Remember all that chatter about Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks suffering a letdown this week over the Kentucky Wildcats, after defeating the former No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide in Columbia last week? Well, that came to fruition tonight as the Kentucky Wildcats and, new head coach, Joker Phillips, got their first signature win over a ranked opponent.
The Gamecocks were leading the game with less than 1:00 minute to go in the fourth-quarter, but then Kentucky quarterback, Mike Hartline connected with Randall Cobb for a 24 yard touchdown reception—followed by a two-point conversion—making it 31-28 Kentucky with less than :15 seconds to play.
Stephen Garcia took over on his own 31 but, two big completions to both D.L. Moore and Tori Gurley placed the Gamecocks within striking distance of a field goal. Then, the unthinkable happened, Spurrier used his final timeout to draw up a play for one last shot at the end zone—he likely should have just gone for the tie but, for whatever reason, he decided to try and go for the win instead.
His gamble ended up being a poor one as Stephen Garcia was intercepted in the end zone—Wildcats win:
So close...yet, so very far away.
Nice win for the Cats' though, after the close loss to Auburn last week, they were bound to come out on the winning end of one of these eventually.
There isn't going to be a match-up between Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford (there barely was one to speak of last season). The days of Adrian Peterson and Ricky Williams have gone to the wayside. Vince Young ran his way into the record books and out of Austin, what seems like, an eon ago. What you have left are two teams with marginal stars and questionable marketing appeal—unless you live in Norman or Austin. So, it seems valid to ask the question: Is the 2010 version of the Red River Rivalry really all that big of a deal?
Appalachian State University is thinking about leaving the FCS for the FBS ranks. Apparently, after beating Michigan a few years back, and running all over the teams in their own league, they feel pretty good about their chances of being successful. Good for them. That said, the last legitimate FBS team they faced was LSU in 2008—that didn't exactly go well (41-13).
Trey Burton had one very big game against the Kentucky Wildcats and, already, people are comparing him to No. 15 (former Gator QB, Tim Tebow). Easy media hounds, this kid hasn't proven anything yet—except that he can run it in against a mediocre SEC defense. Give him some time to do something bigger before you go raising that pedestal to unreachable heights.
That move that Boise State made to become a part of the Mountain West is looking more and more like a moot point. Utah already exited to the Pac-10, BYU is looking for it's indepence, and now TCU is considering jumping to the Big East—hmmm, seems to me, Boise should have just stayed where it was—the Mountain West is looking more and more like the WAC to me.
Ole Miss will play South Alabama in 2017...wow, talk about your compelling match-ups. Of course, the way Ole Miss is trending, SOuth Alabama could actually be the better team by that time—just saying.
At 4-0 now, some national media are starting to jump on the NC State bandwagon. That likely means they will now fold like a house of cards and become irrelevant by Monday—starting with a loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday. Hope not, but, this is certainly not a good sign.
This is a little outside of the sports realm, but, my brother is trying his hand at film making. The video below is the third in a web series he created, along with a buddy, called "The Idea Men". Give it a look, and, if you like what you see, check out the first two eps at their YouTube site—BasementBoysPictures
The head coach at Temple University, Al Golden, has the Owls on the cusp of relevancy. After two winning seasons, their first bowl appearance since 1979 (in 2009), and a hot start (the Owls are currently 3-0), Golden has his program standing at the threshold of college football legitimacy.
After last weeks surprising win over Big East power, Connecticut, the Owls head into Saturday's match-up against Penn State with a lot of confidence—are the Owls for real? This game will surely be the one that answers that question.
Michigan State head coach, Mark Dantonio, is on the mend but his team will retake the field this weekend—hoping to remain undefeated.
Florida coach, Urban Meyer, will add his name to an exclusive group of head football coaches if/when he reaches the 100-win mark over the next four games. He would be the fastest coach, in more than 50 years, to reach the milestone—boy...it sure does pay to stay in-state and play those pansies, eh Urban?
Randall Cobb and the Kentucky Wildcats will look to get their program-defining win in The Swamp on Saturday night. Said John Clay, of KentuckySports.com,"You might expect a little more respect for a program that has been to four consecutive bowl games. You might expect a little more respect for a program that won on the road at Auburn and Georgia last year, that boasts a Randall Cobb, that competes in the SEC."—with all due respect to what the Wildcats were able to do last year, their schedule this year has been a joke. If they win at Florida, then they should join the conversation, but they are hardly worth a top 25 nod after beating a couple cupcakes and a pansy.
And speaking of Randall Cobb, he's mighty sensitive where his team is concerned. Red Lobster has lost his business for a little while after a hostess, unwittingly, dissed the Wildcats football program—you can hardly blame her, it was an honest mistake.
Another "hot seat" article on coach Richt. Again, I say, Richt is not on the hot seat and the continued talk of it by outside media sources is annoying and ridiculous.
Baltimore safety, Ed Reed, could miss significant time this season if he's not fully recovered from hip surgery. How much time will he miss...not even Ed knows the answer to that question.
