FORE!!!

Well, the SEC , Pac 10, and Big T1e1N opened up their conference seasons this week, and there were a few surprises in big games.

Georgia continued their road excellence, going to Alabama and handing Nick Saban his first SEC defeat (of many, we hope). T. Boone Pickins University (also known as toOSU) helped lead a defensive clinic against the Pirates of Vince Gill. aTm had a less than happy visit to Miami, while Illinois beat up on a team who's coach died this year (stay classy, Zook). Kentucky beat Arkansas without going to overtime, which is nice, given their history. LSU pounded the Gamecocks and "the Ol' Ball Coach", using a play from Spurrier's plan in the process:

"Click, clack" indeed.

UW didn't rebound against UCLA, and proved the "there's no D in the Pac 10" argument. Also in the Pac, Stanford put 31 points up against Oregon, something Mich1gAAn couldn't do.

Speaking of "Big Blue", that team up north handed it to formally #10 Penn State for the ninth straight time. Folks, as long as they don't play a spread team for the rest of the year, Mich1gAAn is back. Oh, and let's see... if Michigan owns Pennsylvania, and Ohio owns Michigan, that means... Yup, Florida owns Pennsylvania (Right Brian?). Speaking of the Gators, they toyed with Ol' Miss, but ultimately the Tebow juggernaut was way too much.

Now onto the surprises of the week... Syracuse proved that there's no D in Louisville either, with the biggest upset in Big East history. I read somewhere that a Cardinal DB went to a cheerleader after the game for a consoling hug, only to have her slip his grip and run for 40 yards.

Surprise number two was the Nebraska debacle. For perspective on the near loss to Ball State, here's a bit of trivia- the Cardinals' university is named after the Ball family, the same folks who make those glass canning jars that so many Nebraska farmers use to put their crops away. It may be a loooooong season, Husker faithful... At least you have one guarantee.

Surprise number three was the 400 yards that Brevard Tornadoes hung on the Chowan Hawks. 28 first half points- Wow, that's a lot of offense...

But not as much as tOSU's 45 first half points, which was surprise number four. We knew that Northwestern was struggling this year, but come on. Robiskie had three catches for 3 touchdowns. And our favorite defensive end had two sacks and a touchdown. But the game highlight was the introductions- I hope to have video up later this week of the Buckeyes being called out by "The Animal".

Surprise number five... Notre Lame scored a touchdown! Let the saints rejoice... Before the game, there was a sign at Gameday that said "Rushing yards: Notre Dame -18, Me 0". Now I can finally purchase this awesome book and request to be Charlie's friend... Oh, and they still lost. "Hey, emu- Knock Knock" "Who's there?" "Owen" "Owen who?" "O and four"

Final surprises... That we had 5 people pick the Connecticut upset of Pittsburgh, and that Paula ended up with the win for the week! Great work, PG... Hopefully it'll be motivation for you not to miss another chance.

Will would have gotten the picks in, but his daddy changed the password again (something about online spending at Baby's R Us). Nice to see some new faces at the top of the list, while perennial leaders Dan and Michael are at the bottom of it all.

Carrie continues to impress, even being the only one who picked Mich1gAAn over Penn State- "I always feel sorry for Joe Pa." Doug started strong, but faded at the end.
Still Strawns and Shikes at the top, but Aaron is creeping up... In the Picks realm, both he and Amanda are making a run at the title- but there's a huge clump at 26-14 ...For next week, Anderson, Auburn, and Vanderbilt return to the gridiron, against Mt. St. Joe, Florida, and Eastern Michigan, respectively (who do you think has a tougher game?). The Buckeyes travel to Minnesota to play Hayden Fox's Screaming Eagles, and Nebraska plays a team that actually LOST to a MAC school. Arkansas meets North Texas (Mean Green!!), and the Aggies host the Baylor Bears (be nice...). Coach Ty tries his best against U$C, and Sam "How-ston" State travels to TBPU. The Nittany Lions travel to Champaign, and Mich1gAAn tries to see if they can win yet another of their 8 home games. The big game of the week is either Cal at Oregon or Notre Dame going for their fifth loss against Purdue.

In obscure football news... This week's game is the Sul Ross State Lobos traveling to meet Howard Payne Yellow Jackets. Hailing from Texas, these two Division 3 (Whoops, Football "Actually going to class" Subdivision) schools both have interesting heritages. Howard Payne was founded by the Pecan Valley Baptist association, and have faculty who have published a text on "Right to Die" ideologies. Let's hope they aren't on the sports medicine staff as well. Sul Ross State was initially founded as a "normal" college for teacher's education. However, they're known more recently for being the home to the oldest college football player in America, 59 year old Mike Flynt. A grandfather and AARP member, Flynt plays linebacker for the Lobos.

And I'm not bringing this up because someone's turning 65 soon. Not at all.