Week 12: You Can't Win 'em All

There was plenty of shake-up in the polls this week and we all knew it had to happen. You can win a lot of games but you can't win 'em all - just ask Boise and Stanford. I still long for the season with a handful of un-defeateds just to see how the BCS would handle it all.

Oregon @ Stanford: Luck just ran out...and I thought it would. I had watched Stanford and I had watched Oregon. I could tell that  Stanford lacked team talent like Oregon had. Andrew Luck is really good but against a much improved Duck defense it would take more than Luck.


TCU @ Boise: The blue men fell just short. It's just sad that it had to happen the same way as last year's one loss. They knew the magic couldn't last forever but they wanted, and deserved, another shot. But it was fun while it lasted and they will remain a force in college football. I was hoping they could pull it off this year...although I didn't really expect them to be able to go un-defeated again.


Auburn @ Georgia: The dawgs got their revenge from last year's ugly battle. They did it as it should be done: on the scoreboard instead of on the field (like Nick Fairly and Chizik did last year). UGA played the most dominant and complete game of football I've seen in a long time. Auburn scored on their first possession and UGA denied them any further celebration. Though I love a good defensive game and typically don't like a huge score spread I think I could have watched another four quarters of this. War Eagle caged.

Idaho @ BYU: Great...now what? BYU rolled over lowly Idaho but the QB that brought BYU back from the brink of what was heading towards a horrendous year (Nelson) broke a rib and collapsed a lung. Heaps did fine but can he handle the rest of the year? A late season QB controversy could be brewing.

Endzone: Joe Pa
I've always liked Joe Paterno. I don't really know why. It probably dates back to the 90s when BYU and PSU played a few games and I was impressed with his sideline presence. And I was always in awe that he had been head coach at the same school since I was a toddler and that he never demanded a high salary like so many other coaches. He just seemed like a really good guy - and I'm sure he is. What happened this past week saddened me as it did many in college football. No one likes to see a legend go out like this. This was not Pete Carroll running before he got caught in his scandal. This was Joe Pa. I'll not judge what Coach Joe did or didn't do. All the press writings are mere speculation IMHO because no one but Joe really knows what happened, what he did and why he did it. Joe Pa - you'll be missed.