#1 Wk. 2 – Oregon @ Michigan State 2014’s thriller has set up a second week rematch that highlights the first four weeks of the season. Oregon won the Pac-12 last year and made it to the first playoff championship game while Michigan State trumped Baylor in a thrilling Cotton Bowl matchup. An argument could … More Top Ten Games That Matter: The First Four Weeks
We’ve had a pretty good run. Big Bend, Palo Duro Canyon, even Enchanted Rock and Pedernales Falls (which will get retroactive posts at some point)…this year has been filled with great outdoor experiences. Gorgeous vistas and landscapes coupled with relative isolation from the busy outside world (including complete isolation in parts of Big Bend) were … More Turner Falls And Chickasaw Natl’ Recreation Area: A Let Down And A Solid Park
It might be August 2015 and President Obama might have almost a year and a half left in office but the scent of lame duck is cooking strong in the White House kitchen. Campaign 2016 is, amazingly, already in full swing and Obama himself has moved on to the “policy moves I can only make … More The Next National Park?
Last week I took a look at what constitutes a “blueblood” college football program and set the barest minimum threshold at eight teams. I also concluded that while those eight teams have to be considered college football’s bluebloods by any strict standard, there are certainly more programs worth the title by other reasonable standards. I found … More Who and What are the College Football Bluebloods? Penn State Edition
Blueblood: “An aristocrat, noble, or member of a socially prominent family.” One of the persistent themes of college football is the dominance of the “bluebloods.” What is a blueblood from a college football standpoint? These are the programs that, true to the dictionary definition, compose college football’s nobility. The problem is there is considerable dispute … More What and Who Are College Football “Bluebloods”?
It’s hot. When Canada is on fire you know conditions on the continent are hot. And dry. Texas had the wettest May on record, enough to break the staggering drought that has gripped the state for years. As soon as the calendar flipped to June though…well let’s just say it’s been two months and parts … More Palo Duro: A Fairly Grand Canyon
In the summer of 2010 the college football world was rocked by sudden news that six members of the Big 12 were on the cusp of defecting to the Pac-10. Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado would go west and create a 16 team “superconference.” The Pac-16 would combine the Texas … More The Case for (And Against) Twenty: Why Superconferences Might Not End At 16 Teams
Long ago in the times before AP polls, power conferences, and Arizona statehood there existed an primordial era of college football. This was an era dominated by Ivy League schools, multi-sport lettermen in sweaters and leather helmets, and “conferences” with 18+ teams and rules written on the backs of bar napkins. Few remember but when … More The Best Teams You’ve Never Heard Of: The 1899 Sewanee Tigers
With the start of the 2015 college football season a mere month away we have reached peak off-season with incessant talk of conference realignment, playoff expansion, pre-season rankings, and coach speak. The focal point of conference realignment conversation has been the Big 12 as per usual with the center of gravity remaining the Great Burnt … More Independence or Alliance? Texas’ Options in Future Realignment
