Chaos?

"The playoffs started in September dawg!"

Who says that there needs to be a playoff in college football? This is the playoffs man! It has the best regular season of any sport on the planet. Do you hear me? In my Jim Mora voice, "What’s that? Ah — Playoffs? Don’t talk about — playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs?

Everybody was freaking out about the BCS imploding and having too many undefeated teams left standing at the end of the season. Just two weeks ago we had eight unbeatens and now we've barely got one! LSU is the last man standing in the big boy league. I'm not even going to mention the rec league champs in Houston. I'm going to say to the Cougar fans what my mother would always say when I was coming up, "Stay outta grown folks conversation!"

This past weekend 3 of the top 5 teams were knocked off and sending the BCS into full chaos! I love it! Even though my Sooners went down I‘m still all in. I'm a realist bruh; we weren't ready for the title game anyway. The BCS Championship Game is reserved for the top 2 teams in the country and my boyz weren't in that category. I'm just sayin'!

On Thursday night #2 Oklahoma State proved to the world that they were in fact Oklahoma State. At no point did I think the Pokes were going to make it to the title game. Well...because they were Oklahoma State! Then on Saturday #3 Oregon loses a thriller to USC in Eugene. To cap the night off #5 Oklahoma falls to #22 Baylor for the first time in school history.

Hey, it is what it is! Its college football and I wouldn't trade it in for the world. It doesn't get any better than this! On any given night any one can win and on Saturday that’s exactly what happened. Like I've been saying since the LSU/Alabama game on November 5th. The two best teams in the country are LSU and Alabama!

I'm blown away by the amount of people that are so-called football fans that say that they don't "want" to see a rematch, especially sports writers that have a vote. It doesn't matter what you want to see. It's about putting the two best teams in the country on the field for all of the Funyuns, penny candy and red pop. Take your feelings out it bruh. Nobody cares how you feel.

If LSU and Bama can win out then they should play for the title. Notice that I said "IF" because LSU still has to play the now #3 Arkansas Razorbacks next week and then Georgia, who has reeled off 9 straight since starting 0-2, in the SEC Title Game in Atlanta. That won't be a walk in the projects on Sunday morning at 8:45 am. I'm sure all of my current or former hood dwellers can appriciate that one! Lol!!

Yeah this thing is definitely going to go down to the wire! Just put your seat belt on and enjoy the ride! If you don’t have seat belts then fake it like you do during the road blocks on July 4th weekend! Remember this, regardless of what happens the BCS always works itself out.

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

All That & A Bag Of Chips!

"And you know this, MAN!!!!"

Can you say Ali/Frazier, The Thrilla in Manila or would the Tussle in Tuscaloosa sound better? On Saturday #1 LSU rolled into town to take on #2 Alabama and it lived up to every ounce of the hype. By definition the word hype means to create interest in by flamboyant or dramatic methods. For weeks all we heard was the how great this game was going to be and it was all of that and a bag of chips. Go ahead and throw in the penny cookies, funyuns and the red pop while you’re at it bruh! Who needs Don King when you’ve got teams like this?

This is what college football is all about. There is excitement every week and not just when the playoffs begin because essentially the season is the playoff. Holla At Ya Boy! Now that we're going into the meat of the season and many of the undefeated teams are starting to fall it's even more exciting.

The battle royale that took place in Tuscaloosa was what it's all about. LSU wins an overtime defensive battle 9-6 over Alabama! Oklahoma State simply holds on for dear life in Stillwater 52-45 against Kansas State and there is still a lot of football left to play. Boy it doesn't get any better than this!

On the horizon we still have major road blocks for the top 5 to overcome with the exception of Boise State who is still out there hang gliding. LSU still has #8 Arkansas and possibly the SEC Title game in Atlanta to survive. Oklahoma State still has Bedlam looking them in the face with #6 Oklahoma coming to town in December! Alabama has to prepare for and win the Iron Bowl against arch rival Auburn and you can throw the records out of the window with the bath water for that one bruh. Stanford still has #7 Oregon waiting as well as the PAC 12 title game to possibly play if they can survive.

Then there’s #5 Boise State hanging out drinking tequila, sun bathing watching re-runs of Oprah hoping somebody loses so they can just waltz right into to New Orleans on a voucher. Well Boise State, once again it ain't gonna happen until to put your grown man suit on and join a BCS conference. It's insulting that you would even think that it's plausible that you should be playing for all of the marbles when boyz are out here going to war for this.

Are you even watching what the rest of the top 25 is even doing? I mean it's ridiculous to listen to your fans holler that the Bronco’s are getting screwed when you're essentially playing intramural ball. You caught Georgia sleeping week 1 and have been on a cake walk picking Lilies ever since.

If you think that I'm just being a jerk let’s look at the facts! According to CBSSports.com, who ranks all 120 FBS teams, here are the rankings of Boise State's other opponents this season: #49 Toledo, #28Tulsa, #50Nevada, #97Fresno State, #105Colorado State, #72Air Force, #109UNLV, #24TCU, #62San Diego State, #71Wyoming, #120 New Mexico! That's like playing the #71st ranked team in the country every week! Why are we even having this discussion bruh!


You can't just look at wins a losses because not everybody is playing the same caliber teams. If all we're looking at is impressive wins then undefeated Houston should be ranked #1 and their quarterback should be the front runner for the Heisman but they aren't because everybody knows they're frontin' too!

From the looks of the remaining schedules of the Top 5 teams, I can see an LSU/Alabama rematch for the title. Simply because I believe of the teams left they've got the stamina to win out. I don't think Stanford is the real deal and will lose to Oregon. Oklahoma State is still the little brother in the state of Oklahoma. So they'll lose the Bedlam game because the lights just got too bright for the kids in that program. Sure, Oklahoma would only have one loss as well but they fell asleep at the wheel a few weeks ago against lowly Texas Tech and that cancels them out of the discussion completely. Especially if we’re talking about the best one loss teams left.

If it works out that way I'll be cool with it because all we ever wanted to see was #1 play #2 anyway, right?

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

Slow Ya Roll!

You hear  that bruh? It's Marvin Gaye in the background singing, "Let's Get It On!"

What makes college football so great is the sense of urgency that is so evident every Saturday. Win or go home is the mantra and it's even more evident in Tuscaloosa this morning. We've got #1 LSU rolling into town to play #2 Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium and all eyes will be on that place at 8pm eastern time. Doesn't matter who you cheer for you've got a stake in this game.

Winner determines your team's next move in this game of chess especially for those hovering around the top 5. During this time of year the domino's start to fall and it gets even more intense as the weeks go by. Some body's got to take an "L" tonight. Who will it be?

Both teams have great defenses so in my opinion that's a wash. However, the quarterbacks and turnovers will be the deciding factor here. LSU has a balanced attack with two guys that can handle the pressure in Jordan Jefferson and Jarrette Lee. They can both throw the ball and run it and that sets the tone for their offense. Alabama on the other side, statistically has a very balanced offense on paper. However, we all know that their offense goes through Trent Richardson completely. His production allows them to be able to throw the football. What's going to happen when LSU loads nine in the box and forces Alabama's young quarterback to throw it with the Honey Badger on the prowl? I'm just sayin'! LSU's probably got the best set of defensive backs in the country and they're looking for souvenirs today.

I'm as excited to see it as the next guy. Yes I'm in Norman for the Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M game at 3:30pm eastern but I'll be looking for a TV at some body's tailgate as soon as I get out of the game. Even though my boys went down a couple of weeks ago to Texas Tech we're still sitting at #6 and have #3 Oklahoma State on the schedule in a few weeks. Anything can happen!

That's why I love this game because you can't fall asleep at the wheel at anytime because anybody can win on any given Saturday. So for all of you prognosticators that are screaming for a rematch of the LSU/Bama game already. Keep your freaking shirts on bruh! There is a whole lot of football still left to be played.

We've seen it happen all too often where the "Game of the Century" turns out to be a blow out or the winner looses the following week to some team with a loosing record. Remember, we're talking about 18-22 year olds. Anything can happen when you're dealing with that age group. A guys breaks up with his girl friend or someone takes her can cause him to play like crap. I'm just sayin' bruh! A kid gets caught up with something foolish etc. You never know. Also we've got to account for injuries down the stretch. Somebody is going to get hurt today. So it's not that cut and dry bruh!

 Don't crown either LSU or Alabama the national champ off of the hype alone. You're counting the money before the bonus check comes in. Let's see it play out before you buy the furniture.

Alabama still has to go to Auburn for the Iron Bowl at the end of the year and you can throw the records out of the window for that one.  LSU still has #7 Arkansas at the end of the season as well. Regardless of who wins this one today they'll still have to play the SEC Championship game in Atlanta in December. So like I said earlier, So Ya Roll!

It ain't over 'til the fat lady gets out of bed, eats breakfast, lunch, has her afternoon snack and dinner. She still has to get dressed and drive to the venue, do sound check and then sing the joint. So just sit back and enjoy the ride today because I sure will.

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

Big Six's!

"The domino's are starting to fall on college football's undefeated teams!"

Last week all of the college football prognosticators were worried about Armageddon at the end of the season because there were still eight undefeated teams left. These guys freak out every year about the BCS and it always works itself out. Rarely will you have more than two teams perfect by season's end. The last time that it happened was 2004 when Auburn got left out of the party because both USC and OU ran the table and the Tigers just came out of nowhere. Yesterday boyz started to fall like domino's.

I don’t even want to hear about Utah, TCU or Boise State in past years because I’m talking big boy ball not daddy ball here. Now that Utah has graduated to the big boy league they're currently ranked 10th in the PAC 12 Conference at 1-4 and are 4-4 overall. Go sit in the corner! You’re on punishment for even bringing that up bruh! Let me finish what I was saying!

We started the day yesterday with eight unbeaten. Then I felt like I was in T-bone's basement on the low end when all of the table slapping began. Georgia Tech put that thang on Clemson and Kansas State got exposed as a fraud in front of the entire family by the Sooners. So now were down to 6 unbeaten for all practical purposes: LSU, Bama, Oklahoma State, Boise State, Standford and Houston. However, in my opinion, for the sake of the national title  only 4 teams because Boise State and Houston are still playing Daddy Ball.

 Stanford was taken to the wire by USC last night in triple overtime. Boy that was a great game!! There’s no other sport like it and it's only going to get better next week when #1 LSU and #2 Alabama collide in Tuscaloosa. That's going to be the Big Six of the year right there!

As the season progresses and teams begin to suffer injuries and the inevitable suspensions of players starts to take affect it's going to get even more interesting. That's when guys start getting pealed off by teams that shouldn't on paper even be in the same stratosphere, but it happens. All I can say is put your seat belts on, put a lid on your drink and enjoy the ride!

Who needs a playoff bruh, when you can get this every week? Man I love this game because it's so unpredictable and regardless of who your team is you've got to pay attention to what everybody else doing. You can't, for example, be a Stanford or Oklahoma State fan and not watch the teams ahead of you or below you in the rankings. It's critical to know what’s going on every week. If you're not doing that then you're not a real college football fan and I'd suggest that you turn in your collegiate gear for a full refund at the bookstore.


"This is serious business!"

Yesterday was great! Andrew Luck let the world know again that he was the real deal by just walking the Cardinal down the field with mere seconds to play to tie the joint up and force overtime in the Coliseum! He's all of that, a bag of chips and some penny cookies bruh! While your at it throw in some Lemon Heads, a jaw breaker, some Funyuns and a red pop! Holla At Ya Boy! All of my old school hood dwellers or former hood dwellers could feel me on that one!

One loss Michigan State got shocked in Lincoln and Wisconsin even choked on some bad Buckeyes last night. It doesn't get any better than Saturdays in the fall of the year. Don't call my house, come through or even bother asking me to go anywhere but to a college campus between September 1st and December 10th on Saturdays because you'll find yourself short! Now on Sundays, we can break bread!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter:@jaygravesreport

Attrition!

Florida State's EJ Manual banged up in loss to #1 Oklahoma!

The word attrition means to have physical wear or the military strategy of wearing down the enemy by continual losses in personnel and material. Simply put, it means to leave the battle with less than you showed up with. That's what the game of football does to teams when they are playing against equally as talented opponents.


Last night #1 Oklahoma and #5 Florida State squared off in a battle royale for the ages. The Sooners would survive the war with a 23-13 victory in Tallahassee. However, the most important part of the score is the dash that separates the numbers. It's like looking at someone's obituary and the dash, in my opinion, represents the life and what they did with it. We'll on Saturday night the dash represented the level of play and the depth that it took for both teams to play for four quarters.

We saw attrition at it's fullest in Tallahassee on Saturday evening. I don't know if you paid attention to just how physical that game was but those boys were laying the wood. On both sides of the ball both the Sooners and Seminoles lost several key guys during the course of the game. However, the level of play never dropped off. The Noles lost EJ Manual, their starting quarterback, who I might add, is a 6'5" 240 lb remarkable physical specimen with unbelievable athletic ability. For a less talented team that would have been disaster but not for the Seminoles!

The next man up was a freshman, Clint Trickett who picked up the mic and kept right on flowing. He was throwing to backups as well because their top wide receiver Kenny Shaw went out after a monstrous hit in the end zone. The Sooners sustained multiple injuries as well. The key is, the level of play for both teams was never affected. In fact, it got better down the stretch!

What most people don't understand is that both Oklahoma(Mizzou) and Florida State(Clemson) have to be prepared to play again next week and every week thereafter regardless of how much attrition they sustain along the way. That's why every now and then you'll see a team lose to an opponent that they on paper shouldn't have lost to. The attrition of players catches up to teams over the course of the season. That's why it's so difficult to run the table.


So when asked about Boise State's worthiness, if you will, to be ranked in the top 5 and to be in the discussion of the national title, in my opinion is ridiculous. They are probably the only team within the top 25 that attrition doesn't effect at all. They are so much better than anyone that they'll play that the word attrition isn't even printed in the dictionaries in Idaho. They did house Georgia but took the week off to prepare for Toledo. In the game of football just like in life that dash has to mean something.

Well... we know going forward that the dash is significant when it comes to the other teams in the top 5; Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU and Florida State because they've all got go to war with ranked opponents several times before the season is over! Mark your calendars for November 5^th because LSU rolls into to Tuscaloosa for a showdown with the Tide! By that time of the season personnel will be depleted for all teams but they'll still be expected still to perform at a high level.

The most important thing to learn here is, make the dash count because you’ll always be judged by what you did with it!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter: @jaygravesreport

Strictly Business

"Boise State's Kellen Moore explodes on Toledo!"

In 1988 EPMD 's debut album was entitled "Strictly Business". The first single was a hot joint called "You Gots To Chill". Twenty-two years later it's the theme song of the Boise State Bronco's. They keep silencing the critics by taking care of business every time they get off of the bus. Even the best of teams will look bad every now and then but not the boyz from the blue turf. The one thing you can count on with them is consistency.

Over the past several years I've spent my time explaining to folks how much of a disadvantage it is for Boise State to be in the national title discussion because of the "cushiness" of their schedule. I don't even know if that's a word bruh! However, when I look over the landscape of college football they are the one team that does what they're supposed to do every week without flaw. If you are playing cup cakes then you're supposed to blow them out and that's exactly what they keep doing. They beat the doors off of Toledo 40-15 on the road.

They showed up to an unexpected fight in the first half until the Rockets self-destructed. I was looking for Ms Melody and Chuck D to break the huddle with Toledo at some point. The Rockets were in a perfect position to knock the Bronco's off but they had the Plaxico Rotavirus. They kept shooting themselves in the leg all night. "Missed Opportunities" should be the name of the Rockets next single because it would go platinum in a week.


Did Boise State look great or did Toledo just keep laying down and taking a beating? I believe that it was the latter of the two. However, the mark of a good team is to have the ability to take advantage of the other teams missed opportunities and turn them into points. So like I've said before, I can't hate on the Bronco's anymore because they are rocking shows like EPMD when they show up.

Now, do they deserve to play for the national title? Only if the Big 12, SEC, Big Ten, and ACC don't have teams that run the table or even have teams with one loss. You simply can't justify putting Boise State in a title game when teams are playing monstrous schedules week in and week out that may end up running the table or even have one loss.


Incredible show downs like today's #1 Oklahoma vs. #5 Florida State or on November 5th #2 Alabama vs. #3 LSU not to mention everything before and after that these teams have to prepare for. I mean, I've got love for Boise State's consistency but they're sitting in the cat bird seat playing teams with Rotavirus' and boyz are out here scraping with healthy opponents. It's hard for me to understand the game of football and justify putting Boise State in the title game because the level of sacrifice to get there isn't the same.

"You Gots To Chill!"

They're strictly business and I can appreciate what they've accomplished but the guys left on the schedule are in hospice at this point. Football is a game of attrition. That means injuries are constantly being suffered and as the season progresses and teams have to go deeper into their depth charts as a result. The deeper you go into your depth chart the less talent you have or the less experience you have. Either way it shows up in missed assignments and mistakes that can cost you a ball game or two against lesser opponents that happen to catch you limping into town.

If you're playing cup cakes all season you rarely suffer the affects of attrition so you show up at the end of the season healthy.

I heard Urban Myer say that when he was at Utah and was undefeated he just wanted a shot at the title because he thought that they could play with anybody. Heck, they beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. However, when he got to Florida he said that he could barely keep the Bentley in the road by seasons end because of the injuries. When you’re dragging down the stretch the little wimp kid that you beat up every morning going to school can run up on you and come away with your sneakers every now and then.

So although I like listening to EPMD. I'd rather be listening to JayZ & Kanye West’s new joint "Watch The Throne" because they've played the monstrous schedule and deserve to be at the top of the pile!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter: @jaygravesreport