CFCC Week 6 History in the Remakingby: The Cold Hard TruthOn September 30, former Purdue football coach Joe Tiller passed away at the age of 74. He coached the Boilermakers from 1997 to 2008, and during that time, Purdue was a pretty good football team. It was only fitting that this past Saturday, a vastly improved Purdue team waged a 4th quarter rally against Minnesota, delivering a game winning drive in the final minutes. I thought it was a great way to honor Coach Tiller. Across the country, another great coach and former "Junction Boy" was being honored. Gene Stallings and the 1967 Aggie team were honored during halftime of the Alabama and Texas A&M game. Stallings, 82 years of age, had suffered a heart attach a mere 8 days prior and has had two strokes since May, so it was incredible to see him out there. I thought it was a special moment that demonstrated how linked the history of these two teams is, and it was nice to see a team finally challenge Alabama, as the Tide held on for a modest 27-19 victory. What a tremendous week of college football! Miami and Florida State went "old school" on us, battling like it was 1991. In a game that was decided in the final 6 seconds, it was Miami 24-20 in an instant classic. Iowa State also reminded us of some sweet history, replaying their 1990 upset road victory of Oklahoma by taking them down again in Norman,38-31. Tears welled up during the game - tears of joy - as I got to watch the latest disappointment for Sooner fans, who frankly seem a little blind to their team's actual skill level. I would expect that Mike Stoops, OU defensive coordinator, will be leaving shortly as the Sooners attempt to field a legitimate contender sometime in the future. Western Michigan and Buffalo also imitated history, doing their best 2001 Arkansas/Ole Miss impression, going 7 overtimes, before the Broncos finally prevailed 71-68 over an exhausted Buffalo team. Throughout the day, it felt like I was reliving history, and for a nostalgic guy like me, it was fantastic! You would think that all these games made my day complete. After all, I had already watched some great games, re-witnessed history, and was on my way to posting a decent CFCC score. However, away from spotlight of the CFCC that evening was a neglected PAC-12 game. It's probably a game that few of you watched, and even fewer cared about. It was during that game where we really turned back the clock. It was in 1985 in the 4th game of the season when Troy Aikman broke his ankle and Miami humiliated OU. With Aikman gone for the year (and from the program), a freshman quarterback named Jamelle Holieway took the field. The Sooners switched back to the "wishbone" offense, and the greatest option-style QB that ever played college football took the Sooners to a national title. I might also point out to current OU fans that the 1985 OU team played defense - it actually matters. Ha! Now, 32 years later, in the first quarter of the Arizona/Colorado football game, a dual-threat, backup QB named Khalil Tate entered the game for Arizona midway through the first quarter. The end result was an FBS QB record 329 yards rushing on 14 carries and he completed all but one pass for another 142 yards. In total, Tate had 5 TDs, and I had a one flashback to what it was like watching Jamelle Holieway three decades ago. It was a real treat to watch, and Arizona is a different team than they were last week. Hats off to Matty Ward from Charlottesville, VA., who was our the CFCC weekly winner. By going 13-2 and scoring 108 points, Ward easily out distanced the field during a week where the average score was only 66 points. It is a great victory for Ward, who is in 237th place overall. Michael Orosco from Colorado Springs, CO. remains at the top of the CFCC for another week. His 72 point, 12-3 performance was enough to keep him 35 points head of his nearest competitor, Brad Bryant from Brandon, MS. In the group contest, it is only fitting that perennial powers BoomerBacks and the Florida Dummies headline the 36 CFCC team field after Week 6. They always say that history repeats itself. I feel like this past week was definitely "history in the remaking." |
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