More Bowls

Karan Higdon...  I suppose one needs to accept that it takes a lot of courage, not to mention energy and preparation, to run the football 20 times each game.  If he didn't have it, he didn't have it.

Harbaugh hid it pretty well but he must have been steaming.  Who else joined or didn't?  Higdon was a captain.

This year there hasn't been as much talk about it.  We'll see the Alabama storyline soon enough.

In terms of early entries to the league, the rules are becoming clearer.  If you qualify, the opportunity is there and it is accepted.

The bowls are amazing.  Lots of empty seats and forgettable bowl sponsors, but the games are for those who play, teams and/or individuals.

Yesterday OSU and Chuba looked dominant and Jimbo Fisher looked effete.  247 tracks it.  It has happened before for Oklahoma State and Mike Gundy.  Things changed and the better team won.

The Iowa @ USC game started out great - the Trojans on the field led by Pittman, Jr. looked and sounded mature; there were no coaches, just the captains in the pregame huddle.  Afterward:

"I mean, nothing really changed," USC receiver Michael Pittman Jr. said. "It's just we kind of got shocked because our starting quarterback had gotten out, then it kind of deflected our, like, flow. Just one thing led to another. That's what happened."

A quick look into Pittman, Sr. is not an entirely pretty picture.  Mycah is a younger son playing for Oregon.  I always wonder how former players can allow it in their children.  Maybe the next generation will learn.

During the game, Iowa looked like the Pittsburgh Steelers and USC has all 2020 to reconsider Clay Helton.  What I still remember is the lack of names on the Trojan jerseys.  L.A. and USC is supposed to be place for stars.

Nate Stanley and Ihmir Smith-Marsette played fantastic.   In his college career Stanley has often looked stiff and ordinary.  In this game he played turnover-free and stood in the pocket and zinged it.  Look for him to get drafted by the NFL.

The air raid failed later as well as Air Force took down Washington State with rushing.

The match-ups today are less exciting.  How did Penn State get Memphis while 9-3 Michigan plays Alabama on New Year's Day?  No complaints here about playing Saban instead of Helton and the kids.  Notre Dame has everything except a league.  Later the champs-in-waiting provide a glimpse.  Those later ones are certain to be tough games and about as unappealing as the NFL these days.  They're fine in the background, but give me a Wave to the Kids any day.