Don't say that. That would suck big time. I'm tired of the SEC. Anything but yet another rematch.
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Savannah State basically had the mercy rule called on them last night.
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Oh yeah. I saw that Florida State had only clipped them by 55. I didn't realize the game was called in the third. That's pitiful.
But Savannah State's athletic department willingly took the games for an extremely high payoff. Their budget is only $4 million, and the two games netted them nearly $1 million. OK State suddenly had an open date that needed to be filled, and so did Florida State because West Virginia canceled their game when they joined the Big 12. No one forced Savannah State, and Mike Gundy pulled all of his starters after the
first quarter. Wes Lunt only played for one quarter and everyone else exited soon afterwards. He emptied the bench, quite literally. Even the walk ons were playing and SSU still couldn't even move the ball enough to make a field goal.
OK State is suffering because their
best offensive lineman went down during summer practice. It's O-State's O-line that was remarkable last season and it returned largely intact for this season; that's why hopes were so high. Losing Bowie was crucial and now Devon Hedgepeth, their second best lineman, went down with an injury this week and may not be back. That's not good. Last year's defense, while iffy, could at least force turnovers. Their two best defensive players, Ori Lemon and Jamie Blatnick, both graduated. That doesn't bode well with Hedgepeth going down to injury.
The irony is that the press kept talking about Wes Lunt dislocating his kneecap and being out 3 to 4 weeks, but while Lunt is extremely promising, O-State's backup QB is just as good. His name is JW Walsh and he was the heir apparent until Lunt showed up out of nowhere as a true freshman. Walsh is a redshirt freshman; that's why he didn't see mop up duty last year. He was the prize recruit O-State snagged, then Gundy forgot all about him when Lunt appeared. He performed extremely well this week and while the press is making a big deal of it, no one here is worried about O-State's QB play. It's the O-line and D-line that's going to sink O-State if they don't figure something out pronto. They've got a bye week, then there's Texas.
Personally, if you put a truth serum in me, Kansas State and West Virginia are the two best teams in the league this year. O-State isn't promising and OU, as usual, is highly overrated in the preseason and will get the breaks because of it.