Three and Out - Week Two

(1) Due to some weird circumstances beyond my control, I've been in San Antonio since last Monday. That did allow me to attend the UTSA inaugural game at the Alamodome and check out things, and I've completely changed my tune about that program. There were more people there than Tech drew for Texas State.

The on the field product didn't impress me too much. If I had to pick three future stars for them they'd be Sophomore QB Eric Soza, Sophomore LB Steven Kurfels, and Junior DE Marlon Smith. Freshman Nic Johnston at Safety made a lot of stops, but that was due to running plays getting to the next level and some pass completions that should have been broken up. Another guy that will get some headlines this year was Kurfels' counterpart at LB, Brandon Reeves. He had a whale of a game but isn't a great athlete.

The Runner offense is terrible. They can't run the ball and their offensive line is a glaring weakness. Soza looked good but he doesn't have a go-to guy yet. He threw for over 230 yards, but at least 150 of that were blown a result of a blown coverage or a dump-off pass that went for a big gain. I did like one of their wide-outs, a kid from Edna named Kam Jones, who has some potential. I will say that Soza could have run the Bobcat offense better than Rutherford or Arndt did in Lubbock after watching both games. More on that later.

The game day experience was incredible. I counted 38 different UTSA shirts and most of them were graphically sharp. The merchandise selection on site was excellent and every Academy in town was virtually depleted of shirts and hats over the last week. I can't tell you how many times I saw someone buy clothing and put it on as soon as they got out of line. Speaking of lines, Runner fans better get used to them. The lines for concessions were long and stayed that way the entire game. The ticket lines at kickoff outside - and they have 32 windows - were twenty deep at the minimum. This is a walkup town and the tailgating - dear God. You can put me on record that this was the best tailgating experience I have ever been to. Everyone was very, very inviting to the Rivals guy and liberally distributed food and adult beverages. I wanted to meet the UTSATailgaters.com crew but they were on the other side of the Dome from where I parked. I wandered from random tailgate to tailgate talking to people and was duly impressed.

My favorite part(s) of the game was when Soza waved for everyone to quiet down and they thought he was gesturing to make noise. He was visually frustrated and word spread quickly through the stadium that his motions meant to "shut up". Later in the game NSU was driving and the UTSA defensive backs all started jumping in the air and flailing their arms. Virtually the entire body of attendance stood up, started yelling, and proceeded to bang on the back of the chair in front of them. It was so loud the NSU QB called for a timeout. Immediately afterward everyone there started cheering, hugging, and high-fiving each other for what they'd done. They realized they can make a difference.

This is a party town so the cops will have their hands full, but it's a Fiesta every Saturday in the fall for San Antonio. The uniforms, field, band, and mascot look sharp; the fans are having fun; and I think UTSA could be a sleeping giant. I'm talking BCS level and UTSA approached this game as such. I've been to the Alamo Bowl a couple of times and one of the Saints games after Katrina; this by far was louder, rowdier, and a heck of a lot more fun. I think there were some logistical issues that need to be addressed but the town is drinking Lynn Hickey's Kool-Aid. It is extremely trendy to wear UTSA apparel in San Antonio right now and I bet 80% or more of these guys are coming back this Saturday.

The Runners have an interesting next game against the original inventor of the Air Raid passing attack. Hal Mumme, formerly of New Mexico State and Kentucky, leads Division III McMurry into the Alamodome. He turned an 0-10 team into a 6-4 2011 performer. I think UTSA will win but I wouldn't be surprised to see that young secondary of theirs get burned several times by an experienced unit marshaled by a savvy old coach that's seen big hostile stadiums before.

To end my UTSA lovefest - I can't wait for the Texas State game in 2012 at the Alamodome. It'll sell out and the partying will be epic.

(2) Texas State led Texas Tech at halftime this week. That really happened. I didn't go to the game but I dumped ten bucks on RaiderVision and viewed it online. I'll throw this out there - either Shaun Rutherford needs to learn to throw or Tyler Arndt needs to learn how to run. If I was coaching Wyoming, I would know the tendency just by which guy was on the field. The Bobcats cannot go an entire season operating with two different signal callers.

I know there's a remarkable difference between playing a BCS team and a Division 2 squad, but Soza would own this offense if he had stuck around. He's a playmaker. I now know why Travis Bush took Soza with him, and it's a shame the previous regime never utilized the young man. He's got the wheels to run the spread option properly, can make most of the throws, and has a little bit of moxie in him.

As for the game, what can you say about leading 10-0 in the first quarter and then giving up 50 unanswered points? Four turnovers, 11 penalties, and 75 yards passing on 21 attempts isn't going to beat Lamar let alone Texas Tech. I could absolutely fall in love with the ground game if the Bobcats could even throw for 150 per contest. Four fumbles looks like a lot on 50 running plays, too. There's a lot of room for improvement obviously, and Weber State hung with Wyoming on Saturday. Let's just hope the team took their lumps, learned some lessons, and can apply it toward beating an FBS team that had to come from behind with twenty seconds left to beat an inferior opponent. Weber ran the ball down Wyoming's throat but was able to throw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys gave up 541 offensive yards to the Wildcats.


(3) Other predictions for Week Two:

Top 25 matchups:

Mississippi State 51, Auburn 42

South Carolina 35, Georgia 21


Around the state:

SMU 31, UTEP 24

TCU 37, Air Force 28

Texas 24, BYU 21

Houston 40, North Texas 14

Rice (go Bailiff!) 21, Purdue 18

UTSA 45, McMurry 33


Around the WAC:

Minnesota 51, New Mexico State 24

Hawaii 27, Washington 25

Oregon 42, Nevada 31

Nebraska 38, Fresno State 17

Idaho 21, North Dakota 15

Louisiana Tech 38, Central Arkansas 13

Utah State 55, Weber State 27

UCLA 63, San Jose State 10