Shatter-Day

Every season, there's one or two weeks that just screw up everything. From the Vegas lines, to the "pundit's choices", to alumni plans for Bowl Game Tailgating, and even the coaching hot seats get impacted by what actually manifests on the fields of play.

Welcome to that week. Be it the weather, the injuries, the flu, whatever- some astounding and amazing stuff happened over the past few days.

The top teams all continue to cruise along, with the exception of Florida who lost their Heisman Trophy fullback that throws the ball to one of the poorest pieces of blocking I've ever seen:



Up 31-7 late in the third quarter, you have to wonder why Tebow (who also suffered with the flu all week) was even in the game. Sure, the Gators won, but at what cost? At least they're not Baylor, who lost their all-amazing QB to injury on Saturday.

Alabama and Texas rolled, so there's really nothing to talk about there. But number 4 Mississippi either completely spit the bit against the Old Ball Coach (emphasis on "old", as in "formerly good"), or revealed that their ranking was based on the smoke and mirrors of a bowl win against a not very good TTU team.

Then, number 5 State Penn went down against Iowa for the second straight year. This time, at home in a game characterized by sloppy fourth quarter play: The six possessions that PSU had in the second half included 4 turnovers, a blocked punt, and a blown field goal. What did we learn in unHappy Valley? Either 1) Scheduling cupcakes may not be a healthy diet, 2) The Hawkeyes have got the Lions figured out, 3) PSU might want to rethink the whole "white out" idea, since it's not a guarantee and may add more pressure, 4) If you decide to go to the "white out" in a costume, be prepared to look like an idiot on national tv.

Rolling right along, number 6 Cal got absolutely worked by the Oregon Knights. As one Cal fan said to me on Saturday- "looks like we started our late season collapse a bit early... you know, to get it out of the way." Good thinking, that. What's ironic is that for once, the Ducks didn't have the ugliest uniforms in the Pacific Northwet. Perhaps they should stick with the classic look; and perhaps the Seahawks should fire whoever came up with those monstrosities. Fire them with real fire.

Number seven LSU needed a late game goal-line stand to hold off Mississippi State, and number 8 Boise State cruised. Number nine Miami dropped an ACC tilt against Virginia Tech- I guess discussions of their resurgence were a bit premature, no? Number ten was idle, and we've covered number 11 VaTach. U$C took vengeance on all things Washington by pounding the 'Cougs. We'll get to lucky number 13 in a bit- fourteenth ranked Cincinnati and fifteenth ranked TCU both squeaked by their unranked opponents. Number sixteen TBPU destroyed the school of one of my favorite coaches, while Houston earned their number seventeen ranking with a win over Texas Tech (great coaching hire). Elsewheres in the top 25, Georgia held off unranked Arizona State in Tempe and North Carolina fell to Georgia Tech.

Other "interesting" games- Notre Ame needed to rally to beat Purdue (!), Washington proved that it couldn't keep the momentum going by dropping to Stanford, and Mich1gAAn needed some serious home cooking from the officials to ensure a victory over Indiana.

You read that right, the Hoosiers almost beat TTUN in Ann Arbor. I really hope their QB can hold up until November.

Soo... let's talk a bit about the number 300. Saturday marked the three hundreth consecutive sell out at Nebraska, a feat that dates back to 1962. That's a ton of games, as the Sullivans can attest. The Huskers/Bugeaters celebrated with cool throwback uniforms and by beating the stuffing out of the Ragin Cajuns of Louisiana Lafayette. Best quote about the streak? "Congratulations, Nebraska fans, for preserving the lone streak Steve Pederson and Bill Callahan couldn’t destroy" Here's to 300 more, Husker fans.

But that wasn't the only 300 on Saturday- Ohio State's Jim Tressel marked his 300th game as the Buckeyes squared off against the Fighting (kinda') Zooks of Illinois, in the battle for the ugly turtle. Tressel entered the game 220-77-2 and left the game 221-77-2, after #13 Ohio State handed a 30-0 (300?) beating to the Illini. It was a game that saw a bit of everything- a tribute to Woody (0 passing yards in the first half), going for it on fourth and goal (late in the game, too...), and defensive lineman Doug Worthington attempting to fly.

Whatever weirdness was in the air even carried over to the small schools as well- Azusa Pacific won 23-7 over the Pointers of Wisconsin Stevens-Point, with a 53 yard field goal and a defensive shut out (UWSP's score came off a returned fumble). Anderson continued it's dominance of BYE, and SNU fell in the battle of the Nazarenes. Tuskegee was triumphant in the Gateway Classic, while Wartburg easily handled Loras at home.

In our league, one name stood above all others. Steve, I put a hat on just so I could take it off to you... only missing two games on a week like this one is nothing short of phenomenal.

Things of note: Jeff decided to show up (sort of), and we've got our first 2-8 of the season. Only 6 of our 25 were above .500 for the week. Wow.

Ah, lucky number 13, right Matt? Dan makes up for a crappy week watching Penn State by leaping into second place in weekly points...
and into a tie for first in the points total. Good work, man.

Is it wrong of me to be happy that the Mich1gAAn fans and the U$C fans are near the bottom? It is? Rats. Meanwhile, the person I live with is in first place- I think she's having our daughter help her.

Coming this week: Conference games continue, as LSU and Georgia kick off the SEC in earnest. Cal tries to rebound against U$C, and Indiana hosts the Buckeyes. The first annual "nicknames that make me giggle" game as Mich1gAAn and MAChigan State square off. "It's Ty Willingham's Fault"- Washington travels to Notre Ame. War Tiger rolls into Rocky Top, and OU heads to the sunny beaches of Miami. Illinois hosts Penn State, Nebraska is off, and TCU welcomes SMU.

Small schools: Anderson returns to action against the Woody Harrelsons of Hanover College; APU welcomes the squid of Humbolt State; and SNU faces off against tasty, tasty Bacone.

Obscure game of the week: We visit the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for a splendid match-up of valiant foes. Westminster College travels from Fulton Missouri to face Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence Kansas.

The Blue Jays of Westminster have much to be proud about- their athletic legacy includes Hank Iba and Bake McBride. In addition, the campus has seen numerous dignitaries visit, including Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Margaret Thatcher. Ironically, Churchill famously gave his "Iron Curtain" speach at Westminster, and Reagan, Thatcher, and Gorbachev worked in their own ways to tear it down in the 80s and 90s. This year's big symposium on world health is entitled "World Health- Who Cares?". Yeah, it's a much more relaxed climate nowadays.

Founded in 1884, HINU has been providing educational opportunities for Native Americans and Native Alaskans for over one hundred years. While the Haskell team boasts an obvious mascot/nickname, I think they're missing a heck of an opportunity here. I'm sure the Haskell's are way too polite for that, though.

You don't say...

Big "news" today... seems that our friends in the NC2A respond more harshly to violations from teams outside of the BC$.

Huh. I never would have guessed that the NCAA might be impacted by money and television.

Nope, never saw that coming at all.

Avast!!!!

Arrr, yesterday's games fell on the national holiday o' "Talk Like a Pirate Day". Should we be surprised, then, that the upset o' the day happened at a place whar people show up in boats? Ahoy, and it warn't the team that we expected t' see success.

In Piratey news, East Carolina lost to North Carolina. Great Neptune's mandibles!!

Ok, that's enough.

But, like TLAPD, the U$C choke to an unranked conference team should become a national holiday, since it happens more frequently than leap year. And given that 5 of the last 6 of these losses have come on the road in the Northwet, there must be something more significant going on. Perhaps the Curse of DB Cooper or something.

Nevertheless, the Trojan Tragedy has sent ripples throughout the college football world. In Los Angeles, fingers are pointing at Surfer Pete, asking again why the coach is unable to keep his team focused. Granted, the starting QB and safety were banged up, but given U$C's deep pockets of five star talent you'd think they'd be able to beat a team that was 1-15 in their last sixteen games. A team of young men recruited by Ty Willingham. Hmmm... where have we heard that before?

While a post game let-down is to be expected, it didn't hamper Ohio State who headed to Cleveland and shut out the #5 team in NCAA offense. Toledo, fresh off of their clown stomping of Colorado, was held to 210 total yards and 13 yards rushing. Ohio State's rebound included 370 yards of offense from "Lebron in Cleats". Mich1gAAn fans? That's how you beat Toledo.

To celebrate the "Mistake by the Lake" and the Ohio State recovery, the AP poll decided to drop USC from 3 to 12, and bump tOSU from 11 to... 13. The Buckeyes were jumped by Chokelahoma, who took care of Tulsa on Saturday. However, the team that handed OU their loss got pummeled at home; BYU lost 54-28 to Free Shoes University. And yet, the Sooners didn't suffer due to the loss of the team that beat them... This, among other things, is the reason that we need to do away with polls until October.

Around the mid-west, Mich1gAAn managed to cruise against a directional school after struggling in the first half. Notre Ame was the beneficiary of back to back boneheaded decisions by MAChigan State's sophomore QB, first overthrowing a wide open receiver in the end zone, then sealing the game with an interception at or near the endzone. Penn State continued their "Hosting Hostess" tour, although they did allow Temple to score on their vaunted defense.

SEC action witnessed Auburn holding off the weather and WVa (rats- a burning couch goes great with rain), Arkansas falling to Georgia in a shootout, Calipari's scandal defeating Pitino's scandal, and Florida eventually getting around to beating Tennessee in the "our orange is uglier than yours" festival. MSU beat Vandy (really?), and LSU squashed some other team from Cajunland. Old Miss and Alabama combined for 105 points in their wins.

The Huskers lost a well fought road game against a very good Hokie team in the final minutes. True conversation between my beloved and I: Her- "Wow, it's such a tough loss when you're winning the whole game and then it falls apart in the last seconds". Me- "I wouldn't know what that was like at all."

Other Big 12 action: Rice couldn't stick to TBPU, Kansas State blew their one chance to shine in the Rose Bowl, Colorado won while Baylor fell to UConn, Rock Chalk pounded the Cameron Crazies, and the Pirate Cap'n missed out on an opportunity to do Blackbeard proud.

On the Left Coast, toOSU played football from Ohio with predictable results, Washington State won (I know, right?), and Oregon unveiled yet another hideous ensemble in their upset of the Utes. Cal's Jahvid Best looked to be just that against a chippy Minnesota Team opening their new stadium. Arizona evened the "Big T1e1n Pac Ten challenge" at one each by falling to Iowa.

Elsewheres- TCU continues to roll, Syracuse beat Northwestern in this week's "They have football teams?" bowl, and Pepperdine remains undefeated. Oh, and this has to be the worst idea of the week- UCF has a tribute planned for the African American members of Buffalo's 1958 team, who rejected a bid to the Tangerine Bowl because their darker hued teammates weren't allowed to play. Coincidentally, UCF also scheduled a "White Out" for that date, and asked their fans to come dressed in all white. Good thinking.

Small schools update: Anderson allowed the Pacifists to outfight them 37-34, Azusa Pacific fell for the fourth straight week (what is it with LA teams and schools from Washington?), while the Crimson Storm won with a last second field goal (Husky-esque). Bacone got fried by Howard Payne, 56-7.

In "the league", we had a couple of Strawns within one point of a perfect game! Unhappily, neither of them were me.

Yeah, she gets top billing. What of it? Trojan tragedy abounds, as Jordy's scores fall off the earth. Paula misses yet another game... look, would it help if your dogs were involved?

A lot of folks with one miss, and it looks like I was the only one to whiff on the Iowa win.

Carrie rises to the top of the group, bumping Aaron after a two week reign. Must be the time with Owen, huh?

There's a wide open race in the picks portion of the league, including Matt and Dan, two of our new players. Dan, you know this kind of thing is reflected on your performance review, right?

This week's games include a double dip of Chuck and Cat- Ohio State/Illinois and Kentucky/Florida (if they're healthy enough to show up). Mich1gAAn hosts Indiana, and Kansas welcomes Bret Favrere's alma mater. Cal and Oregon square off, Nebraska gets whatever's left from LSU's blowout, and the marquee game is Miami and Va Tech in a Big lEast showdown. Texas plays UTEP, TBPU welcomes Eddie Robinson's school, and TCU travels to Clemson. Washington faces off against Stanford, while the Cougs get to be the rebound team for U$C. Notre Ame has to face a Purdon't team that just lost to a MAC team... That's not going to end well.

Elsewheres- Southern Nazarene travels all the way up to Chicago to play Olivet Nazarene, while Anderson gets a well deserved bye. APU welcomes another Wisconsin team to the beautiful smog and sunsets of Los Angeles.

Obscure game of the week: We again highlight the Division Two clash between two HBC schools- the Thoroughbreds of Kentucky State and the Golden Tigers of Tuskegee. Located in the state capital (no, it's not Lexington or Louisville) of Frankfort Kentucky, the Thorobreds call home a beautiful campus that was established in 1890 to prepare teachers to benefit the Commonwealth. As the 13th president of KSU, Dr. Mary Evans Sias has seen technology expand the campus boundaries and connect more students with the vision of the institution: "Inspiring Innovation. Growing Leaders. Advancing Kentucky"

Founded by the great Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee has a vast history that most Americans should be aware of. From the work of George Washington Carver (a funnier take can be read here) to the Tuskegee Airmen's dedication during World War II, members of the Tuskegee community have served their nation in ways that often have been overlooked.

No mention of pirates, though...

Words of wisdom

I rarely do this, but I wanted to give a quick bit of insider information for folks who may be... uhh... "investing" in this week's slate of football games.

Texas is favored against Texas Tech. However, it's being played on a very significant date.

Remember who'll be on the sidelines for the Raiders.

Ye be warned...

Second and Long

What started out as a drab week for college football ended up setting the bar high for the rest of the season. Sure, there were the blow outs (Seriously, Florida? Charleston Southern and then Troy?), but the fireworks of a couple of big games in addition to some upsets made me long even more for Panny or Sammy.

First, I've got to admit that it hurt me last week to take the MAC out of TTUN's nickname. It was, in my opinion, quite humorous. So, I was ecstatic to see the the Spartans choked against Central Michigan's Chippewas, allowing me to call them MAChigan State for the rest of the year! Hooray!

In another life, I made jokes about the "horrors" of swine flu, and how it was the "crisis of the moment" during a slow summer news cycle. Well, "not so fast, my friend..." Wisconsin was one of the many institutions who are dealing with outbreaks this fall. Yet they managed to overcome the swine and the Bulldogs of Fresno State in two overtimes.

In the "oh, crap- here's one more thing I'm going to have to hear about" game of the week, UCLA and Slick Neuheisel traveled to Rocky Top and knocked off the Volunteers and their extravagantly paid coaching staff. I was actually hoping it would end in a tie, since the first tiebreaker would be "fastest to a NCAA violation". It was a game worth talking about... too soon?

Well, I've put it off long enough- Number 5 Oklahoma State fell to Houston. Michael, you had to be torn on this one; The college that's named after your family beating your favorite squadron? I guess being a man doesn't carry the weight that it used to. With this, and Choklahoma, and Texas struggling, is the Big 12 experiencing a down year?I wonder what the "Fighting T Boone Pickins" loss says about Georgia, last week's toOSU victim?

Well, we know that, even with a QB's strained shoulder the Dawgs could beat the 'ol ball coach. Remember when Spurrier used to win big games? Yeah, me neither.

State Penn handled Syracuse easily- somehow, Paulus couldn't get the "charging" calls like he used to. UW WON A GAME! Of football!! Texas struggled with Wyoming, but then blew it open. Mizzou struggled with Bowling Green (I'm not sure MACzzou has the same ring to it). Nebraska hammered Arkansas State. Vandy scared LSU, UNC squeaked by UConn (I think that was played on a basketball court... I'll check and get back to you), and Auburn owned the Bulldogs. The Fighting Zooks bounced back against ISU, and the Kansas State rebuilding process is still looking for parts to rebuild with. The Manginos defeated UTEP, and TCU made this happen to Virginia:

And now, the marquee matchups of the week:
Congratulations are in order to the Mich1gAAn Wolverines- they played a marvelous game and took advantage of the opportunities given them in their upset of "national championship contender" Notre Ame. Freshman quarterback Tate Forcier made things happen when the game was on the line, and proved that the decision to start him was one of Rodriguez' smarter moves.

That being said, and me being who I am- here are other observations:
It's official- Charlie Weiss is an idiot. With time running out in the game, and Mich1gAAn clinging to their last two time outs, he chooses two consecutive passing plays which (after falling flat) stop the clock. 4CA even said as much- TTUN having those two time outs left allowed them to drive for the winning score (Unfortunately, I'm about to revisit this in in three paragraphs or so) .This has been your weekly "Charlie Weiss is an offensive genius" reminder, brought to you by Ty Willingham.

Mach1gAAn looks good, but still has major concerns in their secondary. I'm convinced that "Cissoko" is Latin for "Feel free to throw deep on me". If quarterback Pickles has the arm that he's supposed to, this game ain't close.

Also, be aware that the Wolverines played very well, but there's a reason that we spell it "Ntre Ame". Not exactly known for their defensive prowess.

The Shoedown in the 'Shoe ended as most tOSU games against big programs did, with a loss to a top 5 team. I'll be talking a lot more about this on thebuckeyebattlecry.com (shameless plug), but let me say that Weiss wasn't the only coach with clock management issues. The normally conservative Tressel chose, at the end of the first half, to pass twice with the clock running out ant U$C out of timeouts. The Trojans got the ball with enough time to kick a field goal that tied the game at 10 and proved to be the winning margin.

In addition, their freshman QB played a great game but it was the 4th quarter work of Joe McKnight that won it for U$C. Given the accolades and worship for Barkley after it was all through, I think it's safe to say we've found our next "Tebow of Nazareth".

Small schools- APU and AU continued their residences on "The Schnide", dropping games to Wisconsin-LaCrosse and DepauW respectively. The Crimson Storm dropped a heartbreaker to Mary and Hardin and Baylor (yup, all three of them) 42-7. Brevard used 375 yards of rushing to best Chowan 27-24. As always, Tornadoes beat Hawks. Oh, and Seattle Pacific? Still undefeated.

On to the league:

I'll say this for Jen... when she gets her act together, she doesn't kid around. It could also be that she's one of the few people smart enough to pick Mich1gAAn.

"Maybe this year..." Paula won't miss more than two weeks. Brian wins the Most Picks, Least Points" award for the week.

Those of you who picked Ohio State? Thanks. That's sweet.

Not much room to work with, although it's great to see that Jen's taking one week off is almost as good as Jake's two weeks.

Aaron and Amanda are at the top- if their newborn (son? daughter? someone help me out here) was playing, we'd probably all be out of the money.

Games this week. Lane Kiffin and friends get to visit their bestest buddies ever ever. I'm sure it will be fun. THE Ohio State University will play Mich1gAAn's arch rival Toledo in Cleveland; hopefully the defense can continue their poise. U$C has a tough time against Washington in a trap game against his former coordinators. Pete, prove everyone wrong about your ability to keep your team focused. Louisville and UK meet in the "gosh, I'm glad it's football season, aren't you?" game of the week. Kansas and Duke continue the basketball theme, while Nebraska travels to Hokie Country. TCU and toOSU play Texas State and Rice, while Georgia looks to barbecue some Razorback. WVa travels to Auburn for what looks to be a great cross-conference matchup, and Vandy hosts MSU.

Small schools- Anderson squares off against the best mascot of all times; Earlham College's Fighting Quakers. Ellensburg Washington welcomes APU's efforts against CWU, and Southern Nazarene hosts one of the million Bethel colleges (I honestly can't keep them straight).

Obscure game of the week, brought to you by Cracklin' Oat Bran:
This week, Bacone College travels to Howard Payne, where the Warriors will meet the Yellow Jackets in a classic Oklahoma/Texas battle. 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.

Bacone College is a 4 year American Baptist college whose mission is to serve Native Americans. They have a great mission statement for their athletic department:

The nurturing Christian environment of Bacone Athletics will provide an interactive opportunity for students to receive leadership training and experiences based on Biblical truths that direct athletes to the benefits of living a life of leadership through a dedicated relationship with Jesus Christ. Through God’s leadership the Athletic Department will be committed to spiritual leadership, scholarship, stewardship, excellence in competition, and a commitment of service to the American Indian community.

While this is AWESOME, I was a bit dissapointed that they didn't have affiliations with historical figures or meaty tasty treats. Mmmm, bacon...

Interesting...

"May you live in interesting times"
- Purported Chinese Curse

The problem with the first week of the season is that it's hard to gauge how good your team is, given that most of the games are really glorified scrimmages against significantly lesser opponents. They're supposed to be blowouts, and are typically tune ups for the season (note that I said typically).

There are a few teams, though, that choose to "strap it up" and actually play a team of higher caliber. While rare, those games are the ones that made this week "interesting" for those of us who were as interested in watching ANY football as we were cheering on our favorite squadron.

But first, let's recap the winner of this weeks "Sprinkles" award. 'Cause there are a lot of them:

• St. Tebow and the Gators cleaned house against Charleston Southern (is there a Charleston Northern?)
• State Penn began their rigorous non conference schedule by pounding Akron. An internet pundit remarked that the Lion's schedule is "softer than Joe Pa's diet". Not nice, but funny nonetheless.
• Tennessee pounded Western Kentucky and managed not to violate any NCAA rules in the process. That, in and of itself, is a good thing.
  
• U$C scheduled San Jose State for one reason: It was cheaper to pay a team for a game that it would lose than it might be to pay a RB to help them win.
• Indiana beat Eastern Kentucky for what may be their only win.
  
• The 'Huskers played host the the Fighting Owls of FAU. Not a good host, as Nebraska rolled to it's 24th straight opening win.
• Really, Arkansas? Missouri State? Was The Calumet City Orphanage busy?
  

I've got to be hones that I don't know what to do with Ntre Ame and Mich1gAAn here. They should be in this category, since they scheduled a couple of patsies in Nevada and Western Michigan. But given that they both are *cough* rebuilding, it could have gone either way. At any rate, congrats to Charlie and Rich for keeping their internships/jobs for one more week. In fact, now that TTUN has won against a MAC team, they lose that part of their moniker. However, even if they beat Delaware State later in the year, the 1AA label sticks. It's still funny.

Oh, and how long is it until some team creates an unofficial bounty for QB Robinson's shoes? I can see a defensive coach challenging his players to bring one to the sidelines.

Opening week gets "interesting" though, who end up in dogfights with teams that they should have found ways to defeat easily.

• tOSU started off well against a very good Navy squad, but saw the option and a couple of big plays bring them to the brink of an upset. Here are the plays of the game; the first score of the season and the game saving INT return:

• Iowa needed two miraculous FG blocks in the final seconds to hold of Northern Iowa.
  
• Minnesota squared off against the lowly Orange of Syracuse, and needed an INT by Duke's point guard to pull off the overtime win.
• If only Duke had kept Paulus, they may have beaten Richmond.
  
• Les Miles' team traveled a ton of miles and three timezones to face off against a Husky team that didn't win at all in 2008. They needed a strong fourth quarter to do so.
  
• KState squeaked by Massachusetts, who haven't had a decent football team since that Revere guy was around (who says I can't do political humor).

And then there are the big boys- the teams who took the opportunity to actually play football and schedule a worthy opponent. These were the games worth watching, especially:

• Oregon's dismantling at the hands of Boise State. Yeah, the whole "sportsmanship weekend? I guess that's out the window. Although, the Bronco is going to have to live the rest of his life with the fact that he got dropped by one punch on national television. As some have said, with the Duck's uniforms and the Smurf Turf, violence is understandable. Unfortunately, this also means that we'll have to hear about the Broncos in the "National Title Hunt" for the rest of the year. Maybe I can get Blount to come over and just punch me instead...
  
• The Fighting T Boone Pickens' and their 40 year old friends welcomed a good Georgia team into Stillwater and "The Reason Gas Is Over $3 A Gallon" stadium, and proved that their top ten ranking is legit. With Oklahoma's "situation", it's quite possible that their game against Texas may be for the right to play Florida in the MNCG.
• Ah, Chokelahoma. Good on you for scheduling a solid BYU. But why didn't you prep your backup to run your offense? Or to know how to read the freaking play clock? Since this was at the Jerrydome, there's no way you could have missed it... It's more than likely 500 feet tall and covered in cotton candy. So- I'm guessing Bradford won't challenge St. Archie's legacy for back-to-back statues.
• The "Arch Rivalry" doesn't seem like much of a Rivalry, as Zook's QB once again shows his inability to win a big ball game.
• Alabama and VaTech- now there's a game worth watching... And the Tide picked up where they left off (well, except for that choking against Utah thing), and proved that the Great Saban is indeed building a dynasty in the South. And you can write that one in the books.

Other games of interest:

• Auburn handled Louisiana Tech
• Cal won. Yawn.
  
• Kentucky beat Miami (OH!), and there were no three pointers involved.
• tooOSU beat Jerry Glanville and Portland State. Remember when he was a good coach?
• Vandy handled Western Carolina (there's a West Carolina? Crap, I should have paid more attention in Geography)

Small schools:

• Taylor held onto the wheel, and beat Anderson consecutively for the first time in the matchup.
• Concord needed Overtime to hold off LeAnne Rymes 52 to 45. The Cougars amassed 617 yards of offense in the OT victory.
• Salibury's Sea Gulls held off the PACE Setters 34-14.
• APU dropped their second game of the season, 24-13 against San Diego.
  

What about our group? Well, first I think some introductions are in order, since we're now over 20 people. So, here's the cast of characters:

• Aaron Terpening- Former Cornhusker DB, husband of...
• Amanda Terpening- Mother of a new baby, whose name will be published next week
• Ben Helms- APU Grad student, Represents Duke BBall and Cal Football
• Brian Cole- Dean of Students at Rochester College, Gator fan
• Carrie Strawn- Most patient woman in the world- Go Big Red
• Cat Cramp- Associate Director of Campus Rec at UFla. Illinois alum
• Chuck Strawn- Sooper Genius
• Dan Common- Nolan's Dad. Diehard UW fan.
• Dan Shike- Vandy by diploma, Nebraska by heart. Defending Picks League Champion
• Dan Williams- PSU believer. May be on his performance review
• Doug Loeser- Former TCU offensive lineman, Seattle partner
• Emily Gross- Abbie's mom, Jake's wife, Two more Auburn Tiger fans on the way.
• Jake Gross- Director of Orientation at Kennesaw State, War Eagle.
• Janie Shike- Mother in law, daughter of former head of athletic medicine at University of Nebraska
• Jeff Seemann- Creator, thebuckeyebattlecry.com. Seems to think I know what I'm doing.
• Jen Hutchings- That's DOCTOR Jen. KState grad, Mich1gaan fan
• Joe Williams- Anderson University football coach, Chinese buffet aficionado
• Jordy Dickey- Lone U$C fan, Student Life at Mt.
• Matt Visser- Ministry and Service Director, APU. Which means he loves Jesus. However, it doesn't help him be a Mich1gAAn fan.
• Michael Houston- Associate Dean of Students at Southern Nazarene. Oklahoma State fan, unless anyone from the Big 12 is playing, then he seems to think they're the best team ever. Like Dick Vitale in that way.
• Michelle Shike- Vandy/Nebraska/Whatever keeps her kids amused
• Nate Brinker- Steve's friend, and I'm not sure his name is even "Nate". Witness protection plan
• Paula Wetzel- The only Arkansas backer west of the Rockies
• Scott Strawn- VP for Student Life at SNU, Ohio State fan in Oklahoma. He uses a lot of small words too
• Steve Shike- Nebraska on his diploma, Oregon on his Driver's license
• Terry Shike- Ditto. Defending Bowl and Overall Champion

So, now that you know who we are, here's how we did. ESPN Points rankings:

Interestingly enough, the fan loyalties rose up here- Florida's fanbase couldn't pick LSU, and our Auburn fans didn't give Alabama any credit.

"Least with most"- Scott's dead last with points but only missed three picks.

Jeff, you're not helping me out here. Just so you and Jen know, we've got a "two strikes" rule for the league.

Next week's slate of games gets a bit better, but not much. Penn State meets the Orange, and Troy travels to Florida for "Creampuff 2009". Nebraska gets a visit from Arkansas State, while Vanderbilt and LSU actually play a real live football game. UCLA and Tennessee should be interesting- wonder if Rick has any money on the game? It's also the return of the "Gosh, I wish the earth would open up and swallow them" game as Mich1gAAn and Ntre Ame square off. Michael gets to play toOSU all by himself, and MSU travels to face the new look Auburn Tigers. Thursday night's Clemson/Ga. Tech matchup should be interesting.

Small schools- Anderson opens their home season against DePauW and Azusa has their annual trip to Wisconsin, this time to play Wisconsin-LaCrosse.

Over in North Carolina, it's time for the Chowan and Brevard Division 2 clash, pitting the Hawks against the Tornadoes. Nestled in North Carolina (it's required to use the word "nestled" when describing NoCar), both colleges hail from religious backgrounds. Brevard came to be when two Methodist schools combined, and traces it's heritage back to a one room log cabin schoolhouse. Their website talks about the impact the school has had on Transylvania County, but little about the impact Transylvania has had on the school. Chowan is a Baptist school founded to honor the Native American Algonquin Chowanook tribe. Their code of conduct specifies that there is no "hitting of golf balls on campus, except for the driving range", as well as the standard drugs and alcohol prohibitions. Which would you rather have- a drunk student, or one who's working on their short game?

Oh, and there's this:

For the sake of argument

Every year, there's a debate about college football.


In fact, I think the arguing about college football is one of the main reasons it exists. From Alabama jokes to fights across state borders, college football is rife with controversy.

One of the main "discussions" I've had recently is about Conference Superiority. Is the SEC really the best in the country, or do they benefit from a bowl season that gives them all home games? (For some reason, I have to use small words when I talk about this...) Is the Big T1e1n really one step above the Big lEast? Does the Pac 10 even have a defensive coordinator that earns his pay?

But, our friends at the Buckeye Battle Cry are not content to scream at the darkness. Nay, they've lit a candle, in the form of the BBC Challenge League. Using Alumni who are NFL players, this fantasy league hopes to prove once and for all which conference is superior. Actually, this will probably just give us fans more to argue about, much to the chagrin of my wife.

Give it a look and get in the game... We'll be following up with this as the weeks progress.

Oh, and by way of announcement- my online "presence" has expanded like my waistline over the last four years. I've joined the BBC team for commentary on all things sweatervesty and will be adapting my weekly wrap up for consumption by Ohio State partisans.

And, no, it doesn't pay anything. Rats.