Tuesday, September 4, 2007

i was on ESPN college gameday!

College football started this past weekend (well, on Thursday, technically) and long time readers of this blog know what that means...It's the return of the Monday College Football recap (except today's post is one day late due to the holiday)! If you're not a sports fan, you're welcome to scroll to the end of the recap for the beginning of the normal blog post which is about my weekend in Blacksburg, VA.

However, if you are a sports fan, please read below. Also, this post is cross-posted at my college football blog, i heart mark may.

  • First off, LSU played Mississippi State and I wasn't really impressed with the LSU offense at first. Miss. State actually hung in there despite LSU's killer defense. And then, around the 2nd quarter, LSU showed why they are the second-ranked team in the country and began the annihilation that resulted in a 45-0 victory for the Tigers. Over-confident Hokies everywhere started to worry just a bit.
  • Holy Crap! All of you who never thought that a Division 1-AA team could never beat a Division 1-A team were proven wrong on Saturday as Michigan suffered an embarrassing loss against Appalachian State (which most TV analysts couldn't even locate on a map...the ESPN guys actually used Google Maps to find it). The Mountaineers were able to seal the victory after blocking a Michigan field goal attempt in the waning seconds of the 4th quarter. This is now Michigan's 3rd loss in 3 games--dating back to November 2006 when Michigan lost to Ohio State (in a game many considered to be the championship game until Florida kicked the Buckeyes' butt in the real championship game) and in January 2007, the Wolverines got their behinds kicked yet again by the 2007 pre-season #1 team in the country, USC. Michigan can kiss that #5 ranking good bye. Also, should Michigan coach Lloyd Carr start looking for a new job?
  • Speaking of looking for a new job, Charlie Weis, you're on notice. Notre Dame received a shellacking by Georgia Tech, which is not surprising to anyone except the people of South Bend (and Lou Holtz, who predicted the Irish would win 10 games this season). Mark May's prediction that the Irish would start the season 1-7 is starting to look pretty accurate right now. The team had no offense or defense. I know that it's a rebuilding year and all, but last year was a rebuilding year for USC and we went to the Rose Bowl (and won).
  • The Hokies of Virginia Tech had plenty of distractions during Saturday's game in Blacksburg (what with the memorial tribute to the victims of April's shootings and the heavy ESPN presence on campus) but none was more potent than the ECU offense, who managed to find holes in Tech's defense and actually had the audacity to score against the Hokies. Everyone expected to the Hokies to easily beat the Pirates (ok, so I took an unofficial poll while tailgating), but those hopes were quickly dashed when Hokie quarterback Sean Glennon (who really needs to get injured quick...nothing really bad...just enough to keep him on the sidelines for a bit) threw an interception in Hokies first possession. It was literally his first pass of the game. And he had all the time in the world (his o-line actually helped him out for most of the game, unlike last year). After his performance on Saturday, loyal Hokie fans everywhere are experiencing some anxiety about next week's game against LSU.
  • Glennon had nobody to blame but himself for all of his mistakes, but like the immature, skill-less moron he is, he actually blamed his receivers during post game interviews. His receivers were actually the only ones who tried to make him look good, by contorting their bodies to catch passes that were thrown behind them or by stretching unbelievable lengths to catch overthrown passes. Ugh. He really pisses me off.
  • And speaking of being pissed off, will the real USC Trojans please stand up? During the offseason, all we heard about was how great and unstoppable they would be and they couldn't even cover the spread against Idaho, a team expected to finish last in their conference (what conference that is, I'm not sure...WAC maybe?). Jesse teased me for not thinking that a score of 38-10 proved domination (sure the starters sat out after the end of the 3rd quarter), but I was expecting more from my Trojans. First off, hello, John David Booty? Look, Booty, you're not going to win the Heisman when you throw interceptions against a crappy team. I thought he hadn't thrown any interceptions in 400 attempts during practice.

Next up for me: USC is off next weekend which will give them plenty of time to get ready for their first test of the season, a game against Nebraska in Lincoln. This weekend, I am off to New Orleans/Baton Rouge to catch the Hokies play LSU. I'm praying the Hokies will actually show up to play.

__________________________________________________________________

Ok, so like I said, I went to B-burg this weekend. ESPN was airing their weekly pregame show, ESPN Gameday from the soccer field across from Lane Stadium and Jesse and I just had to show our Hokie support and catch some Gameday action (as we're both big fans of the show, even if the only analyst I like is Mark May). As the camera panned out right before a commercial break, Jesse and I came into view and I started jumping up and down and screaming (yes, I was sober). I looked ridiculous but it was all in good fun.

So, here we are at Gameday.
jesse and me at gameday

And here is the Hokie Nation, representing.
hokie nation at gameday

A week leading up to the game, there was a grassroots campaign to bring signs saying "Thank you" to all the universities that offered Tech their support following the shootings. I thought that was a very, very nice gesture.
scenes from gameday

Before we even got to Blacksburg, Jesse took me down Skyline Drive for the first time ever. I was super excited and I got a little camera happy. Here are some pics.
jesse and walking stick

Mary’s Rock
mary's rock

Here’s Jesse, getting in my way.
peek-a-boo

And this little guy actually stopped long enough for a picture.
you still looking at me?

On Friday, Jesse and I will be flying to New Orleans and spending the day there. The game is late on Saturday, so we may stop by ESPN Gameday (oooh...two Gamedays in a row) during out pre-game festivities in Baton Rouge. This will be my first time in Louisiana so suggestions for outings and must-see places are definitely welcome. I'm so excited!

14 comments:

Jilian said...

My favorite thing about New Orleans - the pralines - and the best place to buy them Southern Candymakers. www.southerncandymakers.com I ALWAYS make a couple stops there while I'm in town.

I haven't been back since Katrina - so I'm not really sure what other advice to give. Things are prob different.

Have a great trip. We'd be there if my husband didn't have to be on call this weekend! Stupid job :)

Anonymous said...

The Hokie O-line was very average Saturday. How many rushing yards did we have...maybe 30? And 25 of that was in the 4th quarter. Glennon played well except for the very first pass. 22 for 33 245 yards. That is a solid game for any college QB. You won't see a better pass than his touchdown to Wheeler.

an orange county girl said...

jilian--thanks for the suggestion. will definitely check it out. may take some work to convince jesse as his sweet tooth is non-existant. but my sweet tooth is alive and well!

sorry you couldn't come. does your boo work for bill? if he does, shame on bill for making him work that weekend!

j fitty--the o-line was average but still better than last year. it was downright atrocious then.

also, those numbers are misleading. most of those passes wouldn't have been caught had the tech receivers not turned into contortionists in order to catch them. his pass to wheeler is the only highlight.

did you happen to go to the game? i only ask because this may not have been heard on TV. the hokie faithful cheered glennon when he decided to throw the ball away as he was about to get sacked (instead of losing yardage, he just got an incomplete). i mean, standing ovation, super-excited cheering just because he had the sense to throw the ball away instead of getting sacked a 3rd time. that's pretty sad.

Anonymous said...

1) Sorry, football season = yawn. I was watching the US Open last weekend, so I missed you, but am happy to report that the Williams sisters are still going strong - pray that Serena beats Henin tonight (I really, really don't like Henin).

2) Was that picture taken before or after the game? (is someone a teeny bit p/o'd? ;)

3) New Orleans. I'm jealous (yes, keep saying it, I really need to get back there). Hmm...There's alot to do there. The French Quarter obviously, the Garden District, cemeteries, the voodoo museum (if you must), the St. Charles streetcar.. oh and you have to go to Preservation Hall and hear the live jazz!
http://www.preservationhall.com/hall/index.htm

Bunch of good walking tours too:
http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/tours/index.html

Anonymous said...

Oops, to indulge your sweet tooth, obviously you should also hit Cafe du Monde.

Anonymous said...

I was there. Receivers are paid (by their scholarship) to make plays. You tell me a QB who puts every pass on the numbers.

You go ask Beamer if he will take Glennon's stats for every game this season. I bet he would (although a couple more TD passes would be nice).

What is sad is the Hokies booing their own QB. And no, I was not one of the ones cheering him throwing the ball away.

My opinion...people bust Glennon b/c he is different than what we have had in the past...MV1, Randall, MV2. But the team is different too.

If our O-line was better than last year...we are in trouble. Ore was one of the best in the ACC last year. Are you going to tell me it was his fault he only gained 60 yards? Or was that Glennon's fault too?

an orange county girl said...

sunchaser--i'm sorry to bore you with football stuff. :)

the picture was actually taken before the game and i wasn't mad at all, just unprepared, i guess. i like that picture because you can actually see my cheekbones.

also, thanks for the ideas. definitely doing the french quarter and i would love to hear live jazz!

sunchaser2--yummm...gotta hit the gym extra hard this week!

p fitty--all the hokies i know hate glennon. i'm not quite sure why you're defending him. he's an average quarterback at best but that's not really gonna cut it against ACC opponents (and definitely not against LSU next weekend).

also, the hokies have a highly touted qb recruit in tyrod taylor. why not give him the ball? if all we can get is average numbers from glennon, what's the harm in giving taylor a chance? most hokies i know would rather give him the ball. but no, taylor won't see a single play this season because beamer is loyal to glennon.

perhaps as a USC alum, i'm pretty spoiled when it comes to qb's (actually, so is Tech with the qb's you named above) so i expect more. gosh, randall was way better than glennon. at least he knew what he had to do whenever he got into trouble.

i can't explain ore. every time he got the ball, ECU crushed him. sounds like the pirates did their homework on him.

for the record, my bf and i just looked at each other in shock when we heard the cheers after glennon threw away the ball. we couldn't believe that was what the crowd was cheering for. however, that doesn't surprise me.

Anonymous said...

I once saw Lee Corso ride a mechanical bull...but that's neither here nor there...

USC will get beat on the road, and soon

Mark May? Really? Hmmm....

an orange county girl said...

anon--oh come on. reveal yourself. what's the harm in that?

lee corso also predicted that Cal would win the BCS championship last year, right before they got humiliated by tennessee. i hate corso.

usc's not losing to nebraska. maybe further into the season, but no to NE.

and yes, mark may. if i were a boy, they would call it a man crush. i don't think he's cute. it's just that the man is the only ESPN college football analyst with any sense (fowler is a close second even tho he only occasionally analyzes).

Anonymous said...

Upon further review, I think you may be right about Mark May.

Lou Holtz and his sssssss and clicks drives me batty. Can't the man afford new dentures?

Kirk is that guy in college that was dating the sorority president in public but brought home all sorts of 'other' women when she wasn't around.

Lee is, well, Lee. I can't say that I hate him. Pity, perhaps, might be the better word. You know, the feeling that a person gets when they see someone talking to themselves in McPherson Square...

(I'm just anon because I don't have a blog. I suppose I could make up a name....)

an orange county girl said...

anon again--oh lordy. please don't get me started on lou holtz. i nearly died laughing when he predicted that notre dame would win 10 games this season. his ND bias is so obvious. i thought journalists were supposed to be impartial.

and speaking of impartial, kirk herbstreit is not. he got way too excited talking about ohio state last season. and yes, he is totally 'that guy'.

lee...awww...poor lee. i feel sorry for him too but i still hate him. ok, hate is kind of a strong word. but he totally bugs me too. not as much as herbstreit though.

but none of these people bug me as much as desmond howard. whoever thought he would make a good analyst needs to be fired!

Anonymous said...

I dunno...me thinks TT being a true freshman may have a little harder time against D1 defenses compared to 15 year olds in Hampton Roads.

Give me a QB with a years experience and years in the program over a true freshman any day of the week. Especially if he is playing well like Glennon is.

an orange county girl said...

j fitty--ok, hun. we're just going to have to agree to disagree. i'll accept that you like and support sean glennon and you'll have to accept that i think he sucks.

Anonymous said...

Seeing that TT is now the starter, I think Franks comments today said it best, basically saying taht since the o-line can not block, VT needs a mobile QB. I can not say I disagree with that.