Howling @ the Halloween Moon with Home Dogs

Sticking to the basic blue print for Halloween upsets and there is nothing better than going with the home dogs. Literally we went with the dogs, the North Carolina State Wolfpack on Thursday and last night the UConn Huskies. Moving into Saturday it gets a bit eerie as we have to take non-canine home dogs with the USC Trojans plus the 7.5 points in Los Angeles on natural grass against the canine toothed Ducks from Oregon who have more than sufficient bite. The other half of the home dogs Saturday duo is the Air Force Academy to dash out the BCS hopes and undefeated season for the #8 ranked Utah Utes.

The home teams that will be ready for ambush are the Oregon State Beavers -2.5 against California and the high powered Cornhuskers from Nebrasksa to completely wipe the artificial turf floor with #7 Missouri.

Huskies Howl and Halloween Moon

The weekend before Halloween funny things happen. Last year the Oregon Ducks put the official dethroning of USC dominance over the Pac-10 on official hiatus as the Ducks assumed not only Pacific Coast gridiron dominance over all teams not named Ohio State but has assaulted the record books this year making a statement that the football national championship will go through Eugene this year. This Halloween as I look down on my faithful Akita/Chow mix, Goober I am all over the dogs. Not only the underdogs as in North Carolina State Wolfpack but tonight the home underdog University of Connecticut Huskies as they host West Virginia getting a hefty 7.5 points.

The rushing attack of UConn led by Jordan Todman and a veteran offensive line plus the preachings of head coach Randy Edsall who is building a winner in East Hartford focused on the running attack. Despite being a lean year for the Huskies so far with a 3-4 record and high hopes of winning the Big East low lighted by last weeks shut out loss against lowly Louisville the Huskies return to the friendly confines of their home field on a Friday night before Halloween against an average West Virginia team fresh off a home loss to Syracuse.

The only highlight of either team is the Mountaineer defense which is 4th best in the country and keeps their team in games. Keeping the Mountaineers in games on the road this year has kept games close in a loss to SEC powerhouse LSU along with middle of the pack MAC squad Marshall. Now it's time to go on the road again for the Mountaineers. So far this year the Mountaineers have proven they don't play very well on the road while UConn has been undefeated at home in 2010. With such great proven results there is no reason to believe the Huskies will not only win the game at home but should cover the touchdown spread in an important conference game in a wide open Big East. With a win this week the Huskies get in the win column in the Big East. A loss all but ends the season. A win tonight and the Huskies are back playing .500 ball in pursuit of another winning season and bowl game. Too much on the line for the Huskies tonight. Too much good karma: home field, Friday night lights, plus the home team is getting points on Halloween. These Huskies will be jacked to prove their worth while the Mountaineers are on the road which has not been favorable for the boys from Morgantown this year certainly not looking like a dominant team on the road which is necessary to cover a touchdown spread.

Running the Pack

Every now and than the Hacksaw has to take the wife out to buy cosmetics, hair and all sorts of women crap. So I missed getting my posting here but I figure if there is a place that will trust a pick it's when the pick is not covering the spread.

Tom O'Brein left a cushy job at Boston College to run the show in Raleigh, North Carolina. He didn't leave one conference to compete in another he stayed in the ACC and went for a job where he felt he could have a greater chance at winning a national title. At Boston College, O'Brein's teams were undefeated in bowl games going 8-0. He is the veteran coach in this duel with Florida State as Jimbo Fisher is the new guy. The Noles are playing better doing great tonight leading the Wolfpack 14-7 with 5 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. But this is NC State's home field, they have the athletes and the stability of the O'Brein era.

Take the Wolfpack and 4 points despite early turnovers to win this game.

Monday Night Mirror Images

Tonight the 3-2 Tennessee Titans travel to Jacksonville to take on their AFC South rival 3-2 Jacksonville Jaguars. Both teams have no name defenses. The biggest star on either defense is former Raider free agent signing by the Jaguars, linebacker Kirk Morrison a tackling machine. Both teams have long tenured coaching staffs. Jack Del Rio has been with the Jaguars since 2003 with the message of defense being the staple to the teams success. Jeff Fisher pre-dates the Titans as the last head coach of the Houston Oilers who eventually moved to Nashville from Memphis while originating in Houston where Jeff Fisher was the big kahuna of the powder blue Oilers. Fisher has always emphasized the running game and defense like his counterpart.

Both teams have the runners also with Maurice Jones (Drew) and Chris Johnson. Jones is a battering ram of a back at 5'6" unless he is wearing high heels and weighing in at a bulky 215lbs of all legs which makes for misery for opposing tacklers looking for something to grab ahold of. In a contrast of style Chris Johnson is pure speed that will hit the holes and run right past linebackers and the secondary en route to the end zone.

Both teams also feature much maligned quarterbacks. Vince Young of the Titans never couldn't get his head on straight for a few years while jumping in and out of the starting role while David Garrard a less heralded QB has endured the same path of Young. Ironically both QB's can win with their legs just as much as their arms. Like the running backs both QB's contrast in that Young is a tall fleet footed quarterback that can outrun the defenses while Garrard is a thick legged QB that has the power to run through tackles if need be.

The receiving corps of both teams is just the same. Unheralded wide receivers. The Titans feature much traveled Nate Burelson along with young upstart Kenny Britt. On the other side of the ball it's little known Mike Sims Walker along with Mike Thomas. Virtually no game breakers.


Team wise this is scary its so similar. The Titans are the 5th best rushing team in the league trailing the 3rd best running team in the league the Jaguars. Defensively the Jaguars are 12th best against the run while their Monday night opponent is two slots higher at 10th best. If that isn't similar enough then the pass is ridiculously similar. The Titans has the 29th pass offense and the 26th best defense against the pass while the Jaguars are the 26th best in passing while their defense ranks 29th.


So what are the odds makers looking at when they decided to make the Titans a 3 point favorite. Are the Titans a 9 point favorite on a neutral field. Did the Jaguars not just defeat the reigning AFC champion Colts two weeks ago? This game is too close and too close to make the road team the favorite. Take the Jaguars plus the 3 points and enjoy your winnings.

The Buck Toother Road Warriors

Has Oregon State played a game at home all season? I wonder because every time the Beavers are in a big game it's been on the road. Early in the season they played in Dallas basically a home field for TCU and were beaten by 10 in a game much tighter than the score. Since that game TCU has regularly buried their opponents. Against Boise State on the smurf turf in Idaho there Beaver's were the most popular team in the country as the last barrier between Boise State and an undefeated season with the exception of fast rising Nevada. Last week the 2-2 Beavers went on the road and played their third top 10 team this season on the road. This time the Beavers finally slayed the giant despite losing star receiver James Rodgers for the season with an ACL injury. This week is another big game because this is about Oregon State proving they are a top 15 team rather than being just the best 3-2 in the NCAA.

This week is a big road game also. This week the Beavers can get two games over .500 something they have not been able to do so far this year despite high expectation in Corvallis. The test will not be an easy one as the Beavers travel to Seattle to take on the Huskies a team two weeks removed from knocking off undefeated USC and the inconsistent team that took their lumps in a 24-14 loss to Arizona State. As a matter of fact the Huskies are also a team that gave up 56 points at home to Nebraska and also was the only win for a severely porous BYU squad. The formula for whipping Washington is shut down Jake Locker and breeze your way to victory. Nebraska shut him down while Arizona State and BYU found ways to contain him thus rendering the Huskies worthless. The Beavers are so well battle tested they should have no problem causing Locker severe headaches after facing Andy Dalton, Nick Foles, and and Kellen Moore. Locker is just another QB.

The Beavers might not spank the Huskies. It should be a close game but the Beavers will win by at least 3. These Beavers are too good. The crowd in Seattle should not faze the Beavers. The talent of the projected overall #1 NFL prospect in Jake Locker will not be enough to defeat the Beavers. Last but not least the loss of senior James Rodgers is a major rallying point for these Beavers to win one of the Gipper deal. Who on this Beaver team is about to let up in this game and not give 100%. There will be no sleep walking for the Beavers in Seattle as that would be the only way for this game to go in favor of the Huskies. The Huskies are well coached but the talent level is not there to win the big games and this is too big of a game, much bigger than USC on the road where there were minimal expectation. Now the Huskies need to win to be in the position to get to a bowl game, for Oregon State they are making a run at the Pac-10 title along with a BCS bowl bid which their ranking should be pretty lofty by years end with losses to two of the top 4 teams in the country plus a win over a top 20 team in Arizona.

Take the Beavers -1.5. Locker will be having nightmares about furry little buck tooth animals after this Saturday night.

Unleash the Frustration

For the first time in decades the college football focus on USC is not on USC but is focused on the Gamecocks of South Carolina. The USC Trojans in the post Pete Carroll era are an afterthought. The hiring of Lane Kiffin is becoming a joke. Barely post puberty the Head Coach of the Trojans has yet to post a winning record on any level. he lost and lost a lot with the NFL Raiders and in one season at Tennessee was not on the bowl radar. So far this season Kiffin and the Trojans are coming up short of their goal of winning all their games. In the big match-up against former SC offensive coordinator and young phenom Steve Sarkisian it was Sark who held the upper hand over Kiffin. Also an afterthought for the Raiders it was Sarkisian that was Al Davis's first choice for the Raiders and not Kiffin. It would be no surprise except for the inept character judgment of former AD Mike Garret that thought Kiffin was better fit to coach the Trojans than Sarkisian. So all is looking about as bleak as can be in the probation era for SC.

Not as bleak as the record might indicate. Let's face it Steve Sarkisian has the Trojans number. He could coach Washington State to a victory over his former employer. Than last week against a very tough, physical, and explosive Stanford team the Trojans held their own coming up just short in the end of snatching victory from defeat in Palo Alto.

This week it's California. A Cal team that gave up 52 points on the road to Nevada. Now Cal comes into the LA Colleseum. This is a must win for the Trojans, a must win for Kiffin and it's going to be up to the players. Matt Barkley and company need to show what Trojan football is all about. Play great defense it's a staple of SC and should not falter much from the Pete Carroll era although Carroll is a defensive genius who mentored Kiffin along with former NFL defensive coordinator and current SC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. After giving up 65 points in the last two games it's time for USC to step it up in a must win.

This will be a tight game and in a tight game there will be a winner and there will be a loser. The difference is this is a must win for the Trojans. They have lost the last two games by a total of 7 points. A missed 3rd down conversion by Washington and the Trojans are undefeated heading into Stanford and a bit more careful handling of the ball against Stanford and USC could be undefeated and favored by 9 points in this game. Instead it's just a couple of plays that has determined this minor 2 point spread which the Trojans should be taking out two weeks of frustrations looking to right the wrong.

Take the Trojans and give up the two points.

Smash Mouth

What else can you say about tonight's Kansas State Purple invasion into Lawrence, Kansas to face the 2-3 Jayhawks under first year coach Turner Gill. It's gonna be smash mouth football and the smashing is going to come on the dishing out end from the Wildcats and specifically one 230lb battering ram named Daniel Thomas and the mouth on the receiving end is going to be the 92nd ranked run defense of Kansas.

Last week the Wildcats were humiliated at home by a superior Nebraska team. Taylor Martinez the freshmen phenom ran wild on the K-State defense. Jordan Webb of KU is not Taylor Martinez and even if he was K-State's veteran team and coaching staff would not let this one get past them a second time as the Wildcats have been punished in practice to not let last week's ills occur again and the stars are aligned just right with a hapless KU defense to go along with one of the worst offenses in the nation.

The one plus for KU is they are at home where the frenzied crowd in a rival game can inspire a defense to play beyond their talent level for at least a half of football. The home crowd enthusiasm along with the Kansas State running attack should wear down the Jayhawks in what should be a lopsided victory making the 2.5 point spread something non-existent. The reasons for the line sitting at 2.5 is rival game, home field for the Jayhawks and the beat down K-State endured last week in Manhattan to the hands of one of the top football programs in the country Nebraska.

This week there is no Nebraska. Early on against Nebraska the Wildcats were able to move the ball but the Huskers bend but no break defense stymied the Wildcats early in the 1st quarter on 4th down to stop penetration into the Husker red zone. Once the Huskers got rolling it was downhill as the Wildcats had to play into Nebraska's strength and the Wildcat weakness of passing the ball while Jared Crick and company pinned back their ears and force in-completion after in-completion leading to a lot of second half punts.

This week the foot will be on the other side of the ball kicking behind and it will be the Wildcats kicking rather than being kicked.

Beaver Dynamite

Beaver Dynamite it's been known to clear out rooms for youngsters across the nation but it's also the offensive punch of the Rodger's brothers up in Corvallis, Oregon. These two undersized brothers have proven time and time again against top competition that they can not only compete but are among the best players on the field. They showed up big in losses this year to #5 TCU in Dallas, Texas and than again two weeks ago in another tough road loss against than #3 Boise State on the most intimidating smurf turf known to man. This week the Beaver's continue the gautlet of road battles against #9 Arizona in Tucson.


Arizona has traditionally been a spoiler with lesser talent than there Pac 10 counterparts. Mike Stoops gets the 2nd and 3rd tiered athletes from California and Texas as the cornerstone to his program but these lesser known names are still talented and come up big in the big games. This is Oregon State coming into town, no the Ducks. OSU does not have the swagger of a USC or the rivalry of the better known brother upstate in Tempe. This is Oregon State a team that will fight you tooth and nail and it's just the way the Wildcats pull off upsets at home. Oregon State is a mirror image of Arizona. The Wildcards on offense though will be the Rodger's brothers for Oregon State. These guys will find ways to make big plays and get into the end zone. When the final gun is heard and these teams leave the field, every play will be important and the game will be deciding by inches and not more than a touchdown so take the Beavers +8.


The Beavers also have faced TCU losing by 10 down in Texas and than Boise State on the smurf turf losing by 13. Both games were tigher than the scores and have toughened the Beavers up for big road games. Tucson will be no tougher than Boise, Idaho. This is also a conference game. The Wildcats are expected to compete for the Pac 10 title while the Beavers are expected to be in the 2nd group of teams battling for a bowl game hence there will be a chip on these Beaver's shoulders with something to prove.

Husker's, Pelini Looking to Make Statement

Bo Pelini has quickly made his mark as a head coach. He has done what no coach since Tom Osborne has done and that has been to make a believer out of Husker faithful and players. Frank Solich might have led the Cornhuskers to the national title game in 2001 only to get blown out by the University of Miami but he was always in the heavy shadows of Dr. Tom.

This week the Huskers travel to Manhattan, Kansas. Waiting for them will be old man Bill Snyder, his undefeated Wildcats, herculean running back Daniel Thomas and a national audience with some jacked up Wildcat students waiting for Bo Pelini's group. Is this an ambush. It has the makings of an ambush, only problem is this is a very important game for both the Huskers and Pelini. The #6 ranking in the nation means nothing to this group. It's all about proving that Nebraska football is back and losing to an un-ranked Wildcat squad could prove detrimental to these Huskers before they move to the Big Ten.

I expect the Huskers to shut down Thomas or at least limit the top offensive weapon for K-State. Two weeks ago when the Huskers were facing the alleged #1 NFL prospect in Jake Locker and Heisman Trophy candidate the black shirts stymied Locker with a 2-20 passing performance on regional television all but eliminating Locker from Heisman talk despite coming back this past week against USC leading a 4th quarter game winning come from behind drive that might have at least salvaged some of Locker's Husky legacy.

One thing is for sure, Nebraska and Bo Pelini know when the lights are on. Against South Dakota State this past week they won un-impressively 17-3. A win is a win though. This week the Thursday night game is on national television for everyone to watch and Nebraska should unveil a lot of defensive schemes that were non-existent against South Dakota State plus the offense should be ready to execute a more elaborate play book much like what they did in Seattle while hanging 56 on the Huskies. Bo Pelini comes from the coaching hotbed of NCAA football, Ohio the state with ties that has produced national championship coaches of this decade including Jim Tressel, Bob Stoops, Pete Carrol, Les Myles, Nick Saban, and Urban Meyer. It's all about winning the national title. Don't show your playbook to teams you should beat such as South Dakota State but unleash the fury and locker rooms speeches for nationally televised Thursday night games. It's time to perform for Nebraska and they have performed their last three outings in big games vs. Texas in the Big 12 title game last year, against Arizona in the bowl game, and this year on the road against Washington. Time to step up again Huskers in Manhattan, Kansas.

Look for the Huskers to make a road statement in their final season in the Big 12 with a big win.

Squids Ready to Wrap up Flybirds

One of the most interesting match-ups that Bookmaker has missed this week is the match-up between the Navy Midshipmen and the Air Force Falcons. The Book with their geniuses that talk about setting the line set it wrong this week. Maybe I am getting a little bit cocky but after the past two weeks I think I have good reason hitting 8/8 games. I am not betting a whole lot but I am certainly seeing the mistakes the book is making this year and I would love to share this knowledge to help all out there just crush these sports books.

The Air Force Falcons with the nations top ranked rushing attack will take on their brother's in the armed services the boys from the Naval Academy. Usually these games don't interest me but this week it stands out. Air Force has been impressive this season so far while Navy has been lacking. The Falcons crushed departing Mountain West opponents BYU three weeks ago but not sure if that really meant a whole lot. The Cougars were barely able to defeat Washington at home while they were manhandled last week by a down Florida State team. The most impressive of all the Falcon games this year was actually a loss in Norman, Oklahoma to the highly ranked undefeated Oklahoma Sooners. Normally this would be a huge win but so far this season Oklahoma has been less than stellar with close wins over Utah State, the Falcons and the University of Cincinnati a team that is down after losing their head coach, starting QB, and top receiver from a year ago. Still the Sooners were barely able to hold off the Bearcats a team that was beaten handily in Fresno, California by the Fresno State Bulldogs. This past week the Falcons barely got by Wyoming. Now Wyoming is not a bad team but they are certainly not a great team that should lead an odds maker from making the Falcons 10.5 point favorites.

Meanwhile Navy has not looked too stellar this year. As a road favorite against the Maryland Terrapins in their opener the Midshipmen turned the ball over 4 times including late in the game while at the Maryland 1 yard line which could have delivered victory from the eventual jaws of defeat. In week 2 Navy could barely beat Football Bowl Subdivision squad Georgia Southern 13-6. I am assuming the odds makers are only looking at FBS rather than a historically strong FBS team with many championships in the past two decades. This past week the Midshipmen were sluggish in the first half of their game against Louisiana Tech trailing the Bulldogs by 7 at the break before dominating the 2nd half with a vaunted rushing attack. So right now the only difference between this game being a 3-4 point spread with top 20 ranked undefeated Navy team was one great play by Maryland in the 4th quarter to force a turnover one yard away from the unblemished record.

Well that one play is not enough for me to take the 10.5 points Bookmaker is so generously giving out. It's plenty of points for me to take considering this is an armed forced rivalry. It's also enough points considering the Air Force triple option wishbone attack is not going to surprise Naval defenders as it's an offense they face in practice every day. There will also be no slanting defenses by undersized lineman to surprise either squad as both teams are undersized on their lines and play slanted blocking schemes. This game should actually be one heck of a battle as a lot of pride is going to be on the line along with early bragging rights and the inside track to the Commander and Chief Trophy presented to the best armed forces school and the inside track to an automatic bowl berth in the Texas Bowl in Houston. In summary, there is a lot riding on this game.

In a tight game big impact players and home field can be the difference makers. The crowd will be pro-Air Force and the elevation in Colorado Springs will favor the Falcons but the conditioning of the Navy players should be able to offset some of the home field advantage. The difference between winning and losing might very well come down on one of the best quarterbacks to ever play at the Naval Academy since Roger Staubach. And for you young whipper snappers out there that are short on history Staubach won the Heisman Trophy for the Naval Academy back in the 60's before a short stint in the Navy followed up by two Super Bowl rings for the Dallas Cowboys and an induction into the Hall of Fame. Navy's QB Ricky Dobbs is not Roger the Dodger but he can make big plays and big time players make big plays in big games. Dobbs failed against Maryland but this game is his redemption. It's his chance to get his name thrown back into the Heisman talk. It's his chance to lead his team to the Commander and Chief Trophy as a Senior. It's not about covering or putting on a good show in Colorado Springs for Dobbs, it's about winning and when a team is geeked up to win a game and the oddsmakers are giving them ten points it means only one thing. The public doesn't believe enough in the underdog to bet on them unless they are getting a lot of points. In this case bet on the Midshipmen. Bet the Farm because not only will you keep the farm but you can get yourself a couple of nice new angus cows after Dobbs proves he is the best armed services leader in the collegiate ranks today.

Philadelphia Smoke Screen

All along Kevin Kolb was a smoke screen. Kolb put up some nifty numbers in college at the University of Houston in Conference USA but C-USA is hardly The NFL. Kevin Kolb came into the league as a back-up to future Eagle Hall of Fame QB Donovan McNabb. McNabb was the leader in Philly for the most successful run in Eagle history. McNabb incurred a few injuries in the past few years which prompted upper management to look for his successor and when he came along the Eagles quietly picked up their future QB giving him substantially more than market value and naming the future of Philadelphia signal caller's to an unproven youngster out of Houston.

This week the smoke screen was cleared and early in the post McNabb era the heir to the QB position has finally been cleared. Cleared from anti-organizations who preferred to have a clean cut kid taking snaps as opposed to an ex-con. The ex-con and scourge of PETA Michael Vick the former overall #1 draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons has finally been named the starter.

For years Andy Reid loved McNabb. Wanted him so bad as his QB that he passed over fan favorite Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams in the 1999 NFL draft to select McNabb. McNabb proved to be the right selection and five times McNabb led the Eagles deep into the playoffs to the championship game and once to the Super Bowl. Despite the boo birds in Philadelphia McNabb was very successful and the most decorated QB in Eagle history. Move over Randall Cunningham, move over Ron Jaworski, McNabb is the all-time Eagle signal caller.

Now for Andy Reid to send McNabb packing for an unspectacular college player, and unproven professional he would have to be out of his mind to believe in Kolb more than McNabb. Vick tho8ugh is another story. Vick has the great pedigree (no offense PETA). Vick was a top pick. Vick was the first QB to ever lead his team to victory in historical Lambeau Stadium over the Packers in the playoffs. Vick was electrifying on the field. Vick has had very raw skills and bringing him into Philadelphia was not about giving the guy a job it was about grooming him to be the successor of McNabb. If Vick was just supposed to be a bench guy the Eagles would not have ponied up $5 million a year for a bench jockey. The Eagles organization had to play the fans with Kolb. What else were they supposed to do announce, "your 2010 Philadelphia Eagles starting QB ex-convict Michael Vick." Vick is not a blue collar guy in a blue collar town. Vick is a flashy, he's not a role model, he's not even Italian which is both politically correct and would make the hometown fans ecstatic. But much like in 1999 when Reid named McNabb his QB of the future; Andy Reid can groom a quarterback. Vick's got the raw talent and the intangibles to become a great one while Kolb appears to be fitting into his true position of back up QB.

Nice smoke screen Andy Reid. You got your guy and you brought him in at the right time and fans will forget Vick is an ex-con as long as he wins. A win against Jacksonville this weekend will ease the tension in Philadelphia. Even though I absolutely loathe was Michael Vick did to numerous dogs I can say he showed great remorse by giving so charitably to dog farms to rehabilitate the lovable animals he nearly was part of killing. We know Andy Reid is all about winning and winning will cure all but should Vick not win this is Reid's job on the line.

My advice to Michael Vick every touchdown you score whether throwing or passing you donate $5000 to an animal shelter. And every win you get as a starter you donate $10,000 to an animal shelter. It's not going to hurt his pocketbook and it will soothe a lot of rightful feelings people have towards Michael Vick. He may have served his time but he certainly is a role model or a saint. Vick is still on probation in many ways.

Hurricane Crossroads

Thursday night college football is a crossroads for both the University of Pittsburgh and the U. It's a much greater crossroads for the U. After all the University of Miami has a very rich recent history of winning national championships. On the big stage two weeks ago to prove they were back the Hurricanes were led by or not led by quarterback Jacory Harris who was victimized by 4 interceptions from the Buckeye defense. Many viewers of the game would argue that his receivers failed him and in reality they might not have looked back at the right time for the ball but as the field general Harris has to make sure his players are on the right page with him in the huddle. With all the headlines comes all the criticism.

If Miami is going to be considered an elite team they must go into Heinz Field tonight and defeat the Pitt Panthers. This will be no easy task. Pitt has a strong rushing attack led by All-American Deon Lewis, a strong defense, and tough home field advantage. Plus you throw in Thursday night prime time nationally televised game the Panthers and their crowd will be so up for this game. Meanwhile the Canes are considered the better team tonight by oddsmakers who have penciled them in as early 3.5 point favorites although the line has dropped to under a field goal. This means the Canes are the glory team. The Canes have the burners on offense, the big play guys on special teams and the defenders with panther like closing speed ready to pounce on their prey. So the pressure is on Jacory Harris, Randy Shannon, and the entire Hurricane squad. It's either perform tonight come up with a big win, arguably the biggest win for Randy Shannon in his short career as head coach or fall to the depths of under .500 and out of the top 25.

If Miami is going to win this game they must stop Deon Lewis. If the Cane defense can stymie Lewis. No easy task as he will be the best runner the Canes have faced all season including the #2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes who always have a rushing attack but without the talent of a Deon Lewis. The Canes also need to establish their own rushing attack. In their last game running back Damien Berry looked strong at times against Ohio State rushing for 94 yards on only 16 attempts at nearly 6 yards a clip. Berry will be needed to control the game as depending on Harris and the passing game is not wise considering 4 interceptions and numerous dropped passes from his very talented receivers. Miami cannot afford more turnovers on the road if they are going to win this big game.

If the Hurricanes are going to make amends for their performance at Ohio State it starts tonight. The Hurricanes will be nothing more than an afterthought with a loss tonight at Heinz Field and guys like Jacory Harris who appeared so promising last year with big games only to be throttled on the big stage will not be part of a rich and illustrious legacy in South Florida for which is coach Randy Shannon is a frustrated but highly decorated member in Cane history with two national titles. This game is about what Miami can do. If they cannot it could be Pitt that is the team on the rise.

Slowing down the Quack Attack

After shellacking the University of New Mexico last week 72-0 the Oregon Ducks should feel good abut themselves. They did what they had to do against a 1-11 team. They dominated every phase of the game and celebrated well into the evening after Autzen stadium had shut down and tailgaters drank by the campfires next to Alton Baker Park littering the grounds with chicken wings to be cleaned up and feasted upon by good dog owners who allowed their canine buddies to run free in the mass of green and wooded area.

This week there will be no friendly tailgaters for the Ducks and there still isn't an experienced QB under center. The Ducks will be invading hostile territory as people from country music central in Knoxville, Tennessee will be ready to serenade the Pac 10 defending champs with numerous rounds of Rocky Top and the most courteous of drunken insults from those neighborly southern slurs. If that isn't too cozy for the Ducks the athletes will not be wearing the red and silver with Lobos sewn on their chests. No, these guys will be wearing ice cream orange and will have bad nasty attitudes behind their colorful uniforms. These are after all the Tennessee Volunteers with great history from Peyton Manning to Albert Haynesworth and Jarrod Mayo. These are speedsters like Willie Gault and Peerless Price. This is what Vegas is calling a 13 point underdog

Oregon is a well oiled machine and there is no deer in the headlight syndrome for Chip Kelly in his second year as head coach. These Ducks are out for blood but one thing that slows down the Quack Attack is a big physical and fast defense. This is a defense that was schooled a year ago by Monte Kiffin, this is a team full of top recruits that was one of the best in the nation under one and done head coach Lane Kiffin. These Vols can flat out play football. This is a team that came up a blocked field goal attempt from eliminating the championship dreams of defending national champion Alabama's dreams in "09. So what makes odds makers believe this Duck team is going to go into Knoxville and stomp the Vols?

Perception, the Ducks were so malicious last week in their beat down of New Mexico as they ran out to a 59-0 half time lead there was nothing you saw of the Ducks that was remotely week. After all very few people if any bothered to watch the second half outside the drunken crowd in Autzen.

Fact remains this week there are no Lobos on the field to kick around and there is nothing Autzen like in Knoxville at 110,000 seat Neyland Stadium. It's natural grass and how did the Ducks fair on the grass last year. About as well as former Duck Jeremiah Masoli. The Ducks barely beat UCLA on the good stuff, they lost to Stanford, and were beaten by Ohio State. This will be the first time QB Darron Thomas will be under center in a hostile environment. How will he read a fast and speedy defense capable of making up ground unlike the 1-11 Lobos last week?

This will not be an easy game for the Quack Attack. It might very well be the most difficult on the schedule for the Ducks. This could be the highlight of the year also for both Tennessee and the SEC. Having a premiere team come into the back yard of an SEC East cellar candidate and facing off against the favorite of the Pac 10. I got faith in Chip Kelly. He proved last year he was ready for the big time. Now he has to prove his team is ready for the big time road game. As for the 13 points. I am putting money on the Vols. For all the unpopular things Lane Kiffin has done in his young career and despite not being in Knoxville for this game he will have an impact on this game as he did a whale of a job if only for one year of bringing in top talent and talent can slow down the Ducks and the home crowd can take away some of the Ducks fire just enough to keep this one close.

Final Score prediction 24-20. The Ducks will not score as much and points will be tough to come by.

Thursday Night on the Olentangy

Thursday night football has not been seen in Columbus, Ohio since late August of 1997. I know I was there when the Buckeyes defeated the University of Wyoming 23-10 on the banks of the Olentangy where hundreds of thousands of rabid Buckeye fans tailgate with the best of them. I have been to a lot of tailgate parties and the Buckeyes are right there at the top. This Thursday is another celebration for Buckeye fans as the season it's the kick off of the 2010 football season with aspirations of a National Championship not tasted in Columbus in 8 years.

This year's opening foe is Marshall. Another second tiered school in a long line of season openers for the Buckeyes where they are expected to win handily. The Buckeyes do win these games handily but they tend to put a scare in their fans early in the year as coach Jim Tressell tell his players to not think ahead to the next game but doesn't usually practice that as he keeps a tight lock on the playbook running just the basics on their out manned foes.

This is an ongoing trend that you can predict. The last time Ohio State faced Marshall early in the year prior to a big out of conference game place kicker Mike Nugent of the NFL needed to save the day with a 55 yard field goal as time expired to give the Bucks a three point victory in 2003. This was just one year removed from winning a national championship and with all the talent the Bucks had returning they found a way to keep it close to the discouragement of Buckeye fans and sports gamblers.

If anything was learned from that 2003 game against Marshall it was re-enforced the last three years. The past three seasons the Buckeyes have opened up with Akron, Miami of Ohio, and Navy. In each game the Buckeyes were huge favorites including 33 point favorites last year against the Midshipmen and were lucky to escape with a 31-28 victory. Granted the Buckeyes had every opportunity to blow the game wide open but coach Tressell never bothered to get too cute with the play book that allowed Navy to get back into the game along with some scarlet and gray sleepwalking as turnovers and failed fourth down conversions put the 1st string back into the game as Tressell did put in second stringers early in the 2nd half. There wasn't much difference in games the previous two seasons as Ohio State's bland playbook and lethargic play kept games close on the scoreboard with Akron 20-2 and Miami of Ohio 28-17. In both instances the Buckeyes were huge favorites.

What can be expected of this year's opener against Marshall. We can expect much of the same as the Bucks will not be showing much offensively or defensively on film much to the dismay of the high powered Miami Hurricanes who visit the Horseshoe on the Olentangy September 11. If the Buckeyes are going to win a national title they need to win all of their games which leaves no room for error. A team like Miami with it's tall, fast receivers, athletic defense and modern day mad bomber in Jacory Harris can pull off the upset in Columbus but they will not be getting any decent scouring reports with what I expect will be a very tight game not indicative of the 28 point spread.

Week #1 college picks of the week

Week #1 in college football might be the easiest of weeks to pick the winners.


An example of a rock solid pick in week #1 will be in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Despite being on rocky times the program is not going to stay down forever and Rich Rodriquez just didn't all of a sudden get stupid. Against UCONN in week #1 the Wolverines are favored by 3 points. UConn is a team on the rise making steady strides every year under Randy Edsall. This will be the toughest opening game for the Huskies though in their short history of division I football. Unfortunately no one will be sneaking up on the Wolverines only two years removed from one of the most storybook upsets in the history of college football as a team featuring numerous NFL players was upset in front of 110,000 plus maize and blue fans.

Michigan will win this game by more than three points based on the level of talent. Rich Rodriquez has been recruiting top players to Michigan and last year the team was full of first and second year players. Well these players are growing up and this year they will show the world they are a top 20 team. In 2009 the Wolverines showed flashes early in the season starting out hot but than taking a beating in conference play. A lot of those late season losses were based on poor play from QB Tate Forcier. Forcier a true freshmen took a beating last season and as fresh and talented as he was early in the year he was beaten up by mid-season and lacked the leadership skills he flashed early in the year. Expect the UM signal caller to come out showing off the style of play he teased us with early last year and than some as the QB growth if the greatest from their first year of starting to their second.

On the defensive side of the ball Michigan matches up very well against UConn's run oriented offense which will force UConn to throw the ball against a much improved UM secondary. By the end of the day Husky QB Zach Frazier should have more picks than touchdowns leading to a lopsided home opener for the Wolverines.

The pick of the week goes to the Colorado State Rams. The Rams are 12.5 point underdogs to in state rival Colorado. The history of this game is tight with 8 of the last ten games in this series decided by less than a touchdown. Three of those games have gone to overtime. Colorado does not have a dominating offense either passing or rushing the ball as Dan Hawkins cannot make up his mind on who to start at quarterback and has come up short on the recruiting trail since leaving Boise State 5 years ago for greener pastures. The Buffaloes are a team in disarray with no identity but they are the big name school on the national level that will attract bettors attention for all the wrong reasons.

Meanwhile Colorado State started out last year 3-0 including a 23-17 win over in state rival Colorado. Down the stretch the Rams proceeded to lose their final 9 games of the year. This year does not look promising on the offensive side of the all with freshman Pete Thomas under center. Hence the 12.5 point spread. Fact is neither team has an established QB and in a rival game it would not be a surprise to see the Rams come out victorious and at the very least they will keep it close as is the nature of this series.

Drunk, Fat and Stupid is No Way to Go Through Life

Those infamous words of Dean Vernon Wermer said nearly 30 years ago to a young, fat booze bag named Flounder are prophetic words for Oregon State redshirt freshman Tyler Patrick Thomas today. The young Beaver was drunk and naked in a stranger's house. I hate to say it but I did that and was never kicked out of school. Hell I was at the other OSU and not only was I naked but pissed on student nurse Shelly's chair in a stupor. So I am sympathetic to the boy's cause. I especially appreciated how handled the police. He was drunk and resorted to his instincts as a football player and got into his three point stance and was showing off how he run blocks for local hero Jaquizz Rodgers. In an era where we are all hero worshiping Oregon State head coach Mike Riley failed to weigh all of the facts.

Here are the facts. Riley recruited Thomas from a small Montana town, Kalispell. In Kalispell being a bad boy means putting bombs in packages a al Phil Jackson's long lost twin brother Ted Kazyinski who resided in another desolate Montana town with no running water. Kazyinski did the reverse of young Mr. Thomas starting out as an aspiring young genius with degrees from Harvard and the University of Michigan before becoming a professor by the age of 25 at Cal Berkley before giving up at the ripe young age of 29 and taking up residency in Lincoln, Montana where he gained fame as the unabomber. So having a few drinks and getting naked is just "going to bed" as the houses are few and far between one in Kalispell rarely ever thinks they can pick the wrong house as the houses usually have 50 acres between them. In the big city of Corvallis, Thomas picked the wrong house, hey they all look alike. It happens I have done this a good four times in life. Shame on your Mike Riley if you are going to recruit kids from Montana you need to start taking some Montana sensitivity classes and understand you can take the boy out of Montana but you cannot take Montana out of the boy.


Thomas was rudely awoken from a deep and comfortable sleep by a couple of goons in cop uniforms. It's safe to say cops in their dark blue uniforms look like intruders and than you combine mirrored sunglasses at night perked upon a porno mustachioed shnozz and the poor kid probably freaked out and had no time to cover up his willie and instinctively got into a three point stance and tried to bull rush his rude sleep interrupting night visitors.

Heck getting shock treatment in the raw not administered by a non-professional dominatrix is embarrassment enough. I think the kid could have law suit for pigs practicing domination in tacky attire. Heck the kid has to come into the locker room and face his teammates isn't the embarrassment punishment enough. Hell! the kid is living in Corvallis, Oregon, he plays football everyone in town knows he was tasered in the raw I say to you Mike Riley is that enough embarrassment and big bad Coach Riley is not there to comfort the kid through his embarrassment but he is there to throw sal in the wounds.

Thanks alot Coach Riley. Next time you recruit a kid from Kalispell, Montana understand you are pulling a kid from the outer area of society, they think a little bit different in Montana. Don't recruit the kid unless you can understand his culture and show a little bit of sensitivity when he makes a mistake.

Well Tyler Patrick Thomas your life is just begging. You have not yet scratched the surface of your roaring twenties. Coach Riley and the Beavers might have barred you but all is not lost. There just happens to be this real Nutt job down in Oxford, Mississippi who will accept anyone on his football team and boy you are not just anyone you got press in the big city and any press is good press for Kalispell residents.

NFL Pre-Season, Oh hell it's a future

Let's not fuck around this season with our sports betting habits. Let's start out with the smartest investment you can make. The hell with buying sports betting insurance from a sports book that is just a bunch of bullshit. Let your money do your talking and the best bet of the season is the NFL future bets. The season is 16 weeks long and by looking at the schedule, considering last year's team and the chemistry of the team you can make a very strong assessment. So this year take half your bi-monthly paycheck and throw it down on one team. This year's team is the Tennessee Titans and I am going to tell you why they will win more than eight games?

Scheduling: The Titans got off to a horrible start in 2009 losing their first 6 games before ownership came through with forcing the hand of Head Coach Jeff Fisher to pull the aging Kerry Collins in favor of the franchise Quarterback selected in 2006 with the 2nd overall selection Vince Young. Vince showed he was back to his old form as a rookie in 2006 when he led the Titans to the playoffs before being supplanted in 2008 by Collins. The season starts out against Oakland, the doormat of the NFL despite that old prune Al Davis claiming otherwise as he likened himself with George Steinbrenner as the two elite owners in all of sports. Playing the Raiders at home in week one Titan season bettors should realize they are either going to lose the bet right away if they cannot beat the Raider or they will be one game closer to a season ending payday. Remember half those monthly earnings on the Titans to win 8 or more this season. After the Raider the Titans gets two of their next three at home.

In week two the Titans face the Ben Roethlisberger-less Steelers. Say as much as you want about Big Ben being a soiled diaper on the ass of society but Ben has earned two Super Bowl rings before his 28th birthday and the win over the Cardinals in February of 2009 was all about Big Ben imposing his will to win his second Lombardi Trophy. The Steelers will be a better team to face early in the season as they will open up with either Dennis Dixon or the ever immobile Byron Leftwich who is a sandwich waiting for the speedy athletic front four of the Titans to devour. The Steelers will also be without their leading receiver of last year Santonio Holmes and debut a new running back in Rashad Mendenhall.

Week three could be the toughest game of the early season for the Titans as they have to travel to New York to face the Giants. Hopefully the time the Titans reach the new Meadowlands they should be 2-0 with a winning attitude that is ready to take down the Giants on the road.

Week #4 the ailing Denver Broncos pay a visit to the Music City. Right now the Broncos pose very little threat with Kyle Orton under center and a defense riddled by season ending pre-season injuries most notable their top pass rusher outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil. The only Elvis in the house in Nashville on October 3rd will be the legion of Elvis impersonators in the stands.

The game is not played on paper so strictly looking at the schedule is not enough to predict a minimum of 8 wins for the Titans. The two key ingredients to winning a Super Bowl is a vaunted rushing attack and solid defense.

No team in the NFL is better suited to run the ball than the Tennessee Titans. First off is the hogs up front. Despite not having any household names on the offensive line the Titans return four of the five guys up front with only Leroy Harris as a newcomer for an offensive line that paved the way for 2,000 yard rusher Chris Johnson. If an offensive line is judged on how many yards their running backs gain then this unit gets an A plus. Making this unit even more impressive is the history of Titan football. The Titans have been one of the top rushing teams in the NFL for the past decade. These guys come in and learn how to run block from day one.

Now the man who needs no introduction the fastest man in the NFL and the most recent member of the 2,000 yard club and friendly contract extension; Chris Johnson might have a mouthful of gold teeth but there is nothing tacking about his running style. He will run right by you with that extra gear the scares the league’s fastest defensive backs. Johnson is a game changer. He can score from anywhere on the field and with a guy like that he is worth winning at least one road game the Titans shouldn’t win.

While Johnson is not running the ball Vince Young will be passing the ball but if he decides to pull the ball down he has great speed that can get away from lineman and has the size to run over defensive backs and he can take his choice with the linebackers of run around them or run over them. Granted the Titans do not want to see VY get physical with a linebacker so chances are if he cannot outrun them he will take the easy way out of bounds but not until picking up positive yardage.

On defense the Titans much like their offensive line do not have a lot of name players but what they do have is a lot of speed and athleticism which will cause nightmares for opposing offenses that will not be able to tire down the Titans and their depth especially on the line. For years the Titans have been among the league leaders against the run and that is not about to change this season and with the pass rushers this will help the defensive backfield that has been improving to not have to cover their man as long as most d-backs in the league. Also like the offensive lineman are taught from day one in Nashville how to run block and be physical the Titan defense is taught how to defend the run which they do better than average and are often at the top of the league in this category and after 16 seasons there is no reason for coach Jeff Fisher to alienate this plan.

Prediction for the Titans this season they will have at least 11 wins and they will fly past the magic number of 8 in late November.

Sportsbetting It's Fantastic

Sportsbetting it is allowed in Nevada along with Oregon and Delaware. The NFL does not want sports betting allowed anywhere but Nevada. Obviously Nevada is too well established to care about the NFL's opinion of sports betting, specifically football. Fact is whether betting $5 or $5000 on a football game it makes the game more interesting.

I am not a big sports bettor but putting a $20 spot on last week's PGA Championship for Tiger Woods to win at 13-1 made the event very entertaining for me. I lost but if I had a chance I would do it again. I don't like to lose but the entertainment value was priceless.

In football my greatest bet was my first legal bet in 1988 in Las Vegas. The University of Southern California was led by future NFL Quarterback Rodney Peete. The Trojans were undefeated opening up the season with a big east coast victory over Boston College, and followed that up with 4 more victories including wins over college football powerhouse #3 Oklahoma where they thoroughly whipped the Sooners and an impressive whipping of #18 Oregon by the scores of 23-7 and 42-14.

Meanwhile the Huskies looked lackluster in a 35-31 win at home against west coast patsy San Jose State and were beaten at home by SC's rival UCLA in Seattle. The oddsmakers were all over the Trojans making them a 13.5 point opening line favorite. By the time I got off a small 20 seat jet from Santa Barbara in the city of sin the Trojans were up to 15 points in most casinos and by the time I placed my bet at Barbary Coast the curernt site of Bill's Gambling Hall and Taven just across the street from Ceasar's Palace I had 14.5 points with the Huskies.

The game opened slowly with USC putting up the only score of the first quarter taking a 7-0 lead. The second quarter starter out bad for Husky bettors with USC cashing in with another touchdow to increase their lead to 14-0 and it appeared to be off to the races for the Trojans as they were driving for a third score when an untimely turnover gave the Huskies the ball deep in their own territory but kept the Trojans from blowing the game wide open. The Huskies were able to cut into the Trojan lead converting the turnover into a touchdown scoring drive led by Husky QB Cary Conklin making the score 14-7 heading into half time.

The second half started out much like the first half with the Trojans driving but not able to convert in Husky territory for any points. The Huskies seemed to have new life as they warded off the Trojans and opened up the scoring in the 2nd half to tie the game at 14-14. It was now an even game the 19th ranked Huskies despite being a 15 point underdog was knotted up in the second half with the #3 ranked Trojans. The Trojans would score again in the 3rd quarter to take a 7 point lead at 21-14 heading into the decisive and final quarter.

At plus 14.5 points I was feeling really good and would start to feel great as the Huskies answered the Trojans early in the final quarter to make it 21 apiece. With under 8 minutes remaining USC satisfied their hungry fans with putting another touchdown on the board and a 7 point lead. Still I was winning the bet by 7.5 points and would need a complete meltdown against SC in the latter half of the quarter. Highly unlikely and certainly not improbable. What would happen next would make this an ESPN classic.

USC would stop the Huskies on their ensuing drive and woudl take over the ball with under 6 minutes remaining. Behind Peete the Trojans would drive towards mid-field but an inspired Husky defense would put the clamps down forcing a punt by SC. Faced with a long field un-heralded but also future NFL back-up QB Conklin would miraculously pull of 3rd down and 4th down conversions before scoring what appeared to be a tying touchdown in the final seconds of the game to make the score 28-27. Back in 1988 thre were no overtimes in college football and Head Coach Don James called on his Huskies to go for the win rather than settle for the chip shot extra point for a tie. Luckily for SC future NFL All-Pro and Chicago Bear Mark Carrier would make the game saving play in the end zone tipping a Conklin pass and preserving the SC victory.

Meanwhile I was holing a ticket for $2750 to win $2500 on the Huskies. UW was too good of a team to be getting more than two touchdowns and darn near pulled out the victory. I would celebrate that night at Ceasar's Palace by putting a $550 to win $500 on the over 6.5 in game one of the World Series between the heavily favored Oakland A's and gimply Kirk Gibson. Three innings before Gibby hit his infamous walk off home run to win game 1 the A's had takena 4-3 lead on the Dodgers sealing my victory and another $500 win. After resting up that night and before getting on my plane an angel gave me an inside tip while talking on the payphone. Again technology is great as cell phones were not in style in 1988. My angel told me to take the hard luck Cleveland Browns at home -2.5 against a beat up NY Jets team. The Browns had just come off a championship game vs. Elway the year before and were loaded but had yet to hit their stride. That October 16,1988 day in Cleveland they hit their stride defeating the Jets 19-3 and covering my 2.5 points. That was a sweet $1100 ticket I was holding right there and than.

All in all that weekend in Vegas I walked out with $4000 in winnning but was netting barely over $3000 after the airfare expense, hotel expense, drinks, food, etc. I might have won but as always one way or another Vegas always gets their cut and it was a healthy cut into my winnings.

As for the NFL and the naysayers. I couldn't have had such a great memory of college football without having placed a few dollars on what I remember as the greatest game ever and one of my greatest weekends in sports some 22 years ago. Now does it seem fair that the NFL should have all the fun and prohibit us from such fond memories?

NBA Wrap Up 2009-10

Hacksaw has had a hiatus. And since I have been incognito one prediction darn near came through. The Boston Celtics my pre-season NBA favorite came up just shy in the finals against Hacksaw’s 1a team the Los Angeles Lakers. And wouldn’t you know both of my favorite off season pick-ups were instrumental in game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Rasheed Wallace who’s regular season resembled the Celtics regular season of ho-hum came up big in game 7 against the Lakers filling in for Kendrick Perkins with 8 rebounds, some low post scoring and a huge 3 in the final minutes before fouling out to make the game closer than anticipated. If nothing else Rasheed saved the Celtic bettors with his 3 to more than cover the 6.5 point spread at the Orleans Hotel and Casino sports book where yours truly took the Beantown hoopsters.

On the other side of the ball in my home town of Los Angeles the big off-season pick up Ron Artest probably the most mis-understood basketball player since Spencer Haywood to hit tinsel town came up huge in the post-season. Yes, I know Dennis Rodman had a short stint in LA but he was completely understood by the time he had left Chicago he was completely whacky and ready for prime time television reality freak shows. Nothing against the worm I loved his hoops prowess but he was past his prime in LA. Artest was just another of legendary Phil Jackson’s undertakings that well……worked out really well because all Ron-Ron did was be in the right place at the right time against the upstart and valiant Phoenix Suns in a tight game five to hit the winner in the Western Conference Finals and then drop 20 including a big three in the final minutes answering Rasheed Wallace’s big three.

When all was said and done in the NBA Finals I am happy to say I picked against the spread 6 of the 7 games only missing the game 6 blowout at the Staples Center when everything that could go wrong for Boston went wrong.

Red Tape Ball

The final straw that defines the change in the game was in the BCS National Championship game as Colt McCoy injured his shoulder minutes into the title game and never returned.

During a regular season NFL football game while with the Packers Brett Favre threw a touchdown pass than was not allowed to return to the field of play as it was determined he suffered a concussion two plays prior to his scoring pass.

David "Deacon" Jones a star for the "Fearsome Foursome" that spread terror on the gridiron in the 60's explained how he dealt with concussions........smelling salts, a nasal clearing super lemon scent that could wake a bear from hibernation. None of these ancient remedies anymore, not a chance as pimple faced trainers now determine the toughness of a player. Ronnie Lott would never have listened to a trainer on how to play football nor would Jack Youngblood.

Lott busted up his finger so bad prior to a playoff game had doctors cut his finger off rather than miss out on the experience of another run to the Super Bowl and Lott's bust now sits in the Hall of Fame. A steep price for the Lombardi trophy but when you want something so bad you pay the price of a bodily extremity that is how the great ones are made.

It's a shame, Colt McCoy the four year starter with more wins than any other quarterback in the century old history of college football couldn't throw the ball but a simple Willis Reed running of a few plays could have inspired his teammates to get tough in their 2nd quarter lapse that saw Alabama not only take the lead but blow it up based on Longhorn panic. Instead Colt will have to live with the fact he listened to guys that live to be cautious debating on whether to cut through the red tape rather than achieve greatness.

Sports icons play through the pain. Even Tiger Woods with a broken leg and torn ACL played through a 90 holes of walking the links and hitting hundreds of golf balls to win the US Open. Tiger was advised not to play and now he has further cemented his legend as arguably the greatest and certainly the toughest athlete to ever play the PGA. It's an accomplishment just to be considered an athlete while playing golf.

Luckily Tiger was able to just play golf with a broken leg and torn ACL. Jack Youngblood never thought of listening to the trainers when they suggested he sit out the 1979 NFC Championship game after breaking his leg a week earlier against the Dallas Cowboys. No Way! Youngblood told the trainers, "tape up the leg, tape it tight, we'll worry about it later!". Jack went on to play a stellar game inspiring his teammates to pull off a road upset against the favored Tampa Bay Buccaneers sending the then Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl.

Youngblood would go on and play a second game with a taped up fractured tibula on the exact same field where Colt submitted to his trainers in the Rose Bowl. How he played amazed his Ram teammates who understood his toughness, character and desire. Youngblood was quoted on why he played the two games with such an excruciating injury, ""The reason you do those kinds of things, or attempt to do those kinds of things, it wasn't just another football game," Youngblood said. "It's significant. Those opportunities to play in championship games are few and far between."


What must Jack Youngblood be thinking after watching Colt take the game off with a hurt shoulder? It's not that Colt is soft but he is a product of the red tape that has softened society and made the world all about caution, red tape, and fear of living on the edge for the sheltered life. It was one chance Colt, you have to live with not knowing if you could have helped your teammates, the trainers will remember this moment as the precedence for the future as they are empowered to tell ball players if they can play or not. All the work that Jack Youngblood and Ronnie Lott put into letting trainers in on the brink of extinction when Colt gave up his moment in history to prove he was a winner when he bowed to the wishes of the pimple faced trainers.

Just off the California coastline as his gym just off of Huntington Harbor Jack Youngblood must be rolling his eyes at today's players ruled by red tape rather than toughness, guts, heart and the desire to be a champion!



Desire:
"You learnt that, whatever you are doing in life, obstacles don't matter very much. Pain or other circumstances can be there, but if you want to do a job bad enough, you'll find a way to get it done.".....................Jack Youngblood

Another College Football Season in the Books

The college football season started out with a bang as LaGarrette Blount jabbed Byron Houk of Boise State and the season ended with Colt McCoy playing for an NFL career. Who can blame the Colt? Literally, Colt could make millions if he becomes a starting quarterback in the NFL. Even as a back up he will pull in just under a million bucks a year for the next 15 years. Ask former Heisman Trophy winners Ty Detmer and Troy Smith. A back up NFL QB is not a bad way to go in life. Even without Colt the Longhorns were more than game nearly pulling off the upset. Forget the final score which looks like a blowout the Longhorns were one bad shovel pass away from potentially changing the outcome of the college football season with a back up 18 year old baby faced QB.

Give credit though to Alabama. They minimized the damage to their first quarter mistakes and they took full advantage of the Longhorn mistakes converting Texas turnovers into touchdowns. Give credit also to Boise State. The Broncos completed another undefeated season. Their second unblemished record in the past four years. The Smurf turf kings were also one point away from from having three unblemished records in the past four years thanks to the Poinsettia Bowl loss to the TCU Horned Frogs which they avenged their loss on the big stage this year in the Valley of the Sun.

With all the fine finishes in the NCAA by teams like Alabama, Florida, and Ohio State plus a very game performance by the Longhorns of the lone star state the team that scares the bejeezies out of the rest of the NCAA resides in Idaho. It's time teams start to recognize Boise State as an elite program despite playing the the WAC and start playing home and home battles on the Smurf Turf. Boise State whipped their best competition in 11th ranked Oregon and 6th ranked TCU, now its time for some non-conference battles versus the best of the best. I am sure the Broncos would have no problem doing home and homes with Florida or Georgia two teams they have taken road trips to play this decade and were soundly whooped. Those were games while Boise was still building its name. Now the Broncos are getting top talent from California and dominating the Rocky Mountain states for the best recruits. Former Broncos coach though recruiting was going to be easier at Colorado but he is losing out to his former employer for the top recruits of the region. Don't expect the Broncos to have much of a fall-off in coming years. In the words of former Iowa Head Coach Hayden Frye when asked in during his first year after the 1981 Rose Bowl if his team as rebuilding he grunted, "We don't rebuilt anymore, we reload". The Broncos are on the big stage. Recruits want to win are going to Boise State. The Broncos are loaded for 2010!

Ohio State's Rosey Edge

Today's grandaddy of them all in Pasadena is supposed to be the offensive onslaught Ohio State cannot handle with the powerful and speedy Oregon Duck defense. Sportsbook.com has the Ducks listed as a four point favorite and 72% of the public is picking the Ducks to win this game. Furthermore Ohio State is missing three key non-starting contributors in their line up. So it appears Ohio State is looking at their 4th straight BCS beat down.

Unless you analyze the game.

Oregon will be playing their 4th game today on natural grass. Oregon needed some big special teams plays to out duel UCLA the last time the Ducks traveled to Pasadena. The first half of their game with the Bruins it appeared anything could happen and UCLA could hold serve on their home field but the Ducks Kenjon Barner returned the 2nd half kick off 100 yards and followed that up with a returned interception for a touchdown that made up the difference against a team recently struggled to defeat Temple in the Washington DC bowl game.

The Ducks biggest win on grass happened in Tucson, Arizona against the Arizona Wildcats in what was the game of the year in college football with the Ducks prevailing 44-41 in double overtime. The Ducks needed 17 fourth quarter points to catch the Wildcats which on paper looks impressive. Problem here is Arizona had a horrible 4th quarter defense this year gave up 116 fourth quarter and overtime points including 15 against Washington leading to a 4th quarter collapse, 15 to Oregon State in a near 4th quarter comeback, 14 to rival Arizona State leading to another near 4th quarter comeback, 9 to California in a 4th quarter collapse and the big one 30 4th quarter and overtime points in the loss to Oregon. So Oregon's Tucson grass win isn't all that impressive considering they will be facing a much more stout defense that has averaged giving up 12 points a game all season.

Oregon's only other loss on grass they were manhandled by Toby Gearhart and the Stanford offensive line. Stanford hung 51 points on the Ducks while yielding 254 yards on the ground to the Cardinal. Well the Ohio State offensive line is every bit as physical as Stanford's offensive line if not more physical. Everyone knows fast players look fast and scary on the artificial turf but on grass the speed is not quite there plus Ohio State's defense will be the best the Ducks LaMichael James will have played all year. So it's not so much what the Ducks alleged speed burners will do against the Buckeye slow footed behemoths because when you break down the game there is nothing slower on the field than the Oregon offensive linemen who will face a major problem with the Buckeye defensive line that will force Duck quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to become a passer more than a runner.

Forget the 4 points with the Buckeyes. Take the money line on this game as the Buckeyes will put a Stanford like rushing attack on the Ducks and the Ducks will see the best defense they have faced all season in Ohio State. If you have any questions about overall competition which seems to haunt Ohio State. So far this season the Buckeyes has defeated Navy and Wisconsin two bowl team winners while the Ducks have padded their win total with big bowl losers in Arizona, Oregon State, and California all teams that lost by better than two scores in their bowl games.

Final note, Ohio State has lost their last three BCS bowl games. Two of the losses were in the national championship game the toughest game to play. They were blown out in the first half by both Florida and LSU before playing even ball in the 2nd half of both games. Last year's Fiesta Bowl loss to Texas was caused by a strong Ohio State effort and poor tackling by the Longhorns. That's right if Dan "Boom" Herron does not break the tackle in the Buckeyes 4th quarter go ahead touchdown drive with less than two minutes Colt McCoy never gets on the field assuming Aaron Petry kicks the game winning chip shot as time runs out at the Buckeyes celebrate the win. But that is not what happened but it's something to note that the Bucks lost a game they had won and were not blown out. Past year's games mean very little other than one team has been on the big stage win or lose.