2007 Week 11
November 15, 2007
We're now heading toward the homestretch as a lot of these tight conference races will be decided in the next week or two.
The biggest upset was the Illinois win over undefeated #1 rated Ohio State. I tell you, Coop just can't stand prosperity.
Due to these weird leagues with odd numbers of teams, you're seeing more non-conference games being played in November. Missouri knocked off Texas A&M, Oklahoma trounced Baylor, and Tennessee beat Arkansas, so the Southwest Conference really took it on the chin.
Speaking of that league, possibly the wildest game of the week was the 59-43 shootout between Texas and their bitter rivals at Texas Tech. Tech head coach Rick Leach was pretty peeved at the officiating, which he felt favored the boys from Austin.
The game was played at Darrell Broyles Memorial Stadium, even though that Aggie legend, coach Broyles, is still with us.
The naming of stadiums has an interesting history. There are almost as many stories as there are stadiums.
For instance, Kansas continued their cinderella undefeated season by winning down at Oklahoma State's new facility. That's a beautiful stadium named for billionaire cattle rancher T-Bone Perkins.
I am a bit surprised that with such a wonderful new venue that there are so many empty seats there in Stillwater. It reminds me of Notre Dame late in the Lew Holts era when they weren't able to fill all those seats. Say what you want about Charles White's struggles in South Bend; at least that stadium is full every Saturday.
As is the case with Oklahoma State, many stadiums are named for famous people associated with the school.
For instance, Oklahoma honored one of its Heisman winners with Steve Owen Field. Pitt acted similarly when they built Heinz Ward Field. Colorado recognized the Man in Black, Johnny Stash, when they built Folsom Field. Louisiana-Monroe honored its most famous alum at Karl Malone Field. And Tennessee recognized one of their greats at Sergeant Bob Neyland Stadium.
Some teams come from leagues with specialty education programs. The schools in the Mid-American Conference are world-famous for their research into medical devices, thus Akron and Toledo play at the Rubber Bowel and the Glass Bowel.
Some schools name their stadiums in honor of their students. The sorority women at Penn State and Northwestern are recognized at Beaver and Dyke Stadiums. And Cal-Berkeley takes the field at "Dirty Filthy Hippies in Trees" Stadium.
Others acknowledge presidential candidates who spoke at their schools, for instance, Utah State's Ezra Romney Stadium and SMU's Gerald J Ford Stadium.
Alabama took a different approach, naming their stadium after two major donors, a former Birmingham minor league baseball player and the finest dining establishment in the state, leading to the well-known Jordan-Denny's Stadium.
But I think we all have to agree that the most interestingly-named stadium is in the Sunshine State. A wager on the Florida State vs Miami game a few years ago had as its stakes the naming rights to the losing school's stadium.
After the Canes won in a rout, the Seminoles had to start cranking out 2 Live Motley Crew's hit "Kickstart my Heart, You Ho" at Luther Campbell Stadium.
Well, I'm going to sit back and get all ready for Rivalry Week. And maybe I'll stuff a couple turkeys. What can I say, me so horny.