Quick Hits
Nov 15, 2011
Becoming legend, Heels holding up their end, 5-0 or 0-13, shock and disgust at Penn State and we aren’t done yet, we might get that BCS title game rematch just not the one we were thinking of.
#903
That is the number that will put Duke Head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski at the of the all time wins list for D-I. Consider how Coach K’s journey started at Army and the first few years at Duke, probably not too many people thought the tough Polish kid out of Chicago would see 100 career wins.
Even Krzyzewki had to take a step back, “It’s kind of hard to believe really, especially you know the first three years being…we only won 38 games my first three years.”
But how things changed once he got the ball rolling in Durham, “We’ve had seasons where we’ve won almost that many, a number of them.”
He shows no signs of slowing down or thinking about life after Duke, coaching Team USA has re-energized his batteries, top recruits are still coming to play for him, and the competitive desire to be the best are still there. Plus there is the competition. As long as he stays healthy, the question only question about the win total and Coach K will be how far out of reach will he put it?
Anchors Away…
The North Carolina Tar Heels are picked by just about everyone outside of Kentucky to be the nation’s top team. The first two games of the season have shown that those predictions are on target. UNC opened up with a tough match-up on the USS Carl Vinson against Michigan State outdoors. Carolina passed the test by running when need be, and playing interior defense lead by John Henson’s shot blocking. Win number one in the books by double digits.
The Heels followed up that performance by flying cross country, less than 48 hours later in a setting that had trap game written all over it. UNC-Asheville was opening up a new gym, with a veteran team amped up to see Carolina Blue in their building, one of those Santa Clara or College of Charleston type games that Heels fans know all too well. Tyler Zeller poured in 27 and another double digit win.
A funny moment from the Asheville game for the Heels, the Bulldog faithful started to chant “overrated” at the end of the game. A move that brought a smile to the face of some of the Tar Heels. If being overrated is winning by 16 on an opponents floor after putting in the back-ups, the rest of college basketball should fear what will happen if this isn’t the best UNC can play.
Irresistible force or the immovable object…
NC State is 5-0 against UNC in the five seasons Tom O’Brien has been at the helm of the football program. NC State is 0-13 on the road against the Atlantic Division of the ACC in the five seasons Tom O’Brien has been at the helm of the football program.
Seeing the Wolfpack play in the Atlantic division that 0 for the road is a number that can’t be ignored, especially after a disappointing loss at Boston College. Yet in talking to most State fans beating UNC is the most important thing the football team can do all year. So while beating the Heels gives State bragging rights for 365 days, one has to wonder how much longer office superiority gives Tom O’Brien job security.
For every step forward the program has taken under TOB, there seems to be a step back. Next season will be a big year in determining what direction the Pack is heading.
The shame of Penn State.
The Penn State scandal involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky has already cost several people their jobs, and causing the unthinkable to happen, Penn State had to fire Joe Paterno. In what has already been an ugly year for college football from UNC’s firing of Butch Davis to Ohio State’s Jim Tressel being dismissed by the Buckeyes and everywhere in between, the one place we all thought was safe from that was Happy Valley, PA.
Maybe that is why the horrific story of what Sandusky has been accused of doing, preying on young boys is even more disturbing (if that is possible). But now the fallout is something that we will watch play out on a public stage. Why didn’t anyone at Penn State call the authorities? How could something like this be kept quiet, for the pursuit of football records? How can people be more concerned about a football reputation than an academic institution? How can a place that prided itself on doing things the right and virtuous way, ever recover? Did a small town try to sweep this away? What happens to the victims?
There are no answers that will seem to make things right, and the more we find out, the worse this story seems to turn.
Let’s go one more time…
We might get a regular season rematch in the BCS Title Game. No not that one, the one from the season opener. Remember Oregon played LSU in Dallas to kick off the year, a game that the Tigers ate up the Ducks 40-27?
Don’t look now, but if these teams run the table and Oklahoma State loses to Oklahoma, it could happen. Oregon moved up to fourth in the latest BCS standings after beating Stanford and the Ducks are seemingly heading to the Pac-12 title game. It is likely if Oregon wins out they can leapfrog Alabama and the Ducks would have to send a thank you card to ‘Bama. See, LSU’s win over the Tide helps the Ducks strength of schedule in computer polls which would move them up in the final BCS rankings and boom we get a rematch.
But remember college football doesn’t need a playoff.
