Football 2013 - Week 3

by Bill Holmes

My recap of the only football teams that matter.

The Gators had a bye this week so there was no embarrassing performance. Maybe with two weeks to prepare they'll be able to come up with an offensive game plan. I don't know if that's enough time to do anything about deer in the headlights and boneheaded quarterbacking by Driskel. Next up is their first SEC conference game against Tennessee at the Swamp. Despite the bye week the Gators dropped one place in the AP Poll to number 19. GO GATORS!

The USF Bulls lost to the always formidable Florida Atlantic Owls 28-10. Despite the lopsided score, the game statistics were very close. The Bulls did have three turnovers and completed only 9 of 25 passes. They can't score. The good news is they have a bye week next. The bad news is they play Miami in two weeks. Could be a winless season.

In a big disappointment game TCU lost to Texas Tech 20-10. The Frogs were held scoreless in the first half. They won almost every stat but the game. Maybe they miss Casey Pachall more than expected. Tech wore new Under Armour designed uniforms. They were extremely ugly. The Red Raiders colors are red and black, not grey. This is the continuation of a trend where Nike, Reebok and Under Armour design uniforms for teams. Sometimes the new unis are OK, but often they are ugly.  I had high hopes for TCU this year since the Big 12 (which has 10 members, the Big Ten has 12 members) doesn't look that strong this season. The Frogs are off next week then play SMU. They should beat the Mustangs but that's often been a game that defies logic and records.

In the biggest college game of the week (or year or century) the Crimson Tide of Alabama beat the Texas A&M Aggies 49-42. This game was hyped by every media outlet. It was Johnny Football against the defending BCS champions. A grudge match to repay Bama's lone lose last year at the hands of A&M. These games hardly ever live up to hype, but this one did. A&M got out to a very quick 14-0 lead then the Tide scored 35 unanswered points. Rather than fold their tent, Johnny Manziel and his team made a comeback to make it a close game. I'm not a Manziel fan but I dislike him less than Nick Saban and Alabama. Regardless of your allegiance, it was a damn good football game. Both teams look pretty formidable.

Sunday brought little relief from the pros. The Jaguars lost to the Raiders 19-9. Two bad teams living up to their billing. The Jags finally scored a TD with about three minutes left in the game then missed the two point conversion. They have scored 11 points total in two games. Offense is not their strong point. To make matters worse, Maurice Jones-Drew left the game in the first half with an ankle injury. Next up is another west coast game against the Seahawks. Not much hope for a victory there.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers showed some life by losing by only 16-14 to the New Orleans Saints. The Bucs have played two close games but close doesn't count in the NFL. It doesn't get any easier next week as they have to go to New England to play the Patriots.

Finally a win. The Atlanta Falcons beat the St. Louis Rams 31-24. The Falcons head to Miami next week which I would have thought would be a sure win. Not a lock now. The Dolphins are 2-0 after beating the Colts. Atlanta is my only hope to have a team to root for in the playoffs. 

There was no relief in the high school ranks either. Bishop Kenny had a bye week and Bell lost to Keller 20-0.

My final count this week was 1-5, 1-6  if you the Bama-A&M game. I may be hoping for basketball season to start soon even though I'm not a huge fan.

Wait til next week.

 wjh