Ohio State's Dismantling of Duke is Just the Start of What Should Be a Revealing Week

A lot of people, including myself, questioned how good the Ohio State players not named Jared Sullinger were. Last night, they made a statement when they routed Duke by 22. In Columbus, the Buckeyes fans booed when LeBron James and his Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade walked to their courtside seats. After the game tipped off, there was little for them to complain about as their team took an early 11-0 lead and never looked back. Ohio State's offense was led by Sullinger's 21 and senior William Buford's 20. Sophomores Deshaun Thomas and Aaron Craft added 18 and 17, respectively. The Buckeyes defense kept Duke from responding. The Blue Devils made only twenty percent of their three point attempts as they scored a season-low 63 points.

This is just the start of what should be a revealing week. Below is my preview of the best game for each night the rest of this week, starting tonight.

#7 Wisconsin @ #5 UNC - 9:30 PM EST (Wednesday), ESPN

Wisconsin's closest game this season so far is a 17 point win over BYU. The problem is that the Cougars are by far the best team they've played. The Badgers are led by Preseason All-American guard Jordan Taylor. Sophmore Ben Brust is off to a great start to the season as well. UNC is hoping to bounce back from their first loss of the season at UNLV. The Tar Heels are also hoping their Preseason All-American forward Harrison Barnes is able to play well on the ankle he rolled in that loss.

St. John's @ #1 Kentucky - 7:30 PM EST (Thursday), ESPN2

Thanks to UNLV's aforementioned upset of UNC, this year's version of the young Kentucky Wildcats is already ranked #1. Kentucky's starting lineup features three freshmen and two sophomores. The Wildcats have scored 84.4 ppg and won their games by an average of 30.0 points. The big showdown might be Saturday (I'll preview that in a bit.), but this young team can't get caught looking ahead. St. John's brings their own young team to Rupp Arena. The Red Storm might be 4-3, but I watched them played at Madison Square Garden. They are much better than that. This team is figuring out how to play together. Sophmore guard Nurideen Linsey has the looks of an electrifying, budding leader. In addition to Lindsey, D'Angelo Harrison, Moe Harkless, and God'sgift Achiuwa all average at least 11.3 ppg.

#9 Florida @ #3 Syracuse - 7:00 PM EST (Friday), ESPN

The Florida Gators travel to the Carrier Dome to take on the Syracuse Orange. The Gators only loss is by seven points to Ohio State. The Gators offense is being led by guards Kenny Boynton and Bradley Beal. Beal is off to a great start to his freshman season. The Syracuse Orange are 7-0, despite all the chaos surrounding their program. The Barry Fine investigation is ongoing, and head coach Jim Boeheim is getting increasingly frustrated with the media. Boeheim better be careful though because if these accusations turn out to be true, he could experience a similar exit to former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno. On the court, senior point guard Scoop Jardine runs the Orange offense. Senior forward Kris Joseph is the team's leading scorer.

#5 UNC @ #1 Kentucky - 12:00 PM EST (Saturday), CBS

I have already previewed both these teams (if you forgot, look above). This matchup features two of the most storied programs in all of college basketball. The Wildcats offense has been fairly balanced this season. UNC point guard Kendall Marshall is averaging a ridiculous 10.8 apg in leading the Tar Heels attack. The teams seem to matchup fairly equally. This game should be a dandy.

Maurice and Boudreau are Checked Out From Their Head Coaching Posts

Monday is a new day of a work week, and it also was a beginning of a new chapter for two NHL franchises. These teams' head coaches have been fired just more than twenty games into the season.

The Carolina Hurricanes fired Paul Maurice for the second time in less than a decade. The last-place Hurricanes have had only one playoff appearance since 2006 and have lost 10 of their last 13 games. The team's record now stands at 8-13-4, but they are only five points out of the eighth playoff spot. It is clear that the front office thought that a move would help the team achieve its full potential.

The Hurricanes new head coach is former All-Star Kirk Muller. Muller had long, prosperous career in which he made six All-Star teams and helped lead the Montreal Canadiens to their most recent Stanley Cup in 1993. Muller does have coaching experience with the Canadiens and the Nashville Predators' AHL team, the Milwaukee Admirals.

Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford is eager to see what Muller can do with his team. Rutherford stated, "I don't know exactly how good we are. I believe we're better than what we've done so far." It is now Muller's job to prove Rutherford right.

A much more surprising move was when the Washington Capitals decided to fire head coach Bruce Boudreau. Boudreau became the fastest coach to 200 wins in modern NHL history. However, Boudreau's team routinely choked and under-performed in the playoffs, despite its very talented lineup led by two-time league MVP Alex Ovechkin.

Because of his team's continual underachieving, Boudreau tried a new tactic of benching players who exhibited this type of play, including team captain Ovechkin. Ovechkin's play had not responded well to his former coach's stricter coaching style. He only has 17 points in 22 games.

Capitals GM George McPhee explained the move, "This was simply a case of the players were no longer responding to Bruce. When you see that, as much as you don't want to make a change, you have to make a change."

McPhee decided to replace Boudreau with former Capitals captain Dale Hunter. Hunter has no NHL coaching experience at all. In fact, his only experience coaching adults is with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League.

Obviously, McPhee didn't make this move to get a superior coach. This move was made to be a wake up call to his players. Will it work? That remains to be seen. This team has to change its under-performing ways for that to happen.

Who Will the Texans turn to at Quarterback Now?

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the Houston's Texans bout with the injury bug when starting quarterback Matt Schaub was injured (http://fireawayblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/houston-do-we-have-problem.html). Now, the next man in line, Matt Leinart, is likely done for the season as well. T.J. Yates came in and managed the game in last week's win. But is he the answer? This is a Super Bowl caliber team. They have one of the best rushing attacks in the league, a dynamic wide receiver, and one of the toughest defenses in the league. I will examine the Texans options at quarterback and will tell them who I think gives them the best chance in the playoffs.

T.J. Yates - Age: 24 - Current Texans Starter

As I mentioned above, Yates came in against the Jaguars and manged the game well in a win. Yates was drafted in the fifth round out of UNC in last year's draft. He was drafted because he ran a similar offense with the Tar Heels. He is familiar with the Texans' system, but he is a rookie. The NFL is whole different level from ACC football, especially when it comes to the playoffs.

Kellen Clemens - Age: 28 - Texans Current Backup

Clemens was signed last week following Schaub's injury. He was signed because he was in training camp with the Washington Redskins to start the season. Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan was Texans head coach Gary Kubiak's mentor, and former Texans assistant coach Kyle Shanahan now holds the same position there. Therefore, Clemens is familiar with the type of offense that Kubiak runs and should be able to pick it up quickly. The question becomes whether or not he is a good enough quarterback to win playoff games.

Brett Favre - Age: 42 - Free Agent

Favre is the name all over the media right now. While he might be the best quarterback out there, reports say he hasn't worked out in at least a month. In response to the Texans' interest, general manager Rick Smith stated that "I don't want to bring the circus (Favre) to town." The media will be pressuring Smith to the make the move. Would Favre be able to get in shape and lead the franchise to a Super Bowl win? I'm not sure. Smith has to consider that question himself.

Jeff Garcia - Age: 41 - Free Agent

Garcia is a veteran with good starting experience. He has shown the capability to run a bootleg offense effectively, which is similar to what the Texans run. Garcia has some playoff experience as well. He could be a good fit in the Texans offense.

Brodie Croyle - Age: 28 - Free Agent

The former Kansas City Chief quarterback struggled in five season with the team. Croyle played in only 18 games. In those games, he threw only eight touchdowns and nine interceptions. He might seem like a long shot, but he is a younger free agent option with some experience.

Trent Edwards - Age: 28 - Free Agent

Edwards was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the 2007 NFL Draft. He started the majority of the games his first three seasons, but had only mediocre success. The past two seasons he has been limited to a backup role with the Bills and Jaguars. Edwards is a younger quarterback option and has quite a bit of starting experience.

What should the Texans do? First, I think they need to keep Yates as the starter at least for now. He managed the game well last week, but should have a tougher task this week against the Atlanta Falcons. Second, I think they need to prepare Clemens as if he was the starter. He needs to learn the offense as quickly as possible in case he is needed. Clemens could definitely succeed in this offense, but I am not sure if he is the best option in the playoffs. Third, they need to evaluate who the best free agent is. I agree with GM Rick Smith about not bringing in Favre. The team is playing the best football in franchise history, don't do anything to mess that up. Croyle and Edwards might be young, experienced options, but they both have proved that they aren't good enough quarterbacks to be relied on to win games, let alone playoff games. That leaves Jeff Garcia. Garcia has starting experience in a similar offense when he played in San Francisco. He has won playoff games with two different franchises. In my opinion, he is the best option for the Texans to win games in the playoffs.

If it were my call, I would go with Yates and Clemens for now. I would sign Garcia and let him learn the offense. Once he and the rest offense feels comfortable (maybe around Week 14), I would hand the reigns over to him. This team is capable of a Super Bowl run. But the question remains: who will be their quarterback?