So many thoughts. Have to do it bullet style tonight.
* Yes, I was disappointed. I was Catatonic for a good fifteen minutes after the game. There are no more moral victories for UK football fans. After beating the No. 1 team in the country last year, we have to assume that all games are winnable. Especially when we play at home. This sucked, there is no question.
* That said, some might be tempted to deem the turnover with :46 seconds left, on the opponent's fifteen yard line "old Kentucky". I beg to differ. We didn't lose that game, Georgia won it. Demarcus Dobbs is 6'2" and 266 lbs. He jumped two feet in the air and intercepted a pass with one hand. Dude made a play.
*Watching Randall Cobb break down on the sideline after throwing the fateful pick was nothing short of heartbreaking. If UK did not have Randall Cobb on the roster, it would have lost that game by 30 points. Chin up kid.
*The Rich Brooks embrace of Cobb after this play encapsulates why college football is king. Right now, there are regular season NBA highlights flashing across my TV. How could a sports fan care about a regular season NBA game with scenes like this playing themselves out across the country each weekend?
*Winston Guy!
*The story of the game was the scoreboard. How in the world did we score so many points? How could we do so and not win?
*As usual, my pregame prediction was blown out of the water by halftime. Still, I had one angle of the game right, i.e. that we would struggle to cover both AJ Green and Mohamed Massaquoi with Trevard Lindley. Since Trevard was out for the whole second half we could not cover either one of them. This was the difference in the game.
*The stakes were a lot smaller, but Stafford to Green with two minutes left did look eerily like "The Catch".
*Now we know how Arkansas fans felt three weeks ago. As Bill Simmons says, this was a stomach punch game.
*A perhaps unfair rhetorical question surfaces this evening. What would our record be if Cobb had started at quarterback from the outset?
*Who is the freshman of the year in the SEC? Julio Jones and AJ Green are amazing receivers. They've put up good numbers. If I already had John Parker Wilson or Matthew Stafford on my roster, I'd pick from those guys in a heartbeat. With the Kentucky Football roster as it otherwise is, there is no guy I'd rather have shown up on campus this year than Randall Cobb.
*Tennessee's loss to Wyoming ensures a losing record, no bowl, and consequently that UK's trip to Neyland later this month will be Phil Fulmer's last game as Tennessee's coach. We would be the favorite if that game were played tomorrow. Knowing that a great many Vols fans are still in national championship winning Fulmer's corner, the finale will be an emotional day in Knoxville. Even if they throw in the towel at Vandy in two weeks (as they apparently did today), expect UT to be ready to play on the 29th.
*UT's loss, combined with Arkansas losing to USC, mean that mathematically no more than 10 SEC teams can get to a bowl this year. So, we've clinched a third straight bowl. If anyone gives you the "six wins doesn't mean we are necessarily in a bowl" crap this week, direct them to me.
*I can no longer project a loss to Vandy. Could we lose? Sure. But a betting man would go with the Cats, Cobb, and the pony backfield.
*Right now, I can find no reliable information on whether Lindley's injury will impact next week or the rest of the season. I'll assume that no news is good news.
*Alabama took care of business. The now set in stone SEC Championship will, barring an upset in the interim, be a de facto national semifinal. Penn State losing was a big relief.
*Your friendly UK Football blogger is searching for a parking pass for next week's game.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
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5 comments:
Al- Now is the time to double your efforts on this blog-- It appears that the simmering Bill Simmons-ESPN feud is escalating. They may have a job opening... Your first priority- a nickname for me.
Dave
I'm going to do my comment nugget style, also:
* my proposed nickname for "anonymous" is "the other Dave".
* regarding whether Cobb should have started at the begining of the year, I say "no" and here's why: there were two plays in yesterday's game to show that he is still imature and lacks judgment. First was the celebration penalty on the 2nd touchdown. To do it, shows that he can't contain his emotions and that's not a good sign for a leader. Brooks should have benched him for the next series only. That penalty no doubt cost us a score as Ga. got great field position and scored right away. How's he supposed to learn what's expected of him if he's not disciplined. Everyone says football is a game of emotion. That's wrong, it's a game of discipline.
* the second was the fourth down where Cobb fumbled the ball. Our defense has trouble falling on a fumble (always trying to pick it up -- which drives me crazy) but Cobb apparently doesn't as he just fell on the ball. But it was fouth down. Falling on the ball gives it to Ga. anyway. Had he picked it up and run with it he had a good shot at a first down. Not smart.
* I disagree that the final interception was a play by Ga. Cobb blew it, but even worse was the play call. In that situation you have to roll Cobb out left or right with run/pass options. Every big play where Cobb dropped back was a disaster. He has to be on the move to keep the defense from being too aggresive.
* Having said all that, no question Cobb is now the starter.
* I wish I could share your optimism, but this game had Old Kentucky written all over it.
ESPN is waiting for you, you the man, your comments are right on! So send them a tape!
Thanks for the votes of confidence. As good a writer as Bill Simmons is, if he pisses away that gig, he's nuts.
I think he meant me.
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