College Collage

After watching the horrifying right jab by Oregon's LeGarrette Blount late Thursday night, it was great to see Saturday's full slate of college football games. Here are some random thoughts while flipping around the dial.

Minnesota @ Syracuse

They day kicked off with the intriguing debut of Greg Paulus as the Orange's starting QB. I'm really impressed with Paulus' God given athletic ability as he smoothly made the switch from hoops to the huddle. The O-Coordinator called a great game and put Paulus in a position to succeed with mostly short, effective passes. The second half was a snooze and college overtime continues to be a farce (not that it had any impact on the outcome of the game). Other than one terrible decision, which unfortunately cost SU the game, the former Dukie played well.

Paulus Played Well, But Doesn't Pass Gophers' Test

As for the broadcast itself, Pam Ward has improved a lot over the last couple of seasons and I think she calls a crisp, accurate game. Ray Bentley, on color, was good too, making this a pretty good combo.

The Donovan McNabb in-game interview was completely misplaced. They had him in the booth while the Orange was on defense, making it awkward for D-Mac to talk about Paulus. Bottom line, keep McNabb's name out of the booth for one series, or keep him around for one Syracuse offensive possession.

BYU @ Oklahoma

You have to feel for Sam Bradford, as the OU QB passed on NFL millions, only to be in a sling by halftime. Fortunately it's not career threatening, but his Heisman hopes are out the window as he'll miss a couple of games. What about the Sooners season? They can still run the table and hope a Big 12 Title earns them a one loss spot in the BCS Title Game, but it's not likely.

The flip side is kudos to BYU for pulling off the upset. The Cougars are in a single elimination format and like many teams (any from the WAC, Mt. West & Big 11) can't afford any loses if they want to play for the title. The lack of a playoff continues to be the main reason why college football will never surpass the NFL in popularity.

Northern Iowa @ Iowa

Too bad Kurt Warner's Alma mater couldn't pull off the FCS (Div 1-AA) over FBS (D-1) upset. The most interesting part of this game was that the refs got the call right on Iowa's first blocked FG. Had the zebras not been on top of things, the game would've ended there. Instead the stripes sorted through the mayhem and correctly ruled that UNI was to keep possession, thus giving the Panthers another crack at the game winner. Unfortunately no storybook ending for the Northern Iowa, as props go to the Hawkeyes for blocking the re-kick.

Navy @ Ohio State

I could rip Jim Tressel for allowing quarterback Terrelle Pryor to talk him into going for it on 4th down, or criticize the young QB for allowing the Midshipmen back in the game. I could even blast the Navy staff for a horrible play call on the conversion to tie the game, but there was something else on the Middies sidelines that caught my ire.

I don't know if it was a trainer, team manager, grad assistant or intern, but somebody holding a towel and water bottle is important enough to warrant wearing a head set. Seriously!?!?! I did a double take and rewound the DVR to confirm what I only caught a glimpse of, and sure enough, standing next to the coaches, there's a girl with a drive-thru like head piece.

"May I Take Your Order?"

Are you kidding me...a sideline filler with a headset!?!?!?! Who could she possible be connected to?

Maintenance? "We need more pressure!"

The boys in the booth? "We should use our two-point pass play."

The quarterback? "Try to look off the linebacker."

Even though college football doesn't use the sideline to quarterback communication, you can assume if they did, the water girl would have advised Ricky Dobbs to NOT throw into triple coverage.

In the end I've concluded this girl's pretty important and runs a tight ship when it comes to having her minions fill the water bottles.

LSU@ Washington

The Tigers are off to a good start with a solid road win. I didn't know much about Huskies QB Jake Locker, but was impressed with his size and mobility.

Trading Places

Glad to see Joe Paterno back on the sidelines (Akron @ PSU) and Matt Millen back in the booth (ABC - Georgia @ Ok. St.). JoePa's health has been in question for a couple of years, so if he's not healthy enough to be on the sidelines, then he should hang it up.

As for Millen, he should've never left broadcasting, which he excels at. I was covering the Lions when he arrived in 2001 as Detroit's GM. He was an arrogant SOB from day one and proved he knows nothing about running a franchise. Those who can, do, those who can't, should stick to talking about it.