And in punting news

1. Ohio State scored 7 points today, and punted 10 times. I enjoyed that. And I am sure Michigan State fans did, too. I think anyone will take a 10-7 win in the Horseshoe, any time.

2. Virginia Tech's punting game was abysmal. Sub 20 yard punts should never, ever happen. This is not the Beamerball we have heard so much about, not even close. In any case, Clemson retained the Silver Ball comfortably, with a 23-3 win. Next up, Boston College, bringing in an 0-6-1 record in Silver Ball matchups.

Ask Y

BYU continued to rebound from their week 2 and 3 sadness, adding to last week's comeback over UCF with a stunner against Utah State. The winning touchdown came after a wildly fluky downfield pass into the red zone, a horribly flubbed attempt at clock management losing 15 vital seconds, and a deflected pass falling gracefully into the arms of a waiting receiver with just 11 seconds left. Right place, right time, 27-24 miracle win.

Friday night games this year have been crazier than a barrel full of crazy monkeys. Gotta love it.

Keeping possession

Clemson took a thriller against visiting Florida State, 35-30, retaining the Silver Ball. That was an outstanding game, marred only by Florida State's many penalties. They really should have won it, I dare say. Next week the Tigers visit Virginia Tech.

Of the teams I favor, I will mention only Michigan, 28-7 winners over underdog San Diego State, but lacking anything resembling a passing game in this one. Great to see the love between coach Brady Hoke and the staff and players on his old team, too.

On TV now, it's a tough choice. LSU-West Virginia, or Mizzou-Oklahoma? I think I'll try to keep track of both games.

Dramatic night

After a holding penalty and a couple of bruising stops for loss, Florida State faced 3rd and 28 on their own 44. So here's reserve QB Clint Trickett, untested and raw, victimized by a punishing sack on the previous play, dropping back... and oh so calmly hitting his man with the deep pass for a 56 yard score. Nice. 13-13 in the fourth quarter between #1 Oklahoma and #5 Florida State.

Meantime, Miami cleaned up Ohio State in the Ineligibowl. BYU is leading newly minted major conference rival, Utah. USC is holding off Syracuse. Oh, and Stanford is playing Arizona. It's a good night to be a neutral fan.

Stop press: Oklahoma strikes back with a fantastic catch in the end zone, leads 20-13.

Tiger, Tiger

The Clemson Tigers hosted and upset the Silver Ball champion Auburn Tigers, and the trophy has finally left the South East Conference after a run that began with Florida's win in the BCS Championship in January, 2009. The last Atlantic Coast Conference squad to hold the title was Florida State, in 1992. It's been a long wait.

Robbed

Utah State did everything but pull off the massive upset at Auburn, failing to defend an onside kick at the death, and paying the price with a 42-38 loss. This is a great shame for Silver Ball watchers (all two of us). It's getting a bit old, writing about the SEC time and again. The Silver Ball would look good in the WAC for a while. Oh well... one day the auld trophy will be wrested away. It always is, eventually.

And we're back

College football is finally back, and we can put aside the schadenfreude of Miami and Ohio State for a few minutes and watch some surprisingly good week one games, along with the usual gross mismatches. Baylor's win over TCU last night was epic. Oregon and LSU have scheduled an amazingly gutsy out of conference matchup for tonight. Boise State, persistent thorn in the side of the BCS, is visiting Georgia in Atlanta. And Auburn is defending the Silver Ball against Utah State.

OK, that last one promised to be a dud. But as I write, Utah State is leading 21-14. If they had any clue whatsoever about kickoff coverage, the lead would likely be bigger. My money is still on a big win for the Tigers, but this has been a lot of fun so far.

And we're back

After a lengthy break for real life work, it's time to post to this blog again. The occasion is Auburn's successful 22-19 defense of the Silver Ball against an outgunned but never-say-die Oregon squad. That was a hell of a game. I wish we could see TCU take on Auburn now...

The Silver Ball bounced around the SEC like a pinball this season. Alabama won four straight before being upset by South Carolina. The Gamecocks immediately lost to Kentucky, who then lost to Georgia, who then lost to Florida. This run of four successful challenges was briefly broken as Florida beat Vanderbilt, but then the Gators lost to South Carolina. Determined to hold on to the trophy this time, South Carolina handily defeated Troy and Clemson. Then big bad Auburn finally got a shot, winning the Silver Ball and the SEC Championship with a resounding 56-17 thumping. With last night's win, the Tigers can rest easy until the visit of Utah State in September.

Silver Ball trivia for tonight

South Carolina's 69 point haul against hapless Troy was the largest in a Silver Ball match since Mizzou dropped 69 on Nevada in 2008. You have to go back to 1995 to see a score higher than that: Nebraska 77, Arizona State 28. A crushingly dominant Nebraska squad held the trophy all through that season, winding up 62-24 winners over Florida in the Fiesta Bowl. They even won all of the various "official" championships, too.

It's technically too early to call, but...

With South Carolina up 56 to 7 over Troy at half time, I declare the Silver Ball safe for this week.

Words you hate to hear

"Their backup quarterback was a scout team defensive back last week."

Yeah, Akron has a few injury issues. And a horrific record. But they do have a 14-10 lead right now... go Zips!

Edit: And Miami (OH) is down to their third string QB...

A second bite

South Carolina wins, 36-14, and becomes one of those fun teams that gets the ball, loses it, and gets it back again in the same season. Next week, the Gamecocks host Troy, which takes a break from the tangled mess that is the Sun Belt Conference to take a tilt at the Silver Ball for the fourth time. The previous three attempts were not glorious.

But now...

Florida is driving, 5:40some to go, down 29-14... never count out a team that until very recently held the mantle of the nation's preeminent football program.

By the way, while it's on my mind: Indiana 20, Wisconsin 83. Yes, 83. Their third string offense is that good - they just couldn't take the foot off the accelerator when they tried to.

Edit: Make that 36-14. Stick a fork in Urban Meyer.

Ducks showing some quacks

Oregon hanging on to a 15-13 lead, with Cal driving in the third quarter. But we know how fast things can get out of hand when your D starts to tire against those Ducks, too. Meantime in the Swamp, the Gamecocks are shellacking the Gators now, 29-7. If Florida retains the Silver Ball tonight, it will be a hell of a memorable comeback.

Interesting times for the top 3

While Boise State cruised to a 52-14 win over Idaho, the three teams above them in the race for the alleged national championship have been living on the edge today. Auburn trailed for some time against Georgia, and was tied 28-28 before finally easing away 49-31. Texas Christian trailed 14-zip to puny San Diego State and escaped in the end with a 40-35 victory that won't impress any voters - while TCU's big scalp from last week, Utah, was awful in losing to Notre Dame. And now the world's scariest hurry-up scoring machine Oregon is trailing 7-0 well into the second quarter against Cal.

Meantime, of course, there's one college football title that's only decided on the field, and needs no voters or hog tied computers to tarnish its value. Florida is defending the Silver Ball against visiting South Carolina, and trailing 15 to 7 at half time. This game is a beauty.

Oh, and also: Columbia scored 17 unanswered points in the last quarter, the last with 37 seconds left, to roar to a comeback win over Cornell, 20-17. GO LIONS!!!

And in the Bayou...

Alabama 21, Louisiana State 24.

Now everyone can shut the f*ck up about how the Tide should leapfrog Boise State and Texas Christian, ok? Especially if you are the old school type that claims "every week is a playoff." Les Miles is a very happy man, right now. And well he should be. That was a bunch of fun.

Still the Gator Ball

Florida traveled to Vanderbilt, and for a very brief time in the first quarter it looked like a good game. But the floodgates opened in the second, and the Gators ran up the score in a 55 to 14 rout - breaking a streak of of four consecutive changeovers for the mythical Silver Ball trophy. Next up, recent holder South Carolina gets another shot at the title as the Old Ball Coach revisits his long time chomping ground in Gainesville.

In other news, Michigan's disgraceful D was matched by its scarily effective O in a 67-65 triple overtime win over unlucky Illinois. Kansas scored the last 35 points of the game, all in the last quarter, to record the biggest comeback in school history in a 52-45 win over Colorado. And in "official" national title chase news, Boise State is well ahead of Hawaii, as expected. TCU is well ahead of Utah, in what looked a very close matchup. Oregon is gradually pulling away from an outmatched but very stubborn Washington team. Auburn pummeled Chattanooga - ho hum. And LSU and Bama are locked in a barnburner.

In roller derby, the semi finals are set at nationals in Chicago, and there are no surprises: Philadelphia vs. Olympia, and Gotham vs. Rocky Mountain. Those will be a couple of excellent games - follow the action at Derby News Network.

Championships decided yesterday

In Suzy Hotrod's last bout for Queens, she was heroic and brilliant as ever, but Bonnie Thunders was just incredible for Bronx, scoring a Gotham record 91 points and leading the Gridlock to their third title. After she dropped a 20-0 jam on Queens late in the first half, it was basically over with the lead at 36. Queens showed life from time to time after that, but Bronx still won 132-98. Well deserved revenge for that upset regular season defeat.

Georgia took the Silver Ball to the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville, aka the Florida game, which seems to me to be the friendliest long term rivalry in college football. The Bulldogs spotted the Gators a big lead, roared back in the last quarter, but were ultimately doomed by a turnover in overtime. Florida's punter-turned-replacement-kicker Chas Henry nailed the 37 yarder to win and suddenly Urban Meyer is in charge of a national champion again. Even if he doesn't know it. Next up, a trip to Vanderbilt, where I bravely predict the streak of four successful challenges will end.

Spelling lesson

Will Ferrell on College Gameday:

Last time I spelled it, there was no D in Auburn.

Balldogs

Georgia did indeed take the Silver Ball from Kentucky, a 44 to 31 result ending the Wildcats' first ever time as champion with ruthless speed. Georgia takes the Ball home for the 25th time, and sports a phenomenal 25-11 record in Silver Ball matches.

The title has now changed hands in three straight games for the first time since 2003. With Georgia taking on Florida next week, a fourth straight has to be a strong possibility - that would be the first time since the 1990 season, when Washington, UCLA, USC, and Notre Dame all failed to hang on to the Silver Ball, and Colorado eventually won it at the Orange Bowl. Champs went just 6-7 that season in Silver Ball games - ugly.