I Tell Ya' Herbie

    After what might have been the craziest weekend ever for heavy underdogs defeating highly ranked favorites, we return with our notebook on college football- I Tell Ya' Herbie.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            That was one crazy Saturday as four top ten teams lost, including number one ranked Alabama and three of the four losing to unranked teams, with the fourth losing to 25th ranked Texas A&M.

I'm sure that hasn't happened often and in the playoff era, none of the losses will eliminate any of those team's chances for the new postseason.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            Both sides of the argument on the mighty SEC.

One side says the SEC is down with Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Missouri, and Tennessee losing in the last two weeks and only Georgia's close loss to Alabama as a defeat that didn't come with a gasp and a question mark.

The other is the conference is becoming more balanced as Vanderbilt (Alabama), Kentucky (Ole Miss), and Arkansas (Tennessee) as middle-of-the-pack teams to bottom dwellers dropping conference blue bloods prove that there is some catching up going on in the SEC.

My answer? I think the lower teams playing at home are gaining a little bit compared to the past as only Kentucky's win over Ole Miss was on the road but you will still have to prove to me in crunch time that SEC teams not named Alabama or Georgia are head and shoulders over the mid-range schools.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             It'll be interesting as the CFP evolves to see how schools such as Ole Miss, Tennessee, Missouri, and Texas A&M are graded when the season ends.

I'd think 10-2 will be enough for most SEC ( and Big Ten) teams to get in but if you are 10-2, lack big wins, and lost to Vanderbilt and Arkansas, are you an automatic entrant?

I could see that happening more often than not but not always as time goes on.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            This likely moved under most radars as two mediocre teams in Temple and Connecticut battled in Storrs, CT with an incredible ending.

Connecticut leads 23-20 with three seconds remaining but Temple has the ball on a fourth and goal from inside the Huskies one-yard line.

Temple tries a quarterback sneak, and just as it seems the Owls quarterback is going to break the plane of the goal line for a win, the ball pops up. UConn takes the ball ninety-nine yards for a score, giving them a 29-20 win.

The win moves UConn to 4-2 and in a position to make six wins for a bowl appearance.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                              Things are falling into place for the ACC for two teams in the CFP despite extremely disappointing seasons from Florida State and N.C.State.

Miami rallied from a huge deficit to nip California on the road to remain unbeaten, and Clemson has taken care of their business since their opening loss to Georgia.

Pittsburgh is still unbeaten and SMU has one loss, a three-point loss to unbeaten BYU.

The best news is for Miami, who doesn't play any of those three, and if they can get by Louisville this weekend on the road, the Hurricanes look to have a chance to win out.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             The Group of Five with the biggest surprise has to be the 5-0 starts by Army and Navy that have both at the top of the AAC.

Navy has the more impressive wins with a win over pre-season favorite Memphis and road wins over UAB and Air Force.

Both teams will meet Notre Dame later in the season, so it's unlikely that both teams will be unbeaten entering their season-ending clash in December but imagine the stakes for the game if both teams could manage to be unbeaten.

The December 14th game is the only game on the schedule, and should the dream seasons continue for both, the game could have not only the Commander in Chief trophy at stake, the game would decide the AAC champion, and perhaps put the CFP on hold waiting for who might receive the Group of Five automatic bid.

                            

                            

                            

                            

Win or lose,Buckeyes crabby in Baltimore

Courtesy Columbus Dispatch

The Ohio State Buckeyes struggled in defending the option against the Midshipmen of Navy and it showed in Baltimore before the fourth quarter as Ohio State used some big plays to stun Navy on offense and defense in a 34-17 win.
The Buckeyes controlled the fourth quarter,but for three quarters,Navy stood toe to toe with Ohio State and battled them evenly.
J.T.Barrett threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns,including a 80 yard strike to Devin Smith while OSU used a committee ground game to rush for 194 yards on the day.
The biggest defensive play came in the third quarter when Joey Bosa wiped out Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds as he pitched the ball errantly to have Darron Lee scoop and run for a 61 yard touchdown on the fumble recovery.
Ohio State (1-0) will host Virginia Tech next week at the Big Horseshoe...

Olentangy Offerings

1) So what did I think of J.T. Barrett?
I liked much of what I saw.
Now he is not Braxton Miller,but few are.
I do think he can make plays with his feet,but he will need to be more elusive if he wants to be a huge threat running the ball...

2) Barrett will be a work in progress,but his deep ball to Devin Smith was perfectly thrown and I was more impressed by his arm than I thought I would be.

3) That didn't mean he was blameless as his first half interception was all on him.
Barrett eluded the rush and threw into coverage that he shouldn't have.
Barrett will avoid making that pass with time and experience.

4) Urban Meyer used a couple of different backs,but the one that stood out to me most was Curtis Samuel,who ran hard and played physically.
I'd like to see more of Samuel against Virginia Tech..

5) Meyer's play calling wasn't the best in this one.
Until the second half,the Buckeyes kept things close to the vest and didn't allow J.T. Barrett to make plays.
I understand that you want to make thing simple for the freshman,but too simple creates a vanilla offense and that was what Jim Tressel was often criticized for...

6) Liked what I saw from linebacker Darron Lee,who not only scored a touchdown,but seemed to be all over the football.

7) Super day for the Buckeye defensive line,especially Adolphus Washington,who played very well.
Wait until Noah Spence gets back for what might then be the best line in the nation.

8) Still the team was plagued by poor tackling,especially in the back seven.
I know Navy is a run first team,but over 300 yards to anyone is unacceptable...

9) I've always liked Verne Lundquist,but age might be catching up with him as he seemed behind the game and often puzzled.
Hope this is just first game jitters for Lundquist and he picks his game back up.

10) Loved the sportsmanship by both teams after the game as both teams went to the others end to sing their fight songs.
Great stuff and what college football should be.

11) Give Navy credit for hanging tough,they deserve it,but play this game in midseason and I bet it isn't that close.
Still the Middies are going to win their share of games and this win could look much better at seasons end....