College football weekend observations

by WCT, The Ship of Fools


Pic:AP

Complaining about a college football Saturday is a little like complaining about free food. Free food is always a great thing to get, even if the food itself is crap, and you sort of feel like a brat when you complain about it. Its gift, so you suck it up.

With that in mind, I sort of feel bad complaining about a November Saturday of football. There are very few weekends left, so we as fans should enjoy each and every one of them. That being said, this past Saturday has to be one of the most boring Saturdays in recent memory. There was only one game involving two ranked teams, and it ended up being a 50-point drubbing. The rest of the games involved few, if any, big upsets, and absolutely no change to the BCS landscape. We have become so accustomed to weekly lunacy on college football Saturdays that when a week goes by with all the favorites winning and very few close games, it seems pretty boring.

- One game that certainly was not boring was the Notre Dame-Navy game. ND, up 27-7 in the fourth quarter, did everything within their power to give the game back to the Middies, including allowing two recovered onside kicks. The comeback bid ended when Navy turned the ball over on downs with less than a minute to play. The giant exhale you heard was Irish Head Coach Charlie Weis, who would have had some 'splaining to do if he lost two consecutive games to Navy.


- Also escaping total embarrassment were the LSU Tigers, who rallied to beat Troy after trailing 31-3(!!) in the second half. The Tigers used 37 unanswered points (including 30 in the 4th quarter!) to win 40-31. 2 things: 1)How do you go from winning the National Championship to allowing Troy to open up a 28-point lead on you in your own house, at night? 2)How in the world - no matter how bad you are, or how good your opponent is - do you blow a 31-3 lead?

- South Carolina had one to the top defenses in the nation coming into this Saturday, and they were flat out embarrassed by Florida. The 56-6 pistol-whipping was the worst loss Steve Spurrier has ever suffered in Gainesville. That was very impressive.

- The two most misleading scores of the week were the 32-7 Alabama win over Mississippi State, and the 45-23 USC win over Stanford. Both of those games were dogfights that got away late. I'm also very happy that Stanford was able to gash that Trojan defense, so we no longer have to hear the talking heads gush over the USC D like its the greatest thing in the world. When you play teams like Washington State and Washington on a regular basis, your defense tends to look good.

- Speaking of which, Washington State is on a serious roll. The Cougars, 31-0 losers Saturday night, have now beaten two spreads in a row. Very impressive. That is the type of momentum they need to take into this week's game-of-the-century.

- Nice to see the ACC showcase itself. The 3 teams in the League that were ranked coming into Saturday, namely UNC, Wake Forest, and Florida State, all lost.

- Michigan is officially having its worst season in the 129-year history of the football program.

- Nice win by the Beavs! Just 2 more and they're Rose Bowl bound baby!