I believe the premise has been sufficiently introduced by the title, so I shall tarry no further.
1.There Will Be a Rematch
This is depressing enough to me that I can barely muster the energy to dispute it. Like most reasonable people, I do believe that Alabama and LSU are the two best teams in the country. But I don't care. They played, the Crimson Tide lost. That was their national title shot. Everyone knew the winner of that game would likely make the BCS title game; it's not like the stakes were a secret. And as long as there's a legitimate one-loss team somewhere out there, preferably one who finished the season on a high note (sorry, Houston), that team should get a crack. Obviously, that team exists in Oklahoma State. With a 44-10 win over Oklahoma, the Cowboys stated their case emphatically.
After the frenetic highs of Week 12, Rivalry Week was a slow coming-down party. In 16 games involving ranked teams, there wasn't a single upset -- at least by the rankings. Most of the games weren't even close. The rich got richer, the poor got poorer, and several avenues of escape were cut off.
1. It's tough to be a kicker. 2. The 2-point conversion is a cruel mistress. 3. The marquee games disappointed, but everything else delivered.
I feel bad giving the Oregon-Stanford blowout short shrift, but the result can really be summed up in two words: speed kills. The Stanford run defense, which had been one of the nation's best prior to facing Oregon, gave up 232 yards. From the size of the holes LaMichael James was exploiting, it felt like Stanford was playing a prevent defense all game. In fact, if you'll let me brag for a moment (and I hope you will, because I'm so often wrong), everything I predicted in the preview essentially came true. The words of the prophet:
Five titles for the book about the Alabama-LSU game:
"The Questionable Classic"
"Czar Nicholas Comes Unglued"
"The End Zones Were Not Breached"
"The Foster Debacle"
"Catch the F*&%ing Ball, Michael Williams"
Or maybe it should have something to do with soccer. Over the weekend, Twitter was afire with living room pundits comparing LSU-Bama to the beautiful game, and their words were not flattering. These analogists, diametrically opposed to anyone who believed the long defensive standoff was a sign of something epic, were peeved at the pace of play and wanted more scoring.
1. David Freese, St. Louis Cardinals
Any time you more or less live out the lifelong dream of every American child born since the invention of the Hershey's Bar, you get your name at the top of our power rankings. I don't care if we're ranking the biggest G's in Western Hemisphere needlepoint; David Freese wins everything.
For the past two Saturday nights, football fans have lived a charmed life. Last week, we got the Hail Mary Game. This week, there was a slice of triple-overtime insanity when undefeated Stanford survived a scare from USC. Those were the best games of the year, and the Musburger-Herbstreit duo were on the scene for both. There's a lot of season left, but it's hard to imagine a better back-to-back stretch. Somewhere in the world, a prime time TV programmer is dancing a jig. And so am I, because this was the most surprising week of the season.
When the most anticipated game of the weekend delivers the best finish, what more can you do than show the video? It's only Week 8, but I'm ready to ordain an official Play of the Year:
As French football fans say, MON DIEU. Here are some scattered thoughts for the Monday after:
The week of the almost-upset has mercifully ended. In some ways, this is the worst week of all. Your hopes are elevated, you're primed for some fantastic endings, and then it all crashes on your head like a wet straw roof. We've all been there, right? Let's take a quick tour through the various kinds of non-upsets provided by a fiendish Week 6.
