Thoughts From The Valley

The Hangover

How I am feeling: Pretty tired. Had a great time in Happy Valley, folks. But now I am tired. Meanwhile, Penn State beat Indiana, 34-7, and is now one win away from the Big Ten championship—and a trip to Pasadena. More on that in a bit.

What I am drinking: Water. Hydration needed, folks.

What I am listening to: Willie Nelson, Stardust. Here's just a few of the gems on this album, which was recently re-released in honor of its 30th anniversary: "Stardust." "Georgia On My Mind." "Blue Skies." "Someone to Watch Over Me." Everyone should own this album. Really. Everyone.

My thoughts on the weekend: I'm not going to write about football here this week, folks.

No, instead I'm going to talk about life.

The good life, specifically.

As you know (because I keep telling you), I spent this past weekend, with old friends and new friends, up in beautiful Happy Valley. It was an expensive weekend. It was a tiring weekend.

It was also a great weekend.

From Friday night drinks at The Autoport to my brother-in-law's first trip to The Phyrst, from our traditional 8 a.m.-sharp tailgate in the shadow of Beaver Stadium to the final gun of Penn State's 34-7 win, and from our post-game drinks-and-football session at Pickles Pub to our post-post-post game drinks at The Brewery, the weekend was just about perfect.

We talked a lot.

We laughed a lot.

We watched about 15 different football games. Including the best of the day: Maryland-North Carolina (seriously)

We had a drink or two.

We debated whether or not college football should have a playoff (Your Editor says, "No.")

We convinced a pizza delivery man to drive us home when we couldn't get a cab.

In short, we had a lot of fun.

And I can't wait to do it all again next year.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust

 

 

Three: I have been fairly hard on the ACC this year. But I must admit, Saturday's ACC showdown between Maryland and North Carolina, which Your Editor and Gang watched at Pickles Pub on Saturday afternoon, was one of the best games I've seen all season. The ACC does not have the reputation of being a great smash-mouth football league. And North Carolina and Maryland certainly do not have reputations as great smash-mouth teams. But this game, won by Maryland, 17-15, was nonetheless a great smash-mouth football game. I can't figure Maryland out, but give them credit: Every time people have been ready to count them out, the Terps fight back. Nice coaching job by Ralph Friedgen this year.

Two ...: OK, so Your Editor hasn't been very nice to Florida of late. You know, I keep bringing up that absolutely horrible loss (at home) to Ole Miss. But Your Editor is not blind. And so Your Editor, after watching Florida dismantle South Carolina, 56-6, will admit this much: Florida is good.

One ...: Penn State receiver Deon Butler started his career at Penn State, without a scholarship, as a scout-team defensive back. He was a walk-on. He was like 150 pounds and nobody gave him a chance to even see the field. Well, on Saturday, Butler caught his 172nd career pass, surpassing Bobby Engram atop the all-time Penn State receiving list. Congrats to Deon on a great achievement.

Touchdown ...: Nothing is certain, folks. And maybe I'm reading way too much into things. But I would like to say once more that I do believe there is a very good chance that this week's game against Michigan State may well be Joe Paterno's last home game at Penn State. If I am right—if this really is Joe's last game in Happy Valley—then I think one thing must said: If the history of "must wins," this becomes possibly the all-time must-winningest "must win." And yeah, there's that Rose Bowl thing, too. And the Big Ten championship. No pressure, guys.