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Saturday Lessons: September 19

It was one of those weeks.

Every season, there's a week or two where we see top teams struggle. USC lost. BYU lost. Florida struggled with Tennessee. Cal struggled with Minnesota. I'm not ready to call this 2007 all over again, but there has been a lot of upheaval early on.

Florida is not the greatest team ever.

Even if the Gators run the table from here on out, you can forget about calling them the best team ever (got that, ESPN?). Without Deonte Thompson the Florida offense was dead of arrival, as the passing game was not able to do anything beyond 15 yards down field from the line of scrimmage. With everything being done up close to the line, Tennessee was able to crowd in close and limit greatly what Florida wanted to do.

The defense did its part, with the one touchdown allowed likely being a byproduct of having relaxed and assumed that Tim Tebow was not going to fumble it away in the red zone. This game was heading the way of the Florida-Arkansas game of a year ago, where UF lead 17-7 for most of it, scored right near the third/fourth quarter break, and pulled away for a nice final score. Instead. Tennessee never stopped fighting and kept it close. If Tennessee had Ryan Mallett, the Vols would have won.

I was wrong, wrong, wrong about Tennessee.

Tennessee did exactly what I thought it would, which is lean on the rushing game and not the passing game. What I did not expect was for the UT offensive line to repair itself so quickly and play an outstanding game.

Jonathan Crompton did his part fairly well, despite some bad throws and two basically inconsequential interceptions. If he could have been trusted, the Vols could have used the run to set up some down field passing and cause some real trouble for the Gator defense. This is why it is so critical for Lane Kiffin to find a quarterback for the future, whether it's Nick Stephens for part of this one and next, or current commit Tyler Bray or someone else. The running game should be set for years with Bryce Brown and David Oku. Without a quarterback though, they'll lose a lot of games in the same manner as this one.

I was right, right, right about USC.

I've been saying since the first week that I was not impressed by USC, even after they blew out San Jose State by 50. I said that there were Pac-10 losses out there because of the deficiencies of the passing game, and though I didn't call Washington to be the first one, I'm not as shocked as most everyone seems to be. I don't know that Matt Barkley would have made a difference, but someone who got the game in their area might be able to tell me. Anyway, this Trojan team is not done losing for the year.

Star-divide

BCS bustin' is down to three teams.

Boise State. TCU. Houston. That's pretty much it, and the Cougars are a major long shot. With BYU going down in flames and Oregon edging out Utah, the MWC took a shot. Oregon's win also helps out Boise State, as the Broncos need that first win of the year to stretch a loooooong way with the rest of their schedule.

Cal should stop playing noon ET games.

Everything will be covered up by the "OMG! Jahvid Best 5 TDs!!" hype parade, but Cal really didn't look that great against Minnesota. At least the Bears won this time, instead of staging a repeat of the giant egg they laid at Maryland last year. Of course, Best was fantastic. He really was, but the problem was that Best had three touches in three fourths of the the second half before Cal went back to feeding him consistently.

Georgia and Arkansas are applying to join the Big 12.

93 total points. 1,015 total yards. We knew that Arkansas would be all offense and no defense, but a 2-1 vote among early season games says that Georgia is too. That UGA-Oklahoma State game is really standing out as the bizarre score of the year so far, upsets aside. Neither team has played like that since, and neither appears likely to again. Arkansas meanwhile lived up to its billing offensively, as Mallett put on a show with his arm. He's the new Matthew Stafford.

Texas and Texas Tech will come back in the trade.

It was a defensive struggle for most of the game, and though Texas Tech kept giving Texas opportunities to break the game open, the Longhorns never could. Something is up with Colt McCoy, as he wasn't terribly sharp all night. Tech played a valiant game and could be close to as good as it was last year, even if they couldn't pull off a repeat of last year's win over UT. Given how Oklahoma State played against Rice this week (and how TTU did against Rice last week), I'm beginning to think that the Red Raiders are the third best team in the Big 12 South.

Auburn's rushing game might be human after all.

Anybody have Auburn throwing for 300 yards while rushing for only 100? Anyone? It was an important win to pick up over a pretty good West Virginia team, but it wasn't the most elegant. The Tigers were outgained by 109 yards, but they took advantage of six (!) WVU turnovers to take it by 11. While it is somewhat disappointing to see the leading rusher (Ben Tate) be held to 3.9 yards per carry, the passing game made up for it and that's an accomplishment in these parts.

Never doubt Brian Kelly.

Cincinnati picked up a nice win by going to Corvallis and beating Oregon State. I thought Cincy would be better than the experts think this year, to borrow Lee Corso's phrase, but I didn't expect them to look this good this early. Kelly is the best coach in the Big East, and the Bearcats will be right in the thick of the race again.

Kentucky is still a mystery.

I think we all can guess what expletive Rich Brooks thinks that almost giving away a game to Louisville is. The offense was nice, with Mike Hartline having a nice stat line even if his average was low. It concerning though that Louisville outgained the Wildcats and converted more than half of its third downs.

Mississippi State is not going winless in the conference.

The Bulldogs gave Dan Mullen his first win in an ugly one in Nashville. Ugly doesn't really describe the Vandy offense though, as it got only 157 yards and lost time of possession by an entire quarter. When your leading rusher has seven carries for 26 yards, that's a bad sign. MSU meanwhile rushed for 260 yards, led by Anthony Dixon, and picked up a conference win on the road.

0 recs  |  Comment 12 comments |

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Are you seriosly going to overlook Joe Cox?

Roosy

by geapsquash on Sep 20, 2009 10:32 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Don’t worry, he’ll get his own story later in the week.

Team Speed Kills
SBNation's SEC Blog

by Year2 on Sep 20, 2009 10:14 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions   0 recs

Mountain West

may well get a one loss team in the BCS. If BYU runs the table from here, or TCU beats Clemson and then drops one game in conference, they could get in.

The Rivalry, Esq.
The quintessential Big Ten smoking room.

by Bama Hawkeye on Sep 20, 2009 11:18 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I’d prefer that over BSU. If everyone’s expectations for the Ducks going into this season were at what we now know is the correct level, there’s no way the Broncos would be ranked so high.

Defending the SEC in Addicted to Quack and the Pac-10 in Team Speed Kills and And the Valley Shook.

by AllSaintsDay on Sep 21, 2009 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I thought the Broncos were a top 15 team to begin with, so while they’re probably a little high, it’s not that much for my liking.

Team Speed Kills
SBNation's SEC Blog

by Year2 on Sep 21, 2009 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'm suprised

nobody is talking about a play I thought was pretty important and telling.

Trailing 49-38, on the Razorbacks first full possession of the 4th, they faced 3rd and 10 from the Georgia 12. The field opened up so much that Mallett decided to run. He lumbered to about the five and, instead of challenging the defender at about the 3, slid down feet first. He then jumped up looking for a flag when another Georgia player came in and fell on him (likely in disgust).

The ref didn’t bail him out. I couldn’t read the official’s lips to see if told him to go to the sideline and clean off his dress, but that’s the way it happened in my mind.

With the tenor of the game, everyone in the stadium knew the Hogs needed a touchdown there. Rather then put his body on the line for the team, Mallett went to the ground two yards in front of the defended, and a full three yards shy of the first down. At the very least, he had the chance to put them in a very makeable 4th and short. Instead, the Hogs settled for a FG and never got closer for the rest of the game.

It reminded me of the type play you would see from Jeff George, the ridiculously talented but unpopular quarterback remembered more for his prima donna attitude than passing exploits. Couple with the quick transfer from Michigan, I wonder if Mallett is the same type.

Stephen Garcia has taken a lost of criticism for recklessly putting his body on the line, but I would much rather have a guy you need to rein in at times than one that shies away from contact when the team needs him to make a play. Players will “go to war” for a QB that puts his body on the line, but they aren’t so quick to lay it out for a team leader that isn’t willing to do the same.

by GwinnettGamecock on Sep 20, 2009 3:15 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Well said.

Dum spiro spero - "While I breathe, I hope"
State motto of South Carolina

by The Feathered Warrior on Sep 20, 2009 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'm trying to think of whether I'm remembering the same play

I seem to recall it being a situation where the announcers and I thought that the Hogs were in two-down territory, and it was better for Mallett to keep himself in one piece in case they did go for it on fourth. It’s possible Mallett was thinking the same thing.

Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.

by cocknfire on Sep 20, 2009 7:29 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

In general, I agree… but Chris Leak was notorious for flinching from contact when running – usually when one more yard would get the first – and my impression was that he was always a popular, well-liked guy in the locker room (even before the national title.) Fans had some trouble with him for the flinching and the brain-dead mistake he inevitably made once a game, though the trouble was over-stated in the media… but we were absolutely thrilled that he was able to complete his career on such a tremendous high note. (Of course, Leak was pretty slender and frail-looking, and Mallett’s kind of a giant, right?)

by peachy rex on Sep 20, 2009 7:50 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

actually, I would flinch everytime Leak tucked it in to run

It was like watching a lineman try to run with 2 refrigerators on his back. The slides a yard in front of the first down marker only meant I had to watch one less agonizing stride!

by skigator93 on Sep 21, 2009 10:18 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

UK/UL

Kentuckys turned the ball over on 3 consecutive possessions in the 3rd quarter….and only ran 4 plays the entire quarter because of it. On top of that, the cluster f**k to end the 2nd quarter…..UK tried to give the game away, but UL didn’t want to take it.

First time I shot her, shot her in the side.
Hard to watch her suffer, but with the second shot she died...

by btcoop71 on Sep 21, 2009 8:07 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I feel

Roosy

by geapsquash on Sep 22, 2009 8:27 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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