Welcome back...

Well, well, well. It's MAC Championship Week and finally, mercifully, thankfully, Ball State will be making an appearance in the big game on Friday at Ford Field. They'll play the Buffalo Bulls, a 7-5 team whose record doesn't indicate remotely the quality of their team. Aside from a loss to Missouri, the Bulls could easily be 11-1, but all the talk about Buffalo, the game, and the build up to the sweet juicy release Friday night can wait at least a few hours.

Coming this week on OTP will be a debate between RV and myself with The Honorable Judge Edge presiding about whether or not Ball State is deserving of a BCS Bowl berth, in addition to a Q and A with Jason Whitlock, as well as previews, some commentary, and a little humor at Buffalo's expense. In the meantime, check out the aforementioned Herr Whitlock's latest column from Fox Sports, probably one of the best reads about BSU I've seen all year. Whitlock has taken a beating all year on the internet, and this site, but the guy came through on our request as well as wrote a scathing critique of ESPN and their (lack of) coverage of one of the best stories of the year in college football.

As for Kentucky, old Kentucky showed up on Saturday in Knoxville and promptly shit the bed on a night that could have been outstanding on many levels for this program and this team. On the surface, I'm thrilled at 6-6, and predicted about that at the beginning of the season on CFB Weekly. I'm just generally pissed off about the performance of this team in regard to closing the deal or winning the big one.

It seemed like the last several years Kentucky was turning the corner and getting away from letting teams slip past their clutched hands. They were beginning to win the big ones. This year seems like two steps back, and in all truthfulness, though I'm happy about the possibility of a Bowl, Kentucky backed into one. And should they play as they've played the back half of this season, they'll get beat. You could argue injuries, youth, rebuilding, or whatever you want, but the fact remains that this team is average at best. I simply am ready to close the book on 08, let these receivers become sophomores and hopefully find some hands, let the O-line grow and mature, get everyone healthy, and get a QB in Lexington.

But our energies this week will not be focused on what isn't happening in Lexington. Instead, we will focus on what is happening in Muncie. Cardinal Fever, baby.