“The game is almost over. So, sure.”
I heard them turn the TV set on upstairs.
“Oh MY GOD! They’re losing to
Northwestern???” This was my wife….
“…..Yes…..” It was a slow response….
We were all (You, too) watching what appeared to be another loss for the
2013 season to a team that appeared to be somewhat inferior to the “Better” Michigan
team we have seen in games this year.
However, this wasn’t the “Better” Michigan team, this was the Michigan
team that seems to play down to the level of their competition and find ways to
lose. They are not hungry enough to want
to win and will themselves to victory…
“Okay, so, can I order a pizza and you can go get it?” I looked at the time remaining on the clock
and the length of the field that had to be covered to even have a shot at
kicking the tying field goal.
“Sure. This thing will be over
soon.”
Then, almost as if the Football Gods had heard that I would need to
leave my house in 10 minutes, DG converts on a 4th down. Then, there’s another pass that gets them a
little closer. Suddenly, with 18 ticks
on the clock, Gardner finds Gallon for a 16 yarder….But they’re still looking
at a 44 yard Figgie with less than 12 ticks…and Gallon didn’t get out of bounds…
Wait – they’re letting Dileo hold the ball? What is this?
Playground Day at Northwestern??
At least Gibby has the wind…but there’s going to be a flag or something…too
many men on the field? It looks like
they might have moved on the o-line? It’s
up – OMG!!!!!
“IT’S GOOD!!! WOOOOOOHHHH!!!”
“What, did they win?” Again - from upstairs.
“No – but they just tied it up!” There was a few moments of silence.
“Are you going to be able to get the Pizza?”
JEEZ…
“YES…We will go get the Pizza!” I
turned to Ashley. “You staying or
coming?”
"Coming!"
“Let’s go.”
So, we hopped in the car and wheeled it in record time to the White Lake
Inn which is right around the corner from the house, but seemed like an
eternity at that moment in time. I won’t
openly say I fractured any speed laws…The seats in front of the TV at the end
of the bar were surprisingly open and we grabbed them. Shawn, a well known bartender to us,
recognized us and said the Pizza was ready.
“Can you put that in the warmer please?” Her reply – “Sure Thing!”
The first OT where touchdowns were exchanged was reminiscent of too many
recent games against these Purple Kitties and reminded me a little of PSU. We got a little caught up in the 2nd
OT with figgies getting exchanged and Ashley said, “Dad, this is reminding me a
lot of Penn State. Why do we have
problems in Overtime?”
“I dunno. But let’s see what
happens here. It’s critical that we at
least score something in the 3rd OT.” And Gardner must have heard me again as he
fought his way into the end zone to score 6.
And then Gardner single handedly tacked on the deuce for Michigan to go
up by 8. We cheered out loud on both
scores and some Sparty rabble sitting on the end of the bar made a comment that
they had already beaten Michigan. Shawn
spoke up.
“Do you want me to tell them to shut up?” I shook my head at her. “No, but tell them if they want my attention they
need to buy me a beer.”
Finally, after what seemed like a game within a game, the Purple Kitties
once again found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of a certain victory over
the Wolverines of Michigan. I can only
imagine in the new alignment that Northwestern will be elated to see that
Michigan is not on the schedule.
Does Saturday’s game change anything with respect to where Michigan
is as a team? Fitz had better get healthy and
practice well or he may not have a job…other than that, it’s still the Fred and
Barney show and this team still has a lot of work to do….
But they are for sure 1 win closer to a better bowl…for whatever that’s
worth. Oh wait, we know what its worth
as there are fans who’s teams still haven’t qualified! Shall we review the
5 Stages of Slappy Fan Grief
PRE –GRIEF: HOPE! Suckeyes – move over. Oregon has now joined you in this category. The MMQ favorite to beat Bama in the title game,
The Stanford Cardinal, have now inexplicably lost two regular season games to
teams they should have beat rather handily.
For being smart kids, they don’t get up for the teams they need to get
up for. Meanwhile, a door has cracked open
and there is a light that Duck Fans are trying to crawl towards but they still
need a lot of help. Baylor has also
joined you as that fan base is hoping and praying for a Seminole – Bama Slip…..As
the MMQ, I say, Why not Both? Wouldn’t
that be fun? And just because I’m not
sure I’ve ever mentioned them in my blog for being a good Football Team – Duke. They are hoping to do the impossible….but that
should end soon enough.
- Denial and Isolation This fan base
is getting thinner as most fans have moved down a notch or two in the
grief stages this deep into the season.
However, if I had to put someone here, it might be the already mentioned
Cardinal. They have to be in a
state of shock thinking that if there was EVER a year they could beat USC,
it would be this year with USC in a coaching carousel. But, Ogeron has the Rubbers playing
FOOTBALL….And the Cardinal should have seen this coming…
- ANGER - Lots of fans here. Cornhuskers losing at home in what
should have been a manageable game against Sparty. Wiscy fans bitching about their still
low ranking having only two losses but one of them on a botched FG attempt….GATORLAND
is back up from bargaining and immediately want a coaching change – any coaching
change – to take place before the end of the season due to the fact that
the Gators, after being in a BCS last year, look like they will miss a
bowl entirely this season. This is
a team that ranks in the top 5 Nationally in recruiting on an annual
basis. So, that just goes to show
you what recruiting can mean without execution. Throw Hurricane Fans into this category
after starting undefeated and now losing to….DUKE???
- Bargaining – Still too many fanbases to call
out here, but the Gamecocks might be one that comes to mind. I think (I need to look it up) that they
still have a shot in the SEC East but need somebody to beat MIzzou. Auburn is ACTUALLY BELIEVING and after
the Hail Mary win over Georgia, well, you can BET that they more than
believe that they can beat Bama in the Iron Bowl…..Clemson is still down
here wondering if anyone can knock off FSU, but they need even more help
than that. Oregon Duck fans are
realistically here and know they need miracles to happened for a BCS title
appearance….And I’ll throw a couple of Spartys in here just because you
never know where they would be ranked had they just found a way to beat
the Domers.
- Depression –Georgia Bull Dawgs…What a way to
lose. I think you have this one to
yourselves…Oh Wait – Let the Hokies join you down here after losing their
last shot at Maryland. And they
lost to a B1G team….that can’t sit well with that fanbase….
- Acceptance – Anyone that usually is flapping their gums at you on Monday early in the season but isn’t anymore……
The BCS Mess
So, not much
has changed in the top 5, but Sparty is up there at 13…..Most surprising
team? Auburn….Didn’t see that one coming….
|
Rank
|
Team
|
Record
|
Rank
|
Pts
|
%
|
Rank
|
Pts
|
%
|
Avg
|
Avg
|
Last
Week
|
|
1.
|
10-0
|
1
|
2620
|
.9981
|
1
|
1544
|
.9961
|
.980
|
.9914
|
1
|
|
|
2.
|
10-0
|
2
|
2517
|
.9589
|
2
|
1487
|
.9594
|
.980
|
.9661
|
2
|
|
|
3.
|
10-0
|
3
|
2375
|
.9048
|
3
|
1404
|
.9058
|
.850
|
.8869
|
3
|
|
|
4.
|
9-0
|
4
|
2343
|
.8926
|
4
|
1386
|
.8942
|
.870
|
.8856
|
5
|
|
|
5.
|
9-1
|
5
|
2102
|
.8008
|
5
|
1231
|
.7942
|
.780
|
.7917
|
6
|
|
|
6.
|
10-1
|
7
|
1967
|
.7493
|
7
|
1145
|
.7387
|
.870
|
.7860
|
7
|
|
|
7.
|
9-1
|
6
|
2019
|
.7691
|
6
|
1217
|
.7852
|
.750
|
.7681
|
8
|
|
|
8.
|
9-1
|
8
|
1919
|
.7310
|
8
|
1129
|
.7284
|
.710
|
.7231
|
9
|
|
|
9.
|
8-2
|
11
|
1584
|
.6034
|
12
|
865
|
.5581
|
.710
|
.6238
|
4
|
|
|
10.
|
9-1
|
9
|
1660
|
.6324
|
9
|
1030
|
.6645
|
.470
|
.5890
|
12
|
|
|
11.
|
8-2
|
12
|
1459
|
.5558
|
11
|
882
|
.5690
|
.640
|
.5883
|
10
|
|
|
12.
|
8-2
|
10
|
1626
|
.6194
|
10
|
928
|
.5987
|
.400
|
.5394
|
11
|
|
|
13.
|
9-1
|
13
|
1269
|
.4834
|
13
|
729
|
.4703
|
.440
|
.4646
|
16
|
I still stand
by the bet and say that one if not both of the teams sitting at 1 and 2 might
not be there at the end of the season.
Just sayin’….FSU would appear to be the strongest team out there right
now, but the lack of ACC competition is tough to really determine how good they are. The darkest of the dark horses? Somehow Oregon makes a leap back up into the
fray with a series of disasters by everybody else….That would more than likely
result in an Oregon – Auburn National Title if I’m synthesizing everything
correctly in my head….That might even happen if Baylor DOESN’T LOSE but would
be coupled with a suckeyes, Seminoles and Bama loss….I love Football in
November!
Idle Thoughts From Saturday
-Okay, here we go.
-Where’s Fitz?
-Aha….Apparently hurt in practice this week…
-You miss some stuff being in a foreign country…
-I’m not saying the internet doesn’t work…
-Just busy.
-Jeez, this is kind of a boring game.
-The weather must be a lot worse than anyone is saying…
-It appears to be windy.
-I expected these two teams to open up on offense a LOT…
-Kind of like the Michigan-Minnesota game.
-9-3 in the 4th quarter? And we’re DOWN? Seriously?
-What has this offense come to?
-OH MY GOD…. a 7 yard punt and they're on the 10 and CAN’T SCORE A TD?????
-What is going on????
-Now they’re going on 4th down….And of course don’t get it…
-It’s over…Not a chance…
-But wait, this is Northwestern…
-And last year’s game finished in an OT.
-I guess I’ll wait until the clock reads 0:00.
-Hey….great catch!
-NICE RUN!
-Can Dileo just slide in there and do that?
-IS THAT ALLOWED? Can he hold the snap? Are they MAKING THIS UP?
-Come on Gibby!
-WOW! AWESOME!
-Now I have to go get Pizza?????
-Are you kidding me?
-Let’s go - We can watch it there….
-TD and TD….Good.
-Field Goal and we can’t score a TD…DAMN!
-TD and the deuce! That’s huge!
-Finally…it’s over.
-Two games left with 7 victories. Double digit wins still in sight!
-Yeah, I know…Who am I kidding?
-But they HAVE TO PLAY THE GAMES!
The Hot Seat
Miranda Kerr
has made it into the finals as Week #11’s winner! This is getting exciting and I’m looking
forward to the finals. I may actually
have to do something different this year as I can’t get everyone into one poll
unless the blogger HQ figures out what my problem is. However, without further ado, and again with
a HT to Sports Illustrated, I offer up Week #12 Hot Seat Mascot Nominee: Nina Agdal!
As the months grow colder, there’s something about looking at an HSM on
a nice, warm sunny beach….
GONE LIST:
(It’s not the EARLIEST we’ve ever had a gone list….but it’s the earliest
“in season” we’ve had a Gone List…)
- LANE KIFFIN
- Paul Pasqualoni
- Treadwell
- Carlson – Valpraiso….(I know, not exactly on my radar, either.)
Hot Seat Rank
- Muschamp – First time on the
list, but GATORLAND is getting pissed…Gatorland still not BOWL ELIGIBLE
one season after being considered for the BCS Championship….
- Hazell: Poor Purdue….what are they gonna do?
- Weiss: Can’t believe he’s still there…
- Mack Brown – You knew he’d be
back.
- Biliema: Arkansas Nation does not like a B1G re-tread…
- Holgorensen: Moves down a little…but had better find
a consistent offense
- Richt – Out of top 25…..
- Snyder: Retiring?
- Daivd Shaw: Losing two to teams you shouldn’t lose
to…Oh, who am I kidding…This is Stanford….
- Ogeron – All the guy did was win, but an interim won’t have the USC job…Jack Del Rio interviewed last week…
FMQ Betting Results:
Due to a flight from Germany to Detroit, the FMQ
was unable to do anything last week.
However, we are now up against it this week and we might just have to
put a little extra on the table depending on what we see setting up.
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