COLLEGE FOOTBALL

It’s that time of the week again — college football time.  This week’s featured match-up:  #1 Texas v. #11 Missouri.  Here’s why this game is nuts.  Texas is new to the #1 seat, and now are playing protector.  However, just last week, Missouri was vying for the same throne, but a poor performance against Oklahoma State prevented them from moving up the ladder, and they fell to #11.  Usually teams that lose their first game of the season are mentally scared because they know their National Championship hopes have taken a lashing.  But now Missouri gets a crack against the #1 seed, and if they win, they still have a good case at the end of the season to play in the BIG GAME.

Note:  Both of these teams are extremely talented.  Texas is led by QB Colt McCoy (who is the darling of Texas right now), but Missouri has the strong arm of arguably the best QB in the nation — Chase Daniel.  Daniel is on a Heisman campaign and is chomping at the bit for this Nationally Televised Game.  An opportunity to topple the #1 seed is what every college football program lives for (in addition to actually BEING the #1 seed).

Elsewhere in college football, Clemson’s head coach, Tommy Bowden, was fired yesterday because of Clemson’s average 3-3 start.  Clemson was expected to make waves before the season, but have been nothing special and viewed as ‘just another game’ on their opponents schedules.  Furthermore, to make this into a comical situation, Tommy’s brother and Auburn’s head coach, Terry Bowden, said he didn’t feel sorry for his brother whatsoever.  On Yahoo.com, he stated, “So, did Tommy Bowden deserve what happened to him Monday? Unfortunately, yes, he deserved it because he, of all people, knew what to expect when he got into this business. We grew up in it.”  You gotta admire brotherly love.

And the QB controversy in Dallas continues.  Earlier this week, it was reported that Tony Romo would be out for a month with a broken pinkie.  Brad Johnson, the 40-year-old QB, and former Super Bowl winner, would step in.  However, 2 days later, Romo said he thought he could play through the injury.  Now in Dallas, Romo has been practicing one day, then sitting out the next.  The Dallas community has no idea who will start at QB on Sunday against the Rams.  Jerry Jones, the Cowboys owner, fears that Romo could get hurt and miss an extended period of time.  But, from a coach’s perspective, having Romo at the helm gives them a much better chance of winning the game — if, in fact, he CAN play.  We’ll have to wait and see how this drama unfolds, but it could be a game-time call. (This, of course, is so frustrating for Fantasy Owners who have Romo…fortunately I don’t have him, but I feel for those who do.)

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Finally, last night was Midnight Madness, when all the college basketball programs take the court at midnight to have their first practice of the season in front of packed stadiums.  It’s a campus cultural event that you simply can not miss.  And you have to imagine that in Lawrence, Kansas, home of the Kansas Jayhawks, they must have gone absolutely insane last night when the first ball bounced on the Allen Field House court.  Can they repeat?  Well, at least everyone in that stadium last night thinks they can.