Thoughts From The Valley: The Day After

The Hangover

HOW I AM FEELING: Not as hungover as you might think. As you know, folks, Your Editor joined several of his compadres—including the TCFA Podcast Team—for the 2010 TCFA College Football Bar Tour yesterday in Havertown, Pa. It was a blast. We went to many bars and watched many hours of college football. But because I am now A Mature Man, I called it quits around 8 p.m. As a result, I have no hangover today. Go me. Oh, also, there is this: Penn State beat Minnesota, 33-21. Which doesn’t mean much. But it does mean, at least, this: My Beloved Nittany Lions are not the worst team in the Big Ten. That’s something, I suppose. Look out Indiana (pictured)!

WHAT I AM DRINKING: A Dark Devil beer cocktail. “What’s a Dark Devil?” you may ask. Well, a Dark Devil is this: One half Victory Storm King Stout. One half Victory Hop Devil. Voila. Instant heaven.

WHAT I AM LISTENING TO: A Prairie Home Companion, on WHYY-FM, right here in The Beautiful Wissahickon Valley. I admit it. I love this show. I think Garrison Keillor is a genius. I don’t even mind when he sings, even though he cannot sing. In other words, yes, I’m old. Sue me.

VILLA UPDATE: Not a good few days for The Most Beautifully Named Soccer Club In The World. On Saturday, my boys from Aston Villa dropped a 1-0 result to Sunderland at something called The Stadium of Light (which, it should be pointed out, is an awesome name for a stadium; much cooler, for instance, than “Heinz Field”). Also, there is now word that Ashley Young, Villa’s best player and hero of Young Jack, has called off contract talks with the club. Look for him to be playing for Tottenham Hotspur in short order. The lesson? Simple: In the end, rich people always win.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE WEEKEND

So I’m sure, good friends, that you are all deeply interested in hearing sordid tales from the just-completed TCFA College Football Bar Tour. And I’ll be happy to share those sordid tales with you.

You’ll just have to wait until Thursday to hear them.

Co-Host Mike and I will, in our next podcast, offer a complete rundown of the day’s events, including actual “live” audio from the single most exciting “cover” in gambling history (if you heard a crazed man screaming, “THAT’S WHY YOU GAMBLE! THAT’S WHY YOU GAMBLE!,” sometime around 3:12 p.m. or so on Saturday afternoon, well, that was Mike).

We’ll have plenty of stories to tell, plenty of laughs to share. It will be just grand. [By the way, pictured at right is the TCFA Podcast Team: Co-Host Mike, Your Editor Tim Hyland, Sound Engineer Bobby.]

In the meantime, though, and because I'm a very charitable person, I’ll just offer you just a few quick thoughts/highlights/etc. More to come on Thursday.

1. If you ever find yourself in the beautiful town/township/postal code of Havertown, Pa. (not to be confused with Haverford), I implore you to head directly to The Ivy Inn. Fantastic atmosphere. Great shuffleboard table. Kind, attentive bartender. Weird 1950s microwave (with a dial). History dripping from the walls. On a day packed with stops at fine establishments, the Ivy Inn quite clearly stole the show. Kudos, Ivy Inn.

2. As you know, folks, I’ve been saying for weeks now that LSU isn’t very good. Well, on Saturday, Co-Host Mike and I got in an argument about this. A real argument. We raised our voices and everything; it was against my nature. And, as a result of this argument, we eventually agreed to a little wager. Which is this: I say LSU will lose four games this season. Mike disagrees. If I’m right, I get a case of beer. If I’m wrong … well, I won’t be wrong. So let’s just say that I’m clearing space in my fridge for that case of beer. Sorry for raising my voice, Mike. [Waiting for Mike's apology ...]

3. Noon games really aren’t any fun. At our first stop of the day (not the Ivy Inn), we had four different games on—Penn State-Minnesota, Indiana-Illinois, Rutgers-Pitt and Notre Dame-Navy. There was no “atmosphere” to speak of in any of them. It was depressing.

4. I’ll admit this much about the SEC: Those games look great on television. The color, excitement and passion of that Auburn-LSU game literally jumped off the screen. That being said, the SEC is still horribly overrated.

5. Joe Paterno looks lost. That post-game interview after the win over Minneosta was painful to watch. Just painful. I have defended Joe for years. I believe he is the greatest coach in college football history. I admire everything he has done for the game. But the difference in this man between last season and this season is striking. He’s just not the same guy he used to be. And that's why I simply cannot see him coaching another season. I mean, he's barely coaching this season. That was hard to write. But it's the truth.

OK, that’s all for today.

Again, for more Tales From The Tour, check out Episode 10 of the podcast—it should be up on Thursday.

THREE YARDS AND A CLOUD OF DUST

THREE: It’s a brand new day in East Lansing. I mean, it really is. You can read more of my thoughts about The New And Improved Sparty over at my other site, but I just couldn’t write this edition of TCFA without pointing out that Michigan State is now 8-0 (8-0!). They are in first place in the Big Ten (first place!). They are in the national title discussion (national title discussion!). But the most remarkable thing about Sparty this year? Well, this: They haven’t blown it yet. Yesterday in Evanston, the Spartans certainly had their chance to blow it. It certainly looked like they were going to blow it. And then—remarkably … stunningly … unbelievably—they did not blow it. They played with poise. They made the plays down the stretch. And they came back from 24-14 third-quarter deficit to knock off Northwestern, 34-27 (and, notably, cover). Afterward, Super-Genius Coach Mark Dantonio was quick to point out that these 2010 Spartans are not “The Same Old Spartans.” Said The Genius: "I get tired of hearing 'Same old Spartans,' to be honest with you. Because if we came up here and laid an egg, I'm sure some of us would have been labeled with that. But the more important thing is we'll continue to compete and play through the tough times. And we will do that." Mark Dantonio is awesome.

TWO: Speaking of teams shedding Their Historical Ties To Frustration, Misery And General Incompetence, let us turn our thoughtful and intelligent gaze to Columbia, home to the Missouri Tigers, who just stunned the nation—but not Your Editor, who predicted an easy Mizzou win this week—by knocking off No. 1 Oklahoma, 36-27, on Saturday night. The victory was Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel’s first ever against Oklahoma, and the Tigers are now 7-0 for the first time since 1960. Said Pinkel after his big win: "How 'bout my Tigers?" Gary Pinkel is awesome but not as awesome as Mark Dantonio.

ONE: I cannot tell you much it pains me that The Dirtbag just coached his Wisconsin Badgers to yet another enormous win. But he did. Yes, folks, sad to say, but the Badgers stunned iowa, 31-30, in Iowa City—and they did so without several key players who were lost to injury. So maybe The Dirtbag can coach. He’s still a Dirtbag though.

TOUCHDOWN: So much for my prediction of a possible nine-win season at Notre Dame. In the day’s most stunning result, the Irish lost (again) to Navy. And they lost bad: 35-17, to be exact. I’ve always insisted that Notre Dame can become Notre Dame again—that this program can reclaim its place atop the college football world. But with each passing season of mediocrity, and with each loss to the Navys of the world, my resolve on that point weakens. Maybe Notre Dame’s time has passed. Maybe they won’t win another national title. And maybe, just maybe, Notre Dame today is precisely what Notre Dame will always be: An average program.

OVERTIME: Listen to the podcast? Enjoy the podcast? Have feedback you want to share about the podcast? Well, please drop us a note at podcasts@intelligentcollegefootball.com. Do so, and you just might get a shout-out on our next show.

For more searing college football insight, please check out my work over at About.com, where you can read my weekly Power Rankings, ponder the About.com Heisman Trophy Watch, get darn-near daily blog updates and more.