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Lobbying Against the BCS (10/27)
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 | Episodes | No Comments
Ty and Dan talk with Matt Sanderson from the Playoff PAC (found at PlayoffPAC.com), a political action committee lobbying Congress to reform the way college football crowns a national champion. Should government be involved in these types of decisions? What’s being done? Most importantly, can it actually work? All that, plus a quick review of the week that was in the world of college football, as well as an update on the Solid Verbal pick’em pools and fantasy league.
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August Countdown: Boise State (11)
Monday, August 24th, 2009 | Blog, Team Preview | 1 Comment
Throughout August, we will be counting down the top 25 teams (as listed here) going into the 2009 season. Today, we trek into the Treasure Valley to examine Boise State. Don’t worry, I brought finger steaks from Buster’s, an ice cream potato from the Westside Drive-In, and my giant block of ice to slide down the hill next to the JR Simplot manor. How’s that for local references, Idahoans?
First Impression
Until a rogue safety throws his shoulder into your defenseless quarterback’s chin, it’s pretty impossible not to like the Boise State Broncos story. There’s the Fiesta Bowl, the innovative, precise offense, and the turf. It’s blue. You probably know that by now.
I’m fairly certain a number of programs that are considered to be traditionally strong would take Chris Peterson in a heartbeat, but he’s plenty happy in Boise, so good on him. I still don’t see him as a lifer, but I could very well be wrong.
As long as Peterson’s in charge and the Broncos are in the WAC, we pretty much know what we’ll get -- big numbers, wins in the double digits more often than not, and a team filled with passed-over players who have been expertly developed into effective players. Ho hum.
Last Year
Had Boise handled TCU in their bowl game, it could be argued that the 2008 Boise squad was the best of the decade, if not the most dominant. The win over Oregon, despite my bitter circumstantial claims, was gigantic for the program.
In conference play, the only real tests the Broncos faced were @San Jose State and @Nevada, two decent teams. As always, it would be far more interesting to see the boys in blue play in a superior conference, but the invites aren’t exactly pouring in.
Chris Peterson’s squad finished the season 12-0, which got them an invite to a bowl that felt like it was played around Thanksgiving. Despite the slap-in-the-face bowl bid, they were at least matched up against a quite good TCU team, which promptly suffocated the BSU offense.
People
While most of the national eyes were on newlywed RB Ian Johnson, it was RS freshman QB Kellen Moore’s team, especially considering the Broncos threw nearly twice as much as they ran. Moore had a 25 TD/10 INT/3500 yard season, which for a player in his first active college season, is, uh, swell.
Johnson’s gone, but junior RB Jeremy Avery, a back who had more YPC than Johnson, should figure in significantly in the effort to balance out the BSU offense, especially considering every playmaking receiver is gone.
Up front, the O-line is a patchwork project without a ton of experience, but there looks to be enough bodies around to give Kellen Moore just enough time to take spread the ball around.
Up front on defense, the Broncos lose three starters and promising DT Michael Atkinson will be suspended for the Oregon game. Never good to be without an inside presence against a dominant running team. Ever.
Similar to the number of returners on the D-line, only one linebacker, Derrell Acrey, returns. The hope is that Boise can take advantage of their athletic, younger LBs and not fall victim to a general lack of experience among the front seven starters.
The secondary appears to be the strongest returning group. Both corners, Kyle Wilson and Brandyn Thompson, have had plenty of lockdown performances to instill confidence outside, and who knows, Jeron Johnson (FS), the team’s leading returning tackler, may decapitate somebody on the field this year … so there’s that.
It should be a long year for Boise opponents. Teams seem to get down early against the Broncos and then find themselves throwing into a brutal secondary. Good deal.
This Year
It’s pretty simple. The biggest game ever played at Bronco Stadium is a week from Thursday against Oregon. I don’t see it being close in either direction. The Bronco offense will either throw all over the Ducks to pace a double digit win or will get run over and lose by double digits. Do you even have to ask where I’m siding on this one?
After this, the only notable games are @Fresno St, @Tulsa, @Hawaii, and scary Nevada at home.
Worst case scenario is probably 11-2. Not. Too. Bad.
Conclusion
IFFFFFFFF the Broncos get by the Ducks, they probably go undefeated. Kellen Moore, when he’s firing on all cylinders (generally the case) is as smooth as it gets. They’re probably a year away from as good as they were last year, but it should be, ho-hum, another dominant year.
Prediction
12-1. Boise has similar problems up front on both sides of the ball that Oregon has, but I’ll take the rebuilt Oregon lines over the issues BSU has. As an Oregon fan, though, I still want no part of Chris Peterson’s crazy play action. And I’m guessing neither does the rest of the WAC.
Game Highlights Set to Black Eyed Peas “Music”
-Dan
August Countdown: Notre Dame (18)
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009 | Blog, Team Preview | No Comments
Throughout August, we will be counting down the 25 teams (as listed here) going into the 2009 season. Today, we travel (figuratively) to South Bend, Indiana, to preview the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Seeing as how this write-up was authored by Notre Dame fan extraordinaire Ty Hildenbrandt, you should expect a heavily biased and bitterly sarcastic perspective of the 2009 season. If you can’t handle that, then go somewhere else, damn it.
First Impressions
If there were ever a year for Notre Dame to reach the 10-win plateau, it is 2009. In fact, it MUST happen this year, otherwise the Irish echoes will be awoken not by the ghost of Rockne, but rather by the cries for Charlie Weis‘ head on a silver platter. With an offense returning several veteran, playmaking pieces and a defense that started getting organized in the second half of 2008, the table is set for a healthy run through one of the weakest schedules the school has ever seen. Simply put, there can be no excuses this time around.
Looming large on October 17th is Notre Dame’s yearly gut check against USC, a game that will most certainly define their season. Still, plenty of other questions remain. Will this be the year that Jimmy Clausen lives up the hype? Will this be the year that Notre Dame finally learns how to win the battles in the trenches? Will this be the year that Notre Dame finally deserves a preseason top-25 ranking? Only time will tell.
Last year
Though a 7-6 season with a bowl victory was a marked improvement over 2007’s 3-9 campaign, the Irish’s 2008 season will be forever marred by a stunning loss to Syracuse that nearly derailed the Charlie Weis Train and almost sent Ty Hildenbrandt into a downward spiral of alcoholism. Not cool. That, in conjunction with a 38-3 bedwetting against USC, and Notre Dame’s season couldn’t help but be viewed as a disappointment. Wins against San Diego State, Michigan, Purdue, Stanford, Washington, Navy, and Hawaii were nice. Losses against Michigan State, North Carolina, Pitt, Boston College, Syracuse, and USC were not.
The main problem with Notre Dame’s 2008 campaign was its offensive line. In two unceremonious years, Jimmy Clausen has shown signs of brilliance; however, the majority of his dropbacks have been under serious duress. Offensively, this inability to block had a cataclysmic effect on the team’s ability to deliver a balanced attack. Specifically, they couldn’t run the football, ranking 100th in rushing offense and averaging only 3.27 yards per carry. Clausen was being asked to win every game — a task nearly impossible for a quarterback with no protection.
But the season was not a complete loss. ND’s 49-21 win in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl was impressive, and it became apparent that Clausen could flourish with some protection and three surehanded targets (Golden Tate, Michael Floyd and Duval Kumara). However, was this a legitimate leap forward, or just an aberration against a mediocre opponent. We shall see.
People
You already know about Jimmy Clausen, whose 3,172 passing yards quietly put him at 23rd in the nation amid all the other hoopla surrounding Charlie Weis’ future with the team. Clausen got a bad rap as a showboat with the way he entered college (and for his ghastly haircut to start the ‘08 season), but, by all accounts, he’s a model teammate and one of the hardest workers on the team. With more support, he will blossom into the talent that many thought he’d be.
This year, that support comes in the form of several offensive weapons. Golden Tate had a breakout year in ‘08 with 1,080 yards receiving and figures to be Clausen’s main deep threat. Complementing Tate is surehanded sophomore Michael Floyd, who logged 700+ yards of his own. And not to be overlooked at slot man Duval Kumara, or tight end Kyle Rudolph. According to Phil Steele, this is the best receiving corps in the nation.
Notre Dame’s offensive line is anchored by 6′8″ tackle Sam Young. While the last two years have certainly fallen short of expectation, 2008 was still a major improvement from 2007, and 2009 figures continue trending upwards. This unit is experienced and needs to step up to help Armando Allen become more effective as a running back.
Defensively, look for coordinator Jon Tenuta to be aggressive and attack opposing offenses, and the move back to a 4-3 base seems like a smart move. The Irish defense was better than most realize in 2008. Listen for names like SS Kyle McCarthy, FS Harrison Smith and a speedy group of linebackers with Brian Smith, Steve Filer, and freshman Manti Te’o.
This Year
This team should be able to score points, especially against a weak schedule. The opening game against Nevada will provide an immediate test for the Irish in the form of Colin Kaepernick’s dangerous passing attack. On paper, outside Michigan State on September 19th and USC in mid-October, there should be no other potential losses on the schedule. But the games aren’t played on paper, and you never know when this team is going to have a recurrence of its hiccups from 2007 and 2008. Remaining unmentioned opponents: @Michigan, @Purdue, Washington, USC, Washington State (in San Antonio, TX… for some reason), Navy, @Pitt, Connecticut, and @Stanford. Yeah. Don’t be afraid to be the OVER.
Conclusions
This should be the best team Charlie Weis has fielded in his rocky tenure. And that’s good for him, because in light of last season’s bowl victory, the standard for 2009 is a BCS berth. No way around it. Notre Dame has all the pieces in place to make a run at an undefeated season, and it’s not out of the question to think that this team could down USC on October 17th. Realistically, though, you should expect a loss against the Trojans and one other wildcard team (maybe Michigan State). As a Notre Dame fan, I am cautiously optimistic and excited about this season.
Prediction
10-2
Highlights Set To Unfortunate Music
--Ty
Solid Verbal Podcast: Episode #19 (12/29/08)
Monday, December 29th, 2008 | Episodes | No Comments
In their final show of 2008, Ty and Dan discuss their ongoing Solid Verbal Bowl Pool, unleash their New Year’s resolutions for college football, and wonder what causes a young men to consider becoming male cheerleaders.
E-mail: solidverbal@gmail.com
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