Bits and pieces from Saturday

Hoozah and Kudos

* Brigham Young: Upset No. 3 Oklahoma after the various ESPN talking heads said BYU had no chance and would get blown out. Oops. In fairness, taking Sam Bradford out, had something to do with the Coogs win. Of course it won't happen since the NCAA is more concerned about protecting the power conferences, but the lesser thans -- BYU, Boise State -- should all play in BCS bowls. They won't, of course, since the NCAA is more worried about the Big East and the weak ass ACC.

* Central Arkansas: The Bears sure look a lot better than when I played for them 20 years ago. Yes, yes, your humble blog poster is a former college football player, not a very good one, but I had a number and everything. Uriah Perry maintains the tradition of squatty, not very athletic players wearing No. 60. Perry's an actual nose guard, while I was just the guy who played nose guard on the scout team. Anyway, UCA looked like a team to beat when they faced Hawaii on Friday. Or Saturday since the game kicked off here at Midnight. I was deeply enthralled until I heard from her, "really? It is nearly One and you are still up?" With that, it was off to bed and the wonders of Tivo to watch it on Saturday morning. Good show Bears, the win was in hand until a breakdown in the final two minutes. *shrug* Just the way of life when I-AA teams play up. Northern Iowa got a taste of that against Iowa. Richmond beat Duke though, so there you go.

* Kool-aid drinkers: One cup of sugar, plus one packet of Kool-Aid makes water taste so much better. The same can be said of Razorback fans, who get a constant diet of sugary coverage instead of honest analysis. Arkansas isn't very good this year. Yeah, yeah, they beat (Southwest) Missouri State 48-10. Who cares? Tennessee played Western Kentucky, one year removed from I-AA and the Vols laid the smack down 63-0 and a bajillion yards of offense. I thought 6-6 before the season started, and I may downgrade to 5-7 or 4-8. Tejada can't make a kick to save his life. He'll cost Arkansas at least one game, maybe two this season. And let's face it, Petrino is a poor coach. He sells people on what he did at Louisville, but he has yet to show any kind of inovation or player development. The defense stinks. The offensive line is pieced together with converted tight ends and academic mysteries. A Baker's Dozen running backs and none stood out since they all got five carries each. Mallett, laughed out of Michigan, looked wooden and unable to evade the SMSU pass rush. what happens when Rolando McClain, or one of a dozen other top-flight linebackers come pouring throught that porous offense line?

* Little Rock: Arkansas loves the Razorbacks so much, War Memorial didn't sell out. As a matter of fact, we walked up and bought two tickets an hour before kickoff. The row we were on, was not full. Really makes you wonder. It used to be said the whole state was for the Razorbacks, but that isn't true, not anymore. You ask a kid nowadays and they might rattle of pro teams or another college as their favorite team. Part of the fan experience is being able to go to the game, but two tickts were $90, plus $10 to park, and another $20 at the concession stand for drinks, peanuts and a package of M&Ms. One hundred and twenty dollars to watch Arkansas and a I-AA play some sloppy football and I live a mile from the stadium. So what does that say for the people who live hundreds of miles away and have the option of watching top 10 teams play on TV for roughly free or driving to Little Rock or Fayetteville for hundreds of dollars and that assumes they don't need a hotel, that they can't get just for one night. Their parents may still worship the Pig, but their kids, they are so far removed from gameday they wouldn't know what to do. Oh, and one more thing, tickets are still available for the Arkansas-Texas A&M in Dallas. For the low, low price of $300, you can buy one ticket for the game. Family of four is looking at $1,200 plus handling charges. Parking is $75. Then you have a hotel that you'll have to pay for two nights, plus gas to drive, meals and snacks at the game. No thanks.

* Orlando: Going on vacation next week. Hope not to comeback, but I will. Please leave tips on things to do at Universal Studios in the comments section. The whole trip with two week-long passes to Universal, two roundtrip airfares and five nights of hotel will be cheaper than four tickets to Arkansas-Texas A&M. Huh, I wonder why people aren't falling all over themselves to get to that game.

* Recruiting: I'm told any mention of Michael Dyer makes the blog light up like Jennings Obsbourne's house used to do at Christmas. So there's your Michael Dyer reference. Michael Dyer. Micahel Dyer. Michael Dyer. Auburn. Ole Miss. Tennessee. Arkansas. Etc.

NOTE: I know the NCAA doesn't recognize I-AA anymore, but that's stupid and I won't make the switch.