Thursday Round-Up: Ole Miss vs Vandy play in classic, unlike Clowney
So, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt served up a classic for any college football fan (like they did LAST SEASON, actually), while Jadeveon Clowney proved why he’s…..oh wait a minute, he didn’t. But South Carolina rolled North Carolina 27-10 to keep Vegas happy.
So, here are the headlines:
1) Clowney Calamity?
If we could go to jail for ‘after the fact irresponsible advertising’, then we probably would have the cops knocking on our door after wanting to re-name Thursday ‘Clowney Day’ to celebrate the return of college football to our TV screens and stadiums. The South Carolina behemoth struggled for most of the game against North Carolina – especially during the Tar Heel’s hurry-up offense. He looked beat repeatedly, and we kept asking ourselves: ‘This Jadeveon Clowney, right?’. Clowney had three first-half tackles and hurried UNC’s quarterback Brenner a couple of times, but really, the most exciting defensive end in college football, well, wasn’t that exciting. The explanation was the fact that he’d had a stomach bug before the game started, and that’s why he was so exhausted. For us, he looked over-heated and out-of-shape – perhaps a function of the off-season injury to his shoulder, which made him miss a couple of practices. OK, so credit also has to go to the Tar Heels’ offensive line, which double-teamed him pretty much throughout the game and neutralised his presence, too. But really, the Clowney show on ESPN was more about what a let-down he was instead of how he changed the season opener.
2) Ole Miss vs Vandy: Another Classic
We’d like to remind you that Ole Miss vs Vanderbilt is a) One of the SEC’s oldest rivalries (if not the most celebrated), and that last year, the two teams served up a classic, with Vanderbilt winning in the final minute of the game. Well, Ole Miss served that piece of heartbreak back, scoring a TD with 1:30 left to come from 35-32 down to 39-35 up. This was after Vanderbilt was up a convincing 21-10 at half-time. You know, after Ole Miss had run out to a 10-0 lead early on. Oh, and the game finished with Jordan Matthews, the Vanderbilt receiver who was excellent today, dropping a drive-continuing pass. He ended up sobbing on his coaches’ shoulder. Wow. I’m sure if I was a Vandy fan, I’d be doing the same thing. But kids, this was the best game of the night,and will be hard to beat as the SEC’s best game of the season in the weeks and months that come. It was truly, truly awesome.
3) Barrett Shaw? Dylan Thompson? Does it matter?
Barrett Shaw burned North Carolina with both his legs and his arm, while Dylan Thompson had one pass and was absolutely perfect. The problem with Shaw is the fact that he doesn’t bother sliding. If he wants to be the dual-threat quarterback that he is, he’s going to learn how to do that. He could take lessons from Ole Miss’ Bo Wallace who – when he had the time – did it really well. Still, Shaw threw for 149 yards and a TD and ran for another 43 yards, so logic would dictate that they are fine.
3) Vandy needs another wide receiver…
I talked a lot about Jordan Matthews, and despite the deflection off his hands that gave Ole Miss the game-winning interception, Matthews is STILL one of the best wide receivers in the SEC. Now, with Chris Boyd currently suspended for his part in the Vanderbilt rape case, Vandy URGENTLY need another wide receiver. It showed during the game. Sure, I’ll be pointed towards Steve Scheu’s TD catch at the end of the game, but Jordan Matthews needs a partner, and quickly.
4) But Ole Miss is fine with a kid
Laquan Treadwell came into this game the nation’s No.1 high school receiver (if ESPN didn’t mention it enough), and was exceptional in Ole Miss’ victory. He had 82 yards in 9 receptions, and was exceptional. He didn’t get the TD because in short-and-goal range, Hugh Freeze opted for his QB-keep packages of Barry Brunetti and Wallace, who ended up with 3 touchdowns between them. But Treadwell is going to frighten a lot of secondaries this year….and Texas had better watch out!
5) South Carolina are going to be OK without Marcus Lattimore
He’ll be one of the most missed running backs Carolina’s ever seen, but Steve Spurrier will be fine without Marcus Lattimore. Behind an awesome offensive line, Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds showed great power. They’ll be fine.
6) Robert Nkemdiche, stud of the future
I’ll leave you with this: Robert Nkemdiche played his first game of college ‘ball for Ole Miss today, and was a HUGE presence for his team in the defensive line. Imagine what he’s going to do to offensive lines in 2014 and 2015, folks. I’m scared just thinking about it.
PS: The SEC Football Blog would also like to note he was 2-0 in both game predictions, and spread predictions. It doesn’t happen often, so we’re bragging.