Number 131 is special one for me this week. When I started ticking off stadiums in earnest nearly fifteen years ago, I would never have thought I would see my alma mater in one of these games. When I played at Mercyhurst College (and played is a word I would use loosely – but I was on the team for all four years), the Lakers were a scrappy, up-and-coming DIII program. Twenty-six years later, the Hurst has become a University with a D1 sports program. The football team plays at the FCS level. They played up last week against New Mexico State and will finish their road trip against New Mexico this weekend.
All this means bad news for the Lobos. Well, probably not. A win for the Lakers would be their first over a FBS team. For me, however, it is a feel good story for sure regardless of the outcome. I will proudly be flying both the Somanystadiums.com and Mercyhurst flags in Albuquerque. My game day jersey will stay up on the wall though. I don’t want to get too carried away. Then again, I think I have an old practice jersey in the closet…
Loved the Dubs
Husky Stadium gets a lot of hype. It is well deserved. We had a great time sailgating, checking out the stadium and the game was decent too. Our DUB sponsors would probably disagree about the game. The review will come out in a couple of weeks, but some brief observations.
- We weren’t sure about the sailgating, particularly since we were on larger boat. It turned out to be a blast, and never felt too crowded. The give and take between the rival fans was spirited and but all in good fun.
- The scenery is even better in real life than in the photos. Truly stunning.
- Husky Nation represented. The stadium was loud and the fans were active all game.
- But, they needed to be. UW let the Coogs hang around the whole game.
Who do I like?
Last Week
It was reversion to the mean this week as I went 1-3. I thought for sure I was going to break even as I went to bed at halftime of the SMU – Fla State game. The power outage delay (very on brand for the state of Florida btw) combined with yesterday’s red-eye flight made staying up impossible. Nonetheless, I was confident I was going to be winner. Again – reversion to the mean.
- I will give it to Coach Prime, his Buffaloes pulled one out against Georgia Tech. The Rambling Wreck certainly helped in defeat when they went conservative at the end of the game.
- The Hurst was in it for a half against New Mexico State, but, in a tale as old as time, depth took its toll and the Lakers faded away.
- Rivalry games are always risky bets. I let my heart overall rule my head when I went with Washington to cover the 23.5 spread. Hell, at one point, it looked like the Huskies might actually lose.
- SMU had four turnovers to turn what should have been a blowout into a tight game. And, they don’t cover by half a point – at least from me. Awesome, just awesome.
While I didn’t get to see any other games in full, I did get to see large chunks of a few of them. Some thoughts:
- Full props to UMass. I give the Minutemen lots of grief here, but not anymore. Nothing but love for UMass for at least the next three weeks. However, it is open season on Rutgers.
- Of course, Western Michigan was robbed against Michigan. That call only happens in Ann Arbor. If Michigan is anywhere else, that game is over. And, I don’t need to see the Big 10’s “matched” video stream as proof. Really, you don’t think someone could shave four hundreths of a second off of the one stream to line that up? You can do that video editing on your phone.
- Boise is still legit. No shame in losing to #2 Oregon in Eugene by only a touchdown. The Broncos could still be in the playoffs by the end of the season.
- I know VMI is a FCS foe, but the Hokies hanging 73 on them is still a better beginning than recent years. The Franklin era at Virginia Tech is off to a decent start.
This week’s picks in a couple of days.
Tree