WHY COLLEGE FOOTBALL?
In its twelfth year, The Crimson Pigskin e-Letter (CPEL) is privileged to bring readers unique perspectives on a great game, NCAA football. Whether taking the readers to the games in stories as varied as the 119 Division I programs participating in the sport or expounding on the legends and lore of the storied teams America loves, CPEL mixes the celebration of life, that is athletics, and the humor that tying us all together to bring something new and thought provoking to each recipient's e-mail box.
For more than a century, in most states, donning a sweatshirt and cheering on a favorite team, against the backdrop of nature's fall colors, has been a rite of the season for fans. That season is now. What are you waiting for? Find a local game or pick a team and follow them all season. Watch the games with close friends and family. Memories can't help but be born over some good grilling and friendly ribbing (no pun intended).
Observe the players at each position on the field gaining experience and becoming part of a team, going all out not for their own glory but for the young men on each side of him. These are the kinds of things taught to players not so many years ago by a clever coach named Lou Holtz. If anyone knows about families brought together by college football, it is he.
What does this have to do with a football newsletter on the internet? In Holtz' autobiography, Wins, Losses and Lessons, the old ball coach relates a story describing an example of how college football fanaticism can in fact become a meaningful part of one's life for the better. The account begins with Holtz telling about his high school football coach back in East Liverpool, Ohio, Wade Watts.
As a first-time football player at nine years of age, Holtz describes himself as "an eighty-pound wonder who made up for his lack of size by being slow and weak". He played many games in high school but it was his thirst for learning the game inside and out that sparked the interest of Watts. "Imagine my surprise when Coach told my parents, 'I think Lou should go to college and someday become a coach',…My parents decided Coach Watts was right: I should go to college. I said, No. They said, Yes. So we compromised like we always compromised in our home. I went to college."
Years later, Watts had retired to California and Holtz received a call from Mrs. Watts. "Coach Watts isn't doing well and it would sure boost his spirits if you would call him,…I invited him to the Notre Dame-Southern Cal game in Anaheim. I put him in my wife's seat, and we won the game 38-37." The next year Watts stood on the Notre Dame sideline with Holtz and the team.
After eleven years of this ND-USC tradition, Coach Watts passed away, "two months after I retired from Notre Dame". Mrs. Watts called again to say "the Notre Dame-Southern Cal game kept him alive longer than anyone expected. 'He lived for that weekend.'" Why college football? Family, Future, Tradition & Love.
TULSA @ OKLAHOMA
The Golden Hurricane scored 44 points on the road in Albuquerque, New Mexico last Saturday night and only allowed the Lobos 10. What this means is TU is now undefeated at 2-0 while UNM is a winless 0-2. Is this any indication of what will transpire when the team loads up on a bus Friday and rides to Norman, Oklahoma to play the 1-1 Sooners? Probably not.
What TU has going for it is a solid offense which can put up astronomical numbers in a hurry. The defense however, is relatively untested and a more hostile environment would be difficult to imagine than Owen Field. The Hurricane will need to evolve into The Perfect Storm before Saturday if Todd Graham plans on defeating the state's top dawg on the football food chain.
Last week found Oklahoma swim-finning past Idaho State High School's Bengals 64-0. CPEL predicted a score of 70-0. Shucks. What does anyone know about the Sooners? The offense has some stars but the brightest one with the Heisman hardware is watching the proceedings in street clothes.
Quarterback Landry Jones did a respectable job last outing but against a lackluster defensive unit at best. Oklahoma still struggled to score inside the red zone. Despite the intermittent revolving gaping hole that appears in the Oklahoma defense, they appear to be able to stop opponents if they have to and with 80,000 onlookers in attendance (silent bystanders of course) they should be able to put the brakes on Tulsa's offense sufficiently to pull this one out. Oklahoma 38, Tulsa 27.
ARKANSAS
The 2009 Hogs resemble a decent football team. They were idle last weekend and will need to rise above decentness Saturday when the Georgia Bulldogs roll into The Natural State. Oklahoma State defeated Georgia in the season opener so the Dawgs are not invincible but always have enough athletes to make a contest interesting.
In regard to the Southeastern Conference standings, a Razorback loss would only cost them a half-game because Arkansas is in the western division while UGA hails from the eastern division. All that to say Arkansas could still play for a conference championship at the end of the year as long as all the teams from the west lose at least one game as well. Arkansas' rebuilding hits warp speed with a win over Georgia. Hogs 28, Dawgs 20.
TENNESSEE
The Volunteers lost a 19-15 heartbreaker in Knoxville, Tennessee Saturday to Coach Rick Neuheisel's UCLA Bruins. A five-point UT fourth quarter wasn't enough to overcome the 9-point deficit left over from the third stanza and an undefeated season slipped out of the Vols' grasp again.
Next up is the defending national champion, Florida. Making this early-season assignment tougher is playing on the road in Gainesville, Florida. CPEL has stated year-in and year-out the later in the season this game is played, the better chance Tennessee has to win it. Third game of the year, on the road, after a crushing non-conference loss. Nope. Splash! Chomp! Gators 40, Vols 18.
OKLAHOMA STATE
The Oklahoma State Cowboys were Houston Cougarized while attempting to round up Pistol Pete's Posse. "It was like watching the Bad News Bears take the field," reported one game attendee. As right as Poke fortunes had gone the week before, the tables turned to an equal amount for the worse as UH won in Stillwater, Oklahoma 45-35. Good thing it was a non-conference meeting.
This week, an angry posse will round up the Rice Owls and stifle their wisdom to the tune of 52-21.
THE PERCENTAGES
Thanks to Tennessee and Oklahoma State going against last weeks predictions opening week's 3-2 record has now blossomed into a 5-4 tally. That's 55% for all those college football statisticians out there. Onward and upward.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
Carlos
THE CRIMSON PIGSKIN e-LETTER
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