Of all people, we in the Northwest should have seen it coming. The absurdities close to us were merely the opening act for the loopiest half-season of college football ever.
One coach in last year's Apple Cup took a shine to a woman named Destiny. The other fell in love on Carmelo Anthony, or at least a bet on the Syracuse basketball team.
For their excesses, neither coaches college football anymore. The game careens on without them, taking every corner on two wheels, hell-bent for New Orleans and the national-title game.
But don't get consumed with the big trophy. Instead, enjoy all the keisters and elbows flying into the air, propelled by unseen banana peels.
We challenge you: Try to remember a slapstick season like this one.
• Last year, Maurice Clarett was the most important player on Ohio State's national-championship team. Today, his attorney says the Buckeyes are in contempt of court and his client is owed $2.5 million.
• Washington State spent last Saturday practicing and watching games. For its efforts, it moved up six places in both polls, to No. 6. "We didn't practice that well," says a WSU assistant.
• The Mid-American Conference has victories over Maryland, Alabama, Kansas State, Pittsburgh and Purdue.
• Before the season began, Colorado coach Gary Barnett talked up his defense, saying it would be one of his best. That was before the Buffs gave up 47 points three times in four weeks, and 42 on the fourth.
• A quarterback who didn't even start last year, Texas Tech's B.J. Symons, has thrown 17 touchdown passes in his last three games. With 27 overall and 2,954 yards, he's a threat to break David Klingler's record of 54 touchdowns and Ty Detmer's mark of 5,188 yards. Last week the Red Raiders ran 111 snaps and had an NCAA-record 45 first downs.
• Ranked No. 5 in the preseason coaches' poll, Kansas State is 3-3. First of the three losses was at home, to Marshall.
• Nobody figured Oregon coaches would ever have to buy a drink again in Eugene after the Ducks beat Michigan Sept. 20, landing them on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Three weeks and three losses later, cyber-goofs are calling for a complete shakeup of the staff.
• Baylor finally looked like a big-time team in beating Colorado 42-30 on Oct. 4. Last week, the Bears lost 73-10 to Texas A&M — a team that had surrendered 59 points the week before.
• Front and center in the Big Ten race are Michigan State, Purdue and Wisconsin. Their three combined losses are to Louisiana Tech, Bowling Green and Nevada-Las Vegas.
• That Nevada team that planted a shaving-cream pie in the face of Washington last week? The Wolf Pack opened the year with a one-point victory over Southern Utah, and won a 12-9 snoozer over an 0-6 SMU team.
Somebody, please tell us there's something else at work here other than the 85-scholarship limit, which, after all, has been on the books since the 1994-95 season.
For one, how about craftier coaches across the board? For example, if you get a Big Ten job, all you have to beat is three guys who have won national titles (Joe Paterno, Lloyd Carr, Jim Tressel), a coach who has won three Rose Bowls in 10 years (Barry Alvarez), one of the savviest passing-game coaches around (Joe Tiller) and the man who resurrected a failing Iowa program and got it to a BCS bowl last year (Kirk Ferentz).
Even in the hinterland Mountain West, there are minds like Sonny Lubick, Fisher DeBerry and Urban Meyer.
Ferentz, whose Iowa team had a bye last week, said he saw the Pac-10 standings flashed on TV.
"If you'd told somebody 5-10 years ago Washington State and Oregon State would be at the top of the Pac-10 standings — at any time — people would have looked at you kind of funny," he said.
"The landscape of college football has changed. If you're coaching at a school like Iowa or Washington State, you probably think that's a great thing."
Rocky flop
Tennessee (4-2) is having an uneasy season. After it got walloped at home by Georgia last week, it fell to 1-6 against Top 25 teams in the last two years. That includes lopsided home losses to Miami, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
"The big games are the ones you don't win, right?" coach Phil Fulmer said sarcastically. "You go through different cycles in a program."
In agreement with him, apparently, is his wife, Vicky. She visited press row before last week's loss to chew out Knoxville News-Sentinel columnist Gary Lundy for a piece critical of Vols quarterback Casey Clausen.
Lundy called Clausen "gutless" and "cowardly" for denying he made a comment last year — caught on tape by reporters — that he could have beaten Georgia with one arm. He missed that game with a shoulder injury.
An angry Vicky Fulmer told Lundy he embarrassed "my husband and the football program" with the column.
False I.D.
San Jose State (2-4) coach Fitz Hill had a solution for what he thought was too much individualistic play earlier in the season. He had the names taken off the back of the Spartans' jerseys.
"Everybody was trying to cause attention to themselves," Hill said. "I said, we're only going to win if we play as a team. We've played better the last couple of weeks."
Celebrate, celebrate...
To the endless list of weird baseball injuries, here are a couple of the football variety: Symons, the prolific Texas Tech quarterback, has missed practice time this week with a sprained left knee injured when he joined an end-zone celebration resulting from a touchdown pass he threw. He expects to start Saturday at Oklahoma State.
The outlook isn't so good for Clemson backup wide receiver/holder Greg Pate, who, running down the hill with his team to Memorial Stadium, stumbled and fractured a bone in his leg.
Short yardage
• Oklahoma QB Jason White might have a relatively easy path to the Heisman Trophy. He has thrown for 20 TDs with three interceptions, and the No. 1 Sooners may not lose anytime soon.
• Texas has switched QBs, to gifted redshirt freshman Vince Young, who rushed for 127 yards against Oklahoma but threw two interceptions and fumbled.
• Purdue (5-1) has been impressive, but of all conference contenders, may have the hardest road to a title. It plays this week at Wisconsin, and also has games at Michigan, Ohio State and at home against Iowa.
• Embattled Illinois coach Ron Turner got a vote of confidence from AD Ron Guenther, who told the Chicago Sun-Times, "We've got the right guy on top."
• The father of Pitt WR Larry Fitzgerald, a sophomore, says they're watching Maurice Clarett's legal battle to enter the NFL early and would consider it. Fitzgerald is also a sophomore.
• It's not surprising that Lou Holtz, the South Carolina coach, wouldn't especially care for bye weeks. Says Holtz: "You think the open dates, you relax. You just study film longer and meet longer and work harder and worry longer." Chill, Lou, chill.
• Wisconsin C Donovan Raiola on the throat-punching incident that led to a one-game suspension of Ohio State LB Robert Reynolds: "After that, I lost all respect for any of them — the whole bench, the coaches, whoever was on the sideline."
• Flashback: In 1989, when Washington went to the attacking defense that helped lead to its 1991 national title, it turned loose OLB Donald Jones for three sacks in a 51-14 rout at Oregon State, this week's UW opponent. Monday morning, Jones was one of the first to call from Los Angeles and congratulate Nevada coach Chris Tormey on the victory over Washington. "I recruited Don out of Virginia," Tormey said. "I hadn't talked to him in years."
• Final word from Michigan junior WR Braylon Edwards, subject of some criticism this year, on his intention to return for his final season: "I love Michigan football. Call it immaturity. ... I'm not ready to leave yet." Let's hear it for more immaturity.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2001767113_withers16.html
One coach in last year's Apple Cup took a shine to a woman named Destiny. The other fell in love on Carmelo Anthony, or at least a bet on the Syracuse basketball team.
For their excesses, neither coaches college football anymore. The game careens on without them, taking every corner on two wheels, hell-bent for New Orleans and the national-title game.
But don't get consumed with the big trophy. Instead, enjoy all the keisters and elbows flying into the air, propelled by unseen banana peels.
We challenge you: Try to remember a slapstick season like this one.
• Last year, Maurice Clarett was the most important player on Ohio State's national-championship team. Today, his attorney says the Buckeyes are in contempt of court and his client is owed $2.5 million.
• Washington State spent last Saturday practicing and watching games. For its efforts, it moved up six places in both polls, to No. 6. "We didn't practice that well," says a WSU assistant.
• The Mid-American Conference has victories over Maryland, Alabama, Kansas State, Pittsburgh and Purdue.
• Before the season began, Colorado coach Gary Barnett talked up his defense, saying it would be one of his best. That was before the Buffs gave up 47 points three times in four weeks, and 42 on the fourth.
• A quarterback who didn't even start last year, Texas Tech's B.J. Symons, has thrown 17 touchdown passes in his last three games. With 27 overall and 2,954 yards, he's a threat to break David Klingler's record of 54 touchdowns and Ty Detmer's mark of 5,188 yards. Last week the Red Raiders ran 111 snaps and had an NCAA-record 45 first downs.
• Ranked No. 5 in the preseason coaches' poll, Kansas State is 3-3. First of the three losses was at home, to Marshall.
• Nobody figured Oregon coaches would ever have to buy a drink again in Eugene after the Ducks beat Michigan Sept. 20, landing them on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Three weeks and three losses later, cyber-goofs are calling for a complete shakeup of the staff.
• Baylor finally looked like a big-time team in beating Colorado 42-30 on Oct. 4. Last week, the Bears lost 73-10 to Texas A&M — a team that had surrendered 59 points the week before.
• Front and center in the Big Ten race are Michigan State, Purdue and Wisconsin. Their three combined losses are to Louisiana Tech, Bowling Green and Nevada-Las Vegas.
• That Nevada team that planted a shaving-cream pie in the face of Washington last week? The Wolf Pack opened the year with a one-point victory over Southern Utah, and won a 12-9 snoozer over an 0-6 SMU team.
Somebody, please tell us there's something else at work here other than the 85-scholarship limit, which, after all, has been on the books since the 1994-95 season.
For one, how about craftier coaches across the board? For example, if you get a Big Ten job, all you have to beat is three guys who have won national titles (Joe Paterno, Lloyd Carr, Jim Tressel), a coach who has won three Rose Bowls in 10 years (Barry Alvarez), one of the savviest passing-game coaches around (Joe Tiller) and the man who resurrected a failing Iowa program and got it to a BCS bowl last year (Kirk Ferentz).
Even in the hinterland Mountain West, there are minds like Sonny Lubick, Fisher DeBerry and Urban Meyer.
Ferentz, whose Iowa team had a bye last week, said he saw the Pac-10 standings flashed on TV.
"If you'd told somebody 5-10 years ago Washington State and Oregon State would be at the top of the Pac-10 standings — at any time — people would have looked at you kind of funny," he said.
"The landscape of college football has changed. If you're coaching at a school like Iowa or Washington State, you probably think that's a great thing."
Rocky flop
Tennessee (4-2) is having an uneasy season. After it got walloped at home by Georgia last week, it fell to 1-6 against Top 25 teams in the last two years. That includes lopsided home losses to Miami, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
"The big games are the ones you don't win, right?" coach Phil Fulmer said sarcastically. "You go through different cycles in a program."
In agreement with him, apparently, is his wife, Vicky. She visited press row before last week's loss to chew out Knoxville News-Sentinel columnist Gary Lundy for a piece critical of Vols quarterback Casey Clausen.
Lundy called Clausen "gutless" and "cowardly" for denying he made a comment last year — caught on tape by reporters — that he could have beaten Georgia with one arm. He missed that game with a shoulder injury.
An angry Vicky Fulmer told Lundy he embarrassed "my husband and the football program" with the column.
False I.D.
San Jose State (2-4) coach Fitz Hill had a solution for what he thought was too much individualistic play earlier in the season. He had the names taken off the back of the Spartans' jerseys.
"Everybody was trying to cause attention to themselves," Hill said. "I said, we're only going to win if we play as a team. We've played better the last couple of weeks."
Celebrate, celebrate...
To the endless list of weird baseball injuries, here are a couple of the football variety: Symons, the prolific Texas Tech quarterback, has missed practice time this week with a sprained left knee injured when he joined an end-zone celebration resulting from a touchdown pass he threw. He expects to start Saturday at Oklahoma State.
The outlook isn't so good for Clemson backup wide receiver/holder Greg Pate, who, running down the hill with his team to Memorial Stadium, stumbled and fractured a bone in his leg.
Short yardage
• Oklahoma QB Jason White might have a relatively easy path to the Heisman Trophy. He has thrown for 20 TDs with three interceptions, and the No. 1 Sooners may not lose anytime soon.
• Texas has switched QBs, to gifted redshirt freshman Vince Young, who rushed for 127 yards against Oklahoma but threw two interceptions and fumbled.
• Purdue (5-1) has been impressive, but of all conference contenders, may have the hardest road to a title. It plays this week at Wisconsin, and also has games at Michigan, Ohio State and at home against Iowa.
• Embattled Illinois coach Ron Turner got a vote of confidence from AD Ron Guenther, who told the Chicago Sun-Times, "We've got the right guy on top."
• The father of Pitt WR Larry Fitzgerald, a sophomore, says they're watching Maurice Clarett's legal battle to enter the NFL early and would consider it. Fitzgerald is also a sophomore.
• It's not surprising that Lou Holtz, the South Carolina coach, wouldn't especially care for bye weeks. Says Holtz: "You think the open dates, you relax. You just study film longer and meet longer and work harder and worry longer." Chill, Lou, chill.
• Wisconsin C Donovan Raiola on the throat-punching incident that led to a one-game suspension of Ohio State LB Robert Reynolds: "After that, I lost all respect for any of them — the whole bench, the coaches, whoever was on the sideline."
• Flashback: In 1989, when Washington went to the attacking defense that helped lead to its 1991 national title, it turned loose OLB Donald Jones for three sacks in a 51-14 rout at Oregon State, this week's UW opponent. Monday morning, Jones was one of the first to call from Los Angeles and congratulate Nevada coach Chris Tormey on the victory over Washington. "I recruited Don out of Virginia," Tormey said. "I hadn't talked to him in years."
• Final word from Michigan junior WR Braylon Edwards, subject of some criticism this year, on his intention to return for his final season: "I love Michigan football. Call it immaturity. ... I'm not ready to leave yet." Let's hear it for more immaturity.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2001767113_withers16.html
