Paul Yarbrough: College Football Saturday the Best Day of the Week
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By Paul Yarbrough, Noozhawk Columnist
BCS title hopes are on the line in Thursday night's Pac-10 opener between Oregon and Boise State
» Given the choice of watching college football all day on Saturday or pro football all day on Sunday, I’d take the college game every time ...
» I don’t know if it’s the colors, the spirit or the bands, but I can’t get enough of college football in the fall ...
» Perhaps it’s because with the BCS setup, every regular-season college game means something nowadays ...
» All fans of Pac-10 football will want to be glued to the television for Thursday night’s opener between Oregon and Boise State on the Broncos’ blue turf (7:15 p.m., ESPN). Both teams are ranked in the Top 20, and the winner will become a major player in the BCS title discussion ...
» Because of the playoff format in the NFL, teams can sometimes lose eight games and still advance to post-season play and have a shot at reaching the Super Bowl. The winner of Thursday’s Oregon-Boise State showdown will be in great shape for 2009, while the loser can forget about national title aspirations ...
» With a victory on the road in Idaho, the Ducks would have, well, all of their ducks in a row. Beginning Sept. 12, they play four consecutive Saturdays at home at Autzen Stadium (against Purdue, Utah, Cal and Washington State). The remainder of their home schedule sees USC (Halloween night on ABC), Arizona State and Oregon State visiting. Conference road “tests” for the Ducks are UCLA, Washington, Stanford and Arizona — all teams picked by the league’s coaches to finish in the second division of the conference standings ...
» You would have to like the Ducks’ chances if they can get past Boise State ...
» Nothing else on the Pac-10 docket this week has me very excited: Portland State at Oregon State, San Jose State at USC, Stanford at Washington State, San Diego State at UCLA, Central Michigan at Arizona, Idaho State at Arizona State, LSU at Washington and Maryland at Cal ...
» There will be a much better lineup next week, including UCLA at Tennessee and USC at Ohio State ...
» If given the option, why would anyone take the regular Oreo over the Double Stuf variety? I’m just askin’ ...
» Put me in charge for a day and I would put an end to instant replay as an officiating tool in college and pro sports ...
» I would support instant replay if it guaranteed that all calls would be correct, but it doesn’t ...
» I don’t know how many times in recent years I have sat in a college football stadium while the referee puts on the headphones to talk with the “replay official” upstairs. The replay has been shown on the big screen in the stadium (once and only once; wouldn’t want a riot on our hands) and the call seems obvious. The referee then removes the headphones and renders the verdict, and that verdict isn’t always correct ...
» I started officiating sports when I was in elementary school (I have a certificate from Isla Vista School honoring me as the “Fairest Umpire” to prove it) ...
» This fall, I’m adding a new sport to my officiating resume: football. I have always wanted to work high school football on Friday nights but never had the job flexibility. I took the mandatory National Federation online test last week, scoring 89 out of 100. I needed to score at least 70 to be eligible to work varsity games and 90 for post-season playoff assignments (although, in my first year, I won’t be allowed to work the playoffs). Let the games begin.
— Noozhawk columnist Paul Yarbrough can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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