Post by notdpb on Sept 10, 2021 7:45:14 GMT -5
As we head towards mid-September, we are rapidly approaching what is either the worst part of Foreign Service life, or the best, depending on who you ask. It’s bidding season, the time when officers who are scheduled to rotate next summer find out where they are heading next.
Bidding season officially begins on September 20th, when the official lists of what positions will be available comes out. There is no actual “bidding” involved, but there is a lot of interviewing, begging, pleading, lobbying, calling in favors, and all around time wasting culminating in cheering or crying on the 1st of November, when positions can officially be offered. And it’s less fun than it sounds.
The one fun part of it is looking at the list (or the projected list which is available much earlier), researching different posts, and dreaming about places we could end up. We’ve been doing that for the last month or so, and we have some pretty nice options so we are hopeful that we will end up somewhere decent.
Meanwhile, in CFB land, Week 2 doesn’t have as many big games as Week 1- of the 78 games being played on Saturday, 35 involve FCS teams, but remember, there were 6 FCS over FBS wins last week. Don’t fear though, there’s still some decent games on the schedule, here’s a few of them.
Saturday, September 11
Oregon @ Ohio State FOX 6:00 p.m.
Lost in the win over Minnesota last week was the fact that tOSU gave up 205 passing yards to the Gophers. This is a continuation of a problem from last season when they ranked 122nd against the pass. Oregon is likely better than they showed last week. I’m not quite ready to say they will win, but I think it will be closer than most people (and the 14 point spread) expect.
5 stars
Pittsburgh @ Tennessee ESPN 6:00 p.m.
The “Why aren’t these two teams better than they are” bowl. Maybe it’s just me, but I always feel like both of these teams should be better than they are. The Pitt D gave up only 42 yards rushing and had 5 sacks last week, and while this is not UMASS, I think that D is going to be the difference in this game. Pitt in a close one.
4 stars
Texas A&M @ Colorado FOX 9:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m.)
aTm turned the ball over 5 times last week against Kent State, which partially explains why the score was only 10-3 at the half. They wore the Golden Flash down in the second half, on the way to a 41-10 beatdown. I don’t think they turn it over 5 times again, but even 3 would put them in much more trouble than they were last week. This is another game where I think the spread is too big.
3 stars
Iowa @ Iowa State ABC 10:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m.)
This game is going to come down to which offense makes less mistakes, because the Ds are going to be good. Notdpb juniorette says eff Iowa, and that’s good enough for me. Cyclones in a close one.
4 stars
Texas @ Arkansas ESPN 1:00 a.m. (7:00 p.m.)
Might as well get your shots in on your new SEC friends early. Arkansas finished 102nd against the pass last year, and gave up 227 passing yards to Rice. Texas was #27 in passing offense last season. This is not a good combination. Texas by high single digits.
3 stars
Washington @ Michigan ABC 2:00 a.m.
Seriously Huskies, what the F was that? Just not acceptable. The D played pretty well, so the O just needs to play like they should and they’ll be fine. Michigan’s top receiver is out for the year, and they aren’t going to gain 335 yards rushing like they did against Western Michigan. On the other side, Michigan’s D is pretty good too. I just think that Washington will be better.
4 stars
Utah @ BYU ESPN 4:15 a.m.
Oh the Holy War. Utah has won 9 straight in this series, and 10-11, but these games are always fun, and always a fight. The Utah D line is huge, and will shut down the BYU offense, and the Utah O line will do enough to allow Utah to win comfortable.
3 stars
Note: No AFN games were harmed in the making of this post
Note 2.0: All times are CET
Bidding season officially begins on September 20th, when the official lists of what positions will be available comes out. There is no actual “bidding” involved, but there is a lot of interviewing, begging, pleading, lobbying, calling in favors, and all around time wasting culminating in cheering or crying on the 1st of November, when positions can officially be offered. And it’s less fun than it sounds.
The one fun part of it is looking at the list (or the projected list which is available much earlier), researching different posts, and dreaming about places we could end up. We’ve been doing that for the last month or so, and we have some pretty nice options so we are hopeful that we will end up somewhere decent.
Meanwhile, in CFB land, Week 2 doesn’t have as many big games as Week 1- of the 78 games being played on Saturday, 35 involve FCS teams, but remember, there were 6 FCS over FBS wins last week. Don’t fear though, there’s still some decent games on the schedule, here’s a few of them.
Saturday, September 11
Oregon @ Ohio State FOX 6:00 p.m.
Lost in the win over Minnesota last week was the fact that tOSU gave up 205 passing yards to the Gophers. This is a continuation of a problem from last season when they ranked 122nd against the pass. Oregon is likely better than they showed last week. I’m not quite ready to say they will win, but I think it will be closer than most people (and the 14 point spread) expect.
5 stars
Pittsburgh @ Tennessee ESPN 6:00 p.m.
The “Why aren’t these two teams better than they are” bowl. Maybe it’s just me, but I always feel like both of these teams should be better than they are. The Pitt D gave up only 42 yards rushing and had 5 sacks last week, and while this is not UMASS, I think that D is going to be the difference in this game. Pitt in a close one.
4 stars
Texas A&M @ Colorado FOX 9:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m.)
aTm turned the ball over 5 times last week against Kent State, which partially explains why the score was only 10-3 at the half. They wore the Golden Flash down in the second half, on the way to a 41-10 beatdown. I don’t think they turn it over 5 times again, but even 3 would put them in much more trouble than they were last week. This is another game where I think the spread is too big.
3 stars
Iowa @ Iowa State ABC 10:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m.)
This game is going to come down to which offense makes less mistakes, because the Ds are going to be good. Notdpb juniorette says eff Iowa, and that’s good enough for me. Cyclones in a close one.
4 stars
Texas @ Arkansas ESPN 1:00 a.m. (7:00 p.m.)
Might as well get your shots in on your new SEC friends early. Arkansas finished 102nd against the pass last year, and gave up 227 passing yards to Rice. Texas was #27 in passing offense last season. This is not a good combination. Texas by high single digits.
3 stars
Washington @ Michigan ABC 2:00 a.m.
Seriously Huskies, what the F was that? Just not acceptable. The D played pretty well, so the O just needs to play like they should and they’ll be fine. Michigan’s top receiver is out for the year, and they aren’t going to gain 335 yards rushing like they did against Western Michigan. On the other side, Michigan’s D is pretty good too. I just think that Washington will be better.
4 stars
Utah @ BYU ESPN 4:15 a.m.
Oh the Holy War. Utah has won 9 straight in this series, and 10-11, but these games are always fun, and always a fight. The Utah D line is huge, and will shut down the BYU offense, and the Utah O line will do enough to allow Utah to win comfortable.
3 stars
Note: No AFN games were harmed in the making of this post
Note 2.0: All times are CET