Chris Townsend

SATURDAY WITHDRAWAL

Your hands are shaking. A cold sweat has broken across your forehead. You are encountering blurred vision and agonizing stomach pains.

Do not be alarmed. You most likely have come down with a case of SFWS or Saturday Football Withdrawal Syndrome.

SFWS is a common diagnosis for men, and in some instances women, during the weekend in December immediately following the conclusion of the college football regular season.

Doctors across the country report thousands of cases each winter. The remedies proposed for treatment of SFWS vary by state but we will offer a few.

If you are one that is susceptible to illusions you might want to tune into the NCAA Division I FCS (formerly known as Division I-AA) semifinal matchup showcasing the Richmond Spiders and Northern Iowa Panthers.

It won’t be quite the caliber of football that you are used to seeing but it might trick your sickness and senses into believing you are really watching football.

Seriously though, there are some great teams, players and coaches at this level. A few diamonds in the rough will definitely be playing at the next level. Remember Steve McNair from Alcorn State? How about Terrell Owens from Tennessee-Chattanooga? Or what about current Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco who starred at Delaware?

If the pigskin flying through the air and helmeted-men running straight into each other is all you need, then your fever should subside. Besides the semifinal game, the NCAA Division II championship is being played on Saturday morning.

The game features the mighty Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs pitted against the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats. The Bearcats were in the title game last season but were downed after Valdosta State produced a game-winning touchdown with 22 seconds left.

Pssst…and for those that need to quench their football gambling thirst before Sunday, you can even bet on these games.

If not one collegiate sport, how about another?

CBS is offering a couple of basketball dandies Saturday afternoon. John Calipari and his Memphis Tigers taking on the #2 ranked team in the country in Georgetown.

A couple of storied programs in the college basketball realm square off after that with the Indiana Hoosiers taking on the Kentucky Wildcats. Tom Crean is the new man in Indiana and Billy Gillespie is hoping that he didn’t make the wrong decision after leaving Texas A&M for Rupp Arena.

ESPN also has a slew of games Saturday. Starting early morning with St. Johns and Maryland and then continuing throughout the day with Tennessee vs. Temple, UMass vs. Kansas, Utah vs. Oklahoma, Oral Roberts vs. North Carolina and Xavier vs. Cincinnati.

The last one with the Musketeers and Bearcats should be a great matchup as it is an annual game called the Crosstown Shootout that has been played since 1927. While Cincy may be a bit outmatched in this one, all the projections are thrown out since it is a rivalry game.

The Heisman Trophy presentation is also on Saturday evening but who really cares.

That award has become somewhat of a joke concerning the nominees, how they are chosen and who is ultimately selected. Darren McFadden should have won at least one Heisman the two times he finished second. And Graham Harrell, who has better passing numbers than all three finalists this year, doesn’t even get invited to the ceremony…you’ve got to be kidding me.

The bowl season kicks off next Saturday with four games so there will only be one weekend without college football mayhem. Until then, drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest because once bowl season starts rolling, it doesn’t stop.