7-9 could be optimistic.

At the beginning of the Football season my official pick for the Texans was 8-8. This was after several weeks of hovering around 7-9.

After today's debacle 8-8 is unlikely, and 7-9 appears to be iffy as well....

Let's look at the remaining schedule:

Week 11: @ NY Jets - L. The Jets have one of the best teams in the NFL, the Texans are mediocre. You do the math. 4-6

Week 12: Tennessee Titans - L. The Titans could have the best team in the division this year. Vince Young will start, he'll beat the team in the 4th QTR. And I haven't even mentioned Randy Moss yet, who could have 300 yards receiving against this pathetic D backfield. 4-7

Week 13: @Philadelphia Eagles - L. Mike Vick is playing lights out right now, and that defense is pretty good. Add to that a short week and a Texans team coming off what is always a hard-hitting division game and you have six losses in a row. 4-8

Week 14: Baltimore Ravens - L. Yes, the Texans have a long week to prepare, but the Ravens will be in desperation mode while the Texans will have already passed the breaking point. Amazingly, the media will still be saying there's a chance. 4-9

Week 15: @ Tennessee Titans - L. See above. 4-10

Week 16: @ Denver Broncos - W. Since nothing will be on the line I fully expect many Texans (Amobi Okoye, Mario Williams, Jacoby Jones) to play their best games of the season. As such, with nothing to play for they'll win. As usual. 5-10

Week 17: Jacksonville Jaguars - W. I have no reason for calling this a win other than that (as we saw today) the two teams are pretty even, and I think the Texans should beat them at home. 6-10


That's right: 6-10. That's the most probable finish for this team right now. Yes they could do better, but the could do worse as well. Most pundits, coming into this game, saw the two against the Jaguars as wins and the two against the Titans to be a home/home split. Of course, those picks were made with the assumption the Texans are on par with the Colts and Titans. We know now this isn't true, they're on par with the Jaguars, at the bottom of the Division.

One final thought: The "most unlucky team in the world" meme being pushed by Richard Justice, Jerome Solomon and John McClain of ChronBlog is just bad analysis. If you don't believe me, consider this paragraph from McClain's news piece on the loss:

Counting the Hail Mary, the Jaguars bombarded the NFL’s worst defense for 491 yards, including 342 passing by Garrard. Jones-Drew generated 100 of the 165 yards rushing.

The Texans defense is historically bad, the offense plays in fits and starts, often going off-script on play-calling (supposedly Kubiak's specialty) their special teams are dodgy at best, sub-standard if you're being honest, and they're poorly coached to boot. The team has spent Millions of dollars on defensive linemen and they have one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL. They've drafted defensive backs, and they have one of the worst passing defenses in history. It's not luck, it's suck.


The Texans suck. It really is that simple.

Dear Boise St.

Enjoy the number one B(C)S ranking you'll get tomorrow, make sure you keep it warm for either Oregon or Oklahoma before they pass you and your sub-par schedule.



Thanks,


PAC-X (+II), Big XII (-II)

Bad Timing....

In Last week's game between The University of Central Florida Golden Knights and the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers there was one key ingredient missing....


Go KIGHTS!!!!


Important note: Make sure one of the letters goes on a beer run or bathroom break during a pause in the action...lest your team score.

Wednesday Thought.....

Tackling is a lost art in College Football.



That is all.

Week 4 College Football Pick 'Em

Next week is the week when I think the first College Football Polls should be released. Almost all teams have played four games, some have played conference match ups and almost everyone has played someone that matters (Yes, I'm looking at you Cornhuskers).

The season is well and truly under way. To mark that milestone I'm bringing back the totally worthless, you get what you paid for, guaranteed to not win you a single, damn thing 3CB College Football picks.

Here we go:


Nebraska v. Kansas State. - Since Nebraska has decided to start the season playing Our Lady of the perpetually lame and Washington....Yup, Washington is their marquee game, we really don't know much about the team from Lincoln. K-State has a win over what's looking to be a pretty good UCLA team and then they've looked pretty bad overall. Daniel Thomas is the real deal, but I'm guessing the renewed blackshirts will shut him down and Nebraska will get a good conference win on the road.
NEB 24 KSU 10


Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State - The thought here is that aTm, if they're ever going to make a run, will have to start it with this game. The problem is Okie St. seems to be a little bit better than the pundits (including me) thought this year. Dana Holgerson always gets the most out of the offense, and the defense (although they haven't played anyone of note yet) seems to be a little stiffer than last year's version. I'm not a believer in the resurgence of aTm, but I'm not a believer in T. Boone Pickens U either.
aTm 37 OSU 35


Red River Shoot Out - Normally this would be the big game of the week, but Texas' humiliation last week against UCLA and Oklahoma's lackluster performances against everyone not from Tallahassee has taken the shine off of one of the best rivalries in the country. (At least this year) Nevertheless, I'm expecting a hard-hitting, low-scoring game in which turnovers and a huge special teams play make the difference. I also expect DeMarco Murray to run wild.
OU 17 UT 3



Wisconsin vs. Michigan State - The top 25 match up that no-one is talking about this week. Partially because of the other great games on the schedule but mostly because of Spartan Coach Mark Dantonio's health. Sparty is faster, Wisky is bigger. Sparty has the emotion and home-field advantage, which is a LOT in College Football. Not enough though.
Wisc 24 Mich St 17



Southern Methodist University vs. Rice - For the local crowd....Under June Jones SMU is much improved, running the Run n' shoot offense well but.....Oh that terrible defense. Much like Houston the Ponies can't stop a stiff Jr. High marching band. Rice could make some hay with their running game against that defense, but I'm guessing they won't.
SMU 42 Rice 17



Penn State vs. Iowa - Another Top 25 match up that's flying under the radar. In this case it's probably because the two teams that are playing are just not all that good. The fighting Paternos have a Freshman QB and just aren't all that interesting when they don't play in Happy Valley, and Iowa's most defining characteristic is their pink visitor's locker rooms. Snorrrre..........
Penn St. 20 Iowa 17



Stanford Vs. Oregon - Mea Culpa time....When the season started I said Oregon, Texas, Florida and Pitt were the four most overrated teams in the Country. Hey, three out of four ain't all that bad right? Stanford has a great QB in Andrew Luck, a good coach, a suspect defense and a silly mascot. Oregon has one of the most explosive offenses in College Football, always entertaining uniforms, a fast, dangerous defense and a mascot that will tea-bag your ass if you don't agree. Advantage Oregon.
Stan 24 Ore 52



Florida Vs. Alabama - Leave it to the SEC to suck up all the oxygen for the rest of the College Football World but c'est la vie. Until they're beaten Alabama is the #1 team in the Country and I don't think Florida's re-building offense can score enough points to beat them here. Arkansas exposed 'Bama's defense, but the Gator's passing game is suck. The Tide's style of play might make this seem closer than it really is.
Fla 10 Bama 31

And you thought overtrained athlete's syndrome was a bad excuse....

.......try "it was the steak" defense on for size....


(Contador blames bad meat for positive doping test, Ciaran Giles and John Leicester, AP via ChronBlog Sports)

Three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador blamed contaminated steak for his positive doping test, vowing Thursday to clear his name so that cycling's latest drug scandal doesn't "destroy everything that I have done."

The Spanish rider was provisionally suspended after a World Anti-Doping Agency lab in Germany found a "very small concentration" of the banned substance clenbuterol in his urine sample on July 21 at the Tour, according the International Cycling Union, the sport's governing body.

Amazingly, unlike overtrained athlete's syndrome, there is some scientific evidence that this type of drug contamination is possible.

However, the hurdle that Contador must still climb is why none of his teammates tested positive for the same substance. Especially Alexsander Vinikorov, who was coming back from a drug ban and is, behind Lance Armstrong, one of the most tested riders in the peleton.




When evaluating drug cheat accusations the simplest explenation is often the most likely.....they took the drug. That's why so many suspensions are upheld upon appeal.

Even Floyd Landis, who had some solid science behind him explaining his reults, turned out to be a drug cheat. Will Contador? Time will tell, but don't be surprised if his Tour win is vacated in the near future.

Big XII (-II) Running backs

If last year was the year of the quarterback....



Then this year should be the year of the running back.

Daniel Thomas, Kansas State University 552 yds rushing through three games.


Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State University 473 yards through three games.


DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma 369 yds rushing and 6 td's through three games.


Christine Michael, aTm 331 yds rushing through three games.


With a group of young quarterbacks expect these stats to continue.