Monday Morning Football Frenzy

The latest in a long line of short-lived weekly segments, the Monday Morning Football Frenzy will recap the weekend that was in the world of football. Enough introduction - let's get to the goods.

Friday Night Lights

Two impressive performances from Chattanooga private schools against Nashville juggernauts have me even more excited about their big October 3rd meeting. McCallie and Baylor were both over-matched in their meetings with Brentwood Academy and MBA, respectively, but both put up good fights in losses.

The end of Baylor's 14-3 loss to the MBA Big Red was puzzling. Baylor had three timeouts remaining as MBA tried to run out the clock. Instead of using those timeouts with the hope of a fluke fumble, a chance to get the ball back, etc., the Red Raiders decided to let the clock run out. What kind of message is that for the boys? There does come a point in the game where "quitting" is justified (i.e. not taking timeouts when down 30), but a two-possession game with two minutes left? Why not play it out and see what happens?

The other highlights of the high school weekend were Ooltewah's dominance of McMinn County and Soddy Daisy showing its win over Red Bank was no fluke as it beat William Blount.

College Highlights

No Vols this Saturday, but Tennessee schools had a good weekend as Vanderbilt beat South Carolina, MTSU upset Maryland (how bad is the ACC?) and UTC destroyed Cumberland.

Then, there was Memphis. I actually stayed up to watch the miserable ending of its game with Rice. The Tigers were driving for a field goal that would break at 35-35 tie, but instead the Owls picked off a pass and returned it for the game-winning touchdown. Tommy West looked like he was going to get sick on the sideline. What a miserable loss and miserable start to the season after getting spanked by Ole Miss last weekend.

Speaking of Ole Miss, Houston Nutt is doing a job in Oxford (and don't tell me its Ed O's players). The Rebels whipped rival Memphis, then nearly shocked Wake Forest in North Carolina. While I don't expect Ole Miss to contend against LSU, Alabama and Auburn in the SEC West, I imagine the Rebels will be bowling at the season's end.

Who won't be bowling? How about Bobby Petrino and Arkansas. They barely beat FCS team Western Illinois last week, then survived a missed field goal at the buzzer to beat Louisiana-Monroe. Why aren't the Hogs on Tennessee's schedule this year?

There is only one way to describe Petrino's start in Fayetteville - karma.

Either Miami is better than advertised or Florida is vulnerable. Tim Tebow did not look as strong as he did running the ball last year, despite ESPN's piece on his workouts. (And how long until the Erin Andrews/Tim Tebow sex tape hits the market?). I actually find myself liking Tebow more and more, but I think Urban Meyer is running his stud quarterback into Earl Campbell status with the constant and often unnecessary hits he is taking.

The BYU/Washington ending did not bother me at all. Remember when Arian Foster was penalized 15 yards in overtime for spiking the football after a failed 2-point conversion? Same thing. How can that kid not know that he cannot flip the ball up into the air after a touchdown? That has always been a penalty in college football and it should have been flagged. Blame the kid, not the ref.

East Carolina? If they were in the ACC, they would be the conference's best team. They dominated West Virginia on Saturday, who was one of my sleeper teams to make a national championship run (for full disclosure, West Virginia has been my sleeper team for about five straight years. Don't know why exactly, but I always like them). Where will Skip Holtz be next year - South Carolina? Maryland? Mississippi State?

Notre Dame? You heard it here first.

The Pros

I know the big stories are Brady and Favre, but how about them Cowboys? They dominated a good Cleveland team in Cleveland. Romo looked sharp except for a terrible decision in the end zone (I blame his bloody chin for it), T.O. was open all day and making big plays, Marion Barber and Felix Jones are studs and the defense held Cleveland to 10 points. I'm a happy Cowboys fan this morning.

I'm a happy Titans fan too. Tennessee once again shocked Jacksonville in the season opener despite the pitiful play of Vince Young. Kerry Collins is the future in Nashville. Okay, maybe not the future, but I think he ought to be the present. Young is holding the Titans back with his poor passing. Even the touchdown pass to Chris Johnson, who looks like a draft steal right now, was barely catchable. The Titans can be a playoff team once again with a big arm like Collins in the pocket, but will continue to struggle to score with the heartless Vince Young back there.

The Colts looked old last night.

Weird results all day - Bears over Colts, Bills over Seahawks, Panthers over Chargers...I don't know what to make of them. Flukes or parity? Good teams were losing at home yesterday. Weird.

Worst team in the NFL? It is not the Atlanta Falcons who blew out Detroit yesterday behind Matt Ryan and Michael Turner. Um, what? Vick who? Is Detroit just awful or is Atlanta okay?

The worst team must be Cincinnati. Did you see Joe Flacco's touchdown run? I can outrun that guy. It was the slowest football run I've ever seen in a professional game since Steve Bono ran a naked bootleg against the Cardinals last decade (my football memory is a vault of useless information).

Next Week

USC vs. Ohio State. Can you believe they are playing each other? Me neither. Plus I'm heading to Knoxville for the UAB game. If Crompton starts the game with an incompletion, I'm booing him the rest of the day.