I’m done trying to figure college football. Finis. Kaput.
I’m done trying to figure college football. Finis. Kaput.
It takes a far greater mind than mine. I am open to any and all ideas.
Every weekend brings more of the same. This past weekend it was Michigan-Ohio State, Kansas-Kansas State, Arizona-Oregon and Rutgers-Cincinnati.
Follow my logic (or illogical mind) here. Ohio State-Michigan was as good as advertised. But who would have figured the Buckeyes winning a 42-39 shootout? These were the two best defenses in the Big Ten, in the top 10 in the nation. Nobody was pushing them around. And then they pushed each other around. Antonio Pittman got almost twice as many yards on ONE touchdown run than teams had averaged in a game against the Wolverines. Michigan scored more points in the game than the Buckeyes had allowed in the last six combined. Ouch!
Next, Kansas State lassos the Longhorns one week earlier and is in position to go bowling for big bucks. All the Wildcats have to do is get past Kansas, a perennial downtrodden Big 12 team. Easy, right? Wrong. The Wildcats get blown away by the Jayhawks, 39-20. Go figure.
And how about Arizona? Three weeks ago, these ‘Cats were clawless at 3-5 and going nowhere. They had two rough road games with a game against California sandwiched in between. All Arizona does is wallop Washington State at Pullman, clip Cal in Tucson and drown the Ducks in Oregon in successive weeks.
Rutgers cries long and hard about a lack of respect after knocking off Pitt and Louisville in successive weeks to jump into the Top 10. Just one tough game left against West Virginia, right? Nope. The Scarlet Knights are never in their game with Cincinnati, falling behind 17-0 and losing 30-11. So much for BCS dreams.
It’s like this every weekend, which makes one wonder who is making money betting on college football. Certainly not those jumping on the backs of favorites. But how do you figure teams like Arizona, Cincinnati and Kansas coming seemingly out of nowhere? Ah yes, parity.
Even No. 1 Ohio State hasn’t covered the line in two of their last three games.
If college basketball has March Madness, maybe this is November Nirvana. And there’s more to come with USC-Notre Dame and Florida-Arkansas still to have a say in who plays in the national championship game.
It makes for great theater over the next few weeks. So instead of trying to sort it all out, I think I’ll sit back and enjoy the Boys of Fall strutting their stuff.
