Seeing Maze
I am going to rumble a little bit today to keep you occupied whilst you wait for the Superbowl tomorrow. I am going to talk about a few results I did not see coming. I know everyone thinks they are going to win their game. And the game is actually won on the field and not on paper, at least in real life. I think even in our little world of GD, the game has to be won on the field. We have a few rosters that are loaded and they still drop games.
The first game I am going to focus is the Alabama vs Tennessee. I would have bet the mortgage on awags to win every game especially with the Alabama roster he has put together. I have been calling out the Vols for a few seasons now as I always expect a lot from the Vols. They are located in a great area for recruiting and that should give them a bit of an edge when it comes to the game but they guys can only execute plan the coach puts together. This season they have executed the plan especially in this game. The Vols held the Tide under 500 total yards whilst themselves they put up over 600. Even with two turnovers they still managed to come out on top at the end. They kept the ball away from the awags offense. The Vols kept the ball on the ground in their win, I wonder if they have shown a way to beat awags, keep the ball away by running it? My expectations are still high for both teams.
The other game I did not see coming is the Sooners loss to the Buffs. The Sooners were in trouble from the start of the game. They were held scoreless in the first half, which I think is a rarity for blitz. I kept my eye on this as I fully expected blitz to come up with some super duper awesome gameplan to comeback. But it was not to be, they did put up some points in the second half but they were not enough to win the game. I guess blitz can take solace in the fact that they won the second half of the game. I am sure blitz will be pouring over the data from this game to figure out were it went wrong for his team. I would want to hear from him, with the results of the autopsy of this game. Maybe it was that CJ just had a better pep talk with his team today and they delivered. He has been throwing his weight around well in this conference. I am surprised he is still with the team, it is unlike him to stick around this long with a team.
As a former coach in the MAC, I always keep an eye out for the conference and this game is one I did not see coming. It was a low scoring affair involving Ohio and Bowling Green. The final score was 11 - 10 in favor of Bowling Green. They won it on a field goal in the second half. It was a defensive masterclass. I think there might be heads rolling on the offensive side of the ball for both teams and a pay bump on the defensive side. The teams were matched in the game statistically. They had almost the same number of total yards, though one team hogged the ball more. I think warrior is looking at retaining his conference title in the MAC and this game will be one to remember for his team, at least on defense.
From what I have seen in these games, it is that the run game can work. The teams that won the game ran the ball a lot. They kept the ball longer and managed to come out on top in the end. I know the engine likes the pass but the run game can also be used, but it has to be used carefully as those fumbles are momentum killers. I think this is enough for a Saturday evening. Until the next time, take it easy.
