Every once in a while I will do a little segment like this in which I talk about what really disturbed me over the past weekend in sports or whatever else really “grinds my gears” (to quote Peter Griffin).  This week there are two things I would like to discuss…

"Wouldn't it be easier if we just forfeit to USC every year? I know it would save me a lot of pain and suffering." (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

First, the Cal Golden Bears.  Every year I have to listen to college football analysts talk about Cal’s team: how good they are, how they are going to make a run at the PAC 10 Championship, and how viewers should circle the date when Cal plays USC because it will be a good one.  Let me tell you something, the only reason I would circle that day is to remind myself that that’s the day I need to bet everything I own on USC winning.  Cal stinks.  They have stunk for the past eight years.  The Cal-USC game is supposed to be a rivalry game, but what kind of “rivalry” game shows one team winning nine of the last ten games played (and, even though a win is a win, Cal barely beat USC 34-31 in 2003). That’s not much of a rivalry.  And this year was no different; USC slaughtered an over-rated Cal team 30-3…does that sound like the score of a rivalry game to anyone?

And I know that this goes back to 1912 and that’s why it’s a good rivalry and all that jazz, but right now we are living in the present…and presently Cal is garbage.  They have done nothing but find ways to disappoint.  This year, once again they are ranked high and are in National Championship contender talks, and then they get shellacked by Oregon, and then dismantled by USC in back-to-back weeks.  Even worse than that, is that college football analysts still view a win over Cal as a quality win.  That’s like racing a person on foot while you are in a car…it’s nothing to brag about.  From now on take that game out of the television lineup and replace wit any other college football game.  I’d rather watch a San Diego State inner-squad scrimmage than another Cal-USC blood bath.

"Football is a full-contact sport, you are gonna get hurt Keith...that's why you wear pads and get paid millions to play it."

My second issue…the NFL.  Now relax, I love football and I love the NFL, but after watching the Patriots beat the Ravens mainly because of a “roughing the passer” call in which Terrell Suggs was knocked down and breathed too close to Tom Brady’s knee, that disturbs me.  This is football, let the kids play.  I know athletes are bigger, faster, and stronger nowadays, but it is still a full-contact sport.  There are so many new rules added each year that soon the NFL will be reduced to a highly-skilled flag football league.  You can’t touch the quarterback at all (especially if it’s Brady – who has single handedly been responsible for the creation of two different fraudulent rules), you can’t hit receivers, and now (because of a fantastic hit by Hines Ward) no more crack-back blocks.  Seriously? These guys don’t need protection; they have pads.  There weren’t referees protecting players back in the day when they left the game looking like they just finished a bar fight that involved blunt objects and hand grenades.  I know the league wants to protect the players, but unfortunately it can’t do at the expense of the game.  Fans want to see big hits, big sacks, and real football – not two-hand touch.

And I know those hits hurt, and it’s easy for me to say guys need to deal with it because I am not one of those guys – but I am also not the guy who got to go to college for free, because I played football, got to make millions, because I played football, and (since I have a functioning brain) won’t ever have to work a day in my life after my pro career is over, because I played football.  I would gladly let someone break my jaw, or knock me unconscious for a pro football players’ annual salary.  If you want to make a case for guys’ careers being ended by big hits, and how much damage players have after football is over, then adjust the penalties and have players give some of their money back.  Football is for modern-day gladiators, and all of us fat Romans pay that money because we want to see two gladiators fight to the death…not hug and then retire into the sunset.

First, let me start off by saying that I am neither a Notre Dame fan, nor a Notre Dame hater.  I root for them when they play certain teams, and root against them when they play other teams – but I have to comment on their most recent win against Purdue.

"WE DID IT! Thank God Purdue's head coach is an idiot or we wouldn't have had a shot!" (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

The headlines will read something like “Clausen’s late game heroics give ND the win,” or “Notre Dame rallies for a fourth quarter comeback,” but there is something incorrect there.  While these headlines are accurate, they certainly are not true – at least not completely.

Ask anyone who saw the highlights and they will tell you about how Junior QB Jimmy Clausen fought through an injury to lead his team to victory with a TD pass to TE Kyle Rudolph with under a minute remaining.  That’s one way to put it.  The other way is Purdue handed Notre Dame the game with one of the worst coaching decisions I have ever seen.

Let me set the scene for you:  Purdue is trailing Notre Dame 17-14 late in the fourth quarter.  After a long drive, Purdue QB Joey Elliot hits Jaycen Taylor in the flat for what ends up being a 38-yard TD pass to give Purdue the lead, 21-17.  Notre Dame then gets the ball back on their own 28 with 3:41 left to play and only one timeout.  Pretending you are the coach of Purdue, I assume (and after watching that game this is a big assumption) that you know that simple math tells you a field goal can’t beat you, so all you have to do is prevent The Irish from scoring a touchdown.

After a sack and the use of their final timeout, Clausen – who was playing through a turf-toe injury (I give him credit because that injury is worse than it sounds) – puts together a nice little drive to get his team in Purdue territory with under two minutes left.  Remember, Notre Dame has no more timeouts.  Clausen, who finished the day 15-26 for 171 yards with a TD and a pick, threw a strike to one of his new weapons, WR Golden Tate, that netted him 17 yards and a first and goal on Purdue’s four yard line.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold up a second, I want to use a timeout and give Notre Dame a shot to win this game...GO IRISH!"

Now, at this point the clock is under a minute and ticking as Clausen fires an incomplete sideline pass, intended for his WR Robby Parris.  So, it’s now second and goal on Purdue’s four with 41 seconds left.  Charlie Wies, in all his offensive brilliance, calls a running play (I guess thinking he can catch the defense tired and off-guard) which Purdue stops at the two yard line.

OK, so now Notre Dame is stumbling around trying to get to the line of scrimmage as the clock ticks away to either A – kill the clock (bringing up fourth down and only giving the Irish one final play to score), or B – run a play called at the line (which is easier to defend since the entire team is panicking to just get the play off, let alone execute successfully)… either way Purdue has the advantage.

So what does Purdue’s head coach Danny Hope do? He uses one of his timeouts with 36 seconds left on the clock.  Apparently he is a big Notre Dame fan and didn’t want this team to upset them.  I sat there wondering to myself, is this guy serious? Is he going to rip off his collared shirt and show the world the Jimmy Clausen No.7 jersey he has been wearing underneath his clothes this whole game?

"I may wear my pants pulled up to my chin, but at least I know not to call a timeout for the other team...thanks Danny!" (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

He not only stops the clock for Notre Dame, removing all the pressure that was just on them, but now he sends them to the sideline to get – not one – but two scripted plays to run.  He gave the Notre Dame offense a chance to catch their breath and say, “OK, here is where they are weak, let’s try this, and then this,” and for what? A chance to get his guys water? To tell them, watch the pass, watch the bootleg, don’t let them score?  I couldn’t get over it, and I wasn’t the only one.  Both announcers calling the game were stunned at this move, and I could only imagine what a Purdue fan was thinking (if he or she hadn’t already hung themselves because they are a fan of Purdue football).

So in short, although Notre Dame and Jimmy Clausen will get all the credit – and like I said, much is deserved, they put together a great final drive – the real MVP of that game for the Fightin’ Irish is Purdue head coach Danny Pope.  I just kept picturing the Notre Dame post-game celebration in the locker room: all the players hootin’ and hollerin’, Weis trying to give a speech, and in comes Danny Pope, shirtless, with his chest painted blue, green and gold screaming “YEA! GO IRISH! WE DID IT!”

For the Washington Huskies, this past weekend was a weekend of many firsts.  It was the first time new head coach Steve Sarkisian faced off against his old team, USC.  The first time the Huskies had beat USC since 2001.  Their first time celebrating back-to-back victories since September 8, 2007.  The first time they had beaten a number three ranked team, USC, since November 14, 1981.  And, after pulling off the biggest upset so far this year with a 16-13 win over the Trojans, the first time the Huskies have been ranked since September 28, 2003 – entering the new polls at No. 24 in the nation.

As for USC, it was the first time they were held to 110 total passing yards since head coach Pete Carroll took over in 2001.  And it was the first time they failed to convert a third down since Carroll took over, going 0-10 on the day.  But there we a few things that aren’t so new to the men of Troy.

USC has now lost to an unranked team in each of the last four seasons – a trend that Trojan fans have to be getting tired of.  In 2008, they were upset by Oregon State.  In 2007, an always powerful Stanford took them by surprise.  And in 2006, UCLA got the best of them.  See the theme here? USC has proven time and time again that they are the most overrated team in college football (barely beating out Notre Dame).  It’s time everyone caught on to that and stopped handing them a top 5 slot and let them earn it by winning, and not with specials on ESPN.

Washington Kicker Erik Folk after he hit the game-winning field goal (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

However, none of the games showcased a powerful (and overrated) Trojans team getting out-played and dominated on the field.  The Huskies’ defense, which allowed the Idaho Vandals to rack up 412 total yards, shut down the Trojans, allowing just 110 pass yards and no 3^rd-down conversions in ten attempts.  Now, I know freshman QB Matt Barkley didn’t play, but it is still USC playing Washington.  The way people hype USC would lead me to believe that their bench has to be better than most teams’ starters.

That being said, it didn’t matter, because Washington handled USC’s backups, and starters, with no problems.

The Trojans jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, exactly how they expected the game to go.  But then something happened that wasn’t supposed to…the Huskies fought back.  Led offensively by junior QB Jake Locker, who was 21-35 for 237 yards and completed passes to nine different receivers, Washington put seven on the board with a Locker rushing touchdown (the kid can do it all).  After that, the Huskies defense took over.

They managed to create three turnovers, mainly because this seemed to be not only USC quarterback Aaron Corp’s first start, but his first time playing football in general.  Corp was 13-22 for a measly 110 yards and a pick, and failed to connect with any of his receivers when it mattered late in the game.  Had it not been for the Trojans run game, Washington might very well have blanked the former No.3 team in the nation.

With 4:07 left in the game the score all tied up 13, the Huskies defense got Locker the ball back at his own 33.  Locker engineered a drive very similar to the one that USC fans saw Barkley execute to help them beat Ohio State the week before – except this time, they were the ones about to lose.

Jack Locker avoiding the rush and finding Jermaine Kearse for a huge 19-yard reception that would set up that game-winning field goal. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

After two dismal plays, Washington was faced with a third-and-15 and 3:03 left on the clock.  But this team didn’t roll over and die for USC like most teams do.  Instead, Locker fired a dart to WR Jermaine Kearse for a 21-yard first down.  Three plays later on another must-convert third down, Locker used his legs to gain four yards and yet another Washington first down.

Then, with under a minute left, Locker dropped back to pass, avoided the pass rush, scrambled out and found Kearse again for a 19-yard completion and a first down.  Couple that with the 15-yard roughing the passer penalty the Trojans got for cheap-shotting Locker, and the Huskies had the ball on the USC eight yard line with 33 seconds left in the game.

Shortly after that, Washington kicker Erik Folk trotted out to make the game-winning 22-yard field goal, and Husky Stadium erupted.  USC admitted they were out-played, but they don’t have to make excuses, everyone else will for them.  The Trojans, who dropped to No.12 (but will somehow be back in the Top 5 inside four weeks because of their tough schedule), will now need other teams to lose if they plan on playing for a National Championship.

The Huskies exposed a USC team as frauds and made a name for themselves by battling with a tough LSU team in week one and upsetting USC in week three.  Watch for the Huskies to build on this momentum and steal the PAC-10 this season.

USC running back Joe McKnight said it best at the end of this monumental upset.  “Washington wasn’t the better team. They just outplayed us,” said an arrogant, but defeated McKnight, “Clearly, we have superior athletes. But hard work beats athleticism any day.”

While it wasn’t too clear that USC had the better athletes, it was very clear that Washington had the better team, and QB, that day and will for the rest of the 2009 season.

College kickoff weekend did not disappoint.  I had waited a long time for this past Saturday to finally come, and when it did, it was everything I had hoped…and then a little more.  First things first, I was delighted to see Erin Andrews back to her sideline reporting.  I was so afraid she wouldn’t do it anymore and they would hire some Michelle Tafoya-esque mutant to roam the college sidelines.  So on top of watching the greatest sport in America, I got to see one of the hottest women in American sports do her thing.

But, I digress.  The day opened up with a few things that surprised me.  The first, Ohio State is in big, big trouble.  They almost (and really should have) lost to Navy.  Terrelle Pryor, who was wearing eye black with “Mike” and “Vick” written on each of them (to show his support for the wrongfully persecuted Mike Vick), played subpar football – going 14-21 for 174 with a TD and a pick.  The final was 31-27, and that score does not do the game justice in showing how close it really was.  Navy could have tied the game with a minute left on a 2-pt conversion, and instead Navy QB Ricky Dobbs decided to fire it into the chest of an Ohio State LB, Brian Rolle, who returned it all the way.  Normally Ohio State waits until the end of the year in a BCS Bowl game to show they stink – I guess they didn’t want to keep anyone in suspense this year.

Daryll Clark throwing a TD pass to his new best friend, WR Derek Moye. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Penn State beat up on Akron unveiling weapons no one knew they had (i.e. WR Derek Moye who had six catches for 138 yards and a touch).  Later on that day OK St got after it against Georgia.  Although they started off a little slow, the Cowboys got the job done.  Receiver Dez Bryant finally found his rhythm in that game, ending the day with three catches for 77 yards and 2 TDs, and the Cowboy defense stepped up and shut down what some people thought would be a young – yet potent – Bulldog offense.

On to Michigan and Notre Dame.  Both these teams played well (and got more hype for their victories than needed).  However, credit does have to be given out here.  Granted Michigan played Western Michigan (and won 31-7) and N.D. played Nevada (winning 35-0), both of these teams were not heavily favored to win these games.  Last year Notre Dame might win this game 23-21 because Nevada missed a late field goal, and Michigan would pull off a last minute 13-12 victory – if that.  I am not saying these teams are back to being contenders, but they played well and showed signs of life, so keep an eye on them.

Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford holding his injured shoulder and thinking "Damn, I should of entered the draft last year." (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

However, the big story was Sam Bradford.  First, Bradford should have gone to the league after winning his Heisman last season.  Instead, he decided to come back (without four of his starting O-Lineman from the year before) and what happened? He got hurt.  Bradford looked sharp in the first half, but got sacked in the final seconds of the second quarter and was done for the game.  The injury, a sprained AC joint, does not require surgery, but he will be out for 2-4 weeks.  The Sooners would then go on to lose that game to BYU, in one of the big upsets over the weekend.  Now Oklahoma can still win the Big 12 and play for a National Championship, but they have to win out and that doesn’t look like it will happen.   Even if Bradford comes back healthy, one of the other things shown in that game was that the Sooners have no defense.  They let up 357 total yards, and two TDs – something that would have never happened to them while playing BYU before (even if BYU is as good as they appear to be).

The weekend wrapped up with Miami and Florida State playing one heck of game.  Both teams look to have finally found some offense (or maybe lost a lot of defense).  For the first time since 2001, the game was actually exciting and fun to watch and it was what the ACC needed after watching Virginia Tech prove they are still frauds (by losing horribly to Alabama) and then having Virginia drop one to William and Mary.

Miami QB Jacory Harris could be the real deal after watching him play last night. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)

I was thoroughly impressed with sophomore QB Jacory Harris, who went above and beyond the call of duty for the Hurricanes by going 21-34 for 386 yards and two TDs.  He showed great poise in the pocket, played through an injury, and – unlike most young QBs – made plays with his arm when his team needed him to.  Harris and the ‘Canes got some help from Florida State receiver Jarmon Fortson who chose to try and eat the ball, rather than catch it for the win.

After some poor clock management and play-calling, the Seminoles were down to their last chance, which was QB Christian Ponder throwing a bullet that was very low to  Fortson.  Fortson had a chance to catch it, but went down too fast and the ball bounced off his facemask, and then in and out of his hands as he hit the ground.  It was a poor throw and would have been a tough catch to make, and I can understand if the kid drops it…but to have the game winning pass go off your facemask? and then in and out of your hands? Tough break.  I just hope the kid can bounce back from it.  I would hate to read in a few days that he pulled a “Wyatt Sexton.”  The former FSU QB couldn’t handle the pressures of college athletics, as cops found him lying face down in a street, shirtless, screaming out “I am God! I am God and the son of God!”  Hopefully Fortson will choose more practice, hard work, and dedication rather than LSD, alcohol, and a Dave Matthews Band Concert.

It’s that time of year again boys and girls.  Time for the sport that showcases talented, young athletes battling it out for a chance to be the best in America (and more importantly, earn a pay check in the big leagues).  The sport that almost always sends the wrong two teams to play for a national championship yet refuses to create some sort of playoff system that would bypass that issue.  The sport that, no matter how wrong it is, just seems right…college football – where every game matters.  And with the dawn of a new season comes a new set of inevitable truths to go along with it.

1. Florida is still the best team in the county.  I don’t care who they lost to the draft; they still have Tim Tebow.  Their defense gained experience last season, and with the return of linebacker Brandon Spikes and safety Major Wright, they will be even better.  The loss of Percy Harvin only makes room for running back Chris Rainey.
   

   Tebow will lead a Gator team that is still an easy favorite to win another Nat'l Championship. (Charles W. Luzier/Reuters)

   Rainey and his blazing speed will see even more time.  Take all that and factor in that Urban Meyer is coaching them and has recruited for them in the offseason, and the Gators are still an easy favorite to win yet another National Championship.

2. USC is still overrated.  Even with the loss of several key defenses players and a “star” quarterback, the Trojans will still be in people’s Nat’l Championship talks (especially ESPN who must get paid every time they mention USC or Pete Carroll in the same sentence as the phrases “winning a National Championship” or “should be ranked number one”).  Don’t get me wrong, USC will win the PAC 10 again because the PAC 10 is…well…the PAC 10.  But unless they destroy Ohio State (with Terrelle Pryor playing the whole game) and schedule a BIG 12 or SEC team, they should NOT be in line to play for a Nat’l Championship, or be ranked higher than #5 for that matter.
3. Ohio State still stinks.  The Buckeyes have done everything right over the past few years and are currently in danger of becoming College Footballs’ Buffalo Bills (circa early 90’s).  They will have two real tests this season.  The first is the aforementioned game against ESPN’s favorite team, USC. The second will be against Penn State, who has a really good shot at winning the BIG 10 and playing for a Nat’l Championship.  If they can do that, then they have a shot at playing in a title game, and maybe then they will actually win one – unless they have to play Florida.

Now, with that being said, there are a few things that haven’t been written in stone just yet.  Although it’s more likely that these things will not happen, the opportunity is still very much there.

This was the guy who head coach Mike Gundy flipped out to reporters over, and now that we have seen him play, it makes perfect sense why that "man who is 40" would go nuts to protect this talented kid. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

The BIG 12 has a chance to overtake the SEC as the most powerful conference this year.  I know it’s shocking, and like I said, it probably won’t happen, but think about it.  Aside from Florida, the whole conference is one big fat “IF.”  IF Georgia, Alabama, and LSU can find decent quarterbacks, they will be complete teams again – but they haven’t just yet.  Georgia lost Matt Stafford to the draft, LSU has a rotation of four QBs who were all pathetic and have managed to cost them several key games last season, and Alabama lost John Parker Wilson – who was a leader, but the reason they couldn’t win the SEC or beat Utah…he stinks.  South Carolina is still a failing project that Steve Spurrier can’t get off the ground (how bad does he wish he was still at Florida) and Tennessee was atrocious last season and is now under a new coach in Lane Kiffin, so expectations can’t be set too high for them.  The only team with a good QB, Ole Miss and Jevan Snead, will only do well IF the team plays up to Snead’s level.  Sure they beat Florida last year, but everyone who knows football knows that was a fluke.

Now, take a look at the BIG 12 and see Texas with a solid team and Colt McCoy, Oklahoma State (a real sleeper this year) with a very talented team and Zac Robinson, and Oklahoma and Sam Bradford (while I do think Oklahoma will be good, I don’t think they will be as successful as last season because they lost so many offensive lineman).  They are just the top three too.  How about Kansas and Nebraska, both of those programs are on the up and up – and even Colorado showed some fight last season (even though it was very little, they still are making some big strides).

Don't be surprised if Darryl and Co. play for a Nat'l Championship this year. (John T. Greilick / The Detroit News)

So unless some QBs emerge in the SEC besides Tebow and Snead, the BIG 12 has a real shot at being the toughest conference in football.

Finally, the teams that I think have a real chance to shock the nation:  Oklahoma State and Penn State.  Oklahoma State has its core returning and three big-time athletes in Robinson, Kendall Hunter, and Dez Bryant.  They open up against Georgia this weekend and have a shot to set the tone for a great season.  Penn State hasn’t received much hype this year but they are quietly better than they have been before.  Although they lack the flashy receivers (Derrick Williams, Deon Butler, Jordan Norwood) Joe Pa has strong leadership from a talented QB Daryll Clark, and a solid running game with Evan Royster – oh yea, and I think they are pretty good on defense too, maybe at the linebacker position? I’m not sure.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Miami Hurricanes will always be linked when it comes to college football.  There was the legendary 1984 National Championship, when then Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne chose to go for two – and the win – and came up short, losing 31-30.  Then the 2001 National Championship game, in which Miami played what appeared to be Nebraska’s JV team in a 37-14 beat down, on their way to a perfect 12-0 record that season.

However, now the Huskers will now be linked to Miami in another way – players who are criminals.  While the “U” has always led college football in this category, Nebraska is sure doing its best to compete, at least with its former running backs.

"Yea, after college I just feel like selling drugs and shooting people, ya know what I mean?" (Elsa/ALLSPORT)

Former Nebraska running back Thunder Collins (2000-‘02) recently decided it was in his best interest to murder someone.  In his post-collegiate “formula for success,” Collins took up drug dealing (just ask Maurice Clarett, when the NFL stops calling, you can always sling hash), but that apparently wasn’t enough for this shining star.

According to prosecutors, Collins put together a master plan to set up a drug deal in which he would rob the two men selling the drugs.  Although it’s a shocker, the plan didn’t work out and shots were exchanged.  The 29-year-old Collins killed one man and seriously wounded another.  He was convicted of first-degree murder and faces life in prison.  And though it’s hard to believe, this isn’t Collins first run-in with John Q. Law.

In 2002 and 2003 he faced charges of disturbing the peace and assault and burglary (both were altercations with his girlfriend that ended violently).  Then in 2006, this model-American spent ten days in jail after pleading no contest to obstructing a police officer (apparently he didn’t like the cops questioning him about anther shooting or about the marijuana they found in his pocket).

Nebraska is also the proud alma mater of former running back Lawrence Phillips (1993-’96), who makes Collins look like Tim Tebow.  Collins managed to stay clean in college, while Phillips has been in trouble since he first arrived at Nebraska, and still is.

Phillips recently made headlines again as he was found guilty of assault.  He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for attacking and choking his ex-girlfriend back in 2005.  Apparently he didn’t see eye-to-eye with his significant other, and choked her until she lost consciousness on two different occasions.

So what Lawrence is trying to say is playing against college athletes is easier than playing a pickup game with kids?

However, as horrible as that story is, nothing compares to why Phillips is currently serving a ten-year sentence.  In 2005, the 33-year-old Phillips was playing a pickup football game with some young kids and ended up losing.  Phillips thought the kids were cheating and accused them of stealing some of his possessions.  The kids paid no attention to Phillips and he felt disrespected by this – so he drove his car on to the field and tried to run them over.  He struck three boys – ages 14 and 15 – and a 19-year-old man (who received some cuts and bruises), and just missed four others.

Upon hearing that one of the kids he hit could never play sports again, Phillips said “I’m sorry that your leg is messed up, I just wanted the chance to say I didn’t mean to hurt people.”  Yea, I can see that…and I am sure a judge can too.  People who drive cars as fast as they can into groups of pedestrians almost always have the best intentions.

Collins’ sentencing is scheduled for November 10^th, while Phillips while most likely spend the rest of his life in prison.  With standup guys like this coming out of the program, one can’t help but wonder what to expect from other star RB’s like Ahman Green or Mike Rozier.  Phillips and Collins have set the bar high, but if they put their minds to it and work hard, I am sure they can surpass it.