Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Game 14: #13 Michigan at #5 Oregon

If you missed the introduction post about the Playoff, no problem! Read it here: http://short-sideoption.blogspot.com/2012/02/ok-cowboy-cardinal-and-duck-fans-this.html

The Michigan at Oregon game is next, but here are today’s reality bites:

Texas A&M will officially owe the Big 12 $9 Million for its exit fee, much less than the $28 Million threatened by the Big 12 a year ago.  Read about it here: http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-big12buyouts


Now on to the Playoff!


Game 14:  #13 Michigan at #5 Oregon

December 24, 2011
Kickoff:  6:00 pm
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Weather: 53 degrees, clear, 4 mph wind

EA Sports Ratings:        Oregon, Overall: A, Offense: A+, Defense: B+
                                        Michigan, Overall: A-, Offense: A-, Defense: B+

Here is another great example of a matchup that playoffs would be good for.  The prestige and tradition of Michigan vs the flash and uniform combinations of Oregon, this is the new kid on the block challenging the old veteran in terms of college football history.  I’d be interested to see how Michigan defensive mastermind Greg Mattison would handle the offensive chess board Oregon’s Chip Kelly would throw at him.  Could the Oregon defense keep Denard Robinson under wraps?  This is the closest we may ever come to seeing. 

1st Quarter:
            -Michigan takes the opening drive and scores with a Seth Broehuizen 42 yard FG.           (3-0 Mich)

            -Oregon scores next with a 5 yard TD run from LaMichael James.                                     (7-3 Ore)

            -Oregon forces a Denard Robinson interception and immediately capitalizes with
             an 11 yard TD pass from Darron Thomas to LaMichael James.                                        (14-3 Ore)

2nd Quarter:
            -Michigan’s offense responds early in the 2nd qtr with a drive resulting in a 4 yard
             TD run from Vincent Smith.                                                                                                    (14-10 Ore)

            -On the ensuing drive, Paul Gyarmati picks up a Mike Huff fumble and returns it
 68 yards for a TD.                                                                                                                (17-14 Mich)

            -The Michigan defense again forces a turnover with a Darron Thomas interception,
 the offense capitalizes with a 7 yard TD pass from Denard Robinson to Roy Roundtree.        (24-14 Mich)

3rd Quarter:
            -Oregon strikes quickly to begin the 2nd half when LaMichael James takes
 the first play 80 yards for a TD.                                                                                           (24-21 Mich)

-The offenses take a breather and exchange a few punts, but Michigan scores
 next with a 4 yard TD run from Denard Robinson.                                                             (31-21 Mich)

-Michigan again capitalizes on an Oregon fumble for the last points of the 3rd qtr
               with a 33 yard FG from Seth Broekhuizen.                                                                         (34-21 Mich)
           

4th Quarter:
            -Oregon’s offense comes back midway through the 4th qtr and scores with a 22 yard
             TD pass from Darron Thomas to DeAnthony Thomas.                                                      (34-28 Mich)

            -Oregon cuts the lead to 3 when they are able to capitalize on a Roy Roundtree fumble
             turning it into a 41 yard FG  from Alejandro Maldonado.                                                     (34-31 Mich)

            -Michigan seals the game on their last drive with a 3 yard TD run from Vincent Smith.     (41-31 Mich)
                       

Oregon Stats:
Passing:           Darron Thomas, 26/41, 284 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing:           LaMichael James, 20 att, 148 yards, 2 TD
Receiving:        DeAnthony Thomas, 5 rec, 68 yards, 1 TD
                         Lavasier Tuinei, 4 rec, 58 yards

Defense:           1 Sack, 2 INT, 1 Fumble recovery

Total Offense:   481 yards
Passing:            284 yards
Rushing:            197 yards

Michigan Stats
Passing:           Denard Robinson, 22/39, 317 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing:           Vincent Smith, 35 att, 116 yards, 2 TD
Receiving:        Darryl Stonum, 8 rec, 116 yards
                         Junior Hemmingway, 6 rec, 86 yards

Defense:           1 Sack, 2 INT, 1 Fumble Recovery, 1 TD

Total Offense:   446 yards
Passing:            317 yards
Rushing:            129 yards


Box Score
           
                                    1Q        2Q        3Q        4Q        T 
Michigan                        3        21        10          7        41
Oregon                         14         0          7          10      31


Next Game:  #17 Michigan State at #8 Kansas State

I will post a new game every weekday before noon.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Game 13: #21 Southern Miss at #4 Stanford

If you missed the introduction post about the Playoff, no problem! Read it here: http://short-sideoption.blogspot.com/2012/02/ok-cowboy-cardinal-and-duck-fans-this.html

Southern Miss vs Stanford is the game of the day, but first here are the reality bites:

The ACC has released its conference schedule, see them all here:  http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/acc/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2012-13/schedule/schedule.pdf

The PAC 12/Big Ten scheduling partnership could mean the end of the Notre Dame/Michigan series, read more here:  http://blog.mlive.com/terpstake/2012/01/new_b1g-pac_12_agreement_could.html

Just little bites today. Now on to the Playoff!





Game 13:  #21 Southern Miss at #4 Stanford

December 24, 2011
Kickoff:  2:30 pm
Location: Palo Alto, California
Weather: 52 degrees, partly cloudy, 2 mph wind

EA Sports Ratings:        Stanford, Overall: A, Offense: A+, Defense: B+
                                        Southern Miss, Overall: B, Offense: B, Defense: C+

This matchup is with teams at two totally different ends of the spectrum of offensive philosophy.  Southern Miss likes to spread you out, get you into space, and try to run past you.  Stanford on the other hand wants to play in a phone booth, bludgeon you into submission, then play action and go over you when you are dazed.  This would be a fun matchup to see in a playoff setting, one that we might not ever see otherwise.

1st Quarter:
            -After blocking a FG on Stanford’s first possession, Southern Miss strikes first
             with a 15 yard TD pass from Austin Davis to William Spight.                                (7-0 USM)

2nd Quarter:
            -The Stanford offense gets on the board early in the 2nd qtr after a long drive
             with a 30 yard FG from Eric Whitaker.                                                                    (7-3 USM)

            -Stanford holds S. Miss to a 3 and out, then takes the ball down the field to
             score with a 1 yard Stepfan Taylor TD run.                                                            (10-7 Stan)

            -Stanford’s defense again holds, and the offense continues to capitalize with
             a 1 yard Stepfan Taylor TD run.                                                                              (17-7 Stan)

3rd Quarter:
            -Stanford’s defense starts the 2nd half like it ended the 1st half by keeping the
             USM offense in check, Stanford’s offense scores with a 2 yard TD run by
             Ryan Hewitt.                                                                                                             (24-7 Stan)

-Southern Miss comes back with a 24 yard FG from Danny Hrapmann.            (24-10 Stan)

-Southern Miss forces Stanford to punt, and takes the next possession into
             FG range then scores with a 43 yard FG from Danny Hrapmann.                         (24-13 Stan)

            -Southern Miss scores the final points of the 3rd qtr with a 5 yard TD run from
             Desmond Johnson.                                                                                                    (24-20 Stan)     

4th Quarter:
            -Stanford’s defense retakes control of the game in the 4th qtr, and the Stanford
             offense responds with a 5 yard TD pass from Andrew Luck to Zach Ertz.             (31-20 Stan)

            -Stanford scores again after holding Southern Miss on downs with a 12 yard
             TD run from Stepfan Taylor.                                                                                      (38-20 Stan)

            -Southern Miss scores a TD on its last drive of the game with a 12 yard TD
             Pass from Austin Davis to William Spight.  The 2 point conversion was good.      (38-28 Stan)
                       

Stanford Stats:
Passing:            Andrew Luck, 18/33, 319 yards, 1 TD
Rushing:            Stepfan Taylor, 29 att, 132 yards, 3 TD
Receiving:         Griff Whalen, 7 rec, 127 yards
                           Jamal Patterson, 5 rec, 88 yards

Defense:           2 Sacks

Total Offense:   458 yards
Passing:            319 yards
Rushing:            139 yards

Southern Miss Stats
Passing:            Austin Davis, 26/43, 350 yards, 2 TD
Rushing:            Desmond Johnson, 18 att, 72 yards, 1 TD
Receiving:         William Spight, 8 rec, 79 yards, 2 TD
                           Kelvin Bolden, 6 rec, 72 yards

Defense:           1 Sack, 1 Blocked FG

Total Offense:   475 yards
Passing:            350 yards
Rushing:            125 yards


Box Score
           
                                    1Q        2Q        3Q        4Q        T 
Stanford                         0        17          7          14       38
Southern Miss               7         0         13            8       28


Next Game:  #13 Michigan at #5 Oregon

I will post a new game every weekday before noon.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Game 12: #14 Oklahoma at #6 Arkansas

If you missed the introduction post about the Playoff, no problem! Read it here: http://short-sideoption.blogspot.com/2012/02/ok-cowboy-cardinal-and-duck-fans-this.html

The 12th game in the virtual College Football Playoff is coming up, but here are the reality bites from this weekend:

Pac 12 Commissioner Larry Scott talks with Pete Thamel of the NY Times about the BCS meetings that occurred last week.  Scott sounds like he is in favor of only Conference Champions being allowed in a playoff and also in favor of higher seeds hosting games until the Championship.  Read more here:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/sports/ncaafootball/considering-a-playoff-format-that-would-scrap-the-bcs.html?_r=2&ref=sports

The NCAA announced on Friday that the Oregon Ducks did violate NCAA rules with their dealings with Willie Lyles’ recruiting service.  Read more here:  http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7613030/ncaa-documents-say-oregon-ducks-violated-recruiting-regulations

The SEC is having some trouble with agreeing on how to structure a 14 team conference schedule without losing historic rivalries, read more here:  ). http://timesfreepress.com/news/2012/feb/26/ut-bama-georgia-auburn-series-at-risk/

Now on with the playoff!




Game 12:  #14 Oklahoma at #6 Arkansas

December 24, 2011
Kickoff:  6:00 pm
Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Weather: 47 degrees, cloudy, 1 mph wind

EA Sports Ratings:        Arkansas, Overall: A, Offense: A, Defense: B+
                                       Oklahoma, Overall: A+, Offense: A+, Defense: A

These two campuses are closer together than most of their own conference foes; yet they seldom play.  This is one of those regional matchups that would be great to see in a playoff setting.  Oklahoma and Arkansas both lost offensive weapons throughout the season, but each should still have enough fire power to have made this a shootout.

1st Quarter:
            -Arkansas takes the opening drive and scores with a 6 yard TD pass from
Tyler Wilson to Jarius Wright.                                                                            (7-0 Ark)

-Arkansas recovers a Roy Finch fumble and capitalizes with a 75 yard TD
 Pass from Tyler Wilson to Greg Childs.                                                             (14-0 Ark)

2nd Quarter:
            -The Sooner offense responds immediately in the 2nd qtr with a 13 yard TD
Pass from Landry Jones to Trey Franks.                                                           (14-7 Ark)

            -After trading punts, Arkansas gets back into FG range and scores with a
             36 yard FG from Zach Hocker.                                                                            (17-7 Ark)

            -Oklahoma recovers a Tyler Wilson fumble and is able to march down the
 field and score with an 18 yard TD pass from Landry Jones to Kenny Stills.      (17-14 Ark)                              

            -The Oklahoma defense again responds just before halftime with a Tyler
             Wilson interception resulting in a 28 yard FG from Jimmy Stevens.                       (17-17 Tied)

3rd Quarter:
            -Oklahoma takes the opening drive of the second half and scores with a
 18 yard TD pass from Landry Jones to Kameel Jackson.                                    (24-17 OU)

-Both offenses take a breather until Arkansas scores with an 8 yard TD pass
             from Tyler Wilson to Jarius Wright.  The XP sails wide right however.                  (24-23 OU)

4th Quarter:
            -The defenses continue to control the game in the 4th qtr until the Hogs turn
 a Landry Jones fumble into a 44 yard TD pass from Tyler Wilson to Cobi Hamilton.
            The 2 pt conversion is good when Tyler Wilson scrambles into the endzone.       (31-24 Ark)

            -Oklahoma drives back down the field and scores with :02 remaining
             with a 5 yard TD pass from Landry Jones to Roy Finch.                                       (31-31 Tied)

Overtime:

            -Oklahoma wins the coin toss and takes defense.  Arkansas takes the first
             possession in overtime scores with a 5 yard TD pass from Tyler Wilson to
             Cobi Hamilton.                                                                                                          (38-31 Ark)

            -Oklahoma responds on its possession with a 7 yard TD run from Roy Finch.
             The extra point is blocked by Jake Beqquette.                                                       (38-37 Ark)                  


Oklahoma Stats:
Passing:           Landry Jones, 28/43, 371 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing:           David Wilson, 21 att, 103 yards, 1 TD
Receiving:         Kenny Stills, 14 rec, 184 yards, 1 TD
                        Trey Franks, 5 rec, 61 yards, 1 TD

Defense:           4 Sacks, 2 INT, 1 Fumble Recovery

Total Offense:   502 yards
Passing:            371 yards
Rushing:            131 yards

Arkansas Stats
Passing:           Tyler Wilson, 24/41, 407 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT
Rushing:           Broderick Green, 27 att, 110 yards
Receiving:        Greg Childs, 8 rec, 124 yards, 1 TD
                         Jarius Wright, 8 rec, 115 yards, 2 TD

Defense:           1 Sack, 1 INT, 3 Fumble Recoveries, 1 Blocked XP

Total Offense:   535 yards
Passing:            407 yards
Rushing:            128 yards


Box Score
           
                                    1Q        2Q        3Q        4Q        OT       T
Oklahoma                      0        17          7           7         6        37
Arkansas                     14          3          6           8         7        38


Next Game:  #21 Southern Miss at #4 Stanford

I will post a new game every weekday before noon.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Game 11: #11 Virginia Tech at #3 Oklahoma St

If you missed the introduction post about the Playoff, no problem! Read it here: http://short-sideoption.blogspot.com/2012/02/ok-cowboy-cardinal-and-duck-fans-this.html


Round 2 of the virtual College Football Playoff is next, but first here are the reality bites:

BYU is aggressively pursuing Big 12 membership according to BYU’s rivals site ‘Deep Shade of Blue’.  The target date is claimed to be 2013-2014, read more here:  http://byu.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1335173

Interim Big 12 Conference Commissioner Chuck Neinas talks about Big 12 expansion in this ESPN Q&A, read more here:  http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/45986/qa-big-12s-chuck-neinas-on-expansion

The Sporting News sorts through the fall out from the BCS meetings earlier this week, read more here: http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2012-02-22/bcs-bowl-championship-series-decision-makers

Dennis Dodds also gives his two cents about the BCS meetings here: http://dennis-dodd.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6270202/34948609

Now on with the College Football playoff!





Game 11:  #11 Virginia Tech at #3 Oklahoma St

December 24, 2011
Kickoff:  2:30 pm
Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
Weather: 48 degrees, clear, 4 mph wind

EA Sports Ratings:        Oklahoma St, Overall: A-, Offense: A+, Defense: B-
                                        Virginia Tech, Overall: A-, Offense: B+, Defense: B+

In reality, if you liked scoring you loved watching Oklahoma St play.  Their WR corp, led by Justin Blackmon, was open more than half the season.  Virginia Tech plays the opposite style of football than Oklahoma St.  They prefer to play good defense, good special teams, and run the ball.  It would have been fun to watch David Wilson go up against Justin Blackmon in reality to see who could light up the score board faster.  On with the game.

1st Quarter:
            -Oklahoma St starts of fast with an 86 yard TD pass from Brandon Weeden
to Joseph Randle.                                                                                                        (7-0 OSU)

-Virginia Tech takes the next drive and methodically moves into FG range
  and scores with a 28 yard FG from Justin Myer.                                                      (7-3 OSU)

            -Oklahoma St’s machine keeps rolling as they score again with a 25 yard
TD pass from Brandon Weeden to Tracy Moore.                                                    (14-3 OSU)

            -Virginia Tech answers with a 15 yard TD pass from Logan Thomas to
              Dyrell Roberts.                                                                                                             (14-10 OSU)

2nd Quarter:
            -Oklahoma St’s offense continues to roll in the 2nd qtr with a 5 yard TD pass
             from Brandon Weeden to Justin Blackmon.                                                                (21-10 OSU)

            -OSU’s defense holds Virginia Tech to a 3 and out, but on the ensuing drive
             Jayron Hosley intercepts Brandon Weeden and runs it back 94 yards for a TD     (21-17 OSU)

            -Oklahoma St bounces back the next series with a 28 yard TD pass from
             Brandon Weeden to Justin Blackmon.                                                                        (28-17 OSU)

            -Quinn Sharp ends the first half scoring for Oklahoma St with a 56 yard FG            (31-17 OSU)

3rd Quarter:
            -Virginia Tech takes the opening drive and uses half the qtr to march for
             a 1 yard TD run from David Wilson.                                                                            (31-24 OSU)

4th Quarter:
            -Virginia Tech holds Oklahoma St on downs and scores with a 6 yard TD run
             from David Wilson.                                                                                                      (31-31 Tied)

            -Virginia Tech again forces the Oklahoma St offense to punt and capitalizes           
             with a 41 yard Justin Myer FG.                                                                                   (34-31 VT)

            -Oklahoma St’s offense gets geared back up and scores the next series with
             a 19 yard TD pass from Brandon Weeden to Tracy Moore.                                    (38-34 OSU)

            -Oklahoma St expands its lead after intercepting Logan Thomas with a
             44 yard FG by Quinn Sharp.                                                                                       (41-34 OSU)

            -Virginia Tech takes the ensuing kickoff and Dyrell Roberts returns it 94 yards
             for a TD.                                                                                                                      (41-41 Tied)

            -With :08 on the clock, Brandon Weeden hits Justin Blackmon for a game
             winning 80 yard TD pass.                                                                                           (48-41 OSU)                


Virginia Tech Stats:
Passing:           Logan Thomas, 23/33, 321 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing:           David Wilson, 29 att, 147 yards, 2 TD
Receiving:        Danny Coale, 4 rec, 95 yards
                         Jarrett Boykin, 6 rec, 80 yards
Other:              Dyrell Roberts, 94 yard Kickoff Return TD,
                        Jayron Mosely, 94 yard INT Return TD

Defense:           2 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 TD

Total Offense:   493 yards
Passing:            321 yards
Rushing:            172 yards

Oklahoma St Stats
Passing:           Brandon Weeden, 35/41, 487 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT
Rushing:           Joseph Randle, 21 att, 87 yards
Receiving:        Justin Blackmon, 12 rec, 248 yards, 3 TD
                         Joseph Randle, 7 rec, 122 yards, 1 TD

Defense:           4 Sacks, 2 INT, 1 Fumble Recovery

Total Offense:   596 yards
Passing:            487 yards
Rushing:            109 yards


Box Score
           
                                    1Q        2Q        3Q        4Q        T
Oklahoma St                14        17          0         17       48
Virginia Tech               10          7           7         17       41


Next Game:  #14 Oklahoma at #6 Arkansas

I will post a new game every weekday before noon.