Buckeye Blogger NetworkNeed picturesque photos of tourists along a canal? Missing moments for mariachi bands in your life? Well, this is the bowl for you- Since I’m the only member of tBBC who’s actually seen both of these teams play over the past five years, I’m the guy to get you prepped for all the festivities.
The Basics: Thursday, December 29th, 2011, 9:00 PM EST on ESPN, from San Antonio. Washington (7-5, 5-4 Pac 12) and Baylor (9-3, 6-3 Big 12).
Remember... always remember
History: Ah, the Alamo… Here’s the jokes we’ve made at this games’ expense in the past. This historical festivity has seen such great matchups as Texas Tech’s last stand minus the Capn’, and the introduction of the Shot-Ginn (more later).
Washington: Year one of AL (After Luck), the Huskies got ready for the new stadium by putting together a relatively middle of the road team. No disrespect to Steverino; but UW won all the games they were supposed to (minus a loss to Oregon State) and were blown out against better opponents (including a revenge beating at the hands of the Cornhuskers). Starting out with a three point victory over a team with the worst field in America (take that, Boise!) , it was going to be a rebuilding year from the opening kick. Their defense is 99th in the country in points against, which means that Chris Polk (1340 yards rushing) and Keith Price (2625 yards passing) have to keep busy just to keep them in the game.
Baylor: You know, it’s a pity that Baylor never has anything newsworthy happen to it. Wonder what they’d be like with quality athletes and stuff, you know? Speaking of new stadiums, the Bears are joining in the game with a river side venue that’s actually near campus. Huge year for the Bears, with wins over Oklahoma and Texas in Waco; that one point loss to KSU probably stings a little bit. Heisman winner Robert Griffin the third leads a team that’s 5th in the country in passing yards and seventh in scoring- he’s accounted for 4600 yards himself, with 45 TDs and only 6 interceptions. Yeah, he’s good.
Fun Facts. Ohio State has never met Baylor on the field. Since Troy’s in the news and stuff, let’s remember that time where he was suspended and the Buckeyes beat Les Miles’ team, huh? Thanks, Vico!
Who we got?
After yesterday’s slate of games, the soundtrack for this episode should be pretty obvious. Onward!
Ain’t chaos beautiful? While the end result may be less than desirable, you’ve got to be amazed at the ways that each week is different, each week has the possibility for the unexpected and amazing. And this week was proof positive that the football gods have both a sense of humor AND a mischievous side.
Wait... what?
We start on Friday, with a shout out and hat tip to our BFF’s from Ames who saw their mighty Cyclones upset the #2 ranked Cowboys of T. Boone Pickens U. It was a perfect “storm” of sorts- ISU’s freshman quarterback played the game of his life, while Gundy’s squad seemed incapable of being able to hang onto the ball and put points on the board. Somehow, a team that managed to shut out Texas Tech at home couldn’t cover a basic wheel route; a Cyclone TD and a senior citizen moment from Weeden ended any hopes that Oklahoma State had at playing for the national championship… at least, so it would seem (more later).
Congrats to Coach Paul Rhodes and his staff for getting his team prepared to square off against the ‘Pokes, and for having Iowa State bowl eligible once again.
So- we had early warnings that something was astir in this week’s slate of games, but “The Oracle” was able to solidify our beliefs that it was going to be an unforgettable experience. I’ll just link to Lee Corso’s commentary, since it’s not all that family friendly; let’s remember a) he had a stroke a while back and b) he spoke the truest college preview that’s ever been spoken. Read More
Welcome back to tBBC’s weekly wrapup- random thoughts, snarky observations, random hyperlinks, and occasionally intelligent insight from the weekend in college football. As always, we aspire to bring you the best soundtracks to help you enjoy the words and pictures… so here we go- thanks to Tony Gerdeman for this week’s musical number:
I’ll admit- I was more than ready for the college football season to begin… particularly after the off season that my favorite squadron had this year. So on Thursday, when my favorite sportscaster was in the booth and the “marquee” game was a matchup at a place that I’d visited before… you can say that I was a bit excited.
Mad? About kickoff weekend? Never!
And it was totally worth it- the TCU/Baylor game exceeded my expectations as merely the appetizer for the weekend’s game, and launched officially the Robert Griffin Heisman campaign… man, the kid can play. To be perfectly fair, if he and Luck and Jones and Moore have similar numbers, you’ve got to go with RG3 simply because his supporting cast is more ‘cast’ than ‘supporting’.
Remember when everyone was super excited about TCU and their unique defensive strategy? Yeah… about that. Like many have said, it certainly looked like they’d decided to play Big lEast caliber D in preparation for their new home. That’s not to take anything away from the Bears, who absolutely did what they needed to do to set the college football season off on an amazing foot. ‘Sic ‘em!
The theme of the week, though, had to be everyone’s awesome back to school clothes… who would be the fashionistas this year, and who would be stuck at the loser’s table? Let’s take a look, shall we?
The turning of the leaves, the smell of fresh grilled dogs, the crack of a cold beer, and the blinding of the college football fans’ eyes by the uniforms so beloved by the players of one of the best sports in the world. Florescent shoes, designs within designs, and 4 different helmets per team. College Football is here! Week one is now officially on the books, and we are here to help you out by determining the picks for the weak (Friday – Monday) to start the season. This year, we’re doing things with a twist, as every week a national writer will join me in an audio sucker punch of information to help garner stronger picks out of you every week! Our guest will analyze the top five games and make his or her picks in our top ten games every week. In week one, we will just break down nine, in memory of when week 1 had some meaning.
Not to be forgotten, the good ole boys here at tBBC will add our picks, and the daunting and daring What If Sports computer will be along for the ride. You know, the game predictin’ machine that makes the BCS system look like a prehistoric 3.5″ floppy. Screw a New Year’s Resolution. My goal this season is to beat the machine. Can I do it? Hell no. But you have a chance to brag all freakin’ fall and winter. Join us for all the fun by joining our Yahoo! Sports Pick’em pool. All you got to do is click join group, and type in these as your Group ID and Password:
The Expert Analysis:
Picks of the Weak: 2011 Week One With David Fox by The Buckeye Battle Cry
David Fox of Yahoo! Sports and Rivals.com joins us this week to break down Boise/Georgia, LSU/Oregon and Notre Dame/USF. We break down the chances of the favorites, the evolution of the Notre Dame and USF programs as they both head into year two of their respected coach’s regime. We also breakdown the quarterback battle in Atlanta on Saturday night, as Sophomore Aaron Murphy is pitted up against touted senior Kellen Moore. And the battle of NCAA Violations gets underway on Saturday as well at Jerry Jones’ Place. David and I break down that game in regards to suspension and allegations as well.
Read More
You will be assimilated
Update: Well… huh. The SEC has stated that they’re not extending an offer to aTm at this time, bringing this whole shebang to a screeching halt.
Sources say that the argument over who might be the 14th team and Aggy counterpart was partially responsible for the decision.
No word yet on whether or not the Big 12-2 will just preemptively break up with aTm in response to their looking around at other suitors.
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After last summer’s exciting adventures in conference expansion, it seems as there might be a nice refractory period for at least a couple of years.
Ah, but like an addict jonesing for the next hit, university administration, conference leadership, and sports fans across the nation couldn’t stay away from the possibility of becoming bigger and better, particularly where money and egos are involved.
Yup, I referred to Freud… since much of what is going on seems to also be impacted by a sense of fear and frustration; schools not getting the respect they deserve, so leaving for greener pastures becomes a bright, shiny option.
The major factor, as before, is TV money. Just like the BTN started this gunfight last year with it’s ability to pay programs more than they might have been getting from other conference revenue sharing agreements, network exposure and cash are also at the heart of this wave of rumors.
If you’re not already listening to the soundtrack for today’s TWTW, do so. Immediately.
Greetings from 30,000 feet… yup, this is being typed from somewheres over El Paso Texas. Thank God for tBBC’s generous expense account. A couple folks have asked- I had to travel this week for business. No, not work related; the business of getting full body scans. Sure beats Glamorshots.
As such, this will be a quick overview… the “flight attendants” keep hassling me- something about “emergency exit” and “burning fuselage”. Whatever.
Let me get this right out of the way, so our blue-blooded readers can move on to better things like curing world hunger and wrecking the mortgage industry. Yes, Harvard and Yale played yesterday. Yes, Harvard won and sent the senior class out with a sweep of their rival (sounds somewhat familiar). For me, though, the lasting image will be this:
Tough coaches, those Ivys...
As I mentioned last week, I was at the Baylor/OU “game” over the weekend, so I”ll have some photos from the road to share with you.
I think it's spelled "Stoops"
Happy Halloween! As tempting as it is for me to throw a little Western History at you with today’s musical accompaniment, let’s go with something a little more Disney:
Following up on our Protestant Reformation reference, let’s jump in with the goings on over at Ntre Ame. Remember when beating Notre Dame was a significant accomplishment? Seems like it’s what all the cool kids are doing these days, if you count the Golden Hurricanes of Tulsa as one of the cool kids. By the way, it’s still not a good idea to Urban Dictionary “Golden Hurricane” FWIW.
The Irish lost their QB, Crist, for the season… if only his name had another letter, he’d be back in a couple of days. The game ended on an interception in the endzone from a Hurricane named Flanders… surprising given his relationship with the faith. From what I’ve read online the play by play commentator for NBC said “and that’s the final nail in the coffin…” Probably not the wisest choice of words, given the circumstances.
One thing that concerned me about the horrible tragedy that happened with the video guy is the way that everyone was using it as a storyline. Let me get this straight- the tragedy was a rallying point of inspiration for the Irish, until they lost. Then, they couldn’t have won because of their heavy hearts. I understand the need to make meaning of these types of situations, but it just seems incredibly disrespectful to trivialize this for interest stories or university PR. Again, just my $.02.
Late Sunday/early Monday during the season (what can I say- west coast timezone), tBBC will be bringing you reflections on that week’s game. And, since it’s always great to have mood music to read to, let’s start with this clip from Pitchfork’s top ten videos from the ’90′s
All is right with the world- football is back, baby! And what a slate of games we had… although, for Buckeye fans, it all seems anticlimactic after Thursday night, amiright?
Ignore Akbar at your peril
In case you’ve forgotten, Houston Nutt has a penchant for overtime games, being on the sidelines for several of the longest contests in history while at Arkansas. The one thing, though- he needs to remember how to “win” in OT and not just “play for OT”, as the Rebels were upset Saturday by the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State. As a public service announcement, tBBC would like to remind you that Jeremiah Masoli is now 0-2 in his last two games. Best part? Ole’ Miss paid $300,000 for the pleasure of the upset. Almost as much fun as my favorite season opener ever.
We talked about Mich1gAAn during the livechat, and will do so again later on Monday. I will say this; their version of the wildcat offense looked pretty good. And UConn’s defense and offense looked pretty terrible. In my opinion, the highlight wasn’t the running game but something far more significant.
Kentucky’s new coach beat Louisville’s new coach, in the first match up of these two teams while each had an African American at the helm. Interestingly enough, Kentucky’s three major programs (UK, UofL, WKU) are all led by African American head coaches- there are only nine others in Division 1A (FBS, whatever). For the Kats and Cards, it’s probably exciting to talk about coaches and not use the word “investigation” or “payoff“.
Late Saturday night “Ohio’s BCS Team” gave up a late comeback to lose to Fresno State… Are we sure they didn’t import the entire Western Michigan team along with their coach? In addition on Thursday, The Utes upset the Pitt Stachers, in overtime. Let’s see- UofL, UC, UConn, Pitt all blow opening weekend games… Yup, Big lEast it is. I hope Jim Delaney was watching as he ponders even more expansion options… each of these teams has a chance to win that conference. Read More
