WELCOME TO NUMBER ONE. DI DI MAO!
Scene: Vietnamese boathouse. Jim Tressel is being led into a room filled with men with guns. Reference: The Deer Hunter, for those not raised on watching scary Vietnam movies on Betamax.
Welcome. We’re the rest of college football. Jim Tressel, we play this game now. You sit here. South Florida, sit over there. Three. No less, no more. Spin the barrels. Welcome to hell. You’re number one? Nice. Spin the barrels anyway.
The preseason top ten? They were at this table, too. MAO! (Slap!) 16 losses between all of them. The consensus number one, USC? Lost to unranked Stanford. Spin the gun. Now! MAO! (Slap!) Favored by forty one points and they lost, sucker. You thought you stood a chance? LSU sat at this table, too, ’till they lost to Kentucky in three overtimes, stung by the first team that could pass effectively against six man blitzes. MAO! (Slap!)
Spin the barrels. MAO! Congrats. Number one gets to sit at the table. Quite a prize, no?
Louisville played the part of the Yugo: they started smoking early and often, losing to unranked teams until they spun wrong and ended up in the river. West Virginia couldn’t handle South Florida. I said put your money on the table, Tressel! What? You don’t understand Vietnamese? MAO! (Slap!) Texas lost to an unranked. Florida lost to an unranked. Cal was in the chair for three seconds before they pulled the trigger and lost to to an unranked team.
You spin the barrels, sometimes you hear a click, and we all laugh and drink a little more mao tai and laugh like maniacs. Sometimes you hear boom, and we’re laughing and grabbing the mop while you go talk to your ancestors and play your silly Yankee baseball in the sky forever. Either way, it’s a hell of game for us. We just watch and point while you die.
MAO! (Slap!) Oklahoma was here, too, laughing all the way before they lost to an unranked team. Virginia Tech ran into a werewolf with a chainsaw for a dick and had to reboot on offense. You sure you want to be here? Because you know what happens when you play this game, right? One gun. One bullet. Spin.
Could be Michigan State. Could be Wisconsin. You don’t know. Shoot! MAO! No one gets out of this shack alive. You get cocky, you look around, and all of sudden some unranked team is beating you with a bamboo cane. Ask anyone who was in this chair before. You play, you pay. Christ, we had Illinois in the top 25 for a hot minute there before they lost to-yup-unranked Iowa.
Now pick up the gun. MAO! Fun, eh? South Florida, your turn. This time, we do four bullets and Rutgers on Thursday.
MAO!
In this game, no one wins.
1
PJ from NU in SF says:
Bra-vo! So much for getting up early and trying to be productive…
October 15th, 2007 at 10:25 am
2
Mergz says:
Wow, that’s digging deep when you come up with a Deer Hunter scene as reference for the college football season. Probably hopelessly vague to much of your younger audience, but I say (on behalf of we older folk) bravo!
Of course if we take your Deer Hunter analogy to it original conclusion, South Florida -the gun now loaded with 4 bullets - is going to get up and shoot its Vietnamese / BCS oppressors dead, and escape into the jungle of a national title game.
Which may be exactly what happens.
October 15th, 2007 at 10:29 am
3
Nathan says:
Carr: Lemme ask you a question: how come I never see you eat?
Tressel: I like to starve myself: it keeps the fear up.
I expect that all you see on the Ohio State training table is broccoli and water for this entire week. Sweatervest has to keep the fear up. (Though this doesn’t explain the recent Kansas surge in the least - maybe there’s a reverse corollary here to discover)
October 15th, 2007 at 10:31 am
4
Dave says:
I hope USF loses by 30 on thursday
October 15th, 2007 at 10:32 am
5
Stockman says:
Welcome (back) to hell tosu, haven’t seen you here since January.
October 15th, 2007 at 10:33 am
6
tzubear says:
Nice work swindle. Mao!
Will tressel be steven, the crippled tramatized vet who dosent want to leave the hospital (lose to Mich St, Wisconsin or Illinois) or Nicky, who tried to release the inner pain by risking death as a profession (lose to Penn State or Michigan)?
We shall see.
October 15th, 2007 at 10:33 am
7
Nick says:
Now that the Ohio State is number 1, isn’t it time for Wayne to make a reappearance?
October 15th, 2007 at 10:34 am
8
Unhappy Monkey says:
Outstanding!! Four bullets! FOUR!
p.s. you spin the cylinder, the barrel is fixed.
October 15th, 2007 at 10:35 am
9
glacialspeed says:
Come on, how could you NOT prefer thirteen weeks of Russian roulette to some cheesy playoff?
October 15th, 2007 at 10:40 am
10
Cruzer says:
I’ve been looking for a metaphor for this season. I have to look no more.
And
#2
Nice way to extend the metaphor.
Now does life imitate art?
October 15th, 2007 at 10:42 am
11
Tommy Kilborn says:
Nice Deer Hunter stuff, but lets get back to the real imprtant stuff.
Fellow Notre Dame alumnuss, on Sat when we beat USC, you can go to the field for this game, but not in a savage fan type way. No!!!!!!!!
Walk onto the field strutting like the greatest horseman of them all, Ric the Nature Boy Flair. Yeah!!!!!
October 15th, 2007 at 10:43 am
12
Cameron Siggs says:
di di mau!! this season is going along like normandy scene in saving private ryan… the gate drops open, *boom* goes USC to a random stray bullet. LSU and Cal, racing up the embankment? boom goes the dynamite. seriously, it’s dive behind the bunkers, whip up some bangalores, and start trying to blow your way through the barbed wire that is this season.
October 15th, 2007 at 10:53 am
13
Gentleman Masher says:
Sidetracked a bit…but still trying to figure out how Christopher Walken went from doing that to “Balls of Fury”.
October 15th, 2007 at 10:59 am
14
Jmuthaf'nT says:
I have the tickets and hotel room to the big game, but if it’s tosu and USF, I’ll shoot myself or sell the stuff to some tosu fan for a rediculous amount of money to hit some of the establishments in nola
October 15th, 2007 at 11:01 am
15
dajo9 says:
Those 3 seconds in that chair were the best 3 seconds of my football life. I would do it all over again.
[cue Cal fan's lifeless body being unceremoniously dumped over bamboo rail into the river]
October 15th, 2007 at 11:02 am
16
bitterhorn says:
USF and BC in the Championship, baby.
October 15th, 2007 at 11:03 am
17
sherlock hemlock says:
Wait. Something we can all agree on. Notre Dame is still a source of much comedy, even the mediocre kind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxUfeXazpyw
October 15th, 2007 at 11:11 am
18
whetstonebuck says:
Well, even brief negative attention is better than no attention.
Go Bucks!
October 15th, 2007 at 11:11 am
19
Brian says:
I can’t really laugh at any of these after (in a poor choice decision) watching a video of the dude who shot himself in the head on live tv back in the 70s.
October 15th, 2007 at 11:21 am
20
capitol F says:
What is subcommandant wayne’s take on tOSU’s rise to the top of the polls (bitchez!)?
F
October 15th, 2007 at 11:22 am
21
PW says:
thanks Brian, cue the Debbie Downer music
October 15th, 2007 at 11:23 am
22
Brian O'Blivion says:
#17, FWIW, ND last won a bowl game in 1994 (1993 season). That video says 1996.
As an undergrad, we used play a drinking game called “Beer Hunter”. It involved 6 nips (mini beer cans). Wear the bandanas around your head. Shake up one can vigorously and mix them up. Game goes around the table one by one. Yell Mao before each player goes. Each person in the game opens up on can directly below their chin. The unlucky one gets to drink all the previously opened cans. Then it starts over with a new six. Good times.
October 15th, 2007 at 11:36 am
23
PeteJayhawk says:
Maotai is vile, vile stuff.
October 15th, 2007 at 11:52 am
24
PW says:
“Beer Hunter” was invented by Bob and Doug McKenzie. It’s on their Great White North album.
October 15th, 2007 at 11:52 am
25
DevilGrad says:
Wayne owns the Deer Hunter on DVD and thinks that Bob and Doug McKenzie “Beer Hunter” routine is disrespectful of a great movie and totally fucking gay. Not to mention Canadian. Fuckers.
October 15th, 2007 at 11:55 am
26
gerry dorsey says:
say what you want about this “beer hunter” nonsense…but “strange brew” is genius…canadian or not.
October 15th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
27
ArkanSooner says:
Freaking brilliant.
October 15th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
28
Brian O'Blivion says:
I wasn’t aware there was a rule about being respectful to movies, especially with fucking beer drinking games. Whatever. Strange Brew was fantastic. The first 45 minutes of Deer Hunter? Not so much.
October 15th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
29
Troy in Columbus says:
It’s 1:04, eastern time, Subcomandante Wayne should be rolling out of bed right about now.
October 15th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
30
The Artist Formerly Known as tOSUBuckeyes says:
Interesting comparison:
Against Kentucky: (LSU and Kent State)
Rushing: 261, 324
Total Offense: 403, 430
Points in Regulation: 27, 20
You can throw out a few yards of rushing and total offense for the 3 OT periods. You can also throw out this analsis because it’s Kent “Fricking” State. I’m just saying.
October 15th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
31
Beardguy says:
Best. Metaphor. Ever. I don’t think it’s possible to sum up this season any better.
October 15th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
32
Crabapple Buck says:
Odd fact of the day - All of tOSU opponents left on their schedule have 5-2 records (that is a .714 win percentage for you math challenged). Michigan State, Wisconsin, State Penn, [Team Redacted], and Michigan. SOS will take care of itself. So far the Buckeyes have beaten teams they were supposed to have beaten. Not so for USC, OU, LSU, Florida (yes, you were supposed to beat Auburn at home), & Cal. Bitch all you want, but IF tOSU wins out, they will deserve to play the BCS champ game. They also don’t lose many to the NFL this year, so get used to it. 2008 was supposed to be the year, they are just a year ahead of schedule.
I know that nobody wants to hear it, but one game (1/8/07) where one team plays their best against one playing their worst is not a trend. Nobody wants to credit Jim Tressel for building a consistently competitive program that seems to be in a BCS bowl game in most years. Last years NCG may have been the best thing to happen if the lessons learned are not repeated. I guarantee that they will not take anyone lightly on the journey to get there.
October 15th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
33
Stacy Keibler Luvs Me says:
Bs-BCS Contest Dept:
At the mid-point of the season, it would be interesting to see who can guess the final top two Bs-BCS teams. I do not think the current top two will be around in the end, by the way.
Winners to get an autographed copy of the Spencer Hall book, signed not just by Orson, but also by Ms. Muse - > TCOAN. (Limit: Three books, if more than three get the final two right, the first three that guess correctly get the book, and anyone else just lives with bragging rights.)
October 15th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
34
Geaux Irish says:
SKLM: since it’s ND/USC week, I thought I’d ask. How was Sanchez last week? Any improvement over Booty? I didn’t see the game.
October 15th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
35
Tom says:
Is it just me, or does Les Miles look suspiciously like Phil Fulmer in that picture?
October 15th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
36
maskedavenger says:
Crabapple Buck,
I demand that Michigan be named in all future posts as a team that failed to win games that it was supposed to win (at least for Appalachian State if not for Oregon). Damn it we are your rival! Is a little ridicule and scorn too much to ask?
October 15th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
37
Allahver Fist says:
If I don’t get through the first hundred pages of “The Thin Thirty” soon, I’m going with 6 bullets. Seriously, has anybody else bought this book (’62 Kentucky team: brutatlity, Rock Hudson, buttsecks)? Before all the juicy tales of cocksucking can begin, I have to wade through the birthplace, family life, and high school accomplishments of every freaking jock to be issued a jock on that team. I wanst sum scandal!
October 15th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
38
The Artist Formerly Known as tOSUBuckeyes says:
Everyone makes a big deal over 1-8-07, but nothing, and I mean nothing in my lifetime, will ever equal the hurt we suffered in 1998 against MSU. We were the best team in 1998, we lost to MSU, and did not get a shot at the NC…sound familiar LSU?
October 15th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
39
Crabapple Buck says:
UM usually drops a game they should win in the pre-conference season. They lost to Oregon in Eugene a few years ago, due to what Lloyd Carr said was a field that was too crowned. I thought they should beat App St as everyone else did, but I didn’t want to beat a dead horse like SEC fans who point to last years MNCG as something that happens every year. tOSU wins 4 of 5 BCS games, yet dumbshits think they get blown out every time. UM is always scary when their season is entirely based on beating tOSU. However, Cooper is gone and I have faith that Tressel will have them ready to play in Ann Arbor, no matter how much you shake your keys. I hope LSU gets there and they think they can just walk out and win in NOLA. That doesn’t work for ANY team. Ask USC.
October 15th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
40
Stacy Keibler Luvs Me says:
Clean Sanchez Dept:
Comment # 34: Geaux Irish - Thanks for asking about Clean Sanchez, since it is ND/USC week.
In short: Sanchez played very well, for a first game. Some pluses:
1) Mobile: He was able to electrify the crowd with an amazing third down run in the 4th quarter. (Booty is not mobile at all.) With 4 out of 5 starting offensive linemen out with injuries, mobility will become of utmost importance.
2) Leadership: He was very vocal and led the team very well. (Booty is the quiet southern gentleman type that would work well in baseball, but, in football, you need more emotion.) The team with all sorts of third stringers playing extensively responded well to Sanchez.
3) Accurate Arm. He had some very nice throws, and not one was tipped. (Booty gets his passes tipped at the line of scrimage and throws a lot behind receivers, which is aggravating and seems to deflate the team.)
Some of Clean Sanchez’ negatives include:
1) Reading defenses: When he sees everyone bunched up in front of him, he should try to pull a Leinart, and ‘audiblize’ a pass, or something.
2) Locking in on receivers: He did this a couple of times, and three of his passes were intercepted easily.
I am pretty sure Carroll will make him the starter against ND next Sat. For sure Corwin will try to rattle him by blitzing him constantly. Zibby is raring to attack the new QB. Sanchez will have to react appropriately during the blitz and if he does not make boneheaded plays. I think he will do ok.
Overall, Sanchez is an improvement over Booty. Booty has lost three out of his last six or seven Pac-10 games. I do not dislike Booty, and think that he would be better as a back-up. I think the team will continue to respond well to Sanchez’ leadership.
October 15th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
41
canuck says:
No game preview involving an undefeated would now be complete without a bullet rating:
1 bullet - prohibitive favorite
2 bullets - favorite
3 bullets - push
4 bullets - underdog
5 bullets - playing App State between two elite programs
6 bullets - playing App State with a coach from the Michigan coaching tree.
October 15th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
42
One And Done says:
That’s super analysis Crabapple but LSU losing to a Top 25 ranked opponent in their stadium, in 3OT, can hardly be construed as a loss to a “team they should beat” in the super competitive SEC, in comparison to USC losing to Stanford at home as a 40 pt. underdog.
October 15th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
43
Erdinger says:
They win 4-5 BCS games cause they only play 1 SEC team out of the 5…. OHHHH
October 15th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
44
PW says:
I thought Crabapple was talking about LSU playing OSU, not Kentucky.
October 15th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
45
Crabapple Buck says:
#42
Are you saying that you were not expecting LSU to win at Kentucky? They won last year 49-0. I believe they were favored (heavily) in spite of UK having a better season than their normal suckitude. LSU was supposed to win, quit making excuses. tOSU has experienced a top 25 at night, but survived. That is what you do, survive and advance. The difference is LSU is still in the hunt, tOSU would not be so lucky no matter to who they may fall.
October 15th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
46
Stacy Keibler Luvs Me says:
One and Done: How did Kentucky score all of those points on the “NFL-caliber-LSU-defense”? (heavy sarcasm)
October 15th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
47
Stacy Keibler Luvs Me says:
One and Done: Les Miles coaching was terrible about KY, what’s with that? He got lucky against the Gators on those fourth down plays, and you should be “Two and Really Done”!
October 15th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
48
Crabapple Buck says:
Les Miles could have saved himself some time and continued up I-75 to Ann Arbor. He went from famous to infamous in one week. I think he is the weak link in the LSU arsenal. That and a defense that gave up 27 points in regulation and 16 more in OT. Be careful he doesn’t gamble you out of contention vs. Auburn. You are still top 5, right where Tubby wants you.
October 15th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
49
One And Done says:
No #45, what I am saying is that the loss to UK on the road, who was ranked can not be compared to USC’s loss to Stanford at home as a 40 pt. underdog.
A 9 pt. favorite is hardly a heavy favorite, my friend. And I know a lot of the expert posters on here love to point past seasons as relevance to this one, but I have news for you & the rest, that was last year. It has no bearing on this year. For starters, last year we had 3 WRs who went on to NFL careers, we had a QB who ended up being the #1 draft pick & were facing a Uk team with a less experienced Woodson in our home stadium. I tihnk that’s quite a bit difference wouldn’t you say? Bu tI also understand the point of people posting here is to just jab & taunt, so yeah considering Kentucky is a basketball school & Rick Pitino once coached there & Billy Cannon returned a punt against Ole Miss in 1958, I “expected” to beat UK. Bu tthen again Bear Bryant coached at UK so maybe they’re just Bama Light.
Literally expecting to beat UK? No, I’m not an uneducated dolt or someone who gets fooled into thinking rankings are some hard algebraic form of numbers. I understand they’rer just consolidations of opinions of which many are foolish.
3OT, Stacy, or where you not watching? They gave up 27 in regulation to an SEC caliber offense & the current #8 team on the road. It’s not like they lost to Stanford at home as a 40 pt. underdog or anything.
October 15th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
50
One And Done says:
Hahahahahah that’s funny Stacy 47! Two & really done! I get it! Like a pun!
Hahahahaha the only real thing about any coaching genius is the execution of the plays! Hahahahahahahahaha calling the right play but not executing isn’t genius is it? Just like calling the wrong plays & still executing is genius!
It’s always the execution not the strategy.
October 15th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
51
Crabapple Buck says:
Well if memory serves me correctly, tOSU lost a Heisman winning QB and had 2 WR’s drafted in the 1st round and another later on along with a RB now with the Rams. What is your point. Every team loses guys to the NFL. tOSU also lost 5 on defense to the NFL/graduation. UK has a decent offense, but LSU had a bad night. My point is - it was a game they were supposed to win!
Everyone needs to quit the bullshit that the SEC is great and everyone else sucks. If it was true, then the SEC should merge with the NFL. But since they usually break even in their bowl games over time, like every other conference, that won’t happen. BTW SEC homers, you were 1-2 vs. the Big 11 last year. tOSU’s failure vs. the SEC is likely to be like a pendelum that swings the other way, hopefully sooner than later.
October 15th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
52
Stacy Keibler Luvs Me says:
#50: Soon-To-Be-Two-And-Really-Done:
Do not hurt yourself laughing too much at my exceeeeellent writing!
Here is a quick lesson: Making excuses about losing to Kentucky (Kentucky?!) just makes you sound even more like a “bitter puss of a little man”.
SEC caliber offense? Auburn and Arky had about as much problems scoring as you on a Saturday night.
At least I was glad to see LSU leave its comfy little State half-way through the season.
At least you guys did not schedule Kent State. (I had no idea Kent State had a football team until this weekend.)
October 15th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
53
Beardguy says:
Stop being so whiny. LSU has an incredibly favorable schedule this year (they play practically everyone of any talent at home), yet you complain when you lose to one of their few worthy opponents on the road? You have to show up every week, home or away, and that includes your taffy loving dumbass of a coach.
October 15th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
54
Crabapple Buck says:
SKLM
Kent State was the educational choice of one Lou Holtz. Its also the school of Jack Lambert, but he only lisps when he doesn’t have his teeth in.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
55
Stacy Keibler Luvs Me says:
Crabby Apple: Interesting info on Lou Holthhhh’s alma mater. Before this weekend, I just knew one thing about Kent State, and for obvious matters of good taste I will not dwell on that.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
56
Anonymous IV says:
“#15, That is so true those three seconds of being the number #1 team in the country were amazing. Considering that only six years ago Cal was 1-10.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
57
Geaux Irish says:
Re: #40 SKLM
Thanks for the update. I’ll be interested to see what Pete does with his O. Corwin’s defense is improving, but he kept blitzing in the middle and waited until late to send in some corner blitzes from the edges. Also, even in nickle and dime packages ND couldn’t cover the short screens.
A lot of credit is due to BC’s o-line, RB and QB, but their defense will be their undoing. Very undisciplined.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
58
DevilGrad says:
Re #55: Good idea.
Signed, the guy who learned the hard way that referring to Kent as “Four Dead State University” offends MAC fans more than it amuses Neil Young fans.
October 15th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
59
citiesaregreat says:
Let me be the first to say”F*CK NEIL YOUNG”!
October 15th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
60
Lawrence Ross says:
Nice with the Deer Hunter reference. Simply one of the scariest “I don’t EVER want to go to war and be captured by the Viet Cong because that really, really sucks” movies ever. As a Cal fan, I can tell you that Tressell doesn’t have a clue to how many bullets are in that gun when you’re in the top five this year.
October 16th, 2007 at 1:25 am
61
Lion4$190 says:
OMG A Deer Hunter Reference! Coincidentally in the same season a Vietnamese Classmate explained to me what the word Mao meant (Hurry, Hurry). This is why this is the greatest blog ever.
(Formerly Lion4Life)
October 16th, 2007 at 4:15 am
62
SunDawg says:
One and Done, Crabapples will give you diarrhea, as evidenced by this blog.
Why are you arguing with someone from a conference that can’t even count to ten, or eleven, or whatever it is? The sun rises and sets on SEC futbawl, everyone knows that.
October 16th, 2007 at 10:51 am