Thoughts From The Valley

The Hangover

How I am feeling: Take a guess. Just take a guess.

What I am drinking: Victory Brewing Company Storm King Stout. I have mentioned at least a couple times in recent weeks how annoyed I've been that it has felt more like July of late than October (in fact, this October is the warmest in Philadelphia history--by 5 degrees or something nuts like that). My annoyance can partly be attributed to the fact that enjoy cool, crisp fall weather, partly to the fact that I am tired of the usual hot-and-humid, standard summer Philadelphia weather, and partly because I only drink Victory's Storm King Stout--quite possibly My Favorite Beer Ever--when the temperatures dip into the 50s. It's not a summer beer, folks. That much is certain. It is dark. To be honest, it pours (and looks) like motor oil. But man, does it taste good when it's cold outside. I am quite convinced that if you were freezing to death, you could drink a couple Storm Kings and somehow survive. Or at least think you did (at more than 9 percent ABV, this is a beer to be enjoyed responsibly).

What I am listening to: The Rolling Stones, Beggars Banquet. Everyone loves The Beatles. OK, I get it. Beatles, Beatles, Beatles. Yeah, they're great. Blah blah blah. But you know what? The Beatles might have been better songwriters. They may have done more "great" albums and had bigger hits. But nobody will ever convince me that there has ever been a better band in rock n' roll history than what the Rolling Stones were between 1968 and 1972. In that time, the Stones released four of the Top 10 albums of all time (and that's not just my opinion; it is fact)--Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street. They are all wonderful. And while Exile remains the best, Beggars Banquet is pretty close. I can't imagine a serious music fan not having these records in their collections.

My thoughts on the weekend: I'll be brief today. When eating crow, one is best advised to get the process over with quickly.

So here goes: Ohio State is good.

They're really good.

I half expected the Buckeyes to lose on Saturday night. And even if they didn't lose, I thought they would at least be taken to the wire by a good-not-great Penn State team that, for all its faults (hint: not necessarily the players), has shown flashes of dominance.

I thought Todd Boeckman would be rattled by Connor, Lee and gang. I thought Ohio State's secondary could be stretched by Anthony Morelli and those speedy Penn State receivers. I thought the Nittany Lions would make a big special teams play here or there, rattle the Buckeyes, and then pull the upset.

But I was wrong. For one simple reason: Ohio State is clearly the No. 1 team in the country. From what I've seen, nobody else is close.

The Buckeyes are good on defense. They are, as usual, steady on special teams. But most impressively, they are incredibly, annoyingly and remarkably consistent on offense. Not flashy. Just good. Steady. Consistent. Todd Boeckman does not make mistakes. His receivers don't drop balls. Beanie Wells does not give up. The offensive line does not relent.

The result? On Saturday night, they moved the ball on a Penn State defense (a defense that was ranked No. 7 in the nation, folks) like no team I've seen since the 2001 Miami Hurricanes (the guys that went on to the national title and pretty much dominated everyone in so doing). In fact, the Buckeyes posted the fourth-most points any team has ever scored at Penn State, in the entire 120-plus history of the Nittany Lion program.

My point is simple. With just three games to go, I don't see anyone beating the Buckeyes. Not Wisconsin. Not Michigan.

For one simple reason: The Buckeyes are good. Real good.

And they deserve to be the No. 1 team in the country.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust

Three ...: I am not sure who that guy was on the sidelines for the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, but it certainly wasn't The Good Christian Mark Richt. Those of you who saw the game know of what I speak: For the better part of two quarters, Richt's Bulldogs--who dominated Florida in their upset win--were basically the Miami Hurricanes: Taunting at every turn, celebrating by putting down their opponent, and generally acting like they "haven't been there before." No moment was more damning than when Richt allowed (or, maybe, ordered?) his entire team--yeah, the entire team, including the guys on the sideline--to celebrate in the endzone after Knowshon Moreno's first-quarter touchdown run. I mean, come on Mark, you won't drink a beer because it's not Christian, but you'll allow 70 of your players to simultaneously taunt their opponent? Explained the Suddenly Phony Richt afterward: "We didn't stomp on anybody's logo. I don't see it as any disrespect at all. I see it as a coach trying to get his guys excited to play a big game, that's all. We weren't trying to disrespect Florida in any way." I am going to go out on a limb and say Florida doesn't quite see it the same way. This is a move that may have paid dividends for Richt this year. But he'll likely be paying for it, big time, come this time next season.

Two ...: We all know the "polls" in college football are ridiculous. But that's especially clear this week. And for a simple reason. Granted, Your Editor does not think Penn State is a great team this year. They are, however, better than Wisconsin. My proof? The fact that we beat them 38-7 two weeks ago. Remember that? Yeah, me too. Anyway, the pollsters apparently don't. Because in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll, Wisconsin is ranked No. 19 and Penn State is out of the rankings entirely. Makes sense, right?

One ...: Speaking of the polls, I have two more questions for you: 1) How can three-loss Florida still be in the Top 20? They've lost three damn times. You can say, "Oh, they play in the SEC--it's tough," all day. But the fact is, a Top 20 team shouldn't have three losses at this point in the season. Really, they shouldn't. But yep, there's Florida. And three-loss Auburn, too. Go a bit further down the list and you'll find even three-loss Kentucky--who just got crushed by a bad Mississippi State team. And they're still ranked! Joke. And how about USC? Even though the Trojans have played one of the worst schedules in college football, and even though they've now lost twice, including an embarrassing home defeat to a terrible Stanford team, the Trojans are now ranked No. 15. What? Can somebody justify that? Because I can't. Stupid polls. Stupid pollsters.

Touchdown ...: My prediction this week is simple. Ohio State is going to run the table. They are going to crush Michigan. And then they are going to go to the Mythical National Championship Game, where they will redeem themselves for the 41-14 debacle suffered at the hands of Florida last season by beating a huge-favorite SEC team. Then the national media (snore) will spend the entire offseason talking about how overrated the SEC was. Because Lord knows, the national media (snore) is not opposed to being completely contradictory.