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.