Slum Lord's Response

Didn't take long for a witty Trojan to give this response.

No More Slum Lords Here!

Rick Neuheisel and this great ad in the LA Times this week.

USC, it appears your tenants are getting a little tired of living in those crappy little green houses. They are looking to buy back Pasadena Blvd. Time to send the Constable to put down the rebellion.

We will see what the ad looks like in next week's paper, after Rocky Top pays a visit on Monday... "Slum Rebellion Suppressed by Pack of Wild Coon Hounds."

Most Overrated Games in 2008

Every preseason, college football fans across the country take a look at their helmet schedules and start circling games that they think will be the best of the season. Once these games get circled we find that some simply don't pan out to be as good as what we all expected. When you go to circle your "must watch games" this year, make sure that you avoid these games. We promise there will something better on another channel.

Tennessee @ UCLA - This game is getting much hype simply because it is the first of two games pitting the "east-coast biased whining," Pac Ten fans against the "we're better than anyone because we care more," SEC fans. Much like last year's Tenn/Cal game it really told us nothing about either team. Tennessee got beat by Cal in a "hostile" environment that included about a 1/3 Vol fans and marked Cal's only sellout crowd. UT went on to come a couple plays short of being SEC champs and Cal crashed towards a 6-6 record. Let's hope those 35,000+ Tennessee/SEC fans enjoy their experience in the Rose Bowl.

USC @ UCLA - Another game that is being over hyped purely for the "Neuheisel" affect. UCLA couldn't make anything happen last year with 20 returning starters and without a QB for the first month of the season they are in for another disappointing year. By the time Dec. 6th rolls around, if USC has more than one loss, no one outside of California will care. America's attention will be focused solely on the Big 12 and SEC Championship Games that will largely dictate who will be playing in the BCS Championship.

USF @ WVU - This game sets itself up nicely as what looks to be the "unofficial" Big East championship game on Dec. 6th, however by the time it rolls around it will NOT decide the Big East title. Does anyone remember what was said about the Louisville @ WVU game at the beginning of 2007? That game became insignificant when Louisville found themselves 5-4 coming into Morgantown. This year roles reverse as WVU finds out the hard way it is a little harder to win without Rich Rod on the sidelines. A talent loaded USF team becomes the best of the Big East this year and beats the Mountaineers for the third consecutive year on its way to a BCS birth.

Alabama @ LSU - While EVERYONE in Baton Rouge is talking about the return of "Satan" to Death Valley this game will not live up to the typical SEC soap opera off the field. LSU is missing a proven QB and by Nov. 8th Alabama just won't be in the SEC West race. What could make this interesting is if some how, some way, Saban mysteriously disappears somewhere between the hotel and the field... When are Bayou Bengal fans going to start making Saban Voodoo Dolls?

Michigan @ Ohio State - I know, I know. I hear the screams from Ann Arbor and Columbus as we speak! This match up is argued by most to be THE rivalry in college football, however this Nov. 22nd it will simply be a great rivalry and have little significance on the national scene. By the forth Saturday in Nov. Michigan will simply be struggling to get bowl eligible. Ohio State will roll and finish its season on top, ready to wait the 2+ months to play in its third consecutive BCS Championship game.

Watch Your Step!

Something is in the water in LA these days. Freak injuries are happening everywhere.

USC QB Mark Sanchez went down in Friday's practice with a dislocated knee. Sanchez injured his knee while jumping and tossing a warm-up pass. It is reported that he will be returning before the season opener.

Across town UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel took another hit as his QB also hit the dirt in Saturday's practice. UCLA's Ben Olsen hurt himself for the SECOND time in five months and about the millionth time in what seems like year 10 of his tenure at UCLA. Ben broke his foot while backing away from center, the EXACT same way he broke it in spring drills. He will be out for at least 2 months! Hey Norm Chow, it might be time to put the shot gun in.

This leaves the Bruins with Kevin Craft, a junior college transfer, and redshirt freshman Chris Forcier to compete for the starting job. About the same position that Rick left the Baltimore Ravens in for 2008. If neither of these kids work they might have to see if Rick can petition the NCAA for a 6th year of eligibility. Don't beat on that getting approved.

This event, coupled with the soup opera that is Rich Rodriguez at Michigan, leads us to ask, "Which new coach has had the worst beginning?" - Slick Rick or Rich Rod?

UCLA Fallout

Here is some great quotes from high school coaches that were in attendance at practice for the "over the wall" experience this week at UCLA. These are from a great article today in the LA Times

"I guess that's why they're in the Lay's Potato Chips Bowl every year," said Chris Pascal, La Palma Kennedy High's freshman coach.

"Let me put it this way, they wouldn't have done that at Fresno State," said Encino Crespi High Coach Jeremiah Ross, a former Fresno State player.

"They had recruits there, and can you imagine what they think after being driven there and being sent back onto the freeway at 5 p.m.?" Pascal said. "The four of us were standing there for a half-hour, someone could have said something. On the way home we thought about going over to USC because we knew they would be on the practice field."

Bravo Bruins! Bravo!

Not getting to 212 this way.

Apparently there was an abundance of UCLA players that needed extra time to file their taxes on Tuesday as the team skipped out on practice. The UCLA players met for spring practice on Tuesday, suited up, went through stretches and then after huddling on the field, bolted for the exits.

It seems that this is a "tradition" on campus as the team has been organizing this "over the wall" walk out as long as Neuheisel can remember, however it caught him off guard. The team had told him they weren't going to do it this year and was so unexpected on Tuesday that it left potential recruits and high school coaches, invited to view practice, scratching their heads.

Well this won't help the team make it the "extra degree," but it sure helped the coaches reach their boiling point.

Back to Class for Coaches

Penn State is starting a class this fall that examines how Joe Paterno handles the media. That gave The College Football Guys an idea. What other coaches could we study to learn valuable skills for the future, or at least get an easy A.

Here are some other class titles, inspired by college coaches, that might be successful on a campus near you.

George O'Leary, UCF - English 195 "Resume Building." Class discontinued, like this joke should be.

History 321 "Mr. Rogers affect on Popular Culture/Dress." - Jim Tressel, Ohio State

Pete Carroll, USC - Sales 401 "How to Win Games and Influence Recruits...with Money."

Physiology 350 "The Inter-workings of a Smile." - Ty Willingham, Washington

Rich Rodriguez. Michigan - Admin 150 "From Shredders to Scissors, the Ins and Outs of Office Machinery." Community college favorite.

Physical Education 110 "Yoga - The Key to Peace and Calmness to your Life" - Jim Leavitt, USF

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State - English 205 "Intro to Newspaper Journalism"

Pat Hill, Fresno State in collaboration with Oregon's Mike Bellotti - Cosmetology 102 "The Art of a Mustache."

Lou Holtz - Managment 315 "Finding the Positive in the Worst Employees" The kids are calling it 'Talks for Jocks'. An example is given below.



Go Notre Dame! Beat Duke!