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Moving right along, it’s Thursday of Arkansas week, and it actually feels like fall outside.
{puts on the thinnest of jackets, furiously strips it off 3 hours later when it reaches 90 degrees}
Welcome to the football weekend.
SCRAPING BOTTOM. Ouch. The words of the NW Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, not mine. The Chad Morris Transition has not gone as seamlessly as many had hoped.
The transition to the no-huddle Spread attack run by Coach Chad Morris and Craddock hasn’t been as smooth as they hoped. And turnovers, which were non-existent in the season opener, have jeopardized each of the past three games and put the Hogs’ defense in field position binds.
Watching a team full of beefy Bielema players attempt to run an SMU-type offense is like watching a Newfoundland emulate a Chihuahua. The motor skills might have the right intentions, but the synapses just aren’t quite making it there in time. The Hogs are near the bottom of the SEC in various offensive categories, so it should be a bit of a shock (the good kind!) for the Ag defense after facing the horde of bionic robots that Alabama put on the field.
JIMBO AIN’T CARE ABOUT YOUR NEWFANGLED RULE. Lots of chatter going around CFB this week because of the new NCAA rule that says a player can redshirt after playing in as many as four games in a season. Well, Coach Fisher had this to say about his philosophy:
“If he’s already played in four games, you’re basically saying, ‘You ain’t going to redshirt,’” Fisher said. “Because he’s already in your mix and your two-deep, on special teams, on offense, on defense ...”
This makes sense for a first-year coach trying to establish his system. It’s one thing for Saban humming along in his supercar in year 12, tinkering with each individual piece of the machine. It’s another thing for a first-year guy trying to make a splash. Fisher did say he’d evaluate the guys who have played in only one or two games to see about redshirting, but so far, it seems like his guys are his guys, and he likes the way they’re playing.
ACC-TION!
Oh boy, we’ve got North Carolina at Miami tonight. Larry Fedora visiting Mark Richt in his southern Florida pre-retirement home. UNC lost a close one to Cal in game one, got shitstomped by East Carolina in game 2, and then squeaked past Pitt last week 38-35. You know what that makes them? Tied for first place in the ACC Coastal, ahead of Miami, who hasn’t played a conference game. Welcome to the ACC Wheel of Destiny. 7 p.m. on ESPN.