4:30 yesterday afternoon was the 2010 version of my college football personal pinnacle. Fresh off Michigan State's come-from-behind win over the Fighting Dan Persas to go 8-0 (a record I keep repeating to myself just because) I was sitting in the Evanston Buffalo Wild Wings. Our fine server had just delivered my third big beer, my wonderful and pregnant designated driver (bless her heart) was to my right, and across the table was my buddy Randy. On the tubes were classic showdowns between Auburn and LSU and Wisconsin vs. Iowa. And we also had Nebraska vs. Oklahoma State and Cal pummeling Arizona State on little, but effective, televisions for good measure. While my wife insisted that I keep my shirt on, I did have this kind of grin on my face:
And this smile remained plastered on my Irish mug until well after the conclusion of Mizzou vs. Oklahoma. After all it had been quite the day of collegiate gridiron activity. And it had been eight straight weeks of Spartan tailgates/games in person. I, along with my checkbook, was on empty.
12 Observations from a Wild Day of Action
1. Last year Cameron Newton threw 22 touchdown passes and ran for 16 more while playing for Blinn College in Texas. He's going to surpass those numbers this year, while playing for Auburn...in Alabama.
2. I seriously thought about playing Ryan Tannehill at wide receiver this week. Thankfully I was positive that Michael Floyd would go against Navy.
3. Well Jay Finley sure looks capable of making some noise on a whole bunch of rosters. Anyone want to play Baylor right now?
4. While the entire country looks forward to The Iron Bowl, the Georgia Bulldog trip to Jordan-Hare on November 13 has me a little intrigued. The Bulldog offense may have plenty of offense to do more than just scare the Tigers.
5. Don't look now, but Andre Ellington is emerging as one of the nation's top fantasy backs.
6. Yep, Kendall Hunter now has more fantasy points than DeMarco, and he's right on the heels of Vai Taua and LaMichael James. Talk about flying under the radar.
7. Kyle Rudolph (out for season) has missed two games outright, played sparingly in two others and is still the 6th best producing tight end to this point. Is the TE position really this bad?
8. More impressive than Armon Binns' 12 catches for 158 yards and two scores in the loss to USF is the fact that Bearcat quarterbacks threw it his way a remarkable 25 times. Talk about a go-to receiver.
9. Not only has Kentucky's Mike Hartline thrown 17 touchdowns against only four picks this season, but his last two outings have seen him throw eight of those scores and only one of those interceptions. Hartline may be about 130 points behind Cam Newton, but he's still the SEC's 2nd-best fantasy quarterback.
10. In a game matching Kirk Ferentz and Bret Bielema, how in the world was it the Iowa head man that made the boneheaded coaching decision?
11. Not only did the Irish get gashed on the ground by Navy, but now they return home to face a Tulsa offense that is coming off a bye and whose offense is the polar opposite of the Middies. This could get much worse before it gets better in South Bend.
12. Alex Green runs for 172 and four while Greg Salas catches nine balls for 158 yards and a score. These Warriors may give Boise a little run for its money in two weeks.