NCAA recap, September 30

Wisconsin 52 at Indiana 17: I know Coach Hoeppner means well, but here's the thing: you can't make your team better simply by wanting it to happen. Writing "1-0 Big Ten" on a hat is nice, but it doesn't give you a better chance to win. Instead of "Defend the Rock," maybe IU's motto should be "One Step at a Time." Indiana is a bad, bad team this year. There's no other way to put it.

Purdue 21 at Notre Dame 35: I've got Purdue's defense in our Big Ten fantasy league this year. There were other defenses on the board at that point. I think I should have taken one. Selwyn Lymon had a huge game (7 for 229, 2 TD), so I guess I should have held onto him ... it's really the first game he's done well, though, and I think this was because the Irish collapsed on Bryant. Purdue really didn't stop either the run or the pass once again, so I really can't see them making much noise in the Big Ten this season, except that there are so many other bad teams in the conference, Purdue really could make it to a bowl.

Northwestern 7 at Penn State 33: Pat Fitzgerald will do all right with these guys, but he just needs a few more weapons. They were able to hang with Penn State for about a half, but that was it. Was Happy Valley really nervous about Morelli? He's played fine every time I've seen him (I did not watch the Notre Dame debacle, though).

Alabama 13 at Florida 28: I tuned in just in time to watch Alabama throw the game away. It was just like my NCAA 07 season - coincidentally, as the coach of Florida. My offense sucks, but if I just hang in there long enough, we force a couple of turnovers, get a couple of easy TDs, and rack up another win. Anyway, I guess Urban Meyer isn't a complete moron, huh?

Kansas 32 at Nebraska 39, ot: Interesting side note: this series is the longest continuous series in I-A. I didn't watch long enough to find out how it compared to other series overall.

I was going to write that some things don't change, but I'd forgotten that Kansas beat Nebraska last season, and guess what? They almost did it again. Nebraska dominated the game early, but apparently after I switched over to Michigan-Minnesota, Kansas came storming back, only to fall short in overtime.

Hmm. I guess Bill Callahan isn't an idiot either. Makes you wonder how many schools are struggling because they have no patience.

Michigan 28 at Minnesota 14: Someone please tell Mike Patrick that Minnesota's primary color is maroon. It's not red. It's not dark red. It doesn't even look red. I can't believe he's made that mistake more than once. Where's the producer?

Michigan looked pretty good, not great, but then again, they led pretty much the whole game in a place where it's hard to win, they had a big lead late, and they killed the clock when they needed to. The Wolverines may have avoided the post-big-game hangover they've had in the past. We'll see ...

Anyway, I guess Lloyd Carr isn't an idiot. Unless he loses to Michigan State, in which case, yeah, that's probably not a good thing