A shamelessly partisan post

(In which the Blob dons its Ball State University cap, says "Chirp-chirp!" and talks about the gallant fight the Cardinals put up against No. 1 Ohio State last week. Among other things.)

Wait, did I say "gallant fight"?

Well, by golly, that's what it was. The Cards marched into Columbus and gave the la-di-dah Buckeyes all they wanted before barely losing 56-3, mainly because Ohio State cheated by having way better players.

Nonetheless, the Cardinals valiantly did not get shut out, so that's a W. Also they valiantly came within 1:55 of beating the spread, which means all those fools who bet large on the Buckeyes came close to losing money.

So, you know, the Cards have that going for them.

Know what else they have going for them?

They're back in Muncie today for their home opener, and it's not against Ohio State. It's against the Stony Brook Seawolves from Stony Brook, N.Y., a research school with an enrollment of 18,500 undergrads that styles itself the official university of Long Island.

The Seawolves play in the Colonial Athletic Association, along with your Maines, your Monmouths, your Elons and your Campbells, plus a handful of Rhode Islands, Towsons and New Hampshires. So does that mean the Cardinals, a proud member of the mighty Mid-American Conference, should handle their business today?

Far be it from me to succumb to bias and say yes, but ... yes.

And Ohio State?

Having narrowly escaped failing to cover last week, the Buckeyes travel to Austin, Texas to take on the No. 4 Longhorns. The 'Horns are probably a better football team than my Cardinals -- I'll go out on a limb here and say they could well be -- so Ohio State will have another fight on its hands. Also a Manning is the Texas quarterback, perhaps an upgrade over the Cardinals' 5-10 mighty mite, Keldric Luster.

I expect Keldric to stand tall today against the Stony Brooks, or as tall as a 5-10 guy can stand. And I expect the Cardinals to dispatch the Seawolves in handy fashion, say, 35-10. Or 42-10. Whatever.

And the Buckeyes?

They will pay for last week's insolence. They will pay.