Some of you don’t remember the days when Florida State had 14 consecutive Top 4 finishes.  Or when Bobby Bowden didn’t wear a worried frown on his face as he paced the sidelines.

Some of you remember the recent era of Florida State football, mired in controversy and mediocrity.

I remember both. (more…)

RumoUr has it, at least.

The New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts are the only two undefeated teams left in the league.

(Though ESPN and Fox Sports would have you believe that Favre and the Vikings are the only story in the NFL at the moment.)

NOLA for the win, y’all - Peyton Manning’s a New Orleans native, and a scathingly funny guy.

Remember this little gem?  I challenge you to not cackle like a Person of Walmart.

Bayou Classic: Teh Recap

Well, we’ve pretty much reached the end of the road.  And after 14 college football games in 13 weeks, I can report back to you one thing, and one thing only:  I’m tired.

I mean, think about it.  A typical college football fan goes maybe a game or two a year.  A fanatic goes to all of his team’s home games and maybe a roadie or two … meaning six to eight games total.  Only complete nutbars (like yours truly) go to a game every week.  And even then, for them, half of those games are at home.  Cait and I went to the equivalent of 12 road games this year (Tulane and the Bayou Classic took place in New Orleans, so I won’t lump those in with the rest), and not even the coaching staffs or players can say the same about their Fall grind.  Like most fans, half their games happened at home.

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Bayou Classic: Grambling State vs. Southern

I’ve been on some pretty great trips this fall, and seen some pretty great games.  But for my money, it’s hard to top the game I’ll be attending this weekend … one I’ll have witnessed three straight years come Saturday.  I’m talking about the Bayou Classic, and while Cait is going to be sitting this one out, Stopthemadness has said she’ll go with me (which is somewhat possible, given the fact she is visiting us this weekend).

As you know by now,  I’m going to a different college game every weekend.  And you guys get to tag along.  Every week I’ll preview the game I’m going to, I’ll be podcasting and tweeting the experience live, then recapping the whole ball of wax with video/photos/what have you on Monday.  As an added bonus, I pick winners for all the biggest games of the week (including this one).

Now that that’s out of the way, on to the football!

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Southeastern-Nicholls State AND Southern Miss-Tulsa: Teh Recap

The Eyeblack Odyssey had a busy weekend, as Cait and I somehow motivated ourselves into taking in two games this weekend instead of just one.  We started things off with a Thursday night rivalry tilt in Hammond, La., then hit Hattiesburg Saturday for a Southern Miss game.

We’re tired.

Don’t get me wrong, we had a good time at both games.  And we learned more about this great game of ours.  But perhaps the most important lesson we’ve learned at this point is that when it comes to game-day experiences, less can be more.

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Southeastern Louisiana vs. Nicholls State AND Southern Miss vs. Tulsa

Cait and I will be double-dipping this week, hitting two games instead of just one.  We are doing this primarily because I figured the holiday season just isn’t stressful enough (ha, just kidding … everyone knows the holiday season started eight weeks ago, per all the Christmas commercials I’ve been seeing).

As you know by now, Cait and I are going to a different college game every weekend (and this week, we’re hitting two – booyah!).  And you guys get to tag along.  Every week I’ll preview the game we’re  going to, we’ll be podcasting and tweeting the experience live, then recapping the whole ball of wax with video/photos/what have you on Monday.  As an added bonus, I pick winners for all the biggest games of the week (including these ones).

Now that that’s out of the way, on to the football!
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LSU-Louisiana Tech: Teh Recap

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past three months in my travels to football games around the South, it’s that you don’t always get what you’re expecting.

LSU-Louisiana Tech was a great example.  Coming into the weekend, I expected to be wowed by the atmosphere, yet witness a cruddy game.  As it turned out, I got the opposite: a game-day atmosphere like most any other (both good and bad), but also one of the more entertaining games I’ve been to.

You just never know.
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November 14, 2009 - 10:15 a.m. CT

NFL Guy and I are enjoying some coffee during College Gameday before our FSU-Wake game watch/subsequent trip to Baton Rouge for LSU-La Tech, but as you enjoy your morning java and openly gawk at the shenanigans of Lee Corso, check out our pregame podcast for today’s college football stories:

• Twitter and YouTube are changing the face of college football (see the Andre Branch video/link below)
   - welcome to the Thunderdome, college football fans.  Times, they are a-changin’.

  

  Tennessee Football FAIL!

• 3 Tennessee freshman players - including stud WR Nu’Keese Richardson -  were arrested for attempted armed robbery this week in Knoxville.  The best part?  The getaway car was a Prius.
• The college football power structure is changing - TCU? Boise?  Cincy?  What the Jeebus?  And what advice does NFL Guy have for these Johnny-Come-Lately’s?
• Upset alert: Notre Dame over No. 8 Pitt 

Eyeblack Odyssey Week 10 

Follow us on Twitter (#eyeblack) and be sure to check our Facebook page for updates tomorrow.

But for now, here’s a little controversy to get your gameday started:

So, Squeers, should Andre Branch have been punished for attempting rip David Spurlock’s head off, or was he just caught in (Asia’s) “Heat of the Moment”?

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LSU vs. Louisiana Tech

Few things in life live up to the hype.  (I’m looking at YOU, Tim Tebow.)  This weekend we’ll get to see if the LSU game-day experience can approach the reputation it has generated over the last dozen or so years (a time period in which the Tigers have won TWO national championships).   Many observers have called it the best tailgating spot in the country.  Others have tabbed the stadium as the most difficult venue for any opponent.  Can the place possibly live up to being called the best in both categories against a “lesser” opponent in Louisiana Tech?  It better, because my expectation is that the “best in the country” should be impressive no matter who the opponent is … that’s just how I roll.

As you know by now, Cait and I are going to a different college game every weekend.  And you guys get to tag along.  Every Friday I’ll preview the game we’re  going to, we’ll be podcasting Saturday and tweeting the experience, then recapping the whole ball of wax with video/photos/what have you on Monday.  As an added bonus, I pick winners for all the biggest games of the week (including this one).

Now that that’s out of the way, on to the football!

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The worst the sport has to offer

Welcome back to another week of the Bottom 25.  We’ve got some real contenders for the top spot this week, thanks primarily to some colossal on-field failures over the weekend, so the countdown should be as entertaining as ever (unless you think this whole thing is poo, in which case, go read about ballet or something – not that ballet isn’t great in its own right, but yeah, it’s sort of the opposite of football … I think).

Anyway, here’s the weekly Bottom 25 (at least in this humble author’s opinion).

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Tulane-UTEP: Teh Recap

There are a lot of themes and concepts I have running around in my head about my experience this weekend at the Tulane game, and while it will be impossible for me to touch on them all adequately here and now, I’ll still do my best to let you know what I’m talking about here.

First of all, we decided to treat a game in our home town as a true luxury, and we were able to do that by tailgating … on our front porch.  Burgers, brats, beer, and we even got to watch Iowa lose its first game of the year from the comfort of our living room.  Add in the College Gameday from Air Force (a special thing for Cait, in particular, to witness) and the fact we were easing our way back into this thing after a week off, and it was really a perfect start to our day in most respects.

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Tulane vs. UTEP

We’re back, and we begin our November journeys with a 5-minute jaunt down the road to the Superdome, where we’ll be checking out Tulane attempting to resuscitate its season against visiting UTEP.  In the coming weeks, we’ll be travelling to Baton Rouge and Hattiesburg, and back to the Superdome once again (the Superdome will figure prominently from here on out), but for right now at least, it’s finally time to check out the Div. 1 football program in our own back yard.

As you know by now, Cait and I are going to a different college game every weekend.  And you guys get to tag along.  Every Friday I’ll preview the game we’re  going to, we’ll be podcasting Saturday and tweeting the experience, then recapping the whole ball of wax with video/photos/what have you on Monday.  As an added bonus, I pick winners for all the biggest games of the week (including this one).

Now that that’s out of the way, on to the football!

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Seriously, Brandon Spikes.  WTF?

This past weekend marked the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, or for the uninitiated, the Florida-Georgia game.  This heralded rivalry has been an annual event since 1915, and most years, it is played in Jacksonville.

It’s usually a pretty fun affair despite the drunken idiocy of fans from both sides.  But this year is a bit different.  Florida is the reigning national champion, helmed by a Heisman-winning quarterback.  They’re number 1 in the BCS rankings right now.

And Georgia?  Well, Georgia’s not all that great this year (that opening weekend loss to Okie State illustrated that).

While most media coverage of the Gators centers around Tim Tebow, who may or may not be the Messiah, Florida’s been quietly winning their games on defense, not on offense (don’t let Saturday’s score of 41-17 mislead you).  Linebacker Brandon Spikes is likely to be a first round draft pick come spring.

Unfortunately, he’s also now on Thundersquee’s Doosh Watch 2009 finalist list.  Here’s why - watch very carefully.

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Bye week!

After eight consecutive weeks of college football (and nine games attended in person), Cait and I are taking a much needed break this weekend.  Was this part of the original plan?  No.  Is it a necessity in order to prevent my flinging poo at people?  Absolutely.

But I haven’t forgotten about you, fellow Squee-ers!  Here are my picks for the weekend and a hilarious video of Nebraska’s comedy of errors against Iowa State.  Glorious.

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Mississippi State-Florida: Teh Recap

Well, this was an interesting week.  And while I could probably go on and on about the game (a fun, albeit sloppy affair with the Gators ultimately prevailing), the atmosphere (50,000 cowbells ringing in unison must be heard to be believed) or the hospitality (great fans who welcomed us into their tailgating tents and made our game-watching experience that much better with their passion and wonderful humor), this whole journey got started with the intent being an exploration of the humanity of the game … and that should (and does) include my relationship with my wife.

You see, I wouldn’t have gotten this far without her, I wouldn’t have even started it without her, and I sure as hell can’t finish it without her.  She is, quite literally, the person that keeps this whole thing going, and I thank her for it.

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Oct. 24, 2009 — 10:30 a.m. CT

NFL Guy and I (and a couple of cowbells) are about to hit the road for Starkville, Mississippi for tonight’s Mississippi State-Florida game, but as you enjoy your morning java and prepare to openly gawk at the shenanigans of Lee Corso, check out our pregame podcast for today’s college football stories:

• Florida hasn’t won in Starkville since 1985.  1985, people. 
• Warm thoughts and fuzzies for the UConn family and for the family of Jasper Howard
• Quarterback on the rise: Christian Ponder (who may just be Florida State’s next Rhodes Scholar)
• Quarterback on the fall: Terrelle Pryor, who is obviously regressing this season for the Buckeyes
• Upset alert: Washington over Oregon
• BCS standings? Yawn.

Eyeblack Odyssey Week 8

Follow us on Twitter (#eyeblack) and be sure to check our Facebook page for updates tomorrow.

But for now, here’s a little humor to start off your gameday:

And a more serious preview…

Mississippi State vs. Florida

A week after reveling in the cowbell at McNeese State homecoming, we’re continuing the rusted noisemaker theme this week, travelling to Starkville for the Mississippi State-Florida game (though given the stakes of this particular contest, don’t expect the cowbell to be the major attraction).

As you know by now, Cait and I are going to a different college game every weekend.  And you guys get to tag along.  Every Friday I’ll preview the game we’re  going to, we’ll be podcasting Saturday and tweeting the experience, then recapping the whole ball of wax with video/photos/what have you on Monday.  As an added bonus, I pick winners for all the biggest games of the week (including this one).

Now that that’s out of the way, on to the football!

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Methinks Bama Bangs Boy has some competition

Watch your back, Taylor Fortenberry. LSU has answered your challenge:

Make sure to watch ’til the very end, y’all - because this guy hasn’t stopped drinking/tailgating in TWELVE YEARS.

That said, I’m so very, very glad that YouTube didn’t exist when I was an undergrad.

The I reaaaaally hope this is in fact a joke edition

In case you are unable to read this, here’s what it says. (more…)

“Ah hate yew, Yewtah.”

Ladies, for the bargain price of one can of AquaNet, this, too, can be yours.

In January, NFL Guy scored me a ticket to the Sugar Bowl, where heavily favored Alabama took on an upstart Utah team.  His coworker K. sat next to me, and in front of us were two couples.  Both of the guys had trademark Alabama frat boy hair, and crimson checked shirts.  Their wives were bored, heavily made up and decked out with Tiffany jewelry.

The husbands, perfect southern J. Crew ads, restrained their barely concealed rage at Utah’s epic pwning of Bama by standing up and repeatedly screaming, “Ah hate yew, Yewtah” whilst wildly gesticulating.

K. and I found ourselves photographing them and offering commentary like we were zoologists on Animal Planet. It. Was. Awesome.

Of course, I was a tiny bit sad, as one of my very best friends in the entire world (my maid of awesome/honor) is a proud Bama grad and a diehard Tide fan.  I hated the loss for her sake, but mostly I was amused by these two aging frat boys and their sad, sad desperation as they attempted to contrive some sort of bizarre hatred for a team that isn’t even a rival.

Ha.  So where am I going with this?

This past weekend, another Alabama frat boy made me chuckle.  Unfortunately for Taylor Fortenberry’s sake, though, he’s now on the receiving end of death threats.  How’d he manage that? (more…)