Central Michigan vs. Ball State: THIS is College Football!

Ah, ESPN!  You own my heart on weekday nights! 

Last night we were treated to the Central Michigan Chippewas hosting #17 Ball State, a MAC battle royale, and four hours of televised college football that, once it ended, put me to bed grinning like an idiot.

In the small confines of a typical MAC stadium, on a typical dark fall night, the underdog CMU squad hosted Ball State, another MAC team, but one destined for a pretty decent late December Bowl game.

With the Chippewas clad in their home maroon and mustard uniforms, it was easy to lose track of what year this game was being played in: 1948 or 2008?  Was my TV glitching on its color adjustments?  Nope.  Just old school, Midwest, MAC football, on a cold, damp November night. 

GLORIOUS!

And the game did not fail.  Straight out of Hollywood. 

Early in the game, the Chippewas’ starting DG went down with a knee blow out.  The only reason he was playing – this kid, Casey Droscha, this kid with no hopes of an NFL career – was because it was Senior night, and even though he had already ruptured his ACL earlier in the season, he BEGGED his coach to let him start one last time, one last time for the home crowd.  He goes down.  Next play, the first play after Droscha rides an injury cart off the field: do you really have to ask what happened?  The Chippewas’ defense STUFFS Ball State’s running back for a 5-yard loss. 

Next play after that?  Need you ask again?  Ball State tosses a bomb for a TD.  Emotions are being whipsawed all over the place, like an eel on a hot plate. 

The rest of the game was tight, back and forth, and in the end, Ball State – the heavy favorite – squeaked out a victory, 31-24. Hell of a game, really. 

OK.  So I’m just a wee bit over the top in this post.  I admit it.  Guilty as charged.  But gosh, you should have seen this game!  This is the stuff that makes sports worth all our time and energy and passion and arguments and disappointments, and everything else.  This is what it’s really all about.