Armchair coach is going to be a little bit different from now on. I will still talk a little bit about the NFL but I have been asked to switch gears a little and cover NCAA football.
My article for week three of the NFL got a little lost in cyberspace, so I apologize to anyone who missed it. Week four continued what has been a crazy season in the NFL. Parity is back. For proof of this you need to look no further then the division leaders after the first quarter of the season. Nobody could have predicted that the Bills, Titans and Broncos would lead their divisions. If the Ravens had been able to pull out the OT victory in Pittsburgh the AFC would be a perfect four for four in surprise division leaders.
The biggest surprises from week four were the Chiefs finally winning a game and the Redskins upsetting the media darling Cowboys. I would like to thank the Redskins because while it was only one loss for the Cowboys it appears to have angered the monster that live inside TO.
I also have to mention that the state of Ohio might want to consider banning professional football. Their state has long been known as a great high school state and even a great college football state. However the Pro football teams that currently play there are ruining the reputation of the entire state. The only reason the state has a win is because their two supposed teams had to play each other. At this point their rematch might decide if the Bengals go 0-16 or if the Browns and Bengals tie for 1-15.
As a side note to how awful the Bengals are one of their fans is auctioning off his rooting interest on Ebay. He says that he can no longer support this franchise and that he will root for whatever team you want him to for the remainder of the season. If he enjoys rooting for your team he will adopt them and become a life long fan if not he will try a new team next year. He is even donating all the profit to charity. The only thing you have to do is promise to never give a penny to the Bengals organization.
To end the week there was an exciting Monday Night Football game that I am sure everyone watched. The Baltimore Ravens proved a lot about themselves by pushing the Steelers to the edge. However they also proved that they still have work to do because their coaching staff made some key mistakes, such as not challenging an apparent TD and not letting their QB try to win the game at the end. Their players also proved they are still capable of making the stupid penalties that the Ravens have had problems with for years, such as the Jarret Johnson personal foul on Hines Ward. The Steelers took a beating in this game that could cost them the game this week against the Jaguars. They also continued to have some problems on Offense but they showed why they are the favorites to win the division by coming up with the plays they needed when they needed them.
I am looking forward to the mayhem that is the 2008 NFL season continuing this weekend.
It was also a crazy weekend in the College ranks this past weekend. There were ranked teams upset all over the country. It started on Thursday night with #1 USC losing to unranked Oregon State. USC was dominated in the first half before making it scary for the Oregon State fans at the end. Then on Saturday #3 Georgia got beat down by Alabama and #4 Florida lost on a blocked extra point to Ole Miss. #9 Wisconsin fell to Michigan to become the 4th team in the top 10 to lose. There were also two other ranked teams that lost that have a lot of people around here excited. Wake Forest lost to a Navy team that lost to Duke the week before and Maryland upset Clemson in Death Valley.
These two games combined are exciting because it means that the Terps may be in position to accomplish their lofty goal of winning the ACC. Clemson was considered the #1 team in the Atlantic Division of the ACC but they have failed to live up to they hype. The Terps now have the tiebreaker over Clemson and their confidence continues to build. Wake Forest was considered the top challenger to Clemson and they did beat Florida State. That means that for now they have to be considered the top team but the Terps are looking good. If the Terrapins can take care of an awful Virginia team this week then they will have two weeks to prepare for a home game against Wake Forest. That game should provide a lot of clarity in the race for the Atlantic division.
The problem is that the Terps have to avoid a let down against Virginia. The Cavaliers are coming off an embarrassing loss to Duke. They allowed Duke to end their 25 game winless streak in the ACC. For Virginia this game could be a lot like the Terps game against Cal. They are coming off a bad loss and have a chance to upset a team that is getting national attention. Virginia would love nothing more than to hurt the Terps chances of winning the ACC. I believe that Ralph Friedgen will have his team ready to play and the Terps will take care of business.
The question to me will be if the Terps can use the bye week before the Wake Forest game to do two things. First they need to get healthy, their secondary is hurting bad. Second they need to find a way to stop the Wake Forest Misdirection. For the last few years Wake has been able to gash Maryland by bringing a WR in motion and handing off to the WR or to the RB. If Maryland can find a way to stop that they will greatly improve their chances against Wake and all the teams that have started to copy that play against the Terps.
There should be a lot of good football this weekend between the College games and the NFL. Check back next week to hear all about the exciting action.
Nice Adam.
Not a good football weekend from where I am sitting.