Free Kicks- Abbreviated Post-Thanksgiving Recovery Edition

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am currently at a foreign computer in a foreign state, so please excuse the lack of a picture today. Besides, my dream of having a picture of David Beckham free-kicking a turkey would take far too much photoshop for today. It seems as though my compatriots are laid up with some debilitating Thanksgiving meal (or made the poor decision to watch the Lions game) and have been unable to spread the holiday cheer today. Ah well, on a lonely blogging day, I want y'all to get back to your families, so let's line up for the kick...

The Least Satisfying Part of the Meal
Was I the only one who was just bored by every game on Thursday? Sure, Donovan's resurgence was fun to watch (even though I was rooting for the Cardinals), but aside from that it was one of the worst Thanksgiving football days I can remember. Troy Aikman added another candle to the shrine of his old team (he shouldn't be allowed to broadcast those games), Colt McCoy went for style points against A&M, and the Lions didn't even try it seemed yesterday. The Titans were out for blood, but you would think the Lions could at least put up a fight. And let's quash any talk that the return of Matt Hasselbeck could make the Seahawks dangerous down the stretch- he can't run the football for them and he can't play defense. I found myself far more interested in the idle chatter about "what your cousins are up to" than the football, and that's saying something.

The Delicious Pumpkin Pie Dessert
Maryland thumped #6 Michigan State for the entire game, though the score didn't always show it until a few minutes into the second half. They committed countless costly turnovers, revealing their youth and inexperience but always had the talent to make a run when necessary. I will leave the more in-depth analysis to Windsor and Falco, but from where I was sitting I saw a team that simply outplayed the #6 team in the country. Of course, this early in the season it is hard to say whether it was due to the numerous injuries that Sparty incurred going into this game or the fact that maybe they didn't play up to their ability, but a win is a win. I am more intrigued to see how Maryland fares against the Gonzaga team I put down on Tuesday. Back-to-back wins over the #6 and #10 teams in the country? That'll put a bounce in Gary Williams' step...

The Leftovers
There are a lot of incredible college football matchups coming up this weekend. I am sure that all of you will be carefully following Florida State-Florida, Oklahoma State-Oklahoma, Alabama-Auburn, but let's not forget what could be the most entertaining game to watch this weekend. Georgia Tech-Georgia. Paul Johnson's offense against a unit that got gashed by Alabama and Florida, Matthew Stafford against the Georgia Tech pass rush (with arguably the best front 4 in the country), Georgia going for 8 straight wins against their in-state rival... this is going to be a really great game. Personally, I am going out on a limb and picking the 9 point underdogs; I'm going with Tech. Tune into this one, it will be a great matchup between the hedges.