Thursday Thoughts, Week Six

Man's Game
What happens when you put the hardest working pitcher since Greg Maddux on a great team, in a division not with the Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox?  He becomes the first pitcher since 1956 to throw a no-hitter in the postseason.  He becomes the first pitcher EVER to throw a no-no in his first game with a team, and in his first postseason game with that team.  If you will recall, Roy Halladay's first start for the Fightin's back in April was also a no-hitter.  Rockies fans clamoring that Ubaldo Jimenez deserves consideration for the Cy Young: this is what it takes to earn that award.  Ubaldo may have had one of the best April and May months in the history of the game, but Roy Halladay has been doing it all season.  I know the playoffs do not count, but the man just no-hit the best offense in the National League in 104 pitches.  The Reds only hit the ball out of the infield 4 times!  Man's game!

Tests Abound
Several Top 10 teams will be having their first real tests of the season.  Nebraska hits the road against 4-0 Kansas State.  Alabama has played a couple of good teams, but all at home.  They travel to South Carolina for their first road test.  Auburn travels to Kentucky.  Utah faces its first quasi-worthy opponent (Pitt is turning out to be, well, Pitt), and does it on the road at Iowa State.  Other big tests: Oklahoma State plays its first road game of the season (playing at a Sun Belt team, however: what a joke of a schedule that is).  LSU takes its 3-0 SEC record on the road to Florida.  Arkansas travels to Arlington to play Texas A&M in another renewal of the old Southwest Conference rivalry.  Florida State at Miami used to matter a lot more, but both teams are back in the rankings again for this year's matchup.  Always dangerous one-loss USC travels to once-beaten (er, blown out) Stanford.  Michigan State battles at Michigan for state bragging rights.  Suddenly resurgent Colorado takes its show on the road to Mizzou.  It is a good weekend to be a college football fan!

Sun Belt Decided
Before the season started, I predicted that Troy's defense would dominate Middle Tennessee State, and that the game this past Tuesday would decide the Sun Belt.  Well, Troy held Middle Tennessee to 13 points in a dominating 42-13 road win.  I know most people do not care about Sun Belt football, but I always tip my hat to Troy football when I get a chance: they do things the right way.  Congratulations, and good luck the rest of the season.  You are already ahead of the game.

Welcome to the Party
Big East play finally gets under way this weekend, and not a moment too soon either.  After preseason predictions had Pitt, West Virginia, Cincinnati, and Connecticut all in or near the top 25, disappointing starts have removed all of them from the top 25, with West Virginia the only one threatening to return anytime soon.  Now, fortunately for them, they can beat up on each other and actually start making one of their own look halfway decent.

Location, Location, Location
Last season, Austin Collie ended up on a passing team, that could utilize his skills in the slot.  Even then, he was 5th on the WR depth chart, in a 4-man rotation.  An injury or two later, he was starting.  This year he has been having a stellar year.  Dennis Pitta was one of the greatest TEs in BYU history, if not the greatest.  He ended up on the Ravens, who had several other options at TE and he has not really had a chance there yet.  Max Hall gets signed as an undrafted rookie free agent for a team with 3 QBs, including the heir apparent and his backup, Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson, respectively, plus another QB they drafted THIS YEAR (must have scouted him better than Hall, who they signed undrafted).  Two months ago, he was on the edge of not making the roster.  A few good preseason games, one Heisman Trophy winner getting cut, and one bad backup forced to start later, Max Hall is now Arizona's starting QB.  I never thought Max Hall would even make an NFL team, especially given performances against the good defenses he faced over his college career, let alone be starting one-third of a season into his rookie year.  (Maybe he plays worse when he hates his opponents and will do better in the NFL, unless there is a Ute in the opposing secondary.)
Anyway, back to my point.  Where you end up is often just as important (if not more so) than how good you are.  On any other team, in any other offense, with any other QB, Austin Collie may rarely see the field/ball.  In Indy, he is not THE go-to guy, but he is a major target.  I am certain Max Hall would have been cut from at least 26 NFL rosters.  In Arizona, he starts.  Dennis Pitta would probably be a number two TE on half of NFL teams, perhaps even a starter on a half dozen of them.  In Baltimore he is number three, with one catch for one yard.

The Turning Point
Watching the BYU-Air Force game I remember thinking when DiLuigi fumbled on the 5-yard line that it could change that game.  It proved out to do just that.  However, everything has fallen apart since that game.  So you could argue that play has led to the demise of BYU football as we know it.  OK, so that's a little overdramatic, but, nonetheless, that play has changed the course of this season.  I believe it will take another such moment to turn this thing the other direction.  Will it happen this weekend?  I know it won't happen next weekend...