4th and Inches Magazine went 2-3 this week on the games that I picked… So I still have a winning record at 7-5. I think I will take that. But we will go over the games that I picked right and then go over the games that I picked wrong.
1. Texas vs. UCLA. The "experts" all around the country were questioning the QB position coming into this game. There were also questions about starting the youth all over the field. Well Mack Brown and company did a wonderful job on the game plan as Texas wins 49-20. Case McCoy looked great in his debut as starter. The Longhorns also switched in freshman David Ash and got very good production out of him as well. They went a combined 15-18 for 199 2 tds. The most important fact is that they did not turn the ball over. Malcolm Brown, the freshman RB had 22 carries for 110 yards. He ran hard all day long and falling forward each time he was hit. He broke numerous tackles throughout the day. He did lose a fumble, but it was from a good hit, not from him being careless with the ball. Jaxon Shipley had another solid day. He had 5 rec. for 46 yards and a few 3rd down conversions. He also threw a td and ran the ball 1 for 15 yards. D.J. Grant was spectacular with half of his 6 catches going for TDs. The defense played great, forcing 3 turnovers in the first quarter, 4 on the day. Texas played very well and really answered a lot of questions. Case McCoy seems to have found a new job leading the Longhorns. Look for great things to come. Texas has the talent, they just have to gel it all together.
2. Tennessee vs. Florida. Florida looked pretty good in their SEC opener. Charlie Weiss did have moments where he struggled calling plays against the SEC defense. He has to correct the red zone issues that are plaguing Florida. But Rainey may have made a statement that he needs to be included in your Heisman trophy discussions. He rushed 21 times for 114 yards, 2 rec. for 104 yards for a TD, and blocked a punt. Brantley threw a 3 yard pass that Rainey took to the house 80 yards later. Brantley was very suspect throwing the football, making very questionable decisions throughout the game. He is in a system that is catered to his strengths, yet he is not flourishing in Weiss’s systems. Florida’s secondary was awful with the penalties in the most inopportune times. Third down pass interference calls are not what championship defenses do. Muschamp has some work to do with his secondary on HOW to get away with that stuff. Tennessee had chances in this game. Things went really bad for them when WR Justin Hunter went out with a knee injury. I hated to see the kid go down like that. He is a big part of the offense there Tennessee. Also Tyler Bray was decimated by drops from his WRs. I mean I know I counted at least 5. Third down drops. You name it, it happened. Tennessee got big responses to keep themselves in the game. But Florida ended the game with an interception. The win for Tennessee was Dooley’s pants. Nuff said.
3. Auburn vs. Clemson. This game can be summed up by two words. Tackle and freshmen. Auburn stormed out the gate to take a 21-7 lead. There seemed that there would be a steady diet of Michael Dyer and that Auburn would go to Death Valley and just dominate. Sammy Watkins and Tajh Boyd had a different idea. Tajh Boyd had 386 yards and 4 tds. Sammy Watkins had 10 catches for 155 of those yards and 2 tds. He also rushed 7 times for 44 yards. The score of the game was 38-24. Auburn only mustered 3 more points for the rest of the game. They could not get Clemson off the field. At one point in the game, Clemson converted on 10 straight 3rd downs. Clemson finished the day 14 of 18 on 3rd downs. Clemson ran 92 plays. They had the ball 36:15 of the game. Yes a lot of the game was Clemson playing well. But a lot of this as well is Auburn’s defense playing just that bad. Auburn was tackling like a 75lb little league team. It was just absolutely awful. They gave up 624 yards today? When did they start to do this in the SEC? Why did Dyer only have 16 carries? He was GASHING Clemson’s defense. Auburn’s offense just disappeared. It looks like it just transferred over to the other sideline. Auburn must find an answer to defensive woes. If not, it is going to be a LONG season. We are looking at 3 straight 400+ yard games for the defense. Watching the game, the defense is just not aggressive enough. Dabo Swinney was very emotional after the game. That is what you love to see from your coach.
4. Notre Dame vs. Michigan St. Notre Dame played an excellent game and beat up on Sparty. Who was expecting this? I know I wasn’t. I don’t really have a lot on this one!
5. Oklahoma vs. Florida State. The atmosphere in Tallahassee was amazing. You can see the camera shaking from the roar of the crowd. Oklahoma came out with great offensive balance. Florida State looked as if they were not prepared. But Florida State made adjustments and started putting pressure on Landry Jones. But the matchup that ended up deciding the game was Kenny Stills on Greg Reid. Kenny Stills made an amazing play on an underthrown ball. Kenny Stills should get player of the game. He played absolutely spectacular in this game. He found himself making big plays in crunch time the entire game. Oklahoma’s defense is as good as advertised. Travis Lewis playing for them last night was HUGE. He was flying around the field along with fellow LB Tom Wort making plays all over the field. The secondary was hard hitting and all over the WRs for Florida State. Oklahoma’s defense should be listed with the Alabama’s and the LSU’s in talks for great defense.
Florida State also played very well defensively. They held the high powered Sooners to just 199 yards passing. The matchup that I was telling you about at tackle, Bjorn Werner took advantage of it. Werner was outstanding wreaking havoc in the backfield all night. Florida State did show off their secondary’s speed as they closed and broke up a lot of passes last night. I think that Stoops (Florida State) made mistakes by not letting them press the Oklahoma WRs. Florida State’s defensive backs are just as fast if not faster than the WRs. I feel that EJ Manuel still has a lot of room for growth. He did take a good pop last night and the back-up Trickett came in a played very well. The thing that hurt Florida State the most is that they could not run the football. Oklahoma made a living in their backfield. In order for them to be successful, they have to be able to consistently run the football. Florida State is still a year or so away from becoming one of the elite all over again.
Also last night WR Shaw took a very scary hit last night. It was very good to see him on the sideline at the end of the game.
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