A Word from the BPE

Greetings, denizens of A Ride on the Chuck Wagon. In spite of my lengthy absences, I am alive and well. Anyone on my texting list can confirm that.

It has grown increasingly manifest that each outing with this year's Irish squad is likely to be another white-knuckle affair, just like the game against Sparty. Our defense is just too porous for us to gain comfortable leads over quality opponents. Without the services of Michael Floyd, probably the best receiver in college football, we lack the requisite firepower to simply blow teams away.

In short, my updated forecast for this year's record is 9-3 or 8-4, with a likely Gator Bowl appearance agains an also-ran ACC squad like Florida State.

I do want to take the time to use this forum to pose, for the readers, a question: why are college football officials affiliated with conferences? Does this not creat inherent conflicts of interest? Why should a Big 11 crew be allowed to officiate a game between Michigan State and Notre Dame at ND, much less Michigan vs. Notre Dame at MEATCHICKEN? We all know who cuts the checks for the Televen crews, and the crews themselves certainly on whom their continued employment depends? Don't you just think, maybe just a little, this can account for some of the NUT MUSTARD personal foul and holding calls the Televen crews have perpetrated against the Lads of Our Lady in the last two games?

Before some conference homer like Jams steps in, stop and think about this. Why don't we just have NCAA officials for football games, kind of like in basketball? Wouldn't this be a simple, equitable, and efficient solution?

Back to the enchanting world of the professoriate. Until next time (which hopefully won't be long), good day and good health.

PS -- guys, please start acknowledging my texts. Sometimes I worry that you're not receiving them.