The Audacity Of Hope ... lessness

As the college football season rapidly approaches, stress is mounting and nerves are wearing thin, for we are on the verge of potentially the greatest season in Idaho sports history.

I speak, of course, of the one team in the state that has the cajones to schedule a top 5 opponent – our beloved Idaho State Bengals. While regrettably following the recent trend of lining up a “cupcake game” to open the season (ISU travels to Tempe to embarrass the hapless Arizona State Sun Devils on Sept. 5th), they’ll take their 1-0 record to Norman the following week to face perennial powerhouse Oklahoma, with their defending Heisman Trophy winner, Sam Bradford.

To their credit, Oklahoma seems to realize the unavoidability of their own “Appalachian State” game, and has at least made plans to maximize their financial benefit by rescheduling the game for prime time and airing it via pay-per-view. That type of insight is somewhat unexpected, given that they scheduled their opener, against a team from Utah (BYU) … in Texas. I guess that’s what happens when a team whose mascot is an historical reference to cheaters makes plans with a bunch of mormons.

It should be an exciting season. I guarantee you that the controversy in years past concerning non-BCS teams and their Bowl opportunities will seem like Sunday afternoon tea once a I-AA an FCS team decides to crash the party.

A ferocious Bengal tiger against a no-good, gun-jumpin', cheatin’, land-stealin’ homesteader? It is to laugh.

Above: The perfect killing machine.

Above: Sweet Jesus, dude, at least try to salvage a little dignity.

[UPDATE] Just to preemptively stave off any readers who are deluded enough to come here and make absurd claims about any other football team in Idaho, I would suggest that they go research which team has most recently won a National Championship. Don't challenge me on sports, people. Seriously.