Okay, I admit I’m annoyed that USC missed that damn extra point, thus causing me to lose my bet with my classmate Mike (the Irish Bruin) that the Trojans would beat the Irish by at least 21 points. But there’s annoyed, and then there’s annoyed. Yikes.
Don’t worry, Mike, I’m not that upset. :) And yes, I will pay up… notwithstanding that my original prediction (”USC will win by three touchdowns”) was literally correct… we did win by three touchdowns, we just missed a PAT!
On the bright side, my teams are now 2-0 against Mike’s teams this season. First the Irish over the Bruins, then the Trojans over the Irish. On Saturday, I go for the hat trick. :) BEAT THE BRUINS!!!
P.S. By the way, Becky and I are safe & sound back in South Bend, in case anyone was wondering. Tomorrow (er, later today), the home stretch of the semester begins…
P.P.S. I just noticed: this is the 22nd consecutive college football-related post, dating back to this one early Saturday morning. Eventually, dear readers, I will start blogging about something other than football again, I promise. :)
P.P.P.S. But not quite yet! First, another football observation. You may not know this if you’re not either a Pac-10 fan, a reader of Texasyank’s blog, or an obsessive-compulsive watcher of the scrolling scores at the bottom of the screen on ESPN, but Arizona State beat Arizona, 28-14 on Saturday (I love 28-14 games… they always remind me of USC’s 2003-04 national title), and although the Sun Devils’ bowl-clinching win wasn’t enough to save their coach’s job, it was enough to set the stage for a potential five-way tie for fourth place in the Pac-10. If USC beats UCLA on Saturday (a big if, and let’s all vigorously knock on wood now, shall we?) and Cal beats Stanford, this is what the final standings will look like:
1. USC (8-1)
2. Cal (7-2)
3. Oregon State (6-3)
4(t). Oregon (4-5)
4(t). Arizona State (4-5)
4(t). Arizona (4-5)
4(t). UCLA (4-5)
4(t). Washington State (4-5)
9. Washington (3-6)
10. Stanford (1-8)
Heh. I love it! And the best part is, everyone except Washington and Stanford is bowl-eligible! But out of UCLA, Arizona and Wazzu, only one will get a Pac-10 bowl spot; the others will be praying for an at-large bowl invitation.
November 27th, 2006 at 10:13:27 am
Mike Shula, the head coach at Alabama was fired last night. Rumors are that Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban are in the running for the job.
The way they fired Shula, in the middle of the night, without telling the team first, is class-less.
November 27th, 2006 at 10:16:39 am
Norm Chow to ASU.
November 27th, 2006 at 11:15:02 am
Seriously, Anon?
If true, I suppose I should be worried, but I’m psyched. Pete Carroll vs. Norm Chow once a year? AWESOME.
November 27th, 2006 at 12:18:04 pm
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/asu/articles/1127koetter1127.html
Well, kind of:
Former Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis, now defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans would be interested in the same path with ASU.
“Dave and (his wife) Kim have a great love and fondness for the Valley of the Sun,” McGinnis’ agent Danny More said Sunday. More said McGinnis is “very interested” in the job, and speculation is that he could bring Norm Chow with him as offensive coordinator. Chow was at USC when Love was and is with the Titans.
———
I remember hearing something a couple years ago about Chow not wanting to be a head coach anywhere–does this ring a bell to anyone? You have to figure he would have had a HC job somewhere by now if he had any desire to run a program.
November 27th, 2006 at 12:21:58 pm
Rome just came on with the rumor that the Cardinals will make a push for Carroll.
I mean, I’m only repeating that so we could all share a good laugh.
November 27th, 2006 at 12:25:07 pm
BK–I think Chow said he went to the Titans to increase his chances for a HC job, most likely in college.
And this bears mentioning: if Chow were ever hired as a HC in the NFL, would the league count that as a minority hiring?
November 27th, 2006 at 12:57:19 pm
Actually, I started the rumor about the Cardinals and Carroll, while watching the Arizona-Minnesota game on Becky’s parents’ couch yesterday. Apparently Rome has me bugged. :)
Let’s see. Arizona is tied with two other teams for the worst record in the NFL right now. That should give them an excellent draft pick and thus a shot at Dwayne Jarrett if he comes out early. (Actually, I have no idea if Jarrett is even considered a first-round pick. But whatever.) So, hire Pete Carroll, draft Dwayne Jarrett to be Matt Leinart’s primary target… it’ll be like old times! :) Of course, a semi-functional offensive line would also be nice…
But I think Carroll wants to stay at USC and become a modern-day Knute Rockne. If he were going to leave for the NFL, he would have done it a year or two ago. Just a hunch.
November 27th, 2006 at 1:52:18 pm
Didn’t he try the NFL once already?
November 27th, 2006 at 1:53:35 pm
Well, kudos on the rumor. My main problem with the Cardinals is their skinflint ways that pretty much prevent any sort of success. In 20 years the Cardinals have gone to the playoffs once, and that was a sheer fluke, the act of a team riding the emotion of a whole city rising up to support (among others) local collegiate heroes Plummer and Tillman. The Bidwills are a blight on pro sports, and I would assume Carroll, who now sits astride the premiere college football program in the country, would have the sense to run a mile from them.
November 27th, 2006 at 2:01:13 pm
Are you forgetting that the Cards have two of the best young receivers in the NFL in Fitzgerald and Boldin?
Man, at least I keep drafting receivers only AFTER my previous picks don’t work out.
November 27th, 2006 at 2:11:32 pm
Jerry–and a good point by you. His rah-rah-rah, sis-boom-bah attitude didn’t fly in the NFL, or so I have read.
I buy into the belief that a certain brand of superlative college coach does not fit in the pros, either due to a certain arrogance of system and work habits (Steve Spurrier), a tendency to micro-manage (Rick Pitino) or too much naked enthusiasm (Carroll). The good news is, in football and basketball, these guys can still make a fortune. (Pity the poor college baseball coaching phenom.)
In point of fact, Carroll lost the better part of one-loss team last year, and as November turns to December he coaches another one-loss team toward–in the worst-case scenario–to the Rose Bowl. Meanwhile, pupil Leinart runs for his life in the desert.
November 27th, 2006 at 9:26:20 pm
Matt Millen, you beat me to the punch. The Cardinals drafting Jarrett would be incredibly dumb when they have so many more glaring needs on the offensive and defensive lines.
November 28th, 2006 at 12:20:41 am
Does anyone understand how the bowls that have open slots are filled? I’ve heard people say they must choose 7 win teams over 6 win teams but I’ve never seen anyone actually state how it works. It only applies for ‘open’ slots? I’m confused?
November 28th, 2006 at 3:28:13 am
Any bowl that has a slot open because its contractual agreement with a given conference is not filled or does not havea a contractual agreement with a conference has to choose a 7-5 or better team before a 6-6 can be choosen “at-large”.
November 28th, 2006 at 12:51:30 pm
Ugh, Andrew, you need to find a different moniker, this one’s already taken.