San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Nice to have action on field to talk about
Brown leaves floated to the ground, dislodged from trees by a cool breeze, on a recent evening walk around the neighborhood.
And it struck me, a week after temperatures soared into triple digits, fall was in the air.
Its unsanctioned arrival won’t be become official until the calendar calls for it in another nine days, but there was no mistaking it. Fall is here.
And so is college football. Really.
Last week’s start should have been labeled Weak 1 after nine mostly-lopsided games, mostly absent of big names and big plays.
That left it to Week 2 to really get things off the ground, putting the game front and center after months consumed first with COVID-19 and then social injustice. But Week 2 games also seemed like they would be secondary to coronavirus concerns when the weekend began.
Five of six of ESPN’S college football “top headlines” were virus-related as morning games kicked off:
“Virginia Tech’s game with Virginia ppd. by COVID”
“DE Weaver among Pitt players out for Saturday”
“Ga. Southern without 33 due to virus, other woes”
“Memphis halts football activities due to COVID”
“Sources: B1G group to show new testing options”
The sixth headline — “W. Virginia suspends 11 for violating team rules” — was almost a breath of fresh air.
College kids making trouble for themselves. Ah, all is right with the world.
The suspensions were only for one game, meaning the Mountaineers will be back to full strength (COVID willing) for the team’s next contest, Sept. 26 at Oklahoma State.
Though undermanned, West Virginia was able to escape with Saturday’s 59-10 win over Eastern Kentucky.
Interesting how often discipline is meted out against overmatched foes.
Anyway, with the focus finally on the field the biggest news remained with the Big 12.
And not in a good way.
No. 23 Iowa State was upset 31-14 by Louisiana and Kansas State was upset 35-31 by Arkansas State.
Such a victory couldn’t have come at a better time for the Ragin’ Cajuns, contenders for the Sun Belt championship, who posted the first road victory in program history over a ranked opponent.
In and amid coming to grips with the coronavirus and social injustice issues, Louisiana also endured an August that began with a death on the coaching staff and ended with a natural disaster.
D.J. Looney, a 31-year-old offensive line coach for Louisiana, died on Aug. 1 from a heart attack suffered while he was at Cajun Field for a team workout.
The last week of August was spent preparing for and then enduring Hurricane Laura, which did not cause as much devastation as originally feared but was destructive nonetheless.
“You can talk about COVID-19 and these social issues and a hurricane,” Louisiana head coach Billy Napier told ESPN as he was interviewed coming off the field, “but when you lose one of your family members, one of your team members, it’s a significant event.
“I hope my man DJ is up there smiling right now, for sure.”
Crucial to the victory — the Ragin’ Cajuns were 0-26 against ranked road opponents — were a pair of long scoring plays.
Chris Smith’s 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter and Levi Lewis’ 78-yard TD pass to Peter Leblanc in the fourth quarter provided the margin of victory.
Napier brought his team together at midfield after the win to offer a few words about where they’ve been and where they’re headed.
Said Napier: “We have a huge opportunity and platform to not only teach about football but about life.”
Moments after Louisiana’s win, Arkansas State struck another blow for the Sun Belt — stunning Kstate with a touchdown in the game’s final minute.
Jonathan Adams Jr. caught three TD passes, including a 17-yarder from quarterback Layne Hatcher with 38 seconds remaining.
Arkansas State came into the game as a 151⁄2-point underdog and trailed 21-14 at halftime. But at least one observer had confidence in the Red Wolves coming into the second half.
According to Yahoo!, BETMGM booked a wager on Arkansas State (+7) for $110,000 in the second-half.
Speaking of gambling, wonder where the smart money is on the Big Ten returning to the field this fall.
Clemson, the No. 1 team in the nation, was still awaiting kickoff at Wake Forest, when the focus again shifted off the field with news out of the Big Ten, where players and parents, coaches and fans have been pressuring university officials to play in the fall ever since the Aug. 11 decision to postpone the season to the spring.
Today, Big Ten university presidents and chancellors are expected to meet to consider a proposal for fall games. This, after the conference’s Return to Competition Task Force reportedly met Saturday for a presentation to play, perhaps before October is over.
The last Saturday in October falls on Halloween. Somehow, this particular fall, that seems only fitting.
Parting thought: Saturday’s 27-13 win over Duke gave Notre Dame its first conference win in 133 years.
I thought the Fighting Irish were supposed to be so good.
kirk.kenney@sduniontribune.com