Week 5 and Shipyard Pumpkin Head

This weekend is week 5 of the college football season. I'm psyched. Every weekend is like opening weekend to me. I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl. I'm like a kid in a candy store. Really, it's more like me in a liquor store. But we'll get into that in a few.

To recap the season briefly, lets start with the number one rated team in the country. Louisiana State University (LSU) has been the biggest winner in the month of september. Not only have they won each game thus far but they've beaten three top 25 ranked opponents, most notably number three ranked Oregon. But I'm an LSU hater. I've never liked them. I've never liked their coach Les Miles. He's the worst game manager I've ever seen and his teams rely solely on raw talent. He doesn't develop them. Seriously. Can you even name one LSU product who has produced in the NFL? Think JaMarcus Russell.

LSU dethroned Oklahoma last week to top the rankings, but I still feel Oklahoma is a more complete team. From top to bottom, their roster is stacked. And they have a proven coach.

Big win from Oklahoma State last week over Texas A&M. These two teams battled it out to the bitter end. More importantly, out of this brawl came a  legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate in Brandon Weeden. This guy is hands down in the top three QB's in the country right now alongside Boise State's Kellen Moore and Stanford's Andrew Luck. Nobody's giving this guy props, though, because he doesn't play for a sexy, big-named school. He'll silence the critics soon enough when he dismantles Texas in two weeks.

Games to watch this weekend

#10 South Carolina vs. Auburn

While Auburn fell out of the top 25, they're still tough. Anyone from the SEC can beat anyone. South Carolina is too one-dimensional, relying enormously on my man sophomore Marcus Lattimore. But he's a stud and has proven he can carry the opposing defense, and his own team, into the end zone.

#4 Boise State vs. Nevada

Boise State is looking for revenge. The Broncos put together a championship caliber season last year. That is, until they were upset by Nevada and losing on a last second field goal. The Boise boys have a chip on their shoulders and they are looking to prove to the country that they are the best. Lets see how they handle it.

#11 Virginia Tech vs. #13 Clemson

Clemson is riding high after wins against powerhouses Florida State and Auburn. Virginia Tech has been my dark horse national championship contender for years but they always seem to underachieve. Frank Beamer leads a tough defense every year in VaTech, but I think Clemson will scrape together another big victory in this ACC matchup in Vicksburg, VA.

MARQUEE MATCHUP


#7 Wisconsin vs. #8 Nebraska

This game has BCS implications. Nebraska, first year in the Big 10, was my pick to win the conference in their inaugural season. Wisconsin, though, boasts the best offensive line in the country. They also have transfer QB Russell Wilson who has been slingin' the ball like nobody's business. Still, I think the combination of runner and gunner QB Taylor Martinez and coach Bo Pelini is too much for Wisconsin. Huskers take this one.

While I'm watching this game, I'll be enjoying a nice six pack (cough 12 cough) of Shipyard Pumpkin Head Ale. Hey, it's October tomorrow after all. Time to get festive. While this beer isn't going to knock you on face like its evil twin Smashed Pumpkin (9% APV), Pumpkin Head is light enough to have more than a few yet flavored enough that you want to leave it at that. Got to love those spices and pumpkin flavor. Think Coors light drinkablility (yeah I know thats a Bud Light term but you know what I'm going for ) with a classic October taste.

Have fun drinking and watching.

Conference Cavorting..... Oh, and Don't Drink Kappy's Brand Whiskey

There are 11 conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The FBS is more commonly referred to as Division 1-A. These are the big-name teams you might here on the radio or see on ESPN if you're as big of a fanatic as I am, like Boston College, University of Miami, Penn State University, Ohio State University, etc. The means in this subdivision are the ones who play for the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) National Championship. Of the 11 conferences in the FBS, six of them are BCS automatic qualifiers, meaning that if a team were to win it's respective conference, it automatically gets a shot at one of the major headliner bowl games.

Since I really became invested in college football around 2001-2002 up until this year, the teams in the 11 conferences have all stayed relatively in place. This years marks the biggest conference shake-up I have ever seen. And I love it.

In 2004 I saw Virginia Tech and Miami move from the Big East conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). In 2005, Boston College did the same. Three teams switched conferences. This year five teams have already switched, almost every conference has put out an invitation for another team to join, and minutes ago I just read an article saying that Texas A&M will be switching conferences next year as well. Oh, and four teams will be moving up from the Football Championship Subdivision, more commonly 1-AA to the FBS.

So if you're mildly interested in college football and you watch a game or two on saturdays with the boys and throw down a couple of cold ones (or Kappy's brand whiskey which I'll get to in a minute), you're probably asking, "Why all the moving?"

The answers aren't as exciting as you might hope. Reasons range from television exposure to lucrative contracts to recruiting pipelines. Some teams, like Boise State, moved from an non-automatic qualifying conference to another. Why? It is simply more competitive. Boise State is a preseason top 10 team every year and are hoping to get a little more street cred by playing in a tougher conference.

You should really look at college football games as conference vs. conference rather than team vs. team. Each conference has it's own style of play and it's own reputation. The Big 10 is historic with a conservative style of play and smash-mouth reputation. The South East Conference (SEC) is known to play the best overall football, have some of the most innovative coaches, and produce the best athletes. They have had a team win the national championship for the past five years. The Pac 10 has a very fast-paced and contemporary style of play. The list goes on and on. Some teams want a chance to prove themselves against the real contenders. Some want more national spotlight. Some want revamp their look and prestige. They are looking for an extra edge.

So now that you've gotten my little spiel about teams changing conferences, you're probably curious about the Kappy's brand whiskey. Well, I drank a bottle of Kappy's brand whiskey this weekend. Kappy's, as you might know unless you're that guy who doesn't drink, is a chain of liquor stores. Hey, I'm on a budget. It cost me $7.59. Can't beat that. Can you beat the taste and the smoothness and the hangover it causes? Yes. If you've got the cash to spend, go a little higher-end. With all seriousness, Kappy's brand is probably the shittiest whiskey I've ever dared to put down my throat and I'm still trying to recover from it. If you're pinching your pennies, than good luck to ya. But this is your fair warning. Don't be afraid to splurge when it comes to this.

Inaugural Post

Alright everyone,

This is the inaugural Swigs, Shots, and College Football blog post.

The premise of this blog is to give commentary on the marquee matchup college football games while giving my esteemed opinion on the respective liquor I decide to drink while watching.

It was my initial thought to start the commentary today but, alas, I have partaken in more of the drinking than watching so I decided to just give an eloquent introduction as to what I'm hoping to accomplish.

Here's the jist. This blog is dedicated to you students-pulling-all-nighters-and-studying-into-the-wee-hours AND you young-professionals-working-your-asses-off-for-an-entry-level-salary just so you can do exactly what I'm doing now and getting course credit for; blogging and watching America's new pastime, college football.

Stay tuned and enjoy the unbiased commentary that will follow soon.