Thoughts From The Valley

The Hangover

How I am feeling: A tad nervous. Even though I know there is, in the words of Lee Corso, "a lot of football left to be played," I must admit that I'm a bit peeved about Texas Tech jumping past Penn State in the Associated Press poll. The Nits took the No. 2 spot in the USA Today Coaches Poll and and in the Harris Poll, but at this point it looks as though the Red Raiders—a fine team, no doubt—will jump past the Nits in the BCS standings as well. Curious. Because while everyone is beating up Penn State for its supposedly weak schedule, those same rules apparently don't apply to Texas Tech. These teams now have the same number of wins against ranked opponents: One. And Tech's non-conference is weak even in comparison to Penn State's. In their non-con games, the Raiders played: Eastern Washington, Nevada, SMU and Massachussets. But, hey, whatever. I'm sure everything will work out.

What I am drinking: A Manhattan on the rocks. The greatest cocktail ever. My Dad's drink of choice. And a very nice fall drink. Jack Daniels (yes, I like Jack in my Manhattan more than bourbon), vermouth, Angustura bitters, ice.

What I am listening to: Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Cardinology. The new record from the greatest singer-songwriter of our generation. After two listens, I can confirm: It's good.

My thoughts on the weekend: That Texas Tech-Texas game reminded us once more why college football is God's greatest gift to American sports fans. Or America in general.

There are big games in other sports. There's that World Series thing in baseball. A big deal, no doubt. And the Cleveland Indians are going to win it next year. There is the Daytona 500. There is the NCAA Final Four. I'm sure there are even big games in the NFL. That's what I've heard, at least.

But tell me, folks. Honestly, do you think any NFL fan in any NFL city will ever cherish a win (and I don't even care if it's the Super Bowl) more than the Texas Tech community—students, alums, players, coaches, Lubbock townies—will cherish beating No. 1-ranked Texas on national television with a last-second miracle touchdown pass?

I don't think so, folks. I don't think so.

It's a cliche, but in this case, it if fact: That is a game Texas Tech students will tell their grandchildren about. They will buy extra copies of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and frame them. Then they'll hang those things over their fireplace. Where they shall remain. For all eternity.

Oh, and you can basically assume that, in Lubbock, Michael Crabtree and Graham Harrell have just become the most important people the town has ever seen. They eat for free the rest of their lives in the Lubbock City limits. With good reason, too. Because on the biggest stage the Red Raiders had ever seen, against the rival they hate more than any other, with the entire nation watching, and with national title hopes on the line—yes, national title hopes, in Lubbock!—Crabtree and Harrell were darn-near miraculously good.

That last drive? Indescribably efficient.

That last touchdown pass? A thing of beauty.

The students rushing the field three times and tearing down the goalpost before the game had even ended? Wrong and perfect at teh same time.

A better script simply could not have been written, folks.

It was, quite simply, college football at its best.

Which means, of course, it was sports at its best.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust

 

 

Three: Jon Wilner is a college football writer for the San Jose Mercury News. He's also trying to rig college football. See, John apparently doesn't believe what happens on the field counts. John thinks to knows which teams are best, no matter what they do on Saturdays. Why do I think John thinks this? Well, see for yourself. Here is John's Associated Press ballot this week: 1. Florida; 2. Texas; 3. Alabama; 4. Oklahoma; 5. Texas Tech; 6. Penn State. Yes, he has Florida No. 1. Nevermind that they freaking lost to Ole Miss (at home). He has Texas at No. 2. Nevermind they just lost to Texas Tech, who he has ranked No. 5. He also has Penn State No. 6, because he lives on the West Coast and doesn't actually understand football. I also sincerely doubt he's actually watched Penn State play a quarter of football this year. The fact that guys like this are given a vote makes me want to vomit.

Two ...: I am happy to report that one of my readers actually responded to my query on Friday about Lubbock. In case you don't recall, I had asked whether Lubbock had either water or tall buildigns. Reader Chris Shelton responded thusly: "I have been to Lubbock, home of the Red Raiders, Buddy Holly and the Red Raiders again. It's about seven hours from Austin by car and about 50 years by mindset. Lubbock is flat, windy, dusty and not very close to being picturesque. It's also in a dry county, so if you want any kind of booze (and you would), you've got to drive to the edge of the county where they have a whole string of drive-through liquor stores all right next door to each other. And since a bunch of drive through barns pretty much all look the same, owners will try to entice you into their particular barn by having dancing aliens, Elvis impersonators, etc. I've never seen anything like it. I don't believe they had much in the way of tall buildings, but they did have traffic lights and indoor plumbing, which was a bit of a surprise." That is the single greatest reader email Your Editor has ever received. I feel as though I've visited Lubbock after reading that.

One ...: All due respect to my Michigan readers (yes, I have a few), I just wanted to note that Your Editor was very happy to see Purdue pull of that incredible last-minute win over Michigan. If you didn't see it, folks (and that's quite likely), the Boilers gave their fans a much-needed thrill by beating the Wolverines on a hook-and-lateral for a touchdown with about 25 seconds remaining. It was a truly great game played by two very bad teams. But Purdue coach Joe Tiller deserved something to smile about. This guy is one of the true class acts in all of college football, and the Big Ten is going to miss him very badly. So will I. Congrats, coach.

Touchdown ...: As you all know, Your Editor is somewhat of a pessimist. But I think in this particular case, my pessimism is justified: Anyone who has been watching Penn State and Iowa over the past few weeks know that next week's matchup between the Nits and Hawkeyes in Iowa City is going to be a true battle. The Nittany Lions had better not be focused the BCS, the crazy voters of the world like Jon Wilner, or anything else except the Hawkeyes. Because call me crazy, I think Iowa gives Penn State just as tough a battle as did Ohio State. This. One. Will. Be. Close.