ON MY MONDAY MIND:
APPY STATE GAME THOUGHTS
JOSH DOBBS: OK let me concede Josh Dobbs is my weak spot. I am overly apologetic on his behalf because I like the kid so much. The Vols based on his experience -and the relative lack thereof around the SEC- should have an advantage at the position over everyone they play in-conference but that won’t be the case if Josh performs as he did Thursday night. I believe he will bounce back and perform like a senior leader should with this caveat; the staff puts him in position to be successful. If their intention is to continue limiting his running ability and expect him to throw in a 20-yard box from 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage to 15 yards beyond then they might as well find another starter.
PASSING GAME: That being said Josh is not THE reason our passing game is flawed. It appears to be broken in nearly every phase from protection to the continuation of critical drops and first and foremost, philosophy. And I don’t believe we have anyone on campus that knows how to fix any of the above. The stubbornness of rarely stretching the field makes ZERO sense. If you’ve got a QB you don’t trust, then why not let him make mistakes down the field rather than risk far more critical errors on our side of the 50? Middle screens thrown toward more hands than a baseball player tossing a souvenir into the stands; slants where overthrows are a sure pick, quick outs that will result in disaster? Our passing game makes no sense and Josh Dobbs is only a small part of the reason it doesn’t.
BOB SHOOP: Here’s a guy suffering from unrealistic expectations. Was our defense the Orange tsunami, immovable force we all hoped to see? No but it got the job done. It shut out App State in the second half, got a critical takeaway and got a 4th down stop that was so rare last season. The pressure attack that Shoop is allegedly famous for was noticeably absent but that probably had more to do with the Mountaineer’s quick strike attack. I was more concerned that we at times appeared confused, overran plays and were frequently outmanned at the point of attack due to poor alignment or over-aggression.
OFFENSIVE LINE: This unit was the source of my biggest disappointment of the night. A veteran unit, expected to be a team strength looked as though they had taken a time machine back to 2014, They were constantly whipped -or more accurately blown-by- whether we were running or throwing the football. There is no way that Chance Hall’s injury should have thrown the unit into apparent disarray. If this group doesn’t quickly begin to mirror last season’s performance than nothing else matters.
WHAT WE LEARNED IN WEEK 1
VANDY’S STILL CANDY: Vegas tabbed Vandy as a 4-pt favorite and I heard some even invoking the “B” word in connection with the Commodores. As in “Vandy will qualify for a Bowl Game. A “Bowel” game is more like it as after taking a 10-0 halftime lead the Dores Vandy’d the bed. If Vandy can’t beat this South Carolina team I don’t think I would be making travel plans for the holidays.
MULLEN SHOULD HAVE LEFT WITH DAK: We almost know how you feel Bully-Dog fans…but thank heavens we do not. South Alabama was 0-4 all-time versus the SEC and came into Starkville a 4 TD underdog but left with the biggest win in Jaguar history. Dan Mullen has done a nice job at State but sometimes you have to know when to say when. When for me would have been the day Dak Prescott ran out of eligibility
HOUSTON’S IN THE BIG-12…UNLESS The Cougars quickly proved their 13 win total last season and their Peach Bowl thrashing of FSU was no aberation taking Oklahoma to the woodshed. There was nothing fluke about it as the Cougars were clearly the best team for the last three quarters of the contest. I would think the outcome was a wonderful audition for Big-12 officials looking to expand their league. The problem for UH may be a couple of powerful potential adversaries; the Sooners who just got their nose bloodied and Longhorns afraid that they will be next.
SEC = SPUTTERING EARLY CONFERENCE: The powerful SEC lost six games in CFB’s first weekend for the first time in who knows when. While they did have some difficult matchups four of the losers were favorites (Vandy, LSU, Miss St, Ky) and both LSU and Mississippi State lost while laying double-digit points. The Starkville version Bulldogs were the victims of one of the greatest upsets of all-time according to ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) – losing to South Alabama which supposedly had only a 2.3 % chance of winning. I don’t have a clue what the FPI is but I do know Dan Mullen’s crew was a 4 TD favorite. Most of the league teams that won (Tenn 20 Appy St 13 OT; S Car 13 Vandy 10; Ark 21 La Tech 20; Fla 24 U-Mass 7) were far from impressive in doing so.
THEN THERE’S ALABAMA…SIGH: The Tide started three new offensive linemen, did not have a proven RB in-waiting as in years past and put a true Freshman QB under center early in a Top-25 matchup. As it usually does for Alabama all that worked out just fine. The line played well enough to rack up 52 points and 465 yds of total offense; Jalen Hurts was 6-11 for 118 yards and 2 TDs and ran for two more while Damien Harris rushed for 138 yards on only 9 attempts. Looks like another year of Crimson envy for me.
MONDAY MUSING: Hope you and yours are having a blessed Labor Day Weekend.
