Football-wise a mixed weekend

Another week, another big upset. Syracuse's 38-35 win over Louisville (number 18 in the country) on 9/22, while not quite as stunning as the Appalachian State defeat of Michigan a few weeks ago, certainly isn't far behind. Syracuse (my wife's alma mater), a three-time loser until last Saturday--12-42 against Washington, 0-35 against Iowa, and 20-41 against Illinois--caught fire in the Louisville game. Their 38 points in that game were more than the total of their scores in their three preceding games.

Some of the total points by both teams in Saturday's games looked like basketball scores, with many in the 70's and 80's. Two exceeded 100 points: Hampden-Sydney 56, Guilford 49 and North Dakota 63, W. Washington 42. At the other extreme, Monmouth 6, Carroll 3 registered only 9 total points.

Otherwise, a bleak Saturday 9/22. Almost all of my favorite teams lost: North Carolina, North Carolina State, Towson, and Maryland; the only consolation was Columbia's beating Marist 31-7. While Columbia beating anybody is a cause for joy, only so much pride can come from beating up a little team with not much more power than that of a prep school.

The Baltimore Ravens almost blew a 20-3 lead over the Arizona Cardinals yesterday--they had to get a field goal with zero minutes left to win 26-23. Coach Billick and his assistants must have a lot of horseshoes, rabbits' feet, and four-leaf clovers to have the luck they have had in their last two games--against the New York Jets on 9/16 and again yesterday against the Cardinals, pass receivers on those teams dropped catchable passes at crucial points which, if caught, could have brought defeat to the Ravens.