Month: December 2007 (Page 2 of 2)

All Hail King Lew

That’s the only explanation I can figure on why KU, and not Missouri, is going to the Orange Bowl. Lew Perkins worked the phones harder than Mike Alden over the past week or so, and it paid off. I say that with absolutely no insider scoop and may well be proven wrong when the papers come out tomorrow. But that’s the only reason that makes any sense to me. Then again, college football isn’t supposed to make any sense, so perhaps I’m over-thinking things.

Strangely enough, as KU fans were trying to figure out who to pull for in the Big 12 title game, there was a segment of the population that preferred going to the Cotton Bowl over a BCS bowl. We don’t recruit Arizona or Florida, the argument went, but spend a lot of time in Texas. Why not go to the Cotton Bowl and show off in front of all the Texas prospects? I’m taking the BCS bowl and running with it, though. There is no downside to being in a BCS bowl. We could lose by 60 and I won’t care. It’s a frickin’ BCS game, babe. I’m much happier to be playing Virginia Tech than Oklahoma, though. Tech is very good, but I think OU is much better than they are. Plus there’s the whole thrill of going to the Orange Bowl, even though it’s not really the Orange Bowl that I grew up watching.

Missouri-Arkansas should be an awesome game, which is a nice little subplot. I think there will be a few points scored that day.

Isn’t it ironic that in the season when just about everything possible happened in college football, we still have Ohio State and LSU playing for the title? Things might be changing rapidly, but at the top, it’s all still the same.

Funniest line I read today was from a commentator who wrote that Ohio State got to the title game the old fashioned way: off the field. If LSU can get healthy, I think they win by 10, though.

Gritty, gutty, ugly win for the basketball Jayhawks today as well. I think that win will look better later in the year, especially with KU playing about 2 1/2 guys down right now, than it does now. Good grief that was an ugly game. What is it about playing teams from LA that makes it so hard for KU to hit layups? Wasn’t it a little strange for KU to be playing USC today yet it wasn’t part of the Big 12 – Pac-10 series? Couldn’t they have moved it back a week or something to avoid confusion?

 

Something Isn’t Right

I feel strange today. I pinballed between football games, half-heartedly, not really caring what happened or able to settle on a single game. Why? For the first time in 13 weeks, I’m not worrying about a KU score. It’s weird; I feel naked without the jacket that has kept me warm all fall. Add in the fact I’m still struggling to accept that basketball season has started, and KU has a rather large game tomorrow, and I’m sure something is wrong with me. Times sure have changed.

Update #1: OK, West Virginia going down makes things a little more interesting. Mizzou being down to OU (but threatening at the end of the third quarter) suddenly gets me as interested as if KU was playing. I’ve largely ignored all the scenarios out there this week, preferring to enjoy what my team accomplished this regular season. Suddenly I’m switching back-and-forth from ESPN to ABC while reading as many scenarios as I can track down. There are a few very sexy scenarios out there that I’m thinking about buying a drink for. Hey, how you doin’…..

Update #2: Hey, Mizzou is playing basketball over on FSN. I just had a funny image of a Mizzou fan who is all about basketball (don’t laugh, I’m sure there are a few people like me who wear black and gold) who, when the hoops game started, promptly turned the channel away from the Big 12 title game over to the basketball game. In my daydream, this person is older, let’s say in their 70s, and when a family member protests, they get all shitty with them. “I’ve been watching Tiger basketball for over 50 years. I’m not missing them for a silly football game.”

Update #3: Wow, two weeks in a row BCS #1 and #2 go down. And now, we’re left with all kinds of strangeness. Ohio State is in, we know that. Which makes all the “They’ve lost their chance at the national title,” talk silly. Looking at the BCS rankings, who do you take next?

Georgia is #4, but can you really take them over LSU, who won the SEC championship game?

KU is #5, but the conference title game angle probably keeps us out. And I guarantee when people are putting together their ballots tonight and tomorrow, KU will not be afforded the same slack a traditional football school would be afforded. Hey, we get the benefit in basketball, we get the shaft in football. I’m not complaining, just saying. Of course, there is the subplot of what the hell happens between KU and MU in the BCS. KU should definitely be ahead of WVU, but do voters forget about what happened last week at Arrowhead and drop MU below KU? Probably not fair, but it may happen. Reason #8763 why it’s stupid to rely on polls to figure this out. All week we’ve been hearing about how the Fiesta Bowl would love to have KU play OU. I was giddy about that match-up until tonight. OU looked awesome for most of the game. But, given their tendency to lose focus, perhaps they’ll not bring their A games to Phoenix, if that is indeed the Fiesta Bowl pairing.

Then it gets really fun. Virginia Tech and LSU are 6 and 7 now, and should both move up. LSU hammered Tech earlier this year. How much weight does that hold today? Can either of these teams jump Georgia?

USC is sitting pretty at #8, and many think they’re the best team in the country right now.

OU is #9, and even with a big win over Mizzou, I think they’re too far out to get to the title game.

Everyone who votes has a lot of careful thought to put into their final tallies over the next 18 hours or so.

And with that, I’m off to bed to dream about sexy bowl game scenarios.

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