Weekend Picks - September 30

I'm heading to The Grove this weekend. Ole Miss is the last SEC West team that I will cross off my list. I've always heard such good things about the place, so I'm eager to see it for myself. ESPN2 has ensured I will see a lot of the Grove because kickoff isn't until 9:00 EST. I hope I will remain upright and awake for the duration.

Alabama at Florida - This sounded so much better last year. The Gators lying in wait, looking for revenge for the beating they received last year. But the Tide has seen much of its luster from a year ago wear off. The Tide still has a solid defense, but it's not like the defense that laughed at Urban's spread last year. Bama needs turnovers and a great day out of John Parker Wilson against a rebuilt UF secondary. I don't think it happens. UF, 27-13.

Ohio State at Iowa - The Hawkeyes are fired up for this one, but they need more than yelling fans. Troy Smith is the difference in this one. Buckeyes, 31-13.

Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech - Blacksburg is a nasty, nasty place for the opposing team, but I think the nerds can challenge Virginia Tech. The VT offense will struggle to figure out Tech's defense and will allow GT to hang around in this one. Reggie Ball better hope Calvin Johnson can play because the nerds won't score much without him. In the end, the Hokies pull it out, but its close. Virginia Tech, 20-13.

Wedding Chimes

As we all know, Alabama fans are obsessed. Well, it's time to turn it up a notch because Brady Wakefield and Carson Beddingfield have outdone all the other Bammers. No word if the bride lived up to her maiden name after the ceremony.

My favorite part of the article is that the father of the bride wore a houndstooth hat. While a make fun of you, Brady Wakefield, you have earned my respect.

Programs are for Suckers: An Ode to Game Notes

I'll admit that I am tempted to buy or save anything that commemorates my attendance at a big game, actually, any game. I save ticket stubs. I love getting the crap that they pass out at baseball games, like free crappy velcro wallets or terrible, nonabsorbent towels with a stiff, abrasive corporate logo on them. I take pictures. I save my souvenir cups.

That being said, I am not a big program buyer. This is because since the widepread use of the internet by SID departments, I can get the same load of useless information without forking over my six dollars. Before you recoil at the idea that I would celebrate the saving of six bucks while spending hundreds of dollars each on tickets, hotels, and transportation, please hear me out.

Each school's SID department compiles and publishes copious notes for the media who attend their upcoming game. To show off their work, the athletic department publishes the notes on their website. These media notes are filled with every stat imaginable and bits of obsure information that only the truly sick fan can appreciate. For example, did you know that Ed Orgeron's TV show is named "The O Show?" Or that LSU has not had a turnover in two consecutive games for the second time in the Les Miles era? Once you read all this crap, you'll know more than the beat writer covering the team.

Game notes do contain valuable resources you may need during a game. They always have depth charts, usually for both teams. The depth charts are usually on a single page, maximizing convenieince and speed of knowledge when, for example, the opposing team is running all over you despite the anonymity of their players.

"Honey, who is number 10 and why can't we tackle him?" - Wife

Plus, there are no ads in the game notes, unlike those glossy programs. If the game notes get soaked in spilled coke flowing down from three rows up, you don't care because they were free. If so inclined, one can recycle the game notes. Also, each team's SID department puts out game notes, so you can see the game from both perspectives.

But beware. Some SID departments are overstaffed. For example, I looked at Colorado's game notes for last weeks game. They were 43 pages long. LSU's game notes for this weekend's game are 53 pages. If you run into to such a problem, cherrypick. You probably aren't interested in everything, so you can just print out the pages you need.

Go to your schools official website and get your game notes now.

The Coach Whisperer

My Dad told me last week about a strange development near home. One of the high schools we used to play, Abingdon, has suspended its coach for -- get this -- yelling at his players. I'm sure the team's 53-0 loss in the game had nothing to do with it. The school board said it was more than yelling. According to the board, the coach occasionally cusses, too, and is "verbally and emotionally abusive." One shudders to think what they would have made of Woody Hayes.

The coach responds that "There's a band there, and there's a lot of noise. You're not going to get anyone's attention by being a whisperer." (Just ask Chuck Amato.) Check out the picture in that article -- it looks like the coach has been suspended from shaving, too.

Dad -- who coached high school football and baseball for fifteen years -- said he ran into one of his cronies in the post office, and the guy said, "I hear there's a coaching vacancy if you want the job." Scoffed Dad, "Hell, if they don't want somebody who yells at the kids, they don't want me." Maybe I'll have to start posting more of my Dad's stories. Right off, I remember the one about how he paddled every kid in his high school phys. ed. class because they wouldn't help him line the field before a football game. Maybe I've exaggerated that one in my memory, but the point is, my Dad is old school. Not Junction Boys old school, but he did his share of yelling and facemask-grabbing.

My favorite part of this whole story is a quote from another area coach that uses one of my all-time favorite words: "I don't condone cursing at all, but I'm not going to mollycoddle anybody." Yeah, school board: Quit yer mollycoddling! There's no mollycoddling in football!

The Bear: Not a mollycoddler.

Michael Lewis

The New York Times Magazine follows up Michael Lewis's awesome spread on Mike Leach last year with this story on Ole Miss tackle Michael Oher. If you haven't read this already, take some time and read it.

Neal Slavin for The New York Times

Michael Lewis is quickly becoming one of my favorite sportswriters. I enjoyed him when he was skewering Wall Street in "Liar's Poker." I liked "Moneyball," but I have really enjoyed his work on football in the NYT Magazine.

Memo to Joe Theisman:

Shut up. No one likes you.

The View From Athens

Yes, it was ugly. Yes, Georgia should never be trailing a 0-3 team by two scores with ten minutes left. But, frankly, this seems to be a yearly event. It seems the Dawgs struggle to get by someone in the third or fourth game. One year it was UAB. Another it was Marshall. Georgia will be ready for UT in two weeks (I'm not yet ready to say they win that game, but they'll be ready to play). That being said, we have some major problems on the offensive side of the ball. The line struggles to open holes, the receivers have problems catching the ball sometimes, and the running backs don't break too many tackles. The quarterbacks have done well despite their youth. The Dawgs need to pull it together in Oxford to get the Buffalos out of their system.

Speaking of the Buffalos, I always enjoy seeing teams I've never seen before. Colorado was tough and they had a great game plan. The Buff fans were fun and during the game it looked like they were bordering on euphoria (Dawg fans, not so much). Ralphie lived up to her considerable hype.

Overall, the game was well worth the 19 hours I spent in the car going to it and coming back from it. Two personal notes. First, while wondering through the football museum at the UGA athletic offices, my wife and I ran into Matt Stafford. I wished him luck for the game and he said thanks. After Stafford was pulled in the third quarter, my wife said I am forever forbidden from speaking to a player before a game. Also, the shoes I bought last year for gamedays are officially retired. I wore them to the Auburn game (last second, gut wrenching loss), the Sugar Bowl (I forget who won that one), and most recently the Colorado game. They are now my former game day shoes.

ESPN Angers Me More (if possible)

Dodgy At Best reports that ESPN has pulled Ron Franklin from its prime time Saturday college football game. Franklin is the best play-by-play guy in college football. When he and Mike Gottfried were paired up, there was never a stupid Bob Davie-esque comment or any overdramatic hyperbole a la Musburger. They were the best pair to call a game in football. Better than Madden and Summerall. Better than anyone on TV now, although Verne and Blackledge came pretty close. Is nothing sacred? Bring Ron back!

Weekend Picks - September 23

I'm heading to Athens this afternoon for the big SEC - Big 12 Showdown between Colorado and Georgia. This game looked really good last year since Colorado had won its division and hired a supposed wonderboy coach in Dan Hawkins. Today, it looks like a snoozer. Colorado has problems on offense and sports a decent defense. Georgia's defense has looked great, albeit against three tomato cans, while Matt Stafford is progressing on offense. Frankly, I'm excited to go back to Athens, but this game looks much less competitive than when I told my wife we should go because it could be a close game. At least Colorado is bringing this thing for me to look at before the game and during halftime:

In all seriousness, I am pretty excited to see Ralphie. She's one of the great live mascots in college football, along with UGA, Mike the Tiger, and Auburn's bird. Here's a good story on life with Ralphie. The Dawgs win, 27-3.

Alabama at Arkansas - Does anyone else who is not a Bammer or Hawg really ever think about this game? I follow the league pretty well, but I couldn't tell you anything about this series. I always seem to ignore this game. Two red and white SEC West teams playing early in the season on a nondiscript weekend. It sounds like a scrimmage. That may be a shame this weekend because these are two teams that are hungry to prove themselves. Both teams struggled to get by Vandy and haven't looked great against any team of substance. Knowing these teams, however, you can expect a physical game filled with good defense and lots of running. Mitch Mustain has looked good at times, but Bama's defense should knock him around. Bama has reverted to the Gene Stallings era so far this year, winning by 3 and reliant on a dominant defense. I think that formula wins again Saturday, Bama 17-10.

Notre Dame at Michigan State - Michigan State always gives the Domers problems. Notre Dame got embarrased last weekend. Michigan State got a solid win last week at Pitt. I think these facts, and the fact that State is playing at home, leads to the conclusion that the Spartans win a shootout 35-31.

I tried to find another game of interest on the schedule, but there weren't many good ones.

I'll have the scene from Athens next week. Kickoff is set for 12:30 EST, which is the worst kickoff time going. Damn you, Jefferson-Pilot, err, Lincoln Financial.

Gibby Rides Again

I'm still trying to process the amazing Dodgers-Padres game from late Monday night. The lead in the N.L. West was on the line. In short, the Dodgers were down 9-5 in the bottom of the ninth, after a wild back-and-forth game. Many of the famously casual L.A. fans had already left. But then the magic happened: the Dodgers hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs. Four consecutive home runs on seven pitches to tie the game! Only three times in baseball history had a team hit four home runs in a row in an inning, and never to tie a game in the end of the ninth. What made it even more amazing, if it's possible, is that the last two of the four were hit of super-closer Trevor Hoffman, who had converted something like 55 of 57 career save opportunities against the Dodgers.

The Padres somehow managed to scrape out a run in the top of the tenth, but there was no way this game was going to end with a Dodgers loss after two four-run comebacks, the latter being the unprecedented ninth inning. And sure enough, Nomar Garciaparra, with a bum leg and all, hit a two-run game-winning home run to give L.A. an 11-10 victory. I remember seeing Kirk Gibson's stunning home run off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. (I was in a hotel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.) I didn't see this game, but I can't imagine how it could have been much less awesome. A perfect game has its own kind of magic, but it builds for a whole game. This was just one of those anything-can-happen, never over till it's over things that's simply unexplainable, and has a good argument as the best regular season game ever.

I have some links for you. Here and here are some good L.A. Times stories, including one with lots of player interviews as they walk through the game's end, moment by moment. Here and here are some good ones from ESPN, and here is a great ESPN story with lots of interviews of Dodger Stadium regulars about where they were during the game. The coolest detail: the Dodgers have a strict no re-entry policy (you even have to sign out to smoke!), but when fans came back from the parking lot upon hearing the comeback in the making, the team let them back in because they knew it was something special. (That reminds me to ask Kyle to tell his story about getting ejected from a Georgia football game and coming back in. Thanks, Kyle!)

The stories are very good, but the video is worth seeing to experience the absolute bedlam taking place among the remaining fans. Here are the video clips set to Charley Steiner's crazy radio call (worth hearing). And it's nice to hear Vin Scully -- who's seen it all, or at least now he has -- react in awe at what he's calling for the tv broadcast. So, here is a shortened version with just the highlights. And here (part 1 and part 2) are fuller replays that gives more context and really shows how sudden this all was. Here and here are some wild crowd reaction videos. They were flipping out. (Caution: a few curse words.) And here, for the heck of it, is a video of the highlights set to Randy Newman's "I Love L.A."

Finally, for comparison, here is the only video I could quickly find of Gibson's homer. Annoyingly, it's set to some tune, so mute the video and listen to Jack Buck's famous radio call here. In Buck's words, "I don't believe what I just saw!" I think it applies equally well to Monday's game.

Best T-Shirt of the Season, So Far.

Tony Joiner inspires the best t-shirt of the season so far. If it were in different colors, I would consider laying some money down for one. But, I hate the jean shorters.

LSU Refs.

Here's video of one bad call. I think this is interference, but LSU got three on that drive.

Here's video of the other bad call. I can understand the SEC's argument about this call. Assuming the tip made the ball uncatchable, then I agree with the ref's assesment of the pass interference call. This also assumes that Doucet could not make an adjustment of the ball because of his physical limitations rather than the force of the defensive back driving him away from the ball. I'm not sure that's a completely safe assumption.

I thought about the holding call that King Bee discussed below. Holding is often a "pass interference light" because it does not require a catchable pass. After looking at the video, though, the DB doesn't really hold Doucet in the usual sense. He punches Doucet in the gut.

Blitzed!

Southern football legend Joe Lee Dunn was fired today by the University of Memphis. Joe Lee was the defensive coordiantor at South Carolina, Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Mississippi State before joining Tommy West's staff in Memphis. Dunn's defenses were always fun to watch because they would at times seem to blitz 11 men. Joe Lee's defenses were high risk and high reward. They were always physical and fun to watch. (I'm not kidding about sending 11.)

That style endeared him to the Southern fans. That and the fact that he always wore his loafers without socks on the sidelines.

Weekend Thoughts

1. Am I the only person in America (outside of Oregon) who thinks the officials were right on the onside kick call in the Oregon-Oklahoma? I'm not saying that the Duck player didn't touch the ball before it went ten yards. But the call on the field -- a bang-bang play -- was that he didn't. The standard for the replay is that there must be indisputable video evidence to overturn that call. I watched the same replays everyone else did. And I thought it looked like the player hit the ball too soon. But even Okies have to admit it was pretty close -- the ball went at least nine yards. So it wasn't a crazy to miss the call. But the problem with the replays are that so few of them were straight-on. That introduces the problem of depth perception and perspective. As far as I'm concerned, none of those replays could be called indisputable by definition -- it's like trying to judge whether a ball crossed the goal line by looking through the end zone camera. Now, I did see one replay that appeared to be from a camera down the 45-yard-line. That one made it look very close. If the standard was "probably," I would have overturned the call on the field. But just going on that one replay angle -- the only one that I think should matter -- I can't say it's indisputable. I can certainly see how reasonable minds could differ on that and see it more clearly than I did, though. In legal circles, we have this concept called "harmless error," and I think it applies here. Oklahoma gave up two touchdowns and missed a field goal in the last three minutes of that game to lose by one. They have no one to blame but themselves for not shoring up that victory.

2. As for the referees in the LSU-Auburn game, I'm not sure what was going on there. But I think all these announcers and ref-critics need to make clear to viewers and readers the bounds of exactly what is reviewable. They constantly note that "every play is reviewed," but not every call is. They have no mandate to review judgment calls. Or at least I thought they didn't. I don't think they can review whether a ball is catchable or not; that's a classic judgment call, and the rule explicitly allows for discretion and notes that, when in doubt, the ball is catchable. My understanding is that holding is a judgment call, too. So, on the infamous pass interference call (again, a judgment call) late in that game, the situation was: (a) a pass interference call that couldn't be reversed because it's a judgment call; (b) a holding penalty on the defender that probably could have been called but wasn't, and is a judgment call; and (c) a tipped ball that would have negated the pass interference call, except the ref missed the tip. In a perfect world, the replay booth would have (a) recognized the tip, (b) overturned the pass interference call accordingly, and (c) then instated a call against Auburn for holding an eligible receiver on a pass thrown beyond the line of scrimmage. But since they can't find holding when the refs on the field didn't (even though the ref obviously didn't call holding because he called pass interference instead), they did the first two and got as much right as they could. So I think the replay system worked as directed here, too, as well as it could under the circumstances. (And the SEC agrees.) But I think this whole mess would go down a lot better if the talking heads made it clear to everyone exactly what is reviewable and what isn't.

3. One final note about the referees. In the Florida-Tennessee game, I recall seeing at least two (and it seems like more) calls of intentional grounding that were subsequently waved off when the refs spotted an eligible receiver in the vicinity of the pass. This is a great example of a circumstance when the officials can't win. Either they throw the flag when they see the quarterback throw the ball away, and then look like dorks when they pick up the flag; or they wait to see what receivers were around before throwing a very delayed flag, and look like dorks for throwing the flag late and appearing to have been influenced by the other team or its crowd. I think it's better to throw the flag and then be man enough to wave it off, but those have to be a pretty tense few seconds for those referees.

3. Best nickname I've seen in a while: "Brady Quinn, Medicine Woman." Spotted late in this chat session. I realize that Brady Quinn has struggled this season. And I'm not saying he's going to make it Manhattan for the Heisman ceremony. But I don't think he's completely out of the running. He's got a lot of chances to pad his stats against lesser lights, and a win at USC would certainly help. Again, I'm not predicting that. But I'll give fifty bucks to the charity of Kyle's choice if Ray Rice of Rutgers or Garrett Wolfe of Northern Illinois finish ahead of Quinn in the final Heisman voting, as this guy suggests they could.

4. I think Virginia Tech has some dirty players. The incident last year where Marcus Vick stepped on Elvis Dumerville's leg was not an isolated event. The Hokies were whistled for several late hit calls in their rout of Duke Saturday. Defensive back Aaron Rouse was hit with three personal fouls. One of them was a late hit that gave Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis a concussion and knocked him out of the game. Rouse said the right things afterwards, but I saw it, and it was dirty. It was late, and it was a helmet-to-helmet hit. Why doesn't college football have something like college basketball, where two technical fouls equals a disqualification? Two personal fouls is probably too low a threshold, but three or four in a game is just ridiculous. Even if Rouse wasn't benched by rule, nothing would have prevented Frank Beamer from pulling Rouse from a game Tech was never in danger of losing. Beamer's new discipline measure -- instituted this year in response to the Vick incident -- is that any player called for a personal foul has to run a 100-yard sprint per foul on Wednesday morning. A concussion only costs a hundred yards? A lot of players would take that deal, knowing that the hit will probably start creeping its way into highlight reels next spring when Rouse is in the NFL draft. But even aside from whatever punishment Rouse should have received, there's a difference between the kind of show-off swagger many players exhibit and the kind of thug posturing dirty players revel in. I see a lot of the latter during Tech games. It's been kind of under-the-radar because Tech has feasted on Northeastern, North Carolina, and Duke. But take a look at the Hokies when they're on tv playing Georgia Tech or Clemson or Boston College and see if you think they could stand to have a little more class.

5. I'm beginning to think that ESPN only has Lou Holtz on its tv crew for the comedic benefits of having him around. My favorite current running Holtz-ism: his habit of calling every school "the University of --" regardless of the school's official name. He said "the University of Auburn" a few times, even though the school distinguishes itself from UA Alabama because it is AU Auburn University. Still, nothing tops this one, which I swear I heard him say: "The University of USC."

Weekend Apologies

Well, I didn't do so well in my weekend picks. I called Florida and Oregon, both of whom won by a single point.

Miami looked tough in pregame, but got completely smoked by a Louisville team that didn't have its two best players. Memo to self: leave the Hurricanes by roadside in anticipation of their death. Louisville is a fine program, but the 'Canes are a shadow of the old Miami teams that destroyed people.

Clemson pulled the upset in Doak thanks to James Davis's hard running. The beating would have been worse if Clemson knew how to protect its placekicker. Jeff Bowden has lorded over the gradual demise of the once feared FSU offense. Can Daddy fire sonny boy?

I was right that Chad Henne and Michael Hart were good players. It's just that I didn't know about Mario Manningham who torched a evidently overhyped ND pass defense. Michigan suddenly looks strong. Strong enough to beat Ohio State?

Sure LSU got hosed (like Oklahoma), maybe more than once (like Oklahoma). But, I called that the LSU offensive line was the key to the game. They never opened up running lanes for the LSU backs. LSU's longest run of the day was a 12 yard scramble by their quarterback. Both defenses looked great. All is not lost for LSU. They just have to start cheering for Florida and Georgia. Oh, stay undefeated, too. Despite the bad calls and the poor run blocking and the sometimes questionable play calling, LSU still had a chance to win the game at the end.

Five more yards.

Gameday Thoughts and Weekend Picks

I thought about disagreeing with Kyle's picks on every one of these, just to have fun. But I really do think a lot of these games can go either way. I haven't been this giddy about a weekend of college football in a long time. Somehow, I doubt that the fans in Auburn or Knoxville will be any less giddy just because Gameday won't be there. I've been thinking about that furor, too, and I'll offer a couple of thoughts.

1.) Gameday doesn't always, automatically go to the site of what everyone agrees will be the "best game," even assuming we can always predict how good the games will be. Some years, they've even had a "Homecoming" week in the studio when no marquee games really stood out. One of my favorite episodes was when they went to the Harvard-Yale game to highlight Division 1-AA.

2.) So, given that even Chris Fowler acknowledges that Gameday has always had some other concerns, its decision to go West is at least defensible. Nebraska-USC is at least an interesting game with lots of storylines (and really, isn't Gameday mostly about telling those stories?); this will likely be the only chance to see either of these teams until Notre Dame-USC at the end of the season; they should have opportunities to see several SEC games before then; USC will offer lots of tv-friendly Hollywood-style access that some other schools are a little nervous about offering; and yes, of course, it offers a big promo tie-in to ABC's Saturday night coverage ofnch is that Miami's swagger comes with a little doubt. I know they always play well as underdogs, but I think the Cardinals are a legit favorite here and will pull out a squeaker at home, Louisville 28-24.

Clemson v. Florida State. I'm baffled by all the experts predicting that FSU will finally get its ground game going. I'm confident guessing that Miami's run defense is better than Clemson's, but I don't think Troy's is. Jeff Bowden hasn't convinced me yet that he can turn the switch on in a week under pressure. Plus, Tommy Bowden has lately been doing well in this game. And Clemson needs it more. So I'm calling the upset, Tigers by 21-17.

Oklahoma v. Oregon. It's really tempting to predict that Adrian Peterson will finally run like he did a few years ago. I think the Sooners have enough talent to win this game, but they're just not putting all the pieces together. Since this game it at Autzen, I'm predicting the Ducks pulling away to win 35-21.

Michigan v. Notre Dame. It seems that sooner or later Lloyd Carr will have to break that crazy streak of losing six straight road openers. But it won't be this week. Henne and Hart will pile up some yards, but this Irish team seems very capable of finding a way to do enough to win. And Weis isn't afraid to run up the score a little. I don't think it will be a total blowout, but Notre Dame will win going away -- Irish 41-21.

Florida v. Tennessee. I agree with Kyle that the Tiger Tussle should be the "best" game of the week, but I'm more interested in seeing this game. That's because we already know that Auburn and LSU are superb teams. I'm still not sure what Florida and Tennessee are made of, and I wouldn't be too surprised to see any result in this game. This game people will forget about the loser of this game, because I'm convinced that either one of them could give anyone else in America a run for their money. I hate to even predict that one team will lose. LSU has looked even better than I thought they would, but I think Auburn has all the pieces working together. I think Auburn's offense will keep LSU's off the field, so I think it will come down to time-of-possession (and sheer number of plays with the new clock rule), field position, and the specialty teams. I predict that John Vaughn atones with a field goal that provides the margin of victory, War Eagle 20-17.

Come Back GameDay!

Why won't we see this scene tomorrow?

Down South, ESPN's College Gameday has taken some heat for passing up the LSU-Auburn game this weekend in favor of Nebraska-USC. Why L.A.? It's not because of the lively 7AM, pre-dawn crowd that is sure to jump start the show. It's not because a match up of #4 and #19 is the most compelling of the weekend. It's because ABC owns ESPN and since ABC is broadcasting the USC game, Gameday must follow.

The Southerners don't like that rationale and have let their feelings be known to ESPN. In response, Chris Fowler scribed the following:

"Of the 10 regular-season SEC games matching top 10 teams, we've had the privilege of watching seven of them from ringside, reveling in the drama. The Tennessee-Florida wars of 2000-02; Auburn's pounding of the Vols, with big Tiger-lover Sir Charles standing next to us on the sidelines at Neyland Stadium; and LSU's heart-stopping OT triumph at Tuscaloosa last year … those are memories that will last. This is why I believe an explanation is needed for why GameDay won't be in Auburn for LSU's visit this Saturday.

For 13 seasons, the locations of the GameDay road shows have been editorial decisions based on the college football landscape. The basic principle was to (almost) always come from the site of the "biggest game," or occasionally, "the best story." Several times, we have visited the edge of the radar screen to pay tribute to the Mid American Conference's rise (at Bowling Green), the service academies (Air Force and West Point) or the tradition of the Bayou Classic.

Now, the philosophy has been rethought by upper management. For the first time, the competitive landscape of football programming is a frequent consideration. Serving the needs of ABC's new prime-time package of games is often a priority. The decision on GameDay's site is less a clear-cut "best game" philosophy now and is more complicated, made on a landscape where terms like "synergy" and "branding" live.

Please know this: Lee, Kirk and I have no say in decisions on GameDay's location. But as host of the show for 17 years, I am mainly concerned with the show's specific legacy, not the global college football landscape.

The first two weeks of the season were no-brainers. It made sense to follow Notre Dame to Georgia Tech and sit ringside for the first 1 vs. 2 regular-season game in 10 years last week in Austin. This week, the decision was made to come from the Los Angeles Coliseum, where ABC will be set up.

Executive Vice President Norby Williamson asked me to relay his reasoning: Nebraska and USC, both visible programs with storied pasts, are colliding for the first time in 35 years, and this might be one of the few chances to showcase a Pac-10 location, keeping the show regionally balanced.

The SEC should feature a lot more big ones in the coming months.

This is important: Williamson said fans still can expect to see GameDay return to the SEC or to Notre Dame for games televised on CBS and NBC. That's a relief to me. LSU's visits to Florida and Tennessee loom large, as does Auburn's trip to the Swamp. Georgia vs. the winner of the Vols-Gators clash will be huge.

Any of those games could carry national title weight.

So, who knows? I am hopeful. But just in case we don't make it there quite as often, I would truly miss broadcasting from Gainesville, Knoxville, Athens, Tuscaloosa, Auburn, Baton Rouge and Columbia. SEC campuses have consistently provided the most passionate, colorful and, uh, "spirit"-ed backdrops for the show.

Hands down. No other conference is close.

Even if we don't visit you as much, please don't stop visiting us Saturday mornings. We will continue to give teams from America's strongest football conference, and the Fighting Irish, their due any way we can."

Remember when you could not wake up fast enough to watch GameDay or, if the big game was on campus, to get to the front row so your sign would make it on the broadcast? It was always fun, rowdy, and magically conveyed the feeling of being on campus for a football frenzy.
It looks like those days are gone and GameDay may be gone forever as far as the SEC is concerned.

I loved GameDay just like you did, but that show started going downhill 1) when it expanded to over an hour and 2) when Big and Rich made their first appearance. The further beyond those events I get, the less relevant I find the show. It's magic has worn off on me. I still like the guys on the show, but all the extras have, to me, taken away from the show. I'll still watch bits and pieces when I can, but GameDay is fading from my list of appointment viewing. And it's a damn shame.

Mr. Shiny Pants Cries

Remember this guy?
Brash. Cocky. Hanging 50 on everybody. Cracking jokes about Tennessee and Georgia then backing it up. In the mid to late 1990s, the only thing an opposing fan could hope for is that your team would frustrate the Ole Ball Coach enough so that you would see a visor toss. His Florida teams were so good that when they got beat, it was an event that left fallen goalposts in its wake.

The memory of that dominance is why it is so sad to look at or listen to this guy:
Frustrated. Angry. Warding over criminals.

The latest example is Stevie crying over missed holding calls in his shutout loss to Georgia. I remember the day Spurrier was hired at South Carolina and the fear that spread therefrom. Nothing can change the fact that Spurrier was/is easily one of the top three SEC coaches of all time. But, it is far easier to be that kind of coach at UF, where there are stud players growing on trees, rather than SC, where everybody raids your small talent base and the good players usually end up stealing TVs from you or smoking pot.

I miss the old Steve Spurrier, but I don't miss having to play him.

Weekend Picks

Here are my takes on the weekend's big battles:

Miami (Fla.) v. Louisville: Sure, Louisville can put up some points against Kentucky, but the defense at the U is a different task altogether. Look for Miami to slow down the Louisville offense enough to allow Kyle Wright and Tyrone Moss to pick apart the sometimes suspect Louisville defense. I like the 'Canes, 27-24.

Clemson v. Florida State: Did you ever think that a showdown between two Bowdens would be totally lost in the rundown of weekend games? That's what happens when Tommy gets beat by Boston College and Papa almost got caught napping against Troy. Clemson has a good young back in James Davis, but look for the FSU linebacker clones to stuff Clemson's running game. Seriously, I think FSU just hatches these linebackers from a secret lab in Tally. They are all blazing fast and brutally physical. Look for some big time blitzes in passing situations, too. Clemson's defense won't be able to hold the sufficient FSU running attack. I like the 'Noles, 21-13.

Oklahoma v. Oregon: The Sooners have so far rode Adrian Peterson to victory. The Ducks have a stud back of their own in Jonathan Stewart who should find holes in the OU defense. I think the Ducks are a more complete team than Oklahoma and they should challenge USC for the Pac-10 crown. The Sooners have issues to work out on both sides of the ball. Autzen Stadium is not the place to work those issues out. I like the Ducks, 28-17.

Michigan v. Notre Dame: As much as I don't like or buy into the Notre Dame hype, it will continue and grow louder after this weekend. Chad Henne and Mike Hart are good players, but other than those two, who else does Michigan have on offense? Notre Dame's pass defense has appeared solid, so look for Notre Dame to contest Michigan's ground game until Henne shows he can make plays through the air. If Michigan can pass effectively, then they have a shot. Otherwise, look for the Domers to keep Lloyd Carr's road opener losing streak alive. I like Notre Dame, 31-20.

Florida v. Tennessee: Everything about this game, except the location, points to the Gators. The Vols supposedly lost two of their better defensive starters last week for the season, although one decided a ruptured bicept wasn't enough to keep him from the big game. The Gators thin offensive line has proved adequate against second rate competition and may get a test from the Tennessee D-line. They will have to protect and if they do, Chris Leak will tear up UT's defensive backfield throwing to all those UF receivers that move like hummingbirds. I'd like to see the Vols win, but I think the Gators win, 24-14.

BIG GAME OF THE WEEK
LSU v. Auburn: No matter where GameDay is, this is the biggest game of the next several weeks. Not only is this a matchup of two top 6 teams, but it all but decides the winner of the SEC West. Let's review the series history:

-Artificial Earthquake, Check (I still say this is a reflection of the poor state of equipment used by the LSU geology department rather than a testament to the decible level at Tiger Stadium, which is extremely loud, but not that loud.)
-Three INTs for TDs in one quarter, Check
-Inferno next to Jordan-Hare, Check
-Tuberville smoking victory cigars on the field in Baton Rouge, Check
-The Golden Band from Tiger Land fighting Damon Duval at halftime, Check
-A Cecil Collins rampage, Check
-A Kenny Irons rampage, Check
-A nuclear meltdown by John Vaughn (5 missed FGs), Check

What will happen this year? Locusts?

These are just some of the reasons this game is now the biggest game of the season in the SEC West. It is arguably the best regularly reoccurring game in the SEC, overtaking Florida-Tennessee.

Both teams have looked sharp so far. LSU has crushed its two opponents by combined scores of 90-6. Auburn has whipped its two opponents, who were better teams than the two tomato cans LSU kicked around, in impressive fashion. Auburn looked sharp in these games, but I get the sense the Aubs are idling, waiting to step on the gas. LSU, meanwhile, has looked like a machine, totally dominate in every phase of the game. Both teams feature solid quarterbacks, physical play, and headhunting defenses. Both teams have two of the best coordinators in the country, Auburn with Al Borges and Will Muschamp, LSU with Jimbo Fisher and Bo Pelini. In short, this is a clash of the Titans.

Look to LSU's rebuilt offensive line. If LSU can protect Russell and make some running lanes for Vincent, Broussard, Hester, and Scott, LSU will put up some points on Auburn's stingy defense. If not, LSU's defense could wear down under the physical play of Auburn's offensive line and the hard running of Kenny Irons. LSU's young DL has shown it can do some damage up front despite losing three starters from 2005. Auburn, again, has looked good, but not fantastic like LSU has. True, they've played better teams, but it just seems to me that they are lacking something. A big play receiver maybe? The Kenny Irons of 2005? Unless we see that extra gear that the Aubs have had in the past few years, LSU will win. I like the Bayou Bengals, 17-13.

Not The Kind Of Offense Spurrier Meant.

UPDATE: Charges dropped. Mitchell will miss Wofford Game only.


Only a few days after Mr. Shiny Pants indirectly called him "stupid" and "dumb-ass," South Carolina quarterback Blake Mitchell decided to totally redeem himself by earning an arrest warrant. Oops! He's suspended indefinitely.

The bright side for the Cock fans is that Chris Smelley can safely assume the reigns of the "Cock'n'Fire" offense. Sure, he'll make freshman mistakes and it will arguably result in more losses than if Mitchell were back there, but Smelley is going to be a good quarterback. Might as well get him some live snaps now in preparation for next year.

To whom can the Devil sell his soul?

I'm sorry this is such a (very) long post about a topic few readers will be interested in, but I've got a couple weeks' worth of thoughts built up.

Last week, I almost wrote a post giving up on Duke football. Their season-opening 13-0 loss to 1-AA Richmond just seemed to be the last straw. It's not that I would have quit cheering for Duke, or hoping for the occasional upset. But I just didn't see a realistic scenario under which Duke could be consistently competitive.

But then they went and changed my mind, a bit, with what can only be called a "moral victory," a 14-13 loss at Wake Forest Saturday. Duke controlled most of the game, shut out Wake in the first half and led up until the last two minutes. Wake blocked a field goal on the last play of the game to preserve a win that Wake coach Jim Grobe admitted the Deacons didn't really deserve. Duke finally seems to have found a quarterback -- true freshman Thaddeus Lewis, who threw for over 300 yards.

I'm still trying to stay tethered to earth here. The Devils had plenty of Duke-type mistakes that cost them the win -- a sure touchdown pass dropped by the receiver, a fumble in the red zone, two missed field goals. Oh, and they let Wake get off an 86-yard punt from its own end zone. (That's probably Frank Beamer's idea of Hell.) And I know that their opponent was the not-so-mighty Demon Deacons, so I'm trying to keep things in perspective. Still, I'd have to say that Duke's offense Saturday looked better than Florida State's has this season, and the Duke-Wake game was a lot more fun to watch than the FSU-Troy tussle.

So, has Duke turned a corner? This week they venture to Lane Stadium, and at least they sound confident. I'm pleased to hear that, given how demoralizing the Richmond loss could have been. Still, Virginia Tech has looked like the class of the ACC so far this season, so the Dukies have a tall order. Then the Devils have Virginia at home (a game that looks much more winnable after the Cavs' debacle against Wyoming), Alabama on the road (great defense, questionable offense), Florida State and Miami back-to-back at home (next...), then Vanderbilt and Navy at home, with a home game against UNC later on to end the season. I'd give them even odds to beat UNC, given how inept the Tar Holes have looked so far, suggest that wins over Navy (which has only completed three passes so far this season) and Vandy aren't outside the realm of possibility, and say that stranger things have happened than a Duke team slinging the ball all over the place beating a mediocre Virginia team.

Am I saying that Duke will go 4-8 this year? No. In fact, they're probably just as likely to have some close losses and end up 0-12. But watching the Richmond game, I feared Duke would be no better than a 28-point underdog in all its remaining games. It's hard to overstate how bad they looked, especially compared to how good they looked against Wake. I don't think I've ever seen a week-to-week transformation like that. I'm sure a lot of that can be chalked up to Coach Ted Roof doing whatever had to be done to avoid losing his team. And the switch to Lewis at quarterback obviously was a smart one. Some of the offensive changes might have been borne of necessity, given that Duke's top two running backs were both injured in the opener. So a lot of rollout passes may have been a last resort. But it (almost) worked.

But what is the long-term prognosis for Duke? Are Duke fans destined to suffer through one two- or three-win season after another? Will we treat a five-win season the way most teams would treat a conference title, and a bowl berth like a national championship? Are Duke fans crazy to even expect that middling level of success? And why can't Duke ever get better?

Long-time ACC reporter Al Featherston has a long but outstanding column here about "choices and consequences at Duke." Featherston notes that the 1982-83 school year was a real turning point for Duke athletics. Duke AD Tom Butters fired football coach Red Wilson despite two back-to-back 6-5 seasons, but kept basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski despite woeful back-to-back 17-loss seasons. In hindsight, it's easy to say that Krzyzewski was the right choice for Duke, and Butters's patience was warranted. And maybe Wilson never would have improved, and might even have dropped off, given that many people attributed his success to departing offensive coordinator Steve Spurrier. (It's also kind of amazing to think, in hindsight, how Duke could have had football coaches like Bobby Bowden in 1970 and Ralph Friedgen in 1998 if some wheels had just turned a little differently.) But the subsequent head coaching choices at Duke -- Spurrier's return excepted -- were largely indefensible.

The other important message from Featherston's take is that Duke's football failures aren't pre-ordained any more than its basketball successes were. Schools like Northwestern and Miami were moribund and there was talk of them dropping to 1-AA before their programs were resuscitated (the Wildcats' liveliness being a bit more sporadic, of course). Duke won the ACC in 1989 and went 8-4 in 1994, so it can be done. We're not asking for return trips to the Rose, Sugar, Cotton, and Orange bowls, like Duke made in the 1930s through the 1960s. But is a Music City Bowl every decade too much to ask?

I'm not old enough to remember the glory days of Duke football, and those folks are getting older and older every year. It might not be long before most Duke fans don't remember anything but misery. There are two aspects of Duke's losing that seem especially galling and frustrating. I'll discuss these, and then touch on two issues that make rebuilding tougher.

First, although this year's ACC might not be the best evidence, it's been difficult to stomach getting walloped by conference teams so regularly. Even Duke deserves the occasional rent-a-win, even if it backfires sometimes with losses to the likes of Richmond and East Carolina. But they shouldn't have to spend money on out-of-conference patsies to get all their wins. Cellar-dwellers like Vanderbilt and Northwestern and Kansas slip up on their big brothers from time to time. Last year, the geographically-incorrectly named University of South Florida (hm...kind of like the geographically-incorrectly named Northwestern) was mathematically alive for the Big East title with two weeks left in the season. At a minimum, this week's 13-10 Alabama victory over Vandy shows that these teams are usually at least competitive. Indeed, Vandy is notorious for making its conference betters win close, ugly games. Duke, on the other hand, typically gets whipped even by the mediocre teams in the ACC. Last year Wake Forest poleaxed the Devils 44-6. Maybe some of the other teams are coming down to Duke's level. But I don't think it's good for Duke or the ACC if the conference turns into eleven haves and one have-not. The addition of Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College was touted as a rising tide that would lift all boats. It's particularly upsetting if Duke winds up being the only school with a leaky dinghy.

The other factor that makes Duke's woefulness especially painful is the occasional success of the other football schools in its academic orbit. ESPN's Bruce Feldman noted on his blog on August 18 (Insider subscription req'd, sorry) how the U.S. News & World Report college rankings would look if only the Division 1-A schools were ranked. The top 25: Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, Rice, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, California, Virginia, Michigan, UCLA, UNC, USC, Wake, Wisconsin, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Washington, Tulane, Penn State, Texas, Florida, Syracuse, Miami, Maryland. Duke fans see schools with similar profiles (smallish, private, high academic standards) like Stanford, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Wake, and BC doing well and get incredibly frustrated that Duke isn't even close in football. Now, I'm not enough of an expert to discuss things like endowments and admission standards and conference revenue-sharing and a whole host of issues that can make this more of an apples/oranges comparison. Some of these schools probably have a lot to offer football recruits, like weather or location or the social atmosphere on campus. But Wake Forest is smaller than Duke, located in Winston-Salem (which makes Durham look like Shangri-La), and is a historically Baptist institution with less football tradition (outside of Brian Piccolo, I guess) than Duke. As a member of the ACC, it faces the same restrictions Dukes does -- no partial qualifiers, for example. Yet over the last ten years, Wake has gone 46-68 (.404), while Duke has gone a miserable 18-94 (.161), with five seasons of ten or more losses. Yikes. And don't even get me started on Notre Dame.

So why can't Duke do better? Certainly, there are many reasons. As Featherston suggests, I think coaching hires have been a huge factor. Featherston disputes the commonly-held notion that new facilities breed success, pointing out that improved facilities usually follow success rather than precede it -- they're a symptom of winning, not a cause. (In case Kyle disputes this, I'll ask if Mike the Tiger got his new digs before or after LSU's national title!) But, in a larger sense, commitment to the football team is a factor holding Duke back. That includes things like facilities and spending money on coaches and, more generally, an attitude that the school will do whatever needs to be done to make the team successful. I think most Duke people would add the phrase "within reason" to the end of that sentence. And I'm not talking about busting the budget or making football the most important thing on campus. But too often the attitude is "Eh, it's just football." That's more of an institutional issue of priorities and vision, and I don't know how to correct that course without wrecking things. I, and I think most Duke supporters, like that football is kept in perspective, and don't want Duke to cheat or anything. But Duke right now seems like the Devil Rays among a bunch of Yankees and Red Sox. The Devil Rays know it's hopeless, given baseball's finance scheme. I think Duke could be like the Twins, or at least the Marlins, and at least have a chance of making it to the postseason every once in a while. But I honestly believe Duke lacks the commitment to making that happen. It's a whole different argument over what shape such a commitment would take, but Duke is never going to improve unless everyone in power at Duke wants to make it happen. Of course, with Duke, it's a whole different argument over whether that attitude shift should happen at all. My guess is that if this keeps up, the ACC will step in and mandate certain levels of "commitment" (facilities, investment, etc.) for all the member schools, even if the move is clearly aimed at Duke.

Ah, but the monkeywrench -- the other big factor that will hold back Duke football. It's Duke lacrosse. The ongoing, neverending Duke lacrosse team scandal -- the accusation of gang rape at a team party -- will affect everything about athletics at Duke. Whether the rape allegations are true or not, there is a strong sentiment around campus that the lacrosse team was feeling a sense of entitlement and power. There's going to be a hefty backlash if the athletics department tries to create a first-class citizen status for the football team. It's going to make it tougher to wiggle on admissions standards. It's going to make it tougher to recruit athletes with any problems in their past -- basketball player Shelden Williams faced false sexual assault allegations when he was in high school; do you think Coach K would be recruiting him now? Even if Krzyzewski has enough goodwill and capital to take a chance on a kid like that (who, I should be quick to add, never had any problems at Duke), there's no way the football program has that same ability. Whether it's right or wrong, there are too many people at Duke (including, probably, the president) who simply will be unwilling to let the football team achieve the kind of BMOC status that their opponents have. I think we'll be seeing the fallout of the lacrosse mess for a long time at Duke.

Again, I think there are a lot of reasons why Duke is struggling, a lot of reasons why it will be hard to change things. And after the Wake game, I'm not hopeless. Maybe once QB Lewis and super-recruit freshman DT Vince Oghobaase get some more games under their belts, I might be buying bowl tickets. I feel better than I did last week, when I was preparing a "Duke football is dead" post. I've noted that there are deep and significant problems with the program, and it will be a tough row to hoe to get back to winning. If I knew how to get it done, I'd be the AD. Frankly, I don't think current AD Joe Alleva is the guy to do it. But that's a whole different argument, too.

To avoid alienating the one or two readers who have made it this far, I'll promise that this will almost certainly be the longest post I'll ever run here at The Wishbone, and almost certainly the last Duke football post of any substance I'll have. I appreciate your indulgence as I got all this off my chest. I'll leave you with the stirring refrains of the Duke fight song:

Fight, fight Blue Devils,
Fight for the white and blue!
Break on through --
There's a touchdown there for you!
Go Devils!
Duke is going to win tonight --
Carolina go to Hell!
So turn on the steam, team --
Fight, Blue Devils, fight!

My Brother's New Favorite Player

When my brother was in high school, he was an avid fan of the wrestling duo "The Road Warriors." That's why his new favorite player should be James Laurinaitis, sophomore linebacker for the Ohio State Buckeyes. His Dad is on the right:
The guy's not just a gimmick, either. His all-american performance against Texas earned him Big 10 Player of the Week honors. Frankly, 13 tackles, two forced fumbles, and an interception should get a bigger honor.

So, my Aggie brother should love this guy because he is related to a Road Warrior and he busted his ass to beat t.u.

Texas, Stafford, Syracuse, and more ...

I watched quite a few games over the weekend but my most vexing problem was that the Ohio State-Texas game overlapped with Georgia-South Carolina. I kept flipping back and forth, but you can't really get a feel for a game by just watching bits.

Texas: Based on my limited viewing, it looked like the Billy Pittman fumble completely changed the game. Texas was on its heels the rest of the way. I was impressed with Troy Smith. Up to that point, I had viewed Smith as a competent quarterback, but not anything special. He improved his stock in my view based on the Texas game.

I don't know if Texas is done, though. They will still likely win the Big 12. Who else is there to challenge them? Arguably Oklahoma, but I don't think OU is going to beat Texas and remain unbeaten through their conference schedule.

This goofball makes me dislike Texas:
Please stop showing him on the sidelines.

Matt Stafford: Mark Richt got a huge break this weekend. Joe Tereshinski, III, Georgia's fifth year senior quarterback, who has done everything possible for the program, suffered a high ankle sprain on the first series of the Georgia-South Carolina game. This takes the pressure off Richt to keep the senior as the starter against immense fan pressure to play uber-recruit Matt Stafford. Stafford came into the game this weekend on the second series and showed why every college wanted him. He was throwing lasers to streaking receivers and hitting them in stride. He has a big arm and it showed Saturday. UGA's only touchdown came on a Stafford check at the line of scrimmage. Of course, he is a true freshman and it showed. Stafford threw three interceptions, one of which was not his fault and the other two would have been effective punts. The guy has a lot to learn, but he showed flashes of amazing talent. It will be fun to see what he can do with a full week of practice with the 1st team offense, as Tereshinski is out for at least three games. Will Stafford make it impossible for the senior to unseat him given his performance in those games? Jeff Shultz thinks so.

Photo courtesy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The SEC will be a lot of fun to watch for the next four years. Florida, Arkansas, Georgia, and LSU all have freshmen QBs that were rated as the elite of the elite when they were recruited. Plus, Chris Smelley of South Carolina has looked promising for the Cocks.

UGA's defense looked pretty solid, even to Mr. Shiny Pants.

Syracuse: Seven plays inside the other team's two and the 'Cuse can't score? Greg Robinson and Brian White: three runs by the fullback that get stuffed should tell you to do something else.

LSU: LSU looked like a machine for the first quarter of their game against Arizona. The Wildcats looked totally inept. So inept, in fact, that I was prompted to ask if they practiced last week. I know LSU had a few offensive hiccups later in the game, but the Tigers look ready for Auburn.

Alabama: Alabama without Tyrone Prothro is a defense, not a football team. I understand that Bama rarely wins in a blowout, but needing a field goal to pull a Vandy game out is troubling. After all, LSU, Florida, and Auburn loom.

The Pac-10: After gaining a great deal of credibility in my book over the past few years, the Pac-10 is trying to piss away that credibility with this season's early season games. Outside of USC, has any Pac-10 team impressed? I like Oregon, but the need for a trick play to pull out the Fresno game does not inspire confidence. I think Mike Belloitti is a good coach. Hopefully, he and the Ducks can redeem the Pac-10 this weekend by thumping the Sooners. The Minnesota-Cal game was a feather in the Pac-10 headband, but after the Tennessee game, Cal has a big black spot on its reputation.

Time Wasting Begins Now!

It's the Friday afternoon before a big college football weekend. You can't really think about work. You've already wasted a few hours this morning searching for new YouTube clips of your favorite team and you opponent this weekend. Your boss will not let you leave early to prepare for Ohio State -Texas, Penn State - Notre Dame, or Georgia - South Carolina.

Well, close your office door or put on your headphones. Here's a website with every college fight song. Damn, I love a marching band.

Georgia's Redcoat Marching Band performing in China.

The View From Baton Rouge

As you might remember, I ventured to Baton Rouge this past weekend for the LSU destruction of ULL. The game went about as everybody thought it would, total domination by a vastly superior team over a college football have not. Here are a few thoughts:

1. Why do LSU fans not appreciate JaMarcus Russell? The guy is a good, bordering on great, quarterback. He makes throws that very few quarterbacks can even dream of making. Just look at last year and see how many games he came through for LSU in the clutch, Arizona State and Alabama come to mind immediately. During last year's SEC championship game, he threw a ball that went 70 yards with a simple flick of the wrist. For a moment, I thought it was a punt. He's huge and difficult to bring down. The guy should seriously consider leaving LSU for the NFL after this year. But LSU fans think Matt Flynn is better. I don't want to knock Flynn, who I'm sure is a fine quarterback, but JaMarcus Russell is a phenom. Appreciate him while you have him Tiger fans.

2. LSU played a lot of freshmen last weekend. Charles Scott ran the ball well, but the freshman that impressed me the most was Jared Mitchell. He threw two of the best blocks I have ever seen a wide out throw. One knocked a ULL defender hurtling through space and time. It took a team of trainers to restore the poor DB to consciousness. If Mitchell can catch, he'll be an All-American.

3. I saw far fewer drunken fights than I had hoped for. Actually, I had hoped for just one, but I didn't even get that. Are LSU fans mellowing?

Gouging the Domers

Make that "Pay Like A Champion Today."

Today's Wall Street Journal has an article about how badly Notre Dame fans are gouged by South Bend hotels and restaurants. One choice rate at the South Bend Marriott on the weekend of the Michigan game is $649 for a room. That's right, $649! The article notes that that rate is higher than the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. The South Bend airport has also added an extra 100 parking places for private jets due to demand. The ethics of this type of gouging is debated in the article.

The pain of losing to Michigan after paying $649 a night should be enough to make an average Notre Dame fan consider suicide.

Bottom line: Going to college football games, especially games in college towns without an international airport, is expensive. Thanks for the newsbreak Wall Street Journal. If they start charging me $649 for a room in Athens, that may be the only way I ever consider buying one of these:

Even then, I still can't get the numbers to work out right at $2.50 a gallon gas.

Bastrop Update

The LHSAA took mercy on Randall Mackey and the Bastrop, Louisiana high school football team. Mackey and a couple of other students who evacuated Port Sulphur, Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina were suspended only two games, rather than the season suspension they were previously headed for. Way to backtrack, LHSAA. I'm glad Mackey will play this year, but the whole situation looks like a mess, complete with egg on LHSAA faces.

Weekend Picks

Saturday

California at Tennessee
I think the Vols will be better than last year, and the Cutcliffe 2.0 offense may have coalesced by now. But my guess is that (a) it will take a week to put all those pieces together at game speed; (b) I don't think UT has the defense to stop the Bears; (c) Cal won't be intimidated playing on Rocky Top; on the other hand, (d) every second Cal has a lead or stays close, the pressure will build on Tennessee. So, I'll say 31-21 Cal.

USC at Arkansas
I know it's a trap game and a tough place to play. But the Trojans are bringing a lot of talent and they finally get to play the "lack of respect" card. Remember how last year the trendy pick was for UCLA to upset USC? And how did that turn out? Different season, same song from the Song Girls. I'd say 38-21 sounds about right.

Virginia at Pittsburgh
Pitt's favored here, and Wannsedt does have that manly mustache going for him. But the Wahoos always win one game a year they're not supposed to, and Pitt always loses one they're not supposed to. I say the stars align here. The Cavs will get everyone's hopes up, a bajillion dorks will call Colin Cowherd to gloat Monday. A squeaker, UVA 24-21.

Notre Dame at Georgia Tech
What an intriguing matchup. Tech has some good receivers, and the Irish secondary is suspect. But Reggie Ball is no Matt Leinart. And no way Charlie Weis hasn't spent all summer scheming for this game. And besides, isn't it Michigan State who always derails the Irish march to the national championship? Tech keeps it close for a while, but some big late plays from Brady Quinn let the Irish pull away and make the score more respectable, 35-21.

Rutgers at North Carolina
Every time I think of the Scarlet Knights, I recall a scene from college. Several of us were sitting around and taking turns on a college football video game. My friend Lars was scrolling through Division I, trying to pick a team to use. As he scrolled through the R's, I said, "How 'bout Ruttigers?" Quickly came the response, "How 'bout nottigers?" That's kind of how I always feel about them. I don't know if I have ever picked them in a game. I think they're probably a better team than the Tar Holes, but I'll give UNC the edge at home. Say, 24-17. Could go either way, though.

Utah at UCLA
I don't really know anything about either team, but this guy is so excited about UCLA it's contagious. So I'll just blatantly steal from Stewart Mandel and say 31-28 UCLA.

Stanford at Oregon
There's a reader out there who will stab me in the eye with an icepick if I pick against the Ducks. Since I like seeing, I'll say Oregon 222, Stanford 0.

Sunday

Memphis at Ole Miss
Can anyone else tell I'm running out of things to say about teams I haven't seen play? Memphis lost that running back from last year, right? Good enough for me. Rebels, 28-17.

Monday

Florida State at Miami
I really hesitate to pick FSU to beat Miami at night in Coral Gables. But, FSU has a good defense, Miami has suspended two of its offensive stars (and another reciver and a linebacker) for this game, Miami will surely be dealing with the aftereffcts of all that coaching turnover since last season, and like I predicted below, I think this is Bobby Bowden's turn to have one of those "the old man can still get it done" years. I'll go out on a limb and say FSU by 24-21.

Katrina Still Battering Some

Last year, as a result of Hurricane Katrina, the Louisiana high school football state championships relocated from the Superdome to Shreveport's Independence Stadium. In the 4A championship, Bastrop High School won its first state football championship since 1927 behind the impeccable play of Randall Mackey, Bastrop's quarterback. Mackey was the best football player I saw during the state championship games (I missed Joe McKnight as the John Curtis game was on Friday afternoon during peak billable hour time). What was so shocking about Mackey's play was that he was a SOPHOMORE. He had a calm pocket presence and great touch on the ball, hitting a Bastrop receiver in stride as he streaked down the sideline with a defender maybe half a step behind him. He was impressive.The Mackey story got even better because he was an evacuee from Port Sulphur, Louisiana. Port Sulphur was essentially blown off the map by Hurricane Katrina. Mackey and his family fled to Beaumont, Texas with nothing but a few family photographs. Bastrop entered Mackey's mind after he heard that a teammate at Port Sulphur had landed in Bastrop. It seems the teammate thought of Bastrop because of DeCarlos Holmes, a former assistant at Port Sulphur who had joined the Bastrop staff before Katrina hit. Mackey decided to head to Bastrop too, along with several other Port Sulphur teammates. All of this was perfectly legal because the LHSAA, Louisiana's high school sports governance association, enacted special rules on transfers and residence in response to Katrina.

Just how Mackey got from Beaumont to Bastrop has become a story of national scope. After an investigation that cleared Bastrop of any wrongdoing in the transfers earlier this year, the LHSAA has now decided that Bastrop illegally recruited Mackey and his teammates by sending assistant coaches to cherrypick them from shelters in Texas and Louisiana. It is alleged that Mackey and his mother were required to sign false statements about how they arrived in Bastrop. How the LHSAA switched from clearing Bastrop to now stripping them of the 2005 state championship and victories in any game in which Mackey played is as yet unexplained, but Bastrop has pointed to a rival school it beat twice last year as a source of pressure for reopening the case. The ruling also declared Mackey ineligible to play anywhere in Louisiana for the 2006 season, shutting down Mackey's junior year. As expected, Bastrop is distraught.

Today, it seems the LHSAA is backtracking hastily. I understand there were improprieties here. I understand the Bastrop may have crossed the line, if there is such a thing in post-Katrina transfers and residency changes. But to rob a splendid player of his junior season just because he wanted to play football last year strikes me as a bit harsh. If the LHSAA finds a stated rule was willfully broken by Bastrop, I have no problem with a forfeiture of the state title and victories where Mackey played. I can even live with Mackey being forced to go home to the reconstituted Port Sulphur team. But don't declare him ineligible to play anywhere.


A decision from the LHSAA is due this morning. I hope it lets Mackey play, wherever that may be.

"I believe I will have me another big orange!"

In honor of the opening weekend of college football, check out Andy Griffith's classic "What it was, was football." You can listen here (with neat illustrations) and here (with transcript). RealPlayer required for both. Enjoy!