Wednesday Night Football...?

Hawaii and La Tech are playing right now. I flat out love college football, but wow, talk about saturation...Abilene Christian is #2 in D2. They are good, but probably not that good. It is significant that the Chicago Bears have drafted ACU players in each of the last two years, and that they both are starters in the Windy City.

I am really looking forward to some good SEC action this weekend. Tennessee and Auburn will be intriguing, and LSU going to Athens will be an excellent fight. LSU is grossly over rated, or they have been sandbagging so far this season. Les Miles is not the real deal. I still think Va Tech is over rated, in spite of the whoopin they put on the "U". If they are the best of the ACC, then that is yet another indictment of the ways the conference has to go to catch up to the big boys.

If I had to rank the teams as of RIGHT NOW, it would look like this:

Alabama
Texas
Florida
Cincinnati
USC
Ohio State
Boise state
Oregon
Oklahoma
Virginia Tech
Georgia/South Carolina
Iowa
TCU
South Florida
Miami
Houston
Oklahoma State
LSU
Mizzu

I have to find a way to send my wife and daughter shopping in Manhattan on Sat afternoon, so I can anxiously watch FSU @ Boston College. I think the "good" FSU team shows up this week, but who knows?

Tuskers?

So, a new pro football league has started up and the Orlando franchise is named the Tuskers. For those of you wondering what this is all about, it is related to wild hogs (not the kind that ride motorcycles to fight off mid life crisis). I LOVE football. I have spent many hours watching the old Arena league, when it was the only football on, at that time of year. That said, I do not have much confidence that this new league will really make a go of it. Inquiring minds wanted to know...

TIMES SQUARE
If all goes as planned, my wife and daughter will attend a Broadway plan Saturday evening (probably Wicked). In an effort to save some money (that is my story :):) :), I will sacrifice and not go to the play, but will instead, go hang out at the ESPN Zone in Times Square. Think I'll be happy to post something on my 1FootIn blog, as I watch, Miami/Oklahoma, USC/Cal, etc. :) :)

I will mention this several times this week, but the high school game of the year is set for 8:00 this Friday night, as the Byrnes Rebels from South Carolina go down to Fort Lauderdale to play the St Thomas Aquinas Raiders. These 2 teams are ranked #1 and 2 in most of the national polls. Should be a dandy!

I should stay home...

So both games that I traveled to, did not go well for me. I should stay home and suffer in HIGH DEF and stereo sound :)

Lakeland beat DeLaSalle, California in a very good game. Kissimmee Osceola beat Carson California. Don Bosco Prep New Jersey, went to Alabama and beat Prattville. Prattville turned it over a bunch (FSU) but Don Bosco is a big physical team.

Dan Mullen has Mississippi State playing well. They beat Vandy last week and came oh so close to exposing LSU for the over rated bunch that they are (IMO). Iowa continued to be a thorn in the Nitiney Lions paw :), and the Houston Cougars beat Texas Tech. The big surprise to me was how Va Tech spanked Miami. The other shocker was how Oregon dismantled Cal, 42-3. Wow. Notre Dame escaped Purdue and the Irish are ONE Play away from being undefeated...

The Dallas Cowboys are driving down the field in their new palace. My dad and my firstborn are cowboys fans, but as long as Jerry Jones is involved, I will NOT like the Cowboys.

Georgia Southern lost to Elon, and I didn't expect that one.

I'm out for now.

Tears of JOY and of PAIN

Well, on Friday night I was able to make it to Crestview just after the kickoff. I met cousin Mark on the way in and we sat together for the 1st half. My high school is 4A, not the biggest in the state of Florida, but the facilities and the atmosphere are top notch. Since I cover games most Friday nights, I see a lot of stadiums and the Bulldog’s Jack Foster is a really nice set up. The atmosphere was GREAT, the band is one of the best in the state, but Crestview’s performance on the football field was not. Pensacola Catholic has an excellent offense, running the spread very well, with great skill position players. They will score on just about every team they play this year, even in the playoffs. At first, it looked like Crestview would control the ball with their big offensive line and keep the Crusader offense off the field. But, Crestview’s offensive creativity and imagination is OFFENSIVE. They make Woody Hayes look innovative. Catholic won 40-20. LONG drive to Okaloosa County, very bummed with the game. And then Mark called from the Rocky Bayou game, where he had dashed off too, and they lost 70-2…ouch. At least my dad and I watched the first half of a fantastic Lakeland vs DeLaSalle game on TV when we got home.

Fast forward to Saturday morning. I hit I-10 by 8:00 because it is 150 miles to Tallahassee, and I lost an hour going across the Chattahoochee river. Get to Doak Campbell in anticipation of a wonderful day of college football with the Noles and the South Florida Bulls. Tailgate party with Roger and the Camps is “premium” as always. It is very HOT in Tally, and finding the shade before the game is a priority, because there is NO SHADE in the stadium. FSU as most of you know is TWO teams. One of their teams can beat a top 10 team on the road, badly, while the other FSU team can almost lose to Jacksonville State at home. Well team #2 is the one that showed up on Saturday. In heat stroke conditions, the Seminoles were horrible. Much like the night before, everything was AWESOME until the game got going…Flyover, Military appreciation, 99 team honored, etc. All down hill after that…

So, some time with Josh after the game, and I headed up to Cairo, Georgia to watch the Gator game with my in-laws, Frank and Ouida. The Tebow injury was scary. Glad he is OK. Do NOT listen to the pundits who claim that if he can’t play that the Gators are no longer the top team. Florida is the deepest team in the country, and the QB position is no exception. John Brantley will do just fine!

I’ll have some more thought tonight about the weekend that was, and the one to come.

SEC Action

Ole Miss and South Carolina are tangling in Columbia. Defensive struggle so far...

Football Buffet this weekend:

Oregon and Cal
Miami @ Va Tech
Notre Dame & Purdue
Houston & Texas Tech
FLORIDA GATORS @ KENTUCKY 6:00 ESPN2
South Fl @ Florida St Nooner
Pitt & NC State
North Carolina @ Ga Tech
Alabama & Arkansas
Arizona State @ Georgia
Louisville @ Utah
TCU @ Clemson
Fresno St @ Cincinnati
IOWA @ Penn State

Count Down to an AWESOME Weekend!

This weekend will be a great one. On Friday night I invade the old stomping grounds and catch my Crestview Bulldogs play host to Pensacola Catholic. An early drive back over to Tallahassee on Saturday morning, to witness the first ever game between FSU and South Florida, and hang with my pal Roger. The Noles game @ BYU has provided encouragement for a good season after all. The Bulls unfortunately lost Matt Grothe, their star QB for the season...After the game, some bonding with son Josh and, if I get my way, some more football on tap for the late afternoon and evening.

LIFE IS GREAT!

Tuesday odds and ends

Lost in the big games over the weekend was Mississippi State's win over Vandy. I sure would not have thought this would turn out that way. Vandy has a bunch of kids back from last year's bowl team, and Dan Mullen just took over a depleted Bulldog squad. Go figure. Urban and Lane are continuing their verbal sparring...Georgia Southern disposed of the Catamounts from Western Carolina.

Some excellent interstate high school match ups again this coming weekend. Don Bosco Prep from New Jersey goes down to Prattville, Alabama. Maybe they will get to experience some grits...Don Bosco plays an impressive out of state slate every year. They beat Concorde De LaSalle California a couple of weeks ago. Prattville is one of the top teams in Alabama most years, but lost to North Gwinnett, Georgia a few weeks ago. The big game just north of Montgomery kicks off at 7:00 on ESPNU.

The St Xavier Bombers play a top Kentucky team, Highlands from Fort Thomas. St X plays one of the best schedules every year, and are in the middle of the Cincinnati hotbed of football (with Elder, Moeller, Colerain, etc.) This one is on CBSCollege Sports channel at 8:00.

Lakeland, Florida travels out to California to meet the aforementioned Concorde De LaSalle Spartans in a 10:00 eastern time game on ESPN2

Gators did not impress

So, like most fans I expected Florida to "punish" Lane Kiffin and the Vols a bit on Saturday. Sure a win is a win, but that was a pathetic offensive game plan. Not a single time did UF throw deep. In football you do this to back up the secondary, IF nothing else. They didn't even throw mid range much, with Riley Cooper dropping a sure TD, the only attempt that comes to mind. Tebow's delivery seemed like slow motion to me on Saturday so it is no wonder why Eric Berry picked him off (EB is bad to the bone). T2 also holds the ball down around his waist and winds up. NFL QB's and even great college QB's, keep the ball up near their helment, so they can deliver quickly and are less likely to have the ball stipped...Here are some quotes from the UF coaches in Sports Illustrated:

But Florida is supposed to win the national title. To do that, it will have to shore up its run defense and find some receivers. The offense looked more like it did in 2007, when Meyer didn't trust anyone but Tebow or Percy Harvin to touch the football. Saturday, Meyer showed no faith in his receiving corps, which was without speedster Deonte Thompson (hamstring). If Florida wants to repeat, Meyer will have to find someone he can trust. That trust, Meyer said, is earned on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, not on Saturdays.

Offensive coordinator Steve Addazio said the fear of what Tennessee defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin might throw at the Gators limited the offense. Florida coaches catalogued the elder Kiffin's blitzes through his sterling career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and scrapped several plays that might not work. Then they rigged others to adjust to any possibility. They might have been guilty of over-preparing, because Kiffin didn't blitz as much as expected. Still, Addazio said, that beats the alternative. "If you don't [prepare], you've got a problem," he said.

Addazio won't lose sleep that his offense didn't roll up 500 yards. The situation called for ball control. When it really mattered, the Vols couldnt stop Tebow, who carried 24 times for 76 yards and a touchdown. "If youre judging us by whether we scored 50 points in the game," Addazio said, "that's delusional."

The admission that Urban doesn't TRUST, or that Addazio had FEAR of Monte Kiffin's D, should alarm the Gator Nation IMO.

Faith Hill beats Hank Jr

Well, I did like the Hank Williams JR opening song(s) for Monday night football back in the day, but I just saw Faith Hill open for the NFL on NBC tonight. UHHH, SHE WINS:)

I don't even like pro ball that much, but after that opening, I'm like "let's play some football".

Gators go to Kentucky this week, while I get to go the FSU vs South Florida game, high noon in Tallahassee! Gonna be another great week.

EJ Manuel gets some reps

FSU has 54 points, and is in the red zone again. The most amazing thing just happened. FSU intercepts Max Hall (again) and on the return, a defensive end for the Seminoles knocked down (tackled essentially) his team mate who was on the way to the end zone!

Auburn is letting me down, but that game has a way to go.

Could we get a mulligan for that last play against Miami??? Please???

We just tried a FG, which I wished we would not have...kind of tacky...maybe Bobby thinks piling on will help get the 14 vacated wins back...

I haven't seen a score on Georgia Southern vs Western Carolina yet...

College Football ROCKS.

Next weekend is gonna be a dandy for the 1FootIn blog :)

details coming...

Greg Reid from Lowndes County to FSU!

This kid is special! His pick 6 just now put a DAGGER in the BYU Cougars! FSU should milk the Lowndes County Viking connection every year, as they are a power in south Georgia, and in the South period!

Cmon Mickey Andrews, dial up a couple more of those interceptions!

:)

BEVO Danger

Jordan Shipley just returned a punt for a touchdown. As he zipped through the end zone, he dashed VERY close to BEVO the Longhorn mascot. It would have been horrible to see a young football player IMPALED, but it was pretty stinkin close. They might want to review the safety precautions on that set up...

Utah is a beautiful place. Nice setting for the stadium in Provo. We don't have many mountains on Florida, other than Mount Dora...

:)

Saturday Night FEAST

30 -14 FSU at the half. Wow, did that offense look like the Noles of old or WHAT?

Texas Tech up on the Longhorns early, and Arkansas and Georgia in a SEC SHOOTOUT! Auburn/West Virginia in a weather delay, but that will give me something to switch back and forth with LATER tonight :)

Arkansas up 21 - 10. 21 points on the Dawg D, still the first quarter. Of course, the bounced back against South Carolina last week, so we will see.

Southern Miss beat UVA, so Al Groh is toast, just a matter of when. Maryland lost to Middle Tennessee (again), so Ralph may be toast too. ACC can lay some eggs...

Could we just call the FSU/BYU game over, and not have to play the 2nd half? :)

Later

Go Noles!

Well, that first drive was enough to give me some hope in this game!

Tennessee played pretty well, but Florida was sloppy and called (IMO) a pitiful offensive game plan. A "W" though, better than SOUTHERN CAL can say, as they lost to Washington! Va Tech/Nebraska finish was a fun one.

BYU is cruising right down the field...67 - 59 final score in this one???

later

3:30 on SATURDAY! :) :) :) LIFE IS GOOD!

FINALLY TIME for the Gator game!

A quick re cap of some of the better high school games last night. I watched Apopka beat Edgewater, then got home and fired up the DVR and watched a fantastic game between Oaks Christian, Cal and Skyline, Washington. Oaks won a thriller, led by Nick Montana (yes that Montana) and Trey Smith (Will's son). The camera spent too much time showing Joe and Mrs Montana (and the Gretzky's) instead of just the game. Montana has committed to Washington, while the Skyline QB Jake Heap has committed to BYU. With about 45 seconds to go, with Skyline trailing by 3, Heap tried to throw the ball away, but it was picked off to seal the deal for Oaks.

Memphis University School, who beat South Panola Miss a couple of weeks ago, beat another MISS power, Olive Branch last night. Starr's Mill is missing Nate, as they fell to 1-2 last night. In a big game that helped me in the Fort Walton Daily News pick em contest, the FWB VIkings beat the Pace Patriots in overtime. Shawn Josey and the Rocky Bayou Christian Knights fell to Franklin County, while pal Derrick's Lake Nona Lions took it on the chin against Orlando University.

Shiloh Christian, Ark who beat Evangel Christian LA a couple of weeks ago, lost a shootout last night. Denver Mullen beat Rockhurst of Kansas City last night, to get revenge for last year.

SCORE ALERT: FLORIDA 3 Tennessee zero

later.

Good SPORTS

A link to an article in the Kansas City Star, really illustrates how GOOD sports can be and should be.

http://www.kansascity.com/703/story/1452971.html

Lane Kiffin's wife is a GATOR!

Lane Kiffin is catching a lot of grief this week for mouthing off about beating the Gators in the Swamp and Urban Meyer "cheating". He seems like a knucklehead to me, but his father Monte is a class act and one of the best defensive coaches of all time. His wife Layla is a doll and a Gator. In fact, her father is John Reeves, former UF All American and NFL player.

Thursday Night Live

Well, Ga Tech drove down and kicked a FG for a 3-0 lead. Miami looks nervous, but is is early (maybe).

So, here are the best high school games to keep an eye on this weekend:

Mullen High, out of Denver is ranked #1 in Colorado. They go to Kansas City to play Rockhurst. Rockhurst beat Mullen out in the mile high city last season, but lost to Hutchinson, Kansas a couple of weeks ago (big surprise to me). Rockhurst always plays a couple of great out of state games. They don't always win them, but are ready when the Mizzu playoffs come around

Oaks Christian, California will take on Washington power Skyline (ESPNU @ 10:00). Oaks is the school where Notre Dame (Going to South Bend in November!) QB Clausen broke records. Now Joe Montana's son is trying to break Clauson's...Oaks also features Will Smith's son, and Wayne Gretzkey's. Skyline doesn't have the celebrity draw that Oaks does, but their QB is a dandy and has committed to BYU. Another California vs Washington match up has Grant, Cal vs Bellvue, Wash. Bellvue played Katy, Texas a couple of weeks ago and found out why high school football in Texas is so special.

2 of the best teams in Arizona butt heads, as Centennial and Brophy Prep go at it. In Texas, Longview and Lufkin will be a good one.

I'm not "covering" a game for the Sentinel this week, so I think I'll go over to Apopka and see the Darter play Edgewater.

By the way, Miami got over the jitters, scored on a couple of long passes and then held the Wreck to a 3 and out.

Can the FLORIDA TENNESSEE game get here soon enough? I can't wait!:)

Another great weekend on the way...

OK, before we look at the coming weekend buffet of football, a few more thoughts about last week.

I'm still not over the FSU debacle. I handle these things much better now than I did years ago, and no, they did not lose, but it was horrible. The Notre Dame - Michigan game was a fun one. Irish coach Charlie called 2 pass plays late in the game, and those incompletions let Michigan save important times outs. Michigan won the game with 11 seconds left...Ohio State played well on defense against USC. I'm note quite ready to declare Matt Barkley as the next Heisman Trophy winner, like the media appears to be.

The weekend kicks off on Thursday night, with Miami and Georgia Tech. I'm thinking this will be a terrific game. I picked Ga Tech to win the ACC, but I'm not sure they will beat the Canes...The only thing that kept Texas out of the championship game(s) last year was the dramatic loss at Texas Tech. Saturday night is pay back, but Taylor Potts, the Red Raider QB (from Abilene) is for real...
The SWAMP welcomes Tennessee on Saturday afternoon in the much anticipated opportunity to make Lane Kiffin eat his words. Urban Meyer is not a nice man and he is not above making an ugly point. At 7:00 on Versus, Florida State gets to test their secondary against one of the best passers in the nation -any conference. Max Hall and BYU punched Oklahoma in the jaw and never backed down. My confidence factor is LOW for this one, but I do think both offenses will put on a show.
Nebraska and Virginia Tech should be an interesting match up. Notre Dame gets another Michigan team, as the Spartans come calling. MSU lost to Central Michigan, but I bet they will give the Irish all they can handle. Expect another shoot out when Georgia goes to Arkansas. If South Carolina can light up the Dawgs defense, Arkansas probably will put up some big numbers. West Virginia and Auburn will be interesting as well, and I think the war beagles will win.

The high school report will be up next! :)

Oh yeah, the SUN network will not be doing Tailgate Overtime this year. That was my #1 show. Now it was not fun to have the Miami guy (Steve Walsh) being 18 times smarter than the Gator (Chris Doring), and 50 times brighter than Nole (William Floyd), but Whit and Todd and even Bianchi made it a fun show. I am torked off about it!

JACKSONVILLE STATE????

Oh good grief! FSU has to rally with less than 2 minutes to go, to WIN in Tallahassee? Talk about a bad taste in my mouth...

Oh well. The Hoover, Al game against Camden County, Georgia was a great one last night. Hoover won at the end. I noticed where the Berrien Rebels are now 3-0 to start the season.

Tebow and the Gators did what they had too again today. Next Saturday the Rocky Toppers come to the SWAMP :)

Michigan vs Notre Dame was a great game, as was UCLA / Tennessee. Ohio State is playing very well against USC right now, while Georgia is pulling away from South Carolina. Oklahoma State's ride in the Top 10 is over. The might Houston Cougars spanked em in Stillwater

My brother lives in Durham, NC (he is not a basketball fan, but that is another story). His 4 year old son (my nephew Christian) has started to play on his first soccer team and Marty is going to help coach. We talked about it on the phone today and Marty was telling me how the other coach "wants to train them to win". Wow. Is there NO innocence left for kids anymore? There is PLENTY of time for cut throat parents when they get to be 9 or 10...

Outlaw is OUT.

Later Thursday night...

Wow, momentum is an AMAZING force in football. Clempsun has roared back to tie the game with only a few minutes left.

I forgot to mention the UCLA @ Tennessee game when I was highlighting the college weekend. Should be interesting, but I expect the Vols to push em around in Neyland stadium and let the HYPE really build for their trip to the SWAMP next week :)

I'll check in on Rocky Bayou, Crestview, FWB, Apopka and Lake Nona tomorrow evening.

Oh yeah, did I mention that my wife is helping me in the press box at Wildwood tomorrow night? Date night ...:)

The Ramblin Wreck are about to win this thing as they have the ball at the tiger 20 yard line with one minute to go...Field Goal GOOD...

Last thing. Owen watched the 1st half with me and asked me who the Clemson coach was when they won the NC about 20 years ago. I said Charlie Pell (WRONG!) and Owen called me on it. He knew it was Danny Ford. I pledge to try not to let that happen again...:) I want to get to Brent's level and stay there.

The 2nd Weekend of September!

I took some time off from my blog, to properly MOURN the FSU loss to Miami...

At this moment, Georgia Tech is schooling Clemson. It is 21-0 in the first quarter and it is not that close! Paul Johnson can coach. If this keeps up, I may have to switch to the NFL game :(

This weekend features another excellent slate of inter-state high school football match ups. Among the best are:

Hoover, Alabama plays Camden County, Georgia. Camden beat them last year and won the big class championship. Camden is not THAT good this season.

Concorde De LaSalle, California goes to Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey. DBP won in Cali last year, and they also take on Prattville, Al in a few years. DeLaSalle RULED prep football for several years. They host Lakeland, FLORIDA in a few weeks.

Trinity Euless (Dallas) beat a top team from Utah last week, and take on another nationally ranked Texas foe this week, CEDAR HILL. Katy, Texas takes on a power from Washington state, Bellvue.

The top two teams in Oklahoma (every year) Jenks and Union butt heads. St Xavier out of Cincinnati (top notch program, and where my colleague Vince Weseli's son goes to school) faces St Xavier out of Louisville, Kentucky.

In Florida, I get to go to Wildwood and report on their game with Tavares. That game will not be quite the spectacle that Dr Philips vs Kiss Osceola, or the Pace @ Godby game tonight.

The best college games this Saturday will be: Notre Dame @ Michigan, Southern Cal @ Ohio State and South Carolina @ Georgia. Watch out for the Vanderbilt / LSU game. Vanderbilt is pretty good...

Of course FSU plays Jax high and the Gators get the boys of Troy.

Another LIFE IS GOOD weekend.

Outlaw

CRAP AGAIN!

I'm tired. A fantastic weekend capped off by another heart breaking loss to Miami. Tell me FSU will score 34 points and I'm 90% certain of victory. Jacory Harris was one cool customer for the Canes. I hate it for son Josh and Pal Roger (maybe cousin Mark) who were at the game. If J Harris can shred our secondary, just wait til Max Hall of BYU gets the ball in his hands in two weeks, out in Provo...

Hey, Georgia Tech and Clemson kick things off again in TWO DAYS :)

Oh yes, I'm pretty clumsy with the Blog tools (duh?), things like posting a link or displaying comments. I pledge to get better!

FL OUTLAW

It is FSU - MIAMI Game Day...

The link above (if it works) is a clip from FSU vs Miami in 1989. My cousin Mark and I were sitting in some good telephone company seats, around some of the big wigs. On the first play from scrimmage for FSU, Dexter Carter busts loose...Mark and I both had those huge stadium cup sized drinks, but when Dexter scored, we jumped up and down and drenched everyone around us...just ONE of my many great memories of FSU vs Miami games...

Kirk Herbstreit is picking Miami, and they certainly have a bunch of young elite athletes. I am sticking with FSU by 10, but to be truthful, my confidence factor is not high.



GO NOLES!

1st Saturday in the Rearview...

Things went like most of us expected, with the big exception being the BYU victor over Oklahoma. The Cougars were beating OU, BEFORE Sam Bradford was injured, maybe not on the scoreboard, but in the trenches, and with more hustle and emotion. My Noles get to go to Provo in a couple of weeks...The media are already suggesting that BYU and Boise St both go undefeated. Hold your horses folks, it is really hard to go undefeated, even in leagues like the WAC and MWC.

The LAUNDRY was rampant. Guess a lot of teams are sloppy in the first game, but I would rather see LESS involvement of officials than more...

Georgia was the biggest bummer for me. They took the opening kickoff, drove 80 yards right down for a score, and did not do squat the rest of the game. So much for my "SEC Rules!" prediction.

The Gators did what they had to do, and Ole Miss finished strong today. Washington really played LSU tough, and Navy gave Ohio State a big scare. The league that took it on the chin was again the ACC. Va Tech was respectable against Alabama, (but I did win lunch from Domke) and a few teams beat up on inferior opponents like they were supposed to do. However, Wake Forest lost to Baylor at home, Duke lost to Richmond, and Virginia lost to WILLIAM AND MARY ( a team with a woman's name). Maryland was trounced by Cal and while NC State played hard, the lost at home to South Carolina. Not a good way to start establishing credibility for the ACC...Georgia Southern won their opener...

There is a nice little game tomorrow night to cap off the weekend...:)

That one deserves a post all by itself, so my Florida State - Miami preview is next.

First Weekend of September!

Good fireworks to crank up the weekend last night. Boise St slapped Oregon during the game and then the knucklehead from the Ducks punched one of the Bronco's lights out in front of the world (well not the whole world, I had fallen asleep by then). The Niceville - Lincoln game was a classic, as was the win by Shiloh Christian over Evangel (again, WHO picked Evangel in that one?). Harding couldn't hold on to their lead against West Alabama, and the South Carolina - NC St game was a defensive struggle (that is me being polite).

SO, some more prep games this evening and then on the main event. Of the plethora of games on Saturday, the ones I'm looking forward to the most are:

Georgia @ Oklahoma State the Cowboys have high hopes but the SEC rules
Oklahoma & BYU in Dallas that new scoreboard should get some work
Alabama & Va Tech in Atlanta THEY say that Va Tech is carrying the torch for the ACC this season. I don't buy that cool aid. Repeat after me...THE SEC RULES!
Maryland @ Cal might be interesting as the turtles beat the bears last year.
Ole Miss and Memphis have a back yard brawl on SUNDAY...
LIFE IS GOOD.

Thursday night update

Well, 7-0 South Carolina at the half. Niceville and Lincoln are almost at the half w/ the fishheads up 16-14 streaming audio ...(remind me to thank Al Gore for inventing this internet thing). I'm also watching the Shiloh Christian Arkansas vs Evangel LA. Shiloh Christians looks terrific taking the ball right down the field for a score on the opening drive. Who said Evangel OWNS Shiloh?

My pal Brent just sent a text message that he is watching the SC NC St game, AND the HARDING vs West Alabama game. Another master of the multi tasking football methodology :) Brent's dad Pete has a birthday tomorrow (I think). The Petey ROCKS! Oh yeah, Harding is where my bro in law John played his college ball. So, go Bison(s)?

Toe has met leather (or some composite)

The Gamecocks just punched it in following a NC State fumble. The season is ON! I only caught part of the Kenny Chesney song, but sounded OK. This South Carolina vs NC State game is a good one, an ACC vs SEC match up to get things started. Later tonight it is the Ducks of Oregon invading the blue field of Boise State. That should be a good one too, but I don't know if I can stay up that late, it is going to be a long sleep deprived weekend, so staying up til 1 in the morning might not be the way to play it...

OK, more time to ponder the opening weekend of college football, over the next couple of days, but here are the best match ups in high school tomorrow night (and a couple on Sat/Sun):
* Peachtree Ridge (an affluent Atl suburb school) goes down to tussle with the Lowndes Vikings in Valdosta. They are both ranked in the top 3 in Georgia's largest classification.
* South Panola, Mississippi plays Memphis University in one of those braggin rights games between the border states. ESPNU telecast Friday night.
* Hutchinson, Kansas plays Rockurst from KC Mo. Rockhurst has OWNED the best Kansas teams over the years that I have followed. Rockhurst always plays a couple of quality out of state games and later this season they play Denver Mullen.
* Elder and Colerain, two Cincinnati powers knock heads this weekend. Along with St Xavier, these three Queen City squads can play with anyone in the US. ESPN on Sunday at noon.
* Trinity Euless from of the Dallas area plays Bingham, Utah. This may be the same Utah team that beat Valdosta a couple years back. Kudos to them for testing themselves against the best (Euless will crush them).
* Shiloh Christian from Springdale Arkansas, plays Evangel Christian out of Louisiana. The pundits rank this a big one, but Evangel OWNS the team from Ark.
* Notre Dame Sherman Oaks California, plays Kein Oaks Texas. Two great states for prep football, but I don't know much about these teams.
* The Daphne Trojans from the Mobile area, ride over to Pace, Fl to face the Patriots. Pace is a hard place to win, but Daphne is a big strong squad.
* Tonight, the Niceville Eagles (Fish heads to all of us from Crestview) go over to Tallahassee to play Lincoln. Probably the two best teams in north Florida.
* In the Orlando area, the Daytona Beach Mainland vs Miami Central contest is a big one. Apopka should spank Lake Brantley and I really like the Edgewater vs Dr Philips game.

Clint Trickett, the QB for North Florida Christian, committed to FSU this week. His dad has done an amazing job with the Seminole O line. By the way, NFC destroyed Jupiter Christian last week, and that really surprised me. Looks like NFC will be in the 1A mix again...

Nice gesture Ohio State

While I am often critical of the buckies, it is cool that they are honoring Navy, when the Middies come to the HorseShoe on Saturday. Way Cool even.
I saw this nugget on one of the sites today, guess the old "all my rowdies are comin over tonight" has inspired more "football songs":
"Award-winning country music star Kenny Chesney, known for his high-energy stadium concerts, has written a song exclusively for ESPN’s college football game and studio telecasts during Dick’s Sporting Goods Kickoff Week (Sept. 3-7) and Championship Saturday (Dec. 5) as well as select contests throughout the season and bowl games. ESPN will have the exclusive premiere of the song during its pregame show Thursday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. The song, “This is Our Moment", captures the passion and dedication of the players to perform at the highest level each week with the understanding that every game counts.

It will be used during game and studio telecasts and during promotions of upcoming programs and show elements across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN360.com, ESPN Mobile TV and ESPN International. On select occasions, the song will be accompanied by a video montage of Chesney performing at a recent concert, along with college football highlights. ESPN’s college football coverage begins with the second annual Dick’s Sporting Goods Kickoff Week (Monday, Aug. 31-Monday, Sept. 7) and will feature extensive studio programming and 28 games.

You heard it here :)