Football thoughts – OSU/Michigan, Hopewell-Loudon, Kiffin leaves

As did most people in this part of the country, I tuned in for the Ohio State v Michigan football game last Saturday. The Buckeyes were hoping to put an end to Michigan's four-game win streak in "The Game."Let's go straight to the elephant in the room. Was the touchdown awarded to Jeremiah Smith legitimate? I can honestly and unequivocally say that it was a good call. Now calm down Wolverine fans. It was a "good" call if you are a Buckeyes fan! I did not say it was the correct call.In my humble opinion he did NOT regain possession of the ball before his foot went out of bounds. I tried to rationalize how the referee made his decision by deciding that he may have had other angles to look at the replay than I did. I also took into account that needing overwhelming evidence to overturn the call on the field is subject to human interpretation. Sorry, but replay does not always guarantee to get it right.Having said all that, I think the wrong call was made. Did it make a difference in the outcome of the game? We'll never know. The TD gave Ohio State a lead that it never relinquished and the final stats show that the Buckeyes dominated. If the call goes the other way, Michigan gets the ball back with big time momentum on their side and the Bucks would have been deflated. So I hear you Michigan fans.There was a little levity during the game though, as Brutus made his own little Script Ohio in the snow near the goal line. He also X'd out the M in the end zone. I thought that was funny and harmless. I had no problem with the Michigan guy wiping out his handiwork either. It was nice to see some humor inserted into a game that many people take way too seriously!It is, after all, just a game. Or at least it should be.Hopewell-Loudon will be playing for a state title in football later this afternoon. The Chieftains got there by beating perennial power Coldwater 20-18. It won't get any easier in Canton as they will be taking on another highly successful program in Kirtland. They have won numerous state titles while H-L will be looking for its first.I have a bit of history with Kirtland that I will share with you. Whether it will give H-L a boost in the title game is open to question, even if the players and coaches from Bascom were to read this column.When I was in college I joined a fraternity. It was not a national one, just a local group and included nearly every member of the basketball team. We had to pledge to get into the fraternity and one of the requirements for the pledges was that we were to learn a number of facts about active members. Things like their class, their girlfriends names and where they were from. I can tell you that the pledges didn't lose any sleep over trying to find this information.If you could not answer a question correctly you received an extra swat from a paddle that – trust me – hurt like the dickens. One of my questions was to name the hometown of senior Ted Fails who was standing right in front of me. With actives screaming at me, I froze and said I did not know.When I said that, they pointed to his sweatshirt that read KIRTLAND on the chest. Now I was even more humiliated and did indeed suffer another swat. I did know that Cliff Hunt's girlfriend was Pam Hansen. He was the center on our basketball team and I had actually met her. One less swat!So Chieftains, taking down Kirtland would definitely take a little of the "sting" out of my college experience. Best of luck to you.As for the final topic, head coach Lane Kiffin is leaving Ole' Miss for LSU. The Rebels head coach has had an impressive six-year run in Oxford, but the timing of this move makes it controversial.The Rebels are headed to the playoffs this season, but Kiffin will not be on the sidelines. He wanted to be, but the Ole Miss athletic director and chancellor followed a tradition by saying if you are going to leave – GO NOW.I recall another school doing the same thing many years ago in another sport. When Bill Frieder decided to leave Michigan for Arizona State with a week left in the 1989 basketball season, he expected to finish out the season. Michigan A.D. Bo Schembechler – perhaps you have heard of him – said no, suggesting he leave now. "A Michigan man is going to coach Michigan" was Bo's famous line.So Steve Fisher was named interim coach and all he did was lead Michigan to the national championship behind Glen Rice. Not surprisingly he was named permanent coach after the season.Ole' Miss was just following the same tradition when they refused to allow Lane Kiffin to coach in the playoffs. Interestingly enough, an assistant coach that will be following Kiffin to LSU will come back and resume his job as the offensive coordinator for the Rebels. I'm talking about Charlie Weis, Jr. Why he is allowed to coach, but not Kiffin, is a mystery to me.The interim coach for Ole Miss will be defensive coordinator Pete Golding. Two thoughts here… is it possible for Golding to follow in the footsteps of Steve Fisher? Perhaps. The other thing is that Kiffin will replace Brian Kelly who came to LSU from Notre Dame because he thought he had a better chance to win a national title. Will Kiffin end up like Kelly, proving that the grass is not always greener... Again, perhaps.One last thought. The governor of Louisiana wanted – and received – the head of the athletic director that fired Kelly because of the size of the buyout clause (in the 50 million dollar range) that was owed to Brian Kelly. He is now singing the praises of Lane Kiffin as he feels a national title is within reach with the new hire.Um, Mr. Governor – you may not want to see the buyout clause that Lane Kiffin has negotiated!