College football

Revised list of 'must see games' in 2008

After 'Game of the Year' went thud, it's time to rethink marquee matchups

Stephen Dunn / Getty Images

On Sept. 25, USC will visit Oregon State. Carroll's Trojans lost to the Beavers the last time they went to Corvallis.

Wet Wet Wet
The rains, they came in the Lone Star State. Texas postponed its game vs. Arkansas to Sept. 27 out of concern over Hurricane Ike. Baylor moved its game in Waco ahead to Friday evening, while Stanford and Texas Christian moved their kickoff in Forth Worth up nearly six hours to noon. In Lubbock Jones AT&T Stadium on Friday became arguably the largest body of water in west Texas when its drainage ditches clogged. Incredibly, the field was dry enough one day later to host the SMU-Texas Tech game.

And yet South Bend, Ind., may have been host to the most rem-ark-able deluge. Notre Dame was pelted by a record 10.75 inches of water during the weekend, including more than six inches on Saturday when the Irish beat Michigan, 35-17.

Where Force?
It is one of college football steadfast ironies that Air Force year after year gains the majority of its yards rushing, not passing. But on Saturday against Houston the Falcons outdid themselves. Quarterback Shea Smith finished 0-7 passing for zero yards. The Falcons did gain 380 rushing yards, however, and defeated the Cougars 31-28.

Linemen only … but not offensive or defensive linemen
For its game at LSU on Saturday, North Texas was forced to take lodging in New Orleans, which is roughly 80 miles east of Baton Rouge. The reason? Gov. Bobby Jindal’s executive order that Baton Rouge hotel rooms be held for power-line workers fixing damage caused by Hurricane Gustav.

The Tigers won 41-3.

USC may be No. 1, but could they beat their '29 selves?
Lost, perhaps, amidst USC’s intimidatingly easy disposal of Ohio State on Saturday night were the repeated references to the 1929 Southern California football squad. When BYU destroyed UCLA 59-0 in Provo, record-keepers noted that it was the Bruins’ worst loss since a 76-0 pasting by USC in 1929. Later, when Oklahoma manhandled Washington 55-14 in Seattle, stat boys informed us that it was the Huskies’ most lopsided home loss since a 48-0 loss to USC in 1929.

The 1929 Trojans finished 10-2 and beat Pittsburgh 47-14 in the Rose Bowl. The team’s fullback, Russell Saunders, was the model used in the creation of the statue of Tommy Trojan.

Notre Dame injury report
Charlie Weis, head coach, torn medial collateral ligament and torn anterior cruciate ligament, left leg. Status for Saturday at Michigan State: Probable. Weis: "They didn't hire me for my body. They hired me for my mind."

Nothing secedes like success
Our favorite blog comment of the weekend comes from a Georgia fan: "If Georgia wins out and doesn’t get in the national title game, we may have to succeed from the union again."

CONTINUED : Weekend observations, continued

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