Yesterday was a good day to stay indoors and watch football if you could. I laid down a little after 4:00, thinking that Iowa was going to run over Iowa State (they didn’t) only to be awakened around 6:00 by kids complaining that the power was out. At first, Kat thought it might be a billing problem. AES has been transferring over to a digital payment method this week and not everything has gone well. As it turned out, though, the outage was considerably larger. Over 750 customers were affected as power didn’t return until 7:30. By that time, all the mid-afternoon games were over, and late games were starting.
I had to turn on the heat in the house this morning as the temperature inside dropped to 64. Outside, it’s a chilly 43 at the moment, but still too warm for any frost to appear around the yard. The dogs are showing no interest in going outside. The bed is safe and warm. If anything, they’re more likely wondering why I’m not up there with them.
So, we might as well talk football. Everyone we wanted to win, did. IU took Western Illinois, 77-3. Ohio State played pretty much everyone on the team as they beat Western Michigan 56-0. Georgia trounced Tennessee Tech 48-3. Tennessee took care of NC State 51-10 in a game that had far too many penalties. And Oklahoma squeaked by Houston, 16-12.
The day’s nail-biter, at least for me, was Oklahoma State’s win over Arkansas in double overtime, 39-31. Despite the fact that Oklahoma and Arkansas are neighbors, being in different conferences has prevented them from playing each other very often. OSU hadn’t played them in over 40 years. This was a big game for both teams. Right from the start Arkansas came out with two touchdowns in the first quarter. With the score 21-7 at the half, I was preparing myself to be disappointed. The Pokes came back, though, and tied the game, sending the whole mess into overtime. Two missed field goals defined the first OT. On their second possession, though, OSU took the ball into the endzone and scored the two-point conversion, then held Arkansas scoreless. It was a happy day in Stillwater, and I assume my baby brother was relieved. He still hasn’t said anything about the game.
The game that caught the nation off guard, of course, was Notre Dame’s loss to Northern Illinois, 14-16. That was not the outcome anyone other than Northern Illinois expected and has the New York Times asking if Notre Dame’s football season is over. Northern Illinois was a 28-point underdog going into the game. By all accounts, this shouldn’t have been a close game at all. But the team that Notre Dame put on the field didn’t look like the same one that beat Texas A&M last week. Suffering through an error-filled game, Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard threw an interception with 5:55 left while holding a 14-13 lead, NIU drove 31 yards in 11 plays and got a 35-yard field goal from Kanon Woodill to take the lead with 31 seconds left. A long field goal attempt by Notre Dame fell outside the goalposts. The game was over and a large number of Catholics were, once again, severely disappointed. I’m sure the cold air feels especially bitter in South Bend this morning.
The bulk of NFL teams are playing today after Kansas City beat Baltimore, 27-20 on Thursday and the Eagles beat the Packers 34-29 in Brazil on Friday. Today, we’ll see if the Colts have what it takes to beat Houston. The Texans hold a slight edge if you’re placing bets, but the roof will be open at Lucas Oil Stadium and the crowd will be loud. I’m hoping the game is at least close. A shutout would spell bad news and Indianapolis fans are notoriously fickle when the Colts lose.
The dogs finally decided they needed to go out. Hamilton was terribly disappointed that he wasn’t able to catch the squirrel before it scampered up a tree. I tried telling him that Notre Dame fans feel the same. He just looked at me like I’m crazy.
Let’s just enjoy our coffee, shall we?