Game Day Thoughts

Christian Ponder gets another chance to play quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. This time he takes the field near his hometown of Colleyville against the Dallas Cowboys. The next nine games will determine the future of Christian Ponder in Minnesota. If he doesn't take it that seriously, the Vikings will likely be selecting a quarterback in the first couple of picks of the next NFL Draft.

I just want to see the Vikings finally find a franchise quarterback. I really don't care whether Ponder or Josh Freeman from the current group becomes that guy. I just want that guy on the roster. The Vikings really haven't had that guy since Fran Tarkenton in the '70s. They thought that they had him with Tommy Kramer but he never stayed healthy. They thought that they had him with Daunte Culpepper but he was never the same after a knee injury in 2005. Christian Ponder was drafted to be that guy in 2011. So far, he hasn't. He still could be. We'll see.

The Vikings really miss second-year safety Harrison Smith. He's been out with a turf toe. I miss him too. He's a terrific football player.

Get well and stay well John Fox.

Herschel Walker thinks that he should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While I do think that he's very under-appreciated, I don't agree. His USFL statistics should be considered. He rushed for over 2,400 yards in one 18-game season but his NFL statistics should carry the most weight. Those weren't consistent enough. Walker complains that he didn't get enough carries. The Hall of Fame doesn't really include what might have been.

I was checking out a breakdown by position of colleges with the most players in the NFL. I was a little surprised to see that Cal has the most running backs in the league. I knew that they had a nice representation but I didn't realize that they had the most. Here they are:

C.J. Anderson-Denver Broncos
Justin Forsett-Jacksonville Jaguars
Marshawn Lynch-Seattle Seahawks
Will Ta'ufo'ou-Jacksonville Jaguars
Shane Vereen-New England Patriots

Lynch is the one impact runner. Vereen might become one. He was doing well before he was injured earlier this season.

Cal also has the most centers.

Brian De La Puente-New Orleans Saints
Alex Mack-Cleveland Browns
Brian Schwenke-Tennessee Titans
Nick Sundberg-Washington Redskins

It's always nice to see Cal representation in the NFL.

The other position and college that struck me was punter and Tennessee. It wasn't really a surprise. There just seems to be no end to the punting Colquitts. Craig Colquitt started it all in the late '70s. Sons, Dustin and Britton, punt for the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos. His brother, Jimmy Colquitt punted for the Seattle Seahawks in 1985. All four played college football at Tennessee. Punting is a family business.

The officials of the Cal-Arizona game should find another line of work.

Cal lost again. This time to Arizona, 33-28. Cal is 1-8 on the season.

Cal's defense played their best game. It's not saying much but it's saying something. They showed some life. They made some plays.

The offense didn't make enough plays. Receiver Kenny Lawler caught the first three touchdowns of his college career. A couple in spectacular fashion. But, there was a stretch of several possessions, over a quarter's worth of time, that Cal did nothing on offense. The defense was doing their job and the offense provided no support. Very sad.

I hope that this is more like the Cal defense that we'll be seeing going forward. A simply unreal number of  injuries have kept the defense in flux every week. They may be at the bottom of the depth chart at several positions but they are finally having some lineup consistency. Maybe that consistency has helped the play on the field.

Good teams overcome horrible officiating. Cal isn't so they couldn't.

Seeing so many puke-covered uniforms that some teams trot out on the field (Oregon!), it's nice to see the classics like Navy and Notre Dame.

Michigan St. has a fierce defense. Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner is tough to bring down. Even tougher to catch. Michigan St. did a bunch of both yesterday.

Princeton quarterback Quinn Epperly had an FCS-record 29 straight completions in a win over Cornell. Very nice.

I love the Nissan Heisman House commercials.

Maty Mauk. I just love that name.

I wanted to see more of Missouri and Maty Mauk but I had to watch the Miami-Florida St. #7 vs. #3. I can't get enough of Seminole quarterback Jameis Winston.

In his helmet, Miami quarterback Stephen Morris looks like a stretched-out Russell Wilson. It's something with the eyes.

Speaking of eyes, it was kinda funny to watch Winston squinting to see the play signs from the sideline. For a reason I didn't catch, he wasn't wearing contact lenses. He didn't have any trouble seeing open receivers. He had a lot of them and hit pretty much every one of them. His accuracy and poise is incredible. He did have a couple of interceptions in this game which was strange to see.

Miami was only down a touchdown at the half, 21-14. Florida St. took care of that in the third quarter. It was suddenly 35-14 and Miami had real difficulties gaining even one yard in that quarter. Florida St. wins 41-14.

Miami is a good team. Undefeated and #7 coming into this game. They had some difficulties with North Carolina and Wake Forest in recent weeks but they're moving in the right direction under head coach Al Golden. Stephen Morris is a very good quarterback. Nice arm. Florida St. is simply one of the best teams in the nation. I'd love to see that little playoff system start this season. Separating Alabama, Oregon, Florida St, and one of Ohio St., Stanford, and maybe Baylor is a real tough task. A computer can't do it.

For some reason consciously hidden from me, I cheer for random teams across the nation. I've long been on the side of Georgia and Michigan. I think that Georgia came to me because Fran Tarkenton went there but Terry Hoage, Herschel Walker, and Buck Belue were draws as well in the early '80s. I especially liked Michigan when Anthony Carter was running all over the field. I liked many of Bo Schembechler's teams. The history and traditions of Notre Dame has often made that school appealing. I've liked Texas A&M since I learned of their 12th Man. Sorry Seattle, it's not yours. Never has been. Plus, I liked James Hadnot. More recently, South Carolina and Missouri have joined the list of teams that I, for some reason, favor.

In closing, I was listening to Sports Illustrated's Peter King chatting with Carolina Panther's Greg Olsen about Cam Newton's incredible passing of the last three weeks. Asking what happened, what changed? I thought that the answer was simple but Olsen never landed on it. The Panthers played the Vikings three weeks ago. That is all.

That changes today. Go Vikings.