The Nebraska 'Difference'

Husker fans are always telling us how they're different than other fans. More polite. More decent. Less critical. Just better. Well, big-time college football is big-time college football. And when you can't keep it close in your big statement game, it doesn't matter if you're from Rutgers, Penn State, Alabama, or Nebraska. Welcome to the club, O Clappers for Opponents...

The Humble Gator

Greetings from Scotland. Today, while visiting Edinburgh castle, I was approached by a family from Florida and asked to take their photograph. After doing so, I asked, "y'all Gator fans?" They said they were. I then told them it sure was a good time to be one, to which the father replied: "Well, don't forget that all my life they never even won the SEC, so it hasn't always been this way."
I confess that this kind of realism, coming from a Gator fan, took me a bit by surprise. With all the success lately, I had grown accustomed to unadulterated Gator triumphalism. I had wondered if ANY Gator fan was hearing the whisper of 'remember, thou art mortal' in their ears, or if they were just going to continue simultaneously trumpeting UF's achievements, denigrating other conferences, and complaining about how membership in the toughest of all conferences makes their lives unbearably arduous. (It's an SEC thing; you wouldn't understand it...) Anyway, I invite my good friends who graduated from UF (one of whom owns a very smart navy blue sportcoat with a tasteful orange F on the breast) to comment on UF's exploits and what they mean for UF's place in the pantheon of great football programs.
As for Edinburgh, it is a stunningly beautiful city, and is geared up for the big Rugby World Cup match against the all-powerful All-Blacks of New Zealand on Sunday. I tried to inform some of the locals at a pub that Scotland, coming from the British Isles conference, cannot hope to deal with the speed of New Zealand, whose ANZAC schedule (S. Africa, Australia, etc) is much tougher than Scotland's. They responded that the last Rugby World Cup was won by England. I was unmoved.
The only bad brew I've had is Caledonia, though it might have been just a bad tap.

Gospel Truth: Bobby Dodd is the Ryan Field of the ACC

What do you get when you pool about 60,000 engineering students (current and former) and pile them into an uninspiring urban football stadium in the middle of SEC country to play B.C., a school that has one great fan in Doug Flutie and a bunch of other fans who'll check yahoo, maybe, to get a score later but only after Jonathan Papplebaum has closed out the ninth at Fenway? A pretty boring evening of college football, that's what.

I could have been watching the destruction of Sam Keller and 'Skers on ABC, but instead was treated to 18 frickin' penalties and a bunch of Ramblin' Wreck fans who thought that after giving up 400 something yards in the air (Matt Ryan can indeed spin it, it seems) that the referees had conspired to job the home team.

BC fans, the three or four that I saw anyway, were talking about how the Commish had come down too hard on Beloved Bill and the Pats. Give it up people. What else ... oh yeah, parked 2 miles away. No tailgating. A crappy fight song. (Assume BC's is crappy too. Can't say that I recall it). Horrible "free" dog with my $20 end zone nose bleed ticket. All in all, the most forgetable college football game I've ever been to, and I've seen all of the dregs of the Big Ten roll into Evanston. Indiana twice.

Upon Further Inspection: Which program has fallen farther? ND or Auburn

All right, Blue's off the schnide. And somewhere near Puget Sound, Ty Willingham must be feeling pretty satisfied (and not just because he's svelte).






Looking at the rest of Auburn's schedule, the best I can math out for Coach Tubs is about 6-6. Do they still play the Copper Bowl in El Paso? War Eagle may want to look at booking flights for December. Thank god K-State gifted 140 yards of penalties, otherwise the Tigers might be looking at 0-3.

New Jersey + New Money = Rutgers Fans

I mean, really, is anyone surprised? A little success for the State University of New Jersey, and this is what you get: wanna-be Tony Soprano's and Adriana La Cerva's berating a bunch of Midshipmen.

Which Program Has Fallen Farther, and Other Items

Well, as to the relative nadirs of the Domers and the 'Victors,' they'll settle that on Saturday. I'm guessing Notre Dame is closer to rock bottom than Michigan. ND is currently 107 out of 119 in total offense. They can't score and they can't stop anybody. At least UM demonstrated the ability to move the ball and score on the Div 1AA national champs.
-We finally get to see Florida play somebody.
-We need 'SC to run out to a big lead early.
-A Buffs win over the 'Noles would demonstrate that the turnaround is indeed in progress.
-Here's to South Florida silencing the annual Tuberville whining about how tough he's got it.

Open Commentary on "which storied program has fallen farther?"

I feel compelled to comment on this because...well, I just do. Michigan's loss is far more embarrassing. ND's program is in far more trouble.

If, in the not to distant future, Weis' record is sitting equal to or below what Ty had, there are going to be a lot of questions. And just remember, while ND bemoans the fact that Weis is stuck with Ty's players, Ty got to where he was with leftovers from Bob Davie. You tell me who did a better job with what was left in the cupboard.

Michigan will survive this mess, though it all but assured that Lloyd will retire at the end of the season. It has been accepted for the past several years that either the 2007 or 2008 season was going to be his last. The question of which season it will be has been essentially answered. The interesting fallout in all of this is whether Ron English has actually coached his way out of being promoted. For a while now, English was on the inside track to succession. However, with the mobile quarterback still being kryptonite to Michigan's D, English may no longer be the favorite candidate.

Some have gone so far as to mention Les Miles as a possible option, but I am finding it hard to believe he's be willing to pull a Nick Saban so soon. Don't be shocked though if AD Bill Martin goes outside the "Michigan Family" to find a replacement to Carr. He'll certainly be looking for a "Michigan Man," but as Martin himself cannot call the school his alma mater, he is not beholden to finding those qualities in a person who necessarily went to school there. One way or another, Michigan will make a splash when a new coach is hired.

All that said, now is the time for Michigan State to use the struggles of both their primary recruiting rivals to secure a good foothold for their new head coach Dantonio...

Welcome to Georgia...Y'all come back soon

How do you overcompensate for the insecurity Florida and Auburn's football programs have created in Athens , Ga. Here is a lesson on how to alienate your recruits. Georgia is slowly pushing Ohio State for edgeiest/ most insecure fan base.

"Callahan, you're on vacation!!"

While Harry heard those words often, Bill apparently won't. You gotta love Nebraska. They fire Solich before he has a truly bad season, and they extend Callahan 2 weeks before their "watershed" game against USC. I guess those punks do feel 'Lucky.' Would love to see Wake Forest ("let's go to the sideline, where Jack Arute is with Tim Duncan") catch NU looking ahead, then the Trusty Trojans put another kind of 44 on them.
(See SEC fans? It's not so hard to root against your conference rival. You should try it sometime. Go ahead. It'll make your day.)

What storied program has fallen farther? Dame or Michigan?

Clearly UofM now owns the distinction of suffering the worst loss in NCAA football history. Happy-footed Appalachian State did what every other spread attack with an semi-athletic quarterback has been doing to Michigan since Donovan McNabb made them look beyond silly a decade ago.

Notre Dame? Eeessh. A bad loss to Ga Tech but not even the same league as UofM's disaster. Niether team has demonstrated they can win a big game in recent years. Dame's problems go back several more years than Big Blue's. And Dame has had a propensity to get blown out quite frequently, but does this embarrassment in Ann Arbor make Michigan the more laughable program?

I'm saying yes.