Remembering Dad

It was easy thinking of my father, who passed away in 1989, this weekend as his favorite teams all posted memorable wins.  Dad was a huge fan of Notre Dame football, having gladly joined the ranks of the subway alumni 70 years ago after seeing the movie Knute Rockne-All American.  That movie came out in the fall of 1940 and by the following year Frank Leahy was beginning his legendary coaching career in South Bend with a 8-0-1 mark.  By 1943 the Irish won their first of four national championships under Leahy and eight-year-old Bobby Guido was hooked.  He was loyal to the team through good and bad and was proud that they addressed him as an alumni on mailings despite his not matriculating there (he became a very important person locally in Jersey without going to college until proudly getting his degree as his 40s approached at nearby FDU).  Notre Dame has not won a title since my father died and there is something to that I think.  He would be very happy that they have returned to the national top ten on the backs of a hard-hitting defense and tough offense and not some gimmicky crap.  And beating Oklahoma this weekend in Norman would have been cause to celebrate.  He remembered the days when playing teams like OU had a little extra something to them based not only on how talented the programs were when the rivalry began in the 1950s but also because of a lot of anti-Catholic sentiment directed at the Fighting Irish on trips to the Bible Belt or Deep South.
My father's favorite professional team was the baseball Giants, who played just north of his East Harlem home as he was growing up.  He told me about watching games through holes in the fence or by sneaking into the Polo Grounds.  He fondly remembered running up and down his street screaming after Bobby Thomson's home run in 1951.  The stunning sweep of the Indians in the 1954 World Series, as my father's teen years came to end, must have opened the eyes of the then high school dropout to the possibilities of life.  Their move to San Francisco a few years later brought life's realities home.  That the Giants, once the epitome of National League success, would endure 50-plus years of frustration and failure was somehow fitting punishment for their abandonment of the City.  And again, like ND football, the Giants would return to glory the old-fashioned way, with great pitching, good fielding and timely hitting.  He would have enjoyed the team's spirited October runs in 2010 and this fall.  That the Irish would beat Oklahoma on the same night that San Fran would take a commanding 3-0 lead on Detroit would have made my dad ecstatic.
Once the baseball Giants moved to California my father was left with only one local favorite (he liked the Knicks too but without the same passion as the others) in the New York football Giants (he stuck with the Giants as his baseball team and did not switch to the Mets when they were formed).  The football Giants were very good at his birth, very good when he became an adult and then very good during the last years of his life.  They had some bad years in between but he was there every Sunday watching anyway.  This Sunday's win over Dallas was not a pretty one but he would have enjoyed any win over Dallas after enduring many losses to the Cowboys back in the 60s and 70s.  That it led right into game four of the World Series made it even sweeter.
So, all in all, it was a pretty wonderful weekend of sports for me as proxy for my father.  As the fourth of five kids born to an extremely busy couple I learned at an early age that if I wanted my dad's attention I needed to like everything he liked.  And so I became a loyal fan of Notre Dame and both Giants teams, listening to Mutual radio broadcasts of the Irish with him (you could hear the loudness of Lindsay Nelson's jackets through the radio) or traveling to Shea with my dad and brother Bob to watch the Giants play the Mets (Jim Barr always seemed to be starting for SF).  While we did have fun watching the Irish upset Alabama to win the title in 1973 and then Texas for the 1977 championship, the game I remember watching with my dad the most from my younger days was the 1979 Cotton Bowl when Joe Montana led the rally past Houston.  To this day I can see him yelling at the Zenith when they showed some happy Cougar cheerleaders midway through the game that it was not over yet.  He was right.  And just how big a Notre Dame fan he was was cemented in 1987 when the surprising Giants under manager Roger Craig won the NL West and took on the Cardinals.  Game four of that entertaining series took place on the same day that a 3-0 ND team was playing Pitt.  While I went back and forth from the living room, where I had the baseball game on the television, to his room, where he was listening to the football game, he never lost focus on the football game (eventually lost by the Irish 30-22).  The Irish were his number one, even if Mike Krukow was pitching a gem.  I was home that day and not at a sports bar in the City because we had all lost my sister Jane on July 4th of that year and bonding again with him through sports was a way of supporting each other.
I am glad he got to enjoy Notre Dame's 1988 title-winning season. His own health spiralled down pretty quickly in the early part of 1989 and he died that April.  I miss him greatly and will light a candle for him and Jane at the grotto on Notre Dame's campus in November when I go for the Wake Forest game.

View From Bennett Ave

My view is of rain and wind.  No big deal yet but the storm should have a negative effect of any college teams without an indoor practice facility.  Good luck everyone.

What We Learned Yesterday

There was a theory I have had kicking around in the cranium for a bit but I needed confirmation.  And Notre Dame last night gave that to me.  The Big 12 rode fast-paced, pass-happy offenses to a lot of success in the first decade of the 21st century but are now paying the piper with defenses too soft to stop anyone tough enough to punch them in the gut.  Notre Dame ran all over the Sooners.  OU knew that Notre Dame wanted to run and they could not stop them.  ND rushed 39 times for 215y--a 5.5y average--and ran for 3 TDs including the 62y gallop by Cierre Wood in which he went right up the middle on the Sooners D with nary a touch. All of the extra cover corners Oklahoma needs when playing Texas Tech and Baylor,etc, are useless against teams like Notre Dame.
Conversely when OU tried to run they were thwarted by a defense that was much bigger than typically faced by a Big 12 offense.  The Sooners rushed 24 times for 15y.  And with the Irish defense keeping OU wideouts in front of them the longest pass completion was "only" 35y (compared to 50y for ND).  The sad reality for the Sooners and the Big 12 is that a team built to win the way OU does is not equipped to beat a top ten traditionally-built team.
The person who knows this as well as anyone is Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, who built a squad fast enough to hold Big 12 offenses in check while tough enough to win the line of scrimmage.  The problem with KSU, who has looked very impressive in conference, is that they played three out of conference games, all at home, against 3-6 Missouri State, 4-4 Miami and 3-5 North Texas.  The last out-of-conference test was in the Cotton Bowl last year, where Arkansas beat KSU 29-16.
What else did we learn yesterday?  It is tough to enter November undefeated, especially if it is not something you are used to doing.  And so Oregon State, Ohio, Rutgers and Florida all fell from the ranks of the unbeatens despite being favored yesterday while Mississippi State earned their first loss as a big dog to Alabama.  Only six unbeatens remain with Alabama (at LSU) and Oregon (at USC) having the toughest match-ups.

Picks

Last night's BE game was entertaining at least.  Hopefully an important slate of games today will deliver.
Duke +27.5 against FSU
Mississippi State +24 at Bama
Iowa State -2.5 hosting Baylor
A&M -15 at Auburn
MSU +6.5 at Wisconsin
NC State +7.5 at UNC
Georgia +6.5 versus Florida
Arizona +7 hosting USC
Kansas State -7 hosting Texas Tech
Ohio State -1 at PSU
Arkansas -6 hosting Miss
Notre Dame +11.5 at OU
Michigan +2.5 at Nebraska
New Mexico +14.5 hosting Fresno
Good luck

Big East Update

The three-way battle for the Big East title takes center stage tonight as undefeated Louisville hosts a Cincinnati squad that remains unblemished in conference play although it did lose its first game of the season on Saturday at Toledo.  The Bearcats have won four straight in this series but as a favorite of anywhere from 3-14 points.  The Cardinals are now a ranked team and considered the class of the conference.  Therefore they are favored by a field goal in a game that everyone expects to go down to the wire.
As a fan of the Big East I really hope this game proves to be captivating.  Both of these teams are--as of 3:15 my time anyway--remaining in the conference and the winner will find itself ranked entering the month of November.  And thanks to a World Series off day, NHL lockout and continued NBA preseason (when will that ever end?), this game does not have much competition beyond another college football game (Nevada at Air Force) that is slightly less important.  The Big East, for the first time in a very long time, is the top banana tonight and desperately needs a great game and good ratings.  This is a showcase opportunity for two teams that have talented and colorful players.  Both QBs, for example, deserve more national attention as Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater is very special and Cincinnati's Munchie Legaux, no slouch himself, will be inspired to keep pace.  With no horse in this race I will be rooting for a 30-27 epic that forces people to pay attention.  I'd take Cincy and the points but do not have much faith in that pick and, again, am rooting for a good game as much as I am rooting for either team.

ACC Update

Clemson is in a tough spot.  With the ACC down and Florida State ahead of them in the ACC Atlantic due to a head-to-head win, the Tigers can continue to win without making much of a sound nationally. They sit at 6-1 without anyone mentioning them in the best one-loss team category.  A win tonight versus Wake Forest does not change that.  The Tigers have to remain motivated to beat the remaining teams on their conference schedule, including a trip to Duke next week, and hope that FSU stumbles in conference along the way and hope that South Carolina is still a two loss team when they meet.   Of course even if everything falls into place for Clemson and they sweep their remaining games and pass FSU, they still are probably looking at an Orange Bowl berth against the Big East champion.  As for the game tonight, I not only have problems with motivation for Clemson but I do not have that same problem with Wake.  The Deamon Deacs remember last year's game that got away from them in the second half.  They sit at 4-3 and do not have a bowl bid secured as they will only be clear-cut favorites in one game the rest of the way.  It will take a big effort to corral the Tiger's weapons but Wake has managed that before--see their upset of FSU last year--and needs to get into Clemson's head early.  After all, Clemson is 1-9 in last ten Thursday night games while Wake sits at 4-0, including a 12-7 beating of the Tigers in 2008.
The big game Saturday should be the battle of first place teams when FSU hosts Duke.  But the Seminoles are a huge favorite as the Blue Devils' collapse against a struggling Virginia Tech weighs heavier on the minds of gamblers than the recent struggles of the Noles.  Yes Duke is a long shot but, since beating Clemson, FSU could not put away a 2-5 South Florida team until late, lost to a 5-2 No Carolina State and struggled against 20-point underdog Miami (4-4).  Florida State's leading rusher Chris Thompson has also been lost for the year but the depth at that position is outstanding.  My guess here is that FSU ups its lifetime record against Duke to 18-0 with a convincing win that falls short of covering.
The other key conference game takes place in Chapel Hill, where the Tar Heels host a North Carolina State team  that has blown up this rivalry of late with five straight wins.  But those wins are usually very narrow and this one should be no different.  I like the Tar Heels but feel the spread is too high.

Sun Belt Recap

After a thrilling OT victory over Western Kentucky Saturday, Louisiana-Monroe stands alone atop the Sun Belt at 3-0.  Thanks to 4 TD passes by QB Kawaun Jakes (25-32/308y), the Hilltoppers took a 28-7 2nd Q lead.  But ULM rallied behind stud QB Kolton Browning, who also threw for 308y and 4 TDs, tying game at 35 with 31 seconds left in regulation on a 12y TD pass to frosh WR Rashon Ceasar.  Both teams scored OT TDs on QB keepers but the Warhawks went for two after theirs and scored on another Browning-to-Ceasar hookup to win game.
Five teams are currently tied for second place behind ULM at 2-1, including two teams meeting tonight, Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas State.  The home team is 11-1 in that series, which greatly favors the Ragin' Cajuns. Arkansas state did score 34 against Oregon in game 1, but the majority of that was compiled against second and third teamers.

What We Learned Yesterday

That I am glad I did not bother going to Morgantown for the KState game
The SEC is vulnerable
The Heisman race is wide open
That LSU is still ranked too high as the highest 1-loss team?  And why are they ahead of Oregon State?
That West Virginia does not deserve to be ranked.  Two straight disastrous losses after five wins over mediocre competition=dropped from rankings
That it is hard to believe that Alabama had never gone eight straight weeks atop AP poll in history
That FSU beating Miami bodes well for the president as every Democratic contender since 1988 has won the presidency in the years that FSU beats Miami; the Bushes won in years that Miami won the rivalry game
That I still cannot believe that Florida scored 44 pts despite totalling just 183y

Today's Picks

I need to eat some breakfast so let's get to it:
Northwestern +4.5 hosting Nebraska
Georgia -28 at Kentucky
Duke +10.5 hosting UNC
Maryland +3.5 hosting NC State
Temple +5.5 hosting RU
New Mexico +11 at Air Force
Alabama -21 at Tenn
Cal +3 hosting Stanford
MSU +10 at Michigan
FSU -18 at Miami
Florida -3 hosting SC
KSU +3 at West Virginia
Southern Miss -2.5 hosting Marshall

Good luck!

Big 12 Update

Proof that the state of things in college football is ever changing can be seen in the Big 12 this weekend as there are two matchups of Top 25 teams and neither features either Oklahoma or Texas.  The game getting the most hype will display two Heisman contenders at QB as Kansas State travels to West Virginia for a Saturday night clash.  The teams have not played each other since 1931 and, well, times have changed. Both squads are averaging more than 40 points per game but they each do that in drastically different fashion.  While the high-powered West Virginia attack gets the most ink, with QB Geno Smith already sitting on 2,271y and an unbelievable 25-0 TD-INT ratio, the KSU attack may hold the key to the game. QB Collin Klein cannot pass like Smith, nor Texas Tech's Seth Doege, who carved up West Virginia last week, but he can keep his offense on the field through his gritty, powerful running.  Klein has already rushed for 510y and 10 TDs and will be the focus of a beleaguered Mountaineer stop unit.  He will, however, need to pass too as the West Virginia secondary has been torn to shreds by most everyone they play. But becoming pass happy is not coach Bill Snyder's style and we can expect the Cats to be balanced. The Wildcats have already enjoyed a huge night road win in conference this season, in Norman last month, and are now 5-1 on the road in the conference since the start of last season.  The pick here is KSU in a close one.
The other big-time clash in conference will take place Saturday afternoon when TCU hosts Texas Tech.  Both teams stand at 5-1 but as I have said before the pressure is squarely on a Horned Frogs team that may not be favored in any game the rest of the season.  The Horned Frogs may have to win this one the old fashioned way, playing strong defense and keeping the offense simple and error-free.  With new starting QB Trevone Boykin at the helm expect a conservative offensive plan.  Head coach Gary Patterson has pulled off such a win before as he beat a ranked Red Raider squad in 2006 12-3.  The visitors need to put the big win over West Virginia behind them as they will need a completely different plan to beat the Horned Frogs.  Doege has thrown 4 interceptions total in Tech's five wins but 3 against OU in the team's sole loss.  Facing an aggressive TCU front seven featuring impressive freshman DE Devonte Fields, who leads the conference in sacks with 6.5, Doege will have display his new-found maturation.  My pick is TCU.

Conference USA Update

Houston and SMU continue their lopsided rivalry--Cougars have won six straight--tonight and the question may be whether anyone on a busy Thursday sports night tunes into this promising match-up.  Although we have yet to see the results on the field the Mustangs have gradually closed the talent gap on Houston and will look to derail the road team's hopes of hanging with Tulsa in the West standings.  The key to the game just might be a player who was injured for last year's game, big RB Zach Line of SMU, who must help his offense move the chains and keep the explosive Houston offense off the field.  To pull off the win, a win that could jump-start a second half surge to a bowl bid, Mustangs QB Garrett Gilbert must stop throwing picks (11 on the year including at least one in every game).  Not sure he can do that.  Meanwhile, QB Dave Piland has already attempted 309 passes for Houston including a whopping 77 in a loss to Louisiana Tech.  Piland has already reached the 2,000y mark (2,084y) for the season as the Coogs continue to air it out under new coach Tony Levine. The pressure will be on an injury-riddled SMU secondary.

Pac 12 Update

I am looking forward to tomorrow night's Oregon-ASU game as it is the first time this season that the Ducks are not double digit favorites (okay, it's 9.5).  Oregon has won seven straight in this series, and four straight in Tempe, but the Sun Devils can be buoyed by a gutty performance last season in which they led the Ducks by 3 in the 2nd half before losing by 14.  They also seem to have the offensive weapons in hand to fully implement new coach Todd Graham's offensive system.  They are 3-0 at home, with routs of Northern Arizona, Illinois and Utah.  With a daunting November schedule (at USC, at Cal, home vs Stanford, at Oregon State) awaiting them, the Ducks cannot afford to stumble here.  And since they have been away from the headlines due to a weak first half schedule, the Ducks could drop a spot or two without a strong performance.  As for ASU, this game is huge.  They sit in first in the Pac 12 South with a 3-0 record and an upset of Oregon will not only give them an extra leg up over second place USC but will force voters to not only rank the 1-loss Sun Devils but put them firmly into the top 20.  As for a pick, I'll take Oregon especially if I can get the 9.5 number.
I must admit I have a tough time dealing with Oregon's recent success.  I did root for them against Auburn in the BCS Title game as I felt the Tigers cheated and did not belong there, but the days of Oregon being a little guy challenging Southern Cal ended with the NIKE takeover of the sports department in Eugene.  They also seem to be bending, if not breaking, recruiting rules, but more on that subject when the NCAA finishes their investigation.
The Stanford-Cal hate-fest is the best Pac 12 match-up of Saturday.  The Bears have won two straight conference games but have lost two straight in the series.  The 115th edition of The Big Game should match last year's contest in excitement with both squads needing a win badly.  I will pick Cal in an upset as Stanford has had an emotional four-game stretch (win over USC, loss to Washington, OT win over Arizona, loss to ND) that has to be taxing.

Comparing Polls and BCS Rankings

With the release of the first BCS standings, the usual differences between computers and actual voters becomes clear.  The computers, of course, value actual results from the season in question while the voters place higher value on either what they predict will happen or on talent levels.  Therefore Alabama, who is considered the best team in the country, easily wins the voting polls but is only third in the computers averages due to a less-than-desired quality of opponent so far this season.  They remain the top dog in the BCS thanks to the dominance they have in the human polls.  The number two team in the polls, Oregon, however, is paying for a back-loaded conference schedule and poor out-of-conference group of victims and sits at three behind Florida.  None of this matters now since we have a long way to go but history does show us that some very deserving teams can be left out in the cold if they run out of time or opportunity to travel up to a top spot.  Or if they fail some BS "eye test" the supposed experts fall back on to give honors to their favorites over teams with better resumes.

What We Learned Yesterday

You have to play defense to be a top ten team these days.  Notre Dame learned that in a positive way; West Virginia in a negative way.
Alabama's preseason schedule has finally ended.
The crazy Texas A&M win over Louisiana Tech was fun but give me the ND-Stanford game (without the post-game crying) every time.  Still, that there is room for both at the top tier of the sport is a good thing.
Why is it that some QBs whose stats are a product of their pass-happy systems can be Heisman candidates, like Geno Smith, but some cannot, like anyone who has played for Texas Tech over the past dozen years.  Sure they never go to BCS games but neither did Baylor last season.
Who is the best 1-loss team?  That is hugely important because we rarely see two undefeated teams square off in the BCS title game.  Right now LSU is ranked that way but Oklahoma made a statement yesterday against an over-rated Texas club.  We have a long way to go but the SEC will always have an advanatge in this category.
College football is great.  But we knew that already.

Big East Update

Rutgers and Louisville, two of the three undefeated teams residing in the "mighty" Big East, have held serve today with conference wins.  Cincinnati should go through tonight with a win over a spunky Fordham squad, which will mean that the conference would get into the second half of October with three squads capable of sniffing the top ten (someday).
Being that this is the Big East the stakes are unbelievably high.  To the winner--a BCS bowl say the Sugar.  Second place? The Russell Athletic Bowl to be played on 12/28. 3rd? The mighty Belk Bowl played a day earlier.  And being that the conference is in between the era dominated by West Virginia and a new era that just may be dominated by Boise State, the pressure is on the three undefeateds to finish the job and get to play in January in a bowl people care about.
I do not want to forget Temple in all of this as they have jumped out to a 2-0 conference record.  They host Rutgers next week and will not lay down.  Louisville gets USF next week and had better not be looking ahead to the big match-up with Cincinnati the following Friday.  The Bearcats, meanwhile, stay out of conference with a road game against a very good Toledo squad that is 6-1 and looking forward for a chance to chase Cincy from the ranks of the unbeatens.
Should be a fun second half of the season for the Big East.

ACC Update

Midnight Madness basketball events are dominating ACC coverage this week and with the way the football season has gone so far the hoops season cannot start soon enough.  There is, of course, one story deserving more coverage and that is the 5-1 Duke Blue Devils.  5-1 Duke just does not sound right.  That Duke could wake up tomorrow in first place in Coastal Division does not sound right either.  That the Blue Devils could be ranked tomorrow--ranked for the first time since 1995--sounds a bit odd too.
Just win Duke--and feel how good all of those things can feel.

Picks

I went 4-2 last week and am ready to do even better this week.
Texas +3.5 versus OU
Duke +10 at Va Tech
Rutgers -7.5 hosting Cuse
PITT +3 hosting Louisville
Florida -8.5 at Vandy
Texas St -2.5 hosting Idaho
Auburn +5.5 at Mississippi
WASH +12.5 against usc
Oregon State +5.5 at BYU
Alabama -21.5 at Mo
West Virginia -4 at Texas Tech
Oklahoma State -27.5 at KU
Good luck

Farewell Beano

I find it somewhat cruel that Beono Cook has passed away during the college football season.  An unabashed fan of the sport, Beano honored me once with the kind things he said about my book.  There was no expert whose opinion mattered more to me.  In an era when when too many writers and broadcasters take themselves a bit too seriously, Beano never put himself above the sport he loved.  He will be missed.

Alex Karras

Although I grew up in the 1970s when Alex Karras was retiring from football and then continuing with a busy broadcasting and acting career, I want to pay homage here to his great college football career which seems to be treated as an afterthought by most obituaries.  The best way to honor Karras, who died earlier this week at 77, is to reprint the mini biography Bob Boyles wrote in our book The USA Today College Football Encyclopedia.
+++The first time Alex Karras spoke in front of a network television camera in 1957 he was a mumbling, nervous recipient of the Outland Trophy as the nation's top lineman.  Jack Lescoulie of NBC's Today Show prompted the young tackle to say "some very corny things"--as Karras described in his biography, Even Big Guys Cry--such as "Without the big guys up front the little guys can't do it..."
It was hardly Karras' last appearance before a TV camera.  After an All-Pro career as a cat-quick defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions, Karras replaced Emmy Award winner Don Meredith on the ABC Monday Night Football telecasts with Frank Gifford and Howard Cosell.  Although the beloved Meredith proved a tough act to follow, Karras injected his own colorful persona into the threesome in the broadcast booth.  Karras added a sense of the bizarre; what was probably his best line captioned a sideline close-up of the steaming, shaved head of a big Oakland Raider: "That's Otis Sistrunk, Raiders defensive tackle...out of the University of Mars."
Karras' broadcast performances triggered several movie opportunities and he appeared in tremendously diverse roles in such films as "Paper Lion," "Blazing Saddles," and "Victor Victoria."  Karras played himself in "Paper Lion" and the trail hand Mongo in Mel Brooks' novel comedy, "Blazing Saddles," in which he stole the show in a legendary, hysterical gas-passing campfire scene.  His character opened "Victor Victor" as a macho bodyguard and ended it sleeping with a gay cabaret performer played by Robert Preston.  Karras also starred as the adoptive father of little Emmanuel Lewis in the TV series "Webster."  His actress wife Susan Clark became his co-star on several occasions, including the couple's wonderful portrayals of sports great Babe Didrickson Zaharias and her wrestler husband George.
Immaterial to his acting career was his one-year suspension in 1963 for betting on NFL games.  Not that gambling was Karras' first bit of misbehavior.  He admitted that he goofed around so much and grew overweight during his early years at Iowa that he got under the skin of coach Forest Evashevski so badly that they barked at each other constantly and even got into a knockdown-dragout wrestling match in the coach's office.  A let-down Evashevski had talked up Karras to the press prior to his tackle's sophomore year (1955), then in a tiff chose not to play Karras sufficiently so as to prevent him from even winning a letter despite his obvious talent.
Karras eventually came around and was voted All America for two straight seasons (1956-57) and won his Outland Trophy after his senior year.  Also, Karras was tapped second in the Heisman Trophy balloting that year of 1957.  No interior lineman has ever polled better, and since award recipient John David Crow of Texas A&M had an injury-slowed season, one wonders what might have been if voters had displayed even partially open minds about the importance of two-way tackles.
During all his glorious play, Karras, angry at what he considered poor treatment by Evashevski, asked for and received a policy of no interaction with the coaches.  He prospered, but it also distanced him considerably from a from an excellent group of teammates.  Strange as it may seem--while the football Writers Association pegged Karras as the top lineman in the country--his greatness failed to earn even the team's MVP vote in 1957.  Right guard Bob Commings, a popular team leader but one of the smallest linemen in the Big Ten, was the choice of Iowa players as the Chicago Tribune award winner for Hawkeyes MVP.  This occurred even though Commings had a rough time in the year's most important game in November.  Ohio State ran effectively against the Hawkeyes even without its injured, all-conference halfback Don Clark.  At halftime, a somewhat-frantic Evashevski felt compelled to move his tackles, Karras and Dick Klein, inside to the guard positions to better protect against the power runs up the middle of Buckeyes sophomore fullback Bob White.  Ohio State knocked the Hawkeyes out of conference title contention with a clutch drive by sending White smashing off tackle and through the weak right side of Iowa's line and steering clear of Karras at left defensive guard.
Karras and fellow defensive tackle Roger Brown of the Lions played so well in one game that it prompted no less an NFL idol than Vince Lombardi to force a change in NFL scheduling procedure.  Since 1951, the Green Bay Packers, for whom Lonbardi coached with great success from 1959-67, had served as the yearly Thanksgiving Day opponent for the traditional game in Detroit.  Karras and Brown so dismantled the Packers' offensive line in a 26-14 Turkey Day upset win over previously-undefeated Green Bay in 1962 that Lombardi convinved the league that it was unfair to have his Packers facing the fired-up Lions every Thanksgiving.  Within two years, a rotating schedule served up different opponents on the Lions' holiday table.  Although Karras and Brown made life miserable for star Packer guards Jerry Kramer and Fuzzy Thurston that Thanksgiving, Green Bay finished the season with a 13-1 record and beat the New York Giants for their second straight NFL championship.
The miserable way things have developed since that time 50 years ago, Detroit fans surely wish they still had the colorful Alex Karras playing in the middle of the Lions defensive line.+++

TCU Blues

It is hard to feel bad for a 4-1 club but TCU is in a tough spot during what has been a brutal calendar year.  It was supposed to be a glorious year for the Horned Frogs as they returned to the big boy conferences with their inclusion into the Big 12 after a string of dominant seasons while bouncing around in search of a home that would allow them better access to the BCS.  But perhaps that single-minded pursuit of acceptance by the powers that be cost them in the karma department as they have left behind a string of spurned partners (seemingly all of the non BCS teams west of the Mississippi) and suitors (the Big East).  And while none of those teams wants to see anyone hurt or unable to handle personal demons, they must be smiling about the struggles of TCU.
TCU's travail's began in February when four football players, including former All American LB Tanner Brock, were among 17 TCU students arrested in a drug selling sting.  Brock's roommate QB Casey Pachall admitted to police officers that he had just failed a drug test for marijuana use and that he had tried cocaine and other drugs.  He was not arrested and remained active on the team, somewhat controversially, although the four players who were arrested were thrown off a squad that had already lost key players to graduation.  Then in May senior RB Ed Wesley, who rushed for 2,442y and 21 TDs in his career, declared for the NFL supplemental draft.  In August three starters or co-starters were lost to injury and then in September the leading returning RB, Waymon James, was knocked out for the season with a knee injury.  Now with Pachall in rehab and done for the season the Horned Frogs will be fighting just to stay afloat.  The development of RS FR QB Travone Boykin will be crucial as the Horned Frogs tackle a brutal second half schedule.  Their next two opponents, Baylor and Texas Tech, are as good as the better teams TCU has played in the recent past.  After those two, TCU plays at Oklahoma State, at West Virginia, home against Kansas State, at Texas and then home against Oklahoma.  Good luck to the team and to Pachall as he works at turning his life around.

Pac -12 Report

The Pac-12 North race may have gotten a bit easier for expected (doesn't it seem like ESPN has crowned them already?) champion Oregon as Sean Mannion, the starting QB for undefeated rival Oregon State, is heading for surgery on his left knee for what appears to be "just" a torn meniscus or even a slightly damaged one.  Basically, once they open up the knee of the QB currently sixth in the nation in passing yards per game at 339.5 they will find out if he needs to miss 2-3 weeks or 2-3 months.  So he'll miss this week's game at BYU, who themselves lost QB Taysom Hill for this season on Saturday and returned former starter Riley Nelson to lead job.  That game should prove to be a defensive struggle.  Then OSU hosts Utah, a team that has yet to adequately replace their injured starting QB Jordan Wynn.  The Beavers can win both of those games with a decent performance from new starter Cody Vaz, who has not thrown a pass in a real game since 2010.  But Vaz will have to play at  higher level, or Mannion will have to return at or close to 100%, if the Beavers expect to hold up against a second half schedule featuring road trips to Washington and Stanford and the November 24 showdown with the Ducks.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.  The inexperienced Vaz will need to play well this Saturday in Provo against one of the better defenses in the country if the Beavers wanrt to remain in the nation's top ten.  Let's see how he handles the new job.

What We Learned Yesterday

Once again--and it has been going on for years now--the Florida State Seminoles were over-rated.  What a surprise.  Like the Dallas Cowboys, who get picked to win the NFC East every year, the experts see a lot of talent and a weak ACC and proclaim the Noles as contenders for a national title and, like the current lot of cowboys, FSU disappoints.  Please let them sniff a conference title one year before showering them with praise the next.
The SEC is still getting too much respect.  There has been more buzz about the conference being weaker this season--and it is--but we still see three conference teams in the AP top four and LSU at number nine.  Florida is not yet the fourth-best team in the country and LSU has had one good effort on the season and that was a home blowout of a team (Washington) that has lost six of its last seven road games.  The conference has plenty of chances to get more press so we will see how this all shakes out.
It must be tough being the PR folks for the Big East conference.  With three programs undefeated and ranked in the top 25 you would think the job would be easy.  But no, there is absolutely no love for the conference.  Fortunately for the BE, those three teams are all expected (hey you never know) back next year and all will be heavy favorites for the next two weeks.
The Big Ten, meanwhile, is having its worst fears realized as Ohio State and Penn State are red hot and ineligible for the conference championship game.  Fortunately, having both of those programs look strong for the future is a great thing.  What happened to all those folks who had PSU down for years?
At least Louisiana Tech is finally ranked.  They have Texas A&M this Saturday night so let's see if they are still ranked come Sunday.

Great Day

I really enjoyed yet another trip to Michie Stadium this afternoon.  The weather threatened but never broke and the game between Boston College and Army was a thrilling one, even if neither team is going anywhere this post-season.
You have to hand it to the Army team and its supporters.  Sitting at 0-4, including losses at home to Northern Illinois and Stony Brook, the Cadets could have easily mailed in this game.  But with support from a lively crowd the Black Knights played hard and notched win number one on the season in exciting fashion.  After the game seesawed through 3.5 quarters, Boston College took a 31-27 lead on a 24y TD run on a reverse by WR Alex Amidon.  Army, who rushed for a whopping 516y against the beleaguered Eagles, then marched downfield 74y to the BC 1YL where RB Raymond Maples (34/184y) was stopped on 4th-and-goal with 2:09 remaining. But BC then showed why it is such a mediocre program these days by running three times without gaining a first down and then punting for only 34y.  So Army had plenty of time and the ball at the BC 38.  The Black Knights needed only three plays to score winning TD on QB Trent Steelman's 29y gouging run up Eagles gut.  Steelman rushed for 141y and 3 TDs.  The visitors then botched the ensuing KO to begin final possession at own 3 before being unable to move ball to Army side of the field.  Game over.

Picks, Picks and More Picks

Why elaborate when I am under .500.
So, here goes:
BC -10 at Army
Clemson -10 hosting Ga Tech
RU -8 against Conn
KSU -24 against KU
Purdue +3 at home versus Mich
Florida +3 hosting LSU
I am heading up to West Point for the game, number five for me this year. Walking those hallowed grounds in nice fall weather is a great joy.

Saban on No Huddle

I'll make it easy for you.  He does not care for it one bit.  And what Nick does not like he will tell you about.  The problem, of course, is that coaches are going to offenses like these to allow them entry into a level once reserved for power programs--think Baylor and before that Houston under Art Briles--and to, well, sell tickets.  Oregon was once a solid Pac 10 program.  Now?  One of the best and most popular football schools in the country.
My problem with what Saban said--besides the fact that I find most of what he says self serving--is that he brings up two reasons for why we should alter rules to discourage the use of the no huddle.  For one, he finds it dangerous for defensive players who, once they are winded and stuck on the field, are more prone to injury.  That is true but is player safety being considered when Alabama scheduled Western Kentucky, Florida Atlantic and Western Carolina this year?  The other reality about player safety is that no huddles breed small, fast offensive players who must be in expert physical conditioning.  To stop that defenses must become smaller, quicker and better conditioned.  Overall, the game will become safer with players who look more like real people then the huge players of today who must be substituted for or they'll pass out.  Yes the game will look different, but do we really need guys weighing 350 lbs?  I know Nick likes them and does not want to adjust his game to defensive tackles who can see their feet when they look down.
The other part of his argument was over whether we, as football fans, want the game to look like the one played between Baylor and West Virginia. And I agree with him that those shoot-outs do the sport a disservice.  But, on the other hand, the two games played between Alabama and LSU last year were not much better and actually hurt the sport more in that they were watched by more people and the casual fan left those contests without an appreciation for college football.
One of the many things I love about college football is the great variety.  So keep quiet Nick and focus on a relaxing off week.