| 15 September 2010
The Game
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The Burton Burns effect strikes again. Trent Richardson has noticeably better vision than last year, and has added a Mark Ingram-/Emmett Smith-style hop step to his arsenal. I believe he is as good or better right now than Ingram was last year – but Burton Burns has been working on Ingram, too, and Saban has said he was playing his best football ever when he got hurt.
Can’t wait to see ‘em both in the backfield. My money says we will spring some two-back sets on tough foes, maybe starting with Florida. Since Ingram and Richardson are both fine receivers, it would be easy enough to split one or even both of them into the slot or outside to make up a multiple-receiver set if the opponent stacks against the run.
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Julio is still having some drop problems, and acknowledged in a post-game interview that he gets too excited about running and needs to concentrate on getting the ball in better first. But did you see that amazing catch he made on a punt in the first quarter? John Fulton absolutely clobbered him as soon as he made the fair catch. Julio could not have been expecting that but somehow sucked the ball back onto his fingertips and tucked it away before he hit the ground. It was almost as amazing as the San Jose St. catch, and absolutely HUGE in the game. By all rights, that ball shoulda been flying free with PSU guys all around.
Who knows, it mighta changed the complexion. Play of the game there.
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Fluker showed astounding athleticism for a guy his size leaping backward to take out a speed rusher. Don’t remember exactly when it happened, sorry. (That’s the difference between FTC and MFTC – I woulda found out for FTC. Sorry again.)
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The young DBs are a little hit-and-miss. No shocker there. Still too many big pass plays, and a loss of contain on a reverse. But it’s exciting to see Milliner already starting – they say the sky’s the limit on the kid. And Lester may not be Kareem Jackson in coverage, but he’s fun to watch, and he’s going to be pretty good before he graduates (or goes pro).
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The replacements are good football players, but with Cody and McClain gone, we are a little softer up the middle in short-yardage situations.
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How ‘bout Stinson with those nine tackles and two hurries? Upshaw better get well fast. Mosley’s still looking good, too.
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I’m usually a ref defender. Not this time. The crew absolutely stunk. I’m sure they weren’t getting paid or conspiring or any of that BS, but I’m also sure they were all Big Ten homers, wanted to beat the SEC real bad, and were subconsciously influenced to make calls against the Tide all day long. It couldn’t have been a coincidence.
Around College Football
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#11 Wisconsin beat San Jose St. 27-14. Heh.
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Retract what I said last week about Boise St. Their big win evaporated into nothing at all within a week, and now everybody else is gonna hafta take a mighty fall for them to deserve a spot in the championship game, even if they win out.
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Denard Robinson: worthy of note. Don’t mistake Notre Dame for a team with a defense, though. Let’s see what happens if UM ever plays anything real. Nevertheless, I’m expecting the Wolverines to be pretty good this year. This is RichRod’s third year, time enough for him to make a serious dent into transitioning the team into his system. The dude has a track record, and it was foolish for folks to write him off.
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Last year I wrote an article called “Greg McElroy for Heisman.” Let me hasten to point out that I did NOT in fact call for McElroy to be a Heisman favorite in the article, but merely pointed out that his early play was comparatively good enough to make him an early candidate if people were deciding that stuff based on what happened on the field.
Too early this year, too. But keep your eyes open. Greg’s stats are pretty fancy so far, and Bama hasn’t even had to pass. There’s certainly not a QB controversy on the horizon, say what you will about McCarron’s arm.
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Oklahoma: should be #2. It’s not outrageous to put OSU in that spot, but it is outrageous to have the Sooners lower than #3. These doggoned voters just don’t care what happens in the actual games.
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I don’t think it’s necessary for me to pile on the ACC.
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It’s nice being #1, isn’t it? The national press was just littered with well-written articles this week about how great the Tide is, and about what a special matchup we had Saturday.
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