The Gators are playing South Carolina today. When legendary ballcoach Steve Spurrier retired from the head coach position at South Carolina, the ‘Cocks inexplicably replaced him with Will Muschamp, the coach the Gators had fired for being so bad at his job a couple of years ago.
So, last week when I saw the schedule, I figured the Gators would win at home against the ‘Cocks. Now I expect the ‘Cocks to win, burn down the Swamp and nuke Gainesville on their way out of town. It hasn’t been a good week.
Open thread!
Poopyman
How many players will kneel for the Anthem today?
raven
The princess is going to the game with me today, the first time since the blackout game nine years ago. She was good luck that day so, even though we’re a 10 pt dog, ya never know. Their monster rb Pettway looked to yank a hammy last week and that would be a great help to the struggling dawgs. Nothing will wash away the shitty week this has been but a win wouldn’t hurt. It’s 59 degrees, the wind blew the smoke away for now and it’s a perfect day. Somehow these morons scheduled 3 straight home games at the end of the year and we leave for 2 weeks at the beach Monday so tv down there will be it for me.
Haydnseek
I’m a USC fan. I mean, fer chrissakes, I was born five miles from the LA Coliseum, where the Trojans play their home games. Today they play the Washington Huskies, currently number four in the nation. USC has three losses. They will play in a second tier bowl game. Good for them, maybe not so good for recruiting, but I digress. Now, here’s the part where I part company with my USC fan friends. I want the Huskies to win, because that furthers their chances of a PAC 12 team competing for the national championship, giving me someone to root for. I know, I’m supposed to pull for my team because Spoiler! but I just can’t see it. Anybody here experience that same conflict?
Haydnseek
@raven: Easy for me to say, I know, but the bright side is you won’t be missing any games with national championship implications…….and you’ll be fishing!
Omnes Omnibus
Errands to run before the WI game.
JPL
@raven: I’m looking forward to the pretty pictures of the beach. It’s clear here right now, but that does change hourly. I was going to mulch the leaves today, but now that the wind blew my neighbors leaves all over mine, I said fk it.
So far so good for Betty’s team..
raven
@Haydnseek: I’m not one who is all atwitter about national championships. I’ve been to one when my departed father-in-law took the whole family to the Easy to see the Hokies ( a couple of years before we got totally fucked by the worst offensive pass interference ever called on Ricky Hall vs the Trojans in RFK) play FSU. It was a great time and the most incredible performance I have ever seen in football when Vick ran wild against the Noles. It wasn’t enough but it was fun. The thing about football down here is that it is insane no matter how the teams stand. We’re a big underdog but the joint will be rocking and I’ll be soaking it in.
Haydnseek
@raven: I know what you mean about national championships. When I was a kid and all the way through college, the Rose Bowl was the big game. USC, UCLA, Stanford and occasional others going up against Shembeckler’s Wolverines or the Woody Hayes Buckeyes. That was the game. The national championship was really sort of an anticlimax after the Grandaddy of ’em All! (tip o’ the hat to the great Keith Jackson.)
raven
@Haydnseek: The year I moved here from Champaign we (The Illini) became the first Big-10 team to beat all of the other teams in the conference on our way to the Rose Bowl. We played a UCLA team with Neuheisel and Kenny Norton Jr who were 6-5. After they waxed our fanny Jim Murray had an article that said “did you really think your California players were better than our California players? It reminds me of what a set-up playing Florida in J-Ville is.
Phylllis
Based on 1st half play Betty, I’m thinking you’re safe. Bentley’s freshman weaknesses are on full display. Which is ok–y’all are more than welcome to go to Atlanta & get pounded by ‘Bama. We’ll happily enjoy going to the Belk Bowl.
burnspbesq
Thursday night was fun. Duke 28, Cheatin Scum 27.
Donalbain
This is a generally decent, nicely liberal blog. So, as a foreigner, who just reads about, rather than engages in the support of university American football teams, I have a question for you guys:
How the fuck can you continue to support something so disgusting in every way as College Football?
trollhattan
@Donalbain:
The spectacle! Plus a connection to alma maters for many.
Donalbain
@trollhattan: The spectacle is young men getting injured (including brain damage) in exchange for no money, and the connection to alma maters is a shitty reason to support something so horrible.
Haydnseek
@Donalbain: What sports do you enjoy?
tybee
@raven:
the reds are on fire here.
trollhattan
@Donalbain:
Understood, and at least we now have concussion protocols they’re hopefully following and enforcing. Now, let me share something with you. My daughter plays “the beautiful game” at the youth comp level, for considerably negative income if you get my drift. In this shot from Sunday you’ll see action and to the left, a girl on the ground with an icepack surrounded by a concerned group. Concerned for good reason because the kick she took to the face (while holding the ball as keeper) warranted a trip to the hospital, a neck brace and no more soccer for the year. Second head injury of the season.
Mine had a nine-week hiatus due to a knee injury. Her doctor, a knee specialist, pulled me aside to plead for her to take strengthening workouts to protect her from ACL/MCL injuries. Reason? His #1 source of new patients is girls soccer and our town is full of girls sporting ACL transplants from corpses received on his operating table. Soccer is far and away the #1 cause of injury in girl’s sports, and concussions are a big part of the tally.
How many players on the Women’s US National team have corpse ligaments and chronic brain injuries? I’m willing to bet a lot.
I don’t know the future of American football but I’ll be damned if I’m giving other sports a pass because they’re “international.”
Haydnseek
@Haydnseek: Still waiting. You must have at least a passing interest in sports, or you wouldn’t bother to comment here. I ask again, what sports do you enjoy?
Haydnseek
@trollhattan: Looks like he ran away. Probably worried about being late for the bullfights…..
trollhattan
@Haydnseek:
Drat the luck–was hoping for another lecture.
Regime Touchon
@raven: hey big auburn fan here. Seeing that my daughter went to UGA, and started barking right away, my second favorite SEC team are the Dawgs. I told a Georgia buddy last night may the best team win and he said that’s what I’m afraid of.
trollhattan
Lest I neglect to mention: Wash-USC 5:30. Title ambitions on the line.
J R in WV
OK, here goes:
Let’s Go Mountaineers!
‘Eers 24, Texas 20 at Austin. Woohoo!! A 7-1 team, going to play Oklahoma next weekend at Mountaineer Field. If I’m not mistaken, that game may be for the Big 12 championship. — OK, after looking at the standings, WVU needs to beat OK next weekend, and then win out. The tie-breaker would be the WVU-OK game, if we do win out.
Should get a good bowl game offer in any case at this point in the season. I’m a Marshall University graduate, but started attending at least one WVU game each year because both my parents went to WVU. When you get introduced to a major school’s program when you’re 10 or 12, you get it bad.
Eventually my dad began inviting us to join him at WVU bowl games, or other big games. Some great wins in there, along with some really sad losses.
At least it is a distraction from the rest of the week’s news !! And rooting for WVU when they weren’t all that much to cheer about was good practice for losing massive elections as well. We will come back again next time and do better!
Not to minimize the difference in importance of football and democracy, not at all. But anything to lift the spirits!
Betty Cracker
Damn, this GA-AU game is good!
Betty Cracker
@Haydnseek: Literal LOL. Thanks.
JPL
@Betty Cracker: Raven will be happy!
burnspbesq
Clemson loses to Pitt. Nyuknyuknyuk.
burnspbesq
John Carroll 31, Mount Union 28. 112-game regular season winning streak snapped.
raven
What a tilt! We needed this so badly and it’s great way to wind up a shitty week! GO DAWGS!!