A Bad Hangover

Usually when you have a hangover, you can at least look at the preceding night's events and say it was worth it. You might have a splitting headache and an upset stomach, but dammit, it was worth it for the three hours of beer pong followed by some bar hopping. However, the hangover that I, and most Husker fans for that matter, have been dealing with this week is in stark contrast to one of those. This hangover has been nearly a week in duration, and unlike those of the alcohol-induced variety, was not preceded by a fun night of keg stands. No, this was was caused by a night of embarrassment and shock at the hands of the Condom warriors. That said, the time has come for us as a fanbase to move on and focus on the next couple of weeks, cause we're only three weeks deep folks, and there's a whole lot of season left.

First, a quick couple things I was thinking about pertaining to the national scene:

-Let's not get too amped up about Florida kicking Tennessee's ass. Yea, a 59-20 victory is impressive, but I think Tennessee was getting way too much hype coming into the season, and thus far they've gotten beat convincingly twice. Yes, the two losses are at the hands of two top-10 teams, but they've played poorly on special teams and defense, and that was a problem last year as well (more so on defense). Either way, I wish people would stop talking themselves into the Vols every year, because they've gone 14-10 the past two years and are having a hard time rebounding in the rugged SEC. In fact if you look back to the year after they won the national title in '98, they have gone 70-30 in those eight seasons. Now obviously winning 70% of your games isn't bad, but it is nowhere near the level that many Vols fans expect. Also, not winning a conference title in the past eight years doesn't help either. I've never liked Phil Fulmer, so either way I'm thoroughly enjoying watching the Vols struggle. Add to that the fact that two of the Clausen brothers played there (the third being douchebag extraordinaire Jimmy at Notre Dame) and it only gets better.

-What a performance by Darren McFadden in Arkansas's last-minute loss to Alabama. That team could lose three games and that guy should still get the Heisman. What can't be overlooked in this game is Bama QB John Parker Wilson's great performance. He might have thrown two picks, but he offset it by throwing for 327 yards and 4 touchdowns, the last one being the game winner with 8 seconds to play. This of course is going to result in "Alabama is back!" proclamations throughout the country, which I'm hesitant to go along with. This happened when they went 10-3 with Tryone Prothro a couple years back, and we all know how that turned out. Let's wait till Bama plays some other SEC games before we get too carried away.

I think that is one thing that irritates me more than anything is how quick the media is to jump on the bandwagons of once-dominant programs trying to make a comeback. If Notre Dame starts next year 3-0, everyone will start the "stir up the echoes" talk, and at what point do they realize that three games aren't going to turn around a program's fortunes? There are so many factors in reviving a program (recruiting, implementation of coaching schemes) that it's impossible to say that said program is "back" after they string together a winning streak. Let's have some patience people. That said, the prospect of a Saban-led resurgence at 'Bama is a terrifying prospect for the rest of the SEC (and for recruiting coordinators nationwide).

-It's a real shame that some people missed the Louisville-Kentucky game because it was on ESPN Classic. What an unbelievable see-saw battle, with two of the best QBs in the country doing their best to win a shootout. I can't believe that the Cardinal defense allowed Wildcat wideout Steve Johnson to slip behind them with less than a minute to play, but what a dramatic way to end it. Andre Woodson, who most knowledgeable college football fans knew about, made himself known to the rest of the general public with that game, and announced himself as a legitimate Heisman contender with a 275 yard, 4 touchdown performance. That said, Louisville was obviously overrated coming into this season. Their defense is struggling as badly as the Huskers', if not worse: NU hasn't given up 42 to a nobody like Louisville did to Middle Tennessee state a couple weeks ago.

-You know, aside from the Huskers' loss, I had a great weekend football-wise. And the reason? The continued struggles of the Big 10. It as been nothing but fun watching this sorry excuse for a conference stumble through the non-conference portion of the 2007 schedule. Now obviously the Big 12 hasn't done a bang-up job either thus far, but it pales in comparison to the black eyes that the Big 10 has dealt with. First off, Iowa gets beat by the hapless Cyclones. Then Minnesota gets beat by FLORIDA ATLANTIC. And to top it off, Northwestern falls to Duke, a team whose previous win came in 2005. Combine those struggles with Michigan's 0-2 opening and Wisconsin's early struggles with the Citadel, and whatever street cred the Big 10 had is gone. Basically, they have Penn State at the top, and then Ohio State and Wisconsin fighting for 2nd. What makes it hard for fans is that there is no way to determine who the good teams are when all they do is beat the crap out of the other crappy conference opponents. If you want to watch some really horrible football, flip over to the Big 10 network, it's all they carry. Oh wait, you don't have the Big Ten network? It's ok, nobody else does either.

-Speaking of the Big 10 and other things I hate, how hard was it to watch the Notre Dame-Michigan game on Saturday? I felt like I was watching two teams of 7th-graders. And not the 7th grade A-team, the B-team. What a sloppy, ugly game. The only thing that kept me tuned in was the enjoyment I had watching Jimmy Clausen getting sacked. The good thing for me is that with that offensive line, him getting hit should become a regular occurrence the rest of the year. Can you go to a BCS game with 3-9 or 2-10 record? I'm sure for ND there is some loophole.

Should be an interesting game tonight between Miami and Texas A&M. Some people still aren't sold on the Aggies, and nobody probably will be until the conference schedule kicks in. Still, this should be a better indicator of A&M's abilities than their previous games against teams like Louisiana Monroe. Hopefully they become the 2nd Big XII team to kick Miami's ass this season.

I'll look around the Big XII and forward to the weekend tomorrow.