It's been awhile since I've felt this out of place.  Almost like being at a wedding reception at which you don't know anybody and only went because you're trying to make your significant other happy.  That's where I am right now.  At a metaphorical wedding reception.  The only difference is, I do know the people I'm with now.  And they know me so they won't take this wrong - I really don't want to be with them right now.  And this is my family.  And they know where I'm going with this - I'd rather be with my football family on the road to Wooster.  Essentially, the last long, drawn-out paragraph has been a rhetoric major's way of saying that for the second week in  a row, I'm not playing for Wabash due to the complications that came from the partially collapsed lung a couple weeks ago.  And this hurts, probably even more than last week.  And that's probably because I'm closer and closer to being healthy, but still not to the point of being back on the field.  The good news is, I'm recovering.  The bad news is, I'm not yet to the point of being able to take a hit, and for the first time since my freshman year, I'm sitting at home while the Wabash football team travels on the road.  I'll be there with them tomorrow, since I'm traveling with my parents, but not being with my football family on a Friday night simply isn't the same.  So there's no suspense this week.  No, "Hudson's been at practice all week, but hasn't done much."  No, "Hudson's still questionable and is a game-time decision."  You heard it here first.  14 won't be out there tomorrow.  

Our team plays at Wooster tomorrow, and this is a big one.  Not only are they an excellent team, but this is basically a do-or-die week for us, something that we haven't faced in the past couple years, except for the "win or go home" realm of the playoffs.  I'm really interested to see how we do.  I'm fully confident that the guys on our team will step up when we absolutely have to.  In my last blog, I never got to the game last week.  What a heartbreaker.  The ebb and flow of the game had me absolutely believing that it was going to end up exactly like last year.  A defensive struggle the entire game, with each defense absolutely dominating the opposing offense.  We struggled running the ball, but had a few big pass plays every once in a while.  The defense comes up with a big stop at the end of the game, and we put together a drive to go down and tie Wittenberg in the last two minutes - with a touchdown pass - to Kody Lemond... for the second year in a row.  Deja vu all over again, it seems.  Our defense is going to get a stop, and Josh Miracle is going to lead Wabash down for the winning field goal...  but it didn't quite happen that way.  Our defense was absolutely gassed.  They had fought hard the entire day and simply couldn't anymore.  They played maybe the best game I've seen a Wabash defense play in the four years that I've been here.  But unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough.  They needed a little more help, and unfortunately, we couldn't give it to them.  But I'm proud of how we played, overall.  We were faced with a lot of adversity, and were playing against perhaps the best team we'll play all year, and still, we fought until the very end.  The last four games against Wittenberg have been decided by 2, 7, 3, and 3 points, and we're 2-2 in those games.  When two tremendous teams play against each other, it usually ends up like that.  But regardless of the final score, I'm proud of the way we fought.  

Tomorrow, we will see more of the same.  The defense will come out and be incredibly solid, and the offense will fight through some adversity and get the job done.  There's no doubt in my mind, and I can't wait to see it.  There's no doubt in my mind because Wabash fights through adversity.  Wabash fights when things look bleak.  Wabash doesn't make excuses.  Wabash Always Fights.  I'm out.