2011 NCAA FOOTBALL WEEK 4 RECAP

BAYOU BENGALS CONTINUE TO RUN THE GAUNTLET

Morris Claiborne (17) returns a kickoff 99 yards giving LSU
a 34-21 lead over West Virginia. (Photo by Jeff Gentner/AP Photo)

Beating three ranked teams in the first month of the season is impressive. However, beating all of those teams away from home is even amazing.

The LSU Tigers continue to impress everyone this season and after defeating West Virginia, 47-21.

In terms of yards, the Tigers gave up 533 total yards and allowed Geno Smith to carve them up for 463 passing yards. However, LSU got the Mountaineers where it counted most—the turnover battle.

LSU’s defense forced four turnovers, while the offense did not commit any.

The Tigers led by double-digits for most of the game, but when Mountaineers freshman running back Dustin Garrison scored to cut the deficit to six points, LSU needed a spark.

On the ensuing kickoff, Morris Claiborne provided it on a 99-yard return for a touchdown that shifted momentum back to LSU’s side.

Of the return LSU head coach Les Miles said, “Morris Claiborne’s return was right on time, and we were able to finish it off. We made some mistakes, but we overcame that adversity. We have a real strong road personality, but no matter the environment, we are capable of playing.”

Combined with the wins earlier in the season to Oregon and Mississippi State, the Tigers were voted in as the No. 1 team of the Associated Press Top 25 media poll and moved into a tie for second with Alabama in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW…

Jacory Harris was ruled down at the 1-yard line and it changed a possible Miami Hurricanes win to the Kansas State Wildcats preserving a 28-24 victory.

Jacory Harris winds up a yard short from giving Miami a victory.
(Photo by J Pat Carter/AP Photo)

The exciting play was the climax in a game that got better as it went along.

The Wildcats led at halftime and held a 21-10 advantage with 3:40 left in the third quarter, but Harris and Miami did not give up.

Nearly a minute later, Lamar Miller’s 59-yard touchdown run cut the deficit down to four and Harris found Travis Benjamin to give the Hurricanes the lead early in the fourth.

Kansas State reclaimed the lead when sophomore running back John Hubert scored from two yards out with 10 minutes remaining.

Despite the very close loss, Harris passed for 272 yards and two touchdowns. However, the story was the near touchdown.

“We have no one to blame but ourselves,” Miami head coach Al Golden said. “We have to execute. That’s on us. We didn’t get it done.”

Miami will play Bethune-Cookman this week.

COWBOYS GIVE AGGIES A PARTING GIFT TO REMEMBER

Even though, Texas A&M will be going to the SEC next season, Oklahoma State wanted to give the Big 12 departing member something to remember first.

The Cowboys trailed by 17 at halftime and stormed back with a 21-point third quarter to defeat the Aggies, in front of a stunned audience at College Station.

In the second half even when things went wrong (such as Justin Blackmon’s fumble that would have sealed the game), Oklahoma State found ways to battle out of it.

Brandon Weeden set three Oklahoma State passing records
against Texas A&M. (Photo by Nate Billings/The Oklahoman)

Senior quarterback Brandon Weeden threw for 438 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Cowboys, and Blackmon caught 11 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown despite the embarrassing gaffe.

The Aggies sealed their fate after committing four turnovers in the second half and will have to put that performance behind them this week in Arlington against Arkansas.

WEEK 4 PREDICTIONS

Alabama 37, Arkansas 27
Oklahoma St. 38, Texas A&M 35
Florida St. 21, Clemson 17
LSU 24, West Virginia 10

WEEK: 3-1 (.750)
SEASON: 9-4 (.692)

PREDICTIONS FOR WEEK 5

No. 14 Texas A&M 20, No. 18 Arkansas 17 (in Arlington, Texas)
No. 13 Clemson 31, No. 11 Virginia Tech 29
No. 3 Alabama 28, No. 12 Florida 21
No. 7 Wisconsin 17, No. 8 Nebraska  10

2011 NFL WEEK 1 & 2 RECAPS

ONE MAN(NING) DOESN’T MEAN THAT MUCH, DOESN’T IT?

When it was announced that Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning would not be ready for the opener, Colts fans feared the worst.

Kerry Collins is having a rough time at trying to replace Peyton Manning.

But this is bad. REAL bad.

For the first time since 1998—Manning’s rookie year, the Colts are 0-2.

It began Week 1 in Houston, and after trailing 34-0 to the Texans at halftime, the reality that this could be a lost season set in. Now after a Week 2 loss at home to the Cleveland Browns, the question is how much worse will it get?

Kerry Collins was signed to give the Colts veteran leadership at quarterback but he ranked in the bottom of ESPN’s Total QBR for Week 1, Week 2 and overall up to this point.

The Colts will play Pittsburgh on Sunday Night Football this week. I would suggest that you hide the women and children because this could get ugly.

AS PEYTON SITS, BRADY SHINES

Remember in 2008, when Tom Brady was lost for the season and Peyton won the MVP award? Well, 2011 might provide a complete role reversal.

With their rivals in the Hoosier state down and possibly out for the count, the New England Patriots look like the early favorites to win the Super Bowl, thanks to Brady.

Can Tom Brady be better this year than in 2007? Only time will tell.

Brady threw for 517 yards against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 and followed that up with a modest 423-yard game against San Diego last week. He now has 940 yards passing, a 128.0 passer rating (the NFL formula) and is tops in ESPN’s Total QBR.

The only big surprise for the Patriots is Chad Ochocinco.

Instead of lighting up the scoreboards and stat books like Randy Moss in 2007, Ocho’s been quiet with just three catches for 59 yards and no touchdowns.

However, with so many weapons, this is really not an issue.

LIGHTS, CAMERON, ACTION…ENCORE

Quick question: Who is No. 2 in NFL passing yards this season? (HINT: He is a Heisman Trophy winner, a first round pick, won two BCS titles and was recruited by Florida.)

Cam Newton (right) is the sixth player ever to record back-to-back
400-yard games. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

No, the answer’s not Tim Tebow!

Cam Newton has 854 passing yards after back to back 400-yard games—and he is only a rookie.

His 421 yards against Arizona were the most ever in a debut and he followed that up with a 433-yard day against the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.

With a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and fellow rookie Blaine Gabbert, Newton could get to 400 again, but even if he does not, we are witnessing a good quarterback for the future.

WE DON’T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM TONY ROMO

Sometimes with Tony Romo (9), you have to take the bad...
(Photo by Ron Jenkins/Star-Telegram)

After a week of getting blasted by the media for his fourth quarter against the New York Jets, Tony Romo fought through a broken rib and a punctured lung to defeat the San Francisco 49ers.

As a Dallas Cowboy fan, I understand the love/hate relationship with Tony Romo.

At times he plays well, only to make a crucial game-killing mistake. However, he also has games where he shakes off a bad start only to man up and lead his team to a comeback victory.

It is very frustrating, I know, but I would still rank him as one of my Top 10 quarterbacks (behind Manning, Brady, Brees, Rodgers, Rivers, Vick, Roethlisberger and Ryan) because of the man’s skill set. Romo just needs to learn how to calm down and not try to do too much at times.

...with the good.

WEEK 2 PREDICTIONS
OAKLAND @ Buffalo
Kansas City @ DETROIT
BALTIMORE @ Tennessee
CLEVELAND @ Indianapolis
TAMPA BAY @ Minnesota
Chicago @ NEW ORLEANS
Jacksonville @ N.Y. JETS
Seattle @ PITTSBURGH
ARIZONA @ Washington
GREEN BAY @ Carolina
DALLAS @ San Francisco
Cincinnati @ DENVER
HOUSTON @ Miami
San Diego @ NEW ENGLAND
PHILADELPHIA @ Atlanta
St. Louis @ N.Y. GIANTS

WEEK: 12-4 (.750)

SEASON: 19-13 (.594)

PREDICTIONS FOR WEEK 3
NEW ENGLAND @ Buffalo
SAN FRANCISCO @ Cincinnati
MIAMI @ Cleveland
Denver @ TENNESSEE
DETROIT @ Minnesota
Houston @ NEW ORLEANS
N.Y. Giants @ PHILADELPHIA
Jacksonville @ CAROLINA
N.Y. JETS @ Oakland
BALTIMORE @ St. Louis
Kansas City @ SAN DIEGO
GREEN BAY @ Chicago
ARIZONA @ Seattle
ATLANTA @ Tampa Bay
PITTSBURGH @ Indianapolis
Washington @ DALLAS

2011 NCAA FOOTBALL WEEK 3 RECAP

DOWN GOES AUBURN!

Memo to all defending national champions: You will lose when you play at Clemson’s Death Valley.

The Auburn Tigers became the third team to realize this fact when they lost to Clemson 38-24 on Saturday. Clemson previously knocked off Georgia (1981) and Georgia Tech (1991) at home a year after both won a national title.

Early on, it did not look as if Clemson would pull the feat after Auburn jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

However, Clemson sophomore quarterback Tajh Boyd settled down in a big way, giving Clemson the lead for good in the third. Boyd threw for 386 yards and four touchdowns on 30-for-42 passing to lead Clemson in its first win over Auburn since 1951.

The Clemson offense was equally as impressive, gashing Auburn for 624 yards and converting on 14-of-18 third down tries.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said of the win, “I couldn’t think of a better place to end the streak in Death Valley, South Carolina, baby,”

Auburn will try to regroup this week against Florida Atlantic.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS—IN FOOTBALL?

You are probably wondering why I am writing about an Oklahoma State 59-33 victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

The reason was that this game’s kickoff was pushed back from its original 9:10 p.m. time, to 12:16 a.m. the next morning due to weather conditions.

The game did not end until 3:35 a.m. local time and despite the win, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy was not too thrilled about playing deep into the night.

“I’m not real excited about playing at that time, to be honest with you,” Gundy said. “There comes a certain point in the middle of the morning your body’s used to functioning. Whether young people stay up late at night or not, they don’t exert themselves at 2 and 3 in the morning.”

As for the game itself, the Cowboys led 45-6 over the Golden Hurricane at one point and cruised the rest of the way through.

The thing that went wrong for Oklahoma State was that junior wide receiver Justin Blackmon saw his streak of 14 straight 100-yard receiving games snapped. Blackmon did however catch seven passes for 57 yards and a touchdown.

SHOWDOWNS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

The state of Florida was home to three good showdowns Saturday, so let’s break them down.

1. Florida dominates Tennessee in The Swamp: Florida might have beaten Tennessee by the score of 33-23, but the final score definitely was not an indication of how much better the Gators were than the Volunteers on this day. Florida held Tennessee to -9 rushing yards and led 30-7 at one point. Gator senior running back Chris Rainey was a dual threat in the passing and running games, as he ran for 108 yards and caught two passes for 104 yards.

2. The IneligiBOWL: Both Ohio State and Miami grabbed many headlines during the offseason leading to this shirt in the anticipation of the game. However, the Hurricanes beat the Buckeyes 24-6 in a complete reversal of last year’s game. Miami sophomore Lamar Miller ran for 184 yards as Ohio State’s passing game never quite got going. Braxton Miller and Joe Bauserman combined to throw for 35 yards on 4-for-18 passing.

3. Florida State played well, but Oklahoma hangs on: The marquee game of the week between Florida State and Oklahoma was much closer than last year’s matchup, but the Sooners still won 23-13. The Seminoles did get up for the big stage though, holding the high-powered Oklahoma offense to 310 yards. However, Florida State lost quarterback E.J. Manuel and wide receiver Kenny Shaw in the game and could not hang on in the end to Oklahoma.

WEEK 3 PREDICTIONS

LSU 27, Mississippi St. 24 (LSU won)
Miami 27, Ohio St. 24 (Miami won)
Oklahoma 35, Florida St. 31 (Oklahoma won)

WEEK: 3-0 (1.000)
SEASON: 6-3 (.667)

PREDICTIONS FOR WEEK 4

No. 3 Alabama 37, No. 14 Arkansas 27
No. 7 Oklahoma St. 38, No. 8 Texas A&M 35
No. 11 Florida St. 21, No. 21 Clemson 17
No. 2 LSU 24, No. 16 West Virginia 10

2011 NFL WEEK 2 PICKS

Week 2 NFL Picks

OAKLAND @ Buffalo

Kansas City @ DETROIT
BALTIMORE @ Tennessee
CLEVELAND @ Indianapolis
TAMPA BAY @ Minnesota
Chicago @ NEW ORLEANS
Jacksonville @ N.Y. JETS
Seattle @ PITTSBURGH
ARIZONA @ Washington
GREEN BAY @ Carolina
DALLAS @ San Francisco
Cincinnati @ DENVER
HOUSTON @ Miami
San Diego @ NEW ENGLAND
PHILADELPHIA @ Atlanta
St. Louis @ N.Y. GIANTS

Week 1 NFL Pick Results

New Orleans @ GREEN BAY
ATLANTA @ Chicago
Cincinnati @ CLEVELAND
Buffalo @ KANSAS CITY
PHILADELPHIA @ St. Louis
Detroit @ TAMPA BAY
TENNESSEE @ Jacksonville
PITTSBURGH @ Baltimore
Indianapolis @ HOUSTON
Carolina @ ARIZONA
Minnesota @ SAN DIEGO
SEATTLE @ San Francisco
N.Y. GIANTS @ Washington
DALLAS @ N.Y. Jets
NEW ENGLAND @ Miami
OAKLAND @ Denver

WEEK: 7-9 (.438)
SEASON: 7-9 (.438)

2011 NCAA FOOTBALL WEEK 2 RECAP

Hello football fans! Sorry for not updating over the past few days (internet problems), but if you thought Week 1 of the 2011 NCAA football was exciting, then Week 2 added to the electricity. Here are some of the biggest stories from this week.

CARDIAC CATS STRIKE AGAIN

On their road to the national championship last season, the Auburn Tigers had more than their fair share of close victories coming down to the last minute.  After two games in 2011, they are continuing the trend.

Auburn defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs, 41-34, thanks to a brilliant goal line stand in its second nail biter of the season.

For senior Bulldog quarterback Chris Relf, this was second straight year he came close against Auburn, only to come up empty in the end.

Last year, Relf tried to convert a pass on fourth down to keep the drive alive for a game-tying field goal, but the pass was dropped. This year, he tried to run the ball in for the game-tying touchdown but he was stopped at the one-yard line by Auburn sophomore defensive back Ryan Smith.

“We didn’t come up with the big inch,” Relf said. “I should have made the play.”

Relf and the Bulldogs have a short week to put this loss behind them as they play LSU Thursday night, while Auburn travels to Clemson on Saturday.

TIDE ROLLS OVER PENN STATE

In the only matchup between ranked teams in Week 2, Alabama clearly showed why it is a serious national championship contender with a 27-11 win over Penn State.

In nearly a duplicate of last year’s Alabama/Penn State game, the Crimson Tide dominated on defense and the running game.

Junior running back Trent Richardson ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns, while Alabama looks like it has its next great running back in Eddie Lacy. Lacy did not score but he ran for 85 yards.

Defensively, the Tide allowed 251 yards and forced Penn State to turn over the ball three times.

 “We certainly deserved a whooping today,” Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno said. “I think we’ve just got a lot of work ahead of us.”

MICHIGAN SHINES BRIGHTEST UNDER THE LIGHTS

Down 24-7 at the start the fourth quarter, Michigan looked dead in the water after fumbling near the goal line.

Then, Denard Robinson happened and took over the whole fourth quarter as Michigan won over Notre Dame, 35-31.

In the first night game in Michigan Stadium’s history, this installment of the Michigan/Notre Dame rivalry was everything many expected it would be—and more.

Notre Dame jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and looked great on defense, forcing the Wolverines to few yards and an interception to end the quarter. The same momentum would carry for two more quarters as Irish quarterback Tommy Rees outperformed Robinson at that point.

However, it all changed when Robinson ran in Stephen Hopkins’ fumble for a touchdown six seconds into the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 10.

Michigan’s defense forced the Irish to go three-and-out on the following drive and Robinson hit Jeremy Gallon for a passing touchdown as Michigan then trailed, 24-21, with 10:47 remaining.

There would be no more scoring until Robinson took over the Wolverines’ next to last drive and found Vincent Smith with 1:12 left to finally take the lead.

The Irish would not go away, however, and regained the lead when Rees found Theo Reddick with 30 seconds left.

Down 31-28, Robinson had one last chance to deliver a win to Michigan. After an incomplete pass, Robinson found Gallon as he ran for a 64-yard completion to the Irish 16-yard line, setting up one last play for Michigan to win the game.

Robinson then sealed the deal when he found Roy Roundtree in the end zone as the Wolverines won the game.

Robinson finished the night accounting for 446 yards and five touchdowns, despite throwing for three interceptions and completing only 11 of 24 passes.

His counterpart, Rees, threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.

Notre Dame will look to avoid a 0-3 start against No. 15 Michigan State.

WEEK 2 PREDICTIONS

Alabama 28, Penn State 10 (Alabama won…nearly got the score right!)
South Carolina 31, Georgia 17 (South Carolina won)
Notre Dame 24, Michigan 20 (Michigan won)

WEEK: 2-1 (.667)
SEASON: 3-3 (.500)

PREDICTIONS FOR WEEK 3

No. 3 LSU 27, No. 25 Mississippi St. 24 (Thurs.)
No. 1 Oklahoma 35, No. 5 Florida State 31 (Sat.)
Miami 27, No. 17 Ohio St. 24 (Sat.)

2011 NFL WEEK 1 PICKS

Here are the remainder of my Week 1 picks. I am 1-0 after Green Bay’s win Thursday.

Atlanta @ Chicago – The Falcons added a new weapon on offense with rookie wide receiver Julio Jones, while Chicago Bears quarterback will officially make his first appearance on the field since the NFC Championship Game last year. The Bears offensive line is a bit shaky, and that could spell trouble for Cutler. PREDICTION: ATLANTA.

Cincinnati @ Cleveland – The Battle of Ohio could be bad. REAL bad. I will take Cleveland mainly because of Colt McCoy’s improvement during the preseason and Peyton Hillis’ running style. PREDICTION: CLEVELAND.

Buffalo @ Kansas City – Was last season’s AFC West title a fluke for Kansas City? Matt Cassel, Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe will look to have a good day against a rebuilding Buffalo Bills squad. PREDICTION: KANSAS CITY.

Philadelphia @ St. Louis – After a not-so-impressive preseason, the “Dream Team” Philadelphia Eagles will look to start their season off on the right foot. The St. Louis Rams have a good quarterback in the making in Sam Bradford, but he will possibly struggle against a secondary led by Nnamdi Asomugha. PREDICTION: PHILADELPHIA.

Detroit @ Tampa Bay – If you are looking for a glance of the future of the NFC, then this game is for you as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Detroit Lions. The Lions are a hungry, young team filled with talented players such as Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Ndamukong Suh and they are hoping for their first playoff berth since 1999. Tampa Bay is very young, but they also went 10-6 with this nucleus with Josh Freeman at QB. This game will come down to a field goal, but Tampa pulls it out. PREDICTION: TAMPA BAY.

Tennessee @ Jacksonville – For the Tennessee Titans, they committed to superstar running back Chris Johnson by giving him a deal at the end of the preseason. The Jacksonville Jaguars committed to rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert and released David Garrard. Journeyman Luke McCown will keep Gabbert’s seat warm, but Tennessee wins here with veteran Matt Hasselbeck running things. PREDICTION: TENNESSEE.

Pittsburgh @ Baltimore – Hard-hitting. Fierce. Defense. These three words sum up the Ravens/Steelers rivalry. Baltimore has been waiting for this game since Pittsburgh knocked the Ravens out in the AFC Divisional Round last year, while Pittsburgh will look to continue its recent dominance in this rivalry. Expect the intensity to be turned up a notch as Joe Flacco will perform well but will lose to Ben Roethlisberger again. PREDICTION: PITTSBURGH.

Indianapolis @ Houston – For the first time since 1994—his freshman year at the University of Tennessee—Peyton Manning will not be a starter in a football game. Kerry Collins gets the nod for the Indianapolis Colts as they travel to Houston. This year might be the best chance for the Texans to realize their potential and take the AFC South for the first time in franchise history. Look for a Houston win as the Colts and Collins will look to get on the same page. PREDICTION: HOUSTON.

N.Y. Giants @ Washington – Emotions will run high in this one as both the Giants and Redskins will be representing the cities hit hardest in the Sept. 11 attacks 10 years ago. Eli Manning and Rex Grossman are both prone to making mistakes, so whoever limits the turnovers will take this game. PREDICTION: N.Y. GIANTS.

Seattle @ San Francisco – Jim Harbaugh makes his debut as an NFL head coach as the 49ers face the Seahawks in San Francisco. Alex Smith and Tarvaris Jackson will both hope to put behind bad preseasons in order to get a win in Week 1. PREDICTION: SEATTLE.

Minnesota @ San Diego – The Minnesota Vikings actually got younger at quarterback by acquiring 34-year old Donovan McNabb during the offseason. Most importantly, the Vikings recently gave Adrian Peterson an extension worth around $100 million, keeping him in Minnesota until the 2017 season. San Diego on the other hand has Philip Rivers paired with one of his favorite targets in Vincent Jackson. The Chargers will win this one by at least a touchdown. PREDICTION: SAN DIEGO.

Carolina @ Arizona – Welcome to the NFL, Cam Newton and Patrick Peterson! The two SEC standouts will start in their NFL debuts, while Kevin Kolb begins his reign as Arizona’s signal caller. The Cardinals win here and make Cam’s first game tough. PREDICTION: ARIZONA.

Dallas @ N.Y. Jets – The Jets will host the Cowboys in another game that will be filled with patriotic emotions. That will only be part of it as new Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan will square off against his twin brother and Jets head coach Rex Ryan. Both teams are pretty even, but I think the Cowboys can limit the mistakes and come away with a win. PREDICTION: DALLAS.

New England @ Miami – The Patriots and the Dolphins will compete in the first game of the Monday Night doubleheader with both teams welcoming in new players. Tom Brady gets another weapon in the passing game in Chad Ochocinco while New England also added Albert Haynesworth on defense. The Dolphins will look to utilize Reggie Bush in the right way, but they may not have an answer for New England. PREDICTION: NEW ENGLAND.

Oakland @ Denver – To close out Week 1, the Broncos and Raiders will renew their rivalry under new regimes. Oakland has Hue Jackson as its head coach, but they have to adjust to life without Nnamdi Asomugha. For Denver, Kyle Orton will be under center but this team could struggle in the first year under John Fox. The Raiders will take this by a point. PREDICTION: OAKLAND.


I also did a simulation of the Steelers/Ravens game. Here's what Madden 12 said...

Steelers 26, Ravens 20
 
Pittsburgh         10  3   7  6 --   26
Baltimore          7   3   7  3 --   20

First Quarter
PIT  – Mendenhall 52 run (Suisham kick), 10:51
BAL – Boldin 51 pass from Flacco (Cundiff kick), 5:34
PIT  – FG Suisham 21, :53
Second Quarter
BAL – FG Cundiff 54, 2:58
PIT  – FG Suisham 37, :52
Third Quarter
BAL – Flacco 8 run (Cundiff kick), 10:15
PIT  – Saunders 4 pass from Roethlisberger (Suisham kick), 1:38
Fourth Quarter
PIT  –  FG Suisham 49, 9:10
PIT  –  FG Suisham 50, 6:46
BAL –  FG Cundiff 29, 2:42
 
                                  PIT        BAL
First Downs                  18          15
Total Net Yards            356        373
Rushes-yards              40-151    31-78
Passing                        205        295
Punt Returns                6-46       5-19
Kickoff Returns            4-73      7-135
Interceptions Ret.        0-0         0-0
Com-Att-Int               15-22-0   21-34-0
Sacked-Yards Lost        5-42       8-55
Punts                          6-49.1    7-43.1
Fumbles-lost                1-1         0-0
Penalties-yards            1-5         2-10
Time of Possession      33:55      26:05

Individual Statistics
RUSHING – Pittsburgh, Mendenhall 29-127, Roethlisberger 6-11, Redman 3-7, M. Moore 2-6.  Baltimore, Flacco 11-61, Rice 19-13, R.Williams 1-4.
PASSING – Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger 15-22-0-247. Baltimore, Flacco 21-34-0-350.
RECEIVING – Pittsburgh, M.Wallace 4-82, H. Miller 3-38, H.Ward 2-72, Cotchery 2-37, Saunders 2-6, A.Brown 1-11, Mendenhall 1-1. Baltimore, Boldin 11-201, L.Evans 3-87, T.Smith 3-49, Rice 2-3, Dickson 1-6, Leach 1-4.
MISSED FIELD GOALS- none.

2011 NFL KICKOFF PREDICTION & SIMULATION

We have waited for so long for this, but it is finally here! Tonight’s game pits the last two Super Bowl Champions as the New Orleans Saints will try to make it back to football’s grandest stage against the defending champion Green Bay Packers. Expect a great matchup between two of the best quarterbacks in the game—Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. I think Green Bay has a slight advantage since this is opening night and the Super Bowl champion has yet to lose in the kickoff game. PREDICTION: Packers 27, Saints 24.

I also took the liberty to do a simulation of the game on Madden NFL 12. Sadly for Saints fans, the video game was not as kind.

Packers 30, Saints 7
 
New Orleans      0    0   7  0 --   7
Green Bay         14  13  0  3 --  30

First Quarter
GB – Starks 3 run (Crosby kick), 10:53
GB – T.Williams 92 interception return (Crosby kick), 6:21
Second Quarter
GB – FG Crosby 54, 11:01
GB – FG Crosby 49, 4:43
GB – Jennings 1 pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick), :05
Third Quarter
NO – Thomas 2 run (Kasay kick), :16
Fourth Quarter
GB –  FG Crosby 42, 9:31
 
                                  NO         GB
First Downs                  24          15
Total Net Yards            400        304
Rushes-yards               26-120   37-134
Passing                         280       170
Punt Returns                3-17       2-4
Kickoff Returns            5-107     2-39
Interceptions Ret.         0-0      4-137
Com-Att-Int               28-44-4   16-29-0
Sacked-Yards Lost        9-69      2-11
Punts                         6-49.1     7-43.1
Fumbles-lost                 5-2        0-0
Penalties-yards            1-10        1-5
Time of Possession      31:17      28:43

Individual Statistics
RUSHING – New Orleans, Ingram 22-115, P. Thomas 1-2, Sproles 2-2, Hall 1-1.  Green Bay, Rodgers 5-68, Grant 27-60, Starks 5-6.
PASSING – New Orleans, Brees 28-44-4-349. Green Bay, Rodgers 16-29-0-181.
RECEIVING – New Orleans, Colston 7-142, Henderson 4-51, Graham 4-27, Meachem 3-45, Hall 3-26, Ingram 2-7, D. Thomas 1-26, Moore 1-12, P. Thomas 1-8, Arrington 1-3, Sproles 1-2. Green Bay, G.Jennings 6-62, Nelson 3-35, Grant 3-4, Driver 2-65, Quarless 1-7, Finley 1-8.
MISSED FIELD GOALS- Green Bay, Crosby 58

I will get the rest of the Week 1 NFL predictions and Week 2 NCAA predictions done on Friday, with simulations of Ravens/Steelers, Jets/Cowboys, and Alabama/Penn State.

2011 NCAA FOOTBALL WEEK 1 RECAP

Hello avid sports fans! We had a great kickoff to the 2011 NCAA season as we saw a few games come down to the wire, while some others were over before the full 60 minutes (and not especially in the sense of blowouts). I will take this time out to review the biggest headlines and tie it in to next week’s predictions coming soon.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS—COLLEGE STYLE

While most of us were anxiously awaiting high school football games, a classic game broke out in Waco between No. 14 TCU and Baylor. In one of the more evenly matched all-time historical college rivalries (the series is tied 50-50-7), both teams displayed early fireworks as the Horned Frogs led 23-21 with 12:32 left in the second quarter.

The Bears would then score 26 unanswered points thanks to three Robert Griffin III touchdowns to lead 47-23 after three quarters and possibly giving the 2011 Rose Bowl champions an early dent to their preseason aspirations.

However, TCU and quarterback Casey Pachall would not go away that easily, scoring 25 unanswered in the fourth to take a 48-47 lead with 4:27 remaining in the game and giving Baylor one last chance to win the game.

After two incompletions, Baylor moved down the field bit by bit before Aaron Jones’ 37-yard field goal made it 50-48 in Baylor’s advantage. On the Horned Frogs final drive, Pachall would carry them to the Baylor 40, but a costly interception to Mike Hicks sealed the game and gave Baylor its first win against a ranked opponent since 2004.

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY

A unique sight happened in college football this week as two games were called early due to inclement weather, while two others were affected as well.

Saturday, the Michigan/Western Michigan game was called in the third quarter with the Wolverines leading 34-10 at the 1:27 mark.

The following day, Marshall and West Virginia sat through two delays lasting nearly 4 ½ hours before calling the game seven hours after the opening kickoff. West Virginia won 34-13 extending its dominance of its in-state rivals.

Weather also delayed games in Iowa and Notre Dame during the weekend, but both games were completely finished.

SHOWDOWNS WITH A BOWL GAME FLAIR

Two neutral-site games really caught everyone’s attention Saturday as LSU and Oregon did battle in the Cowboys Classic, while Boise State traveled to Atlanta to play Georgia. Here are the three main stories from those games.

1. LSU, Boise looked dominant: Both teams actually faced a handicap in this game. LSU was without suspended quarterback Jordan Jefferson and Boise basically played a de-facto road game despite the game being in Atlanta. It turned out that neither mattered, as both teams won by double-digits. The Tigers’ defense forced four Duck turnovers and Bronco quarterback Kellen Moore went 28-for-34 with 261 yards passing and three touchdowns.

     

     

     2.  Oregon has speed, but not SEC speed: We left off last season with Oregon losing to Auburn 22-19 in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game. Nearly eight months later, the Ducks looked good early, but eventually could not contain LSU as the game wore on. Part of this was due to freshman De’Anthony Thomas losing two fumbles that led to Tiger scores, but the Ducks can play their way back into the title picture. Their game against a ranked team will be on Nov. 12 against Stanford.

     

     3. Georgia…well at least they had nice uniforms: In 2005, Georgia crushed Boise in Athens, 48-13, en route to the SEC title. Exactly six years after, the Bulldogs allowed 28 consecutive points at one point and lost 35-21. Even though Georgia could not make this game good, their uniforms did look well. There were mixed reactions to these, but I actually thought the break from tradition was cool. The silver base/red stripe made them look like centurions from the Roman Empire. You can draw your own conclusions, lol.

WEEK 1 PREDICTIONS

I made these on my Twitter account and I will try to put these on my blog from here on out. I might even add a simulation from NCAA Football 12.

Oregon 35, LSU 32 (LSU won)
Boise St. 41, Georgia 34 (Boise won)
Miami 23, Maryland 21 (Maryland won)

WEEK: 1-2 .333
SEASON: 1-2 .333

Hope you had a great start to the college football season! Week 2 will have a good game in Happy Valley as Alabama and Penn State square off as the marquee game, while others follow.