NCAA football TV turnoff

NCAA football TV turnoff 0

Inability to watch big game north 49th draws viewer ire

CALGARY - I wore out the buttons on my remote control last Saturday night.
“Where is it?” I mumbled to myself.
“Where the heck is it?” I said louder, fury building with each passing channel and with hope somehow the gerbils inside my TV would hear my angst and direct me to the desired network.
No such luck. Frustration set in. My 300-plus channels of digital cable TV failed me again.
How is it that a Notre Dame-Michigan football event was missing from my dial? Why isn’t this tilt being nationally broadcast?
I don’t think it’s a stretch for me to have such queries.
Michigan is arguably one of the four or five favourite NCAA schools among football fans north of the border.
And, with no argument here — even though I’m a Big Blue fan and no matter my contempt for the over-hyped machine that is Notre Dame — the Fighting Irish remain the preferred pigskin program of choice among Canadians when it comes to the U.S. college ranks.
Take, for instance, this Saturday’s TV schedule: Auburn vs. Clemson early (ABC); Washington vs. Nebraska (ABC), Texas vs. UCLA (ABC), Tennessee vs. Florida (CBS) and Michigan State vs. Notre Dame (NBC) in the afternoon; and Oklahoma vs. Florida State (ABC) in prime time. None of them carry the cache of Michigan vs. Notre Dame, even if the No. 1 Sooners take on the No. 5 Seminoles in that evening feature.
Heck, even Army and Navy — against Northwestern and South Carolina respectively — get broadcast spots on CBS Saturday.
Furthermore, the Notre Dame-Michigan tilt was classic, with three touchdowns scored in the final 79 seconds, capping a crazy fourth-quarter, four-TD comeback for the host Wolverines in their first-ever host of a night game — a thrilling 31-28 victory.
But we couldn’t see it on TV up here.
Methinks the ball was dropped in Week 2.
FIRST DOWN
Gotta hand to the Irish for one thing. Love the throwback uniforms they were sporting against Michigan. Always wondered why green and gold wasn’t the most prominent combination of colours for the Irish, and the shamrock logo on the helmet rocks. Keep it coming! … Speaking of duds, the poor Irish get No. 15-ranked Michigan State this week. An 0-3 start for Notre Dame? Oh, the horror! … Meanwhile, Michigan State is busting out new ‘cutting-edge’ Nike Pro Combat duds for their rivalry tilt Oct. 15 against Michigan. The green and bronze uniforms are getting mixed reviews … Anybody else get burnt on that wacky last-play field-goal block returned for a TD by USC over Utah last Saturday? Ouch! … Did you see Auburn’s eagle, a real true live animal mascot, bash into the luxury-box glass on a cheered flight above the crowd of Jordan-Hare Stadium? Double-ouch! The eagle survived, but I’m confused by why an eagle is the mascot for the Auburn Tigers … This week’s Scandal Bowl? Ohio State at Miami (Fla.) … Here are a couple of Week 3 predictions from ESPN blogger Ted Miller: Oregon 80, Missouri State 2; and California 742, Presbyterian 5. The funny thing is one of those scores isn’t a stretch.
GOAL TO GO
If you didn’t catch it, Minnesota coach Jerry Kill suffered a seizure on the field late in the Golden Gophers’ home-opening win last Saturday over New Mexico State. He’s been in hospital all week recovering, but the school believes he’ll be back on the sidelines Saturday. Kill, 50, has had a history of seizures and has battled kidney cancer. Hope we see him out there.