Texas vs. Texas Tech

Texas travels to Lubbock, Texas this weekend for the fourth leg of a murderous four week obstacle course that has seen them beat OU, Mizzou, Okie State and potentially Texas Tech. Tech is led by perhaps the quirkiest head coach in the country, Mike Leach. Leach is obsessed with pirates, even though he calls West Texas home, he recently pulled a kid out of the stands to join the tech team as a kicker after he won a contest at halftime of a game earlier this year. The kid in question, Mike Williams, is now 9 for 9 on extra point attempts.

Here are some pointers from Mike Leach on dating



How good is Michael Crabtree? He has his own song and dance that the tech faithful perform every game at Jones SBC stadium.



Now that we have cranked that Crabtree, lets get down to the facts. Texas brings its #1 ranked war tested team to Lubbock with stars like Colt McCoy, emerging running back Chris Ogbonnaya, Jordan Shipley, Bran Orakpo, and Roy Miller to TTU looking to close out its last big test of the year.

Texas Tech brings an explosive offense to say the least, and has a huge chip on its shoulders because the common perception around the country is that they have not played anybody. The Tech stars include head coach Mike Leach and his gunslinger approach to offense, along with Graham Harrell, and Michael Crabtree , the redshirt sophomore, who would most likely break every receiving record in the history of college football if he stayed for four years.

The break down is this simple, even though Texas has beat three top ten teams in the last three weeks they have not left central Texas in order to do it. This will be their first test outside of a neutral site or DKR Memorial Stadium. I believe Texas has more than enough talent to beat the Red Raiders, but the fact that they will be on the road may give Tech the boost to pull the upset. I'm sure that Penn State fans will be rooting for a Tech victory as it looks like their best chance to derail the Longhorns from the top spot in the BCS ratings.

The defenses will be almost as ineffective as a 9 iron on the moon as both offensives should walk up and down the field all night long. Texas behind the 82 percent completion percentage of Colt McCoy can score on anybody and Tech has lit up more scoreboards than General Electric since Mike leach came aboard as head coach. Look for this to be a shootout with Texas winning a close one at Jones SBC Stadium. Do not be surprised if Tech cranks that Crabtree enough times for the win. Furthermore, Tech is in complete control of their own destiny with this week's game against Texas and with Oklahoma forthcoming. If they were to run the table they would almost be guaranteed a shot at the national championship.

Yours Truly,

Linus Letterwinner

Can Ty Willingham Please Get A Fair Shake?

Ty Willingham has announced earlier this week that he will be stepping down from his position as head coach of the University of Washington football team. I know that Ty has not had the best run in the last few years, but can you name a coach that has been fired as fast as Ty Willingham has in his last two coaching jobs, at Notre Dame and Washington?

Ty Willingham was fired at Notre Dame after only three seasons. This is not enough time to secure your own players and run your own system at a college. I think that for all the bad blood between Ty and Notre Dame it must feel good for Willingham to know that the only real successful year that Charlie Weiss, who oddly enough has not won as many games in his first 3 years at Ty did, had at Notre dame was with the players that Willingham recruited. Maurice Stovall, Trevor Laws, Rhema McKnight, Brady Quinn, Tom Zbikowski, John Carlson and Darious Walker all were Willingham signees. Don’t forget he signed Greg Olson the great Miami Hurricane tight end who left Notre Dame because of the great depth at TE.

Ty is a great recruiter and he did the University of Washington a favor by taking over a program in shambles. A program that has done absolutely nothing since finishing third in the country in 2000. I’m sure there was pressure from the Washington faithful who remember the “good ole days” with Napoleon Kaufman and Steve Ettman in the early 1990’s but the climate of football in the Great Northwest has changed. Mike Belotti has had Oregon amongst the nation's elite for a long time now. Oregon State also has had its share of success since Don James left his post at Washington. These two programs are smack dab in the middle of the only recruiting pipeline that gives Washington a chance to win and that is California. So why skip over all the good programs in California and the rest of the country and even the Oregon schools to play ball in at Washington? Doesn’t make sense to me either or Kurt Cobain for that matter. Washington produces little talent every year and those players like the Jonathan Stewarts (Former Oregon TB) and Taylor Mays (All-World USC Safety) of the world now head for the greener pastures of more elite programs with better facilities. Which leads to another reason that Ty had such a problem is that Husky Stadium and other athletic facilities at U-Dub are way over due for a makeover.

One last reason that Ty really deserved another year is that he was hired late in the recruiting season his first year on the job and only managed to nab 13 recruits that year which is hardly a foundation to lean your hat on this, his fourth year. This in effect really means that Coach Willingham has 3 years of recruits on the sidelines at UW. Detractors may say that he really did not impress in his subsequent recruiting efforts after his first year, but do I have to mention all the problems at Washington again for you to realize that Ty Willingham is really just a scapegoat for a much larger problem that persists at UW.

Change is good and even thought I feel like Ty deserved another year in Seattle in order to prove his worth. Maybe a new coach will be the rallying point that UW need fortify its boosters and alumni in order to make the major changes it takes to survive in the lowly Pac-10. How sad indeed is this last statement. UW is behind the bar on the proverbial short bus, of big time college football, that is the Pac-10, lol. Six Mag wishes Ty all that best in his future endeavors, possibly Clemson or Tennessee is a future option for Ty who knows. I would hope that wherever he ends up that he is finally given a fair shake and the time needed to produce a winner because to this point this has simply not been the case for Coach Willingham.

Sincerely, 

Cy Clayborneham

Adrian Peterson Minnesota Vikings RB Interview

I interviewed 2007 Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl MVP, Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. The mic on the camera is so good you can hear his 3 year old little brother Junior giving the sound effects in the background. LOL. Enjoy and thanks for the support.

Marcus Walker Minnesota Vikings CB Interview

I took some time to interview upcoming rookie cornerback Marcus Walker of the Minnesota Vikings. Enjoy

PRYOR VS. GRIFFIN

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin set a Bowl Subdivision record on Saturday for the most pass attempts to start a career without an interception by a freshman. Griffin was 15 of 27 for 162 yards in the Bears' 34-6 loss at Oklahoma State, extending his streak of passes without an interception to 155.You would think that Griffin, after setting such a record would be regarded as the best freshman quarterback in the country. “Not so fast my friend “ in the words of Lee Corso. Most would argue that this honor belongs to freshman quarterbackTerrelle Pryor of Ohio State.
For the season Pryor has completed 59 or 90 pass attempts for 653 yards and with a 65.6 completion percentage with 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Griffin has completed 94 of his 155 pass attempts for 1,271 yards and 9 touchdowns with no interceptions. Griffin has better numbers but there are two factors to take into account. Griffin graduated from Copperas Cove High School in December 2007 in order to enroll early at Baylor. Furthermore, Griffin won his starting job in the spring at Baylor and has been the starter ever since. Pryor did not even sign with Ohio State until May 19th of this year after Griffin has already completed a full semester at Baylor and had earned All-American honors for his efforts with the Baylor track team. Pryor also did not become a full-time starter until a few weeks ago, as Todd Boeckman was the starter for the Buckeyes early in the season. Technicalities aside these two quarterbacks are the future of college football and both have a good head on their shoulders. Pryor chose OSU because he wanted to run a pro style offense in prepping for the NFL and Griffin chose Baylor over Stanford, Tennessee, Houston and Kansas because he plans to be a lawyer after school and chose Baylor because of their strong academic tradition. At this point, 6mag is going to tag Griffin as the better quarterback, based off of statistics and quality of competition in the Big 12, at the moment but Pryor is gaining fast every week and the Bucks offense is beginning to gain some steam. Here are some highlights of these two freshman phenoms. Enjoy and take care.

Sincerely, Billy Ocean

What Demarco Muarry and Michael Jordan Have In Common

It has been said that the only person that could hold Michael Jordan under 30 points was Dean Smith, Jordan's college basketball coach. The University of North Carolina Tar Heels basketball, team hosted other All-Americans besides Jordan, but more importantly they ran a slow tempo style of offense that didn't fit Jordan's explosive style. Jordan still shined and did what he could, but had Dean Smith just given the ball to Jordan and let him do his thing, they would have won more championships.

Yes, this is a football blog, no we are not changing. I say what I said about Jordan to say this, Bob Stoops and Demarco Muarry are the exact same. Look at Muarry's Redshirt Freshman season last year he made big play after big play with scores on runs from 92 yards and 65 yards. He also helped on special teams with kickoff return scores of 91 yards and 81 yards. He amased 764 yards, 13 toudowns with 6 yards per carry last year while sharing the load with two backs. Not to mention he averaged 29.3 yards per kick return with two scores. This year the numbers aren't down actually, but the numbers are misleading. Yes, Muarry has 520 yards and 7 touchdowns and a deceptively good average of 4.8 yards per carry. But this is not the Demarco Muarry expected coming out of high school and not the glimpses of stardom we saw last year. His longest run from scrimmage this year is 49 yards, he had 35 more carries through the first five games this year than last year and his longest kickoff return was 38 yards. To the average athlete these are great number, but not for Muarry. Muarry dislocated his knee cap last year causing him to miss the last three games of the year as well as spring drills but he and Stoops say he is healthy.

Muarry's father, Kevin Muarry, helped mold his son into the future NFL star he is and has noticed a hitch in his son's giddy up.

"Something is not there this year," Kevin said. "I don't know what's the problem. Either he's still hurt and doesn't want to say anything or he doesn't have the confidence back in that knee. He always says, 'Dad, I'm OK.' I think it's more of his confidence."

Offensive Coordinator for the Sooners, Kevin Wilson has this to offer on Muarry's performance.

"I see him cutting against the grain and trying to find big plays instead of just running," Wilson said. "If you're looking to make a big play, you won't make it. Just like trying to find a four-leaf clover. Sometimes it's right in front of you. You see it even though you're not looking for it.

"He will make more big plays by just playing hard and sticking to it. Like last year at Texas (on Murray 's 65-yard run), he just hit it hard, here's a crease, he jumps over a guy and he's gone."

I disagree with Muarry's father and coach Wilson. However, I place full blame on Wilson and Stoops. If you look at Muarry's running style in high school, he was the next Reggie Bush. Did Pete Carroll change Bush's style, no he let him flourish into a Heisman trophy winner and a top 3 draft pick in the NFL. Muarry's coaches are changing his running style and making him run stiff, inconsistent, and unconfident. The coaches need to realize that if they wanted a one cut running back they should have recruited one.

Brian Westbrook, Reggie Bush, Marshall Faulk, Barry Sanders and many other great running backs with unconvential running backs have succeeded and been some of the most marketable backs of all-time. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Well, Stoops and Wilson broke Demarco Muarry's running style when there was nothing wrong with it and now they must fix it and let the boy do his thing.

We at 6magazine hope to see the real Demarco Muarry before the season is over if not hopefully soon in the NFL.

Funny ESPN Article by Pat Forde

This is a great and funny article by Pat Forde of ESPN written yesterday. Take a look when you have a chance.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&page=dash0808&sportCat=ncf

America's Team

The Dallas Cowboys were the clear Superbowl favorite after the first three games of the season this year. Then a home loss to the Redskins, mumblings from T.O. and the snide began. Since then, the boys have lost QB Tony Romo for 4 weeks, SS Roy Williams for the rest of the year, CB Pacman Jones indefinitely, Rookie RB Felix Jones for two more weeks, and CB Terrance Newman is struggling with a groin injury. They have suffered an embarrassing loss to a losing St. Louis Rams team, which has seemingly been the straw that has broken the camel's back.

To add insult to injury, Marion Barber is fine and is getting the ball none. The first three games of the year the Cowboys were running the ball 30 times a game. In the four games the Cowboys have won, they've ran the ball 30 times. Although, Jones is banged up, He can carry the load and Rookie RB Tashard Choice can help carry the load as well.

They need to get back to the Bill Parcels way of life and run the ball til the wheels fall off. The defense is good enough that if the offense controls the time of possesion with a 30 plus run game, the Cowboys will be back to their winning ways.

The media is down the Boys' back right now and counting them out, whether they truly believe it or are simply doing it for ratings no one really knows. Bottom line is that adversity reveals character as ESPN's Tom Jackson stated this past week.

Don't count the Cowboys out. They will still make the playoffs and actually will still make the Superbowl. Yes, I said it. The Bears will fold, the Falcons are a fluke, they play the Giants and Redskins enough to know how to defeat them if the playoffs if they meet them, and the Cardinals, Buccaneers, and Panthers will all be exposed for the mediocre teams that they are by season's end.

Peace,

Ricky Writer

Penn State vs. Ohio State

Penn State head coach Joe Pa faces the big fish that got away this week, in the form of Pennsylvania grown Freshman super stud Terrelle Pryor and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Pryor added fuel to the fire by stating this week that “he does not care about making Penn State happy and that Jeanette, Pa is hometown but Ohio is now his home. What is really important in this game is that OSU is shooting for an unprecedented 3rd straight Big 10 title. Furthermore, they are still in control of their BCS destiny if they beat the Nittany Lions.

There are great match-ups all over the field in this game of Big Ten foes. Derrick Williams, the great Penn State wide receiver, versus the all world Ohio State Corner, Malcolm Jenkins. Then you have Evan Royster, the youthful running back who has put up 800+ yards rushing this season versus James Lauranitis, the son of the Animal, and a damn good Buckeye Linebacker. Last but not least, Terrelle Pryor versus the seasoned but still first year starting Junior QB, Daryll Clark.

The Penn State offense, that seems at times to be unstoppable, versus the stingy and fast OSU defense. The biggest match up will be the quarterback battle in this one. The quarterback who plays the best and leads their team down the field in this will to win game, will lead their team to victory. I am calling for yet another upset in this one, and I think that Ohio State behind the deadly combination of Pryor and tailback Beanie Wells will wreak havoc on the Penn State defense that struggled in the first half of last week's game to stop a similar offense that Michigan employs. If Michigan can put up decent numbers for a half against Penn State, Ohio State should put up some lofty numbers. I’m calling for a Buckeye Victory 35- 21

Truly, TRON CLAYBORNE

Cowboy Up: Oklahoma State VS. Texas

Texas is the team to beat in the BCS race. Oklahoma State is the new kid on the block with one of the nastiest offenses that college football has seen in a while. Texas has the hometown hero quarterback Colt McCoy with a name that leads you to believe he was ordained from the football gods to be a Texas quarterback. OSU counters with Zac Robinson, the silky smooth Poke quarterback. that is flashy but backs up his GQ football fashion with great numbers and top-notch efficiency. Based on both their games with Missouri, Texas has the upper hand with more overall speed. However, Oklahoma State is no slouch on defense and has improved every week since the beginning of the season.

Since no team in the BIG XII ranks in the top 30 in total defense, there is fair reason to believe there will be a lot of points scored in this game. OSU will be at home and they are ranked 7th in the country. I’m calling an upset in the game as OSU walks away with a 45-37 victory in front of the home crowd. Look for this to be a very entertaining game unless Texas jumps all over the Cowboys early. If the Longhorns do not put the Pokes away early, look for an OSU victory.


Sincerely, Cowboy Clayborne

It Could Happen

Rematches conveniently start with an "r" just like the word revenge. Most rematches are won by the team or individually who lost first. Mark my words there will be a rematch for this year's national championship game. Between whom you may ask? Keep reading kind sir/fine lady.

The BCS standings came out this past Sunday. The top 5 reads as follows: Texas, Alabama, Penn State, Oklahoma and USC. Now we all know that college football is about as stable as Britney Spears in 2007. You know their are going to be upsets that you would never imagine. The Longhorns have been battle tested and I do not see them losing again. OSU, who is ranked 6th in the BCS and plays the Longhorns this weekend will be exposed by the Longhorns. Texas Tech plays Texas in two weeks and doesn't have enough athletes to keep up nor do the Kansas Jayhawks who play the Longhorns in a month. Also, don't look for the Horns to let up in the Big 12 Championship game either.

Alabama still has to play LSU. If you know anything about college football that is that you do not bet against Les Miles. Before coming to LSU, Miles' OSU Cowboys used to give Bob Stoops' OU Sooners fits with far lesser talented athletes. You give me a Les Miles coached team with LSU athletes and I'm taking Les over Alabama head coach, Nick Saban, any day.

Penn State has to play Ohio State this week. Penn State has quality wins over Wisconsin and Illinois but it is safe to say the Big 10 isn't what it used to be. Terrell Pryor, OSU starting QB, is an emerging star. Beanie Wells is quietly having a great year as well. The defense is still the staple of this team. Penn State's starting QB Daryll Clark is in his first year as the starting QB and will not be ready for the pressure he is about to face in the Horseshoe this weekend.

Oklahoma has had their wake-up call from the Longhorns. The Sooners next big contests are from the OSU Cowboys and Texas Tech Red Raiders. Texas gave future OU opponents the blue print to defeat the Sooners, which is to hold the ball and hit the middle of the zone pass defense. OU has addressed that problem with SS Nic Harris moving to middle linebacker with the injury to former starter Ryan Reynolds. Harris hits like a linebacker and covers like a safety. The Sooners will defeat the Cowboys and Red Raiders and finish thier regular season with one blemish on their schedule.

USC will close out the seaason with one loss as well, but a weak Pac-10 conference as well as a BCS back breaking loss to a struggling Oregon State team will not help the Trojans jump anyone in the BCS rankings.

Hmm...so what happens when the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams lose? The 4th team naturally moves up to the number 2 spot, they play the number 1 team for the national title. The number 4 team in the BCS just happens to be the OU Sooners.

Florida and Florida State played a rematch game for the national title in 1996. In 2006, people argued that Ohio State vs Michigan should have a rematch for the BCS title. That never happened and Ohio State was exposed by a much more skilled Florida Gator team. The reason the Big Ten rematch didn't happen was not because they did not want two Big 10 teams playing for the title, it was because Michigan lost late in the year and Florida, another one loss team, lost early in the year. The BCS doesn't care if teams are from the same conference, it fact it loves it. BSC lives for controversy and two teams from the same conference is enough to make the system stay in tact. One more rebuttal in case someone wants to bring up the fact that OU shouldn't be allowed to play in the national championship because they will not win their conference title. That didn't matter in 2003 when OU lost its conference title to the Kansas State Wildcats, yet still played LSU in the Sugar Bowl for the BCS Championship.

Don't argue with me people, nod your heads and pat me on the back for my Nastradamus like insight. OU vs Texas all over again, this time for all the marbles in Dade County baby!

College Football Karma

There seems to be a trend this year that the highest ranked team in any given game is going down. Do Florida, USC, Oklahoma, Georgia, LSU ring a bell? Already two times this year, 3 of the top five teams have lost in the same week. With this in mind and the fact that the recent trend of the top ten teams in the country being the hunted does not seem to stop any time soon. Below is a list of intriguing games in the next three weeks that could yield upsets that would continue this trend. The reason karma comes into play is that some of the victims of earlier this season will almost assuredly make an impact on the national championship race by enacting revenge and setting the balance of college football back where it should be or should I say never was.

Week 9
Oklahoma State @ Texas
Georgia @ Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge
Penn State @ Ohio State
USC @ Arizona

Week 10
Nebraska @ Oklahoma
Texas @ Texas Tech
Florida vs. Georgia (Jacksonville)

Week 11
Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech
TCU @ Utah
Ohio State @ Northwestern
Georgia Tech @ North Carolina
Georgia @ Kentucky

NFL Gameday Week 7 Top Plays with Deion Sanders

Week 8 JIMMYS

Here are the JIMMYS for the 8th week of football.

College JIMMYS

Brennan Marion Tulsa WR

Marion grabbed 6 balls for 233 yards and 3TDs including a 97 yard beauty as the Golden Hurricanes trounced UTEP. Damn Near Every Single Big 12 South Division QB minus a few

Colt McCoy of UT made Mack Brown look like a genius for not offering Chase Daniel a scholarship when the two were recruited the same year out of the same state. McCoy has the first three letters of his name written on the Heisman trophy as he went 29 for 32, 337 yards and 4 total TDs in a 56-31 beating over #11 ranked Mizzou.

Sam Bradford of OU bounced back nicely from the Red River Rivalry loss throwing for a school record 468 yards and 3TDs in a victory over the 16th ranked Kansas Jayhawks.

Graham Harrell of Texas Tech threw for 450 yards and 3TDs and ran for two more scores as the Red Raiders defeated the Aggies of Texas A&M.
Lendy Holmes Oklahoma FS

Holmes earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week Honors in last week's victory of the 16th ranked Kansas Jayhawks. Holmes had 8 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 interceptions and 2 passes defended helping the Sooners win.
NFL JIMMYS

Jeff Garcia Buccaneers QB

Garcia got his starting job back and held onto it like a young child screaming "MINE" as he threw 27 for 36 completions and 310 yards and touchdown strike as the Bucs defeated the Seahawks 20-10.

Clinton Portis Redskins RB

In terms of pure numbers, Clinton Portis is the best running back in the NFL. He leads the NFL in rushing with 818 yards and the second place Adrian Peterson only has 684 yards. Portis rushed 27 times for 175 yards and a score as the Redskins defeated the Browns 14-11.
O.J. Atogwe Rams SS

Atogwe has been playing huge the past two weeks. This week he helped the Rams upset the Cowboys intercepting Brad Johnson twice.
Green Bay Secondary

They held Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne to four catches and 35 yards between the two of them.
DeMarcus Ware Cowboys DE

Ware was the one bright star for the Cowboys this week posting 3 sacks against the Rams. He leads the NFL with 9 sacks and set a record for recording at least one sack in ten straight games.

NFL Week 7 Recap

Week 7 of the NFL season featured big plays from big name players, a stunning upset, an 89 point game and much more.

Cowboys vs. St. Louis

I don't know what's going on in Big D other than category 5 organizational meltdown is occurring for the world to see. Romo's out, Pacman is gone, Felix Jones is out, Roy Williams, the safety, lost for the year and Boys have lost 3 of their last 4 games.

You'd think that the St. Louis Rams would have rolled over for the Cowboys, but the opposite happened. They came, fought, kicked ass and took names in a 34-14 rout of America's team.

There is no way you cannot tell me last week's distractions didn't play a roll in this loss for the Cowboys. Big ups to the Rams for getting things together, great win for Coach Hasslett winning his second straight game as interim head coach.

Vikings vs. Bears

No one played defense and the neutral fans loved every minute of it. You'd think Devin Hester and Adrian Peterson put on a highlight reel, but "Anytime" Hester left the game with a quad injury and only tallied 2 receptions for 22 yards. Now, AD on the other hand held his own with 22 carries for 122 yards and 2TD, including a 54 yard run to the house.

The Vikes gave former starting QB two games before the pulled the leash on him, and Gus Frerotte isn't doing much better throwing 4 interceptions yesterday.

Good news for Bears, Kyle Orton is doing well as the starting QB and the offense is putting up points. Bad news for Bears, isn't their staple their defense? 41 points allowed from a one dimensional Vikings team? All bad!

Titans vs. Chiefs

The Titans have successfully stolen the blueprint of the 2001 Baltimore Ravens Superbowl Championship team. Alot of Defense, a running game more formidable than Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson and no mistakes in the passing game. Titans are 6-0 and do not have New England or Indianapolis to fear. Superbowl is to early to call for this team, or is it?

LenDale White rushed 17 times for 149 yards and 3 TDs and Chris Johnson rushed 18 times for 168 yards and a 66 yard burst to the endzone. Make no mistakes about it, Johnson is the fastest player in the NFL pulling defensive backs' hamstrings left and right.

The Chiefs suck point blank, and that's sad because I am a huge Herman Edwards fan. Let's hope they can get it turned around for his sake. We need as many black coaches in the league as possible.

Colts vs Packers

Can anyone tell me why the Colts are 3-3? New England has an excuse, no Tom Brady. Indy has none. Peyton, Reggie and Marvin are all in tact. Sure Joseph Addai is gone but that shouldn't matter too much for one of the best QBs in the game. To only post 14 points is un-Colt like and for Peyton to throw two pick six interceptions is even more frightening. Are we sure that Peyton is better than Eli?

The Pack on the other hand is killing. Two defensive scores yesterday to bring the grand total to five for the year is amazing. The secondary held Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne to only 4 recpetions for 35 yards between the two of them. Aaron Rodgers didn't look to be favoring his elbow at all throwing 21 for 28 with 186 yards and a TD. Ryan grant carried the team rushing 31 times for 105 yards and a score as well.

Much to my chagrin, the Packers are just fine without good ole #4.

What We Know Thus Far

Upon reaching the halfway point of this college football season there are a few things that no one expected, few teams who have lived up to expectations, and the season has shown how fast commonly held perceptions can change in the blink of an eye.

Ageism is no longer cool. Joe Paterno proves that as he has his mojo going in a major way with the Nittany Lions. In his 58th year at Penn State, the Lions are 7-0 and ranked 3rd in the country. This comes after a few tough years in Happy Valley, when Paterno was essentially being pushed out of his job because of his team's poor performances and the fact that he is 81 years old. All the talk of when is Joe Pa going to leave PSU has ceased and the Lions in their classic uniforms that have not changed one iota since the 1950's and are legitimate contenders for the national title.

The ACC is not as terrible as it looked at the first of the season. I'm not saying that they are the dominant conference in the country by any means, what I am saying is that this young conference in terms of talent is better than the scores indicated at the beginning of this year. Georgia Tech and its option attack is a very formidable opponent and has a shot to win the conference. Florida State which started slow is gaining momentum with its stingy, tough and downright nasty defense and offense that is getting better with every game. Miami has lost some tough games this year but has a wealth of talent and is already on the way to having one of the top recruiting classes for the second straight year. Look for the Hurricanes to be very tough in the coming year. Virginia Tech is also improving after pulling the "shirt" off of Tyrod Taylor and making him the starter for Frank Beamer's Hokies. Duke has had an impressive year for Duke and now is at least a valid threat for the rest of this year. Butch Davis has North Carolina pointed in the right direction as well with the Tar Heels already having beaten Notre Dame and Miami this year. Losing Brandon Tate for the year with a torn ACL and MCL is a tough blow but the Heels have the talent to get though the rest of the year in decent condition.

All this talk of the ACC leads us to the biggest disappointment of the year, the Clemson Tigers. Tommy Bowden, the former coach of the Tigers, committed the biggest sin a college coach can commit, which is not winning with an abundant wealth of talent for a number of years. Clemson started the year ranked # 9 in the country with perhaps the best backfield duo in the country James Davis and C.J. Spiller. The Tigers lost to Alabama, in a game where Clemson was physically manhandled. The tigers followed up that weak performance with a loss to Maryland at home and a loss to Wake Forest on the road was the "straw that broke the camels back" and Bowden stepped down leaving Clemson's season in further disarray.

The two biggest surprises of the season to this point are probably Penn State and Oklahoma State. In a season where the top five teams lose on a regular basis these two teams are kicking ass and taking names. Both the Pokes and Lions are running the spread offense to perfection and Oklahoma State has seemingly solved age-old problem of running the ball effectively out of the spread offense besides West Virginia, and is leading the country in this category. The Lions, led by Derrick Williams, are beating teams soundly with great offense and a tough defense, which is a hard combination to beat.

The Big 12 has pulled even as the best conference in football after showing great depth the last few weekends. The SEC, which has had some teams slip in their last few games still demands respect. Cannibalism within these two conferences has led to some teams falling away from the conference title chase such as the Auburn Tigers and Oklahoma State looks to be the next victim.

These are the most pertinent developments of the current season, I have left some out and I'm sure they will be addressed in the coming weeks. I look forward to seeing how this season plays out and I am sure you are too.

Sincerely,


Claude

JIMMY AWARDS for Week 7 of Football

College JIMMYS

Jordan Shipley, Texas WR

Shipley proved me wrong. He stepped up and shredded the OU defense for 11 receptions for 112 yards and a 96 yard KO return for a touchdown.

William VanDeSteeg, Minnesota DE

This man came to play. VanDeStegg recorded 3 sacks, a forced fumble and a key pass defense to help the Golden Gophers defeat Illinois and put a dark cloud on the Illini homecoming. 

NFL JIMMYS

Derek Anderson, Browns QB

Anderson woke up from hibernation to throw 18/29 for 310 yards and 2 touchdown strikes as the Browns defeated the once undefeated NY Giants on Monday night.

Kevin Williams, Minnesota DT

Williams defeated the Lions by himself with 8 tackles and 4 sacks to help the Vikes take a little bit of heat off of head coach Brad Childress with a 12-10 win over the Detroit Lions.

NFL GameDay Week 6 Top 10 plays

From Frat House to Field House: Peter Roberts

Colorado head football coach Dan Hawkins, better known as “Hawk Love”, is famous for stating if his players did not like the way he ran his team “Go play intramurals brother, go play intramurals homeboy.” However, the head coach at Washington State University had to look through the intramural stars at WSU in order fill his Cougar roster. 

Washington State coach Paul Wulff held an open tryout this week to find a scout team quarterback after losing his top two quarterbacks, Kevin Lopina and Gary Rogers, to injuries early in the season. Following this tryout Monday afternoon at Rogers Field, Washington State University Head Coach Paul Wulff announced Tuesday that freshman quarterback Peter Roberts has been added to the Cougar football team.

Peter Roberts will be used as a scout team quarterback for the Cougars. However, due to the thin nature of the dept chart at quarterback for Washington State if the starter, Marshall Lobbestael, is injured then there is a possibility that the starting job is Roberts. Roberts will run the scout team as third-stringer Marshall Lobbestael starts and two freshmen backups also get some regular practice time in case they're needed to play.

Roberts, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound Woodinville, Wash native, was a three-year letter winner in football at Woodinville High School, earning second-team All-King County honors as a senior. Roberts completed 128 of 230 passes for 1,571 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions as a senior. As a junior Roberts was honorable mention All-King County after completing 96 of 207 passes for 1,371 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions. Woodinville High was once home to the Tuiasosopo brothers Marques and Matt. Roberts beat out 29 other competitors who came from the WSU student body to win the opportunity to join the Cougars team. Roberts performed the best and will spend the next few weeks imitating the starting quarterbacks on other Pac-10 teams

Hundreds of spectators and lots of reporters turned out to watch the tryout this week. Each candidate performed five-step drops, agility drills, threw on the run and then threw long, getting one chance at each drill. The fact that Wulff had to resort to the tryout shows how difficult a first season he's had with the Cougars. Washington State (1-5, 0-3 Pac-10) has allowed more than 60 points on two occasions and has been outscored 157-20 in three conference games.

I understand that there must be some trouble at WSU in order to resort to open tryouts of campus students in order to fill their roster. I wish Roberts nothing but the best in what will surely be a fun and interesting journey as a QB who was plucked from the school halls in Pullman. Who knows, Roberts may one or two years from now, lead the Cougars to a winning season. 6Mag wishes Roberts the best of luck and judging from the current season that WSU is having he and the Cougars are going to need a lot of it.

Sincerely, “Impossible is Nothing” Clayborne

BOOMER FREAKING SOONER

For me to comment on the article below would be a waste of my time. A post ABOVE it is where my response belongs. I ask myself, am I really in business with this person. Does he need to be demoted or do I need to go in business all myself?

For a Sooner graduate to make these comments is down right ridiculous and unacceptable.
It is okay for Claude to feel the way he does. I mean communications majors aren't the brightest in the world. But you went to OU for crying out loud. Where is the loyalty? I mean, that's like telling your wife she is fat and you are not longer sexually attracted to her. The better thing to say is honey, your gaining weight a little bit, here is a gym memebership for the two of us to work out together and a gift card to Victoria Secret. You don't just turn your back on her.

What makes this more stupid is the fact that this argument has no validity whatsoever. OU is ranked #1 in the country. Texas has played no one essentially. I gurantee you that TCU would kill Colorado any day of the week. Texas has no running game. The secondary is young and talented, but remember YOUNG. Vince Young is gone, and if Colt McCoy is the leading rusher there is a serious problem.

OU on the other has done far better than Texas in every facet of life! Texas would kill to have Demarco Muarry, Chris Brown, or Moises Madu. Did I mention Sam Bradford will be up for the Heisman this year. He is on pace to eclipse every OU record passing wise and I wouldn't be surprised if he set a few national single game records this year. The young Texas' secondary has to to contend with the Jermaine Greshman, Ryan Broyles, Manny Johnson, and Juaqin Iglesias.

The Sooner defense isn't a chop liver either. I contend the Colt McCoy has gotten over his sophomore slump and is playing exceptional and it will be quite a test to see how he does against great competition. I expect him to do well. He is a good college quarterback. I expect him to make plays with Quan Crosby and Jordan Shipley. Don't look for OU to get beat deep though with Lendy Holmes and Nic Harris back deep.

This game should exciting. The Sooners will win by two touchdowns, 35-21. Also Mr. Clayborne will be pimp slapped and deomoted as a business partner and a friend.

Sincerely,

A TRUE SOONER

Those Sneaky Horns

The University Of Texas will beat OU this weekend in Dallas. How many years do fans have to watch OU be called the best team “EVER” only to see them flounder late in the year?

Why is Texas the # 5 team in the country being treated like chopped liver? Last time I Checked, Mack Brown has commitments from the best players available all the way up until the year 2045. The “so-called” professionals who you watch every day on the various networks and local media would lead you to believe that there is a large gap in talent on these two teams. This simply is not the case. I am not saying that Texas is more talented, what I am saying is that Texas has for a long time gotten its pick of the recruiting litter every year since Ole’ Mack stepped on campus. There are many all-staters, Parade All-Americans and Mr. Football’s the Longhorn roster.

The Texas secondary may be young but it has been proven in the past that you can win with a young secondary. Miami 2002 ring a bell? Texas brings just as much firepower into this game as Oklahoma does. Texas has been less than adequate in the running game this year but has Oklahoma really turned heads in this department? Texas boasts the most athletically gifted defense that the Sooners will face until they go to their bowl game. Furthermore, Colt McCoy has been just as impressive this year as Sam Bradford and is more versatile as he leads the Horn’s in rushing this year. I think that team speed on defense and a spirited effort from the Longhorns on offense will bring the Horns an “upset” victory over OU this weekend in Dallas 38-35.

Mark My Words, Hook’em Clayborne

(University of Oklahoma, Communications, 2005)

LSU vs. Florida Preview

Ah, the sweet smell of cross division SEC football. The air attack assault of the SEC East meets the Defensive minded SEC West. If speed kills then the SEC is death row. 

A LSU threat by Ricky Jean-Francois has been made and recanted on knocking Tim Tebow out of the game this Saturday. The Gators will need all the bulletin board material they can get. The Gators defense is the worst its been in years. However, they have enough offense to make up for it. Tebow's lack of a 4th down conversion two weeks ago has given him extra motivation. Freshman running backs Chris Rainey and Jeffery Demps can score at will with very little blocking also. The Gators also will have the often injured Percy Harvin in the line up as well. 

LSU is well rested having a bye week to prepare for this big game. LSU is winning SEC West style with a pound it out ball control running game and defense stinger than an only child. Expect the Gators woeful defense to load up the box and make Jarrett Lee beat them. Coach Les Miles as already stated that backup QB Andrew Hatch will get a couple of series to play as well. This may bode well for the Gators because the Tigers offense is far from a juggernaut and the two quarterback rotation may disrupt the continuity in the offense.

The Gators are at home and their offense is far to potent. Gators win. 30-20. 

NFL Week 6 Preview

NFL Week 6

Eh, NFL is going to be boring this week. No marquee games at all. We can only hope for high flying plays from the likes of the usual suspects, Hester, Bush, Cromartie, Favre, Moss, T.O., Moss, and Ocho Cinco. 

The game to watch is going to be the Ravens vs. Colts. Both teams are 2-2 and cannot afford to go below .500. It is amazing to see the Colts struggling as they are. As wounded as the Colts are, the Ravens might as well be the Sharks, because they will smell blood. Changing of the card in the midst? Not quite, but I do expect the Colts to lose 20-17. 

JIMMY Awards for 6th Week of Football

I was not impressed with this week of football. I am going to need you fellas to step it up this week. We have been handing out Jimmy's like American banks have been handing out bad home loans, so amidst the recession and the Dow dropping like its hot, the JIMMYS will be dropping as well.

College JIMMYS

Juice Williams, Illinois QB

Juice was working it as he recorded 431 total yards and 4tds in a win at the Big House.

Bruce Carter, UNC LB

Bruce was remarkable on defense and special teams. He tallied 6 tackles and 2 tackles for loss. More impressing was the fact that not only did he block three punts in one game, but he blocked all three punts consecutively.

NFL JIMMYS

Reggie Bush, Saints RB

Bush was essentially tamed offensively by the Vikings, but they could not stop him on special teams. Bush returned two punts for touchdowns with returns of 74 and 64 yards.

Gary Brackett, Colts LB

Brackett saved the game with a fumble return for a 68 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to help lead the comeback against the Texans.

STAR WARS: Big XII Style

Oklahoma State and Missouri square off in Columbia this weekend in a STAR WARS like battle of two of the top offenses in the country. Missouri led by Chase Daniel, the undersized Yoda of this tale,  and Jeremy Maclin, the swift R2D2-like receiver, are looking like a sure fire bet to win the Big XII North division. The only thing that stands in the way of Missouri challenging for a national title is the Big XII South teams, both during the regular season and in the Big 12 championship game. 

Oklahoma State counters with Darth Vader, only from Sunday through Friday his government name is Zach Robinson. Which team will use the "FORCE' in order to gain a victory this weekend has yet to be known. What we do know is that the winner will have hang at least 50 points to get the job done. Offense is what will carry the Tigers if they are going to reach thier lofty goals. What is scary is that Mizzou is averaging 53.4 points per game, which ranks the Tigers second in the country.

OSU is ranked 3rd in scoring offense in the country putting up 52.6 points per game. But the Tigers are 84th in total defense, yielding 376.6 yards per game, and 115th in pass defense, yielding 281.6 ypg. The horrendous MU defense that the Tigers have fielded this year leads 6mag to believe that this will be the type of shootout that may lead to 100 and possibly 120 points being scored this Saturday night in Columbia. What is truly crazy is that if 100 points is tallied between these two teams it will only mean that both offenses have reached their average mark for points this year.

One key point to pay attention to is, that even thought both teams run the spread offense, the running game for both Missouri and Oklahoma State are as potent as they come. Missouri tailback Derrick Washington leads the country with 12 rushing touchdowns and has scored at least two touchdowns per game this year. The Cowboys are averaging four rushing touchdowns per game, which is tops in the nation. Moreover, the Cowboys are averaging a whopping 315 yards on the ground per game.

The Tigers and Cowboys are no slouches in the passing game either. Darth Robinson the starting quarterback for the Pokes is 3rd in the country in quarterback efficiency, with a rating of 204.58. Chase "Yoda" Daniel, the Heisman candidate for Missouri, is ranked a lowly fifth in the country with a QB rating of 196.38. What does all of this statistical nonsense mean for the fan that watches this game Saturday night? Both teams can run the ball with proven ground games and when it comes time to put the ball in the air Robinson for OSU and Daniel for Mizzou are not going to make dumb mistakes in the passing game.

Expect this game to feel like the Battle of Coruscant with an offensive output that we may not see for many light years. There will not be any sequels or trilogies and the Java the Hut style defensive play of both teams will push the scoreboard at Farout Field to the limit. I believe that Missouri has the talent to beat OSU this week, mostly because this will be a home game for the Tigers. However, a huge date with Texas looms large for the Tigers next week, especially if the Longhorns can beat the Sooners this weekend in Dallas as I have predicted. OSU has a chance based on this notion and their high-octane offense, but I’ll still take Missouri by 7 in what should be one of the more entertaining games of the year.

Sincerely, 

Leader of the Jawas: Linas Clayborne

Tommie Harris Interview

The best Defensive Tackle in football has graced 6Magazine with our first interview. Who is the best Defensive Tackle, its Tommie Harris of the Chicago Bears. This interview is raw and uncut with some very funny footage. We shot it guerrilla style with a cutting edge in your face style with the use of video ichat. Enjoy.

NFL Week 5 Preview

Titans vs. Ravens

Defense (boom boom) Defense (boom boom) is the name of the game in this barn freezer. If both teams score over 30 points I'll wear a UT shirt on campus this week. These two teams come in #1 and #2 in the NFL in terms of total defense.

Tennessee is allowing a league low 11.5 points per game and has forced a league high 12 turnovers . The offense behind back-up turned starter Kerry Collins isn't explosive but very efficient. The true star on offense for the Titans is rookie running back Chris Johnson, who is averaging 5 yards per car and has 3 total touchdowns on the year.

Baltimore should be 3-0, but lost this past Monday on a last second field goal to the Steelers. Talking about the Ravens defense would be a waste of my time the writer and yours the reader. You know what you get with the Ravens and that's more defense than you or any offense in the world can handle. Ray Lewis has the fountain of youth water in his pool and Ed Reed reads QB's minds, literally. The offense is improved, a little bit. Rookie QB Joe Flacco is at the helm for the Ravens, prior to Monday night he was doing a great job, but was exposed a little bit against the Steelers. Willis McGahee was injured during that game as well and his status is questionable for this weekends game. I advise Flacco to get the ball to Todd Heap, Derrick Mason, and Mark Clayton if he wants to win.

Bengals vs. Cowboys

Attention Marvin Lewis, Lane Kiffin and Scott Linehan have been fired before the 5th week of the season, you are next sir. The Bengals are 0-4 and Carson Palmer might not be playing. Backup Ryan Fitzpatrick looked he should be playing for the NFL replacements next season(that's if the owners and players don't get it together). Chad Johnson has only caught 11 balls for 116 yards and 1 touchdown in 4 games. Johson hasn't erupted as many have thought he would. He did say that he woud score this weekend and kiss the star. I can't wait to see it.

I know someone who is complaining about balls being thrown his way. Terrell Owens was thrown to 17 times and handed off to 3 times. Still T.O. was upset saying that he wasn't given the ball enough times in the game last week against the Redskins. The man who should be upset is Marion Barber who only touched the ball 8 times.

Look for the Cowboys to bounce back with a win and Barber and Felix Jones to combine for 30+ carries and for the countown to Marvin Lewis' departure to begin. Also the sideshow between Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens should keep you entertained in this game that I predict to be very lopsided.

Vikings vs. Saints

Monday Night Football will be an exciting game this weekend. Reggie Bush and Adrian Peterson will go rush for rush. The Vikings are in desperate need for a victory before this season gets out of hand. They are 1-3 as of now, and since 1990 only 5 teams have made it to the playoffs after starting 1-4. You know what you are going to get out of AD and the Vikings defense, their pass attack must step up in order for them to win.

Drew Brees is having a tremendous season considering his cirucumstaces. He does not have Jeremy Shockey or Marques Colston to throw the ball two, leaving himself and Bush to carry the load. They are doing a mighty fine job I must say as Brees leads the NFL with 336 passing yards a game. Reggie Bush isn't as dominant a force rushing the ball as the Saints would like him to be, but nevertheless Bush is making plays in the receiving and return game and will need to continue in order for the Saints to be victorious.

The Pac-10 or Prissy 10

When the Pac-10 was having a bad year, you could always count on a few teams to represent like USC, UCLA, Oregon and Arizona State. Not this year, the conference as a whole is 21-21. USC held the crown last week as #1 in the nation before being upset by the unranked Oregon State Beavers. Arizona State was supposed to contend with Georgia but proved to be less than formidable.

Standing atop the conference is an untested Oregon team and a surprise Arizona team. It looks as if Mike Stoops is going to get it done this year with the Wildcats. Yes, the Trojans were exposed but let's not rule them out, because we all know they are still the team to beat. They have a tough contest at home against the #23 ranked Oregon Ducks. I expect the Trojans to go undefeated the rest of the way this season and end up in a BCS bowl game.

The rest of the conference is so shaky. Oregon and Arizona State should fair well, but nothing spectacular. Arizona's forecast is still up in the air as is Cal who had the worst melt down of any team last year, and are currently going through a QB controversy going into this week.

Aside from Oregon State because of their tremendous play last week, the rest of the conference doesn't even make it into this article because of their horrid play.

Pac-10, step it up. NCAA football needs the Air Attack Assaissans that you have grown to be over the years to live up to that billing.

Peace,

Ricky Writer