From the Sporting News, Matt Hayes pick UCLA as his darkhorse BCS title candidate: UCLA??? I think UCLA has a solid team, but this is just a stupid pick. Here are Hayes reasons (summarized) and my reasons why not.
Hayes: Defense wins championships. UCLA's defense is terrific.
RBBID: I agree with the first part, not so much with the second. It is like UCLA's defense played only one game last year, USC. No one saw them get blown away by Cal and FSU. Anyone see that great defense choke it away against Notre Dame?
Hayes: They return 20 starters.
RBBID: They return 20 starters from a .500 team. Great... Stanford returns 19 starters, should we pencil them in for the Rose Bowl?
Hayes: The Florida St. loss was an aberration.
RBBID: The USC win was an aberration.
Hayes: "If you can rush the passer and cover in the secondary, you're going to win a lot of games in the Pac-10. And there are two teams in the country who do that as well as anyone: USC and UCLA."
RBBID: Are you serious? Did the USC's D-line and LSU's DB's transfer to UCLA in the offseason? These are the same guys that gave up 29 points to Washington, 30 to Oregon, 37 to Washington St, 38 to Cal, and 44 to FSU.
Hayes: "The x-faxtor: quarterback Ben Olson has to play to his potential. We've heard of his ability for years, but saw only flashes last season..."
RBBID: Replace Ben Olson's name with Joe Ayoob and reread the sentence. Moving on...
Hayes: The Bruins have a strong running game with Chris Markey, a powerful plugger who can move the pile and a guy with deceptive speed. They're deep on both interior lines and they're hungry.
RBBID: No argument here. Hayes is actually correct. I just have one final reason why UCLA will not compete for the BCS title nor the Pac 10 title: Karl Dorrell!
Finally, please stop using the fact that the home team has won the Cal-UCLA game each year as a reason for penciling in a win against Cal this year. Do you really think that is the overriding factor in determining the outcome of THIS year's game?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Two predictions:
(1) At season's end, UCLA will be at the top of most everyone's "biggest disappointments of 2007" list
(2) Coach Tedford will finally get his first victory in Los Angeles this season--maybe even two, if you include January 1 in the 2007 season.
I think Pete Morris is a very astute man.
All good responses and the Ayoob statement was both dead-on and hilarious.
My one point of contention: the huge home-field advantage in the UCLA-Cal matchup. I'm still picking Cal for the win, but I think it'll make the game closer than it should be. There's something about this match that having the crowd on your side in the game really matters. Both 2003 and 2005 were games the Bears should have won. 2002 was a year that the Bears probably should have lost. But for whatever reason, that home-field advantage is bigger in this game that just about any Cal matchup.
Pete: Definitely agree with #1 and #2. I think this is Dorrell's last year.
Ken: Thanks. I agree home field advantage is big in this series, but I am hearing more and more people saying, the home team always wins this battle. Like nothing else matters.
Ken and Denny...great points. Home field advantage will be a major factor in both the UCLA and the Oregon games, but I think talent, ability and confidence will go a long way in Cal's favor.
Home field advantage disappears quickly when the crowd in stunned into silence.
We head to Autzen fairly early in the season, which is usually good for Cal. And should be bad for Oregon, who will still be trying to solidify its roster and work out the kinks. The Ducks will have at least one loss by then (Michigan), I doubt Fresno State will be the threat it used to be and I don't think the C-USA champions Houston will be all the formidible.
Then we have a bye, then OSU at home. UCLA is the following week and the Bruins are coming off their bye.
UCLA could very well be 6-0 coming into our matchup (or 5-1, losing to OSU) and will, no doubt, be favored. It will be close. Like maybe field goal close. They've lost their star kicker Medlock and from what I've read, have yet to find a decent replacement. I think this game will be won by special teams and we've got the best tin the nation.
But wouldn't it be a hoot if Stanford won its opening game? It might be one of the few times I ever root for 'em. I'd rather see UCLA get knocked down early and embarrassingly than worry about keeping the refurbished Farm's losing record in tact.
Post a Comment