Florida State edges Murray State in a cliffhanger, 69-3

Florida State edges Murray State in a 69-3 cliffhanger

Two questions come to mind. Make that three. Two about football, one about geography.

1. The USA has a state named Murray? Man, a lot of shit has changed since I went to school.

2. Why do the mighty Murray State Racers (that's really the name of their sports teams) schedule a game against FSU, and vice-versa? Last year Murray State gave up 48 to and got trounced by Tennessee-Martin, which I believe is actually a sour mash whiskey, so how did they expect to match up against the Seminoles?

3. How the hell did Murray State get three points? I reckon the FSU defense will be doing two-a-days in full uniform this week.

(By the way the actual answer to my question #3 is this: penalties. On two successive plays FSU was assessed with 15-yard penalties, thereby allowing the Racers to get within field goal range, despite the fact that they only gained 20 total yards on the drive by passing 2-for-6.)

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In reference to question #2, we might also ask the same thing about Savannah State and Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State won that squeaker 84-0, with 682 yards from scrimmage and another 214 on returns.

But here's the sweet part: there's a connection between these two games. Savannah State scheduled FSU for next week! (Oh, FSU, you big risk-takers!) Last year Savannah State went 1-11 against grade-z competition (for example, they lost 59-3 to Bethune-Cookman, which I believe is a real estate firm). That one win obviously motivated them to take on some of the nation's elite teams this year. I hope their medical insurance is paid up.

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Most of the other top teams also played their usual early-season patsies, but in more serious match-ups:

In the only meeting of top ten teams, Michigan was no match for 'Bama, which ran up the score to 31-0 before putting in the freshmen and some of the cheerleaders. (I wonder if freshman Dee Hart dreamed he'd get nine rushes in his first college game, especially against a top-ten team.) At least the Wolverines' punter got in some practice. If the #8 Wolverines were feeling any anxiety about the possibility of a national championship (they actually got one first place vote in last week's AP poll) - well, the pressure is now off!

#13 Michigan State played #24 Boise State Friday night. The Trojans came back to win 17-13.