One element that absolutely separates college ball from the NFL is the lack of parity in the college game. Thus, there are many more blowouts but when David rises to smite Goliath, great theater results. I root for the Davids of the world as they endure so much disappointment in their frequent roles as sacrificial lambs.
Saturday, hapless Vanderbilt was the beneficiary of 4 South Carolina turnovers and was nursing a 20-14 lead with just over a minute remaining. The Gamecocks had exhausted their timeouts. They promptly moved on a 75-yard drive to win the game, 21-20. I was nauseous the entire drive. Vanderbilt had varied its quarterback pressures during the game to reasonably good success. On South Carolina’s game-winning drive, Vandy rushed only 3 on every play. Backup QB, Zeb Noland, had all day to throw. If Vandy had 8 folks patrolling the passing lanes, no clear evidence existed as the Gamecocks effortlessly breezed down the field.
A sage once opined: “The prevent defense prevents you from winning.” AMEN. The defense called in the 6oth minute was so lame that we wonder if first-year coach Clark Lea will lose his team.
My anger turned into amazement Saturday evening by a stunning turnaround by another have not, Louisiana Monroe. Being down 14-0 against a quality Liberty squad at halftime was no surprise since Liberty went off as a 32-point favorite. What was shocking was that an often moribund offense exploded for 4 TD’s behind a backup QB. At 28-28, after much thought, ULM elected to try a 53-yard field goal. GOOD and the season’s biggest upset came to pass. Regrettably, there were too few fans in attendance to have a proper field storming. Oh, well, you can’t have everything.