Thoughts From The Valley
October 13, 2008
The Hangover
How I am feeling: Dazed and confused. Did I expect the Penn State Nittany Lions to be 7-0 at this point? No. Did I expect them to roll into Madison—a place that has not exactly been kind to us Nits fans in years past—and win 48-7? No. Did I expect my beloved Nits to be ranked No. 3 in the country and staring at the possibility of playing for the national championship? No. No way. And yet this is the reality I face today. It is a brave new world.
What I am drinking: You mean besides the Penn State Kool-Aid? How about Stoudt's Brewing Company Scarlet Lady ESB. Not usually my favorite style of beer, but when I stopped in at Flourtown Beverage this week for my Saturday beer supply, I ended up talking to a beer wholesaler who gave me a couple free samples to try. And, surprise, this ESB is good. Really good, actually.
What I am listening to: Death Cab For Cutie, Narrow Stairs. I am mildly obsessed with these guys of late. If I'm not careful, Ben Gibbard and the boys are going to end up joining the Drive By Truckers, Willie Nelson, Gram Parsons and Neil Young on The List of TCFA Musical Greats.
My thoughts on the weekend: I wrote more extensively about the Texas-Oklahoma game over here, but I couldn't help but post something about the game here on TCFA as well.
And here's what I have to say about it: It was a classic.
That term gets thrown around quite a bit, but at least in this case, it actually applies. Texas-Oklahoma 2008 will be remembered—or at least should be remembered—by college football fans for years and years to come. This was the best football game I've seen all year and one of the best I've ever seen.
Yes, it was that good.
And it was that good because it had everything we, as fans, could ask for: Two great teams (and yes, I think both Texas and Oklahoma are great teams); two great quarterbacks (Sam Bradford threw five touchdown passes ... and lost); two great coaches (although it should be noted that Bob Stoops' impersonation of Les Miles failed somewhat miserably; what was up with that fake punt?); a great setting (the Red River Rivalry is about as good as it gets); and, finally, great drama, pretty much from the opening kick to the final whistle.
This game was so good that even Mrs. Your Editor was into it—yelling and screaming in support of Colt McCoy and the Longhorns from the comfort of Your Editor's Couch. Why she chose Texas I'm not sure, but that's besides the point. This one was so captivating that she actually cared who won. And this, I assure you, is indicative of a quality football game.
That being said, there is one moment I will always remember about this one.
It was late in the fourth quarter, just before Texas had put Oklahoma away for good. But there was still something to play for, and the crowd ... well, the crowd was going bonkers. The atmosphere was incredible. So incredible that you could actually feel it through the television. It was remarkable.
Then a commercial came on and I decided to check in on the Michigan-Toledo game over on Big Ten Network.
The contrast was, you might say, striking.
At the Cotton Bowl, pure bedlam. Joyous, college football bedlam.
At the Big House, pure misery. Dead silence. Dread. It was an NFL-esque atmosphere, which is to say, it was an absence of atmosphere.
So yeah, Texas-Oklahoma 2008 was a classic. An all-time classic.
But Michigan-Toledo?
It was basically Lions-Bengals.
Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust
Three: Now you know I have to write about Penn State, folks, so I'll go ahead and get it out of the way now. I have a few thoughts on the Nits, and those thoughts are as follows: 1. Anyone who ever doubted Derrick Williams, well, your doubts were wrong; 2. Darryl Clark might be the best quarterback Penn State has had since Kerry Collins; 3. I watched Texas-Oklahoma yesterday and I must say, Penn State's receivers are better than the ones on the Longhorns or Sooners; 4. Lavarro continues to be awesome, yes, but the biggest story of the Penn State defense in 2008 is the emergence of sophomore defensive end Aaron Maybin, who leads the Big Ten with eight sacks, even though the only reason he's starting is because of injuries and suspensions in front of him. There, I'm done now.
Two ...: In the wake of something as glorious as yesterday's Texas-Oklahoma game, it's to be expected that sportswriters/commentators who don't know a lick about college football will want to appear "plugged in" to the college football scene. Which brings me to Sunday morning's edition of "The Sports Reporters" on ESPN, one of the worst shows in the history of television. It came on while I was working out on Your Editor's Treadmill and, since the remote was out of reach, I couldn't turn it off. And what was I subjected to? This: ESPN's incredibly obnoxious Stephen A. Smith and the New York Daily News' even more incredibly obnoxious Mike Lupica attempting to talk about college football. It was horrible, folks. Just horrible. Stephen and Mike: Please stick to the NBA or the Olympics or whatever sports they watch in New York. Do not attempt to comment on college football. Because you don't know what you're talking about.
One ...: The funniest moment of the day? After North Carolina had apparently beaten Notre Dame (the clock appeared to run out on the Irish as they were driving for an alleged game-winning touchdown) the Tar Heels and their fans started celebrating and coach Butch Davis ran across the field to shake Notre Dame coach The Arrogant One's hand. But The Arrogant One wanted that last play reviewed, so he wouldn't shake Davis' hand, and so Davis just patted The Arrogant One on his back and appeared to say, "Yeah, whatever." The play was reviewed and Notre Dame still lost. Priceless.
Touchdown ...: If you folks know your college football history—and because you are all so intelligent, I'm sure you do know your college football history—you know that Penn State has had some, well, difficulties with the Michigan Wolverines of late. More specifically, the Nits have not beaten the Wolverines in 12 years. And now, with Penn State sitting at 7-0, who comes strolling into Happy Valley next week? Well, who else? Michigan. Yes, the 2-4 Wolverines. I am making no prediction but I will say this: Saturday will either be one of the greatest days in Penn State history, or the single worst day of my football life.