Things I learned about football this week

Ok, I admit it I've been in posting exile particularly on sports topics for awhile. This was due primarily to my seething over various officiating disasters, but like all fans eventually I most move on. The rest of this post will consist of a bulleted list of things I learned from football this week. I hope this will become a weekly post but no promises as usual.

• For the Rice, Middle Tennessee, and Troy athletic departments, I certainly hope the checks cleared because the abuse your teams endured is almost too much.
• I would like to personally condemn Michigan State for letting the most overhyped program in the history of football rise from the dead in the fourth quarter. One more drive and we would have been rid of Brady Quinn and Charlie Weis until Notre Dame was overhyped next season.
• I know it was MTSU but it was good to see Oklahoma play a first half this season. Until this week they had been either tied or behind at halftime in each game. May the playing of complete games reach pattern status* in 12 days at the Texas State Fair.
• Ohio State escaped Penn State only because of the defense and an inexperienced opposing QB, but there are weaknesses in OSU that someone will exploit.
• Mark Brunell set an NFL record for consecutive completions to start a game. This record should have an asterisk as the Texans are an NFL team in name only.
• Kickers in college football are more important than they should be (right Alabama?)
• My alma mater won a non-conference game on the road for once 24-23 over a 3-0 Navy team. Of course I would have preferred to have it not come down to a blocked PAT in OT but I'll take it. Now the defense of the C-USA title can begin.
• It appears the Houston Cougars are better than I thought as they improved to 4-0 defeating Oklahoma St. 34-25.
• As much as I dislike Chris Simms as a player, I hope he recovers from his ruptured spleen because that even seem painful to me (your heavily medicated, collapsible author).
• Apparently, I'm in the minority of the four-letter network's audience in that I actually plan on watching the Monday night game almost exclusively for the football. Am I happy for New Orleans that their team has returned and do I think that this is a good sign of the rebuilding for the Gulf Coast? Of course. In the end, it's a good football game and I will watch it as such.

* Standard criterion for pattern status from my usual mantra applied

Ok, there's the list from my perspective. As always comments or additions to the list are appreciated. Also, Mike due to the low remaining numbers of Last Year's New Thing, your copy is en route to sunny Tampa independent of the results of Navy-Tulsa.