Two Games Down, Plenty of Action Ahead this Weekend
Two very good games are in the books. North Carolina took too long to start playing, and Vanderbilt didn't play long enough, as each team took a loss in their season openers. The Vanderbilt game was clearly more exciting from start to finish. If only they could have held on for about a minute longer.
North Carolina at South Carolina.
South Carolina was my pick and they got the job done. Spurrier couldn't be more pleased with the way his offense started the game. If you missed it, the Gamecocks scored in just four plays on the opening drive. The first quarter came to a close and it was 17-0. At that point it looked like it was going to be something like a 41-3 type game, but North Carolina got settled in and gave them a better fight over the next three quarters. However, a win is a win, and a loss is loss, no matter what the scoreboard said at the end of the game. It's the first game of the season and you should never try to read too much into how each team looked.......HOWEVER, just for fun...... I would say I am a little disappointed at South Carolina's performance after they jumped out to an early lead. I'm just saying that I expected them to keep their foot on the gas. Maybe the weather delay had something to do with it? I don't know. As always though, the media and SEC fans will read too much into this game and market it as the SEC just beat one of the best ACC schools out there..... Sorry, but North Carolina might finish 4th or 5th in the ACC at best. I didn't buy into the TarHeel hype. They were a much more talented team a year ago, and this team is riding the wave of hype based off last year's team. Either way, it was a solid game to watch. STAT OF THE GAME: Both South Carolina QBs threw a TD pass on their first attempt.
Ole Miss at Vanderbilt.
WOW. Both teams' fans could use that word to describe the final two minutes of this game. I was worried early on when Vandy was down 10-0, but this Vanderbilt team continues to prove that this isn't the old Vandy team that would just give up once they were down. Vanderbilt reeled off 21 unanswered points and looked like they would run off and win this game. Then it looked like they had never defended the zone read option. Ole Miss torched Vanderbilt in the final quarter and a half of this game with the zone read. I was in complete shock when Vandy defenders just completely forgot about the QB on nearly every zone read play. Oh, it was just disgusting. But when it was all said and done, Vandy had a shot to win this game. In fact, Vandy took the lead with about 90 seconds left. Everybody remembers that feeling they got when they scored that TD. "I CAN'T BELIEVE VANDY PULLED IT OFF" or it was the cautious approach, "YEAH! OH NO! I THINK WE LEFT TOO MUCH TIME ON THE CLOCK!" Well, as it turns out, Ole Miss didn't even need 30 seconds to answer right back. As bad as Vandy had played in the 4th quarter, they still had a shot at this game. It's tough to have back-to-back season openers at home and lose the way Vandy has the last two seasons. It's like they are right there on the door step of being a solid team...... It was a GREAT game to watch, and fans of both sides should be excited about their seasons. However, I think Vandy fans are hoping that Coach Franklin works with his defense on defending the zone read. I promise, Vanderbilt will see a ton of that in games against South Carolina and Florida.
Two great games in the books and that was just day one of college football. This weekend is shaping up to be a great one. Don't forget to send me your questions/comments/reactions or whatever in for Reader Questions Segment each week.
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