As college football heads into its third weekend and the NFL its second, one last reflection of last weekend provides a good preview to the next. Two games are worth noting.
The Debacle on Dale Mabry tops the list. The Marcus Mariota vs. Jameis Winston rematch was every bit as exciting as last May’s Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight. Unfortunately, Jameis was cast in the role formerly played by Pacquiao.
In both cases, the ballyhoo far exceeded the contest. Halfway into the first quarter it was 21-0 at Raymond James Stadium, making it apparent that Mariota vs. Winston II was actually the fifth period of January’s Rose Bowl between Oregon and Florida State.
That is all the time it took for the Tennessee Titans to effectively knock down, and eventually knock out, the Bucs, 42-14. Despite the fact both quarterbacks were playing their first-ever regular season game, Mariota looked like a 10-year veteran.
Winston looked every bit the part of a raw talent in need of experience and coaching. The conversation today would be a bit different if the Bucs had taken a similar drubbing from Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. It is far too early to say the Bucs made a mistake by not taking Mariota instead of Winston in the 2015 draft.
“It is only one game,” said Bucs’ Coach Lovie Smith. He was candid in saying “It is the only thing we can lay our hat on right now.”
Tampa Bay heads to New Orleans to take on the Saints next Sunday. The good news is that it is hard to imagine Drew Brees and New Orleans playing any better than Mariota and the Titans. Hopefully, Winston and the Bucs can step up their performance.
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The Southeastern Conference took a few hits on Saturday. The shock of Arkansas losing at home to Toledo was on par with Auburn nearly losing to Jacksonville (Alabama) State. Tennessee coughed up a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter and lost at home to Oklahoma.
Gaining far less notice was South Carolina’s home loss to Kentucky. Mark Stoops led his Wildcats to a 26-22 victory over Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks, snapping Kentucky’s 22-game road losing streak in the SEC.
Kentucky rolled to a 24-7 halftime lead and the defense made it stand up in the second half to shock the favored Gamecocks. The “Old Ball Coach” had to be bawling after this one.
The Wildcats now sit at 2-0 and 1-0 in the conference. They await Saturday’s matchup with the Florida Gators at Commonwealth Stadium.
Gators’ coach Jim McElwain was visibly upset with his team’s play in their narrow win at home against East Carolina. They will need to correct their many mistakes to beat the Wildcats this year. It took overtime before Florida edged Kentucky at The Swamp last year, 36-30.
