10.13.2008

The Weekly ESPNU Trifecta

I'm a huge college football junkie. If there's one sport that I follow as close as hockey, it has to be NCAA football.

As many of you probably do as well, I make sure to keep a close eye on the TV listings as they come out. I'm always interested in seeing what games ESPN, CBS and ABC are picking up so I can plan my Saturday around what I'm watching.

However, possibly my favorite thing to check out is the schedule of the weekly ESPN U tripleheader. It's almost comical how the four-letter network can find three of the most irrelevant games to throw on The U every day.

So, on that note, every week on this blog, I'll bring you what I call the ESPNU Trifecta.

Game 1, 9:00 AM
Connecticut at Rutgers - I'm all about Donald Brown. He's probably the best running back in the Big East and he's a ton of fun to watch. Outside of that, I see no appeal to this match-up. Rutgers was the flavor of 2006 but is 1-5 this season and a total also-ran now. UConn is on their 2nd string quarterback and seems to be fading fast.

Game 2, 12:30 PM
Miami at Duke - Miami has made strides over the past season and a half under Randy Shannon, but they're coming off the win over FSU in what's now a nationally irrelevant rivalry and barely squeaking by in-state rival(?) Central Florida. Do I really have to make a case against Duke here? Their roster reads more like the capitals of former Soviet Republics rather than football players. Pop quiz: Is 'Oghobaase' the name of a Blue Devils defensive tackle or the capital of Azerbaijan?

Game 3, 4:00 PM
Arkansas at Kentucky - OK, OK...Arkansas is coming off of a pretty nice upset win on the road over Auburn. But last I checked, Darren McFadden and Felix Jones are gone and no one this side of Jerry Jones is watching them outside of Little Rock. As for Kentucky, if you thought last year was building on anything, forget it. Lexington has always been and will continue to be a basketball town.

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