This is the last week of the 2023 College Football regular season. If you are an Indiana fan, you might be very thankful this Thanksgiving weekend. This painful season is almost over.
Last week I experienced two Indiana Hoosier firsts for me. It all started on Thursday, November 16th. My dear wife, Carrie, and I made our way to Bloomington to watch the Indiana Hoosiers take on the Wright State Raiders in…wait for it…a men’s basketball game in Assembly Hall. This was the first men’s college basketball game I have ever been to. We had a great time. Indiana won 89-80.
This looked like a circus during a timeout. It was good.
I think the basketball Hoosiers have some great ingredients. If they get the recipe right, look out.
Two days later, my brother, Darrell, and I took in the last home game of the Indiana Football season (thankfully). Michigan State beat Indiana 24-21 in another game that just plain got away. The one that got away is no longer a theme with Hoosier Football; it is the norm. My optimism and my hope for Hoosier football has waned. Looking out on the horizon of today’s wild wild east and west of college football, I don’t see things getting better for many teams. Indiana is in that number.
Being there with my brother was awesome. The last college game we saw together was the 1993 Independence Bowl when the Hoosiers were bested by the Virginia Tech Hokies in Shreveport. He was ten years old then. The crowd for the game last week was pitiful. Those stands behind us were during the second half of game that stayed close until the end.
This photo was taken in the first half.
The Hoosiers play for the Old Oaken Bucket at Purdue today. Have you seen what that trophy looks like? It looks like it belongs in Bloomington.
Last week’s picks were not good.
8 winners 6 losers. I picked IU, Kentucky, Duke, and a few others who let me down.
Season total: 123 winners 45 losers
Today we see the last Saturday of the regular season for 2023 college football. Man did it go fast.
Here goes…
Indiana beats Purdue… I have to.
Louisville beats Kentucky… UK will give them something. But I see U of L still kicking themselves over the loss to Pitt and being sky high at home working toward the ACC Title Game with Florida State. Now that is exciting!
Ohio State beats Michigan… Marvin Harrison, Jr. Say no more. Can Michigan really keep this up in another episode of As the Wolverine Turns? I don’t think so.
Duke beats Pitt… Will bring Duke to 7-5. We’d take 7-5 at a basketball school.
LSU beats Texas A&M… Daniels at QB for LSU is the most fun to watch since Johnny Manziel was looking like a computer game at Kyle Field.
Troy beats Southern Miss… Southern is at home. Troy is better.
Alabama beats Auburn… I picked the Tide to win it all this year. They are still in the hunt. The problem is that Bama has been so good for so long that no other program is penalized more by one loss than the Tide.
Maryland beats Rutgers…Look for the Terps to put up some points.
Illinois beats Northwestern… Illini are at home and these teams are pretty even.
Minnesota beats Wisconsin… Goldy is at home and he needs this one for bowl contention.
Washington beats Washington State…The Apple Cup no longer runneth over. It is running dry. Another rivalry in jeopardy due to conference migration. While the Huskies count their money, the Cougars will remember when.
Florida State beats Florida… Could the Gators really pull this off with the Seminoles playing a second-string quarterback? Nah, I don’t think so either.
Georgia beats Georgia Tech…The Engineers will ask for a running clock in the 3rd quarter.
UCLA beats Cal… Late kick in The Rose Bowl. Kind of appropriate as this one is where the sun will go down on the PAC-12. I will watch this until the end.
Lastly, being there for a friend is an important thing. I wish I could have done a better job of that last week. Adam Disque’s dad passed away after a lengthy illness and I was not able to make it up to Jackson County early in the week. Going to see Indiana play a basketball game two days later didn’t make me question my priorities. It did hold some regret that I was tied up on Tuesday a little too tight than I wish I had been. I haven’t had the courage to tell Adam about my visit to Assembly Hall. That’s life.
I am looking out on this college football day with melancholy. I don’t want to see the PAC-12 end. I don’t want to see the SEC with Texas and Oklahoma. Lewis Grizzard once said he was glad his father didn’t live long to see him get his hair cut in a beauty parlor. I feel the same way when I think about the greatest voice in college football history Keith Jackson. He predicted this nonsense on January 1, 2017, when he said the problem with college football was “oversaturation, meaning too much coverage.” Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit were standing on each side of Keith in The Rose Bowl’s Keith Jackson Broadcast Center that day. Chris and Kirk looked sheepish standing next to The Voice.
Today is the day the music dies for college football as we knew it.
On a good note, UCLA beat USC last week. Now it is time for me to hit publish and go put my UCLA jersey on for this college football Saturday which is the last of its kind.
Speaking the Rights.
Danny Johnson