Well, it did remind me that we are teh suxxors in season openers.
Only ranked team we played was USC, who thumped us twice.
Also thumped by the unranked GT.
Kansas State & Washington State, especially in those years (ever, really) are nothing to hang our hats on.
These paper tigers aren't going to be easy...
Most teams start out with a confidence builder. That's nothing new. It's also nothing to bitch about.
Oh, we played a bad team and it was hot! Fuck you. Bitch because we play a Top Ten team and lose badly one year and play them down to the last play another (if freshman Carnell doesn't cramp up, we win the 2002 game). Bitch because we play a middle tier team and whack the fuck out of them? Bitch because we play a middle tier team and have to work out a few kinks? Bitch because AU won 7 of the last 10 openers?
That's bitching just for the sake of bitching. I know.
Over the years there have been a few big-time openers. They used to play that kickoff classic. AU played Miami in 1984, the year after the 'Canes jumped us in the polls. Miami had all their people back. We were without Little Train, without Randy Campbell, without Del Greco, without Doug Smith, without Chris Woods and (drumroll....) without Jay Jacobs.
They beat us 20-18 and used that game as justification to prove that we didn't deserve the title we DID deserve in 1983.
Followed that up with a loss at Texas (which like Miami also spent time at #1 that season) that dropped us from #1 before Miami to out of the Top Ten.
If we'd played a warmup game and worked the kinks out we would have beaten Miami. Don't know that we could have beaten Texas in Texas but I'd have liked our chances a lot better. That season ended wiht the dreadful loss to Bama, but if we'd been in the Top 5 would that have happened?
Given the option I'd prefer to play somebody that gives us a moderate test in the opener in order to figure out what little things need to be fixed.
Definitely don't "usually suck" because it's too hot. Fuck that bitchy noise.
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