Break Up The Eagles

I don't say too much about Southeastern Michigan's "other" football team, Eastern Michigan. It's the simple fact that if you're losing for two years there's not much to say besides you suck. Well they finally got a win under their belts in the Ron English era. A 41-38 overtime win over Ball State ending an 18 game losing streak. Congratulations, it was a long time coming. But a Ball State blogger took the loss pretty hard.




     
Alan of Ball State fan blog Over the Pylon :





After each and every loss since this blog was started back in 2008 we’ve implored people to stay positive. We’ve begged people to not give up. We’ve assured folks that better days were coming. Today, all that positivity, all that fear calming, all that hope and optimism for this program in the near future appears for naught. I’m not sure what rock bottom is, but I fear that the Ball State football program is venturing dangerously close to it ...



The box score and recap for this particular contest is equal parts confusing and humiliating. EMU outplayed the Cardinals in nearly every facet, from time of possession to total yards ... To have a winless team mired in a significant losing streak rack up a 490-243 yard advantage is absolutely ridiculous ...



I never thought I would be saying this again after 2008 and the magical undefeated season we witnessed, but there is nothing positive to take away from this game and nothing that I can point to as a life vest in this abysmal era of failure and disappointment.
 
 

Michigan/Michigan State Thoughts

Michigan State is undoubtedly the top dog in the state right now. I know it rubs the Michigan faithful the wrong way, but its the truth.

The Spartans have reached new heights this season. Starting 7-0 for the first tine since 1966. Coming in with a number seven ranking in the first BCS poll and beating the Wolverines for three straight years. Right now they are everything Michigan used to be. Owning a win over Wisconsin, who in turn knocked off Ohio State, the Spartans are in control of the Big Ten race right now. Take one game at a time and everything should work itself out. Just don't look past Northwestern, to get to Iowa.

For all of the offensive excitement, the Wolverines have regressed badly on defense. It's hard to start freshman and inexperienced sophomores, but you'd expect some kind of improvement. It seems like for everything they seem to do right on the defensive side of the ball, they follow it up with a penalty or some kind of mental mistake that puts a player out of position to make a play. I do think some of it is scheme because i just don't think the 3-3-5 is going to get it done in the Big Ten. Some of it is talent. Not that they don't have it. It just keeps leaving or it's not developing. Rich Rod is talking about moving five star defensive tackle William Campbell to guard. Rodriguez even made a Bobby Williams-esque statement about how Vince Lombardi couldn't fix the problems on defense. The Wolverines need to improve or see a once promising start turn to dust for the second year in a row. They'll outscore you, but when they need to make a play defensively, let's just say the jury is still out on that one.     

What I Saw In College Football

Many are spelling doom for Boise State since they are ranked number three in the first BCS poll, behind Oklahoma and Oregon. There's still a lot of football to be played and I'm still not sold on Oklahoma, although it looks like they may be hitting their stride. This is the second game where they put it all together. They still have Missouri and a dangerous Oklahoma State team on the horizon.

Cam Newton and Auburn- The Tigers put on a show last Saturday against Arkansas. In a game that virtually featured no defense, Cam Newton cemented himself as the Heisman frontrunner. At least in my eyes he is.

The Tigers have another big one against Les Miles and LSU. If Aubie pulls this one out they look to have a clear, undefeated path to the Alabama game.

The Alabama Hangover-After knocking off previous number 1 ranked Alabama, South Carolina fell to Kentucky. That was a dangerous game for the Gamecocks. It was on the road, Kentucky really isn't that bad, and they also possess one of the most versatile weapons in college football in Randall Cobb. That was a trap game if I ever saw one. If the Wildcats could ever put together two halves they might be undefeated. It seems they only show up for the second half of games.    

Jeff Tedford might need to start worrying about his job security. The number of decisive, blowout losses has to start getting to you at some point.

Turner Gill might be wondering what he's gotten himself into at Kansas. It seems the Jayhawks are being humiliated every time I see their score on the ticker. Save for the win over Georgia Tech, not much has went right for the Jayhawks.

Georgia seems to have hit its stride since getting A.J. Green back. It also helps to have two SEC softies to get back on track. Meanwhile Florida has had offensive struggles all year. It really hit the fan in a 10-7 loss to Mississippi State. When was the last time you heard of a Florida offense cranking out a robust seven points? 

Whoa Now!- Before we hand Nebraska the Big 12 title (I was guilty too), Texas might've laid out the blueprint to knockout the Huskers. This is a game tape that Missouri and perhaps Oklahoma might want to study.    

Down Goes The Buckeyes- Ohio State took a hard fall Saturday night against Wisconsin. Jim Tressel might want to take a cue from Gene Chizik and turn Terrelle loose. Cam Newton is everything Terrelle Pryor should be.

Eric LeGrand- The Rutgers defensive tackle was paralyzed making a tackle on a kickoff return. Let's hope for the best for this young man. You are in many prayers and in the hearts and minds of your teammates. Don't let this keep you down. 

Jeffrey Maier Part 2

Good thing this didn't cost the Rangers the game. They need to go ahead and bury the Yankees. Avoid an epic collapse like game 1 and all eyes will be on Texas in October and November.

The Bucky?

I bet there was alot of this going on after last week's win over Ohio State.

Junior Seau Goes Off The Deep End....Literally

Junior Seau drove his car off a cliff after being released from jail on a domestic violence charge. I'll spare the details since I'm pretty sure lots of you have probably heard it by now. I just have three questions though. I thought he was married already. Why are you with a 25 year old to begin with? And why drive off a cliff?

If I was 41 and could still pull 25 year old tail I don't think I would be driving off any cliffs.

Where Do The Saints Find These Guys?

I know every year in the NFL Draft there are guys that slip through the cracks, had an inoppurtune injury, transfer to a smaller school, or just maybe didn't fit the coaches' scheme. Some make it, some don't. Which brings me to this. How do the New Orleans Saints find these guys and why do they excel?

First it was Marques Colston. Then Lance Moore. Jermon Bushrod. Now here comes Tiffin University's finest Chris Ivory. I guess he started his college career at Washington State, then transferred to Tiffin. You would think he would become an afterthought to NFL scouts. Now I'm not trying to put him or any other small school stars down. It's just that my Detroit Lions can never find these kind of guys. I don't know what it is, but they wind up in New Orleans and some kind of magic happens. Maybe it's the voodoo down there.

I wish him a long career and hope he's not a flash in the pan. It just shows what good scouting and hard work will do.