NFL Week 3 Predictions

      I followed up week one's 12-4 prediction record with a mighty 13-3 for week two.  I'm averaging about a 78% for the first two weeks, not an A, but it's improvement people, this is the key.  Week three predictions continue to become more a mystery as the story-lines unfold.  This could the first time the Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome since 1997.  Michael Vick matches up against the Giants, who he beat by scoring three touchdowns in the final quarter of last years' game.  We get to find out just how good the Texans' number one defense really is, considering that they'll be up against Brees and the Saints offense.  Good week of football, here we go...

Houston Texans @ New Orleans Saints                          Saints   

N.Y. Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles                                 Eagles

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Carolina Panthers                       Panthers

New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills                            Patriots

Miami Dolphins @ Cleveland Browns                            Dolphins

San Francisco 49ers @Cincinnati Bengals                      49ers

Denver Broncos @ Tennessee Titans                              Titans

Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings                                 Lions

Baltimore Ravens @ St. Louis Rams                               Ravens

New York Jets @ Oakland Raiders                                 Raiders

Kansas City Chiefs @ San Diego Chargers                     Chargers

Arizona Cardinals @ Seattle Seahawks                           Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers                     Falcons

Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears                             Packers

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Indianpolis Colts                           Steelers

Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys                      Cowboys

NFL Week 2 Predictions

Last week I went 12-4 with my predictions.  If I'm lucky enough to keep that going, you're welcome for winning you money in Vegas.

 With week 2 rapidly approaching, and every game looking as if it might go either way, this will be a much tougher challenge than last week.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Detroit Lions                       Lions


Oakland Raiders @ Buffalo Bills                            Bills


Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Minnesota Vikings       Buccaneers


Chicago Bears @ New Orleans Saints                    Saints


Baltimore Ravens @ Tennessee Titans                   Ravens


Cleveland Browns @ Indianapolis Colts                 Colts


Jacksonville Jaguars @ New York Jets                   Jets


Seattle Seahawks @ Pittsburgh Steelers                  Steelers


Arizona Cardinals @ Washington Redskins            Redskins


Green Bay Packers @ Carolina Panthers                 Packers


Dallas Cowboys @ San Francisco 49ers                 Cowboys


San Diego Chargers @ New England Patriots         Patriots


Houston Texans @ Miami Dolphins                        Texans


Cincinnati Bengals @ Denver Broncos                    Broncos


Philadelphia Eagles @ Atlanta Falcons                    Eagles


St. Louis @ New York Giants                                 Giants

Heisman Watch Update

QB Andrew Luck:  Tore through Duke 44-10.  Holds pace, easy front runner.








RB LaMichael James: 67 yards on 12 attempts, and a TD in win over Nevada









QB Kellen Moore:  The Broncos take on the Toledo Rockets next week.  Toledo almost upset Ohio State this week, but Moore should put on throwing exhibition with Rockets secondary.







QB Landry Jones:   Plays Florida State next week in what should make for a good game.

Suprise of the week:
     South Carolina's RB Marcus Lattimore:   176 yards on 27 carries, and a TD in win Vs. Georgia

Underdogs on the Rise

Not only is today my birthday, but it's also a day remember 9/11, and celebrate the opening Sunday of pro football season.  This year the NFL is auctioning off all the 9/11 tribute gear the players wear today for charity.  Today is a great day.  The only present I asked of God on this 25th birthday of mine was a win against the Buccaneers.  Please God, I need you on this one.

Can I just say, "The lockout did more for the popularity of football than anyone wants to admit."  The lockout was good for the fans, and is going to make the season twice as exciting.  The sluggish starts, the unpredictable match-ups, it's going to be nuts.  The defenses will feel the pains from the lockout more than offenses; teams will be lighting up the scoreboard, and who doesn't love that!

Yesterday's college games were intense, only fueling to the anticipation of Sunday's match-ups.  If you missed the Michigan Vs. Notre Dame game last night, than you missed a true sight to see.  Everyone came out in 1920-1950s attire and looked the part for sure.  Even the refs had on little 1920's conductor-looking white hats on; it was great.  Both teams should just switch their uniforms to the ones they wore last night, there were definitely an upgrade.  

Anyway, to the thick of things, and back to Sunday football.  Sports Junkies have made their picks for week one, so today we predict the Underdogs on the Rise.

Underdogs on the Rise

1. Detroit Lions

            This team has been heavily covered all offseason, giving them more hype than any other team predicted to rise up from among the weak.  Detroit finished 6-10 last season on a four game win streak, and followed that up with a flawless preseason record.  If you want to be technical, they're 8-0 right now.  Their will be fireworks in Tampa today, which leads me to number two.

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

            Let's be honest, Josh Freeman is just as good as Matthew Stafford.  Total different style of play, but as far as stats go, Freeman at least has some.  The guys 6'6, 248 lbs, and threw for 3,451 yards with 25 TD's and a quarterback passer rating of 95.9 last season.  Both enter their third year, but I have to give the edge to Freeman on this one.  The other thing working for Tampa is running back Legarrette Blount.  This guy ran for over 1,000 yards last year as a rookie!  This Tampa Bay Vs. Detroit Lions game today could be a potential playoff preview.  Tampa still considers their loss to Detroit last year the reason they didn't make the playoffs, and they want revenge.

3.  St. Louis Rams

             Sam Bradford changed the way the league looks at rookie quarterbacks.  This guy came in, and almost single handily turned that franchise around.  With Steven Jackson having his way with defenses, and the addition of Lance Kendricks, the tight end out of Wisconsin, Bradford has even more explosive targets on the field. 

4.  Arizona Cardinals.

            Two words, Larry Fitzgerald.  This is the best wide receiver in the league when he has even a somewhat competent quarterback slinging the ball. Kevin Kolb is a huge upgrade at the quarterback position for the Cardinals, and after being benched to Michael Vick he's looking to make a statement.  Cardinals will be very competitive this year.

5.  Dallas Cowboys

             The Cowboys have all the pieces, they just have trouble putting them together.  Dez Bryant is a true talent at wide out.  If you can get him the ball, he's going to score you touchdowns.  This season yet again rides on the shoulders of Tony Romo.  He is the key, and a fragile one at that.  If he can run the locker room as well as he does the huddle, theres no limits to the Cowboys success.

Wolverines take on Fighting Irish in first ever night game at The Big House

This is a big game for Michigan, but a must win for Notre Dame.  If Notre Dame loses, it will be the second time in school history they start the season 0-2.  The only other time they started 0-2, they faced another school going 0-2 for the first time as well, Michigan.  The Wolverines won that game with great defense, and hope to repeat that performance again this year.

If Notre Dame loses, they can kiss their chances for a BCS game good bye.  I realize they have a moderately easy schedule after they get this game out of the way, but starting 0-2 is a hard path to come back from.  Notre Dame has a quarterback controversy going on as well, something they could obviously do without.  This is because ND's Coach, Brian Kelly will have started two different quarterbacks in their last two losses, guaranteeing some heat from the front office. 

If Michigan does lose, they'll be 1-1. Now I'll admit this would be a bitter loss because of the nature of the rivalry and because of the fact this is the first night game at the Big House. But let's be honest, if they lose this game, Brady Hoke's job won't be in jepeardy.  

Its pretty obvious that Notre Dame has a lot more riding on this game than Michigan does. Irish fans had a lot of expectations for year two of the Kelly era, especially with how they finished last season. Michigan fans had expectations too, but they were more about moving past the Rich Rodriguez era. A lot of the excitement surrounding Hoke has centered on his recruiting for next year. There are still some holes on the defensive side of the ball, but in time those will fill up.

I'm most interested to see how Denard Robinson, the Wolverine's QB, fares in this game.  Last year he single handily won the game in South Bend, and this year I look for him to do the same.  He's going into his junior season now, so this is probably the game where we'll see if he's worthy of Heisman talk.  

No matter who wins this game, the excitement surrounding it, and the rivalry of Notre Dame and Michigan should make for some great football.  I'll take Michigan by 14.

Maryland Terrapins Who?

You see that picture above? Yeah, that's the same uniform, crazy..I know.  Maryland is following the path Oregon has laid for them.  Last Monday against the Miami Hurricanes, the Maryland Terrapins debuted some of the most hideous football uniforms in the history of mankind.  Twitter blew up, and Maryland's Facebook page ignited!  The social media networks were hit like rocket fire, and every news site from fashion to football were talking about the uniforms.

Maryland showed up to game day warm ups in a pretty standard uniform and a colorful helmet.  Then they went back to the locker room, put on their NEW jerseys, and came out of the tunnel lighting the entertainment world on fire.

Maryland's Coach, Randy Edsall said, "We were on a smaller scale in the football world, and we wanted to bring our name into the discussion.  I think these uniforms did just that."

He went on to say how the uniforms helped his players play better, because of Under Armor's light weight material and breath-ability.   The school said its jerseys were to help recruit students.  The college even had a player fashion show, with a run way and everything.  The school confessed it has 32 different uniforms made by Under Armor.

Coach Edsall said, "I had a kid come up to me this morning, and said how great the uniforms were.  People are starting to get excited."

 He also noted that these jerseys are made to hit a certain demographic, and those are exactly the kids the schools trying to bring in.  Despite the inadvertent racism, he's making a good point.

I wrote an article on Oregon's uniforms last week, and how despite their loss to LSU, they more than likely recruited more kids with that game.  Since they shook hands with Nike in 96, their football program has improved by leaps and bounds.  Now Maryland's program will do the same thing, and it won't take that long either.  Oregon's been using uniforms to recruit for over a decade, they just aren't nearly as public about it.  I think the fact that Maryland's embracing it, and saying of course we did it to recruit more students, is going to help their national attention.  Eventually Maryland will sign their own deal, with Under Armor, and these jerseys will hit the market.  For now, they aren't for sale, but the school will be auctioning some off later this year for charity.

Whether you hate them or love them, those jerseys did exactly what Maryland set them out to do.

                                     It's almost as if he's giving a tribute to Oregon with the O.

Twitter Quotes:

-The two worst things to happen to University of Maryland were John Wilkes Booth, and those new uniforms.

-For the uniforms alone, Maryland should be charged with lack of institutional control.

   

NFL Division Power Rankings

Sports Junkies Top Divisions

1. NFC North
2. NFC South
3.NFC East
4.AFC East
5.AFC North
6.AFC South
7.AFC West
8.NFC West

NFL Week 1 Predictions

Go ahead and take these to the bank.
                                                                         Winner:
New Orleans Saints @ Green Bay Packers         Packers


Atlanta Falcons @ Chicago Bears                       Falcons


Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens              Ravens


Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland Browns            Browns


Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs                     Chiefs


Philadelphia Eagles @ St. Louis Rams                 Eagles


Detroit Lions @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers             Lions


Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars             Titans


Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans                  Texans


New York Giants @ Washington Redskins          Redskins   


Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers              49ers


Minnesota Vikings @ San Diego Chargers            Chargers


Carolina Panthers @ Arizona Cardinals                 Cardinals


Dallas Cowboys @ New York Jets                        Jets


New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins             Patriots


Oakland Raiders @ Denver Broncos                    Raiders

What ever happened to Jim Tressel?

Coach Jim Tressel won six BigTen Titles with Ohio State University, took his team to three BCS National Championships, and was being considered for the position of NCAA President.  In May of 2011, after ten years with the Buckeyes, Tressel resigned.  This came after it was made known that he withheld information from the NCAA for the sake of his football team.

Students of OSU wore Tressel wristbands, much like the live strong bracelets, in memory of the coach but the school quickly had them abolished.  I guess OSU doesn't want to pay tribute to a great coach who helped make them loads of money.  His one mistake was all they needed to see.

This month Coach Tressel was hired by the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL to be a team consultant.  This job basically involves Tressel watching the challenge and TD replay's, and giving the team advice on what to do.  This is obviously a transition job, considering all the coaching spots are filled, and they don't want to bump some one just to bring Tressel on; wouldn't be a good idea.  Next year, Tressel will get his chance to prove to the Colts he can get the job done, and then he'll probably move in to a defensive or offensive coordinator position.  The Colts were smart to pick him up before anyone else did.

Now here's where the plot thickens a little.  At Tressel's suggestion, the Colts suspended him the first six games of the season.  Terrell Pryor, his former player at OSU, and the center of attention in the scandal was suspended four games when he transitioned into the NFL.  Now Coach Tressel was supposed to serve a five game suspension along with the players if he stayed with the NCAA, but because he went to the NFL he thought it be right to serve his sentence any way.  ESPN's Steve A. Smith said,"I'm happy (NFL commissioner)Robert Goodell suspended Terrel Pryor.  If he's bringing baggage into the league, you should have to pay for it."  While I understand Smith's anger at the breaking of school rules, the guy accepted a free tattoo, get over it.  Steve A Smith went on to say he believes that Tressel's act of self-suspension just wasn't good enough.

It wasn't good enough? You've got to be kidding me!  Tressel suspended himself first off; second, his suspension is two games longer than Pryor's is!  He not only took it upon himself to do something honorable, but at the same time went the extra mile, as a coach, to punish himself harder than his former players.  Steve Smith also believes that Goodell should get involved and make sure there's something else added to Tressel's punishment.  Look, I understand Goodell had a right to suspend Pryor, he was in the supplemental draft, so the commissioner has a lot more room to get involved, then he does with the Colts Franchise.  And let's not kid ourselves people, it's not far fetched to think the commissioner already did have his hand in this.  Either way, Tressel has a new job, a new suspension, and a great opportunity with the Indianapolis Colts.

Rex Grossman sent to conquer the Giants

The Washington Redskins are giving the nod to veteran QB Rex Grossman for the start opening day.  Now the only question is, can Rex conquer the Giants?

Monday, Coach Mike Shannahan said that Grossman has won the starting job over John Beck.  The two have competed throughout the preseason and training camp for the starting role.  This is the first time Grossman has started the opening game since 2007, the season after he took the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl.  Or should I say, the year after the Chicago Bears took HIM to the Super Bowl.

Grossman simply performed better in the preseason completing 64 percent of his passes, threw 2 TD's and had a QB rating of 92.3.

I'm still not buying into Grossman.  Wait until midseason rolls around, we'll see the same old Rex, I guarantee.

Cam Newton will be star in the NFL

There was a time when quarterbacks picked #1 weren't expected to save a franchise right out of the gate. Often times a brand new QB would merely stand on the sidelines, clip board in hand, and take methodical notes.  Since the emergence of Sam Bradford in St. Louis, those times have changed.  I imagine the same kind of expectations are expected from the folks in Carolina.  While I'm in no doubt of Cam Newton's potential, this will be a ruff year for the rookie.  

Cam Newton needs an offense tailored to his abilities to really excel.  There is no way Coach Rivera will give him the freedom to make that happen in his rookie year.  NFL coaches don't get a lot of time to prove themselves, and taking too high a gamble on Cam may be too high a risk for the first year coach from San Diego.  After watching his championship performance with Auburn last year, I don't think there's much he can't do.  After that performance he was likened to Ray Lewis calling plays from center.  He needs his coaches' complete confidence in his abilities, and time calling plays from center, but when he breaks out, it will be a spectacular performance.  

Be patient with Cam Newton.  Forget his modest preseason numbers, and take into account all the adversity he went through last year.  This guy obviously has no problem playing under pressure.  

There is a reason the Panthers are blessed with his talent;  they aren't blessed with much more.

Heisman Update

Here's a look at the potential top candidates in the Heisman hunt after week 1.

Andrew Luck:   171 Pass Yds, 3 TD (1Rush TD) in win vs San Jose
                               





Landry Jones:   375 pass yds, TD in win vs Tulsa

Kellen Moore: 261 pass yds, 3 TD, I INT, in win vs Geogia

LaMichael James:  54 rush yds, TD; 6 rec-61 yds in loss vs LSU

Suprise of the week:
                                           Baylor's QB,  Robert Griffin III    359 yds, 5 TD
                        (This guy could potentially win the whole thing if he's able to keep pace.

NFL Predictions for 2011

A new season means all new predictions, so here's Sports Junkie's expert picks for 2011 division winners, wild cards, conference champions, and Super Bowl finalists.

Super Bowl Champion 

NFC East              Eagles  
NFC North            Packers
NFC South            Falcons
NFC West             Cardinals
NFC Wildcards      Lions, Saints

AFC East              Patriots
AFC North            Steelers
AFC South            Texans
AFC West              Chargers
AFC Wildcards      Jets, Ravens

NFC Champion      Eagles
AFC Champion      Steelers

Coach of the Year   Jim Shwartz
MVP                       Aaron Rodgers
Offensive ROY      Mark Ingram
Defensive ROY      Patrick Peterson (easily the hardest prediction, Von Miller will put up a solid year)

Restore the Roar

Every year at the start of the season I don my latest Lions jersey and head to the bar with high hopes, and every year I'm let down.  It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I follow Detroit religiously.  It's almost gotten to an unhealthy point, but I have to search; I have to find some silver lining in our roster to give myself hope of a promising season.  The year we started 6-0 with Jon Kitna at QB I almost lost my mind, and then we lost every game after that with the exception of one; extremely embarrassing.  Then we finally fire Matt Millen, which means I can now throw away my paper bag hats, and Fire Millen shirts.  We draft Calvin Johnson, then we draft Mathew Stafford.  I'm thinking, alright, now we have the important pieces in place.  Yeah, I think we all know what happened to Stafford's first two seasons.  Over the years it looks so promising, then someone goes down.  Injuries, bad luck, and poor leadership have riddled this team for years.  This year is different.

                                                      (These were bad, bad years.)

The Detroit Lions' have been covered pretty heavily by the national spotlight this year.  It feels like Mo'Town hasn't had any good press since the days when Barry Sanders ran the field.   For those of you who enjoy the NFL ticket from your couch, you may not know that a team's media coverage translates directly to your local sports bar.  I'm always the easiest to spot at the bar, just look for the guy wearing the only Detroit Lions jersey, and there you go.  And while I will miss the free sympathy drinks, I am excited for some long awaited company this year.  I have to admit that the attention will be nice,  but it does come with a cost.  How many fans is enough? How long until I'm surrounded by a sea of honolulu blue and silver jerseys, annoyed with new fans who know nothing of the loss I've felt for years.  The Pittsburgh Steelers seem to have fans nationwide, but most of these fans can't even tell you two players' names on the team.  This scares me!  

After almost twenty-five years of being a die-hard fan, it's about time my team starts winning.  I'll take the good with the bad seeing how I really have no choice.  But the first guy who calls me a bandwagon fan,  is probably going down,  and quick. 

Detroit's Record: 11-5 

  This prediction is completely reliant on Matthew Stafford staying upright.  With Nate Burelson's sudden emergence into a prime receiving target, and Calvin Johnson on the other side, Stafford will have two 1A targets in the red zone.  At tight end, Tony Sheffler and Will Heller can both catch the ball well, and more often than not, be the target of dump passes.  Brandon Pettigew, the team's biggest target at TE, has the entire package set at the position.  This guy can catch deep passes and holds it down in blocking schemes.  You should look for him to finish as a top 5 TE in the NFL at the culmination of this year's season.  

The Lion's Defense has had a huge facelift this offseason.  Bringing in Steven Tulloch(second in total tackles last year) and Justin Durant, has added to the LB corp's speed and overall athleticism.  The D-line is now arguably the best in the NFL, and should make up for a lack of talent in the back end.

Potential ProBowlers:

WR Calvin Johnson, DT Ndamukong Suh, TE Brandon Pettigrew, DE Cliff Avril, Special Teams Stephan Logan.

Winning Isn't Everything to Oregon

The Oregon Ducks have been ushering in a new style of performance for the past ten years, but after they shook hands with NIKE, they started ushering in a new style of self expression as well.  They've always been an eccentric group of athletes, and now they finally have a chance to showcase that nationwide.  These guys may be down in the dumps after last night's loss to LSU, but I say at least they looked good doing it!  Did you see those jerseys? It looked like a cross between Tron Legacy and a Storm Trooper.  Take a look...

                                           


Ever since they partnered up with Nike in 1996, they've been putting out the craziest arrays of their school colors.  Bill Bowerman, founder of Nike, coached track at Oregon back when Steve Prefontaine was still owning races.  Nike has roots in the Oregon history, so it only made sense.  And let's be honest with ourselves, for all the kids that watched that game I bet more than half would choose Oregon over LSU as a school of choice, despite the loss.  Kids don't care as much about the team's record, as they do the threads that come along with that team.  College Football is a business, and Oregon has the best marketing team.  I've always seemed to dig the ducks', so here's a football fashion tribute to them..
                                                     

2009 Jersey Combinations

                                                   

A little Joey Harrington Throwback

                                                        Last Years Graphite Helmets
                           

                                          All the gloves, no matter what color, line up for the O.

                                                         Oregon takes fashion seriously.

                                           

                                             This years first glance at the new uniforms.

                                                                     
Whether they win or lose, the Ducks' look good doing it.  I'll tune in every week, probably not to watch their extremely productive offense(considering the new injury developments), but to figure out jersey I want to buy next.  Go Ducks!

The Dawgs Bit Off More Than They Could Chew

                                      (19) Georgia Bulldogs  VS  (5) Boise St. Broncos

     
Over the past two years Boise State's reputation has been growing quickly.  It almost seemed perfect that they face a team like Georgia in their first huge national debut.  Georgia's good, but they aren't a monster of a team like say Nebraska or Oklahoma.  For the last two years Boise's been on one heck of a role.  They haven't really faced any extremely good teams though, week after week.  Just a moderately hard game here or there, allowing for more recovery time, and what other benefits are sure to come with having a lax schedule.  They're easy to love with their bright blue sea of a field up in Boise, Idaho, and near flawless record, but they hadn't proven themselves yet.  This was that test.  This was the chance for them to say listen, "We win every game handily, and we'll win this one just the same.  Sit down and enjoy the show."  Who would deliver this message for the Broncos?  Oh, that's gotta be my man Kellen Moore.

Kellen Moore: 28/34, 261 yrds, 3 TD, 1 INT
  He finally got a big bright center-stage venue to put on a throwing exhibition to silence all the nations doubts.  He really did play great, and what's more important, he seemed cool and collected doing it.  Can he play in the NFL?  YES.  Moore can run the play under center, or from shotgun, often times transitioning between the two seamlessly.  Boise could get in and out of a no huddle offense during a drive, showing Moore has the presence to command a team.  That was my biggest concern, what with the goofy hair and big teeth, but he really does seem to have quality leadership potential.  The one interception he did throw looked like a TD pass, but the DB did a great job of cutting in back to the ball, and attacking it at his highest point.


Aaron Murray, Georgia's quarterback played awful throwing for  a 55% completion rate.  He had two touchdowns, and an interception as well.  He looked frantic in the pocket, made some bad decisions, and threw some awful passes.  I gotta say, I'm starting to think this guys over-rated.  Georgia's defensive line proved that they're one to be feared.  When they hit, they all hit.  Every player that went down around that line of scrimmage was getting dog piled by at least 6 six big sweaty black men.  Watch the game, they were in fact, all black.  Anyway, when the red jersey's swarm, things get dangerous.  Other than that the entire defensive unit looked awful.  There were flashes of brilliance between colossal meltdowns throughout the entire course of the game.  Georgia gave up the most points in a season opener since 1974.  With this loss, I could see Georgia losing around six games this year.  Call me crazy, but the dawgs are on the down slide.

What does this mean for Boise?  It gives Boise a complete breeze down the rest of their schedule.  They have, yet again, another easy schedule.  The benefits of being in a weak conference.  It will be interesting to see if there ranking ever does reach #1.  It will obviously come down to that, and the question will be, is Boise State really good enough to be in a National Championship. I say yes.

Things of note:
-Boise State's first win over a SEC team.
-Losing Titus Young & Austin Pettis didn't hurt the Bronco's as much as we all anticipated.

Baylor Upsets TCU in Coliseum-Worthy ShowDown

   Could there have been a better way to kick the new college season off? I mean come on!  Baylor swallowed their non-rank, let TCU into their house, and then battled them until their was no breath left in their lounges.  We're talking eight lead changes, teams scoring in the 50's, and all star performances.  Both teams brought their calvary into the stands to make for a blast in the bleachers.  The fanatics, the crazies, the hot chicks who just wanna drink beer and be on TV, and of course the sports junkies all came out for this one.  The entire first half was pretty much the equivalent of Arena Football. The only thing this game was missing was a firework display to celebrate each TD.

   We all thought TCU might have been under-rated at (14), especially with the three time top ranked defense still holding strong on that side of the ball.  You can argue, that they lost Andy Dalton to the NFL Draft, but if you watched the game, that wasn't transparent.  Baylor wore this defense down with tenacity, hard effort, and a lot of energy.  When the game ended, Baylor looked a hell of a lot more exhausted then the Horned Frog's bench did.  The only Baylor Bear who could have kept going for another quarter was Robert Griffin III, and if you watched the game it probably wouldn't surprise you if you heard he ran a 5K on the way home; dudes in freakish shape!  Griffin was poised in the pocket, took to his feet after check downs, and was extremely adaptive to changing defense schemes.  The TCU defense gave up 564 total yards, and a handful of touchdown passes.  Their backfield was easily the worst they've been in at least two seasons.
 
  It's not like TCU rolled over and took this though.  They battled back from a 47-23 deficit to take the lead by one, late in the fourth quarter.  In the end it was TCU's offense basically carrying the team while the defense was left licking their wounds.  TCU did show they can play, and teams shouldn't use this 'notch in the loss column' as any indication of how they'll perform.  They'll build off a win against the Air Force Academy next week, and get on a roll from their.

So in the end, it was Robert Griffin III riding in on his white horse to put on a Michael Vick esq' performance, throwing 21/27, 5 TD, 359 yards, and no interceptions.
                                      (I wish I could put him on my fantasy team)

"It's big to show we can come out and win a game like that, "Griffin said.

What Griffin forgot to say was, "That's what they get for underestimating us from last years performance."  Baylor wanted it more, and so they got it.  Just like I'm sure they'll be walking the cheer leaders to their vehicles after the game, as they should, they've earned it.  Griffin III was swarmed by fans in yellow as the game clock ticked to 0:00.  Victory.

THINGS OF NOTE:  -Baylor snapped TCU's FBS-best 25 consecutive regular-season games.
                                    -"Jon RG3" is a name worth remembering.
                                    -It will be interesting to see where TCU's national ranking ends up.