Beware the Backup QB

Oklahoma just didn’t show up against Kansas State. K State just pounded the ball up the middle the whole game and the Sooners couldn’t stop them. Lang got it right, the Sooner Scooner got toppled a week too early. Jalen Hurts still had a big day. On the play before Oklahoma’s last TD it looked like the right tackled moved too early, but it wasn’t called. But then the replay corrected reversed the last onside kick. Sooners still have a shot at the Playoff. Better than one loss Oregon.

 

LSU beat their third top ten team and might have to play four more if they make it to the national championship game. QB Joe Burrow making a run at the Heisman. Auburn hung tough on the road. Will be tough for UGA to beat Auburn.

 

Bama routed Arkansas. Tua’s injury is hurting his Heisman hopes – he’ll have to finish strong. AL QB Mack Davis completed 6 of 9 (or was it 16-19?) showing they got a good system over there. Two backup QBs of note saw action: Tua’s little brother, and for Arkansas the grandson of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

 

Clemson dominated Boston College, who was without their first string dual threat QB. Trevor Lawrence is playing better, probably because he got rid of his orange shoes. Speaking of backup QBs, Clemson played backup Chase Bryce as well as some kid who wore number 92. The announcers said that late in the game during routs Dabo will tell backup defensive backs to go in and play wide receiver, even though they haven’t practiced at the position. Just to get them playing time. More like so Dabo can say he played 110 kids. Think of the logistics to do that. Even if you go 4 deep at all eleven positions both ways, that’s only 88 plus a kicker and punter make 90. Gotta go 5 deep.   

  

Michigan beat up on Notre Dame, ending the Irish’s playoff hopes. The Michigan backup QB saw action: Dylan McCaffery, brother of Panthers All Pro RB Christian McCaffery. 

I guess the Falcons showed up to play the second half. Matt Schaub threw for 460 yards, showing that it isn’t the QB position that’s the Falcon’s problem. Nice to see the Birds wearing their throwbacks.  

Former Falcon WR Muhammed Sanu landed with the Patriots, and started catching passes right away. Difference in the Pats and Browns – the Browns kept turning the ball over. Poor Nick Chubb had two fumbles. Sony Michel fared better for the Pats. Tom Brady must’ve been taken aback when Browns WR Odel Beckham gave Brady his shoes after the game. Before the season Beckham had said he was happy to be a Brown with former LSU teammate Jarvis Landry as well as QB Baker Mayfield. Is Beckham trying to sneak his way onto the Pats? I guess Brady can auction them off for charity. Mayfield wasn’t happy about the transaction.

 

Saw an interesting NFL onside kick. A punter drop-kicked a squib  kick.

 

Next week’s games:

330 #7 UGA @ # 6 FLA

400 Pitt @ GT

400 Wofford @ Clemson

700 Ole Miss @ Auburn

730 Vandy @ South Carolina

800 Oregon @ USC

 

I can’t believe GA opened as a favorite over Florida. Bama, LSU, Oklahoma, Penn State, and Ohio State don’t have games.  

 

Someone on Twitter called Herschel the greatest college RB ever. Got little argument. Then some ninny said Barry Sanders “owned” Herschel in the NFL, yardage wise. He had no reply to my response, that Herschel retired 2nd all-time in combined yards. Just as many yards as Barry, even without Walker’s USFL yards. So many excuses. If Barry had started more than one year. If Thurman hadn’t kept him on the bench. If Marcus Allen hadn’t had to play fullback. If Bo hadn’t been hurt all the time. Herschel had a lot of excuses in the NFL: had to play FB, WR, FL, TE in Dallas, got traded for a king’s ransom to set up the Cowboys dynasty, then never featured in Minn, NYG, Philly, or Dallas. Played special teams. USFL stats and awards ignored. Yet still Herschel put up HOF numbers in the NFL. Barry wouldn’t have been able to go pro after his junior season had Herschel not first blazed that trail.
 

Astros have won three straight. The visiting team has won the first five games. Hasn’t happened since the 1996 Braves/Yankees World Series. Did the Nats lose last night because their fans booed the President of the United States? Some compared it to the Braves jinxing themselves by not passing out tomahawks in game 5 against the Cardinals. That’s the last game I was interested in.

 

Why I’m rooting for the Astros: the Nats are the Braves division rivals. If Washington wins we’ll never hear the end of it from the national media, who loves teams from the great northeastern media centers. Guarantee you the 2020 NL East picks will be (1) Nats (2) Phils. The Nats third baseman is a good guy. Pitcher Scherzer is a little like Greg Maddux, but still light years from any of Greg’s records. Meanwhile the Astros have three great starters, two MVP candidates, and a great team. If they wore Yankee unis the media couldn’t get enough of them. But they’re in Houston, so they get little attention.  

 

JOHN SMOLTZ [SABR Bio] record for career postseason strikeouts was broken by Justin Verlander Tuesday night in Houston. Smoltz had stuck out 199 postseason batters ending in the 2009 NLDS.  Verlander entered the G w/196 postseason Ks and struck out 6 Nats before succumbing to their offensive onslaught. Smoltz was the first pitcher to surrender a hit to an Orioles pitcher after the advent of the Designated Hitter. Surrendered a single to Mike Mussina 14-Jun-1997 in ATL. His famous pitching coach Leo Mazzone insisted, “Greatest slider I’ve ever seen from a right-handed pitcher.” He is known for seldom losing any wager related to his golf game (not true: even Jeff Francouer has hustled Smoltz on the links). Golf Digest ranks him among the top golfers in MLB.