2003 Week 12
November 19, 2003
I did enjoy sitting through all of last weekend's college games, but as a Pitt man I was more than a bit disappointed by the Panthers' performance in the Backdoor Brawl vs. Western Virginia. Johnny's going to have to get better performance from his men or else they'll have no shot at that Jack Lambert Trophy.
It was quite a Saturday for shockers, including my shock at learning that too much Metamucil combined with a Zippo lighter can ruin a redecorated bathroom. But the biggest shocker was seeing a bright young coach like Lou Holtz make a really silly decision, running a fake punt when he had a narrow lead on Florida. The fake failed, and Florida upset his boys in this inter-conference showdown. The end result of Holtz's boner is that his USC team is no longer #2 in the BS ratings.
In other BS news, I saw that Miami is rated #12 and #14. I've been saying for years that this split squad approach makes no sense. If you've got a college, don't open up a satellite campus and split your football team, it just makes for two mediocre programs rather than one good one. Miami should get rid of the satellite campuses and be more like UCLA.
Now if you're talking feeder schools, that's a good idea. You just have to license your school name and open up a bunch of high schools and keep your brand name before the public at all levels. That's what Notre Dame has done--they've got Notre Dame High Schools all over the country. And even though I haven't seen any beret-wearing football players, Notre Dame has even put a feeder school in Paris!
I know I've said this before, but these overtime rules are pretty confusing. Last Saturday ABC showed the end of the Ohio State/Purdue game as well as the end of the Florida State/NC State game. In both cases the home team scored in overtime and was declared the winner. Apparently the rules are that if the home team scores it's sudden death and the game is over, but if the visiting team scores they just keep on playing for a while longer.
Another fun aspect of this time of year are all the great rivalry games and the trophies. Last Saturday Iowa beat Minnesota and won the rights to the farming services of one Floyd Rosedale. And we're only a week away from the bitter matchup between Kansas and Kansas State for the Governor's Cup (I'm afraid to ask what protective piece of wardrobe they'll give away if Kansas elects a female governor).
Many fans are familiar with the famous rivalry trophies like the Apple Cup (Washington/Washington State), the Brown Slug (Michigan/Minnesota), and the Old Oaken Spittoon (Purdue/Michigan State). Or all the bowel trophies, like the Egg Bowel (Mississippi/Mississippi State), the Iron Bowel (Alabama/Auburn), and the Pac-10 championship trophy, the Keith Jackson Bowel.
But there are some other lesser-known trophies. For instance, the state championship of Virginia is settled in the Virginia Tech vs. Western Virginia game, and the winner gains possession of The Golden Banjo.
Brigham Young now matches up with Notre Dame every year in the "Mormons vs. Christians" showdown. Those two schools play for "The Right to Subject Your Eternal Souls to Torment".
One also can't forget that matchup between Princeton and Harvard as those two all-boys schools battle for "The Slippery Soap Bar".
I also look forward to the Kentucky/Tennessee game, where the winner takes home "The Silver Tooth".
But my favorite rivalry trophy will be up for grabs this weekend in Los Angeles. The night after the USC/UCLA showdown, at a place called "The Sunset Strip", the USC Song Girls will take on the UCLA cheerleaders in the "Battle for The Silicone Syringe". I can't wait.