AoG Week in Review

We are 2-0 y’all. After a solid win over MTSU week 1, we again showed stunning proficiency in the air in a shutout win over Alabama A&M. The real surprise thus far is not that our running game is under performing, which it is. The real surprise is that our passing game has covered for it. Kyle Shurmur is among the highest rated QB in NCAA right now (in terms of QB rating). Still, we shouldn’t draw too many conclusions about these first two games. A combination of inferior talent and brushing off the cobwebs can explain a lot of our woes. Sure, there’s some takeaways, but this is the week we have to come together.

Kansas State is ranked #18, but would be the first real test regardless of that distinction. In addition, this is the first of a hard four game stretch, including games against Bama, UF and UGA. This is the game where a lot of our questions are going to start to get answers. Is our offense capable of moving the ball through the ground and air? A balanced attack will gain us the win tonight, and start to give hope for a great season. Can our defense again keep us in ball games? We’re going to need them to against a potent KSU offense.

Overall, there’s something different about the team this year. I (and others) have heard second hand that there’s a feeling in the locker room that this team can do something special. That’s great to hear. It’s been five years since we’ve seen a team that believes in itself; this isn’t a team that buys into “same ol Vandy”. This team has a huge chance tonight to show everyone what they already believe.

Everyone agrees that this is a game to send a message, for both teams. Here’s hoping it’s every bit as fun as it’s being built up as.

Around the League

There league was largely full of FCS games this weekend, but there were lots results of note.

• #13 Auburn 6 @ #3 Clemson 14. This was an all-around great game - a sentiment the Auburn fans I watched it with didn’t particularly like hearing. If you’re a fan of defense, this was your game. Or perhaps it was a lack of offense. Either way. Clemson and Auburn had a fight that went the entire game. The second half was a punt fest, but a really fun game to watch.

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

• #15 Georgia 20 @ #24 Notre Dame 19. Hey, remember when I laughed at that ridiculous spread that put UGA as ten point underdogs. Yeah. That was a retarded spread. I gotta admit I was too busy watching other games here, but the furthest apart this game got was when ND hit a field goal two minutes left in the third to go up 16-10. UGA went up on a FG with about three and a half minutes to go in the game. UGA forced a three and out and a fumble to lock it up for the Dawgs.

Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

• MTSU 30 @ Syracuse 23. See y’all, I told ya, MTSU is very good (well, that and Syracuse isn’t). Stockstill threw for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns comeback against the Orangemen. MTSU started the game out with a message to the Carrier Dome crowd, scoring a safety against Syracuse on their second possession just 7 minutes into the game. Only one score down in the third, MTSU tied the game up to end the third. Syracuse and MTSU traded blows in the fourth, but MTSU had the last laugh, getting two TDs to Syracuse’s one. I’m feeling good about the LSU-Syracuse game next week.

John Gutierrez-USA TODAY Sports

• Nicholls St 14 @ Texas A&M 24. Aggie is bad y’all. Really bad. It’s a shame we can’t play them this year. Don’t let that ten point win fool you, 3 of those points was on a last minute field goal and they were tied at 14 early in the fourth quarter. Aggie is terrible. Sumlin will be fired by the end of the weekend if they lose to ULL today. Speaking of, I want some of the drugs of the dude who set that (+24) point line for the ULL-Aggie game this weekend. If you got some extra cash, throw down on ULL and take those points.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

• UT San Antonio 17 @ Baylor 10. bahbahahahahahahahahahahahah I guess it could be worse, you could be Baylor. It wasn’t until halfway into the second quarter that anyone scored, with Baylor finally going up 7-0. Then UTSA came slowly back, scoring three times, getting up 17-7 by the early fourth quarter. Baylor was able to muster another FG but they weren’t the better team on the field. UTSA notched their first win ever over a power five school. As a reminder, Baylor lost to FCS Liberty last week. As a Baylor fan put it, “That awkward moment when you schedule cupcakes only to find out that you are the cupcake.”

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

• #5 Oklahoma 31 @ #2 Ohio State 16. In a week of laughs, this was the schadenfruede result of the week. The first three quarters of this game were quite good, and it was anyone’s game going into the fourth quarter with Oklahoma up 17-13. From there, Oklahoma took command, and scored two quick touchdowns aided by an interception. Don’t worry too much Buckeyes, Ohio State could lose literally every game of the season and the sports media would successfully lobby to get you into the playoff. But at least we’ll be spared the usual Ohio State swooning for a few weeks.

There’s Other Footbaw

How to football today. All in all, a reasonable schedule to get you through the day, three of the four of these games have 3 point spreads. Though I gotta take issue with that being the spread in the Clemson game.

• ULL @ Aggie, 1100 CT (1200 ET) - SECN. There’s not much to watch in midday games today. So it’s really down to watching Aggie struggle or maybe watching Baylor lose to Duke (ACCN). I said it several times this week, but that 24 point spread is absurd. Aggie is bad. Baylor is bad too, but do you really wanna watch Duke fans be happy? I think not.
• #23 Trash Can Champions @ #24 Florida, 1430 CT (1530 ET) - CBS. Let’s be real here a minute. All homerism aside, this is possibly the BATTLE OF THE EAST (TM). That is until people remember UGA exists. Still, this is a good game, and that three point spread is tempting as hell. I already called Trash Can to defeat Florida in our predictions thread. A good game for the CBS game of the week.
• #3 Clemson @ #14 Louisville, 1900 CT (2000 ET) - ABC. If our game gets out of hand, those of you at home should change to this, probably the best option if you don’t have another team playing at the time. The Carolina-UK game is a good second option here too (SECN).
• Mississippi @ California, 2130 CT (2230 ET) - ESPN. Mississippi helps bolster our decision for your Pac-12 Degenerate Game of the Week! This is a chance for the Ole Miss squad to turn things around after letting UT-Martin score 24 points on them last week. Cal is a team that you can’t sleep on, this game is could get ugly fast as Mississippi let UT-Martin get over 200 yards on the ground. But hey, if you’re watching football sober at this point it’s your own fault.

Get Ready for Vanderbilt Footbaw

This is it y’all. The first test for both teams of the year. We both have a LOT to gain here, and it’s going to be a fight down to the final gun. I wanna give Kansas State fans some credit, they have been fun to interact with this week. They even understood our usual “better know a...” series was in jest!. Nonetheless, we sent some questions of the denizens Big12 to learn their customs. They had some questions of their own.

Finally, it’s time to be scared, Vanderbilt fans. For we all predicted a win today. Our friends at Bring on the Cats seem to be equally optimistic about their chances. Though I gotta laugh a little that they seem to not realize we’re very used to being outnumbered in our own stadium.

Gametime!