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C-A-R-O-L-I-N-A...Let's
Go! Nothing could be finer....than a quarterback controversy in Carolina. How about ol' Vinny and his 43-year-old quarterbackin' self making the plays in Arizona? The Panthers have two weeks to figure out if they are going to be led by David Carr or the kid, Vinny Testaverde. The open date comes at a good time for a team that has some health issues and needs to find out how to win at home. Amazingly, the Panthers are 4-0 on the road and winless at home....somebody please try to figure this one out. The next game for Carolina is at home...against Peyton Manning and the world champion Indianapolis Colts. If the Panthers don't pull off the upset at home, they will be coming up on their one-year anniversary of their last win at the stadium....in mid-November of 2006 against St. Louis. If it doesn't work out against Indy, maybe Jerry Richardson can create a special one-year anniversary handout for the PSL'ers in November? The battle of the Carolinas took place in Chapel Hill, and it was fun to be in the middle of the action. The Sun Drop Southern Fried Football™ Tour was set up right in the middle of campus and the interaction between North and South Carolina fans was a blast. These two schools need to be playing against each other every year. the next time they meet will be 2010, in Columbia....and assuming both head coaches (Steve Spurrier and Butch Davis) remain employed at their current universities, both teams will be loaded. Butch Davis is already making strides with his team, despite the 2-5 record....that number is deceiving. The Heels aren't as talented as Spurrier's Gamecocks, but both teams are young and both coaches are capable of making their programs annual Top 20 staples in the polls. While Davis is in his first year of turning around the culture and winning ways in Chapel Hill, Spurrier is on the fast track with the Gamecocks. Currently, USC is leading the wacky SEC East, and they also find themselves ranked 6th in the first edition of the BCS Standings. The Head Ball Coach will be the first one to admit that this squad has a ton of work to do, but it's hard to dispute the short-term success. The Gamecocks are 6-1 and have won nine of their last ten games. The schedule gets tougher for Spurrier and Co....road trips to Knoxville, Arkansas and home visits from Florida and Clemson will make the second half of the season intriguing. The stakes are getting higher in Columbia, and Steve Spurrier loves it that way. The Gamecocks are not a fluke. While everybody is focusing on the North and South "Carolinas", how about East Carolina? Skip Holtz has his Pirates on top of their division in CUSA.....and after a brutal schedule in September, all of a sudden the Purple and Gold can see the light at the end of tunnel. This week, a wounded N.C. State rolls into Greenville and they will be greeted by an ECU team and fans that can't wait to beat up on another in-state ACC rival. Earlier this year, ECU knocked off the Tar Heels on a last-second field goal....I'm sensing that the rival game this weekend won't be that close. This year is the first time that both NC State and UNC visited Greenville....and at this pace, they might be reluctant to do it again. Personally, I think it's great that ECU and the in-state ACC schools are playing each other...it creates a great deal of interest and promotes college football in North Carolina. Have you ever seen a college football season as goofy as this one? Every weekend seems to produce bizarre results. For the first time since 1996, both the #1 and #2 teams lost on the same weekend. Last week we saw Stanford, a forty-point underdog, win at Southern Cal. The week before, seven of the Top 13 teams in the country lost. College football is insane....and to think it all started when Appalachian State won at Michigan in week one....we should have known. By the way, in case anybody cares or is concerned..."Runner Up U" is the leader in the BCS standings this week....how can we take them seriously? So far this season, Sweater Vest has managed to play only one team that has cracked the Top 25...R-U-U is a pretender, and I'm sure they would cut a deal today to avoid seeing a team from the SEC in a bowl game....the poisonous nuts have never defeated a SEC team in post-season. What will happen first....the Colorado Rockies will actually lose a baseball game...or, Chad Knaus starts cheating again and Jimmie Johnson rallies past Jeff Gordon? I could've sworn that I heard Julius Peppers' name on the NFL telecast on Sunday. How bout dem Cowboys? The Patriots just scored again. Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno have been great for college football...but it's time for both of them to step down. I know how David Carr feels...my back and knees are messed up after trying to fit in the tightest seats in the South....and you can find them at UNC's Kenan Stadium. Trust me, guys like me that are 6'3" can't fit into those stands....it's like flying coach and sitting in a middle seat on a US Air flight. Who will win next...Danica Patrick in the IRL, or Dale Jr. in NASCAR ? Gotta go.... |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
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