Ohio State and Florida State both squeaked by in OTs this week. It seems like there have been an increasing number of OT games in the past two seasons or so. At least, I'm almost certain there has been a statistical increase in SEC overtimes in the last two years. Last year, UT beat AR in 6 overtimes, and since then Arkansas has had two games go into 7 overtimes! Now, don't get me wrong, I like this better than the old system that allowed ties, but 5, 6, 7, overtimes makes for a REALLY long and tense game. And like we saw with Florida State this weekend, it raises the likelihood for injuries. I don't know what the NCAA could do to decrease frequency of OTs, but I'd guess that SEC coaches will up the number of 2 pt. conversion plays in the playbook. They’ve all exhausted them round about the 4th OT, and the game loses the chess-match strategy and takes on more of the last-gladiator standing aspects of the game.
It’s really exciting, but overall detrimental to the athletes. How long can we expect them to play? And how long can they expect us to watch? (ooohhh HERESY!!)
Sunday, November 16, 2003
What I've learned from football in the last 4 weeks
There has been so much to write about since I last blogged! If you’ve been trying to keep up, I apologize for my lengthy absence. My blogosphere attentions have been occupied elsewhere.
In any case, a quick rundown of what we’ve been through in the last weeks:
1. Woo hoo! A win over the Tide in 5th overtime. That was a sure screamer! Final: 51-43 Vols. Theological lesson: Don’t give up. Sometimes it takes five overtimes to pull through it. You may get battered and be absolutely worn out, but don’t give up hope.
2. A better homecoming this year. We played Duke this year for homecoming and won 23-6. Better than last year’s embarrassing homecoming against Miami! And it shows that even post-BCS Fullmer can play a gentleman’s game. Though I can’t argue this point too finely since it wasn’t televised. Theological lesson: Even if or especially if you’ve got the upper hand, you can humbly achieve your goals.
3. And THANK YOU, MIAMI! You wrapped it up, put a big red bow on it, and made our season! With their four turnovers and that last botched kickoff return, we took home a big phat W from Miami, 10-6. Yep, we ended the nation’s longest home winning streak (since 98) and the first time the canes were denied a touchdown at home since 1984!! Yee hah! Theological lesson: The sweetest victory is the unexpected one, and the team victorious is not always the best team, but the team that makes the least mistakes. Like I saw in a cartoon yesterday, “they can’t beat you if they can’t hit you!”
4. Which brings us to today’s game against Mississippi St. So much for the gentleman’s game, with a score like 59-21, we made a shameless play for the SEC east top standing in BCS. (So that if Auburn could have come through for us, we’d have the upper hand in the SEC east three way tie. But of course, Auburn didn’t come through for us! Ah you can never trust a team that can’t figure out what their mascot is. Leave it to Auburn to confuse an eagle with a tiger.) Theological lesson for the week: Keep your focus on the big picture as you keep chugging along, but remember that you’re often not in control of your own destiny. The actions of others can affect your standings more than you might be willing to acknowledge. Just focus on the things you can change.
Which brings us to next week: Vandy. Stay tuned.
In any case, a quick rundown of what we’ve been through in the last weeks:
1. Woo hoo! A win over the Tide in 5th overtime. That was a sure screamer! Final: 51-43 Vols. Theological lesson: Don’t give up. Sometimes it takes five overtimes to pull through it. You may get battered and be absolutely worn out, but don’t give up hope.
2. A better homecoming this year. We played Duke this year for homecoming and won 23-6. Better than last year’s embarrassing homecoming against Miami! And it shows that even post-BCS Fullmer can play a gentleman’s game. Though I can’t argue this point too finely since it wasn’t televised. Theological lesson: Even if or especially if you’ve got the upper hand, you can humbly achieve your goals.
3. And THANK YOU, MIAMI! You wrapped it up, put a big red bow on it, and made our season! With their four turnovers and that last botched kickoff return, we took home a big phat W from Miami, 10-6. Yep, we ended the nation’s longest home winning streak (since 98) and the first time the canes were denied a touchdown at home since 1984!! Yee hah! Theological lesson: The sweetest victory is the unexpected one, and the team victorious is not always the best team, but the team that makes the least mistakes. Like I saw in a cartoon yesterday, “they can’t beat you if they can’t hit you!”
4. Which brings us to today’s game against Mississippi St. So much for the gentleman’s game, with a score like 59-21, we made a shameless play for the SEC east top standing in BCS. (So that if Auburn could have come through for us, we’d have the upper hand in the SEC east three way tie. But of course, Auburn didn’t come through for us! Ah you can never trust a team that can’t figure out what their mascot is. Leave it to Auburn to confuse an eagle with a tiger.) Theological lesson for the week: Keep your focus on the big picture as you keep chugging along, but remember that you’re often not in control of your own destiny. The actions of others can affect your standings more than you might be willing to acknowledge. Just focus on the things you can change.
Which brings us to next week: Vandy. Stay tuned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)