2014 Week 2
September 11, 2014
Now we're finally in the swing of things with college football. I really enjoyed being able to lean back and just watch games all day long. Though after Friday night's clam bake, Coach Neyland and I were a bit gassy so nobody wanted to join me.
One of the more interesting games was a defensive struggle as Southern Cal kicked a late field goal to beat Stanford 13-10. It was a big win in the coaching battle of the ageds, as Monte Kiffin beat Jack Harbaugh.
The Pac 8 also saw a fine intersectional top 10 battle as Oregon came from behind to upend the Michigan State Fighting Chippewas. It was a pretty exciting win for the Beavers.
The SEC mostly had cupcake games. Florida destroyed the Eastern Michigan Emus 65-0 and Louisiana State flushed the Sam Houston Institute of Technology, 56-0.
One big surprise occurred in Austin, as Bring 'em Young blew out Texas, 41-7. I haven't seen a bunch of Morons flog a Texan like that since Rick Perry's visit to the Salt Lake City Domination Dungeon.
One of the big early events of the season is the annual Big Ten vs. MAC Challenge. Top teams from each league, both of which have been expanding wildly, face off to settle Midwestern superiority.
The Big Ten, considered to be down a bit, had some nice wins and some efforts that weren't as successful. Iowa scored late to upend powerhouse Ball State, 17-13. Penn State had little trouble with Akron. Nebraska pulled out a tight one over new MAC member McNeese State.
However, Northwestern lost to Northern Illinois, Purdue got pounded by Central Michigan, and, in the marquee Big Ten vs. MAC matchup, Michigan was shut out by former independent Notre Dame 31-0.
Another big rivalry game came early this year as well. Clemson absolutely destroyed South Carolina, 73-7. I don't know what Visor Boy is doing over there.
It's been a rough start for the Cocks. They got blown out by Texas A&M a week ago, in the debut of Kenny Fussball.
I've been following Kenny's former teammate Johnny Fussball, as he is copyrighting names like Johnny Fussball, Johnny Cleveland Steamer, and Johnny Eggs Danny Thomas Style. This tradition of naming oneself after famous things like Fussball and glass tables goes way back in sports.
The all-time baseball great now known as Babe Ruth got it started, naming himself for the famous candy bar. His teammate Lou, in a fundraising campaign, named himself for a deadly disease. A future Hall of Fame outfielder in Detroit named himself for a brand of batteries, AlKaline. A still active first base coach endorsed a lubricant under the name Rusty Kuntz.
The trend has been a bit slower to spread to football, but a few legends have done changed names. Hopalong Cassidy named himself for a famous cowboy. OJ Simpson took the name of a serial killer. And OJ's Trojan predecessor Marion Morrison named himself for Big Ten commissioner Wayne Duke.
However, unlike the case with baseball, very few football players have named themselves to support advertising campaigns, other than one obscure Missouri defensive back who endorsed some nether region personal grooming product under the name Harry Colon.
Well, we've got a big weekend coming up, with some top matchups like Tennessee at Oklahoma, Western Virginia at Maryland, and Kansas at Duke. See you next week.