10) How did I manage to go 12/13 on my pro football picks this last week and 8/17 on my college picks? I am normally 90% correct on my college games and 90% wrong on my pro picks. My how the tables can turn!

9) Michigan State University is hurting…and they are hurting bad. Nothing is more dangerous than a wounded team. While John L. Smith’s world might be in a freefall, all that could change if he defeated the No. 1 team this weekend with Ohio State coming up to East Lansing. Is that too hard to imagine? It’s been done to Woody’s No. 1 OSU team in 1974 and John Cooper’s No. 1 OSU team in 1998.

8) Joe Torre is out. Joe Torre is in. Joe Torre is in a tough place. The guy has won 4 World Series titles in 11 years but his most recent assignment looked like it might be forced retirement. Is the problem really Joe? I think not…I think the problem is the mentality that just because you can afford the best players in the league doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed or entitled to anything.

7) Choking. The Yankees choked. Auburn choked. I choked on a huge audition this past Monday that was money in the bank. Why is it when we think we have all the ducks in a row, somehow they manage to slip between our fingers? 

6) The Maize and Blue should be number two!

5) WARNING: The new film, School for Scoundrels, is horrible! I know it is Billy Bob Thornton and John Heder (that cool dude from Napoleon Dynamite) but the movie is horrible and a waste of 2 hours of your Saturday night. Why the Weinstein brothers decided to produce that movie is beyond me. They should go back to their Miramax roots and bet on the arty projects. 

4) How funny would it be if the latest Big 12 tour-de-force, Baylor, beat Texas by 1 point?! Isn’t it ironic, don’t ya think?

3) Graduate school applications are looming over my head. I’m not sure what I feel guiltier about, neglecting my blog or neglecting my essays for school.

2) You heard it here first: in the next three years, Northwestern will be a big dog in the Big Ten. Pat Fitzgerald has the ability to continue the work that Randy Walker left behind. They might not have been able to turn water in to wine this season, but as Tyrell Sutton said, they’ve hit rock bottom and the only way to go is up.

1) It would be awesome on November 18 if Ohio State and Michigan met in the ‘Shoe as No. 1 versus No. 2, but what does it really matter? Whoever looses still looses, regardless of rank and that would screw any hope for the BCS Championship.

I have two tickets to that game, and while I could sell them on eBay for $1000 a ticket, there is no way I’d sell out to a rich yuppie who wouldn’t value the tradition of the greatest college rivalry in football.

Bonus: The Heisman Trophy is awarded to the greatest player in college football for that year. While Troy Smith has been a front-runner all season, Garrett Wolfe is the true candidate who has run all over his competition. Unfortunately, is it possible to give the Heisman Trophy to a player who has no impact on the national title picture? Some would argue that the trophy should go to a player who contributes to his team winning a major title. While I might agree with that opinion, is it appropriate to overlook a true player who has succeeded to the greatest of his ability in his conference that might be of lack-luster value? I mean, he did gain 200+ offensive yards against the number one team in the country…on his first game of the season.

I have been a bundle of nerves as the college football season kicked off this past weekend. My first game, the Northwestern-Miami (OH) game on Thursday was more or less a warm-up to the Saturday rumble that took place across the country.

While the NU-Miami game should have been a homecoming for Randy Walker, it was forced to turn into a memorial for the man who was taken from his career, players, fans, and family by a heart attack this past June. Nothing is more eerie than standing in a packed stadium, minutes before kickoff, and pausing for a moment of silence. Seeing thousands of faces but only hearing the rustle of the wind blowing through the stadium for the longest 30 seconds of your life is more deafening than any European soccer stadium could aspire to.

To play tribute to the late coach, fans wore white shirts that said “WALK” on the front and that is exactly what both teams did…they walked through the first half of that game. With a score of 0-0 at half, I began to wonder if any game had ever gone in to overtime because it was scoreless by the end of regulation. Luckily, the red zone caught some action in the second half and the Northwestern Wildcats were victorious in their 21-3 win. With a young Pat Fitzgerald as coach and a freshman QB at the helm, it was a nice victory for the team who has had to overcome so much, but Saturday proved that the Big Ten is vicious this year and the Wildcats have much to work on before their Big Ten opener.

Friday night tailgates quickly turned in to Saturday morning kegs n’ eggs. As I cracked open my 11AM Miller Lite at the College of Nursing alumni event (thanks Mom, for the tickets) I began to wonder if Cinderella teams of last season, like Rutgers and Vanderbilt, would continue their wave of wins by shocking their home opening opponents.

By 11:30AM I woke up and realized that the inaugural football Saturday would be the typical blowout of the DI-AA schools that agree to have their #### kicked so powerhouse schools can score an easy home opener. (At least everyone gets to walk home with a big check, made payable to each school’s athletic department.)

While it was raining in Columbus, the sun was shining in Texas. The real McCoy, freshman Colt McCoy showed up for the UT victory against Northern Texas. Of course, even Bevo would have been able to out score this puny team that hasn’t been able to score more than 10 points in their last six games. It’s hard to judge how good the defending national champions really are when they play a team that is so outmatched, even a high school team could have scored on Northern Texas.

As the eyes of the nation turn on Austin next weekend for the rematch of Ohio State and Texas, it’s very difficult to gage how each team will fare against each other. At least Ohio State took on a slightly more talented “lesser team” for their home opener. The opponent, Northern Illinois, was the MAC champion last season, and has their own Heisman candidate in running back Garrett Wolfe. Their QB, Phil Horvath also had the highest passing efficiency in the nation last season, at roughly 70%. I know the MAC is far from the ACC or the SEC, but at least Ohio State was playing a team with championships and talent on their sideline.

The Ohio State offense came on to the field like fireworks, scoring so quickly and viciously, you would have thought John Cooper was back on headset as head coach. As many Buckeye faithful know, Jim Tressel is not about running up the score, but when the teams took to the locker room at halftime, 28-3, you wondered how anyone on the Huskies bench could prevent a blowout.While the final score depicts a victory of 35-12, Ohio State has a long leap to take before heading to Austin next weekend.

At this particular moment, the only reason Austin has an advantage on this game is because of home field advantage. The fans will make all the difference. While Ohio State has the offensive power to make prime rib out of Bevo, the Texas defense has years of experience on Ohio State. I’m already sick to my stomach about the game and it’s still a week away.

Now dear diary…I know it’s not nice to wish ill will on any team, I have to admit that my inner voice was shouting ‘Whoopie!’ as I watched golden child Brady Quinn struggle against the Bees of Georgia Tech. Perhaps it’s because I am so sick of hearing all the Irish faithful purchase their BCS championship tickets in the off season because they feel entitled to game thanks to their coach and QB. It was nice to prove once again that nothing in college football is certain. While Notre Dame may have scored a “W,” it came with many stunned looks of horror and fright. Don’t pack your bags yet, Charlie.

There is no perfect team in college football this season. Everyone is going through growing pains. While USC still won, many great teams struggled to earn their win. Oklahoma got by UAB on a pray called Adrian Peterson while Tennessee finally pulled their heads out of their butts by proving that Cal is overrated. Auburn wasn’t looking too pretty in the first quarter, but Penn State might have a chance without Michael Robinson at the helm.

Next week…Penn State at Notre Dame AND Ohio State at Texas