You gotta believe
I'm anxiously waiting for the upset of the century as the college football season kicks off with my alma mater ready to shock the world.
That would be when the "mana" (kind of like Hawaiian mojo) left over from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, winning the Little League World Series, swallows up USC quarterback Matt Leinart. The Trojans open defense of their national championship at Aloha Stadium on Saturday, favored by 35 points.
There are only a few things standing in the way of the biggest upset since Sitting Bull over Custer. Specifically, returning Heisman Trophy winner Leinart, Reggie Bush, LenDale White, Darnell Bing, etc.
If Custer had USC's speed, he might have lived to fight another day. Those Trojan jets will be on display against a Hawaii team starting a quarterback who has never thrown a pass in a college game. Yikes!
Bush recently said the only question on his mind is whether USC will score on its first play or if it will take until the third snap. Confident?
Yes, with good reason. Bush is an offensive video game come to life, routinely leaving tacklers with nothing more than handfuls of air.
It kills me to say it, but my beloved Warriors basically have as much chance in this game as the pig at a luau. I just hope it's still close at halftime.
So while I drown my expected sorrows in pre-game mai tais, here are some other questions to ponder this college football season.
Can Texas ever beat Oklahoma? My spies in Austin tell me that Longhorns quarterback Vince Young will surprise people with his arm this season – look for greater accuracy. Young (6-5, 230) is like a bigger version of Michael Vick and that's not the mai tais talking here.
The Sooners have lots of rebuilding to do after reaching the BCS title game twice in a row. If the Longhorns don't get OU this year, I'm not sure when they'll have a better chance.
Fewer things are more certain than a BCS nightmare every January. You can never be sure of exactly what will go wrong with the formula, but some plague emerges every season. Last year, it was three undefeated teams. So is Louisville this year's Bowl Championship Series train wreck waiting to happen?
The Cardinals walk into the Big East (Big Least?) and may strut to an undefeated record in a weakened conference. Would the 11-0 Cards get a Rose Bowl invitation over a one-loss team from a power conference like USC, Texas or Michigan?
How long will it take Urban Meyer's offense to click at Florida? Meyer's unique spread attack led Utah to an undefeated season in 2004. It requires lightning-quick decisions by a quarterback. Can Chris Leak do what Alex Smith did for the Utes a season ago – and can he survive running the option?
Likewise, will Charlie Weis be able to quickly return the glory to Notre Dame? The West Coast offense can be painfully slow to learn (see Bill Callahan at Nebraska). The Irish have their usual brutal schedule, featuring Michigan, USC and Tennessee. If they can hang around .500 early, a stretch of five straight home games late could get them bowl-eligible.
Who wins the Heisman? I normally hate the Heisman hype as much as anybody ... and often, we head into November without any clear-cut favorites. But this season, we're loaded with choices, starting with the aforementioned Leinart, Bush and Young. Then, there's Oklahoma tailback Adrian Peterson and Ohio State receiver Teddy Ginn Jr. It'll be fun comparing their highlight reels all year long.
Grab a mai tai. The season has started.
