Thoughts From The Valley

The Hangover

How I am feeling: Slightly confused. The Ohio State team I watched get asbolutely hammered by USC last night is not the Ohio State I know. The Maryland team I watched shock Cal is not the Maryland team I know. The UCLA team that lost 59-0--yes, 59-0--to BYU is, well, not UCLA. And the Penn State offense that has scored 166 points in three games is most definitely not the Penn State offense that I know. I am, like, totally off kilter.

What I am drinking: Victory Hop Devil. An old standby, yes. And for good reason: It remains the greatest autumnal beer ever invented. I almost can't imagine Saturday afternoons without Hop Devil in the fridge and something cooking on the grille ...

What I am listening to: ... and the Drive By Truckers on the stereo. No, I have not talked about my beloved Truckers of late. Which does not mean that they do not remain The Official Rock Band of TCFA. Currently I am spinning, The Dirty South, the album that first introduced me to these poets--yes, poets--of the American South. About the only thing wrong with these guys is that they happen to be SEC fans. Alabama, specifically. But then again, that ain't so bad, because as we all know, Alabama is the Penn State of the SEC. Old-school unis, famous old coaches, etc. You get the point.

My thoughts on the weekend: And so commences the column in which Your Editor admits he was wrong. Enjoy, folks ...

So I've never really liked USC. Never respected them much, either. Which is not to say I didn't think they were good. Clearly, the USC Trojans deserve to be counted among the greatest programs in college football history. The Heismans, the national championships. They've got it all.

The thing I never bought, however, was the idea that people in Los Angeles actually cared about college football. I mean, I never saw it. I guess that's because, for one reason or another, I have always somehow associated USC with the USC I knew when I was growing up--the pre-Pete Carroll Trojans, who always seemed so incredibly overated, and who always seemed to play in a half-empty Coliseum.

The image of that mammoth stadium--that mammoth beautiful stadium--only half-full stuck with me. It stuck real good. And so when people would talk about what a great college football town Los Angeles was, I just rolled my eyes.

Los Angeles? College football? I just didn't make sense to me. I honestly believed folks knew as much about college football as folks in Lincoln, Nebraska knew about, well, whatever it is that people in Los Angeles care about. Films or celebrities or stupid magazines about films and celebrities, I guess.

But I must admit: I was wrong.

That crowd Saturday night in Los Angeles--that, folks, was impressive. The atmosphere was outstanding. And yes, both the stadium and the weather looked utterly perfect. Just perfect.

So, there you have it. I will question Los Angeles' college football credentials no longer.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust

 

 

Three: I can't believe I am going to write this. If you had told me even two and a half weeks ago that I'd be writing this, I wouldn't have believed you. But here I go. I am going to write it: Ohio State is the third-best team in the Big Ten.Why, you may ask, is Ohio State the third-best team in the Big Ten? Well, I'll give you two reasons: 1. Their offensive line is terrible. They were completely overmated against USC. Which maybe wouldn't have been that great of a failing, given how ridiculously good USC is. But that same Ohio State line was also pushed around by Ohio University. Anyone who saw that game knows it's true. 2. Every supposed star on this team--James Laurinaitis, Malcom Jenkins, Brian Robiskie, Alex Boone, Marcus Freeman and, most especially, Todd Boeckman--has underachieved so far this year. That's a bad sign, folks.

Two ...: It was one of those classic television moments. One of those moments when you just know those poor ESPN announcers were thinking, "WHAT THE HELL DO I SAY NOW???" I am speaking, of course, about that moment during the Maryland-Cal game on Saturday when an ESPN camera zoomed in--and zoomed in real close--on Cal tailback Jahvid Best, who had just been leveled by a Maryland defender and was writhing around on the ground in pain. And at the very moment--and I mean, the very second--that the camera panned over to Best's face, it happened: The poor kid puked all over the place. And what did the ESPN announcers say about this? Absolutely nothing. And I can't blame them, of course. But the contrast of what was happening on the screen--specifically, vomit--and what was being talked about over the air--I mean, I don't even remember, but it wasn't vomit--was truly striking. Oh, and by the way, Best is just fine. He just got hit. Really hard.

One ...: Two quick obversations about the Michigan-Notre Dame game. First, that was a great win for the Irish. Probably the best win Charlie Weis has had since he's been there. They came out and attacked the Wolverines. They looked like a real Notre Dame team. And suddenly, I almost believe they can make a bowl game this year. Now, for my other point. And no, I am not going to bash Michigan. Actually, I just wanted to say this: Freshman tailback Sam McGuffie? Yeah, he's going to be good. He's going to be really, really good.

Touchdown ...: That USC team is the best college football team I've seen in a long time. They are better than the 2007 LSU Tigers. They are better than the 2006 Florida Gators. They are better than the 2005 Texas Longhorns. And they may be the best team Pete Carroll has ever had. Mark Sanchez is stunningly good at quarterback. Joe McKnight is Reggie Bush, minus all the problematic off-the-field stuff. The receivers are good. The tight end is good. The offensive line is nimble and mean. And the defense is ridiculous. Given that the Pac-10 is so atrocious this year--sorry, ESPN, that conference is no worse than the Big Ten--I simply do not see USC losing again this year. I don't even seen USC being challenged. They are ridiculous. Just ridiculous.