Impressions- Week 3
If you've been following my blog, you know that I have changed up the formats of how I present my weekly thoughts. The first week, I offered impressions by game/team. Last week, I presented my impressions by conference. This is due to the fact that I am still feeling my way around this writing business. I like the conference format, so I think I'll stick with that for a while. However, I will continue to give my impression of the Dawgs either at the beginning or the end of each "Impressions" blog.
I attended a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream last night (my oldest son and his wife were both acting in the play), and so I missed seeing the Georgia game. However, I recorded it and watched it this afternoon. First off, the play was fantastic! For an amateur production, it was very well done, from the costuming to the acting to the lighting and music. I know their second (and last) performance this afternoon will be just as fantastic! But you're not reading this for my theater reviews, so let's get to the football.
I thought Georgia was rather up and down, as can happen when playing an inferior opponent. At times the offense looked efficient, and at other times, they seemed to sputter. Blocking continues to be inconsistent, but the running game looked the best it has all year. Our receivers did better, but still dropped a pass or two. Besides the offensive line, the other worry I have is the defensive backfield. Samford had several receivers running free, and were able to produce two long touchdown drives. We also dropped at least two interceptions. We must do better against better competition. Our run defense looks quite good (especially after Notre Dame ran for over 400 yards again this week against Boston College, as they did against Temple in week 1), and we get good pressure on the QB on most passing plays. The Dawgs will have a stern test against a Mississippi State team that looks like it could be a force in the SEC.
Speaking of Mississippi State, their win over LSU was quite impressive! I felt they had a chance to beat them, but certainly did not expect the domination on both sides of the ball. I still think LSU made a mistake letting Les Miles go and hiring Ed Orgeron full-time.
Another team that looks better than expected is Vanderbilt. Their defense looks dominant, allowing only 13 points over their first three games, and now it looks like they have an offense to go with it, though they only scored 14 points against a very good Kansas State team.
I had thought South Carolina would be the dark horse team in the SEC East, but Kentucky seems to have wrested the mantle from them. Florida and Tennessee both look to be a mess, though they could improve. The jury is still out on Ole Miss and Auburn, and the game next week between Arkansas and Texas A&M in Arlington could tell us a lot about both teams, though I suspect neither is particularly good. Missouri is awful, and Alabama is the opposite of awful.
In the Big Ten East, I still believe it will come down to Ohio State or Penn State, but Michigan sure has an outstanding defense! Not too crazy about their offense, though, which I believe will keep them from winning the division. Rutgers and Indiana are non-factors, but Michigan State and Maryland are still mysteries. Both have looked good so far, and Maryland's victory over Texas sure looks a lot better than it did two weeks ago.
In the Big Ten West, I don't think anyone can challenge Wisconsin, though Minnesota and Purdue may put up a fight. Nebraska, Northwestern, and Illinois may pull an upset or two, but I don't see any kind of sustained success from them.
In the PAC 12 South, Colorado may be better than previously thought, as they have looked impressive in their three wins. Utah also has looked good, though they have yet to play anyone of consequence. USC's win over Stanford looks less impressive, and they struggled to beat a middling Texas team. This race is wide open, as only UCLA and the two Arizona teams appear too weak to challenge.
In the PAC 12 North, there are three teams that seem capable of winning the division: Washington, Oregon, and Washington State, though California might pose a challenge. Stanford and Oregon State don't appear to have the horses this year. The Washington at Colorado game this Saturday may clear up a lot about both teams: if Colorado is a contender in the South, and if Washington is a contender for the playoffs.
In the Big 12, it looks like a battle between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State for supremacy. TCU may make a run, but it seems unlikely as their wins are rather unimpressive. The rest of the Big 12 will be battling for 4th place.
The ACC appears to be Clemson's to lose, which I don't think they will. They answered a lot of questions with their victory over Louisville, and, if they are going to stumble, it will be against either FSU (which is still a question mark, since they have only played one game, and that was two weeks ago) or Georgia Tech. Miami could challenge, but, like FSU, they've only played one game. Wake Forest, Duke, and Virginia Tech look like they could make some noises, and I wouldn't be surprised if the latter two challenged Miami for supremacy of the Coastal Division. Georgia Tech could also make some noise in the Coastal. Face it, the Coastal is wide open, while the Atlantic Division is Clemson and everyone else!
Georgia's win over Notre Dame is looking better after they crushed a decent Boston College team. BYU looks to struggle this year, especially on offense, and Army is a decent team who could win 10 games without beating anyone of note. UMass will be lucky if they win more than one game.
In the AAC, USF was considered the class of the conference, but Memphis has the better optics right now with their win over UCLA. UCF is a mystery, as, like other Florida teams, they've only played one game. Houston and Navy are other teams that could challenge.
In the MWC, the Mountain Division was thought to be the stronger division, but so far, Boise State, Colorado State and Wyoming are all lacking signature wins. In the West Division, San Diego State got their signature win against Stanford, but we'll have to wait and see if that turns out to be impressive or not. The other teams in the conference will need to improve (a lot!) if they wish to challenge.
The MAC looks like a fun conference, as always. The West Division seems wide open, with Toledo, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, and even Eastern Michigan seeming to be fairly even. Only Ball State seems to lack the talent needed to challenge for the MAC title. The East is Ohio and 5 other teams, with only Miami having an outside shot. I would be surprised if any of the other teams even come close to first place in the division.
Conference USA may have had a preview of their conference championship game with La Tech defeating WKU by one point yesterday. Those teams are the class of the league, but Marshall, Middle Tennessee, UTSA and Southern Miss could make some noise and challenge for division titles, but more than likely, they'll be battling for second place in their respective divisions.
Finally, the Sun Belt Conference is always difficult to judge before conference play begins, as these teams tend to play Power Five Conference teams early in the season, which leads to most of them being 0-3 or 1-2. However, I will conjecture that Appalachian State, Arkansas State, and Troy will battle for first place, while the rest will be fighting it out for fourth place. Unfortunately, both Georgia Southern and Georgia State appear to be fighting for the bottom.
Feel free to comment and tell me where I'm wrong. Until next time, may your day and your loved ones be blessed!
I attended a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream last night (my oldest son and his wife were both acting in the play), and so I missed seeing the Georgia game. However, I recorded it and watched it this afternoon. First off, the play was fantastic! For an amateur production, it was very well done, from the costuming to the acting to the lighting and music. I know their second (and last) performance this afternoon will be just as fantastic! But you're not reading this for my theater reviews, so let's get to the football.
I thought Georgia was rather up and down, as can happen when playing an inferior opponent. At times the offense looked efficient, and at other times, they seemed to sputter. Blocking continues to be inconsistent, but the running game looked the best it has all year. Our receivers did better, but still dropped a pass or two. Besides the offensive line, the other worry I have is the defensive backfield. Samford had several receivers running free, and were able to produce two long touchdown drives. We also dropped at least two interceptions. We must do better against better competition. Our run defense looks quite good (especially after Notre Dame ran for over 400 yards again this week against Boston College, as they did against Temple in week 1), and we get good pressure on the QB on most passing plays. The Dawgs will have a stern test against a Mississippi State team that looks like it could be a force in the SEC.
Speaking of Mississippi State, their win over LSU was quite impressive! I felt they had a chance to beat them, but certainly did not expect the domination on both sides of the ball. I still think LSU made a mistake letting Les Miles go and hiring Ed Orgeron full-time.
Another team that looks better than expected is Vanderbilt. Their defense looks dominant, allowing only 13 points over their first three games, and now it looks like they have an offense to go with it, though they only scored 14 points against a very good Kansas State team.
I had thought South Carolina would be the dark horse team in the SEC East, but Kentucky seems to have wrested the mantle from them. Florida and Tennessee both look to be a mess, though they could improve. The jury is still out on Ole Miss and Auburn, and the game next week between Arkansas and Texas A&M in Arlington could tell us a lot about both teams, though I suspect neither is particularly good. Missouri is awful, and Alabama is the opposite of awful.
In the Big Ten East, I still believe it will come down to Ohio State or Penn State, but Michigan sure has an outstanding defense! Not too crazy about their offense, though, which I believe will keep them from winning the division. Rutgers and Indiana are non-factors, but Michigan State and Maryland are still mysteries. Both have looked good so far, and Maryland's victory over Texas sure looks a lot better than it did two weeks ago.
In the Big Ten West, I don't think anyone can challenge Wisconsin, though Minnesota and Purdue may put up a fight. Nebraska, Northwestern, and Illinois may pull an upset or two, but I don't see any kind of sustained success from them.
In the PAC 12 South, Colorado may be better than previously thought, as they have looked impressive in their three wins. Utah also has looked good, though they have yet to play anyone of consequence. USC's win over Stanford looks less impressive, and they struggled to beat a middling Texas team. This race is wide open, as only UCLA and the two Arizona teams appear too weak to challenge.
In the PAC 12 North, there are three teams that seem capable of winning the division: Washington, Oregon, and Washington State, though California might pose a challenge. Stanford and Oregon State don't appear to have the horses this year. The Washington at Colorado game this Saturday may clear up a lot about both teams: if Colorado is a contender in the South, and if Washington is a contender for the playoffs.
In the Big 12, it looks like a battle between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State for supremacy. TCU may make a run, but it seems unlikely as their wins are rather unimpressive. The rest of the Big 12 will be battling for 4th place.
The ACC appears to be Clemson's to lose, which I don't think they will. They answered a lot of questions with their victory over Louisville, and, if they are going to stumble, it will be against either FSU (which is still a question mark, since they have only played one game, and that was two weeks ago) or Georgia Tech. Miami could challenge, but, like FSU, they've only played one game. Wake Forest, Duke, and Virginia Tech look like they could make some noises, and I wouldn't be surprised if the latter two challenged Miami for supremacy of the Coastal Division. Georgia Tech could also make some noise in the Coastal. Face it, the Coastal is wide open, while the Atlantic Division is Clemson and everyone else!
Georgia's win over Notre Dame is looking better after they crushed a decent Boston College team. BYU looks to struggle this year, especially on offense, and Army is a decent team who could win 10 games without beating anyone of note. UMass will be lucky if they win more than one game.
In the AAC, USF was considered the class of the conference, but Memphis has the better optics right now with their win over UCLA. UCF is a mystery, as, like other Florida teams, they've only played one game. Houston and Navy are other teams that could challenge.
In the MWC, the Mountain Division was thought to be the stronger division, but so far, Boise State, Colorado State and Wyoming are all lacking signature wins. In the West Division, San Diego State got their signature win against Stanford, but we'll have to wait and see if that turns out to be impressive or not. The other teams in the conference will need to improve (a lot!) if they wish to challenge.
The MAC looks like a fun conference, as always. The West Division seems wide open, with Toledo, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, and even Eastern Michigan seeming to be fairly even. Only Ball State seems to lack the talent needed to challenge for the MAC title. The East is Ohio and 5 other teams, with only Miami having an outside shot. I would be surprised if any of the other teams even come close to first place in the division.
Conference USA may have had a preview of their conference championship game with La Tech defeating WKU by one point yesterday. Those teams are the class of the league, but Marshall, Middle Tennessee, UTSA and Southern Miss could make some noise and challenge for division titles, but more than likely, they'll be battling for second place in their respective divisions.
Finally, the Sun Belt Conference is always difficult to judge before conference play begins, as these teams tend to play Power Five Conference teams early in the season, which leads to most of them being 0-3 or 1-2. However, I will conjecture that Appalachian State, Arkansas State, and Troy will battle for first place, while the rest will be fighting it out for fourth place. Unfortunately, both Georgia Southern and Georgia State appear to be fighting for the bottom.
Feel free to comment and tell me where I'm wrong. Until next time, may your day and your loved ones be blessed!
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