Bye Week Live Blogging

On Wednesday morning the matronly attractive nurse practitioner at Oxford Urgent Care told me that I had an unidentified viral infection.  Don't worry; me and Tylenol are showing that virus who's the boss.  Anyway, what with the exhortation that I not be around people for a while - and because this narcotic prescription cough syrup she gave me has all the benefits of getting boozed up, but none of the guilt - I'm home-bound but happy on this bye week Saturday.  As long as I'm home alone, I figured I'd ease Ghost's blog-guilt and live-blog.

6:14 - Tennessee just got a safety to move that game to 19-15.  I doubt Jonathan Crompton will lead the Orange to the comeback victory, but it was sure satisfying to see a Pac-10 quarterback get hit by an SEC defense and bleed.

6:00 - Fox Sports South cut out of the Houston - OK State game with the Pokes inside the Cougar five, down by 10 with a little over a minute to go to show the Auburn - State pregame.  People are absurd.

5:42 - Non-sequiter:  David Pollack is a little awkward as a television announcer.  I hope he figures out how to not be that way anymore.

5:12 - It looks like my prediction for this game is either coming true or too generous to Houston's defense by a few points.  The Cowboys, though, have been helped for the second week in a row by head-scratching personal foul calls.  Zach Robinson went on a designed run and got smacked by a Houston defender (not a late hit or anything), and the refs called one of those absurd "inappropriate helmet contact" fouls.

For whatever reason, the NCAA - or some governing body - has decided that it's a personal foul to lay a great hit.  So, I suggest that, either, we start playing two-hand touch, call the foul what it really objectively is ("Personal foul.  Being mean and hitting too hard on the defense.  15 yard penalty.  Automatic first down"), or we quit whining and let the kids play football.

3:52 - The Longhorns are struggling against Wyoming in Laramie.  Remember when Pete Boone told us that the elevation wouldn't impact our players at all?  I don't know if that's what is happening to Texas or not, but I know that I would never ever schedule a non-conference game at Wyoming.  Of course, I could have come to that conclusion before our embarrassing loss to the ... cowboys(?), thus avoiding said embarrassing loss.

3:35 - I owe very limited apologies to the ACC.  Earlier today, I impugned the respectability of the conference because of the lackluster performances of UNC, Wake, and Duke against lackluster opponents in UConn, Stanford, and Army.  However when it came down to blows, the Heels, Deacs, and Devils proved their superiority over facets of the Big East, Pac-10, and America, respectively.  These teams join Middle Tennessee State as the FBS only units, so far, to lose to the ACC.

3:19 - I don't really know what's going on in Stillwater, but Houston is up 10-0.  I don't expect this to continue.  I thought Houston would hang tough, scoring in the mid-to-high twenties.  I think the Pokes will turn it on and beat them by 10 - 15.

2:10 - North Carolina just escaped from UConn.  After the Huskies went up 10-0, Carolina scores 12 unanswered (the go-ahead score is a safety).  On the free kick after the safety, Randy Edsall calls an on-side and the Huskies get the ball back.  The game ends when the Tar Heels sack the UConn quarterback with 30 or so seconds left in the game.  Pretty exciting fourth quarter.

2:04 - Turn on ESPNU.  Now.  UCONN/Carolina.

1:42 - Why is Ghost stealing my blog-thunder by posting some crap about slow starts?  Hey, Cutler, aren't you kind of undercutting your point by including two teams that are led by first-year quarterbacks?  And the other example you cite is TYRELLE PRYOR?  I understand and agree with your point that there is nothing to be worried about, but your comparisons miss the mark.  And you're stealing my live-blogging thunder.

1:18 - When Santonio Holmes picked UCONN to beat North Carolina this morning, I refrained from laughing out loud because I'd put nothing past the ACC (which is losing games, this morning to UCONN, Army, and Stanford).  I'm going to keep giving the Heels the benefit of the doubt, even though they are down 10-0, but this game come put some real heat into the debate about whether the ACC or the Big East is the conference least deserving of respectability.

1:12 - Virginia Tech is wearing their throwback uniforms today (the ones with the T in the crux of the V).  Ole Miss Marketing:  take note.  Powder blue throwbacks.  Do it.  Also, the Western Michigan team against whom Michigan looked "good" last week is losing to Indiana, who blows a lot.

1:04 - I am solidly among the Tebow lovers.  I buy into the hype.  I worship at the altar.  I love "the speech" for more than just its homage to a great Rebel victory.  Another reason to love Tebow is how pissed he was at the end of the first half against Troy.  On the last play, his receiver went down in bounds with about 13 seconds to play.  The officials took their time about setting the ball, and Tebow couldn't get another play off.  How competitive is a guy who needs to get one more shot at the end zone when he is up 35-3 against Troy?  

12:50 - Jeff Demps just ran right around the entire Troy Defense for a Gator touchdown.  This game is not so interesting anymore.  Riley Cooper made an awesome physical block to make it possible.

On the kickoff, the refs called an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for, apparently, excessive celebrations.  I think these calls are so stupid.  Sportsmanship should come from a grass-roots respect by players for each other.  Imposing faux sportsmanship with stupid calls like these is ineffective and silly.  It makes a mockery of sportsmanship because it reinforces a perception that fear of retribution is the primary reason to refrain from being a jerk on the field.

12:34 - My temperature is 98 degrees straight up.  Take that, swine flu.

12:28 - GO ARMY!  BEAT DAVID!  I'm not a Cutcliffe hater by any means, but I derive some pleasure out of Army's half-time lead over the Blue Devils.  If the Black Knights hold on, they'll move to 2-0 for the first time since 1996 - the last time they were bowl eligible.

12:13 - If ESPN really is going around engineering match-ups, they need to be doing a better job of it.  If I had the early-twentieth-century-trust-like stranglehold over an industry that ESPN has, I think I could come up with something better than the false choices between Michigan State-Central Michigan, Fresno State-Wisconsin, and UNC-UCONN.  Meanwhile, Troy-Florida is interesting only insofar as the Gators keep screwing up.

With all that said, maybe Bristol knows something I don't know.  The premier SEC tilt of the day, after all, is a Georgia-South Carolina game that is projected to have all the fireworks of an Amish Independence Day Celebration.  In contrast, Dan Lefeavor has his Chippewahs within 4 points of Michigan State hading toward the half with a touchdown and 154 yards.