Recently in football Category

Even though I'll be routing for the Spartans today at noon, I am also cheering on Iowa's improbable running back, Mark Weisman. (That school lost a colorful All-American alumni this week, Alex Karras. I loved reading his autobiography when I was a young man.)

New England Patriots, of course.

QB (3) Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett

RB (6) Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, Danny Woodhead, Brandon Bolden, Spencer Larsen, Jeff Demps

WR (5) Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, Deion Branch, Matthew Slater, Julian Edelman

TE (3) Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells

C  (1) Ryan Wendell

G  (4) Logan Mankins, Dan Connolly, Nick McDonald, Donald Thomas

T  (3) Sebastian Vollmer, Nate Solder, Marcus Cannon

DE (4) Chandler Jones, Jake Bequette, Trevor Scott, Justin Francis

DT (4) Vince Wilfork, Kyle Love, Ron Brace, Brandon Deaderick

ILB(6) Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes, Donta Hightower, Bobby Carpenter, Jeff Tarpinian, Niko Koutouvides

OLB(2) Jermaine Cunningham, Rob Ninkovich

CB (5) Kyle Arrington, Devin McCourty, Ras-I Dowling, Sterling Moore, Marquice Cole

SS (2) Steve Gregory, Josh Barrett

FS (2) Patrick Chung, Tavon Wilson

ST (3) Stephen Gostkowski, Danny Aiken, Zoltan Mesko

* Question my nine-year-old daughter asked as she saw it while we were scrolling through photos from "Meet the Spartans" Day provided by Hondo at Spartannation.com.

Army football won out against VMI today. The Cadets' fight song is one of the best. Exciting game. I didn't realize they play Notre Dame on November 20 in Yankee Stadium. I think I should go to it with the other WP bloggers. What do you think, guys?

Click here to find out.

Scott at Enlightened Spartan says, well, I really can't say--it's rather strong. But if you're over 17 you can check it out yourself. Not you, Beezlebub.

It was only going to get worse, Skunk Bear

: Michigan State 34, scUM 17

I haven't felt like this since the Americans beat the Soviets in a hockey game. The country is waking up to the Spartans. We're not just a basketball school.

No, I didn't go to school there; however, I grew up in different places in Michigan, esp. in East Lansing during my junior high years, before bouncing back to New Hampshire. I have many fond memories sneaking into football games. I also entered in more legitimate ways, too. My first game was on 15 Sept 1979 when my dad took me; State defeated the Oregon Ducks, 41-17. My loyalty only wavered during the disaster of The Clown.

Three straight years of Spartan victory over their in-state rivals hasn't happened since 1967, the year I was born. LBJ was president and the country was still approximately 90 percent white. Made in Japan hadn't even become a joke yet.

(Photo courtesy of Spartan Tailgate forum.)

Lansing State Journal's excellent sports reporter Joe Rexrode on his blog, Hey, Joe, has the  details on State's impressive victory over the 12th ranked Badgers of Wisconsin. Head coach Mark Dantonio was in the hospital busily texting defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi. In the locker room, Dantonio sang the fight song through interim head coach Don Treadwell's Crackberry.

Don't you just love college football?

Get well, Coach Dantonio.

It's amazing to realize how many young graduate assistants with the great Nick Saban at Michigan State in the late 1990s have gone on to big doings.

1. Josh McDaniels, a 1999 graduate assistant, is the head coach with Denver.
2. Brian Daboll, a 1998 graduate assistant, was or is the offensive coordinator with Cleveland.
Both of these guys were recommended by Saban to his friend Belichick for NFL work. Belichick, BTW, has claimed that in annual meetings with Saban, his former defensive coordinator during the mid-1990s with the Cleveland Browns, Saban taught him more than he has taught Saban. Wow! That's big coming from a coaching genius. Saban is, IMHO, the best X's and O's coach alive today. Period.

"What a way to end this ballgame," said analyst Todd Blackledge. "That was something special, on a special night," said announcer Brad Nessler. I'm glad I stayed up for it. I nearly went to bed at halftime, with the score a lackluster 7-7.

But then the second half began. A total of four TDs in the third quarter. With two very evenly matched teams, what would be the difference?

MSU's coach, Mark Dantonio. He put his team in position to exorcise demons that have been building in the closet for...years. Cue in Coldplay's "Fix You." In OT The Call: the "Little Giants" play, which literally brings tears to my eyes. Notice the play clock ESPN provides goes to zero just as the play begins--or perhaps a small fraction of a second after--while the stadium play-clock still shows 0:03:

Co
Coach Brian Kelly (left) and his dejected Fightin' Irish players react to the remarkable fake field goal attempt in overtime, which Michigan State converted to win.

Before I die, I really would like to go to Lincoln, Nebraska, and watch the Cornhuskers take on the Spartans of Michigan State. I have a passion.

When Michigan State beats the Wolverines it's a very good year.

The fact the Cornhuskers are now in the Big Ten, er, Twelve or whatever, is unbelievable. Seeing a game in Lincoln, Nebraska, would be a dream come true for me. Justice Clarence Thomas's team. I have to admit that the best fans in the country are the Nebraska fans.

But I bleed Michigan State green, baby!

And it does my heart good to see some disinfectant sunlight put on the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) here. This group contributes to the Left's hysteria.

My liberal brother, now with the State Dept. as a diplomat, has given money to them.

But he may begin to feel what many Western Catholics are now facing up to with their own Vatican. Despite the good the Catholic Church does, the self-inflicted wounds and the secular leftist media's feeding frenzy (Matt Abbott explains why here.) have caused--and will continue to cause--massive damage. This is also a personal issue with me, as I teach at a Catholic school begun by a now-deceased Mexican priest who apparently has a lot to answer for in the next life. If there is a hell, he probably is there right now.

BTW, there's the NFL draft this week. I used to spend hundreds of hours prepping myself for it. Yes, I'm such a nerd. Here's my guess at what the Patriots do, if they stay at their current position of the 22 pick of the first round. Here are three players to focus on: Cal's extremely fast RB Jahvid Best, Penn State's very good DT Jason Odrick, and my personal favorite, Florida's versatile center Maurkice Pouncey.

There may be players they really like such as Brandon Graham of the Yellowbellies that they will trade up for if it's not too costly.

Maybe the g-dd-mn Catholics aren't so dumb, after all.

Well, I stayed up way past my bedtime to watch an exciting Valero (What's that?) Alamo Bowl, Texas Tech 41, Mich St. 31. We surprisingly had the lead going into the fourth quarter and were moving the ball effectively notwithstanding all the suspensions.

Michigan State football since 2001--17 blown fourth quarter leads, with only six come from behind fourth quarter victories. It's designed to give one gray hairs. I was seeing an upset in the making until the tide went against us. But interminable discussion about the fired Texas Tech football coach by the ESPN crew was a bit much. At least they mentioned the former walk-on now team captain who has already been accepted to dental school. Blair White is one of the greatest class acts in college football, a place where thugs have been known to prowl.

Hardest job in America...and the pay is starting to reflect that:

The average pay for a coach in the NCAA's top-level, 120-school Bowl Subdivision is $1.36 million -- up 28% in the last two years and up 46% in three years.