Desert Fans Episode 2: First Full
Weekend
Well, well, well. What did we learn
after all these games Labor Day weekend? Georgia is pretty good! Maybe their
defense is like those Bears or Ravens teams in the pros that made it to and
even won the Superbowl with overpowering defensive sides? Are the Bulldogs that
good defensively, or maybe the Tigers are down, or Clemson need a little more
seasoning and oil to get their mean salad together? (Poor analogy for football,
sorry.) Some people were picking Georgia to win it all. If their offense can
kick it in gear, they might be the ones this year. I have some security guards
that I am friends with, Georgia guys, so I think Bulldog nation is going to be
a thing in this 2021 season. 1980, perhaps here’s looking at you. This Deep
South power has apparently risen again.
Clemson still could be one of the
best teams by the end of the season; it is unknown if any ACC teams can match
them. Most likely they are better than Coastal Carolina, and until proven
otherwise superior to the in-state Game Cocks. Gamecocks? So they are still the
best in their home state, if not the nation. Up Next: South Carolina State, which might be
the 5th best team in the Palmetto State, if in fact the Citadel is
better than this Football Championship Series team, which most assuredly will
be pulverized on September 11[1]
by the national power.
For those counting, there are 130
FBS teams (formerly Division 1, now Bowl eligible teams). I need to count up
the FCS teams, perhaps there are more than 130? Some of them accomplished some
amazing wins this weekend, topped by the U. of Montana. The Grizzlies, right?
The “U”? Or Montana University, maybe set in that order. The Big Sky State is
not known for much outside of nature, so people will keep an eye on them this
season, like Appalachian State back in 2007. Or was it 2006? Either way, an
unforgettable lower division upset that brought them huge attention, that I
still cherish as a fan for that up-and-coming school. And, being a long-time
opponent fan of Michigan lording over my teams, it was nice to see the Big
House eat their humble pie. Props to the smaller school FCS victors this
weekend over Vanderbilt of the SEC, Tulsa of the AAC, UNLV and Colorado State of
the Mountain West Conference. Pretty embarrassing, like maybe when your little
brother beats you in a competition that should be yours to own, and he is way
too young to be that good. But it happens. Montana, the new Appalachian State.
Speaking of the U, I am sorry Miami
of Florida fans. Alabama reloads and just continues to look scary, scary good.
I would like to see ‘Bama take on a pro team. I bet some in the NFL would not
do too well against Nick Saban’s squad. Amazingly talented and powerful, it was
not the Hurricanes’ day. Up next for Miami: Appy State! I did not purposely
mention the Mountaineers above thinking of their being the upcoming opponent of
the ‘Canes, but I suppose this is apropos. Miami is picked by 7.5, apparently,
but I expect King and the Canes to drop a lot of points and win by 20+. Too
much talent there not to romp. Appalachian (pronounce it right, non-homeland
elites!) is a full-fledged FBS team now in the Sun Belt, a lower ranked tier of
college football for sure. I will be shocked if the Canes do not blow them out.
If you did not notice, I am trying
to go in order of presumed power of the seven teams we are discussing per
Desert Fans protocols. However, Alabama is so dominant that it was natural to
talk of them and Miami, the Tide’s first victim of the new school year. Auburn,
we hold out hope…
Notre Dame was up 38 to 20, and
then allowed the Seminoles to tie the game! Luckily the ‘Noles missed a field
goal in the first possession of OT and the Irish did not. It was a good
offensive display in the first two thirds for the Golden Domers, but the last
twenty minutes or so the offense clamped up and the defense broke down. Maybe
Florida State is much improved; time will tell with the Irish players of South
Bend. I cannot recall if I am repeating myself from last time, but I have a
goal to make it to South Bend, of my home state, and see a game there. I heard
that BYU and the Irish may play next October, but I think it might be in Provo.
More as that story develops.
Our Lady of Hope (I got that wrong
I am sure, but it is the name of a beautiful church close to my house, and
refers to the Virgin Mary, no offense), plays next against: the Toledo Rockets of the
MAC. I grew up in the Midwest surrounded by those Mid-American schools, and
some of them can rise up and sting you sometimes. It has happened to both my
Hoosiers and Cougars even in recent years. Be wary, Notre Dame! But I pick the
Irish to crush them efficiently, by at least three touchdowns.
Speaking of Golden Domes, a shout
out to our service academies. Navy got pummeled by Marshall! Ugh! I like Ken
Niematalolo, the long-time coach, but this might not be the best time for his
longevity in Annapolis; earlier successes may not take him too much further.
Army and Air Force took care of business; the former seems to be the one to
beat of the military academies, like last year. Army strong, soldiers! Maybe
those butter bars got some moxy in them for the next war or three. And I mean
real wars, not pig skin battles.
Back to our teams in the realm of
the desert fandom. Auburn nullified the Zips early and often, and then removed
the foot off the gas pedal. I was tracking the score live, and it seemed the
War Eagle might have dropped 80, easy, but I assume the second and third
stringers (fourth?) got in the game and finished it up more mercifully to
Akron, also of MAC provenance of the heartland. Now the Tigers have their second
game on tap: Alabama State. Wow, I really do not know much about this FCS team!
There are 128 of them, I have counted since, or have been informed by the
Google. Auburn could score 100 if they wanted to, but that is what the third
and fourth string teams are for. Freshmen can still red shirt if they play in
four or less games the whole season. This is a win/win, because it allows young
guys to get some reps and learn, not burn up their eligibility, and it helps
the veterans stay more rested and avoid stupid, needless injuries. War Damn for
the lay-up. Stay whole and save it all for the Iron Bowl. Is that the right
term? Writing this letter forces me to act like I know more than I usually do.
Yeah, Iron Bowl until proven otherwise. We have a ways to go, college football
fans.
Now my alma maters, plus one that I
also attended.
Indiana, top twenty team this year?
Not so fast! yells Lee Corso of ESPN, former Indiana coach who led IU to their
first bowl win in 1979, their second bowl ever and till now one of only three
bowl wins ever. Yes, Indiana has suffered more losses than victories, if you
did not know. Losing is familiar to us Hoosier fans. But there were really high
hopes in 2021, despite playing a ranked Iowa squad in Iowa City. Accoladed QB
and oft-injured athlete Michael Penix threw two pick sixes early (one tapped by
his receiver), they could not move their offense much, and this Stars and
Stripes featured star tossed three total
interceptions for a swing of 17 points. IU down 31-3 at the half. The defense
did okay, but the offense only produced two field goals. And the give aways
made it look ugly. IU will get some healing and repetition time hosting the
Idaho Vandals this Saturday. They need to figure out how to run and pass (in neither
category that good against the Hawkeyes), and maybe they have a shot at still
being a good team this year. Top 20? Hard to anticipate unless they get some
upsets against traditionally better programs. Even Maryland and Rutgers seem
better than normal, so we will see. Idaho should help their mental states get
over a whale of a bad Saturday, and this disappointingly poor way to start the
conference season. We were supposed to not be the old Hoosiers…
BYU handled matters in the Las
Vegas desert region, which I think lies between the Sonoran and Mojave deserts.
I have seen the Cougars play in the Silver Bowl of Vegas three times and come
out victors. They handled another desert team from Tuscon, the Arizona
Wildcats. Some predicted an easier rout for my church school, but after going
up 21-3 in the third quarter a serendipitous safety and fast touchdown brought
this PAC-12 team within 8, and BYU used a back-up kicker to seal the game at 24.
‘Zona winding up with a scrappy 16 points. Injuries hampered the Cougars as far
as a few regular starters. But that is probably true for most teams.
Up next for Brigham Young: the
in-state bitter rivals, the Utah Utes. We have not beaten them in nine games,
and the streak would be an all-time long feat of futility if BYU does not alter
its habit of choking. Utah is ranked, but hopefully a few pigskin fates fall
our way this Saturday. We shall see. Most of the last previous coaches at the Y
made this a pretty even match up. We hope it turns that way soon. BYU beats
teams when they play them enough. Ask anybody: Miami, Notre Dame, USC, Wisconsin.
Alabama is afraid, I say. We played them once in 1998. BYU is willing to play
anyone, anywhere. I think they are better than 49th, but perhaps
Arizona is not that good either. I think the Cats are going to surprise a few
folks. As for now, BYU looks better than Indiana, which might not be saying
much.
Finally, a congratulations to UCLA[2].
They thumped LSU after wasting Hawai’i. Any time a PAC-12 team dumps an SEC
team, and a stronger one like the Tigers, I think it is of note. Not a good
weekend for the PAC-12 in general, but the Bruins might be, may be, something
special. Highly respected Oregon struggled to win, so did Oklahoma. There were
many other wrinkles last weekend that I will not touch on, but the season is
underway and we will continue to see who is best. It might be in Athens.
If we are lucky the pandemic will
not shut us all down, we will have no further catastrophes, and each of the
desert fan seven will go to the best bowl possible. It is still in the cards,
friends.
Stay safe, stay cool, and get ready
for week number two.
My estimated ranks of our teams
now:
Georgia # 2 (5)
Clemson # 5 (2)
Notre Dame # 7 (10)
Miami # 18 (15)
Auburn #25 (30)
Indiana # 35 (21)
BYU # 40 (45)
(CBS in parentheses)
[1] I
thought twice about using the word “pulverized” in the same line with the
special date September 11, but I decided not to let the terrorists win.
Hyperbole, bravado, and smack talk are the life blood of sports, particularly
smash mouth college football, so while we talk and speak of things referring to
violence and mayhem in the context of the grid iron (see George Carlin
comparing the language of football to baseball) , we all know this is a test of
strength and skill that avoids the actual awful results of war, fighting,
terrorism, and murder.
[2] I
attended UCLA from 2001-2003. As I tell people: it did not make me root for
them like my other schools, but it cemented my hatred for the cross-town Trojans.
Hatred might be too strong a word. Maybe call it hostile antipathy.
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