantle Oklahoma after the Sooners play a hard game in Dallas the previous week, Iowa State is good and will win the Big 12 North. Texas has yet to be tested from the Big 12 South. However, I almost have to believe along with Chris Fowler that they will beat Oklahoma come the Red River Shootout. Oklahoma just has no offense. You can't tell me Oklahoma is going to win, just because you go there, or you like them, or they are your favorite team. Oklahoma has the eyesight and talent, they just don't have the vision. Let's hope they get it before Oct 12th.
Florida State. This team was overranked from the start. They barely escaped Iowa State on a bad call by the officials. They should have lost that game. I'm glad they finally lost one. They had been playing poorly all season, and it's about time somebody snuck up on them and showed them where they stand. Now Miami is the only premier Florida team that has yet to lose. They escaped BC last week, but still have plenty of chances later on in their schedule.
Alright, time to recap the analyst picks. It was a good week for all, as nobody went worse than 7-3. Nobody saw the Iowa game coming. Gugals says he thought about it, but he just didn't put it for others to see. He also convinced Aaron on the phone --last minute mind you-- that Aaron should change his pick from Iowa State to Nebraska. Gugals, what's going on here! Are you playing hardball? It's on! The Dukies somehow pulled a huge win over Navy, giving Gugs and Aaron BP's. Let's hope we can all do as good next week. Until then have fun, and join in the fourm, even if I don't know you! Let us know your thoughts.
