NCAA Football -- Week 3 -- Games of Interest

Please remind me less how much this state sucks ass.

 

The gravitational pull of Brett's GIGANTIC head gives them an unfair advantage. Sumbitch literally draws defenders towards it, thereby making the running holes larger.

Also, that new "tradition" they're trying to force called "throwing the A" shall forever be known as "throwing the gay". Talk about lame. It's not as if Arkansas is the only state in the union that starts with "A". Hell, it's not even the only school in their own damn division that starts with it. As if the calling of the pigs wasn't gay enough...damn those fuckers are shamelessly lame.

 

Even some of their own fans have been calling it throwing the gay btw. They love the calling the hogs, but you're right, they are trying to force that tradition. And I don't think it's Brett's head doing it, I think his wife is on the sidelines flashing the defense.

 

#3/#4 Ohio State goes to Cal to face 18-year old true freshman QB Jared Goff and the "Bear Raid" offense coached by new coaches Sonny Dykes and Tony Franklin (who coached the #1 total offense and #1 scoring offense in the nation last year at Louisiana Tech).

Goff is currently #1 in the NCAA with 930 passing yards and #1 in the NCAA with 465.0 passing yards per game. No freshman in college football history has ever passed for 935 yards in his first two games.

Jared Goff is the real thing...Goff truly is unflappable, and doesn’t really get rattled by anything. All signs are pointing to the conclusion that this kid is something else....Watching his throwing motion — with such a quick, compact and clean release — is a thing of beauty
--The Daily Californian

Pat Fitzgerald, whose 22nd-ranked Northwestern team was shredded for 450 passing yards in Goff's debut, said: "His moxie, his poise, his arm strength, his grasp of the offense was really, really impressive to us. He's going to be really special in that offense."

Goff:
"It's cool, but right now we've got to beat Ohio State, and that's what we're focused on," Goff said. Asked how the Cal offense will fare against the Buckeyes, Goff was complimentary and respectful. But, he added, "I think our offense can match up with any defense in the country."


Jared Goff
as a recruit:
#140 on the Rivals150, 4-star
#234 on the Scout300, 4-star
#267 on the ESPN300, 4-star
NR on the Top 247, 4-star






Aaron Rodgers at Cal

 

Last year, UCLA put up 653 total yards in a 36-30 win over Nebraska in Week 2, drawing a giant red circle around the cracks in Nebraska' defense.

"Coming out of that game, it became clear that we did have some deficiencies," Nebraska DC John Papuchis told ESPN.com. "I knew that the rest of the season, we were going to have mask them as best we possibly could to make sure they didn't get exposed again." Nebraska did a decent job hiding its flaws in the regular season, save for a trip to Columbus, before Wisconsin ripped open the wounds apart in the Big Ten title game. Almost all offseason conversations in Lincoln centered around how Papuchis and head coach Bo Pelini would fix that defense.

Opening returns weren't great, as Wyoming turned in a very Bruins-like showing behind another mobile quarterback named Brett (Smith) and piled up 602 yards in a 37-34 squeaker. But last week, Nebraska held Southern Miss to just 284 yards and forced four turnovers in a 56-13 victory.

Now here comes the same UCLA, minus a few key players like star tailback Johnathan Franklin but still boasting topnotch playmakers such as quarterback Brett Hundley (358 total yards, 4 touchdowns in last year's win). Pelini estimated that nearly 300 of UCLA's yards in the 2012 game came after first contact with a Huskers defender. Guys like Franklin and receiver Shaq Evans often had Nebraska players reaching for air. Nebraska hopes its defense is much different this time around.

Both Wyoming and Southern Miss featured spread offenses with similarities to UCLA, and the Nebraska defense swarmed to the ball much better from Week 1 to Week 2. Nebraska DC John Papuchis: "We were tenfold better [in Week 2], and I think that was a better indication of what this defense is going to be about -- an athletic and fast group with a chance to be dynamic." Papuchis said there is a marked improvement in his defense's quickness, especially in the front seven. "We've incorporated a lot more speed," senior defensive back Ciante Evans said.

UCLA's Brett Hundley, as a freshman last year, was 318 of 478 (66.5%) for 3,740 yards, 29 TD, 11 INT.....the only returning major conference QBs that threw for more yards last year were Tahj Boyd of Clemson (3,896) and Aaron Murray of Georgia (3,893)

compare to Teddy Bridgewater last year as a sophomore: 287 of 419 (68.5%) for 3,718 yards, 27 TD, 8 INT


Brett Hundley
as a recruit:
--#39 on the Scout300, 5-star
--#72 on the Rivals150, 4-star
--#107 on the ESPN300, 4-star
--#157 on the Top 247, 4-star
--UnderArmour All American
--offers to Oregon, Stanford, Michigan, Texas A&M, Baylor, Nebraska, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Washington, Oregon State, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, etc

 

#24/#24 TCU takes the four hour and 30 minute drive into the plains of West Texas, 3,256 ft above sea level, to face Texas Tech at Jones AT&T Stadium. For TCU, this game is suddenly much trickier than it seemed before the season began. With QB Casey Pachall out, the Frogs must roll with Trevone Boykin on the road on a short week of preparation.

Kliff Kingsbury's Texas Tech team is led by true freshman walk-on QB Baker Mayfield, who is currently #3 in the NCAA with 780 passing yards and #3 in the NCAA with 390.0 passing yards per game...and he always wanted to go to TCU:

“TCU was the only school he really had interest in,” said Shaun Nixon, Mayfield’s running back at Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas. “That was the school he really wanted to go to.”
“He’s going to have a chip on his shoulder because TCU didn’t want him,” said Nixon. “He’s going to be ready for this one.”

Through two games, Mayfield is completing 71 percent of his passes and has thrown seven touchdowns with no interceptions, leading the Red Raiders to routs in their first two games.

“He’s a special type of talent,” Texas Tech receivers coach Cumbie said. “He’s got the ‘wow’ factor to him.”

“I think a lot of people who were close to pulling the trigger (on giving him a scholarship) are probably kicking themselves now.”

Mayfield had the wow factor to him in high school, too. He quarterbacked Lake Travis to a state championship and in two years as the starter threw 67 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. Hank Carter, his high school coach, said many of the schools that scouted Mayfield elected to go with bigger quarterbacks. “People thought he was too short,” Carter said. Mayfield is listed at 6-foot-2 now. But he was 5-5 as a high school freshman. “He was a late bloomer,” Carter said. “We always made the comment, 'If Baker Mayfield ever grows, he’s going to be a freaking stud.' He’s such a gamer.”

Mayfield turned heads the moment he arrived on campus at Texas Tech over the summer. "We were like, ‘This dude is for real,’” said Cumbie.


Baker Mayfield
--during his two-year high school career he tallied 6,255 passing yards (429-for-666) with 67 touchdowns and eight interceptions


Jones AT&T Stadium, Lubbock, TX

 

#15/#23 Nebraska is led by junior QB Taylor Martinez, who had 3,890 yards of total offense and 33 TD last season (2,871 passing, 23 TD/1,019 rushing, 10 TD). the only returning major-conference players that had more yards of total offense than Martinez last year were Brett Hundley of UCLA (4,095), Tahj Boyd of Clemson (4,410) and Johnny Manziel of aTm (5,116)

"He's a dynamic player," UCLA Coach Jim Mora said. "You have to be sound in your assignments and stay in your gaps." And even then, Mora added, "he is still going to make plays because he is an elusive runner."

"You have to try and control the frustration," Mora said. "When you have him hemmed up and he still makes a play, it sometimes makes you do something silly on the next play. You have to keep him in the pocket and understand that in all likelihood, he's going to break one or two."

"He keeps plays alive," Bruins defensive coordinator Lou Spanos said. "He does a great job of scrambling and finding receivers."


Taylor Martinez


Memorial Stadium, Lincoln -- the last time UCLA won at Nebraska was 1948 and the Cornhuskers were 2-8. Since then, UCLA is 0-4 at Nebraska, losing by a combined score of 173 to 77 (average of 43 to 19)

 

#18/#20 Wisconsin at #26/#28 Arizona State features a battle of two-star QBs.... Joel Stave vs Taylor Kelly


#18/#20 Wisconsin's RS soph QB Joel Stave (of Greenfield, Wisconsin) -- in 8 games forWisconsin he is 103 of 165 (62.4%) for 1,520 yards, 11 TD, 5 INT. In high school, he threw for 5,094 yards and 41 touchdowns (2,459 yards and 19 TD as a junior, 2,635 yards and 22 TD as a senior)


#26/#28 ASU's RS junior Taylor Kelly (of Eagle, Idaho) -- last year for ASU, he was 241 of 360 (66.9%) for 3,040 yards, 29 TD, 9 INT


Sun Devil Stadium

 

Make it stop.