A 25 F**king Years Tuesday.

Another Florida v Kentucky game has come and gone. The outcome is again as certain as death and taxes. For the 25th straight year, Florida DOMINATED Kentucky in football. This wasn't shocking to anyone who follows the UK football program. Kentucky is going through its worse season since the 2005 campaign. On this Tuesday after the beating, I was thinking just about how impressive that streak really is. Think about this:
In the same time period, Kentucky has beaten every team in the SEC (except Tennessee) at least once. Kentucky has won road games in Oxford, Starkville, Fayetteville, Columbia, Athens, Auburn and Nashville to name a few. We have been to bowls, won bowls, been ranked, been ranked in the top ten of the BCS, hosted Gameday, and been through our fair share of coaches. What about the Gators?
The year the streak started (1987) Florida went 6-6. 12 out of the 25 years Florida won 9 or fewer games with most of those being 8 and below seasons. Florida has had four coaches during the streak: Spurrier, Zook, Meyer, and now Muschamp. Spurrier put Florida on the map, Meyer won two BCS titles, and Muschamp has stared out strong. What about Zook? Zook went 24-13 as the Florida head coach. 16-8 in the SEC!
Zook and UK played 3 times. They blew us out in his final year, but the first two games were won by Florida by a touchdown or less. I understand us not being able to beat the great Florida teams, or even the good Florida teams. What I don't understand is how we found ways to lose to REALLY bad Florida teams. That is why the streak is so infamous in the Bluegrass State.
OK....

SEC Standings Week Four
East

1. Florida (4-0, 2-0): Florida absolutely rocked Kentucky in a tuneup for the big showdown against the Crimson Tide. I am starting to loosen up on my "South Carolina is the team to beat in the East" stance.

2. South Carolina (4-0,2-0) South Carolina got a good division win over Vandy and will face Auburn next. Again, I think its USC and Florida in the East. Those two have separated themselves from the pact.

3. Vandy (3-1, 1-1): Even with the loss, Vandy is in position to fight for a bowl bid. They get a bad UK team in Nashville later in the year so anything is possible. I could see Vandy finishing in the middle of the East. No one saw that a month ago.

4. Georiga ( 2-2, 1-1) After two straight losses, Georgia has reeled off two straight wins. They beat a bad Ole Miss club on the road and prepare to play Mississippi State next. Mark Richt can cool his seat with a big win over the other dogs.

5. Tennessee (2-1, 0-1): Had an off week last weekend after losing to the Gators. Tennessee has a pretty easy game with Buffalo this weekend.

6. Kentucky (2-2, 0-1): 25 in a row to Florida. Ouch. Kentucky has looked putrid all season. They barely beat the worst team in FBS football (WKU), squeaked by a Central Michigan club that has been beaten handily in recent weeks, and lost to a lowly Louisville team. Kentucky travels to LSU this weekend. Goodnight.

West

1. Alabama (4-0, 1-0): Bama got there first SEC win of the year against western rival Arkansas. They sit on top of the standings due to the alphabet. They get a pretty good Florida team this weekend though.

2. LSU (4-0, 1-0) LSU students invaded WVU classrooms the day before the game and taunted them. I guess it worked. LSU whipped the 'Neers in Morgantown on Saturday. LSU looks to be on a mission after securing the number one ranking. Who do they get next? The Kentucky Wildcats. Fact: due to UK's poor performance, the game will be played at noon instead of the traditional night spot that LSU is known for. We are going to get stomped.

3. Auburn (3-1, 1-0) The Tigers bounced back from a good loss to Clemson by beating up FAU. Auburn gets another top 25 test next as they face the Gamecocks.

4. Arkansas (3-1, 0-1) The Hogs played a spirited game but in the end fell in Tuscaloosa to the Tide. Next up they play a rivalry game with Texas AM who officially joined the league yesterday.

5. Mississippi State (2-2, 0-2): It took overtime to beat LATech on Saturday. Suddenly Mississippi State doesn't look so intimidating. Georiga sure hopes so.

6. Ole Miss (1-3, 0-2):Ole Miss is terrible. They travel to the dog pound at Fresno State which hasn't been kind to Ole Miss. The game of the year for the Rebels will be against UK. Winner avoids being the worst team in the league.

Ugh. Go Cats.

The Weekend Ahead

I really enjoyed "The Social Network". If you haven't read the book, you must read it, especially if you are one of 300 plus million who are subscribers to Facebook. In both versions, they stress how Facebook should be kept clean and simple so the users don't get lost in the overload of content. Today, Facebook rolled out its long anticipated update. Congratulations, you have pulled a Netflix. Both business models were unique and simple. If it isn't broken Facebook, don't fix it. Of course Facebook is a business, and they must do what they can to make money. I get it. Just remember your roots. And please don't let the that happen to Twitter. Please.

OK. Football....

Week four is about to begin which means that conference games begin in full this week. There are a lot of big conference matchups over the next few days. From here on out, The Weekend Ahead will highlight two games per BCS conference. One game will be the "Best" the other will be the "Most Intriguing". As of this moment there are still six BCS conferences, so we better type fast.

ACC

Best Game: 11 Florida State @ 21 Clemson: Florida State lost a tough one at home to the Sooners last week while Clemson beat defending national champ Auburn. Clemson is 3-0 at home. I still think Florida State is the team to beat in the ACC, and Auburn isn't exactly what they were last year. Clemson gets humbled in the game formerly known as the Bowden Bowl.

Most Intriguing Game: Temple @ Maryland: Both teams are coming off single possession losses to their rivals. WVU beating Maryland by a touchdown isn't surprising, but Temple playing Penn State to the wire is. Kind of. Recall, Miami's current coach left Temple to head down to South Beach. Temple had a phenomenal season last year and return a lot of key players. Temple has an offense that can score, and score a lot. On the flip side, Coach Edsall is trying to build something in Maryland. There win over Miami on MNF was dramatic and entertaining. Coach Edsall is used to playing in these type of games. Afterall, his UConn Huskies were always overlooked. I like the Temple Owls in this one.

Big 12

Best Game: 7 OK State @ 8 Texas A&M: The Cowboys game on Saturday started at midnight and finished up at 3:30 in the morning. Let's hope that doesn't happen too often. State is the more tested team with a win over BCS Arizona (if you can call them a BCS team). However I have to cheer on future SEC member Texas AM. Besides, I feel bad for them. Three out of their next four games are against ranked teams. The 12th man wins in College Station.

Most Intriguing Game: Kansas State @ Miami, FL: Miami will easily win this game. I only mention it because Kansas State almost lost to Eastern Kentucky. They beat them by three....

Big East

Best Game: 2 LSU @ 16 WVU: Game of the week. LSU is the team to beat right now. Explosive offense and a crushing defense. WVU has that as well, it's just that they're trying to put it all together. LSU wins in Morgantown, but it will be close. And gritty.

Most Intriguing Game: Pitt @ Notre Dame: Old rivals square off yet again in a game that Notre Dame should win but will more than likely find a way to lose. I'm still taking the Irish.

Big Ten

Let's be honest, the Big Ten has no game that could be their best or most intriguing this week. Colorado at Ohio State is it. Snooze.

Pac12

Best Game: 23 USC @ Arizona State: ASU lost a tough road game at Illinois last weekend after upsetting Mizzou at home the week before. ASU is a spotty team, but at home they can be dangerous. I like ASU in this matchup. Mainly because I can't stand Lane Kiffin.

Most Intriguing: The fact that the Pac12 turned down Texas because Texas was being too greedy is the most intriguing thing coming out of the Pac12 this weekend. Texas has proven once again that they simply cannot be trusted.

SEC

Best Game: 14 Arkansas @ 3 Alabama: Both come in undefeated. Alabama comes in as the tested team. Alabama wins at home.

Most Intriguing: Vandy @ 12 South Carolina: Vandy is 3-0. Vandy is 1-0 in the SEC. Vandy is undefeated. Vandy slapped around Ole Miss like they were, well, Vandy. I really wish this game were in Nashville. Unfortunately, it's not. South Carolina is the better team. With that said, Vandy has beaten teams better than them before. They do what UK cannot do- beat the best teams in the SEC. Hell, UK hasn't beaten Florida and Tennessee in 25 plus years. In that same time period Vandy has beaten Tennessee and took a Tim Tebow Florida team to double over time before falling to the Gators. You never know with Vandy....

Hopefully our conferences will still be around on Monday...

Big East Obituary Monday

Week three of the college football season is in the books which means one thing- league play fully begins next week for the majority of teams out there. League play. That term used to be so boring. These days, "league" is an evolving term. The biggest news in the world of college football didn't happen on the field. News broke before the noon games kicked off on Saturday that Pitt and Syracuse will be joining the ACC sooner rather than later. Connecticut announced thereafter that they too will be seeking admission into the ACC. Combine that with the earlier news that A&M is going to the SEC and Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and OK State are all slated to make the move to the PAC12 something this week means we have entered the final stages of total realignment.

None of this is a shock. Nebraska and Colorado started all this when they pulled the trigger and bolted from the Big12. Everyone always assumed that the Big Ten, Pac12 and the SEC would be the three leagues to survive. The fourth "super league" would be made up of all the rest. It looks like the ACC will be that fourth. So what about the Big East teams that haven't declared? Where do they go? Here are my thoughts.

NOTE: I will only focus on Big East teams.

Leaving

Pittsburgh: A decent football team with some tradition. A staple in the lowly Big East though.

Syracuse: Again, a decent football tradition. Big alumni base and recognition. Good fit for the ACC.

Trying to Leave

Connecticut: The defending Big East champion. NOT a football power. They are seeking survival. Geographically, would easily fit into the ACC.

Undecided

South Florida: A team on the rise. The ACC would be a great fit for them. Growing school, good football team, etc. It would add a third ACC team to Florida.

West Virginia: WVU to the SEC seems the most likely course. Out of all the teams up for grabs, WVU is the best bet. Passionate fans and a good football program that could compete in the SEC. Mid level of course, but still a good team.

Rutgers: Rutgers is a team that has popped up on the Big Ten radar for a while. They would really like a team that is close to Penn State and expands the Big Ten eastward. Rutgers would be a good Big Ten fit- academics being the only question.

Cincinnati: A tough fit. Would the Big Ten take another Ohio team? Do they fit in the Big Ten? Do they fit in the ACC? More importantly, is there room? Cincy in the SEC? Too many questions. The argument could be made for the SEC. Expand the brand into Ohio, tv, etc. However, Northern Kentucky and Cincinatti share the same television market. They are already exposed to SEC games thanks to UK. This could be a team left without a chair.

Louisville: Another team that could be left without a chair. Like Cincinnati, they don't have anything that sets them apart in the bidding wars. Louisville would be a good fit for the Big 12, but it looks like that league is folding. Louisville has to get aggressive quick.

Coming

TCU: Poor TCU. They announced last year that they were coming to the Big East to avoid the very scenario they are now in. TCU will be left without a chair, and it's a shame.

That's the football picture. FACT: The Big East is a terrible league in football. What about basketball? We all know football pays the bills. However, Big East basketball is the SEC of NCAA hoops. Syracuse, Pitt, UConn in the ACC with Duke, Maryland, UNC etc.... geez.

What about schools like Villanova, Georgetown, Marquette, St. Johns? Basketball first schools. Where do they land? Likewise in the Big 12- Kansas and Kansas State? A lot of change is coming, and EVERY school will be impacted by it.

SEC Standings Week Three

East

Florida 3-0, 1-0: Good win over division rival Tennessee. Florida and USC look to the beasts of the East.

South Carolina 3-0, 1-0: Close win over Navy. Still the team to beat.

Vandy 3-0, 1-0: Surprise team so far. Demolished Ole Miss at home on Saturday. Not a pushover?

UK 2-1, 0-0: HUGE loss at home to Louisville. We are terrible. The UK/Ole Miss game could determine the worst team in the league.

Tennessee 2-1, 0-1: Showed signs of life in the loss to Florida. Coach Dooley is fighting the Lane Kiffin era and sanctions but is putting a competitive product on the field each week.

Georgia 1-2, 0-1: Big win over a cupcake. Still a dangerous team.

West

LSU 3-0, 1-0: Good win over MSU to kick off league play. Still on top.

Auburn 2-1, 1-0: Win streak finally snapped. Not last years Tigers. Still undefeated in league play....

Alabama 3-0, 0-0: Another big cupcake win. All comes down to LSU/Bama.

Arkansas 3-0, 0-0: I'm impressed with the Hogs. They lose a ton, but still keep putting up big numbers. The Petrino effect.

Ole Miss 1-2, 0-1: Will not call them the worst team in the league yet. Getting close though.

Mississippi State 1-2, 0-2: Two tough losses in league play early for the dogs. Still a mid level west team. Better than Ole Miss....

Skipping the conference picks this week. They haven't changed. One last thought on expansion though....

Notre Dame. If you want to be relevant (or survive) you MUST join one of these super conferences. Independents won't last. I know you have that fancy NBC contract and tradition and blah blah blah. Everyone has a fancy tv contract these days. Quit living in the Lou Holtz Buick station wagon era- modernize or die. Just saying.

The Weekend Ahead

First off. How great is it that the NFL is back? This past weekend saw my brain explode due to football overload. I am ashamed to admit that I did not make it through the second MNF game last night. Unfortunately the Colts lost a close one to the Houston Texans. We're terrible....

The third weekend of the college football season is about to kick off and again we are left with few "good games". Starting next week we will start seeing big name conference games, but for now we are stuck with just a few gem games.

Week Three

Best Game: 1 Oklahoma @ 5 Florida State 8:00 ABC: Both teams will be playing for a berth in the BCS title game in this game. Landry Jones and Oklahoma appear to be the better team, but Bob Stoops has a tendency to throw away big games. Jimbo Fishers team got demolished in Norman last year. Junior QB EJ Manuel is no Landry Jones. The one thing that might help FSU is that they are playing this game at Doak Campbell. I don't think it does. Oklahoma is just too strong.

Oklahoma 24 FSU 17

Intriguing Game: 17 Ohio State @ Miami 7:30 ESPN: Might as well call it the Probation Bowl. Ohio State got good news as several suspended players will be allowed to play starting Saturday. Probably could have used them in that Toledo game Saturday... Miami has been through a hellish off season under first year head coach Al Golden. Say what you want about the U and the things that went down, this team is hurting for a big win. Miami still holds some animosity from the 2002 BCS Title game against the Bucks. You also can't ignore that Miami looked halfway decent on Labor Day night at Maryland. They were beat in that game in front of a national audience. They have been beaten up for months due to scandal. Call me crazy but I am taking the U to beat Ohio State in south Florida. Ohio State isn't that great and those weaknesses were exposed last weekend. It's all about the U...

Ohio State 21 Miami 24

On Friday I'll look back at the UK game from Saturday and ahead to the rivalry game against Louisville. In the mean time, crucial fantasy football decisions must be made.

Throwback Monday

Another weekend of college football has come and gone. Some games certainly were a blast from the past. We must pause from football for a moment to reflect upon the significance of this past weekend. Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of September 11, 2001. Like many of you, I can vividly remember where I was, what I was doing, and who I was with. I remember the second tower collapsing and writing one word in my English class journal: War. That day changed the lives of my generation. I am so thankful we had football this weekend. I was able to successfully avoid watching any of the cable news networks. I can still remember 10 years ago watching the attacks unfold live when the camera zoomed on what they thought was debris falling. It wasn't debris. It was multiple people jumping to escape the hell of that building. I will honor the dead, the heroes, the families. I respect the magnitude of that day. I just pray I never have to see the images of people of jumping again. God save the Republic...

On to Football....

Game of the Weekend: There were several great games this weekend including a possible career ending game for Mark Richt, an SEC Big Ten beat down, Iowa State won a semi big game, almost big upsets, and Vandy is 2-0. Unfortunately only one can be chosen. Without question, the most interesting game was the one in which 114,000 people came to watch a 131 year old rivalry under the lights for the first time in the history of the Big House. Notre Dame and Michigan may not be the best teams in the land, but Saturday night they played an instant classic. All participants (including those fine officials in the photo) wore throwback attire. Notre Dame looked to right the ship after last weeks loss in South Bend to USF. They jumped out to an early strong lead. The fourth quarter though is where the magic happened. Three touchdowns were scored in the final 1:12 of play. Michigan nabbed two of them. In fact Michigan scored 28 points in the fourth quarter. The most thrilling came with two second left in the game when Michigan WR Roy Roundtree caught a 16 yard pass from Denard Robinson to secure the Wolverines victory. Everything about this game was cool. All the history, all the passion, the lights, the uniforms, everything. Will Michigan compete for a BCS title? Doubtful. One thing is clear though, Denard Robinson can play, and Brady Hoke might have been the right guy for the job after all.

SEC WEEK TWO STANDINGS

EAST

1. South Carolina (2-0, 1-0): The Ol Ball Coach won a tough battle with Georgia to secure the top spot in the SEC East in an early league showdown. It's apparent that the quarterback situation at USC is interesting to say the least. Carolina looks to be the team to beat in the East though.

2. Florida (2-0, 0-0): Florida took care of Cupcake U for the second week in a row. The first "real" test is next week when Tennessee comes to town.

3. Kentucky (2-0, 0-0): Kentucky looked good in the second half. Kentucky looked terrible in the first half. Thank goodness this was against Central Michigan. Starts like that will not win games in the SEC. Louisville is next.

4. Tennessee (2-0, 0-0): Despite his tattoo, Tyler Bray is a pretty good quarterback. I thought Cincinnati would be more competitive with Tennessee. SEC power is too much for the Big East. Kentucky better remember that next week. The Vols travel down south for a divisional showdown with the Gators next... Don't wear those pants coach please...

5. Vandy (2-0, 0-0): Vandy is 2-0. Vandy beat the defending Big East champion. Say what you want about Vandy, they can always find a way to win "big" games. They've beaten Tennessee and Florida multiple times over the nearly 30 UK win less drought.

6. Georgia (0-2, 0-1): Georgia is a talented team and had to play two great teams out the gate. How many schools do that. Georgia should be fine going forward. Mark Richt on the other hand may not be.

West

1. Auburn (2-0, 1-0): War Damn Eagle. Auburn has played two games that should not be watched by those with heart conditions. They are 2-0 without Newton and company and recorded a VERY impressive win over Mississippi State Saturday. Will the momentum last?

2. Alabama (2-0, 0-0): The second best team in the West went up to Happy Valley and smacked around JoePa. Bama proved yet again that the SEC owns the Big Ten. For now.

3. Arkansas (2-0, 0-0): The Razorbacks played in Little Rock Saturday with the Hog painted in a very nice red, white, and blue pattern. The stadium was color coordinated as well in a fitting tribute to 9/11. They get one more cupcake before Bama though.

4. LSU (2-0, 0-0): Romp against an instate school. Nothing can be learned here. No one punched a marine though.

5. Ole Miss (1-1, 0-0): Ole Miss won a game!!!!

6: Mississippi State (1-1, 0-1): Heartbreaking loss to the Tigers. Dan Mullens team will be competitive this year and will bounce back from this early, early, EARLY, loss. Losing early doesn't hurt too bad.

Week Two Predicted Conference Champions

ACC

Prediction: Florida State. The most explosive team in the league still.

Dark Horse: Virginia Tech: Close win against ECU, but really no other team stands out. Beamerball.

Big12

Prediction: Oklahoma: Still the team to beat in this weak league.

Dark Horse: A&M: Again, no one else stands out. OKSTATE might crack it soon though.

Big East

Prediction: WVU: Norfolk State hung, but Geno threw.

Dark Horse: South Florida: Weak league, still riding the band wagon from last week.

Big Ten

Prediction: Nebraska: biased.

Dark Horse: Wisconsin: As much as I want to put Michigan here, I know they can't do it every week.

Pac12

Prediction: Oregon: Chalk.

Dark Horse: Stanford. As long as Luck is healthy, good things. Although Arizona State was intriguing.

SEC

Prediction: I am taking Alabama again only because of their performance in a true road environment against Penn State. LSU/Bama will still decide the west though.

Dark Horse: I'm taking South Carolina. I know it's nuts because LSU and Alabama are the best teams in the league. There is something in the madness at South Carolina that makes me think they could shock the league. The ol ball coach...

Another weekend is in the books. The NFL is back too! Everyone wins! Except us Colts fans...

The Chippewas

I thought about putting an old picture of members of the Chippewa tribe up but then I realized I don't want to get sued. So instead we get a Central Michigan soccer player pushing over another player. Try to insert some Native American revenge joke now. Alas it is Friday, which means tomorrow is gameday. It's been a long 4 days since the last major college football game of the season- last nights Arizona blow out doesn't count. Granted, we were all given a gift from god with that EPIC NFL opener. Randall Cobb.... yes. That is in the past. It's time to look at Central Michigan University- UK's opponent tomorrow at noon on ESPNU.

Central Michigan is located in the beautiful city of Mount Pleasant, Michigan. If you are wondering where that is, remember Michigan is shaped like your hand. Mount Pleasant is your center knuckle. Thank goodness they aren't from Florida. That would've been strange to explain. Anyway, Central Michigan plays in the mighty MAC. Don't make too much fun. Ohio University beat Kentucky at home a few years ago. With that said, the MAC isn't powerful.

Central Michigan lost a lot of games last year, but 7 were by a touchdown or less. Central Michigan has a new coach after Butch Jones left the season before last to take over the helm at Cincinnati. Ironically enough Butch Jones took the helm at Central Michigan when Brian Kelly left to take over at Cincinnati. The past 4 years CMU has been pretty dominant in the MAC under Jones and Kelly. Now of course, the talent pool has decreased as those coaches moved on. Central Michigan doesn't pose too much of a threat. Quarterback Ryan Radcliff threw for over 3000 yards last year notching 17 touchdowns- with 17 interceptions. In last weeks blowout game Radcliff threw 2 TD's and 2 INT's against a horrible team. Kentucky's defense should have no problem with him. This team is said to be worse than WKU. With that said....

Kentucky looked TERRIBLE against WKU. Kentucky should blow this team out. There is no excuse for if they don't. It's a home game with great weather in the forecast. It's a home game. Not some stupid field trip to Nashville. The team looked bad last week. Morgan Newton didn't look terrible- sans that one time he fell backwards. His wide receivers let him down. This is the last chance to work out the kinks before the big teams start rolling in. Kentucky should try out as many different receivers as they can. I am not going to be shocked if this is a low scoring game at the half. I just hope to see CMU held to 10 points. I want to see our offense click. If after this game the same problems persist, I am going to be furious. Not because of the team, but because I just spent a ton of money to watch us play Florida and Louisville.

Prediction- CMU- 7 UK 27

The Weekend Ahead

Happy hump day! Unfortunately for Colts fan today has turned into a pretty depressing day. We all knew the likelihood of Peyton Manning starting on Sunday against the Texans was about as equal as Texas A&M joining the SEC today. Now that the news is official, we must all get behind Kerry Collins. It's gonna be a long few weeks. Alas though, we have a full slate of great college games this weekend. However there is a bit of news to get to before we dive into the weekend ahead.

Texas A&M Has Joined the SEC (Again)

Texas A&M has announced that it will be leaving the Big 12 and joining the SEC. The SEC has confirmed this as well. All was golden until Baylor decided to reverse its position and threaten legal action against A&M. So again we have unofficial word that the Aggies have joined the SEC. All expect this to be a road block and the Aggies will become the 13th member of the league by next summer. We need an even number to keep the conference aligned. Many names have been batted around. Here is a quick summation of those teams and my thoughts.

1. Florida State: Florida State would only strengthen our position as the best football conference in America. You also get a decent athletic program all around. However, the SEC already has a strong Florida presence. Do we really need to enter a market we already control?

2. Clemson: Same argument here. We already are in South Carolina.

3. Virginia/ Virginia Tech: These 2 schools make perfect sense to me. We need a team in the east to balance everything out without redrawing divisions. Both schools have good fan bases, and would stretch the SEC brand into the Washington, D.C. area.

4. Missouri: This would be another good get for the league. Geographically, you would have to redraw divisions more than likely. However, you add the St Louis and Kansas City markets.

5. West Virginia: This one is tough to wrap my head around. You don't really gain anything here. Maybe the Pittsburgh market? In terms of athletics though, you get a lot. WVU football is a semi name brand and can be competitive. WVU basketball has established itself as well, especially with Huggins.

Whatever happens will happen. However don't expect this to be the end of it. Conference expansion is here to stay, until we get super conferences. Enough talk about logistics. The following is the Weekend Ahead....

WEEK TWO

The first few weeks we will try and pick the "best" game of the week in terms of rankings followed by an intriguing match up. Once the conference seasons kick off we will delve into more match ups.

(3) Alabama @ (23) Penn State 3:30 ABC: Last year Alabama decimated Joe Pa in Tuscaloosa. It's another typical Big Ten/SEC showdown that involves the Big Ten limping away. Alabama is too damn good this year. I don't care how many pizzas Joe Pa delivers to the students camping out. Roll damn tide.

Notre Dame @ Michigan 8:00 ESPN: This game is basically blah. The only reason I bring it up is because this is the first time in HISTORY that a night game will be played at the Big House. I was shocked when I learned this. I guess I just assumed there were night games every now and then. I was wrong. As a college football fan, I am excited to see the third largest stadium in the world under the lights. In terms of the game, I think that Michigan has the edge playing at home. Besides, good luck doesn't seem to be on the side of Notre Dame as of late.

Come Friday we will break down the Kentucky match up on Saturday. Until then, throw one back for the Colts. Kerry Collins.....

Football is Back and So Are We!

Summer is officially over, and I could not be happier about that! It's been a long couple of months since competitive soccer ended and all we had to look forward to on a daily basis was baseball. Boring. Granted, we were teased with the women's world cup, three grand slam tennis tournaments, and some great golf. Sadly, these events came and went faster than- insert college basketball and Italian restaurant joke here-. We finally have something to sustain us until February! Or until these new uniforms burn our retinas.

Of course the football season has only half begun. The NFL kicks off Thursday night, unless the GOP force Obama to hold his speech during the game- not a way to win votes. However we do have college football, and week one was surprisingly good. What we will try to do is to have a Monday morning quarterback piece where we go through and break down how the SEC did the weekend before and give our weekly picks as to who will win the other BCS conferences and who has a good chance to be the darkhorse in each conference. Midweek we will preview the big games for the upcoming weekend. Friday we will try to do something on Kentucky's upcoming match up. Once the NFL gets going we will dabble a little bit into that, but primarily we will be focused on college. So with that said...

SEC Standings and Results Week One

EAST

1. Florida 1-0: The Will Muschamp (and Charlie Weis) era got off on the right foot as the Gators dismantled Howard Schnellenbergers undermanned FAU squad 41-3 in the swamp. Florida QB John Brantley looked pretty sharp under the tutelage of the former Notre Dame head man. Florida looks to be possibly a dark horse for the SEC East, but no more. This game marked the beginning of the end for legendary coach Howard Schnellenberger. The former Miami head man will be hanging it up at the end of the season. It's still all about the U.

2. Kentucky 1-0: Kentucky defeated WKU 14-3. Yeah. Everything about this game was terrible. 25,000 people filled and NFL stadium to watch this abomination. Kentucky will probably finish second to last in the East. Huge improvements are needed.

3South Carolina 1-0: Steve Spurrier announced that Garcia would not start under center for the Cocks. That resulted in an early whooping. Garcia came in and all was right in the world as USC cruised to a big 56-37 win over ECU. South Carolina still remains my pick in the East.

4.Tennessee 1-0: One of the many games impacted by bad weather this weekend. Didn't matter though. Tennessee out muscled an undermanned Montana squad.

5. Vandy 1-0: Vandy came out strong against Elon in a big win. Don't expect this every week. Or ever again this season.

6. Georgia 0-1: The dean of the SEC lost in Atlanta to Boise State on national TV. This has to be the last year for Mark Richt right? Who knows. Georgia had flashes of light, but again look to be middle of the pact-esque for the third straight year.

West

1. Alabama: 1-0: The AJ McCarron era started right where the McElroy era left off. Bama looked sharp on all sides of the ball as they beat Kent State 48-7. Bama is my pick to win the SEC.

2. Arkansas: 1-0 The de-facto Sugar Bowl champs are in a rebuilding mode. They beat Missouri State 51-7 as there new QB Tyler Wilson got eased into the starting job. The hogs special teams also shined in this beat down.

3. Auburn 1-0: The defending national champs needed a miracle to beat Utah State. It was clear in this game that Auburn will struggle this year as they look to replace multiple key positions. However like UK, a win is a win.

4. LSU 1-0: Starting QB suspended. Bad publicity for the school. Off the field distractions. Going up against one of the fastest defenses in the land means disaster for LSU against Oregon right? Wrong. Backup QB Jarrett Lee threw for one touchdown in a game that showed the strength of the overall LSU team which notched 20 points off turnovers. LSU looked scary good and efficient as the Mad Hatter dialed up the right amount of crazy to make a statement. LSU is my dark horse to win this league and possibly the BCS title.

5. Mississippi State 1-0: The bulldogs went to Memphis and dominated early against a horrible CUSA team. Hard to get anything out of this win- other than MSU is probably the 3rd or 4th best team in the west.

6. Ole Miss 0-1: The Right Reverend Houston Nutt should never play religiously affiliated schools again. Independent BYU came into the grove and walked out with an ugly win. Ole Miss continues to drop early games to inferior opponents. At least this opponent wasn't from the FCS (Div2)

WEEK ONE CONFERENCE CHAMPION PREDICTIONS

ACC

Prediction: Florida State: Big opening win, high expectations, great talent.

Dark horse: Virginia Tech: Beamerball

BIG12

Prediction: Oklahoma: The Sooners have the best talent from top to bottom. BCS contenders. Landry Jones has cemented himself as a stud QB after a trial by fire during the Sam Bradford injury era.

Dark horse: Texas AM: Do what Nebraska couldn't do- win the title on your way out.

BigEast

Prediction: WVU: The 'Neers fought the weather on Sunday to beat Marshall at home. New coach Dana Holgorsen brings his Oklahoma State explosive offense with him in his first year as the head man in Morgantown. They also have Gino Smith as QB which helps.

Dark Horse: South Florida: South Florida too had to battle weather, Catholics, and Brian Kelly in week one. They conquered all in a very impressive win against Notre Dame in South Bend.

BigTen

Prediction: Nebraska: The Huskers bring the power of the Big 12 into the lame of the Big Ten. Their newness helps them a lot. Not to mention they have the better team.

Dark Horse: Wisconsin: Hard to pick against Bret Bilema in Big10 play. I would love to see a Nebraska-Wisconsin Big Ten title game.

PAC12

Prediction: Oregon: Despite the loss, they have the talent and experience to win the new Pac12.

Dark Horse: Stanford: Andy Luck.

SEC

Prediction: Alabama: Tough pick. I think the winner of a certain game will go on to the SEC title game for a right to go to the BCS title game. That SEC West game will be Alabama v .....

Dark Horse: LSU: Mark it down. LSU Alabama will be a battle.

Happy Labor Day! Thank goodness football is back!