UCF 38, #8 Louisville 35

"Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum.
I smell the blood of an Englishman
Be he alive or be he dead
I'll grind his bones to make my bread."

~ Jack the Giant-Killer, English Traditional

A Brief List Pertaining to the University of Tennessee and its Football Program

1. "Rocky Top." A mercilessly annoying song sung with gusto by thousands of people apparently happy to condone the murder of federal agents by moonshiners:

"Once two strangers climbed on rocky top,
Lookin' for a moonshine still
Strangers ain't come back from rocky top,
Guess they never will."

2. But maybe it's just a comprehension problem. After all, the Athletics Department thinks this looks right:

 

3.  Fans, Part I: University of Tennessee fraternity suspended for "butt chugging" incident after fraternity brother hospitalized with .45 blood alcohol.  Brother denies "butt-chugging," and through counsel claims that he had merely won "Tour de Franzia." Counsel "also made a point of clarifying that his client 'is a straight man.'"

Brother's father explains to media that police "are the ones who thought of alcohol enemas. They were the ones who asked if that if that was going on[.]"

Police report indicates: 

"There was [sic] bloodstained tissues on the sink, the sink counter top and the floor. I observed two of the toilet stalls had blood on the floor . . . There was a plastic bag with a pink wine in front of the couch and a red solo cup containing the same liquid."

Really? A rosé?!

4.  Fans, Part II:

5. No idea why it comes to mind, but the fast food restaurant Krystal has its headquarters in Tennessee.

6. Wisdom, Part I:

"You can't spell Citrus [bowl] without U-T." ~ Steve Spurrier

7. Wisdom, Part II:

"I know why Peyton came back for his senior year: he wanted to be a three-time Citrus Bowl MVP." ~ Steve Spurrier

8. Wisdom, Part III:

"I'm really looking forward to embracing some of the great traditions at the University of Tennessee, for instance, the Vol Walk, running through the T, singing Rocky Top all night long after we beat Florida next year. It will be a blast." ~ Lane Kiffin, UT Head Coach from December 1, 2008 to January 12, 2010.

Go Gators.

"Billy in one of his nice new sashes," or: UCF 34, Penn State 31

"Billy in one of his nice new sashes,
Fell in the fire and was burnt to ashes;
Now, although the room grows chilly,
I haven't the heart to poke poor Billy."

- Harry Graham (as "Col. D. Steamer"), Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes. New York: R.H. Russell 1901.

 It is great to be a Knight. We just earned our best regular season win of all time, and in a very hostile environment. And its the best win for the fledgling American Athletic Conference yet. What else compares? Louisville's 27-13 win against a poor Kentucky team? Cincy's 42-7 win over Purdue? (I, mean, Purdue?). Not a great body of work here, but this win stands out. Penn State's got a pulse.

I can't dump on Penn State (or otherwise cheapen this win, "scholarship reductions blah blah blah") -- they're a very fine team. This was the Nittany Lion's best offensive performance of the year. Their freshman quarterback never turned the ball over, and despite the fumble, that Zwinick dude is a beast. We outplayed them, and outcoached them. Thank Taafe, I guess. We are finally seeing a distinctly-un-O'Leary-like variety of plays and formations. And in a big game, where we have normally seen O'Leary 'coach not to lose,' no less!

Much credit to the offensive line, with its starting left tackle out, and which had to step it up (and did) against a defensive front that was (supposed to be) scary.

Unfortunately, we are used to seeing this sort of game slip away from us (Remember beating then-#5 Texas until that damn rain delay?). And to be sure, the Knights have much to improve, especially the poor tackling. But this may well be the best Knight's team of all time, and that was a great win against a very good opponent. 

Very happy that the team has a bye week before South Carolina. They're the best team we'll play this year (yes, better than Louisville), and we've shown we can compete.

Go Knights!

One Day To Go.

Music heard so deeply That it is not heard at all, but you are the music While the music lasts. - TS Eliot, "The Dry Salvages"

.

It is September 28, 2002 and I am young and very stupid.

The facepaint came from Wal-Mart. From the Halloweeen costume section. Black and gold and caked thickly and not at all right for wearing outside, not at all right for wearing all day, and not at all right for wearing in the sun all day. (I look it up ten years and eleven months later: the mean temperature that day in Orlando is 83.1°F, and the maximum was 91.9°F, but on September 28, 2002 it feels like one hundred and ten). It mixes with my sweat, turns to liquid. Runs into my eyes and mouth. It is salty (is face paint salty before your sweat has melted it?). I am squinting. Not just because the black and gold face paint is melting into my eyes. But also because I do not have sunglasses and am in the east stands. I do not own sunglasses. I am young and very stupid.

At some point (it must be half time, can it be the beginning of the game?) we are on the field. The players jog past: GO KNIGHTS GO KNIGHTS GO KNIGHTS. Some high fives, but soft. (Later this will seem funny to me, but right now it's September 28, 2002, and it doesn't). I'm sweating. The black and gold facepaint is melting into the collar of my t-shirt. It says "Freshman Frenzy!" I have paid $20 for the t-shirt and a ticket and a bus ride to the game. The T-shirt is not a treasured possession, not a holy relic. It probably lasts a year and I probably throw it when I move from the dorm when Spring ends. I wish I had saved it, but on September 28, 2002, I am young and very stupid.

I do not know anything about the team. I can tell you nothing about them. And I high-five them. Later I will come to know more, stories and statistics and apocypha. Right now it is tabula rasa. I can tell you something about the opponent. They are the Liberty Flames and on September 28, 2002 this is an intensely funny name for a football team. In the stands, someone is yelling FLAAAAAAAMERS. FLAAAAAAAMERS. (Is it me? I have mentioned -- I am young and very stupid).

There's no ending I can remember. Later I know that the game began at 6 PM. It must have ended in darkness. But today (it is September 28, 2002) it never gets dark. It is always the afternoon and the sun is always bright (never mind that it must never really have been afternoon) and it is always melting the black and gold face paint into my eyes and mouth. Today I do not appreciate how much this will come to mean. But then again, it is September 28, 2002. And I am young and very stupid.