Okay guys, here are a few random notes for the weekend, some 'Bama related, some not:
- Nico and I will be going to the game tomorrow. Yep, life rules. Anyway, as a result of that, there won't be any posts out of me tomorrow, and probably not any on Sunday either. Come Monday though, I'll be back.
- Todd will be holding down the fort here at RBR. He's planning on doing a live blog during the game, so be sure you check out RBR throughout the game if you are near a computer.
- Okay... Syracuse just executed the best quick kick I've seen in ages. It was third and long, and out of the shotgun, they ran a deep wide receiver toss (basically an extended version of an end around), and the receiver pulled up and punted. He boomed it, got a good roll, and it went for 60+ yards. Great call. Naturally the rubes at ESPN thought it was a terrible call -- "It sends the wrong message!" -- but I'd bet money it will pay off. Field position is fluid, and the expected point value of possessing the ball on a particular yard line changes with field position. Mark my words, this will work out well for them.
- It looks like I'm right thus far. At the moment, Washington is backed up 2nd and 17 at their own 4-yard line.
- Speaking of Syracuse v. Washington, the thing that jumps out about me is speed. Seriously, these teams look as slow as MSU last night. Even with 'Bama -- which is very much a mid-tier-at-best SEC school at the moment -- we have more team speed than those two teams combined.
- What do you know? Time to punt for Washington; Syracuse takes over at their own 42.
- See how that works? By quick-kicking, Syracuse essentially traded a 3rd and long at the own 30 for a 1st and 10 at their own 42. Again, see how that works? By quick-kicking, even with a great punt by Washington and a poor return, the Orange gained 12 yards of field position and a new set of downs.
- It's an interesting night for the offenses. Syracuse is running the Pistol, and Washington is running what Willingham calls the Spread Coast, a combination of the West Coast and the Spread. Nothing vanilla tonight.
- According to The Huntsville Times, Auburn starting tailback Brad Lester has been suspended, and will not play in the season opener versus Kansas State. An Auburn statement tonight said that he was suspended because of "unresolved academic issues." The question I suppose now is whether or not he will play against South Florida.
- I still imagine that Auburn will beat Kansas State, but it should be relatively close, I would think. The truth is, however, that with all of the Auburn injuries and suspensions, the odds of them getting knocked off have increased exponentially.
- According to this article, back-up MSU quarterback Josh Riddell -- who had been suspended -- had his suspension lifted today by Sylvester Croom. Wow, that's a big coincidence, isn't it? I'd say so. Truth be told, Croom knows that his job is very much in jeopardy, and that unless things improve a good bit this year, he's done. A loss to Tulane in eight days might be all she wrote for Croom, effectively speaking. Either way, it seems he -- finally joining everyone else in the world -- has figured out that Henig isn't going to get it done.
- Just a heads up, a couple of days after I get back, I'm going to do a write-up about the game experiences, changes, etc.