First, the record: 16-4.
Of those four losses, I blame myself for not trusting my gut and picking South Carolina over perenially over-rated Georgia, and I have to say that Fresno State almost came through in the end, taking Texas A&M to three overtimes before faltering. Gutsy call by Texas A&M, by the way, going for the two point conversion in that third overtime. I thought the Auburn game would be close, but I thought Auburn would win. My bad there. TCU v. Texas looked good the first half, but TCU's second half collapse left Texas with a convincing victory.
I'm concerned for my Big Ten conference, though. Wisconsin looked very sluggish against UNLV, taking the game down to the wire. Michigan once again looked like very sick puppies (yet on their message board, unbelievably, they're still talking about winning the Big Ten). Ohio State didn't really impress against Akron, especially in the first half. Even the Post is onto it.
I was also thinking about the local college football scene and realizing that since none of the DC schools actually play any real football, University of Maryland is the only game in town, and they're not much game as it is. Navy, in Annapolis, is the next closest D-1 team (and this year probably the next best within 120 miles), but no one speaks their name in the same breath as "top 25" unless Notre Dame is having a good year. Charlottesville is an agonizing one and a half hours away, so they're about as local as Temple, and Blacksburg is so ridiculously remote, you might as well consider the Mountaineers, Rutgers, or even Penn State a "local" team. In fact, given the quality of the teams the Post currently considers "local," I wouldn't be surprised to see them start to claim WVU...
10 September 2007
08 September 2007
Sweet, sweet, victory.
Aside from the final score of Penn State 31 - Notre Dame 10, the sweetest statistic of all was the Notre Dame rushing total: ZERO yards. That's right. Exactly 0 yards on the ground to go with Jimmy Clausen's 143 yards through the air. It's hard to win football games when you can't run the ball at all.
So PSU survived three turnovers to rout the Irish, and I hope Charlie Weis was taking notes when JoePa, leading 31-10, decided against calling a fake punt on a fourth and one situation. It's called class and respect, Charlie. Take notes.
One thing is for certain: when winless Notre Dame takes on winless Michigan, one of them will snap the losing streak.
And proving once again that something in the Ann Arbor air makes Michigan players and fans alike absurdly arrogant, Michigan running back Mike Hart used the Wolverines' devastating loss to Oregon to guarantee victory next week:
Hart predicted the Wolverines won't be winless after hosting Notre Dame.
"I guarantee we win next week," Hart said.
That's classic bulletin board material.
07 September 2007
If it's Friday, it's College Football Predictions.
OK. We have a few more interesting matchups this week than we had last week, but really it takes about three or four weeks before the top 25 is really settled and we have some good matchups and better ideas of where teams belong. After Louisville's performance on Thursday, I look to them to either stay put or drop a rank or two. Here are the rest of the top 25 matchups and predictions:
1. USC takes the week off.
2. LSU v. #9 Virginia Tech. Vtech won't know what hit them. LSU goes Katrina on their ass.
3. WVU v. Marshall. WVU continues to feast on steady diet of cupcakes.
4. Florida v. Troy. Troy is not to be confused with Trojans, as in USC. Florida routs this punching bag.
5. Oklahoma v. Miami. In a battle of two schools with storied thuggish programs, OU will win big. BTW, OK and Wisc are technically both #5 in the AP poll...
6. Wisconsin v. UNLV. Huh? Wisconsin will send this squad back to their homes in tears.
7. Texas v. #19 TCU. TCU wins a shocker in Austin.
8. Louisville v. Middle Tennessee State University. Louisville won, but not very convincingly.
9. V Tech v. #2 LSU. LSU wins big.
10. Cal v. Colorado State. Cal shows no let up and handles C-State easily.
11. Georgia v. South Carolina. I'd love to pick SC in this one, but I can't. Bulldogs beat Gamecocks.
12. Ohio State v. Akron. Akron has a good program, but OSU has a better and more criminal one. OSU wins by two touchdowns and some change.
13. UCLA v. Brigham Young. UCLA wins big at home.
14. Penn State v. Notre Dame. PSU wins big. Charlie Weis starts to rethink whether being an asshole who fake punts even when his team is winning big is really a great way to live.
15. Rutgers v. Navy. Rutgers will sink Navy.
16. Nebraska v. Wake Forest. Nebraska rolls against a weak ACC team.
17. Auburn v. South Florida. Auburn wins, but closer than it should be.
18. Arkansas doesn't play this week.
19. TCU v. #7 Texas. Hit the Road, Mack. TCU upsets Texas.
20. Hawaii v. La. Tech. Hawaii continues its victory march.
21. Georgia Tech v. Samford. GTech woops up on Samford.
22. Boise State v. Washington. Washington upsets Boise State. Yes, I said it.
23. Texas A&M v. Fresno State. Fresno State stuns the Aggies.
24. Tennessee v. Southern Miss. Tennessee recovers and soundly beats So Miss.
25. Clemson v. Louisiana-Monroe. Clemson in a laugher.
Here's what's happening in the Big 10 outside the top 25:
Michigan will top Oregon, and if they don't Lloyd Carr will be dragged from the field and beaten severely by crazed Wolverine fans.
In my mind, that game is the only one that a Big 10 team might lose on Saturday, and pity Carr if UM loses again, at home.
1. USC takes the week off.
2. LSU v. #9 Virginia Tech. Vtech won't know what hit them. LSU goes Katrina on their ass.
3. WVU v. Marshall. WVU continues to feast on steady diet of cupcakes.
4. Florida v. Troy. Troy is not to be confused with Trojans, as in USC. Florida routs this punching bag.
5. Oklahoma v. Miami. In a battle of two schools with storied thuggish programs, OU will win big. BTW, OK and Wisc are technically both #5 in the AP poll...
6. Wisconsin v. UNLV. Huh? Wisconsin will send this squad back to their homes in tears.
7. Texas v. #19 TCU. TCU wins a shocker in Austin.
8. Louisville v. Middle Tennessee State University. Louisville won, but not very convincingly.
9. V Tech v. #2 LSU. LSU wins big.
10. Cal v. Colorado State. Cal shows no let up and handles C-State easily.
11. Georgia v. South Carolina. I'd love to pick SC in this one, but I can't. Bulldogs beat Gamecocks.
12. Ohio State v. Akron. Akron has a good program, but OSU has a better and more criminal one. OSU wins by two touchdowns and some change.
13. UCLA v. Brigham Young. UCLA wins big at home.
14. Penn State v. Notre Dame. PSU wins big. Charlie Weis starts to rethink whether being an asshole who fake punts even when his team is winning big is really a great way to live.
15. Rutgers v. Navy. Rutgers will sink Navy.
16. Nebraska v. Wake Forest. Nebraska rolls against a weak ACC team.
17. Auburn v. South Florida. Auburn wins, but closer than it should be.
18. Arkansas doesn't play this week.
19. TCU v. #7 Texas. Hit the Road, Mack. TCU upsets Texas.
20. Hawaii v. La. Tech. Hawaii continues its victory march.
21. Georgia Tech v. Samford. GTech woops up on Samford.
22. Boise State v. Washington. Washington upsets Boise State. Yes, I said it.
23. Texas A&M v. Fresno State. Fresno State stuns the Aggies.
24. Tennessee v. Southern Miss. Tennessee recovers and soundly beats So Miss.
25. Clemson v. Louisiana-Monroe. Clemson in a laugher.
Here's what's happening in the Big 10 outside the top 25:
Michigan will top Oregon, and if they don't Lloyd Carr will be dragged from the field and beaten severely by crazed Wolverine fans.
In my mind, that game is the only one that a Big 10 team might lose on Saturday, and pity Carr if UM loses again, at home.
And in a totally unrelated note, tomorrow is the opening of DC Stoddert Soccer, so my weekends will be even busier this fall (and I can't wait until t-ball starts up next week, either...)
On the Outside Looking in.
I am of course writing this post from an alternative reality. I'm not sure how long I've been trapped in this other world, but occasionally information filters in from the real world and gives me the unsettling feeling that all is not well, and that I do indeed live in a state of waking dream.
In this alternative universe, the Iraq War is going poorly. The alterno-Bush Administration cooked up evidence against Iraq, invaded the country, deposed the dictator, and believed the occupying forces would be met with flowers strewn at their feet. Four long years later, we're still involved in this war, here in alterno-universe. In fact, while many critics predicted that deposing Saddam would lead to sectarian violence and devolve into civil war, they were ignored by the media and the politicians...and unfortunately in alterno-world, that's exactly what has happened.
However, I'm made to understand that back in your world, the real world, this is not the case. President Bush has affirmed to none other than Australian Deputy Prime Minster Mark Vaile that the U.S. is vanquishing foes left and right:
So thank goodness for that. You can all be thankful you live in the real world and not in my alterno nightmare world.
---
And speaking of alternative universes, the President is apparently getting a drubbing in the comments section of the link I've given above...except for a few diehard morons whose alternative realities are far more real to them and far more idiotic. Take this fantasy-laced diatribe from one right-wing tool:
The problem, Mr. Hewitt, isn't that Bush said "ass"; the problem is that he's a moron whose statements have absolutely no bearing on reality, but so long as he has useful idiots who believe that Iraq has any connection at all to "those plane attacks," then he's got a base of hardcore, slime-eating, primeval supporters. What the fuck does airport security have to do with invading Iraq?
Wouldn't we all like to disappear into a SIMS world right now?
In this alternative universe, the Iraq War is going poorly. The alterno-Bush Administration cooked up evidence against Iraq, invaded the country, deposed the dictator, and believed the occupying forces would be met with flowers strewn at their feet. Four long years later, we're still involved in this war, here in alterno-universe. In fact, while many critics predicted that deposing Saddam would lead to sectarian violence and devolve into civil war, they were ignored by the media and the politicians...and unfortunately in alterno-world, that's exactly what has happened.
However, I'm made to understand that back in your world, the real world, this is not the case. President Bush has affirmed to none other than Australian Deputy Prime Minster Mark Vaile that the U.S. is vanquishing foes left and right:
"We're kicking ass," Bush said to Vaile Tuesday, according the Herald, after the deputy prime minister inquired about his trip to Iraq.
So thank goodness for that. You can all be thankful you live in the real world and not in my alterno nightmare world.
---
And speaking of alternative universes, the President is apparently getting a drubbing in the comments section of the link I've given above...except for a few diehard morons whose alternative realities are far more real to them and far more idiotic. Take this fantasy-laced diatribe from one right-wing tool:
give me a break people. we all slip and say stuff like this. you are supposed to be on his side(america's side). i guess everyone forgot about those plane attacks again. i dont think he took the presidential seat knowing what it held for him. no one does. put yourself in his shoes. nevermind, you cant. i dont encourage or like war, and i feel for every family who has lost a family member, but sometimes you have to react when you have been the target of a terror plot. guess we shouldnt have increased security at airports either. remember he is a human being and your leader and we should support him and this country in whatever our/your president feels is best for this great land
Posted By jason hewitt, santee, sc : September 6, 2007 6:56 pm
The problem, Mr. Hewitt, isn't that Bush said "ass"; the problem is that he's a moron whose statements have absolutely no bearing on reality, but so long as he has useful idiots who believe that Iraq has any connection at all to "those plane attacks," then he's got a base of hardcore, slime-eating, primeval supporters. What the fuck does airport security have to do with invading Iraq?
Wouldn't we all like to disappear into a SIMS world right now?
06 September 2007
My bike is out of commission...
So yesterday I'm running a few lunchtime errands...I park my bike outside a shop, I take care of the.business, and when I return, the rear tire is flat like the Eastern Shore. For those of you unaware of such things, it's no fun pushing a disabled bike around town in the heat and humidity.
When I get it home, I zip the tire off, find an inch-long thin spear of metal sticking through the tire and tube. I patch it up, inflate, deflate, inflate, everything seems to be ok, so I put the tire back on, being o-so-careful that it's balanced properly, and...
I overtighten the damn skewer, stripping the nut and rendering my work useless, especially as it's after seven p.m., City Bikes is closed and no I don't happen to keep extra sets lying around the house.
So I'm on foot today.
Man it's so much slower.
05 September 2007
From the Archives....
Here's a recently discovered out take from the shooting of Caddyshack (1980), with Rodney Dangerfield and the actor who plays Spaulding having an informal moment between shots:
By the way, is he wearing inflatable pants? 04 September 2007
College Football Weekend #1 Post-Mortem
I did a miserable job picking the games this weekend. It's not that I got so many wrong, but really on opening weekend you shouldn't get any wrong, really. And my descriptions of how teams would win or lose were, um, fanciful. The most obvious howler was the Michigan v. Appalachian State matchup. In this case, I thought the Wolverines deserved their #5 ranking, but I was sadly mistaken. Here's what I said:
Ahem. Far from destroyifying anything other than their own reputation, Michigan trailed the entire game and ended up losing to a Division I-AA team. I also claimed that Penn State wouldn't cover the spread, but I think that 59-0 covered the spread pretty handily (I think it was somewhere in the 30's); I thought Tennessee would lead Cal and then choke in the end, whereas it was almost the other way around. About the best call I had was that "over-ranked Virginia Tech beats East Carolina," because they are over-ranked, and that's about all they did, 17-7. Either East Carolina is a sleeper powerhouse (not) or V-Tech is looking at a four or five loss season, with the first coming up this weekend against LSU.
In actual right/wrong numbers, I went 17-3.
Speaking of the Penn State game, we watched it from high in the stands on a beautiful sunny day, and while it's hard to draw conclusions from a rout of one of the worst teams in Division I-A, I can draw a few:
1. QB Anthony Morelli is not making the horrible decisions he made last year: he's checking off receivers, handling the rush, and not throwing into triple coverage. That's good.
2. QB Anthony Morelli is not hitting receivers in stride, forcing many of them to go up high or dive to make the catch, meaning there are fewer Yards-after-Catch (YACs). Against a good team, that will be a problem.
3. The linebackers look GOOD. Dan Connor as always was everywhere. Sean Lee had a hell of a game as well.
4. Everyone is excited for next week's game against Notre Dame, although I'm sure the "showdown" aspect has been lessened by Georgia Tech's demolition of the Fighting Irish. I mean, 33-3 in South Bend? If Penn State beats them next week, it takes the sweetness out of the victory, and if PSU were to lose, well, that would be pretty damn embarrassing.
In fact, with both Notre Dame and Michigan looking poorer than one might have expected, Penn State has a good chance to go 4-0 in the early going, especially with two cream-puffs like Florida International and Buffalo in the mix. In fact, they could very easily be 6-0 going into the October 13 home game against Wisconsin. If they survive that game, they'd most likely be 8-0 going into October 27 at home against Ohio State.
However, knowing Penn State's history against Michigan, we could easily lose that game (it's in Ann Arbor) and stumble against a lesser Big 10 team like Iowa and enter the Wisconsin game 4-2.
Yes, I'm that sort of fan: I believe (almost) every year, that Penn State can go undefeated, while at the same time I believe every year that we could choke against middling teams and finish with three or four losses (and in recent years even more...ugh).
Anyway, it was good to see JoePa jog out of the tunnel with the team and to see the campus again.
5. Michigan destroyifies Appalachian State.
Ahem. Far from destroyifying anything other than their own reputation, Michigan trailed the entire game and ended up losing to a Division I-AA team. I also claimed that Penn State wouldn't cover the spread, but I think that 59-0 covered the spread pretty handily (I think it was somewhere in the 30's); I thought Tennessee would lead Cal and then choke in the end, whereas it was almost the other way around. About the best call I had was that "over-ranked Virginia Tech beats East Carolina," because they are over-ranked, and that's about all they did, 17-7. Either East Carolina is a sleeper powerhouse (not) or V-Tech is looking at a four or five loss season, with the first coming up this weekend against LSU.
In actual right/wrong numbers, I went 17-3.
Speaking of the Penn State game, we watched it from high in the stands on a beautiful sunny day, and while it's hard to draw conclusions from a rout of one of the worst teams in Division I-A, I can draw a few:
1. QB Anthony Morelli is not making the horrible decisions he made last year: he's checking off receivers, handling the rush, and not throwing into triple coverage. That's good.
2. QB Anthony Morelli is not hitting receivers in stride, forcing many of them to go up high or dive to make the catch, meaning there are fewer Yards-after-Catch (YACs). Against a good team, that will be a problem.
3. The linebackers look GOOD. Dan Connor as always was everywhere. Sean Lee had a hell of a game as well.
4. Everyone is excited for next week's game against Notre Dame, although I'm sure the "showdown" aspect has been lessened by Georgia Tech's demolition of the Fighting Irish. I mean, 33-3 in South Bend? If Penn State beats them next week, it takes the sweetness out of the victory, and if PSU were to lose, well, that would be pretty damn embarrassing.
In fact, with both Notre Dame and Michigan looking poorer than one might have expected, Penn State has a good chance to go 4-0 in the early going, especially with two cream-puffs like Florida International and Buffalo in the mix. In fact, they could very easily be 6-0 going into the October 13 home game against Wisconsin. If they survive that game, they'd most likely be 8-0 going into October 27 at home against Ohio State.
However, knowing Penn State's history against Michigan, we could easily lose that game (it's in Ann Arbor) and stumble against a lesser Big 10 team like Iowa and enter the Wisconsin game 4-2.
Yes, I'm that sort of fan: I believe (almost) every year, that Penn State can go undefeated, while at the same time I believe every year that we could choke against middling teams and finish with three or four losses (and in recent years even more...ugh).
Anyway, it was good to see JoePa jog out of the tunnel with the team and to see the campus again.
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