WATERCOOLER CHAT: MNF WRAPUP, CHANGES IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL
In the NFL, it was Monday Night Football between the New York Giants and the New Orleans Saints. Both of these teams are playing well, so this was expected to be a good game. Except, with the Saints, you never know when they’re really going to heat up. Saints quarterback Drew Brees went absolutely crazy, throwing for 363 yards and 4 touchdowns! Plus, he added one more rushing touchdown on top of that. The Saints simply destroyed the Giants — New York had no answer for their high powered offense. In the 4th quarter, Eli Manning got a bit hot, connecting with Victor Cruz on 2 touchdowns, but it just wasn’t enough, and the Saints move to 8-3. New Orleans 49, NY Giants 24.
And in college football, two major changes were made yesterday. First, despite winning the Pac-12 Southern Conference, UCLA has decided to fire head coach Rick Neuheisel. UCLA plays in the conference championship this Saturday against Oregon, but Neuheisel won’t be on the field. This is mainly due to the fact that (A) UCLA didn’t authentically win the Pac-12 South. After all, USC was 2 games ahead of them (but are disqualified from post-season play), and (B) USC beat them in their annual rivalry match-up 50-0. Repeat: 50 to nothing! That’s just an embarrassment, and the Bruins program knows it needs a fresh start.
The other major change, after going through a lackluster season that included losing to average teams and… losing to super-rival Michigan, the illustrious Ohio State football program has decided to right its ship in a major way. They’re shifting current head coach Luke Fickell into a supporting role, and bringing in storied coach Urban Meyer. Meyer was recently viewed as, arguably, the best coach in the game after leading Florida to 2 National Championships. Then, this seasons, Meyer stepped down for health reasons and to spend time with his family. Ohio State has been to a BCS for the past 5 seasons, but won’t play in anything major this year. That’s a huge step back for a program that is EASILY the most popular team in the state (more important than the Cavs, Browns, Indians, and Bengals combined). You can bet that Urban Meyer will attract the best recruits and return the Buckeyes back to the BCS Championship conversation every year. And, of course, he’ll be very well paid while doing it.
