Thoughts From The Valley

The Hangover

How I am feeling: Pretty good. I just watched my son, Young Jack, take part in his first "scrimmage" in organzed sport, as he has begun playing pee-wee soccer here in The Beautiful Wissahickon Valley. In the final tune-up before their season kicks off next week, "Team 16" introduced some important concepts, including "kicking the ball" and "out of bounds." Young Jack was all over the field. He was a dogged defender and even managed a couple slide tackles. Now if we can just get him going toward the right goal, we'll be all set. By the way, folks, Team 16 got their jerseys today. They wear blue and white. I kid you not.

What I am drinking: Felt like wine on this fine Sunday afternoon. So I am enjoying a 2007 Naked Chardonnay from the Chaddsford Winery, just a short drive from the Beautiful Wissahickon Valley. Interesting wine. They strip away all the "oak" flavor, leaving just the essence of the grape. I am no wine expert, that's for certain, though this tastes just fine to me.

What I am listening to: John Coltrane, Giant Steps. Couldn't figure out what to listen to today. Nothing on my iTunes interested me. I actually dove into my CDs, relics of the past that they are, and dug up a classic from Coltrane--a record I listened to incessantly back in the autumn of '97. That was way back when poor Mike McQueary was just beginning his career of getting yelled at by Joe Paterno. Today, McQueary is the Nittany Lions' wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator. Back in '97, he was the Nits' quarterback. You likely recognize him by his hair, and by the fact that whenever the camera pans over to the Penn State sideline during a game, it inevitably shows poor McQueary being yelled at.

My thoughts on the weekend: I am going to be brief today, folks, if only because I actually stayed up late last night to catch the end of Georgia-Arizona State and LSU-Auburn and am pretty damn tired as a result.

My quick-hitter thoughts on the weekend that was:

1. All due credit to Georgia. I had my doubts about those guys but their win over Arizona State, on the road, was a very impressive win. Knowshon Moreno is one of the Top 3 backs in the country, if not the very best. Matt Stafford, who I had considered overrated, was outstanding. And man, does that guy have an arm. And freshman wideout A.J. Green? Well, he's proof positive why recruiting does matter. If Georgia doesn't win the recruiting war for Green, they're not the same team this year.

2. Ugly showing for Notre Dame up in East Lansing. More on the Spartans below.

3. Great win for Dave Wannstedt and the Pitt Panthers. In a year when the Big East is way down (what's up with Rutgers?), even a flawed Pitt team (no quarterback, no receivers) may be able to win the league crown.

4. Auburn's offense is really bad.

5. As my buddy and two-time TCFA Champion Mike Unger pointed out ... there is no gutsier coach in college football than LSU's Les Miles. That halfback option call for touchdown? Impressive.

6. Wake Forest is not big. They are not fast. They are not overly talented. All they do, each and every week, is do whatever it takes to win. They are smarter than the teams they play. They are more composed than the teams they play. They are best-coached team in the country. Jim Grobe is a miracle worker.

7. Rutgers lost to Navy. I don't want to hear any more talk about Greg Schiano being the next coach at Penn State.

8. Terrelle Pryor is for real. Yes, he made his rookie mistakes. But just look at the stats. Four touchdown passes. Four. And more than 60 yards rushing. This kid is talented enough to save the Buckeyes' season. And it's quite frankly annoying to think about how good he's going to be in two years.

9. Temple has no luck. They lost two of their first three games on the last play of the game. Then, on Saturday against Penn State, they lost their best player and leader, quarterback Adam DiMichele, to a major shoulder injury. DiMichele is unlikely to return this season. What could have been an 8-win season for the Owls suddenly looks like another washout.

10. Bob Flounders, Penn State beat writer for the Harrisburg Patriot-News, has never been one to praise Penn State. Flounders isn't a Penn Stater and views the program with the objective eye of a true outsider. So when he makes a statement like this one, about Penn State sophomore linebacker Navorro "Lavarro" Bowman, one should take notice. Said Flounders this week: "[Bowman] is a more talented linebacker than I've seen in the past five or six years, and that includes Posluszny and Connor and Sean Lee. He's a more focused LaVar Arrington, is what he is. He arrives in a hurry and in a bad mood." Bowman's stats for Saturday? Three sacks, two tackles for loss, 11 total tackles, one forced fumble, one interception.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust

 

 

Three: Michigan State beat Notre Dame on Saturday, 23-7. And it was a thorough beating. This is notable for two reasons: 1. I picked Sparty to win but didn't actually believe they would.; 2. I have not seen a Michigan State team look this good, and this disciplined, since the George Perles era. The new-look Sparty is personified by tailback Javon Ringer, who is not only a spectacular back (watch Ringer, and then watch Georgia's Knowshon Moreno, and you'll not see much of a difference), but also a really good kid. Want proof? Here's proof: Approached by an ABC sideline reporter after the game on Saturday for an interview, Ringer politely declined the offer, saying that he and his teammates needed to pray together and he didn't want to be late. As for his actual on-the-field production? Check this out. Against Notre Dame, Ringer carried the ball 39 times for 201 yards. The week before, he carried the ball 43 times for 282 yards. Said Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis: "You can hit him and hit him and hit him, and he just keeps coming."

Two ...: Joe Paterno is as tough as ever. And just as clever, too. As we all now know, Paterno has been battling a bum leg since late August, and in the days leading up to Penn State's game against Temple this week, several reports suggested that Paterno would have to coach from the press box, just so he wouldn't have to stand on a leg that was very clearly causing him serious pain. But come gametime, there was Joe, on the sidelines, as always. By the second half, he retreated upstairs. And after the game, he didn't feel much like talking about the injury. As he told reporters: "I've got a bunch of kids out there fighting all kinds of adversity with different lineups, hanging in there together. And you're worried about my leg. Now, if you were a bunch of good-looking girls, I'd feel better about it." God bless that man.

One ...: The incessant ESPN butt-kissing of the SEC really has to stop. They did a story on "College GameDay" this week about how great the defenses in the SEC are. Included among their evidence? Auburn's 3-2 win over Mississippi State the week before. Yeah, yeah, Auburn's defense is awesome for stopping that incredible Mississippi State attack. Oh wait, Mississippi State lost 38-7 on Saturday to Georgia Tech.

Touchdown ...: Looking ahead to Week 5, it appears to me that the biggest game of the weekend is ... No. 22 Illinois at No. 12 Penn State. Seriously. The Nittany Lions may be tired of people saying they haven't played anybody yet. Well, here's their chance to shut them up. My thoughts? Penn State's defense will be challenged like never before. Penn State's middle linebacker, Josh Hull, will be challenged like never before (in the form of the eminently frustrating Juice Williams). And while I am always wary of being optimistic, I have to say: I feel pretty good about this one. But we shall see.