Later, walking back to the hotel, past the cars overflowing with people, coolers, and camp chairs, the breeze would kick up and make the air feel almost chilly. Part of that was the surprising cool night air just beginning to signal to north Florida that autumn is on its way; part of it was the breeze hitting the accumulated sweat and dirt covering every inch of our bodies.

But earlier, in the moment that I will always carry with me, there was no movement of air, except the breath of 80,000 people leaving their mouths in accompaniment to their full throated yells and screams.

It was early in the 4^th quarter. Oklahoma still led by a touchdown but FSU had the momentum after the defense had spent the last quarter and a half stymieing the high-powered Oklahoma offense and a 69-yard punt had pinned the OU offense inside their own five yard line. The air hung warm and humid and dripped with a feeling of anticipation and expectation. 80,000 FSU fans didn’t want FSU to tie the game. They knew FSU would tie the game. The players just needed a little help.

As the Sooners lined up to snap the ball from their own two-yard line, less than 50 feet away stood 20,000 FSU students doing everything possible to disrupt and distract the Sooners short of lining up the tan, in-shape co-eds and having them flash Landry Jones as if they were on Bourbon Street.

Turner and I, about 40 rows up from the 5-yard line, were close enough that I could convince myself that cheering and frantically waving my arms to implore other Nole fans to scream as loud as I was would have an impact. But we were also far enough away to be able to take in the entire scene.

Thousands of students blurring together into a screaming, jumping, arm-waving, garnet colored sea.

Seminole defenders jumping up and down, feeding on the energy of their fellow students like some sci-fi monster absorbing the very life-force of fellow humans; dancing to some rhythm that only they could discern from the cacophony of cheers pouring over them like a waterfall.

Across the line of scrimmage, Landry Jones trying to put together 2 thoughts and then communicate to his teammates underneath an avalanche of noise.

Doing everything short of throwing out a white towel and punting on 2^nd down just to make the noise end, the Sooners gained only a few yards before going 3 and out. But just because the offense left the field didn’t mean the noise would drop.

As the punt team lined up, the noise just escalated. 2 straight OU false starts moved the punt team right back to the 2 yard line they had just escape and re-enforced to the crowd that they weren’t just watching a football game – they were participating in and affecting it. The punt return team felt it as well. At mid-field Greg Reid danced and bopped. Linebackers and linemen waved their arms to ask foreven more noise.

With only 9 yards separating him from the Seminoles, maybe 50 feet separating him from a sea of blood-thirsty students and one of the most dangerous returners in the country waiting to make a ‘Deion’ play at mid-field, Tress Way, the Sooner punter, predictably shanked the ball straight to his left like me standing at a golf tee. The Seminole offense would get the ball back inside the OU 40-yard line.

In that moment, we not only knew that FSU would tie the game but we knew that at least in some way we were responsible.

And with that moment, Florida State football’s pre-eminence was awakened from a decade-long hibernation.

Obviously, the Florida State/Oklahoma game didn’t turn out how I was hoping. The Noles did score on an improbable 3^rd and 28 completion flung by a freshman back-up quarterback to a freshman receiver who ran into the endzone after catching a pass badly mis-played by 2 Sooner defenders. Unfortunately, this woke up the Sooner offense who responded with a touchdown drive of their own followed by a tipped pass interception and a field goal that clinched the game for Oklahoma.

FSU was ultimately done in by too many turnovers, penalties and an efficient Oklahoma machine just beginning to reach its potential. With no running game and a young, inexperienced quarterback forced to play by injury, FSU’s offense only had so many bullets in its holster when the game was on the line. To put this in language even a Sooner can understand, FSU looked liked the greenhorns that they are while OU has been to this rodeo before.

To be so close but to fall short obviously hurts. How the rest of the season plays out for the Noles will be determined by how they respond on the road at Clemson this coming week. Show up mad and ready to take out your aggression on a Clemson team freshly cocky from beating an overrated Auburn team and FSU is on the fast track to the national elite. Arrive in Death Valley, sulking from missed opportunities, disinterested and overwhelmed by an athletic Clemson team and another 3 or 4 loss campaign will be the result.

But what happens the rest of this season is almost a side issue right now. With a team loaded with really good young players, a pipeline of perpetual top recruiting classes and a stable quality coaching staff, it seems to be a matter of time until FSU returns to the top of the college football landscape.

Even Turner, perennial cynic and eternal pessimist, said he was glad that OU ended their home and home series with FSU this year. He doesn’t want to see what this team becomes as they mature.

But beyond the team on the field, this game was important for the people in the stands.

An entire generation of FSU students has swum in the Westcott fountain on graduation day without experiencing the pinnacle of college football in Tallahassee. I was fortunate to come in with a national championship team my freshman year in 1993, and witness #2 FSU defeat #1 UF in the regular season finale of 1996 – my final home game as an undergrad (all records of the Bowl game that followed that winter have been wiped from my memory Men-In-Black style).

My generation expected a great team and top-five match-ups every single year. These kids have not. ‘Big games’ have been defined recently as random ACC match-ups against the likes of Boston College or Virginia Tech that seemed to be used primarily as a vehicle for selling new t-shirts.

For the first time, FSU students got a sense of how it feels to cheer on a great college football team. They got a sense for what an important game feels like; from having to shake off a hangover to go yell inappropriate comments toward Erin Andrews at College GameDay in the morning, to pacing your drinking over the next 6 hours in preparation for a game that becomes the lead story on SportsCenter for the next two days.

What they may not know yet but will realize soon is that it is addictive. Seeing highlights of your team coming up short in the biggest game of the week may be a little painful for a day or two but it is much more enjoyable than never even being discussed at all.

Once you have a moment like we did collectively when OU’s punt went sailing out of bounds at the 38 yard line, you will crave it as strongly as a drug.

 The players will realize it as well. They may know what it means to excel as individuals and dominate inferior opponents, but now they know what it feels like to be the most dominant force in all of college football.

Even if for just a moment.

A year ago in preparation for the FSU/OU game in Norman, Turner and I each lobbied Shadow to cheer on our team. We came up with categories and made our best arguments as to why our school was better than the other. In the end, Shadow chose to cheer on Oklahoma and I have cried myself to sleep in a fetal position every night since.

This year, having already stated our cases we left it to Shadow as to how he would cheer.

Below is the transcript of his deciding press conference, taped live at the Aurora, Colorado Boys and Girls Club.

If you missed ESPN’s televised special on the Shadow’s decision, here is the transcript of Lee Corso’s conversation with him:

Thank you very much. Everybody is on pins and needles across the country, particularly SuperDave and Turner.

Are you ready to go Shadow? Where is the powdered doughnut?

Left it at home.

What’s new? What’s been going on with you this summer?

Man, this whole choosing sides experience, looking forward to it.

What have you thought about this process?

This process has been everything I’ve thought and more.   I put myself in a position to have this process where I can hear SuperDave’s and Turner’s pitches and figure out what was the best possible chance for me to ultimately win and to ultimately be happy.

How many people know your decision right now?

Not many. It’s a very, very small number. And I probably could count them on my fingers.

One hand or two hands?

Let’s say one.

When did you decide?

I think I decided this morning. I mean, I decided this morning I went day to day. I wake up one morning, it’s this team. I wake up another morning, it’s this team.

But this morning I woke up, had a great conversation with my mom. Once I had that conversation with her, I think I was set.

So the last time you changed your mind was yesterday?

The last time I changed my mind was probably in my dreams. And when I woke up this morning I knew it was the right decision.

Who in this process, Shadow, have you taken advice from and who has had the biggest influence?

I’ve taken a lot of advice from my friends and family. A lot of people that I look towards in a time of need or for advice, and ultimately they looked at me and said you ultimately have to live with your decision that you’re going to make, and you have to do what’s best for you, for your family and for you to ultimately be happy.

What was the major factor, the major reason in your decision?

I think the major factor and the major reason in my decision was the best opportunity for me to make such a tough decision and still stay friends with both Turner and SuperDave.

Do you have any doubts about your decision?

No. I don’t have any doubts at all.

You’ve had everybody else biting their nails. So I guess it’s time for them to stop chewing. The answer to the question everybody wants to know: Shadow, what’s your decision?

This Saturday, this is very tough, this Saturday, I’m going to take my remote to ABC to root for the Florida State Seminoles

The Seminoles? That was the conclusion you woke up with this morning?

That was the conclusion I woke up with this morning.

Why?

Well, much like Star Wars, I think there needs to be a balance in the Force.  Last year, I rooted for the Sooners, and they dominated.  This year, I decided I needed to maintain balance in the THH and in my friendship with SuperDave and Turner, and root for the Seminoles.  Also, I think OU having a bye in Week 2 was incredibly stupid and they will be rusty….and I like to root for the eventual winner in any game.

How do you explain this to the people in Oklahoma?

I mean, it’s heartfelt for me. You know, it’s hard to explain, but at the same time my heart, with me giving them my pick last year, to that team, it was everything.

I mean, those 20 plus fans that come out and read SuperDave’s blog every week, and they have seen me grow from an 37 year old man to a 39 year old man.  I felt like the greatest challenge for me is to flip flop this year.

What do you think Turner’s reaction will be?

I’m not sure.  But it will probably involve the yelling of BAPC.  Maybe another letter will even get added.  FBAPC?

Ever want to go through this again?

This is tough. This is very tough, because you feel like you’ve let a lot of people down. You’ve raised a lot of people’s expectations also. But it was a tough decision, because I know how loyal I am.

I wouldn’t want to do it again.

Thank you very much, Shadow, for coming on the program and sharing this momentous decision with us.  There you have it.  Saturday night.  2/3 of the THH in the stands at Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium…and the Shadow will be watching from his couch, cheering on EJ Manual and the rest of the Seminoles.

I and every other member of Seminole nation have spent the last 372 days looking forward to this weekend, and not because we are huge Sarah Jessica Parker fans. After the Sooners slipped the Seminoles a big box of small-pox infested blankets as part of a 47-17 thumping last year in Norman, for FSU fans, Revenge isn’t just a new crappy TV show that your wife will make you watch – it is an obsession.

FSU desperately wants to win this game. Not just for the payback factor (though that would certainly be enough), but to also send a signal to the college football world that FSU is back in the discussion for a national championship, no matter which conference they are in.

But the realist in me has to ask if one year has been enough time to close the gap demonstrated by last year’s 34-7 halftime lead for the Sooners.

Before, Turner and I jump on a plane tomorrow and spend about 10 hours working our way from Denver to Tallahassee, let’s take a look at the key match-ups within the game that will decide whether Turner or I will wake up on Sunday morning and, despite our epic hangover, smile with the knowledge that our team is one giant leap closer to the BCS title game.

Stoops vs Stoops

Last year, OU’s no-huddle hurry up offense seemed to catch the Seminole defense off guard. In the heat of Norman, the Seminole defense wilted faster than the dignity of a Bachelor Pad contestant. If Mark Stoops hasn’t come up with a way for the Seminole defense to slow down big brother Bob’s OU offense, there is little chance of a Nole victory. Specifically, Mark Stoops needs to focus on finding an answer for…

FSU defensive line vs Landry Jones

The only thing that has lasted longer than the time Landry Jones had in the pocket against the Noles last year is his virginity. With no pressure, Jones picked apart the Nole defense. With the athletes the Sooners bring with them and a rhythm passing game, if the Noles can’t disrupt Jones’ timing by trying to knock the moustache off of him, he will walk up and down the field again. Specifically, if there is no pressure on Jones from the defensive line then the onus falls on the secondary to shut down the OU receivers with one of those match-ups jumping out…

Greg Reid vs Ryan Broyles

Greg Reid is the ridiculously talented, loud talking cornerback that sees himself as the heir apparent to Deion Sanders and Terrell Buckley. Unfortunately, early last year he covered more like Colonel Sanders and tackled like Pearl S. Buck (seriously – at one point during the Miami game I tweeted that my 5’1”, 70 year old mother could have made a better tackle attempt than Reid on a UM touchdown). But as the season progressed, so did Reid’s game, culminating in devastating hits on a VT receiver in the ACC title game and a game-ending hit on Marcus Lattimore in the Chick-Fil-a Bowl. Has he progressed to the point where he can contain the most prolific receiver in college football? We know Broyles will get his fair share of catches, but can Reid keep that number low and more importantly make sure they are all short passes with few yards after catch? He better contain Broyles, especially if the offense isn’t moving the ball. If they aren’t moving, there will be one big reason why….

FSU running game vs OU defensive line

FSU scored on its first drive of the game last year by connecting on a series of short and mid-range passes. Once OU realized they wouldn’t go deep because of the pressure on Christian Ponder, the defense moved up, the mid-range passing levels closed and the Noles were as dead as the Big 12 conference is today. Unlike the pass-happy teams of the past, FSU under Jimbo Fischer needs a balanced attack (see: Miami game last year). A running game slows the pass rush and keeps the linebackers near the line for an extra second, opening up passing lanes. Of course, if EJ Manuel can’t hit open receivers then it won’t matter. In this game, it may come down to who can control their emotions…

FSU Big Stage Poise vs OU Hostile Environment Poise

Let’s face it. FSU has not been in a lot of high profile games recently. When they have they come up smaller than Verne Troyer in an NBA game. 47-17 at Oklahoma. 44-33 versus Virginia Tech in the ACC title game. Did the bowl victory over media darling South Carolina change that? Is there a core belief that the Noles belong now? Contrast that with an OU team that is used to the big stage but has struggled in hostile environments – losses at Missouri and Texas A&M last year. Can a crowd that finally senses it is their time get to the Sooners? Will 3 hours of the tomahawk chop turn Bob Stoops into a visor-throwing Steve Spurrier replica? More importantly, will Turner survive his trip to Tallahassee or will he fold like Jason White in a BCS game…

Turner’s Drinking Stamina vs Tallahassee Tailgating

I give all the credit in the world to the Sooner fans we met last year. They were gracious hosts dedicated to a great gameday experience – even for out-of-town visitors not wearing burnt orange. But with College Gameday in town and ABC picking this up as the primetime game, there won’t be a 3 hour tailgate like last year. This year it will be an 8-hour tailgate. Turner is a mild-mannered, hard-working, father of 2. He probably has the stamina for drinking that Landry Jones will have in the bedroom on his wedding night. Can he survive 8 hours of drinking in the Florida heat before the game? If we have to leave a passed-out Turner at the tailgate when we go to the game, does that say more about him or us?

The answers to all of these questions will decide the biggest game of the college football year and the biggest game in my fan life since January 2001.

I don’t know the answers, but I can’t wait to find them out.

Coming into the 2011 college football season, it doesn’t feels like we are facing the dawn of a new season. Rather, it feels like we are emerging from our debris covered shelters into a post-apocalyptic world.

After an off-season filled with controversy; teams being busted breaking every rule in the book and schools flirting with new conferences like a divorcee out at Applebee’s on a Thursday night, the college football world isn’t the same one we left last January. Where buildings with flashy neon signs that said THE Ohio State University and THE U once stood, are now piles of rubble.

But like the obligatory rose growing from the rubble that is a less then subtle metaphor for hope in apocalypse films, college football too has moments that remind us why we love college football so much.

They are called Saturdays.

So with Saturdays about to kick off, it is time to make my bold and almost guaranteed to be entirely wrong, season predictions. And this year, just like ESPN scripted it, the college football success comes down to one thing.

It is all about the quarterbacks.

For me to even consider a team as a national title contender, a team needs to have a proven quarterback.

Last year, Florida and Texas started the season as top five teams. Coming off BCS bowl appearances, a number of starters returning and rosters filled with highly recruited kids coming out high school, it was just assumed they could pick up right where they had left off the year before when they combined for 2 losses.

Instead they combined for 12 losses.

What was the difference? New quarterbacks.

It was just assumed that with the coaches and talent around them, John Brantley and Garrett Gilbert could pick up where Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy had left off.

But a fancy pedigree doesn’t guarantee success. UF and UT last year aren’t the only examples of course. Matt Leinart took USC to 2 straight national title games. His followers, John David Booty, Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley have never even sniffed a BCS title game.

Applying this lesson automatically eliminates several traditional national title contenders.

Sorry Alabama, time to go poison another tree in defeat.

Tough luck Ohio State, your tattoos this year will need frowny-faces.

Too bad Virginia Tech, another BCS bowl and we would have tried to learn what a Hokie is.

Arkansas, it was fun. Call us when Bobby Petrino abandons you mid-season or Jerry Jones buys you a championship.

With this logic, I envisioned LSU making the national championship game, given the NCAA’s new by-law that states a National title game must always involve a SEC team, but now that Jordan Jefferson tapped his inner-Garo Yapremian during a bar brawl a couple weeks ago, there are just too many open questions.

So which teams are left that fit the mold?

Oklahoma has Landry Jones, his moustache and virginity back but also a (hopefully – crossing fingers – knocking wood) tough game in Tallahassee in a couple weeks and then what appears to be a weakened Big Twelve to navigate.

Oregon should have clear sailing to the BCS title game, if they can get by LSU this weekend and Stanford later in the season. A huge if. Nothing is scarier than a Christmas tree mascot and 50,000 IT nerds spending halftime day-dreaming of becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg.

Stanford has to get by Oregon. Which is infinitely harder given the number of uniforms Oregon wears. They always say visualization is a key game preparation. How is someone supposed to visualize beating the Ducks, when they don’t know what they will look like? Are you at a distinct disadvantage if you envisioned the Ducks in white and they come out in neon green? I say yes. Andrew Luck will just have to console himself with the Heisman Trophy they are already engraving for him.

Boise State would seem poised to be in the perfect spot to finally crack the BCS title game crystal ceiling. Kellen Moore returns; they have one last year of the junior varsity schedule of the WAC. Their toughest game is against perennially overrated Georgia on opening weekend. Unfortunately for BSU, there is about 0% chance that pollsters and athletic directors will allow them to steal the money from a less-deserving BCS conference team.

Florida State has a sort of returning QB in EJ Manual, who has the physical tools to be the next Cam Newton (with fewer felonies). But after getting so badly out-coached by Bob Stoops last season, will the Noles prepare for last year’s OU game plan only to be surprised by another new wrinkle? If so, will I momentarily contemplate stabbing Josh Heupel in the kidneys for being single-handedly responsible for several of my worst moments as a FSU fan? The answer to one of these questions is yes.

The Noles also have to go Gainesville, and if Charlie Weis and Will Muschamp haven’t come to blows by then, it will be a tough game. The Noles will also have to navigate their inevitable road ACC game no-show (prime candidates: at Clemson the week after OU and the Thursday night game at Boston College). While every game is winnable, the Noles have beaten the optimist out of me over the last decade, so I will assume they come up short at least once or twice.

Oregon and Oklahoma may both lose once, but pollsters have proven over and over again, that if you are ranked at the top of the polls at the beginning of the season you are given every opportunity to stay there.

Having seen Bob Stoops coach BCS games, I can’t in good conscience pick an OU title (sorry, Turner), so it says here that the Oregon Ducks will win the national title, and Phil Knight will immediately commission 11 different versions of the national title trophy – with each trotted out before a different game next season.

Let’s just hope it doesn’t come down to a ref botching an onside kick call this time.

It is like a jig saw puzzle.

A tweet over here.

A blog post over there.

An in-depth analytical article.

An insider dishing on what he is hearing.

Put together they form a complete picture.

And that picture is enough to get me as excited as one of Brooklyn Decker wearing a bikini and holding a plate of pork belly in one hand and a dirty martini in the other.

It seems that there is a very real possibility that my hometown, favorite NFL team could potentially draft my alma mater’s graduating quarterback.

And if they did, it would be to replace the former quarterback/messiah of my school’s arch-rival.

Whoa, my head is getting light

….

Sorry, I think I blacked out there for a moment.

There is obviously no way to know what teams are really thinking beyond the first couple of draft picks, but if you read the tea leaves in a certain way, it is foreseeable that the Broncos could be considering drafting Christian Ponder. At quarterback. Where they drafted Tim Tebow a year ago.

Actually, to be clear “they” didn’t draft Tebow. The Broncos’ former coach drafted Tim Tebow. This distinction seems to be gaining in importance every day.

Over the last several weeks, the Broncos have made a big show of studying every top quarterback in the draft. The conspiratorial minded like to think that the Broncos might use their #2 overall pick on Cam Newton or Blaine Gabbert (whoever the Panthers don’t select), but that seems pretty hard to believe.

With most of the top ranked players at positions of need for the Broncos, it is hard to imagine them using that high of a pick (and, more importantly, that much money) on another unproven quarterback when they have a solid, if not spectacular veteran in Kyle Orton and 2^nd year player with potential in Tim Tebow already on the roster.

That leaves 2 scenarios for the Broncos: 1 – Use that first pick on a defensive lineman like Marcel Dareus or Nick Fairley or on freak athlete/defensive back Patrick Peterson or 2 – Trade down out of that pick to another team coveting a quarterback and stockpile later picks.

The beauty of this fever dream is that neither of these scenarios precludes the Broncos old #7 (VP and ‘guy in charge’ John Elway) from drafting the Noles old #7.

Ponder is generally seen as about the 3 to 5^th QB off the board but slotted in the late 1^st round, early 2^nd round. The Broncos already own the 36^th pick in the draft (4^th of the 2^nd round), so it is conceivable Ponder will still be sitting there for them.

It is the consensus that Gabbert and Newton are the 2 best QB prospects – both probable top five picks. I have already stated my arguments against Gabbert and am on record believing that Newton, for better or worse, is Vince Young v2.0.

That leaves Ponder, Ryan Mallett and Jake Locker in the next tier of quarterbacks.

Ponder is the solid, unspectacular veteran with good-not-great stats, a good-not-great winning record and good-not-great athleticism.

Mallett’s stock has been in free fall faster than Charlie Sheen’s tour ticket sales as questions continue to pop up about his maturity and off-field activities.

Locker is the physical freak that never quite put it together on the field, though a cult like home-town following masked some of his deficiencies.

With a wide spread belief among teams that Mallett is one slow Saturday night away from going full-Jamarcus Russell, it is down to Ponder versus Locker. My guess here is that a team drafting in the high teens, low twenties that is in need of a quarterback will reach for Locker – choosing athletic promise over on-field production. I think this mostly because…well…this is what teams always do. Even as an even-headed quant away from the field would rather have Ponder for a multitude of hard-to-argue-with reasons, some team will be dazzled by Locker’s 40-yard dash, bench press and deep throw and reach for him too early.

One obvious candidate: the Seahawks. Owners of pick #25 and a 35-year old quarterback. Pick the hometown boy, let him learn from Pete Carroll (close friends with Locker’s college coach Steve Sarkisian) and Hasselbeck for a couple years.

Typically if you are drafting in the 20’s you don’t look for a quarterback (because you have done well the previous season and therefore probably have a good quarterback), so Ponder could slip to the 2^nd round if no one trades back up (or trades down from early in the first) for him. And there the Broncos sit.

As for the Broncos, the new leadership – spearheaded by John Elway – has not been shy this off-season in projecting less-than Urban Meyer like enthusiasm for turning over the team, the city (and to a lesser-extent, life itself) to Tebow. Elway has said point-blank that Orton would be the starter if the season started today (damn you, lockout!!! Oh wait). He has said Tebow still has work to do to be an NFL quarterback.

All of these statements are nearly as obvious as saying John traded up divorcing Janet and marrying a former NFL cheerleader, but nearly blasphemy to some in the Mile High City. Almost as blasphemous as marrying an ex-Raider cheerleader.

To back-up this heretical point, Elway didn’t just draw cartoons of Tebow like a Dane would do, he has been publicly and openly scouting all of the top quarterbacks coming out this year.

Which leads me back to Ponder.

Ponder is the type of quarterback Elway would like. He is accurate, has a strong arm and has played in a more pro-style college system than Tebow did in college. He is athletic and can run but won’t take off from the pocket the moment Ray Lewis growls at him. He spent years reading defenses and finding open receivers, using his legs as last resort rather than primary weapon.

He is also smart – graduating from FSU in 2.5 years and with a high Wonderlic score. I would think a guy that went to Stanford might appreciate that.

Elway, isn’t the only on that owns this decision though. With new coach John Fox in house, he needs to at least have some input.

The same John Fox who rode smart, accurate, unglamorous Jake Delhomme to a Super Bowl.

So, let’s just imagine a little. The Broncos trade their 2^nd overall pick to the Bengals or 49ers, teams desperate for a QB (and concerned the Panthers and Bills at #1 and #3 could steal them). They pick up the 4th or 7th pick in return as well as a later round pick. With the 7th pick they take Patrick Peterson, getting the best all around athlete in the draft and an heir apparent to Champ Bailey.

They then turn that extra pick (or even Tebow himself) plus their high 2^nd round pick into the Patriots 17^th or 28th pick (they love to trade down and loved Tebow last year) and select Christian Ponder.

Like sitting behind Drew Weatherford, Ponder watches Orton for a few games, until Orton is injured and Ponder comes on, wins a couple games (actually running the offense as designed) and a new #7 is born. Though I guess #7 is retired. How about #17?

If Woody Paige can paint a future where Tim Tebow is a savior for the Broncos using puns and alliteration to mask no actual football knowledge, why can’t I see a future cheering on Ponder in a Bronco orange jersey?

My school providing the player that turns around the Broncos fortunes and forces the morons at broncogator.com to shut down their site.

Dare to dream.

It is one of the two or three best sports weeks of the year: opening week of March Madness. Work should be optional for the whole week. Ok, it is optional for most of us, I mean officially sanctioned optional.

It is more special and distracting than usual for me because on Thursday, Shadow, Turner and I are heading down the hill from my house to watch the first round games at the Pepsi Center here in Denver.

Then Friday we will be camping out in my sport-watching-room (the SWR – I am not a huge fan of the phrase ‘Man-Cave’, partially because it sounds like competition for the Blue Oyster Bar from Police Academy) for wall to wall coverage. Two full days of basketball, fatty foods and drinks.

Life is good.

But before diving into the tournament head first, it is time to lay out my thoughts on the tourney. They are most-likely 1,000% incorrect. But they are all I know at this point and that is all I can do.

And no matter how wrong they are, they are still better than many of the decisions made by the Selection Committee.

So, here are 32 thoughts on what we will see over the coming weeks:

1. I am 93% convinced UAB and VCU were added to the field strictly because Colorado and Virginia Tech are too hard to spell for the Committee. That is actually the least insulting rationale I can come up with.
2. CU players may be devastated by not playing, the school has gotten 357% more publicity over the last 24 hours than 34 teams that made the tournament ever will. This could be the best thing to ever happen to the Buffs program.
3. I have 2 bets down in Vegas for a national champ: Kansas (3 to 1) and Purdue (30 to 1) so naturally the committee put them both in the same region. I feel like Seth Greenberg right now: it is clearly a personal conspiracy against me.
4. All season I have cringed watching FSU. Their offense is so bad and their defense is so good, it pretty much guarantees a low scoring, close contest. But for fans it also guarantees 2 hours of stress. If I end up having heart attack at some point, Leonard Hamilton should feel at least 4% responsible.
5. I usually have a good feel about FSU coming into the tourney, but I don’t know enough about Texas A&M, so I will just use my knowledge of A&M football to make the pick: the Aggies must be overrated as they always are.
6. Interestingly Vegas has the game as a Pick-em, which means they like FSU more than the committee. I would stay away with this one piece of advice: for FSU games – always take the Under (currently 122)
7. Notre Dame, Duke and BYU are all similar to me and to use a single-word cliché:  unathletic. But clichés are clichés for a reason: they are generally true
8. We all love the story of Jimmer. Right down to a name that I expect Lassie to bark about being stuck in a well. But as for the game goes, someone needs to explain to me how he isn’t just Adam Morrison without the moustache and tears. Go back and check how Morrison and his Zags did in the tournament
9. I will give the Committee credit for one thing: putting BYU in the same location as Morehead State is a nice subtle jab at BYU’s anti pre-marital sex stance.

10.  Especially when they put it here in Denver, so that Shadow, Turner and I get to watch in person. I shudder to think of the cheers and chants we can come up with involving some combination of BYU, Morehead State and Brandon Davies

11.  Add in “15-seconds or Less of sex” Rick Pitino to the Denver region and there is a 67% chance we get kicked out of the Pepsi Center before the last game of the night.

12.  In fact, if only Davies had used the Pitino “I barely had any sex with her, 15 seconds or less” defense, maybe he would have only gotten suspended for a few games rather than the rest of the season.

13.  Duke has lost 3 games this season: all of them to long, athletic teams. Their region has a long, athletic team waiting for them down the road. Pick Duke for the Final Four at your own peril.

14.  Although if the refs in the ACC tournament are any indication, Duke is getting such a benefit of the doubt on charges these days, even Paulus’ phantom charge from a couple years ago would be getting called this season.

15.  I said on Saturday that SDSU v BYU reminded me of the 1990 UNLV/Duke national title game. SDSU vs. Duke in the Elite Eight could be an even more exact re-creation of that game. Especially if we can convince Steve Fisher to keep a tool on his shoulder for the whole game.

16.  Related, I think we all need to make a conscious effort to not let these nostalgic documentaries about the Fab Five and Running Rebel teams of our youth make us overrate SDSU, UNLV or Michigan.

17.  With that said, I do have SDSU in the Final Four. Ruh Roh Scooby

18.  I like Notre Dame a little bit, but they remind me of Duke from the last few years: great outside shooters. Minimal inside game. We saw what Louisville did to them on Saturday night when their legs tired and they started missing the outside shots.

19.  The athletes from Purdue can do the same. Of course that might just be my wallet talking.

20.  Speaking of the Big East, I think the conference is overrated as a whole (it would have been a travesty if they got 2 #1 seeds, neither of which even made the Big East title game). There are a ton of decent teams but they all have weak spots. My guess is that 5 or 6 teams make it to Sweet 16. But none make it to the Final Four

21.  Before picking a deep run by Texas, always remember Rick Barnes was quoted saying he feels his job is to get players ready for the NBA. As opposed to little things like winning championships.

22.  Michigan State has underperformed all season but they can play an inexperienced, uneven UF team and a perennially underachieving Pitt team. This team was pre-season #2, and loaded with players who made the Final Four last year. Never doubt Izzo in March. At this point Michigan State is the San Antonio Spurs of the NCAA – questionable regular season performance geared to post-season performance.

23.  UConn is going to be popular after their run through Big East. But we have seen this story before. Rarely has the Big East Cinderella continued their run. Especially when it is a one man team.

24.  I love watching Kemba Walker, his speed and skills are so fun to watch, but at some point his magic run has to end. Those legs have to wear out at some point, carrying an entire team.

25.  On first review of the brackets, Utah State beating Kansas State and Belmont beating Wisconsin look like obvious upset selections.

26.  In fact they are so obvious , we are going to hear about them constantly for the next 3 days which makes me start to doubt them.

27.  Especially Wisconsin, who has a history of finding ways to win in the tourney.

28.  In a year of parity across college basketball, it seems that there are 2 teams above everyone else: Ohio State and Kansas. But again, they both have flaws.

29.  Ohio State is well-rounded but not outstanding in any one area. They are also young. And they are coached by Thad Matta, who is only considered a solid coach in Columbus because he actually answers his emails.

30.  Kansas, to me, is the best team in the country but they got blown out twice this year. Once at home by the trick-or-treat Texas Longhorns. Kansas also has an epic history of tournament failure. Did Bill Self’s national title a few years ago, wipe away what mojo?

31.  Everyone in Northern Iowa can emphatically yell NO at that last question.

32.  But someone has to win it all, and I can’t find anyone else that fits that description: Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk.