Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Weekend roundup post-Labor Day, 9/4

UPSET OF UPSETS!!!! Appalachian State 34, That School Up North 32. I was at a public party on Lane Saturday watching the OSU game on the Big Ten Network (more on this crock of ass later today), when we started seeing score updates with the Mountaineers two touchdowns ahead of Michigan. Eventually that score was whittled down and even turned in favor of the Wolverines, but after the Buckeyes game finished we were able to see the final few drives. Armani Edwards has balls of steel, I'll tell you what. I thought his team was done for after that bad pick, but after App State blocked the first field goal, Edwards threw together and amazing two-minute drive to give his team that crucial field goal. To see the second field goal blocked? I mean, incredible. This game has to remind everyone of that killer Colorado-Michigan match from over ten years ago. What a great event.

Not so great...


I got home from the tailgate just in time to catch Notre Dame get destroyed repeatedly, suffering their worst opening day loss in school history. FUCKASS. That's what it was folks, a legitimate fuckass of a football game. By now you are aware of how horribly the offense played; well, scratch that, the entire team was a mess. GT quarterback Taylor Bennett only played semi-decently, yet the Yellow Jackets were able to destroy our linebackers with their running game through Tavaris Choice (unlike the Irish, GT also blocked extremely well). After a home loss like this, the next two games on the road--oh, for crying out loud, probably the rest of the season--look unbelievably forboding. If there's a silver lining it's that Michigan's team spirit has been seriously wounded, but going through Happy Valley the week before won't help matters.

Which leads me to a couple of comments color commentator Pat Haden (I'm pretty it's still Haden doing the coverage) said that irked me: midway through the third quarter he commented on how much more aggressive the ND defense looked, and just after he said those words, Choice bounced off several linebackers and safeties en route to a 40+ yard gain. I know stuff like that happens, but geez man, by the second half all compliments about the Irish should have been held to a minimum. The other comment that REALLY bugged me was saying both the offense and defense should look much more composed for their game against Penn State...are you freakin' kidding me??? IT'S BEAVER STADIUM! THEY'RE GONNA MURDER US! Think California fans from last Saturday night plus lots more beer and AA batteries and you'll get an idea of what Beaver Stadium will be like Saturday night.

We're in trouble.

Not nearly as in trouble are the Buckeyes, who yawned through a 38-6 victory over Jim Tressel's old school Youngstown State. Starting QB Todd Boeckman looked very relaxed as he threw for multiple touchdowns and no picks. Backup Robby Schoenhoft only saw a few series, but he had too much zing on the ball and had trouble finding the numbers of his receivers. Neither QB got a really serious test, and we might not see a true test of this team's offensive quality until Michigan State or Purdue (or maybe even Washington, if they are as poslished as they looked Saturday at Syracuse). If anything, the Buckeyes know they can't yawn through...oh geez. Okay, here's a joke going around campus: take the first letter of the first four opponents on the Buckeye's schedule, and find out the word that spells. But in all seriousness, that's not what they can do! I'm positive Tressell made an example of Michigan to his teammates, as did many Big Ten teams over the past couple of days.

I've already written too much...okay, a few more notes about the Cubs. I'm happy with the past Houston series, but like a lot of Cubs fans I'm frustrated with Big Z, and that's all I'm going to write about him. BTW, I know it's a hot thing to look for that spark in trades at the end of the season, but Steve Trachsel isn't the answer for getting to October. Remember, this is the guy who said Sammy Sosa was an impediment to the team while he was leading the National League in losses. I'm guessing they probably didn't get along.

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