THURSDAY THROWDOWN: SEPTEMBER 3, 2009

Scoops McCracken: Throwdown, bitch!
Peoria Pliers: Did you see my picks?
Scoops McCracken: Yes....Oregon's beating Boise tonight....book it.
Peoria Pliers: No dice. There is only one team worth a crap from that conference and it is Boise. Plus the Pac-10 is more overrated than Heidi Montag
Scoops McCracken: This ain't some Arizona State Pac Ten team that Boise's playing....Oregon has revenge on their mind, and they're a freaking Pac Ten contender. Pac Ten rocked everyone's world last year in bowl season...USC will simply reload, and Oregon will be good. I think Cal is overrated as usual.
Peoria Pliers: Oregon lost a TON of guys....admittedly so did Boise, but their QB is a stud, and that means A LOT in the beginning of the year. Plus, the game is in Boise and those people are crazy
Scoops McCracken: Pressure's on Boise.....they're great when the pressure isn't on them, but when they're expected to do something (@ Georgia, opener of season a few years ago, Liberty Bowl '04, last year against TCU), they don't do it.
Peoria Pliers: Lame
Scoops McCracken: Throw a +14 right behind Boise & I'm with you.....expectations do a lot to ya. Watch Ole Miss NOT live up to them this year. As for your other pick of Western Michigan over Michigan, I have no problem with that...I have no opinion on what will happen whatsoever, so I just went with Michigan.
Peoria Pliers: Fair enough. I'd agree about Ole Miss if it weren't for Houston Nutt down there...talk about an axe to grind! If anyone can overcome those expectations in the top-heavy SEC, it is him
Scoops McCracken: You mean the Glen Mason of the SEC? Who couldn't do anything with Darren McFadden & Felix Jones in his backfield? The same guy who wouldn't run behind Shaun Andrews all game against Minnesota in the 2002 Music City Bowl when Minnesota had given up 300+ rushing yards in 4 consecutive games going in to that game? Good coach, but getting through Les Miles & Saban? Child please!
Peoria Pliers: First of all, let's not forget that Ar-Kansas made it to a BCS bowl with Houston Nutt, something that Mason never even got a sniff of. Secondly, LSU is way down this year AND without a proven QB. I'll give you Alabama, but aren’t the Tide's expectations higher than Ole Miss right now anyway?
Scoops McCracken: Which BCS bowl would that be that Houston Nutt made with Arkansas? I think you're thinking of a few SEC championship games which they made in which they got BLASTED by the East champ. As for the Bama/Ole Miss difference, I'd say it's that Saban knows how to deal with expectations, and that rubs off on the program. Ole Miss will be what they are...everyone's flavor of the month, but will get blasted a few times, and probably win the Cotton or Chick-Fil-A Bowl.
Peoria Pliers: I won't argue that they are probably overrated, I'm just saying that I don't think it is going to be a flop of a season for them
Scoops McCracken: A flop would be going 7-5...I think they'll be better than that too. Oklahoma State-Georgia....thoughts?
Peoria Pliers: I have NO idea. OK St is always a disappointment...they are the Clemson of the Big-12, right down to the school colors. Georgia is going to have a down year, but I wouldn't be surprised if they pull it out in OK City. It should be a good game to watch, but I have no read on who is going to win. What did you make of this story: BAMA PLAYER SHOT
Scoops McCracken: That's too bad...when you first hear of a football player getting shot, you immediately think "shouldn't have put yourself in that situation." Sounds like he was just at his place in his parking lot at what wasn't an awful hour. Too bad.
Peoria Pliers: The thing I can't figure out is who is stupid enough to rob a 6'4", 306 pounder in Tuscaloosa? If you see that guy on the street don't you immediately assume he's a monster and avoid him like the plague? Apparently the robbers in Alabama are as dumb as the football players
Scoops McCracken: Perhaps an ex high school player that wasn't able to land a scholarship, so taking it out on others?
Peoria Pliers: Maybe. What the hell is there to do in Tuscaloosa other than study old civil rights films, grow peanuts, and play football?
Scoops McCracken: Dreamland Bar-B-Que is supposed to be a famous restaurant....I also think they have an Olive Garden, which is lovely.
Peoria Pliers: Nice. I love how in Olive Garden commercials that all of the groups are interracial. I can't tell you how many times I've walked into the Edina Olive Garden and found all of the tables filled with multi-racial diners sucking down wilted salad and cheap wine
Scoops McCracken: Hypothetical question: if there was an "alumni" game before the actual game on Monday between Florida State & Miami, which game would garner bigger bragging rights between the two fan bases pending the outcome?
Peoria Pliers: Like All-Time Alumni game a la NCAA Football for Playstation or something?
Scoops McCracken: Or anybody that can currently walk? Involve Michael Irvin, give Testaverde, Kelly, Kosar & Gino Toretta each a quarter.....
Peoria Pliers: But they are playing in real life, with the physical limitations they have right now, as older adults? Not like what they would have been back in 1987
Scoops McCracken: I suppose you could do both. I think a simulation game would garner a lot of fan bragging interest.
Peoria Pliers: Absolutely. Either way I don't think the game makes it into the 3rd quarter since they would be fighting each other with weapons by the end of the first half. I think fans always prefer the old alumni types as bragging rights since it is something that transcends time and people can latch onto their program "greatness" as a full body of work instead of just a year-to-year team
Scoops McCracken: It's too bad the Miami-FSU series has kind of taken a back seat...seeing all the badass speed on the field during the 90s/early 00s was a site to behold
Peoria Pliers: Did you catch the Florida/Florida State game from 1997 on ESPN Classic last night?
Scoops McCracken: I didn't....which one? They played twice during the 96/97 season with Florida blasting FSU in the Sugar Bowl for the title and the 97 game was one in which FSU flat out choked as they may have been better than both Michigan and Nebraska that year
Peoria Pliers: It was the Sugar Bowl game for the title. Seeing Jacquez Green, Thad Busby, Ike Hilliard, Danny Wuerffel and Warrick Dunn absolutely brought a smile to my face. Was Edgar Bennett on that Fla St team as well?
Scoops McCracken: No, Bennett was with the Packers already....but that was classic Wuerffel just tossing the ball around to spots on the field and it was up to green, Reidel Anthony & Ike Hillard to be at the spot.
Peoria Pliers: Reidel Anthony. What a name
Scoops McCracken: Total flameout in the NFL, but was pretty good in college.
Peoria Pliers: Typical of Florida Receivers...errrr...except for Percy Harvin...right?
Scoops McCracken: Remember Yatil Green? He was a Miami WR that was drafted in the 1st round by the Giants in 1997, but he tore his knee and never played a down. Who have been the good ones? Ike Hillard has had a pretty steady career...Darrell Jackson has been ok. Other than that, not too many have panned out.
Peoria Pliers: That name rings a bell, but I don't remember seeing him play. Exactly my point, most of them are busts. Jabar Gaffney? What a stiff.
Scoops McCracken: Travis Taylor! HA! I do think Harvin's different though because he's has a total different level of speed than any of the previous Gator players.
Peoria Pliers: He looks good so far, but I'm not holding my breath, that’s all I'm saying. It is faulty reasoning, however. Just because Kyle Boller was a bust doesn’t mean that Aaron Rogers is going to suck this year, but that was the M.O. for many scouts when Rogers was drafted
Scoops McCracken: Yeah...I agree. I remember that being the case with Marion Barber when he came out and wasn't drafted until the 4th round....guys were saying "he's just another Mason system back like Thomas Hamner, Tellis Redmon, etc., anybody can run for 1,000 yards." Barber was completely different.
Peoria Pliers: And now he has the best nickname in the NFL. Marion the Barbarian. It just doesn't get any better than that.
Scoops McCracken: Who was your biggest "this guy is going to be better than everyone thinks" & "I thought this guy would be better than he was" going into drafts?
Peoria Pliers: For this year? Or all time?
Scoops McCracken: All time.
Peoria Pliers: That’s a really, really good question. Hmmmm. I'd say that my best call was DeAngelo Hall, although he is a dirtbag, but I remember saying to myself that he was a STUD in college. 2nd place goes to E.J. Henderson who I watched for 3 years at Maryland thinking, "This guy gets it, and he is a MONSTER." My biggest whiffs are probably Karlos Dansby, who I thought would rule the NFL for 10 years and turned out to be a total pud, Derrick Johnson (the LB from Texas that still sucks for the Chiefs), and Ryan Leaf. I really thought Ryan Leaf was going to be great. Whoops. How about you?
Scoops McCracken: Honestly, I was saying that teams were going to regret not taking Marion Barber. He was an animal the first time he touched the ball for Minnesota. That Denver took Maurice Clarett over him was a freaking joke. I still remember saying that I would have taken him over Cedric Benson, and Benson went 4th overall that year. So I'll take that as my biggest victory for being "I told everyone." As for guys that failed, I thought Robert Gallery from Iowa was going to be the next Anthony Munoz / Bruce Matthews and be a 15-20 year All-Pro OL. But he got Raidered, so perhaps it wasn't his fault. As for others, since I mostly watch Big Ten, I always thought Ladell Betts would have been a servicable RB in the NFL, but he was on some bad Iowa teams so he never to exposure. He's had a decent career as a Redskin backup. I did think David Terrell was going to be good for the Bears...he fizzled. Same with Charles Rogers. Also thought Detroit got a steal with Chris Claiborne....notice a lot of Lions on the "weren't as good as I thought" list.
Peoria Pliers: Terrell, Rogers, and Claiborne are all great examples; Betts has had a decent career, he's just a half-step too slow to be elite in the NFL, but it's so hard to determine that out of college You are also right on when referring to the teams they play for - I thought Larry Johnson would be good, but not leading the league in rushing. Of course the guy got 40 touches per game, so that is the main reason he has had monster seasons. Maroney will never get that kind of workload (not that he is better than JL...he isn't) but the difference between the two is probably not as huge as people think it is
Scoops McCracken: I think that's true for many; I think Johnson was always much more of a workhorse type of back than Maroney was. Same when it comes to people that always say "Barry Sanders would have done everything that Emmitt Smith did because of Dallas' OL." Emmitt was a workhorse back that was perfect for the Cowboys' style. Enough NFL (although a lot of it is draft related). Preseason pick: National Championship Game?
Peoria Pliers: Anyone picking against Florida is crazy, but that is no fun, so I'll mix it up. USC 24, Va Tech 17. Biggest surprise: Nebraska. Biggest Dissapointment: Utah
Scoops McCracken: Kind of a historical thing that I read: the last two programs that had won the title the year before & were expected to win it again LOST in the title game (Miami '02 & USC '05). I think the winner of the Ohio State-USC game should have a leg up for one of the spots.
Peoria Pliers: Miami should have won that game if it wasn't for the handjobbing of the ref on the pass interference play. I don't see Ohio State being dominant this year, they lost too many key guys
Scoops McCracken: I like winner of the Red River and whether Florida can run the table will be interesting. But OSU could run the Big Ten and USC with Barkley early could be a Buckeye win. Not to take a page from Lou Holtz' "the schedule sets up for Notre Dame" theory, but it could fall in place for Ohio State.
Peoria Pliers: Penn State is a better team than OSU in my opinion. Do those two teams play?
Scoops McCracken: Yes, in Penn State.
Peoria Pliers: I don't see them surviving that, Pryor may be good, but Daryl Clark is better than he is at this point and Happy Valley is a tough place to play when the fanbase is fired up
Scoops McCracken: Both teams have question marks for sure.
Peoria Pliers: How hot is the seat that the Zooker is on right now? Is he even remotely at risk of losing that job?
Scoops McCracken: I don't think so; not nearly the pressure as he had at Florida, and he did have a Rose Bowl (although it was landed upon them). I think he needs a 8-9 win season though to make sure there's no talk next year. Because Juice is a senior, Benn is gone for all intensive purposes...their offense will come down next year for sure.
Peoria Pliers: Agreed. Benn is one of the best players in the big 10, losing him will be a huge loss. Juice needs to figure out how to think before he acts...he is as much of a liability as an asset against good defenses luckily for him, there arent many in the Big 10
Scoops McCracken: I think Illinois' offense is the only explosive one in the conference this year....they'll have a decent year. Is it me, or is the SEC not as good this year? Bama won't be as good, LSU may be a bit better than last year, but they weren't world beaters....we've covered Ole Miss, Georgia is worse, South Carolina does nothing for me, Tennessee is all talk right now minus Eric Berry, Auburn doesn't have an offense, Vandy is Vandy, and Mississippi State replaced one black head coach for another. Florida should absolutely walk the conference and it shouldn't be close.
Peoria Pliers: I agree with you 100%...the recruiting rankings the past few years would indicate that there is a lot of talent in the SEC but so many teams are totally unproven. The Big 12 is probably the best conference right now, and the ACC isn't too far behind the big boys either.
Scoops McCracken: ACC is deep, but no heavy hitters. Big XII is tops this year. Texas & Oklahoma are the cream, Kansas & Oklahoma State will both be good, Nebraska is in the right direction, and Texas Tech & Mizzou, while probably a drop off, will figure things out like they always do.
Peoria Pliers: I might have to disagree with you a little on the ACC. As always, I love Va Tech's chances in the national title scene, North Carolina, Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Wake Forest all have a chance to field BCS-Challenging teams, and NC State and Virgina should be improved, not to mention the annual head-scratcher that BC is. I really like the ACC this year.
Scoops McCracken: VA Tech has a chance for a BCS title, but the rest are playing for nothing more than an Orange Bowl berth against Rutgers or Pitt. UNC, FSU & GT are nothing more than Iowa, Michigan State & Illinois but with better looking co-eds
Peoria Pliers: Time will tell