Where Would You Fall If You Could?
On College and Chaos Week 2
Yes I was a week behind posting the last one, and that’s fine. I have decided to approach writing these things like poetry rather than reporting. I will write what I feel like and not what I don’t.
Let’s keep going!
Week 2 – Where Would You Fall If You Could?
Fri 9/6/2024
It rained on pizza night. We need it I said like a good dad. I pulled We Versus the Shark out of the CD case I take in may car around town, recently reorganized and restocked from the big box in the closet. It’s been a long week and will be another long one. In the meantime, everybody calm down and get excited (yes, at the same time).
BYU at SMU. These former big-money powers of the 80s face off for the first regular season matchup since the mid-90s, each in a brand-new conference home. If you thought the game was almost over as the Mustangs closed in on the endzone, trailing 15-12 with 2 minutes left, you learned a lesson quick. SMU interception, BYU interception, SMU fumble, all within 20 yards of the end zone. And then a BYU punt that SMU turned into their 5th field goal (all their points were from field goals), and then BYU marched down for a field goal of their own and held on to win. A roller coaster is exactly what we need to start the weekend, so thank you.
Sat 9/7/2024
The crowds gather in their untold masses. The dust rises like a great smothering doom. The sun blazes through the thin clouds until they, too, are burned to nothingness. It's also muddy somehow. It is youth soccer day. Well, she's having fun, getting better, and staying in position. She even scored twice. Yes it was silly to bring a sweatshirt based on stepping outside at 7:30 a.m. But all these wheels are slow to get moving this time of year.
Texas marched up to Michigan and knocked down a whole bunch of Wolverine win streaks.
This chess board is getting messy.
Tennessee Tech at Georgia. Gator traitor Trevor Etienne played in his first game as a Bulldog and seemed pretty happy with his decision. But they gave the ball to everybody, anyway. Dawgs 48-3. Take heart, outside world, Georgia’s third string defense is vulnerable to last-second field goals. At least for a week.
Syracuse beat Georgia Tech, whose first top 25 ranking in ??? years will vanish just as suddenly as it appeared.
There are two astronauts stranded (we’re not supposed to call it “stranded”) on the space station. The contractor’s ship they rode up on broke down, so they have to wait for a different contractor and a different ship, but the space suits aren’t compatible between the different contractors’ ships. And it will be a while anyway before they can that next ship sent to pick them up. Now with nothing but time and more distance than all but a handful of humans have ever experienced, what do they think about? The earth I guess, out the window, taunting. Beautiful and peaceful from so far away, absolutely, but also taunting. So close, the only thing out the window. Like they can just reach out and touch it. Like all they have to do is fall and they’ll make it home.
South Carolina played at Kentucky, a struggle fest not reflected in the final score of 31-6. Neither team wanted to win but someone had to. The shadows stretched spindly and long at weird angles across the field as the sun started to set, and the Gamecocks had to hurry up and get out of there before darkness descended and things got out of hand.
Clemson worked through some feelings against App State. 66-20.
What’s this tucked away in the crowded slate of afternoon games that look like you basically know what’s going to happen so you have to squint to find something interesting? That’s right, the NIU Huskies beat Notre Dame in South Bend 16-14. That’s the first ever MAC victory against an AP top 5 team. It’s Puppy Time.
Penn State fought off their own MAC attack as Bowling Green kept swooping around their heads clawing at their eyes. 34-27.
The Iowa State Cyclones beat #21 Iowa 20-19, and our most treasured pointlessly-vague-but-true maxim holds truer than ever: you never know what’s going to happen.
With all that as a backdrop heading into the evening, USF tried their best to carry the torch when they gave Alabama more trouble than they bargained for. They went toe-to-toe punching them straight in the face for three quarters. After holding the Tide to a 14-13 lead, however, the Bulls ran out of steam as Alabama ran away to a comfortable and familiar 42-16 win. But man wouldn’t it have been something, on Alabama’s first home game without Saban coaching (but still in attendance), having just christened the field in his honor, to see Kalen DeBoer and co. fall on their faces against AAC South Florida? It’s fine, ULM will always have 2007, they would say, but I promise I’m fine, we’re all fine.
They started repaving our road. I'm sure plenty of people knew it was going to happen (or maybe only the people working on it), but it was a surprise to me when I went out one day and there was the machine grinding and chipping up the old asphalt and spitting it into a dump truck to be laid back out nice and smooth. I didn't think it was that bad before, but I looked up one of the side roads that hadn't been chewed up yet and saw the spiderweb cracks crisscrossing just about the whole road. I can't remember if that's what the main road looked like. It'll be fine soon enough, I guess. For a little while though, it's going to be bumpy leaving the house.
Out west, where the ghost of Pac-12 After Dark lurks for a spot to haunt, Oregon barely squeaked by Boise State on a last-second field goal. We’re fine, too, stop looking over here.
Say what you will, it was a good week for kickers.
Says the MAC, "watch your back."
-The Dad Rock
To whoever is reading this, whenever you are reading it, thank you for reading it.
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