When Angry Ducks Invade Smurf Turf

Despite the bulk of this blog being devoted to the NFL, from time to time I'm going to write about college football.

Now I know that most people aren't into college football and that's understandable. Where's the time to watch all this football? Why should I care about Virginia Tech? Where the hell is Notre Dame anyways? (It's in Indiana for those who care...)

The truth of the matter is, with so many Division I college football teams out there, it's obviously hard to follow the game or even get excited about it. There are alot of bad games. I'll be the first to say it.

Not to mention that typically, the first couple of weeks of college football tend to be a little bland. Normally, because teams do their own out of conference scheduling, and because there are no preseason games. As a result, teams like to schedule a 'warmup' kind of game against a weaker opponent to get into things. Take Florida for example. This year, the Gators open up the season against the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern. Florida is a 73 point favorite in that game, and you know what, I might just bet them to cover that point spread (aka beat CSU by more than 73 points).

But this year, there are a good handful of Week One games that have a huge impact on the season that lies ahead. (#13 Georgia @ #9 Oklahoma State; #20 Brigham Young @ #2 Oklahoma; #5 Alabama @ #7 Virginia Tech)

Those games are all on Saturday (Check your local listings), but there's a huge game tonight.

Tonight at 10:15 PM ET, the #16 ranked Oregon Ducks travel to #14 ranked Boise State to take on the Broncos on their blue home turf. That's right. The turf is blue...Check it out here.

What so special about this turf? Well nothing really, other than the fact that it's blue. But the Broncos have not lost a game on their 'smurf turf' since a 2001 loss to Washington State. That's 49 straight wins at home.

So why is this going to be such a good game to watch? Isn't Boise State going to make it 50 straight wins in a row tonight?

Well, they could. However, Oregon will have something to say about that.

If you like football and you like innovative, high scoring offenses that produce high-scoring games, then you should be watching the game tonight.

Vegas oddsmakers have set the Over/Under line at 64 points. That's telling you something right there, and folks, these guys know what they are doing. Vegas wasn't built because people make money off these betting lines. THEY do.

Heck, Oregon themselves might put up 40 points (they averaged 41.9 points a game last year). The Ducks' offense averages more plays per minute than any other team in football. Not just college football, the sport of football. That includes the NFL, too.

Not to mention that last year when the two teams faced, Boise State knocked out Oregon's starting QB Jeremiah Massoli with a hit that was deemed late by officials. Massoli left the game with a concussion in his first career start, and the Broncos left Oregon with a 37-32 win.

In 2008, Boise State went on to finish a perfect 12-0 in the regular season after winning that game. However, a perfect season was spoiled in the Poinsetta Bowl when the Broncos lost 17-16 to Texas Christian.

If the Broncos can get a win at home, a look at their schedule suggests that they could once again go undefeated in their regular season, get back to a BCS Bowl game, and at least be able to have a crying argument, albeit a slim one, to earn a spot in the BCS National Championship Game.

For those of you that don't know, college football's title is decided in the BCS National Championship Game and is based on voting as opposed to a playoff of sorts. The whole process is really confusing and is always a subject of debate (some people, including Barack Obama, would like to see college football move to a playoff system). Basically, what you need to know is that information is used in some kind of formula to determine team rankings that includes things like overall record, strength of schedule, etc. So basically, if you have a good record, and beat good teams, you improve your BCS ranking. Therefore, it's in the best interest of teams to play good competition outside of their conference games, in order to boost their ranking.

Better teams play in the better "Bowl" games at the end of the year. Bowl games equal money for a school's athletic program, as well as national exposure, which in turn helps recruiting, sales, etc. The mack daddy of these games, is the BCS National Championship Game. Last year, the Florida Gators beat the Oklahoma Sooners 24-14 for those that don't know.

For a team like Boise State who is part of a weaker overall conference (Western Athletic Conference), a win tonight against a Top 25 team helps their ranking. It would further help the Broncos if later in the year Oregon were to beat a couple Top 25 teams in their conference (Pacific-10). The #4 ranked USC Trojans and #12 ranked California Bears both have to travel to Oregon this year and face the Ducks in Auzten Stadium. Let's say that Oregon wins both of those games. Voters would look back and say, "Well, that was a darn good football team that Boise State beat back in Week One" and Boise State's ranking would thus improve.

See, it's all really complex.

Anyways, this just illustrates why tonight's game is so important. One could make the argument that whoever loses tonight will be leaving themselves only an outside shot (at best) to compete for the National Championship in January.

So unlike most seasons in college football when PowerHouse University heads over to Meat Packer's State University (Not that there's anything wrong with meat packing) tonight's game will mean alot down the road this season in the land of College Football.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. They haven't even played tonight's game...

Either one of these teams can win tonight, and a case can be made from both sides as to who the better team is. We have no idea how well these teams are prepared. After all, we're talking about 19 and 20-some year olds here.

The oddsmakers like Boise State and are making them 3 point favorites over the visiting Ducks.

Oregon will hope to have something to say about that. Let's just say the Ducks are looking to prove them wrong, and quack all over "The Blue" in Bronco's Stadium tonight.


- Deacon Touchback

"When It's Game Time, It's Pain Time Baby! Woooooo!"

In light of football season being right around the corner, and this blog being more than likely something everyone is going to read while killing time at work, in the office, or in another setting where you'd rather not be doing what you're supposed to, I wanted to share something with everyone.

It's an old Reebok commercial called "Terry Tate: Office Linebacker", and at the end of this short post I'll post the link to one of the handful of videos in the Office Linebacker series.

So if you need a good laugh today check out one of the best football related commercials ever. I can guarantee you're going to enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU1jra7RKCQ


- Deacon Touchback

On the final day of August....

On the final day of August when you live in a city like Edmonton, a person is usually reminded of the things that they are close to losing, or have already lost.

Teachers and students head back into the classroom and vacation time is over.

The roads become busier with traffic in the morning and afternoon and city-wide road rage will experience a sharp increase.

The days continue to get shorter as the sun begins to set a little earlier each night, and slowly but surely, any semblance of enjoyable weather will begin to disappear.

If you try hard enough, you can step outside and feel the overwhelming silence that blankets the city at night, underneath the stars, as another short summer comes to an end.

But for a fan of the NFL, a simple glance into the sky at night will reveal one star that shines brighter than them all. A star that represents something beautiful in the midst of so many things ugly. A star, whose light will brighten the darkest of nights for the next six months.

Friends, another NFL Football Season is upon us. Let us pray...


As the third week of the 2009 NFL Preseason has come to a close tonight, it means that the opening game for the 2009 NFL Regular Season is merely 10 days away, and is something that an NFL junkie has had a craving for since the Pittsburgh Steelers hoisted their NFL-record sixth Super Bowl Championship in February.

On Thursday, September 10, the Pittsburgh Steelers will begin their title defense, and kick off the 2009 season at home against the Tennessee Titans, who still surely have a bitter taste in their mouth from a loss at home to the Baltimore Ravens in last year's AFC Divisional Playoff.

And the story lines don't stop there...

After being released from prison two years after being indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to illegal dogfighting, Michael Vick has made a return to the NFL. When conditionally reinstated by the league, it was simply a matter of time before Vick would find a new home. In the middle of August, after signing Vick to a two-year deal, the Philadelphia Eagles instantly became the most interesting story of the 2009 NFL Season.

Not to be outdone during the offseason, in typical form, Brett Favre inked a deal with the Minnesota Vikings four days later to come out of retirement for the second time in two years. Since then, Favre has appeared in two preseason games for the Vikings, giving football fans something they would never imagined in their wildest dreams when Favre was a Green Bay Packer: Favre in purple and white, sleeping with the enemy.

Not to mention all the other changes to monitor, and questions that will need to be answered.

How long will disgruntled Bronco WR Brandon Marshall be in Denver or continue his immature antics and conduct that has been deemed detrimental to the team? Will the team-imposed suspension leak over into the regular season?

How will Patriot's QB Tom Brady hold up one year after a season-ending knee injury sustained last year in Week One vs. Kansas City? If anyone has been watching the pre-season games, New England offense (aka the Death Star) appears fully operational, and could possibly do some 2007-like damage once again.

Is Kansas City QB Matt Cassel ready to be the man for the Chiefs and earn that six-year, $63 million contract?

Are the New York Jets possibly stunting the development of rookie QB Mark Sanchez by handing him the starting job too quickly?

How will Terrell Owens affect the offensive production in Buffalo as the newest member of the Bills?

Can Kurt Warner stay healthy and upright for another season and lead the Arizona Cardinals back to the Super Bowl? Or will age catch up with the future hall-of-fame QB and cast Matt Leinart (aka Party Matt) into the fire?

How will Jay Cutler fare in his new home in Chicago after his departure from Denver? How much better will the addition of a franchise calibre quarterback make the Monsters of the Midway? How much Cutler-kool-aid are we Bears fans drinking these days?

Who will come out on top in the brutal NFC East division?

When will the Detroit Lions finally win a regular season game?

And of course...what will Monday Night Football be like without its beloved John Madden?


Toss in massive coaching changes and player movement, and the table is set for another fantastic NFL season.

The star is shining bright, and I'm sure that I'm not the only one that is saying goodbye to summer with a smile.



- Deacon Touchback