I will have a pit in my stomach for the next year thanks to that “university” in Athens, Ga.  But if it didn’t hurt this much to lose, then it wouldn’t feel so great to win.  If your team beat its hated rival, enjoy it.  You have bragging rights for the next year.  If your team lost, it is time to sulk, hide out, and talk about the prospect of next year’s team.  It is the cycle of college football that makes it what it is.  There is always another year.  No matter what happens up to it or after it, there is no denying that Thanksgiving weekend is the best time to be a college football fan.

Running up the score is a dick move.  There’s no denying that.  Is that such a bad thing though?  Fans don’t want polite 27-13 victories.  Fans want 55-7 massacres, especially when it comes to rivals.  The only outrage you ever hear about running up the score is from the losing fans and the sports media.  Fans want coaches like Steve Spurrier and Woody Hayes.  Hayes, the legendary Ohio State coach, up 48-14 in the 1968 Michigan game, went for two.  When asked why, Hayes famously said, “Because I couldn’t go for three!”  There’s a reason Buckeye fans love Woody Hayes so much.

Being a dick is an important quality when it comes to coaching college football.  Sure there are the occasional nice guys that enjoy success, but in the end dicks take home the crown.  Urban Meyer and Nick Saban coach the two top teams in the country.  Guess what?  They’re both dicks.

It sounds silly, but Team America says it best:

We’re dicks! We’re reckless, arrogant, stupid dicks. And the Film Actors Guild are pussies. And Kim Jong Il is an asshole. Pussies don’t like dicks, because pussies get fucked by dicks. But dicks also fuck assholes: assholes that just want to shit on everything. Pussies may think they can deal with assholes their way. But the only thing that can fuck an asshole is a dick, with some balls. The problem with dicks is: they fuck too much or fuck when it isn’t appropriate – and it takes a pussy to show them that. But sometimes, pussies can be so full of shit that they become assholes themselves… because pussies are an inch and half away from ass holes. I don’t know much about this crazy, crazy world, but I do know this: If you don’t let us fuck this asshole, we’re going to have our dicks and pussies all covered in shit!

Please note, there is a fine line between being a dick and being an asshole.  Mark Mangino is an asshole. Some are on the fence: Lane Kiffin, Rich Rodriguez, Houston Nutt.  Fans don’t want an asshole coach.  What’s the difference?  A dick wins games.  An asshole might win some but will lose and things will get ugly.

In the case of Ohio State, Jim Tressel is not a dick.  He’s definitely not an asshole either.  He’s one of those rare nice guys that has enjoyed success.  This Saturday he faces a Michigan team that is in a downward spiral and fits every definition of the word desperate.  Ohio State will almost certainly win, but will Tressel go for the kill shot and then keep pulling the trigger until there is nothing left but a pile of maize and blue helmets?  You know exactly what Rodriquez would do if the roles were reversed.  I say drop the hammer and enjoy the spoils of victory.

This has been a roller coaster year so far for both teams.  Things were looking glum for Tech after the embarrassing loss to Miami and Ohio State failed to accept the big game challenge against So Cal and later stumbled against lowly Purdue.  Both ships have been able to right themselves.  Tech got the big win over VPI and has survived the pressure of being the ACC’s top team.  OSU was able to finally get a big game victory with a win in Happy Valley.  With any luck both will playing in BCS bowls come January.

This Saturday is big for both teams, but as long as they play like they should, the bowl season is looking mighty nice.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-tech/opponents-scheming-to-stop-101148.html

Virginia Tech safety Kam Chancellor said that during a film session he think he has figured out what Tech is going to do, just from the blocking schemes.

“I can tell run, pass, who’s getting the ball,” Chancellor said.

“If they keep it like that, then we’re all good.”

UVA, Vandy, Wake, Duke, and Georgia are all that is left in the way.

The Big 10

The ACC

At least GT made it into the gated community portion of the ACC.

Jordan Shipley of Texas and Josh Nesbitt of Georgia Tech

Jordan Shipley awaiting a kick

Jordan Shipley is more than just Colt McCoy’s security blanket.  He’s Colt McCoy’s favorite blanket that he won’t leave home without.  Shipley does not put up huge numbers every game, but he is always there for McCoy in the passing game and often provides the spark Texas needs with his special teams play.  This past Saturday’s game against Colorado is a fine example.  Texas needs a score at the end of the first half, who does McCoy find in the endzone?  Shipley.  Later in the 4th Quarter Shipley returns a punt return for a TD to ice the game for Texas.  That might be just one game, but if Shipley continues that type of production for the rest of year… watch out.

Nesbitt on the run

I know, I know, Josh Nesbitt?  You’re probably thinking I’m just a blind GT fan.  Nesbitt does not throw for a lot of yards, have a high completion percentage, or even a pretty throw.  Let’s face it though, he gets the job done when it absolutely has to be done.  Last night I watched Nesbitt recover a lost fumble by ripping it from the arms of a Florida State defender.  Earlier in the year I watched him drive the field entirely by himself in the 4th quarter against Clemson to win the game.  This is a common trend.  When Tech has the lead and needs to move the ball while keeping possession and burning the clock, who does Paul Johnson turn to?  You might think ACC Player of the Year Jonathan Dwyer would be your go to, but rather it is Josh Nesbitt.  Georgia Tech fans already know what a warrior this guy is.  I think the rest of the country needs to take notice as well.

Neither of these candidates are going to win the Heisman.  I don’t think either of them will even make the top 10.  Maybe Shipley, he is starting to get some ink (Rece Davis’s final thoughts) after yesterday’s performance.  Josh Nesbitt is getting a little too, albeit from the decidedly biased Official Sports Report.

ESPN still has Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy in their top two and deservedly so.  They are both quarterbacks for top three undefeated teams.  If you look at the rest of their top ten, you’ll find Jimmy Clausen sneaking in at #3, but the QB for Notre Dame is not exactly off the radar.  Tony Pike the QB for Cincinnati is the only real national unknown in their top 5 and even then Cincinnati is getting more press every day. Shipley and Nesbitt are noticeably absent.  Tim Tebow might wind up being the greatest college football player ever, but keep this in mind; most analysts, critics, etc thought Florida would beat LSU with or without Tebow.  Just something to think about.

There four 1-loss teams ahead of them: Virginia Tech, USC, Ohio State, and Miami. Tech lost to Bama in the season opener but has played mostly solid since and rightly deserves their #4ish spot. USC lost to Washington, enough said. Ohio State lost to USC, which lost to Washington, enough said. Miami lost to Virginia Tech. Now, if you can follow that pecking order that means there is no way in hell that LSU is to be ranked below Miami, Ohio State, and USC. Chances are pretty good that LSU would pound BSU and Cincinnati as well. LSU also happens to have beaten that Washington team I keep referencing. Like I said in my inaugural post, wins and losses are not treated equally.

Ohio State went up in the rankings after whipping a #25 Wisconsin squad (turned about as fair play finally, Oklahoma when down 1 spot for winning) and jumped Cincinnati, whose sole BCS victory came at Oregon State. The Bearcats can however make a statement this weekend versus South Florida. Nebraska jumped up to #15 with their only loss coming to Virginia Tech. Not sure if you watched that game, but Nebraska had Tech shut down like a clown Charlie Brown. The Huskers were toying with the Hokies, but Tech got lucky, held on and in the last seconds, scored to win.

With the exception of our #25 team, the polls seem to be on a relatively even keel.

Notre Dame climbed to #25 in this week’s poll. This is rather odd because they did not play this weekend after beating Washington in OT two weeks ago. But Trojans are coming to South Bend this weekend and I bet that Taylor Mays gets wood at the thought of pounding Jimmy Clausen to the ground on his ass, again, again and again.  A Fighting Irish victory and I offer a public apology to my ND misgivings. Otherwise I don’t want anymore talk about Notre Dame. See my inaugural post for my reasons why.

“Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs work by inhibiting the enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX), which converts arachidonic acid to prostaglandin H2 (PGH2). PGH2, in turn, is converted by other enzymes to several other prostaglandins (which are mediators of pain, inflammation, and fever) and to thromboxane A2 (which stimulates platelet aggregation, leading to the formation of blood clots).”

That is how the drug iso-butyl-propanoic-phenolic acid, otherwise known as Ibuprofen, works. I needed that introduction because I want to say that Florida and LSU are nasty, simply nasty. That game exhibited some of the hardest hitting I have ever seen. Those players are going to be sucking down horse pills of Ibuprofen for several days to come.  Florida is the unquestionable #1 and LSU deserves to hold its #4 spot. Damn they are good.

Our glorious media will be pointing out over the next week that Ohio State was out gained 368 to a measly 184, that Ohio State only gained 8 first downs to the Badgers 22, and that Wisconsin had the ball for basically 3 entire quarters of the game (42 minutes 3 seconds). Those numbers will be told to the tune of Wisconsin’s failure to win the game and that Ohio State eked out the W with “Horseshoe Magic”. Our defense dominated that game in stifling fashion. Wisconsin’s offense output was so much greater because they spent 75% of the time WITH THE BALL. Three touchdowns through special teams and defense means that our offense hardly ever stepped on the field  and they never had to.

You can argue that our offense was ineffective and the numbers are certainly on your side. But the Badger’s offense was equally ineffective. John Clay, monster of a running back who we will soon be watching on Sundays, averaged less than 3 yards per carry. I already spoke of two INT’s from Wisconsin QB Tolzein but he was also sacked 6 times with pressure coming nearly all day. Wisconsin had the ball for nearly 50% more than a team normally does through the course of a football game yet they only produced 13 points. The Badger scoring average coming into this game was 35 points which means that having the ball 50% longer netted one third of their scoring average. Let me know if any of our glorious media report those numbers.

As a final thought, our offense, actually just Pryor, needs some fecal cohesion. Our defense may not always be able to provide the dominance they exhibited yesterday. Simply start with decision making and sustaining drives to chew up the clock and let our defense rest. Your think our defense will be able to stay on the field that long against a spread offense like Michigan and not get completely gassed? I don’t. We had a solid win today and hats off to our defense; let’s keep it rolling into next week with Purdue.

But there are some highlights to this game that I feel could be interesting. We have the controversy over Tim’s head, Florida’s composure should Tebow not play, Urban’s silly medical excuses (again), and Florida’s 1^st real test of the season. After pounding Charleston Southern & Troy, using the flu as an excuse for not pounding Mr. Kiffin and pouncing on SEC light weight Kentucky, we do not know much about Florida. They earned their preseason #1 ranking as reigning national champs; let’s see if they deserve to hold onto #1.

LSU is a slightly different story. As preseason #11 they have quietly crept up the rankings with 4 wins over BCS opponents. I might not call Washington, Vandy and Miss St. a gauntlet of BCS opponents but a win between the hedges at Georgia, albeit controversial, is always noteworthy. A win tonight over Florida and LSU has earned the right to jump Bama, Texas and Florida as our #1. (Bama should have jumped Texas a long time ago, but that’s another story).

No matter what, this game should be frickin’ awesome.

The title of this article is ‘A Tale of Two Heads’. Florida’s composure with an injured Tebow or without Tebow altogether should be interesting. The final 3 paragraphs of this post were written shortly after Tebow took the second star to the right and went straight on till morning just outside the Kentucky red zone. I have been waiting for an appropriate time to post this and tonight’s showdown appears to be a bountiful opportunity.

Urban ~ That’s what you get for leaving your Heisman candidate QB in late 3rd quarter up 31-7 against an opponent you have not lost to in 23 years. I understand you are trying to pad his stats, but c’mon he had 3 touchdowns and 100+ yds passing AND rushing. This was during mop-up duty against a conference bottom feeder. You are a national championship title contender with arguably the one of the greatest players in the history of the game. “It’s not over till its over” is a pretty shitty excuse to watch your star quarterback lie unconscious on the field.

Heisman Voters ~ You are partially to blame for the above mentioned shenanigans. I am an engineer thus a numbers man but your insistence on outrageous stats for your Heisman Trophy has got to stop. You tell us the trophy for the most dominant player in college football. That is a lie; it’s for the player with the most dominant stats and the most flashy highlight reel. Coaches know this; they leave players in way too late, run up scores, and endanger their players because you lack respect for dominance and immaturely demand unrealistic numbers. Look at Sam Bradford last year; his numbers set records but he was hardly the most dominant player in college football. His supporting cast was insane and Big Game Bob left him in wayyyyy too long as to pad his stats. Colt McCoy was single handedly the Texas offense last season with lost only 1 game by a last second pass to the top receiver in D-I football. His numbers were not good enough for you so you passed him up. Tebow had  to start adding to his ‘greatest player in the history of the game’ stats; otherwise you would ignore him, again.

Tim ~I am a buckeye’s fan, so you know how hard it is for me to write this. I wish you a speedy and full recovery. I may not care for our glorious media’s insistence on metaphorically sucking your balls on national television every game but I will respect your dominance in the game of college football. You are one of the greatest players of all time and someday I hope you can finally understand what it feels like to have your balls physically sucked, it’s awesome. ~ Dan