What’s a Hoosier? Anyone?

And before we even try to answer that question, now that they are not that competitive in basketball, why is this team still in the Big 11? But, we can’t kick them out as we eventually need to bring Northern Indiana – South Bend Campus (Read: Domers) into the Big 10 at some point and IU will be needed to balance things out. But, you get absolutely no credit for beating them and you risk APP STATE like horror when you lose to them, even when they put together a relatively decent game plan… 467 total offense is not “bad defense” on Michigan’s part - at least it’s not 100% to blame. And the Defense got tough in the red zone, or Indiana kept shooting itself in the foot…One or the other depending on your point of view. Obviously, Indiana can move the ball and they will surprise some people this year. And this game also showed how big a deal the O-line is…Having a guy snap the pigskin who never played the position – even in high school – is going to present some problems down the road.

On a side note, the Warren INT was questionable…That much is for sure. Replay looked at it for 3 minutes and finally had to keep the ruling on the field…But did Bill Lynch throw his gum into the stands or at his players? What was THAT all about? And if you’re going to get that upset, why not punch it in on one of your many trips into the red zone?

Unfortunately for Michigan, what price victory? Tate got banged up again, furthering the fear that this kid just isn’t big enough to play Big 10 ball. If we hear that he is not practicing this week – which has more or less been confirmed - I am very concerned going into East Lansing against a desperate Sparty looking to SOS – you know – “SAVE OUR SEASON!” “Beat Michigan!” Yadda, yadda, yadda…..Tate is looking at a sprained AC which apparently can’t get worse but takes a while to get better.

But this game was needed and necessary as it were to kick off the Big 10 season. Michigan is now sitting on 4-0, but are they more of a contender or a pretender? If I was to force myself to rank them amongst the other 4-0 teams, well, they going to be below the middle. But, they wouldn’t be at the bottom, either. That’s what college football seasons do – they effectively line everything up for a really crappy post season…

Speaking of the BCS, which will come out in the next couple of weeks and we will start commenting on, I would like to ask once again why a system as corrupt as this one continues to perpetuate itself among smarter thinking, college professionals. Three of the top 6 teams lost this weekend (for those of you keeping track at home – Ole Miss, Cal and Penn State)…Were they over rated? Uh, YA! So why rank teams before the BCS??? Of course, what really ticks you off is that each and every team sport in Division 1 Athletics is settled in head to head or tournament play – Basketball, Swimming, Baseball, Hockey – you name it. Only D-I college football doesn’t and they claim it will, “interfere with academics.” I’m still banging the drum for a playoff.


THE REST OF THE MESS

DOMERS (JEEZ I HATE THESE GUYS!)– PURDON’T SPOILERMAKERS: Note to Spoilermakers – if you’re going to spoil a season, JUST DO IT! Don’t tease us like that with a score late in the game and then collapse on defense and let the Domers march down and score. AND WHY DID YOU CALL TIME OUT WITH 37 SECONDS LEFT???? Didn’t you watch the Michigan game and watch what the Big Butt did against the Wolverines? Jeez….Domers aren’t that good…Plain and simple. They have some tough games coming and I think we’re going to see them exposed as a not so good 3-1 team.

SPARTY vs. CHEESEHEADS: I saw this written up as a signature must-win game for Dantonio to show the world that he has truly turned the Sparties around. I think that’s a little unfair. Dantonio has turned the team around and he is certainly a better coach than Bobby W or JLS ever were. I would just hope that you can keep him when a serious program comes looking…AKA Satan. So don’t throw Dantonio out with the bath water just yet…

But I think a little criticism is allowed for the overall coaching performance this year. Central was a must win – you can’t lose that game. Domers should have gone down with the last minute mistakes of missing a wide open Caper and throwing the INT – and now a mistake filled turnover fest in Madison. That’s what I would criticize. I mean, if the MMQ had posed the question:

“Which Michigan Big 10 school will be 4-0 and which one will be 1-3 going into East Lansing on October 3rd?”- what would your answer have been? Yeah, mine too. But it’s not the way we thought and now there is some serious pride on the line. And SOS hasn’t won back to back against Michigan since the Bump Elliot years in the 60’s…so someone is going to be very unhappy at 4:30 on Saturday. Quick Stat: Top Rushing Team has won the game last 33 out of 36 times…Michigan is 8th in the country going into Saturday rushing….Sparty is 86. But, and this is a Charlie Wuzzles (BIG BUT) – Sparty’s strength goes right at Michigan’s weakness….Passing offense vs. passing defense. Which means Cissoko is going to get lit up like a Roman Candle...unfortunately...

OLE MISS vs. GAMECOCKS: Did the MMQ warn you about this game and that it would be close? I think so! And wasn’t this on the Upset Special alert – Yep. I had a feeling Ole Miss was fraudulent and the Ole Ball Coach would expose them…

GOLDEN BEARS vs. DUCKS: And I think I had this one on the Upset Special alert as well! Cal should drop out of the top 20….

THE SUCKEYES vs. ILLINI: Oops…Well, not everyone is perfect – while I didn’t call it an upset, I would have taken the Illini and the points…Ahem, I am humbled. Zooky better dust off the resume. There’s no reason that the Illini should be this bad this year and that team is looking like it’s getting ready to fold.

PSU vs. IOWA: Joe Pa really needs to schedule a better warm up game that they can win in order to get ready for the real games when they come along. Iowa proves once again that beating worthy opponents gets you ready for exactly this type of situation. So, where do we rank PSU? Top 20?

GANGSTAS vs. HOAKIES: Somebody had to lose. And I am glad we get to shut the Miami supporters up…Good Job Hoakies!

RAZORBACKS vs. SATAN’S WARRIORS: After last week’s offensive display, I really wanted to take the Razorbacks in this one, but I also wanted to see how they faired against a good defense. As I suspected, the Puppy Dogs don’t have a D, Alabama has a GREAT D, and they just might be the best team playing in the country right now.

GATORLAND vs. Wildcats: Yeah, yeah….Kentucky is road kill and Gator food….but at what cost victory? That GASP! you heard was Everyone in Gatorland taking a gulp of air when Tebow went down and didn’t get up – BTW, why was he in the game at 31-7? Heisman stats anyone? It sounds like he’ll be okay, but look out for the season if he isn’t the same old Touchdown Tim everyone has grown to love. And it usually takes 3-4 weeks for a concussion to completely heal… The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time…

SEMINOLES vs. SFU: OOOOOPS! Don’t upset a top 25 team at their house, think your good and come home and lose to an unranked rebuilding South Florida squad – THAT STARTED A BACK UP QB! That has to be the quickest Hot Seat Reversal ever!

SHORTHORNS: Still Rolling…


Idle Thoughts From Saturday

1. Is it the end of the world if USC isn’t in the Top 10? Why are writers still trying to push them up there?
2. And what’s with the love for BYU? They got PASTED at home by FSU. Can’t we dismiss the MWAC at this point?
3. Same for Utah? Can we stop talking about them now?
4. As noted by EDSBS, who is going to beat Cincinnati? Anyone?
5. And who is going to beat Boise State? They might just be the number 1 team at the end...and the most undeserving.
6. If Florida isn’t as good as we thought and Georgia isn’t as good as we thought and LSU isn’t as good as we thought…Well, then is the SEC as good as we thought?
7. Speaking of which, why think? Do we need pre-season polls to tell us how good someone is supposed to be?
8. Let’s just play the games through October 1 and then rank them on performance. Slotting teams based on preseason is a bad format.
9. Can the Domers win 4 more games? Me-thinks they are going to have it rough from here on out without a D and without an effective running game. Without at least 7 wins, New Years Day will be free of the Domers again!
10. Will the Cornsuckers win the Big 12 north? Oklahoma looks beatable…maybe.
11. Missouri is out there lurking…
12. Trivia: So what’s a Hoosier?
13. Answer: The first recorded instance of Hoosier meaning "Indiana resident" is dated 1826; however, it seems possible that senses of the word recorded later in the Dictionary of Americanisms, including "a big, burly, uncouth specimen or individual; a frontiersman, countryman, rustic."
14. Well, there you go….Uncouth and Rustic. Yep, that’s Indiana...
15. Isn’t Hoosier just the American version of the Canadian word “Hoser?” – You know, from "Strange Brew"?
16. “Take Off, You Hoosier!” – Yeah, that works! Okay, maybe not…
17. Can Sparty win 5 or 6 more games? Assuming they lose this weekend, of course.
18. Did you see the 30 year tribute to the Original number 5 Wangler to number 1 Carter on the 30th anniversary of “The Play?” Cool….
19. Who’s going to win the Heisman? It’s wide open now….
20. God, I hope Robinson gets better fast.

The Hot Seat

I happened to be in front of the TV last Wednesday and the Tigers were crushing the Indians and there wasn’t much else on, so I tuned in to “Cougar Town”….Is Courtney Cox REALLY old enough to be classified as a Cougar? Shouldn’t the new Cougar age be 50? Shouldn’t there be a pre-Cougar term like “Puma” or “Lynx” or something for 40ish, still kind of hot Mom’s? Anyone? Anyway, looking at CC bouncing around in her lingerie made me think that she would be an EXCELLENT HOT SEAT MASCOT and I thought about at what point in time I liked her the most…As Bruce’s chick?


As Alex P. Keaton’s Girlfriend?

As a Friend?

Or as a COUGAR! (So, why do I like the Cougar version the best…Anyone?)


HOT SEAT RANK
1. Wuzzles – Bought another week….
2. Zookie – It will be quick when it happens – maybe today? That would be an awesome prediction…but this week wouldn’t surprise me.
3. Bobby Bowden – beating a top 25 but losing to unranked at home the following week will do this to a coach…
4. Al Groh - I am surprised he’s still there.
5. The Vest – The love THE Suckeyes used to have for this guy is waning…
6. Richy Rich – needs a defense

GETTING COOLER

1. Rich Rod – Maybe he gets off the list all together if he beats Sparty.
2. Ole Ball Coach – Wins will do that for you…

THIS WEEK

1. Big Game - Michigan vs. SPARTY – is this the “True Signature” game for one of these coaches?
2. FSU at BC – Can the Seminoles bounce back, or is 2-3 staring them in the face?
3. Washington at DOMERS: They beat one Storied Rival…Can they repeat after losing to Stanford?
4. LATERS vs. GANGSTAS: Big game between Top 20 teams…Who’s for real? My guess is the Laters…
5. LMU vs. PUPPY DOGS: LMU spanks the puppies….
6. AUBURN vs. CREMESICLES: Quietest 4-0 team? Tigers…Most talked about 2-2? Cremesicles. Time for Kiffin to put up or shut up.
7. RUBBERS at CAL: Careful here, faithful readers. Cal might not be that bad...
8. Arkansas St. vs. IOWA: Guess who the other 4-0 Quiet team is – yep…And they have beaten 3 BCS Conference Teams…and they have a sleeper this week with Michigan coming in next week.

UPSET ALERT

1. Only one – I like Washington to beat the Domers. They beat USC, they can beat the Wuzzles…
2. I know, I thought CAL could bounce back, to, but I just don’t think they are that good so this is more of an upset maybe but not with any real conviction...