09-21-2003, 10:22 PM
A few notes before turning to my weekly spouting of pure nonsense. I didn't get a chance to watch any games. The remnants of Hurricane Isabel made a beeline for the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and the National Guard decided I had better things to do with my time than watch college football games. To which I said, "um, yes sir." (The military generally doesn't ask politely. Unless my feeble mind fails me, the exact words from my commander came at approximately 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday and were, "pack your shlt and be at the armory at 0500 tomorrow"). Anywho, thanks to Al Gore, we now have the internet and I can still look up scores, stats and recaps. Cool. On with the show!!!!!!
1. Marshall 27, Kansas State 20 - Marshall had 212 yards rushing at 107 yards passing. What's wrong with this picture? Still, the score was closer than it should have been. Special teams remain the achilles heel for the Herd. If Marshall can ever put together a complete game without stupid mistakes, they could be scary good. Notwithstanding the above, this is probably the 2nd biggest win in Marshall history. (Xavier will always be #1). And for those who constantly carp that Marshall has never beaten "anybody", I reply with a resounding: F U C K Y O U (and the horse you rode in on). (Hmmm. That sentence ended with not just one, but two prepositions).
2. Toledump 35, Pitt 31 - One of these days teams will figure out that a lead against the Rockettes is a meaningless thing. Unfortunately for a whole lot of teams, including Marshall, NIU and now Pitt, they haven't learned that simple lesson. Did I mention lately that I hate Toledump? Regardless, great win for the Rockettes and the conference. Good job. (Damn, but that was painful to say).
3. NIU 19, Alabama 16 - Is NIU as good as the pre-season hype? It appears so. Absolutely great win for the Huskies. Nuff said.
4. Ohio State 24, BUGS 17 - Here's a hint for the BUGS coaching staff and players for that matter. A football game is 4 quarters. You must actually play for the first 3 as well as in the 4th. You might win a game occasionally by playing for only the last 5 minutes but not against a good opponent. Here's another hint. Ohio State is a good opponent. So is NIU. So is Toledump. BUGS won't win the West.
5. Syracuse 38, CFU 14 - I said before the season started that pre-season injuries, academic casualties and other issues keeping CFU players off the field would hurt this team badly. CFU fans laughed at me. While laughing at me is certainly called for on most occasions, I will give the Golden Kaniggits time to retract said laugh.
6. Penn State 32, Kent 10 - God, I can't wait for Kent to get a couple of losses in the East to bring the Golden Flush fans a dose of reality about where their team really is - mired in mediocrity.
7. Navy 39, EMU 7 - EMU now gets my vote for the worst team in college football proudly stealing that crown from Buffalo this week.
8. UConn 38, Buffalo 7 - If I were the Buffalo president, I would do whatever I could to hire the AD from UConn and find out exactly what they did to make the successful jump from I-AA to I-A. OTOH, Buffalo might not have that kind of money so the Herd will gladly give them Lance West. I strongly supported Buffalo's membership in the MAC. I argued that they would improve dramatically and, within 5 or 6 years, be competing at the top of the East. I was absolutely dead wrong on both counts.
9. Ball State 27, CMU 14 - A meaningless game from two teams who are meaningless in terms of the title.
10. Miami (OH) 41, Colorado State 21 - This is not a terribly good Colorado State team. They got beat by Colorado, they eked out a win over California and they beat the big time opponent Weber State so the Redskin win isn't nearly as impressive as Toledump's over Pitt or Marshall's over Kansas State. Hell, it's not even as impressive as Marshall's close call with Tennessee or BUGS giving the Buckeyes a game. Still, it looks like Ben Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz and company are hitting their stride.
11. Akron 65, Howard 7 - Has Akron finally discovered their offense or does Howard just suck that badly? Considering that Howard is now 0-3, my vote goes for #2. While Akron is good enough to upset someone and play the spoiler in the East they get Miami (OH) in Oxford and Marshall in Huntington. This sounds like they won't get it done but Miami (OH) takes on the Zippers the week after the hated Bearcats. Coming off that emotional game, the Redskins could be ripe for an upset. Should be an interesting game made even more interesting by the fact that it's being played the day before my birthday. Wonder if an early birthday present for me is enough motivation for the Zippies to beat the Redskins?
Tune in next week for more big trouble for moose and squirrel.
P.S. Despite the great wins for the MAC this weekend, the best news of the weekend was that Hurricane Isabel dumped a lot less rain on West Virginia than had been anticipated. Although there was some minor wind damage and local flooding, there were no major problems. North Carolina and Virginia got hit hard. If you want to help, please make a monetary donation to the Red Cross or the Salvation Army or another relief agency rather than sending things like clothing and blankets. As time passes, relief agencies and the affected citizenry face different needs. A donation of your money allows those agencies to meet those changing needs. A donation of your used t-shirts does not.
1. Marshall 27, Kansas State 20 - Marshall had 212 yards rushing at 107 yards passing. What's wrong with this picture? Still, the score was closer than it should have been. Special teams remain the achilles heel for the Herd. If Marshall can ever put together a complete game without stupid mistakes, they could be scary good. Notwithstanding the above, this is probably the 2nd biggest win in Marshall history. (Xavier will always be #1). And for those who constantly carp that Marshall has never beaten "anybody", I reply with a resounding: F U C K Y O U (and the horse you rode in on). (Hmmm. That sentence ended with not just one, but two prepositions).
2. Toledump 35, Pitt 31 - One of these days teams will figure out that a lead against the Rockettes is a meaningless thing. Unfortunately for a whole lot of teams, including Marshall, NIU and now Pitt, they haven't learned that simple lesson. Did I mention lately that I hate Toledump? Regardless, great win for the Rockettes and the conference. Good job. (Damn, but that was painful to say).
3. NIU 19, Alabama 16 - Is NIU as good as the pre-season hype? It appears so. Absolutely great win for the Huskies. Nuff said.
4. Ohio State 24, BUGS 17 - Here's a hint for the BUGS coaching staff and players for that matter. A football game is 4 quarters. You must actually play for the first 3 as well as in the 4th. You might win a game occasionally by playing for only the last 5 minutes but not against a good opponent. Here's another hint. Ohio State is a good opponent. So is NIU. So is Toledump. BUGS won't win the West.
5. Syracuse 38, CFU 14 - I said before the season started that pre-season injuries, academic casualties and other issues keeping CFU players off the field would hurt this team badly. CFU fans laughed at me. While laughing at me is certainly called for on most occasions, I will give the Golden Kaniggits time to retract said laugh.
6. Penn State 32, Kent 10 - God, I can't wait for Kent to get a couple of losses in the East to bring the Golden Flush fans a dose of reality about where their team really is - mired in mediocrity.
7. Navy 39, EMU 7 - EMU now gets my vote for the worst team in college football proudly stealing that crown from Buffalo this week.
8. UConn 38, Buffalo 7 - If I were the Buffalo president, I would do whatever I could to hire the AD from UConn and find out exactly what they did to make the successful jump from I-AA to I-A. OTOH, Buffalo might not have that kind of money so the Herd will gladly give them Lance West. I strongly supported Buffalo's membership in the MAC. I argued that they would improve dramatically and, within 5 or 6 years, be competing at the top of the East. I was absolutely dead wrong on both counts.
9. Ball State 27, CMU 14 - A meaningless game from two teams who are meaningless in terms of the title.
10. Miami (OH) 41, Colorado State 21 - This is not a terribly good Colorado State team. They got beat by Colorado, they eked out a win over California and they beat the big time opponent Weber State so the Redskin win isn't nearly as impressive as Toledump's over Pitt or Marshall's over Kansas State. Hell, it's not even as impressive as Marshall's close call with Tennessee or BUGS giving the Buckeyes a game. Still, it looks like Ben Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz and company are hitting their stride.
11. Akron 65, Howard 7 - Has Akron finally discovered their offense or does Howard just suck that badly? Considering that Howard is now 0-3, my vote goes for #2. While Akron is good enough to upset someone and play the spoiler in the East they get Miami (OH) in Oxford and Marshall in Huntington. This sounds like they won't get it done but Miami (OH) takes on the Zippers the week after the hated Bearcats. Coming off that emotional game, the Redskins could be ripe for an upset. Should be an interesting game made even more interesting by the fact that it's being played the day before my birthday. Wonder if an early birthday present for me is enough motivation for the Zippies to beat the Redskins?
Tune in next week for more big trouble for moose and squirrel.
P.S. Despite the great wins for the MAC this weekend, the best news of the weekend was that Hurricane Isabel dumped a lot less rain on West Virginia than had been anticipated. Although there was some minor wind damage and local flooding, there were no major problems. North Carolina and Virginia got hit hard. If you want to help, please make a monetary donation to the Red Cross or the Salvation Army or another relief agency rather than sending things like clothing and blankets. As time passes, relief agencies and the affected citizenry face different needs. A donation of your money allows those agencies to meet those changing needs. A donation of your used t-shirts does not.