It came from Black Background

A quick observation: most college football players wouldn't think twice about dumping the gatorade tank on their coach after a big win (see Barry Alvarez and Wisconsin over Auburn -- nice career finish, Barry!). That's great. But if JoePa takes care of Notre Dame FSU tonight, I think it's 30:1 against the Nittany Lions tossing a cooler in Paterno's direction. No one could bear the possibility of just plain ending the guy in a traditional moment of celebration, right?

Then again, one of his lineman accidentally knocked him on his butt in pregame warmup drills earlier this season and he got right back up. He might just be tougher than that.

Posted by Matt Shobe at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My first post of the season about Purdue football is up over at Fanblogs. Much like Purdue's special teams, I can see fat shards of rust shaking off the old machinery as a new writing season begins. Gotta find my stride, and I must start taking better pictures at the games I actually attend.

Are you a college football zealot? Hear snare drums and megaphone cheers in your sleep? Debated hotly whether The Cy-Hawk Trophy is a bigger deal than Floyd of Rosedale? Let Kevin at Fanblogs know you'd like to join the team.

Posted by Matt Shobe at 05:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is what "I can't wait until July 15" looks like.

Posted by Matt Shobe at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I loved this alternate reality from John Nestor. As he laid it out, a thrilling, bowl-based tournament of upsets, close shaves, and expected championship performances makes for a thrilling December full of college football. Gone are the dud matchups and obvious pretenders (oh c'mon, Syrcause); instead, all principal grievances are settled between the lines, and mighty Auburn and Cal get their shots but ultimately don't prevail.

This concept leaves some important questions of tradition unanswered (i.e., would the Rose Bowl ever reliably feature Big 10/Pac 10 matchups again). Also, I don't really know if players can be expected to be anything other than full time athletes (forget classes, books, all that "education" crap) if their schools end up in 14, 15, and even 16 game regular seasons. Sure, there's been plenty of talk about college football playoff solutions in the past few seasons -- but somehow this piece helped me visualize this tournament as a December Madness plan that could work. There's just the small matter of getting the military/industrial complex that is college trustees, bowl organizers, sponsors, and the NCAA on board.

Posted by Matt Shobe at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since about its 2003 edition, I've been a huge fan of EA Sports NCAA Football franchise on the PS2. It's great fun to play, fairly true to the college game, and now includes online play so every campus slacker with time to practice between classes has more than enough mojo to run my 34 year-old pong-champion ass right off the field. It's humiliating, but fortunately that's not the point. My own, more manageable ritual has always been to play the real Purdue contest scheduled for the next day on the preceding Friday night. For this little routine, NCAA has proven eerily accurate in determining Purdue's real-world outcome. In fact, in 2003, My PS2 season ended in the Sun Bowl against Washington with a 6-6 record -- precisely as the real world would have it. The Playstation Huskies beat me soundly (fortunately, the real game was a thrilling comeback win -- I've always loved Pete Fiutak's stream-of-consciousness summary of the action in this game).

Posted below are screen shots from my 2004 campaign so far. Once again, the PS2 is showing inexplicable savvy in modeling the real-world outcome. BIG CAVEAT: I didn't personally play the first 3 games due to procrastination/schedule conflicts; I only manned the controller starting with Notre Dame.

The 55-7 win over Ball State really stands out as dead-on, doesn't it? Also, the PS2 gave Syracuse a lot more credit vs. an untested Purdue defense, which is probably fair in the cold world of simulation. Orton's also featuring a pretty gaudy rating and lifelike TD total (17 here, 18 in real world).

What about that embarrassing L against Penn State? That's not in the script! Admittedly, I mashed my way through a lousy game, missing passes and calling draws when the run was hopelessly covered. But here's one case where the PS2 got it really right, and really wrong, in the same frame. I had three field goal attempts with Ben Jones, each within a ~40-48 yard range. I missed all three, falling short in each case. In the real-world game, Jones hits 2 of those 3, from 46 and 50. Cut me some slack, foul machine! Time to go revise that set of player ratings, I tell you what.

Still, the final outcome was a damned close thing. I expect real trouble against Wisconsin this coming Friday night -- better start working on those thumb callouses.

Posted by Matt Shobe at 08:28 PM | Permalink

I'm not writing an update here this week because the good folks over at Fanblogs.com have decided to give me some space to carve out as my own in the Big Ten section of their site. Fanblogs includes a wide community of authors from conferences all across the country and is a pretty lively place for opinion and discussion of all things collegiate and football-shaped. Look for my latest posting on Purdue and Penn State's seesaw battle in Happy Valley this past Saturday; I'll probably cross-post both here and at Fanblogs in the coming weeks.

With that out of the way, I'd like to also point out that I'll be at Purdue for both of the key upcoming matchups against Wisconsin and Michigan, so I'll try to photoblog on-campus happenings and work those into my updates as well. Here's hoping ESPN College Gameday brings its convoy to West Lafayette before October is out! I gotta think there's an excellent shot of them coming to town for the Michigan game if the Boilers can pick their way through the best defense in the country first. That's right -- Wisconsin owns the stingiest line in all the land, having given up just 198 yards per game on average. This much is for sure: Orton's Heisman campaign isn't going to be short on challenges this month.

Posted by Matt Shobe at 08:02 PM | Permalink

Propers to Kevin Donahue at FanBlogs.com for uncovering this one:

Pissed girlfriend sells OU-Texas tickets

The auction writeup has that genuine, girl-done-wrong feel to it (and an appropriately tacky border graphic), but sometimes people go extra lengths to embellish an item's history to amp its value. With something of time-sensitive value like football tickets, the more drama the better. Still, "partysteph" is a brand-new user ID and as she put it, "Hes not fooling anyone cause his car is a peice of junk!...SO LONG ERIC!!!"

That's it. I'm convinced you're the real deal. Don't spend that $611 in one place!

Posted by Matt Shobe at 09:11 AM | Permalink

The details of the game aren't worth rehashing here when so many others have covered the ground. Suffice it to say it was amazing that Notre Dame outgained the Boilers in many statistical categories but capitalized on virtually none of the game's available momentum. First downs (28 to 22), time of possession (33:12 to 26:48), passing yardage (460 to 413), even pass attempts (49 to 32) -- all these numbers favored the Irish. They only committed a single turnover. The devil in those details is their place in the narrative of the game. That fumble was on the two yard line, with a Notre Dame touchdown all but assured -- somehow this fact has been overlooked in most of the game summaries I've read. Orton converted the subsequent 98 yard TD drive into an emphatic 14 point swing. If you let someone march 98 yards down main street after a critical turnover in their red zone, you got what you paid for. And nowhere in the offense/defense stats pack does Jerome Brooks' historic 100 yard kickoff return figure in. I think that one play cut the power to the student section just before halftime; a rolling blackout emptied the rest of the stadium by the middle of the 4th quarter. The Purdue corner was howling wild with life throughout the contest, shaking down its own thunder from that cloudless sky.

After the game I said, mostly in a delusional state, that this Purdue team could play with any college team in the country. Not necessarily win, but probably keep it within 7 no matter the opponent because of the offense and Orton. On Sunday evening, I'm not entirely sure any rational fan should be making such claims on the Boiler's behalf, but I tell you I've never seen a offense as in synch as this one at Purdue. Brees was a great scrambler and huddle presence, but his receivers would drop critical passes at awful times. This corps, especially Stubblefield, have the velcro-hands thing going, and Orton can place the ball with a surveyor's precision. Defense remains sketchy, but it appears to be "just good enough" for the given occasion.

I still can't believe I got to witness that thing in person. Prior to Brooks' kickoff return, I remember yelling "my GOD, take a knee!" when he was 2 yards deep in the end zone. So, sure, I'm the chump now, but you have to admit it was the most harebrained of schemes to take that ball out.

Visiting Fan Observation: Many of the ND fans and every single usher were painfully gracious hosts. This was, um, even *before* the game. It's a classy home base, I begrudgingly allow. There were some real cornpone chump Purdue fans near us, too, bellowing about Orton and Heisman well before kickoff and shouting inane things like "B - Y - WHOO?!," apparently to remind the faithful of their awkward season opener. I'm pretty sure our reputation as the coach class of the traveling Big Ten is intact. What a bunch of yutzes. I was so embarrassed. Even with that, a good number of ND fans (the ones who didn't leave at the beginning of the 4th quarter, that is) shook my hand on the way out and even offered a "good luck next week" or two.

All of this doesn't mean I'm gonna start to cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame anytime soon. But I was surprised and impressed with the sportsmanship. Maybe a couple iffy seasons have humbled some Irish boosters?

Posted by Matt Shobe at 10:22 PM | Permalink

Chris, Lee, and Kirk are always searching for labels to define each weekend as the season rolls on, and this week it was "Step-Up Saturday." Time for a lot of conference openers and matchups that finally pit underdogs that don't look quite so much like practice teams against both light and heavy favorites.

PUTTING THE 'F' IN DEFENSE
I'll get Purdue out of the way first this weekend. Kyle Orton kept up the pressure in his budding Heisman campaign with a very solid performance against another so-so secndary against the Illini. Still, 3 games in, no interceptions? sheesh. his accuracy is something to behold; if you saw the game you won't soon forget the lob wedge tossed perfectly into Brandon Jones' outstretched arms after Jones sprung loose from his blitz-block assignment into a backfield emptier than the Sears parking lot on Sunday morning. That said, Purdue's defense against the run was of the bend, keep bending, maybe even break variety, giving up 137 yards in the first half, which bested their total from the first two games. Credit Ron Turner and the Illini with an inspired offensive game plan and QB Jon Beutjer with the lack of creativity required to exploit a glaring weakness repeatedly when that's precisely what is called for. Apparently, up-the-gut is one way to beat Purdue's economy size D-line. Next weekend in South Bend is shaping up to be a spectacular contest. I'm lucky enough to have tickets to the game so I'll attempt to bring some photos home with me for the Week 6 column.

USC, UW: UPSETTING IN EVERY WAY
Husky fans must now look back on the Don James era as some sort of fable told mostly by grandparents to doe-eyed children at their feet. "Why, there was a time when teams would tremble -- tremble, i says -- at the thought of playing in Husky Stadium." T'was surely the case in 1991 when UW went 12-0-0 and enjoyed all the kiss-yer-sister glory of a co-national championship with Miami. Yesterday, Notre Dame shoved the hapless Huskies around in South Bend on their continuing trek back to national prominence. ND has Washington's number, having beaten them all 4 times they've played. I had the misfortune of witnessing ND apply the 5-point palm exploding heart technique to UW when I was in grad school there. An afternoon spent in a cold, soaking rain capped off by a ND interception run back for a touchdown just as the Huskies were driving for a game-winning score late in the 4th quarter. Classic shillelagh-to-the-forehead outcome for the opposing team.

Enough prattle about my personal misfortune in selecting rooting interests. USC gets a test from Stanford? It wasn't quite a tackle-the-band finish, but for the Trojans to surmount an 11-point halftime deficit and win by 3 takes just the sort of guile and determination reserved for a national power. USC tailback Reggie Bush is getting all sorts of snaps this morning from the usual wags as a Heisman contender, if only for his PlayStation double-spin move on a punt return in the 4th quarter that set up the eventual game-winner.

UNACCEPTABLE BROADCAST MOMENT OF THE WEEK
Pretty much the entirety of Wayne Larrivee's play-by-play call of Purdue/Illinois. Wayne kept referring to Purdue's Taylor Stubblefield as last year's standout receiver "(John) Standeford" and defensive coordinator Brock Spack as "Spock." Ok, so Spack is eerily prescient when it comes to calling pass defenses, but I haven't yet caught him mind-melding with the secondary during timeouts. What's the deal? No one could be bothered to pop for a 2004 Media Guide?

Posted by Matt Shobe at 08:56 AM | Permalink

This week's posting is much abbreviated due to the fact that I didn't get in front of a TV until the 2nd quarter of Notre Dame/MSU. Busy weekend overall.

WHAT HAPPENED TO WEEK 3?
First, a bit of housekeeping. I've been posting these updates with a numbering scheme that ran along with the Purdue/Big Ten schedule, so I pretty much dropped an entirely valid August week of college football. Thus, like many fine software applications, I've decided consistent versioning doesn't matter and this week's entry jumps to Week 4.

SO, WHAT ABOUT NOTRE DAME
A number of Michigan boosters I've chosen to associate myself with, for better or worse, preached to me their strong belief in the ultimate iffyness of Notre Dame's real character on both sides of the ball. I think that's a required going-in position to start each season if you're a Michigan fan, but no matter: there was plenty of evidence to back it up during week 2's humbling at the hands of BYU. That Michigan fell to the Irish in South Bend had everything to do with Michigan's own shortcomings this season, they reasoned, not so much because the Domers have suddenly figured it all out.

6 MSU turnovers, gold hats flying to the ball, and much Spartan home crowd silence later, it's apparent to me that ND is very much in the process of figuring something out, and Purdue better keep focused on the Illini this weekend before pondering what should be a premier early season matchup with the Irish on October 2nd. (I'm lucky enough to have a ticket to the game, so I'll post some cameraphone images with my week 6 update). Even ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit noted in the closing minutes of MSU's failed comeback bid that the Purdue-ND matchup should be a real proving ground for both teams. (College Gameday in South Bend twice this year?) Even still, some of my maize-and-blue facepainted associates would have me think the Boilers have too many offensive options to consider losing. They haven't seen how mightily we've struggled in South Bend since, oh, Nixon was in office.

The ND fans I know are remaining suspiciously, disturbingly quiet on the entire issue. I think they realize this is just as big for them as it is for us, and maybe any Purdue fan should see that as real program progress.

BALANCE IN ALL THINGS
There's plenty of anger in the Florida ranks over officiating and stadium clock control during this weekend's blood feud with Tennessee at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. As Michael Hickerson over at Fanblogs.com points out,

"As a Tennessee fan, all I can say is--now you know how we all felt in 2000 when a clearly dropped pass was called a touchdown and the Gators won. Certainly I don't want to see a game decided by officials, but the ball bounced in the Vols favor and we got the win. I think both sides are now even on the "getting the short end of the stick on bad calls in Neyland Stadium rule."

Posted by Matt Shobe at 12:55 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (1)

Week 2 in the college pigskin saga has finally revealed a proper upset (or two); a question about which teams appear to be "dominant" early in the season vs. merely sleepwalking through inferior patsies (does this even matter in week 2?); and a pesky Fresno State situation. Around the action in ~300 words; we'll go places Corso's not so fast to visit, my friend.

UPSETS, UPSETS, UPSETS
In sport, the best drama comes from the improbable outcome. Last weekend saw nothing of the kind - there were no upsets among the Top 25. This week? Haw. Har-dee-har-haw!

First: can anyone truthfully say they're completely surprised/shocked/dismayed that Notre Dame found shelter in the arms of Touchdown Jesus and sent Michigan's woeful ground attack packing in the second half? I certainly have little love for the Leprechaun and his minions in South Bend, but I sure as hell have respect for the power of mystique and tradition; there's no such thing as a walk in Notre Dame's home stadium, even during the most uncertain days of the Ty Willingham movement. I didn't see any of the game except as highlights, but I did catch the 4th quarter on the radio. Sounds like Michigan suffered from some freakish turnovers, bad decisionmaking in playbook choice (if the pass works, Lloyd, why keep calling halfback toss right? huh?), and a mostly demoralized defense in the face of the usual Papal magic act. ND fans, your penitent days may be behind you. That said, I *really* want Navy to find away against these guys. A 41-year losing streak just isn't good for the war effort.

Second, BCS conspiracy theorists: your new black helicopter is Fresno State. A solid walloping of a (vastly overrated?) Kansas State side has left a whole lotta flat-grade asphalt in front of the surging wheels of the Bulldog New Year's Day Express. Who's going to derail an undefeated season for them now? Fun Stuff. Glad the Boilers didn't have to stare them down in the pre-conference season, I tell you whut.

Third: Nebraska -- in Lincoln -- to Southern Freaking Missisippi, shaved 21-17. The old adage, "three turnovers and you should lose, four and you will lose," caught the Blackshirts napping at home. I can only imagine the howling rage and heavenward-directed fist-shaking in the tailgating acres outside of Memorial Stadium. I doubt Bill Callahan was pleased.

DOMINANCE
It's only week 2, so it's fun to pretend like any of this stuff we've seen so far really matters in telling more about conference and national title pictures. Separation Saturday this ain't. That said, I heard John Saunders on ABC already labeling USC's performance against CSU as sure evidence of USC's "dominance." Shoot, same could be said of Oklahoma (63-16 over hapless Houston), LSU over Arkansas State (53-3), Florida over the fabulous Eastern Michigan {mascot} (49-10), even Hampton over those wildmen from Howard (47-14). So, since Purdue was a house afire against Ball State by a 59-7 margin, that must be worth at least a three slot drop in the AP given last weekend's polling logic. By transitive property, that also means the Boilers should get at least a half victory over Boston College, even though they out-tested Penn State and a much-rankled JoePa.

Having seen Kyle Orton's effort in person today, I gotta say the guy has accuracy I simply haven't seen in the college game since I really started to care in my early 20s. He threw three passes today for 30+ yards that could only be caught by his intended receiver in that over-the-shoulder, gotta-make-you-cartwheel-to-get-it way of his. I think Orton was 26 for 29? That's scandalous. Here's hoping Purdue can find some of this same juju when it heads to Notre Dame in two weeks. The Domers are apparently back in the business of stirring up the echoes again, so nothing's for certain, vegas handicappers be damned. Purdue hasn't won in South Bend since Hester Prynne was fending off suitors with pointy hats from Back Bay. So yeah, I'm still concerned.

Stop the presses...I see here Western Illinois beat Cheyney 98-7. Sheezus. Did the Western O-line get to drive their pickup trucks in-game? It's a good thing they didn't tack on a field goal because I don't think ESPNEWS' ticker supports three digit scores. If that's not dominance (albeit of the divsion II variety), then what the flip is?

TO THE MAC AND BACK
It doesn't look like this is the year for big MAC upsets over proven powers in the Big Ten (among other places). Or, is it? Marshall, Marshall, Marshall! You pulled this week's Oregon State, by the looks of the final score and that last-gasp OSU field goal to top you in regulation. The ghost of Craig Krenzel Past, or something. That damned Buckeye good fortune seems to be in early effect. OSU hasn't lost at home in 17 games, and the Thundering Herd just came so daggone close.

Other MAC teams playing ranked or significant opponents went 0-fer today, especially the unfortunate Western Michigan Cowboys, victims of a 63-0 stonewalling at the hands of Virginia Tech. MAC teams still represent trouble to the unsuspecting, but no one from this conference is going to pull a fast one this season, it seems.

WHERE IS THIS ALL HEADED?
Oh c'mon. Still too early to tell. But it's going to be a great season. I have little reason to doubt USC, Miami, Oklahoma, and LSU will be the usual suspects. But the Big Ten remains wide open (Iowa? Purdue? Sure, make room OSU and UM) and the Big 12 seems to be trouble, so there should be something to savor each Saturday morning.

Posted by Matt Shobe at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Getting college football started during the Labor Day holiday weekend leads to all sorts of temporary schedule madness: a full slate of Saturday and Sunday games with a Monday Night marquee matchup tacked on for good measure. Hurricane Frances had no mercy in mind for Florida or the NCAA, however, so that Monday night special between Florida State and Frances' Miami namesake squad will have to settle for following the NFL's own prime time debut. Still, if you've been waiting all summer like I have for this weekend to get going, there's really no such thing as too much football, no matter how goofy the timetable.

BIG WINNER
Hard to pick just one (there were no upsets among ranked teams), but I guess Fresno State's defensive secondary gets the edge over other deserving units and teams. Husky Stadium is a tough away opener for anyone, no matter how depleted an appearance UW offers on the field. Sounds like the Bulldogs' safeties made sure the offense wouldn't have to do all the pullin'. FSU is now enduring media darling status as a BCS spoiler, but Kansas State provides another road test next weekend.

BIG LOSER
Oregon State! You're on the national stage, you're taking it to LSU under the madcap lights in Baton Rouge and it's up to your placekicker to seal the deal. Instead, Alexis Serna shanks it like a 23 handicapper after making the turn at Municipal Links. The fact that Serna took advantage of a final chance in overtime to miss the extra point is just twisting the knife. Nowhere else in football can a position be so easily singled out to toe the frayed line between success and season-long second guessing. Oh, the pain to be a Beaver fan on a night like this past Saturday's. Ironically enough, New Orleans Saints fans can surely empathize. But they don't quickly forget.

SURPRISE MOMENT
Seeing Tennessee on the tube on Sunday night. This first week of pre-NFL college activity always throws me off. It's either that or the checkerboard paint.

PLAYMAKER
Purdue's Kyle Orton. Numbers like (16/30, 287 yards, 4 TD/0 INT) lead to hanging 51 unanswered points on the certified patsy-free Orangemen. Orton's playcalling, leadership, and rail gun arm were much touted heading into this season, and he acquitted himself mightily after a shaky 1st quarter. And yes, I'm hopelessly biased. But it's my column, son. If no one besides Pointer or Kubat is gonna cover them, I gotta do what I can.

UNACCEPTABLE BROADCAST MOMENT
ESPN's Bob Davie, 4th quarter of Tenn-UNLV: "There comes a point when you want to know if that Excessive Celebration call is reviewable, don't you?" Never, Bob. Not even under general anesthesia.

See you next Sunday morning for the Week 2 installment.

Posted by Matt Shobe at 02:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Doug Mittler's year-in-review column matches my feeling that the best game of the season was Florida State over Florida in week 1; didn't know about the guard dog thing, however!

Here's hoping the BCS ends up next to other piles of wreckage at an NTSB crash test laboratory in 2006. That's the only place it deserves to be if it can ignore unanimous #1 rankings. Unfortunately, everyone's panacea playoff system won't work because of money, money, money. I wonder if there's a solution somewhere in a mix of the NIT system and the existing, tradition-rich bowls? Then again, college football concluding in late January is no one's idea of big fun. Camp Randall night game at 19 below, anyone?

Posted by Matt Shobe at 07:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)