It's the end of the world as I know it

do I feel fine?

Have to get back to you on that one... but, things- they are a changing.

One step closer to my "Super Conference Playoff" idea, though...

Giving Thanks

With a bang and a whimper, the college football season drifts away like so many autumn leaves down the gutter. Can you tell I didn't do well in college writing class?

This week we stopped as a nation to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for. Even though times are difficult, we have so much for which to be greatful. For instance-

I'm thankful I'm not either of these guys:

I'm thankful that I understand the media's rules for covering college football. On Thursday, Texas was in a shootout with and aTm team that can graciously be called "woeful". But that just shows how awesome the Big 12 is and how important rivalry games are. But when a team from the Big T1e1n is in a close game against... well, you know.

I'm thankful for Nebraska- not only have they returned to greatness through solid defense, they understand the important aspects of the game.

I'm thankful that someone, somewhere, still thinks running the ball down your opponents throat is an acceptable way to win football games. Stanford's offense is Mich1gAAn, circa 1999; power running, play action bootlegs. Poor Notre Ame- they couldn't beat either the current incarnation of TTUN or what they used to be.

While I'm thankful that the abomination that is the Weis administration is coming to an end in South Bend, I'm sad that we won't have Charlie to kick around anymore.

Like many Sooner fans, I'm thankful that "Big Game Bob" finally w0n a game that matters. Now they'll have warm memories of him when he's coaching in South Bend next year. (that's your "I think I'm Nostradamus" prediction of the week- Remember you read it here first)

I give thanks every year for the coaches I've known- theirs is a thankless job. You lose, and you're out at Louisville, Marshall, and Virginia. You win, and you're still out at Akron. More on the coaching carousel upcoming.

It's good to see another team from Ohio lifting high the banner of excellence, even if they've got a little "jerk" in them. It's also good to see that the old philosophy "Score bunches of points, don't play defense" isn't limited to Ann Arbor.

I'm thankful that my favorite squadron didn't wear chaps this weekend. Or, has to have a discussion about "do you think it's time for coach to retire?" I'm also thankful for Tim Tebow... there, I said it. No maybe ESPN will stop singing his praises.

As grateful as I am about not choosing certain uniform styles, I'm still glad that this awesome helmet exists. And that they were "stealthy" enough to help Mizzou beat Kansas. The Jayhawks are celebrating the fact that, for the second straight week, Mangino didn't kill someone.

I'm also thankful that, as urgent and dire as my favorite rivalry can be, we don't have coaches who do this:

To set the scene, U$C was up by 14 at the time, had just received the ball back on downs, and had taken a knee to run the clock out. UCLA's coach had called a time out (looking to cover the spread?), and Pete Carroll took umbrage to that. What is above is the result- Deep pass for a TD, Trojan players acting like jerks, UCLA players responding, etc. What do you expect, though- someone painted the bear!

What bothers me (and a lot of people) isn't the "go for the bomb" mentality; heck, St. Woody famously wanted to go for three at the end of a blowout against Mich1gAAn. What doesn't sit well is Carroll's gleeful antics- as a leader of men, you can only lay the blame for his team's response at his feet. I am thankful, though, that he gets to answer questions about being in a close game with a mediocre opponent in a rivalry... whoops, it's not the Big T1e1n, so nevermind. Enjoy the "whatever b0wl the 3rd/4th team in the Pac 10 goes to", Pete.

The Iron Bowl left me with mixed feelings- I'm thankful that our "ApocalypSEC 09" game is still afoot, but not happy that Auburn lost given that they unleashed some of the greatest trick plays assembled.

I'm thankful that the games are actually played rather than just done on paper. It makes rivalry so much more important, and gives us upsets like The Irrelevant Ball Coach over Clemson, Gawguh winning a big one for Ugga against a one loss Tech, WVa overcoming The 'Stache, NC State beating UNC, Kentucky taking Tennessee to overtime, Houston hanging 73 on Rice. Football is good.

I'm always grateful for the small things, too; sweet potato pie, fried turkey, time with family, high school football (even if it is JV). That's why Kirkwood's win on Thanksgiving is sweet, and Webster's Grove's championship adds a double dose of awesomeness to the weekend.

I'm especially thankful for yet another year with friends and family and Michael (I kid, I kid...), playing our picks league. For the last week, we again failed to crack 40 points as a group... with one exception.

Moving back to Georgia must have given Jake an inside track into the rivalries that ended up killing the rest of us. Either that, or Emily decided to help him this week- Do I need to split the points, you two/five?

Even traveling across seventeen states and fourteen accents, Dan managed to score top billing in this week's picks. Aaron had a tough week, and Nate seemed to have experienced tryptophan poisoning.

That brings us to our Champion... despite a full house and PhD work, Jake takes home the crown for the first time ever! Must have been that move away from the distractions of the beach, huh?

As always, I've included the percentages of points correct/points available. The light blue shaded boxes are those people who missed a week or two or three, and the missed weeks are deducted from the total. Just think if Michelle and Emily had been consistent.

Aaron's close week made the "picks" race all that more interesting, but he managed to do what it took to win it all. With Jake and Aaron taking top billing, the lesson is to make an addition to your family if you want to be successful at this. We're adopting again, so I'll leave it up to you to see if you're willing to do what it takes to win.

In the Bragging Rights divisions- Jake beat Emily, Terry and Janie split, Aaron beat Amanda, Dan defeated Michelle, Brian was victorious over Jen. Holding down the fort for the females- my wife beat me. What can I say- I outkicked my coverage with her.

Other "Bragging rights"- Terry/Janie win the Shike group, Dan Williams will not get a favorable performance evaluation from yours truly, Jake wins the SEC grouping, Scott beat me, Michael beat Visser, and Ohio State fans were 2-1 against TTUN.

It's almost time to hand out gaudy gifts- nope, not a stupid hamster that you bought on "chartreuse Saturday" or something- it's "Year End Awards Time". Since I'm a) a blogger, b) not important and c) not a former Heisman Trophy winner, I don't get to vote for the "Big Statue that only one person has won twice, and don't you forget it". But, let's say I did... my ballot would look a little something like this:

1. LaFevour, Central Michigan- Better career numbers than Tebow, passing AND rushing.
   
2. Toby Gerhart, Stanford- This year's Bo Jackson. He's getting the ball, and there's not much you can do about it.
   
3. Colt McCoy, Tejas- Should have won it last year, and has been the sole offense for a team that may be playing for the glassy trophy.
   
4. Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska- Other teams have to change their game plans to deal with him. That's enough for me.
   
5. St. Tebow of Gainesville- Yeah, if only he hadn't been concussed. Or playing with a limited offense this year.

Big Games this week: Pac Ten championship: Nike University vs toOSU. ApocalypSEC 09: 'Bama vs The Tebows. Big 12 Shootout- Bo's Boys against Colt. Big lEast title bout- UChikfila and Pitt. Ohio and my Heisman Candidate meet for the MAC championship. Conference USA championship has Houston and East Carolina squaring off. And, of course, there's still the playoffs in every other division of college football. Heck, even Canada figured out how to do it, and they can't even get the number of downs right.

That's all she wrote for now- we'll get the Bowl Picks up and running in a couple of weeks, and will start tracking the coaching transitions on Monday (big news coming...).

Until then- Thank you.

Twelfth Night

As we enter the last weeks of the college regular season (who's excited about the season getting irregular? Anyone?), a lot of people are complaining about how "boring" the season is. Florida and Alabama are on a collision course, Texas looks to be a lock... ho hum. Why even bother with the rest of the games, right?

Wellsir, that type of attitude would have deprived us of the goin's on this week. Starting in South Bend, where the Offensive Sooper Genius has surely spent his last afternoon on the Notre Ame sidelines. Losing is one thing, losing at home another, but losing on senior day to a team that wasn't even above .500 for the season? That's a paddlin'. Granted, UConn was playing for their fallen comrade, and we salute their effort and remember his family. But we also rejoice with the autumn whispers swirling over the Irish' campus. Sounds like... "We told you so..." For the record, I always get my "autumn whispers" and "Willingham whispers" confused- comes from living in Seattle.

Speaking of Geniuses, the Mad Hatter is looking a bit more like the old western adage- "all hat, no cattle". It's bad enough to have lost to Ole Miss, but to do so in such a boneheaded fashion has got to be a new low. I haven't seen that level of clock ineptitude since . And at least be honest and own up to the mistake, champ. Because, as they say, the internet never forgets. And before the rebels and Coach Giggity get their fans too excited, let's remember the other story out of Oxford this week. When the Klan shows up, you know there's going to be all kinds of stupid happening.

Weis' impending exit has garnered a lot of speculation regarding who would replace him. Amongst the names bandied about (Sorry, word of the day calendar) is "Big Game Bob" Stoops, who continued to watch the Sooner collapse this week against Texas Tech. For a system guy, he sure seems to struggle when his personnel changes throughout the year. I would, for what it's worth, wholeheartedly support a coach from the game heading to South Bend- Mike Leach at Notre Dame press conferences would be worth whatever they wanted to charge to attend. I'd also pay to watch meetings between him and the University president... those would be amazing.

As always, I'll defer my gloating regarding the Annual Beatdown to others more adept than I. However, I will make these observations about the Ohio State/TTUN tilt:

• Mr Shaw- Keep your mouth shut until you've actually done something. Having one net yard for the game is not worthy of bluster. Mike Hart (previous #20) should have filled you in.
• Mich1gAAn's front was their strength (anchored by Graham, who will be a great NFL athlete), but the Buckeyes ran for over 250 yards none the less. Fancy? Nope. Worked? Yup. Don't need ribbons or glitter on the sledgehammer.
• Is that really the game that you wanted to bring all your recruits to, Rich? Especially those who are also considering playing in Columbus? Unless you're selling "We need help NOW!", it seems to have been not well thought out.
• Finally, they decided to honor the 1969 team at the game. For those of you living in Rancho Cucamonga, 1969 is the year that Bo Schembechler led Mich1gAAn to upset what Woody Hayes called his greatest team ever. The metaphor is clear- "These guys shocked the world... we will too". However, if we're going to honor those guys every time UM is an underdog to Ohio State, it feels like we'll be seeing a lot of them.

Speaking of "Mich1gAAn Men", remember last week when I said that Stanford's Harbaugh understood the importance of The Game? Yeah, I'm an idiot- his Cardinal fell to rival Cal in The Big Game. You'd think adding the modifier "Big" would improve his team's focus, but I'm just a lowly blogger.

Over on the Left Coast- a great game between Arizona and Oregon last night ended in overtime. Also ending last night- Arizona's hopes of their first Rose Bowl, and any impression that Wildcat fans are not jerks. Until you get to the show, think classy and you'll be classy. When you get to the show, you can do this kind of stuff and people will think you're colorful- until then, they'll think you're a slob.

In the world of disappointments, Georgia's season came to a train wreck when they fell to Kentucky at home. While you never hear Mark Richt's name as one on the hot seat, it surely didn't help Dawg faithful feel any better about their prospects, especially with arch rival Florida continuing their dominance. Sure, Florida's playing a correspondence school, but still.

Nebraska has found it's way again, it seems, bolstering their defense to the point that KSU's Bill Snyder couldn't be certain that Osborne wasn't on the other sidelines. Bo Pelini is the Anti-Rich Rodriguez; he came in and decided to restore the defensive excellence that the Blackshirts have been known for, and is content winning games 10-3. In Ann Arbor, the philosophy seems to be "let's just outscore them"... so far, it's not working all that well.

As mentioned last week, we dispatched an intrepid correspondent to the TBPU/Colorado game, where he watched the Buffaloes fold against the Black Plague. At least, given the photo he sent back from the game I think that's the new Cowboy nickname.

Black unis- nice look. Of course, most would have sent me a photo of the game's action, but I'm not going to judge if he wants to report on fashions. This would have won the "best photo from a game" award for the week, if it weren't for this glamor shot from the CPD. Yup, that's the same Jeff from the league.

Free Shoes also broke out the all-black Nike "combat and death and lots of money" gear this weekend, sending longtime coordinator Mickey Andrews out with a come from behind win over Maryland. Interviewed after the game, Coach Bowden was reported to have said "I thought that Andrews boy died years ago..."

Other games of note: State Penn beat MSU in a game that I forgot was not in Happy Valley; Texas squashed Kansas (and Mangino didn't assault anyone as far as we know), Houston and TCU and Boise State continued to roll, The Nerds upset the Badgers, UCLA (pronouced UHK-la) won, Purdue claimed the Bucket, and Vandy is still the second class football program in Tennessee.

Small schools- Trine upset Case; last year the Thunder did not even score in their playoff game, this year they hung 51 points on their rivals. Kean overcame Ursinus to win the ECAC Southeast Bowl, or as it's known around here- "another bowl game Mich1gAAn won't be going to".

In the Pick League, it looks like Aaron is going to win this thing going away. Yet another week where he out-preformed the competition, this time to the tune of a two pick differential:

Interestingly enough, though, Cat only finished two points behind in spite of her 6-4 record for the week. Wise stewardship of resources, Catherine...

Dan and Jordy have given up, it seems... so we've got no Pac-10 representation, unless Nate is a Ducks fan. Update- Jordy did play, and went 4-6 for 14 points. I'll update this next week. Sorry, Jords...

Terry is back in his rightful place at the top, but new daddy (again) Jake is charging hard. It would be pretty amazing to have Jake and Aaron win, given that they've both had recent additions to their families. It would be more amazing to have Amanda and Emily win, but they have an excuse, I think.

Matt, you've only got one more week to beat Michael... and the rest of the year to hear about it if you don't. Just sayin'.

With one week left in the season, and Turkey Day just around the corner, here are the matchups that will be defining many people's postseason... otherwise known as "games with cute nicknames". There's "Bedlam" as TBPU and Oklahoma meet, the "Battle for the Victory Bell" between UCLA and U$C, Alabama and Auburn's "Iron Bowl", Lone Star Showdown of aTm and Texas, Pitt and WVa enjoy the "Backyard Brawl", Kentucky and Tennessee meet up in the "It's All Relative" game, Clemson and USCarolina renew the "Battle of thePalmetto State", we've got the crApple Cup with WSU and UW, the "Egg Bowl" between MSU and Old Miss, while the Border War occupies Kansas and Missouri fans. Georgia and Georgia Tech host "Clean, old fashioned Hate", and BYU and Utah enjoy the "Holy War". ASU and UA have a "Duel in the Desert", while the Battle for Carolina happens in Carolina (duh). Boringly enough, Florida/FSU doesn't have a nickname,nor does Nebraska/Colorado. Stanford hosts Notre Ame in "Charlie Weis' Last Game". I'm gonna' buy a t-shirt.

Finally, there's only one small schools game to highlight- the Frisco Bell game in suburban St. Louis. This annual matchup between Kirkwood and Webster's Grove is the 102nd meeting. Here's information from the centennial meeting, including an article in the New York Times.

Couldn't be better. Seriously.

You know, not to step on anyone's toes here, but it was a pretty good Saturday. Not on our picks scoreboard, just personally.

Ohio State won the Big T1e1n championship with a typical "Tresselball" game- play conservative, and not to lose. While some people see this as infuriating, those of us with "Rose" colored glasses can also point to these numbers: Both running backs almost hit 100 yards in rushing against a solid, nationally ranked defense; This is the second week in a row that the Buckeyes beat a top 15 opponent, and this is their fifth consecutive Conference Title. Other people have written better about the game itself, so I'm just gonna' move onto other blessings.

Nebraska won, in convincing fashion, taking control of the Big 12 North race. Against an always potent Kansas offense, the Blackshirts only allowed 17 points and under 350 total yards. Like I said, good times in mi casa.

Ntre Ame lost, even if it was a bit controversial. That means that Charlie Weis has yet to beat a team that finished the year over .500, and is a good bet to lose his next two as well. Hot seat? You betcha- but someone's been saying that for a long time.

U$C lost, and lost big. To Stanford. At home. Nothing against Stanford- I've got a lot of love for them, and hope we see them in Pasadena. But to see a Pete Carrol team embarrassed like that- well, it makes me giggle. I know, I'm petty. Even funnier? When Stanford's coach (a Mich1gAAn man) pulls a play out of Woody's playbook, and when the local paper indicates that the Trojans are being beaten by superior athletes. The times, they are a changing.

Speaking of "them"... Whiskey is probably the only thing keeping TTUN's fans alive after the beating that Wisconsin put on them. In a week where buzz swirled around the storied program's new savior, the former "Star QB" and offensive lineman took steps towards record seasons. And now, with the possibility of staying home for Bowl season staring them in the face, Mich1gAAn prepares to meet Ohio State in THE Game. Not good times for them...

The great Saturday continued as my "other mater" defeated Vanderbilt. As someone who was at UK back when everyone scheduled them for homecoming, I'm just happy that they beat someone. Heck, even my adopted "third favorite team" won; the Longhorns easily handled Baylor. Like I said, it was a good day...

Else wheres in college football- "Ohio's Real Team" managed to continue towards an unbeaten season, with the help of some "love" from the officials. We couldn't have a week without an officiating controversy, could we? Florida's offense was just good enough to beat The Irrelevant Ball Coach, even as the Gamecocks were wearing some amazing uniforms. In this game, St. Tebow tied Herschel Walker's record for SEC Touchdowns- I wonder how Herschel would have done in a 12 game season, with a couple of extra SEC championship games?

TCU continued to roll, and sported new gear of it's own. Seriously, though- the pants look like something professional wrestlers wore in the 80's. Houston fell, as did media darling Miami. Florida State managed to get out of it's own way long enough to win another game, while Northwestern defeated the Zooks for the Souix Tomahawk. Colorado's woes continued against Iowa State (at least one team from Iowa won this weekend), and did the Huskies. LSU almost was upset by Louisiana Tech, and Georgia rallied to defeat Auburn at home. Cal showed a bit of a pulse, and knocked Arizona's hopes of their first Rose Bowl into oblivion. We dispatched a correspondent to cover the TBPU defeat of Capn' Leech, but he claims his awesome iPhone couldn't get the pictures. Wonder if there's an app for that?

The greatness continued to our small schools; APU throttled #14 Langston 37-3. This is the same Langston that earlier defeated SNU by one point. The Crimson Storm also won on Saturday, handling Texas College easily. Alas, the Bronze Ball stays with Chester- Anderson's loss ends their season (mercifully) at 1-9. DePauw fell 39-17 to Wabash to lose possession of the Monon Bell.

Now, to the "not so good news"-Even our best performance this week lost three games:

and we had three "whoopsie!" moments from two of our PAC 10 friends.

Amanda must finally be getting "mama brain", since that's the only explanation for only getting one right.

Scott has discovered how well you can do at this thing if you don't flake out and forget to get your picks in. Either that, or Michael keeps reminding him.

Yet another name at the top of the leader board. With just a couple of weeks left to play, this one is coming down to the wire...

Time once again for the "What Does Chuck Think The Bowl Matchups Should Be?" brought to you by the Sonic they're building within 3 miles of my house. For the record, they've opened up a Papa John's right behind it- Don't think I'm not going to ask for the delivery guy to bring me a shake on his way.

Anywho- Here's what I'd love to see:

• ROSE: The Ohio State University -vs- Stanford. Yeah, I know that Oregon will probably win this thing, and would mean more available tickets. But I'd love to see the Buckeyes play Harbaugh's team- A win is a great win, and a loss really sticks their current coaching situation in Mich1gAAn's face. Plus, I don't want to have to deal with those uniforms.
  
• ORANGE: Cincinnati -vs- Georgia Tech. Let's see how Kelly and Co deal with an offense designed to keep the other team's O off the boards.
• SUGAR: Alabama -vs- Iowa/Oklahoma State. By my rules, none of these teams would be playing... TBPU would bring a closer fanbase.
• FIESTA: TCU -vs- Boise State. The Fiesta has no conference ties, so these two "rogue" teams would fit in, and Tempe is close enough to both fan bases for a good amount of ticket sales. I argued about this over the weekend- if you end up with five undefeated teams, why not let four of them play each other? Otherwise, you risk ending the season with four undefeateds rather than three- and the BCS don't need that kind of publicity these days.
• GAME FOR GLITTERY BALL: Florida -vs- Texas. Last time the Horns were in Pasadena playing as underdogs, we ended up with one of the greatest games ever. I'm all for sequels.
• LITTLE CAESAR'S BOWL: CMU (Led by Heisman Trophy winner Dan LeFevour) against anyone but Mich1gAAn.
  

This week's games: Hopefully our correspondent will remember his camera if he heads to the Colorado/TBPU game. Cal and Stanford play for the Axe, Purdue and IU square off for the Old Oaken Bucket, and Minnesota meets Iowa for Floyd of Rosedale. Florida plays... get ready for this... Florida International. Wonder if their mascot is the "Men of Mystery"? Nebraska looks to win the North against KSU, and Kentucky travels to Georgia for some mass hysteria. Charlie tries to keep his job against UConn, now that they've got the home and almost home controversy worked out.

Small schools- It's time to celebrate the playoffs in the areas of the world that have them. Later this week, look for the "Game from Obscurity" over at my other home.

Other than that- you know what week it is.

Go Bucks.

Perfect 10? Well, almost...

Week ten saw a ton of great football action, and most of our league fall off the table. Let's get to the fancy words about stuff:

As you may have heard; U$C's "letdown jinx" is contagious, and was passed to the Oregon Ducks. Who would have guessed that, after such a historic beating of the Trojans, Eugene's finest would fall apart against an up and coming Stanford team. While Oregon still controls it's destiny for Pasadena, it's now looking at Roses instead of possible crystal footballs. Stanford played smart football; which is not unexpected given their academic acumen. Coach Jim Harbaugh has turned things around there, much to the chagrin of...

Mich1gAAn fans, whose "savior" has led his team to only 8 wins in two years. Harbaugh, in many people's opinion, is a true "Michigan Man"; an alum and a person who strives for excellence in his players on and off the field. While Rodriguez may also "strive" for that, it's clear that this year's version of the team has next to no idea about defense. As TTUN drops to 1-5 in Big T1e1n play (and that one win came at the result of some questionable officiating), you have to wonder what Rodriguez' hopes for the rest of the season are. Other than making some new friends, that is.

It wouldn't be a Saturday in the south without some questionable SEC officiating. As seems to be the case, an undefeated team benefits from a dicey call, as Alabama goes on to defeat LSU in a game that was much closer than the scoreboard would indicate. With Florida's win over Vandy (whew- I guess you didn't need Spikes after all...), this sets up an undefeated vs undefeated SEC championship game, as long as UA and UF don't drop one before then. For Florida, the rest of the season seems to be a walk; for Bama, though, there's always the Iron Bowl against a resurgent Auburn team who beat Furman on Saturday.

Speaking of shady calls- I'm still not sure that Darryl Clark has scored yet in Happy Valley, but it didn't matter as Ohio State defeated the Nittany Lions 24-7. The highlight video for me didn't occur on the field, but afterwards when the Buckeye team gathered to sing Carmen Ohio with the fans in scarlet and gray. These folks decided to mock Penn State's use of Seven Nation Army, and the team... well... here:

Best part? Tressel's face right before he joins in... "Eh- Why not?"

The ranks of the undefeated were lessened by one, as Iowa's dream season collapsed with their QB's sprained ankle. Northwestern's upset of the Hawkeyes guaranteed that this week's game against Ohio State will decide the Big T1e1n champion and a bearth in the Rose Bowl. Iowa will give their backup QB his first start ever in Columbus. I hope he doesn't get killed.

Notre Ame couldn't stop the Navy attack, and have lost at home to them in back to back attempts for the first time in a really long time. Heisman candidate Pickles Clausen was sacked for a safety (the margin of victory) and was intercepted by linebacker Ram Vela. Where have we heard that name before? Oh. Right.

While NA, TTUN, Iowa, and PSU all losing made some people's day, it was capped for others by a huge win in Lincoln. For the first time since 2001, the Huskers defeated Chokelahoma in a defensive shootout 10-3. A tru case of the pupil defeating the master- Nebraska (and Ohio State alum) coach Bo Pelini worked with Oklahoma's Stoops, and learned defensive philosophy from Bob's father when they were both in Youngstown Ohio. To reiterate- Oklahoma doesn't seem to be able to beat their first rival (Texas) and their loss to a former rival has got to hurt. But, I'm sure he'll still be known as "Big Game Bob".

Illinois has found it's way, and won it's match against Minnesota. Kansas State upset the Jayhawks- I guess EMAW after all. UCLA squeaked by UW in this year's addition of the Neuheisel Bowl. TCU continues to roll, and Kentucky manhandled a much lesser opponent. Oklahoma State pounded the Cyclones, while Georgia Tech showed that the option is best built for overtime victories. The Beavers defeated Cal- our thoughts and prayers are will Jahvid Best after his horrific accident. Cincinnati and Boise State stayed perfect, each doing just enough to beat their inferior opponents.

I've complained before about the idiots on the Big T1e1n network- I doubt I'll do so again after watching this highlight from Comcast's coverage of Villanova and Richmond. Warning- crass language and even worse football.

Over in the world of lesser schools: APU had a bye, so no loss this week. Anderson, though, got throttled on Senior Day. The Crimson Storm made homecoming memorable, and Frostburg State held off the Apprentice School 35-30.

In our league- big kudos to Terry's amazing week:
When most of us are going 6-4 or worse, 8-2 is really pretty sweet. As is 7-3... what's happening in Salem Oregon, and why didn't it help Steve?

Somehow Jake parlayed 4-6 into third place on the points chart. Atlantic City, anyone? PErsonally, I'm just thankful for Joe, Michael, and Jordy. You guys are awesome.

It was a difficult week overall for Dan W- the Phillies lost, the Eagles lost, Penn State lost, and he fell out of the top spot in both the picks and points bracket. Aaron leads our picks, and I wish he'd come up with a nickname-

While Janie leads the points chase. Still a lot of games to be played, but last time she took the lead she didn't relinquish it until after bowl season, if I remember correctly.

We've talked already about the big game in the Big T1e1n- Iowa at Ohio State for all the marbles. In the Big lEast (where big games are televised on Fridays), the Bearcats and the Mountaineers meet up as ranked foes in Morgantown. Mich1gAAn travels to Wisconsin, Illinois and Northwestern play for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk. Kentucky and Vandy square off in the SEC Irrelevance Game, and Boise State meets Idaho for the Big Bag O Taters. UW and toOSU continue to battle for Northwestern supremacy, while Nebraska tries to slow down Mangino's boys. T. Boone Pickens University hosts Cap'n Leach's Pirates, Notre Ame travels to Pittsburgh, and TCU tries to stay unbeaten against #16 Utah's Utes.

Small schools: Azusa Pacific hosts Langston in a nationally televised game on the CollegeFanz game of the week. I have no idea where to watch this other than online- I'm actually going, so good luck finding it. Anderson ends it season by trying to regain the Bronze Ball from Manchester- I'm still waiting for a picture, Joe. SNU travels to Tyler Texas for great BBQ and to close their season out against Texas College.

It's time once again to visit the Monon Bell Game as our obscure game of the week. This year is the 116th meeting between Indiana's Wabash and Depauw colleges, and will see each team entering the game with only one loss. Depauw has clinched a playoff bearth, while Wabash will be seeking one with a win over the Tigers. While usually covered by HDNet as a national game, there are rumors that this year's clash may actually be hosting ESPN's Gameday.

As a proud Anderson alum, I hope they both lose.

More Treats Than Tricks

It was just one of those weeks in college football... must have been the haints and boogers out in full force, because some interesting doings were afoot.

For instance, our favorite Halloween colored team won it's first game, as the Anderson Ravens said "Nevermore" to Bluffton's Beavers. The Cougars of Azusa Pacific also added one to the "W" column, handily defeating Trinity Texas. Trinity's Tigers could not manage a miraculous comeback this time, not that there's any chance to get 28 points on one play. Tusculum defeated Mars Hill, while Southern Nazarene dropped another heartbreaker.

In the land of the Big Boys, the three "marquee games" didn't live up to the hype; resulting in three blowouts. T. Boone Pickens University couldn't channel the Black and Orange holiday mojo to overcome Texas, even at home. Looks like Texas will be headed back to Pasadena in January (more on that later). Florida obliterated Georgia in the "Beverage Redacted" bowl; St. Tebow again did the impossible by breaking Herschel Walker's SEC Touchdown record. Georgia was lucky to be on the field with Tebow, since he was able (as far as we know) to use his super powers to heal Washaun Ealey's eyes:

I'm certain that the SEC will be looking into Mr. Spike's actions, although with the level of respectability that their conference's officiating program has developed, you can't be too certain. To be honest, if Urban Meyer is the coach that they say he is, he shouldn't wait for the conference to make a decision.

In the other "big game of the week", we sent a correspondant to Autzen for the sole purpose of seeing which of the stupid uniform combinations the Ducks would come up with. Little did we know that he'd get to watch a dismantling of U$C, who gave up the most offense in the Pete Carroll era.

Ducks fans celebrate a likely Rose Bowl berth

There will be tons of debate about the Oregon/Boise State rankings- should the Ducks, who undefeated against better competition, jump the Broncos team that beat them in week one. I would vote "yes", but we'll get into that a bit more in a minute.

Our "This week in Schaudenfreude" moment comes from Champaign, where the Fumbling Zooks got their first victory against a Division 1 opponent. That team? Mich1gAAn. Ah, the sweetness. But, Wolverine fans, it could be worse- Your punt return unit could look like this:

Come to think of it, there are blue/yellow winged helmets involved...

The whole weekend started off strangely, with another ACC BCS team dropping a game to an unranked foe as North Carolina defeated Virginia Tech. Iowa continued whatever "black magic" they've got going, coming back from a 21-7 halftime deficit to manhandle Indiana at home. Hoosier fans- Basketball season is coming... oh, wait. Ohio State handled their warmup game, and covered a 44.5 point spread. This season, Ohio State has three games with over 500 yards of offense... but what's next is more important. You really can't blame the Aggies of NMSU for scheduling this game- given the economy and the fact that only 25 NCAA programs were in the black last year, a man's got to do what he's got to do.


Notre Ame had a similar scrimmage/game, paying out the Wazoo to have the Cougs play a game in Texas. Yawn... I'm still pulling for them to be BCS elligible and return to the greatness of losing bowl games against teams not named "Hawaii". Auburn gave Emily a great present (more later), upsetting #25 Old Miss. Miami squeaked by Wake Forrest, and aTm won their second straight game. Mike Leach's guys were able to look past their fat little girlfriends and beat a team coached by a... uh... well... "fluffy" gentleman. State Penn handled Northwestern, TCU continued to cruise, and Kentucky faithful are also ready for some roundball. Georgia Tech optioned all over Vanderbilt while LSU won the battle of New Orleans (oooh! All the etouffee you can eat!).

The biggest congratulations of all, though, goes to the four (!) perfect scores this week!

While I usually try to be arbitrary in deciding who is listed first in the case of ties, Emily is the big winner this week as she, Jake, and Abby Jane welcome two new wonderful War Tiger fans: Blythe and Joy.

Please also notice that Matt has resumed being a realist about his favorite squadron, and Jeff finally comes through with a week befitting his status. Steve's lower than usual ranking can obviously be attributed to his spending time in preparation for the Oregon game... Can't say that I blame him. Although, he still did better than other folks that we won't name *cough Michael cough*.

Dan remains in first place, but has several people nipping at his heels. Janie seems to be running away with the Salem Shike's bracket.

At the end of the year, I'll also do a "conference challenge" and see how the picks percentages work out for our particular allegiances. I'll have to get some clarification from some of you, though- I'm guessing Ms. Terp is a Husker, and Cat wants to be a Gator. Joe, where do you stand- Big T1e1n? Michelle- SEC (Vandy), Big 12 (Nebraska) or Pac 10 (Oregon)? Doug, you've already won the Mountain West- congrats.

Speaking of the end of the year, the Trojan's loss still doesn't change much in terms of what I'd like to see during BC$ week; if it were up to me Texas and Florida would still play for the shiny ball, Oregon and Iowa would be a good Rose Bowl match up (although I know Iowa's losing in two weeks and think that the Ducks would smoke them), Let Cincinnati and whoever comes out of the clowncar that is the ACC play in the Orange Bowl (thems some guaranteed great ratings!), have Alabama embarrass Notre Ame in the Sugar Bowl, and showcase TCU and Boise State in the Fiesta (no conference affiliations required). Did I leave anyone out?

Big games coming up this week: Ohio State begins the "murders row" of it's schedule as it travels to "Happy? Valley" for a huge game against the Lions. Mich1gAAn plays Purdue and looks to get off the schnide. LSU goes to Alabama in a big SEC West conference matchup. Oklahoma returns to Lincoln for another historic matchup of two Big Eight powers. Florida hosts Vandy, U$C travels to Sun Devil Stadium, while Auburn writes a big check to Furman. UK has a bye against Eastern Kentucky, and Illinois hopes to continue it's winning ways as it meets up with a resurgent Minnesota.

Small schools: APU ends it's season with Sooner Conference power Langston University. Anderson squares off against the engineers of Rose Hulman, and SNU's Crimson Storm host Oklahoma Panhandle State. Gosh, I hope their mascot is the Skillets.

Speaking of unusual mascots, our obscure game of the week has the Builders hosting the Bobcats. Yup, the Bobs and the Builders.

First the visitors, from Frostburg State University in western Maryland. Initially known as "Normal School #2", Frostburg has gone from a teacher's college to a school that prepares students in 45 degree programs. The institution is nationally recognized for their "Bottom Line" student newsletter, which has both hard hitting articles about student debt and advertisements for credit cards. Famous alumni include actress Debra Monk and model Jennifer Hurt (no, I'm not linking to photos), Frostburg's other claim to fame is the Appalachian Festival, which featured Highland Grass at this year's events (Googling their band name was an adventure, as you can imagine). The football Bobcats are winless on the season.

Perhaps that will change when they play this year's "longest named school champion", Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding- Newport News Apprentice School of Shipbuilding. As far as I know, this is the only institution that has direct sponsorship from a corporation or entity, other than Oregon and Oklahoma State, of course. The school is unusual in that it's degree are actually awarded from nearby Thomas Nelson Community College, but it competes at the Division Three level in six sports (although not under NCAA jurisdiction- kind of like U$C, I guess). Famous alumni include the USS Enterprise (not that one), the USS Yorktown, the USS Ronald Reagan, and the USS Dallas submarine. The Builders football team has only one win in 2009, but I'm not going to make any snide comments because a) their opponent hasn't beaten anyone and b) they have access to nuclear weaponry.

8 is more than enough

In what appeared to be another week of potential upsets, only two top teams went down while the rest coasted through the middle point of their season.

We started off by watching UTEP squeak by the same Tulsa team that scared Boise State the week before. Free Shoes continued their Jekyll and Hyde persona by bouncing a UNC team that seemed to be looking forward to basketball season. For the FSU fans out there; if it weren't bad enough that their team seems to resemble a plane crash into a clown college, they've got to be hating the fact that they've stooped to playing on Friday nights to gain viewers. Next stop: The Ocho.

Saturday's Big T1e1n matchups included State Penn exorcising their "Big House with small seats" demons, beating Mach1gAAn at home for the first time in thirteen years. We'd dispatched a correspondent to cover the game, but so far I haven't gotten photos yet. If I do, we'll post them.

While I'm not surprised that Joe Pa's team won, I am shocked that 4CA!! was still standing at the end of the game. UM fans, here's your "legend's" numbers from Saturday: 13/ 30 for 0 TD and 1 INT, 13 rushes for 20 yards. Not that I don't think he's a great fit for your program, just giving a bit of perspective.

Iowa needed a late slant against the Spartans to continue their undefeated season. I think I heard it best this weekend: The Hawkeyes are Ohio State circa 2002- few mistakes, solid defense, doing what it takes to win. It will certainly be interesting to see how this one plays out.

Elsewhere in the midwest: Northwestern and Indiana played a tight ball game, Ohio State thumped Minnesota (well, in the second half), Purdue made the Illini AD speak up, while a proud Boiler alum alienated an entire portion of the Western Hemisphere.

Over in the SEC, Alabama staved off a scare from the sherbet Volunteers, blocking a field goal with time running out. Another point of discussion from yesterday- Why not fake it? Your kicker has already missed one, had the last one blocked, and you know the Tide is selling out. Plus, you're on the road as a huge underdog- Tell me a TE release wouldn't have been wide freaking open:

Florida held on to beat Mississippi State, in spite of Lord Tebow's two "pick six" throws. Again, having ranked teams in nail-biter games against unranked teams means that your conference is awesome (note: does not apply to the Big T1e1n). Mississippi beat Arkansas- maybe Corso was right. Kentucky beat no one, Auburn fell to LSU, and Vandy is still Vandy.

Over in the Big 12, more upsets abounded as Texas A&M discovered that you can also play offense and pounded Cap'n Leach's piratey crew. TBPU rolled Baylor (minus their QB), Nebraska fell to unranked Iowa State and Oklahoma defeated #25 Kansas. Remember, having ranked teams beaten by unranked teams proves your conference's awesomeness (note: does not apply to the Big T1e1n).

The ACC's poster program du jour took a hit as #10 Miami lost to Clemson at home. The ACC = Awesome, given what we've already discussed (not so fast, Big T1e1n fans). Georgia Tech also continues to ramble, and Boston College lost this year's "Catholic Clash" with Notre Ame. It must be nice to have opposing QBs constantly throw interceptions to wide open defenders in the waning minutes of close games. This means, as we learned on ESPN 360's halftime show, that Notre Ame continues to be the top independent program in the country; analogous to being a homeschool valedictorian.

Out west, TCU throttled BYU (see what happens when you can't put the QB out of the game?), Boise State remains undefeated, Washington Ducked, U$C managed to beat Oregon State- bringing them to .500 against them for the last four years.

Small schools update: SNU dropped to Langston, Western Oregon spoiled APU's homecoming, and no amount of defiance will change the fact that Anderson lost at home to the Yellow Jackets. Juanita managed to slip by the Moravian Greyhounds, 10-3; not a good day to for homecoming at smaller programs.

Over in the Picks League, Jake's "War Tiger" loyalty is the only thing that kept him away from a perfect week of choices:
Nice work by Jake and Aaron, being the only ones to see through the "Miami's BACK!"facade. For the folks who picked Michigan over Penn State- Awwww... that's cute.

Look! Dan's got a friend at the bottom of the list this week! And, it was not a good week for Joe at all...

Dan still holds onto the top spot, but Jake's strong week bumps him up the the top echelon. This has been your weekly use of the word "echelon".

Much tighter race in the pick department- at this juncture it could really be almost anyone's to win. (note: does not apply to people who have missed weeks. Or the Big T1e1n).

Last week, we talked about what I'd like to see for a "final four" package if, you know, college football had a playoff. This week, let's look at the "Hope for Destruction"- this one not involving a Mayan Calendar. We could, realistically, end up with six undefeated teams: Boise State, Cincinnati, Florida/Alabama, Iowa, TCU, and Texas. Given that only two of these good squadrons could end up in Pasadena at the end of the season (well, technically, four- but only two for the huge corporate sponsership fiasco with the sparkly football), there will be some sad pandas. Given the wonderment of logic that is the BCS, the remaining four undefeated teams will more than likely not be matched up against each other (if they even get to the BCS- realistically, both TCU and Boise State won't make it). So, we could end the season with five undefeated teams. This wonderfulness brought to you by the BC$... it's Fan-Tastic!

This week, there are some great games on slate- U$C squares off against Oregon, and Texas and Oklahoma State play for the Big 12 South Championship. Florida and Georgia meet in the "World's Largest Outdoor Renamed Event", while Baylor hosts Nebraska. Mich1gAAn travels to Champaign, while Notre Ame meets WSU! In primetime! Get excited!!

The APU Cougars travel to Trinity Texas (Maybe they'll bring back Barbecue), Anderson faces off against the mighty Beavers of Bluffton, and Southern Nazarene plays Northwestern Oklahoma in Sooner Athletic Conference action.

This weeks game from obscurity sees Mars Hill headed to Greenville to meet Tusculum College. No, it's not the controversial Mars Hill, or even the Mars Hill graduate school. 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 in liberal arts education and clog dancing.

As Tennessee's oldest college, Tusculum is listed in the National Registrar of Historic Places on nine different occasions. Unique in higher education TC is one of only three colleges to use the "block" or "focused" academic calendar, allowing students to take one course at a time. The Football Pioneers are currently 2-6, but hope to break their spell of bad luck at Halloween's homecoming festivities. Of course, if there are any boogers or haints that get in the way, all bets are off.

Paging Thomas Paine

It was one of those weeks in college football- the "times that try men's souls", as it were.

More than a few top squads found themselves in dogfights with opponents that, on paper, they should have dominated. But, because we know that games aren't played on paper but by tiny men in our television sets, this week's slate of competition ended up being quite memorable.

First, let's visit the Notre Ame Broadcasting Company, where the coverage of what would turn out to be a surprisingly good NA/U$C Game was worse than anything the Big Ten Network ever created. Not since the days of Jefferson Pilot Sports have people been subjected to such rampant homerism in the coverage. It's almost as if either they weren't watching the game or as if they'd gotten a high school budding sportscaster to cover it.

At any rate, my hat is off to Charlie Weis for his brilliant usage of my favorite trick play- the "missing man" formation; although Pete seems to be questioning the Irish's attempts to seek a competitive edge. What Carrol's Trojans aren't talking about, though, is the way they allowed a team to come back from a 20 point deficit to almost tie at the buzzer. And yet, even with some creative clock work by the Notre Dame officials, the Irish did not prevail. Interesting fact: The three signature wins of the Charlie Weis era are last year's victory over Hawaii in their bowl game, Almost beating U$C in 2005, and Almost beating U$C last night. Yup, two of the three are only moral victories.

The Red-River shootout turned out to be just that, with Texas holding on to win even after Oklahoma's Heisman Trophy QB was again sent to the sidelines. I'm very interested in seeing what the Big 12 South looks like this year- Texas has some development yet to do, in my opinion.

Over in the SEC, both Florida and Alabama were pushed to the brink. The Gators needed to have Tim Tebow's prayers answered on a last second field goal in order to beat Arkansas. I wonder how this guy feels about Tebow's faith now? The Great Saban and company were in a bit of a close game against the "Formerly Good Ballcoach", but managed to pull away in the second half.

Every one's favorite (well, not everyone, right Coach Stoops?) "little school that could" found themselves up to their necks against Tulsa, but the Boise State Broncos managed to hold on to their undefeated season with a seven point win. Cincinnati also looked to be in trouble, until USF self destructed in the second half.

Not all ranked teams fared well this weekend, though: In the ACC, Virginia Tech met the buzzsaw that is the triple option attack and lost their number four ranking to the Ramblin' Wreck. The Fighting Mangino's managed to let Coach Hawkins keep his job (after benching his son), Nebraska fell to unranked Texas Tech, and (yes, I'm getting to it) Ohio State choked against 1-5 Purdue. Having watched most of the game, "choked" isn't exactly the word for it... but this is a family blog, so I'll refrain.

It could be worse... Delaware State lost twice on Saturday. Once in an embarrassment to Mich1gAAn, and once by forfeiting the game that they originally scheduled for Saturday that they forgot to re-schedule so they could accept the $500,000 "pity date" payment TTUN gave them. To make matters worse, when the game was over they had to travel back to Delaware. *shudder*

Across the nation- Kentucky beat Auburn (honestly, I'm as surprised as you are), TCU continues to roll, Cal reminded Slick Rick who the "real" University is in this budget-forsaken state, and TBPU played solidly against a really overrated Mizzou team. UW again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, State Penn and Iowa played solidly against good opposition, Kansas State embarrassed aTm, and Vandy is Vandy, as my daughter would say. This week's "Big T1e1n Cripple Fight" goes to Indiana, who managed to beat Illinois in Champaign. Hope the resume's ready, coach Zook.

Small schools- Anderson's march towards a winless season continues, as they fell to Franklin. APU also dropped a match to Dixie State (which, I've just learned, is not in the South). SNU's Crimson Storm defeated Southern Assemblies to move to 4-3, and Gallaudet lost to Catholic (or so I heard).

For the second straight week, we've had a perfect score! Great job, Brian- must be the Florida QB name, right?

Michael went against his usual "Big 12 South" pattern and it cost him a tie for first for this week.

I'm not sure what happened to Jordy, but I did receive an "Oh, crap" email from Dan at about 9:35. Live and learn, hoss.

Matt? Not beating Michael in any/either category. Time to pick it up, bro.

Dan moves back into the lead, as Steve's poor showing this week drops him in the points race.

Now that the BC$ is out (interesting how ESPN has stopped calling for a playoff now that they have exclusive BCS rights?) it's time for my weekly "who I'd like to see play in a national championship game" update. With a lot of football still to be played, I think there are four teams I'd love to see in a playoff... you know, if the No Clue At All had such a thing. Semi-final games of U$C and Alabama with the winner playing either Texas or Florida would be a great thing for the fans, right? Ah, but it's not about the fans- it's about the tax-free money for these "educational endeavors". Silly me.

This week- It's Homecoming at APU, and Michael gets to be front and center for the game against Western Oregon. Joe's Ravens welcome Defiance (No! They do NOT!), while SNU meets Langston (APU's final opponent of the season).

Bigger schools- Ohio State looks to rebound against the Gophers, and Nebraska does the same against Iowa State. Illinois and Purdue square off, while Vanderbilt travels to South Carolina. Alabama and Tennessee play, as do State Penn and Mich1gAAn. UW begins it's quest to win the Northwet by meeting Oregon, and the marquee matchup is undefeated TCU against 16th ranked BYU.

Obscure game of the week: Juniata College and Moravian, in another Division Three clash between Pennsylvania schools. The Eagles of Juniata are winless on the year, unless you count the awesomeness that is "mattress dominoes". Founded in 1876, it's mission challenges students to be prepared "for the useful occupations of life". You know, like mattress dominoes- if I had a dollar for every time that was part of a job interview... Ironically, even though it is of Brethren heritage the first class had a 2-1 ratio in favor of the sistren. Some things never change, it seems. Although, if I was a male student at JC, I know what a great date would be- Lobsterfest. Who says tuition goes to waste?

Moravian college is American's sixth oldest (with a bullet!!), founded in 1742 as a seminary for women (again!) in Bethlehem PA. Their matchup with JC's Eagles will be a part of Homecoming festivities- perhaps alumni John Andretti will make a fast stop by campus? With only one win under their belt, the Greyhounds will hope to emerge victorious at Rocco Calvo Field. Little to no comment from the good people of Moravia regarding the team's successes this season... perhaps they're just a bit too captivated by 77 other things.