Saturday, November 16, 2013

Gameday - Week #12: Murphy's Law

In terms of my ability to talk about college football today, it has been one setback after another.   With that in mind, I decided to add the term "Murphy's Law" in today's Gameday post.  Murphy's Law basically states that "If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong."  The man responsible for coming up with the law was Captain Edward Murphy, an aerospace engineer who worked at Wright Field Aircraft Lab and Edwards Air Force base in California in the 1940s.  The law originated from an event at Edwards AFB in 1949.  According to Wikipedia


       The law's namesake was Capt. Ed Murphy, a development engineer from Wright Field Aircraft Lab.  Frustration with a strap transducer which was malfunctioning due to an error in wiring the strain gage bridges caused him to remark – "If there is any way to do it wrong, he will" – referring to the technician who had wired the bridges at the Lab.


For me, Murphy's Law occurred in three phases.  First, there were unanticipated work obligations that lasted for the entire morning.  Unfortunately, that is when I normally watch College Gameday, and the time when I normally write my gameday blog entries.  By the time I was ready to write my post, the second setback occurred:  my cable and internet service went down.  By the time my cable/internet service provider restored service, the games that began at noon eastern were almost over.  One of those games in question was Indiana vs. #22 Wisconsin.  The result of that game was a  humiliating loss for Indiana.  Final score:  Wisconsin 51, Indiana 3.  Since Indiana has Ohio State and Purdue left on its schedule, it is highly unlikely that the Hoosiers will earn a post-season bowl bid.  In addition, West Virginia lost to Kansas by a score of 31-19.  So, with work obligations, internet & cable service interruptions, and both my teams losing have made this day into an experience best characterized as an example of Murphy's Law. 

My experiences today, however, have not dampened my enthusiasm for college football.  There are still plenty of exciting games on today's schedule.  One of them is #16 Michigan State vs. Nebraska, which I am watching as I type this blog entry.  With 3:30 left in the first quarter, Michigan State leads Nebraska 10-0.  It is a beautiful day in Lincoln, with temperatures in the mid-60s and light winds.  There is a lot riding on this game in the Big Ten.  Both teams are playing for a Rose Bowl bid and the opportunity to face the Leaders division champion (most likely Ohio State) in the Big Ten Championship.  Michigan State is still undefeated in the conference but Nebraska has two losses overall.  Since this game is important for both teams, one has to wonder why ESPN chose to hold College Gameday in Los Angeles for the #4 Stanford-USC game.  USC is not in contention for a BCS-level bowl game and even though Stanford is #4 in the BCS standings, it seems like the only thing that both teams are playing for at this point in time is bragging rights.  Indeed, #19 Arizona State is currently in first-place in the PAC-12 South division while unranked USC is in third.  Speaking of Arizona State, the Sun Devils host the Oregon State Beavers at 9:30 PM Eastern on the PAC-12 Network. 

In the BIG XII, #12 Oklahoma State is playing #24 Texas in Austin.  Texas is still undefeated in the conference but they are not ranked high enough at this time to be considered for an at-large BCS bid.  A victory over the Cowboys would improve the Longhorns chances of playing their postseason in either the Orange Bowl or the Sugar Bowl if Baylor clinches a Fiesta Bowl berth.  As for the #5 Baylor Bears, they will host Texas Tech tonight at 7:00 PM Eastern on FOX. 

Finally, in the SEC, #7 Auburn currently leads #25 Georgia 20-7.  Auburn's only loss this year has been to LSU but they are still in contention for a BCS-level game.  This is the Tigers' last game before their highly-anticipated match with Alabama in the Iron Bowl on November 30th.  In the SEC East division, #9 Missouri has a bye this week but #10 South Carolina hosts an unranked Florida team this evening at 7:00 Eastern on ESPN2.  Enjoy the rest of the day, everybody!



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