Sunday, October 03, 2010

10/03 Quickie: Tide, Ducks, Padres

Here's how I think about Alabama demolishing Florida last night:

*As expected, Alabama was clearly the superior team. It's hard to be too upset when you get destroyed -- I felt the same way after the SEC title game last December.

(It was frustrating that Florida probably should have had at least 21 points; then again, if Alabama didn't take their cleats off Florida's throat in the 2nd half, the Tide would have racked up more, too.)

*With this shellacking on the books, I give Florida a much better shot at having a puncher's chance of beating Alabama when they play the rematch in December in Atlanta in the SEC title game.

Alabama is, by far, the best team that Florida will play. After yesterday, playing LSU will feel like playing the JV -- hell, on coaching IQ alone.

My expectation may not have been that Florida was going to beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa last night, but I absolutely expect Florida to win out the rest of their schedule.

Florida will be a better team 9 weeks from now. I'm not sure Alabama can get much better than they are right now. Florida played the best at their best. It is unsurprising they lost.

More notes on yesterday:

*What a counter-punch by Oregon. Early on, Stanford looked unstoppable. (Florida could take a lesson from the Ducks.) I'm ready to move Oregon up to No. 2 in the country.

*USChadenfreude: It is the sweetest feeling in the sport.

*That ending of the LSU-Tennessee game: Baffling. Les Miles is simultaneously the dumbest major-program coach in the country -- and the luckiest.

(I wonder how many LSU fans who want Miles ousted secretly wished the Tigers lost, which would have almost assuredly cost him his job at the end of the season. Perhaps it still should.)

*Sucks to be a Texas fan right now. (And I'm not even convinced Oklahoma is that great.)

*Heisman Watch: It's Denard, then everyone else. It helps that Michigan's defense is porous, meaning that they keep Robinson full-throttle for 60 minutes.

*No one needed Virginia Tech's win over NC State more than Boise State.

*Looking ahead to next week: Alabama at South Carolina, Michigan at Michigan State.

*Early BlogPoll Top 25 preview: Alabama-Oregon are 1-2... Stanford is still a Top 10 team... Florida's loss is Arkansas' gain... 5 new teams 21-25 (Air Force, Baylor, FSU, OK St, N'western)

Non-CFB News:

*Padres-Giants-Braves NL West/NL Wild Card Mania: There is little better in baseball than a final day of the regular season that will determine one -- possibly two -- playoff spots. Thanks to the Padres (and Braves) for making it interesting.

Root for the Padres beating the Giants and the Braves beating the Phillies, which triggers a one-game playoff on Monday between the Padres and Giants, then the loser flying to Atlanta to play the Braves in a one-game playoff for the Wild Card.

*Zenyatta: 19/19. Lucky enough to be watching College Football Scoreboard after 7 when they cut in for the Zenyatta race, which she won in impossibly dramatic fashion. Glad they cut in to show that.

*Obviously, the NFL storyline of the day is Donovan McNabb's Philadelphia homecoming combined with Mike Vick's resurgence.

-- D.S.

1 comment:

Michael W said...

I think Oregon would be the top team in the nation if they ever figure out that the game starts in the first quarter and not halfway through the second. I can't think of another team that consistently starts so slow and finishes so strong.