College Football!

[potthole]

That was one of the most enjoyable football games I've ever seen on TV.  And this is coming from a diehard U of M fan, who saw his team win the 1997 National Championship!

[No-Neck]

Beth, not everyone undestimated your team. In the face of intense scorn from my older brother, who is convinced that he knows more about football than me, I picked WVU for the win. I've never been a fan of the SEC, and especially not of this year's Georgia team. Conversely, from what I've seen of West Virginia, I'm very impressed. I'm one of those that thinks that if they were rematched against Va Tech, WVU would have come out on top. If I were a little more adventurous, I could have driven to Vegas and put money on them, then raked it in when it was over.

On a side note, this year I started what I plan to make a new tradition: before bowl season started, I looked at all the matchups and picked who I thought would be the winners. And by "before bowl season," I mean 10 minutes before kickoff in the New Orleans bowl, the first bowl in line this year. Despite my franticly rushed predictions, I managed to post a 18-10 record, a 64% success rate. I'm going to try to improve on that next year.


Before I end this post, as a USC fan, I have an obligation to voice my frustration about the happenings of the Rose Bowl. I'll spare you the bloody details, but I strongly believe that USC was the better team. The problem appeared to me that the coaches' gameplan was all wrong, considering the type of team they were playing. Especially in the last two minutes, a few well-planned plays could have salvaged the game. But that's another story entirely.

I'd like to quote a source on another mishap that illustrates the kind of conditions under which USC was playing which probably cost them the game. This comes from Rob Fukazaki, the sports anchor for ABC 7, the local ABC station serving LA:

"A lot of people were questioning what happened in the second quarter when Vince Young lateraled the ball to Selvin Young and he ran in for the touchdown, giving Texas a 9-7 lead at that point. A lot of people here at the Rose Bowl did not see the replay on the screen. Those of you at home may know, but for those of you who don't know, the reason they didn't review the play was that the monitor in the review room was down. That's why they did not review the play. Pete Carroll didn't call a timeout to give the officials a little more time, but that was definately a gift [for Texas] because in the press room, we saw clearly that Vince Young's knee touched the ground while he was still in possession of the ball, and on top of that, the lateral was not a lateral; it went forward."

A well-timed techincal malfunction gave Texas a free touchdown, which could well have been the difference in the game. But you're not going to here anybody say anything about it, because it was way back in the second quarter. Anyway, I'm going to stop myself, because there's no saying what I'll say if I don't stop myself.

[potthole]

1- The refs blew some calls that came out in favor of USC (namely the phantom interception by a Texas player, that was ruled an incomplete pass), so you guys got some breaks too.

2- Texas would have scored on that drive anyways.  Vince Young was running left and right all over USC's defense.  So, even if the refs did get the call right, with Young's knee being down, Texas would have scored on the next play anyways.

3- This bowl season has shown the urgent need to quit having MLB umpires teach NCAA refs how to do their job (hopefully most baseball fans will get that joke), and shows the need for a specific NCAA wide ref system, not refs for individual confrences.

4- Hook 'em Horns!

[The Chort]

I am an Aggie, therefore I loathe the Texas University 'Horns. But I am also a Texan, and as such, I love to see anyone from Texas kick the rest of the country's collective butt. So, for the day, I chose to view myself as a Texan watching football instead of an Aggie watching football.

Over the last few years, all football in Texas has been growing in stature in the NCAA. I remember the nineties when the Seminoles and Gators and Canes seemed to be the talk of everyone for a couple of years. While they didn't win every year, they were always up there in the National Spotlight. I think the state of Texas could become similar in the next few years with a Big 3 of its own.

Texas has obviously earned its respect this year. A perfect season, National Championship, and talent like Vince Young. But Texas Tech also made huge leaps this year. They were highly ranked late in the season, and their offense has been one of the most potent in the nation for several years. Now that their defense is starting to catch up, they're getting much tougher.

Then there's Texas A&M. Next year we've got Fightin' Texas Aggie Stephen McGee, who started his first game last season against Texas, and went on to run for two touchdowns and a bunch of yards. Courtney Lewis will be healthy, so he'll be a great producer running the ball, and Jorvorskie Lane will be even more effective at pounding the ball through as a fullback.

Watch for it next season. Texan football will wreck some shop.

[potthole]

Oh, Texas Tech got some nice national airtime with their game this year which featured some 643 (or round abouts there) passing yards.