Glory on the Pitch

By: Gus Victoria

Glory on the pitch,

The sport of empire

Stands now proudly

The sport of the world,

The ball is round

The dreams are vast

That move boss,

Inspire the worker,

And know no class.

Flags and crests,

Hearts in swollen chests

Beat with the rhythm of struggle,

With the hope of victory.

Between two poles

The net stands ready

To receive that mark of honor,

That goal,

The glory on the pitch.

Week 3 Rankings and Picks

Last week I posted a respectable 25-4 (0.862) record with my picks. Granted, I fattened up on more than a few cupcakes. Though I did call the Wazzu's upset of USC and Georgia overcoming South Carolina I also missed on Notre Dame and Texas. The games seem to be a bit more competitive this week so that record will more than likely take a beating. That being said here are my picks for Week 3:

Rank	Team (1st place)	Pts	Record	Opponent	Prediction
1	Alabama (57)	1,494	1-0	#6 Texas A&M	Win
2	Oregon (1)	1,385	2-0	(#39) Tennessee	Win
3	Clemson (1)	1,335	2-0	(Open)	-
4	Ohio State (1)	1,327	2-0	California	Loss
5	Stanford	1,271	1-0	Army	Win
6	Texas A&M	1,133	2-0	#1 Alabama	Loss
7	Louisville	1,105	2-0	Kentucky	Win
8	LSU	1,075	2-0	Kent State	Win
9	Georgia	1,036	1-1	(Open)	-
10	Florida State	1,011	1-0	Nevada	Win
11	Michigan	872	2-0	Akron	Win
12	Oklahoma State	834	2-0	Lamar	Win
13	South Carolina	829	1-1	Vanderbilt	Win
14	Oklahoma	675	2-0	Tulsa	Win
15	Miami (FL)	615	2-0	(Open)	-
16	UCLA	488	1-0	#23 Nebraska	Win
17	Northwestern	452	2-0	Western Michigan	Win
18	Florida	405	1-1	(Open)	-
19	Washington	392	1-0	(#34) Illinois	Loss
20	Wisconsin	378	2-0	(#26) Arizona State	Loss
21	Notre Dame	333	1-1	Purdue	Win
22	Baylor	295	2-0	(Open)	-
23	Nebraska	277	2-0	#16 UCLA	Loss
24	TCU	170	1-1	Texas Tech	Win
25	Ole Miss	78	2-0	(#29) Texas	Win
26	Arizona State	64	20	#20 Wisconsin	Win
27	Michigan State	26	2-0	Youngstown State	Win
28	Fresno State	26	2-0	Colorado	Loss
29	Texas	26	1-1	#25 Ole Miss	Loss
30	Northern Illinois	21	1-0	Idaho	Win
31	Virginia Tech	15	1-1	East Carolina	Win
32	BYU	14	1-1	(Open)	-
33	Georgia Tech	10	1-0	Duke	Win
34	Illinois	9	2-0	#20 Washington	Win
35	Arizona	9	2-0	UTSA	Win
36	Bowling Green	7	2-0	Indiana	Win
37	Penn State	7	2-0	UCF	Loss
38	Boise State	3	1-1	Air Force	Win
39	Tennessee	1	2-0	#2 Oregon	Loss

The Game

By: Gus Victoria

On a cold winter’s day

The frost of January

Gives way to the dreams of autumn

Staged on the green

Of a gridiron mirage.

There the warriors

In their colors arrayed

Take the field against the foe.

Among their ranks you will find no Hector,

Not an Achilles, Ajax, or Aeneas takes to battle,

Yet those in that stadium,

The massive descendant of Vespasian’s monument,

Shout as if there those mythic heroes

Would come to life again

And clash in combat once more.

These are athletes that compete,

Speed, skill and strength as currency

Easily spent to purchase

An opportunity,

A chance at Victory,

That sultry, seductive goddess

Elusive to many,

Loyal to none.

Again the cheers ascend,

Greater and greater the sound,

The stands tremble,

The very earth shakes,

In knowing anticipation;

The Game has begun.