You have to like it...

When your running back can do this:

And your freshman (!) quarterback can do this:

For context on this hit, here's TP's comments after the game:

"I ran out of bounds the play before (at the end of a 21-yard gain) and then a (Minnesota) coach or somebody said, 'Why don't you put your head down and run somebody over instead of running out?' " Pryor said. "So I was thinking, 'OK if I get a chance, I'm going to do it.' "

The next play, the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Pryor dropped back to pass, felt pressure and took off around left end. As he looked upfield, bearing down on him was the 6-foot-1, 226-pound Sharpe.

"I was (thinking), 'All right, this is it right here. You're saying I can't lower my shoulder. I've got to prove that,' " he said.

In his mind, he wasn't just addressing the Gophers.

"I had been talking to him about it in recent weeks. He said he runs hard; I told him he runs soft," Ohio State tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells said. "So he told me he was going to run somebody over, and he did it."

Pryor said he remembered his teammate's chiding as he was sizing up Sharpe.

Awesome.

Sometimes nothing can be a pretty cool hand

This week's title comes in honor of one of the greatest actors of all time, Ohio's own Paul Newman. If you don't know the reference, then I don't know how we are friends.

But, it's also the week where teams made a lot of nothing look awfully cool- with 9 ranked teams losing, 6 to teams not in the polls at all, and with three of the top 5 taking a dive... it was that kind of week.

We started off by celebrating the annual U$C choke to a team they had no business loosing to (especially after a week and a half to prep). Next, we heard the collective "Thwack" of Arkansas fans hitting their foreheads as their former coach took Old Miss into the Swamp and beat number 4 Florida. Their pain was assuaged until kickoff of the 52-7 beatdown that Texas put on them. Jake, Emily, and "Abbie G" were present for an ugly Auburn win over the Volunteers, while Michael got to witness Oklahoma end TCU's hopes for an undefeated season.

It was nice of Georgia to dress for their own funeral, as the great Saban gave the #3 team in the country a beating of biblical preportions. The Badgers must have choked on a bratwurst, letting Mich1gAAn come back from a 19 point deficit to upset them. Perhaps they were looking ahead to next week's home game against tOSU; if so, they should look harder- this (3:15 in) is a lot slower than this (:44 in) will be. Penn State looked like the real deal against the Zooks, although the game was close until special teams miscues.

Maryland upset Clemson, unranked Navy defeated Wake Forest, East Carolina fell to Houston, and Notre Ame (yup, at this point they get the "O" back in their name) defeated the Boilermakers of Purdue. Nebraska dropped a heartbreaker to the Hokies, when their valient comeback fell short. Like the saying goes- they didn't lose as much as they ran out of time before the score was in their favor.

Some traditional punching bags rose up this week as well- Stanford won, Northwestern won, Duke rolled over Virginia, North Carolina defeated Miami on the road, and Vandy's win launched them to first place in the SEC East. Combined with the financial meltdown that our country is going through, you should be on the lookout for lower temperatures in certain locations.

This week's video clip actually comes from last week, and is the greatest catch I think I've ever seen.

To make up for it, here's an actual clip from this week- watch the punt return:

APU dropped a heartbreaker, losing 10-9 in spite of Chris Brown's second straight 100 yard game. The Ichabods needed a last second goal line stand to rise up against the Griffons (no, not them), and Anderson is still undefeated against "BYE". Didn't they beat UW earlier?

Speaking of cool- Cat had a pretty good week!
Not only did she have the highest points for the week, she's expanded her "orange and blue" wardrobe from Illinois to Pepperdine and now to the University of Florida. Because she's in the SEC now, she'll be that much faster at getting her picks in now.

Joe found a way to use his off week productively, while some of us were obviously bitten by whatever got into the top 10 this week.

Slight shift in the top of our group, as Cat's great week has pushed her up to the top 5.
And our Troll is not only under the bridge, he's close to being under the people who forgot to turn in scores for one week.
Next weeks' games include Auburn seeing if Vandy is for real, and the Buckeye's trip to Wisconsin for an aerobic class. Pelini shows how to stop the Missouri offense (he hopes), and U$C tries to rebound against Oregon. toOSU hosts aTm, and Notre Ame squares off against the Cardinal (of Stanford, not that one). Arkansas gets the priveledge of hosting Florida's attempt to rebound, while Kentucky challenges the new SEC king. UWillingham travels to Arizona with their QB in a cast to face the Wildcats, and the Sooners remind Baylor that they're still Baylor. There will be more spread in Ann Arbor than in the butter aisle, as Illinois travels to play the Wolverines.

Small schools: APU continues their three week road trip against Humbolt State, while Anderson hosts the Hanover Woody Harrelsons. To honor Paul Newman, this week we highlight the Lords of Kenyon College (where Newman played and was kicked off the team) as they travel to Carnegie Mellon University and square off against the Tartans.

Located in beautiful Gambier Ohio (population 600), Kenyon College is named for Lord Kenyon who (along with Lord Gambier) donated money to begin this institution to train episcopal clergy in the Ohio Frontier. They are a member of the "5 Colleges"- prestigious liberal arts institutions.

The Tartans (or Terriers?) are located in Pittsburgh, and represent an institution founded by Andrew Carnegie (wonder if he had any friends?). Famous commencement speakers include Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com) and Al Gore, while they have yet to invite the most obvious choice.

Leave it to Beavers

OSU 27, U$C 21

The problem? Wrong OSU. It was great to see a team actually run effectively against the Trojans, so it makes you wonder how much a healthy Beanie would have impacted the game.

The reality, though, is that this is so typical of Surfer Pete's teams- They are incredible in the big games, but always find a way to choke against some conference foe. Sound familiar?

So, I tip my hat to the men of Troy, and hope that they win out and pound either Oklahoma or an SEC team in Miami in January. And find some way to keep from choking in conference against tooOSU or Stanford or UCLA like they always seem to do.

Texas in the Rose Bowl, Oregon State two years ago, UCLA two years ago, Stanford last year... Shows a historic lack of focus.

And, before you think I've forgotten 35-3, let me remind you that I've also remembered that Ohio State has only had one season where they lost a game to an unranked team since 2002 (2004, lost to Northwestern, Iowa, and Purdue). Since then? Their losses have come to BCS Bowl teams, including to three eventual national champions.

So, what do we know? Well, there's a lot of football still to be played, but here are a couple of things:

• We're about to see the BS of the poll system in action. #1 U$C beats #5tOSU, and the Buckeyes fall 10 spots. Unranked Oregon State beats #1 U$C, so...
• Home field advantage is amazing, and any given team can beat any given team.
• The Transitive Property does not apply to football. State Penn pounded Oregon State, who beat U$C, who soundly defeated tOSU. So, no need to even play on the 25th, right?
• It's really difficult not to make inappropriate jokes about these two teams' mascots.
• It is possible to get pressure on Sanchez and to run the ball on Maualuga.
• I'm not going to the Rose Bowl. The only chance I had was that $outhern Cal would go to another bowl (most likely the Orange for the MNC) and a team from the Big 12, ACC, Big lEast, or SEC would be in Pasadena- making affordable tickets easy to get.

And there's a pretty good chance we're headed for another BCS meltdown.

Got to be honest, here

Kind of a boring day for college football. When the top teams either aren't challenged (I'm looking at you Arizona State) or aren't playing, it makes for a quiet morning.

Well, sure, I could have watched NC State trip up the East Carolina Media Darlings- whoops- "Pirates" and knock them out of the "BCS is BROKEN" debate. Or, I could have witnessed UCLA getting embarrassed at home by Arizona. Or Oregon joining the PAC-10's ineptitude against the MWC by dropping one to the WAC's finest. Alabama won the "coaches who said that they would be with their NFL teams, then breeched their contracts to go back to college football" game against Arkansas. I guess Saban had an advantage, since he didn't quit mid season.

Nope, still not all that interesting.

I could have watched a freshman QB set records in his first start for tOSU, or watched another hyped young QB get beaten up by Michigan State (2 interceptions, numerous sacks- OK, I did giggle and watch this one). At least they can keep part of their motto, right?

But when one of the premier games of the week was over by halftime, I knew it was going to be one of those days. Heck, even the mighty Ravens had things under control as they rolled to a 47-14 victory. Husson was also victorious against mighty Norwich.

Yawn...

But then came the night lights. LSU broke the streak of "home team wins" with last second heroics against Auburn. APU managed to thwart any attempts by Wisconsin-LaCrosse to steal away a victory with goal line stands and a last second field goal effort purged by a powerful rush. Great way to end a day on a crescendo.

And, after it all cleared away, we find our second consecutive perfect week of picks!!
Great job, Terp. I'm not sure at all what happened to Emily, Amanda, and Doug- Thoughts, guys?
Terry and Steve ended up tied, but Terry did it with fewer wins. Nice work- just think what would happen if you ever really retired.

Here's where we are overall.
Triumverate of victory at the top, while the battle for "people who've forgotten to turn in their scores" (AKA the Scott Strawn Award) tightens up near the bottom.
Real conversation I had with Carrie yesterday-

"Wow- I'm at the bottom of the Shike pile now... "
"Well, you're not a Shike anymore, so if it helps you're also at the bottom of the Strawn pile"
"....."

Yeah. It's comfy at our new apartment.

This week the games get more exciting (we hope). Big T1e1n play kicks off with tOSU and Minnesota (you betcha), while Indiana looks to rebound from their in-state loss to the David Lettermans by hosint Javon Ringer and the Spartans. Mich1gAAn meets Wisconsin, in a game that won't be pretty at the end. Arkansas finally gets to play Texas, although they may pray for another large storm to delay the inevitable. Jake, Emily, and Abbie Jane will be in Auburn to see the War Tigers host the "How bad are they?" Tennessee Volunteers. U$C comes back from their well deserved rest to play tooOSU, and Ntre Ame will try to beat a Big T1e1n school as they host the Boilermakers (and hopefully not drink them- although that would explain the haircut). TCU tries to hold off the Sooners, while the Zooks travel to Happy Valley to be the first team with a pulse that State Penn will play this year. Another great SEC matchup sees the Sabans traveling to meet the Bulldogs- kind of a Charlie Daniels theme, there. The Huskers and the Hokies get together- Corn and turkeys; this will probably be messy. APU travels to Wisconsin to play UW Steven's Point (...and your point would be?), while the Ravens return home to face the dreaded "bye".

Our Small School highlight of the week (brought to you by my mom's magic cookie squares until I can find a corporate sponsor) is a Division 2 awkward mascot matchup, and finds the Ichabods hosting the Griffons. Washburn University in Topeka Kansas takes their mascot's name from their founder, which is really dissappointing given what I was hoping for. They are, however, cheered on by their fan base- the "Bod Squad".

The mightly Grifoins of Missouri Western State just dropped a heartbreaker to the Pittsburg (KS) Gorillas, another mascot favorite hereabouts. Hailing from St. Joseph's Missouri (home of the Pony Express), they are not afraid to tell you what they are proud about. Interestingly enough, their (mispelled) mascot is part eagle and part lion, and comes from the mythology of Greece, Persia, Egypt, and other near eastern cultures.

Hmm... Part large cat, part eagle. Where have we heard that before?

Man of my word

I think it burned my skin...
the one positive note? I do have John David Booty (#10) on my fantasy football team.

Please keep all comments about "Booty" and "fantasy" to yourself, thankyouverymuch.

Had a bad day

Yeah, even though I knew it was probably going to happen, it still hurts when it does.

I mean, Anderson losing 52 to 17? To DePauW? Yikes. The only thing worse happened when APU lost 75 to 13, but at least that was against the number 6 team in NCAA Division two.

(note- you want to talk about tough schedules? I believe that the first 7 teams APU plays are top ten in either the NAIA or NCAA Division 2 or 3)

Oh, and that other thing? I'm still processing. Thanks for asking.

Even though this is from a different game, this is how I felt most of yesterday evening. Stay with the video until the close up with his helmet off to get the full effect.

Oh well, it could have been worse.

Is it wrong for me to giggle a bit when I watch that?

Not everyone had a bad day, though- Former Husker Turner Gill's Buffaloes seemed to feel pretty chipper yesterday:

And I wish that I had ever had a time in my life where I felt like this Iowa coach.

Other folks were also successful- Illinois defeated what's left of Louisiana Monroe, and Nebraska squeaked by New Mexico State. Ntre Ame won the "cripple fight" when Mich1gAAn's six turnovers led to an insurmountable lead. The second version of the "battle of the bottom" saw Baylor defeat the Cougs of WSU. And speaking of anemic- Auburn 3, Mississippi State 2? Good thing the Tigers' shortstop made that diving catch in the ninth, huh? TCU pounded Stanford, who must have thought that the LHC's activation would end the world; thus negating the need to practice. Number 2 Georgia handed "The old ball coach" his sixth straight SEC loss, while Oklahoma pounded UW and looked like the team to play U$C in Miami. Our small college highlight: Mars Hill defeated St. Augustine's 34-17. Hooray.

Like I said, not everything was bad. For instance:

Cat posted the first perfect week of the season! Great work, especially since she was away from her computer at a conference.

Oh, and those of you who picked tOSU... Thanks. That's cute.I think that Paula forgot that there's more to football than just Arkansas- just because the UA/UT game was postponed, we're still doing the picks, sunshine.

A couple of movers near the top of our picks rankings...
While the points totals haven't shifted much (with the exception of Cat making a big jump up).

So, this week, what happens. APU returns home to play the University of Wisconsin-LaCross, and Anderson tries to rebound against the "Fighting Quakers" of Earlham college (awesome nickname). Nebraska gets ready to start the regular season, as the prep for Virginia Tech in a bye week. U$C also has another bye week (one of three this season), and tOSU looks to beat someone nicknamed the Trojans this season as Troy comes to Columbus (along with a healthy dose of quarterback controversy). Arkansas squares off against the Great Satan/Saban, and TCU gets their first look at June Jones' SMU offensive prowess. The Fighting Zooks also have a bye this week, and will probably be watching Ntre Ame and Michigan State or Tennessee and Florida or LSU and Auburn. Can you blame them? Big cross conference game of the week is Georgia traveling (what? an SEC School traveling for a non-conference game? Wow...) to Arizona State.

The Obscure Game of the Week- Division Three's Husson Eagles traveling to play the Cadets of Norwich. Located in northern New England, Husson prides itself in preparing students for "real world success". Unlike, say, other institutions which only hope their students will thrive in imaginary realms. Although, given that they're located in Bangor Maine, perhaps they are trying to distinguish themselves from that cities most famous resident.

Norwich University is a former military academy whose corps of cadets still anchors their campus community. It was the first private military school in the United States, and was the template for all ROTC programs used nationwide. Their ridiculously vague guiding principal is "Tradition of Innovation". Ummm... isn't innovation the opposite of tradition? You know, trying something new is not the same as doing what we've always done?

But then again, I wasn't smart enough to go there, so what do I know.

***Sigh***

Let's recap, shall we?

If the offensive line can protect Todd Boeckman... Nope, although he would throw from his back foot even if he didn't get any pressure.
If the running game is effective enough to keep USC honest...At times, but not after 14-5
If Beanie is healthy enough to help in that effort... Nope
If the WRs can get separation against man coverage... Big Nope- the way to beat OSU is play man or man free and bring the sink at Boeckman.
If the offensive gameplan looks more creative than the past few big games... At the start, but not after 14-3
If the defensive front 4 can get pressure on Sanchez... In the first quarter- after that, Nope
If the DBs can play man coverage without issue... I actually didn't see any problems here- Check
If the defense can force turnovers, and the offense can convert into points... Nope
If the defensive gameplan looks more creative than the past few big games... Not too bad, but not too good
If it's a low scoring game, we win. If not, well... You know the rest.

Last time (and yes, there were last time) I wrote.

This year, though, was different. This year, Ohio State stood toe to toe with one of the two teams that played in New Orleans. Problem is, the other one beat them...But, like I said, they could have played with LSU but they couldn't beat themselves as well.

This goes double for today. There were so many drives stopped by stupid penalties, that I had to check to see if it was indeed our mostly senior offensive line on the field (yes, unfortunately). While a lot of people also point to the Pac 10 officials, I simply say that great players play greatly in big games.

And that didn't happen.

So, I tip my hat to the men of Troy, and hope that they win out and pound either Oklahoma or an SEC team in Miami in January. And find some way to keep from choking in conference against tooOSU or Stanford or UCLA like they always seem to do.

And in case you forgot- Michigan still sucks.

On 9.13.08

If the offensive line can protect Todd Boeckman...
If the running game is effective enough to keep USC honest...
If Beanie is healthy enough to help in that effort...
If the WRs can get separation against man coverage...
If the offensive gameplan looks more creative than the past few big games...
If the defensive front 4 can get pressure on Sanchez...
If the DBs can play man coverage without issue...
If the defense can force turnovers, and the offense can convert into points...
If the defensive gameplan looks more creative than the past few big games...
Then I think Ohio State has a good chance against USC.

It's a lot of "ifs", though... One final one:

If it's a low scoring game, we win. If not, well...

Go Bucks.

"... they teach you to be a better man"

Today's quote is about all you can get in terms of bulletin board material from tOSU prior to the big game on Saturday. Let me give it to you in context-

"As I took my visit to USC, I'm like, 'How are they successful? They're not even serious about the game,'" Small said. "Before the game, they're all going crazy. Me and Rob Rose was on the visit and I'm looking like, 'Wow.' And then the coach said, 'You better get out of here. It's about to get hectic.'

"And then I come (to Columbus) on the visit and before the game, it's all quiet, everybody getting taped, coaches talking. It's the total opposite."

"Here at Ohio State, they teach you to be a better man," Small said. "There, it's just all about football."

You know how I feel about coaches, and how important they are in the life of a young adult. You should also know how I feel about my favorite program- three expectations (if I, as a fan, am allowed to have any):

1. Run a clean program (both from the NCAA and legal perspective)
2. Graduate players, or provide them the opportunity to get a job (go pro)
3. Beat Michigan (1-11 is something I can live with, as long as that one win is the one that matters).

So, to hear an athlete (especially one that's been in the coach's doghouse) talk about their experience helping them be a better man strikes me as a great thing.

But, there's more.

You may know that the coach in question wrote a book that was published this summer by Tyndale press (a Christian publishing house. But you may not know that this faith-first philosophy has inspired a number of his charges, including Butkus Award winner James Laurinaitis. Even ESPN noticed his choice of wrist band ("I am grateful"), but didn't talk about the message on the other side ("Thank you God").

Those are also a great story, a great testimony to right priorities.

Am I naive enough to think that tOSU has somehow become God's team (seen that before),and that everyone is has come to faith? No, but it is good to know that you don't have to compromise success and faith, that it does make a difference in important ways, and that it happens more than we hear about.

"Charlie, here comes the deuce..."

"... and when you speak of me, speak well."

Wow. What a week of heartburn across the college football landscape. This week, we saw some scares and some firsts; let's get to it.

• tOSU remains State Champs of Ohio, but just barely. The fighting Soliches put the fear of Woody into the #3 Buckeyes, and started the "The Sky Is Falling" season in Ohio just a bit earlier than usual. At least they weren't the only one, since...
  
• The rest of the Big T1e1n also struggled against the MAC- Wisconsin, Illinois both were trailing to their sub-par competition. On the brighter side, if the NCAA goes ahead with my idea, it should be pretty easy to add a MAC school to some conferences and not lose a beat.
• Mich1gAAn struggled as well, but to Miami. Of Ohio. Yeah, it's going to be that type of year... couldn't happen to a nicer program or coach.
• Speaking of Miami, they also pushed the Gators to a full game. It's nice to see that whatever the Buckeyes were dealing with was contagious. However, Florida's struggles helped them move up in the polls, while tOSU fell two spots. Ah well...
• In happier news- the Blackshirts are back, scoring on an interception return and a kick return.
• Vandy handed the Spurriers a loss for the second straight year. The only thing better would have been if Ntre Ame would have lost.
• They didn't, but struggled against a San Diego State team which lost to 1AA Cal Poly SLO. The only pretty thing about it was a certain double awesome QB's hair, which led to his new nickname: "Pickles"
• TCU beat up on Stephen F. Austin, which sounds like it should be a really bad sitcom writer.
• The HAWGs did what Alabama couldn't, beating Lousiana Monroe.
• toOSU kept it close with Houston for a half, before Caleb went down with a hamstring injury and needed a nap.
• tooOSU didn't even bother to show up against State Penn.
  
• Northwestern won the "Braniac" bowl, beating Duke 24-20. Next up, MIT.
• Speaking of things from the Northwest, this weeks' video is the controversial ending to the bYu/UW game. The call was right, but it's a shame that the Pac-10 officials couldn't look past the emotion of the moment. Especially since this may end up costing Ty his job...
  
• An apology is in order: I jinxed the Ravens, who dropped a close one to the Taylor Trojans. Hopefully this isn't a harbinger of future games where my favorite teams play Trojans.
• Curry needed overtime to outlast Worcester, and APU's efforts ended up as expected.
  

For our group, another introduction is necessary, and we welcome Doug Loeser, our lone Mountain West representative. This season he decided to get his missed week out of the way early, but came back with a vengeance.
Speaking of "forgetful", Dan was so overwhelmed by the Huskies' loss that he didn't get his picks in for the first time in the history of our league. At his defense, there are a lot more important things happening in his life right now.
We ended up with a bigger spread on points than we did on picks. Just shows that it's not just how you bet, but how much you wager. Also shows that Jordy may be making a trip to Vegas as a "fund raising initiative" for the office.

Overall, a familiar face has climbed to the top of our points group.
And another is perched at the pinnacle of the week two picks total.
Dan, you and Doug combined would be 15-5... you two should talk.

There are a couple of big games this week, so correct picks will be a premium. Anderson looks to rebound against De PauW, and APU travels to Texas for another "contest". Nebraska hosts New Mexico State, and we get a top 20 matchup on Friday with Kansas traveling to South Florida for the running of the Bulls. The Hawgs renew their Southwest Conference rivalry against Texas, and Illinois now welcomes hurricane surviors. Auburn's Tigers/War Eagles open SEC play against one of the few African American coaches in the NCAA, while one of the others faces yet another nightmare as Oklahoma travels to Seattle. East Carolina's Pirates travel to Tulane, while TCU hosts the brainiacs of Stanford. Other than that nothing of any significance.

Unless you count the "I hope you both lose" game where Michi1gAAn travels to Ntre Ame. Seriously, can we get a sinkhole or a swarm of locusts or something? Perhaps the LHC can open up a black hole around South Bend when it fires up on the 10th.

Did I forget anything? Right- the small schools game of the week. This week Mars Hill travels to St. Augustine's for the Theological Tilt of the week. No, it's not that Mars Hill. The Lions of Mars Hill hail from Western North Carolina, and are inspired by the panoramic views of the Craggies, Clingman's Peak, and Mount Pisgah. Named after the famous site of St. Paul's discourse and located on it's original site, MHC's Baptist roots have led the nation inliberal arts education and clog dancing. The Falcons of St. Augustine's (the hippos would have been funnier) have only been playing anew since 2002,and represent an Episcopal university formed for the purpose of educating freed slaves. Notable alumni include the Cleveland Brown's Alex Hall (tough week this week) and the famous Delany sisters. The institution is also named for one of the most influential figures in early Christianity and Western thought, whose famous quote ("Love the sinner and hate the sin") still challenges us today.

Anything else I'm missing? Anything important? Probably not.

Take USC and give the points. More on this later.

Amen

Someone sent this to me today:

It's nice to know that people "get me".