Last week I went to the game at Dallas Cowboys Stadium (a.k.a. Taj Ma-Stadium) between Arkansas and Texas A&M. I’ve written some experiences and observations from the trip in the space below.
Pig Screen TV
How big is the big screen? Here’s a story to describe the enormity of the screen. Texas A&M just completed a 60 yard TD pass to make the score 10 – 0, and I was looking up to the big screen to see a replay. But before the replay they showed the Aggie fans celebrating.
(It seems when they’re scanning the crowd for fans to show on the big screen, every stadium cameraman has one of two goals: 1. Find a cute baby or child. 2. Find a scantily clad female coed)
The camera came across three elated Texas A&M females wearing very fashionable but very dangerous strapless dresses. While I was looking at the screen waiting for the replay my wife gasped and started excitedly talking about the largest, high definition nipple-slip in the history of jumbotrons (Note: This has been confirmed by other sources as well). You’re probably asking “how does this explain the bigness of the screen?” Well I was looking at the screen at that exact moment… and I didn’t see it. I was looking at another section of the screen. It was too big to look at the entire screen at once.
Table for One
While I was walking into the Taj Ma-Stadium, a young A&M fan said “Hey! Why are you wearing the wrong shirt?” At first, I thought maybe I had mistakenly grabbed my Jeff Green jersey-shirt. But I looked down to see a razorback, the logo of my alma mater, on my chest. I looked back up at the young trash-talker and before I could say anything, he ran right into a table. He was too concerned with what I was going to say and not where he was walking.
The interaction was a reflection of the game. The Aggie’s got the first shot in, but ultimately went home with a lump on their head.
See for Youself
I could breakout the thesaurus and come up with all kinds of adjectives to describe watching a game in the new stadium, but that won’t be necessary because I took some video so you could see it for yourself.
Picks
Arkansas vs. Auburn
While watching the inaugural Southwest Classic, it became obvious that the talent level at A&M is really low. Auburn will field a more competitive squad. I don’t gamble, but I do look at the lines on occasion. This game has the second highest over/under line in the country this week at 66 points. The Razorbacks could have a few flashbacks to the Georgia game.
By the way, Ryan Mallett is on pace to break the Arkansas school record for passing yards in a season by almost 800 yards.
Auburn 34 Arkansas 31
Oklahoma State at Texas A&M
Q: What’s worse than not having a number two receiver? A: Not having a number one receiver. Dez Bryant hopes to win an appeal to the NCAA next week, but the last time I checked OSU is still scheduled to play in College Station. As it turns out, the only cornerback that Dez Bryant has met that can stop him is Deion Sanders.
Before the season, everyone wrote in a big “W” next to this one (and it was written in pen I might add). Zac Robinson will need to run the ball well for the Cowboys to win.
Oklahoma State 24 Texas A&M 23
Oklahoma vs. Baylor
Q: What’s worse than not having a number two receiver? A: Not having a number one receiver. Oklahoma’s only reliable target Ryan Broyles went down with a shoulder injury. Broyles leads the country in TD catches and OU leads the country in shoulder injuries. Maybe a receiver will emerge from the bunch now that Sam Bradford is back.
Oklahoma 42 Baylor 13
Before the start of the college football season, I had a conversation with a friend about the best wide receivers in college football. Before the first game even started, it was a difficult list to put together. It seemed as if all the great receivers had gone pro, with six being selected in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. The receiver draft class included Darrius Heyward-Bey, Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin, Percy Harvin, Hakeem Nicks, and Kenny Britt.
However with week five upon us, there has been some talented receivers step up. Below are my top ten receivers in college football. This list is not based on who has the best numbers so far, but rather who would you would want as your team’s number one wide receiver.
1. Dez Bryant, OSU – When the play starts, if the chain gang sees that Dez Bryant is NOT double-teamed, then they should just start moving the chains right then. Why waste time by waiting for the 20 yard reception.
2. A.J. Green, Georgia – If I was doing this list a week ago, Green would probably be 4 spots lower. But I had to move him up after witnessing Green carrying his team to victory with a 53 yard catch to set up the game-winning field goal after blocking Arizona State’s field goal on the previous possession.
3. Eric Decker, Minnesota
4. Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati – If you haven’t seen Gilyard play here’s all you need to know: lightning-fast receiver, has been known to turn 2 yard catches into 80 yard TDs, a big weapon in the return game.
5. Dezmon Briscoe, Kansas – He’s been involved in several off the field incidents (including a fight with the KU basketball team) and the uber-disciplinarian Mark Mangino hasn’t kicked him off the team. That’s how good he is.
6. Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma – See Gilyard, Mardy.
7. Jordan Shipley, Texas
8. Greg Salas, Hawaii – He leads the nation with 601 receiving yards.
9. Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss – He’s the best player in the country under 5’8”. Note: He’s also the best player under 5’9”.
10. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame – What does Floyd have in common with Adrian Peterson? They both broke their collarbone while making an amazing play that went for a touchdown.
Picks
Tulsa at Rice
Rice hasn’t given up less then 35 points to an opponent all season. The streak won’t end this week.
Tulsa 55 Rice 17
Arkansas vs. Texas A&M
I will be attending this game in Jerry Jones’ new Taj Ma-Stadium. I hope they have wifi there. I’ve heard that I’m going to need to google “Arkansas Texas A&M score” frequently while watching the game.
Statistically the Aggies are the number one offense in the entire country. Oh yeah I almost forgot to mention that so far they’ve played New Mexico, Utah State, and UAB… Not that it matters, right??
Arkansas 45 Texas A&M 20
Oklahoma at Miami
When in doubt, pick the team with the better pass rush.
Oklahoma 27 Miami 20
The following is the answer key to last week's questions.
Tulsa (45-0 loss to OU)
It TU a legit threat to Houston for CUSA title?
Nope. The best CUSA team would have at least scored once against the Sooners.
Are they a contender to receive a BCS at large?
YES!...Just kidding. This one's a no too.
Is G.J. Kinne a big time QB?
Maybe. I know Kinne had three turnovers, but he had defenders in his face the entire game. That's by far the best defense he'll face all year and two of his top weapons weren't entirely healthy (Damaris Johnson and Charles Clay).
Oklahoma State (41-24 win over Rice)
Is there something wrong with Zac Robinson and the OSU offense?
I suppose a 17 point win over Rice is acceptable but I think last year's OSU team would've scored at least 60 points on them. Perhaps Brandon Pettigrew's graduation was a bigger loss than we thought.
Oklahoma (45-0 win over TU)
Can Landry Jones move the ball and avoid turnovers?
The first pass he threw was behind Ryan Broyles and intercepted. After that, he was near perfect.
Is DeMarco Murray all the way back from his knee cap injury?
It certainly looks like it. That touchdown catch and run he had was one of the more amazing plays in college football. I think now the question is how should OU divide the carries between Murray and Brown.
Does Oklahoma still have a problem covering kick returns?
This one is hard to answer because due to the commercials running long on Fox Sports' coverage, I only saw about two Tulsa kick returns. However, when they did return to the game Tulsa wasn't kicking off to OU so I think they're okay on covering kicks this year.
Arkansas
Is the Arkansas defense any good?
No. Georgia racked up 530 yards, 52 points, and had four touchdown drives of five plays or less.
Exactly how good is Ryan Mallett?
Very good. He can make the big plays down the field. Mallett broke the school records for passing yards and passing touchdowns in a game by the end of the third quarter. He's easily the best NFL prospect out of the quarterbacks in the SEC. But he is a risk taker in the mold of Brett Favre. Mallett isn't always going to make the easy throw to the flats. He forced some throws downfield. Mallett had a man open five yards downfield when he threw his first touchdown pass and when Arkansas failed to convert a 2nd and 10 in the fourth quarter.
How much work can Michael Smith expect?
We really don't know. Smith sprained his shoulder on the first play of the game. He returned in the second half and had 11 touches for 92 yards.
Picks
Grambling State at Oklahoma State
The goal for OSU in this one is to win convincingly without getting anyone else injured. Hopefully Kendall Hunter and Dez Bryant will be 100% in two weeks against A&M.
Oklahoma State 55 Grambling State 17
Sam Houston State at Tulsa
Sorry Bomar fans. He already graduated.
Tulsa 70 Sam Houston State 20
Arkansas at Alabama
If Arkansas wins then they'll have to win the turnover battle and control the ball with a run game. They're not particularly skilled at either of those things, so 'Bama wins this one easily.
Alabama 48 Arkansas 31
The 2008 college football season seemed like it was the year for Clemson. They were coming off a 9-4 record in 2007 and returned a senior quarterback who threw for almost 3,000 yards the previous year (Cullen Harper). Clemson brought back two phenomenal running backs (James Davis and C.J. Spiller) and a 1,000 yard receiver (Aaron Kelley). Clemson opened the season ranked 9th in the AP Poll. Nothing could possibly stop Clemson from walking through the ACC and into their first BCS bowl.
…And then the season started.
Clemson was blown out by
Failing to live up to lofty expectations is not exclusive to the 2008 Clemson Tigers. Over the past seven seasons there are eight teams who were a preseason top 15 team and finished the season with seven wins or less. Below is a list of those teams.
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Year |
Team (Record) |
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2008 |
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2007 |
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2006 |
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2005 |
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2004 |
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2003 |
N/A |
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2002 |
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The first thing prognosticators point to when predicting a top 10 finish for the Ole Miss season is the favorable schedule. The Rebels’ non conference schedule consists of two FCS (formerly D-IAA) teams along with
The Rebels return 15 starters including QB Jevan Snead and “Wildcatter” Dexter McCluster. However they lost two offensive linemen to graduation, one of which was All-American tackle Michael Oher. With the ground game taking a hit, the Rebels will lean on Jevan Snead to make more plays this year.
But is Jevan Snead the game changing QB that he’s being made out to be? Last season, he completed only 56% of his passes. Combine that with the fact that Coach Houston Nutt is just 2-5 when his teams are ranked in the top 10 and 9-9 when his teams are ranked in the top 15. Ole Miss is this year’s Clemson.
Well, it’s Super Bowl time again. Right now everyone is getting ready for their big Super Bowl parties by washing the fine Mike Tom-linen napkins and firing up the grill for the Ben Roethlis-burgers and the Kurt Weiners with Hines (Ward) ketchup. The Arizona Cardinal fans are just hoping they won’t have to break out the Anquan Bol-gin and juice by the second quarter. Below are some Super Bowl Notes Prediction: If Arizona gets off to a good start then they’ll have a chance to keep it close. This appears to be a “David vs. Goliath” type matchup (both in overall record and the team’s historical success). The Steelers are big and physical on defense and I don’t expect them to commit the Cardinal sin of playing zone on Larry Fitzgerald. Meanwhile the word “soft” has been used to describe the Cardinals more than a few times.
However, you have to consider this is a David vs. Goliath matchup during the “Year of Our Lord” in football. And when you get down to it, all a football is, is four leather straps with a prolate spheroidal shaped object inside. A football that the Cardinals will throw all over the field. I’ve read the story of David and Goliath many times and every time I read it, David always wins.
Arizona Cardinals 31 Pittsburg Steelers 28
Dustin Talley can be reached at DTalley@oksportsreport.com
In elementary school my teachers would have us practice simple analogies with fill in the blanks. For example: “cat is to kitten as dog is to ________.”
Since that time I’ve built upon the foundation that was laid in Mrs. Nixon’s second grade classroom and become a decent analogist. I decided to get some use out of an otherwise useless skill by turning my analogy ability towards the sports world to come up with some simple sports analogies.
NBC is to Michael Phelps as FOX is to Tebow
Earlier this month during the broadcast of the BCS National Championship Game, FOX’s fawning over Tim Tebow reminded me of this summer when Michael Phelps was the apple of Dick Ebersol’s eye.
It seems every non-Gator college football fan is outraged at the tremendous amount of positive press Tebow is getting. In some ways it’s understandable. There are twenty-one other players on the field so why did Fox announcers Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis frustrate the knowledgeable football fan by telling us the same Tebow stories we’ve already heard.
But why is everyone so upset? Bob Costas, Marv Albert, and the rest of the NBA media celebrated Michael Jordan in the same way. Where was the public outcry when Jordan was being exalted by the media? Gatorade told us to “Be like Mike.” The same Mike that punched his teammates, visited casinos the night before playoff games, and was accused of adultery.
Another part of the anti-Tebow movement that I don’t understand is people blaming Tebow for the coverage of Tebow. He doesn’t write and produce the college football pre and post game shows. If next season you find yourself suffering from Tebow overload, put the blame in the proper place. In addition, let’s at least appreciate the fact that Tebow is a positive role model, and the stories we have heard over and over are uplifting.
Tim Tebow is to College Football as Darrell Hammond is to SNL
Tim Tebow is made for the college game and not the NFL. He’s a powerful college player but he has average strength by NFL standards. Tebow is an accurate passer at the college level where his receivers get plenty of separation but not accurate enough for the NFL where he’ll have to fit the ball in tighter windows. Tebow will have a place in the NFL but it will be in a nontraditional system.
Darrell Hammond holds the record for most seasons as a Saturday Night Live cast member. He knows that being primarily an impressionist makes him ideal for SNL’s format of short comedic skits. Hammond doesn’t move on to doing movies like many former SNL cast members because nobody wants to see the same impression for an hour and a half. He’s an exceptional on SNL but wouldn’t be a success in movies. Just like Tebow is a phenomenal college quarterback but will be underwhelming in the NFL.
Tony Crocker is to Oklahoma Basketball as Stefan Welsh is to Arkansas Basketball
Crocker and Welsh are boom or bust players. Both capable of shooting the lights out and scoring 28 points or shooting 28% with 4 turnovers.
Robert Jarvis is to ORU Basketball as Master Chief is to Halo
Jarvis leads the Summit League in field goal attempts by a 29 shot margin. Obviously, Jarvis and Master Chief both have the same philosophy. “Shoot first and ask questions…maybe.”
Tulsa Offense is to College Basketball as Frank TV is to Sketch Comedy
The TU offense seems like they should be better than what they have been so far. Against ranked teams, Tulsa is averaging 47 points per game. They have a pure scorer in Ben Uzoh, a low post threat with Jerome Jordan, and two 40% three point shooters. On paper, TU has all the ingredients for a decent offense.
Frank TV seems like it should be funny. Frank Caliendo’s stand up is good and his impressions are amazingly accurate. But the show just isn’t funny.
Ultimately Frank TV and the TU offense both leave you feeling bored.
Sean Sutton coaching is to Sean Sutton not coaching as Mr. Hyde is to Dr. Jekyll
Last week during the OU vs. Texas basketball game the ESPN cameras found Sean Sutton in the crowd and he actually looked good. After last season as OSU’s coach he was always sweating through his suit, had his eyebrows at 45 degree angles, and looked like he was on the brink of passing out. It looks like life outside of coaching is treating him well.
I just hope he’s still doing well when he’s coaching the University of Tulsa Hurricane next season.
Lee Mayberry is to Booker T. Washington Girls Basketball as Alexander Baldwin is to Hollywood
I recently read a Tulsa World article about former Arkansas great and NBA first round pick Lee Mayberry and his oldest daughter Taleya Mayberry. Taleya Mayberry stars at Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, OK and next year she will be on scholarship to play basketball at the University of Tulsa.
What stuck out at me in this article is that Lee Mayberry has four other daughters that will presumably go to and play basketball at Booker T. If Taleya’s sisters can play anywhere close to the level she has been playing, then Booker T Girls basketball is set for the next decade.
Okay, so I concede that there might be a better comparison to Lee Mayberry’s basketball family than the patriarch of the Baldwin Brothers.
If you can think of a better version than any of the above analogies or have your own sports analogies to share feel free to leave a comment.
Dustin Talley can be reached at DTalley@oksportsreport.com