When it comes to college football I guess you could call me a traditionalist. I like strong-armed gunslingers and play action. I like a fullback with blood on the bridge of his nose. I believe a tight end should be a part of every offense, and it's even better if he's a glorified tackle with hands.
Much of this enjoyment of a relatively boring style of football stems from my college days. For a calendar year we spent every waking moment drinking
and playing
And because I spent more time drinking beer than honing my skills, I was often a whipping boy for more talented footballers.
In order to keep games close against my opponents I'd have to limit possessions, eat clock and dink and dunk my way down the field. Sometimes this style would keep me in games, but more often I'd get steamrolled by an incredible, virtually unstoppable offense. And watching Auburn and Oregon operate this weekend brought back horrible memories of 66-21 thumpings which ended with expletives, a controller thrown across the room...and more Natural Light.
A lot is going to happen between now and the BCS Championship Game, and unless it's my team I rarely care for who plays for the whole thing, provided each is a deserving squad. However this year I'm pulling as hard as can be for Auburn and Oregon to run the table and meet in Glendale, because as a fantasy owner and lover of big plays, these point-a-minute squads boast two of the most exciting offenses I've ever seen. And I'm always a fan of reliving college memories, even the not-so-great ones.
Watching Cameron Newton and Michal Dyer go up against Darron Thomas and LaMichael James would be like playing this old-school video game:
There would be little to no defense, the game would bear little resemblance to the game we know, but it'd be a whole lot of fun. Keep winning boys. Just keep winning.
10 Other observations from a Week 9 that exposed some frauds:
-Robert Griffin currently sits third among all fantasy quarterbacks. Certainly we expected a big return season, however it's hard to imagine anyone thinking he'd be this consistent.
-Four of the top five BCS wide receivers in the country ply their trade in the Big 12. Justin Blackmon, Jeff Fuller, Ryan Broyles and Lyle Leong are sure things out wide.
-Isn't it about time for a defense to send everyone at Denard Robinson and see if Vincent Smith or another Michigan back can post 200 yards on his own? Watching Denard Robinson place the ball in his tailback's belly is like watching a quarterback pump fake a pass when he's already 10 yards over the like of scrimmage. You don't want to buy the fake, but it's almost impossible to resist.
-Roy Helu is all that's right with college fantasy football. Some poor fella was stuck putting Helu in his lineup, and after averaging about 12 carries for 43 yards over the last two weeks this fella was none too pleased. Then Helu runs for about two miles and three scores in the blowout win over Mizzou.
-Yes, I feel kind of dirty for starting Ryan Tannehill at one of my wide receiver spots. However it's not like I could take real advantage of his huge day at quarterback; I did decide to start Kevin Riley rather than Robert Griffin.
-How about Colorado trades Dan Hawkins and five scholarships to Michigan in exchange for Rich Rodriguez and a transfer to be named later?
-Following his 30-215-3 performance against Western Kentucky it's fair to expect a huge stretch run to Lance Dunbar's fantasy campaign. Time to hop on board.
-Montel Harris has lugged it 26, 27 and 37 times over the last three weeks, and he's gone over 115 yards in each. I wrote him off a little too quickly. Wake, Duke, UVA and Syracuse remain on the schedule, and none of these teams strike much fear.
-Jim Harbaugh and Stanford do not mess around. And this weekend's game with Arizona has all the makings of an outstanding Pac-10 battle.
-If you're in a close league race and your opponent has Dominique Davis then you're about to get smoked down the stretch.