Written by Adam Jones
Sunday, 23 October 2005

The tour around the stadium started with 12:10 to go in the game. From our four end zone seats my partners in crime first headed to the bottom of the section to watch the action up close. Then we moved right one section for a better view. That was followed by a sprint down the stairs and underneath the west side where we had to catch a few plays on the television next to the souvenir stand. Back up the stairs we reached the west side lower level, home of the ancient and revered, not to mention deep-pocketed, Longhorn alums who can be counted upon to vacate enough seats to accommodate three ten-year olds and one adult acting like one for the balance of a fourth-quarter blowout. From the tunnel in section six we enjoyed a picture perfect view straight down the line of scrimmage as Vince Young set up under center.

"This is where we would sit if we were rich," I explained to Z.

"Cool."

I made the boys chase me up the west side to the top of the section where the "No Standing, by order of the fire marshal" signs menacingly hang. We disobediently stood right under one of them for a single snap and then we were off again, heading south across the top of the west side and finally settling in about 40 rows up in section 2. These seats went for about 300 per at the beginning of the week, I thought to myself. I wonder if I could buy fourth-quarter rights to a westsider's season tickets? Supply and demand is a funny thing.

We beat the deluge to the parking garage playing chase the whole way. Amazing what small spaces in a throng a ten-year old can fit through. R.C. demonstrated the "Deion" for us - a high step jaunt his own family uses when they are late to kickoff. Pretty impressive (my hamstrings still ache).

It was all over but the post-game show. As I turned the key in the ignition it occurred to me, for a few hours on a perfect afternoon anyway, I suddenly remembered being ten.

Texas 52, Texas Tech 17

Texas didn't bring the A game, but they did make every big play on defense and special teams. Tech's Cody Hodges is a tough customer and tailback Taurean Henderson is a special player, but in the end Texas simply threw too much at their high plains cousins. Tech is not the team their record and ranking indicates, but they are also much better than this score indicates. They may win out in a lousy Big 12.

I will get to the Big 12 in a minute, but today's conference cavalcade starts in the SEC. Ranked on ranked led the southeast schedule and there were big stories all around.

Alabama outlasted Tennessee 6-3 on a clutch drive by Brodie Croyle after a Tennessee fumble out of the back of the end zone as the Vols tried to ice it. 'Bama wins, for the second straight week, on a field goal in the closing moments.

Part two of the SEC slugfest was the double tiger nightcap in Baton Rouge where LSU survived Auburn 20-17 in overtime. Auburn missed five field goals - to be fair, two of them were from 49 and 54 yards - in a game they dominated on defense and on the ground with tailback Kenny Irons going for 218 on 27 carries. Nevertheless LSU prevailed because Jamarcus Russell seems to make just enough big plays to win, even when his receivers have a nasty habit of dropping easy touchdowns - one in the fourth and another in overtime on Saturday night. Oh, Skyler Green returning every other punt for a TD doesn't hurt, either.

Georgia beat Arkansas 23-20 and that doesn't even begin to tell the story. The Bulldogs lost D.J. Shockley in the second quarter. No one knows how long he will be out, however he certainly will not play next week against Florida, which is of mild interest to Georgia fans. Long time JTT reader PW from Athens e-mailed last week that I may have UGa too high given a rash of injuries in the front seven. I wonder how he feels now that Joe Tereshinski (yes, that Joe Tereshinski - shouldn't he play tight end for Penn State?) is at the controls.

On the SEC in general, am I the only one who is tired of the talking head fascination with the smash mouth SEC and how great all the defenses are? I love old school football and I have always loved the conference and its history but, just for the sake of argument, isn't some of the "great defense" in the SEC attributable to some equally wretched offense in the SEC? How can Tennessee with two perfectly good quarterbacks, Robert Meachem, Gerald Riggs and a huge and experienced offensive line get held to three points by anyone - even a legitimately great defense like Alabama's? How about LSU? Talent galore, but can anyone actually catch the football or carry it without coughing it up? And every once in while, even with open receivers, Jamarcus Russell is likely to lob one into Lake Ponchartrain (it's a bigger target now and he has the arm to do it). Alabama looks lost without Tyron Prothro in the line-up, averaging 9.5 points in their last two wins. Florida? Let's just say this is not an experiment going Urban Meyer's way at the moment. Maybe the Gators will get healthy against Georgia.

Does the SEC, in general, play tough defense? Yes, but let's not pretend that's the whole story. In the only major SEC non-conference match-ups, Auburn dropped one to Georgia Tech and Arizona State didn't exactly have trouble moving the ball in their loss to LSU. And oh, by the way, Arkansas, who played tough old-fashioned SEC defense against both 'Bama and Georgia, gave up 70 to USC. Enough already.

I've enjoyed the Big Ten this season more than any in memory and they turned in another great week. Michigan outlasting Iowa 23-20 in overtime was the highlight as the Wolverines decided that instead of packing in it they would tough it out and end Iowa's 22-game home winning streak.

Michigan State, on the other hand, did pack it in and got wholloped, at home no less, by Northwestern, 49-14. Can any team in the country be counted on, year in and year out, to throw in the towel in quite the spectacular fashion that the Spartans manage to do? Every. Single. Fall. Brett Basanez of Northwestern is the best quarterback you haven't heard of; he plays in front of Tyrell Sutton, who is the best tailback you haven't heard of.

Ohio State ripped Indiana 41-14. Indiana is not that bad of a football team. You know who is? Illinois. The Illini gave up 56 first-half points in a 63-10 loss to Penn State. The Nittany Lions are good but we're not talking about the Indianapolis Colts here. Illinois must be the worst namesake state university in Division I. Not only do I think Illinois would lose to Washington or Kentucky, I also think Utah or New Mexico could beat them, Wyoming would beat them and either Arizona or Mississippi would blow them out.

Wisconsin beat Purdue 31-20 on the strength of two interception returns for TDs (Wisconsin playing defense, imagine). Purdue has lost five straight and may be the season's biggest disappointment.

The ACC was quiet this week. Virginia Tech turned in a workmanlike performance in a Thursday night trap game against Maryland. 28-9, Hokies.

Miami's game with Georgia Tech was postponed by hurricane Wilma and Florida State played Duke, which is only good for bad sportswriter lines about when basketball season starts.

Virginia, upset winners over FSU last week, somehow found a way to lose to Nawth Klina 7-5, which is only good for bad sportswriter jokes about baseball scores. The White Sox beat the Astros 5-3.

Boston College did not play but will travel to Blacksburg on Thursday. That's must see TV.

The Pac Ten is slowly setting up the greatest finish in its history if the cross-town rivalry on December 3rd features undefeated UCLA against the Juggernaut.

The Bruins did their part by ripping Oregon State 51-28 behind Drew Olson's six TD passes.

The Juggernaut polished off Washington 51-24. I'm sure Vince Young was thrilled to go back to his dorm room to watch ESPN play Reggie Bush's 84-yard punt return over and over and over again. If it is indeed a two-man race, there are simply too many Reggie Bush highlights that even Vince Young can't compete with - this will come down to voters valuing Young's will to win and his handling of the ball on every play versus Bush's breathtaking ability to change football games seemingly whenever he wants. It's a helluva choice.

There is an AP photo in my Sunday paper of Bush making a cut so remarkable he looks like he's at the edge of the wake on a slalom ski. I don't know how the guy's ankles can withstand the force.

Oregon needed everything they had to escape Arizona 28-21. The Ducks went to 7-1 but lost their excellent quarterback, Kellen Clemens and his reasonably competent back-up, Dennis Dixon. I am betting the Duck fans are not weeping for Georgia at the moment.

Cal had Washington State down 28-10 at halftime but had to fight to come back for a 42-38 win after being down 38-28 midway through the fourth. Just another boring late night romp in Pac Ten land.

And now to the Big 12, home sweet home. My general rule for those readers who ask why their favorite team is not mentioned in the JTT is that I cover only the teams in the current AP top 25, otherwise this would take up my entire Sunday. If I applied that rule today, my coverage of the Big 12 would be finished after the opening story and the paragraph that followed. Texas beat Tech and that's the end of ranked action in the Big 12. And really, other than Colorado, there is not a Big 12 team with much to hang their hat on in the national press.

My dumbest pre-season prediction was that Oklahoma was perhaps the second-best team in the country. This is the same Oklahoma team that needed double-overtime to put away Baylor last night in Norman. Bob Stoops has an entire recruiting class that is not contributing to his team's success for a variety of reasons (the class of 2003) and his best player, Adrian Peterson just isn't right.

Nebraska's early resurgence is yesterday's news after Mizzou spanked the Huskers 41-24. Nebraska's not bad, but they are not one of the best 25 teams in the nation and they are certainly not NEBRASKA yet. Texas A&M should be very good and, instead, they are inconsistent bordering on just plain bad.

My second-dumbest pre-season prediction was that Kansas would win the Big 12 North. I thought (past tense) that Kansas had the best defense and the best and most experienced offensive line and I think Mark Mangioplasty prepares teams exceptionally well even when they are out-talented. So much for what I think. Colorado 44, Kansas 13. Thanks for playing.

My best prediction was Alabama as my super secret dark horse national title contender. I would feel better about it if Tyrone Prothro was on the field. My easiest prediction was that neither Tennessee nor Michigan really deserved to be in the top ten, but that was simply a matter of understanding history and not being doomed to repeat it.

In the one independent game of note, Notre Dame whipped BYU 49-23 and then had a knock-down drag out brawl in the library when an argument about New Testament theology broke out.

TCU beat Air Force 48-10 to go to 7-1. Their main competition for best of the mid-majors is 5-1 Fresno State, 40-10 winners over Idaho.

Impressive Showing of the Week: Northwestern

1. The Juggernaut: Technically, I think a college team needs to run off thirty in a row to be a juggernaut. USC is only at 29. I guess they could lose hosting Wazzu for homecoming next week. I also guess I could play point guard for the Spurs if Tony Parker ran off to Tahiti with Eva Longoria and vowed never to play basketball again.

2. Texas: The Longhorns need Texas Tech, Colorado and Ohio State to all win out, which is not out of the realm of possibility. If that happens, no one has a shot in the computers to overtake Texas in the BCS.

3. Virginia Tech: Some called the 28-9 win over Maryland "lackluster." Maybe, but I never thought the Hokies were in danger of losing the game. Isn't that the way good teams play?

4. GeorgiaBama: To equalize for injuries, put Brodie Croyle on Georgia and add two random Tide players at defensive end and linebacker. Then take Sean Bailey and Leonard Pope and put them on Alabama. Now you have a fair look at how good these teams could be. To be truthful, I think half a dozen teams below could beat either of these squads but undefeated is undefeated and I will give the SEC the benefit of the doubt.

5. Miami: But only barely because I am not convinced the Hurricane defense could contain UCLA.

6. Ohio State: But only barely because I am not convinced the Buckeye offense could score enough points to beat UCLA, even though I think the Buckeye defense would contain the Bruins. Maybe if you could assure me Ted Ginn would score on special teams...

7. UCLA: I am running out of reasons why the Bruins are not one of the best teams in the country. The defense isn't even that bad. I mean, it's certainly not Wisconsin bad.

8. Notre Dame: I failed to mention Jeff Samardzija and Maurice Stovall in the USC write-up last week. They are the best pair of 6-5 wideouts you are likely to see in college football. Does anyone else even have a pair of 6-5 wideouts?

9. LSU: The best collection of pass-dropping NFL level receivers in the game today. How about a little run defense against Auburn?

10. Penn State: Yes, it's not right to have Ohio State ahead of them, but could Penn State beat OSU on a neutral site tomorrow? Penn State might, but I am wary of so many freshman playing key roles on this squad.

Florida State cannot be included since they lost to Virginia who only scored five points against North Carolina. I am a tough judge, but fair.

The best ignored story of the week is West Virginia's hurricane postponement of the South Florida game until December 3rd. South Florida is not at all bad and they could ostensibly cost the Mountaineers a BCS bowl that night.

A very special thanks to reader J.D.C of Austin who helped me with tickets to the big game. I would like for you to know that I did not profiteer off of your generosity, but I did exchange your great seats straight up to sit with three ten-year olds in the end zone. Some things just have to be done. We had a great view of all the extra points.

On to Jacksonville for Florida/Georgia. I'll pour a cocktail in my living room and pretend to be there.