Return Of The Smack!

Welcome back to the blog you hate to love!  This will be the third year of The Smack in blog form, replacing the original limited circulation email format just last year.  Once I learn how to archive previous articles, I also will include a fascinating piece on the origins of this project.  Sneak preview:  it was the result of an inaugural mismatch involving a certain service academy.

Frederick Jackson Turner, the historian of the American frontier, pronounced this judgment in 1906:  "Football has become a business, carried on too often by professionals, supported by levies on the public, bringing in vast gate receipts, demoralizing student ethics, and confusing the ideals of sport, manliness, and decency."

Apparently Murray Sperber of the University of Indiana thinks little has changed in the past century. The major public universities, according to Sperber, “…neglect undergraduate education while keeping the masses amused by staging huge tailgate drinking orgies around football and basketball games.”  And the problem is…?

So here we go again…it’s Week #1 in college (and high school) football.  Enjoy the ride!  (P. S.  Assume that all teams begin 0-0, unless it’s Alabama which has already won its third consecutive BCS Championship without so much as playing a down.)

Union (0-0) idle (next:  9/14 at Utica).

Air Force vs. Colgate.  Colgate?  Colgate??  Look, this is what started this whole blog several years ago, when AFA opened with Wofford.  At least Wofford had been a then-D1A powerhouse.  But Colgate?  Are you kidding me?  That’s a toothpaste!  It has “Gardol” in it! According to Wikipedia, it’s the 17^th most-trusted brand in India!  This piece of scheduling genius outdoes last year’s BYU farce.  I’m not even going to scout, just hand the W to “The Academy”, big deal.  PICK:  Air Force.  Happy now??

Army vs. Morgan State.  Inaugural meeting of these two schools, neither of which has much bragging to do following dismal 2012 seasons.  The Bears return 27 starters, 12 of whom are seniors.  This includes the QB tandem of Seth Higgins and Robert Council, who will be running to make up for the graduation of Travis "Juice" Davidson as well as passing the swift-footed Andrew King (13.1 yds./catch last season).  Coach Rich Ellerson will lead the Cadets in the home opener minus standout Trent Steelman.  Having their own QB competition settled after naming Angel Santiago the starter, the Black Knights will be young and hungry.  Look for plebes Xavier Moss and Josh Jenkins to excel.  Neither team has much experience on the defensive side of the ball, so give the nod to the home team in a close one.  PICK:  Army.

Navy idle (next:  9/7 at Indiana)

BYU at Virginia.  At least the Cougars have a decent opener, what with Virginia playing in the competitive ACC.  Of course, the Cavaliers have only had one winning season in the last five years, so despite having both a 2-1 series advantage plus the home field, veterans on both sides of the ball should mean a solid W for the visitors. PICK:  BYU.

#24 USC at Hawaii.  The enigmatic Lane ("Don't call me Monty") Kiffin couldn't pick a starting QB until game time.  No QB, no pick.  Not that it would have made any difference, but it's my way of protesting.

Georgia State vs. Samford—Georgia State will be this year's "doormat".  Not too much pressure, the Panthers have to play home games at the Georgia Dome.  First up:  the Bulldogs, who apparently are the big-boy version of Colgate (coming from the FCS).  Samford is coached by Pat Sullivan, Auburn’s Heisman Trophy winner prior to Cam Newton (1971).  GSU’s good fortune is that Coach Sully will miss the game, still recovering from back surgery.  Going strictly by past performance, the 1-10 Panthers should be overwhelmed by the 7-4 Bulldogs.  PICK:  Samford.

QUIZ:  Match the college with its sports team nickname.  No cheating (means no Googling).  Answers in Sunday's wrap.

1.  Cal State-Long Beach                      a.  Black Flies

2.  College of the Atlantic                     b.  Dirtbags

3.  McDaniel College                            c.  Green Terror

4.  Oglethorpe Univ.                              d.  Stormy Petrels

5.  Trinity Christian Coll.                      e.  Trolls

OK, can’t sign off without offering an opinion on the Johnny Manziel situation.  He’s gonna play.  Remind me I promised to make a pick on September 14^th, the rematch with ‘Bama.

For Murray Sperber at least, big-time college sports have “simply translated the Roman bread and circus into an American idiom.”  Always did like those idioms.