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Fox
Hunt
By virtue of their lifeless 20-13 home loss to the equally pitiful Atlanta Falcons, the Panthers have taken a page from PSL'ers and have officially left the building. The defeat also enabled the Panthers to surpass the one-year anniversary of their last home victory on November 19, 2006. The Panthers are scheduled to face New Orleans at home on November 25th, looking for their first home win since 2006....there is no word at this time if that game is going to be postponed or cancelled. I'm assuming that Jerry Richardson will maintain the 11/25 game on the schedule so he can maximize additional concession and parking revenue. The Panthers have now scored 2 offensive touchdowns in the past three games...all losses. As I pointed out last week on my radio show, it doesn't matter who FoxHurney starts; this season is over. Instead of worrying about who starts at QB, the Panthers have to worry about the bigger picture. It's a simple question, that needs a definitive answer...Do you trust FoxHurney in their decision making to make the Panthers an immediate winner? If the answer is "yes", you don't panic, but you better have an immediate solution for 2008 other than firing a position coach or two....the problems run much deeper than that. If the answer is "no"...then you better line up a General Manager and Head Coach that can work together and have a better feel for player development through the draft and in free agency acquisitions. Speaking of "sucking out loud"....nice choke job by the Buckeyes. Jim Tressel ran his record to 4-3 for games preceding a Michigan showdown, by watching his beloved poisonous nuts lose at home to Ron Zook. That's the same Ron Zook who was a laughingstock in the SEC. Of course, Zook is a former coach of the Florida Gators.....I wonder if it's true that he was wearing a Florida Football sweatshirt on the sideline during the game, and the Buckeyes panicked when they saw "Florida Football"? The good news for the Buckeyes is that the loss dropped them from their false #1 ranking. It has also enabled them to save face from the potential embarrassment of being run out of the building in another National Championship game against an SEC team. In some respects, the loss was a huge favor to most college football fans that are looking forward to a competitive national title game. At this rate, LSU and Oregon are scheduled to meet for the title, barring another upset. It seems, given all the talk between the SEC and the Pac-10, this would be the most entertaining matchup for the title.....but we still have a long way to go, especially given all the upsets this year in college football. N.C. State's Tom O'Brien deserves some credit for keeping his Wolfpack in the hunt for a decent season. After an anemic start, the Pack has ripped off four straight wins after an open date, including a dramatic victory over arch-rival UNC on Saturday.
The Pack heads to Switzerland this weekend, in hope of securing their 6th win of the season - and that would of course enable the Wolfpack to become bowl eligible. That would be a remarkable feat, considering the 1-5 start that had State fans looking forward to basketball season. While Pack fans are delighted with the turnaround, Tar Heel fans and coaches are left to wonder what "could have been" in 2007. The Heels have lost to all of their in-state rivals: ECU, Wake and now N.C.State. The last chance for Butch Davis will be the traditional snoozefest against Duke to end the season. Speaking of Duke, this week they travel to Notre Dame to take on the equally embarrassing Fighting Irish. It might be the most anticipated matchup of teams that combine for a 2-18 record in 2007. I have only two words to describe the epic showdown:"Go, Duke!". Don't look now, but Tommy Bowden and his Clemson Tigers are hosting Boston College this week, with the victor gaining an invitation to the ACC title game. The Tigers are rolling and looked terrific in blowing out Jim Grobe and his Deacs in Death Valley.....that was a sign that this team might be the real deal. Grobe has been a pain in the you-know-what for Bowden and his program. Clemson totally destroyed Wake at every level. Boston College comes into the Valley on a two-game losing streak, and they are very lucky it's not a three-game streak after their come-from-behind win at Virginia Tech a few weeks ago. BC has beaten Clemson the past two years, both in overtime....on paper, it looks like Tommy Bowden might be making reservations for Jacksonville. I had the chance to visit Boone this past weekend, on the Sun Drop Southern Fried Football™ Tour. The place looked great....Boone and watching a game at "The Rock" is one of the best-kept secrets in college football. Even though I don't know how much of a secret it is anymore...there were at least an extra 10-12,000 people sitting up on the bank, the woods, or anyplace else they could catch a glimpse of their beloved Mountaineers. Jerry Moore has done a remarkable job in the North Carolina mountains, and by the looks of things, the Boys from Boone are going to be a tough out in their quest for an unprecedented third consecutive national title. They put 79 points on Western Carolina in order to keep the "Old Mountain Jug". It was the most points allowed by WCU since they started playing football in 1931. In closing, what has happened to Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks? Ever since they visited Chapel Hill last month, the Cocks have been dreadful. Now that I think about it, they didn't score a point in the second half of their 10/13 game against UNC, and since then they have completely self-destructed on both sides of the line of scrimmage. They stunk it up at home, in losing to Vandy. They didn't show up for the first half in Rocky Top, and lost in overtime. The Arkansas road trip saw them completely give up defensively, in allowing over 600 yards of total offense. And this past weekend, the Florida Gators hung 51 points as Tim Tebow rushed for five touchdowns. To put things into perspective: over the past two weeks, the Gamecocks have given up 99 points and 1,188 yards of total offense. Somebody needs to make sure the Old Ball Coach spends a few minutes with the defensive guys during the open date. By the time I got home from Boone and turned on the tube, Williams-Brice Stadium looked like a Panthers game...there was nobody in the stands, and the Gators were trying to get the game over with so they could get back to Gainesville. It was incredibly ironic that ESPN showed a Chick-fil-A cow waving "goodbye" and high-fiving South Carolina fans as they streamed out to the parking lot...the cow was wearing its traditional "Eat Mor Chikin" garb. By the look of things lately in Columbia, every SEC opponent is full after swallowing the bird whole. |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
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