2016 Week 4
September 27, 2016
It was a rough week for college football fans. One of the sport's coaching icons lost his job after a tough loss.
I'll always remember him for varied coaching gigs from the Midwest to the South and even his stint in the NFL. He always seemed to come up with the goofiest formations and craziest schemes - and they even occasionally worked out for the best. And he was quite the vision during games with his trademark headset, odd sideline antics, and unique hat.
So farewell to coaching legend Brian VanGorder.
The Irish lost their game to Duke in the last minute as the SAT Round Robin tournament continued. Duke lost to Northwestern then beat Notre Dame. Meanwhile Notre Dame still has tournament play against Stanford, in the legendary "Battle for the #2 Pencil". I just hope that Coach B Kelly doesn't take his team down the wrong path, apparently he said he wanted his team to play "with fire". Just because you lost to the Blue Devils doesn't mean you want to follow the Dark Lord Nick Lucifer.
We saw some pretty good conference matchups this past week but non-conference play continued. Missouri had little trouble with Delaware State, winning 79-0. In a similarly ugly game, Memphis destroyed Boweling Green, 77-3. Alabama blew out a cupcake known as Kentucky State, which apparently is UK's JV team.
The Big Eight's Colorado traveled out west and outscored Pac-8 power Oregon 41-38. I told my good friend Coach Bryant that the Beavers got pounded. He said that Beaver pounding reminded him of his days overseeing Joe Namath.
The University of Texas at Houston had an exciting come from behind win over South Carolina. U.T.A.H. came back from a 14-point deficit to beat the Cocks 31-27.
There were numerous exciting conference games as well. North Carolina came from behind to knock off my Pitt Panthers 37-36. It's been a rough start for the Pitt defense.
In a different battle, my daughter Beth Cook went to overtime with Savannah. Savannah was able to score repeatedly in the OT session to win 16-10. That girl sure gets around.
In the great Southwest, TCU had little trouble with SMU, winning 33-3. Has anyone seen the Pony lately? I miss the Pony. R Kansas tried to get a leg up in the SWC but faded in the latter stages against Texas A&M, losing 45-24.
Stanford got a late passing TD then ran back a fumbled snap as time expired to beat UCLA 22-13. The Cardinals seem to have developed into the best program on the West Coast.
There was plenty of excitement, as usual, in the SEC. Ole Miss annihilated Georgia 45-14 in a game that wasn't as close as the score. Tennessee spotted Florida a 21-0 lead then turned on the afterburners, pulling away from the Gators 38-28. It could turn out to be a tough year for Coach Zook.
The most unusual finish was at Auburn. LSU threw a touchdown pass as the clock ran out to apparently win the game 19-18. However, after the referees reviewed the play, it was determined that the TD didn't count and the Bayou Bengals lost to the regular Tigers 18-13.
I heard two days later that Coach Miles had departed Baton Rouge for a better place. So I've been looking around waiting to see him up here, I'm sure he'd be a lot of fun to hang around. But no sign of him yet, I just hope he isn't stuck somewhere with JoePa. Nobody's seen JoePa up here and none of the higher ups will talk about it.
Meanwhile, LSU has replaced Coach Miles with an Ogre. I'm not sure why athletic directors go with the big uglies as coaches, it rarely works out. Just ask Kansas.
Next week should be fantastic, with multiple top 10 matchups topped off by Clemson hosting the St. Louisville Cardinals. See you soon!