Every Saturday, after a hard week’s work, I just want to be able to sit on the couch and flip back and forth through college football games for the entirety of the day. Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be able to do so.

I watched several games that were televised throughout the day on Saturday (as well as Friday night’s game), and unlike last week there were some big matchups and some true battles. Here are 34 observations about certain players and teams from 13 games I was able to see:

(Also check up the UPDATED The Blue Workhorse College Football Top 25 & last week’s observations.)

Kansas v South Florida (USF 37, KU 34)

  • South Florida cornerback Jerome Murphy missed multiple tackles because all he was concerned with was loading up and using the hit stick on ball carriers. He made a couple of good hits but the few “Ooohh”s he’ll get in the film room won’t make up for the coaches’ yelling that is due him for his missed tackles.
  • I still don’t think Kansas is that good. However, Todd Reesing, despite being undersized, is one of the best leaders in the nation and played a great besides his final pass. His will and determination combined with coach Mark Mangino’s clever genius are the only reasons Kansas is no longer a Big 12 cellar dweller.

Cal v Maryland (Mary 35, Cal 27)

  • Kevin Barnes (Maryland) got the biggest hit of the young season when he absolutely lit up Cal running back Jahvid Best on a swing pass into the flat. Barnes blasted Best rocking Best’s helmet off his head. Cal’s young star stayed on the ground in obvious pain, and after ESPN showed replays of the play 3 or 4 times, they cut back to Best lying on the ground just in time to see him turn to his side and puke all over the place, including on his own shoulder pads. Best had to miss a couple of series, which could possibly have contributed to Maryland’s victory.
  • I’m wondering just how bad Nate Longshore (Cal) has performed in practice and earlier this season in the preseason because quarterback Kevin Riley, who was named starter over Longshore, takes way too long in the pocket (as evidenced by Maryland’s 4 sacks this week after not having any in their first two games) and was unimpressive throwing the football. He ended up with a lot of yardage, but I was still unimpressed with the majority of the throws he made.
  • Oh, and the Cal helmets? What were they thinking with the stripe? Remember, less is more.

Georgia Tech v Virginia Tech (VT 20, GT 17)

  • Speaking of ugly, who thought emulating orange crossing guard vests would be a good look for the Virginia Tech Hokies. crossing-guard-vest.jpg

Florida Atlantic v Michigan State (MSU 17, FAU 0)

  • How do you stop a pass happy spread attack? “Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain.” Last week, the Florida Atlantic Owls amassed over 550 yards and 49 points. This week? Besides a 71 yard completion late in the fourth quarter, the Owls mustered only 158 yards, and quarterback Rusty Smith was a nasty 10 for 37.
  • Javon Ringer deserves a great massage from which ever girl he chooses at Michigan State. He was a workhorse Saturday, and we love it. Forty-three carries for 282 yards and two touchdowns.

North Carolina State v Clemson (Clem 27, NCSU 9)

  • The best play of the day went for -10 yards. NC State completely stuffed out a counter reverse Clemson tried to run to C.J. Spiller in the second half. The only thing they didn’t manage to do…tackle Spiller. The elusive runner put on some of the niftiest moves north of Athens, GA and Knowshon Moreno. He completely broke the ankles of two Wolfpack defenders as he got the edge and strolled to the endzone. Unfortuntely, the play was nullified due to a holding penalty.
  • And that C.J. Spiller kid…he’s pretty fast.

UAB v Tennessee (UT 35, UAB 3)

  • There is so much depth at the running back position throughout the SEC. For example, Tennessee brought in a third string back, Lennon Creer, and gave him two consecutive touches in the third quarter against UAB. After a 5 yard pickup on a sweep, Creer took his next carry 45 yards to paydirt for the score. He finished with 93 yards on 8 carries.

Nevada v Missouri (Miz 69, Nev 17)

  • Watching Nevada and their pistol offense, which was developed by Wolfpack coach Chris Ault, is fun. Too bad they still had to play defense against Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin, and the Missouri offense.
  • Daniel managed 5 incompletions in 3 1/2 quarters. He’s got to be the early season favorite: 65-90, 973 yards, 10 TD, and only 1 interception in his first three games. Not too shabby.

Georgia v South Carolina (UGA 14, USC 7)

  • The Gamecocks really missed Kenny McKinley, their top play maker. Their receivers dropped balls, and they rarely had any yards after contact. I only saw one tough catch brought in by a South Carolina receiver.
  • On 21 touches (I missed two touches on a 4th quarter drive while watching the end of the GT/VT game), Knowshon Moreno went down only 6 times on first contact. He does such a tremendous job of breaking free of the first defensive player, which would be the most coveted aspect of a running back on my team if I were a coach.
  • I think Matthew Stafford may have been over-analyzing the Gamecocks D. He checked at the line on seemingly every offensive play. I’m not saying he didn’t make the correct calls, but sometimes you just have to line up and smack the other team in the mouth and not worry about checking off.
  • Strong SEC defenses? Georgia and South Carolina combined for 17 more penalty yards than yards from scrimmage in the first quarter (65-48). Of course, there was also the Auburn/Mississippi State 3-2 barn burner.
  • Of the 9 SEC teams in action, only one gave up more than 14 points (Vanderbilt won 38-21). The defenses allowed an average of 9.3 points.

Oregon v Purdue (Ore 32, Pur 26) 2OT

  • The worst position in college football? Quarterback at Oregon. You are almost guaranteed a serious knee injury: Dennis Dixon last season, Nate Costa earlier this year in the preseason, and Justin Roper went down in overtime with a left knee injury of an, as of now, unknown severity.
  • Watching offensive lineman attempt to run the ball is always humorous.
  • Purdue kicker Chris Summers was having a great game for the first 59 minutes of the Purdue/Oregon game. He was 3 for 3 on field goals (long of 38), 2 for 2 on extra point attempts, and punted 7 times for 311 yards (44.4 average) with a long 59-yarder. Unfortunately, games are 60 minutes long with the possibility of untimed overtimes. Summers missed a field goal as time expired in regulation, and then after hitting a chip shot in the first overtime, he missed a field goal in the second overtime, which ultimately was the demise of the Boilermakers.

Ohio State v USC (USC 35, OSU 3)

  • I hadn’t seen Joe McKnight play much prior to this game, but I was very impressed. He has great vision, ability to cut back on a dime, and an imaginative flair. He reminded be a lot of a former Trojans’ RB who won a Heisman trophy not too long ago. I would like to see McKnight add some weight or else he is going to be susceptible to injury…well, if anyone can actually get a solid hit on him.
  • Are we really going to still have to hear about the Buckeyes on a weekly basis after the trouncing in the Coliseum? Probably so. I’m sure all the OSU fans and pundits will talk about the difference Beanie Wells would have made.
  • What they need to be looking at more than the running back is the QB position. Like I said last week, Todd Boeckman again was inconsistent and doesn’t look like he should be at the reins of what is supposed to be one of the top team’s in the nation (Yea…sure).

UCLA v Brigham Young (BYU 59, UCLA 0)

  • A lot of people were looking at UCLA as a possible upset this week. I, for one, was not on that bandwagon. I knew BYU would win. But 59-0? Wow, that’s pretty harsh right there, and they didn’t even score in the 4th quarter.
  • According to ESPN, the loss is the worst in UCLA history since 1929 when they were shutout by USC (76-0) and Stanford (57-0). UCLA BYU Football
  • Max Hall’s 7 TD tosses = more than Patriots starter Matt Cassel has in the last 8 years during the regular season & as many as highly touted Notre Dame “savior” Jimmy Claussen had all of last season.
  • How many Tennessee fans were sitting at home pissed off when they saw this score roll through on the bottom line?

Oklahoma v Washington (OU 55, UW 14)

  • They play defense. They are solid on special teams. And then there is the explosive offense. They may not have all the different weapons that a USC has, but they do have Sam Bradford. This season, Bradford has been the best looking quarterback not named Chase Daniel.
  • With Georgia’s narrow margin of victory over South Carolina, expect to see the Sooners #2 in the polls this week. However, from what I’ve seen, they may be the best team in the nation.
  • I feel bad for Tyrone Willingham because no matter where he goes, he does a good job with the student athletes, but doesn’t get enough wins to satisfy the alumni. After facing three of the top offenses in the nation (Oregon, BYU, OU), the Huskies are winless and Willingham can probably expect a pink slip before 2009.

Wisconsin v Fresno State (Wisc 13, FSU 10)

  • Fresno State finally gets a big time opponent come to the Valley, and the Bulldogs let it slip away.
  • Many people will point to the kicker as the reason for the loss, but the Bulldogs played poorly in several aspects. They were the more talented team but got outplayed by Wisconsin. They just didn’t do the small things…like the offensive lineman allowing the D-line to get their hands up to tip the pass that was intercepted by DeAndre Levy. Once the D-line puts their hands up, they are supposed to get socked in the gut, so they know not to put up their big paws.
  • And yes I’ll still point to the kicker…Kevin Goessling’s three missed field goals is unexcusable. After missing from 47 and 51, you have to be able to shake the cobwebs and nail the 35-yarder in the fourth quarter. I know he is a freshman, but Maikon Bonani (South Florida) is also a freshman, and he nailed the game winner over Kansas from 43 yards out.

Did I miss something from a game? What did you see this weekend? What teams and/or players impressed you? Or who stunk it up?

Let us know your opinion.

Shotgun Spratling

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