29.8.04
College Football: The college football season opener, featuring Virginia Tech and Southern Cal, was played last night. I ended up having a couple of beers and practically partying with the dudes who were near us. I'm guessing they are, or were recently, students: they stood the entire game, something that Tech students do. And, other than (a) Tech losing, and (b) this one dude (I was tipped off by one of the guys I actually came with) stealing one of my beers from the stooped-over beer man, I had a very good experience. A couple of quick observations:
- SC is pimping the wrong candidate for Heisman. Reggie Bush, while he didn't do a lot rushing, did catch three touchdown passes, all more than 30 yards. His first touchdown was a situation where SC caught us blitzing and dumped it to him on a screen. His third (the one which, though it didn't ice it, did make it very difficult for us) was where he beat safety Blake Warren when Warren tripped. And I think that if he hadn't tripped, Bush still would have beat him by a couple of steps. The second was caused by the "Spirit of Ronyell". A brief digression: Jimmy Williams has been totally - totally! - ineffective since switching to Ronyell's number 2 jersey. In any case, Bush beat Williams...badly. I guess we know which part of the defence is going to be targeted week in and week out.
- Other than a poor throw resulting in an interception in the first half, Bryan Randall looked good. He looked very good running the ball. He ended up being the game's only 100 yard rusher.
- Pete Carroll made better adjustments than Coach Beamer. Pete Carroll has, since taking over SC, been one of the best in the country at that department.
- Yes, that offensive pass interference call was bogus.
- Tech's cheerleaders said that it was louder in Landover than in Blacksburg. SC's sideline apparently treated it as a road game. I thought it was loud (I lost my voice adding to the noise), and the crowd was, with the exception of a bunch of folks behind SC's sideline (and a couple of groups behind me), rooting for Tech. I heard anything from 50,000 Tech fans before the game ("and they'll convert the neutrals") to, after the game, 75,000 Tech fans to SC's 15,000. Considering that SC is 2,300 miles from Landover, a good showing by their fans. And, considering that Lane Stadium doesn't even hold 75,000 fans, a good showing by the Tech fans. But I have heard Lane louder. Wait until a big night game (WV maybe, or definitely Maryland). Then Lane will be louder.
- One last thing: Someone asked me my opinion on the way out. I said what I thought: that the loss sucked, but that Tech showed me something. At this point, he said that the offense looked like crap. I'm still not sure what game he watched. No, the offense didn't look great, but they were playing, arguably, the best defense in the nation. And, other than Bryan Randall's interception (and a couple of missed passes), the offense didn't look bad, considering their competition. Other than the three Leinart-Bush TD hookups, the defense looked very good too. I suspect that this will be a very good inaugural ACC season for Tech, or at the least better than most folks predict. The only explanation I have for that nattering nabob of negativism is that he's accustomed to playing James Madison and Arkansas State on opening day. And, with that, he's accustomed to winning the opener fortysomething to less-than-ten. But they played the team ranked best in the land by the pundits. And, evidently, character doesn't count too highly with him. Because no one gave Tech a chance, yet they were in it until the last 2 minutes (when SC's defense forced Randall to fumble, and they later converted the field goal). I'd be willing to bet that SC doesn't allow 13 points again this season before scoring 24. Except against Cal. Maybe.
- And, yes, I was wrong in my season preview. Mike Williams didn't play (a decision I agree with, by the way: he knew what he was risking when he declared for the draft, hired an agent, and skipped spring semester, regardless of what the courts said). The decision not to restore Mike Williams' eligibility wasn't disseminated until Thursday (a decision that I will join Pete Carroll in condemning - SC should have had more notice than that, and considering that it was decided just before they left for Maryland, it could have been a huge distraction).
More later, at some point (who knows when...no later than after the WMU game, though),
Ryan
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