THE COLLEGE COMPETITOR Edition 2.1
Another season is upon us and we are off and running. This season has a new look as four Coaches accepted jobs at new schools. While two had forgettable debuts, two won in their inaugural contests. One of these was a fantasy game for the ages. The Predators and their recently hired ex- Stingray Coach had an astounding 162 points!! For the record the editor of the Competitor thinks that could be an all time fantasy scoring high..in any league! There were other respectable games in the first week as the top six bottomed out with a strong 86. Here is a recap of week one action.
Lightning @ Predators ; 162-86 Predators
The Lightning showed up to play after finishing the 2004 season with momentum. They reached the top six despite getting a lackluster performance from #1 pick Williams. They may be regretting their overall #1 pick of the draft as Memphis has lost its starting QB. Williams will be a marked man as they Key on him. A passing game will need to emerge if Williams is to post the huge numbers expected of him. Walker, Hagan, and Avant all had stellar games. The Lightning will shake off the nightmare match-up in week one and win some games this season as they look to have a solid team. The Predators went shopping for a proven coach and found one in Merv Myers. After reaching the Championship game the last two seasons only to get defeated, Coach Merv was looking for a change. He brought his winning ways to The Predators and posted an all time fantasy High in his coaching debut. 26,29, 28, 40! The top four players responded with a vengeance. Leinart and Jarrett were unstoppable, #1 pick Maroney looks bigger and faster then last year, and a new star has been found in the Meyer system with Chad Jackson. An incredible game for the Fantasy Archives. It may never be topped. Looks like there was a great reason for the speed bump at the draft! Nice team, awesome game Coach Merv!
Stallions @ Redhawks ; 93– 45 Stallions
Although Coach Mike reached the playoffs last year, he failed to get his Maulers a Championship. Seeking a change of venue, he accepted the head job at a promising new school Centennial State. The Stallion era started out well as the Horses galloped to a strong Victory. Stallion QB Brad Smith looks to be his old self in the revamped spread offense. His 25 anchored the Victory, and the Iowa D brought it home with an impressive 30Pt game. #1 pick Riggs did not reach the end zone, but should be solid all year. RB Lewis chipped in with a good effort and the Victory was sealed. The Redhawks got an excellent game from Reggie Bush. Bush was the #1 pick for the Hawks. Word has it that LenDale White is ticked because Bush got his traditional Goal line carries. If Bush continues to get them, he will be a great fantasy player. Unfortunately for the Hawks the rest of the team failed to produce. They should be able to bounce back with WR Hicks inserted in the line-up after the first week bye.
Contributors @ Venom ; 86- 45 Contributors.
The defending 2004 Champs continue their winning ways with a respectable 86. They were able to do this despite posting two zeros. Florida QB leak looks comfortable in the Urban Meyer spread offense and should post big numbers this year. RB Hart seems to have picked up where he left off last year posting an excellent 23. Freak of nature Marcedes Lewis had a very good 13. This Tight end lines up as a WR many times, he will be a scoring machine this year. The Ohio State Def produced as expected and The Contributors are off to a great start defending their Title. The third coach to debut with a new team had an awful game at his new school. Coach Jeff left the Titans for one thing……. The Money. After winning his division the last three years and the League Championship in 2002, The Venom offered a contract that could not be denied. The Venom had a miserable game posting 45 while losing #1 pick Lundy after 3 plays. Lundy had a run of 29 yards and came up lame; if he does not come back soon it will be a long year for the Ex- Titan Coach. Also the BYU QB went 41-60 and Watkins caught two. With the strong Texas Tech QB inserted next week the Coach is optimistic the season can turn around.
GameCocks @ DragonFarts ; 86- 74 Dfarts
In the most competitive game of the weekend, The Dragonfarts come away with a 12 pt Victory. They received solid scoring from just about every position to post an 86 and receive a bonus point. The Dfarts came on strong near the end of last season only to miss the playoffs. They look to be on the right track to make the post season this year. The GameCocks got great games from running Back Drew and receiver Anderson, but were let down by the play of White. Lendale was not inserted into his normal role of Goaline Back, and only came on in trash time. He was heard in the Locker room later saying, “I don’t know what the hell is going on here anymore”. If a push for Bush for Heisman is on, White may lose stats. White on any other team would be a huge fantasy back. Carroll is a smart Coach, I believe he will preserve harmony and find a way to get touches for White. It was a tough loss for the GameCocks, but there were several bright spots. The Dfarts are happy with their initial game of the 2005 season.
Keglers @ Cossacks ; 65-29 Cossacks
The Cossacks surprised many passing on Peterson for Lynch as the third pick of the draft. As it turned out Lynch outperformed a miserable Peterson in week one. In fact the whole Oklahoma squad was pathetic losing to TCU. The Cossacks got a total of 4 pts with two Oklahoma players in the Line-up. The Oklahoma QB posted a minus one. Where oh where is Jason when you need him? The steal of the draft may be Michael Bush, the Cossacks second round pick. The number of off weeks by Louisville soured Bush in many owners Eyes. Bush is a bruiser and will post big numbers this year. The last Coach to accept a new Job at another school is Jeff Snyder. He left the Death squad to lead the Keglers. The debut was not promising as he posted a league low 29. Keglers is a bowling term, so its safe to say the Keglers were rolling 7-10 splits the whole day! The high-powered Boise State QB posted a dismal minus four and was humbled by the Bulldogs. He left Georgia shell-shocked. He was a great fantasy QB last year and should rebound. The bright spots are PJ Daniels and a slimmed down Miami RB Moss. The Keglers will rebound and get their new coach some wins this year.
Elephants @ Browns; 98 – 61 Browns
It is very fitting that The Browns won their game under their new name. The league lost a good friend and competitor Harry Brown in the off-season, and to honor him The Pride changed their name to The Browns. This year the Championship Trophy was renamed the Harry Brown Memorial Trophy in his honor. We will miss you Harry….. Harry would be proud of his team’s performance in week one. They scored 98 pts to post the second highest score. The Browns had consistent scoring at all positions, something that is representative of a solid team. The Browns should compete hard all season. The Elephants had a lackluster day, but should rebound in future weeks. They scored 61 despite getting a zero from Jennings. The Colorado Kicker showed his value with a game winning kick and a solid 15. The Elephants Coach took him high in the draft, and Crosby showed why. The Pachyderms hope to rebound in week two and have the firepower to contend. They took Young number one in the Draft, but had the awesome game of the Georgia QB on the bench. Texas is in tough next week against the Buckeyes, it will be interesting to see how Coach Brady plays it.
It was a Great inaugural week of the 2005 fantasy season. Hats off to Coach Merv’s awesome score of 162. Not many free agents emerged in week one, so most GM’S are waiting for the smoke to clear. Some Freshman RB’S did shine in week one, but it’s too early to tell if they are for real or just a result of easy match-ups. Good Luck to all next week!!!!
I Love this Game!
PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF COLLEGE COMPETITOR:
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College Competitor Week 1