2015 e-Systems College Football Pool – Week 11 Results

Herbert Hoover had made a promise that he couldn’t keep.

Before he became the 31^st president of the United States, and the politician who famously promised “a chicken in every pot” just before the Great Depression hit in full force, Hoover was in a somewhat lesser position – that of student manager of the Stanford football team.  And so, in 1892, he was in charge of many things, including publicity for the games, taking tickets, and ensuring equipment was ready to go.  Someone had come up with the idea to have Stanford’s team play a team from the University of California, and Hoover got down to work.  By the day of March 19, 1892, the day of the game (yes, spring football wasn’t just about practice back then) everything looked ready to go.  Hoover had found a place to play the game, in San Francisco’s Haight Street Grounds.  He had publicized the game such that afterwards $30,000 worth of tickets had been purchased – an astronomical amount for a game in those days.  Hoover’s hard work was paying off – this was truly going to be a big game.  There was just one little detail that Herbert Hoover had overlooked.

He had forgotten to bring a football.

Frantically, he and the California student manager – who for some reason didn’t have a football either, but who is spared similar ignominy because he didn’t become President later – scoured the city for a ball to use.  However, recall that this was the 19^th century; goods weren’t as easy to come by as today, especially something as frivolous as sporting equipment.  (It’s a bit ironic given that this area is now the home of tech giants that let you purchase anything you want with the tap of a finger, isn’t it?)  Finally, they found a general store that had a ball.  However, this wasn’t a football as you or I might recognize one.  It was more of an inflated bladder.  But it was close enough to a football for their needs, and so Hoover raced back to the field, having delayed the start of the game by an hour or so.  Stanford won, 14-10, and the “Big Game” was born.  The teams play for the 118^th time this weekend at Stanford.

Rivalry games are one of my absolute favorite parts of football, and indeed all of sports.  And rivalries give us some of the most interesting tidbits and factoids.  For example:

• Toledo (nickname: the Rockets) has an actual U.S. Army missile rocket installed outside of its stadium, the Glass Bowl.  It is aimed such that if it took off, it would hit the 50-yard line of their archrival Bowling Green’s Doyt Perry Stadium.  (The teams played last night – Toledo won 44-28).
• The winner of The Rivalry (the game between Lafayette and Lehigh) doesn’t get a trophy; instead, they keep the game ball.  Each school has a display of said footballs, and one can see the development of the design of the ball through the years. The teams play for the 151^st time Saturday.
• Harvard-Yale has the tradition of The Little Red Flag, a Harvard pennant that has been waved since 1884 by a person deemed “Harvard’s most loyal fan” after each Harvard score during “The Game” with Yale – and only during that game. Harvard and Yale play for the 132^nd time Saturday.

These are just a few of the little things that make college football cherished by so many.

Congratulations to pachyderm, who takes week 11 with 208 points! Jeff4Bama was second with 207 points, and AUBrian and bamaken tied for third with 203 points each.

Standings after 11 weeks (dropping two lowest weekly totals):

This weekend features no less than six games between top-25 teams!  It will be a tough week for sure, and with so tight a race at the top, every point matters, so pick wisely and well!  The first games are Saturday, November 21 @ Noon ET, so make sure to get your picks in by then!