Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack
Thoughts on the Bradford-to-Minnesota trade
— Eagles get a 1st and 4th-round pick; if Minnesota makes NFC title game, it becomes 3rd-round pick, if they win Super Bowl, a 2nd-rounder.
— Norv Turner is Bradford’s 6th offensive coordinator in seven years.
— Vikings TE coach Pat Shurmur was with Bradford in Philly LY and for two years in St Louis as the offensive coordinator.
— Bradford’s career won-loss record: 25-37-1; he was a college teammate of Adrian Peterson at Oklahoma. Not sure he is worth a 1st-round pick.
— Rookie QB Carson Wentz will start for the Eagles next week if his ribs have healed. Otherwise Chase Daniel (two starts in six years) will start.
— If Vikings traded a 1st-round pick, there has to be serious concern about Teddy Bridgewater’s leg ever recovering enough for him to play well again. Hopefully he can come back but apparently it was a terrible injury.
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Armadillo: Sunday's List of 13: Wrapping up a college football Saturday
ege football Saturday
13) Not a great weekend for the SEC. Here’s a look…..
Losses
Mississippi State (led 17-0) lost 21-20 to South Alabama.
Kentucky (led 35-10) lost 44-35 to Southern Miss.
LSU lost 16-14 to Wisconsin; when will they recruit a decent QB?
Missouri lost 26-11 at West Virginia.
Auburn lost 19-13 at home to Clemson (more on this game later).
Wins that seemed like losses
Tennessee 20, Appalachian State 13 OT– Vols were a 20.5-point favorite.
Arkansas 21, Louisiana Tech 20– Hogs scored winning TD with 6:37 left; total yardage in game was 297-291- they were favored by 21.
Florida 24, UMass 7– Game was 10-7 in 4th quarter.
South Carolina 13, Vandy 10– Conference opener was a dud.
Solid wins
Texas A&M 31, UCLA 24 OT– Aggies led 24-9 with 4:30 left, but still……..
Alabama 52, USC 6– Total ass-kicking. Tank job by the Trojans.
Georgia 33, North Carolina 24– Good debut for Kirby Smart’s Dawgs.
Ole Miss plays Florida State Monday night.
12) Houston 33, Oklahoma 23– Games like this one and the LSU game are why bigtime coaches don’t like to go on the road to play good teams- you can actually lose. If/when Houston joins the Big X Conference or another Power 5 league, coach Tom Herman will get a check for $5M. Seriously.
11) Minnesota Gophers’ coach Tracy Claeys is my new hero; Thursday nite he did something I’ve always advocated for, but never thought I would see. Here’s what happened…….
Gophers led Oregon State 24-23 late in game; they scored a TD with 1:27 left to make it 30-23, but instead of kicking the PAT, Claeys had his team go for 2, because if he makes, it, THE GAME IS OVER!!!! (they’d be up 9 instead of 8 with 1:27 left). If they don’t make it, they still lead by 7 with 1:27 left, and could only lose in OT.
Former Minnesota/Kansas coach Glen Mason was the TV analyst; you could almost hear his arteries hardening as he criticized going for 2– he restrained himself, but you could tell he thought it was dumb. That’s why he is in a TV booth now.
Long story short; they didn’t get the two points, Oregon State got the ball back down 7, but Minnesota held on for the win. It took onions for Claeys to do something against the grain in his first game as the fulltime coach. Good for him!!!!
10) Teams that lost to I-AA “patsies” this weekend:
Buffalo lost 22-16 to Albany– My alma mater with the upset.
Virginia lost 37-20 to Richmond– Bad debut for Bronco Mendenhall.
Iowa State lost 25-20 to Northern Iowa– Good luck in Big X games.
Washington State lost 45-42 to Eastern Washington– 2nd year in row Coogs open with a I-AA loss.
Nevada needed OT to beat Cal Poly 30-27, but at least they won.
9) Odd game of the week: Texas State 56, Ohio U 54 OT– Battle of the Bobcats (both teams’ mascot). Texas State led 14-6 at half, but 17 points were scored in last 0:51 of regulation, then TSU stopped Ohio’s 2-point play in the third OT and got out of town with a win as a 17-point dog.
8) BYU 18, Arizona 16– Game ended at just about 2am, as I sit here typing this. How great is FOX officiating analyst Mike Pereira? It is 2am, there is an obscure rules question and Pereira appears on camera– why is he still there? He has a knack for explaining things clearly and is TV gold.
Both teams scored in last minute of this game, by the way.
7) Western Michigan 22, Northwestern 21– 12-2 weekend for Big 14, with Wisconsin’s win the highlight; most of the wins were against stiffs, though. Joe Flacco’s brother is backup QB for Western Michigan.
6) TCU 59, South Dakota State 41– Adam Vinatieri’s nephew plays for the Jackrabbits; not surprisingly, he is the kicker. TCU’s defense needs work; this game was 24-24 at the half.
5) Who is happiest about the Sam Bradford trade? Cleveland Browns, who have the Eagles’ #1 pick next April. If Philly plays Carson Wentz this year, chances are they won’t make the playoffs, since rookie QBs usually struggle. Browns should get a decent draft pick next spring.
4) Southern Miss 44, Kentucky 35– Wildcats led USM 35-10, the same Golden Eagle squad that had lost 13 in a row to SEC foes. Shannon Dawson was Kentucky’s OC LY; they fired him after one year. He has the same job at Southern Miss now; think this game meant a lot to him?
3) South Alabama 21, Mississippi State 20– USA’s defensive coordinator is the son of Ole Miss’ defensive coordinator; think the family enjoyed this upset of the Rebels’ archrival? State led 17-0 at the half, too.
2) Clemson 19, Auburn 13– Football coaches who make $1M+ a year shouldn’t screw up game management as much as they do. Down 10 early in 4th quarter, Auburn twice went for it on 4th down in easy FG range, and wound up getting zero on the drive. Gus Malzahn was a high school coach not that long ago; some of his decisions remind us of that.
1– Fact of the Day: 1983 Miami Hurricanes were last college football national champ that lost their season opener.
Thoughts on the Bradford-to-Minnesota trade
— Eagles get a 1st and 4th-round pick; if Minnesota makes NFC title game, it becomes 3rd-round pick, if they win Super Bowl, a 2nd-rounder.
— Norv Turner is Bradford’s 6th offensive coordinator in seven years.
— Vikings TE coach Pat Shurmur was with Bradford in Philly LY and for two years in St Louis as the offensive coordinator.
— Bradford’s career won-loss record: 25-37-1; he was a college teammate of Adrian Peterson at Oklahoma. Not sure he is worth a 1st-round pick.
— Rookie QB Carson Wentz will start for the Eagles next week if his ribs have healed. Otherwise Chase Daniel (two starts in six years) will start.
— If Vikings traded a 1st-round pick, there has to be serious concern about Teddy Bridgewater’s leg ever recovering enough for him to play well again. Hopefully he can come back but apparently it was a terrible injury.
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Armadillo: Sunday's List of 13: Wrapping up a college football Saturday
ege football Saturday
13) Not a great weekend for the SEC. Here’s a look…..
Losses
Mississippi State (led 17-0) lost 21-20 to South Alabama.
Kentucky (led 35-10) lost 44-35 to Southern Miss.
LSU lost 16-14 to Wisconsin; when will they recruit a decent QB?
Missouri lost 26-11 at West Virginia.
Auburn lost 19-13 at home to Clemson (more on this game later).
Wins that seemed like losses
Tennessee 20, Appalachian State 13 OT– Vols were a 20.5-point favorite.
Arkansas 21, Louisiana Tech 20– Hogs scored winning TD with 6:37 left; total yardage in game was 297-291- they were favored by 21.
Florida 24, UMass 7– Game was 10-7 in 4th quarter.
South Carolina 13, Vandy 10– Conference opener was a dud.
Solid wins
Texas A&M 31, UCLA 24 OT– Aggies led 24-9 with 4:30 left, but still……..
Alabama 52, USC 6– Total ass-kicking. Tank job by the Trojans.
Georgia 33, North Carolina 24– Good debut for Kirby Smart’s Dawgs.
Ole Miss plays Florida State Monday night.
12) Houston 33, Oklahoma 23– Games like this one and the LSU game are why bigtime coaches don’t like to go on the road to play good teams- you can actually lose. If/when Houston joins the Big X Conference or another Power 5 league, coach Tom Herman will get a check for $5M. Seriously.
11) Minnesota Gophers’ coach Tracy Claeys is my new hero; Thursday nite he did something I’ve always advocated for, but never thought I would see. Here’s what happened…….
Gophers led Oregon State 24-23 late in game; they scored a TD with 1:27 left to make it 30-23, but instead of kicking the PAT, Claeys had his team go for 2, because if he makes, it, THE GAME IS OVER!!!! (they’d be up 9 instead of 8 with 1:27 left). If they don’t make it, they still lead by 7 with 1:27 left, and could only lose in OT.
Former Minnesota/Kansas coach Glen Mason was the TV analyst; you could almost hear his arteries hardening as he criticized going for 2– he restrained himself, but you could tell he thought it was dumb. That’s why he is in a TV booth now.
Long story short; they didn’t get the two points, Oregon State got the ball back down 7, but Minnesota held on for the win. It took onions for Claeys to do something against the grain in his first game as the fulltime coach. Good for him!!!!
10) Teams that lost to I-AA “patsies” this weekend:
Buffalo lost 22-16 to Albany– My alma mater with the upset.
Virginia lost 37-20 to Richmond– Bad debut for Bronco Mendenhall.
Iowa State lost 25-20 to Northern Iowa– Good luck in Big X games.
Washington State lost 45-42 to Eastern Washington– 2nd year in row Coogs open with a I-AA loss.
Nevada needed OT to beat Cal Poly 30-27, but at least they won.
9) Odd game of the week: Texas State 56, Ohio U 54 OT– Battle of the Bobcats (both teams’ mascot). Texas State led 14-6 at half, but 17 points were scored in last 0:51 of regulation, then TSU stopped Ohio’s 2-point play in the third OT and got out of town with a win as a 17-point dog.
8) BYU 18, Arizona 16– Game ended at just about 2am, as I sit here typing this. How great is FOX officiating analyst Mike Pereira? It is 2am, there is an obscure rules question and Pereira appears on camera– why is he still there? He has a knack for explaining things clearly and is TV gold.
Both teams scored in last minute of this game, by the way.
7) Western Michigan 22, Northwestern 21– 12-2 weekend for Big 14, with Wisconsin’s win the highlight; most of the wins were against stiffs, though. Joe Flacco’s brother is backup QB for Western Michigan.
6) TCU 59, South Dakota State 41– Adam Vinatieri’s nephew plays for the Jackrabbits; not surprisingly, he is the kicker. TCU’s defense needs work; this game was 24-24 at the half.
5) Who is happiest about the Sam Bradford trade? Cleveland Browns, who have the Eagles’ #1 pick next April. If Philly plays Carson Wentz this year, chances are they won’t make the playoffs, since rookie QBs usually struggle. Browns should get a decent draft pick next spring.
4) Southern Miss 44, Kentucky 35– Wildcats led USM 35-10, the same Golden Eagle squad that had lost 13 in a row to SEC foes. Shannon Dawson was Kentucky’s OC LY; they fired him after one year. He has the same job at Southern Miss now; think this game meant a lot to him?
3) South Alabama 21, Mississippi State 20– USA’s defensive coordinator is the son of Ole Miss’ defensive coordinator; think the family enjoyed this upset of the Rebels’ archrival? State led 17-0 at the half, too.
2) Clemson 19, Auburn 13– Football coaches who make $1M+ a year shouldn’t screw up game management as much as they do. Down 10 early in 4th quarter, Auburn twice went for it on 4th down in easy FG range, and wound up getting zero on the drive. Gus Malzahn was a high school coach not that long ago; some of his decisions remind us of that.
1– Fact of the Day: 1983 Miami Hurricanes were last college football national champ that lost their season opener.