This past weekend was a big weekend for sports, as there were many big pro and college football games as well as the final regular season series between the Red Sox and Yankees. I will begin this week's post as I have been doing for the past couple weeks with my thoughts on college football.
A lot of top teams this week made some statements with strong performances on Saturday. USC went into Lincoln, in what was supposed to be a game where Bill Callahan was going to prove to the nation that Nebraska was again back on the map as one of college football's elite programs. This however proved to be far from the case as USC steamrolled over the Huskers 49-31, on Pete Carrol's 56th birthday, thanks in large part to a strong running attack which ran for 313 yards and 5 touchdowns. Another top tier team that proved that they are worthy of playing in this year's BCS National Title game in New Orleans is defending National Champion Florida. Many thought that Florida was going to be "down" this year after losing the majority of their defense, but Urban Meyer has his spread offense working to perfection again. This past Saturday the Gators faced fellow SEC East Foe Tennessee, and they showed through a 59-20 drubbing of the Vols, that they are not going to give up their title easily. Sophomore Quarterback Tim Tebow showed with his arm as well as with his legs that he is ready to lead this team on another national title hunt.
Another team that made a strong statement was my Boston College Eagles. As mentioned in my college football preview blog, I said the first three games of BC's season would be a strong indicator of what type of team they would have. The reason for this is that BC is the only team in the nation who has to had to open the season with three straight conference games. Now three games into the season BC is 3-0, thanks in large part to the Heisman worthy season thus far by Senior quarterback Matt Ryan who threw for a career high 435 yards Saturday vs Georgia Tech. Besides Ryan there have been many other bright spots on this team. The run defense for one has been very impressive, and showed their ability this past weekend when they held Tashard Choice and the much feared Yellow Jacket rushing attack to only 63 yards. Coach Jags clearly has this team going in the right direction and with three cupcakes, followed by a trip to the now lowly Irish, who this past week ranked #1 on ESPN's bottom 10, the team should be a 7-0 and top 5 team when they head down to Blacksburg to face the Hokies of Virginia Tech in what should be one of the more entertaining Thursday night games of the year.
Other teams that put on strong showings this past weekend were West Virginia, Ohio State and Kentucky. West Virginia beat Maryland 31-14 thanks in large part to their strong ground game. Heisman candidate Steve Slaton rushed for 137 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Freshman phenom Noel Devine rushed for 136 yards on just 5 carries. Ohio State on the other hand traveled all the way to the Pacific Northwest to take on the 2-0 Washington Huskies, and many thought that Tyrone Willingham and his quarterback Jake Locker were going to pull off the upset. The Huskies played well for the first half, but after a block field goal in the third quarter the momentum completely swung in favor of the Buckeyes as they completely dominated the second half and went on to win 33-14. Finally, Kentucky won the Governors Cup in their annual rivalry game against Louisville. Many expected the game to be a shootout, since the game featured two of the nation's top quarterbacks in Louisville's Brian Brohm, and Kentucky's Andre Woodson, and that is exactly what we got. The game was back and forth throughout the whole game, and Kentucky was able to throw the last punch when Woodson hit receiver Steve Johnson for a 57 yard touchdown pass to give the Wildcats a 40-34 lead with 28 seconds left. This was Kentucky's first win over their in state rival in four years and now it is the first time they have been ranked in two decades.
A weekend of college football reviewing however cannot be complete without the weekly discussion of the demise of Notre Dame football. Their game this past week against Michigan, where they lost 38-0, was the first game where I actually got to witness the game live, and I will say as a BC fan where I am supposed to root against the Irish, that it was painful to watch. I, as well as many, thought that Notre Dame was going to be down this year. Anytime a team loses so many of their top players, especially with a quarterback of Brady Quinn's caliber, one can expect a team to not do as well, but I don't think anyone thought it was going to be this bad. Their offense looked horrible, and to go three games now without scoring an offensive touchdown, and still having negative rushing yards is inexcusable. Charlie Weis I am sure is probably wishing that Darius Walker did not make the bonehead decision that he did to forgo his senior year to enter the NFL draft, of which he went un-drafted. Things have gotten so bad in South Bend that backup quarterback Demetrius Jones became the second Irish quarterback this year to transfer.
Now here are my top 5 College games of the week:
South Carolina vs LSU
Georgia vs Alabama
Texas A&M vs Miami
Penn State vs Michigan
Iowa vs Wisconsin
Moving onto the pro ranks, many people have asked me this week on my thoughts about the Patriots and the whole "Spy Gate" scandal. My overall opinion is that it was stupid by Bill Belichick to do such a thing, because he is such a great coach and has one of the best teams. To me, he did not need to risk losing draft picks and facing a very hefty fine, for trying to get a slight edge. I am convinced that the Patriots are not the only team doing this, but unfortunately Belichick and the Patriots got caught. I will say though that I do not think that this diminishes what the Patriots have done in the past. My theory in sports is that you can have the greatest coach in the world, but the players still have to make the plays. Tom Brady still had to put his passes on the mark, and Adam Vinatieri still had to make the clutch field goals. This past Sunday the Patriots made a statement that they don't need cameras to win, and this was best seen on their picture perfect opening drive against the Chargers. Tom Brady and Randy Moss once again showed that they are now to be one of the most feared quarterback receiver tandems in the league, as the Patriots went on to win for the second week in a row 38-14.
My surprise team after two weeks are the Houston Texans. Two years ago I remember watching a Patriots vs Falcons game where Matt Schaub filled in for Michael Vick, and coming away from the game thinking "this guy (Schaub) can play and should be a starter." Now two years later Schaub finally got his chance to lead a team and he has made the once laughable Texans a team to be reckoned with. Schaub is not the only reason for this. Andre Johnson, whom I believe is the most underrated player in the NFL, has gotten off to a tremendous start, the defense has also stepped up this season, and the offensive line for the first time in franchise history is giving the quarterback time to stand in the pocket. The Texans this week can prove to the league that they are for real when they take on the defending Super Bowl champion Colts. Unfortunately however they will be without Andre Johnson.
Other teams that have impressed me after two weeks are the Redskins, Packers and Cowboys. While the teams that I figured would be in the hunt to go to the Super Bowl representing the NFC, the Eagles and Saints, have disappointed. The Saints, who had one of the most potent and exciting offenses last year, have not been able to find their rhythm yet thus far.
Here are my top 5 NFL games of the week:
Green Bay vs San Diego
Pittsburgh vs San Francisco
Seattle vs Cincinnati
Indianapolis vs Houston
Dallas vs Chicago
Now to my final topic being the Red Sox and Major League Baseball. Last night I got a text message from an old college friend Mr. Alex Whelan, who happens to be a Yankee fan saying, "You nervous yet?" This message is referencing the fact that the Sox lead in the AL East is now down to only a 1.5 games. As a Sox fan, I will admit I am somewhat nervous. I am not nervous that they won't make the playoffs, because at this point it looks like the American League playoff situation is set with the Angles, Red Sox, Yankees and Indians all basically having secured spots. The one thing I am nervous about for the Red Sox is that they are stumbling into the playoffs, while the three other teams are all heating up at the right time. Early in the season it was the Yankees who had injury problems. Now they are healed, and it is the Sox who have a bad case of the injury bug, with slugger Manny Ramirez being the most notable victim with a strained oblique muscle. Another concern is that the bullpen has been collapsing. The usual lights out Jonathan Papelbon has been shaky in his last couple of outings. Last night he gave up a grand slam to Russ Adams of the Blue Jays for instance. Hideki Okajima has also been crumbling, and much of this is due to the fatigue of playing in the majors and having a longer season than that in Japan. Finally, Eric Gagne continues to struggle tremendously as he blew another lead the other night against the Blue Jays. The Sox now travel to Tampa Bay, in the hopes of winning some games and regaining their confidence. I still have faith that they will win the division, but ever since they blew the game last Friday after leading 7-2 to the Yankees in the 8th inning, the team just does not have the same demeanor and swagger that we have seen throughout the whole season. The final two weeks of the season will prove to be very eventful, not only in the fight for the top spot in the AL East, but the National League also has many tight races, as the Cubs and Brewers fight it out in the Central, the Diamondbacks and Padres in the West, and the Phillies and Padres in the Wild Card.
I will end this week's Rant, by saying that this morning I purchased Celtics tickets for this upcoming season, and I will say that I have been waiting nearly my whole life for the Celtics to have a season that I am truly excited for. Having grown up in Boston, all I hear about the Celtics is how great they were in the past, but with the exception of a year or two of my life, the Celtics have pretty much been the bottom feeder/middle of the pack team in the NBA, and finally for once there is hope that the slogan "Green 17" will come true. I hope you have again enjoyed this edition of "Boyce's Weekly Rant," and I remind you to keep reading and send the link to your friends. Thanks.
Brendan Boyce
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