Barrel of Rum

Virginia Polly Postgame Snapshot.....

2010-11-05T07:34:00.002-04:00

'The Fallen Warrior" from Picasso's Guernica......

Up in the Cut......

2010-11-04T08:43:00.002-04:00

Please let us know if anyone sees these guys tonight.....

Fifteen Thousand Words of Gibberish - Week 10 - On The Run

2010-11-03T09:26:00.018-04:00

Holly Crap! We really took the week off didn't we! Well we're back.

Last Week 6-9
Season 65-67

We are on the road again this weekend. This time running from our bookie. Our plan is to follow our friend Daryl Zero's advice and keep moving every few months. Stay out of westernized countries for a while. Don't carry too much cash on our body, give incorrect information everywhere, and never use our real name.

That said, here are the picks. Disagree? Hit us up with a comment. Got a better picture, send it to us at gtbarrelofrum@gmail.com.

Virginia Poly -14.5 vs. Georgia Tech
Virginia Poly has beaten their spread in the last six games, and in Tech's last two games against real opponents they lost by 14 and 17. Clemson and NC State are nowhere near as good as Virginia Poly, a monster team with one inexplicable loss on their record.

NC State +2.5 at Clemson

A little Dabo-do-ya. Clemson followed up a win over a discombobulated Tech team with a flop against BC. That's coaching. The match-up in this game will be strength vs. strength. State's passing game versus the Tiger's pass defense. Complicating things for Clemson is Andre Ellington's toe injury. Something that can really slow down a quick player like him. It will be a close game, but count on Dabo to mix in enough random passes to blow it.

Virginia +1 at Duke

Virginia actually seems to play the pass pretty well, which is all Duke can do. Its not like the Cav's are getting blown out in every game, they have played hard for new coach Mike London. Offensively the Hoo's are averaging just 16 fewer yards per game than Duke passing.

Illinois +3 at Michigan

We all new Michigan was going to fold like a cheap…something, when Big Twelven play started, but probably the only surprising loss was a 41-31 loss to Penn State. The Illini on the other hand are not terrible or terrific. They reek of aptitude while the Michigan Defense does not. We'll take the team over the one man game, but it's going to be close.

Maryland +11 at Miami

Miami passes too much. In college football you still need to run the ball to set up the pass. There just aren't enough great quarterbacks at that level to throw the pill around as much as Miami does without a real threat to run. Yes Miami's the better team. Oh and did we mention Jacory Harris is going to miss this game.

Baylor +7.5 at Oklahoma State

Baylor just continues to be underrated, and Oklahoma State plays 0 defense. This is going to be a close, high scoring game

Florida State -10 vs. North Carolina

Combined the two teams have five loses, but those loses are to LSU, Georgia Tech, Miami, Oklahoma, and NC State; five pretty good teams. UNC has played valiantly this year (because they had to, because they got caught cheating), but valiantly non the less. We just don't think they have the offense to keep up with what will be an angry FSU team, and without their top players, they don't have the defense to slow down the Seminoles

Northwestern +6.5 at Penn State

Mmm, bet the under if you must. Both teams are allowing about 20 points a game, while Northwestern is out scoring Penn State 26.6 to 22.9 points per game without the benefit of having played Michigan

TCU -5 at Utah
Utah has played NO ONE this year. We repeat "NO ONE"! Why the hell are they five? Seriously, TCU is way better.

Oregon State - 6.5 at UCLA

Oregon State, would be ranked if not for one bad overtime loss at Washington. A nine point loss to TCU and a 13 point loss in Boise are nothing to be ashamed of. UCLA has three wins, against Texas (not such a hot team after all) Washington State (a hot plate of poop) and Houston (without a starting QB)

Oklahoma -4 at Texas A&M

Not even going to think about this one, Oklahoma is way better than Texas A&M. Oklahoma's one loss, to Missouri can be directly attributed to three uncharacteristic turnovers in the red-zone. Texas A&M treats the ball like a Frisbee at a Phish concert.

South Carolina -3 vs. Arkansas

South Carolina has the worst pass defense in the SEC. Arkansas has Ryan Mallet, the leading passer in the SEC. Arkansas is 9th worst rushing defense in the SEC, which probably isn't an accurate reflection of how bad they are considering the Razorbacks' offense forces many an opponent to pass just to keep up. South Carolina has Marcus Lattimore, the SEC's second leading rusher behind the ridiculous Cam Newton. The difference in the game could be; one that leading Arkansas WR Greg Childs will miss the game, and two the fact that though poor against the pass, the Gamecocks front four can generate pressure and get sacks. We don't think missing Childs will hurt Akransas that much, as they have a lot of weapons at WR, but that combined with a few timely plays by the 'Cocks defensive lineman may tip the balance.

Arizona +8.5 at Stanford

A battle between 2nd place teams in the PAC-10, and it should be close. Arizona has the superior defense and the most productive passing game in the PAC-10. Stanford is more balanced on offense, scores plenty of points, and quite frankly is unconscionable. Arizona is allowing an amazing 14.4 points a game, and that's in the wack-attack PAC-10.

Texas -4 at Kansas State

Kansas State is the second most productive rushing team in the Big 12. Nebraska is #1. Kansas State is the 10th best passing offense in the Big 12, Nebraska is 11th. Texas is number two defending the run in the Big 12. We think this is a bad match-up for Kansas State.

Alabama -6.5 at LSU

Both teams are really good defensively, but one is cover your eyes awful offensively. For Gawd's sake, the Tiger's could only muster 17 points against Auburn!

Fifteen Thousand Words of Gibberish - Week ... Nine?

2010-10-28T11:18:00.017-04:00

Last Week: 8-7
Season Total: 59-58

Slow and steady improvement, like the economy.

Once again, pic's for picks. Disagree with a pick? Let us know. Got a better pic? Send it to us at gtbarrelofrum@gmail.com.

FSU -2.5 at NC State
"Hi, it's ah...me, Just leaving the facility, probably going to go back to the hotel, give me a call..."

Clemson -6.5 at Boston College
Wicked Pisser!

Tulsa +8.5 at Notre Dame
"In Tulsa, restaurants have signs that say 'sorry we're open'"

Western Kentucky -3.5 vs. North Texas

"Philosphy, moreover, was his sole refuge, for he did not know where he would lodge for the night"

Missouri +6.5 at Nebraska

Evidently the tiger isn't playing with the pigs. He's just taking a break at an all you can eat buffet.

Cal +2.5 at Oregon State

"High on cocaine, going by train.."

Texas A&M -6.5 vs. Texas Tech

Alway's be prepared.

Michigan State +6.5 at Iowa

"I've never seen a bruise that lasts all year"

Georgia -2.5 vs. Florida

If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes.

Florida International -6.5 at Florida Atlantic

Taking the road trip to Bocca Raton.

Auburn -6.5 at Mississippi

TIGER EAGLES ARE GO!

Baylor +7.5 at Texas

Its Ladys' night!

Stanford -7.5 at Washington

We'll have one of everything.

Oregon - 6.5 at USC

Michigan - 1.5 at Penn State

"I'm from here."

Blogpoll Week 9: Sycophantic Cam Newton Edition...

2010-10-27T08:24:00.002-04:00

Barrel of Rum Ballot - Week 9

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oregon Ducks	--
2	Auburn Tigers	2
3	Boise St. Broncos	--
4	Alabama Crimson Tide	2
5	TCU Horned Frogs	2
6	Stanford Cardinal	2
7	Wisconsin Badgers	8
8	Michigan St. Spartans	2
9	Missouri Tigers	5
10	Florida St. Seminoles	1
11	Nebraska Cornhuskers	1
12	Utah Utes	1
13	Oklahoma Sooners	-11
14	LSU Tigers	-9
15	Ohio St. Buckeyes	1
16	Virginia Tech Hokies	2
17	Iowa Hawkeyes	-8
18	Arizona Wildcats	7
19	South Carolina Gamecocks	4
20	Miami Hurricanes	2
21	Mississippi St. Bulldogs	-1
22	USC Trojans	2
23	Baylor Bears	--
24	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	-7
25	Arkansas Razorbacks	--
Dropouts: West Virginia Mountaineers, Texas Longhorns

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

Clemson Postmortem.....

2010-10-25T19:39:00.002-04:00

I wonder what sort of insane need for self-flagellation (not the good kind, mind you) drives me to read message boards. I just can't believe the drivel that some people post. Evidently, Bill Lewis is back at the helm and we're on the college football version of the Titanic, headed for sure disaster. Don't be a fucking retard. Please. This season hasn't lived up to expectations and has been painful, PARTICULARLY IN LIGHT OF LAST YEAR'S SUCCESS, OUR FIRST ACC TITLE SINCE 1990. Yes, I'm yelling. But if you really feel we are heading backwards go root for Bama or some other factory school that churns out NFL players like we churn out engineers. Do I have high expectations, certainly. We can & should contend for a conference title on a year-in-and-year-out basis. It's a down year & our lack of talent, particularly on defense in the midst of a scheme transition, is staggering. But if you're ready to give up at this point then hop off our little Ford & we'll move our ass on without you.

Rant over, now on to the Clemson game. I've now watched it thrice & it's pretty evident what transpired: we got physically whipped, despite the fact that Dabo is a complete buffoon. As we've said many times, physical superiority cancels out all theory & that was indeed the case on Saturday; we brought .22's & Clem's redneck Son had a howitzer. Needless to say, we lost because they manhandled us. Observations:

Offense

Good lord, our tackle play is bad. Yes, Bowers is good, as is their entire defensive line. But we whiff more than we hit. That's not hyperbole. Hit anybody at this point & I'm happy.
Joshua missed multiple reads in the option game. Too many, frankly, for a guy whose played three years in this system. He also has a nasty case of tunnel vision. He just locks on to his primary receiver & won't look elsewhere.
Stephen Hill desperately needs to step up & become more physical but he's taking too much heat. Go back & watch the ball he's thrown in the endzone in the 1st quarter. If Nesbitt releases it sooner & to the proper shoulder it's an easy TD. Should he have caught the ball? Probably, but having to spin around & make the catch was tough. But don't kid yourself it's all his fault, that throw was there to be had & Nesbitt missed it.
Nice adjustment by Clemson DC Kevin Steele to replace injured LB Brandon Maye with DE Andre Branch. Steele didn't do anything we haven't seen before, 1-3i technique DT's varied with 2i-2i fronts (helps combat the midline), stacked OLB's off the DE's, McDaniel in the box to make eight, we've seen it all before. They simply physically beat us.
Our inability to stretch the field deep allows opponents to stack the box far to frequently. Man, do we miss BayBay....
Orwin Smith is a player, get him the rock.....and where has BJ Bostic been of late?
Love to see Jemea Thomas move from safety to A-back next year. His physical nature would have helped on Saturday.
There were plenty of missed assignments but more often than blown assignments we simply were physically beaten.

Defense:

we just simply don't have the talent to play a 3-4 now. We have no legit nose tackle (Shawn Green traveled & dressed as scout team player of the week but it's pointless to burn his redshirt now) and our linebackers simply lack the athleticism to play the defense at this level. I'm not trying to take a shot at them, they weren't recruited to play this defense. But if Dabo & Clemson OC Billy Napier had half a brain between them they would have run the ball 65 times on Saturday.What did Clemson do that led to Ellington's big day?
First TD: frankly, they didn't do it enough but it was basic our-guy-can-beat-your-guy strategy: line up in a simple 12 (one back, 2 TE) and put a hat-on-a-hat. Because our nose tackle doesn't demand a double team, they lined up with simple man responsibilities: center takes the NT, guards get the second level on the ILB's (who were simply over-matched size wise), tackles take the DE's, tight ends handle the OLB's, who are up tight on the line. That leaves our corners & safeties in Cover 2, guaranteeing at least a 6 yard gain. And if Ellington breaks into the second level & the safeties get caught in traffic or miss a tackle? See TD run #1.
On the second TD, Clemson did exactly what we wanted them to & we couldn't stop them. We walk Jefferson up into the strongside B-gap, essentially asking them to run to the other side. They oblige, leaving what should be two players, Burnett & Edwards, to make the tackle. Both are flat-footed & out of position, which was all Ellington needed.....
On the final Ellington TD, the simple swing pass into the flat, everyone is killing Mario Butler. Some of that is justified: there's no reason to be backing up as Ellington is coming at you- go & take a shot at making a play. But the entire play hinges on Egbuniwe executing his responsibility & covering the flat. He got trapped inside leaving Butler 1 vs. 1 with Ellington, a matchup that Clemson wins 98 times out of 100.
One holding call on them would have been nice......

Special teams:

Again, we just continue to brutalize ourselves. First, I really don't have a problem with the Sweeting roughing the punter penalty. What are you going to do, tell the kid not to try & make a play? What if he blocks the punt & we score, does it change the game? He says he saw it was a bad snap & went after the block & maintains he got a piece of the ball. Replay was inconclusive but you can't blame him for trying to make a play; if you encourage that mindset in players you're done.
After the roughing penalty we go: late hit (stupid), we miss downing a punt at the one (why don't we directional kick?), and have holding penalties on us on consecutive kick returns. Then, we simply get unlucky when Luke Cox punches the ball out on a Clemson kick return & we lose it at the bottom of the pile. Not a pretty day on special teams & we're just not good enough to be able to take blows we inflict on ourselves.

Strategery:

Luckily, Dabo thinks it's cute to throw the ball for no apparent reason. If you think for one scintilla that our play calling leaves something to be desired imagine what Clemson fans go through every Saturday. No apparent goal in sight, just call what's "neat"? Maybe he has a mini-Twister spinner on his call sheet & just spins it randomly. Just one example: Clemson, on our 4 with 5 minutes & change left, up 11, facing fourth & inches, kicks a field goal? What the Fuck? Okay, so first off, you've gashed us for like 200+ yards on the ground at this point. Then, you decide instead of putting the game away with a TD, you'll kick a FG, essentially changing nothing as it's still a two score game? And you then kick off to us, giving us a chance at a return? What's the worst case scenario if you don't make it & turn it over to us on downs? We still need two scores & are 96 yards away against a defense that's held us in check all day? Seriously, if someone can explain Dabo's logic to me I'd love to hear it. But give him (or more appropriately the Clemson players) credit, they won, so I'm essentially crying over spilt milk (and doing so happily as long as he's in charge....I don't want to awake that sleeping talent-rich giant......)

I'm not overly down on the season at this point. We're not where I wan't to be but we're not dead. Give Clemson some credit; when you've got a defensive line line like that & guys making one -handed catches for key first downs, you're doing something right. Remember, this is a team that three weeks ago took the now #1 BCS team to OT on Auburn's home field. They are not a bad outfit.

But it's time to make some changes amongst our ranks, particularly on defense. Let's get the young guys some experience & give them a taste of the ACC. Anthony Egbuniwe & Mario Edwards have been good soldiers, & for that, and their part in last year's ACC Championship, we'll be eternally grateful. But at this point they are doing little more than blocking younger guys from getting experience and frankly they aren't enough of an upgrade at their respective positions to do so. Play Isaiah Johnson & Jeremiah Attaochu full time & let's get them some ACC experience & see what they've got. Let's get Fred Holton some reps & BJ Bostic some touches on offense. It's highly unlikely we're going to a meaningful bowl game so we might as well see what's in store for our future. We can & will make a bowl game so relax......

Clemson Snapshot.....

2010-10-24T10:43:00.001-04:00

Climpsun Summary: First Impression

2010-10-23T21:11:00.003-04:00

-The Mayur

Angst....

2010-10-22T11:46:00.000-04:00

Q&A with FigureFour of Shakin' the Southland

2010-10-20T23:16:00.003-04:00

If you've been reading the Barrel for a while you know we're big fans of Clemson blog Shakin' The Southland as they consistently churn out some of the best football content in the blogosphere. We did a little Q&A with them this week & appreciate their time & insights. You can find our answers to their questions here.

1) When looking at the game Saturday, most Tech fans would give you guys the edge in talent & Tech the edge in coaching. Fair assessment? What's your take on Dabo & the program in year two?

I definitely think this is a fair assessment. You guys have been out a few scholarships over the past few years which was unfortunate and definitely hurt GT. I will say that the raw recruiting numbers echo this fact. While these recruiting rankings may not the end-all-be-all numbers, I will reference them in saying that Clemson has done better on the recruiting trail than GT. The fact that Tech has a significant winning streak against the Tigers AND that Tech won last year’s ACCCG over Clemson with (especially with less highly ranked recruiting classes) shows that Clemson has been out-coached when playing the Jackets.

Dabo last season was about what I expected. We were able to improve and seemed to become more mature as a team and a coaching staff as the season progressed. This year we are seeing many of the same issues that we had last season with less adjustments. Clemson’s offense has (other than at Auburn) been extremely inconsistent with questionable play calling at times. Our defense has not been too bad statistically but has been out of position at times and has given up big plays in inopportune game situations. All of these things are reflective of the head coach. Probably the most disappointing thing I have seen this season is the apparent lack of physicality. We played hard and tough at Auburn but have been flat for a good bit of the season. Overall Dabo is still a young coach and will make mistakes. I would like for him to be further along but will give him the benefit of the doubt through this season. There will need to be some major adjustments to this program if we are to win big and those will have to be made after the season’s end.

2) Andre Ellington is a special player. At least from what we've seen. Why doesn't he get the ball more? Are we off base in saying that while Harper is good, Ellington has the potential to be great? What gives with the play calling?

I have no clue why he doesn’t touch the ball more. He is the best back on the football team as he is the only back with significant carries who knows how to run the ball effectively. We have been screaming for him to get more carries all year. I think that Clemson’s issue with the play calling stems from different philosophies between the offensive coordinator (Billy Napier) and the head coach. Napier is more of an “I” formation guy and Swinney has an affection for trying to throw the ball more. I think that Swinney has been meddling in the play calling a bit this year and has created inconsistencies with the play allying. Again, there is no excuse for Clemson not running the ball more, specifically there is no excuse for the Tigers not running Ellington more.

3) What's Clemson's offensive identity this season? How do you see then attacking our new 3-4 defense?

Another good question that I really wish I could answer. We have struggled throwing the football, catching the ball, and have not given our best back (Andre Ellington) enough carries to date. Our play calling is inconsistent and we seem to shy away from things that are successful, get too cute in critical situations (ie, running reverse passes and other “trick plays” when we finally move the ball) and do not have a definitive playmaker. Our passing game has been marred by inaccuracy from Kyle Parker (UNC first half is a great example) and dropped passes (pick your game). We have not committed to running to our strengths: we have a pretty dang good FB in Chad Diehl and won’t run power plays behind him nor will we consistently run Ellington through a lot of the zone plays that he has been so successful with the past season and a half (AE takes the ball, has great vision, one cut, then accelerates through the line of scrimmage…textbook for zone blocking runs).

Clemson will need to get to the second level and seal these linebackers. It is critical that Clemson run the ball well early and I would like to use a combination of inside/outside zone plays along with sweep plays to Ellington, especially after seeing UNC run the ball to the outside fairly well against GT. This is important because it should set up play action and allow Kyle Parker to get the ball down the field. Obviously, our pass catchers will need to do a better job of holding on the football and bring in more passes this week.

4) How will Steele opt to defend the spread option this time around? Will we see some 46 or 5-2 Monster or will he stick with his favored 4-3 Under? How would you play it?

You will probably see a lot of familiar formations out of Steele this week including the 4-3 under. Steele will probably, I would guess, stick with base formations. He had no success adjusting the DE’s responsibilities in the ACCCG (switching and having them take pitch responsibility) and I sincerely hope he has learned his lesson.

We at STS have talked about a wide variety of fronts and think we will have the best chance at stopping Tech’s option attack with a Bear front. This strategy covers both guards and the center, effectively (hopefully) taking away inside runs on qb keepers (midline option) and the staple of this offense, the dive play.

While alignment puts you in a better position to defend this offense, there is no substitution for scheme and execution. If Clemson cannot take away the dive and cannot play good fundamental defense, we will again fail against this offense. Good fundamentals involve utilizing your ends as your force guys. These guys have to put a hat on Nesbitt every time he gets outside the tackle and they cannot try to do too much.

Beating a good option team involves a total team effort, which is what you need out of your olb’s and corners. These guys have to get off of blocks and make plays on the pitch-back every play. Even if he doesn’t get the ball, you have to hit him and when he does get the pitch, it is important that you maintain containment and tackle well in the open field.

5) Who's the one guy you can count on to make a play for the Tigers? Conversely, who's the guy that when you see him with the ball coming his way, either on offense or defense, you say,"oh, shit, this is not gonna be good...?"

Andre Ellington is probably the biggest threat, as he is an excellent running back and took a kick to the house last week. Dwayne Allen is Clemson’s most dependable pass catching threat, so if we are throwing the ball I would like to see it go his way.

When Jamie Harper lines up in the backfield it looks more like a “Dancing with the Stars” special. Harper, a big guy, tip toes to the LOS and does not look comfortable running the ball. Catching the ball, Harper has done well, but taking a handoff has been a completely different story this year.

6) Is the Tiger really named "Eight Ball" and how strung out is he? Be honest....

I have only heard him referred to as the “Tiger” but he has done a load of pushups during some of our better days

7) Three keys for Clemson to beat Tech?

a. Shut down Tech’s running game between the tackles.

b. Hit Nesbitt every time he runs the option.

c. Establish Ellington early and often.

8) Three keys for Tech to beat Clemson?

a. Take advantage of Clemson’s habit of getting out of position on defense.

b. Pressure Clemson when the Tigers do try to throw the ball.

c. Commit to stopping Clemson’s running game and make the Tigers one dimensional.

Clemson Preview.....

2010-10-20T20:05:00.012-04:00

Halloween Head.....

It's back to ACC action for the Jackets this week as we head to Death Valley to face a Clemson team that's been up & down so far this season. Both teams have yet to play their best game this year and a conference loss on Saturday pretty much eliminates one team from any chance of playing in Charlotte on the first weekend in December. While Clemson has been inconsistent this year (much like Tech), they are arguably as talented as any team we have faced. We'll have to value the football & play our best game of the season if we hope to leave Memorial Stadium with a win. As always, we'll start with our opponent:

Clemson Offense

Make no mistake, Mr. Ellington is a baller.....

If you've watched Clemson play offensively this year they seem to be a team without a clear offensive identity; built to run but strangely reluctant to do so (at least until last week against Maryland.) The Tigers line up in a 1 back, three wide set as their base formation with one TE. They will go to a power I at times & this formation would serve them well on Saturday.

After flirting with Major League Baseball this summer, junior Kyle Parker returned to play QB for the Tigers. Parker has been inconsistent so far this season & much of that may be attributable to a vicious "spear" he took to the lower back against Auburn earlier in the campaign. Parker at this point has turned into more of a game manager than playmaker, maybe because of injury, but he's a serviceable ACC QB on what should be a run-first offense. (Side Bar: we met Kyle's Mom at the ACC Championship game last year & she's a nice lady......and, well, hot.......so hello from the guys in the parking lot next to your van at Raymond James Stadium, Mrs. Parker).

And the reason they should run the football? # 23, sophomore running back Andre Ellington. Ellington is an electric back, capable of tough inside the tackles running or long, break-away gains. Many may be shocked but I genuinely believe that Ellington may be a better running back than C.J Spiller. Maybe not a better player overall, but a better running back. Ellington is a match-up problem for any defense and will be tough for the Jackets to contain on Saturday. After VPISU's Ryan Williams (assuming he's healthy), Ellington is the best back we'll face this season. Supplementing Ellington in the Tiger backfield is junior Jamie Harper. While Harper looks the part of a big bruiser (6'0", 230) he's really more of a finesse back, preferring to tiptoe around instead of hitting the hole with conviction. Harper does have nice hands out of the backfield which will be something for Tech to be watchful of. If we're lucky, offensive coordinator Billy Napier will continue to split the carries between Ellington & Harper almost equally, limiting Ellington's effectiveness.

Clemson does boast a huge offensive line as the unit averages almost 310 pounds per man across the front. The unit is led by senior tackle Chris Hairston, who so far this year has been the Tiger's best blocker. Sophomore Mason Cloy & junior Antoine McClain man the guard spots capably for the Tigers.

You'd think a team that lines up with three WR's as a base set would have a lot of talent there but that's not really the case for Clemson. The Tiger's best receiver is clearly TE Dwayne Allen, who will pose a very difficult match-up for us all game long. We'll have to account for Allen on every play if we want to slow down the Clemson offense.

The reality of the situation is that Clemson's offense has been very average so far this season. Much of that can be attributed to the play calling of OC Billy Napier, who seems reluctant to play to his strength, the running game. If Napier decides to feature the running attack on Saturday, Clemson is a match-up nightmare for the Jackets. We've been susceptible to the power ISO game & zone read runs all year, two things that Clemson does very well. Throw in the fact that they have a very good tight end that can exploit the middle if our linebackers get sucked up & and two backs that can catch the ball out of the backfield and we simply don't match up well against the Clemson offense. But Napier's play calling can be strange, almost as if he's trying to prove a point to himself at times. Let's hope he keeps that up.

Clemson Defense

Brandon Thompson at one point looked like he'd be wearing white & gold.....

There's a load of talent on defense for Clemson & while some people think the secondary is their strongest unit to me it all starts up front with what may be the ACC's best defensive line. Led by junior Da'Quan Bowers at defensive end, the Tigers line is huge & athletic. Bowers has been nearly unblock-able this year and presents the kind of threat on the edge that Iowa's Adrian Clayborn did for the Jackets in the Orange Bowl. But where the Tigers really excel is at defensive tackle with Jarvis Jenkins & Brandon Thompson. Because they do the dirty work & don't get tons of tackles, people often overlook the two but they will be a huge factor this Saturday. Thompson was the "one that got away" from Chan Gailey & he's lived up the the billing so far in this his junior campaign. Quick & disruptive, both he & Jenkins are difficult to handle at the point of attack and able to destroy an offense's rhythm with their strength & ability to penetrate.

If there's a weakness on defense for Clemson it's at linebacker, where they are pretty green. There's talent on the unit but they consistently take bad angles & miss tackles, something we've seen at times from our linebackers this year. Look for CPJ to try & exploit the Clemson linebackers as the focal point of our attack Saturday.

Clemson boasts a returning All-American in the secondary in safety DeAndre McDaniel and the rest of the group is solid. Senior corner Marcus Gilchrist is a three year veteran who has seen the spread option before and won't be surprised by our attack. This group is solid & McDaniel will spend much of Saturday in the box against us.

Clemson DC Kevin Steele favors a 4-3 under (the strength of the defense is to the weak side) but I really expect him to walk McDaniel up into the box & play an eight man front against Tech. In the ACC Championship, he ran his DE's right at the A-back, leaving a huge lane for Nesbitt to run through. I don't expect he'll repeat that tactic but will instead dare Tech to throw over the top. We'll need to loosen then up around the line of scrimmage if we hope to get anything going in the run game.

Tech Offense

To say we'll need to execute against a stout Clemson defense is an understatement. If we blow assignments or put the ball on the ground, you can all but forget about a victory on Saturday. Dropped balls will kill us. In short, if we're to beat teams as talented as Clemson, we must execute. The first order of business on Saturday offensively is to block Clemson's mammoth defensive tackles. We've all seen what penetration can do to our offense (see LSU & Iowa if you need a reminder) and it will be paramount that Bedford, Jackson, & Uzzi keep the Clemson defensive tackles off of Nesbitt & allow him some room to operate. The return of Phil Smith should help our offensive tackle play which has been subpar so far this year.

It's pretty clear that when we block on the perimeter we're tough to deal with. Problem is, we don't always bock well on the edge. The wide receivers & A-backs will have to get guys on the edge to the ground if we want to move the ball consistently against Clemson.

Finally, we will have to throw the ball Saturday to win. It's not about the number of throws but about passing efficiency; we've got to be successful when we throw the ball, both in terms of percentage & yards gained. If we can pass efficiently & keep eight guys out of the box, we can score.

Tech Defense

TJ Barnes need to play big in the middle on Saturday

Did I mention how poorly we match up defensively with Clemson? Not to belabor the point but their offensive strengths are our defensive weaknesses. That's a bad equation. Luckily, the defense has steadily improved over the course of the year as we anticipated they would. But if we're going to slow the Clemson running game down we've got to gamble. We did against Virginia and it paid off & much the same game plan is needed against Clemson. We've got to initiate & be the aggressor. Blitz. Blitz again. Run blitz. Corner blitz. Stunts. Twists. Bring the house. Send them from crazy angles. Overload one side. Send in a donkey. Whatever it takes.......we have to gamble if we want to stop them on Saturday. Sure, it's likely we'll get burned on a long play at least once. I'm willing to take that chance in favor of simply being pounded into submission by power ISO plays & zone read runs. Defensively, we have to make this game about numbers; if we elect to go one-vs-one we're in trouble; we've got to get free defenders to the ball. If you really want to know how the game is going for us on defense watch the triangle of the nose tackle & two ILB's. If they can stand their ground & shed blocks we've got a chance. If they are getting moved all over, it will be a long afternoon.

One other note is watch the corners on the run force. We have to set the edge & contain Ellington. Kyle Parker is also prone to mistakes under pressure. If we can get some heat on him he'll likely toss a couple balls our way which will obviously help the cause.

Special Teams

Yes Clemson, Scott Blair is our secret weapon.......

There may be no fan base in America more scared of a kicker than Clemson fans are of Scott Blair. Hopefully that continues on Saturday. Hopefully our punting woes are behind us because any special teams mistake will prove costly. One interesting note is that Clemson excels at returning kicks while we are very good defensing kick-offs. It will be interesting to see who wins this battle.

Three Keys for Clemson

1) Power Football: line up & pound the rock. Play the power game & use their size advantage to pummel Tech. Power ISo & zone reads.....

2) Exploit the Middle: Dwayne Allen is Clemson's best pass catcher. Our linebackers will be cheating up against the run & vulnerable to the play action fake. A big hole for Tech here....

3) Defensive Penetration: we've all seen how it can disrupt the timing of the spread option (LSU, Iowa). If Thompson & Jenkins can clog the middle Tech will be hard pressed to move the ball.

Georgia Tech Keys:

1) Passing Efficiency: we have to be successful throwing the ball if we want to loosen the Clemson defense up. It's not the number of completions that matter but how effective we are when we do pass.

2) Sell Out Against the Run: make Parker & his ragtag group of receivers beat us. We can't match up one-vs.-one so we need to bring reinforcements. Gamble & try and make plays.

3) Keep the Beasts at Bay: the offensive line has t block the Clemson front four. A stalemate may be good enough but if we consistently get blown up, particularly the center of the line, we're in trouble.

How It Plays Out

Expect the defense to struggle early against the power Clemson running game. The Tigers pound Ellington & Harper & use Allen over the middle. We give up plenty of yards but make a few key stops to limit them to field goals instead of touchdowns. Offensively, we finally get the "dropsy's" under control & make a few plays in the passing game. In the end, we have CPJ & they have Dabo: big advantage Tech. CPJ goes to his bag of tricks & some razzle dazzle does the trick. All week I've said I was going to pick Clemson but Dabo has to show me he can beat us before I do that. "To be the man, you gotta beat the man.....WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Why yes, that is white & gold on the Nature Boy.......

Final Score:

Tech 27 Clemson 25

Excellent Stuff....

2010-10-20T19:20:00.003-04:00

From the esteemed Dr.B over at Shakin the Southland. Perhaps the finest analysis of the option we've seen from an opponent:

"There is no defensive scheme that "solves" the option, and there will never be one that "solves" the option.
4-3, 4-2-5, 3-3-5, 3-4, 4-4, etc., does not mean anything. Just because a team beats GT with a 4-2-5 or 3-3-5 does not mean they have "solved" the option. If you think that just because Kansas showed more 4-2-5 and 3-3-5 sets is the reason they beat GT, and that Kevin Steele should do the same thing just because Kansas won the game against them, then you are a dumbass and you don't know shit about the option."
It starts there and only gets better. Kudos, & we'll have a Q&A with Shakin' the Southland later this week......

Fifteen Thousand Words of Gibberish - Early Eddition - They Called Him "Sundown"!?

2010-10-20T14:19:00.018-04:00

Week 6 - 7-8
Week 7 - 8-6
Total - 51-51

Damn we are close to making some money. Out of town again this weekend, so we're going to get the picks out of the way early. As always, each pick is accompanied by a picture that encapsulates the essence of that football program. Got a better pick? then send it to us at gtbarrelofrum@gmail.com. Don't understand a picture or think we're wrong, drop a us line in the comments section.

Before getting into the picks I'd like to bring up one thing that's been on my mind. I watched Top Gun last night, because I'm a man over thirty, love jet planes, and find the sexual confusion of the mid-eighties infinitely entertaining, and you know what I learned? I learned the black guy's call sign was "Sundown". Really!? Sundown! In a movie where a character's call sign sums up his, or her personality, the black guy is called "Sundown".

The Crazy guy who does things his own way, and won't toe the line = Maverick
The guy who never makes a mistake, flies like he has ice water in his veins = Ice Man
Hermaphroditic bottom bitch who is always there with a hug and good advice = Goose
the Black Guy = Sundown. Why not just name him "Midnight"!

PS - Same actor played the computer terrorist in Die Hard, one of my favorite bit parts of all time.

Ain't history a hoot! Anyway, on to the picks, and remember, there is no reasoning, just rationalizing.

Navy +6.5 vs. Notre Dame - The Irish barely covered against Pitt, and I feel like Navy can cover this at home.

UNC +6.5 at Miami - Yes please, sign me up! First rule of gambling, always take Tyler Yates on the road. He just wins.

Georgia Tech +5.5 at Clemson - Lets just be clear about this. We are taking the Jackets to cover, not to win outright. These games are always close.

Iowa -5.5 vs. Wisconsin - Wisconsin fans understand its a two part er; drunk AND disorderly. Being drunk only gets you half credit. The Badgers won't have the home field advantage this week.

Penn State -9.5 at Minnesota - At this point the line can't be high enough. Also, am I the only guy that finds this picture of Jo Pa entrancing?

Northwestern+6.5 vs. Michigan State - Two many points I think.

Rutgers +12.5 at Pitt - Really, are you going to take Pitt -12.5? I didn't think so.

Kansas State +7.5 at Baylor - Mid-level Big 12 battle needs to be a closer spread.

Oklahoma -3.5 at Missouri - Hope you enjoyed the ride Missouri, its over. P.S. evidently I hate Oklahoma. Why else would I use this picture over and over again? I was never aware of this hatred, but I'm cool with it.

Nebraska -5.5 at Oklahoma State - Huskers fall down go boom! That was last week. Oklahoma State is overrated.

Arizona -7.5 vs. Washington - Just not ready to buy into Washington.

Alabama -16.5 at Tennessee - Vegas knows Tennessee is going to loose, and probably badly, so they are begging us to take Tennessee. Don't do it.

LSU +5.5 at Auburn - Doesn't Auburn's defense seem like the perfect dancing partner for Les Miles. That dance floor is on fire and less is drinking gas and vodka martinis!

Georgia -3.5 at Kentucky - Kentucky has played well, but I think Georgia is different team with AJ Green in the mix.

Texas Tech -1.5 at Colorado - You take Dan Mullins. I'm not.

fuckitbye

Blogpoll Week 8: Randall Cobb Doesn't Need You Edition....

2010-10-19T22:57:00.002-04:00

Barrel of Rum Ballot - Week 8

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oregon Ducks	--
2	Oklahoma Sooners	1
3	Boise St. Broncos	1
4	Auburn Tigers	6
5	LSU Tigers	1
6	Alabama Crimson Tide	1
7	TCU Horned Frogs	1
8	Stanford Cardinal	1
9	Iowa Hawkeyes	2
10	Michigan St. Spartans	4
11	Florida St. Seminoles	1
12	Nebraska Cornhuskers	-10
13	Utah Utes	3
14	Missouri Tigers	4
15	Wisconsin Badgers	--
16	Ohio St. Buckeyes	-11
17	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	5
18	Virginia Tech Hokies	1
19	West Virginia Mountaineers	--
20	Mississippi St. Bulldogs	--
21	Texas Longhorns	--
22	Miami Hurricanes	--
23	South Carolina Gamecocks	-10
24	USC Trojans	--
25	Arizona Wildcats	--
Dropouts: Nevada Wolf Pack, Arkansas Razorbacks, California Golden Bears, Air Force Falcons, N.C. State Wolfpack, Florida Gators

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

The first BCS poll is out & it looks about as we expected. Auburn & Michigan State are the big movers up this week while Ohio State, Nebraska, & South Carolina all tumble double digits. How we see it:

1) Oregon: still work to do with USC on the horizon...

2) Oklahoma: it hasn't always been pretty but they're getting the job done. They are battle tested after a tough schedule to this point....

3) Boise State: any hopes of a boost in strength of schedule went out the window with Nevada's loss...

4) Auburn: Cam Newton everyone.....Auburn fans best enjoy this because Malzhan is GONE after this year...

5) LSU: what magic will Uncle Lester conjure against the mighty Cam Newton's this week?

6) Bama: both Frank & I agree, when it's all done, they end up playing in the big game....

7) TCU: Gary Barnett deserves tons of credit....

8) Stanford: what's the flight plan from Baton Rouge to Palo Alto?

9) Iowa: best wishes to DC Norm Parker on a speedy recovery.

10) Sparty: surprising everyone as they continue their run....

11) FSU: not pretty against BC but it worked....

12) Nebraska: what was Pellini thinking benching Martinez? Spurrier-esque, we dare say....

13) Utah: meh....Frank says hurry up & lose....

14) Missouri: time Gary Pinkel gets some credit....

15) Wisconsin: see below....

16) Ohio State: wanted to flip them with the Badgers just to piss Robespierre off.....

17) Oklahoma State: Brandon Weeden is a man....no really, he's like 27 years old....

18) VPISU: 100 points was a possibility against Wake last week if Beamer hadn't shackled the offense (file under: things you thought you'd never type / Brian Stynespring: offensive guru)

19) West "By Gawd" Virginia: a good week for miner's everywhere....

20) Mississippi State: Dan Mullen is another guy (with Malzhan & Troy Calhoun of Air Force) on my short list if I'm an AD looking for a coach at a big time program....

21) Texas: give Muschamp & the defense their due.....

22) Miami: why not....

23) South Carolina: can't stand prosperity....

24) USC: looked like the 2005 Trojans last Saturday pounding Cal....

25) Arizona: losing your starting QB who boasts a 75% completion rate is going to hurt.....

Right On Time......

2010-10-18T23:19:00.002-04:00

(via Smart Football)

While Frank & I were away this weekend, Chris Brown of Smart Football was hard at work cranking out a timely post on the midline option, a staple in our offense. Two really great cut-ups of the midline in the article, one from the 2008 Miami game & the other from CPJ's time at Navy. It's very timely as we used the midline extensively in the second half of last year's regular season game against Clemson; it's essentially the play that won us the game as they simply couldn't adjust fast enough. I expect we'll see it again this year as Clemson features the ACC's best defensive tackle duo in Jarvis Jenkins & Brandon Thompson.

Speaking of Clemson, we'll have a Q&A with the football savants over at Shakin the Southland later on this week. Along with the aforementioned Mr. Brown, these guys provide some of the best pure football X's & O's content anywhere on the web. In the meantime, they take a look at the disparity in recruiting between Tech & Clemson over the last several years.Clearly the "services" rank Clemson's classes higher than ours. I think there are two appropriate questions here: 1) are the services an accurate reflection of talent, & 2) if so, even marginally, are we clearly are doing more with less? Seems to me that coaching has to play into it somewhere but the games have been so close over the last several years I'm not sure what conclusion to draw.

We Have an Announcement......

2010-10-18T15:41:00.002-04:00

Oh, but you CAN! The angel Moroni has deemed the Institute a worthy opponent & thus we will play BYU at home in 2012 & 2014 and in Provo in 2013 & 2017. There's probably some legitimate reason we're not playing them in 2015 (like it doesn't fit into either school's schedule) but maybe there's some sort of important date in the book of Mormon that coincides with our trip to Provo?

Week 7 - Picks, no pics

2010-10-15T09:43:00.002-04:00

On the road this week, so no time to upload pictures, or really even update my record...

A few notes before we get into it.

First, per the AJC, Cooper Taylor has left the team causing much hand ringing for the Tech faithful. Always hoped Cooper would get more playing time, as he's an amazing athlete, but for some reason he was never able to stay in the two deep. Some of it was bad luck with his heart condition, but the AJC seems to suggest that the whole story isn't public knowledge. For those worried what this will do to Tech's defense, don't. The secondary is the best unit on the defense. Its deep and talented, and has played very well this year. Per CPJ, Taylor wasn't playing because other players where playing better. In any event, best of luck to Taylor in whatever he decides to do. We'll always remember the fumble in the FSU game two years ago.

Second, a quick update of GT stats half way through the year. I went a head and projected out the stats for the year and listed the ranking in the ACC to the side. Some of the numbers don't give exactly because I used my own count and compared it to CFBstats.com. A great website. Be for warned, the passing numbers are down right awful, but the running numbers are SCHWEET!

Joshua Nesbit

Passing

56 completions – 13th

140 attempts – 11th

40% completion % - DNQ

1,026 yards – 11th

102 yards per game – 12th

10 td – 10th

4 Int - DNQ

119.42 Rating – DNQ (8^TH)

Rushing

Joshua Nesbit – 246 carries (1^ST), 1,256 yards (1^ST), 16 TD (1^ST), 6 fumbles, 4.18 (26^th)

Anthony Allen – 172 carries (4^TH), 1,072 yards (2^ND), 6 TD (9^TH), 4 fumbles, 6.10 (11^th)

Orwin Smith – 32 carries (38^TH), 368 yards (28^TH), 4 TD (16^th), 0 fumbles

Roddy Jones – 50 carries (31^ST), 336 yards (29^TH), 6 TD (9^TH), 0 fumbles, 6.72 ypg (3^rd)

Embry Peeples – 50 carries (32^ND), 336 yards (31^ST), 4 TD (42^nd), 0 fumbles, 6.50 ypg(6^th)

Receiving

Stephen Hill – 24 reception, 324 yards, 2 TD

Roddy Jones – 7 receptions, 175 yards, 2 TD

Embry Peeples – 5 receptions, 101 yards, 0 TD

Defense

Brad Jefferson – 87 tkls (16^th), 8 TFL (39^th), 5 sacks (22^nd)

Isaiah Johnson – 62 tkles, (27^th) 6 TFL (50^th)

Dominique Reese – 54 tkles (39^th), 7 TFL (39^th), 12 PBr (2^nd)

Anthony Egbuniwe – 60 tkls (29^th)

Izaan Cross – 54 tkls (39^th), 11 TFL (19^th), 5 sacks (19^th), 6 PBr (18^th)

Mario Butler – 50 tkls (49^th)

Mario Edwards- 54 tkls (39^th)

Julian Burnett – 50 tkls

Steven Sylvester – 44 tkls (33^rd), 16 TFL (8^th), 6 sacks (11^th)

Jerrad Tarrant – 36 tkls

Brandon Watts – 38 tkls

TJ Sweeting – 24 tkls, 6 PBr 918^th)

Team INT = 4 (12^th)

Fumbles Recovered – 10 (3^rd)

Pickly-dickly-doos

Michigan State -7.5 at Illinois.

Maryland -14.5 at Clemson

Missouri +2.5 at Texas A&M

Vanderbilt +16.5 at Georgia

Mississippi State + 8.5 at Florida

South Carolina - 5.5 at Kentucky

Army +6.5 at Rutgers

Nebraska +9.5 vs. Texas

Oklahoma State +3.5 at Texas Tech

California +2.5 (yes getting points) at USC

North Carolina -6.5 at Virginia

Ohio State -5.5 at Wisconsin

Arkansas +2.5 at Auburn

Oregon State -2.5 at Washington

Go Ahead.......

2010-10-12T23:56:00.003-04:00

Seems there's a battle brewing......(h/t From the Rumble Seat)

If You Haven't Read This.....

2010-10-12T23:34:00.002-04:00

You really should. Paying players has been going on for years & continues, and not just at UNC, but across the NCAA. What's just as insidious is agents "loaning" players money & then, if they don't make it in the NFL, requiring them to work off their "debt" by acting as a "runner" and funneling said agent certain players, generally from the school or hometown the former player hails from. Happens all the time, even at Tech. Those who don't acknowledge this type of thing goes on are simply deluding themselves. It's unfortunate, but it's a fact of football as a multi-billion dollar business.

Blog Poll Week 7: Someone pull the horseshoe out of Les Miles ass.....

2010-10-12T22:36:00.003-04:00

Barrel of Rum Ballot - Week 7

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oregon Ducks	1
2	Nebraska Cornhuskers	2
3	Oklahoma Sooners	--
4	Boise St. Broncos	1
5	Ohio St. Buckeyes	1
6	LSU Tigers	3
7	Alabama Crimson Tide	-6
8	TCU Horned Frogs	-1
9	Stanford Cardinal	-1
10	Auburn Tigers	1
11	Iowa Hawkeyes	2
12	Florida St. Seminoles	3
13	South Carolina Gamecocks	4
14	Michigan St. Spartans	8
15	Nevada Wolf Pack	5
16	Utah Utes	3
17	Arkansas Razorbacks	-1
18	Missouri Tigers	--
19	Virginia Tech Hokies	-1
20	California Golden Bears	3
21	Air Force Falcons	3
22	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	-1
23	N.C. State Wolfpack	--
24	Florida Gators	-12
25	Arizona Wildcats	-11
Dropouts: Miami Hurricanes, Michigan Wolverines

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

Les Miles & LSU have entered Bizarro World while The Ol' Ball Coach snagged him a little Viagra & stuck it to the Nicktator. The Oregon scoring machine ascends to #1 while Nebraska is enjoying a renaissance of late 80's & early 90's football. Sparty flies up while the Gators & Arizona tumble. We're close to some semblance of order after week six & after next week it'll start gettin' serious up in this piece......

1) Oregon: the king is dead, long live the king....

2) Nebraska: Taylor Martinez sounds like the next big thing on American Idol but make no mistake, he can tote the pill. The fact they have an above average defensive line & two certified shut down corners doesn't hurt.

3) Oklahoma: FSU win looks better. Schedule merits their placement here.

4) Boise State: I can't get past their schedule. If they run the gauntlet Bama just ran: top 10 Arkansas in Fayetteville, top 10 Florida at home, & top 15 South Carolina on the road there's no question they lose a game.

5) Ohio State: narrow victory over Illinois looks better after the Illini drubbed Penn State

6) LSU: only a bunch of Cajuns would put two morons like Miles & Crowton in charge of anything & have it turn out well. There's some Louisiana politics/Edwin Edwards/ Huey Long/ David Duke allegory lurking here we just can't see it yet. Laissez Bon Temp Roulez.....

7) Alabama: see above Boise State comment......And a tip of the cap to tough guy Julio Jones, who played almost the entire USCe game with a broken hand that rquired surgery the next day. Saban has deemed you sufficient....

8) TCU: victory over Oregon State looks better after the Beavers beat Arizona

9) Stanford: has the Jim Harbaugh is heading East derby officially started.

10) Auburn: I've been pushing them on frank for weeks to little avail & their performance against Kentucky proved him correct.

11) Iowa: anyone remember that awesome Iowa rap video from last year? Gone from YouTube. A tragedy.......

12) Florida State: seems like Bobby may have been holding them back a bit......

13) South Carolina:

14) Michigan State: Sparty is on the rise & Kirk Cousins is for real.

15) Nevada: the Pistol is to college football what the Wildcat was to the NFL.....Catch the Fever!

16) Utah: 68 points on anybody deserves something....

17) Arkansas: which former Michigan QB would you like to have: Ryan Mallet or Steven Threatt? Advantage: Arkansas.

18) Missouri: Gary Pinkel continues his fine work for now....

19) VPISU: finding their stride. They'll continue to improve down the stretch.

20) Cal: hippie football, catch the wave....

21) Air Force: Troy Calhoun would be on my short list if I was an AD looking for a new football coach. No way UNC is smart enough to hire him.

22) Oklahoma State: as good as they are offensively, they are that bad defensively....

23) NC State: a nice bounce back win....

24) Florida: just play Tre Burton already.

25) Arizona: meh.....

What the hell will Les Miles do for an encore???????

UVA Postgame.....

2010-10-10T23:18:00.006-04:00

Well, it was certainly better all around. Which made watching the tape infinitely more enjoyable than the past couple of weeks. There's certainly room for improvement, particularly offensively, but it would be hard not to see the improvement we made this week over the last two. Random thoughts & observations....

Injuries:

A-back Orwin Smith is questionable with an ankle sprain for next week's MTSU contest as is guard Will Jackson.
Marcus Wright was not in uniform with what Tech is calling a "non-football injury". Haven't heard any deails.

Offensive Positives:

The interior of the line, Uzzi, Bedford & Finch, played VERY well on Saturday. Uzzi had the best game of any Tech lineman this season with 16 knock-downs. CPJ did his best to downplay the effect of Finch on Saturday in his Sunday teleconference but I think he's just trying to keep the redshirt freshman's head from getting inflated. Finch had a great game and his ability to move players at the point of impact & get to the second level was a big difference maker against UVA. I'd be VERY surprised to see him out of the starting lineup again this year.
Nice to see Stephen Hill snag a couple balls early; certainly should help his confidence going forward.
We were able to pound the ball even when UVA went to a 4-4 stack, a credit to the physical play of the offensive line & the hard running of the backs. The relentless pounding & physical play from the entire offense, from WR's to linemen, clearly had UVA worn out midway through the 3rd quarter. It was great to see Luke Cox pounding away when Allen took a breather.
Anthony Allen was a physical beast on Saturday, bowling over defenders & gaining tons of yards after contact. By far his best game of the season and the most productive for any back in the ACC so far this year.
We really caught them on the midline several times leading to nice gains including the longest run of Nesbitt's career, a 67 yard jaunt.

Offensive negatives:

against better teams, putting the ball on the turf four times will prove disastrous.
WWNT? What Was Nesbitt Thinking? Let's leave the jump passes for the boys in Gainesville......
Still too many mental errors with 28 on the offensive side of the ball. We gained 302 yards in the first half & should have been up HUGE at halftime. Instead, turnovers & poor execution left us with only 13 points at the half. With tougher teams ahead, we need to clean this up.
Both Frank & I really didn't like CPJ's call to go for it on 4th & 1 on the UVA 13 yard line with 5:44 left in the game up 27-14. We realize that he's hyper-aggressive, but it's a bad call there. Take the chip shot field goal (from your this-season-automatic kicker) and make it a two TD & two 2-point conversion game. That's 4 big plays the UVA offense has to make in a little over five minutes against a Tech defense that was playing very well on the afternoon. While everything worked out in our favor, I think kicking the field goal is the right call there.

Defensive Positives:

14 points & 290 yards of offense heading into the "Jon Kitna Hour"* is a great improvement for the defense.
I said in my preview I thought we needed to be more aggressive & take some chances if we wanted to keep the Cavalier offense out of rhythm & it seems Al Groh agreed as we blitzed on 25 of 54 UVA offensive plays, or almost 47% of the time. And by blitz I mean bringing at least five players, not simply 3 plus a LB. The aggressiveness, particularly with run blitzes, really paid off.
We tackled better but there's plenty of room for improvement.
Our play recognition was greatly improved. We diagnosed plays much faster on Saturday, especially the LB's, which led to us making more plays.
Mario Butler continues his very solid play this year. He's always been under-rated & seems to finally be getting noticed this season. It was a great play to strip the ball from UVA's Dontrelle Inman. Julian Burnett also played well at LB.

Defensive Negatives:

What's the only thing a prevent defense prevents? Say it all together now......WINNING. If I never see another it will be too soon.
Still too many missed assignments with 23 blown. We are still learning.
Tackling again spotty.

A couple other thoughts:

what's up with all the helmets flying off in college football this season? Someone needs to get this corrected before a serious injury occurs.
This may be controversial & I certainly didn't think it to be the case heading into the season but we miss Jonathan Dwyer. Allen played a fantastic ballgame on Saturday but we miss the Diesel's break-away speed. I counted three runs against UVA on which Allen was caught from behind; something that never would have happened with Dwyer. I'm not slamming Allen, particularly after his finest game Saturday, just pointing out the fact we miss Dwyer.
NO MISTAKES ON SPECIAL TEAMS!!!!!!

A nice conference win moves us to 4-2 and in control of our own destiny, which is all you can ask for. On to MTSU......

* The Jon Kitna Power Hour: the time in a game when a team is so far behind that the other team moves to a prevent defense allowing the opposing QB the opportunity to rack up meaningless statistics. While with the Detroit Lions, Jon Kitna perfected this art, destroying many an opposing fantasy football team with huge performances in garbage time....

UVA Snapshot(s).....

2010-10-10T00:13:00.003-04:00

Fifteen Thousand Words of Gibberish - Week Six Pic's

2010-10-08T12:02:00.021-04:00

Last Week: 9-6 -
Total: 36-37

Hey-Hey, look who had a winning week! Now that we are near five hundred, its time to over think everything and mess it all up.

As always, pics for picks. Have a better picture, send it to us at gtbarrelofrum@gmail.com. Disagree with a pick, hit up the comments section.

Illinois +7.5 at Penn State
It feels like Vegas is daring us to take the Illinis, which feels a lot like dealing with the devil. Not sure Penn State can score on anyone, and it looks like Illinois can actually play a little defense, which is all they will need.

Baylor +1.5 at Texas Tech
T Tech has played one running team, Iowa State, and Iowa State ran for a lot of yards. Baylor runs the ball well. Also I don't think T Tech has the linebackers to keep up with Bear quarterback Robert Griffin, probably the best player on the field.
Tennessee +11.5 at Georgia
Another game that feels like Vegas is just daring me to take Tennessee, and I can't resist. Georgia's offense looks bad, even with AJ Green, and Tennessee just plays hard every week.

Cal - 7.5 vs. UCLA
I like Cal's two losses better, but honestly who knows what UCLA is at this point.

Virginia +7.5 at Georgia Tech
I just can't take Tech and that many points this year. Virginia's rushing offense isn't that great, but they are dedicated to it, which is all you need against Tech's defense. Also Virginia can throw the ball around a little. Hash took Tech by six, which sounds about right.

Michigan State +4.5 at Michigan

Denard Robinson does everything = Stop Denard Robinson and Michigan does nothing <--How do you do that?

Both teams have some close wins over questionable competition (Notre Dame), so I'll take the team that beat Wisconsin soundly, and seems to play a little defense.

North Carolina -1.5 vs. Clemson

Everyone keeps asking when is the ACC (a tough league with good balance) going to produce a standout team. That team was going to be UNC this year. Its amazing how good they are without most of their starting defense.

Carolina gets Da'Norris Searcy, a safety, back this week in time to play a Clemson passing team that has struggled passing the ball. Dabo Sweeny has benched wide receivers Xavir Dye and Brandon Clear this week.

Note: Clemson running back Andre Ellington is close to breaking CJ Spiller's school record for fewest carries to reach 1,000 yards.

Arkansas -7.5 vs. Texas A&M (game at Jerryworld)

This game may last four and a half hours

Ryan Mallet - 2nd in country in passing - 10TD and 5INT - and he played Alabama

Jerrod Johnson - 4th in country in passing - 12 TD and 8 INT

Yes Arkansas played Alabama tough, but Alabama offense couldn't really challenge secondary.

That said, Arkansas defense is way better than Okalhoma State (1110th nationally), and OK State beat A&M last week.

Florida International -8.5 vs. Western Kentucky

Both teams are Winless, but Florida International has looked competent.

FIU Losses = Rutgers by 5, Texas A&M by 7, Maryland by 14, and held in against Pitt untill 4th quarter

WKU losses = Nebraska by 39, Kentucky by 35, Indiana by 17, and South Florida by 12 (WKU scored 12 points in garbage time).

Has anyone else noticed that the WKU logo appears to be a hand swinging a red towel? WTF?

Alabama -7.5 at South Carolina

Worked last week against Florida. Why go away from it?

Love South Carolina DC Ellis Johnson. Refreshingly straight forward coach. He reminds me of a low country version of Paul Johnson. So how do you defend against Alabama? Sell out against the run on first down and hope to force Alabama into third and longs. Make Greg McLeroy beat you. That will give you chance. Just a chance.

Notre Dame -5.5 vs. Pittsburgh

Didn't Notre Dame just beat a run first team with no quarterback play last week? And I think that other team has a better offensive line.

Arizona +8.5 at Oregon State

The Beavers have been good to us this year, but I think the betting public has caught on to them. Arizona hasn't run the ball well, but it doesn't matter becaue they are really good at passing. The beavers front seven is good against the run, but they rank 100th nationally against the pass. On the other side, Arizona's defense ranks 3rd nationally.

Florida -7.5 vs. LSU

Honestly both offenses are struggling, and both defense have put up good numbers, which would suggest a low scoring game, but its a choice between the humanist rationalism of Urban Meyers, or Les Miles deal with the devil. Anything could happen in this game and I wouldn't be surprised. When in doubt, go with the guy who knows what he's doing.

Florida State +6.5 at Miami

Miami = West Coast = controled passing (good decisions) --> set up run to protect lead late in game.

(hate that approach in college)

Miami West Coast = Simplified = less motion, more variety in backfield formations, unbalanced formations to make reads easier.

Miami prefers to pass on first down (also hate that)

Miami protect with only five = FSU has to get pressure with four -->wait for Jacory Harris to throw them the ball.

Blitz Harris = unfavorable result to you

Miami Defense plays man coverage = Christian Ponder feast.

This is going to be a close game.

Stanford -7.5 vs. USC

Both teams scored 31 points last week. Stanford against Oregon. USC against Washington

The UVA Preview.....

2010-10-06T20:40:00.013-04:00

Back at Bobby Dodd this week for Homecoming against a Virginia team coming off a tough loss to Atlantic division favorite FSU. After pulling out a gutsy win against Wake on the road last week, the Jackets will have to clean things up if they expect to win against a Cavalier team energized by new head coach Mike London. Much is being made of the "Al Groh" factor as our current defensive coordinator faces not only the school that dismissed him as head coach a year ago but also his alma mater. How much impact will Groh have on the game? Not as much as everyone thinks is my opinion. There's plenty of tape on both teams and I expect little if any new information has come to light for either team, particularly as they know each other pretty well. Who has the advantage? I'm not sure, but my guess is it's pretty even as to which team knows the other better. It will come down to execution for both sides on Saturday, as it always does. On to the breakdown:

Virginia Offense

Keith Payne is a load at tailback for UVA.....

Mike London hired veteran NFL coach Bill Lazor to run the UVA offense & Lazor has installed a traditional "21" pro style offense for the Cavs this year (two backs, one TE). Lazor stresses balance between running & throwing so expect an even split on Saturday. At quarterback, senior Marc Verica returns to the helm after spending much of last year as the #2 QB. While a pretty average ACC QB, Verica blistered Tech in his lone start against the Jackets in 2008, going 29-39 for 270 yards & 2 TD's. It's a pretty big question mark, even against our average defense, if Verica can repeat that type of performance on Saturday and I expect he'll mainly be asked to manage the game & limit turnovers, something of which he's capable.

The Cavs run a two-headed tailback monster in the classic NFL mode: one back a quicker, slashing type who gets the edge while the other is a between-the-tackles bruiser. For UVA, Perry Jones fills the former roll at 5'8" & 185 pounds while the latter is occupied by hulking senior Keith Payne, all 6'3" & 255 pounds of him. While Jones concerns me a bit catching the ball out of the backfield, thinking about Payne is causing me indigestion this week. Payne is an incredibly tough North-South runner adept at breaking tackles & chewing up yardage, something we've been troubled by this year.

Virginia has traditionally excelled on the offensive line & while not great, the UVA O-line has been serviceable this year. Mammoth guard Austin Pasztor (6'7", 320) paves the way up front for the Cavs. What UVA does have going up front is a pair of very good pass catching tight ends in Joe Torchia & Colter Phillips, who will both pose interesting match-ups for the Jacket defense.

Perhaps the biggest question mark coming in to the season for the UVA offense was at wide receiver, where no one, including the coaching staff, really knew what to expect. Both Dontrelle Inman & Kris Burd have played well for UVA, combining for 40 receptions & 632 yards through four games. Burd in particular has been explosive, averaging almost 100 yards per game (95 ypg) and 17 yards per catch.

So what will we see from UVA on offense Saturday? Probably something very similar to what we saw from UNC & John Shoop when we played them. Expect the Cavs to pound Payne up the middle on zone blocking/stretch plays while using Jones & fullback Max Millen as receivers out of the backfield. Expect a lot of High-Low routes with a WR running a deep route in order to clear out room for the TE's to work underneath. Verica will take some shots deep, particularly to Burd, but is much more comfortable working 10-20 yard routes. Watching for the tight ends on plenty of drags, hooks, & curls as a safety valve for Verica.

UVA Defense

Ras-I Dowling.....what the hell is a Ras-I?

A defensive coach himself, London & new defensive coordinator Jim Reid have gone away from Groh's hallmark 3-4 and installed a 4-3 this season. Facing many of the same problems as Tech in transitioning to a new defense, UVA is making the best of the personnel they have in their new system. The Wahoos are pretty thin, both figuratively & literally, up front, particularly in the heart of their defense as both tackles go 250# & 275#, respectively. Before last week I would have said this was a big advantage for Tech but after watching Wake's 230 pound nose tackle destroy us last Saturday, I'm not so sure. At linebacker, Ausar Walcott has played well for the Cavs on a unit that has been just average so far this season.

The strength of UVA's defense is the secondary, where corners Ras-I Dowling & Chase Minnifield and safeties Corey Mosley and Rodney McLeod make up one of the ACC's best units. UVA has been very stingy against the pass this season and it's no surprise with this veteran unit. Expect either McLeod or Mosley to walk up into the box as the Cavs go to an essentially eight-man front in an effort to stop the run. DC Reid will lean heavily on Dowling & Minnifield to anchor the edge on Saturday & their success will be a telling point in the game. For those of you deeply into football, watch McLeod & Mosley. While Clemson's duo of McDaniel & Gilchrist get all the publicity, the Cavalier duo are just as good in my opinion.

It was pretty evident even to the non-discerning spectator how poorly Tech played on offense against Wake: poor execution & a couple of terrible turnovers simply stalled the offense out. While the last nine minutes were much better, the Jackets will have to execute at a higher level if they hope to beat UVA.

Tech Offense

Jay Finch moves from #2 center to starting left guard this week

Believe it or not, we have at times come very close to being pretty good offensively this year. While 3rd down conversions have been noticeably down this year, we have on multiple occasions been one block away from breaking a big play. "If my aunt had ball's she'd be my uncle," Hash........I get it, they don't give awards for coming "close". But we're not too far away from being decent offensively if we can clean a few things up. On Saturday, as almost every Saturday, offensive line play will be key. Thankfully, CPJ has decided to get the best five out there & thus Jay Finch will start for the injured Will Jackson. This makes us much more formidable up the middle leaving the big question mark the play of our offensive tackles. As anyone who watched the game last week saw, our offensive tackles had a rough go of it against Wake. They will need to not only play better at the point-of-attack but get to the second level & take care of the linebackers & safeties if we expect a big offensive night. With the trio of Finch-Bedford-Uzzi I expect we'll get better push up the middle so look for CPJ to try & get Allen going & use Nesbitt on the midline. Both Orwin Smith & BJ Bostic have run the ball well, particularly with Roddy leading the way & I expect we'll see an attempt to really get Bostic the ball in space. It will be interesting to see if Corey Earls can build on last week's solid performance. We used plenty of unbalanced & loaded line formations last week in an effort to create numbers & I expect more of the same against UVA.

Tech Defense

Julian Burnett will get his first start at Jack LB this Saturday

Last week was certainly better for the Jackets but UVA is a step up in class from Wake Forest's one-dimensional attack. One thing that hasn't been noted is that we tackled well last week, certainly better than in previous games. This will be very important, particularly in stopping Payne. It's tough to bring the big man down so it will be critical the Jackets swarm to the ball & gang tackle. One other huge defensive key for Tech is play recognition. At times this year we have been slow to see what's coming at us, particularly with tight ends & backs out of the backfield on passing routes. We'll need to diagnose routes quickly & adjust if we're to stop the Cavalier offense. But the biggest thing I see on Saturday is we'll need to gamble. While many might not agree & it's not pleasant to hear, I simply don't think we have the manpower to line up & beat UVA man-on-man. We certainly have struggled against good teams to this point when faced with such scenarios as zone blocking & rushing the passer. So that leaves us in the position of having to gamble, albeit it strategically, to stop the Cavs. We'll need to run blitz & even load the box in order to stop the UVA run game. The same applies to pressuring Verica: we'll need to be creative in bringing pressure from all over in an attempt to bother the UVA signal caller. I think Groh will have something special in store for his former team & have to hope that's the case; if we sit back & play vanilla we'll be in for a long afternoon. I'd rather gamble & hope to make a play than sit back & get picked apart.

Special Teams

Scott Blair deserves a picture, because no one appreciates a kicker until they don't have one

Well, the good news is we have Scott Blair & they have nothing. Really, UVA is 2-6 in kicking field goals & there's little confidence in the Wahoo kicking game (now watch these clowns go 4-4 with 50+ yard field goals.....) Tech has to clean up the punt game if we hope to win, so far we've been well below average this year with costly mistakes. One thing to note: UVA coach Mike London isn't above some trickery. Watch out for some shenanigans on Saturday as he already tried one great looking fake against USC (which the refs stupidly nullified on a bogus penalty.)

One last note: we're killing ourselves with penalties. It was a different story last year when our offense was clicking on all cylinders & we could recover from our mistakes. That's not the case this year & we must be more disciplined & avoid penalties if we want to win.

Three Keys for UVA

1) Pound the Rock: use Keith Payne & zone blocking to physically manhandle Tech. This plays into their strength & our weakness as well as keeping the ball away from us, which often is the best defense against our offense.

2) Red Zone Efficiency: UVA needs touchdowns & not field goals if they want to win Saturday. If they have to settle for kicks Tech will be in a commanding position.

3) Play Stout up the Middle: force Tech into the strength of their defense on the edge. Play the dive well & force Tech outside.

Three Keys for Tech

1) Gamble on Defense: bring the house against the pass & run. Play Cover Zero & get to Verica before he can release the ball. Load the line of scrimmage to stop Payne.

2) Offensive Tackle Play: we'll struggle if these guys don't improve. We need to block the point-of-attack as well as the second level.

3) Punt Teams: the common denominator in the games we've struggled? Poor play both kicking & returning punts. This will go a long way toward a Tech victory.

How it Plays Out

I expect a scenario similar to the UNC game. UVA will come out strong but we'll adjust & begin to limit what they do offensively. The Tech offensive line with the infusion of Finch plays much better & crisper execution leads to a couple early scores. Scott Blair continues to be a difference maker with a couple long field goals. A late UVA turnover seals it as the Jackets kill the clock.

Final Score

Georgia Tech 33 Virginia 27

What a Difference a Year Makes.....

2010-10-06T08:12:00.002-04:00

It's no secret our offense hasn't been humming on all cylinders this season. Here's a big reason why: we are currently 61st in 3rd down conversion rate at 40.58%. Last year we led the nation at almost 53%. Too many negative plays early leading to longer 3rd down conversions. We're built for 3rd & 2, not 3rd & 10.......

BlogPoll Week 6: The Jump Around Edition.....

2010-10-05T22:59:00.006-04:00

Barrel of Rum Ballot - Week 6

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
2	Oregon Ducks	3
3	Oklahoma Sooners	3
4	Nebraska Cornhuskers	-1
5	Boise St. Broncos	-1
6	Ohio St. Buckeyes	-4
7	TCU Horned Frogs	--
8	Stanford Cardinal	--
9	LSU Tigers	2
10	Miami Hurricanes	4
11	Auburn Tigers	-1
12	Florida Gators	-3
13	Iowa Hawkeyes	8
14	Arizona Wildcats	-2
15	Florida St. Seminoles	7
16	Arkansas Razorbacks	3
17	South Carolina Gamecocks	1
18	Virginia Tech Hokies	--
19	Utah Utes	-6
20	Nevada Wolf Pack	3
21	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	-1
22	Michigan St. Spartans	--
23	California Golden Bears	--
24	Air Force Falcons	--
25	Michigan Wolverines	-1
Dropouts: Wisconsin Badgers, N.C. State Wolfpack, USC Trojans, Texas Longhorns

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

Hash and I had a bit of a tiff last night about this. He was making a souffle, I was making a chip-board model of a Corinthian column, you know, the kind of manly things we'll need when the apocalypse comes, and we were just talking, you know catching up.

His point - I've seen it with my eyes, I know how good these teams are

My point - Qualitative judgments are inaccurate, especially over a limited sample size. After all, that's why man invented science. <---bigger words demonstrates bias of author.

Both are valid approaches, and both have their pluses and minuses.

You may be asking "Is that why this is late?" No, this is late because I suck. Technology no is my friend.

So, a lot of the jumping around this week is due to my point of view, and Hash's patience. Sure, we're five games into the season, but if we throw out all the games against teams worse than Vanderbilt, and there are a lot of them, we find that many teams have played only one or two meaningful games. With only one or two meaningful data points it stands to reason that the rankings are still highly volatile. The good news is this should settle down quickly over the next two weeks, as the conference schedules really get going.

On to each team

1-Alabama - double duh

2-Oregon - gotta respect the offense in a conference that is looking super strong.

3-Oklahoma - bit of a disagreement here. We jumped Nebraska up to three after watching them beat the heck out of Washington, a win Hash wants to credit even more now after the Huskies went on to beat USC. I'm leaning towards down grading Washington because BYU has turned out to be worse than we thought, and USC may also be worse than previously suspected. Also Nebraska struggled against South Dakota State the next week while Oklahoma has victories over top 25 Air Force and Florida State, and Texas.

4-Nebraska - Really haven't done anything to deserve to slide. There schedules been a little week in the early going, but it will get tougher.

5-Boise State - If we want less Clemson vs. Presbyterian College, and more Clemson vs. Auburn, we need to start rewarding teams for playing tough schedules, and punishing teams for playing weak schedules. Boise, this has nothing to do with you <---yes it does.

6-Ohio State - Nice win over Miami, but other teams are putting together tougher resumes while you've played Ohio U and struggled with Illinois. We think you'll bounce back when you get into the meat of your schedule, but for now we have to credit what you've done, not what we think you'll do.

7-TCU - yep

8-Stanford - Loss to Oregon counts as good loss

9-LSU - we hate you. As soon as you lose we are dropping you so hard, but you keep winning games over decent teams. Screw you.

10-Miami - bouncing back....

11-Auburn - Huge disagreement here. Hash really believes in this team. I'm not so sure. Their reputation rests a lot on two games against Clemson and Mississippi State. Auburn was good but not dominant in either game. Clemson and Mississippi State have a lot to prove, and that will affect my opinion of Auburn greatly. I'm also not sold on South Carolina, but thats just because they are South Carolina.

12-Florida - Nice, not outstanding, but nice.

13-Iowa - Really bounced Iowa back up. That's mostly my doing as I think we punished Iowa too harshly for a loss to what is appearing to be a pretty good Arizona team.

14-Arizona-Why is Arizona below Iowa. No idea.

15-Florida State - Up and coming. The BYU win doesn't look nearly as impressive. Loss to Oklahoma may not have been as damning as we thought. It looks like Oklahoma may be really good.

16-Arkansas-Maybe last minute win over Georgia wasn't such a great thing. Played 'Bama tough though.

17-South Carolina-just kind of hanging out

18-Virginia Poly - Another big disagreement. A tough loss to Boise is actually a good thing at this point in the season. It means more to play a good team well and lose, than to beat the dong out of a bad team. I also think James Madison is a better team than people think. Throw on a good wind against NC State.

19-Utah - I was ready to dump Utah completely from the top 25. Hash wanted to keep them because they hadn't done anything to deserve being dumped. I just think they've been floating around in the top 25 despite playing a week schedule because we all remember the last second victory over Pitt, who at the time we thought would be pretty good. Turns-out Pitt is very bad and maybe we should re-evaluate Utah's win over the Panthers.

20-Nevada-Ride that Cal win boys! Ride it!

21-Oklahoma State- best win was against Texas A&M, who has played nobody

22-Michigan State-Yeah, bout time to respect them. Hash had them much higher, and they did beat Notre Dame and Wisconsin. I held them back because they played Western Michigan, Florida Atlantic, and Northern Arizona also. Very Boise only you beat Notre Dame and Wisconsin, not Virginia Poly and Oregon State. Still, wouldn't be surprised if Hash ends up being right.

23-California-Kind of the reverse of the Michigan State scenario. I ranked them much higher, giving them credit for playing well against tough competition. Hash dropped them for not winning those games. As the French would say "This is life"

24-Air Force - love it.

25-Michigan - caution, contents may be hot.

Who is Bona Fide?

2010-10-05T17:03:00.047-04:00

Bona Fide; Latin for "Good Faith"

We are five weeks into the college football season, approaching the middle of the season. Don't let that fool you. Most teams have not yet begun the real stretch of the season. We cannot look at their records and take it on "Good Faith" that they are a true indicator of a teams strength.

It is my personal opinion that you cannot judge a teams ability until it has played three good teams. A good team being any team in the top 40 to 50. One game gives us a beginning point. A second game gives us a trend. A third game confirms the trend. In a pinch, if a team only has two games against to 40 to 50 opponents, we can look at a couple games against teams ranked 50 to 80ish.

With that said, here are the bona fides for most of the country's top teams.

Alabama

5-0

117% bona fide

Wins over Florida, Arkansas, and Penn State qualify you. Duke and San Jose St. are meaningless.

Oregon

5-0
83% bona fide

Nice wins over Stanford and Arizona State, but you are still a little short. A win over Tennessee gets you closer (they've been giving better teams fits all year) but you're still short

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 21st vs. UCLA

Boise State

4-0

67% bona fide

Virginia Poly and Oregon State are tough teams, and credit to you for scheduling them. Unfortunately, you play in the WAC. Those other teams are terrible. Margin of victory can only do so much when you play the New Mexico's of this world.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

First play Hawaii on Nov. 6

You then play Idaho the next weekend on Nov. 12.

If one of those teams do fall off your bona fide date moves to Nov. 19 vs. Fresno State.

If two of those teams fall in the 50-80 range (Fresno should be a solid bet, but the other two are just hanging on) Your last possible date you'll be bona fide, Nov 26th at Nevada. You have a long way to go.

Florida

4-1

100% bona fide

Congratulations, you've beaten South Florida and lost to Alabama. Those two games combined with wins over Kentucky and Tennessee tell us your solidly good. just good.

Ohio State

5-0

50% bona fide

You beat a good University of Miami team, and better than expected Illinois team (note, still not a good team and will struggle to get to bowl), but you ain't played shit yet.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 16th at Wisconsin

Stanford

4-1

83% bona fide

You gave Oregon a good game. You lost, but we know you showed you can hang for at least one weekend. Add a couple wins against Notre Dame and UCLA and you're almost there.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 9 vs. USC

University of Miami

4-1

83% bona fide

You lost to Ohio, and looked terrible doing it, but you did Clemson at Clemson. You also get half credit for beating Pittsburg.

Estimated bona fide date:

October 9 at Florida State

TCU

5-0

83% bona fide

You have a nice win against Oregon State, and another win against Baylor, which looks good for now. We also give you half credit for playing SMU

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 23 vs. Air Force

LSU

5-0

117% bona fide

You've beaten solid teams in UNC, and West Virginia. You even get half credit for games against Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Mississippi State. You are the perfect example of a bona fide team. We can say all kind of things about you because you have established a solid trend line.

Example: You haven't played anyone we consider a top 25 team. We know you are better than most teams, but how will you fair against the tippy top? <--- See all those words. We can use them because we have lots of good data for LSU. The dats says "talented but disorganized"

Iowa

4-1

83% bona fide

You lost to Arizona, which we're sure makes you feel bad, but we learned a lot from your pain, like Arizona fans will flip off little children. You also beat the fish oil out of Penn State. Nice one! Half credit for Iowa State victory.

estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 16 at Michigan

Florida State

4-1

50% bona fide

You got your butt kicked by Oklahoma, so we know you aren't winning the BCS this year. Half credit for beating Virginia. So sorry to hear about how bad BYU is.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October28 at NC State. You have to play Miami next weekend, which will get you close. A slight improvement by Boston College or Wake Forest could move this date forward.

Oklahoma

5-0

117% bona fide

Good wins against Texas, Air Force and FSU. Half credit for beating Cincinnati,we think.

Utah

5-0

17% bona fide

Hey, you beat Pitt!

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

Half credit for a game at Iowa State October 9.

Full credit for a game against Air Force on October 30.

November 6 vs. TCU

Virginia Poly

3-2

100% bona fide

Lose to Boise State, and half credit for scheduling and losing to James Madison, a good FCS team that would run the Sunbelt Conference, and possibly finish third in the WAC. Nice win against NC State after getting things straight against East Carolina. Half credit for beating the pirates.

Arizona

4-0

67% bona fide

Good wins against Iowa and Kal-ee-forn=ya.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 9th vs. Oregon State

Cal

2-2

83% bona fide

So you lost to Nevada and Arizona. Those are good teams. Cheer up buddy. We'll give you half credit for scheduling and beating Colorado. P.S. you should send a thank you letter to Georgia.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October9th vs. UCLA

Nebraska

4-0

33% bona fide

See, Nebraska, you need to show us more right now. Half credit for beating the skunk out of Washington. Not sure what that means yet. Another half point for beating ... Idaho. Didn't see that coming, did you?

Estimated bona fide date:

We'll give you half credit for playing Kansas on October 9, but that's not enough.

You'll also have to play Texas on October 16th

that makes your bona fide date October 23rd vs. Oklahoma State

USC

4-1

50% bona fide

Half a point each for playing Washington (and loosing), Virginia and Hawaii.

Estimated 100% bona fide date"
October 16th vs. Cal. You'll have to play Stanford the weekend before that.

Auburn

5-0

83% bona fide

Good wins vs. Clemson and South Carolina. Half credit for Mississippi State
Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 9 vs. Kentucky

Arkansas

3-1

67% bona fide

You played Alabama tough and got a nice win against Georgia. Better hope the dogs straighten things out.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 9 vs. Texas A&M

Texas

3-2

83% bona fide

You lost to Oklahoma, but you beat Texas Tech. You also lost to UCLA. The preceding words might as well be random gibberish as far as evaluating your team goes.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 16 at Nebraska

Nevada

33% bona fide

Congrats. You beat Cal. WAC Love!

Estimate 100% bona fide date:

We have you down for an October 16th at Hawaii. We may be able to give you half credit for that.

A road trip to Idaho and Fresno State on November 6 and 14 will get two more 1/2 points.

November 26th Boise State

Oklahoma State

50% bona fide

You beat Texas A&M and Tulsa. Good for you.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 23 at Nebraska. You also have to play Texas Tech the week before that

Air Force

4-1

50% bona fide

tough loss to Oklahoma and a nice win over Navy gets an extra half point.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 23 at TCU, a game against San Diego State the week before should help.

Missouri

4-0

33% bona fide

1/2 a point each for Illinois and San Diego State

Estimated 100% bona dide date:

You can get a half point for playing Colorado on October 9

A full point for Texas A&M on October 16

Making your bona fide date October 23 vs. Oklahoma

NC State

4-1

100% bona fide

Wins over Central Florida and Cincinnati get you half credit. A nice win over Georgia Tech, better hope they straighten out and fly right, and a loss to Miami fulfill your requirements.

North Carolina

2-2

100% bona fide

God Damn that James Taylor! You played Georgia Tech and LSU tight, and get some credit for wins over Rutgers (falling fast) and East Carolina.

Michigan

5-0

50% bona fide

Wins over Connecticut and Notre dame followed by feasting on junk food.

Estimated 100% bona fide dates:

October 16 vs Iowa after playing Michigan State the week before

Oregon State

2-2

100% bona fide

You gave respectable showings against Boise State and TCU, and then beat Arizona. Well done to you.

Penn State

3-2

83% bona fide

Hey you beat Temple. That's good for something, like half credit. You also got you a new mud hole stomped by Iowa and Alabama. You have plenty of awesome and boarder line. You need some average to fill this out.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 30 vs. Michigan

Arizona State

2-3

100% bona fide

Respectable losses Wisconsin, Oregon, and Oregon State. You know D+ isn't a grade they like to give out that often.

Wisconsin

3-2

67% bona fide

You beat Arizona State :-). Then you lost to Michigan state :-(

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 16 vs. Ohio State

Baylor

4-1

33% bona fide

You lost to TCU.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 23 vs Kansas State. You can get a half point for the game against Colorado, and a full point for Texas Tech. Note, if need be this date may be pushed back to the following weekend when you play Texas.

Texas Agriculture and Mining (yes mining, not military, which makes the boy scout uniforms even more confusing

4-1

33% bona fide

What we know about you is you lost to Oklahoma State.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 16 vs. Missouri. Get the rest of your required credits the week before against Arkansas.

Georgia Tech

3-2

66% bona fide

A win against UNC and a loss to NC state. We have two points, now which direction are we going.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 23 at Clemson. We'll also pick a bonus half point against UVA this weekend

Texas Tech

2-2

67% bona fide

losses to Texas and Iowa State suggest you aren't very good, but a victory of SMU tells us it could be worse.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 9 vs. Baylor

Georgia

1-4

100% bona fide

OUCH! Losses to Mississippi State and Colorado in addition to full credit losses to Arkansas and South Carolina. That sucks man!

Michigan State (maybe I should just use a picture of John Smoltz with mustache)

5-0

67% bona fide

Wins vs. Notre Dame and Wisconsin. God Jorb!

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

October 9 vs. Michigan

South Florida

3-1

33% bona fide

hey, you lost to Florida! Hurray!

Estimated 100% bona fide date:

First play West Virginia October 14 for full credit

then play Cincinnati for half credit the following weekend

Finally achieve 100% bona fide status by getting another half credit against Rutgers

November 3, vs. Rutgers.

If something goes wrong you may have to wait until November 20 when you play Pitt

Clemson

2-2

66% bona fide

Congratulations, you've played two real games and lost them both. One to Auburn, and one to Miami.

Estimated 100% bona fide date:
October 9 at UNC

Notre Dame

2-3

100% bona fide
Wait til next year. That's what your doing. Nice average losses to Michigan, Stanford, and Michigan State.

Wake Forest Postmortem.....

2010-10-04T21:52:00.003-04:00

First off, apologies that the blog was essentially dark on Monday. The not-yet-paying job required my attention and I simply couldn't get away. Enough of that, on to Wake. No it wasn't pretty, & yes, like most of you, I wanted to strangle anything within arms reach of me for most of the game. But they played us equally tough last year so I'm not sure why we were expecting anything different this season. A conference road win, however ugly, is always a good thing, so while there's plenty to work on, it could be worse. Some thoughts after watching the game & charting some stuff.

Offense:

our offensive line played terribly, particularly the offensive tackles. I didn't grade them out but I would be surprised if any of the three graded above 40%. Some may think me a little harsh but go watch the tape; we whiffed more than we hit. Simply lunging into guys isn't getting it done, particularly when they've figured this technique out & instead of coming forward & engaging at the snap they simply take a step back & allow our tackle to fall down, leaving them a clear path to the ball. At this stage we need to get our five best guys on the field which means reserve center Jay Finch, if healthy, needs to play guard this week for the injured Will Jackson. We must get better tackle play.....
Interesting that for the first time since he's been at Tech, co-offensive line coach Mike Sewak was on the field & not in the box on Saturday. Sewak coaches the interior of the line & with the injury situation we had entering the game it doesn't surprise me that CPJ chose to have him on the sidelines & not in the booth.
nice 2nd half adjustment by CPJ to widen the dive track & get a little something going on up the middle.
we can debate the merits of going for it on 4th down all we want (I don't mind, others, like the 4th Down Consultant, may disagree) but I love the rocket toss on the 4th & 2 in the second half. Everyone is looking for Nesbitt on the inside & we take it wide. I've been hoping we'd vary the 4th down calls some & it proved effective here.
While the fumble was disconcerting, BJ Bostic flashed why he may be our most dynamic offensive player on Saturday; we need to keep feeding him the ball.
I charted our passing plays on Saturday & a VERY telling statistic emerged: on routes where the ball traveled less than 15 yards in the air we were very efficient, going 10-12 for 110 yards & the game winning TD. On plays where the ball traveled 15 plus yards in the air we were 1-9 for 20 yards, our lone completion being the TD to Peeples which came when the play broke down. We did have 4 balls of 20+ yards dropped and one play that drew an interference penalty. It's obvious were are 1) more efficient throwing short & 2) we gain plenty of yards that way. For the record, it's not always coaching as Nesbitt often just heaves the ball deep if his first read isn't open. The fact remains we are more efficient & effective on short passes and need to employ them more frequently.
As has been the case all year, on several plays we were one missed block away from a touchdown. That's the biggest difference between this year & last, we just aren't finishing plays.
Nesbitt actually threw the ball surprisingly well against Wake, particularly since we didn't really pass block.
Who would have thought after last season that Scott Blair would be our most reliable offensive weapon to this point.......? Says A LOT about how much Blair has improved & where we are offensively.

Defense:

we played better but it's hard to tell how much as Wake is clearly not very good on offense.
give the defense credit for knocking out Wake's top two available signal callers. They played as physical as they have all year. We basically made them one dimensional & deserve credit for that.
still vulnerable to zone reads & bubble screens: plays that require us to win one-on-one battles are challenging for us. Clemson's power ISO game & zone reads scare the shit out of me......
we need to get our four best linebackers on the field so it's time to shake up the lineup: Sylvester at SAM, Jefferson at MIKE, Burnett at JACK, & Watts at WILL. They might make mistakes but the also might make plays.....a chance I'm willing to take if I'm Groh. We are still very vulnerable to play action & any passes across the middle; we have trouble diagnosing & then covering hook, curl & flat routes.
Off topic but speaking of Julian Burnett he continues to be a beast on kick coverage with three tackles on Saturday. He's a heat seeking missile out there on kicks.....
Sylvester played a fine game as did Tarrant. Both stood out on tape. Izaan Cross is developing into a very solid 3-4 defensive end.
I think running a two-gap 3-4 will be very tough at this level; it's hard to find big men with that much athletic ability. Playing a one-gap scheme is certainly easier & might be better suited to the college game. I'm going to think more on this & maybe devote a post on it if people are interested.

Two other HUGE areas of concern: the punt game & penalties. Quick, what's the common denominator in the three games we've struggled in? Poor play in the punting game. I railed on our punt formation last week, maybe undeservedly, but there's no denying we have issues in the punting game. Against Kansas it was a roughing the punter call that kept a drive alive & led to a TD and a 13 yard punt that led to another touchdown. Versus NC State we had the punt blocked for a TD. And this week? Let's see, out first punt, from the Wake forty, we kick dead center into the end zone. Why not pooch it toward the sideline? Why kick to the center of the field when you're that close to a touchback? Later, we had a block in the back covering a punt? Weird call in coverage & I couldn't see it on tape. Then it's a muffed fair catch that led to a turnover. Both Tarrant & the blockers in his way are responsible for that one. Finally, we have a 10 yard punt after the ball goes through Sean Poole's hands. Did I mention we're 92nd nationally in punt returns this year? I'm really not trying to beat a dead horse but we HAVE to get this cleaned up if we stand any chance of success heading into the meat of our schedule (Clemson, VPISU, Miami). As far as penalties go, we're just not good enough to beat ourselves. Three personal fouls is way too many & shows a lack of discipline & focus. I like the tenacity & effort, but we have to play smart.

It wasn't pretty to watch but it was a win & I really can't complain. We showed plenty of moxy & effort in a comeback win on the road. We need to improve & hopefully we will as we head into the heart of the schedule. It may seem at times we're far off but we're closer than people think, particularly on offense. On the the Wahoos.....

Wake Forest Snapshot.....

2010-10-02T23:36:00.002-04:00

Georgia Tech, Be a Honey Badger

2010-10-01T16:46:00.004-04:00

I may only weigh thirty pounds, but that's thirty pounds of unstoppable crazy!

Swarm of killer bee's? Fuck it!

Cobra? Your mine!

Cobra in a Tree? Your mine also!

Monitor lizard, you want to eat me? Screw you, I eat you!

Pride of lions? I'll eat your testicles and let you bleed to death.

What, there's thirty miles of desert between you and me? Doesn't matter, I'm coming for you!

You underground? Doesn't matter, I'll dig you up! I'll dig up half the damn desert if I have to.

Jackals, you want my half dead marmot? Well back the fuck off, that's my half dead marmot.

Yo! Puff Adder, what you got there? an egg? No you don't that's my egg. Fuck it, I'm still hungry. I'm going to eat you now. Poison don't kill me, its just helps me mellow out so I can catch some sleep.

Other badger, you're cool, but keep your distance, and keep your hands where I can see them.

Yeah, that's what I want to see out of Georgia Tech this Saturday. Twenty four hour terror machine.

Fifteen Thousand Words of Giberish; Week 5 Picks

2010-10-01T09:19:00.019-04:00

Last Week: 7-7 Alright, not showing off, not falling behind!
Total: 27-31

Once again, Pics for Picks. Got a better pic? Send it to us at gtbarrelofrum@gmail.com. Think we're wrong? Drop a line in the comments.

Tennessee +13.5 at LSU - I think Coach Precious Dooley may be the man for the job, and I think Les Miles will never cover a spread ever.

Clemson +2.5 vs. Miami - Even game, Clemson coming of a bye week, and Clemson as a home dog. like it.

Florida State +7.5 at Virginia - Mike London, it was cute, now witness the power of this fully armed and operational battle station!

Temple -3.5 at Army - People talk about Temple right? Army still riding high off Duke victory get caught napping. What? No idea.

Navy +9.5 at Air Force - Just too many points, plus Raymond Burr in a wheel chair.

Wisconsin - 1.5 at Michigan State - Okay Wisconsin, lets see you survive another one.

Virginia Poly -3.5 at North Carolina State - I think VPI&SU may have figured things out finally.

Oklahoma -3.5 vs. Texas - Our suspicions about Texas were proven correct by UCLA last week. Side note. Barry Switzer introduced us to the term "Lack of Institutional Control". Why is it considered colorful to break the rules to the detriment of the public welfare? That's just college football.

Oregon State -4.5 vs. Arizona State - Oregon State has paid twice this year, lets role with them again. Think they are still undervalued by public. Two losses, but two losses to top ten teams.

Wake Forest +9.5 vs. Georgia Tech - No way we are taking Tech as a favorite in any game with a spread greater than three this year. Just not happening. P.S. before being named the Demon Deacons, Wake Forest teams went by "The Baptists".

Georgia -3.5 at Colorado - I'll take the team whose coach doesn't owe his job security to the Athletic Associations lack of funds.

Notre Dame +2.5 at Boston College - BC just benched their starting Quarterback and suffered a shut-out loss.

Alabama +8.5 vs. Florida - Last week was just bad enough to allow Nick Saban to rip his team for a week. The Tide should come out firing on all cylinders. Woe unto you opposing quarterback.

Stanford +6.5 at Oregon - Really? Six and a half points? Seems a bit much. Particularly as I think Stanford has played slightly better competition and also scores a ton. Not a point a minute, but a tone none the less.

Penn State +7.5 at Iowa - Joe Pa isn't out of touch. He throws gang signs just like the kids. A seven and a half point spread in the Big Ten? Might as well just make it a billion.

Jekyll or Hyde: The Wake Forest Preview

2010-09-29T21:10:00.007-04:00

Which Jacket team shows up this week is perhaps the Saturday's biggest mystery.....

Tech goes on the road & under the lights this weekend as we travel to Winston-Salem to take on a Wake Forest squad that it many ways mirrors the Jackets: youthful, struggling with key injuries, & looking to establish themselves on both sides of the ball. Both teams are coming off bad losses, Tech's a 45-28 home defeat at the hands of NC State while Wake looks to recover from a 31-0 loss to Florida State on the road. And both teams certainly need a win on Saturday, Tech to keep any fleeting ACC title hopes alive, Wake simply to right the ship after two very tough road losses. A victory for either team will be a significant step in the right direction for two teams struggling to find their identity in 2010. Let's look at Wake first:

Ted Stachitas possesses Ginger powers.......which makes us here at The Barrel nervous.....

Wake Offense:

It seems almost surreal that Riley Skinner won't be under center for the Demon Deacons on Saturday night. After a great career at Wake the four-year starting QB has moved on and left a sizable void in the Wake offense. So far this season Wake has struggled with injuries at QB & this week is no exception as nominal starter freshman Tanner Price is out with a concussion & his replacement, Ted Stachitas, is questionable with a rib injury suffered against FSU. Stachitas, a good runner & marginal passer (we're certainly familiar with that....) looks to be able to play & I expect to see him on Saturday. If he can't go, Skylar Jones will likely start for the Deacs.

Whomever plays QB for Wake on Saturday expect to see a more "traditional" Jim Grobe offense as Wake has returned to the spread option look they ran before the Skinner era. Look for multiple formations & plenty of mis-direction on Saturday, very similar to what we do albeit it out of a different base formation. Wake's base set is a "21" (two backs/ one tight end) but they vary their personnel regularly in an attempt to keep the defense off balance. So far this year the Deacons have run much more than they have passed & used a primarily zone read scheme in running the ball. Tech was exploited by NC State using zone blocking last week & I expect Wake will try and do much the same (although the Wake offensive line isn't nearly the caliber of the Wolfpack's). We'll see lots of stretch plays including fly & orbit series designed to spread the defense wide & allow the Deacon wide receivers to get the hand off with some momentum. Wake really hasn't thrown the ball with any effectiveness so far this year but with our struggles in route recognition I expect we'll see lots of short stuff to the backs & WR's. Look for the Deacs to use lots of play action to entice our LB's forward, leaving large holes behind our defensive line for short dump passes.

Wake Defense

Wake sits 113 out of 120 FBS teams in scoring defense & while they've played some potent offenses (Stanford, FSU) they have struggled for most of the year. The Deacons base package is a 4-3 Over (great, great stuff by Shakin the Southland behind that link) but I expect to see a significant amount of 5-2 Monster from them on Saturday. So far this year the biggest weakness for Wake has been their defensive line which is very small (they average about 250 per man) and hasn't generated any pass rush or shown the ability to consistently stop the run. DE Kyle Wilber leads the nation in tackles-for-loss and has done most of his damage using his speed to chase plays down from the backside. While a fine player, particularly against the pass, he could be a liability for Wake on Saturday at 235 pounds - look for us to run right at him. The Deacons have a solid if not spectacular group of LB's led by redshirt sophomore Joey Ehrmann. Hunter Haynes patrols the middle while 6'0", 260 pound Matt Woodlief plays the weakside. Woodlief will have to be on his game Saturday as I expect CPJ to attack him in space both running the ball & in coverage. In the secondary, safety Cyhl Quarles is a solid player who excels in run support; expect to see him around the line-of-scrimmage frequently.

After missing almost all of last week with a leg injury Sean Bedford should be in the lineup for Tech this week

Tech Offense

The Jackets got some great news today as both starting center Sean Bedford & backup Jay Finch look to be ready to go for Saturday after missing significant time against NC State with injuries. Their return to the offense will be a big boost for Tech. One area of that certainly needs improvement for Tech is the play of our offensive tackles. In our offense, the tackles must get to the second level consistently if we are to be successful. Watch for this early as an indicator of our success.

Our offensive performance against NC State was perhaps more disappointing than that of the defense as many Tech fans, myself included, expected our offense to take another step forward this year. In reality, we've played well offensively at times but haven't truly clicked on all cylinders yet this season. There are two things that kill us offensively, turnovers & negative plays & we have to avoid both this week. Against Wake's average defense, we should be able to score plenty. The Deacons are very light up the middle & I expect CPJ to try & exploit this with plenty of dives, more midline than we've seen all year, & even some Qb & B-back draws. Wake is well coached & has seen plenty of option football so they will likely know their assignments; Saturday will be about imposing our will physically on the offensive side of the ball. One thing we'll most certainly see is an increased roll for true freshman A-back BJ Bostic; he may be our most explosive player & I expect he''ll see plenty of touches in an attempt to get him in space where he's lethal.

Tech Defense

Well, at least we're not facing Russell Wilson......Two factors will define Tech's defense on Saturday: mental focus & play recognition. We didn't fair well in either of those areas against NC State but it's a new week & frankly an easier offense to defend than the one we faced last week. Wake has shown almost no ability to throw the football this year so why not load the line & dare them to pass on Saturday? Until they prove they can beat us through the air, there's little reason not to load the line & take away the run. Wake will try & spread us out & zone block so it will be important we do a better job winning one-on-one match-ups and shedding blocks on Saturday. Improved tackling will obviously help the effort. I don't expect we'll miss as many assignments as last week & it will be important to see how we rebound mentally & how much progress we've made this week.

Special Teams

What's perhaps the biggest common denominator in both our losses this year? Poor special teams play. We simply aren't good enough this year to be able to overcome special teams breakdowns so we'll need to be solid if we want to win Saturday. Wake is pretty average on special teams & we did flash some ability on kick off returns last week so there may be an opportunity for big play in the return game.

Keys for Wake:

1) Win the One-on-One Battles: whether it's blocking or shedding blocks, Wake needs to win the individual battles if they want to have success, particularly on offense.

2) Control the Clock: Wake's best defense may be a good offense. Play keep away from our offense by "dinking & dunking" down the field on sustained drives. A "reverse death march" if you will.

3) Stop the Dive: Wake's defense is small & vulnerable up the gut. They will need to play defense from the inside out.

4) Big Plays: Wake hasn't broken off many this year; they will need at least one if they hope to win.

Keys for Tech:

1) Punch Them in the Mouth: we should be able to impose our will physically on a smaller Wake squad. We need to win the physical battles on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

2) Play Smart, Play Focused: it's no secret mental errors doomed us last week. We need to clean it up mentally & play focused on Saturday.

3) Avoid Negative Plays: 2nd & 12 isn't our strong suit. 3rd & 2 is right where we want to be. Even if the gains are minimal we have to avoid negative plays.

4) Special Teams: we can't afford mistakes. We don't have to be great but we can't be below average, we're simply not good enough to dig ourselves out of those kinds of situations.

5) Make Wake One Dimensional: force them to beat us through the air. Load the line & bring pressure both against the run & the pass. Play them the same way teams want to play us.....

How it Plays Out

It will be very interesting to see how Tech comes out. We'll know a lot about this game in the first five minutes: if we come out with high energy & focus, we should win & score plenty. If we come out flat or make an early mistake & go into a shell, we'll almost certainly lose. Wake will try & exploit our linebackers both running & passing through short passes & mis-direction. They will move the ball but settle for field goals instead of touchdowns, which in the end is why Tech wins. Offensively we'll score plenty & clean up many of the errors from last week. I expect a much better effort for the Jackets than what they showed last week: we may not be a great team this year but we're better than how we played last week. A small measure of redemption this week.

Final Score:

Tech 31 Wake 20

Blog Poll Week 5: The Eyes of Texas are a Cryin'......

2010-09-29T00:08:00.003-04:00

Barrel of Rum Ballot - Week 5

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
2	Ohio St. Buckeyes	--
3	Nebraska Cornhuskers	--
4	Boise St. Broncos	1
5	Oregon Ducks	1
6	Oklahoma Sooners	-2
7	TCU Horned Frogs	--
8	Stanford Cardinal	3
9	Florida Gators	--
10	Auburn Tigers	2
11	LSU Tigers	-1
12	Arizona Wildcats	3
13	Utah Utes	4
14	Miami Hurricanes	7
15	Wisconsin Badgers	-1
16	N.C. State Wolfpack	--
17	USC Trojans	-1
18	South Carolina Gamecocks	-5
19	Arkansas Razorbacks	-1
20	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	--
21	Iowa Hawkeyes	1
22	Florida St. Seminoles	1
23	Nevada Wolf Pack	--
24	Michigan Wolverines	1
25	Texas Longhorns	-17
Dropouts: West Virginia Mountaineers, Oregon St. Beavers

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

After four weeks things are beginning to shake themselves out. Frank & I were pretty together on our votes this week with only a couple differences which we'll touch on later. The rundown:

1) Alabama: solid work in Fayetteville, now on to the Gators.

2) Ohio State: if Tressel wears a sweatervest on Saturdays does he wear coach's shorts the rest of the week. Seems logical...wait, WTF am I doing thinking about Jim Tressel's shorts?

3) Nebraska: Frank likes Boise a bit more so you can flip-flop the two if you like. Pellini started giving out black shirts after the Washington game which means big trouble for opposing offenses (plus, it has to be one of college football's coolest traditions....)

4) Boise State: impressive win & it's smooth sailing until Herbsteit, Corso, & Co. head there in November for Gameday.

5) Oregon: this whole "point-a -minute" thing is ridiculous.......and they are doing their best to get there....

6) Oklahoma: the see-saw continues. They certainly have the athletes, but which team shows up on Saturday is a question mark right now.

7) TCU: didn't look great against SMU but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

8) Stanford: very efficient performance. They are solid but not deep, which eventually may be a problem. Jim Harbaugh will be VERY well paid next year, albeit it at Stanford or elsewhere.

9) Florida: Hello, Mr. Burton, that's a hell of a way to announce your presence.

10) Auburn: a major point of contention between Frank & me. I had them at #6, Frank had them at #13. We were going to duel at dawn but diplomacy prevailed.

11) LSU: how long can this last? Jordan Jefferson benched & Gary Crowton still calling plays? The clock is ticking....

12) Arizona: a squeaker after a big game. Not all that surprising.

13) Utah: steady as she goes....

14) Miami: we miss Jacory's tweets....

15) Wisconsin: our other big disagreement. Frank had them #22, Hash #12.

16) NC State: we're probably ranking them too high but the pain still lingers.....

17) USC: better get to work defensively with Stanford & Oregon on the horizon.

18) South Carolina: great time to make a point, Spurrier.

19) Arkansas: played well against Bama

20) Oklahoma State: I'm a man.....

21) Iowa: back on track

22) FSU: defense looks to be improving

23) Nevada: El Pistole es muy bueno.....

24) Michigan: Robinson's knee a concern this week?

25) Texas: see El Pistole above.....

Out: West Virginia & Oregon State. Please don't burn our couch......

NC State Postmortem......

2010-09-27T07:41:00.002-04:00

There's no easy place to start & plenty of questions that need to be answered after Saturday's 45-28 loss to the Wolfpack. We failed miserably in all three phases of the game against State, fumbling four times (losing two), allowing 527 yards of total offense, and having a punt blocked for a TD. It wasn't pretty and there's very little to take away that's positive. I'm still watching the tape & analyzing but I thought I'd post some brief thoughts on what I saw on Saturday:

Offense:

We had chances and when we needed our most dependable, signature unit to step up & grab an early lead we simply didn't execute. Yes, we were down to our third string center with Sean Bedford (leg contusion) and Jay Finch (hamstring) out. But there were plays to be made & we simply didn't make them.

As Joshua Nesbitt goes so goes our offense and on Saturday, #9 had a poor game. Yes, he's our leader & yes, he plays with as much heart as any player I've seen on the Flats. But that doesn't make him immune from a poor game & he did not play well on Saturday, missing multiple reads allowing for too many negative plays. I don't know whether Nesbitt doesn't have confidence in those around him or is simply pressing & trying to do too much, but Joshua has to trust those around him & pitch the ball instead of taking multiple losses behind the line.
There are two things our offense can't abide: turnovers & negative plays. We had plenty of both on Saturday. 2nd & 12 isn't where we want to find ourselves & that was the case all too frequently against NC State.
Our offensive line has to be more physical. We're getting little push & can't seem to get to the second level. I thought this would be a real strength for us this year but we just haven't put it all together yet.
We haven't hit a single "long" pass where the ball is in the air more than 30 yards all season: 1) we miss BayBay, & 2) stop throwing what essentially are Hail Mary's! I know CPJ says he wants big chunks of real estate when we throw but something is better than nothing! Throw short for a change. Wheel routes to Allen have been effective, as has that little flair route to Orwin out of the backfield. Smoke screens are a great way to get five or six yards & set up a longer hitch & go route. We're beating our head against a wall right now trying to execute something we're not good at. One of CPJ's greatest strengths, his tenacity & stubbornness, is in this case a great weakness.
It would be wise to get #4, BJ Bostic the ball as frequently as possible. He looks to be a difference maker with his speed & elusiveness.

Defense:

Groh said after the game that of 81 defensive snaps he thought we had three significant plays: the two Jefferson sacks (one of which resulted in a turnover) and the Tarrant interception. Can't disagree. CPJ followed up in last night's teleconference by saying we missed 43 defensive assignments by his count. That's how you give up 527 yards (with 9 plays of 20+ yards). We knew there were going to be growing pains but damn, that hurt. I will say this, while the new defense takes time to learn I truly believe our defensive issues are not scheme related but talent based; it's "Jimmies & Joes, not X's & O's" and we desperately need more talent on defense.

Our defensive line isn't getting it done. NC State didn't unveil some crazy new offensive scheme on Saturday. They ran the ball consistently using a simple zone blocking scheme which accentuates one vs. one match-ups. Needless to say, we lost those match-ups. If you want to defeat a zone read running team, you have to shed blocks & make tackles, two things that have been a challenge for us this year. Against the pass, we generate ZERO pressure on the QB with a standard four man rush. Unless we bring additional players (leaving us vulnerable on the back end if we don't get to the QB) we simply can't pressure the QB.
Our LB's are square pegs fitting into round holes. Right now we have 4-3 players running a 3-4 & the transition has been brutal. There's really not a whole lot we can do but take our lumps right now & hope we improve as the year progresses. We must get better in pass coverage and recognizing routes out of the backfield.
I thought we could have changed it up in the secondary a bit on Saturday. Our constant use of Cover 2 became very predictable & NC State OC Dana Bible exploited that, sending a TE down the seam & a receiver down the sideline & forcing the safety to choose which player to cover and leaving one open. Why not play man (Cover Zero), take our chances, & try & bring some real pressure on Wilson? Just a thought.

Not-so-Special Teams:

Okay, I think I'm actually going to call into the CPJ show this week about OUR FUCKING IDIOTIC PUNT FORMATION WHICH IS THE STUPIDEST THING EVER! This spread "three bears" personal protector shit has to go. The ostensible point in spreading your punt team out is that they will be better in coverage because they are already basically in their lanes & can simply evade their man & get downfield. The drawback? Your blockers are spread out & easier to beat which can leave multiple guys crashing into to your three man "wall" like on Saturday. It's too easy to have punts blocked using this formation.

Saturday wasn't pleasant for any Tech fan. It's a clear sign that we have much to work on. But all isn't lost. Do we need to re-calibrate our expectations for this year? Probably as it looks like we're a pretty average team. But there's still time so don't write the whole season off yet. That being said, we HAVE to get better......

NC State Snapshot.....

2010-09-25T23:13:00.000-04:00

Fourteen Thousand Words of Gibberish - Week 4 Picks -

2010-09-24T10:12:00.019-04:00

Last Week = 8-7
Year = 20-24

Don't like a picture, send us a better one at gtbarrelofrum@gmail.com. Don't like a pick, let us know in the comments section. Chances are we agree.

NC State +8.5 at Georgia Tech - I'm not saying NC State will win, but Tech doesn't have the D to be favored by this much.

Virginia Poly -3.5 at Boston College - I'm just under rating BC like everyone else in the world.

Florida International +10.5 at Maryland - Panthers played Texas Agriculture and Mining close, and Maryland should never be favored by this much. Plus, excuse to use picture of Isiah Thomas.

Kansas State -10.5 vs. Central Florida - why not.

Alabama -6.5 at Arkansas - Sell Arkansas stock know, they will never be higher

Stanford -3.5 at Notre Dame - Am I missing something. Stanford is killing people. Notre Dame is 1-2.

Idaho -7.5 at Colorado State - Colorado State was destroyed by Colorado, thus Colorado State is very, very bad.

Nevada - 2.5 at Brigham Young - BYU hasn't covered in two weeks. No reason to think they can do it this week against el pistole.

Georgia +1.5 at Mississippi State - Just think the the general betting public is down on Georgia and Mississippi State has no offense. (I hate this pick)

Fresno State -1.5 at Mississippi-Loose to Jacksonville State and Vanderbilt, then be favored against a Fresno State team that beat Utah and Cincinnati, what?

South Carolina -2.5 at Auburn - Betting last week against Clemson took too much out of TigerEagles.

Oregon State -16.5 at Boise State - Love Boise, but Oregon State deserves more respect than that. They played TCU tough

LSU -6.5 vs. West Virginia - Surprisingly, there are lots of houses in Louisiana painted Purple and Yellow. LSU just keeps winning ugly, and I suspect they are actually improving.

Arizon -6.5 vs. California - Actually, that number is too big, but I've already uploaded the picture.

Thursday Night Lights (Notes)

2010-09-24T08:57:00.009-04:00

This Game inspired the "Young Einstein Postulate". The Young Einstein Postulate explains why every ACC out-of-conference game is framed as a referendum on the ACC and yet the same does not apply to the Big East. "Young Einstein" sucks. Its terrible. It makes "Crocodile Dundee" look like "Schindler's List" Yet Yahoo Serious wrote, directed, and starred in the movie, and he did it all while raising the money piece meal himself. That's incredibly impressive. Not when compared to a real director, but it is when compared to 99% of the people in the world. If we made a movie it would be a pile of unfocused, over exposed, not-plot-having gibberish. It would be unrecognizable as film. Yahoo Serioius, to his credit, made a film that was just good enough to be recognized as crap.

The "Young Einstein Postulate" states that a bare minimum level of competency has to be achieved before something is recognizable as terrible. Any level of competency below that minimum is simply white noise. The ACC has reached the minimum, the Big East has not.

Below are my actual notes from last nights game.

Miami rips off first drive. I wonder if that will be the highlight of the game.(Yep it was).

Travis Benjamin plays football like Forest Gump This is not a statement about Benjamin’s intelligence. His play simply reminds me of the football scenes in "Forest Gump"

Uncle Milty = Pulling out just enough to win. This does not apply tonight.

Don’t blitz Jacory Harris; he will eventually just give you the ball

Wannstedt is Pitt's special teams coach
In pregame meeting he says team will punt ball out of bounds.
First two punts go directly to Travis Benjamin
Second return looks like Forest Gump.
Pitt Saved by Miami(ism)

Miami OC Mark Whipple needs to run ball more, make Harris’ decision easier. Miami play actions anyway. Ultimate pass to set up the run offense.

Wannstedt attempts 52-yard field goal with kicker whose all time long is 45 yards. Who’s his special team coach ?

Reese Davis after missed Pitt field goal late in first half “Pittsburgh’s best drive of the night ....ends…with…….nothing"

Dave Wannstedt's half-time interview sounds like a man explaining lipstick on his lapel to his wife

Per Yahoo, NBA has achieved stated goal. All thirty teams will have new jerseys

No one is scared of Pitt QB Tino Sunseri.
Quick Sketch – "Tino Sunseri at Thanksgiving dinner"
Mrs. Sunseri: Tino, would you please pass the mash potatoes?
Tino stares at Mom.
Tino stares at Mom more.
Tino stares at Mom some more.
Tino picks up mashed potatoes, runs into living room and slides.
Mr. Sunseri's plate is empty

Miami D-Line WAYYYYYYYYY better than Pitt O-Line. Down Grade Utah.

Great moment, Craig James decries young people today and off field issues without a hint of irony or self-awareness <--- not necessarily referring to his son. Definitely referring to SMU.

After personal foul Wannstedt yells at player who continually tries to walk past him to get some Gatorade

Dislocated Knee Cap – I’d wish death of the first-born son on an enemy before I wished that on him. It looks painful

“All the Way Turnt Up” has gone jock jams viral. That song sucks.

Pitt RB Ray Graham looks more effective than Deion Lewis, Heisman Trophy Candidate

I think Craig James thought the third quarter was the fourth quarter for about three minutes.

Wannstedt settles for a very NFL field goal early in the fourth.

Dear Pitt DB,
It’s a 12-yard out.
Sincerely
Everyone in America

All investment broker ads are aimed at dicks that think they are too smart to need investment brokers/dicks who talk about the kind of grass on the fairway.

After fumbled punt, Pitt player runs into Wannstedt (being referred to as Wanny for some reason now) trying to get on field. Doesn’t apologize.

10:45 left in fourth = Game over.

Jesse Palmer does research, pays attention, and makes relevant comments.

Multiple times tonight Jesse Palmer says something immediately following a comment from Craig James that can be loosely translated “that’s totally fucking wrong, and has nothing to do with reality”

Jonathan Baldwin lets Miami CB DeMarcus Van Dyke intercept pass. Pitt lets Van Dyke run forty yards before reluctantly pursuing. Van Dyke tackled at Pit 25. Miami celebrates like Georgia after scoring on Florida. Ass Clowns. Go Buckeyes.

Miami players show off for camera on sidelines. Learn the difference between playing well, and simply being the less incompetent team. Sorry, this game is making me angry.

Pitt’s not even trying at this point. Seriously, they’ve given up.

Not impressed with the push Miami’s o-line gets on any short yardage plays tonight.

Linebacker Shaun Spence named player of the game. In fact, entire front seven for Miami looks very strong. No idea how much Pitt has to with that.

Craig James repeats stat he said in first quarter. Is apparently unaware of this fact.

Reese, Jesse and Craig try to sell us on the idea that this was a great defensive performance by Miami, followed by a big Pitt run featuring lackadaisical tackling and topped off by a face mask penalty against Miami putting Pitt inside the Miami ten.

Pitt doesn’t score on final possession. Game over. That was pooh.

NC State Wolfpack Preview.....

2010-09-22T21:46:00.010-04:00

Tech welcomes old friend Jon Tenuta back this weekend......

Coming off a big division road win in Chapel Hill last weekend the Jackets look to build momentum heading into the heart of the conference schedule. Buoyed by a 3-0 start, the Wolfpack look to be "on the Kool-Aid" according to CPJ & brimming with confidence heading into Atlanta. After beating a poor Cincinnati team last Thursday night at home, the Pack is looking for a signature conference win to vault them into ACC Championship contention. Tech re-established itself against UNC after a dreadful loss at Kansas and holds a conference best seven game win streak heading into Saturday's tilt. So what to expect on Saturday:

NC State Offense

Wilson loves to get out of the pocket & move around

It all starts with junior QB Russell Wilson for the Pack. The ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2008, Wilson has developed into an excellent quarterback who has the ability to beat you with his arm through the air or with his scrambling ability on the ground. Wilson is very mobile and able to gain yards with his legs but he prefers to scramble to buy himself time in order to throw the football. Tech will need to keep Wilson in the pocket if they are to have success on defense Saturday. Another reason Wilson likes to scramble is that he's short (listed at 5'11", probably 5'10" in reality) and getting out of the pocket helps open up throwing lanes. While NOT NEARLY AS GOOD A PLAYER (and frankly no one will ever be as good....), stylistically Wilson reminds me of our own 5'10" quarterbacking machine, Joe Hamilton.

Wilson operates behind one of the ACC's biggest offensive lines as State averages 6'3" & almost 310 pounds per man up front. The Pack offensive line is much better pass blocking than paving the way for the run as they seem strong but lacking mobility. Only senior tackle Jake Vermiglio is an upperclassmen so we'll be seeing this group for a couple of more years. Center Cam Wentz, who hails from Lassiter here in Atlanta, has a bright future at State.

The Pack is solid at the skill positions, led by junior All-ACC tight end & amateur horticulturalist George Bryan. Bryan is a huge target for Wilson at 6'5" & 265 pounds who, while not speedy even by tight end standards, is a tremendously physical player with great hands. A beast to bring down, Bryan runs like a man in a Cheech & Chong movie after a bag of Cheetos.......wait, he IS after a bag of Cheetos. At wide receiver, NC State has two imposing targets in Jarvis Williams (6'4", 220) and Owen Spencer (6'3", 185). Both players are physical & have the ability to stretch a defense vertically. One guy not to sleep on for the Pack is fullback Taylor Gentry. The former walk-on is an impressive lead blocker & a capable receiver out of the backfield, something Tech will have to watch closely all game long as Wilson likes to use Gentry as his safety valve if nothing is available down the field. If State's offense has a question mark it's at tailback, where two redshirt freshmen, Mustafa Greene & Dean Haynes, a converted defensive back, share duties. Greene ran efficiently & caught the ball well against Cincinnati while Haynes has had ball security issues so expect Greene to carry the load on Saturday. It will be imperative for Tech to hold Greene in check.

Offensively, I expect State to pass in order to set up Greene & the running game. Watch for Bryan & even gentry to be offensive focal points. Expect State offensive coordinator Dana Bible to run a lot of "9" (go) routes on the edge to clear out space for Bryan to work the middle underneath. Also watch for Gentry & Greene on hook & wheel routes out of the backfield as they try & get isolated on a linebacker. I also expect more "out & up" & "stop & go" stuff in an attempt to catch our safeties cheating (see last week).

NC State Defense

Nate Irving is back & as bad as ever......

Stop it with all the "Tenuta is god" crap. He's a good coach. A very aggressive defensive mind who lives & dies by the blitz. There's no question his presence has improved the Pack defense this year. But guess what? Tenuta has never faired particularly well against spread option teams because you can't bring tons of pressure with blitzes against spread option teams. His record against Navy while at Notre Dame? 1-1. In 2008, he held the Mids to 21 points on 242 yards of total offense while in 2009, Navy gashed the Tenuta-led Irish for 404 total yards on offense in a 23-21 Mids victory. We can talk Tenuta later; the simple fact is he won't play a snap (or most likely even call the defensive signals) on Saturday.

After watching the Pack's performance on Thursday their defense is good but easily exploitable at the hands of CPJ. State plays a standard 4-3 front with a fair amount of Cover Zero (man) in the secondary. On the defensive line, they have good size on the interior with tackles Sweezy & Mageo & a pair of decent if not spectacular ends in Rieskamp & Akinnlyl. Where the Pack defense really stands out is at linebacker where they have three very talented players led by Nate Irving in the middle. Returning from a near fatal car accident which kept him out almost all of last year, Irving is again playing at a high level as an all-around tackling machine. Flanking Irving are the dependable Terrell Manning & the much improved Audie Cole, who has played very well this year. State's big defensive question mark is in the secondary where they are very young & inexperienced, starting three sophomores & one junior. The State secondary will have to tackle well & be mindful of the deep ball on Saturday if they hope to slow Tech down.

The story last Saturday against UNC for Tech was the ability to execute offensively while adjusting defensively & that will need to continue this week if they hope to beat NC State. As always, if we take care of the ball on offense & cause turnovers on defense it will go a long way toward victory.

Tech Offense

Watch for Embry Peeples down the seam for the deep ball on Saturday....

What was the difference in our offense from Kansas to Chapel Hill? Simple: execution. We just plain got the job done last Saturday. From a vast overall improvement in blocking (everyone from Roddy to Cone to Allen to Uzzi was involved & much better than the week before) to throwing & catching, the Jackets improved in every offensive phase. With no anticipated lineup changes this week, expect the Jackets to lean heavily on last weeks game plan. When you look at State, and this will doubtlessly piss off any State fan who happens to read this, they remind me a lot of last week's opponent, UNC: an average defensive line, very good linebackers, & a young & inexperienced secondary. That's why I think CPJ will attack in much the same way we did last week: pound the edges early & often to soften up the middle, exploit that weakness, & then take a few shots deep. It will again be critical for Tech to block the perimeter, particularly as the Pack secondary is both young & not terribly physical. I expect Archer/Tenuta & Co. to really sell out against the run, leaving deep routes down the seam to the A-backs there for the taking. Also watch for Stephen Hill on the skinny post. State couldn't cover this route against Cincinnati & don't expect they'll be focused on it with our run game coming at them.

Tech Defense

Sure like to have one of these for Russell Wilson on Saturday

There were signs of life last week for the Jacket defense as UNC went punt, fumble, punt, fumble, turnover on downs in their last five possessions. In-game adjustments, particularly in getting some pressure on Carolina QB TJ Yates, were key for Tech & they'll need to continue this week. Tech has been awful against the run dating to last year, allowing the last six teams we've faced an hundred yard rusher. That trend has to stop & Saturday would be a good time. Tech needs to make NC State one-dimensional on offense if they have any hope of slowing down the Pack offense. My thought is we'll use the nickel package as our base defense against the Pack as they are very dangerous throwing the ball. Expect Groh to dial up lots of stunts & blitzes in an attempt to get pressure on Wilson & keep him from escaping outside where he becomes deadly. WE MUST SET THE EDGE & KEEP WILSON IN THE POCKET IF WE WANT TO SUCCEED DEFENSIVELY. If he gets out & starts scrambling around our coverage will break down & we're sure to give up a big play. Knocking Wilson around a little will also be key; we need to get in his head a bit & make him think about the hits that are coming not the receivers down field. It will be key for Tech to contain TE George Bryan on hook & curl routes underneath.

Special Teams

NC State so far has been pretty average. Tech improved greatly last week as Scott Blair kicked well & Sean Poole looked good on his lone punt. Coach Kelly said there will be some changes on return teams in order to get better their but one area that has really stood out do far is kick coverage for the Jackets. A big special teams play certainly wouldn't hurt our cause this weekend.

Three Keys For Tech:

1) The Death March: we're proud of the phrase we coined here & this week it will be a key to victory. tech must control the clock & keep the defense fresh & the Pack offense off the field. On Saturday, the best defense for the Jackets will be a good offense.

2) Set The Edge: Tech must contain Russell Wilson & keep him in the pocket. If he can scamper around the defense will break down & it will be a long afternoon.

3) Make State's Offense One Dimensional: we need to shut down at least one part of their attack. Focus on stopping the run & let Tech;s stronger secondary carry the load defensively.

Three Keys for NC State:

1) Run the football: Tech has given up six straight 100 yard rushers. If the State offense is multi-dimensional they will be difficult to stop.

2) Establish the Tight End: George Bryan is an All-ACC player & Tech's linebackers are vulnerable in coverage. If the Pack can work Bryan on hook, curl, & crossing routes underneath it will take a lot of pressure off Wilson.

3) Tackle on the edge: the Pack will need their young secondary to step up & be physical on the perimeter to force the Jackets back inside toward their strong linebackers. Any breakdowns in tackling on the edge for State will be punished with long gains by the Jackets.

How it Plays Out

Saturday will be a hard fought contest as there's a lot on the line in conference play for both schools. State has been pretty bad in conference play on the road under O'Brien (3-9) and this trip to Atlanta will be no cupcake, despite what the State message boards think. Tech has scored on every opening possession this year & it will continue on Saturday. Expect NC State to try & move the ball with short passes over the middle but Tech will eventually stiffen up defensively. CPJ will try to control the clock with the running game but as time wears on State will commit more & more guys to the line of scrimmage, leaving themselves vulnerable to long passes down the middle. Tech simply wears the Pack down in the end & wins at home.....

Final Score

Tech 38 State 29

In Translation: CPJ

2010-09-22T13:52:00.001-04:00

Spencer Hall of EDSBS breaks down what CPJ really said in this week's press conference.

ACC Week 3 in Review - Outline of Confusion and Growing Disappointment

2010-09-22T11:40:00.014-04:00

1. NC State 30 – Cincinnati 19

a. The Wolfpack is 3-0 for first time since 2000, which is another way of saying they have floundered for a decade after deciding to get into the football business.

b. State quarterback Russell Wilson is bloody useful. He struggled the week before against Central Florida but really looked sharp in the early going against the Bearcats.

c. States rushing attack has also dragged in the early going, but Mustafa Greene ran for 84 yards on 16 carries including a 31 yd touchdown.

d. The Pack led 30-7 in the fourth quarter before slacking off and allowing Cincinnati to score two touchdowns. Cincy failed to convert the two-point attempts. Possible lack of focus NC State?

e. Bearcats don’t appear to be very good.

f. Nice win, but lets not get it bent Wolfpack fans, 3-0 is just 3-0.

2. Florida State 34 – BYU 10

a. Seminoles bounce back after 47-17 loss to Oklahoma

b. FSU struggled a little bit, leading only 13-10 at the half, but a 14-0 3^rd quarter put down the Cougars.

c. Quarterback Christian Ponder in particular struggled early before pouring it on in the second half. Ponder has a bruised bicep from the Oklahoma game, but reports say it is healing quickly.

d. Really a dominant performance as FSU held BYU to 191 yards total offense and rolled up 427 yards of its own.

e. So we know FSU is better than BYU and worse than Oklahoma, but we have no idea how good FSU is.

3. Virginia Poly 49 – East Carolina 27

a. The Hokies almost let Boise beat them three times falling behind 10-0 to open the game.

b. After that VPI&SU came alive, trading three touchdowns for two to end the first half down 24-21.

c. While the offense came alive at the end of the second quarter, the defense showed up in the second half. The pirates only scored a field goal, while the Hokie offense scored four touchdowns.

d. The Hokies did most of this without Ryan Williams who injured his hamstring half way through the second quarter. Darren Evans (91 yards 1 TD) and David Wilson (89 yards 2 TD) stepped up.

e. The question is, which team is for real, the Team we saw fight Boise tooth and nail and blow out a solid ECU team in the second half, or the team that struggled for the six quarters in between that.

4. Clemson 24 – Auburn 27

a. These two teams just beat the heck out of each other. Clemson jumped out to an early lead and then tenaciously lost ground to Auburn in the second half. The big difference in the game was probably Kyle Parker's injury. Parker took a helmet to the back early in the third quarter and was visibly pained through out the game, and his accuracy suffered, at one point missing a wide open receiver in the end zone.

b. If the game were a movie you’d be disappointed in the ending only because the rest of it was so good. The game went into over time and was lost by Clemson when a made field goal was disallowed (correctly) when the long snapper was called for an illegal snap and missed the ensuing field goal attempt.

c. That being said Clemson’s other two opponents were worse than scrimmage teams, and the only legitimate team Auburn has played (Mississippi State) has yet to win a meaningful game, so its hard to tell what direction the Tigers are headed.

d. The other question is can both these teams recover from this game or will it wreck them for the rest of the season as several players where carted of the field with what appeared to be serious leg injuries.

5. Duke 13 –Alabama 62

a. "We always approach every game the same way: Just come in, wanting to dominate the opponent, make them never want to play us ever again," Ingram (via ESPN) said. "That's the mindset we want them to have when we leave." Goal Achieved. Ingram himself ran for 131 yards.

b. Duke can’t play defense, but at least they scored a touchdown. It was the first touchdown Alabama allowed all year.

c. Duke was down 45-13 at the end of the first half. The second half was more of a controlled scrimmage than a competitive game as Alabama added another 17 points.

d. How flipping good is the Alabama team? Really good. Good enough to tempt hyperbole, but we’ll resist for another couple of weeks. One thing's for sure, Alabama is so much better than Duke that it’s impossible to estimate how Duke will do against the rest of its schedule based on that game.

6. Maryland 17 – West Virginia 31

a. Paper turtle, thy name is Maryland

b. West Virginia pretty much did what ever they wanted to in the first half jumping out to a 21 point lead at the half. They stretched that lead to 28 early in the third quarter before allowing Maryland to creep within 11. The Mountaineers are yet to put together a full game this year.

c. The only bright spot for the Terrapin’s were 60 and 80 yard touchdown passes to speedy wide receiver Torrey Smith.

d. The Maryland offensive line had a particularly bad day as they allowed eight sacks and paved the way for -20 yards rushing.

7. Wake Forest 24 – Stanford 68

a. Basically Stanford just out paced the Deacons throughout the game. Stanford scored on all eight possessions its starters played.

b. Wakes had scored 107 points in its first two games, and all though they scored 24 in this game, it has to be considered a good effort against a vastly superior team. Remember, Stanford shut-out UCLA the week before.

c. The Deacon’s defense gave up 68 points to the Cardinal after giving up 58 to Duke the week before.

d. Two years ago the ACC sent ten teams to bowl games. That year the ACC sent teams all over the country and they had the ability to compete for the most part. This weekend Duke and Wake Forest needed miracles to win.

8. Boston College – Magnum PI marathon

a. Though undefeated, the Eagles have not exactly soared against the likes of Webber State (winning by 18) and Kent State (winning by 13). We’ll see if BC tightened things up last week as they face Virginia Tech, a team that has dominated them.

9. Miami – Licking Wounds

a. An anonymous Miami fan used the off week to keep it classy and suggest via twitter that the levels of melanin in Jacory Harris' skin are to blame for the U’s loss to THE Ohio State. Surely wide receivers not knowing the play calls mattered more.

10. Virginia – Taking in a Dave Mathews show. Feeling good about that D+. It’s not a grade they like to give out.

a. Virginia follows up its bye week with a second bye week. This time VMI comes to town. The game against the Keydets (sic) represents another opportunity for UVA to install more of Coach Mike London’s offense and defense, and develop depth. Something they’ll need when they enter ACC play.

Request for Bids

2010-09-21T08:36:00.005-04:00

This is a totally reasonable thing to do. After all it was just a pile of dusty, nasty old money. It's not like we could have found something useful to do with it. Fortunately, In this economy we were able to find a great contractor who followed the specifications to the letter; primer then finish coat.

Sincerely,

Oregon State Beavers

P.S. We dropped out of ECON 1002 right before we got to "diminishing returns".

DIY in Durham.....

2010-09-21T08:20:00.002-04:00

It's like they needed a primer for last weekend so their fans would know how to act amongst the Bama faithful......They omitted the part about the outcome.....

BlogPoll Week 4: Mark Dantonio's Grande Huevos....

2010-09-21T00:14:00.003-04:00

Barrel of Rum Ballot - Week 4

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
2	Ohio St. Buckeyes	--
3	Nebraska Cornhuskers	2
4	Oklahoma Sooners	--
5	Boise St. Broncos	-2
6	Oregon Ducks	4
7	TCU Horned Frogs	-1
8	Texas Longhorns	-1
9	Florida Gators	--
10	LSU Tigers	10
11	Stanford Cardinal	5
12	Auburn Tigers	--
13	South Carolina Gamecocks	--
14	Wisconsin Badgers	-3
15	Arizona Wildcats	4
16	USC Trojans	--
17	Utah Utes	-3
18	Arkansas Razorbacks	-1
19	West Virginia Mountaineers	6
20	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	--
21	Miami Hurricanes	-6
22	Iowa Hawkeyes	-14
23	Florida St. Seminoles	--
24	Oregon St. Beavers	--
25	Michigan Wolverines	-7
Dropouts: Clemson Tigers, Penn St. Nittany Lions, Georgia Bulldogs, Boston College Eagles

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

Check out the huevos on Senor Dantonio, who put himself right up there with CPJ in the manly bowling ball department. And survived the heart attack that ensued when that much blood isdiverted. A speedy recovery to Coach Dantonio........

In other news, the Fightin' Pellini's made Jake Locker spontaneously combust while Auburn & Clemson took Tiger-on-Tiger violence to an all new level; holy hell did those boys knock the shit out of each other. As always, a brief rundown:

1) Alabama: The Sabanator goes old school & gets all Hannibal-esque as the Elephants roll through Durham......Nicky likes Joe Pa & Cutcliffe thus held his troops in check. I'm giddy at the thought of the curb-stomping he gives Petrino this week......

2) Ohio State: went all Dusty Rhodes on the Bobcats....

3) Nebraska: three guys rush for over 100 yards & Jake Locker immolates himself......on the road. They are for real....

4) Oklahoma: beat a good Air Force team. Will end up when all's said & done a W against a top 25 team.

5) Boise: play somebody.....

6) Oregon: an offensive juggernaut.

7) TCU: steady as she goes.....

8) Texas: a fine defensive team led by Sam Acho. That said, they are no dimensional on offense; at least pick something to do well offensively....

9) Florida: it's a road win in Knoxvegas which you can't discount.....wait, you can, the Vols suck. A finesse running attack will end up being their demise. And snapping the ball....

10) LSU: racked up 2 good wins which is why they are here. Gary Crowton couldn't score with $500 American in a Russian whorehouse. An offensive disaster, but deserving of this spot this week.

11) Stanford: angry green trees whooped Wake.....

12) Auburn: someone's toting Kyle Parker's spleen around the Plains as a souvenir. I like them more than Frank I think....

13) South Carolina: UGA win loses a bit of luster....

14) Wisconsin: that's why you play to the whistle. Love the effort....

15) Arizona: beat the fightin' Stanzi's & looked pretty good doing it. Lots of speed....

16) Southern Cal: ask Frank....

17) Utah: nice when your back-up QB goes something like 20-23 for 250 & a couple TDs....

18) Arkansas: so they can throw. Their defense is suspect & we'll just have to drop them a bunch next week. Might as well just leave them here....

19) West Virginia: Noel Devine is fun to watch....and they burn furniture....

20) Oklahoma State: because T. Boone Pickens gave us some cash....

21) Miami: penalized for taking away Jacory's tweeting privileges....

22) Iowa: here's an idea - nickel package. And special teams while you're at it......

23) Florida State: rebounded against BYU....

24) Oregon State: we'll know more after this week.....

25) Michigan: the invisible defense experiment barely worked this week.....

Teams falling out: Clemson (nice effort), Penn State (meh...), Georgia (schadenfreude), & Boston College (need to play someone).

Things are beginning to take shape & will clarify even further after this week. After #13 it's all a mess.......What do you think about our Top 25? (that means comment!).

White Russians and Ringers

2010-09-20T15:41:00.004-04:00

Announcing the return of our weekly segment honoring the honorable and identifying the guilty. For the record "White Russians" are delicious beverages that prove vodka mixes with every thing but milk, unless of course you have coffee liquor, then we are back in business. In other words "White Russians" are good. "The Ringer" is a brief case full of dirty undies. Obviously bad.

White Russians

Home Field Advantage

Roddy Jones
Two receptions, one for a touchdown, and one on a big third and long for a first down, but the really impressive thing was the TigerTiger (what all ferocious hits will be called for now on thanks to Clemson and Auburn) cut blocking.

Sean Bedford
Big old dented helmet by the end of the game. Bedford blew up the man in front of him on several fourth and shorts.

TJ Barnes
The only way this defense is going to become substantially better is if players start stepping up their games. Barnes did this, with four solo tackles and one assist. When in the game he was consistently double teamed. He really gave the Heels problems. The next step for the red shirt sophomore is to play like this consistently.

Brandon Watts
Modest numbers for the day, but the red shirt freshman Linebacker did an excellent job limiting UNC Tight End Zack Pianalto. Pianalto caught a lot of passes but was never able to break one for any meaningful yardage as Watts was right on top of him and was a sure tackler.

Orwin Smith
The 73 yard touchdown was nice, but its easy to run when everyone in front of you has already been knocked to the ground. Smith's real contribution was on special teams. He averaged 14.3 yards a return, but he did it with a certain joy d'chaos.

Scott Blair
Me likey makey field goals! and they were right down the middle.

The Ringer

Being Mean to Little Kids

The kid side of me loves the frosted evilness, but the adult side of me represses these feelings and suffers from hypertension.

Phil Smith
Bad false start penalty. On fourth and short it's going to be Nesbitt behind Bedford. Everyone knows that. You could sit down like Finch in "Wildcats" and no one would have cared. Anyway, Smith knows this. I'm sure Coach Johnson had Smith over for tea and biscuits just to smooth out any little misunderstandings.

The Allstate "Chaos Like Me" Adds
You're a handsome actor. After seeing your face seven hundred times on Saturday, you now haunt my dreams. Go Away. Forever.

Execution & Adjustments: the UNC Game Breakdown

2010-09-19T18:53:00.006-04:00

That's what it came down to on Saturday in Chapel Hill, we simply executed on offense and made enough adjustments on defense to get the job done. At some points it was beautiful (the opening TD) and at others painful (still need to tackle better) but in the end what matters is that we got the job done & picked up a conference win on the road. We're far from a complete team at this stage but Saturday was a step in the right direction as the Jackets played with great intensity & purpose. First the offense:

Other than intensity on Saturday the biggest difference between this week's win & last week's loss was simple: we executed & made plays. As we have in our two previous games, the Jackets scored on our first possession, this time it was a perfectly blocked 76 yard pitch to sophomore Orwin Smith on a triple option down the left sideline. I can't find the video yet but I'll post it when I get a chance because the play was perfectly executed: Roddy arcs the CB, Cone stalks the playside safety, Claytor crushed the playside LB while Anthony Allen cut the middle LB. Nesbitt forces the DE to commit early & makes a great pitch. But perhaps the best part of the play was RG Omoregie Uzzi, lumbering 20 yards downfield to re-direct the safety in pursuit, allowing Orwin to score untouched. It's a hell of a play by an offensive lineman to get that far down the field & factor in a play and without question Uzzi had his best day in a Tech uniform on Saturday.

I said in the preview on Thursday that we needed to block the perimeter better & both the A-backs & wide receivers delivered on Saturday. Cone, Melton, Sims & even Corey Earls made blocks on the edge, something we desperately needed & hadn't seen yet this year. But the day belonged the Roddy Jones as he not only made two clutch catches, one for a TD, but had the best day blocking of any A-back I can remember at Tech. Jones consistently crushed his man on the edge on Saturday, leaving Carolina blue strewn about the Kenan lawn and opening huge holes on the edge. And when he wasn't flipping Tar Heels ass-over-tea kettle? How about a TD catch on a wheel route from 23 yards out and a clutch grab from a scrambling Nesbitt on 3rd & 7 late in the 3rd quarter? That Carolina LB didn't need his ankles, anyway.

Speaking of throwing & catching, Saturday once again proves that it's not the number of times we throw but how effective we are when we do; 3-4 for 76 yards, including a TD & the aforementioned clutch 3rd down conversion was all we needed Saturday. Nesbitt looked calm & steady throwing the ball, something we're not always used to seeing but a welcome change.

The offensive line played their best game of the year & it showed mainly in Anthony Allen & Joshua Nesbitt's stat lines. Allen, who rushed for 115 yards on 20 attempts, not only ran hard but also blocked well, leading to several long gains by Nesbitt & the A-backs. Nesbitt (26-104) was his usual self, dragging tacklers with him for important yards. Nesbitt did miss several reads on Saturday but played a solid game as both pitches that went awry weren't his fault (Roddy tripped & Marcus Wright simply mishandled the ball.) But the turning point in the game came in the second quarter as Tech embarked on the patented "Paul Johnson Death March" to close out the half, a 19 play, 10:39 odyssey that ended in field goal to close the half & left our defense rested & theirs simply worn out. All told, at one point in the 3rd quarter on Saturday, Tech had run 57 of 69 plays, a telling statistic that showed on the UNC defense at the end of the game; they were simply gassed. This is an underrated part of our offense but one we shouldn't forget: the pounding we inflict on defenses takes its toll late in games. Before we wrap up the offensive analysis we'd be remiss not to mention backup center Jay Finch, who started the second half for All-ACC performer Sean Bedford while he was getting treated for cramps. Finch brought the lumber in his brief time on the field on Saturday as we opened the second stanza with Anthony Allen dives of 7,8,7, & 9 yards on consecutive plays. It's great to have offensive line depth this year.

Defensively, while we still have a LOT to work on, we improved & adjusted on Saturday, something we couldn't do last season. Take a look at the drive chart from Saturday:

FULL SCREEN VERSION

(h/t Rocky Top Talk)

Carolina's first four possessions: FG, TD, TD, TD

Carolina's last five possessions: punt, fumble, punt, fumble, turnover on downs

That might not be ideal but it shows we are making adjustments & coaching i game, something we couldn't do last year. So what changed our defensive fortunes on Saturday? Some observations:

far more players in the rotation, particularly in the front seven. We had much more energy & life up front on Saturday and it showed, especially late in the game when we looked much fresher than UNC.
TJ Barnes at nose tackle. It looks as if the light is finally coming on for the mammoth redshirt sophomore. Barnes played his best game as a Jacket on Saturday making several key plays, including a stop on 3rd & goal from the three. But maybe most importantly Barnes demands a double team, freeing up others to make plays.
The linebackers are beginning to get the 3-4. Brad Jefferson at Mike LB and Brandon Watts at Jack LB played well on Saturday. Watts is a tremendous athlete who is able to scrape & chase plays from the backside. He can also cover the short routs & was key in limiting UNC tight end Zach Pianalto. The more he plays, the better we will be. Jefferson is our best run defender & our best tackler, two things we desperately need. Steven Sylvester continued to play well at Sam LB.
Mario Butler is vastly under-appreciated. He's a very fine corner who doesn't get the credit he deserves. As a whole, our secondary played well, forcing Yates through several progressions & away from his first read. With more pressure up front, this will result in sacks & interceptions. Sure Isaiah Johnson got toasted on the out & up route by Highsmith. It happens, particularly to true freshmen. I'm sure he'll learn from it.

While we played better in the second half, our defense remains suspect & at best a work in progress. We have to be better defending the run & pressuring the QB or better teams will give us fits. But we played well enough to win on Saturday & we adjusted, so we've got that going for us (goonga la dunga....).

After last week's special teams implosion we were much better this week as Scott Blair made three field goals, we covered & returned kicks well, and broke in a new punter as Sean Poole hit the only punt of the game for the Jackets. A much better effort.

It's not hard to see we have a lot to work on as a team. But we snagged a division & conference road win on Saturday, something no Tech fan should look down on. We've certainly got a long way to go, but we made solid progress on Saturday. Now to NC State.....

NC State at Noon......

2010-09-19T17:33:00.003-04:00

Toe meets leather at high noon next Saturday as the Wolfpack come to town.....

Tech 30 UNC 24......

2010-09-18T18:48:00.003-04:00

The Carolina Defense circa 9/18/10