Let me preface this column by noting that, yes, I have ties to the University of Alabama, and jumped at the chance to watch the Crimson Tide play an out-of-conference storied program like Michigan, especially at Cowboys Stadium, a.k.a. Jerry World, in Dallas. Hey, I went to the University of Arkansas and spent half the night inside the stadium Googling for updates from Fayetteville.
Playing the NCAA Championship Game anywhere but Cowboys Stadium in the future (college football’s Final Four format begins in 2014) will be akin to holding the Oscars in Stuttgart. Yes, you could conceivably hold it elsewhere, but why when Hollywood is the perfect fit?
It was my first trip to the new Cowboys Stadium. I hope it’s not the last. You feel as if you’re walking into a giant mall as you enter. The stifling Sept. 1 Texas heat cut short our pregame tailgating, but as we entered through the doors, it was all smiles as we felt the air conditioning. It was like walking into a restaurant cooler, which was good because with 90,413 people sitting together, it helped to defuse the body odor.
The 60-yard video board is so incredible that you catch yourself watching it while the actual game is right there in front of you. When the 2010 NBA All-Star Game was held there, the video board was larger than the basketball court.
The negatives – and I’m being a little picky here – include the incredibly inflated prices for food and beverages; the sound from the bands was almost inaudible as it apparently goes straight up to the roof; parking is as high as $100 per vehicle and alternative transportation (cabs, shuttles, etc.) around those parts of Arlington is almost non-existent.
Otherwise, Cowboys Stadium is like no other sports venue anywhere, and the 11-year contract settled on for the Arkansas-Texas A&M series beginning in 2014 should be a major boon for the Razorbacks. I believe having Texas A&M joining the SEC is actually a plus for Arkansas. Television markets in Texas will carry even more SEC games now that A&M is in the league and players who may have chosen to play in the Big 12 to be seen more often by their friends can now choose A&M, Arkansas or even LSU and be relatively close to home and still be on local TV.
Speaking of Arkansas and looking ahead to the Sept. 15 matchup with Alabama in Fayetteville, I believe Tyler Wilson is going to have a sore arm afterward because he may need to throw almost every down. No one is going to run the ball against the Tide. Sure, Knile Davis may have a run or two, but to move the chains, Wilson is going to have to have a big night. He’s a much better passer than Michigan’s Denard Robinson and he did manage to burn the Tide secondary twice.
Other observations from the first week of college football:
Penn State is bad – really bad. I do hate this for the players that have stuck it out through such a trying period. But with the atrocities that were allowed to take place in “Happy Valley” over the past 25 years or so, perhaps this is karma. And it will get much, much worse for followers of the Nittany Lions before getting better years down the road.
As for former Penn State and Pittsburgh Steeler great Franco Harris, it’s high time the 62-year-old grew up and perhaps even shut up defending that which cannot be defended. He’s embarrassing himself and destroying what had been a great legacy.
When we get all caught up in the SEC dominance talk, remember that it is the SEC West that is so strong. South Carolina looked average in squeaking by Vanderbilt, Florida is still rebuilding post-Urban Meyer, and who knows how good Georgia is because they have the weakest schedule an SEC team could possibly manage. Tennessee was by far the most impressive team from the SEC East in the first week.
Meanwhile, SEC West schools Alabama, Arkansas and LSU are all national championship contenders.