It's just a jump to the left...

Saturday's game at Purdue felt so much like something out of the mid-90s that I almost checked at halftime to make sure I had a tape in the VCR recording the game: Maddening offense that alternated between effective, and bleech; defense that looked adequate against a Purdue offense that couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat; bad weather that chased most of the normally sparse Boilermaker crowd; a gaggle of turnovers for both teams; and just enough points to win an ugly, ugly game. It was definitely not a thing of beauty, but given the way the last three years have gone, we'll take any win we can get.
- It was nice to see the defense play well, but I'm not sure we can read anything into this game, it looked like Purdue shot itself in the foot time and time again. I'm not sure they had a QB on the roster who could throw the ball more than 20 yards. The next two(three) offenses will face will bear no resemblance to this one.
-Denard is continuing to make bad decisions in the passing game. It's funny that a guy who is such a good runner seems unwilling to tuck it and run instead of trying to force a pass.
-Had an interesting conversation with my 8-year old son during the game. After Michigan scored late to go up 11, he announced, "We can't lose this game now, we're gonna win." Being a grizzled college football I get superstitious about things like that, so I said, "I wish you hadn't said that"
"Why Not?"
"Because you could jinx us"
"But we're still going to win aren't we?"
"Well, you never know what's going to happen, so you don't announce that we're going to win until it's a sure thing"
"But I'm sure we're going to win."

I guess he's just have to suffer some sort of catastrophic loss to understand the superstition of a veteran fan.
-Weird day in the Pac Ten - Cal almost beats Oregon, ASU almost beat Stanford, and Washington State wins their first conference road game since 2007.
-There is probably gonna be a few people who will get unfairly punished in the whole Cam Newton saga. None of them are from Auburn. Based on what we've heard, I tend to think that Newton was probably bought and paid for. I don't think Miss. State would've reported any of this if they didn't feel they had to protect their interests. That suggests that some, if not all of what they are reporting is true. I don't buy the idea that Newton (or his dad, or a representative for his family) would have asked MSU for money, and not Auburn. Even if they didn't ask Auburn for money, there is no way that Auburn would have taken a kid kicked out of Florida (how bad do you have to fuck up to get kicked off a Gator team that is considering replacing their defensive coordinator with a defense counsel?) without learning absolutely everything about him. Auburn probably knew Newton was looking for a handout and knew that would make him ineligible. They probably knew about his academic cheating episodes at UF. That alone would have made him untouchable at any school where the idea of a student athlete is not a joke. They choose to take him anyway, and probably paid to do so. They and Newton deserve any punishment they get.
-Another interesting item about the Newton thing is the reports of the FBI being involved. I don't think the FBI would get involved unless there were some more serious crimes involved. The FBI was involved in the Michigan basketball thing ten years ago because the main figure in the whole affair was running an illegal numbers scam at an area Ford plant. I wonder if Auburn uber-booster / trustee Bobby Lowder is being investigated for something more serious. If so, Cam Newton's eligibility might be the least of Auburn's worries.
-Gotta admire the consistency of the Grambling Tigers. Their last five games they've scored 38, 35, 35, 35, and 34 points. Unfortunately in that last game they gave up 41 to Texas Southern, which cost them the SWAC title.
-The FCS playoffs expanded to 20 teams this year. There are 123 FCS teams, and several leagues (SWAC, Pioneer, Ivy) that don't participate in the playoffs. There are 120 FBS teams. If the NCAA were to sponsor a playoff for the top division of college football, the likelihood that it would be limited to four, eight or 12 teams seem slim. Just like the basketball tournament, it would eventually expand to the max allowable size.

Chaos

June 19, 2008 Note: This is a post that originally appeared on Golden's Football Rankings and is reproduced here for posterity.

After an unbelievable weekend of college football, that’s what we are left in the BCS. From Rutgers’ program defining win to Auburn’s destruction at the hands of rival Georgia, to Cal’s choke job in the desert to the deconstruction of Colt McCoy and the defending champs, the college football world was left spinning on its axis.

-Rutgers’ win on Thursday was a genuinely exciting happening, even if you aren’t a Rutgers alum or a resident of greater New Jersey. It’s the type of moment you just don’t get in the NFL. A long suffering program, one that helped create the sport, but hasn’t tasted any success since Herbert Hoover was in office gets its moment in the spotlight. I hope that Greg Schiano resists the calls from Miami, Penn State, or other higher profile schools and stays at Rutgers. There is a lot of untapped possibility there. The lack of a legitimate college football program in the Eastern seaboard is one of the biggest vacuums in sports. If Schiano can keep the local talent at home, and cherry pick a few from other areas, they could be a real player on the national stage for a while.
-If Rutgers runs the table, they belong in the national title game. No, they aren’t the second best team in the country, but that’s not what the BCS is really about. If it were, the Michigan/OSU rematch would already be set.
-Ok, I know that Florida State is struggling on offense, is very young on defense and is having a horrible year. But Wake Forest?!? 34-0?!?! At home?! We are through the looking glass here folks. Black is white, and white is black.
-I was glad to see Auburn get their comeuppance against the Bulldogs. Tommy Tupperville’s complaining rubbed me the wrong way earlier in the year. Don’t worry about the polls; just take care of the teams on your schedule. I think he still feels that he got screwed in 2004, which is understandable, but wrong (Oklahoma and USC were both better and had better resumes than Auburn)
-I’m not a Florida fan, but there is something just wrong about Steve Spurrier on the visitor’s sideline at Florida Field. He belongs at Florida, like Bear Bryant at Alabama, or Bobby Bowden at FSU. Him at South Carolina would be like JoePa quitting at taking over at Indiana. Urban Meyer seems like a bright guy. I’m sure he must realize that he doesn’t belong there. No one other than Spurrier does. Spurrier is Gator football, their best player, their best coach, and the very personification of what they stand for – run and gun, in your face, somewhat arrogant, but always entertaining.
-I’ve read some rumors on message boards that the shooting of the Miami player was related to the FIU/Miami brawl earlier this year. No sure if there is any truth to those rumors, but if there is, Miami should consider a one year hiatus for their football program. No game or program is that important. Of course, given the administration’s actions after the brawl, I doubt they would ever entertain that idea.
-Seriously, Wake Forest?
-California’s loss could hurt the Rose Bowl big time. I think the people in Pasadena were looking forward to matching up the loser of the UM/OSU tilt and the loser of the Cal/USC game. With the Golden Bears loss to Arizona, a loss to the Trojans will take them out of BCS consideration. If USC makes the championship game, the Rose Bowl has to replace two teams. The 2nd Big Ten gets one bid, who gets the other? Notre Dame? That would make an OSU-ND rematch or a Michigan-ND rematch. Boise State? Texas for the third straight year? Florida? Rutgers?
-I know this match-up is unlikely given the way the BCS is structured this year, but I would love to see a Texas/ND game this year. Both have good offenses and suspect defenses. That could be a 55-52 type game. Come to think of it, West Virginia against either of those teams could be entertaining.
-I think only seven teams have realistic chances of being in Glendale, and two of those teams are blocked by other teams in the chase. In descending order (assuming each wins out):
1 & 2) Michigan and Ohio State, Ohio State and Michigan -- Obviously the winner is in, but I think the chance of a rematch if the game is close is greater than people realize. Think about it, who would have a better resume, a one-loss Florida, or one-loss Ohio State? A one-loss USC or one-loss Michigan?
3) USC – If they win out, they will have three wins over Top 15 teams (Arkansas, ND, & California), and a couple more over top 25 teams (Oregon & Nebraska)
4) Florida – The big debate will probably be Florida or USC. The Gator’s biggest problem is that they haven’t gained many style points in their big games. Yes they could have won at Auburn, but they were lucky to beat South Carolina, and narrowly beat Georgia and Tennessee.
5) Arkansas – The Razorbacks look like the best team in the SEC right now. But they are blocked by USC. The only way the Hogs can make it is if USC loses to someone other than ND.
6) Rutgers – The computers love them, and if the Trojans and Gators lose, and they win in Morgantown, they could jump to #2 easily.
7) Notre Dame – They are blocked by Michigan, and to a lesser extent, Ohio State. No one in their right mind would vote a one-loss Irish team ahead of a one-loss team that beat them by 26 in South Bend. Likewise, given the beat down the Irish received at the hands of the Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl, and the fact that they have few marquee wins, it seems unlikely they would jump to #2.

And that is the last I will speak on any teams other than the Buckeyes and the Wolverines until November 19. The game of the day, year, decade is upon us. Perhaps the biggest game in the history of the greatest rivalry in all of sports. I will post a different item each day this week leading up to Armageddon.