For What It's Worth: One Game at a Time is Not Just a Cliche
It happens every year: Upset Saturday. It's a Saturday when the totally unexpected happens. Multiple teams lose, and they lose to teams no one expected them to lose to. Then, everyone asks, "Why?" Why not? Five top 10 teams lost over the last weekend of college football, and some of them left us scratching our heads. Does anyone remember when Utah whipped UCLA earlier this season. Yeah, we're still scratching our heads. Utah has fallen a long way from when they were coached by Urban Meyer. Which brings us back to this year's first (Could there be more?) "Upset Saturday." Coach Meyer's Florida Gators, fresh off their less than stellar performance in Oxford against Ole Miss lost to Auburn, at home. It seems the Gators learned their lesson. Auburn's two losses this year includes South Florida (that one doesn't look so bad) and Miss State.
Every year you hear some team's coach and players say something about taking it "one game at a time." Do they really believe that? Or, are they just playing media politics. You know, saying what they are suppose to say. I mean, they have the media to tell them just how good they are, or are not. That's called hype. They can read the hype just as well as I can. There is the internet, the hometown newspaper paper, the campus newspaper, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, SI.com, ESPN.com, Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, etc. , etc. They can watch their own highlights on TV. Oh, and they have their campus' fans to tell them how great they are. It's got to be a challenge for them to be focused each week. They also have a host of other responsibilities including their schoolwork.
Then, there is the opponent. They watch hours of film. They break down their weaknesses. They make note of their strengths. And, then they have see their opponents record, who they've played, etc. We also must not forget that these are 18 to 23 year old students. Focus is everything in college football now. Parity exists. If anyone doubts it, may I suggest you watch the Michigan vs. Appalachian State game from earlier this year. Other evidence includes the fact that two Sun Belt teams have beaten a team from a BCS conferences this year (Florida Atlantic defeated Minnesota and Troy beat Oklahoma State), and Arkansas State was competitive against Texas. Does that mean that the Sun Belt Conference winner now deserves a BCS Bowl Bid? No, but you see that parity exists more now than ever.
Therefore, the wins by USC and LSU over the weekend seem even more impressive. LSU was playing a inferior Tulane team on the road. If you are a 19 yr. old kid playing for LSU, how do you get psyched up for Tulane? USC beat a gutsy Washington team on the road. Washington's offense wasn't all that great, but several mistakes by USC's offense and several Trojan injuries kept the Huskies in the game. These two unimpressive outings for each team exposes the fact that each team is beatable. However, each team found a way to win. Admittedly, LSU ended up winning handily. These kinds of games happen every year, often more than a team would really like. It's up to the team to win when their play is lacking. If anyone followed the National Champion Florida Gators last season, they would not have been overly impressed. But, they found a way to win games in which their best play wasn't there. Some games are easier than others to have focus.
It is this time of the season when teams are entering conference play. This is usually when the potential for upsets is worse. Conference teams play each other every year, knowing each other very well. They may have easily beaten the same conference opponent the year before. There is also more game film on each team now. A smart coach, offensive or defensive coordinator, can devise a unique game plan for a good team based on a weakness found in game film. It seems every year a "cellar dweller" sneaks up on someone for the upset. Again, focus is important. I would be a little surprised if their are two unbeaten teams left at the end of the year playing for the National Title. If there are, I would think it would be LSU and USC, but both teams have a tough conference schedule left to play.
The two teams that will play in January down in N'awlins for the National Title will be the ones who take it "one game at a time." They will be the teams who have the most focus through the 12 games (or possibly 13 if they play in a conference championship game). And, when the confetti is falling after one team wins the title, and the star player or coach says on national tv that his team took it "one game at a time," I'll believe him.
Every year you hear some team's coach and players say something about taking it "one game at a time." Do they really believe that? Or, are they just playing media politics. You know, saying what they are suppose to say. I mean, they have the media to tell them just how good they are, or are not. That's called hype. They can read the hype just as well as I can. There is the internet, the hometown newspaper paper, the campus newspaper, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, SI.com, ESPN.com, Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, etc. , etc. They can watch their own highlights on TV. Oh, and they have their campus' fans to tell them how great they are. It's got to be a challenge for them to be focused each week. They also have a host of other responsibilities including their schoolwork.
Then, there is the opponent. They watch hours of film. They break down their weaknesses. They make note of their strengths. And, then they have see their opponents record, who they've played, etc. We also must not forget that these are 18 to 23 year old students. Focus is everything in college football now. Parity exists. If anyone doubts it, may I suggest you watch the Michigan vs. Appalachian State game from earlier this year. Other evidence includes the fact that two Sun Belt teams have beaten a team from a BCS conferences this year (Florida Atlantic defeated Minnesota and Troy beat Oklahoma State), and Arkansas State was competitive against Texas. Does that mean that the Sun Belt Conference winner now deserves a BCS Bowl Bid? No, but you see that parity exists more now than ever.
Therefore, the wins by USC and LSU over the weekend seem even more impressive. LSU was playing a inferior Tulane team on the road. If you are a 19 yr. old kid playing for LSU, how do you get psyched up for Tulane? USC beat a gutsy Washington team on the road. Washington's offense wasn't all that great, but several mistakes by USC's offense and several Trojan injuries kept the Huskies in the game. These two unimpressive outings for each team exposes the fact that each team is beatable. However, each team found a way to win. Admittedly, LSU ended up winning handily. These kinds of games happen every year, often more than a team would really like. It's up to the team to win when their play is lacking. If anyone followed the National Champion Florida Gators last season, they would not have been overly impressed. But, they found a way to win games in which their best play wasn't there. Some games are easier than others to have focus.
It is this time of the season when teams are entering conference play. This is usually when the potential for upsets is worse. Conference teams play each other every year, knowing each other very well. They may have easily beaten the same conference opponent the year before. There is also more game film on each team now. A smart coach, offensive or defensive coordinator, can devise a unique game plan for a good team based on a weakness found in game film. It seems every year a "cellar dweller" sneaks up on someone for the upset. Again, focus is important. I would be a little surprised if their are two unbeaten teams left at the end of the year playing for the National Title. If there are, I would think it would be LSU and USC, but both teams have a tough conference schedule left to play.
The two teams that will play in January down in N'awlins for the National Title will be the ones who take it "one game at a time." They will be the teams who have the most focus through the 12 games (or possibly 13 if they play in a conference championship game). And, when the confetti is falling after one team wins the title, and the star player or coach says on national tv that his team took it "one game at a time," I'll believe him.
Labels: For What It's Worth
posted by the toddler at
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