The View from Forney Top 25:

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. Florida
4. Tennessee
5. Texas
6. West Virginia
7. Cal
8. Auburn
9. Louisville
10. Arkansas
11. Rutgers
12. USC
13. LSU
14. Notre Dame
15. Oklahoma
16. Boston College
17. Wisconsin
18. Boise State
19. Texas A&M
20. Clemson
21. Wake Forest
22. Washington State
23. Georgia Tech
24. Virginia Tech
25. BYU

Dropped Out: Abilene Christian, Nebraska, Missouri
Also Recieving Votes: Mesquite High, Oregon, Penn State, Oklahoma State

Notes:
-Tennessee jumps Texas due to the Horns suspect pass defense. Nationally Texas is taking some heat for the last two weeks, but we all know how tough Tech is at home (and at night). More on the game later.
-I'm not sold on Arkansas as a Top 10 team, but for now didn't have anywhere else to put them
-I wasn't sure how far to drop USC: was this the beginning of rebuilding or just a bad game? The next couple of weeks will tell. If they stay at one-loss, they will have a strong resume.
-ACU had a heart breaking one-point loss to Tarleton on a late field goal
-The Skeeters could find themselves ranked if they can get past Longview this Friday at E.H. Hanby Stadium

Thoughts on Texas Tech

I think it is well known that Tech is the step-child of Texas and A&M, and that they also have some of the most annoying fans in college football. As a student of college football, one of my favorite subjects is the traditions of different schools. My biggest problem with Tech is that they seem to have taken most of their traditions from other universities.

-When I went to the Texas/Tech game in 2002, the student section was waving white towels. I understand that towels are becoming a popular trend in sports, but being from Texas everyone knows that A&M has the market on towels.
-They have a bell that they ring after touchdowns. That's not so bad, but Lake Highlands and many other High Schools do the same thing. Also they named the bell "bangin' Bertha." Why would you use the name Bertha when Texas' big drum is named Big Bertha.
-The Tech band plays a Texas Longhorn favorite "March Grandioso," where they spell out "Raiders" instead of "Texas." From my experience the Tech fans don't really get into this song like Texas fans do, so why continue to copy a Longhorn tradition.
-The guys with the bells are OU Ruf/Neck wannabe's.
-An original Tech tradition was discontinued because the students couldn't stop themselves from causing problems. After kickoffs the students would throw tortillas into the air, but it was outlawed because of the problem with tortillas always ending up on the field.

Aaron had a great post earlier in the year dealing with other issues about Tech. It's kinda of long, but well worth the read.

The West Texas Affinity for Texas Tech......I will start off by apologizing in advance to those individuals who I know will be offended by this blog. Not because it will be vulgar or extreme, or insensitive or hateful, but because it will challenge the your theology, especially, if you are from West Texas. I have noticed that people in West Texas seem to have an unexplained love for Texas Tech and it is something I can not understand.As with most things, whenever you become involved intimately involved, it grossly distorts your perspective and your ability to step back and truly give an unbiased assessment. This is definitely prevalent in the way people in West Texas view Texas Tech and the prestige it holds. I have experienced this first hand as my father is one of the unfortunate souls who has been infected with this mental disorder and for whatever reason, he like so many others, has fallen in love with Texas Tech University and has fallen victim to the oversell of everything they have to offer, be it in academics or athletics. (As a disclaimer I am not saying that I am exempt from this overestimation of schools/athletics, I just speaking about it as it relates to Tech since I think it is extreme.)I will start first with the arena of athletics. While fans of other schools, such as my beloved University of Texas i.e. NATIONAL CHAMPS in baseball and football currently, tend to be overly negative and have high expectations, Texas Tech seems to be on the other end of the spectrum. In 2004 I was in Austin for the OSU vs. UT football game and experienced the UT fan wavering first hand. As most of you know, we were getting handled in the first half and we were down 28-7 at one point, 28-14 at the half. The fantastic fans behind me were talking about how horrible we were, how they were going to leave at half-time, how Gregg Davis was the worst offensive coordinator of all time, and how they would be ok if Mack got fired if it meant the dismissal of Davis. They even went so far as to predict the demise of the remaining schedule by saying we would lose to OSU, follow that with a loss to A&M, and then go to the Holiday Bowl and get throttled by a Pac-10 school. Well good thing the fans were not actually football geniuses or fortune tellers after all, as the team was able to come out and complete the biggest comeback in school history. Suddenly these same fans were talking about how we would handle A&M and then could go to the Fiesta Bowl and dominate Utah. The discussion of the ignorance and high expectations of some UT fans is another rant, but I say this to illustrate the fact that Tech fans would never go through this emotional swing. Tech fans are incredibly optimistic, in fact optimistic to a fault, overselling and overestimating skill.A sports radio station in the DFW area, http://www.theticket.com/ (check them out), regularly gets the brunt of this Tech fan passion and overestimation. They say that of course anytime they say something about a team likely losing a game or struggling with a particular opponent they receive emails from inflamed fans who tell them they are idiots and their team is in fact the greatest thing going. However, they also regularly explain that the volume of these emails goes through the roof when Tech is discussed and they tend to be much more heated and extreme than fans from any other school. The University and athletic department at Tech obviously deserve the highest honors for this because they are somehow able to infect their alum and fans with the belief that they will in fact be great every single year, but their fans don't get mad when they fall short of those expectations.Texas Tech has the large scale version of the short man's syndrome. They feel like they have to act tough, be loud and intimidating, and prove themselves to anyone that would doubt them. Quite simply, Tech is the runt of the Big 12 and Texas state schools. Tech will most likely not ever win a Big 12 championship in football thanks to the likes of UT, A&M and OU because they unfortunately can't compete with these schools and their ability to land top notch recruits. But, I can say with all certainty that Tech will absolutely NEVER win a Big 12 championship while Mike Leech and his tricked up offense are in place. Every time they play a team with a real defense they are slowed considerably and their defense can't stop anyone. Contrary to all this, you will rarely meet a Tech fan that will tell you anything other than, this is their year and last year they were just a few missed plays and bad calls away from winning the conference (many of them still point to their victory over the disappointed and pouting team of Cal, a member of the defenseless Pac-2 conference, last year in the Holiday Bowl.)Unfortunately, this attitude has also managed to permeate how people in West Texas view Tech as an academic institution. My problem is with the belief that Tech has a great law school. I am currently going through the process of applying for law school, and every time I mention law school to someone from West Texas, they ask me why I have not applied to Tech. In fact, my father and I engaged in a rather heated argument one Christmas break about how good Tech really was academically. He told me that they had a great law school and that my dislike for them, and desire not apply there was based solely on athletic endeavors and a lack of maturity. This falls in line with the comment I always get, "Why don't you apply to Tech? They have a really good law school, don't they?" Well the answer is not so much. In fact Tech's law school is not even ranked in the top 100 nationally. I's not saying Tech is awful but this means they are a tier 3 law school, essentially average at best, and most importantly it also means I am tired of hearing about how great they supposedly are.Awareness is the first step on the road to correction. Tech should obviously be praised for their marketing ability and their fans should be proud of their positive attitude and optimism, but all that being said, let's be realistic and help prevent the oversell of Texas Tech University.

Better Late Than Never: Texas 22 - Nebraska 20

There were two things that I thought were very important while watching the game. The first was field position and the second was taking advantage of opportunities. Texas' average starting field position was their own 38, while Nebraska's was their own 25. Not a huge difference, but considering the weather and hostile crowd, it did have a big impact on the game. The real key to winning was the second quarter when we started on the Nebraska 46 and took advantage by scoring 13 in the quarter.

The other key factor of the game was taking advantage of opportunities and making plays. Overall, I thought the Horns did a good job of seizing the opportunities presented to them, but they also left a lot of points off the board. The missed field goals, blocked extra point, bad red zone offense, and missed tackles all hurt the Horns and really helped Nebraska stay in the game. Give the Huskers credit for taking advantage, but I felt like Texas controlled the game. On a positive note, we took advantage of some opportunities like hitting Sweed on the long pass after the turnover, forcing HUGE (gamewinning) turnovers, and holding the Cornhuskers to 1.58 yards per carry.

Overall, I'm very happy because any time you can walk out of a place like Nebraska with a win, you take it. We didn't play a perfect game, but I look forward to seeing our team progress. We've come along way since the beginning of the year and I believe it can only get better.

Quickhits:
-Colt had 31 yards rushing (not including sacks), the more he can throw a change-up at the defense, the more chances for JC to break some big runs
-Only the 3rd game between two schools with 800 wins (the last two Michigan/Notre Dame games are the other)
-Texas has forced 13 turnovers in the last 3 games, compared to 9 in the first 5 games
-A Nebraska record of 85,187 witnessed the game
-I love Colt, Aaron Ross, Limas Sweed, whose kidding I love the entire team
-At 23 is it bad if I already having heart trouble during the games?

Actual Conversation:
Me (In overacting announcer voice): Colt is becoming a hero in the making. Years from now fans will flock to the tiny town of Tuscola to see the childhood home of Colt McCoy.
Courtney: Only freaks like you!!

I wish we could record us watching games, because it can get quite entertaining. Courtney could hardly watch the final drive.

Next Up: Texas Tech
Tech has a horrible rushing defense, so I really want this to be the first game that we just line up and run the ball down their throats.

The View from Forney Top 25

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. Florida
4. Texas
5. Tennessee
6. USC
7. Clemson
8. Auburn
9. West Virginia
10. Cal
11. Louisville
12. Arkansas
13. LSU
14. Rutgers
15. Notre Dame
16. Oklahoma
17. Boston College
18. Wisconsin
19. Boise State
20. Abilene Christian
21. Texas A&M
22. Wake Forest
23. Nebraska
24. Missouri
25. Washington State

Notes:
-OSU/Michigan have pulled away as the top two teams
-I don't think Texas is the best one-loss team, and with Tennessee's QB not playing consistent, I put Florida as the best one-loss team for now
-I reevaluated West Virginia and dropped them. There offense is impressive but they have beaten no one of note and have a shaky defense. They also lose points for playing on Friday night.
-The WVU/Louisville loser is in danger of dropping out of the poll
-I think Rutgers would beat Notre Dame
-Someone please beat Boise, I don't want Texas to play them in the fiesta bowl (not that I'm taking the rest of Texas' games lightly)
-ACU had a huge win over #4 West Texas A&M
-Give the Aggies credit for winning, but they are dangerously close to a 3-5 record

Tradition Spotlight: Clemson Running down the Hill

From Southern Fried Football by Tony Barnhart (2000)

"ABC broadcaster Brent Musberger once termed it "the most exciting twenty-five seconds in college football." About ten minutes before kickoff, the Tigers leave their locker room under the west stands and are bused around Memorial Stadium to the east side of the stadium, where a grassy hill about one hundred feet long leads directly onto the playing field. At a given signal, a cannon is fired, the band plays "Tiger Rag", and the team charges down the hill as the crowd goes wild. The tradition began in 1942, and for all but 15 home games since, the Clemson team has run down the hill. For the record, Clemson is 6-9 when it doesn't run down the hill before a game, 189-65-7 (73 percent) when it does. In 1966, touching Howard Rock at the top of the hill officially became a part of the pregame ceremonies."

"Howard's Rock: Mounted on a pedestal o a grassy hill at the east end of Memorial Stadium, this rock from Death Valley, California, was given to Frank Howard, Clemson's legendary coach from 1949 to 1969. Howard wanted to throw the rock away, but one of his assistants covinced him to deep it. Looking for something to motivate his team, Howard brought out the rock prior to a game with Virginia in 1966. He said the players could touch the rock for good luck, but only under a few conditions. "I told all them that was going to give me 110 percent that they could touch my rock and if they weren't going to give me 110 percent, keep your filthy hands off my rock."

I was fortunate enough to attend the A&M-Clemson game last season (shout out to Brandon), so I have seen this tradition in person and it is a goosebump moment. The fans sitting in the South side upper deck can see the buses come around the corner, and start going crazy when they first appear. We were sitting in the North side upper deck, and by the time we realized what was going on, the first players were at the top of the hill, and the entire stadium was going nuts. The only disappointing thing about the tradition is that Clemson's cannon is very small and is carried on what looks like a two-wheel dolly. After the game, fans are allowed on the field and are allowed to touch the rock. I felt it was a great opportunity to see what is was like to run down the hill, so when I saw an opening, I rubbed the rock and became apart of a great College Football tradition. The rock does have magical powers because on the way out, I rubbed Howard's Rock again and asked for a Texas win over Ohio State the next weekend. I gave 110% next week and the Horns won.

A Few Weekend Quickhits:

-If you haven't noticed, I love College Football. This weekend was a perfect example of why College Football is the best sport. There were so many great games and finishes. Every game is important, and the players and fans live and die on almost every play. Not to mention the stadiums, traditions, fans, bands, and all the other things that separate college from the pros. I love this time of year!!!

-Freakin' Notre Dame: Texas played a tough game against a ranked opponent and shut down a huge rushing team. The headline? "Texas off hook". UCLA, an unranked team, goes into South Bend and plays tough against the Domers until the very end in which they hand over the game by going into zone prevent. ND wins a close one at home against an unranked team. The headline? "Notre Dame Magic". (Post from Burnt Orange Nation)

-The Big XII North is 3-11 against the South, with two of the wins coming against Texas Tech. (ESPN.com)

-The worst seats in the nation have to be the end zone seats, behind the chain linked fence, sitting in lawn chairs under the actual stadium at Nebraska. I sure hope those folks get in for free or are a part of the ground crew. I'm all for being at the game as opposed to watching on TV, but even I have my limits.

-The Washington hail mary has to go down as one of the signature plays of the seasons. Three Cal defenders had their hands on the ball, but they somehow toss it right into the hands of the Husky receiver, who dives into the end zone, tying up the game. That's why I was holding my breath on the last two Nebraska plays. I still think the LSU Bluegrass miracle was a better play.

Weekend Picks Revisited (Will I ever get one right?):

-Texas 22 - Nebraska 20: Texas had their chance to make this game a little more lopsided, but give the Cornhuskers credit for making plays and staying in the game. More on the game tomorrow.
-Tennessee 16 - Alabama 13: I should of known from last years game that this would be a slug-fest. I knew the Tide would have trouble scoring, but I didn't think the Vol offense would disappear also.
-Michigan 20 - Iowa 6: It was a pretty close game and then Michigan, behind Hart, pulled away. What will Drew Tate's legacy be? Chris Sims of Iowa?
-Clemson 31 - GT 7 : Wow, Clemson announces their presence with authority. For them to lose so many defensive starters at the beginning of the year, the Tigers have overcome a lot. They did an outstanding job on Calvin Johnson.
-Georgia 27 - Miss St. 24: How did State score 24 points?
-Louisville 28 - Syracuse 13: I think the Cards are the worst undefeated team in the nation.
-Miami 20 - Duke 15: That could have been the biggest upset in College Football history.
-Baylor 36 - Kansas 35: The closest I came to getting a score right. The Bears needed that one to remain on track for a Bowl.
-OU 24 - Colorado 3: The Buffs face reality after a win last week.
-A&M 34 - OSU 33: The Aggies do it again; they are seconds from being 8-0 or 3-5. Give them credit for just winning. Can they stop the new and improved Baylor offense next week?
-ND 20 - UCLA 17: Freakin' Notre Dame. Even though the Bruins are without Olson (starting QB), I knew they would surprise the Irish. They haven't been challenged the past few weeks and the defense is not prepared to stop Pac 10 offenses. I hate that a 2 loss ND team (assuming that they will lose to USC) will be handed a BCS bowl game. The Irish begin there trek through the service academies next week.

Weekend Picks

I'm enjoying (doing chores around the house) a Friday off so no comments.

Texas 28 - Nebraska 10
Tennessee 35 - Alabama 13
Michigan 21 - Iowa 17
Clemson 28 - GT 24
Louisville 42 - Syracuse 21
Georgia 17 - Miss St. 3
Baylor 35 - Kansas 32
Oklahoma 17 - Colorado 10
Texas A&M 24 -Oklahoma State 23
UCLA 28 - Notre Dame 17
Duke 14 - Miami 10 (Wouldn't that be great)

Here's to a great football weekend. Hook'em and Sting'em Skeeters!!

I'm sure I'm breaking a Man Law, but...

I would like to announce that I now want to be known as a Chicago Bears fan. I was thinking about this last week; I just started paying close attention to the NFL last season and I don't have a team that I can consider "my team". I like the Cowboys, but it doesn't do anything for me when they win or lose, and I get beaten down by all the Cowboy talk on the radio. I know that this is a great day to come out as a Bears fan the day after a great comeback on MNF. I started pulling for the Bears last season because I liked to watch their Defense play, but there are several reasons why I feel the Bears would be a cool team to be a fan of. The Bears have a storied past, they have great uniforms, they play in a classic stadium (even after the renovation), and have a dedicated fan base. Well, to diminish some of the feelings of jumping on the bandwagon, I have imposed probation on myself this season. I will not take any pleasure in Bear victories, but will feel the emotions of a loss. This is really a sports experiment for me, I want to see if you can just become a fan of a team for no reason what so ever. I'm going to study up on the team history, get to know the current roster, and try to watch as many games as I can (I've been known to dose off during NFL games). I have so much emotion invested in Texas, that it will be hard to give anything to "Da Bears," but that is what this experiment is about. It will be interesting to look back in ten years and see what has come of this. Will I have forgotten all about it or will my kids be wearing Bears shirts?

The View from Forney Top 25

1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. West Virginia
4. Tennessee
5. Texas
6. USC
7. Auburn
8. Cal
9. Florida
10. Louisville
11. Clemson
12. Arkansas
13. Notre Dame
14. Georgia Tech
15. Nebraska
16. LSU
17. Rutgers
18. Oregon
19. Oklahoma
20. Boise State
21. Boston College
22. Wisconsin
23. Texas A&M
24. Wake Forest
25. Abilene Christian

Smokey the Cannon
A beautiful sight
Things Change: Old and New Scoreboard
BEVO

The Eyes of Texas
Best fans in College Football (Below)

Poor Sooners

Texas Fight

Texas vs Oklahoma: College Football's Greatest Game

Texas 28 - OU 10

All is right in the world, as Texas beats OU for the second straight year. I might have more to say after I watch the game again, but here are a few quickhits.

-Colt could not have played any better. He made great throws all game and he showed great poise while facing a good OU defense. Although the offense got out of rhythm in the second quarter, Colt showed in the 3rd quarter that he is capable of throwing down field.

-Texas had a productive day running the ball, Selvin averaged 5.5 yards and Jamaal averaged 5.4. They were well earned yards because OU was playing to stop the run. I still wish they would line up under center more often and get the backs running downhill. But both the backs were patient and found the holes when they developed.

-If we are going to run a reverse, we need one that develops faster. With a defense as fast as OU's you can't run slow developing plays.

-The defense played very physical and took it to Adrian throughout the game. Adrian had a good 2nd quarter, but he has the ability to take over games in the second half and Texas held him to 38 yards after halftime. The defense showed their team's speed by not letting Adrian get outside. We had to force OU to beat us with the pass, and any time you can hold a back like Peterson to 109 yards, the defense is doing its job.

-Paul Thompson had an outstanding game and he single handedly kept the Sooners in the game. Texas constantly forced OU in 3rd and long, and Thompson delivered as OU converted 50% of its 3rd downs. Texas had great coverage several times and Thompson delivered perfect passes that were just out of reach for the Texas defenders.

Please excuse this rant but...

I have to get this off my chest. Although I never root for OU, I always had a respect for Bob Stoops. I can't really explain it, but he seems like coach I would want to be like. I've heard stories about how he keeps his family first even though college coach's are known to work 18-20 hour days. On Saturday I lost a lot, if not all of my respect for him. He spent 75% of the game harassing the line judge on his sideline and on several occasions spent minutes out on the field yelling at the refs. If he would have spent half that time coaching maybe he could have prevented OU's 11 penalties, 5 of which were false starts. His team played very undisciplined, and could have had even a few more personal fouls that were uncalled. There were at least two times that I saw an OU player try to pin a Texas player (WWE style) on special team plays on the other side of the field. Hey, you made a great block, you took your man down, don't act like a heathen once you've done your job. Well, I can get over that. If I was a coach, I would have a very hard time controlling my emotions also, but let me tell you what pissed me off the most. After the final gun sounded 98% of the OU team headed straight to the locker room without even thinking about saying "good game" to the Texas team. It would be one thing if Texas won on a last second play and was dog piling on the field. Of course you wouldn't want to stick around for that, but that is not what happened. I don't like losing and when you get beat down, you don't have to be happy about it, but you shake their hand, say good game, and I'll see you next year. I respect the 10 or 15 OU players who took the time to congratulate the Horns. I guess it starts with the leaders of the team because my Dad informed me, that after the coin flip, the OU captains returned to their sideline without shaking the Texas captains hands. Have some respect for the game. Oh yeah, Adrian you went to OU for a chance to play for championships? Scoreboard!!

If you need a laugh look no further than College Station. Check it out.

http://www.burntorangenation.com/story/2006/10/2/91830/4312


More great discussion here.

http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/?p=2640#comments

Let's get Texas/OU week started:

This is hands down my favorite game of the college football season and the game I most look forward to going to every year. There are too many great things about this game to discuss now, and due to my work schedule, I won't be able to post as much as I would like. Hopefully this will be a fun week and an even better weekend. Aaron of Dallas will be here later in the week to give us some Sooner perspective and feelings of what the game is like from the Oklahoma side. To get us started, here are my top 5 Texas/OU moments:

5. 2001 - Of course this is the game after 9/11 and before the bands took the field for pre-game there was a video tribute with "God bless the USA". After it was over the Texas/OU fans began the "USA,USA,USA" chant with just as much or more favor as they would "Texas Fight" or "Boomer Sooner". Talk about a chill bump moment. Even though only minuntes later the OU sucks and Texas sucks chants started, it really hit home that there are many more important things the a football game.

4. 1990 - For the second time in two years Peter Gardere led the Horns on a late scoring drive. This year on a forth-and-seven from the OU 16, Gardere found Keith Cash on a slant pattern for the game winning score. I think OU was ranked #4, but too lazy to look it up. Texas 14-13

3. 2005 - Riding a five game losing streak, a tremendous weight was lifted off Longhorn fans. Jamaal Charles' 80 yard run, Bomar taking a beating, the wheel route to Pittman before the half, and many more great plays in this Texas victory. Texas 45-12

2. 1994 - A very close second, Texas wins 17-10 on a Stonie Clark goal line stop. We had end zone seats this year, and when Texas made the stop, my ears starting ringing for about 5 seconds. I was 11 years old and needless to say I thought I lost my hearing. It was great, see it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amy7Uf8DlGA

1. 1989 - Special because it was my first Texas/OU shootout and it was the first of four Peter "the great" Gardere wins. Two sport start Johnny Walker made a diving catch on the goal line for a 25 yard touchdown. Although I was only 5, I remember the feeling of that drive and the joy of all Texas fans. It is a priceless memory and this is the game where my fandom started. Thanks Dad! Texas 28-24

Catching up with....Aaron E.

For those who don't know, Aaron is a graduate of "our dear O Christian college" and now attends Pepperdine Law School. He is well versed in west Texas high school football (Permian Alumni), Red Sox baseball, and of course Texas Longhorn football. I have had the pleasure of attended two Horns' games with AE, the greatest comeback in Texas history 2004-Oklahoma State and last years Big XII Championship. Aaron, you are a gentleman and a scholar.

First off just give us an update on whats going on in your life, do you have a life outside of law school?
I do in fact have a life outside of law school and my wonderful girlfriend Courtney (not Courtney Bryan for clarity sake) has a lot to do with that. You have to be very intentional about having a life outside of law school though because you can certainly get in the same routine of studying every day and you can essentially never leave campus if you don't make yourself set out some time to enjoy yourself and stop thinking about school. I try to make Sundays a work free day and I like to have stuff done by 6-8 every night and I do something every Friday and/or Saturday night.

What is it like to follow Texas football from another state? Do you have to make more of an effort to get information about the team, since it isn't being talked about all around you? Following Texas football from another state is miserable. For one thing, FSN does not carry UT games and then other times we get pre-empted on major carriers for "regional action." Last week we got OSU and PSU rather than UT Iowa State. Then of course the only time people talk about Texas football is if they are bad mouthing it. So there is no real analysis or discussion of what is going on and what we would like to see. I have even found that I miss being up to speed on Texas High School football. It is weird to not have easy access to what the ol alama maters (ACU and Permian are doing) or what Abilene High is doing or who is expected to win state.

What are your thoughts on the season so far? Texas and Nationally?
I feel like there is a lot of parity. The once consistent thing has been that Clemson was again overhyped and again fell early. I feel like Ohio State played much better against UT than they have anyone else this year and in fact would have lost to UT if they had played like they did against Penn State. I feel like Notre Dame received a little too much preseason hype since they still have no resemblance of a defense but I do hope they get hot and roll in the coliseum playing some good football so they can beat USC. I again feel the SEC is undoubtedly the toughest conference from top to bottom and I surprised at how Auburn continues to reload and be the real deal. They are my pick for the SEC. I think Texas will run the table the rest of the way but A&M may be tougher than OU. Unfortunately we are left in the situation of winning out and having our fate in the hands of others and hoping that they lose their games to let us back in the chase.

Give us a feeling of what college football fans are like in Pac 10 country?
Pac 10 fans are at least loyal. I will give them that much. However, I feel like they are not very well versed on what is going on across the country. Part of that is not their fault though because they only get regional coverage and there is not a lot of overlap for coverage of areas outside the Pac-10. Plus the timezones make it much more difficult to wake up and watch Game Day (7am here) and stay up to speed on the game country wide in general. Now that I am done with the concessions and free passes I will also so they are annoyingly ignorant. I have taken a lot of heat for being a Texas fan and I would hope that no one in law school in Texas would talk trash to a USC fan had they beaten us in the national championship last year. Pac10 fans hold strongly to the completely baseless belief they are so underrated and really are a good football conference.

Do you plan on going to any games this year?
I wanted to go to USC Notre Dame but since it is Thanksgiving weekend I don't think that will pan out. Plus it will be expensive. I may try to squeeze in USC UCLA or just a USC game in general to experience it.

Finally, I saw you as a extra in the last episode of Laguna Beach, are you actively pursuing a role on the show?
Yes. Funny you should ask because they are actually pursuing me and I am agreeing. Look for me to take a much more active role in the immediate future. AE over and out