The Crimson Pigskin e-Letter: Vol 12, Issue 1

THE CRIMSON PIGSKIN e-LETTER

AND NOW,…

Arriving in your e-mail box from parts unknown,…Celebrating life, cooler weather and the families college football brings together every fall,…THE CRIMSON PIGSKIN e-LETTER rides again! With the clock quickly winding down to kick-off it's time to get this show on the road. Enjoy!

COMPANIMALS

The Sports Animal was broadcasting from Buffalo Wild Wings on Northwest Expressway in Oklahoma City Saturday morning. The theme of the event was to raise funds for the Dan Lutz Rehabilitation Fund. Lutz, a former broadcaster on "The Animal", as the station is called in its own advertisements, passed away in 2002. According to the organization's website, its mission is "to enhance the lives of people with disabilities. The primary focus is to help people with disabilities gain their independence.

Reportedly, Lutz, who was dependent on a wheel chair, "learned to drive Oklahoma Center for Rehabilitative Driving Services." Since Lutz's passing the center bears his name and continues to train people with disabilities to drive and become more independent. Between callers asking when OU will go back to the wishbone offense and spats between local athletes and sports radio personalities bickering over which city is the best, it's heartwarming to hear about the compassion of the "Sports Animals".

HAIR RAISING EXPERIENCE

In a FoxNews.com report with the shelf-life of an MRE, Blair Blacker reportedly flew combat helicopters during the Vietnam War. Now, years later, after achieving the rank of Colonel and retiring from the U.S. Army, Blacker is in the hair business,…literally. Hair is his business and business is good!

Where does Blacker get the hair? China and India are major exporters of human hair. Blacker says, "It's not processed or dyed like a lot of hair we have here," What uses does the hair serve? Most of the hair is used to repel insects from crops. Consumers may be able to purchase SmartGrow garden mats in local retailers.

The report also says the hair can be used to construct items "such as false eyelashes and wigs, to the more obscure: it's a common raw-material source for l-cysteine, an amino acid frequently used in baked goods such as pizza dough and bagels." Yummy! Eating that morning bagel or a visit to a favorite pizzeria could be a hairy deal. Bon appetite!

LABOR DAY

Monday is Labor Day. Don't wear white after that. This has been a public service announcement of The Crimson Pigskin e-Letter. CPEL,…something for everyone in a fashion conscious climate.

TULSA

The Golden Hurricane kicks off a day ahead of the other four CPEL teams. Friday night September 4, at 7pm CDT, the season begins for TU at another TU,…Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game against the Green Wave will be televised on ESPN. Each team possesses one of only a handful of team names which does not end in the letter 's'. Who are the others?

Tulsa coach Todd Graham has a new contract and one of three players will be the new quarterback, leading the Hurricane offense. A bumpy start could be in store but stable coaching will get the team back on track before they lose a game in the inhospitable confines of the Louisiana Superdome. Tulsa pulls out the win 38-27, before two more consecutive road games at New Mexico and Oklahoma. Maybe they can soak up that extra day of rest on Saturday. They're gonna need it.

There's no trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas this season to trip up the boys in blue. Overall, the season looks to be another good one on 11th Street. CPEL is predicting a 9-4 finish with a nice pre-New Year's bowl game. Good luck Hurricane!

ARKANSAS

Bobby Petrino's (Sounds like a great pro golfer's name. The PGA's ready when you are Bobby!) Razorbacks should be improved this season but again, the Southeastern Conference schedule can be like climbing a mountain with an anvil in each pocket. Quarterback Ryan Mallett is guaranteed to hammer the competition this season and his coach thinks the offense can be much improved over last season's.

Saturday evening at 6pm CDT, the sacrificial lambs from Missouri State arrive at Razorback Stadium to pick up the first mark in the loss column. The Hog defense may be suspect at this stage of the season but may be much better near the end in a repeat of last year's effort. Arkansas wins easily and gives the home crowd something to cheer about before a week off and a visit from Georgia on September 19 for a reality check supreme. Welcome to the SEC.

A season projection of CPEL is for a 9-4 record with a nice trip to the Cotton or Independence Bowl. Tough to pick against U of A opponents Georgia, Alabama at Tuscaloosa, defending national champ Florida in Gainesville and LSU in revenge, at Baton Rouge. One highlight will be a game against old Southwestern Conference rival Texas A&M in Dallas Cowboy Stadium on October 3.

TENNESSEE

Before he was unceremoniously run out of town on a rail, there was a young coach named Terry Bowden who led Auburn to a perfect regular season record unexpectedly. Can Lane Kiffin reproduce that kind of success at UT? The revival begins at Neyland Cathedral in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday afternoon at 11:21am CDT. The faithful tangerine nation would like this season to be as unique as the kick-off time and full of victories as in times past.

The echoes of past victories will be heard Saturday when Western Kentucky visits for another David v. Goliath sort of affair. Rocky Top will be all over the Hilltoppers like a blood hound on the hunt. Rrrrrrruffff!

Bouncing back in the aforementioned SEC is at best a relative term. The Volunteers understand relativity and rationalization and ibuprofen on too many game days, in recent memory. The proverbial crystal ball reveals a 9-4 season at best, with a finale in the Outback Bowl where they can vent frustrations on some middle wrung team from the Big 10 (Big 11 for most people).

OKLAHOMA STATE

It's been billed, by some OSU fans, as the "Apokealypse". The 9th ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys host the 13th ranked Georgia Bulldogs Saturday, September 5 at 2:30pm CDT. The Tulsa World has reported Oklahoma State has sold more season tickets this year than ever totaling over 44,000 seats. This is shaping up to be a great early season intersectional contest. The Cowboys are the up-and-comers in the Big 12 and the Dawgs return to face the music (probably Country music) for upending OSU's early season hopes in Athens, Georgia last year at this time.

This game is evenly matched on the field. Coaching gives Georgia a slight edge over Mike Gundy and the reshuffled deck of coaches on the OSU sideline this year. Attitude will be everything Saturday when the cameras are broadcasting this outstanding specimen of college football at its best. Maybe Pistol Pete will even shave for this one. After decades of observation, he ALWAYS has a five o'clock shadow. ALWAYS! Whiskers aside, Georgia will outlast the home team in a close game 31-24.

Good thing Georgia's not a conference game. The season won't end on Saturday and there are 11 games left of which OSU has a chance to win each one. When the dust clears on this one, a 9-4 record seems feasible until Gundy finds out a way to become dislodged from behind Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech.
OKLAHOMA

SoonerSports.com lists some memorable season openers this week and the commencement of this year's national championship campaign may get more attention than any of them. The Sooners opens the season versus Brigham Young University at Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Irving, Texas on Saturday evening at 6pm CDT. In the first outing since a loss to Florida in the national championship game OU's opponent is ranked a considerable distance below the lofty 3rd place ranking Oklahoma is currently perched on.

Led by last season's Heisman Trophy winner, Sam Bradford, the OU offensive unit will be put to the test each week in the treacherous Big 12 Conference's Southern Division. Oklahoma plans to start a converted tight end at center to stabilize an offensive line which was decimated by graduation and the NFL draft. Whether Bradford can remain durable enough to take each team's best shot will be the key to the success of the Sooner offense and the only hope for repeating the gaudy numbers it put up last year.

BYU shouldn't provide more than a strenuous workout for Oklahoma even at a neutral site. Fans won't know much about the Sooners offensive line until a game at Miami of Florida on October 3. The good news is the OU defense should be better than it was last year. That defensive is good enough to take a couple of big games on their shoulders and win them. A 13-1 finish is within the realm of possibility with a rematch against Florida in a second consecutive title game.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

Carlos

P.S. For a little more good reading, check out the CPEL Express notes online at:
www.crimsonpigskin.com

THE CRIMSON PIGSKIN e-LETTER

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