Heavyweights and Champions

It is Senior Bowl  (click to gamesite) week.  Tomorrow at 3:00 p.m., the college seniors deemed to be the best  prospects to enter the NFL will be convened in Mobile, Alabama to put on the final football game of the season.  The Senior Bowl has been played annually since 1950 (the photo at the right is from 1958, that's FB Ray Nitschke #31), with all but the first game taking place in Mobile.  It has been a newsy week in Mobile:

• Alabama's nose tackle and sometimes fullback, Terrence Cody, weighed in at 370 pounds.  It is not what you would call a svelte 370, if there is such a thing.  Click here to see a photo of the man-mountain, but beware, this is not for the squeamish.  Clothes make the man. Put some on him, quickly.
• Tim Tebow, the pride of Gatorland for these last few years, has been making news for a pro-life commercial he's done.  Women's rights groups have been raising a ruckus, decrying Tebow's position.  I find this absolutely absurd, these people bitching about this young man speaking his mind on this matter.  Whatever position you personally support, don't you find it refreshing that a talented young athlete has the strength of character to express his opinion as Tebow did?  I am seeing Tebow's position in juxtaposition to the plethora of young athletes who bang their ways through their celebrity years with no thought to the consequences.  Let him speak his mind, I say.  Make up your own mind and teach your children about responsibility and consequences.
• The other area of Tebow's celebrity, his on the field performance, has been drawing criticism, too.  It seems that he hasn't looked good taking snaps under center and that he's been locking on to receivers instead of working through progressions.  In other words, he's performed as everyone expected, given the context in which toiled in college.  Stay tuned.
• There was robbery in a frat house at the University of Oregon.  A couple of laptops and a guitar were swiped. Two of the Ducks' star players have a cloud hanging over them...actually, they're being accused by one of the victims.  Other local sources are suggesting that the two players were not involved, pointing out inconsistencies in the accuser's story.  Once again, stay tuned.
•  Making a positive impression in Mobile has been Idaho guard Mike Iupati, who is 6'5", 325 lbs and measured 35 inch long arms.  This man has arms like legs!

Finally, a non-Senior Bowl story about a football dinosaur, Jack Pardee (click).

Coaching Changes

This coaching college football thing, it's pretty volatile, you know?  I haven't ever kept count of the moves, so I was surprised by the arithmetic after I read this paragraph that comes from VegasInsider.com:

There have been 22 coaching changes dating back to the start of last season, not counting Urban Meyer's ``gone-today, here-tomorrow' stunt, with vacancies still open at East Carolina and Louisiana Tech. That means this season's game of musical chairs will have more than the average number of participants for the last decade (19), but still well short of the 32 coaches who changed places in 2000.

There's 120 head coaching jobs. 

22 changes is 18%.  The average number of changes, 19, is 16% of the total.  Those are big numbers. 

Some of the coaches get recycled, most do, in fact, so it's not like draw and discard.  You can play off the discard pile, and certainly you can steal from others.

Average length of tenure across the entire universe isn't too revealing, as you have Joe Paterno on the one hand, with his 112 years of seniority in Happy Valley, and you have your Lane Kiffin on the other hand, who moves around like a water drop on a hot griddle. 

I have no sagacious conclusion, just a lot of flying factoids.

So there. 

By the way, if you missed it (lucky you) the East-West Shrine game on Saturday sucked.  I turned it off and the game gods punished me.  The Sunday newspaper informed me that I missed Mike Kafka's MVP winning performance at the end of the game. 

Go 'Cats!

Class of 2010

The lads who cavort about the various stadia across the USA each autumn for our entertainment and the greater glory of Fillintheblank U. have short careers.  That is one of the attractions of the college game, the always evolving cast of athletes.  Those who have been physically blessed, worked hard  and been fortunate enough to avoid injury may get the opportunity to display their talents as professional football players. Their passage is an annual event and it's coming up: the NFL draft.

I went to CBS sports online and took a peek at their projections for the top 50 selections in the upcoming draft.  There's some very recognizable names and some not-so-recognizable names.  Here's some of the nuggets that I uncovered after massaging the list a bit.

By school, the projected first 50 come from:
2 Alabama Crimson Tide, hail to the champions
0 No boys from Boise
2 California Golden Bears
5 Florida Gators
1 Florida State Seminole
1 Fresno State Something or other (it's Bulldogs, had to look it up)
3 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
1 Idaho Potato (they are the Vandals)
1 Iowa Hawkeye (this is the massive OT, Bryan Bulaga)
2 LSU Tigers
1 Maryland Terrapin
1 Michigan Wolverine
1 Nebraska Cornhusker (everybody's #1, DT Ndamukong Suh)
1 Northwestern Wildcat (DE Corey Wooten)
2 Notre Dame Domers (Jimmy Claussen and Golden Tate)
0 Yes, zero from Ohio State
4 Oklahoma Sooners
2 Oklahoma State Cowboys
2 Penn State Lions, Nittany type
2 Rutgers Wise Guys ( ok, Scarlet Knights)
2 South Florida Bulls (a DE and a CB)
4 USC Trojans
1 Tennessee Volunteer, not currently under indictment
3 Texas Longhorn runners-up (Colt McCoy & Jordan Shipley, plus LB Sergio Kindle)
1 UCLA Bruin
1 Arizona Wildcat
2 Clemson Tigers

By position, the first 50 are made up of:
1 center (Maurkice Pouncey of Florida, good name for a center)
1 strong safety
1 offensive guard (Idaho's Mike Iupati)
2 free safeties
2 tight ends
2 inside linebackers
4 outside linebackers
4 quarterbacks (in reverse order of selection: Tebow, McCoy, Bradford & Claussen)
4 running backs (the first one: CJ Spiller of Clemson)
5 defensive ends
6 cornerbacks
6 defensive tackles (including 2 of the first three overall selections)
6 offensive tackles (OT's get more $$$ than anybody but QB's)
6 wide receivers (OK State's Dez Bryant being the first)
0 kickers of any variety

1 Bryan, 1 Brian.
2 Brandons.
1 Ndamukong, going off at #1, but we said that already.
26 on defense, 24 on offense.

College Football Coaches Salaries - Top 100

This list was taken from Americasbestonline.net.  There are a few recent changes that haven't been updated, but it's pretty current.  Scroll throught the list, you'll find some stuff that will astound you.  Seniority is worth something, it seems.  So, apparently, is reputation.
Thoughts or comments?
1. Mack Brown, Texas                     $5,100,000
2. Pete Carroll, USC                        $4,400,000
3. Urban Meyer, Florid                     $4,000,000
4. Nick Saban, Alabama                   $3,900,000
5. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma                $3,800,000
6. Les Miles, LSU                            $3,800,000
7. Jim Tressel, Ohio State                 $3,500,000
8. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa                       $3,030,000
9. Bobby Petrino, Arkansas              $2,900,000
10. Mark Richt, Georgia                   $2,900,000
11. Rich Rodriguez, Michigan           $2,900,000
T12. Bobby Bowden, FSU(Retired) $2,500,000
T12. Gary Pinkel, Missouri              $2,500,000
T12. Houston Nutt, Ole Miss            $2,500,000
T16. Mark Mangino, Kansas            $2,300,000
T16. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech      $2,300,000
18. Greg Schiano, Rutgers                 $2,250,000
T19. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech   $2,100,000
T19. Butch Davis, North Carolina    $2,100,000
T21. June Jones, SMU                    $2,000,000
T21. Lane Kiffin, Tennessee            $2,000,000
T21. Gene Chizik, Auburn               $2,000,000
24. Al Groh, Virginia                        $1,875,000
25. Bo Pelini, Nebraska                   $1,851,000
T26. Jeff Tedford, California            $1,850,000
T26. Steve Sarkisian, Washington    $1,850,000
T28. Mike Sherman, Texas A&M   $1,800,000
T28. Art Briles, Baylor                     $1,800,000
T28. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina  $1,800,000
T28. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State$1,800,000
T32. Ralph Friedgen, Maryland        $1,750,000
T32. Mike Leach, Texas Tech          $1,750,000
T34. Chip Kelly, Oregon                  $1,500,000
T34. Joe Paterno, Penn State           $1,500,000
T34. Randy Edsall, Connecticut        $1,500,000
T34. David Cutcliffe, Duke               $1,500,000
T34. Randy Shannon, Miami            $1,500,000
T34. Jim Leavitt, USF                      $1,500,000
40. Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville       $1,450,000
41. Bret Bielema, Wisconsin             $1,400,000
42. Ron Zook, Illinois                       $1,350,000
T43. Dave Wannstedt, Pitt               $1,300,000
T43. Gary Patterson, TCU               $1,300,000
T45. Danny Hope, Purdue                $1,250,000
T45. Rick Neuheisel, UCLA             $1,250,000
T45. Pat Hill, Fresno State                $1,250,000
T45. Rich Brooks, Kentucky            $ 1,250,000
T49. Brian Kelly, Cincinnati               $1,200,000
T49. Jim Grobe, Wake Forest          $1,200,000
T49. Dan Mullen, Mississippi State   $1,200,000
52. Skip Holtz, East Carolina            $1,160,000
T53. George O'Leary, UCF             $1,150,000
T53. Paul Rhoads, Iowa State          $1,150,000
T55. Dennis Erickson, Arizona State $1,100,000
T55. Todd Graham, Tulsa                 $1,100,000
T55. Tom O'Brien, N.C. State          $1,100,000
T55. Greg McMackin, Hawaii           $1,100,000
T55. Dan Hawkins, Colorado            $1,100,000
T55. Mike Riley, Oregon State          $1,100,000
T55. Bill Snyder, Kansas State          $1,100,000
T55. Doug Marrone, Syracuse          $1,100,000
T55. Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt       $1,100,000
64. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State     $1,050,000
65. Mike Stoops, Arizona                 $1,025,000
T66. Frank Spaziani, Boston College $1,000,000
T66. Dabo Swinney, Clemson            $1,000,000
T66. Tim Brewster, Minnesota           $1,000,000
T66. Jim Harbaugh, Stanford              $1,000,000
70. Tommy West, Memphis                 $950,000
71. Chris Petersen, Boise State            $900,000
T72. Bill Stewart, West Virginia           $800,000
T72. Larry Fedora, Southern Miss        $800,000
T72. Steve Fairchild, Colorado St         $800,000
T72. Brady Hoke, San Diego State       $800,000
T76. Dave Christensen, Wyoming         $750,000
T76. Ken Niumatalolo, Navy                $750,000
T76. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern         $750,000
T76. Mike Locksley, New Mexico        $750,000
T80. Kevin Sumlin, Houston                  $700,000
T80. Kyle Whittingham, Utah                $700,000
T82. Bronco Mendenhall, BYU            $650,000
T82. Stan Brock, Army                        $650,000
T82. Bill Lynch, Indiana                        $650,000
T85. Paul Wulff, Washington State       $600,000
T85. Bob Toledo, Tulane                     $600,000
T85. Troy Calhoun, Air Force              $600,000
88. Al Golden, Temple                         $575,000
89. Mark Snyder, Marshall                   $500,000
90. Mike Price, UTEP                          $475,000
91. Dick Tomey, San Jose State           $460,000
T92. Mike Sanford, UNLV                  $450,000
T92. Tim Beckman, Toledo                  $450,000
T94. David Bailiff, Rice                        $400,000
T94. Frank Solich, Ohio                       $400,000
T94. Derek Dooley, La. Tech              $400,000
T94. Gary Andersen, Utah State          $400,000
T94. DeWayne Walker, NM State       $400,000
99. Mario Cristobal, FIU                     $390,000
T100. Chris Ault, Nevada                    $375,000
T100. Howard Schnellenberger            $375,000

Coach Newton, Football Physics 101

Newton's third law of motion states "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." 

Well that ain't the half of it.

The action begins with Jim Zorn screwing up as the main guy with the Seattle Seahawks.  Zorn gets canned, creating an opening.  Pete Carroll, the face of USC football, the coach who always covered, he apparently needs to get out of Los Angeles, as there seems to be this little matter of rules violations and impending sanctions.  So Petey dumps all his dirty laundry and will use the big bag to hold all the money that the Seahawks are going to throw his way. LA Pete heads up the coast to fill the void.

Action. Reaction.

USC becomes the epicenter of empty, but not for long.  For five years, from 2001 to 2006, Lane Kiffin was a receivers coach and O-coordinator at USC.  He left USC to coach in Oakland, to where the Raiders had retreated 14 years ago after spending 12 years in Los Angeles; that after spending the first 22 years of their existence in Oakland. 

Action. Reaction.

Kiffin's record as head pirate up in Oakland was 5-15, yar.  Action.

The Raiders threw him overboard, yar.  Reaction.

The University of Tennessee threw open its arms, and welcomed Kiffin in 2009 to direct the Volunteers forever or until a more attractive domicile of higher learning gave him a come hither look, whichever came first. Kiffin's Vols were 7-5, with a few arrests for robbing a gas station.  Perfect...for USC.  The opening demanded some filler, and Lane Kiffin is nothing if not filler.  He packs his bags and leaves an IOU on the nightstand as the strains of Rocky Top die and heads back west to USC.

As an aside, Kiffin is bringing the gang with him.  His dad, Monte Kiffin, is his D-coordinator.  His recruiting coordinator, Ed Orgeron, is coming with him, too.  Ed Orgeron, another former USC assistant, was the coach, you may recall, at Ole Miss during the season Bruce Feldman followed the program and crafted the terrific book "Meat Market, the Smashmouth World of College Football Recruting" that explained what it was like in the University of Mississippi football world (and it ain't pretty).  Orgeron got canned not long after the book was published, just in time for Mississippi to enlist the services of one Houston Nutt, who coincidentally had resigned his head coaching spot at Arkansas.

Action.  Reaction.

A few weeks ago, when the USB got tired of Charlie and launched him, Brian Kelly packed up his bags and went to SoBe, prompting Central Michigan coach Butch Jones to head for Cincinatti and an assistant at Spartyland to slide over into Butch's empty bunk.  When Mike Leach ran off the edge, Tommy Tuberville and Texas Tech (henceforth "T4") found each other. 

Action, reaction.

Isaac Newton, the Nostradamus of big time football.

Withdrawal Symptoms

Friday evening I began to experience the symptoms.  Anxiety.  Nervousness.  Restlessness. 

The symptoms of withdrawal.  Bowl Season has ended.  Sure, there was the Valero Cactus Bowl Division II All Star Game on TV (no, I didn't make that up), but the game wasn't much and the announcers were bad.  The sad reality is that the season is over. 

It was a great year. 

Four Star Football was born this year.  Its genesis was the product of the fertile mind of Two Gun Pete, my long time wagering partner.  For seven years we have wagered, opportunistically and successfully, but with little structure, on various sporting events, mostly NASCAR and NCAA football.  Over that time span, we've evolved, working on everything else less-and-less while working college football more-and-more.  Last season, we handicapped exactly 100 regular season games and all the bowl games.  We bet a lot, but not all, of the regular season 100. We kept track to be able to evaluate the effort.  Too many games, too shallow a pool of knowledge.  We bet on all but one of last season's bowl games and performed adequately.  The one game we missed, we simply overlooked. 

When it was all over, Two Gun came up with this four star idea. 

The concept worked out great.  Limiting the game evaluations to four each week provides a very manageable workload without being too confining.  Some weeks there were more than four opportunites and we had to pare the field.  A number of the games that were omitted during those weeks turned out better than the ones that we played. 

If you were wagering along with us, you made some money, +22 for the regular season.  Before we spit the bit over the last few weeks of the regular season , we were as high as +32.  Staying within the system also gave us the opportunity to evaluate our strengths and weaknesses.  We probably should have done a little more evaluating when we sat at +32.

During Bowl Season, we did well, finishing at 23 up and 11 down.  Once again, if you were playing along, you made money. 

The money aspect merits a bit of explanation. Our wagers are modest, very modest.  If you are, in fact, playing along, I suggest very strongly that your participation be likewise.  The  money is, in Two Gun's words, "something to cheer for".  Without some skin in the game, how much could you care?  College football is great entertainment, but with how many teams can you create an intimate association, the commitment that's needed to spend three hours in front of a TV set, or even to spend the few minutes it takes to look up a score?  Throw a few bucks on one proposition or another and you have a raison d'etre. 

La Cubanita posed the question straight up:  what are we supposed to do now?  Relax, amiga.  The show goes on:  Pete Carroll's situation, recruiting, Texas Tech/Tommy Tuberville...there's a lot going on.  It all figures into the equation when the end of August rolls around again. 

See you Friday.

IFS, ANDS & Scoreboard Archive

A favorite old saw of mine is 'if...if my aunt had whiskers, she'd be my uncle'. Such is the legitimacy of speculating 'if'.

Last night, Colt McCoy left early with an injury. While the Texas defense battled valiantly, the loss of the star QB thoroughly changed the flow of the game, too much to overcome.

Alabama is the champion.

For the record, I : with 6 minutes left, we were golden.  It was Alabama 24, Texas 21.  We had Texas +3 1/2 and under 45 1/2.

For the record, II : football games are not 54 minutes long.

For the record, III: TwoGun called me @ 54 minutes. Just like years back at Daytona 500, I knew at the instant that we were screwed.  You can't taunt the game gods.

For the record, IV: at the race in question, I was present in Daytona when TwoGun called with 20 miles left of 500.  Our wager, the leader, Tony Stewart, suffered a flat tire moments after the call. You cannot taunt the game gods.

For the record, V: I am not superstitious. Just don't taunt the game gods.  Alright, maybe I am.
_______________________
-BOWL SCORECARD-
Won 23, Lost 11
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(W) New Mexico
(L) St. Petersburg
(W) New Orleans
(L) Las Vegas
(W) Poinsettia
(W) Hawaii
(L) Little Caesar's
(W )Meineke
(L) Emerald
(L) Music City
(L) Independence
(W) Eagle Bank
(W) Champs Sports
(W) PacLifeHoliday
(L)Humanitarian
(L) Armed Forces
(W) Brut Sun
(L) Texas Bowl
(W) Insight
(W) Chick-fil-A
(W) Outback
(L) Capital One
(W) Sugar Bowl
(W) Gator Bowl
(W) The Rose Bowl
(W)Liberty
(W)Cotton
(W)Papajohns
(W)International
(W) Alamo
(W) Fiesta
(W) Orange
(W) GMAC
(L) Championship
_________________________________

Regular season results
Wk **** *** ** * Net
1  -4   -3  +2 -1  -6
2  +4   +3  -2 -1  +4
3  +4   +3  +2 +0  +9
4  -4   +3  -2 +0  -3
5  +4   +3  +2 -1  +8
6  +4   +3  +2 -1  +8
7  +4 -3 +2 +1 +4
8  -4 +3 -2 +1 -2
9  +4 +3 -2 -1 +4
10 -4 +3 -2 -1 -4
11 +4 +3 +2 +1 +10
12 -4 -3 -2 +1 -8
13 +4 -3 -2 -1 -2
14 -4 +0 +2 +1 -1
15 +0 +0 +0 +1 +1

Net +8 +15 +0 -1 +22
____________________________

Alabama v Texas for the Championship, While Illinois Lowers Its Standards a Little More

BCS Championship, Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, 7:35 p.m. ABC-TV
Texas +4 vs Alabama 
Under 45 1/2

Tonight in Pasadena they will decide who wears the crown. Alabama and Texas, each with a record of 13 victories and no defeats, will square off in the BCS championship game.   In their last games of the season, Alabama spanked Florida, while Texas needed help from the timekeeper to book a win and a trip to the big game. 

Back in August I picked Texas (click) to win the national title, though I expected that they would be facing Florida. We'll find out tonight!

Last night in Mobile:

Dan Lefevour led his Central Michigan team to a touchdown in the last two minutes of his hugely successful college career to take the lead 34-31 over Troy.  Troy got the ball back with 1:17 to go and quickly moved downfield and kicked a tying field goal. The game moved to OT, and we already had the O/U 63 winner. Central Michigan prevailed 44-41 in double OT.  That gives us a push on the point spread to go with the "W" on the O/U.  

Our overall record for Bowl Season goes to 23-10. 

_____________________________
Numerous sites, including the Chicago Sun-Times, are reporting that Trulon Henry has given his verbal commitment to Ron Zook to play football at the University of Illinois next fall.  Ron Zook and Illinois football have lowered the bar once again.

Trulon Henry is:

• Arrelious Benn's older brother. (Benn is departing Champaign for the NFL draft after displaying potential for three years)
• A defensive back who is currently apparently at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, IL.
• Currently 25 years old
• A convicted felon who spent 5 years in prison for robbing a grocery store.  Felony armed robbery is what that's called.

So, mothers and fathers of all those eager-eyed, fresh-scrubbed 17 and 18 year old high school senior football players, the kids who worked their asses off and kept their noses clean to earn the chance to play big time football, get in line to have your kid sign up to play for the state's premier university, on the team with a 25 year old convicted felon.

University of Illinois football.  Lowering the bar every chance they get.

Maybe Robert Hutchins was right.

#33, the GMAC Bowl

Tonight is the penultimate (click to elucidate) contest of the season, the GMAC Bowl, coming to you from Mobile, Alabama. 

The game is at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, to be exact.  I believe that the stadium was named after either Cheryl Ladd, former Charlie's Angel and cover girl (p.s. "cover girl" is what "super models" were formerly called.  Equally vapid, different name.)

Or it may be named for Ernie Ladd, ex-KC Chiefs lineman and pro wrestler.  Physically, he was a giant of a man, particularly for the times in which he competed.

As for Peebles...I got nothin'.

Central Michigan v Troy +3   O/U 61
My job is very easy today. Two Gun has chosen Troy +3. So that's that.

Troy, the University and the Alabama city, is 170 or so miles from Mobile. Central Michigan University is in Mt. Pleasant, an 800+ mile jaunt. Home advantage: Troy.

I think this is an OVER play, but I wouldn't parley it to Troy, sorry, Petey.

_______________________________

About last night:

What a terrific, smart performance from the Iowa Hawkeyes!  I'm talking on both sides of the ball; simply exhiliarating to watch.  Exhiliarating, that is, assuming that you had chosen Iowa, as did we. 

We go to 22-10 in Bowl Season.  If you want to get some big ha-ha's from the Iowa fans' happy response to last night, take a peek at (click) Black Heart, Gold Pants. 

OK, I looked it up, and Ladd-Peebles Stadium IS named after Ernie Ladd, but not the same one.  The stadium Ladd was a local banker/civic force from many years ago (he's been muerte since 1941, the year 1941, not the movie 1941) and Peebles was a civic force not-so-many years ago.

After tonight, one more game to go. I picked Texas back in August.  They will have their hands full tomorrow.

Bowl Game #32 : The Orange Bowl

Iowa v Georgia Tech -5 1/2  O/U 50 1/2
The Orange Bowl is played in Land Shark Stadium. 
Land Shark Stadium used to be Joe Robbie Stadium.
The Orange Bowl Stadium, the original, was demolished in 2008.

As for the game:

• GT is ranked #9, Iowa is ranked #10
• Iowa arrives sporting a 10-2 season record, Georgia Tech is one louder at 11-2
• GT has the #11 nationally ranked offense, Iowa has the #11 nationally ranked defense
• each team's coach was his conference's coach of the year

 My pick is Iowa with the points.
_________________________________

Yesterday: I'm surprised that Boise State won.  I'm not surprised that the game went UNDER, and WE won.  That puts us at 21-10 for Bowl Season.

The Final Week.

Tonight, Boise State vs TCU Mean Looking Guys. 
Tomorrow it's Iowa vs Georgia Tech. 
Wednesday, Troy vs. Central Michigan.
Thursday night, Texas vs Alabama.
Then it's over for 7 1/2 months.
Withdrawal symptoms start Friday.

as previously posted
Boise State (13-0) vs TCU (12-0) -7 O/U 55

The Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, that's by Phoenix, and I think I played golf there once and had a great time   Monday 7:00 p.m.
This is going to be a fabulous football game. TCU hit our radar waaay back at the beginning of the season with the promise of great things to come, and they have delivered. Boise State has been a favorite for a few years now, and while their blue turf has become tiresome, their performances have remained outstanding. I'm going TCU, but I think 7 points is stretching it. I think this game will be an UNDER play.
---------------------------------------------------

I took the family to the Tampa beach for the week, culminating with our attending the Outback Bowl.  Some observations, in no particular order:

• Raymond James Stadium is superior to anything Chicago currently has, has previously had, and will likely every have.  Superior in every respect.
• While standing in the rain waiting for the gates to open, we met a very nice young couple from Auburn. 
• While watching the US Marine Corps band (before getting in line in the rain to wait for the gates to open) we met two incredibly nasty, granny-aged bitches from Auburn. The war ended in 1865, hags.
• Northwestern travels verrrry well, and the student section was loud and strong in its support right to the end.
• One drawback at Raymond James: the floors on the concourse have a sealer on them that makes them dangerously slick when they're wet. 
• It rained a lot, before and during the game.
• Mrs. PFOS got knocked down by another woman on the concourse who was in the process of falling on the slick floors.
• The halftime show performance with all the high school bands was pretty good.
• The pregame flyover was canceled.  We assume it was because of the weather.
• There were a lot of empty seats at the game. 
• Concession prices were pretty obscene.

We were amazed at the number of Confederate flags that we saw flying as we traveled.

Oooo...Holiday Inn Express. Somewhere

We drove.

To Tampa, that is (did I tell you, we were in Tampa?).

 If you drive there, you gotta drive home. We left there on Saturday morning and drove as far toward home as we could last night, so this morning I am unable to sleep, cocooned in a Holiday Inn Express somewhere in Indiana, or maybe Kentucky, I'm not sure, but I know it's one of those states where gas costs a lot less than Illinois.

HA-HA-HA...that's EVERY state!

Turns out that I am in Seymour, Indiana.  Before you snicker, be advised that Seymour, Indiana is the home of Katie Stam, Miss America.  She wasn't around when we arrived last night, so we are leaving early this morning.

So, how the hell do you survive in this Arctic tundra? I've been unhappy with cloudy and 70 this past week.

You gotta add up a whole week's temperatures to hit 70 up here.

Speaking of hitting stuff: how does 5 out of 5 yesterday work for you? What a day!

That's all...I'm going to try to get some zzzzzz's. Damn cold up here...

Had Enough Yet?

Today, I am on the road, returning from Tampa and the Outback Bowl.  I would like to be able to stay there,Tampa, that is, so if anybody knows who needs me and Mrs. PFOS and will make it worthwhile, we are available immediately. You are all invited to visit frequently when we are HQ'd there.  Until then, we're on our way back to the tundra.

Yesterday:

• We were present at Raymond James with a vocal Northwestern crowd watching as victory slid from NU's grasp. They covered, we win.
• Bobby Bowden bowed out with a win, TwoGun was right, but we but under, and we win.
• PSU had LSU under its boot early but couldn't hold them back.  PSU wins by 2, we had to give 2 1/2, so that's a loss.

Northern Illinois vs South Florida -7 O/U 49 1/2
The International Bowl in Toronto
Saturday 11:00 a.m
TwoGun's lock of the bowl season: U.S.F.  Did you know that U.S.F. is in Tampa?  Where we were?  Maybe they need an instructor? And a fast smart white receiver?  And Mrs. PFOS to show them how to do....  I'm working on this...let me get back to you.

Connecticut +4 1/2 vs South Carolina O/U 51 1/2
Papajohns.com in Birmingham, Alabama
Saturday 1:00 p.m.
Here's a surprise: I like CT in an upset.  They finished strong and beat some big names to finish the year.

Mississippi -3 vs Oklahoma State O/U 50 1/2
The Cotton Bowl in Cowboys Stadium
Saturday 1:00 p.m.
Ole Miss and OVER.  This one should be really fun to watch.  I'm going with Mississippia based on strength of schedule.  BTW, both teams finished their season with a L-W-W-W-L sequence, so the "how are they playing" question comes up even. This game is in Cowboys Stadium, the football palace of the world, giving The Cotton Bowl a big step in its bid to return to top tier prominence in the world of bowl games.

Arkansas vs East Carolina +7 1/2 O/U 63 1/2
The Liberty Bowl in Memphis
Saturday 4:30 p.m.
Take the Pirates and the points. East Carolina always seems to be notorious late in the year.  They've played a tough schedule and fared very well.

Michigan State vs Texas Tech -8 O/U 60 1/2
The Alamo Bowl in The Alamodome in San Antonio in Texas
Saturday 8:00 p.m.
This is the Negative Motivation Bowl.  MSU kicked off 10 players for criminal activity a few weeks back. Texas Tech canned its coach a couple of days ago for treating a kid like a prisoner of war.  If we could pick "send 'em home and forget about the game" that might be the best choice.  That said, the TT interim coach will get to be the victor in a bowl game in his first assignment.  Take Tech, lay the points, and give the Alamo Bowl committee the award for Clinker of the Year.

Boise State (13-0)  vs TCU (12-0)   -7 O/U 55
The Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, that's by Phoenix, and I think I played golf there once and had a great time
Monday 7:00 p.m.
This is going to be a fabulous football game.  TCU hit our radar waaay back at the beginning of the season with the promise of great things to come, and they have delivered.  Boise State has been a favorite for a few years now, and while their blue turf has become tiresome, their performances have remained outstanding.  I'm going TCU, but I think 7 points is stretching it. I think this game will be an UNDER play.

Happy NU Year

Happy NU Year from

Purple & Mrs. Flag On Saturday

Yesterday:

 The Air Force (402 yards rushing) ran over Houston, L.

Stanford & Oklahoma surpassed the OVER with 12 minutes to spare, W.

Missouri sucked, and Navy let the clock run out when a score would have given us a W.

Iowa State beat Minnesota straight up, a W. 

VA Tech whomped TN and that is a W.