The Saturday Review - Week #5

Kind of a calm weekend before some questions get answered in the SEC next weekend, the Pac-10 has it’s championship game (yes the one that doesn’t involve USC), and the Red River Rivalry.

1. Just wondering if Tommy West woke up on Saturday morning, got into the shower, shaved, ate breakfast, and then realized that he had fired Joe Lee Dunn or if it was sometime, oh, about the start of the second quarter when Ainge had fired his 10th completion and was in route to a four touchdown game. Some things look really good on paper, Tommy West, and some things don’t.
   
   

2. Can someone please just tell me if Missouri is for real? I like what they have done, but they haven’t played anyone. What does a 15 point win over Colorado at home mean? This is important information due to the gambling possibilities coming up later in the season. They play at Texas Tech, at A&M, at Nebraska, and get Oklahoma at home. Inquiring minds, with gambling addictions, want to know.
   
   

3. JaMarcus Russell is just sick. Do you think pro scouts do anything but drool all over him or what? How would you like to be Russell come January when agents start clamoring for him? I’m talking crazy shit is going to go down……girls, drugs of every kind, etc. Damn, in the time it took me to write this, he threw two touchdown passes and picked a pass off when he was inserted to play defense. He is a newer version of Daunte Culpepper. Okay, a slower, less-mobile version of Daunte Culpepper.
   
   

4. Am I crazy or can Syracuse make it to a bowl game? They just gutted out a nice overtime win against Wyoming. I checked, they have winnable games against Pittsburgh and Connecticut (in the Carrier Dome), and at Cincinnati. That would put them at 6-6 and in a bowl game. It would be a step in the right direction. Let’s not get crazy, but it is possible.
   
   

5. I was intrigued by the Texas A&M-Texas Tech tilt. Both teams could make some noise in the Big 12. I’m not saying they are sure things to beat Oklahoma or Texas, but they could put a scare into both of them. Plus, anytime you get to watch Mike Leach and the Aggies, you know some crazy shit is going down because Mike Leach will do anything and Aggies are just, well crazy.
   
   

6. I love Va Tech. Underrated for so many years and now overrated almost every year. Frank Beamer, you lost to Chan Gailey. Although Calvin Johnson is Calvin Johnson. I really can't wait for people in New York to say, "Who is this Calvin Johnson kid? Where did he come from?" Northerners talk about how people in the South know nothing about things north of the Mason-Dixon line, but it is funny to see guys get drafted and read sportswriters talk about how they came out of nowhere. I can almost promise you that come this time next year, Bill Simmons will talk about what a steal Patrick Willis or Quinton Culberson was for the Pats.
   
   

7. I’m really impressed with Mike Shula. He got his team ready to play today. That is tough to do after a devastating loss last week. The score was closer than it should have been because Alabama played a great first half and Florida looked too focused on getting revenge and not focused enough on playing the game. Kudos to Alabama aside. You have to run the ball better if you want to get the ball in the endzone. Alert to LSU and Auburn, Alabama will beat someone they aren’t supposed to this year. You have been warned.
   
   

8. ABC/ESPN kills me. To set up Iowa-Ohio State as a possible stumbling block for the Buckeyes is laughable. Iowa almost lost to Syracuse. Drew Tate aside, that is not a good defense that Kirk Ferentz has in Iowa City. Sure Michigan is the obvious next roadblock, but Ohio State might want to concern themselves with Michigan State and Minnesota. The Buckeyes give up yards on the ground. So far the offense has done enough to keep teams from running the football on them, but what happens when the offense has an off game? Remember, the Spartans and Gophers can run the football.
   
   

9. Well, well, well, speaking of running the football, do you think USC misses Reggie Bush and LenDale White? The lack of a running game almost doomed USC against Washington State. And I won’t point out the fact that Auburn beat Washington State by 26 and USC beat them by six. That is a ludicrous comparison.
   
   

10. Georgia only beating Ole Miss by five is a statement game both ways. For Ole Miss, it is a statement about how crappy that program is right now. Of course, we already knew that. For Georgia, it’s a statement of how far they have to go offensively.