college football recap: payback's a b*tch

It wasn't a terribly exciting weekend in college football, unless you're a Maryland fan, I suppose. But I'm not, so meh. Here's the recap:

Basically, your top 10 from last week remains your top 10 for this week. Why? Because there were no upsets. Everyone who was supposed to have won ended up winning big (I'm purposely ignoring that Georgia/Auburn game because it was close). And everyone who didn't play on Saturday didn't move in the polls. All is right with the college football world.

• Unless you play in the ACC of course. What is up is down and what is in is out. I mean, in what universe would the Terps victory over UNC be considered an upset? The thing is, the ACC is so even (for lack of a better word) that anyone is capable of beating anybody. Therefore, I don't really consider UNC's loss an upset, despite the fact that UNC was ranked and Maryland was not.

• In a fun game to watch where I had no vested interest whatsoever, Boston College defeated Florida State 27-17. BC's defense intercepted the FSU QB 3 times which was pretty exciting to see, especially since it was the 5th time this season the Eagle defense had forced 3 or more interceptions in one game.

• Speaking of defense winning games, Virginia Tech, who is widely known for an impressive defense, just couldn't get it together against Miami. It was definitely disappointing to watch the Hokies lose such a close game (16-14). Had they scored a field goal in the waning minutes of the game, they would've clinched the victory. Instead, the Miami defense stopped the Hokies on that drive, sealing the fate of the game. The bright side is that injured QB Tyrod Taylor came back in this game and led the Hokies on their two scoring drives (to be fair, that other Hokie QB I don't like--Sean Glennon--played as well, but he didn't lead any scoring drives).

• Last year, the Trojans' BCS game hopes were dashed by an upset-minded Stanford team. It was our first loss at the Coliseum in forever and it caused the then-#1 Trojans to drop in the polls and eventually led to a Rose Bowl berth against the worst Big Ten opponent to earn a Rose Bowl berth--Illinois. This year, the Rose Bowl seems like a bit of a stretch and the BCS title game is further from our grasp, so Stanford didn't necessarily pose a threat. Still, that close loss was on many a Trojan fans' minds, as USC traveled to Palo Alto to avenge last year's loss against the Trees. For the first half, USC was in classic disorganized form. Stanford made our defense look like crap and our offense could do very little about the suddenly effecient Stanford defense. And then, like the 2nd half team we always prove to be, our offense and defense came alive in the 2nd half. The Trojans went on to score 28 unanswered points in the second half and Stanford's last score came in the last few ticks of the game against our 2nd string defense. We won 45-23 and embarassed the Cardinal in front of a home crowd, but the loss doesn't effect Stanford as much as our loss to them last year.

• Oregon State watch: the damn Beavers won again, this time against Cal, 34-21. They play Arizona next.  Still, a little birdy told me that if Oregon State wins out and claims the Rose Bowl berth, USC may end up in the Sugar Bowl against the SEC championship loser (which would be either Florida or Alabama).  Suddenly, the Sugar Bowl berth is looking pretty SWEET! 

Up next for the Trojans is Notre Lame on November 29th. The Hokies play Duke on the 22nd.

college football recap: west coast edition

I’m blogging from the West Side in the comfort of my mom’s favorite arm chair. It feels so good to be home. Here’s the recap:

• First up, the Thursday night game was a good one—USF at Rutgers. You know, two years ago, this wouldn’t have been a very important game. But Rutgers rose in the ranks last year and became a serious contender for the Big East title. Now, USF is this year’s Rutgers and Rutgers decided they weren’t going to let the Bulls enjoy it. Rutgers squeaked out a close victory over the previously-ranked-#2 USF, 30-27. Another #2 bites the dust.
  

• #1 Ohio State won again. Big surprise. Their victim this week was Michigan State, who actually had a chance to keep it close towards the end of the game, but the Buckeyes held the Spartans to a field goal with 3 minutes remaining in the game when MSU really needed a TD.

• LSU and Auburn played a close won that was reminiscent of the LSU/Florida match up earlier this season. In both games, LSU’s opponent led for most of the game. And somehow, LSU was able to come back and seal the game in the final minutes. In this case, LSU was down by one point with a few ticks on the clock remaining. Instead of going for the field goal, which is all they needed to win, Les Miles instead drew up a play for a miracle TD. Sadly, he got it and the Tigers won, 30-24.

• Previously-ranked-#6-South Carolina was upset by Vanderbuilt in a game I didn’t watch. But I managed to catch some of the post game interviews and I was kinda impressed by how gracious S. Carolina’s coach Steve Spurrier was. He praised Vandy for being the better team and all I was thinking was, Damn, you just got beaten by Vandy and all you could do is congratulate them? That’s nice.

• USC had its annual battle with Notre Lame, this year in South Bend and apparently the Irish faithful are still not happy about the Bush Push of two years ago. They should be unhappy with how their coach sucks. But anyways, USC played flawlessly and won big, 38-0. QB Mark Sanchez started for the second time and seemed to find his rhythm, going 21-38 for 235 yards and 4 TDs. So, why did USC look so good? Sure, the Irish are especially bad this year, but USC hasn’t really played as good as it should until this game. The difference—it was the first game all season where we didn’t sustain an injury and a number of important injured started returned to the line-up, including Stanley Havili and Stafon Johnson.

Next up for VA Tech is #2 BC on Thursday. USC has a big test next Saturday against Oregon in Eugene.

college football recap: LSU sucks edition

Now that I’ve got your attention, Tiger fans, please read this post until the very end. Perhaps you can enlighten me.

Today's blog post is after the football recap.

First off, it was Separation Week last week in college football. Here’s the recap:

• Ok, USF. We get it now. You’re actually pretty decent. Going up against a Mountaineer team known for their offense, the Bulls of South Florida came out and set the tone for Separation Weekend by beating previously-#5-WVU, 21-13. This game wasn’t pretty for either team, as both teams combined for 10 turnovers, but a win is a win, isn’t it, Oklahoma?

• Ah...speaking of Oklahoma, last week, I asked someone to wake me when they played someone actually deserving a mention—Texas. Luckily, I was awake to see Oklahoma get upset by the Buffs of Colorado on a last minute field goal. Looks like someone was caught looking ahead...

• Speaking of getting caught looking ahead, previously-#4-Florida lost to unranked Auburn on a last minute field goal, 20-17. Auburn led for much of the game before Florida began a comeback (led by QB Tim Tebow) that tied the game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as Auburn’s defense found an answer to Florida’s typically unstoppable offense. The Tigers held the Gators to just over 300 yards of offense, which is low for Florida. Like, really low.

• In a game that I got a sick pleasure watching, Kansas State beat Texas in Texas, 41-21! Woo hoo! And for the second year in a row. And it wasn’t even close! The Wildcats figuratively knocked out Texas QB Colt McCoy for a second straight year (last year was a literal knock out) with 4 interceptions. Say goodbye to the Top Ten, Longhorns.

• I don't even really need to say this, but I really enjoy doing so: Notre Lame lost yet again.
  

• The PAC-10 rules and they proved it yet again in a game for the ages between Cal and Oregon (Cal won, 31-24). Cal, who hadn’t won in Oregon in who knows how long, came in and kept pace with the Ducks for the entire game. Neither team is known for their defense, so I figured that this game might be a shoot out. But it wasn’t. Cal did force a couple of turnovers, but that wasn’t even the deciding factor. In fact, if Duck Cameron Colvin hadn’t fumbled a touchdown in the end zone in the waning seconds of the game, the game might’ve had a different outcome. And that’s what made it so awesome. The Trojans are definitely going to have to be on their toes when they visit Eugene at the end of October.

• Speaking of Trojans, I was not pleased with the game. In fact, I am so upset with my team that I had to write a whole separate post. You can find it here: ahh, it feels good to be #2 at my college football blog i heart mark may (a little shameless self promotion).

• I finally got to see Virginia Tech QB Tyrod Taylor start for the Hokies (I saw him play against LSU, but he didn't start the game) and I was generally impressed. This kid can actually move! Taylor ran for a couple of gains during the game and every time he ran away from the UNC defense, I thought, Glennon would’ve just gotten sacked. I’m looking forward to seeing some consistently good play from Taylor (he’s just a freshman, after all). The Hokies predictably beat the Tar Heels, 17-10.

Up next for the Hokies, an ACC powerhouse match up with Clemson. Next week, USC has a scrimmage against Stanford.

__________________________________________________________________

This weekend, I got to spend some time with Jesse’s long time friend, JS. Jesse and JS grew up together, went to high school together, and ended up going to Tech together. JS is a very kind, unassuming guy and has always been really nice to me.

So when I found out what happened to him recently, I got really, really angry.

JS went to the LSU/Virginia Tech game several weekends ago just as Jesse and I had, except JS hung out with a different group. As you know, Jesse and I spent all day that Saturday among the Tiger fans, most of whom were really nice and gracious. Honestly, I was very impressed with how welcoming they were. I left Baton Rouge with a generally good impression of the LSU fans.

Jesse and I didn’t see JS until the game that night, where we hung out for a bit. This Saturday was the first time I had seen JS since that weekend.

While watching the USC game, JS told Jesse about his experience in Baton Rouge. It wasn’t so positive. Why? Well, a Tiger fan came up to JS, who was clearly in Virginia Tech garb, and told JS that he looked like Seung-Hui Cho, the person behind the shootings at Tech last April.

JS is Chinese.

There are several things that are wrong with this statement. First off, I don’t care how drunk you are, it will never, EVER be ok to joke about the shootings at Tech. NEVER. If one has any tact, one should know never to joke about an unfortunate incident. And why anyone would joke about it is beyond my comprehension. This was an unfortunate event with far-reaching effects. His comment was incredibly insensitive and inappropriate.

Now, let me tell you what really pisses me off about this comment. Cho was Korean. Does Mr. Insensitive Tiger Fan think all Asians look alike? Guess what, jack ass. The Chinese and Koreans don’t look alike. JS looks nothing like Cho. And if you’re that ignorant, keep your mouth shut until you learn something.

It disturbs me that JS would encounter such blatant racism in an institution of higher learning. Colleges and universities are supposed to encourage open dialogue to increase understanding.

But if you have nothing intelligent to contribute, get the hell out and leave my friends alone.

college football recap: "the passing game lives" edition

So much football...so little time...
(you know the drill. today's blog post is under the recap)

• Let’s start with a Thursday game, Miami vs. Texas A&M. Seriously, does anyone care about Miami anymore? In a development that only made Oklahoma look good (see below), Miami upset #17 Texas A&M. I’m not sure what to tell you about this game, other than that it is probably the last nationally televised game that Miami will play in the Orange Bowl.

• Speaking of #4 Oklahoma, they beat Tulsa by a lot (41 points to be exact). Tulsa would be the latest in Oklahoma’s sub-par opponents (Miami being another one of the 4). Can someone please wake me up when Oklahoma plays someone good? Looks like I’ll be napping til October 6th when Oklahoma plays Texas (that is, if you want to call Texas “good”).

• In a game that surprised no one, WVU beat ECU. I read somewhere that WVU has had trouble with ECU in the past which is surprising to me considering how easily the Mountaineers won that game. Their next game is at #18 South Florida which should be a good test for WVU.

• In other Big East news, Louisville lost again this week, this time to lowly Syracuse. This is what happens when you don’t play defense, peeps. You see, when you don’t play defense, you make a so-so team like Syracuse look like a Big East title contender, led by a so-so quarterback who suddenly looks like a Heisman candidate (ummm...hello? 17 of 26 passes for 423 yards and 4 TDs). Oh well. It looks like this will be my last bullet point on Louisville for the rest of the season.

• Let’s talk about my favorite unranked team—Notre Dame. I can’t tell you how much it pains me to report this, but after this Saturday’s game against Michigan State, the Irish finally have positive total yardage. Damn it! Damn you, Spartans, for not keeping the Irish in the red. Well, this doesn’t matter too much as the Spartans easily beat the Irish and now the Irish are 0-4. Apparently, this is a record futility mark for Notre Dame. They’re playing at Purdue next week.

• My other favorite unranked team is Michigan who played Penn State this week (formerly #10) and won. Apparently, Mike Hart was the key to this Wolverine victory as he amassed 153 yards on 44 carries. 44 carries? That’s insane. That’s less than 4 yards per carry. But still, Hart got a TD and Michigan only needed one other TD to beat the Nittany Lions.

• I should say something about the Nebraska/Ball State game. The Huskers won by 1 point. And they had to pray that Ball State didn’t score in the final seconds of the game in order to ensure the victory. Either their loss against USC completely demoralized the team or they just aren’t as good as everyone’s been saying. Which makes USC’s victory over Nebraska look not that great.

• In another game that was no surprise to anyone, Virginia Tech hosted William and Mary (a Division 1-AA team). Because this makes sense to the TV peeps for some reason, the Tech game wasn’t televised locally. And rather than listen to the game online (which is NOTHING like watching it on TV), I opted to go to the gym instead. After my trip to the gym, I found out that Tech had easily beaten the Tribe (which was to be expected). But the score was unreal—44-3—for a team that’s known for its defense. At first, I had hoped that Tyrod Taylor (Tech’s big time freshman QB) had a stand out day. Unfortunately, when I read the recap, I realized that it was just another game of Beamer Ball—where Tech’s defense and special teams take over. Still, it was nice to see such a big point differential for a Tech game. Taylor had an ok day, going 6 of 13, for 72 yards and 1 TD. Sadly, Glennon got some play time too. He probably had to whine to Coach Beamer in order to play. Glennon went 5 of 9 for 49 yards.

• Last but certainly not least, USC opened Pac-10 play this week by hosting Washington State at the Coliseum. Last week against Nebraska, USC’s running game earned the victory. But this time, USC’s passing game took over. QB John David Booty had a stellar game, completing 28 of 35 passes for 279 yards and 4 TDs. That’s right. 4 TDs. There might have been a little interception thrown in there, but the game had been sealed by then. In fact, after Wazzu scored a TD late in the 1st quarter, they just couldn’t keep up with the Trojans, who attacked from both the ground and the air. As the WSU coach said after the game, “This was an old-fashioned butt-whipping.” Yes, it was.

• One more thing about the USC game...I’m really impressed with the offense. One of the things I like about it is that every game features a different stand out player. Last week, it was RB Stafon Johnson. Against Idaho, it was Johnson and WR Vidal Hazelton and his one-handed grab. This time, it was TE Fred Davis. I’m truly amazed with how many weapons we’ve got on offense. Now if the defense can just work on getting some more turnovers...

Next up for Virginia Tech is UNC. USC will be playing at Washington next week. The Huskies just lost a close one to UCLA (and to Ohio State before that) so I’m sure they’re hungry for a victory.

___________________________________________________________________________________

There are very few things I enjoy doing alone. Shopping is one of them. That’s because I get so anxious and excited when I go shopping that sometimes I get impatient when waiting for others to make a decision on what to buy. My motto is “Buy first, ask questions later.” This may also be why I suffer from buyer’s remorse alot.

However, I don’t like eating alone. I really don’t like sleeping alone now. And I most certainly don’t like going to a bar all by myself. But that’s what I did on Saturday when I went to Crystal City Sports Pub to watch the USC game. It was the only place I could watch the game—the local ABC affiliate was playing the Iowa/Wisconsin game.

So, I got all dressed up in my USC t-shirt and brand new jeans purchased earlier in the day. I did my hair and then decided to pull it back because the weather was kinda warm. And then I walked out the door, praying that I would meet someone at the bar that I could talk to.

One of the great things about watching the USC game with other DC-area alums is the fact that it’s impossible to feel like you’re alone while amongst them. We’re all chatty and usually not from this area so we’re all willing to meet new people. In fact, Jesse and I had met some new people last week during the Nebraska game and I was hoping they would be there this week.

The place was crowded and I got a beer at the bar while I waited to see a familiar face. A man approached me and started talking to me about USC. Actually, he wasn’t talking to me, really. He was addressing his “respect” for USC at my boobs. It’s times like these when I wish that (1) Jesse was with me and (2) my boobs weren’t so big. When he decided to order a drink, I decided not to waste my time with the perv and I walked away from him. If that guy is a prime example of what’s in the dating pool these days, I am so relieved that I found one of the good ones and I’m no longer single (no offense to my single blog peeps, but I feel your pain).

One of the alumni chapter officers came up to me and offered me a table. It was a table for 4. Hmmm...I took it because I didn’t want to be around in case Mr. Perv wanted to talk to me (note to Jesse: an engagement ring would’ve come in handy). But I felt really selfish for taking it, considering tables are such a hot commodity at the Pub and I had three available seats. The good news is that the table was right next to someone I met last week so I had someone to talk to. The bad news is that I had three available seats.

A short while later, a young Trojan couple came into my view. I watched them as they searched for a table. When they got closer to me, I offered them my empty seats. They were very grateful. I can’t remember their names (I’m getting old, you know, and the memory is the first to go) but they were recent graduates and had recently moved to Arlington a few months ago. I told the girl half of the couple (who was from San Diego; the boy half was from St. Louis) that she will NEVER, EVER get used to the weather here and to buy a really good winter coat. I think I might’ve scared her. Well, at least she’ll be prepared come January when it snows a few inches and the city shuts down.

The game was a good one and I made some new friends. All in all, it wasn’t so bad to be alone.

But I still can’t wait for Jesse to get back today!

college football recap: mexican independence day edition

You know the drill blog peeps. Non-sports related blog post is below the sports one.

• I really, really, really want to talk about the USC game, but I’m going to start with the Thursday night game first. West Virginia played Maryland on Thursday night in front of a national audience and Maryland actually hung in there for a bit. But the turtles were simply no match for the Mountaineers as the Terps ended up giving up more than 400 yards to WVU and Mountaineer Steve Slayton had a typically solid performance with 3 TDs.

• There were many anticipated games on Saturday and for some reason, the Florida/Tennessee game was one of them. Sure, two ranked teams from the same conference were going up each other. But did anyone outside of the state of Tennessee really think that the Vols had a chance? This is Florida, for crying out loud. And Tennessee got worked by Cal to start the season. Not to take anything away from Cal, but how can we assume that Tennessee would have a strong defense (that is characteristic of SEC teams) after the Vols gave up 45 points to Cal? Of course the Gators were going to be all over the Vols and they did, racking up over 600 yards of total offense.

• It was the battle for an end to futility. Michigan vs. Notre Dame. One big disappointment vs. another big disappointment. But the game certainly didn’t disappoint. Well, any time Notre Dame gets worked, this little Trojan becomes incredibly happy. Not that I would wish this kind of crappiness on anyone. But seriously, any time a team gives their coach a multi-year contract extension after not having proven a thing and then leads the team to an 0-3 start two seasons later kinda deserves it, no? Especially when the previous coach, Ty Willingham (who is Black, by the way) wasn’t given the same kind of treatment. I’m willing to bet my first born that Notre Dame isn’t going to fire Charlie Weis. Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it?

• Meanwhile, I’m happy to report that Michigan coach, Lloyd Carr was visited by his good friend, Russell Crowe (yes, THAT Russell Crowe), as a show of support. Random? Yes it is.

• The Nick Saban era in Alabama is in full swing and it showed. The Arkansas/’Bama match up was incredibly good, although I wasn’t watching it the whole time (*ahem* my game was on). Jesse and I were both calling the upset and we were not surprised when the Tide pulled a last minute drive to score the game-winning touchdown.

• However, I was surprised when the stupid little Bruins actually lost! Damn you, Bruins. Way to make the Pac-10 look like crap. I’m sure you’re wondering why a loyal Trojan like myself would be so upset that UCLA lost to the Utes of Utah by 38 points. Well, in addition to making the PAC-10 look bad, UCLA was previously ranked #11. They were supposed to be highly ranked until the end of the season, when we play them and demolish them to end our regular season, thereby putting the exclamation point on our BCS championship season run. Ugh.

• Tyrod Taylor is starting to get into the swing of things as the starting QB for Virginia Tech. Although Jesse and I didn’t watch the game (ummm...who doesn’t televise a game with a nationally ranked team? WTF?), we listened online and were generally impressed with Taylor. He’s definitely a more athletic QB than former starter (and cry baby) Sean Glennon. Taylor led the Hokies to victory against Ohio. Glennon, meanwhile is bitter about losing the starting job and I read somewhere that he is considering transferring to another university because he thinks he is so talented that someone else will give him a try. Yeah, Glennon. You do that. I’m sure some 1-AA team would LOVE to have you. Just don’t ask Appalachian State. I think they’re doing just fine without you.

• So yeah, the #1 team in the nation played the #14 team in the nation at the #14 team’s home stadium, which is supposed to be a difficult place to play. I’m not taking anything away from Nebraska, but USC made that game look easy. Everything went USC’s way, including a fumbled punt return that was picked up by another Trojan for a much bigger gain. And the USC offensive line was phenomenal. The holes they opened up were as big as the field, giving our team of RBs plenty of room to move and score. And score we did, racking up 42 points before handing the reins over to the second and third string late in the 3rd quarter (for those of you not impressed with the final score—49-31—our backups were playing against NE’s starters and the Huskers scored two last minute TD’s to make the score respectable). I was so proud of us. This little Trojan beamed all the way home!

Up next for Tech is a game against 1-AA team, William and Mary (ummm...easy victory) and USC is playing Wazzu.

_________________________________________________________________

As part of my on-going quest to educate people on all things Mexican, I would like to wish you all a happy belated Mexican Independence Day! No, it’s not Cinco de Mayo, silly blog peeps. Yesterday was September 16th, the day that Mexicans celebrate the beginning of the War of Independence, the war that brought about Mexico’s independence from Spain.

The holiday is actually celebrated starting with sundown on September 15th. The Grito de Dolores (Shout/Yell of Sorrow) begins the Independence Day celebration. The Grito refers to Father Miguel Hidalgo’s incredibly loud request for insurrection. Apparently, he rang the bells at his church and shouted to anyone who could hear him (in Spanish, of course), “Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe and King Fernando VII! Down with the bad government!” And this was the cry that motivated the Mexican peeps to an uprising. Ay. If only it was that easy nowadays...

Mexico’s actually independence from Spain didn’t come until September 27, 1821. This recognition didn’t come until 11 years after the Grito. The Grito is re-enacted every year, which is actually pretty cool.

So, the next time Cinco de Mayo rolls around and someone with a Margarita in their hand comes to you and says, “Hey, Happy Mexican Independence Day!” you can now say, “Hey, foolio, Mexican Independence Day is September 16th!”

Actually, “foolio” is not necessary.

some good ol’ fashion southern hospitality

The Monday College Football Recap is below. For today’s blog post, please scroll down.

• How the mighty have fallen. I was fortunate enough to watch the Oregon Ducks blow away the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday in the air-conditioned refuge of The Chimes on LSU’s campus. I was pulling for the Ducks for two reasons—one (the obvious) is that they are a Pac-10 team and two is that a friend of mine is an Oregon alum. After last weekend’s debacle against Appalachian State, I really thought that Michigan was going to give the Ducks a hard time. Unfortunately, the ones having a hard time on Saturday were the Wolverines. Should Lloyd Carr be looking for a new job? Will Michigan start wooing Les Miles? Something tells me that this questions will be answered some time this season. If the Wolverines can’t pull it out against Notre Dame next week (who is also 0-2), Carr might want to start packing up his office.

• Speaking of Notre Dame (that team most people outside of South Bend love to hate and my personal favorite punching bag), the Irish actually managed to score their first touchdown of the season on Saturday, against the Nittany Lions of Penn State. Not surprisingly, Penn State was just too much for the Irish and ND lost 31-10. Big shocker. However, do you think Charlie Weis is on the chopping block? I doubt it. Not quite sure what that love affair is all about, but I’m not expecting Weis to be going anywhere, no matter how crappy the Irish are this year. ESPN’s Mark May predicted that ND would start their season 0-7. He’s starting to look like Miss Cleo right about now.

• Didn’t get to watch any of this game, but Georgia got upset by South Carolina, 16-13. I’m not sure why Georgia is consistently ranked in the top 10 every pre-season. They eventually fall to the late teens, early 20s of the poll by the middle of the season. Sounds like Georgia’s got a lot of potential that just isn’t being realized. Or at least, that’s what the writers think.

• USC was off on Saturday (which will hopefully give our injured players enough time to recover for our game against Nebraska next weekend) but was definitely quite the hot topic where I was this weekend—LSU’s campus. Apparently, the Tigers hate us. I heard everything from "USC is overrated" to "USC sucks" (yeah, not very original) to "USC has a cushy schedule". And one Tiger fan actually accused USC of talking smack. Now, I know he didn’t hear that from our coach or our players because Pete Carroll would put an end to that in an instant. However, I do recall some LSU guy by the name of Les Miles (yes, the LSU coach) talking smack about USC and how soft our schedule is compared to the SEC. If that’s not trash talking, I don’t know what is. Also, as long as Kentucky and Vanderbilt are on the SEC conference schedule, he really has no ground to stand on.

• Let the hate mail/comments begin!

• Since I was at LSU, I got to witness the shellacking that was the Virginia Tech/LSU game. I couldn’t tell you what the final score was because Jesse and I left early to get a head start on our long walk back to the hotel (note to Baton Rouge--get some sidewalks). However, I saw enough of that game to make the following remarks:

1. VA Tech was overrated. Their offensive line and quarterback are just not worthy of being on the #9 team in the country. Fortunately, Frank Beamer corrected the quarterback mistake by finally playing Tyrod Taylor, his freshman phenom. This means that he benched former starter Sean Glennon, who has sucked the past two years. Putting Taylor into the game actually breathed new life into the Hokie fans that were in attendance. The visitors’ section actually collective stood up and watched Taylor’s first few throws. Taylor was responsible for the drive down the field that led to the Hokies’ only TD of the game.
2. Unfortunately, Taylor couldn’t breathe new life into the offensive line or the defense, who simply gave up after LSU’s first two possessions.
3. The only thing that is intimidating about Death Valley is that the visitors’ section is so high up in the stands. It scared me to death to look down from where I was seated.
4. LSU tailgaters are the coolest people ever. At almost every tailgate we passed, Tiger fans were calling us over and offering us some beer. And they were so proud about being LSU alum (not that they shouldn’t be). They were more than happy to tell us all about their traditions and how they started. I was actually really impressed with their hospitality. And I hope that the Hokies who were in Baton Rouge will go home to Blacksburg and offer the same hospitality to the visiting team at every home game.
5. Mike VI is one cool tiger. I don’t know how many times the Tiger fans told us that the university spent $1.5 million dollars on his habitat. The fans are definitely proud of their mascot. Moreover, everyone who mentioned Mike VI also mentioned that Mike V had been the mascot for over 20 years and he recently passed away. Anyways, the Tigers love their tiger (as they should).
6. The campus is really pretty. I could do without the fire ants though.
   

Next up for me: USC plays Nebraska (and if ESPN Gameday isn’t there, I won’t be happy) and VA Tech plays someone they should easily beat (Ohio, I think).

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I spent Friday in New Orleans and it was awesome. Jesse and I spent some time in the French Quarter, where we hung out at the Cafe du Monde and had some beignets. Yummm! We sampled pralines every where we went and they were all so good. We did so much walking that I didn’t really feel guilty about not going to the gym this weekend.

We did some drinking on Bourbon Street (naturally). Granted, it was the middle of the day and it felt kind of weird but Jesse and I weren’t the only ones drinking. Jesse took me to Pat O’Brien’s where I had my first Hurricane, which was really, really good. After some more walking and exploring, Jesse and I ate lunch at a restaurant (whose name eludes me now) and we had some fabulous food. The Bayou sure knows how to do food! Actually, we also had an excellent meal on Saturday at The Chimes (at LSU), where Jesse and I enjoyed some blackened gator bites which were super delish. Who knew that gator would taste just like chicken?

At some point in the afternoon on Friday, I got a migraine, which was horrible timing on my head’s part. Damn you, head! That cut Friday really short, sadly. Saturday was spent in Baton Rouge with the LSU fans and the fire ants.

In addition to being attacked by fire ants twice, I also happened to fall in the mud, in the dark, on a road with no sidewalks following the game. Jesse and I decided to walk to the hotel where we had left the car earlier. We figured it was maybe a mile walk at the most. The darkness of the evening brought on some cooler temperatures (did I mention that I spent the day bathed in my own sweat?). So, we challenged ourselves to a walk.

After a few blocks, the sidewalk pretty much disappeared and we either walked in the grass or on the street. I opted for the street and jumped on the grass whenever a car came by. Just as a car was coming, I stepped in a puddle of mud I couldn’t see and lost my balance. In the process of falling, I injured my good knee pretty badly (immediately afterwards, it was swollen and is now a nasty shade of bluish-purple). A few blocks later, I started to freak out because neither Jesse nor I knew where we were going and we just walking on a road in the dark. So, how does my body decide to react? Well, by having a panic attack of course. I had to stop in the parking lot of some abandoned store while Jesse tried to calm me down. There I was, in the dark, lost, with mud all over my leg and my booty, hyperventilating hysterically because I felt as though I couldn’t breathe (and yes, I left the Xanax in the hotel room, of course). Ugh. It was a fitting end to the day.

Despite Saturday night’s craziness, I rather enjoyed the trip. I think I prefer New Orleans to Baton Rouge but it was all nice. I appreciate everyone’s suggestions and Jesse and I tried to do as much as we could. Your ideas contributed to a fun trip!

(I do have some pics but unfortunately, the internet is down at home so I couldn't upload the pics to my flickr page. I'll let ya'll know when they're up.)

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.


And here is the Hokie Nation, representing.


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.


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.


Mary’s Rock


Here’s Jesse, getting in my way.


And this little guy actually stopped long enough for a picture.


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!

you can’t spell BCS without ‘SC

Holy crap. What a weekend. So much college football. My brain can barely handle it. Oh yeah and USC beat Notre Dame!

On to the recap:

• Ohio State and Michigan were both idle.

• On Thursday, Miami beat Boston College for the upset (I can’t believe I just typed that). And then Miami’s coach got fired. Poor Larry Coker. I really feel for the guy. He did help bring a national title to the school in 2001, but it’s been downhill since (well actually since Miami joined the ACC). Still, in a world where Joe Pa and Bobby Bowden have coached at their respective schools forever, whatever happened to loyalty?
  

• On Friday, Texas A&M beat Texas. I’m not even gonna front. After what happened last year (you know, the Rose Bowl), I take great joy in every Texas misfortune…except for Colt McCoy’s injury at the end of that game. I could never be happy over a player getting injured. But still…the Longhorns lost! Yay!

• On Saturday, Florida squeaked out a victory over rival Florida State. How crazy is that? They squeaked out a victory? Over 6-6 Florida State? Urban Meyer (Florida’s coach) was ranting about the importance of style points in getting to the BCS title game. Well, apparently lackluster wins against a crappy team get you nowhere, as Florida continues to sit at #4.

• Arkansas lost to LSU. I’m really not surprised. That SEC is definitely unpredictable. However, I was hoping for an Arkansas win especially since USC beat them (I swear, if I hear someone else say, “but Arkansas is not the same team that lost to USC in a blowout” I’m going to scream!). Doesn’t matter. They still get to play Florida for the SEC championship. And frankly, I hope the Hogs win so Urban Meyer can shut it.

• In the battle for the state of Virginia, Virginia Tech shut out UVa, 17-0. This game looked like quite the defensive battle in the first half until the Hokies broke it open. And boy was Sean Glennon hard to watch. That QB can’t scramble to save his life. Note to Tech, whatever you do, don’t recruit Glennon’s brother.
  

• In the battle for the state of Georgia, Georgia beat Georgia Tech, making Virginia Tech one of the highest ranked teams not going to their own conference championship (LSU is the other one).

• Uh oh. Someone was caught looking ahead. West Virginia lost to the University of South Florida. So much for all that talk about the mighty Big East this season (ok, so maybe it only came from West Virginia, Rutgers, and Louisville fans, but there was still talk).

• And finally, USC easily defeated Notre Dame, 44-24. I’m not going to gloat (anymore that is, in case you didn’t read my previous two posts). The USC defense effectively shut down Brady Quinn’s offense. There was just something about seeing Brady Quinn getting sacked and completing less than 50% of his passes that brings tears to my eyes. Ok, really now. No more gloating. USC’s offense certainly didn’t need a “Bush Push” this year as Dwayne Jarrett had 3 TDs in the game. Heck even one of our Defensive Ends got in on the scoring fun. And you know what’s the best part of all this (besides moving up to #2 in the BCS poll and having a chance to play Ohio State in the BCS title game)? Notre Lame graduates 18 seniors this year, including Brady Quinn. Looks like someone is headed towards a rebuilding year.

I know you’re probably thinking, Gee, she sure is gloating a bit much. Well, let me explain why. On Saturday, Jesse and I headed over to Baileys to watch the game. Why do we go to Baileys? Because it’s the official USC bar for us DC Trojans. And what happened when we got to Baileys? Well, we noticed that there were Irish fans everywhere. Notre Dame fans actually had the audacity to show up at our bar to watch the game (hey Irish fans, in case you don’t know Mister Days is your official bar and it’s down the street from Baileys). And what’s worse (besides the chants of “go Irish” before the game and during the game) is that they actually continued to heckle us even after USC won. And what did I do? I just sat there and let them do their thing. Sure, I wanted to chant “overrated” every time Brady Quinn didn’t complete a pass. But Jesse wouldn’t let me.

Well, I’m a little drained on the college football thing, so I may not blog about it for a few days. But you should probably know, that USC will probably clinch a BCS title game berth by beating FUCLA* on Saturday. And if there are any Bruin fans who want to watch the game at Bailey’s, I say BRING IT!

*I’d like to extend an apology to my Bruin friend Lisa for expressing my hatred of UCLA.
**ALSO, I can’t take credit for the blog post title. Jesse said it right after USC beat Notre Dame.

an open letter to Brady Quinn

Dear Brady Quinn,

You don’t know me, but I feel that someone out there has to be honest with you. I get the impression that you’re surrounded by a whole lotta “yes, sir”s. And Lord knows, I am not one to beat around the bush, so here goes. You’re not going to win the Heisman. Really. You’re not.

Sure, you’ll get the invite to the ceremony. And ESPN will shower you with as much attention as the other candidates. And you might even land on the covers of SI and ESPN the magazine because you’re a candidate. But you’re not going to win it. Really. You’re not.

The way I see it, a Heisman candidate quarterback is only as good as his receivers/backs. And frankly, your receivers sucked yesterday. And the fact that you led the team in rushing yards yesterday makes your running backs look bad. But it’s not entirely your fault. The USC defense did a lot to confuse them and pressure them. The Trojans broke up passes, batted passes away, and even forced a fumble. Facing a defense that is arguably one of the best in the country isn’t an easy task, considering you’ve played against defenses from the likes of Army, Navy, and Stanford (by the way, combined record of these teams is 12-21). If maybe you played some decent teams on your schedule, you and your teammates would’ve known what to do. Instead, you prepared for this game with scrimmages.

photo courtesy of the LA Times

I totally get that you have great numbers. 3,278 passing yards with 37 total TDs and only 5 interceptions. That’s pretty good. But these yards and TDs were all accomplished while playing against teams like UCLA, Air Force, and North Carolina (by the way, the combined record of these teams is 13-21). If Sean Glennon (the Virginia Tech quarterback) played that kind of schedule, he could probably put up similar numbers. And he’s pretty bad.

My guess is that Troy Smith is going to win the Heisman. Why? Well, Ted Ginn, Jr. is his receiver and he’s pretty bad ass. Secondly, Smith has put up similar numbers with a tougher schedule. And third, he actually led his team to victory against Ohio State’s biggest rival, Michigan. And you, Brady, you lost to Mchigan and to your rival USC (two schools that actually play defense). There was no miracle comeback for you last night. You know, God was probably too busy what with hunger, crime, and corruption running rampant in the world.

So, I recommend that you start looking to your future. Hey, maybe you can hope to be the number one NFL draft pick….unless Calvin Johnson gives up his final year of eligibility. He’ll probably be the top pick.

Sincerely,
A loyal Trojan

P.S. Oh I almost forgot to tell you…

Matt Leinart’s prettier than you!

luck of the Irish runs out

Hey Buckeyes...you might wanna get ready!

photo courtesy of the LA Times

Sure, last night's game was missing the men who made last year's win against the Irish as spectacular as it was (Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and LenDale White). But as it turns out, USC didn't need a "Bush Push" to win this year! USC convincingly beat Notre Lame, 44-24, and made an argument to meet Ohio State in Glendale.

But before the Trojans start dreaming of the BCS title game, we've got to put away those pesky little Bruins.

The college football recap is on its way...

the black sheep in my family

There’s one in every family. The relative you’re embarrassed of. The family screw up. The one whose existence you rationalize with thinking, “He/She must’ve been adopted.” It’s ok. I have one too. And that person is my brother.

I love my brother dearly. Growing up, I always felt that I was much closer to him than my sister. In fact, I idolized my brother. He was the one who showed me the wonderful world of sports. He was the one who taught me how to play basketball. When I was 12, he was also the same person who knocked me unconscious with a softball while he was helping me make the team (I love baseball, but apparently I wasn’t destined to play it). We religiously watched basketball games and old-school Godzilla movies together. I so wanted to be like him. So much so, that I hated my boobs when they started coming in. They were a constant reminder of how I was growing up to be a woman at a time that I wanted to be just one of the boys (now, I still kinda want to be one of the boys but I’ve come to appreciate the boobs).

My brother and I didn’t always see eye to eye. Just because I wanted to be like him didn’t mean that I believed everything he believed. He thought that the greatest basketball player ever was Magic Johnson. I knew it was Michael Jordan. He was a Laker fan. I liked the Bulls. He bled Dodger blue. I remain true to my Angels. Football was something he and I never discussed because I just couldn’t get into it as a kid. I have vague recollections of my family being into Notre Dame football. Why? I imagine it was because we are Catholic and Notre Dame is a Catholic school. Football wouldn’t be a big deal in my life until 1995, my senior year at Mater Dei High.

I had already committed to USC after visiting the campus with my mom and several occasions. I knew I was going to go there the minute we drove through the gates on Figueroa. At the time, I had never been more sure of anything in my life. To this day, it’s a decision I know I will never regret.

I followed USC during the ‘95 season. That year, Keyshawn Johnson led the Trojans to the Rose Bowl game against Northwestern. My family and I watched the Rose Parade together that year (I was full of pride as I watched the USC band march on the screen) as well as the game. USC won that game 41-32. Keyshawn did the Heisman Trophy pose in the end zone. It was great. My brother wasn’t all that impressed.

That game (I’m sure the fact that I was an incoming freshman also helped) converted my family to USC fans…well, except my brother. He refused to cheer for USC. Why? Because he is (and probably always will be) a diehard Notre Dame fan. My mom and sis decided to support me by supporting my school.

My brother, on the other hand, is still a Notre Dame fan. How we could be related is a mystery to me. He’s going against the family grain. Every year, the week of the USC/Notre Dame game, my brother gives me a hard time (actually this year, my brother started early with a text message last week). I try to stay away from the smack talking. In 1998, I invited my brother to watch the game with me. At the last minute, something “came up” at work and he couldn’t go. He’s a cop so it’s entirely possible that his excuse was true. However, I know better. Something tells me he didn’t want to go home a loser (USC won that game, 10-0, in a nailbiter).

Since Serena Rose’s birth (and my subsequent purchase of a USC onesie for her), the USC/Notre Dame battle has taken on a new meaning. Rich is determined to send his daughter to South Bend for her higher learning. I obviously oppose this. Serena will be graduating with USC’s class of 2025!! I guarantee it. Notre Dame celebrated their victory over (insert name of subpar college football program here, since they haven’t played anyone important since Michigan) on Saturday by chanting “Beat ‘SC, Beat ‘SC.” I have a feeling my brother, who watched the game on TV I’m sure, was chanting along with them.

This year’s game is on his birthday. May the best team win on Saturday.

I already know who that is.

USC football: best rebuilding year ever!

Yes, I know that the most hyped regular-season college football game ever was played this weekend, but there were other games to be played as well. On to the recap!

• Game of the Year or Game of the Century…I forget the exact phrase ESPN used (over and over again for a whole week) to describe the match-up between Ohio State and Michigan. But I have to admit, the game did live up to the hype. It was a strong offensive display from the top two teams in the Big Ten (and arguably the country). And although Michigan took an early lead in the game, the Buckeyes followed up with a touchdown of their own and never looked back. Sure, Michigan came within striking distance. And Ohio State almost gave the game away with their fumbles and an intercepted pass. But Ohio State ended up victorious (just as I said they would). I love being right.

• It being Saturday and all, there were other games. Boston College revealed that Maryland really isn’t as good as everyone thought they were by beating them 38-16. I’ll be very surprised if the Terps can survive Wake Forest next week.

• Speaking of Wake Forest, the Demon Deacons played Virginia Tech. In the first quarter, Branden Ore (also known as over 80% of the Hokies’ offense) went down with an ankle injury. In some strange way, this was actually a good thing for the Hokies, as it forced other players to step up their game on their way to victory, 27-6. It was a great victory for the Hokies, who play their in-state rival UVa this Saturday.

• And speaking of rivals, there’s a new marquee rivalry in the Pac-10—USC vs. Cal. I never really hated Cal as much as I hate UCLA and Notre Dame, but things are beginning to change. All last week, the Cal players decided to talk smack to the media. All DeSean Jackson did was complain about how USC didn’t recruit him as hard as he thinks we should have and how it is USC’s loss. That’s fine, Cal. You go ahead and talk shit. We’ll just use it as motivation.

In what can only be described as a rare defensive battle in the Pac-10, USC’s defense kept the Golden Bears in check. Cal game in to the game with the highest points scored per game in the Pac-10. Against the USC defense, they managed only a single touchdown (their other score was a safety). The Pac-10 rushing leader (Golden Bear) Marshawn Lynch was held to just 88 yards on 20 carries. Nate Longshore, the much-heralded Cal quarterback, was intercepted twice. DeSean Jackson (the smack-talker), known for returning punts for TDs, was held to just 2 receptions and 41 yards. I bet he kinda wishes he was a Trojan now.

Thanks to our kick-ass defense, USC won the game 23-9 and won a trip to the Rose Bowl. I can’t get over that. Just when everyone started counting us out after losing to Oregon State, we grew up and came back. I’m so proud of our team! *sniff, sniff* There’s some talk that USC might play in the BCS Championship (which would be really nice), but I’m not worried about not going. I would be perfectly happy playing in the Rose Bowl.

Up next, USC plays Notre Lame and VA Tech plays UVA. I have a feeling that the Irish will be motivated by USC’s last minute win last year (remember the “Bush push”?). It should be an awesome game!

suicidal saturday

Just because USC was shocked into losing to an unranked team whose school colors remind us of Halloween, doesn’t mean that I’m not going to fulfill my Monday duties of providing the college football roundup. And if you read my Sunday post on the 5 stages of grief, then you’ll be happy to know that I reached ACCEPTANCE at some point yesterday…even if it all still hurts.

Here we go, starting with my only non Saturday entry:

• How ‘bout them Hokies? The Virginia Tech defense that I remember came back with a vengeance on Thursday, turning the Tigers of Clemson into little kittens that rolled over to have their bellies scratched (hmmm…I clearly really want a cat). I have just one question for the Hokies. Where the heck have you been all season? If you’d played like that all season, you’d be a shoe-in to go to the ACC Championship game! Now we all have to sit and wait for Georgia Tech to lose.

• And I just have to use one more bullet for the Tech game and give much props to Brandon Ore, the Hokie running back, who decided to have his big coming out party during the game. The kid ran for over 200 yards and scored 2 touchdowns against Clemson. Everyone knows that Virginia Tech is not necessarily known for its offense. Ore is literally carrying the entire offense on his back as he now has almost 90% of the Hokies total offense for the year.

• Ohio State killed the Gophers of Minnesota. *yawn*
  

• Michigan beat Northwestern, 17-3. Considering how bad N’western is, I’m really surprised that Michigan wasn’t able to score more than 17.

• Oregon bounced back from a big loss to kill poor, little Portland State. Nice to see the Ducks come back and earn a victory against a Div. 1-AA team.

After the USC loss, I pretty much cut myself off of all college football and ESPN viewing, so I’ve got nothing else to say about the other games. Since I’ve run out of stalling tactics, I might as well talk about USC. So, the Trojans went to Corvallis to play the Beavers of Oregon State. The Beavers definitely showed up to play. However, it wasn’t so much that the Beavers earned that victory. It was the Trojans who earned the loss. The Trojans didn’t show up to play until the 3rd quarter and by then, they were down 23 points with 5 minutes left in the 3rd.

USC came alive and played perfectly in the 4th quarter. It was definitely the best I had seen them play all season since the Arkansas game. It looked like they were going to pull off the most amazing comeback, but our 2-point-conversion-to-tie-the-game fell short with a few seconds left in the game.

In all honesty, I knew we were going to lose a game this season. The team had been playing at 70% and just barely winning games. For whatever reason, the team seemed to accept their half-assed attempts to win games as the norm. During the game on Saturday, I actually wanted USC to lose. I was so mad at the team that I had hoped for a loss so the team could learn a lesson. And now that they have lost, I hope the message has finally hit home.

Hey Trojan football players, the lesson is this: You know how you guys played really great football for the last 16 minutes (that’s football minutes, not normal minutes) of the OSU game? Well, a truly great football team plays that way the entire game. So, if you want to be a truly great football team (like our teams the past few years), then you need to play that way against Oregon, Cal, Notre Dame, and UCLA, every minute of every quarter. Sure, there’s a Stanford game coming up, but you guys can play at 50% and still beat the Cardinal (they’re the Duke of the West, after all).

I am comforted by the fact that Notre Dame is still ranked below us.

is the PAC-10 actually good?

Hey, just because USC didn’t play this weekend and I was away at Virginia Tech’s homecoming doesn’t mean that I didn’t keep up with college football this weekend. I learned something on Saturday that I hadn’t really noticed all season: damn, the Pac-10 is good.

Here’s the recap:

• No college football recap of mine would be complete without the following: Ohio State killed Indiana. *yawn*
• Virginia Tech had a great homecoming game, beating Southern Miss. 36-6. Granted, it is Southern Miss. However, the Hokies really did show up for this game. In fact, if they had played like this all season, they probably would be a one-loss team, if not undefeated. Hopefully the Hokies that showed up on Saturday will also show up on Thursday against Clemson.
• Speaking of Clemson, they sure did beat the crap out of Georgia Tech. And how exactly did the #12 team in the country convincingly beat the #13 team in the country? By completely shutting down Calvin Johnson, GT’s offensive spark. Sure, that’s all fine and dandy, but what really impressed me was the Tigers’ showing on GameDay. They showed up in droves to support their team on ESPN’s college football pre-game show. Take note, Auburn fans.
• And since I’m talking about the ACC, did anyone else notice that Miami almost lost to Duke? Duke has yet to win a game and they almost beat Miami? That win would’ve made their whole season. Hey Miami…how the mighty have fallen, huh?
• Damn you, Nebraska! All the Cornhuskers had to do was hold on to the ball for a few minutes and you would’ve won the game!!! But no! You had to fumble the ball and let Texas take possession so they could eventually kick a field goal to win the game. Come on, ‘huskers. I need you to beat some ranked teams so that USC’s win over you will look even better.
• FUCLA vs. Notre Lame. Notre Lame vs. FUCLA. As a loyal Trojan, I hate them both. But which team do I hate more? I kept asking myself this as the two schools played each other on Saturday. I figured that no matter who won, one of them had to lose (so it was a win-win situation for USC fans). However, I actually slightly preferred an Irish loss over a Bruin one. So when I heard that UCLA had almost beaten the Irish, I was not surprised (although everyone else seems to be). Why? Because many Trojans (myself included) already know that the Irish are overrated.
• Speaking of PAC-10 teams, Washington State pulled the upset against then-#16 Oregon. The game wasn’t even close (it was over by the 3rd quarter). This kinda makes me feel better about USC having a hard time against Wazzu earlier this season.
• Speaking of hard times, Cal was this close to losing to the Huskies. Guess what, peeps? Washington isn’t the same 2-win team of yesteryear (because this year they have 4 victories already). They’re definitely on their way back. Somehow they pulled off an impressive comeback against Cal IN BERKELEY and almost pulled off an impressive upset. Cal needed overtime to beat the Huskies. This REALLY makes me feel better about USC having a hard time against Washington earlier this season.
• And finally, although USC didn’t play, they were still very much on my mind. I was afraid that their Saturday off would result in a drop in the BCS standings—which it did. Strangely, after Saturday’s games, I think I have a little more confidence in an undefeated season for the Trojans. So Michigan, I hope you enjoy your stint at #2 in the BCS poll. It won't mean a thing when Ohio State beats ya in 3 weeks.
  

I'm so very sad that I missed the DC Trojans happy hour last week, but I'll definitely be at Bailey's on Saturday to cheer my Trojans to victory over the Beavers of Oregon State.

college football (stressed out) saturday

Sadly, another college football Saturday has come and gone. Thankfully Jesse was with me through it all and offered me a new perspective following the USC game. We spent a good portion of our day at Bailey’s, despite their crappy satellite feed which forced us to miss most of the first half of the USC game. Afterwards, we kicked it over at Carpool where we watched a little bit of the night games.

Here’s the recap:

• Ohio State killed Bowling Green. *yawn*

• Auburn finally lost. I have mixed feelings about this. I know that I’ve been saying all season that I just know that Auburn’s going to lose and that I couldn’t wait for USC to be #2 in both polls (AP and Coaches’). On the one hand, I just love being right. Auburn didn’t look strong against South Carolina and the Tigers were definitely headed to Upsetville at some point. I’m glad they lost to Arkansas, a team that USC easily beat to start the season. On the other hand, I’m not so sure that USC has earned a #2 ranking (see bullet on USC below). If only there was another team that could be #2…

• Florida made the LSU Tigers look like kittens. They looked awesome out there…well, once Chris Leak was replaced by freshman Tim Tebow. The Gators blew holes through the Tigers’ defense and capitalized on all of LSU’s mistakes. The Gators were clearly the superior team and they earned their #2 ranking in the AP Poll.

• Michigan did well against Michigan State. I wasn’t surprised. The Spartans have had a history of choking this season and only some of them showed up to play on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Wolverines are looking pretty good. They’ve got Penn State next.

• The Pac-10 showdown that wasn’t—Cal vs. Oregon. Cal looked so good that Oregon was never in this game. I haven’t really been too worried about facing Oregon this season, but now I’m really scared to play Cal. Good thing USC plays Cal at home because we’re going to need every advantage we can get, especially considering how we’ve been playing this year. Also, Cal’s defense against the rush hasn’t been so great, so that’s a weakness USC could exploit.

• Notre Dame let Stanford score twice on their way to victory over the Cardinal. That says a lot about the Irish defense.

• USC wins another nailbiter, this time against Washington. Ok, ok. I get it. So we’re not the explosive team we once were. But I am so over the close games. I was emotionally drained following the game and I’m not sure my heart can take another close one. Once again, our offense just couldn’t get the job done. We must’ve been in the red zone a bunch of times and only managed field goals. I’ve got to hand it to our defense though. They really came through during some tense moments. However, we’re still a young team and it definitely showed with all the penalties we got. With all the players we’ve got coming back from injury next year, we’ll definitely be the team to beat. As far as this year goes, I’m not so sure.

Jesse and his friends called me “spoiled” on Saturday. He and his fellow Hokies had just experienced a loss last week and they couldn’t believe how stressed out I was about the USC game, considering we still won. I have to admit, I may be spoiled by USC’s lil run recently. But Jesse had to remind me that a win is a win and no matter how you look at it, USC is still 5-0.

I know that it’s only Monday, but I’m already looking forward to next Saturday. I’ve incorporated college football into my after-birthday-dinner plans! This year, I have only one wish—for USC to win big against Arizona State. I think we can do it.

Side note: I am totally aware that I am one day late on this post. I'm so sorry! That Columbus Day holiday has really thrown me off!

college football is taking over my saturdays

Although Separation Saturday has come and gone, this past Saturday continued the tradition of providing excellent college football. I started off my day by watching Gameday at 10 a.m. I was surprised to see that the Gameday guys were at Ohio State again, especially since they were playing an overrated Penn State team. I felt that the better Gameday location would’ve been Michigan State (not because I wanted them to beat Notre Dame so badly) because that was a better match up. Oh well. I do not pretend to know what the Gameday guys are thinking when they schedule a particular location.

Jesse and I then went to Baileys and hung out with his fellow Hokies for the VA Tech/Cincinnati game. We decided to take a break, go home, watch the Ohio State/Penn State game in between naps and then head back out to Baileys to watch the USC/Arizona game and the Notre Dame/Michigan State game. Lucky for us, the two games were in the same room at Baileys.

On to oberservations:

• First off, I fear for the Hokies and their not-so-strong offense. I know that VA Tech isn’t really known for putting up big numbers in terms of scoring, but I was concerned that Cincinnati was actually hanging in there. This should’ve been a shut out, in my opinion. However, a win is a win. Go Hokies!
• I can’t believe the Ohio State/Penn State game was actually close (if you don’t think so, then you probably only watched the last 5 minutes). I was really hoping that Penn State could pull it off, mostly because I can’t wait too much longer for Auburn to lose so that USC could be #2. First, Penn State couldn’t beat Notre Dame. Then they couldn’t beat the Buckeyes. Way to let me down, Nittany Lions…
  
• Will the ESPN guys please stop talking about the Michigan Wolverines like they are the Cornhuskers of the 90s? Ok, so they beat Notre Dame last week. That doesn’t mean they're about to start a dynasty. If Michigan can beat Michigan State and Iowa and Ohio State, then, yes, they are worthy of being in the top 5 (top 3, even). Until then, I don’t wanna hear it!
• (Look away, MK!) So, Notre Dame pulled off the comeback of the year against Michigan State. I really have no idea what happened to the Spartans. They dominated that whole game up until the last 10 minutes. It was disturbing to see it all unravel so quickly. But what bothered me the most was hearing Kirk Herbstreit’s analysis after the game. He said, and I’m paraphrasing here, that this would be the game that turned everything around for Notre Dame. He also said that he wouldn’t be surprised if Notre Dame has only one loss by the time they play USC. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they have one loss by the time they play us either. Why? Because we are the only other ranked team they play and we won’t meet until the end of November. Until then, they’ve filled their schedule with the likes of Stanford, Army, Navy, and UNC.
  
• And finally, my beloved Trojans beat the Arizona Wildcats. I said last week that our defense is awesome. On Saturday, our defense had some interceptions, 5 sacks, and a blocked field goal. Suddenly, we’re the Hokies of the West. Coach said that this is a very different offense and it’s taking me a while to get used to it. It’s not nearly as explosive as it used to be, but our defense is kicking ass. Now if we had just scored another field goal, I would’ve been happy with the score.

Like last week, I loved watching the game with my fellow DC Trojans! We are quite the loud bunch with our SoCal spellouts and fight song singing. The highlight of the evening, including USC’s victory, was meeting blog peep, Rob, a DC Trojan who recognized me as OC girl. I was completely dumbstruck that you recognized me (what with my flat hair, glasses, and very little make up on) but I felt warm fuzzies because you know me from the blog. It was so great to meet you.

Oh…and Fight On!

Associated Press comes to their senses

In a surprising turn of events, it appears the Associated Press has made up for their pre-season mistake of ranking USC at #6. The AP poll shows the following top 5:

1. Ohio State
2. Texas
3. USC
4 (tie) Auburn and Notre Dame.

Suddenly, I find myself pulling for Texas to beat Ohio State this weekend. Why? Because when we beat Nebraska, Oregon, and Notre Dame this season (all at home by the way), that will set up another USC/Texas championship game.

Hey, Irish! How’s it feel to look up and see USC ahead of ya?

don't piss off a turkey

Who knew that Labor Day weekend could be so eventful? Not only was I one nervous Trojan fan for the first time in 4 years, but I managed to stay sober and still got pulled over by a Virginia State Trooper.

Somehow, Jesse and I managed to stay alive during our drive down to B-burg on Friday. It rained the whole way. The driving conditions were horrible, especially with the huge cargo trucks that blinded us with the water they splashed us with from their wheels. Jesse and I saw two vehicles that had gone over the highway embankments—one was a cargo truck that had not only flipped over, but it had also split open and its cargo was everywhere. Also, Jesse had seen a truck spin out of control and almost hit the SUV in front of it.

Six hours later, Jesse and I finally made it to Blacksburg in one piece. We checked in with Bill and Beth who were nice enough to let us stay with them in their beautiful home. After that, we had a late dinner at Boudreaux’s. Love those gator bites and mojitos!



On game day, Jesse, Beth, Donna, and I made it to Bill’s tailgate shortly before 10 a.m. It was quite the operation. There was plenty of food and booze so it was perfect. I stayed away from the $1-a-pound hamburgers though. The usual suspects were there, including Kevin and Velvet who are always fun to be around. A couple of hours later, Jesse and I headed over to the stadium to watch the game. It was a blowout (poor Northeastern).

Following the game, we headed over to Rusten’s tailgate. There we hung out with Doc and Star (not their real names, apparently Star has dropped the “Super” that preceded his name). Also, I got a call from my favorite Trojan, Josh (more on him later). We discussed Trojan football for quite a while as we were both very excited about the season starting.

Before we knew it, it was time to head out to the sports bar to catch the USC game. Beth, Donna, Donna’s boo Zack, John, Jesse and me decided to have dinner at Poor Billy’s (which is below the previously mentioned Big Al’s). All the TV screens in our corner were showing the GA Tech/Notre Dame game (which is understandable considering GA tech is in the ACC). I asked them to switch one of the screens to the USC game which they did…eventually. Happily, I watched as USC obliterated Arkansas (or as Jesse likes to call ‘em R-Kansas) for a second straight year.

The next day, we had brunch at Boudreaux’s. It was the cheapest brunch ever (so much so that Jesse and I will definitely have to do it again). Jesse and I had a Bloody Mary and a Screwdriver (respectively) with our breakfast and the meal came out to less than $20 including tip. I love how cheap B-burg is.

to be continued...

wake me up when college football starts

WARNING: this is an incredibly biased and opinionated post. Read at your own risk.

The other day, Jesse received in the mail the most recent issue of ESPN the magazine. On it, Brady Quinn, Notre Dame quarterback, is standing there, looking constipated (and very airbrushed…what happened, Brady…you weren’t feeling pretty that day?) and announcing ESPN’s college football isssue. In the past couple of years, I’ve looked forward to preseason college football polls for one reason only—to see USC at number one. This year, seeing as that we lost our 2005 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and our 2004 Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart to the NFL, I wasn’t expeting much. Sure, LenDale White also left us. And Frostee Rucker said good bye too. But we’ve had one of the top recruiting classes over the past few years and that’s gotta mean something. In my head, that means USC should be no lower than a preseason top 5.

So, I eagerly turned the page (I didn’t really want to see Brady’s face anyways) and saw that ESPN the magazine had several covers...and we just happened to be in the market with the Brady Quinn cover. Stay with me, I’ll get to the rankings in a sec. Apparently, the West Coast was lucky enough to get the USC cover. But I WANT THE USC COVER! Besides the wannabees, who else wants to see the Irish succeed outside of Indiana? Besides ND alumni? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Several pages later, I found the rankings.
Ohio State is #1. I could live with that.
Texas is #2. Hmmm…interesting. Who’s on their schedule this year besides Ohio State? North Texas? Sam Houston State? Are these even Division 1-A schools?
Moving on, Notre Dame is #3. Really? You mean the same team that BARELY beat Stanford last year? Ok, whatever.
At #4, we have Auburn. Ok, that’s fine.
Coming in at #5, is West Virginia. Hmmm. Honestly, I think this team should be lower. Why? Sure they’ll probably finished undefeated but that’s because they don’t play anyone!!!! On their schedule, you will find the likes of Cincy, UConn and Pitt.

Finally, at #6 you will find my beloved Trojans. Sure we have an unexperienced quarterback. Back in the day, after we lost Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer (now a star with the Cincinnati Bengals), we started this guy named Matt Leinart who had never thrown a pass in his collegiate career. So, anyone wanna take a guess what happened the first time he touched a ball that season? Yeah, that’s right. We scored! So bring on John David Booty! Let the “Booty” jokes begin! Bring it on!

I’ll leave the rest of the Trojan football analysis to my fellow Trojan, Aesop, at Fight on Forever!

So, peeps, if you wanna see me this fall, feel free to check out USC’s football schedule. I’m sorry but I will not be available on the days we play. However, if you wanna join me for a few drinks and great football, you know how to find me. I’ll be the girl in the USC gear cheering on the Trojans as we prove all the haters wrong!

UPDATE: WaPo ranked us at number 6 too. What does the Post know about college football? Haters...

if the past is so bad, why relive it?

I received a notice about my high school reunion. Actually, if I had never joined Myspace, I would never have found out about it. Surprisingly, I received my notice through Myspace.

Since the days following graduation, my particular class was intent on staying in touch. A website went up just for my high school’s class of 1996 (one of my classmates, a computer geek, set it up). I know of people who used that for a couple of years in college. And now, there’s a Myspace group just for my high school’s class of 1996. Since I only recently gave in to Myspace, I wanted to join some groups to feel like I “belonged” (some of us never grow out of those high school ideals…thank God I grew out of other things) and just happened upon my class group.

Before joining the group, I perused its members. Of the 425 people I graduated with, over a quarter of them are in the Myspace group. When reviewing the list, I didn’t look at any faces or names. I only looked at their locations. Where are my classmates? I wondered. Not surprisingly, they’re still in California. In fact, a large percentage of them are still in Southern California. Out of the over 150 names in the group, only 3 are outside of the state. To be honest, I’m not surprised.

My conservative, private, Catholic high school had felt like a bubble to me. While inside of it, I only knew of my own little world—wearing plaid skirts above the knee and pulling them down when the dean walked by, finding a date to the next dance, judging the girls who got pregnant, keeping hush about the kids who did drugs and dealt them. The message to “do what Jesus would do” was constantly shoved down our throats, but rarely genuinely lived by. People faked it all the time. This little bubble fostered ignorance and prejudice. The hypocrisy of it all still disturbs me.

There is one positive thing I can say. The academics were outstanding. Almost everyone struggled to be the smartest one in the class (I was content with top 5). Your peers praised you for setting curves (and cursed you behind your back). Academic achievement was praised every which way imaginable. I don’t regret attending that high school for successfully setting me up for college. It just didn’t set me up for life.

Actually USC did that. My college, with its diversity and opportunities, truly made me the person that I am. I began to see what the real world truly was and I began to question everything I was taught in my high school religion classes. I took nothing at face value and began to think for myself. And the sports teams kick ass!

So, when I found out that my high school reunion falls on the same day as the USC/Notre Dame football game, I was ecstatic. The planning committee was asking me to choose between my high school and USC. Hmmm…let’s see…a clash between traditional football powerhouses…or reliving the miserable high school years? I’m glad you agree with my decision.

If I’m even in town that day, I’d much rather catch the football game at a sports bar with fellow Trojans, then go to a silly reunion.