Buckeye Blogger NetworkThis week, the hyperbole has kicked into full gear as the top two teams in the nation play each other in what must certainly be the “Game Of The Millennium!!1!11!!”.
There's A Shirt... It Must Be Serious
Granted, both LSU and Alabama are amazing teams, and deserve their top rankings. Each program is led by a coach that has won a national championship; with Coach Saban doing it at both schools. Both come from the tradition and experience laden SEC, winners of the last five national titles. Heck, there’s even speculation that this may only be a precursor to the National Title game; that the tubes and wheels inside of computers might match them again in the Sugar Bowl for another go at it.
So, in many ways the extreme coverage is warranted. Given that both teams have had a week off to prepare, and that their conference has exclusive coverage from the network that creates news stories, I’m actually surprised at how understated the buildup to this game has been. And yes, I will be watching.
That being said, though, there’s one set of stories that won’t be covered in all of the leadup to this spectacular matchup. I’m on record as being very “anti-human interest angle” pre Super Bowl, and my perspective here is why I refuse to watch the Olympics. However, there are student athletes who have been forgotten and cast aside here, not just by the media coverage, but by the programs themselves.
I’m referring, of course, to those players who have ‘left’ the active rosters of each team for what might be considered questionable reasons.
Here’s the soundtrack for this week’s journey through the recent past. It’s from one of my favorite artists, and the greatest Thanksgiving movie ever ANDIWILLFIGHTYOUIFYOUDISAGREE. Ahem.
Although I usually don’t take requests, I almost made an exception for Coach Rodriguez.
What a great week of football- three days worth of collegiate goodness, interspersed with some NFL stuff, lots of food, and the occasional neighborhood game. Although, this year things ended up being a little messy.
There, there... let it all out...
I guess you could say that the mess all started on Thursday, when our friends in burnt orange managed to lose their rivalry game against the Aggies. As you can imagine, the good folks at Shaggy Bevo are taking this well, particularly given that most of the losses happened in Austin.
The Longhorn’s collapse is the first time in recent memory that a team has gone from the BCS championship game to not even being bowl eligible. As a “fun fact”; this BCS season will be without the following names: Pete Carroll, Mack Brown, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, and Les Miles, with the jury still out on whether Bobby Stoops gets an invite. You know who’s going to be at the BCS Ball? Jim Tressel. Again.
Fridays’ games were just as exciting, with Auburn performing the “Greatest Iron Bowl Comeback Ever To Be Vacated” against ‘Bama after being down 21-0 in the first quarter. Granted, Alabama QB McElroy was injured in the second half, but the Tide followed their protocol and inserted the next person with the same haircut. Read More
Our weekly foray into the world of college sports brings with it certain challenges, not the least being the choice of an appropriate soundtrack. For instance, this week we were looking to honor the new month as well as the chaos that’s come out west to the Big 12 teams that travel from home. So, here’s where we ended up- although the sentiment may be a bit misplaced:
This week’s common theme in seems to be that “There’s no place like home”, as teams fell left and right without their home fans and support. Texas certainly proved that they don’t need to be in Austin to look terrible, losing to a Kansas State team that didn’t have a passing yard until after they were up 32-0, and one that only had 9 yards on 2 completions for the night. Five interceptions by Blake Gilbert were enough to do the damage for the Horns; the defensive backs for the Wildcats had more than twice the receptions of their offensive counterparts.
Remember when we laughed at Texas as they fell to Iowa State? Well, Nebraska almost got sucked into the cyclone as well, winning in OT when ISU’s fake extra point was intercepted. Granted, the Huskers were using their third string QB and were without Roy Helu, but still; there may be something happening in Ames. Read More
From the “He started it!” files- This week, we join our friends at 11W in celebrating Oktoberfest and all it’s splendor. So, break out the lederhosen, get your sauerkraut all warmed up, and find grandma’s recipe for schnitzel…
Drink enough and you'll dance too
This weekend looked to be the best thus far in terms of quality matchups, but only a few actually lived up to those expectations. Let’s start in the SEC, shall we?
Alabama, man… Another “can’t they both lose?” as the Crimson Tide invited the Gators to their place. As we were reminded over and over and over again by unbiased network analysts, when these two team play, the winner usually heads on to a national championship. As much as I hated to see Urban’s squadron be held without a touchdown (sarcasm alert), it was interesting that Alabama seems to be perfecting the tenets of Tresselball- No mistakes on offense, aggressive defense, solid special teams. Granted, they’ve got a Heisman Trophy running back to hand it to, but it’s important for Buckeye fans to remember these successes when they start screaming for offensive coordinators. I was also more than pleased to see that sometimes the Gators can get too cute for their own good.
