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College Bowl Thread

tapeANaspirin2it

tapeANaspirin2it

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Now the interesting matchups are starting. Here's a thread to discuss games and the players who could be prospects for the Steelers.

Big Ten gets off to a quick 2-0 bowl start.

Just before the half, Purdue breaks out the old fake take a knee, QB sprints right, but the FB has the ball and he runs left with an escort for a big gain setting up a score.

SEC starts 0-1. Missouri dominated by Texas and their high powered offense that ripped through the SEC is held to just 16 points.

Pac 12 stumbles to 1-3 so far.
 
Browns look like they will have 2 top 5 picks in the draft. UCLA QB Josh Rosen has already said he won;t play for them. Penn State RB Saquon Barkley is postponing his decision to come out. Maybe he's nervous about going to Clev as well.
 
stanford up 7-3 on TCU, early

Wazzu up 3-0 on Sparty, early
 
14-3 Cardinal. C'mon Big12, where you at?? Gonna let Pac12 whoop up on yaz??
 
Mich State too physical for Wash St. Grinding them up 21-3 before half. Unless Wash St has some tricks they are holding back for the second half, this might get ugly as Wash St gets worn down.
 
SteelerSask said:
Id never want a guy who wouldnt play for any team that selected. Include Eli Manning, John Elway.
Click to expand...

I'll make an exception for having to go to Cleveland - graveyard of good players.
 
MSU will be a real factor in the Big Ten next year. They were terrible last year, and even with a couple bad losses this year have seemingly turned it back around. Lewerke makes some Connor Cook like WTF decisions sometimes, but he can run and has a good arm. They were the youngest team in the league this year, they will only get better with experience.
 
TCU takes the lead on Stanford. TCU now using their speed against the much slower Stanford.

USC vs Ohio State tomorrow night. Should be a good one.

I should be able to root for Ohio State to lose by 50, but this year's sham playoff committee proved once again that bias rules all and I'm still forced to root for fellow Big Ten teams just so PSU doesn't get screwed in the rankings.
 
tapeANaspirin2it said:
TCU takes the lead on Stanford. TCU now using their speed against the much slower Stanford.

USC vs Ohio State tomorrow night. Should be a good one.

I should be able to root for Ohio State to lose by 50, but this year's sham playoff committee proved once again that bias rules all and I'm still forced to root for fellow Big Ten teams just so PSU doesn't get screwed in the rankings.
Click to expand...

Buckeyes gonna spank overrated USC as you cry into your milk
 
Great 2nd half by TCU, just too much speed for Stanford to deal with
 
I already said i will root for ohio state because i have to.

This will be a big game for Darnold, positive or negative, in terms of the draft. Last year he had a big game vs Penn State but PSU’s defense was not great last year, they had no pass rush, and USC had very good OTs, so Darnold had time to throw.

Darnold has struggled at times vs pressure as most QBs do. Ohio State will be the best defense he has faced by far. His OTs are not as good as last year. OSU will be in his face with their DL.

This game could really hurt his draft stock if he looks bad under pressure. With so many draftable QBs in this draft, all he has to do is drop a rank or 2 and that could be the difference in being drafted top 10 or possibly sliding to rd 2.

He has not committed to leaving school yet. A bad game might keep him in school. That could be his best decision. Next year, the position probably won’t be as deep.


i think this game will be about JT Barrett. Which one shows up, the one who was threading needles against Penn State or the glorified RB who throws? That is the more usual mode for him.

USC has great athletes on defense. They can be beat but flutter balls will get picked.

I have a feeling this will be a low scoring defensive battle. I think both QBs will struggle. Darnold because of pressure and Barrett because he’s a streaky passer.
 
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I hate Ohio St. but I have a feeling they are going to lay it on USC.
 
Notre Dame rushed for almost 400 yards vs USC but they have a better OL than Ohio State. Still, OSU will be able to run and i think they will wear USC down. People forget that USC is still coming back from sanctions so they don’t have depth yet on the DL. I think it will be close but OSU pulls away late as USC wears down.
 
If you want to watch some atrocious special teams, watch Wake Forest. Their kicker has kicked the ball out of bounds on both kickoffs and they've had two punts blocked within the first 5 minutes of the game.
 
Sam Darnold is not ready to go into the NFL. he will get chewed up an spitted out. no way would I draft him in the top 10. hell I don't know if I would draft him in the 1st round. I've seen him alot this year and I just don't see it. maybe i'm missing something but he isn't ready. he has no pocket awareness, just a turnover machine.
 
What Darnold has is the size, arm strength and mobility. Most teams these days are looking for a QB who can make plays when things break down. Darnold can do that. He does make mistakes but that is seen a coachable whereas a stiff like Brock Osweiler will never be able to be coached to evade pressure and make a throw on the move.

The other thing scouts like is Darnold doesn't seem to be scared of big situations.

He is under attach in the game but this can still end up being a positive for him. It's as if he's experiencing an NFL game where he's getting pressure, his WRs aren't getting open, and he's in a big hole. Most college QBs fold in these situations. Darnold is still playing hard and is making some tough throws into tight windows.

If Darnold can lead a few TD drives and keep making throws into tight windows, this could end up being a more impressive game to scouts than his big numbers game VS Penn State because that was all pitch and catch.
 
I'll be surprised if Darnold comes out. Tape, I agree with everything you said. but he needs to get better at his craft in college. no way that could every happen in Cleveland. maybe if he went to Giants and can learn behide Eli.
 
Now the main event of the bowl season, the Fiesta Bowl. Penn State vs Washington at 4 PM

PSU has will be without their OC Joe Moorhead who took the Head Coaching job at Miss State. They promoted WR coach Ricky Rahne who will be calling the plays for his second PSU game. He called plays for the Taxslayer Bowl a few years ago after they fired their OC.

You may think that Tommy Stevens is the backup QB but you'd be wrong. He now plays the newly named "Lion" position for the PSU offense which basically means he is going to be used for some wildcat type stuff and as a receiver. Stevens is a great athlete who has made some plays running and receiver this year. He could have a big role in the game.

What is the plan for Saquon Barkley?

For those who have never seen him play, you might be expecting a big rushing game but that may not happen. Penn State's OL was not very good this year. Barkley average yards before contact is negative half a yard. That means on about half the plays he gets hit behind the line and has to make a guy miss just to get back to the LOS.

Washington has a monster run stuffing DT, so it may not be a big rushing day for Barkley.

What you may see is Barkley in the passing game where he can run routes like a WR and is a mismatch. He will be a true 3 down back in the NFL.

You also may want to watch TE Mike Gesicki. He's a tremendous athlete and a pure receiving TE. Steelers have been looking for one of those as we've seen with Ladarius Green. He could be a steeler consideration late in Rd 1.
 
I would go back to school also if I was Barkley and knew the Browns were going to select me. That team is a career killer.
 
SteelerSask said:
Id never want a guy who wouldnt play for any team that selected. Include Eli Manning, John Elway.
Click to expand...
I'd stay in school rather than play for Cleveland if the odds weren't so high that they'd be picking first again next year.
 
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