Week 4

 Hey All,

It's time for the column that makes you love Tuesdays, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard.  We still miss you, Mal Florence.

USC Flashback Summary

September 25, 1976: USC 31- Purdue 13: The Trojans came into this contest at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, IN with something to prove.  They had lost their opener, John Robinson's first game at the helm at SC, 46-25 to Missouri then went to Eugene and spanked the Ducks, 53-0. The Trojans had to prove that they could keep the winning ways of the previous week going and they did against a pesky bunch of Boilermakers. The Trojans ran their way to victory on the legs of Ricky Bell and the arm of QB Vince Evans.  Evans had been pretty lousy as SC's QB in 1975 completing a paltry 31.3 % of his passes.  However, in 1976 he shined.  In this game he competed 13 of 16 passes for 168 yards. That was the balance the Trojans needed to go with Bell's 177 yards on 31 carries to get the road win.  FB Mosi Tatupu had a stellar game, rushing for 75 yards on just seven carries. His fourth quarter, 27-yard rumble into the end zone extended the Trojans lead to 28-13 and gave him two TDs on the day. Purdue's offense was led by RB Scott Dierking who rushed for 94 yards on 25 carries and a TD in the loss.

Fun Fact; Purdue would go just 5-6 in 1976, but their biggest win was a 16-14 upset of then #1 Michigan at West Lafayette on November 6th. 

Observations

...The Pac is back; Well, at least they said they will be.  The Pac 12 voted to return to the gridiron this fall after previously canceling the season due to COVID.  Plenty of infighting still going on in the league along with a great deal of consternation between the ADs, university presidents and Pac 12 Commissioner Larry Scott and his cronies. This article by John Canzano of the Oregonian brings up some questions that a restart of the season begs and also shows us the fact the Scott just stinks as a commissioner. Go back to tennis, Larry

...Left holding the bag; HC Lane Kiffin, and oh and maybe anybody else with half a brain at Ole Miss might have thought about how their version of a turnover chain looks. A burlap sack with a huge dollar sign on it might get the folks at NCAA headquarters wondering as what else that bag may also mean. Facepalm.

...Just an NFL rumor; There's no truth to the rumor that the Atlanta Falcons have petitioned the NFL's competition committee to shorten games to just three quarters.

...This just in; Florida State stinks.  They are generationally bad.  Seriously, they are. The Seminoles are off to their worst start Bobby Bowden's first year at the helm, 1976. 

...Slouching towards Norman; I bet there are a whole lot of Sooner fans are wishing that football hadn't been played this year. 

...Bad memories; When Florida racked up 51 points and torched the Ole Miss defense for 642 yards, I flashed back to when Lane KIffin had hired his dad Monte to be the defensive coordinator at USC.  Bad bad memories there. 

...He announced his presence with authority; HC Mike Leach's Mississippi State Bulldogs went into Baton Rouge and threw all over LSU for a 44-34 upset win over the defending national champs. Here's Leach's post game reaction. The Pirate Speaks

...Useless USC fact;  USC is 1-0 v. the University of San Francisco. The Trojans walloped the Dons, 34-0 at Kezar Stadium in 1943. 

...The Transitive Theory of Football; Arkansas State beat Kansas State who beat Oklahoma, therefore Arkansas State is better than Oklahoma.

...Memo to ESPN's Joe Tessitore; Just because you're calling an SEC game, it doesn't mean that you are contractually obligated to heap praise on the conference after every other play. 

...A good start; With a 31-6 road win over Louisiana-Monroe, the UTEP Miners are 3-1 for the first time since 2010 when Mike Price was the HC.

...They haven't started; The University of Houston had five games scheduled for September. They haven't played any. Here's how the month got away from them Lost Month 

...He can sling it; Stanford grad transfer and now Mississippi State QB K.J. Costello had himself a whale of a first day in the SEC.  All he did was shatter the SEC single passing record by 79 yards.  He threw for 623 yards on LSU.  Oh,  he also set the league record of passing attempts in a game with 60. Wow. 

...Five yards on me; Packer QB Aaron Rogers' hard count is so good, it made me jump on my couch.

...23 and a W;  Va Tech took on North Carolina State down 23 players including their starting QB due to COVID  and still whipped the Wolfpack, 45-24. Whoa.

...Still cracks me up; I've posted this before, but it just also shows me that you can never take anything for granted in football.  You have to coach your team in every facet of the game. Pop Warner Fail

A Baseball Note 

Or really just deep boxscore oddities that only SABR members like me love; 

This year in MLB when games go to extra innings a runner is placed on second base to start each half of each extra inning played.  So when a team comes to the plate, there is already a runner in scoring position. On 8/1/2020 something happened that had never happened before in MLB history. Here's what transpired. The Tampa Bay Rays were playing at the Baltimore Orioles. The teams remained tied at the top of 11th inning.  Rays C, Mike Zunino Struck out to start the top of the 11th inning. With one out CF Manuel Margot came up and lined out to Orioles 1B Bryan Holaday who then turned and threw to 2B Hanser Alberto where the baserunner Kevin Kiermaier was caught off the bag for a double play.  So what? Double plays happen all the time. Well folks this one was special. The double play ended what is now the first Two Up/Three Down inning in MLB history.  I said it was an oddity only guys like me love. lol

Ugly Uniform of the Week

So, can you name this week's winner?  Can you tell who this school is by this photo?  The team in the uniform stolen from an old black and white movie is Pitt.  If I cannot tell who you are from the uniform, it's a fail. If you want some background on how Nike created this mess, here it is in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Forge The Future

Departments

Low Score Game of the Week: Fayette, MO- Once again we go the NAIA, where the Eagles of Central Methodist University rode their defense to a 14-12 victory over the William Penn University Statesmen.  The Eagles broke the seal on scoreless tie in the third quarter when LB Jory Maddox picked up fumble by WPU QB Alex Crehan and rumbled 15 yards for a TD an a 7-0 lead.  At the end of the period, The Eagles took a 14-0 lead on a 12-yard TD pass from QB Jaen Brown to WR Kataviuos Taylor.  The fourth quarter saw William Penn rally for two TDs, but the Eagles defense blocked a PAT, a field goal, and then stopped a two point conversion with no time left ton the clock to claim victory.   

Blowout Game of the Week: Forest City, IA- The Warriors of Waldorf University turned a 9-0 first quarter lead into a 36-0 halftime lead en route to a 58-7 blowout victory over the Presentation College Saints. QB Taylor Alexander completed only nine of 19 passes, but he did throw for 172 yards and two TDs. He also ran for a score too. The Warriors also scored on a punt return and an interception return in this NAIA laugher.   

Razorback Report: Fayetteville, AR- Georgia came into Razorback-land with a big question mark at the QB position.  USC Transfer J.T Daniels was not medically cleared to play and D'Wan Mathis was not getting the job done.  The Hogs held a 7-0 lead on the Bulldogs in the second quarter and 7-5 lead at the half only to see Georgia right the ship after they benched Mathis and sent in Stetson Bennett to call the signals. Bennett's 20 of 29, 211 yard and two TD day lead the Bulldogs to a comeback 37-10 win.  It was a win that kept Georgia form feeling like LSU and sent the Hogs down to their 20th straight SEC loss.  This Arkansas team has some talent, but not enough to compete in the SEC right now.  New Razorback QB and Florida transfer QB Felipe Franks threw for 200 yards, a TD and two interceptions in the loss. HC Sam Pittman definitely has his work cut out for him in Fayetteville. Up next for the Hogs is a trip to see the Pirate in Starkville. 

This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...

This is one definition of what Home means to me; it's a good meal cooking on the stove, a comfortable spot on the couch and a good game on the TV. 

I had no idea that one of my wife's favorite candies at Halloween are flavored Tootsie Rolls.

Mini pumpkins are cool.

Until next time, remember that wining games ugly still count as W's on your schedule.

-The Commissioner 

Week 3

 Hey All,

I wish you all a very happy Autumnal Equinox to mark the start of Fall.  Now, here's this year's first Fall edition of Notes On a Pac 12 Scorecard.  We still miss you, Alan Malamud. 

USC Flashback Summary

September 19, 1981, USC 21- Indiana 0: As if USC doesn't spend enough time in Indiana, the Trojans decided to take two trips to "The Crossroads of America" in '81.  The first trip would see Marcus Allen take the second step in his Heisman campaign.  A crowd of 51,167 Hoosier fans and an ON TV audience back home in Los Angeles saw Allen run over, around and through the Indiana defense in a 21-0 Trojan win. The Trojans nursed a meager 7-0 lead at the end of the third quarter thanks to 19-yard TD jaunt by Allen. The game was close because Indiana forced three Trojan turnovers.  However, The Trojans would put away the Hoosiers in the final quarter on an 11-yard TD run by Fred Crutcher and Allen's second TD ramble of the day. Allen would finish the game with 274 yards on 40 carries and that pair of scores. The USC defense pitched a shutout, holding the Hoosiers to just 190 total yards.  A month later, USC would return to Indiana and beat Notre Dame, 14-7 with Allen gashing the Irish for 147 yards rushing.             

Fun Fact: Indiana's HC was ESPN College Gameday's Lee Corso. 

Observations

...They didn't get the memo;  Evidently, Notre Dame didn't receive the memorandum that South Florida had the schematic advantage over them last Saturday. ND flattened the Bulls, 52-0.  I guess USF Offensive Coordinator,  Charlie Weis, Jr. is really a chip off the old block. 

...That looked so 1950s; North Carolina State RB Rickey Person, Jr. threw an old school jump pass for a TD v. Wake Forest last Saturday.  Frankie Albert Approves

...Living on Stillwater time; Oklahoma State barely escaped another embarrassment for the Big XII with 13 fourth quarter points to beat Tulsa, 16-7. Tulsa's clock management and numerous penalties gave me flashbacks to an former USC coach who shall not be named. 

...Jarring thought; USC HC Clay Helton is known for holding practices that feature very little contact.  It's scary to imagine that he'll do with the team during this pandemic.  Somehow, Professor Harold Hill's "Think System" comes to mind. 

...Paid himself first;  Old Leisure Suit Larry fo the Pac 12 paid bonuses to himself other high ups a month before laying off/firing everyone at the Pac12 Network.  Facepalm  Not Surprised

...The sea was angry that day my friends;  Navy found themselves down 24-0 to Tulane at the half.  The Midshipmen had been outscored 79-3 in six quarters of football to start the season.  Then, the Middies rallied to pull off a 27-24 comeback win and save their season.  Oh, and they did it through the air.  Navy only threw 12 passes, but they accounted for 108 of their 373 total yards and the game-tying TD and two-point conversion.  

...Looking to the past;  Starting to love how "modern" offenses are looking more and more like 1950s football every day.  I'm just loving the jump passes and spin-a-rama handoffs and direct snaps to the RBs.

...Nobody available;  North Carolina has been looking for an opponent for 9/26 after their opponent for 9/19, Charlotte canceled the game due to COVID related reasons. The Tarheels will have now have two weeks off before facing Boston College.

...Love for the kicker;  Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs gets a special shoutout for his two 58-yard field goals, the second of which was the game winner in OT vs. San Diego.  Oh and by the way, his final kick was really three kicks.  He first made a 53-yarder to watch it get nullified by a false start, then booted a 58 yarder that didn't count due to San Diego calling at timeout at the snap. Finally on the third try he nailed the official game-winner.  The kid is nails in the clutch.  

...More than socially distanced;  The Pac 12 Network, for those actually get it, is just showing reruns of old games. Period.  There are no personnel to run studio shows of any kind. Heck, they even fired the guy who does the crawl on the bottom of the screen. It hasn't changed in days. 

...Prime Time takes on the FCS;  Neon Deion Sanders has been officially named the HC at Jackson State.  Somewhere, Walter Payton is amused.

...Shutout;  Citadel held Clemson or rather had pity taken on them by Clemson with the Tigers not scoring in the second half of a 49-0 rout.  Funny enough it was the first time Clemson hadn't scored in the second half of a game since 2014.  

...Its Gore-Tex Jerry, Gore-Tex!; We now pause for moment to pay our respects to Robert W. Gore, the man who invented Gore-Tex. He passed away this past week. George Costanza has sent a condolence card with a donation to The Human Fund in Gore's name. 

 

...They're in... for the Buckeyes; The Big Ten opted back into the football season last week and came out with an eight game schedule that greatly favors TheeeOhio State.    Check it out here. Big Ten Slate

...As the Pac 12 turns;  Over the weekend, Pac 12 Presidents, AD's and HCs had some pretty contentious meetings about the lack of a plan to return to football and the fact that several teams can't be ready until November.  

....Tough Trojan Trivia; What position was Kennedy Pola originally recruited to play at USC?  

...102 years and masks; Georgia Tech alum, Thomas Carter had a photo taken of him at a Yellow Jackets game in 1918 during the Spanish Flu pandemic.  Just about 102 years later, his great-grandson was in those same seats last Saturday rooting on the Ramblin' Wreck and had this second photo taken.

...Be careful what you wish for; After all that whining and complaining by Nebraska about not having a football season, they get to play now... on 11/24...on the road...at Ohio State. Hmmmmmmmmmm

...A Cardinal road block;  Stanford has told their football players that they can comeback to practice, but they have to find their own off campus housing and pay for it on their own dime.  Stanford's policy is if regular students aren't allowed to live on campus, then the football team shouldn't either. 

...Tough Trojan Trivia answer; Kennedy Poll came to USC as a highly recruited Linebacker form Mater Dei High as a freshman in 1982. Bonus: his freshman year jersey number was 56. 

...No contest; I still think the Pac 12 doesn't play game this year. 

...Shocked;  I'm actually pretty shocked to see the College Gameday this week will be at Miami for the Florida State-Miami game. With the SEC starting this week, I was sure they'd be somewhere in SEC country. It's kind of like realizing that ESPN's Sunday Night baseball doesn't involve either the Yankees or Red Sox or both on a given week.

Ugly Uniform of the Week

North Texas wins this week's award for sporting that awful color green they like and for having a uniform the basically is an homage what was easily the USFL's worst team, the Washington Federals.  Yes, I know this uniform was worn as a salute former UNT HC Hayden Fry who led the Mean Green in the '70s, There just has to be another way to do that. I still can't decide though if the helmets really invoke the look of the Federals or what could be the logo for a new Mexican airline. 

Departments 

Low Score Game of the Week: Crete, NE- The Doane Tigers rallied form a 6-0 deficit in the final quarter for a 13-6 win over the Briar Cliff Chargers in NAIA action.  Briar Cliff held that 6-0 lead thanks to a 4-yard pass from QB John Bell to WR Clark Kreggor.  Doane rallied on a pair of short TD passes from QB Adam Wasserman. The first was an 11-yard scoring connection with WR Josh Baker and the game-winner came from 3-yards out.  Doane's defense held firm in the final quarter and stopped the Chargers on a 4th and 4 from the Doane 28-yard line with 1:49 to go to seal the victory.

Blowout Game of the Week: Canyon, TX- The West Texas A&M Buffaloes wiped put the Panhandle State  Aggies, 58-7. The Buffs stampeded their way to 415 yards rushing with only one back, Brandon Blair, eclipsing the 100-yard mark with 117 yards on just six carries and a TD. QB  Nick Gerber threw for 187 yard three TDs in the rout. The crazy stat from this game is that the Buffaloes didn't force a single turnover in the runaway win. It's kind of cool to write about a Buffalo team that wins. 

This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...

This last Saturday it felt like fall in Southern California and that's a welcome thing.

Carnival Eats is my new binge TV show.

We grew pumpkins this year in the back yard and that's pretty cool.

Until next time folks, remember that just because a league starts up this fall, that doesn't mean it will finish the season.

-The Commissioner 

Week 2

 Hey All,

It's time for a break from your Zoom meetings and working form home. Here is another edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard.  We still miss you, Jim Murray.

USC Flashback Summary

September 12, 1970, USC 42-Alabama 21- 50 years ago there was a game that sent shockwaves through Alabama and the rest of the SEC. An integrated Trojan squad whipped an all-white Alabama squad at historic Legion Field, in Birmingham. The game was billed as a battle of epic proportions without the racial tension added too it. The equally epic SC assistant coach Marv Goux fired up the Trojans for the trip with this famous quote in his pre-trip rally for the team with the Trojan Marching Band backing him up, "No team has gone where we'll go, no 'real' team can do what you will do. It is destiny, we take no prisoners. After we kick their asses on the field, if they still want us, we'll annihilate them in the parking lot." Nobody wanted another piece of the Trojans after Sam Cunningham ran all over the Crimson Tide, while the Trojan defense ensured the victory.  The great Jim Murray penned this line capturing the greater meaning of the game in his post game column for the LA Times, "Birmingham will never be the same. And brother, it's a good thing." ESPN did an excellent piece on the game on its' College Gameday show. 18 Trojans

Telling Stat: 1 of 18;  Sam Cunningham was the most prominent, but just one of 18 African-American Trojans who took the field that night in Birmingham. 

Observations

...Dust in the wind;  After their dismal losses to Sun Belt foes, the Kansas Jayhawks and K-State Wildcats have become irrelevant in record time this season. 

...Ugly is good;  You can fault North Carolina and Notre Dame for both winning ugly games last Saturday, but the big thing is that they won.  Winning anyway possible and surviving to next week is bigger this year than any other year.

...He ain't happy; Navy HC Ken Niumatalolo is not thrilled that Air Force gets to play for the Commander-In-Chief's trophy this year. Two Games

...One thing I'd never thought I'd write; Notre Dame is now 1-0 in conference play. 

..2-0 on the Hudson;  Army is alone as the only 2-0 team in the nation.  

...It's no contest, really;  Those in Las Vegas who took Pitt -30 points and holding what they thought were holding winning betting slips after the Panthers 55-0 thrashing of Austin Peay got a rude awakening when trying to cash out. With Pitt up 42-0 at the half, the teams decided to shorten the second half with 10 minute quarters.  That meant the game was only 50 minutes long and according to Nevada gaming regulations, a football game has to go at least 55 of the regulation 60 minutes for a winner to be declared and bets to be paid off.  The game was declared a NO-CONTEST under that rule and all bettors were refunded their money. 

...West Virginia in their rear view mirror; Eastern Kentucky will be happy if they never see those country roads again after being pasted by a combined 115-10 by Marshall and West Virginia these past two weeks.

...Aztec invasion; San Diego State has announced that they will be playing their 2021 home games at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.  That's just a mere 115 miles north of the SDSU campus. The move is being made while construction is under way for the new Aztec Stadium that will sit in the footprint of the current San Diego County Credit Union Stadium. 

...33 and a W; Georgia Southern came from behind to notch a 28-27 win over Campbell after having 33 players not suit up for the game due to a number of reasons form COVID to injuries to disciplinary actions. Whew. 

...Beaten and shifted;  Not only did Duke open up with a loss at Notre Dame last Saturday, they were told about an hour or so before kickoff that their 9/26 bye week had disappeared. The postponement of the Virginia-Virginia Tech game forced the ACC to move the Blue Devils game at Virginia to be moved up to from its' original date of 11/14.  The move allows the league to reschedule the UVa-Va Tech game. 

...A long road ahead;  New Florida State HC Jay Norvell may now be realizing just much work he'll have to do to bring Florida State back tot he top of the ACC. HIs Seminioles blocked two field goals and an extra point and still lost to Georgia Tech. Ouch

...Sega Center blues; Watching football and knowing my team isn't playing this year gives me the same feeling I had when I was a 12-year old at the video arcade and didn't have any quarters. 

...Great White Nothing, eh?; In case you all missed it, and all of you did, the Canadian Football League cancelled their season back in July. Reading the 3DownNation website isn't much fun this year. 

...Not the start they wanted;  The humiliation that comes from losing three games to Sun Belt foes and cancelling three games to COVID positive tests was not the start to the year the Big XII was hoping for.

...The band was not out on the field;  No band present, but this ending to an Alabama high school game should make every Cal fan proud.  A ton of laterals 

...That empty feeling; Most folks have a lot of things they've missed not doing during this pandemic.  One thing I really miss, hit me on Sunday afternoon.  It was the first football Sunday in forever that we won't be gathering at my mom's house for Sunday dinner. That is the time we dissect what happened in USC's game the day before over a good dinner while watching the Sunday night NFL game. The laughter, the arguments, the food and football are the things I miss most this year.

Ugly Uniform of the Week

Iowa State gets the nod this week for their all-red ensemble. The running blood clot look is not good.

Departments 

Best Game Nobody Saw Last Week: San Marcos. TX- The UTSA Roadrunners let a 24-7 halftime lead slip away only to get themselves in a dogfight with Texas State. Some great play down the stretch and a little help from a bad Bobcat PK let UTSA escape with a 51-48 win in two overtimes. Texas State PK Alan Oronoa missed a PAT late in regulation and a chip shot field goal in the second overtime to open the door for UTSA to take the game. The teams combined for 50 first downs, 971 total yards of offense and 160 offensive plays.  It was a barn-burner on I-35.  

Blowout Game of the Week: Fort Lauderdale. FL- This week's game comes form the NAIA ranks where the Keiser University Seshawks chewed up the Florida Memorial Lions, 62-0.  The final score proved to be ironic as the it was the first game played by the FMU Lions in quite some time. The story on their team website proclaimed, "For the first time in 62 years, Florida's only historically Black university had an active football team."  It was an afternoon and to remember and to forget.  The Lions were down 14-0 less than five minutes into the game, 28-0 at the end of the first quarter and 48-0 at the half.  Keiser QB Eli Mathews completed 12 of 14 passes for 242 yards and three TDs and the RB combo of Marques Burgess and Antoine Sims combined for 107 yards rushing and four scores on the day. FMU QB Antoine Williams recorded the Lions' longest gain of the day when he completed a 18-yard pass to WR Victor Barbosa just before halftime. 

This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...

The Oriental Trading Company's Halloween catalog is a fun thing to read through.

Trader Joe's has turned the page to Autumn and that's very cool. 

Picked up some apple butter the other day, man I forgot how good it is. Yum.

Until next time folks remember that nobody knows how long this season will go. Enjoy what you can.

-The Commissioner

Week 1

Hey all, it's time for that column that makes you happy it's Tuesday, Notes On a Pac 12 Scorecard. So it is time to take a look at the COVID-19 abbreviated Labor Day weekend of college football. We really miss you, Tom Kelly.

USC Flashback Summary

September 3, 1994, USC 24- Washington 17: The Trojans came out for their season opener/home opener/Pac 10 opener and dropped the tough Huskies with a one-two punch at Tailback from Shawn Walters and Delon Washington. The duo supplied the offense for SC because WRs Keyshawn Johnson and Ed Hervey hadn't practiced much during the week prior to the game battling injuries. The lack of practice showed in the fact that USC passed for only 123 yards.  Even as the Trojan passing game struggled, the game was still a tight affair.  The Huskies took an early 7-0 lead when QB Brock Huard hit WR Eric Bjornson with a 52-yard TD strike. SC got even in the second quarter when QB Rob Johnson connected with TE Johnny McWiliams from seven yards out and then the Trojans forged ahead 10-7 on a 32-yard field goal by PK Cole Ford.  However, the Dawgs took a 14-10 the lead into intermission when Napoleon Kaufman plunged over form the one-yard line.  Kaufman gave the Trojan defense fits all day.  He gained 244 all purpose yards with 152 of them coming on 26 rushes with a TD.  Early in the third quarter, UW tacked on a 29-yard field goal to take a 17-0 lead.  It was then that SC scrapped their sputtering passing attack for old school Trojan football.  The combination of Walters' power and Washington's speed spurred the comeback victory. Walters tied the game with a bruising run in which he carried three Huskies across the goal line late in the third quarter, then Washington put the Men of Troy up for good with 3:36 left in the final period as he went into the end zone untouched on the third of three straight plunges into the UW's goal line defense. The Trojan defense kept the Dawgs off the scoreboard the rest of the way to ensure the win. The Walters-Washington combo gashed the Dawgs for 200 rushing and two TDs.                                                                                                                                            Telling Stat: 14-3=W; USC held the Huskies to just three second half points and forced two turnovers which let the struggling USC offense find its' legs and escape with a hard fought win. 

Observations

...A thing of beauty;  Watching Army execute its' option offense to perfection warms this old o-lineman's heart.  On, Brave Old Army Team.

...Well fiddle-dee-dee; Middle Tennessee QB Asher O'Hara has a name that belongs in Gone With the Wind. 

3 for 12; Three Big XII games have been postponed after positive COVID-19 tests forced the schools' hands.  TCU-SMU, Louisiana Tech-Baylor, and Tulsa-Oklahoma State have all been postponed this week. Sigh. 

...Odds in their favor;  With 18 states plus Washington, D.C. having legalized sports betting, it really isn't that big of a leap to see that a major university in one of those states has inked a partnership deal with a sports betting company.  The University of Colorado now has a five year deal with PointsBet.  Read the details here. CU and the PointsBet

...Laid Off; The Pac 12 Network laid off most of its' employees a couple of weeks ago in the wake of the league's football season cancellation.  This news led to shock across most of the college football world who didn't know the Pac 12 had a network in the first place.  

...It's real in Salt Lake;  The entire Utah athletic department has been furloughed.  Some furloughs will be shorter than others  but everyone will feel the hit from the AD on down. Wow. Gone

...Doesn't matter either way;  With or without games being played, Jim Harbaugh is still a tool. 

...No Volunteers;  Tennessee had to cancel a scrimmage last Saturday because 44 players had either tested positive for COVID-19 or were held out for contact tracing. Hmmmm.

...Not surprised;  This intrepid reporter was not surprised when the Pac 12 cancelled the season and the SEC went steamrolling right along. We will see which league was right in about a month or so.

...Holding that skillet for now;  Due to a number of positive COVID-19 tests at TCU, this week's upcoming battle for the iron skillet between TCU and SMU has been postponed. The Mustangs don't mind holding onto the trophy a little while longer. Last year's upset of TCU was just SMU's third win over the Horned Frogs in the last 21 years.

...Daily is good; The Pac 12 entered into a partnership with Quidel Corporation for daily rapid COVID-19 testing. That's good news for possibly starting football, but testing isn't a cure.  The Daily

...Surprised;  This intrepid reporter is surprised at how badly the Big Ten handled the PR of their season cancellation. 

...You gotta hit;  Navy found out on Monday night that non-contact practices lead to non-tackling in their 55-3 drubbing by BYU.  

...The first, but I fear not the last; OU HC Lincoln Riley said that the Sooners won't be releasing any COVID-19 testing data from now on due to "competitive advantage."  OU will treat COVID-19 like injury info this year. Sigh. 

...Goodbye Larry;  Seems the Pac 12 presidents have been discussing restructuring the league and letting Tennis Larry go. Yay.

Ugly Uniform of the Week

In a limited schedule, there is always a chance for an ugly uniform winner.  Memphis gets many thanks for stepping up and making it happen. 

Departments

The look of this section of the blog will be a little different this year.  First, there will be no C.W. Post Press this year. Post is a D-II school and there will be no D-II football this year. Sigh. However, the one set of small schools still playing this year is the NAIA.  They start play on 9/12, so there should still be some good low score games and blowouts to report.  Also, the Razorback Report will be here as long as the SEC plays this year. 

This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...

Grilled swordfish is always great.

Old APBA baseball is still a blast to play.

Carnival Eats is a fun show to watch.

Until next time, remember that if your team is still actually playing football, you still need to tackle in practice to tackle well in a game.

-The Commissioner