5 Things I Never Thought I Would Say This Year

It all started on Sunday afternoon with the 1pm NFL games, I found myself saying things I never thought I would say.

1.The Washington Redskins made a great move trading picks to get RGIII.   That's right, I am giving the Redskins, who I usually refer to as the Foreskins, some credit. I originally thought  that trading top picks for a rookie quarterback when the team obviously needed some top notch offensive linemen was ridiculous. I was wrong. This kid is great and the Skins may actually be able to build a team around him. I guess that is shy Brice Allen is running the team and I am a Sunday afternoon barstool expert. Now what should the Skins do with Kyle Shanahan? Discuss among yourselves.

2. The Cleveland Browns got robbed.  The Browns had the Dallas Cowboys beat, but then in usual form, gave up their lead in the last minutes of regulation to send the game to overtime. The Cowboys then won when an obvious fumble by Miles Austin was ruled an incomplete pass. The play was ruled not reviewable because a whistle had blown the play dead. Poor Cleveland. And now they get to look forward to next week and the beating that the Steelers will put on them, probably with QB Charlie Batch at the helm.

3. WVU will squeak into a bowl this year. The Mountaineers looked great on offense in a heartbreaking 50-49 loss to #12 Oklahoma on Saturday night. But they have no defense. The Mountaineers will only need to win one of it's last two games to bowl eligible this year with a 6-6 record. This is the destiny of a team that was supposed to contend for a major BCS Bowl and win the Heisman Trophy with it's star quarterback Geno Smith. But the bowl pickings are light this year. It will be a struggle to find 70, that's right 70, teams with a .500 record, especially with teams like Ohio State, Penn State, and North Carolina not being allowed to participate. The Mountaineer fan base is known for traveling well, and the team generates very good national televison ratings. These two factors will launch WVU into post season play, probably in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Yea.

4. WVU should do whatever it can to keep the University of Maryland on it's football schedule. That's right, I have totally flip flopped on this issue. And I will be as unapologetic as Mitt Romney about it. The University of Maryland announced today that it will join the Big 10 conference. This move by the Big 10 is completely financial. Maryland obviously is not of high enough caliber to compete in the Big 10 in football. However, the Big 10 wants to be in the lucrative DC and New York markets, and Maryland is part of that solution. Rutgers, who is also joining the Big 20, is the other. I never liked the idea of Maryland being on the WVU schedule. I always felt they weakened WVU's BCS position and the idea that it is some kind of rivalry is just a joke. However, with Maryland joining the Big 10, the television contract and added exposure of this game could be lucrative for the Mountaineers both financially and recruiting wise. So let's keep the Twerps on our schedule if we can. It will also keep the local DC Mountaineer Alumni happy.

5. Notre Dame will play in the BCS National Championship Game. The Irish are #1 in the BCS rankings today for the first time ever, thanks to losses by Kansas State and Oregon. I have said for years that Notre Dame's championship football days were over. I agreed with the logic that the schools small size, awful location, and high academic standards would keep it out of competition in modern day college football. Well Head Coach Brian Kelly has proven me wrong. In just two years, he has placed the program back into the collegiate elite. Notre Dame will beat USC on Saturday, and then head into the National Championship Game to probably face Alabama. Unless Georgia can put a whooping on Bama in the SEC Championship game.

What a weird weekend it was.