Week five is behind us in college football.
And this past weekend, I had something I hadn’t had in about 15 years.
A weekend at home during the season.
So today’s newsletter from the sky isn’t from the sky. It’s completely grounded. But man, what a weekend. And what a way to see college football.
It started with film. All week looking diving into Northwestern, Penn State, Washington, Iowa, Michigan State, Wisconsin, UCLA, Nebraska and more. Teams we may be broadcasting at NBC over the next few weeks. A chance to look back, spot some trends and lay the groundwork for the second half of the season.
Then on Friday night, like the rest of the country, I was able to watch Chip Kelly put on an absolute offensive clinic against Penn State as Northwestern opened one of the great stadiums of our lifetimes. Even through a television, you could feel it. The atmosphere. The electricity. The pageantry. Marvelous. Shout out to their AD, Mark Jackson, for leading the way and completing the vision.
Same for the Pitt Panthers. We got a huge one against Virginia Tech, and my Panther text thread was popping off.
Then Saturday came, and I got to do something else I haven’t done since becoming a father.
Watch my kids play sports in the season.
Our oldest had a basketball game that happened to line up with halftime of Michigan and Minnesota. It was perfect timing. Zayn had a couple buckets, a few steals and some nice rebounds. And I got some guy time with our youngest, Makaiye, watching his big brother compete. We were a two-person ‘student section’ and it was amazing.
Then home for more games before loading up the car and heading to the Coliseum, as a pseudo fan for the first time in a long time.
USC, backs against the wall. Washington, backs also against the wall.
I was there with our oldest, his buddy Kingsley and his dad James. We visited the NBC truck, then went down to the field. Ran into Malcolm Smith, Taylor Mays, Pat Chun and many others. My past and my present colliding. Players I coached at USC 20 years ago. Friends I've made in this industry. Coaches getting ready for their clash.
And for the first time ever, I got to be my son’s tour guide at the Coliseum.
It went back and forth all night. As the sun set and the heat broke, the crowd kept filing in. By the fourth quarter, I looked up and the Coliseum was nearly full. Washington seemed to have control. Then USC did exactly what Lincoln Riley described after the game. They dug deep and found out what they were made of. A sack, a forced fumble, a return for a touchdown and a stop on the final play.
The Trojans got a much-needed victory…and I’d imagine an extremely long exhale.