Ten and Oh in Houston, and Rose Has a Request
Cleveland State45
Houston24
- Game
- 2035 Week 10
- Site
- Away
- Result
- Win
- Record
- 10-0
Vikings 45, Houston 24, in Houston. TEN AND OH.
Twenty-one points of daylight in Texas, our fourth win in four tries against the Cougars. Ten and oh, folks, for the fifth time in six years. I’m not saying I’m used to it. I’ll never be used to it. I’m saying I’ve stopped being surprised, and I’ve decided that’s a different thing.
Next week: Ohio, in Athens. Then the RedHawks, at home. The two teams that have beaten us in big games more than anybody, back to back, to end the regular season.
Rose called on Sunday. Not a video call. A real phone call, on Bridget’s phone, which Rose is now allowed to use “for Grandpa only.” She said, “Grandpa, are you coming to Athens?” I said, “Sweetheart, the doctor says I can drive to Athens now.” She said, “Then you have to sit with me.” I said, “Rose, I’ll be in the press box.” She said, “No. With me. In the Bobcat seats. Mommy says you did it before.” I said, “When you were a baby.” She said, “I’m four now. I remember everything from now on.”
So I’m sitting with Rose in Athens. In the Bobcat section. In my neutral gray sweatshirt. Kenny’s going to cover the game alone. He says he can handle it.
Four pierogi.
A twenty-one-point road win at Houston. Ten and oh. Ohio in Athens next, then Miami (OH) at home to close the regular season.
I’ll cover the Ohio game from the press box alone. Mickey’s going to be in the stands, in the Ohio family section, in a gray sweatshirt, sitting with a four-year-old who’s informed him that she “remembers everything from now on.” That’s either the sweetest or the most threatening thing a child has ever said. I can’t tell. Possibly both.
A word about the Vikings, since they deserve one. Ten and oh, again. The passing game, DuBose to Reece, has been the most dependable thing in college football for three years. The defense, led by Cantrell, is getting to quarterbacks at a rate I’ve never seen. And yet the last two games of the season are against the two programs that have caused this team the most pain: Ohio, which has won eight of their seventeen meetings, and Miami (OH), which won both meetings last year.
I don’t predict. I notice. I notice that this is where it gets hard.
Back and forth
I’m sitting with Rose.
In the gray sweatshirt. In the Bobcat section. She remembers everything now. Behave.
You’ll be alone in the press box.
For one game. I’ll manage. I’ll save you a seat. I’ll put your coffee in it so nobody takes it.
Ten and oh for the fifth time in six years, a four-year-old summoning her grandfather to the Bobcat seats, and the hardest two weeks of the season waiting at the end.
Split Decision is fiction. Mickey Bridges, Ken Hogmanes and The Lakefront Ledger are invented; the games and scores are not.