BY KEVIN FRIEDENBERG

In print | Published September 6, 2007

While moving back to school I could sense something in the air, something palpable like the smell in front of Sharples, but different somehow. Then it hit me like a gorilla with a hockey skate: college football jumped off this weekend. So many games, so many teams, so many frat boys itching rashes courtesy of body paint. You know it’s college football season when magazines start advertising products that allow you to smuggle gallons of liquor into a stadium even with a frisking! People around the country are gearing up for a fresh season that promises more drama than a Saturday night with the legendary “Quad.”

The past weekend of college football was electric and included probably the most absurd upset I have ever seen. The fifth-ranked University of Michigan dropped a 34-32 barnburner against Appalachian State, the defending division I-AA champs, in a game that was harder to swallow than Indian Bar. What makes this game both inspiring and shocking is the fact that it should have been more of a blowout than the Mike Tyson v. Peter McNielly fight. What started as a simple tune-up game for Coach Lloyd Carr and the Wolverines turned into one of the most disastrous and embarrassing losses for a coach who was already in the hot seat. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Carr waiting on tables at Tom Jones in a few months, and when I order a drink and he says, “Is Pepsi okay?” all I can do is say to him, “No Lloyd, Pepsi is not okay.” All ribbing aside, Appalachian State’s victory shows that America still loves to root for the underdog, and that you never talk shit to the quiet kid who hasn’t said a word all night, dangerous because he’s unpredictable.

Even though only one week of the season has gone by so far, the New York Times already ran a “Heisman Watch” column that included the stats for some of the top contenders for the trophy including Arkansas running back Darren McFadden and West Virginia quarterback Steve Slaton. Some of the statistics were impressive but some were downright ridiculous. For example, Hawaii quaterback Colt Brennan went 30-for-40 for 416 yards and 6 TD’s in the first half. Naysayers may believe that he is just a system quarterback but anyone who can gain the entire field four times over in yardage in the first half is a maniac. Also, Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan uncorked 32-for-52 for 408 yards and five TD’s. I don’t care who you are, if you can throw 52 passes in a game and not have your arm turn into a piece of wet linguini, you are something special.

High school football even grabbed a little limelight this weekend as Cinncinnati’s Elder High beat Independence High of Charlotte, N.C. in overtime, which snapped a 109-game winning streak. One hundred and nine games, are you serious? That team hadn’t lost a game since I was 12. Talk about pressure. What the hell do they feed those kids down there? Soylent Green?

This season is significant also because West Virginia will be playing with the aid of freshman running back Noel Divine. For those of you who have never heard that name, go search it on YouTube immediately. This kid’s high school highlight film is like watching Reggie Bush play against a team of toddlers. He accelerates from zero to 60 like a Ferrarri and cuts tighter than Ghostface Killah’s rhymes. I personally can’t wait to watch this kid ball outrageous in the college level, something I’ve been looking forward to for a few years. Whoever your favorite team is I suggest you try to watch at least one game this season. College football is electrifying due to the fact that the kids aren’t playing for any money, the hits are harder than in the NFL and the effort is out of this world because there can’t be any feeling comparable to playing in front of 80,000 screaming fans and giving it all on every play in hopes of making it to The Show.

Kevin is a sophomore. You can reach him at kfriede1 [at] swarthmore [dot] edu.

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