Rant..Part of this is for the Dog Talk Crew its 1 AM and I am Half-a-Sleep

The defense played good...UW only gained 297 total yards and Rankin and James combined were held to less than 30 yards. Stanback killed the defense with some good throws at inopportune times and his legs.

This game falls on the offensive playcalling and coaches. Brandstater has looked better, but give the kid a chance. The play calling is heavy Dwayne Wright and when Tommy needs to go deep, he just can't get it done. The Bulldogs are lucky Wright is so freaking good. Otherwise, FS scores maybe one touchdown on Saturday. The offense had no rhythm, Tommy had only completed 6 throws well into the 4th quarter and he only had 11 for the entire game. He should have completed 6 throws in one drive.

I see Paul Williams was finally added to the game plan, but the offensive coaches forget about the other WRs, who caught a combined 1 catch for 4 yds (thanks to Fairman). PW had 6 catches for 86 yards, but Fernandez is just as valuable.

Hill let Pinegar fling the ball all over the field, why not let Brandstater. He has the better arm, but is accuracy is suspect. Brandstater is slowly becoming a game manager and not a quarterback. At this pace it doesn't look like he will pass 200 yds passing in a game for few reasons:

1. Against really bad teams, Wright will be the offense and the passing game will not be needed per se.

2. Against good teams, Wright will largely be the only offense the team will muster. Brandstater has yet to prove he can beat teams with his arm alone.

3. Against average teams, Wright will again have a field day, and Brandstater may or may not have to make plays. Against Nevada he didn't need to, against UW he had to and didn't.

The Dogs are playing SEC football, but their opponents are hardly SEC quality. IMO, the only reason this team is and will be staying in games is because of Wright. Teams can stack the box, but Wright will still get 100 yards. Only if the vertical game would some appear. Dare I say Sean Norton?

In 2002, Grady was crap, Hill got lucky when Grady got hurt and was able to insert Pinegar. By mid-season, Pinegar became the starter, even though Grady was healthy again. Hill didn't break any of "his rules" per se, by giving Grady's job to Pinegar, because his reasoning was a health issue. Pinegar was healthy, but Grady wasn't. If Grady beat out Pinegar in fall camp in 2002, he must have been better, right? Or was it just because he knew the offense better? Also keep in mind there was also a new OC in 02 (Stagnetti). So if Grady beat out Pinegar in fall camp and knew the offense better, why didn't Hill insert him back into the lineup when he finally got healthy?

Now, why was Brandstater named the starter again...he beat out Norton in fall camp and he knew the offense better, supposedly... right?...through three games thus far in 2006, the offense doesn't look too complicated, give Wright the ball, and throw the ball on 3rd and long and hope your WR comes down with the ball.

Did that "QB controversy" hurt the team in 2002? I know Pinegar got his chance because Grady got hurt at Wisconsin, but he still got his chance and showed he could play in 2002(remember pre-chest injury).

I say give Norton was reps during the off week, prepare him for some game time action against CSU. Hill said if his QB was not playing well, he wouldn't hesitate to pull him. If Norton sucks against CSU, then Tommy is the QB and through thick or thin. But if he doesn't suck, then why not play the QB that gives the team the best chance to win...

the Dog Talk host were ranting that a QB change would break up the team because they wouldn't know who their starter is, that it would break up the flow of the offense(what flow, we're not talking about taking out Wright) and it would destroy Brandstater's confidence (I think it is a little too late for that). Hill said from day 1 of fall camp that he has two guys that could start and would be comfortable with either one playing...he wouldn't lie on TV would he???

The Dog Talk hosts were also calling out a caller to give an example when a change at the helm worked? The caller said NE with the whole Bledsoe to Brady debacle. The Dog Talk hosts said no, it has to be a college example. Okay, first, yes the NFL is different, second, it is freaking hard to just remember what you have for lunch, much less come up with an example of when a QB change worked at the college level.

Apart from injury, I can almost guarantee the 2002 team would not have won 9 games with Grady, but it did with Pinegar, that changed worked. But like I said apart from injury.

For the Dog Talk crew, last season Mike Stoops pulled his starting QB in favor of a true freshman Willie Tuitama. He was criticized but Tui led the 'Cats to a win at Oregon State, a blowout of top 10 UCLA, and a near upset of rival ASU.

Norton is the program's only Parade All-American, I would like to see him get some practice time with the first team.

I have seen both QBs evolve over the last year, Norton has always been a great passer, Brandstater has only recently become a great passer. Brandstater has the upside because of his height, but you can't measure Norton's intangibles.

Give the kid a shot, FS is 1-2 with Brandstater, Norton couldn't have done much worse. The next game is two weeks away and CSU should not be a stiff challenge. Brandstater starts, but give Norton the second and fourth series of the 1st half. And we can see how he performs under pressure in real game situations outside of high school.