24-14 (or Why I Love College Football)

Last night 17th ranked Missouri and Heisman Trophy candidate Brad Smith encountered more then they could handled from Troy State University – yes, it does appear that the Sun Belt does have what it takes to compete with the big boys.

The ESPN crew said it best, the scholarship limitations have started to equalize the “haves” and “have nots.” It doubtful that Sun Belt teams such as Troy State and North Texas will ever fully compete with the BCS elite from Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Florida State, Miami, Georgia, and so on, but when Troy State knocks off what is considered a decent Big 12 school? What does that say about the Big 12 as a whole? What does that say about the “have nots?”

This is the reason I love college football. The match-ups, while not always compelling to non-college football fans, are full of energy, hope, and great entertainment. Who would have thought that Troy State would knock off Marshall and Missouri in back-to-back weeks? Who would have thought that Troy State would overcome a 14 point deficit with 24 unanswered points?

This is why they play the games. Upsets are why the college football regular season holds so much significance – every week is a playoff or has playoff implications. This is why I love college football.

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2 thoughts on “24-14 (or Why I Love College Football)”

  1. First thing, Troy State University no longer exists. It is now Troy University. Lol. Corso and the gang mentioned something about the change being related to the the fact that the college contains so many out of state students now, and even overseas students. Missouri isn’t a powerhouse yet, nor were they ever really to my knowledge. It doesn’t matter that they have Brad Smith back there if they can’t protect him. During the game, the commentators made a good point about Troy University. Each of these past 3 years, they have been scheduling opponents from BCS conferences. Not only do they get a decent chunk of money by traveling to that team’s stadium, but it also helped to develop Troy’s players, and put them on the national spotlight.

  2. You are right about Troy University – even their home page lists TSU. Old habits die hard.

    Missouri is not a powerhouse, but Missouri was expected to have a shot at the Big 12 North because it is fairly wide open. Kansas State, Nebraska, Colorado, and Missouri all have legitimate changes, but Missouri showed their true colors. That or Troy is damn impressive.

    Brad Smith looked great in the first half, but a mess in the second. Troy made all the necessary adjustments that winning teams make. Smith looked completely confused, but he is still a great athlete. In my opinion, in this day and age, a great athlete does make a difference.

    I am only about 15-20 mins from a Troy community branch, and less than an hour and a half from the main campus. I have followed them for a while because the local paper has plenty of coverage. It is pretty well known that they are following the Florida State formula for success – travel in order to take a pounding and cash a check. They are building in the right direction as evident by their recent results. Two years ago they took down Miss St., last year Marshal, this year Marshal and Missouri.

    Troy is on the up and up, but they have a long way to go before they take down Auburn and Alabama.

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