I had a lot of thoughts about what the conferences should do moving forward, but there were a couple of LSU issues I wanted to cover first, this being the last non-game week.

Mettenberger seems to be dong extremely well. In the final scrimmage, he completed 26 passes on 36 attempts for 336 yards. There was an indeterminate number of TD passes, but I’m not sure how relevant that is anyway. According to the stats given, he didn’t fare nearly as well in the first two scrimmages, with only 15 completions each time.

Kenny Hilliard seems to be at or near the top of the RB depth chart, so I’m excited to see him this year.

There are a couple of linemen who are “a little nicked,” according to Les, but I’m still feeling fairly positive about the offense.

Defense is a little more up in the air. There is only one real returning starter in the secondary, and there has already been an injury. FS Eric Reid is the only returning starter from that unit. The defense as a whole returns 4, although Tharold Simon had a lot of impact in more limited playing time last year. There is a lot of talent, but talent alone doesn’t stop tackles from being broken/evaded and passes from being completed by the other team.

In recruiting news, LSU has two good incoming quarterbacks, Rivals’ #4 pro-style QB and another product of the state of Georgia (as was Mettenberger), Anthony Jennings, whom Rivals ranks as the #12 dual-threat QB. It will be interesting to see how much LSU goes for the dual-threat options in the future. LSU is now ranked #5 in overall recruiting class by Rivals.

Moving from the future to the distant past, I thought this was a nice tribute to a former LSU player turned NFL Hall of Famer: http://bleacherreport.com/tb/d8jlB?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=lsu-football

Onto the conferences, I know I like to talk about this topic a lot, but the regional rivalries and series histories are important to me.

First off, I’m hoping the ACC and SEC stay at 14. The only way I would support a 16-team conference would be if 7 or maybe 8 games counted toward the conference title. With 9 games, you could have one team with two extreme lightweights from the other division as well as an extra home game, and that team could end up ahead (either by a single game or due to a head-to-head tiebreaker) a team who had an extra road game and played two of the best teams in the other division. I can countenance 8 games because there may be a natural rival in the other division anyway, and it could be used to even out the home/away situation mentioned. One game is less likely to be determinative than two. Such an arrangement might work in the ACC if it continues to poach the Big East but I don’t think it would work well in the SEC.

Full post

 
It's easy to say Matt Barkley is your favorite to win the Heisman...But that ain't me...Not just because he's a USC guy...I mean, yeah, that might be a small factor, but it's just lazy...To me, the favorite had to be Montee Ball, up above there...Last year he finished 4th in the voting, and got little love compared to Alabama running back Trent Richardson, even though Ball's numbers blew Richardson's away...Ball rushed for 1,923 yards and 39 TD's last year...He's gotta be on top of the list...

Oh, but then there is that off the field stuff...Ball recently got jumped, and had his ass beat-down by a 4-5 guys...It's been said that it was provoked by something that happened at a party a couple days earlier...We'll see...I expect Ball to put up big numbers again, but I think they'll be down a bit, which will open the race up to others...

What others? Well like I said, Not Matt Barkley...And no, I'm not going with that bastard Denard Robinson, from Michigan...And no, I'm not going Geno Smith from West Virginia...West Virginia isn't going to walk into the Big-12 and roll people over...They're going to find out how weak the Big East they use to play in, was...

I'm telling you to keep your eye on Georgia's QB Aaron Murray...


Murray has all the tools to be an elite college QB...His size, 6-1, 210 lbs. may hold him back at the next level, but he's fine for the college game, throwing for 3,149 yards and 35 TD's last year...But he has to cut down on the14 INT's he threw...

I'll be watching another guy even more closely...Kansas State QB, Collin Klein...


Klein is the dual threat that coach Bill Snyder loves...Last year Klein rushed for more than a 1,000 yards, and passed for just under 2,000...To keep him in Heisman consideration, Kansas State needs to win, and stay in the hunt for the Big-12 title...Which I expect them to...I'm predicting them to finish 2nd or 3rd in the conference...Klein also needs to improve his passing numbers, and get more comfortable in the pocket, which he should be able to do, with strong group of receivers returning...

Then there is this beast in South Carolina...Marcus Lattimore...


Lattimore had rushed for 818 yards, and 10 TD's in the first 6 games and change last year...But then ripped his knee up...It was the second year in row Steve Spurrier relied on Lattimore to carry the offense, and ran the hell out of him...It was also the second year that was ended with an injury...So clearly the key for Lattimore, is staying healthy...Also The Gamecocks have to be competitive in the SEC, and keep Lattimore in the spotlight...

I really think Lattimore can take it, if South Carolina can get themselves in the SEC Championship hunt, and stay healthy...The kid is a beast...And no matter if he wins the Heisman or not, Lattimore will be going pro after this season...

The last guy I'm looking at, some will say he's a reach...Well, why not reach? If Barkley, and some other guys get hurt, or just shit the bed, which we have seen before, there will be other guys doing well, and getting a look...Well, I've been waiting 4 years to see this guy put it all together...

USF QB, B.J. Daniels...


The kid is a real dual-threat...Passing for 2,604 yards and 13 TD's, and rushing for 601 yards and 6 TD's...Daniels has progressed in each of his seasons at USF, and enters this season with the best group of receivers he's had...


Like all Heisman hopefuls, he needs help from his team...I'm predicting the Bulls to take the Big-East crown this season, as they'll have their best defensive unit in years...And with the Big-East losing West Virginia and TCU, the competition is a lot weaker...Louisville will be good...I expect the rest to be pretty average...For my Syracuse friends, you'll see some improvement...

Daniels has the tools, and the team...But will the conference be held against him...Probably...But if he puts up monster numbers, and takes USF to a major bowl, he could get the love...

Who's your Heismane favorite?

Later, The Beeze.
 

Top 25:

rank / team / prior

1 Alabama 3

2 Oklahoma 11

3 LSU 1

4 USC 13

5 Georgia 20

6 S Carolina 7

7 Oregon 8

8 Michigan 6

9 Arkansas 9

10 W. Virginia 22

11 Florida St. –

12 Mich St. 17

13 TCU 12

14 Kansas St. 15

15 Nebraska 23

16 Clemson 21

17 Texas –

18 Okie St. 2

19 Va. Tech 16

20 Stanford 10

21 Ohio St. –

22 Florida –

23 Wisconsin 18

24 Notre Dame –

25 Cincinnati 25

Out of rankings: (4) Boise St., (5) Houston, (14) Baylor, (19) So. Miss., (24) Penn St.

Previews

1. Alabama – I don’t put the defending champions #1 as a general rule, but I couldn’t really see any strong arguments against. I’ll get to Oklahoma in a moment, but LSU, who was (rightly I think) #1 in some of the computers based on beating a more impressive list of teams last year, has some more obvious adjustments that need to be made. The Tide will have to travel to Baton Rouge, but this is a series where the road team has traditionally done better, so that’s not really instructive. The fact that a lot of the same players showed up for a championship game the way they did makes a difference.

2. Oklahoma – I don’t think we’re going to see two teams from the same conference playing for the national championship again, and I don’t think Oklahoma has what it takes to pull off winning such a game, but looking at last year’s talent combined with returning starters, and Oklahoma is a natural pick for #2. I considered the Sooners for #1, but I’ve done that a few times since their 2000 national championship team, and we have yet to see a team like that, with the possible exceptions of 2004 and 2008. Notice the 4-year increments? The Sooners return 8 starters on offense, 7 on defense, and both kickers. This was a team that looked like it had a good road to the national-championship game last year at one point, so the experience could make the difference.

3. LSU – I was already inclined not to make LSU #1 before the Honey Badger news came out. That’s going to hurt on a defense that nominally returns 4 starters, although with the depth, that’s misleading. We haven’t even gotten a meaningful preview of new QB Zach Mettenberger. At least we had gotten one of Matt Flynn before the 2007 season, and don’t forget that team lost two games, so I don’ t put this team in the same category as either last year or 2007, both years I ranked LSU in the top 2 to start out. That said, I am cautiously optimistic. It’s hard to rate your own team, but I think you can tell by my description of the other nearby teams why LSU is here.

4. USC – I continue to find it ridiculous how people acted like USC had won a conference championship and bowl game just because it was idle for both “playing weeks”. Since I use a measure that only gives you points if you play, the Trojans finished 13th in my rankings. It also didn’t help that they lost to Arizona St. I punish bad losses more than some other rankings do. Anyway, there was definitely some talent and it did gel more as the season went on, so I’m fine with including this team in the top 4. Even with a much lower starting point, that wouldn’t rule out success. In 2003, LSU was coming off of an (unranked) 8-5 season and won the BCS championship. Neither the (undefeated) 2004 nor the (BCS champion) 2010 Auburn teams were very highly-rated going in either. Auburn finished in the “others receiving votes” category in both prior years. I’m sure there were some others in the recent past who performed similarly.

5. Georgia – Three SEC teams finished in the top 5 last season, so I’m putting three in the top 5 right now. I didn’t say, “Where’s another SEC team,” but I’m skeptical of Oregon, #5 in both major polls, and I think we just got a bit of a preview of this year during the Dawgs’ 10-game winning streak last season. Whoever wins the West can expect the SEC Championship game to be very interesting. I have been a Murray believer for a while, we’ll see if he has the great year that he has the potential for this season.

Full post

The guys are good as gold! Thought you knew this already!

The Ladies were no slouch either…you best recognize!

Greetings from the Hoodwood, where the locals are gearing up for not only football, but new and exciting YouTube broadcasts (more on that later)

Olympic Final: The US Gold Rush in London

The games of the 30^th Olympiad are now history. Many critics were heaping abuse on NBC for its lackluster and sporadic coverage of the games. Maybe it was me but did it seem like that when the games were going on in Beijing Sydney and Barcelona despite the time difference there was always something good showing. I counted four channels that the Olympics were showing and it seemed that all they did was show repeated events. It just didn’t seem like you could ever find the big events. NBC held much of the good stuff back for its primetime package. But it felt like it was already known by the time it was shown. Example, my mom and her boyfriend were watching the 200 meter final. I already knew that Usain Bolt had won convincingly, but they were watching with baited breath. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that the final had already been run and that Bolt dominated as expected. I thought the coverage was seriously lacking. The US made off with 104 total medals, 48 of them Gold easily besting China who came in 2^nd in the medal count. The Chinese were openly talking of dominating the games and avenging what they felt was an embarrassingly short total in their backyard in 2008,but the Americans upped their total and stole the show again. The countdown now starts for the first Olympic games in South America as the games will be in Rio in 2016…it will be an interesting mix of the Latin flavor and the Olympic stodginess.

The US basketball teams were hardly headed in their quest for Gold, the Women looked almost bored as they smashed one outclassed team after another in rolling to the Gold, the US squad hasn’t lost an Olympic game in 20 years…41 straight wins and teams were getting housed with frightening regularity. The French team that they faced seemed just happy to get that far and the Australian team once again found their best team blocked by the Americans and this time in the semis. They gave the US a go for a half then cracked under the steady withering pressure of the US. The French team had a “We’re just happy to be here” look about them as the US finished a perfect 8-0 with an 86-50 beatdown that could have been a lot worse. The mafia Don Geno Auriemma might have cracked a smile in the closing seconds as the Women won their 5^th consecutive gold medal and 7^th in the last 8 Olympiads, find me a squad that has been that dominant for that long…

The Men sleptwalked through beating after beating, pulling away late from one opponent after another before getting into a real tussle with Spain, but had it not been for a tense taut five point thriller the US had with Lithuania the Yanks might have not known how to handle a tight one, but they were able to counterpunch with the wily Spainards and though officiating seemed as if they were trying desperately to handicap the Americans to keep it even the US got clutch shots from LeBron James and Chris Paul to pull away with a 107-100 win to clinch a second straight Gold medal and further bury the awful memory of the failure in Athens. It was great to see the supposed jaded pro athletes celebrate their Gold Medal victory, like a national title or NBA title. Coach K jumping for joy when Chris Paul beat the clock with a twisting driving layup late in the 4^th to seal the game was as about a classic scene as Ive ever witnessed. Anthony Davis and LeBron James are two that can claim two titles in the same calendar year. Davis joins Christian Laettner and Patrick Ewing of players that won titles in college and a gold medal in the same year. The US took Spain’s best shot and still came out on top. The rest of the world has stepped up their game and the US is still the team everyone wants to beat, but there still is the gap of talent and when the money is on the line, Im still going with the homeboys for the win. Bravo to the men and ladies basketball teams on jobs well done!

NFL: Chad’s dilemma

It seems that Chad Johnson is in a bit of a quandary, the loquacious receiver is trying to catch on with the Miami Dolphins after a bad season in New England. Rookie coach Joe Philbin has already butted heads with Johnson, no longer going by Ochocinco after he recently wed. This past weekend Johnson was arrested on charges of domestic battery and the Dolphins wasted no time in cutting Johnson, a move I think was Philbin’s purposeful move to shock and scare the team into line/. Though Philbin flatly denies it, I pull out my bullshit card here on that call. I mean, what better move by a coach that wants to get his teams attention than to run an established player like Johnson out of town? I personally think it was bush league. Johnson who has never been in any kind of trouble with the law in his time in the NFL has charged with domestic battery after he allegedly head butted his wife. Johnson claims that she head butted him while they were arguing. Now, I am a big advocate against abuse, any male that hits a woman is no man in my eyes, but this just comes off as suspicious. Im not going to rush to judgment. If Johnson is proved to have done what he has been accused of, I will be the first to lay a literal head slap on someone that I have been a fan of for a while. But I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Im sorry, anyone that is on the show basketball wifes already has a cloud of suspicion of being overly dramatic and I think is trying to get her name more in the papers at the expense of her “husband” Now Chad has to try to latch on to a team, hes still got talent and if TO can get a job, you think he should be able to. But then again Plax Burress is still looking for work...

MLB: Is Strasburg getting the shaft?

The Washington Nationals are the best team in MLB right now. That’s not hype at 71-44 the Nats have the best record in baseball as of Monday evening, 2 games ahead of the Central leading Reds, and 3 games better than the AL West leaders in Texas who have the AL’s best record by ½ game over the Yankees with one 1 fewer loss. The Nats have never been this good in the 7 years previous that they have occupied the Nations Capital. Heck they havent even broken .500, doing that only once in their 1st year in DC.  The last time that this perpetually sad sack franchise has been this good was the star crossed 1994 Montreal Expos team that had its dreams of a magical season snuffed out by the players strike. That team was 74-40 leading the NL East by 6.5 games and was the best squad in the game that year. Led by Ken Hill and a young Pedro Martinez the Expos had a 1-2 punch from their starters. With solid hitters like Cliff Floyd, Marquis Grissom, Moises Alou and the heavy hitting Larry Walker the Expos had a tough lineup to face. Managed by the laconic yet effective hand of Moises’ dad Felipe, the Expos were poised to do big thing but they needed the team to go deep into the postseason to attract the normally reserved Montrealites who seemed to always reserve their passion for the Habs Hockey team, but that year they were drawing and looked as if they were going to places. The strike shut the season down and when baseball returned that next spring, the Expos were being dismantled again as most of their star players were too expensive to keep. The team dropped back into irrelevancy and moved to Washington in 2005 where they have been more a less a mediocre team. This year has been different, led by veteran manager Davey Johnson (someone who has won everywhere he has went) the Nats are a blend of veteran talent with players like Rick Ankiel, Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth and precocious phenoms in hard hitting Bryce Harper and stud pitcher Stephen Strasburg. Harper has been destined from greatness for seemingly a long time yet hes all of 19. Strasburg has been the pitcher who just seems to mow down batters every start. The Nats have no fears of a labor dispute this time around, they look to make the franchise first postseason appearance in over 30 years. The ’81 Expos took advantage of a split season to claim a postseason berth and beat the Phillies in the NLDS (then called the mini-playoffs) before falling to the Dodgers in a tight best of 5 NLCS. But with all signs pointing to the Nats playing playoff baseball for the first time since FDR was just getting settled at the White House nearly 80 years ago, all should be hunky-dory right? Nope, the Nats continue to be adamant that Strasburg their bona fide ace will be shut down after he reaches a set point. Strasburg who is almost 2 years out from Tommy John surgery which ended his 2010 season and limited his 2011 season to 5 starts is being guarded very carefully. The Nats do not want to run the risk of overuse and despite the Nats looking like they are a contender to get deep in the playoffs will shut Strasburg down no matter what their situation is. If the Nats get into the playoffs and Strasburg is over his limit, he wont pitch. Many are critical of this move saying that they may not get another chance and that you use the weapons you have. Others are applauding it saying that it’s the right move and overuse could do larger harm down the road. It’s a gamble, but the Nats need to use Strasburg judiciously. Have him skip a start or two coming down the stretch. The Nats will need him in the postseason. When there are aces like Johnny Cueto of the Reds, Matt Cain of the Giants, Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers and AJ Burnett of the Pirates at the top of the contenders pitching staffs, you need a hammer of your own. The Nats need not blow out their ace, but they shouldn’t baby him.

PGA: Rory wins but why all the Tiger talk?

Rory McIlroy simply put smoked em. His -13 score at the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in South Carolina was a work of art. He was around the greens all weekend and his putting was flawless. His 9 stroke win was a PGA Championship record. The 23 year old has notched his 2^nd major win and is younger than Tiger Woods was when he won his 2^nd major.

So why is all the talk still on Tiger? I know, Tiger didn’t win a major this year and still has yet to win one since his dramatic win at Torrey Pines in 2008, but he has won on tour 3 times this year in the process tying then passing his golf idol Jack Nicklaus for third on the PGA titles list. But he hasn’t won a major and the talk is that he isn’t dominant. The media used to complain that courses needed to be Tiger proofed to keep it from being a battle for 2^nd every week and that Tiger being dominant was boring. Well now, since Eldrick has shown his mortal side, the same media wonks are coming out of the woodwork to bash him for not being dominant. It makes no sense and the talk takes away from a sterling performance by a good young golfer who will continue to make his mark for the next decade.

Phat Dap/Head Slap

Phat Dap

Give the dap to the US Olympic team, I know I raved about the basketball teams. But from the continued dominance of Michael Phelps to the classy Gabby Douglas to the dominance of the Womens swimmers Melissa Franklin, Dana Vollmer. Rachel Bootsma, Allison Schmidt, Rebecca Soni, Breeja Larson Claire Donahue and Jessica Hardy who set Olympic and World Records in the 4x100 medley relay to Claressa Shields who brought home the only boxing medal for the US since the men were stunningly shut out of any medal. Cant forget the womens soccer team that won a thriller over Japan for Gold. I could go on and on, since that is just a few of those that medaled in this Olympiad and those that did were all fighting back (sometimes losing) tears as they watched Old Glory being raised and the Star Spangled Banner being played. To all of the 46 gold medalists and the 104 that brought home medals. Hoodwood salutes and is so very proud of you! Mad dap!

Head Slap

This one is too easy. Tyronn Mathieu has the world on a string. A feared cover corner who was a Heisman Finalist last year for the National Runner Up LSU Tigers, lovingly called the “Honey Badger” Mathieu looked to be the cornerstone of an LSU team that many picked to be a preseason #1. Mathieu threw it all away when he was kicked off the team for marijuana use. A violation that has tripped him up before. Mathieu now is looking at other schools to transfer to. If he goes an FCS school he can play right away but if he transfers to another FBS D-1 school (if they would take him) he would have to sit out a year. Mathieu has thrown away any Heisman chance he had along with decreasing his exposure with him leaving a powerhouse SEC school like LSU. Mathieu will be playing on Sundays that is a given but he has hurt his chances to really cash in for wanting a quick high… And he has stated that he would like to try to re-enroll at LSU sit out the year and come back for the 2013 season. Since he has 2 years of eligibility left and three years to use them, Mathieu could realistically come back. I hope Les Miles tell Mathieu to kick rocks, I understand and am all about giving 2^nd chances but he has them and blew it. Just because he has immense talent doesn’t mean he can break the rules repeatedly and willingly just to figure he can get another chance because of that talent.

The Man Cave is almost ready, and I may show it off next week. But for those that like You Tube I will be doing another musings that will post on You Tube on Wednesday, some of the stuff I write here and other stuff as well. Yougabsports gets the first shot at everything of course but Im experimenting some. Come check it out and actually see what I look and sound like...

Until Next Post Fellow Sports Fans!

I’m at that stage (as of Sunday) for the third year in a row where I’m starting to lose hope in the idea of my baseball team (the Angels) winning their division.  Since giving up an early 6-run lead and then also giving up a 3-run 10^th-inning lead in Wednesday’s loss, the Halos only won a single game of the next four. While they would have been 2 games behind immediately after that Wednesday game had they won, they are 6 games back (reduced to 5 a few hours ago). Depressing week, would have been even worse without the Olympics to distract me. The Angels would still be able to chase that ridiculous 1-game wildcard-playoff berth if the division is finally out of reach, but anyway, I’m going to be trying to turn my attention to fall/winter sports like football.

I don’t think the Saints will do much with the ridiculous penalties and I prefer college anyway, so by this I mostly mean college football and specifically LSU.  #1 in the coaches’ poll came down to LSU and Alabama.  LSU was the more solid team in general last year (for 13/14 of the season anyway), so I guess I understand them being voted #1.  Alabama did get more #1 votes though.  I think USC is probably as overrated going into this season as they were going out of last season, but whenever they plan on having some competition, I guess we’ll see.

USC is ranked so highly in part because of a returning quarterback who’s shown some capability.  LSU has a more mysterious proposition at that position, Zach Mettenberger, a former Georgia backup who saw limited action last season.

This Bleacher Report article points out, “after three non-conference games to kick off the year—one of which is against a much-improved Washington team—Mettenberger will be thrown right into the SEC gauntlet before he can blink.  The Tigers open their conference schedule with the following set of games: at Auburn, at Florida, home against South Carolina, at Texas A&M and home against Alabama.”

Full blog  (by the way, please follow on wordpress if you have an account or through some other means, I will keep re-posting elsewhere (like here), but I won't always be able to do it right away.)