Friday October 21st, 2005
6:20pmAg Football Preview: Kansas State
A&M Press Release (PDF)
KSU Press Release (PDF)
KSU Media Guide
--Dave South"Now they snap it. Going to throw here to Parker...
at the 20...
at the 15...
at the 10...
at the 5, he is alm...
HE GOT A TOUCH DOWN!
HE GOT A TOUCH DOWN!
HE GOT A TOUCH DOWN!
HE GOT A TOUCH DOWN!
HE GOT IT IN!
HE GOT IT IN!
HE GOT IT IN!
HE GOT IT IN!
OH Doctor!"
thanks to aggies9496.com
It's a call that sends chills down my spine and I didn't even see the game until I watched it on ESPN Classic a couple years ago. The Aggies just upset the #3 team in the BCS rankings in double overtime of the 1998 Big XII Championship game stunning the Wildcats and propelling the Ags to the Sugar Bowl where we would Ohio State.
We've played K-State 3 times since then (all during my Aggie tenure) and they still haven't been able to avenge that blow.
Sadly, this will be the first Aggie game of the season that I won't be able to see....it's a road game that isn't televised. In fact, it will be only the second game I haven't either been to or watched during the Coach Fran era (the '04 Baylor game was away and not on TV).
I'll make this kind of short.... KSU has played one of their normal easy schedules thus far. Their non-conference schedule went Florida International (W), @Marshall (W), & North Texas (W) before they started Big XII play with OU (L), KU (W), & texas tech (L).
KSU Offense A&M Defense =========== =========== 155 (51) Rushing 125 (43) 201 (78) Passing 288 (112) 356 (73) Total 413 (88) 27 (57) Scoring 24 (42)
Last season's starting QB, Dylan Meier, has not taken a snap this year due to a shoulder injury. Allen Webb started first 5 games at QB in his place before being replaced by Allan Evridge in the middle of the Kansas game.
P A S S I N G R U S H I N G
Effic Att-Cmp-Int PCT Yds TD Att Net Avg TD
============================= ==============
Webb 146.37 88-51-5 58 731 8 54 84 1.6 0
Evridge 129.70 62-36-1 58 474 2 34 109 3.2 0
Evridge is obviously a more of a pass/run QB than Webb seems to be.
Thomas Clayton has been their starting tailback and has averaged 76.4 ypg (85 carries for 382 yards) with 3 TDs. They have also run a bit with RS-F Parrish Fisher (44 carries for 280 yards).
Their passing game is pretty much Jordy Nelson (21 for 369; 6 TD), Jermey Moreira (21 for 229; 0 TD), & Yamon Figurs (11 for 170; 0 TD).
A&M Offense KSU Defense =========== =========== 239 (9) Rushing 183 (15) 253 (32) Passing 162 (74) 491 (10) Total 345 (36) 39 (14) Scoring 19 (58)
I find it incredibly interesting that KSU's defense has dropped off so dramatically since losing co-defensive coordinator, Brian Bielema, to Wisconsin between the 2003 & 2004 seasons. I mentioned this in my BlogPoll Roundtable #6 responses....
05TD 05SD 04TD 04SD 03TD 03SD 02TD 02SD 01TD 01SD 00TD 00SC
KState 36 58 43 84 6 8 2 1 3 7 4 17
I say that but Wisconsin's D hasn't really been up to par this season either....
05TD 05SD 04TD 04SD 03TD 03SD 02TD 02SD 01TD 01SD 00TD 00SC
Wisc 87 57 9 6 43 50 63 38 58 81 79 34
Anyways, defensively KSU has not had much movement in the depth chart. Every starter has started every game with the exception of one position in two games (meaning of the 11 starters in the 6 games played it has been the same guy at each position in 64 of the 66 slots). They are led by LBer Brandon Archer with 41 tackles and DB Marcus Watts with 38 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.
You might remember our good friend Tearrius George from last season's game:
I'd also like to wish Tearrius George #92 from K-State a lovely trip home. He taunted the student section from the beginning of the game and then we got loud and he shut up and sat down on the bench with his helmet on. He didn't play one snap of the game. I came home to find out that the Juco transfer doesn't even have a picture up on the website. As a Junior he "plans on majoring in business" which I hope he's much better at than taunting. Strangely, he shares my birthday (but is a year younger).....which should mean that he's a senior. There has been a lot written about Mr. George here.
Well, we chanted "Let George Play!" and Bill Snyder has responded in '05 giving George the starting nod at RE in every game so far this season. He leads the defense with 3 sacks. I hope Jorvorskie runs him over as if he was a kindergartener.
DB Justin McKinney has 3 of their 5 INTS and 2 FF.
On special teams Tim Reyer averages 40.4 ypp after 30 punts (7 inside 20; 1 blocked) and Jeff Snodgrass is 7-of-10 kicking field goals this year....he has yet to even attempt anything under 30 yards (Made: 39, 33, 31, 57, 38, 43, 44; Missed: 45, 47, 52).
Finally, does anyone else think Bill Snyder is the long lost brother of the great genius, Larry David? Am I the only one who sees that?
Game time is 1:10 tomorrow afternoon and from what I've heard you can listen to the audio stream at Aggie96.com or your local A&M Sports Network radio station
Let's B.T.H.O. KSU! WHOOP!
Wednesday October 19th, 2005
12:21amTAMABINPO's Week 8 Rankings
I really didn't get to watch any football this past weekend except for the A&M game.....mainly because I was driving, tailgating, at the game, or driving all day. I'm certainly not complaining, but I really wish I got to see the Alabama/OleMiss game and the USC/NotreDame game.
Here are my rankings for the BlogPoll. I actually just realized that I didn't post my poll for last week so here is a link to it [or you can just look at the LW in the () below].
TAMABINPO's Week 8 Rankings Rk. TEAM (LW; Record) LW Results ============================ ================ 1. Southern Cal (1; 6-0) W 34-31 @ND 2. texas (2; 6-0) W 42-17 Col 3. Virginia Tech (3; 6-0) <---DNP---> 4. Georgia (4; 6-0) W 34-17 @Vand 5. Miami (Florida) (6; 5-1) W 34-3 @Temple 6. Alabama (7; 6-0) W 13-10 @OleMiss 7. Louisiana State (8; 4-1) W 21-17 FLA 8. Ohio State (12; 4-2) W 35-24 MichSt 9. Notre Dame (11; 4-2) L 34-31 USC 10. Florida State (5; 5-1) L 26-21 @UVA 11. UCLA (13; 6-0) W 44-41 @WSU 12. Tennessee (16; 3-2) <---DNP---> 13. Wisconsin (17; 6-1) W 38-34 @Minn 14. Boston College (18; 6-1) W 35-30 WF 15. Penn State (9; 6-1) L 27-25 @MICH 16. texas tech (20; 6-0) W 59-20 KSt 17. Florida (10; 5-2) L 21-17 @LSU 18. Auburn (22; 5-1) W 34-17 @Ark 19. Oregon (23; 6-1) W 45-21 Wash 20. Arizona State (25; 3-3) <---DNP---> 21. Virginia (NR; 4-2) W 26-21 FSU 22. West Virginia (NR; 6-1) W 46-44 Louis 23. Michigan State (15; 4-2) L 35-24 @OSU 24. Oregon State (NR; 4-2) W 23-20 @Cal 25. Michigan (NR; 3-3) W 27-25 PSU OUT: Louisville (14; 4-2) L 46-44 @WV Minnesota (19; 5-2) L 38-34 Wisc Cal (21; 5-2) L 23-20 OreSt Colorado (24; 4-2) L 42-17 @tuI forgot to upload the pictures I took from the game this weekend so here they are....better late than never....I love digital cameras....
My boy, T-Murph, being honored as the Honorary Game Captain for this week. He got a great ovation from the faithful.
A view backwards from ROW 3 of the second deck. I probably should have warned that guy behind me that I was snapping a picture, huh? What a gorgeous day for football.
I should probably also take this time to report some sad/devastating news....my boy, Jordan Chambless, will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL in his right leg. He will also miss, at least, the first portion of the baseball season as well.
Jordan is the 4th player we've had go down with an ACL tear and the 7th player that I know of that we've lost for the season....
Done for the Year Injured: Player Pos Injury Player Pos Injury LastSeen ============================= ======================================= K.Dickerson WR Torn ACL C.Lewis RB Ankle? Baylor T.Riley WR Torn ACL D.Mobley WR ?????? Colorado E.Taylor WR Broken Leg J.Jack DE ?????? Baylor J.Brown SS Torn ACL D.Gorrer CB ?????? OSU (SpclTmOnly) L.Foliaki LB Broken Arm J.Chambless FS Torn ACL P.Freeney DE ShoulderSurg.
Coach Fran did say during Tuesday's media day that Lewis will be back at some point this season and that everyone not on the "Done for year list" has a chance of coming back this season. He also said that true freshman, Devin Gregg, will likely get the bulk of Chambless's playing time with Brock Newton filling in as well.
Tuesday October 18th, 2005
8:22pmBlogPoll Roundtable #10
The newest BlogPoll Roundtable questions are now in the process of being answered by the BlogPollers. It is being hosted by All Things longhorn....I suppose I need to come up with some questions and host one of these things now that we've got a Big XII school stepping up.
BlogPoll Roundtable #10Q1. What would it take for you to vote someone other than USC #1 in the poll? If you already are, what would it take for USC to regain the top spot on your ballot?
A1. Well, I haven't put together my poll yet for this week but I am keeping USC on top once again. I do think that texas is moving closer and closer and this weekend could very well be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Here is each team's schedule played thus far:
USC's Schedule Played t.u.'s Schedule Played ===================== ====================== @Hawaii 63-17 La-Laf. 60-3 Arkansas 70-17 @Ohio St (4) 25-22 @Oregon (24) 45-13 Rice 51-10 @ASU (14) 38-28 @Mizzou 51-20 Arizona 42-21 v.Oklahoma 45-12 @N.Dame (9) 34-31 Colorado (24) 42-17 @Washington texas tech (10) WashingtonSt @OkState Stanford @Baylor @Cal (25) Kansas @FresnoSt (24) Texas A&M UCLA (8)Q2. Which of the undefeated is most likely to remain so? Who is least likely?
A2. texas tech. They play texas this weekend and t.u. has a much better defense than anyone they've played (although Nebraska's Black Shirts have been stout) and the best offense texas tech has played against.
Q3. If you were running the BCS system, would you let the computer rankings factor in margin of victory? Why or why not?
A3. I would be interested in seeing a margin of victory but only if it had some sort of weight factor to consider the strength of the opponents.
In a perfect world I'd also like to see some sort of magic multiplier that took into consideration garbage time and would kick in once a game got out of hand.
12:37pm
Devastating
No author on the face of the planet could have written something this cruel.
The hometown boy, Lance Berkman, hits a 3-run HR 7th inning to give the Astros a 4-2 lead in the possible pennant clinching game.
An inning and a half later the Astros bring in one of the most dominant closers in the major leagues, Brad Lidge, with a two run lead to close out the Cardinals and send the Houston Astros to the World Series for the first time in their history.
Lidge dismantles the first two hitters he faces sending them both back to the bench holding the bats that made no contact. 9 pitches, seven strikes.
Scrappy Cardinal's leadoff hitter, David Eckstein, then fights a 1-2 pitch through the left side of the infield for a single. Not too big of a deal, but everyone in the stadium knows that Albert Pujols is the man lurking in the on-deck circle.
Jim Edmonds is the hitter and is able to coax a walk out of Lidge on 5 pitches. It was the fifth walk Lidge had issued in his 8 innings of work this postseason. This brought the best hitter in the major leagues to the plate.
The phone I had in my hand, waiting for the moment to call my father to share the joy from the team we spent countless hours watching in my youth, rang. It was my father. The first thing that he said was, "Walk Pujols.". I, however, took the opposite approach and told him that you can't walk the game tying run into scoring position. We agreed to disagree.
He called me back. I said, "We should have walked him."
I'm not even sure how the final out was recorded in the bottom of the 9th or who even came to the plate for the Astros in the 9th inning. It was like a sucker punch from the school bully....right in spot that hurts the most.
Thankfully, as a die-hard Cubs fan, I have the ability to draw from previous experiences.
The entire stadium died in that exact second. It was like the kid punched 35,000 people (+ the 9 on the field + everyone watching at home) right in the stomach and knocked the wind out of them.
--Me on October 15th, 2003I knew that the world is not over and that I would wake up this morning. Trust me....It could be worse.
As for the decision to walk or not walk Pujols. I still stand by my original decision to pitch to him....although I'd prefer no spinning, hanging sliders.
Now if it was someone other than Lidge on the mound, say....Mike Gallo or LaTroy Hawkins, perhaps, then I might take another opinion. But it wasn't....it was "Lights Out" Lidge. The best closer in the NL. Those are the situations that a closer is on the roster for.
I've heard people say, Albert Pujols is just like Barry Bonds was. No he's not. There were MVPs & "Best hitter in the league"-type guys before Bonds. Go back and look at what Barry Bonds did from 2001-2003....there is a reason why Albert Pujols finished right behind him in the MVP balloting each year.
Then again, maybe it is true....Barry Bonds changed the entire thought process of pitching.
I told my friends before the game yesterday that the Cardinals have to beat Andy Pettitte, Roy Oswalt, and then Roger Clemens to end the Astros season. They won the first one and certainly have the momentum but they still have to beat Roy Oswalt & Roger Clemens. If they do that then they should just get the WS Crown automatically.
"Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains. Think about that for a while."
--the movie Bull Durham
Monday October 17th, 2005
12:37amAgs Dominate Okie State 62-23
Its spelled J-o-r-v-o-r-s-k-i-e. Looks like I'm going to have to add that to my spell check's memory bank.
I've decided that all you need to do when you want him to get the ball is signal his jersey number to the sidelines from your seat before the refs do....
Give it to #11The Lane Train had his coming out party against OSU rushing for 139 yards on 22 carries and picking up 3 more TDs, giving him a team high six on the season. He ran over, around, and through Cowboy defenders. He also laid an incredible block that just about decapitated the unfortunate victim as his helmet flew though the air.
While I was extremely excited about the Train's performance we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves and we need to remember that OSU's rush defense was 94th in the nation going into the game. I suppose, though, Lane's 4.6 yards per carry going into the game (it is now 5.5) was against all types of competition.
Somewhat over-shadowed by Lane (literally & figuratively) was a very solid game out of Reggie McNeal.
Reggie was 18-of-26 for 263 yards and 3 TD to 1 INT. He also ran for 150 yards on 12 carries with a TD. Reggie is simply at his best when he is allowed (and physically able) to run when he sees an opening in the defense. He was at it early and often this week and it is a significant reason why we got off on such a good start.
PASSING RUSHING ------------------ ------------ Att Com Yds TD INT Att Yds TD 1Q: 9 6 78 0 0 4 48 0 2Q: 8 5 59 0 1 4 53 1 3Q: 7 6 90 2 0 2 18 0 4Q: 2 1 36 1 0 2 31 0 ======================= ============ Tot: 26 18 263 3 1 12 150 1The thing that was most impressive about Reggie this week was that he put up those nice numbers without the receivers really busting the huge play for him....his long pass was his last, the 36 yard TD pass to a couldn't be more wide open, Brandon Leone. He also did all of that against what was the #15 pass defense in the nation.
Reggie came out of the game this week with 10:53 remaining in the game giving way to Stephen McGee who, again, performed solidly in the time he was given on the field.
PASSING RUSHING ------------------ ------------ Att Com Yds TD INT Att Yds TD SMU: 3 3 56 0 0 2 20 0 COL: 15 9 112 1 0 2 15 0 OSU: 3 3 32 1 0 3 13 0 ====================== ============ 21 15 200 2 0 7 48 0His TD pass went to Martellus Bennett for MB's 1st career TD.
I have absolutely no problem what-so-ever with McGee taking over for Reggie next season, or this season, if God-for-bid something happen to #1.
Brandon Leone took a lot of snaps as the tailback, with no sighting of Samson Taylor or Courtney Lewis. It is interesting and scary that C-Lew was not even listed on the 120 Man Roster for the game according to Coach Fran's website.
Anyways, when I was watching the game I liked what I saw out of Leone, except the 4 fumbles (we only lost one). He seemed to have good lateral movement and he made a lot of guys miss....however, when I got home and checked the box score I noticed that he carried 13 times for only 24 yards. He did have 3 receptions for 51 yards and that TD, so maybe that is where I got the good impression.
We spread the ball around again, getting 9 receivers into the action. Jason Carter, again, led the team in both catches and yards (4 for 58) but was seen on the sidelines in the 2nd half in street clothes with ice on his leg. We didn't see DeQwan Mobley on a single play this week, which kind of worries me regardless of the fumble last week. He too was not on Coach Fran's 120 man roster for the game.
Justin Brantly continued his fine freshman campaign with 2 punts for an average of 45 yards (51, 39; both inside the 20).
Devin Gregg did in fact have his RS pulled and was handed the starting spot at CB. On OSU's first play of the game he blitzed and sacked the QB causing a fumble. Way to go Mustang alum! Also, for some reason, Danny Gorrer, didn't take a snap all game only playing with the special teams unit. I don't know what is going on there.
Justin Warren finished the day with 14 tackles, a sack and a pass breakup with Archie McDaniel coming in 2nd with 12 tackles and a forced fumble.
We picked off 4 passes to go along with the 3 fumbles recovered (OSU fumbled 4 times recovering once). Jaxson Appel, Marquis Carpenter (who finally turned around and found the ball in the air), Renuel Green, & THE TWELFTH MAN John Ray were the recipients of the interceptions.
Finally, I wanted to run through the important stats:
Off3DC 4-of-10 Def3DC 5-of-12 T.O.P. +14:18 O#plys 85 D#plys 67 T.O. +4All indications point to win.
That was a good game and just what we needed before heading up to Manhattan to play Kansas State.
Sunday October 16th, 2005
6:32pmReggie, the Best QB in Aggie History?
Football history is different from baseball history in that you are rarely remembered as a great unless you win. Baseball history is scattered with players who never won but that list is much shorter in football.
That is exactly where the argument regarding Reggie McNeal being the best QB to come through College Station sits. Reggie's name either already sits atop, or likely will by the season's end, a good portion of the school's QB record lists. The problem that many people have with naming Reggie the best QB in Aggie history is that he hasn't won enough. The argument does hold some water when you look at his 15-14 record as a starter (he is also 0-2 against texas). Something else that is pointed out is that we've been to only one bowl game in Reggie's time (last year's Cotton Bowl) which was not a game to be really excited about afterwards.
Interestingly enough, the Dallas Morning News actually wrote about this exact topic before the season began.
There is no question in my mind that we've been in a significant lull over the last few years but I don't think that this should really be held completely against Reggie. The first thing I think of when I think of Aggie football from the mid-80s to the mid-90s is the Wrecking Crew. Not once during Reggie's time have the students been able to throw up the WC during a game without being chastised by those who witnessed the mid-80s to the mid-90s.
(L-R) Kevin Murray, Bucky Richardson, & Corey PulligI took the time to go back and look at the defenses of the past because I wanted to see just how much less offense was needed for the previous Aggie QB legends needed to get those ever important Ws. The main names we hear about are Kevin Murray, Bucky Richardson, & Corey Pullig.
I was not able to come up with national defensive rankings for any year prior to 1999 but I was able to go back game-by-game and see how many points we gave up in each game during each of those player's eras.
I needed to know when these guys actually played, playing time-wise. Thanks to some quick help it didn't take too long. From what I found, Murray played from 1983-1986 but missed the 1984 season due to a brutal broken ankle. Bucky played from 1987-1991 but splitting time in 1987 and taking a red shirt season in 1989 after blowing an ACL. Corey Pullig pretty much played from 1992-1995 including a large majority of his 1992 freshman season. Reggie, for those who didn't know, played very little his 2002 freshman season and took the majority of the snaps in 2003 before taking the fulltime job last season.
Before I explain what I've done I want to make sure that you understand that I am not doing this to take anything away from the QBs of the past. They all accomplished things that I would love to see happen in my era. I am just putting this together to try and show some of the obstacles Reggie has had working against his W-L column.
What I've done here is put together a chart showing the number of times our defense gave up "X" amount of points (split into 10 point ranges). The most basic translation is that we had to score more points than that to win.
K.Murray <10 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 AVG High ====================================================== 1983 2 6 1 1 1 0 17.4 45 1984 1 4 5 1 0 0 19.7 30 1985 2 6 4 0 0 0 16.3 28 1986 4 3 2 3 0 0 17.9 35 ====================================================== 9 19 12 5 1 0 B.Richardson <10 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 AVG High ====================================================== 1987 2 7 3 0 0 0 14.0 27 1988 1 5 4 1 0 1 21.1 52 1989 2 7 2 1 0 0 16.0 31 1990 1 8 3 1 0 0 17.8 36 1991 5 5 1 1 0 0 11.8 35 ====================================================== 11 32 13 4 0 1 C.Pullig <10 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 AVG High ====================================================== 1992 4 6 2 1 0 0 15.1 30 1993 6 4 1 0 1 0 11.9 44 1994 2 7 2 0 0 0 13.4 21 1995 4 6 2 0 0 0 14.0 29 ====================================================== 16 23 7 1 1 0 R.McNeal <10 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 AVG High ====================================================== 2002 3 2 3 2 1 1 23.3 50 2003 0 2 1 4 3 2* 38.8 77 2004 3 0 4 3 2 0 24.3 42 2005 1 1 2 1 1 0 23.5 41 ====================================================== 7 5 10 10 7 3 *In 2003 we gave up 77 points to OU but I didn't want to make the chart go have 2 more columns for only 1 game so I just stuck it in that 50-59 range. It was counted as 77 points in the AVGI was so astonished with some of those Wrecking Crew defenses from the early 90s that I had to double check my work just to make sure I didn't mess up my math.
I think those numbers pretty much say it all.
Not even the worst Murray/Richardson/Pullig defense gave up more points/game than the best Reggie defense. The closest was Bucky's 1988 team which gave up 21.3 ppg.
Teams Reggie has played on have had to score 30+ points TWENTY times....compared to 13 times in the other 3 QBs careers combined.
You know what is more interesting than that? In those 12 games where mid-80s to mid-90s defenses gave up 30+ our record was 3-10, which would sure indicate that when you give up 30 it is awfully tough to win.
I still can't believe that Pullig's defenses only gave up 30+ twice in his 4 year career.
After looking at the numbers, I continue to agree with my original thoughts that it is completely unfair to hold Reggie's W-L record against him when making the discussion for greatest Aggie QB. The playing field simply isn't level....our defenses simply made it more difficult than any of the other QB's defenses did....by A LOT.
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