(5) Texas 45
(1) Oklahoma 35
Category: College Football (Page 9 of 12)
“He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” ~Hebrews 7:21
Nearly 90 men of the Legacy Church of Christ met in our worship center this past weekend to pray over 1,500+ requests from our church family and the North Richland Hills community. Groups ranged in size from two or three to seven or eight. Continuously for 24 straight hours. Lots of overlap as most of the groups needed much longer than an hour to pray for the 50-60 requests they were assigned and for each other.
We opened up the floor during our prayer breakfast Saturday morning to process the previous 24 Hours of Prayer. And the discussion was inspiring.
Everyone expressed a genuine sense of humility and awe as they sat down in the presence of God with that many requests from our brothers and sisters. What a responsibility. Some felt a great sense of unworthiness. What great faith our church family has in prayer and in our God to take the time to write down their pleas. What great trust they have in us to take those requests to the Father. It was said many times that they learned more about their own brothers with whom they prayed for one hour than if they’d spent all weekend with them doing something else. There’s something about listening and participating as someone pours out their heart to God. There’s a true bonding that takes place that can’t really be described, it can only be experienced. I know my life will never be the same after having spent 90-minutes praying with Quincy and Manuel Friday afternoon. And neither will our friendships. I see them differently now. I know them differently. Lord, bless Quincy. Your Word dwells in him. He is really living in you. Please bless him. We were all amazed to realize that people we run into in the halls of our church building two or three times a week, for years, are dealing with some of the things they’re dealing with. Who knew? It never would have occured to me. I see them differently now. I treat them differently now. What great ministry opportunities something like this creates. God, please give me the sensitivity to recognize those people who are all around me and the power to jump in and hug them and love them and minister to them. It’s amazing to read the requests of the strongest and most faithful people I know. They’re asking for forgiveness. They’re asking for strength. They’re asking for answers. They’re asking for the power to be better. And I can’t imagine them being any better. God, I’ve got such a long, long way to go. Please help me be more like your Son. More like them. Al Grant prayed with four different groups from 1:00 am to 5:00 am Saturday. And he began each of those hours by confessing his own sins to our Lord. He ended each of those hours by making all the men hold hands in a circle, encouraging them to feel the same love he was feeling. Father, please help me be more like Al.
The prayers were raw. And they were all for other people.
We are Christ-like when we pray for other people. When we bear one another’s burdens to God’s throne, we are being like Jesus. When we lift up our brothers and sisters, when we carry their concerns, when we take their problems to God, we’re imitating Christ.
When I mentioned at the close of our breakfast that the next 24 Hours of Prayer was already set for September 18-19 next year, we nearly had a revolt on our hands. We can’t wait that long. We need to do this at least twice a year. At least. They’re right.
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October 8, 2008
This week’s poll has the same ten teams at the top, just in a little different order. OU & Mizzou remain #1 & #2. LSU drops from #3 to #5. So Alabama, Texas, and Texas Tech all move up a slot. South Florida drops from #12 to #19. Auburn falls seven spaces to #20. And the undefeated Commodores bolt from #19 all the way up to #13. Wisconsin is out. Virginia Tech is in. Charlie gives us another Mangino crack. Steve has this week’s only prediction on the outcome of this week’s Shootout at the Cotton Bowl. I’ll throw mine in right now: Texas 52, OU 10.
1. Oklahoma (10 1st place votes, 294 total votes) – “Last week for OU to be number one this year: Texas 29, OU 27.” SF; “Baylor will have to leave the Big 12 ‘Sooner’ or later.” JR; “Would love to see Texas whoop up on some Boomer Sooner.” JennG; “Winners of the Big 12.” JS; “Their defense will help them prevail in the Red River Shootout.” JimG; “Can they play defense against a real team?” PD; “Gotta vote ‘em high while I can.” RA; “Next poll, #12.” MH;
8. USC (200) – “Have they righted the ship?” BW; “Highest ranked one-loss team. Trojans hoping everybody else falls.” MH; “If Sanchez is OK, USC is OK.” PD.
9. BYU (197) – “As a diehard Euless Trinity supporter, I’m obligated to vote for a team with players named Vakapuna, Latu, and Mahuika.” JR; “BCS-crashing party starts in SaltLake.” CJ; “Could BYU be QBU again?” MH; “They will enjoy conference play.” BW.
11. Florida (146) – “It was just Arkansas.” BW; “Don’t have quite the teeth they had three weeks ago.” CJ;
13. Vanderbilt (127) – “Still best team in Tennessee.” SF; “Daydream becoming reality.” CJ; “Proof you can win with smart guys.” DM; “The nerds are here.” PD; “Can’t believe they are here.” BW; “Too high.” JS;
18. Virginia Tech (38) – “Starting to get going.” BW; “Bouncing back nicely as they always do.” CJ;
20. Auburn (21) – Also receiving votes:
Due to family commitments that were all met yesterday at Putt Putt Golf & Games, Carrie-Anne’s midterm exam and the celebratory dinner afterwards, and today’s trip south to the Waco Alliance, this week’s “KK&C Top 20” will be posted later this evening.
I know you understand.
Check out one of the blogs I have listed here on the right side of this page. You can’t go wrong. Have a great day.
Peace,
Allan
September 30, 2008
The Trojans go down hard. Georgia gets spanked between the hedges. And Wisconsin’s brought back down to earth. This week made for some radical shifts in our KK&C Top 20. With ten first place votes, Oklahoma is the new #1 team, followed by Missouri, LSU, Alabama, and Texas. USC falls from the top position to #7. BYU cracks the top ten at #9. Wake Forest and Clemson got booted out. Vandy and Oklahoma State took their places.
The Sooners’ margin over Missouri would have been more if PaulB had put OU anywhere on his list. Nice snub. CharlieJ delivers the line of the year so far in his comment on Kansas coach Mark Mangino. (Seriously. A blog can never have too many lines about Mangino. Or too many pictures. Check out the big guy here and here and here.) Janie slid her poll in under my office door on Sunday to make sure my spam filter didn’t grab it. MarkH is still in Cambodia and even battling the flu but still managed to get his poll in while TedS and KevinW have apparently decided to get on with their lives.
Something to watch: LarryT has promised to host the KK&C Top 20 pollsters post season party if Texas wins another game 52-10. We’re holding you to it, Larry! And no Wal-Mart meat trays!
1. Oklahoma (10 – 1st place votes, 295 total votes) “Up here ‘Sooner’ than expected.” CharlieJ (Thanks, Skip); “No other way around it. The Sooners are back!” LarryT; “Play somebody!” MarkD; “With two weeks to prepare, they did not look overwhelming.” MarkH; “Setting up nicely for their annual January swoon.” JimG; “Only team in their way is Texas.” SteveF; “Chase or Colt will make their secondary look awful.” PaulD.
2. Missouri (1, 287) “I think they can outscore anybody.” PaulD; “Season is about to begin.” BillyW; “Tigers D about to be exposed.” CharlieJ.
3. LSU (3, 286) “Bayou Bengals barely getting by.” MarkH; “They’ll be tested the next three weeks at Florida, at South Carolina, and Georgia.” LarryT; “Still a mystery, but I cannot lower them.” PaulD; “Still undefeated defending champion.” BillyW.
4. Alabama (280) “Is there a new sheriff in the SEC?” MarkH; “Gave the Dawgs a pounding.” JanieR; “If they can just stay out of trouble. We all know Saban is a maverick.” LarryT; “They seem to have it all.” PaulD.
5. Texas (1, 258) (Hooper voted UT #1 “SEC chokes! Hook ‘em!”) “Right where they belong…beneath OU.” JanieR; “52-10! 52-10! 52-10!” JimG; “Impressive win in Boulder will illicit positive comments from this Aggie.” CharlieJ; “Winner of Texas-OU plays for national championship.” SteveF; “Still waiting on competition.” PaulD; ”Too bad they don’t play Arkansas every year.” BillyW.
6. Penn St. (221) “Joe Pa is senile, he can’t remember his wife’s name, but he still knows football.” MarkH; “GreatGrandPA Joe has his lions in a row for one more run.” JanieR; “Not sure they will keep everything going.” BillyW; ”We are!…not as good as people think we are!” CharlieJ.
7. USC (210) “Fulfilled their annual disappointment against an inferior team.” JimG; “To the 14 who voted them #1 last week, ‘I told you so!’” LarryT; “Still recovering from Thursday.” MarkR; “HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa!!! Thank you, Oregon State!!!” JanieR; “They’re still good.” DavidB; “Trojans could still beat most of the teams ranked ahead of them.” MarkH; “One bad night. Still a great team.” AaronG.
8. Texas Tech (201) “Who have they beaten that makes them worthy of advancing in this poll?” JimG; “Looked better this week than they have all year.” BillyW; “Enjoy it…this is as high as you go.” CharlieJ.
9. BYU (180)“Who is Brigham Young? And what is he doing in the Top Ten?” LarryT; “Bronco Mendenhall…what a name for a football coach.” JimG; “Will go undefeated and get creamed in the BCS.” CharlieJ.
10. Georgia (173) “Black jerseys match their eyes after Alabama spanking” SteveF; “Final score was closer than this blowout deserved.” MarkD; “They did lose to a Top Ten team.” BillyW.
11. Florida (167) “Wow…no one saw that Tebow run coming.” CharlieJ; “I love watching Urban Meyer lose.” JimG; “Second best team in Florida behind the Tampa Bay Rays.” MarkH; “Couldn’t take too much delight in Gators’ loss. We (Tennessee) have enough problems of our own.” SteveF; “I am so very let down. Ole Miss and Houston Nutt?” JennG; “Not as strong as I thought.” AaronG (understatement of the week); “Not sure what happened to them.” BillyW.
12. South Florida (139)
13. Auburn (127) “Vols quarterback is worst in 30 years!” SteveF; “Tennessee just doesn’t have the heart this year.” JennG; “Almost a negative margin of victory.” MarkD.
14. Ohio St. (116) “Big 10 ain’t what it used to be.” MarkH; “Don’t dismiss them now that they’re at full strength.” CharlieJ; “New QB and return of Beanie make Buckeyes worthy of another look.” MarkD.
15. Utah (99) “Waiting for the shoe to drop.” MarkD; “Too bad they’re not in a real conference.” BillyW.
16. Kansas (76) “Mangino is hungry for Big 12 competition.” CharlieJ (so far the greatest line of the year. Thanks, Charlie); “Could start having trouble.” BillyW; “Highest ranked basketball school this week.” MarkH.
17. Wisconsin (65) “The ‘W’ on their helmets stands for ‘What? Michigan best us?’” MarkH.
18. Boise St. (51) “Will they have a conference challenge?” BillyW.
19. Vanderbilt (43) “Best college team in Tennessee.” SteveF; “Are they really undefeated?” BillyW; “Vandy brainiacs have mastered the science of football.” MarkH; “OK, I guess so.” CharlieJ.
20. Oklahoma St. (28) “This one is for Ron Frost!” JennG; “Spoiler alert.” JanieR; “Both OU & OSU in the top 20? A new NBA franchise? Next they’ll want to secede from the Union.” DavidB; “Probably not better than their peers, but undefeated. Rank them ’til they lose.” MarkD; “Here comes the sleeper!” PaulD; “I will never put the OSU Cowgirls in my poll.” MarkR.
Also receiving votes: TCU (12) (all on the strength of PaulB’s #9 ranking.); Virginia Tech (9) “Coach was beaming after win in Lincoln.” CharlieJ (Skip!) “Got lucky at Memorial Stadium.” DanM; Wake Forest (7); Oregon (7) “Go Ducks!” MarkR; Florida St. (7); Fresno St. (6); Kentucky (2); Clemson (2); Nebraska (1); UConn (1) “Undefeated at this point in the season deserves a vote.” MarkD.
editor’s note: I received TedS and RichardA’s polls too late. Ted’s got trapped by my spam filter. Richard’s just plain late. Too bad. Ted voted Oregon State #1 (“my new favorite team”) and USC #20 (“I just wanted to see what it’s like to see USC at #20”). And Richard’s #1 vote for Texas was followed by, “Just like Paul, ‘I must be out of my mind to talk like this.'”
Peace,
Allan
I wish.
It’s just two hours. The time difference is only two hours between Texas and California. And I’ve already been here two nights, plenty of time to get acclimated, but my body is waking up at 5am. And that’s not good when we’re not getting to bed until midnight. California time. I can do six or seven hours of sleep. I’m not that good on five.
We’re well into Day Two now of the Spiritual Growth Workshop out here in Fresno. I’m being blessed by meeting and getting to know brothers and sisters from all over the Central Valley. I’m encouraged by the young and talented preachers proclaiming the Word out here and inspired by the older guys who are sharing their faith and wisdom. I’m excited to be speaking on my favorite gospel, Mark, to a hungry group of men and women. And I’m enjoying some of the local cuisine. Armenian schwarma Wednesday afternoon. Some kind of spicy steak sandwich thing at Piazza del Pane last night. And then tri-tip later today (anybody ever heard of tri-tip? I think it’s a California thing. BBQ brisket by a different name). I’m not leaving until I get an In-And-Out burger. Hopefully sometime tomorrow. The very first Chick-Fil-A just opened up here in Fresno two weeks ago, about a mile from the church building here. So we’ve been there twice already, dinner Wednesday and lunch yesterday. It’s a Woodward Park cult thing right now. And Gardner’s leading the charge. The way he promotes it—EVEN FROM THE PULPIT!—I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s getting some kind of under-the-table cut from that place.
It’s great getting caught up with Jim & Mandy Gardner and their sweet girls. And Jimmy Mitchell. I can’t imagine being in charge of organizing and orchestrating a huge workshop like this. But Jim seems to thrive on it. Being out here is a true blessing for me. And I’m grateful for the opportunity.
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There are a few things that would drive me crazy if I lived out here. None more than the fact that prime time football games kick of at 5pm. How would anybody ever handle that? We got out to the car at 8:20 last night and USC was just then atttempting that desperation on-side kick with 71-seconds left in the Trojans upset loss to the Beavers in Corvalis. We were home by 8:30 but had missed the entire game. DVR is one thing. But on a consistent basis, that would just be too much.
It is wide open now with USC going down. Texas has an outside shot now. ‘Bama and LSU are in prime position to take advantage. But OU has the best opportunity to make a case for top billing tomorrow. The Sooners will be out to “hang half a hunnerd,” as Barry Switzer used to say, on TCU. Life would be pretty lousy if Oklahoma’s ranked #1. Go Horned Frogs.
Peace,
Allan
“Made up my mind to make a new start;
Going to California with an aching in my heart.”
~Led Zeppelin (Correct me, Keith!)
My plane leaves DFW at 10:35 Texas time this morning and lands at high noon Pacific time in Fresno. And there’s no aching in my heart. I’m actually pretty excited about this trip. I’ve never been to California before. And although I may see nothing but the road between Jim Gardner’s house and his church and the inside of the Woodward Park building the whole time I’m there, I’m looking forward to it. I’ll be speaking five times in four days at their annual workshop there in central California. And I can’t wait to experience the multi-cultural flavor of that body of believers. I’ll write more either tonight or Thursday morning. Right now I’m running late. I can’t afford to not be ready just in case Lance actually shows up on time to pick me up for the airport run. (Cheap shot, I know.)
Here’s the poll. Have fun.
The Trojans of Southern Cal retain 14 first place votes and the top five remain unchanged. Georgia takes two first place votes while LSU takes the other. Richard still refuses to name a #1, keeping USC and OU tied at #2. Auburn slips this week from #9 to 14. BYU moved way up from 16 to 12. Oregon and East Carolina fell out completely. And Alabama leaps over Wisconsin into the top ten.
Congratulations to Mark Hooper who sent in his poll this week from Cambodia! What dedication. Aaron & Jenn, that trumps your Hawaii submission from last week. Who can top Hooper? Who’s going to Lubbock?
Despite overwhelming and indisputable physical evidence, Aaron keeps holding out hope for his Vols. Larry this week has officially disowned his Mississippi State Bulldogs, calling them “a disgrace to the SEC!” That’s big news! The poll is off just a little because Charlie forgot to give us a #9 team in his list (He’s probably busy writing a small groups discussion guide). Enjoy.
September 23 , 2008
1. USC (14-1st place votes, 354 total votes) – “I’m bored with USC already.” TedS; “Put us out of our misery and move them to the NFC East where they’d still be #1.” MarkH; “This week’s practices has been their best competition.” BillyW
2. Oklahoma (316) – “Sooners are responsible for TCU not getting a vote from me this week.” JimG; “OU 30, TCU 17″ SteveF; “Will play Georgia in the national championship game.” LarryT; “He Hate Me.” TedS
3. Florida (310) – “Awful nice of Tennessee to Volunteer for a beating.” RichardA (Boo.); “Sorry, Steve, the Vols are not contenders.” PaulD; Urban Meyer gets on my nerves.” JimG; “Best team in Florida including the Bucs and Fins.” MarkH; “I want to see them play Georgia.” JennG
4. Georgia (2, 303) – “Barely gets by Arizona St. SEC is always overrated.” MarkH; “Mark Richt is the anti-Urban Meyer.” JimG; “Will still lose two games in the SEC.” CharlieJ; “A-J. A-J. Moreno. Moreno.” PaulD
5. Missouri (290) – “Wow.” LarryT; “Chase may be #1 in New York at the end of the season.” PaulD; “Defense is suspect. Anyone else see this?” CharlieJ
6. LSU (1, 285) – “It’s odd calling the national champions a ’sleeper.’” CharlieJ; “3rd best team in SEC.” MarkH
7. Texas (250) – “Don’t tell Carter I moved them up.” JerryK; “Lickin’ their chops.” CharlieJ; “Get a ‘name-your-score’ game against a woeful Arkansas team.” JimG; “Bring on the bacon!” RichardA; “Texas 34, Arkansas 17″ SteveF; “Will fall out of Top Ten once they play a ranked team.” LarryT; “Apparantly Colt McCoy has a new set of guns.” BillyW; “Note to Colt: aspire to be Major, not Vince.” TedS
8. Alabama (227) – “Top Ten after BBQing the Hogs.” MarkH; “Convinced they are a Top Ten team.” CharlieJ; “They’re back!” JimG; “Alabama 20, Georgia 18″ SteveF; “The Tide is on a roll!” LarryT (What are we doing?); “I guess Nick Saban should stay in college.” BillyW
9. Wisconsin (217) – “Badgers will beat Michigan.” SteveF; “The ‘W’ on the helmet stands for ‘winning’ the Big 10.” MarkH; “Not convinced they are a Top Ten team.” CharlieJ
10. Texas Tech (198) – “Just waiting for the slip up.” CharlieJ; “History says defense will be their undoing.” JimG; “If we don’t vote for Tech, Leach will go all ‘tough, smart attorney’ on us.” TedS; “Waiting to play a real opponent.” BillyW
11. Penn St. (164) – “Looked good against Temple. So, what?” MarkH; “We are!…going to lose soon!” CharlieJ; “Did you see Joe Pa’s postgame comments? Can you say ’senility’?” JimG; “Joe Pa in the booth…look out!” PaulD; “Fight on, Joe Pa.” RichardA
12. BYU (152) – “Are we sure Ty Detmer wasn’t playing?” BillyW
13. South Florida (124) – “Barely beat a team with ‘International’ in their name.” MarkH
14. Ohio St. (120) – “Just because.” JimG; “Still too high.” PaulD
15. Auburn (104) – “Surely Auburn can recruit a punter.” PaulD; “Will bounce back.” BillyW; “If Vols will score 24 points they will win.” SteveF (Bless his heart)
16. Wake Forest (86) – “…even if they are the Demon Deacons.” MarkH; “Jim Grobe grateful today he didn’t take the Arkansas job.” JimG; ”Yawn…gratuitous ACC team.” CharlieJ; “Are there any Demon Deacons at Legacy?” RichardA
17. Utah (73) –
18. Kansas (70) – “Because I’m envious of Mark Mangino’s physique.” JimG; “Struggling.” BillyW
19. Clemson (28) – “Beginning to find the groove.” PaulD; “Clemson 29, Maryland 13″ SteveF
20. Boise St. (25) – “I believe they belong here.” PaulD
Also receiving votes: TCU (24) “I’m a believer in the power of purple” RichardA; Oregon (18); Vanderbilt (12) “A blue jeans company that’s 4-0!” TedS; West Virginia (5); UConn (3); Fresno St. (2) “Get by UCLA and they go to Boise 10-1 to end the year.” JimG; East Carolina (2) “Are there 51 states now?” DavidB; New York Yankees (2) “Because they’re not in the playoffs. Let’s all celebrate.” TedS; ACU (1); Oklahoma St. (1) “Games are won in the trenches and OSU has a tough experienced line.” CharlieJ; Tennessee (1) “Will be #20 by the end of the season.” AaronG; Miami Dolphins (1) “Brady or not, it’s great to see New England lose.” TedS
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