General

College Football’s Greatest Asset: Chaos

Sep 5, 2009, 8:15 PM UTC

One of the hoary cliches trotted out in the NFL vs. NCAA football argument is that because the NFL has better talent, the games are better. (It’s logic!)
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â†µYeah, but college football, in all its turnover-prone, inconsistent, sometimes painfully muddling glory, is exciting! â†µ

â†µ In Columbus, a late Terrelle Pryor interception gave Navy a chance to drive and tie a game against Ohio State. So they did, Midshipmen quarterback Ricky Dodds charging up the middle on a 24-yard touchdown run that brought the score to 29-27. â†µ

â†µâ†µExcept: Dodds, who threw for two scores and ran for two more, was picked off on the two-point conversion by Brian Rolle, who took it back for the two-point bonus at the other end. â†µ

â†µâ†µThe onside kick failed, and Ohio State escaped, gasping. For the Buckeyes, it’s frightening: Somewhere, Pete Carroll cackles, surfboard in hand, waiting for his Trojans’ invasion of the Horseshoe next week. â†µ

â†µâ†µGreg Paulus, after a high snap that led to a turnover on his first play as Syracuse’s starting quarterback, settled down and brought Syracuse back from a 14-3 deficit to a 20-14 halftime lead. â†µ

â†µâ†µExcept: Minnesota rallied back behind Eric Decker’s nine catches for 184 yards, tying the game in the last minute of regulation. â†µ

â†µâ†µBut: The Golden Gophers didn’t need to do anything more, really, because Paulus took all of one play in overtime to remind ‘Cuse fans of Donovan McNabb, whirling and dodging defenders, and Cameron Dantley, whipping a pass into double coverage for an interception. â†µ

â†µâ†µMinnesota would take that, thank you, nailing a field goal to secure a 23-20 road win. â†µ

â†µâ†µNile Kinnick Stadium saw pulse-pounding stuff, too. Northern Iowa led into the fourth quarter, then had the ball at Iowa’s 23 with seven seconds left and a 40-yard field for the win. â†µ

â†µâ†µExcept: It’s blocked! â†µ

â†µâ†µBut: It comes down behind the line of scrimmage and the Hawkeyes inexplicably don’t fall on it, so UNI gets another shot at a game-winner. â†µ

â†µâ†µAnd then: IT’S BLOCKED, TOO. â†µ

â†µâ†µThis is how you scrape by a I-AA team at home, Michigan. â†µ

â†µâ†µHow do I know this chaos is a good thing? It made Big Ten football watchable today. Just wait until this stuff hits the SEC â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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