Tag Archives: college football

It’s Monday in ALDLAND

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We’re about a month into the college and professional football seasons, so there aren’t too many unknowns anymore. The media-fueled big matchup for Saturday, LSU goes to Morgantown, wasn’t close, and the outcome wasn’t surprising. LSU has been operating a professional-grade defense for years, and Jordan Jefferson (allegedly) curb-stomping a U.S. Marine may have been the best thing that could happen to their offense outside of alum Shaq O’Neil going in at fullback.

After Michigan State’s failure to board the bus and make any appearance whatsoever last week in South Bend, I put them on a one-week suspension and channeled my attention to Clemson, the MSU of the South. Those Tigers did not disappoint on what was a big day for the South Carolina schools. (Side note: I thought Vandy had a chance to at least play SC close given a 3-0 start and the schools’ dead even history over the last four games, but having more penalty yards than total offensive yards is going to make that difficult.) I imagine I’ll be keeping my eyes on the Clemson squad until they remember who they are (the Michigan State of the South) and totally blow it due to sheer lack of discipline.

Speaking of Michigan State Keep reading…

Why is USC ranked?

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As the University of Southern California serves the second year of a two-year bowl ban, the AP Poll currently has them ranked 23rd, and they were a preseason top-25 team if memory serves. Due to the NCAA sanctions, the coaches’ poll won’t rank USC, and this seems right.

What I don’t understand is why the writers bother to rank a team that cannot appear in the postseason. If they are competitive and compelling despite their NCAA-imposed sanctions, I don’t have any problem with sports networks covering their games, but why rank them? What if they were number one? The AP wouldn’t name a team its national champion if they didn’t play in a bowl game, to say nothing of the BCS national championship game, so why do they rank a team at all that is guaranteed not to play in any bowl whatsoever?

The purpose of a ranking system, it would seem, is to determine which team is the best. If a rule prohibits a team from winning the championship, what’s the point of including it in the ranking system?

Less cowbell Friday

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Mississippi State lost a defensive struggle to SEC West foe LSU last night in Starkville. The visitors had a 6-3 lead at the half, and I thought the Bulldogs had the winning edge a couple times in the third quarter, but they couldn’t quite overcome LSU, which finally broke the dam in the fourth and won 19-6. Mississippi State still is a team on the rise, but I’m not sure they’re going to get a chance to improve on last year’s nine-win season until 2012.

Because I couldn’t come up with a Friday-themed Friday jam, I’ll make it up to you with two clips. I guess everybody’s got to have a thing (I guess?), and Mississippi State has made the cowbell its thing. Two clips to try to cheer up Bulldog fans and remind everyone else that something sorta good came out of Starkville once:

Ultimate Underdog (via Sports Illustrated)

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For Vanderbilt, playing in the nation’s toughest conference is a losing proposition. But the only team in the SEC that everyone can love is 2–0, thanks to a new coach who has turned a blind eye to the past.

For fans, Saban is like a fiftysomething Justin Bieber. It does not seem to bother anybody that he is a reluctant guest of honor. “I think you all know that this is one of my favorite days of the year,” Saban tells reporters sarcastically.

Appearing before the media alongside Saban and the three Tide players, almost for bookkeeping purposes, are the representatives for the Vanderbilt Commodores. They have a new coach, 39-year-old James Franklin, but the same old story. They have finished with a losing record in 27 of the last 28 years. They have not had a winning conference mark since 1982.

Even at a gathering of its conference brothers, Vanderbilt football is an orphan. Forget luring fans to Media Days. Vanderbilt barely draws any media to Media Days. Of the 1,050 credentialed reporters, fewer than 10 are there to cover Vanderbilt.

And yet: This appears to be Franklin’s favorite day of the year. He says, “I believe whoever I meet, they’re a Vanderbilt fan. And if they’re not, by the time we get done talking, they are.” He looks out at a ballroom of skeptical media members and sees opportunity in every seat. … Read More

(via Sports Illustrated)

(HT: @rmccost)

Who first owned the G?

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In case you were wondering which team first sported the elongated G the Green Bay Packers are wearing on their helmets tonight, the answer is the Green Bay Packers, who started using it in 1961 and, further according to the internet, trademarked the symbol and licensed it to the University of Georgia in 1964 and Grambling University after that.

The college football season starts tonight, and ALDLAND takes you to the action this weekend

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High schoolers have been at it for a couple weeks, and now it’s the undergrads’ turn. Conference play doesn’t begin for a few weeks, but opening weekend of college football has its share of high-profile matchups.

It all starts tonight, when in-state basketball rival Murray State kicks off in Louisville at 6:00 pm. Two top-25 teams, Wisconsin and Mississippi State, are in action against unranked opponents on a busy Thursday as well. Two more games are scheduled for Friday night, when Youngstown State heads to East Lansing and TCU scoots down to Waco to face Baylor.

College football is all about Saturdays, and Saturdays in the fall are all about college football. This Saturday’s schedule has a number of highlights, including Oregon against LSU in Arlington, TX, Boise State in Athens to face Georgia, and Rice against Texas for the visually challenged debut of the Longhorn Network. 

Vanderbilt hosting Alabama in 2007

The big game on Saturday night is in Nashville, though, and ALDLAND staff will be in Vanderbilt Stadium as the Commodores open the James Franklin era against FCS/I-AA powerhouse Elon. This game has been thoroughly previewed at Open ‘Dores and Vanderbilt Sports Line. As the 6:30 pm (central) kickoff approaches, check here, twitter, and flickr for multimedia updates of the gameday atmosphere.

The rest of the week one schedule includes two in-state pairings on Sunday– Marshall at West Virginia and SMU at SEC-to-be Texas A&M— and an interesting-because-they’re-in-trouble game in College Park, MD on Monday between Miami and Maryland, which got questionable back-to-school outfits this year.

Check out the full extended weekend schedule, including broadcast availability, at http://espn.go.com/college-football/schedule.

College football preseason coaches’ poll now available

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USA Today has it, and Oklahoma is #1.

Rank
Team (first-place votes)
2010 record
Points
Final 2010 ranking
1.
Oklahoma (42)
12-2
1,454
6
2.
Alabama (13)
10-3
1,414
11
3.
Oregon (2)
12-1
1,309
3
4.
LSU (2)
11-2
1,296
8t
5.
Florida State
10-4
1,116
16

See the rest of the top twenty-five at http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/usatpoll.htm