2007 Week 4
September 28, 2007
Many schools have now moved into the conference portion of their schedules, so we had a lot of delicious matchups last Saturday.
Personally my favorite conference game was the traditional southwestern tilt between Texas and Rice. The Awls have been struggling in recent years, but they put up yet another game effort in Austin vs. the Aggies.
I've always joked that the Southwest Conference is the closest thing to a pro league in college football. But I admit I was a bit surprised to see Baylor's conference opener was a game against Buffalo. Even though Baylor managed to beat the Bills, I think letting an NFL team into the SWC could be the death knell for that league.
Once the SWC starts admitting top franchises like the Boston Patriots or the Chicago Cardinals it's going to be curtains for the semi-pro collegiate teams in that league.
I also enjoyed the finale of this year's Big 10 vs. MAC showdown, with the Michigan State Fighting Chippewas knocking off Notre Dame in the championship game.
There were a few good non-conference tilts as well, such as the showdown between Cal and Arizona, the stunning upset Syracuse pulled at Louisville, and Kentucky's win down in Fayetteville. It's always important to close out strong before starting the league schedule.
Both Syracuse and Kentucky have surprised people this year and it's a sign of the level of parity in college football. Rules changes enacted over the past few years have made it easier for schools to acquire the talent necessary to turn things around.
Personally I think the first Wednesday of February features one of the most exciting spectacles in sports: the high school talent draft. You can go on the Internets and read all the writeups on who each team is looking to select, then on that magical Wednesday each team completes its draft and looks forward to the new year.
The Syracuse Orange Testicles have drafted well but Kentucky is the school that's really gained from making better draft choices. I can still remember the embarrassment in Lexington a few years ago when, in the third round, some horny Kentucky assistant coach drafted Ashley Jugg. It became even more embarrassing when Ashley ended up beating out a two-year starter at cornerback.
In the old days there was no player draft, teams just had to make do with whoever wanted to go out for football. Coaches would wander around the classrooms looking for possible football players. Eventually the coaches started driving around the area near campus, looking for guys who could get into the school and play for the team.
There's one famous story of Coach John T Heisman (who later changed the pronunciation of his name to Thees-man). Coach was looking for a gas station and asked a strapping young man who was pushing a plow which way to go. The youngster pointed southwards, but the thing that impressed Coach Heisman was that the kid used the plow to point. Soon enough Coach had himself a rough tough lineman.
Other coaches didn't look for size, but for speed, and they found it in the strangest places. One coach used to like to go to the track to relax after along day of coaching. After a race some kid threw a rock at the jockeys and several of the other jockeys raced after him and beat the living tar out of him.
Impressed by their speed and strength, they were offered the chance to play college football by Coach Newt Rockne, and thus were born the famous "Four Horsemen of Notre Dame".
And now you know the rest of the story.