I'm worried. It could be possible that I'm turning into a genuine, beer drinking, farting, belching, prototypical specimen of a football fan. I don't know what it is about this season that makes it different from previous seasons, but it seems like I'm just drowning in football all of a sudden. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining or nothin'- but you would imagine after working, say, twelve hours of overtime at the Arizona game the other week that, once home, watching more football would be the last thing on anyone's mind. Yet I did exactly that- cursing the Utes' loss and wishing BYU wouldn't have lost and idly hoping Texas Tech could fuck up another Big 12 National Title Prospect. Alas, it wasn't a good Saturday for me- yet the Vikings won, so Sunday turned out AOK.
Anyway, I seem to be eating, drinking, wallowing in football these days, so I'm going to venture forth into the realms of sports commentary (a LNC first, by the way- you lucky readers, you!) and break down the college football season thus far as I see it. Am I an expert in any way, shape or form on this stuff? Not in the slightest. I just watch it-- but am I gonna get through this without putting on a goofy looking mascot's head. Damn straight I am.
So without further ado:
The BCS: This year's tiresome debate has yet to really begin. Should Boise State, TCU or Houston- or hopefully all 3 pull of undefeated seasons, I'd imagine it will get especially shrill. Proponents of the current system say that a playoff just won't work in college football- that's great and awesome, except that one just has to look at the FCS (Football Championship Series) to see that it, in fact, does work. I understand that there's a lot of history to the Bowl System and that's fine- so why not just take the Elite 8 at the end of the season have them play their way into whichever Bowl is hosting the national title that year? Everyone else gets their Bowl System, the sports elites and coaches can weigh in by taking into account whatever it is they take into account with these polls and college football gets, in my mind, a little more exciting. Call me crazy- but I think that would be fun to watch. (I haven't seen much of TCU or Houston, but Boise State is doin' their thing. Go Broncos!)
Iowa: Not bad, not bad- but things get a lot tougher from here on in. The victories at Iowa State and against UNI can be explained by the fact that Iowa State is worse than people think and UNI is a lot better than people think. The win against Arizona was purely on the backs of the defense, who played brilliantly. My concern remains the inconsistency of our offense. We can usually get pretty decent offense going by about the second half, if not the second quarter, it seems- however, against opponents like we've had, that's fine- against Penn State, if we don't play grade A, balls out football on both sides of the ball for the full 60 minutes, we're toast. Speaking of Penn State- I think it'll be tough, but not impossible, because I don't think we really have a good measure of Penn State yet. Playing people like Akron and Temple does not impress me and in my mind doesn't earn you a #5 ranking in the polls. Win or lose tomorrow, I hope we can walk out of Happy Valley secure in the knowledge that we made Penn State work for every yard and score they get. Then they might actually deserve to be #5 in the country.
Welcome To Reality: The Pac-10 might be getting tougher. I remember back in the day, the Pac-10 used to give us fits. Iowa kept going to the Rose Bowl and losing to Washington- I think the first time I remember beating them was in the Sun Bowl towards the end of Hayden Fry's tenure. But the Pac-10 has never impressed me very much- the joke with the Big Ten was that it was the Big 2 and the little 8. Or 9, rather... with the Pac-10 that seemed to be the Big 1 (USC) and the little 9. That appears to be changing. Granted, USC loses to someone random without fail, every season- but Washington? Who went 0-12 last year? That was one heckuva game and gave notice to the Trojans that the they were no longer the untouchable immortals they once were. Given the fluidity of the USC quarterback situation-- and even if they settle with Barkley- his relative youth and lack of experience could be factors-- I'd say, with Oregon, Oregon State and Cal to get past, USC might not be able to cake-walk into a Rose Bowl this year. Hopefully Cal wins out.
The Big 10 could be interesting again. Last year, it was a totally free for all, which I loved- but this year-- Michigan appears to have found a QB that will give the rest of the conference nightmares for the next three years in Trent Forcier or whatever his name is. But I don't think they're quite there yet. Notre Dame isn't quite there yet either, which is why they lost that game- a couple of years could see Michigan and the Irish back on their A-games. Ohio State and Penn State have yet to really impress me. Penn State appears to have slept through a cupcake non-conference schedule and Ohio State can't even get the job done against USC at home which really pissed me off. By rights, that should have dropped them clear off the polls, but it didn't. Dammit. I have a feeling that it's gonna be Penn State at the top with a free for all below that. Ohio State should have its hands full with pretty much everyone else in the conference, including Iowa. For the future, I'd keep an eye on Minnesota and Northwestern. They seem to be slowly building into mid-range teams in the conference again. I might go out on a limb and say that Iowa could easily be in the top 3 at the end of the season and if not, they should be (by rights) a comfortable #4.
Florida could be mere mortals again. I heard that a lot after their win against the Vols last weekend, but I'm not buying quite yet. They are the Goliath of college football and its going to take more than the Vols to knock them off-- and Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss are waiting for 'em. Of the three, I'd pick 'Bama to take 'em to the mat and maybe even beat them- but that could only fuel Tebow's fire to kick ass and take names for the rest of the season after that. But once again, the SEC lives up to its billing as the toughest conference around.
The ACC could get interesting-- where did Miami of Florida come from? Seriously now- Jacori Harris? Wow... the Hurricanes are fo'sho back in the hiz-ouse. But VaTech is too- especially after showing their chops with that beautiful win against the Huskers (was it last week or the week before-- whenever it was...)
And of course, there's the Big 12. Can someone beat Texas, please? And what's up with such a lopsided conference--- quick, name me a team other than Missouri or Nebraska that's come close to winning the Big 12 from the Big 12 North in the past, like 20 years? Anyone? Anyone? That's what's always baffled me about the Big 12-- it seems like all the big guns are in the South Division.
So there you have it: my take on the college football season thus far. How much of the above is complete and total bullshit? Time will tell. Maybe at the end of the season, I'll run back through this and see if I'm full of more bullshit or Lee Corso is... either way, things get fun from here on it.
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