We had fantastic math teachers at Pittman Junior High in Hueytown. They worked well with kids not long removed from grammar school and knew how to teach the basics.
Libby Fleming had us in the seventh grade. Helen Thomas taught the eighth grade, and Don Hamilton had us for a year before sending us on to high school.
Of course, that was a long, long time ago. (We didn’t have computers or cell phones with calculators back then.) So, I guess you would say they taught “old” math.
Somehow, math instruction has evolved over the decades, now teaching something called “new” math.
Not long ago, I helped one of my grammar school granddaughters with what seemed to be a simple math question. Problem was that it had to be figured using the “new” way. Using “old” math, finding the answer didn’t take long. Using the “new” math, I haven’t found the answer yet.
Which brings us the new season of college football which started this past Saturday.
I’m pretty sure what my junior high teachers would have thought about the first week … Week Zero.
In “old” math, when something happened first in chronological order it would be listed as No. 1 … that seems pretty basic.
Not any more.
Again this season, the first games weren’t played in the First week. Those first four games were played in Week Zero … whatever that is.
Saturday’s games did turn out to be a zero for several teams, probably causing them to wish the games hadn’t counted.
Colgate got the weekend underway and was pounded by Villanova 34-14. The Raiders (no, they are not the Fighting Toothbrushes) trailed the Wildcats 27-0 at the half — and that was that.
Samford (the Birmingham Bulldogs, not Stanford) scored the first seven points against Youngstown State, then watched the Penquins (seriously, they’re the Penquins) score the next 31 in a 45-22 rout.
Arizona traveled to Honolulu to play Hawaii and showed up 45 minutes late to face the Rainbow Warriors because the police escort for the team never showed up. Neither did the Arizona defense. Hawaii put up 595 yards and six touchdowns in a 45-38 win over their Pac-12 opponent.
The loss for the 10.5-point favorite Wildcats, which also had six turnovers, was even more heartbreaking when Kahlil Tate, their senior all-purpose quarterback, scrambled 30 yards on the game’s last play before being tackled one yard short of the end zone as time expired. Another long season in Tucson?
But, the opening Saturday headliner was that night in Orlando, the in-state rivalry renewal between Florida and Miami. The Hurricanes had won seven of the last eight games in the series, but the teams hadn’t played each other since 2013.
If you were looking for a sloppy, undisciplined, ugly season opener, you got more than your money’s worth.
Miami had a 13-minute advantage in time of possession, but converted just two of 15 third-down and fourth-down conversion tries. The Hurricanes had 14 penalties for 118 yards, which was 31 yards more than they had rushing. Miami’s offensive line surrendered 10 sacks and had freshman starting quarterback Jarren Williams running for his life most of the evening.
Florida was much the same. The Gators offense had four turnovers, including two Feleipe Franks’ interceptions. They were called for nine penalties for 100 yards, including back-to-back pass interference calls to keep alive a last-minute ‘Cane drive. That was 43 more yards than Florida could muster rushing. The Gators were just two for 10 in third down conversions and averaged just 1.9 yards per rushing attempt.
Both teams were nationally ranked going into the game, Florida at No. 6 in Lindy’s preseason rankings and Miami at No. 19. Neither team did anything in Orlando to enhance its position.
Looking ahead to the second college week, there will be a few more games of national significance and regional interest, and hopefully better play. Ole Miss at Memphis and Toledo at Kentucky should be tough tests for the SEC teams. The top three ranked teams open their seasons … Clemson hosts Georgia Tech; Duke prays for way to slow down Alabama; and Georgia goes to Vanderbilt in an early conference opener. And, in the national headliner, Oregon and Auburn meet in Dallas in a rematch of the 2010 National Championship Game.
So, fans are looking forward to Week 2 of the 2019 season.
Understand that you’ll be told to get ready for Week 1. But, don’t be fooled. You’re getting ready for Week 2.
That’s pretty basic.
They’re not with us any longer, but if they were, I’m pretty sure that the Pittman Junior High math department would agree.
