Saturday Notepad 9-17-11: A.M. Edition

Last updated: 12:30 p.m.. Time stamps are Pacific.

Welcome to the first edition of the SaturdayBlitz.com Saturday Notepad, a running diary on the day’s action. There will be a few editions to keep from cluttering content. Be sure to check the time stamp at top; you can click on to scroll the most recent updates. Leave your thoughts in the Comments section, as this is meant to be an interactive experience. So…INTERACT! REACT TO ME! I’M NOT DOING THIS DAMN BLOG BY MYSELF.

Oy, sorry. The spirit of Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton possessed me momentarily.

8:15 a.m. ESPN broadcasting takes a lot of grief from hardcore sports fans, but GameDay is truly a cool concept and shining example of the network’s ingenuity. The live broadcasts bring part of the pageantry and excitement of campus to our homes. I always love seeing the Washington State flag fly, seen above courtesy of 30FPS.mocksession.com. And look, someone even put together a homemade Cougars sign (someone check to see if adamstar83 is in Tallahassee). But wait — what is that? A #FireCraigJames banner made it to ESPN broadcast? Some poor camera is in a heap of trouble.

8:33 a.m. So Pitt and Syracuse are seeking membership in the ACC? That conference is hellbent on winning the Final Four every year. I wonder if Butler’s non-scholarship football program can parlay its affiliation with the two-time national runner-up basketball program to join a 36-team ACC.

Northern expansion makes the most sense for the ACC. Boston College is on a bit of an island up there by itself.

8:47 a.m.: Tom Rinaldi’s piece on the Stoops brother was emotional and outstanding. I grew up the son of a coach (basketball). It’s a unique experience, one that’s easy to take for granted as a teenager. In retrospect, it was one of the best experiences I could have ever asked for. That Ron Stoops passed away at 54 is shocking. My own father is now 61 and retired. For every one of his pieces like the Kyle Bratzman that don’t quite hit the mark, there’s a dozen of these really good ones.

8:53 a.m.: How many years has GameDay used “We Are Coming To Your City” as its theme? I’m not a country music fan, but I find that song annoying even by country standards. Has it become so synonymous with the program it’s unchangeable? Imagine if iconic sitcom intros changed as the programs’ success were burgeoning. I doubt they’d have been as popular.

8:59 a.m.: The Tallahassee crowd goes absolutely wild for Kirk Herbstreit’s Tennessee-over-Florida pick…a much-needed time to cheer before FSU alum Lee Corso donned the Oklahoma headgear in his weekly pick.

9:18 a.m.: I wrote a story for NCAA.com a year ago on the rise of Temple, and Philadelphia football as a whole. Bernard Pierce said among his goals while at Temple was to beat Penn State; a lofty aspiration to be sure. It’s very, very early but Temple’s defense dominated the PSU offense and the Owls are now driving offensively.

But what’s going on here? It’s the noon ET slate, usually a chance to settle into the day, and there’s a bevy of outstanding games: Maryland – West Virginia, Temple – Penn State, Auburn – Clemson, Pitt- Iowa…don’t get me wrong, I enjoy starting with a bang, but I hate to tire out early into the marathon.

9:30 a.m.: Auburn’s off to a 7-0 start and driving for more. What was all that chatter about the defending champs rebuilding? That was a quick construction project. Clemson needs to step up in a hurry lest it get run off the field.

9:34 a.m.: Yep. Trotter with the big strike and Auburn pulls ahead 14-0.

9:35 a.m.: A quick flip over to ESPNU tells me that Clemson-Auburn isn’t the only early game wherein the home team is in serious dangerous of getting boatraced. A pick-six puts West Virginia ahead of Maryland 14-3. Well…at least the Terps are dressed in snazzy duds.

10:01 a.m.: Punches thrown in the Penn State-Temple game? Not good if it results in a Matt Brown suspension for the Owls. Thus far that’s the only aggression Penn State’s seen.

10:35 a.m. Tajh Boyd strike is the third Clemson touchdown of the second quarter. The question mark surrounding this Auburn team was Cam Newton and the offensive line. Gus Malzahn is a helluva offensive coordinator and has this new unit playing crisply but the defense is on pace to give up 34-plus for a third straight week. Not a good sign for SEC West competition including Arkansas, Alabama and LSU.

10:45 a.m.: “We don’t give a crap” – thus sayeth an angry Dabo Swinney. His Tigers’ coming back to tie it 21-21 at the half has followed the Tigers’ M.O. this season of starting slow but battling back, but obviously Swinney’s had enough of that. Were he the Notre Dame coach, he’d have to endure an angry fan base calling for his ouster for using such abrasive language on television.

10:51 a.m.: Colorado State strikes first in its rivalry match-up (one of two rivalry match-ups in the Rocky Mountains today), with Pete Thomas breaking for the house. The sophomore Ram quarterback may have Denver Bronco fans who booed Kyle Orton during Monday’s loss to the Oakland Raiders salivating: “See? The CSU kid can do it here, why not Tim Tebow?”

11:08 a.m: Michigan has apparently decided to stop toying with Eastern Michigan, jumping ahead 21-3. Denard Robinson’s stat line: 155 yards rushing, one touchdown but 2-of-10 passing. Yikes. His acclimation to the Al Borges offense is still a work-in-progress.

11:19 a.m.: The Good – Vanderbilt appears headed to a 3-0 start for head coach James Franklin, leading Ole Miss by three touchdowns into the third quarter. Could the Commodores be on the track for a bowl game? With Kentucky looking way down, Vandy just might be able to finish out of the basement.

The Bad – Houston Nutt’s Ole Miss Rebels look awful. Nutt has to be on the hot seat.

The Ugly – Colorado quarterback Tyler Hansen has thrown three balls at the ground with receivers wide open.

11:33 a.m. Might be time to start considering Wyoming a threat in the Mountain West; not for championship contention mind you, but the Cowboys look like a bowl team since the second half of the Weber State game. The Cowboys have rolled off 21 second half points to take a two-touchdown lead at Bowling Green.

11:34 a.m. Texas Tech is reportedly wearing “Stormtrooper” uniforms for its game with New Mexico, writes CBS Rapid Reports writer Daniel Walker. Personally, I want a Tech uniform with Tommy Tuberville’s birth certificate superimposed on it. No photos, so I’ll just assume the helmet looks like this until I see otherwise:

11:45 a.m. So Sammy Watkins is good. Really good. His touchdown reception from Tajh Boyd puts Clemson ahead 35-24 (remember when I said Clemson might be on its way to burial? Oops). The Clemson phenom Watkins has Twitter a-tweeting, as seen below:

12:15 p.m.: Rivals can be synched; think of the premise from those awful Matrix sequels and how Neo and Mr. Smith could not exist without the other (and obvious biblical reference, but that’s a topic for a different blog). Pitt and West Virginia simultaneously let their leads slip, but the Mountaineers are holding Maryland at arm’s length. Iowa overtakes Pitt with a 21-point fourth quarter. What a disheartening loss for a Panther team that dominated for three quarters.

12:30 p.m.: Danny O’Brien is already about halfway to his total 2010 interception mark. West Virginia held off a furious rally to close out the early slate. Taking a break for the midday games, but the notepad will return for the nightcap.