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D.J. Moore, CB, Vanderbilt
Moore, a rising Junior corner prospect, intercepted a fourth down pass with a little over 2 minutes left to beat Kentucky. He had another interception earlier in the night and doubled as a receiver, logging 3 catches for 51 yards and 2 TDs!
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| | (1) Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech | | (2) Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss | | (3) Matt Stafford, QB, Georgia | | (4) James Laurinaitis, ILB, Ohio St. | | (5) Chris Wells, RB, Ohio St. | | (6) George Selvie, DE, South Florida | | (7) Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia | | (8) Taylor Mays, S, USC | | (9) Andre Smith, OT, Alabama | | (10) Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas | | (11) Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma | | (12) Rey Maualuga, ILB, USC | | (13) Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois | | (14) Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio St. | | (15) Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia |
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| Written by Dan Mesday |
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Posted on 10/2/2008 10:14:36 AM
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Well, the Mets season is now over (don’t get me started), so now I can concentrate solely on football. With the Raiders being the laughingstock that they are, I only have Penn St. to keep me off the ledge. I have to admit that Daryll Clark is a much better quarterback than I originally thought, and I’m glad that he beat out Pat Devlin (a guy I had originally wanted to be the signal caller) this season. What is also good is that Clark will have another year of eligibility after he graduates in December. So, I got that going for me… which is nice.
Week 6 News & Notes
How Good are the Tide?
Last week, the Crimson Tide rolled into Athens, Georgia and rolled out with a convincing win over the Dawgs. The Tide beat up the dogs on defense and scored at will on offense. Which begs the question – how good are these guys?
Obviously, they are pretty good. They have had solid recruiting classes the past two seasons from Nick Saban and look like the best team in the SEC right now. One point that has to be made is that this team is young. This is a freshman- and sophomore-laden squad that is only going to get better with age. Julio Jones is the real deal and may challenge Michael Crabtree for the title of “Best Receiver in the Nation” by the end of the season.
Although I am not a Nick Saban fan, the man can coach and it looks like he will bring the success he had at LSU and Michigan St. to Tuscaloosa, while bringing the Tide back to the glory they believe they deserve.
Upset Saturday
Last Saturday looked a lot like last season with many top teams falling. USC started off the weekend with a loss on Thursday and that snowballed to Georgia getting pummeled at home, Florida losing in the swamp to Ole Miss, Wisconsin going down in the Big House, Wake losing to Navy and ECU getting smashed by Houston.
Will last weekend’s events lead 2008 into a 2007-like upset fest week in and week out, or was it just a fluke? Stayed tuned and find out.
Locker Out 6-8 Weeks… Or Is He?
Washington quarterback Jake Locker broke the thumb on his throwing hand last week and now has it in a cast. Locker will be out 6-8 weeks… or will he be?
As we all know, Locker is a great athlete and losing him for 6-8 weeks could cripple an already bad Washington season. So, what is a coach to do? Let him play safety. Locker played the position in high school and apparently volunteered his services after his injury. This may sound crazy, but Locker is perhaps the best overall football player on the team. He has already played too many snaps to redshirt (regularly or medically), therefore just letting him sit on the sidelines will do nothing. By letting him play safety, the Huskies will at least to be able to benefit from his athleticism on the defensive side on the ball.
Word is that he will sit at least a week before switching practice jersey colors. Stay tuned to see how this works out for the Huskies.
YouTube Play of the Week
And now it is time for your favorite part of the article, and mine… the YouTube Play of the Week.
This week, the play comes from two weekends ago. Yeah, it’s late… who cares… I don’t. It also comes from the I-FCS level of play. In a game against Winston Salem St., Morgan St.’s Edwin Baptiste made what could be one of the best catches I have ever seen. He not only laid out parallel to the ground, but he grabbed the ball one handed over his head and landed on his back.
Here is the YouTube Play of the Week for Week 6.
Week 6 Top Games & Picks
Last week, because of all of the upsets, I took a bath with my picks and was under .500 for the first time all season. There is nothing left to do but get back to the level of dominance I once held only two weeks ago.
Pittsburgh (3-1) @ #10 South Florida (4-0), Thursday, 7:30 PM, ESPN
Pitt is looking better after its loss to Bowling Green, but South Florida has looked good all season. I like South Florida, at home, under the lights, on national television.
The Pick: #10 South Florida
Oregon St. (2-2) @ #15 Utah (5-0), Thursday, 9 PM
Oregon St. is coming off of a huge upset of USC last week and Utah is looking strong this season. I think that Utah can keep the ball rolling toward a match-up of undefeateds with BYU at the end of the season.
The Pick: #15 Utah
#6 Penn St. (5-0) @ Purdue (2-2), Saturday, Noon, ESPN
Penn St. is leaving the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium to go on the road to Indiana. The Nittany Lions are in danger of looking ahead to their match-up at Wisconsin next weekend and this could be a trap game for the team from Happy Valley. Purdue has looked up and down this season, especially on defense, and that will not bode well for the Boilermakers when they go up against a PSU squad that has looked solid on both sides of the ball so far this season.
The Pick: #6 Penn St.
Kentucky (4-0) @ #2 Alabama (5-0), Saturday, 3:30 PM, CBS
Surprisingly, after losing so many players from last season’s team, Kentucky has started the year undefeated. That will end this week though when they go up against the buzzsaw that is Alabama.
The Pick: #2 Alabama
Florida St. (3-1) @ Miami (FL) (2-2), Saturday, 3:30 PM, ABC
This old fashioned Sunshine State rivalry. Most people will look at this game and pick Florida St. because of the way they played against Colorado last weekend, but I am going the other way. Miami looked good in both losses this season, and could easily be 3-1, but some hard luck against UNC dropped them to 2-2. I like the Hurricanes playing at home in this one.
The Pick: Miami (FL)
***#13 Auburn (4-1) @ #19 Vanderbilt (4-0), Saturday, 6 PM, ESPN***
This week’s Game of the Week is once again out of the SEC. This game is so big that even ESPN College Gameday will be in Nashville this weekend. Auburn is a good team, but the Commodores have momentum right now and the home crowd on Saturday. I want to go with Vandy on this one, but I am still not a believer… unless they win this game.
The Pick: #13 Auburn
#24 UCONN (5-0) @ North Carolina (3-1), Saturday, 7 PM, ESPN2
UCONN could be looking forward to the meat of their Big East schedule. This is a match-up of the two worst conferences in America. Someone has to win. North Carolina had a big win on the road against Miami last week and a close loss at home two weeks ago to Virginia Tech. I expect the Tar Heels to keep playing well. I think that the home crowd will give UNC the edge in this one.
The Pick: North Carolina
#23 Oregon (4-1) @ #9 USC (2-1), Saturday, 8 PM, ABC
After losing to Oregon St. last week, USC finishes its Beaver State series. Oregon has been playing well, but USC is smarting after their loss last week. I expect them to come out at home with vengeance and to really take it to the Ducks.
The Pick: #9 USC
#14 Ohio St. (4-1) @ #18 Wisconsin (3-1), Saturday, 8 PM, ABC
Both schools are coming off of tough losses on the road. Ohio St. is looking to keep its Big Ten title hopes alive, as is Wisconsin. Brett Bielema is 16-0 at home in his tenure at Wisconsin. After OSU, Penn St. comes in to Camp Randall next week – the Badgers are not likely to lose two weeks in a row at home, and I hope that this weekend will be their win, before next week.
The Pick: #18 Wisconsin
#4 Missouri (4-0) @ Nebraska (3-1), Saturday, 9 PM, ESPN
Bo Pelini said that his goal for the Huskers defense this week is to shut out Mizzou, but that has been nearly impossible for anyone to do in 2008. Chase Daniel has played like the best player in the nation and is looking to continue on his hot streak. Missouri hasn’t been even close to being beaten yet this season, and until that happens, I am going to keep picking them.
The Pick: #4 Missouri
Last Week’s Record: 4-6
Overall Record: 35-15 (.700)
Dan’s Dandy
After a loss two weeks ago, I got back on the right track with a win last week. This week’s game comes from Conference USA with two high-powered offenses going at it. I think that Rice has great playmakers, but Tulsa may have better ones (plus a better defense). First one to 100 wins this match-up of mid-major offensive juggernauts.
Dandy Pick of the Week: Tulsa over Rice
Dandy Pick Record: 4-1 (.800) |
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