First, a small complaint: Why did they have to rename Division I-A and I-AA the "Football Bowl Subdivision" and the "Football Championship Subdivision", respectively? Is this tacit acknowledgment that the Bowl Championship Series is BS?
Some of you may know that I'm a huge Alabama fan. It's something I was born with, something I was raised loving, and something I hope to pass on to another generation. It is with great pleasure bordering on giddiness that I can report that the Crimson Tide beat the Arkansas Razorbacks 41-38 on Saturday. It was a far closer game than it should have been, since Alabama led by 21 points during much of the game, but still, this was the first come from behind victory for the team once led by The Bear in six years. While I'm sure Head Coach Saban was pleased with that aspect of the performance, I'm certain he has some words for his team. Whatever he's been doing seems to be working, and with this win, Alabama has gone from being an underdog to a favorite when they face Georgia at home, and they look good against an uninspiring Florida State the following week on the road.
Auburn University, on the other hand... It looks like Tommy "The Riverboat Gambler" Tuberville has finally drawn 2-7 off suit, and the results have been devastatingly clear against South Florida (who's ever heard of them?) and now, the lovable losers of the SEC, Mississippi State. Once again, their offense looked flat, and I honestly am at a loss to explain their implosion. One thing I do know is that the last time a coach at a major football university in Alabama lost to Mississippi State, he was looking for another job at the end of the season, and good riddance to Mike Shula. The last two weeks have led at least one local sports columnist to opine that Auburn may now only be the third-best FBS team in the Heart of Dixie, behind Troy University of the Sunbelt Conference and of course, Alabama. If you've never heard of the Sunbelt Conference, then you're not alone. At least the Trojans showed some serious signs of life in their losses to Arkansas and Florida, and they beat Oklahoma State. I congratulate the Mississippi State Bulldogs on their stunning upset at Auburn, their first win at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 8 years.
As if that weren't good enough, Florida, the defending national champions, completely annihilated the Tennessee Volunteers 59-20. Any time Phillip "I just got my ASS KICKED!" Fulmer frowns, any time his team is subjected to a humiliating loss, it's like a little slice of heaven, and that game put me on fucking Cloud NINE! Between that game and Alabama's upset win over Arkansas... I'm still coming down from that high. I LOVE SEC FOOTBALL!!!
Snave, I'm sorry, but when I see a Pac-10 team lose, it makes me happy. I have very little respect for that conference, and I base that on what I perceive as a weakness in the middle and lower levels of that conference. In the SEC, you have four head coaches who have won national titles, and a fifth (Auburn's Tommy Tuberville) who it could be very strongly argued was cheated out of a shot at a national title at the end of the 2004 season. Winning the SEC with only one loss is phenomenal, but going 13-0... that's insanely difficult, and then to get cheated like that? Hell no! That shit ain't right, and my only regret is that it was UCLA instead of USC losing 44-6 to give Utah their first win of the season.
On the topic of near-upsets, I cannot close this post without mentioning Texas at Central Florida. The Longhorns' play was insipid, and frankly, I don't know how they eked out a 35-32 win against this unknown team. Had they played Kentucky instead of Central Florida, Texas would have a loss now. I disagree with the AP and the USA Today polls. Texas hasn't played like a top 10 team all season, and unless things change and fast, they won't be serious players in the national title race.
I'm feeling a bit nostalgic and aggressive today, so enjoy this blast from the past from Bjork.
4 comments:
Heh!
I know, you don't think they play real football in the Pac-10, etc. 8-)>
I have to say I also admire SEC-like teams that rely on tough defenses and/or bulldozing offenses.
On the other hand, I like the kind of team my Oregon Ducks have so far this year. If they don't fall into their pattern of collapsing during the second half of the season, I could also have a lot to cheer about by season's end.
I do have to say that as of today (9/26) ESPN Gameday is going to be coming at you live, from Eugene, OR... prior to the huge game between Oregon and Cal! Whether or not the Pac-10 is strong from top to bottom, I have to believe that whoever wins Saturday's game will be involved in another game-of-the-week scenario when that team plays the icky, gawd-I-hate-em USC Trojans.
People like to watch Pac-10 football when it involves the upper-echelon teams in the league. Fans will be treated to lots of speed and finesse, as well as the good hard hit here and there. I agree with you, the league is pretty weak in the lower tiers, particularly this year. USC, Cal, Oregon and ASU all look pretty decent. UCLA, Arizona, Washington and OSU all seem kind of middling, and then WSU and Stanford look weak. The SEC does seem like it is usually stronger throughout than the Pac-10.
I'm with you on being happy when Pac-10 teams lose, if those teams are USC, UCLA, Cal, Arizona and Arizona State. I cheer for my Ducks, for WSU and sometimes for OSU, and I could care less whether Stanford and the Huskies win or lose.
As for getting cheated out of a chance to play for a national title, I have to mention that Oregon didn't get to play Miami after being Pac-10 champs, the year they lost only to Stanford (I think that was 2001). Sure the Ducks might not have beaten the butt-ugly nauseating 'Canes (that's a team I always root against), but then again they might have.
I would also have loved to see Texas lose to C. Florida. Seeing Michigan getting beaten by Appalachian State was good, and when the Ducks beat UM 39-7 in Ann Arbor it was even better.
If UO got to play Alabama this season, it would be a good game. I think neither team would be able to stop the other's offense, and it would be something like the 41-38 game the Tide had against Arkansas, and probably would be decided either way by less than a TD.
I have to hand it to you, your favorite team has the history, it has the tradition, and it plays in one of the toughest conferences in the country. Oregon's league isn't quite as good, but coach Mike Bellotti has quietly built a pretty impressive program, albeit still s second-tier one... but if you check back over the past ten years, you'll see which team has had just about the best record. For what Wikipedia is worth, it says Bellotti has compiled a 100-48 record during his time at UO (since 1995).
I forgot to mention, I also cheer rabidly for my hometown Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers, who play in the Frontier Conference with Montana teams Carroll College, Rocky Mountain College, M-Western, M-Northern and M-Tech. That is an NAIA conference, and the quality of football is usually good... though my Mounties are 0-4 so far this year, and they're staring 0-11 in the face. Scheise... Same with my La Grande High School Tigers, who are 0-3 and staring 0-9 in the face after getting outscored 111-9 in their first three games! Aieeee!!!
The main reason I respect the Ducks is because of the crap they ate back in '01, and yet they've done very well. That was a year before Alabama football found itself a hair away from getting the "death penalty" for some of the worst violations in NCAA history, and I still hate Phillip Fulmer for the dishonor he showed in his attempt to achieve just that against one of his most consistent and feared rivals. I just want to see someone tackle him hard and have that fat bastard laid out.
Also, you had one of our better coaches earlier in his career, Rich Brooks, a man who is working wonders with Kentucky right now after doing the same (and having the same and understandable initial failures) with Oregon. Washington State... I hear they make great cheese, but instead, they've cut it on the football field. In their case, he who smelt it is not the one who dealt it. This blog may be informative and always has some good football talk. As for this weekend, I'm hoping the Tide rolls over the 'Noles.
hi,
Our Psycho Active team leader, john Robitaille forwarded your blog link to me today about your favorite four x-prize contenders. Thanks for the recognition.
There are not many people that actually see the possibilities with this type of engine. Most people don’t get it at all. It is apparent that you have some vision as well as practical judgment.
As the principle designer of the concept, I can tell you that the idea did not start out as an engine but rather an exercise evaluating all the crazy rotary engines on the internet while considering how my kids and I could improve those Air hog model airplanes. The main concern was how to make displacement a function of rotary motion.
Later the application to engines was natural to make because an engine is just the combination of two things: a compressor and air driven motor.
You are right that we have proven nothing at this point and are perhaps the longest shot to get in the race. We will however have the advantage of not knowing what can’t be done on a shoe string budget.
If you are curious, I can forward the pre-released version of some promotional info on the latest engine prototype that will be on display at the Detroit conference.
Thanks for your vote of interest.
Steve Johnson
THOUGHTFLOW Design
Member of Team Psycho Active
Post a Comment