Saturday Scares | Sports in Stilettos

I've gotta say, the first few games this week didn't really do much for me. Ok, I was a little distracted, what with the U.S. Open semifinals, featuring my love Nadal, pushed up to this afternoon and New York Fashion Week starting yesterday, but Miami (OH) at Michigan and Ohio at Ohio State were not captivating.

With the exception of the beautiful pass Miami quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh threw midway into the second quarter (too bad the next incompletion forced a field goal instead of leading to a TD) and the amusing anecdote about how Ohio's Boo Jackson got the name "Boo" (his real name's Franshaw and he cried a lot as a baby - who wouldn't with that name? - so his mom played peek-a-boo with him constantly), I wasn't really paying attention.

Then I heard "Will you look at that?" so, obedient spectator that I am, I stopped yelling "Nadal! Just freaking win!" long enough to look at the tv. It took me a few seconds to realize that Ohio 7, Ohio State 6 meant the Buckeyes (gasp!) weren't winning going into halftime. Whoa.

Once I got over the initial shock, I thought, "Sweeeeet maybe this means the Trojans won't have such a tough time with them next week." Then I got a little worried. A loss to Ohio would mean one of two things: they were so atrociously bad that no other top teams would need to fear them, or that they would be uber-fired up going against Southern Cal. I assumed the latter and started rooting for a Buckeye win. They did, 26-14, which I personally believe to be the best possible outcome: they don't head into next week's game with something to prove, but they showed they are far from invincible.

Wisconsin had a similar scare against Marshall. I was a little, "Whoa, what's with the Badgers?" in the beginning of the game, wondering if maybe they weren't as good as everyone made them out to be. The final score, a 54-14 win for Bret Bielema's boys, proved they are. As happened quite a few times last year, sometimes they look like they're in trouble but the Badgers usually pull off a win.

The Oregon State-Penn State game just started and man, did Kirk Herbstreit have some sharp criticism for the Nittany Lions today or what? He rightfully reamed out the players for not assuming responsibility for themselves and the team, for not exhibiting leadership, and for allowing the program to lose a lot of respect. The "Penn" is not short for "penitentiary," but that's what too many of those guys are flirting with. I have one more, less urgent suggestion for them to consider: thicker pants. If you want to improve your image (and guys, you really need to improve your image), start with thicker pants. Trust me on this one.

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September 6, 2008 06:46 PM ET

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There's also the West Virginia- East Carolina game going on right now. 24-3 going into the 4th Quarter.

Big M: The Original

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^ECU is leading. I forgot to mention that.

September 7, 2008 02:04 AM ET

What a game between Notre Dame and San Diego State. The irish were suppose to win handely but when I got home they were down 13-6 with 10 minutes left in the third Qarter. Then the Irish came back to win 21-13.