Tangled up in Blue
BIG TEN CHAMPS!!!!
Man - that felt good. You know what - it's worth saying again
BIG TEN CHAMPS!!!!
It’s been a long time since we have been able to say that. 20 years in fact. Quick - who did we share the Championship with that year? (answer below)
You probably heard all the stats but they are fun to say - First time we beat PSU in Happy Valley since before JoePa was HC. Most home wins in a season - 7. Most total wins in a season - 11. Most wins for a senior class - 33. Just a great season!
While watching the MSU victory - I also hid my stuffed Sparties, ate a pound and a half of Rolaids, closed my eyes and actually rooted for UM. Of course, UM goes out and pulls a Rocky Balboa - the early rounds - and gets pummeled 37-7. How Greg Robinson still remains employed as a coach at any level higher than Pee Wee football is beyond me.
Man - that felt good. You know what - it's worth saying again
BIG TEN CHAMPS!!!!
It’s been a long time since we have been able to say that. 20 years in fact. Quick - who did we share the Championship with that year? (answer below)
You probably heard all the stats but they are fun to say - First time we beat PSU in Happy Valley since before JoePa was HC. Most home wins in a season - 7. Most total wins in a season - 11. Most wins for a senior class - 33. Just a great season!
While watching the MSU victory - I also hid my stuffed Sparties, ate a pound and a half of Rolaids, closed my eyes and actually rooted for UM. Of course, UM goes out and pulls a Rocky Balboa - the early rounds - and gets pummeled 37-7. How Greg Robinson still remains employed as a coach at any level higher than Pee Wee football is beyond me.
Still hoping for a BCS Bowl, I donned some Northwestern gear and sat down to watch NW @ Wisconsin. The duds were of no use as the Mildcats - missing Big Ten 1st QB Dan Persa - turned the ball over 7 times including a pick six. With the NW's defense constantly playing with a short field - WI was able to hang a speed limit on the board in a 70-23 laugher. I must have missed the joke as I wasn't laughing.
And in another reason to hate the BCS - even though we went 1-0 amongst the Co-Champions, with Wisconsin going 1-1 and OSU going 0-1 - We are the ones most likely being left out of going to a BCS game. As of this week, we are the highest ranked BCS team in the country being left out of the BCS bowls. To add to the travesty - in what could be the biggest Big Al pimp to date - if UConn wins this week against South Florida they will be in the BCS. UConn is unranked in the BCS and 29th in the AP just ahead of (wait for it) - Navy.
In one of twists of fate that fate that make college football so interesting - when current UConn HC Randy Edsall (who would make a scary good replacement for Rodriguez) took the helm of a Huskie program it was in the Atlantic 10 playing Div 1AA ball in front of crowds the size of Holmes Hall. His predecessor? None other than Skip Holtz - current HC at South Florida and son of Mush Mouth.
It was a wild week in College Football. In what would have been the game of the year (yes - surpassing the Little Giants victory over ND for drama and excitement for all but us Spartans) Auburn and Alabama squared off in the 75th Iron Bowl. Alabama jumped to a quick 21-0 lead before Auburn even managed a first down. Ominously, Bama on its next three drives 1) turned it over in the Tiger endzone, 2) had first and goal at the Auburn 3 but managed only a FG and 3) fumbled it away at the Auburn 12. Though leading 24-7 at the half, Bama had left 18 points off the board and was primed for an upset. In the second half Cam (aka sCam by Tide fans) Newton wrapped up the Heisman
Trophy by leading Auburn to three second half TDs and the defense held the Tide to a FG as the Tigers won 28-27. It was the largest blown lead ever by Alabama. A great game!
But that great game was surpassed later on that night when Nevada played Boise State. The WolfPack were 14 point underdogs having not beaten BSU in 10 straight games. By halftime Boise was its usual deadly efficient self
leading 24-7 (sound familiar?) over Nevada. But in a great comeback - starting midway through the third quarter the Pistol offense became unstoppable as Nevada scored on its next 4 drives tying the game at 31 all with 13 seconds left. An outstanding Hail Mary by Boise got the ball to the Nevada 9 with 1 second left. But Boise then misses the chipshot FG forcing OT. In OT, Boise misses another FG, Nevada makes theirs and Nevada wins the biggest game in their history 34-31. An Incredible game!
And in another reason to hate the BCS - even though we went 1-0 amongst the Co-Champions, with Wisconsin going 1-1 and OSU going 0-1 - We are the ones most likely being left out of going to a BCS game. As of this week, we are the highest ranked BCS team in the country being left out of the BCS bowls. To add to the travesty - in what could be the biggest Big Al pimp to date - if UConn wins this week against South Florida they will be in the BCS. UConn is unranked in the BCS and 29th in the AP just ahead of (wait for it) - Navy.
In one of twists of fate that fate that make college football so interesting - when current UConn HC Randy Edsall (who would make a scary good replacement for Rodriguez) took the helm of a Huskie program it was in the Atlantic 10 playing Div 1AA ball in front of crowds the size of Holmes Hall. His predecessor? None other than Skip Holtz - current HC at South Florida and son of Mush Mouth.
It was a wild week in College Football. In what would have been the game of the year (yes - surpassing the Little Giants victory over ND for drama and excitement for all but us Spartans) Auburn and Alabama squared off in the 75th Iron Bowl. Alabama jumped to a quick 21-0 lead before Auburn even managed a first down. Ominously, Bama on its next three drives 1) turned it over in the Tiger endzone, 2) had first and goal at the Auburn 3 but managed only a FG and 3) fumbled it away at the Auburn 12. Though leading 24-7 at the half, Bama had left 18 points off the board and was primed for an upset. In the second half Cam (aka sCam by Tide fans) Newton wrapped up the Heisman
Trophy by leading Auburn to three second half TDs and the defense held the Tide to a FG as the Tigers won 28-27. It was the largest blown lead ever by Alabama. A great game!
But that great game was surpassed later on that night when Nevada played Boise State. The WolfPack were 14 point underdogs having not beaten BSU in 10 straight games. By halftime Boise was its usual deadly efficient self
leading 24-7 (sound familiar?) over Nevada. But in a great comeback - starting midway through the third quarter the Pistol offense became unstoppable as Nevada scored on its next 4 drives tying the game at 31 all with 13 seconds left. An outstanding Hail Mary by Boise got the ball to the Nevada 9 with 1 second left. But Boise then misses the chipshot FG forcing OT. In OT, Boise misses another FG, Nevada makes theirs and Nevada wins the biggest game in their history 34-31. An Incredible game!
The Doofus took a real beating this week
Lost in all the celebrations was the terrible week that the BBofG had. Rivalry week is one tough week to pick. In the office pool at work the winner of the pool went 4-6. The rest of us did worse. Pete dropped back into a tie for the lead in the SpartanMag pool after having a (you guessed it) a losing week. In Vegas - the casinos cleaned up with Boise State losing, Oregon not covering and Notre Dame pulling an upset. Let’s all agree that we won't
have VEGAS BABY weekend during Rivalry week. If we do - I'm going with the Big Flippy.
Comebacks were the downfall of the BBofG had all 4 of its college games covered into the 4th quarter and late into the third quarter in its pro game but alas it ended up 1-4 as:
Week 13 Rivalry Week Recap:
Kansas State -14 @ North Texas - KSU RB Daniel (Don't call me Danny) Thomas ran for 269 yds only to be eclipsed by North Texas RB Lance Dunbar's 270 in the final game at Fouts (aka Mean Joe Greene) Field. North Texas led 20-7 late in the 1st quarter but KSU slowly rallied to take a 49-34 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter. A TD by North Texas with 10 minutes left got NT the back door cover. LOSS
South Carolina -2.5 @ Clemson - Clemson got a TD on its opening drive and that was it. SC scored 29 unanswered as the Cocks beat their in state rivals for a second straight year. SC QB Jeff Garcia threw for 227 yds and the defense forced three Tiger turnovers in a solid 29-7 win. WIN
Purdue -3.5 vs Indiana - IU won in West Lafayette for the first time since 1996, snapped a 12 game Big Ten losing streak and a 15 game Big Ten road losing streak. IU tied the game with 9 seconds left in regulation. In OT, Purdue threw an INT on their first drive and IU responded with a FG to win it. Indiana promptly celebrated winning the Old Oaken Bucket by firing their HC Bill Lynch (the second week in a row the BBofG got a HC fired - Fear the Doofus!)
LOSS
La Tech -11.5 @ San Jose State - La Tech overcame a 496 yd outing by SJSU QB Jordan La Secla. Behind La Tech RB Lennon Creers 252 yds rushing - the Bulldogs jumped to a 45-31 lead with a TD with less than 4 minutes left. But a TD pass with 2 minutes to go got a back door cover for the other Spartans LOSS
Pittsburgh - 6.5 @ Buffalo - The Steelers jumped to a 13-0 lead at the half but a 65 yd screen pass by the Buffalo with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter started a Bills rally. Holding Pittsburgh to a three and out on their next drive, the Bills scored a FG, recovered a Steeler fumble and kicked a tying FG with 13 minutes left. The teams traded FGs in the fourth quarter with Buffalo getting theirs on the final play in regulation. In OT, Buffalo WR Stevie Johnson dropped a pass in the endzone killing a drive. Pittsburgh then drove for the gaming winning FG on the next drive. LOSS
Trivia question answer - MSU, UM, Iowa and Illinois all went 6-2 in Big Ten play in 1990. And as Alex likes to point out - in 1990 MSU may have tied for the BIG TEN championship but Georgia Tech tied for the NATIONAL championship with Colorado - who needed a fifth down to go undefeated. At the Miami (FL) GT game this year they had their HC from that year Bobby Ross (yup - he also coached the Lions) lead players from that team onto the field. Pretty good coaching staff as the DC was George O'Leary now HC at Central Florida and their OC was Ralph Friedgen now HC at Maryland
The Point Whore Parlay went 0-3.
Michigan +17.5 @ Ohio State - Final - OSU won 37-7 LOSS
Kansas +24.5 @ Missouri (Neutral Site) - Final - Mizzou 35-7. The Tigers got the covering TD with less than 3 mins left - crap! LOSS
Virginia +23.5 @ Virginia Tech - Final - VT 37-7. Va had the ball with 1:21 left on their own 40 but couldn't get the back door cover - oh well LOSS
After a stellar October the BBofG has had a disappointing November going 7-11. Not many college games to choose from this week as there are only 18 games on tap of which two are the prohibited UConn and Pitt netting 16 available. But I do want to have a chance to get back to even on the onth so I wil go with 3 NCAA and 3 pro
For Week 14 - Championship Week I'll go with:
Va Tech -3.5 vs Florida State (Neutral Field) - Va Tech's winning streak continues as they have now won 10 straight games SU and 9-1 ATS. Fla St looked great in beating their arch rival Miami (FL) last week but QB Ponder has been iffy for the game with an injured elbow. Expect the Hokies to get their running game going and get a INT or 2 to win the game by a TD.
Florida International -4.5 vs Middle Tenn State - FIU is he best team you haven’t heard off. Quietly they have gone 5-1 in league play and SU and 4 of 5 ATS. With a win the Golden Panthers win the Sun Belt outright. MTSU has been s screwy team starting out awful but winning their last 2 (against below average Western KY and Fla Atlantic) but having lost 5 of 7 ATS. MTSU is dead last in the nation in turnover margin. Fla Intl clinches the Sun Belt on Senior Night going away.
Nevada -7.5 @ La Tech - After last weeks incredible game, Nevada is on let down alert. Also they have to travel to Ruston LA for a senior night game against a competent team in the Buldogs. Still. I don't think the WolfPack is going to let a WAC championship get away. I'm taking Nevada with a second half comeback and cover
Green Bay -9.5 vs San Francisco - Bounce back game for the Pack after losing to the Falcons last week. SF has won 3 of their last 4 but the wins were against the dregs of the league. Take the Pack on the frozen tundra.
New Orleans -6.5 @ Cincinnati - New Orleans is a second half of the year team and is gathering steam going 5-1 SU and 4-2 ATS Cincinnati is just awful having lost 8 straight games and going 1-7 ATS. The streaks continue.
have VEGAS BABY weekend during Rivalry week. If we do - I'm going with the Big Flippy.
Comebacks were the downfall of the BBofG had all 4 of its college games covered into the 4th quarter and late into the third quarter in its pro game but alas it ended up 1-4 as:
Week 13 Rivalry Week Recap:
Kansas State -14 @ North Texas - KSU RB Daniel (Don't call me Danny) Thomas ran for 269 yds only to be eclipsed by North Texas RB Lance Dunbar's 270 in the final game at Fouts (aka Mean Joe Greene) Field. North Texas led 20-7 late in the 1st quarter but KSU slowly rallied to take a 49-34 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter. A TD by North Texas with 10 minutes left got NT the back door cover. LOSS
South Carolina -2.5 @ Clemson - Clemson got a TD on its opening drive and that was it. SC scored 29 unanswered as the Cocks beat their in state rivals for a second straight year. SC QB Jeff Garcia threw for 227 yds and the defense forced three Tiger turnovers in a solid 29-7 win. WIN
Purdue -3.5 vs Indiana - IU won in West Lafayette for the first time since 1996, snapped a 12 game Big Ten losing streak and a 15 game Big Ten road losing streak. IU tied the game with 9 seconds left in regulation. In OT, Purdue threw an INT on their first drive and IU responded with a FG to win it. Indiana promptly celebrated winning the Old Oaken Bucket by firing their HC Bill Lynch (the second week in a row the BBofG got a HC fired - Fear the Doofus!)
LOSS
La Tech -11.5 @ San Jose State - La Tech overcame a 496 yd outing by SJSU QB Jordan La Secla. Behind La Tech RB Lennon Creers 252 yds rushing - the Bulldogs jumped to a 45-31 lead with a TD with less than 4 minutes left. But a TD pass with 2 minutes to go got a back door cover for the other Spartans LOSS
Pittsburgh - 6.5 @ Buffalo - The Steelers jumped to a 13-0 lead at the half but a 65 yd screen pass by the Buffalo with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter started a Bills rally. Holding Pittsburgh to a three and out on their next drive, the Bills scored a FG, recovered a Steeler fumble and kicked a tying FG with 13 minutes left. The teams traded FGs in the fourth quarter with Buffalo getting theirs on the final play in regulation. In OT, Buffalo WR Stevie Johnson dropped a pass in the endzone killing a drive. Pittsburgh then drove for the gaming winning FG on the next drive. LOSS
Trivia question answer - MSU, UM, Iowa and Illinois all went 6-2 in Big Ten play in 1990. And as Alex likes to point out - in 1990 MSU may have tied for the BIG TEN championship but Georgia Tech tied for the NATIONAL championship with Colorado - who needed a fifth down to go undefeated. At the Miami (FL) GT game this year they had their HC from that year Bobby Ross (yup - he also coached the Lions) lead players from that team onto the field. Pretty good coaching staff as the DC was George O'Leary now HC at Central Florida and their OC was Ralph Friedgen now HC at Maryland
The Point Whore Parlay went 0-3.
Michigan +17.5 @ Ohio State - Final - OSU won 37-7 LOSS
Kansas +24.5 @ Missouri (Neutral Site) - Final - Mizzou 35-7. The Tigers got the covering TD with less than 3 mins left - crap! LOSS
Virginia +23.5 @ Virginia Tech - Final - VT 37-7. Va had the ball with 1:21 left on their own 40 but couldn't get the back door cover - oh well LOSS
After a stellar October the BBofG has had a disappointing November going 7-11. Not many college games to choose from this week as there are only 18 games on tap of which two are the prohibited UConn and Pitt netting 16 available. But I do want to have a chance to get back to even on the onth so I wil go with 3 NCAA and 3 pro
For Week 14 - Championship Week I'll go with:
Va Tech -3.5 vs Florida State (Neutral Field) - Va Tech's winning streak continues as they have now won 10 straight games SU and 9-1 ATS. Fla St looked great in beating their arch rival Miami (FL) last week but QB Ponder has been iffy for the game with an injured elbow. Expect the Hokies to get their running game going and get a INT or 2 to win the game by a TD.
Florida International -4.5 vs Middle Tenn State - FIU is he best team you haven’t heard off. Quietly they have gone 5-1 in league play and SU and 4 of 5 ATS. With a win the Golden Panthers win the Sun Belt outright. MTSU has been s screwy team starting out awful but winning their last 2 (against below average Western KY and Fla Atlantic) but having lost 5 of 7 ATS. MTSU is dead last in the nation in turnover margin. Fla Intl clinches the Sun Belt on Senior Night going away.
Nevada -7.5 @ La Tech - After last weeks incredible game, Nevada is on let down alert. Also they have to travel to Ruston LA for a senior night game against a competent team in the Buldogs. Still. I don't think the WolfPack is going to let a WAC championship get away. I'm taking Nevada with a second half comeback and cover
Green Bay -9.5 vs San Francisco - Bounce back game for the Pack after losing to the Falcons last week. SF has won 3 of their last 4 but the wins were against the dregs of the league. Take the Pack on the frozen tundra.
New Orleans -6.5 @ Cincinnati - New Orleans is a second half of the year team and is gathering steam going 5-1 SU and 4-2 ATS Cincinnati is just awful having lost 8 straight games and going 1-7 ATS. The streaks continue.
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