Power rankings

September 03, 2007

Drew Champlin

Start with the Sun Belt

1 - Florida Atlantic (W 27-14 over MTSU) - Hey, they’re in first place in the conference for a few weeks.
2 - Arkansas State (L 21-13 at No. 4 Texas) - Did anyone expect this? ASU was very good except for the final score - see Troy last year at FSU
3 - UL-Lafayette (L 28-14 at South Carolina) - Had their way on the ground, still can’t pass.
4 - Troy (L 46-26 at Arkansas) - Special teams was horrid, couldn’t tackle Arkansas RBs
5 - UL-Monroe (L 35-17 vs. Tulsa) - Can’t pass, lost out on a chance to make a good showing on ESPN2
6 - MTSU (L 27-14 at FAU) - In last place in the conference for a few weeks, but they weren’t as bad as the guys below them.
7 - FIU (L 59-0 at Penn St) - They’re just keeping that seat warm in the ESPN Bottom 10
8 - North Texas (L 79-10 at Oklahoma) - Dodge Ball was horrendous; Daniel Meager still isn’t very good

TROY POSITIONAL POWER RANKINGS

1 - Wide receivers - Lots of overthrows, no clear dropped passes, a few great ones
2 - Quarterback - Omar was good in the 2nd quarter. The backups led a spirited touchdown drive late
3 - Offensive line - Surprise selection gave up just one sack
4 - Running backs - Not many chances to carry, but Cattouse made some plays in open space
5 - Linebackers - Position most active in making tackles
6 - Defensive backs - A few missed assignments here and there, and a couple of dropped interceptions
7 - Defensive line - Blown off the ball a lot
8 - Special teams - Without Whibbs’ two field goals, this unit had its problems

Thoughts/comments welcome

Troy-Arkansas rewind

September 02, 2007

Drew Champlin

Well, it looks like Dennis Dodd was incorrect.

It’s Sunday afternoon and I’ve thought about the game a little bit more, and my conclusions are…

First off, Troy couldn’t stop Arkansas. The misdirection and fakes fooled the Trojans more than once, and Darren McFadden and Felix Jones proved to be too good. Arkansas, like Georgia, is a very physical team and Troy didn’t match up well with that. We’ll see what it looks like in November with Georgia, who hammered Oklahoma State last night. OSU and Florida rely more on speed, and Troy matches up better with that. Not saying Troy will win either, because Florida’s got the potential to throw all over them, but Tim Tebow still hasn’t seen a good defense yet for a whole game - and I still believe Troy has that.

The Trojans moved the ball in the second quarter better than they did at any point last year against the big schools. When it looked like the Trojans could go down and possibly go up 21-20, Omar Haugabook threw the ball to Zack Marcum into double coverage. He floated it, and Marcum’s a guy that’s better at catching the slant and making something out of it than out-jumping guys 4 inches taller than him. Arkansas didn’t score on its possession, but Troy didn’t do anything else after that.

Something’s got to be done about the punting situation. Adrian Vera’s first punt was 25 yards, shorter than any punt last year, and his 7-yarder set up the TD that put the Hogs up 37-17 and effectively ended the game. Punts of 7 yards are unacceptable anytime, anywhere, but I think he’ll be given a fair shot still in the next two game, and I agree with that. He’s got a leg, it’s just got to be consistent.

The only thing I thought the referees messed up on were those two halo infractions - thing is, the halo rule doesn’t exist anymore. Sherrod Martin allowed the guy to catch the first one, then knocked the crap out of him and he fumbled. No one touched the guy the second time, another fumble that Troy recovered. There wasn’t much talk about it after the game, probably because McFadden and Jones had their way with the Trojans anyway, but they were crucial plays that went overlooked. They were the wrong calls, but they were snap-judgement calls. Referees are human. Other than that, there weren’t any calls that favored anyone and after the game, Blakeney said he had no gripes about the officiating.

Looks like Donnell Golden played, so he won’t redshirt. Jamie Hampton, Jerrel Jernigan and R.J. Roberts played as well.

I’ll have some notes in tomorrow’s paper. We’ll see if Haugabook’s hand looks like a baseball on Monday.

One last note

September 01, 2007

Drew Champlin

No time to type much, but at least they covered the spread, eh?

Omar Haugabook left the game with an injury to his throwing hand. IT was in ice but he came in the interview room and said nothing snapped, nothing was broken, and no structural damage. So that’s the good news that comes out of tonight - he’s still healthy.

Back to Dothan.

Couple of quick halftime thoughts…

Drew Champlin

Troy looks better offensively than it did in any game last year against big opponents. I’ve got no doubts they will score, but can they stop Arkansas?

The squib kick by Arkansas late in the half wasn’t smart. Big-time return by Harris and bigger-time kick from Whibbs. He’s got to make those kicks this year. Now Troy gets the ball first, and guess what, a TD puts them ahead 24-23.

I don’t think the kick catch interference call on Sherrod Martin was correct. They got rid of the halo rule a couple of years ago and he had the clear avenue to catch the ball, which he did before getting leveled.

All comes down to if Troy can stop the Arkansas offense and not make silly turnovers.

Hog Radio

Drew Champlin

Not sure who will get this in the next 15 minutes, but I’ll be on the Arkansas broadcast at 5:20 p.m. CST talking about Troy with their radio crew. Sorry, I don’t have a link at the moment.

Place is starting to fill up. Student section is full. I didn’t buy a McFadden for Heisman shirt at the souvenir shop, though I wish I had - I collect T-shirts at the places the job take me.