The autumn equinox is still two weeks away, but don't tell the Iowa weather that it's still summer. On monday this week the air turned a little cooler and suddenly the soybeans started turning yellow. Flecks of gold waving in a cool northern breeze across the farmlands is our first distinct sign of fall. For months, I hadn't even considered the idea of putting on a jacket or wearing long sleeves, no matter the time of day or night. This morning I wore my first long sleeved shirt since June. If I stop to consider that the change in season will inevitably lead to shorter days, darker mornings, and the looming onset of winter, I would be annoyed at this development. But for me, this weather means picking crisp apples in Wilson's Orchard, sipping pumpkin spice lattes at Java House, and the smell of bratwurst grilling over open flame. Best of all, football is back.
The second weekend of college games and first week of NFL brought a few surprises and gave us a slightly clearer picture of what to expect this year. So many story lines appeared this weekend I completely lost track. And there are few I feel compelled to discuss in depth. So, I will cop out with a bulleted list of some random reactions.
- The Big 10 is horrible. This headline was the lead story on almost every website Saturday night. Unfortunately, its hardly news. Pre-season power rankings of the big-5 conferences put either the ACC and Big-10 at the bottom. And the conventional wisdom that the Big-10 is out of the national championship picture is a little too focused on the Eastern division (NOT Legend and Leaders! YAY!). Not that I actually think a Big 10 team will knock off the SEC in a semi-final game, but let's remember that Penn State, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin are all undefeated. Shaky and lucky to be undefeated, but undefeated none the less. Penn State and Wisconsin has a chance (more on the Lions in a moment).
- UCLA is overrated. Sorry, Bruin fans, but it's true. I was perplexed at the love being thrown at the Bruins over the summer. I agree that Brett Hundley is a great QB and UCLA is the likely front runner for the Pac-12 South title. But top-10 in the country and dark horse for the national title? WHAT? Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Two games in, and two close wins over mediocre teams (composite computer rankings of 80 and 82). They have one more shot to get things on track with a (relatively) weak team in Texas (computer rank 37) this weekend. Otherwise, they will be in for rude awakening when the Pac-12 season starts and they get smacked with some real offenses.
- USC's attraction to controversy keeps overshadowing their very solid performances on the field. Just when they knock off rival Stanford on the road to take a huge step forward in the Pac-12 race, all we hear about is Pat Haden leaving the press box to argue a penalty. Yes, it was wrong to do that. And the text message violated a rule. Haden apologized and the Pac-12 leveled an appropriate fine. But as someone who supervises highly skilled professionals, I can also understand exactly what happened. Coach Sark was pissed at the penalty he drew. And he was going off on the ref. The compliance officer asked for Sark's supervisor. And Haden came down to mediate and cool off the situation. Coach Sark shouldn't need Haden to do this, but I have to intervene between angry ER docs and consulting Surgeons on occasion and I would rather be called in than something is said that we all regret in the morning. One added benefit of Saturday's sideline incident is the players are psyched that their football-legend-AD totally has their back. "You mess with us? Coach Sark will fight for us! Better yet, our AD CAME ON THE FIELD to fight too! THAT TOTALLY ROCKS!" But it won't happen again. Bring on the Eagles . . .
- Congratulations to Penn State for having their NCAA sanctions lifted. I think that's wonderful that they were able to prove such a dramatic and consistent dedication to improving the atmosphere of their program. In end, they wound up with a 2 year post-season ban and a total of 10 lost scholarships. USC, by comparison, stayed out of post-season play for three years and lost a total of 30 scholarships. Penn State is glad that their scandal was only a campus-wide conspiracy involving the President and Athletic Director that harmed children. Had they been found to have one corrupt player and one assistant coach who "should have known" they might still be facing sanctions.
- An extra hour of College Game Day. I really have mixed feelings about this. Who could complain about one more hour of Chris, Kirk, Lee, and Desmond talking about the world's greatest sport? But starting at 6 am on the west coast? Kudos to the Duck fans for getting up so early. At that time of day, I might as well stay up and go straight from work to the stadium. Brutal.
- Ohio State is annoying. The team that we all love to hate has some envious qualities. Their band totally rocks. Their animated marching formations has set a new standard in football. I recently visited their ER and hospital I can sum it up in one word: WOW. But their fans have swallowed their awesomeness way too much and they are even more arrogant than USC fans. And that's saying a lot. Take some manner lessons from Notre Dame and Nebraska, please. All of which made the loss to Virginia Tech that more wonderful to watch. Except for fact that the only fans more annoying than Buckeyes are Hokies . . .
Fight on,
Hans
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