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Ignatius J. Reilly
(66.88.249.114) on 9/24/2003 - 5:03 p.m. says: ( 5 views
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"Rants, Schemes, and Ploys: Hilltopper Edition "
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(EDITED BY AUTHOR: 9/24/2003 - 5:14 p.m.) Previous Game Recap
We scored. Yes, it was against Vanderbilt, but it was nice to see a guy in the interlocking "AU" headgear in the endzone doing something other than kneeling for a touchback. The victory over the Dores was hardly a work of art, but it was a definite improvement. Line play was better, though weaknesses plainly remain. Some confidence building no doubt took place, and goodness knows the remodeling of that room was oh so necessary. A win in Nashville beats the hell out of the alternative, and the entire staff here at IJR Rants, Schemes & Ploys, LLC ("IJR RS&P") was pleased to see it.
Western Kentucky
For the second year in a row, Auburn hosts a Division I-AA opponent at Jordan-Hare. Last year's foe was Western Carolina of the Southern Conference. This year the Hilltoppers from Bowling Green, Kentucky of the Gateway Football Conference are in line for an infusion of cash into its athletic department's coffers.
The Hilltoppers won the 2002 I-AA national championship by dispatching McNeese State in the finals of the I-AA playoffs. They bring a thirteen game winning streak to the Plains. Let's not kid ourselves, however. This is a game Auburn should win and win handily. I realize our Tigers have struggled in the past with the I-AA likes of Appy State(1999) and Georgia Southern(1991), but those Tiger teams finished their respective campaigns with losing records. Much more is reasonably expected out of this Auburn squad.
Ideally, this week's foe provides an opportunity for a continuation of what was begun in Nashville. The line becomes more assured and cohesive. Campbell has another game where he can be comfortable throwing the kind of routes that have been traditionally successful for him. The ground game continues its recovery. The offensive strategy becomes less, well, offensive to behold. There are no major injuries to key personnel. We win, say, 48-10, and greet the Vols in another week in a most inhospitable way.
Given some of the things that have occurred this season, however, we here at IJR RS&P will continue to worry, especially about the offense. This is our professional calling, after all.
These games are difficult to preview. We admit to less than exhaustive knowledge about the Hilltopper football program. The faithful staff here did watch the WKU victories over Georgia Southern and McNeese in the playoff semi-finals and finals, last year. The Toppers had a different QB then and a large and effective running back who also has moved on to other things. We recall a largish offensive line and a smallish, but quick, defense. Our perusal of the WKU depth chart for this season match these very general impressions.
Unfortunately, our staff has been stretched to its elastic limit in coverage of Terry Bowden story that our former coach incessantly cannot talk about. By the way, the rumors that Terry Bowden has applied for a position on the staff of IJR RS&P are exactly that -- rumors. Frankly, we do not have an opening, and Miss Trixie is too forgetful to remember to retire. The combination of the Terry Bowden non-story and numerous nearly unintelligible calls from a senior citizen in Florida about Chris Rix left us with little time for research. We can neither confirm nor deny that production also was impeded by our CEO's nearly constant laughter since the end of the Bama v. NIU game. But we digress.
These staffing problems forced this dynamic organiztion to assign research for this game to one of our inexperienced, junior R.A.s. This was all he could come up with:
The evolution of the nickname "Hilltoppers" is obvious to those who have seen the Western Kentucky campus.
The operations of Western Kentucky State Normal School were moved from its forerunner, Southern Normal School, to a commanding hill on the southwestern portion of Bowling Green on February 4, 1911. The move was completed as the entire student body marched to the new site, carrying various articles of school equipment.
Since the summit of "the Hill" rises 232 feet above nearby Barren River and the comparatively level plain that surrounds it, it was only natural that the athletes who represented the institution should come to be known as the "Hilltoppers."
Still, the name did not come into use until the 1925-26 school year. Prior to that, Westen teams were commonly referred to as "Pedagogues" or "Teachers" The first WKU uniform to bear the Hilltopper nickname was worn in the 1925-26 basketball season.
http://www.wkusports.com/page.cgi?page=Traditions
This pearl confirms that your subscription to this periodical is worth every penny and allows us to observe that this is the second year in a row that Auburn has faced a Div. I-AA school whose athletic teams were once called the "Teachers." We find no other games against any "Pedagogues," pedantic or otherwise. We could not make this stuff up.
http://auburn.nu/roundtable/roundtable.pl?read=Ignatius_J._Reilly_W._Car
Well, we could but we wouldn't.
There is also no truth to the rumor that an influential Auburn trustee intends to change the name of the Auburn teams to the Demagogues. It seemed almost a certainty until the defeat of the Riley tax package.
Oh, hell, maybe we could use Terry here, after all. We appear to be short on the comic relief this week.
WAR EAGLE!
IJR et al.
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