...because if I don't soon, I may not have a job when I do get back.  Seriously.  When I wrote my blog on Friday night saying that I had no doubt we were going to win the game, I did so thinking that our defense would hold Wooster to 10 points and that our running game would be the focal point.  I didn't write it thinking I was going to have to follow-up with a blog conceding my position.  Okay, maybe I won't go that far, but my protege stepped up in a big way Saturday, and I'll get to that in a bit.  

What a great win for Wabash on Saturday, though.  Talk about fighting adversity.  Not only were we without a contributor on offense, but the man who picked off four passes in our game against Wittenberg last weekend, Addrian Frederick, was also sidelined with an injury (short sidenote on Addrian - I may be biting the hand that feeds me once a year, but how does Addrian not get NCAC defensive player of the week for his performance against Wittenberg last weekend?  He had four interceptions.  FOUR.  Against a very good offense.  I don't know if there's a written or unwritten rule stating that a player from a losing team cannot be player of the week, but that's an absolute travesty).  All venting aside, I was so impressed with the way we came out and played.  It was not an easy situation to go into.  After all, we were starting a freshman quarterback, against a team that we knew was going to put up some points.  Couple that with a few key injuries, and you have all the makings of a letdown game in which our hopes for the playoffs would be all but crushed.  But like I said Friday night, Wabash Always Fights.  None more so than this kid...

When Chase Belton came on campus a little over two months ago, he was an unassuming, fairly quiet kid who had a lot of maturing to do in his game.  When we kept having receivers go down with injuries during camp, we even used Chase out at receiver, hoping that he could fill the void left by their injuries.  And he did, more so than I would have guessed a quarterback would have been able to.  And he never complained.  And he had every right to.  Coming into a new system is tough enough - learning two positions is next to impossible.  But he did, and once the receivers go healthy, he came back to quarterback full-time.  Early on, I wasn't sure he was going to be much more than a novelty in the backfield - after all, he's far more athletic than me, but he had a lot of learning to do when it came to his reads and decision-making when throwing the ball.  But as the weeks went on, he got better and better, and before I know it, he's making absolutely perfect throws that I can't even make.  

After I went down, it was going to be between Josh Miracle and Chase for the starting job while I was injured.  He shared some time with Josh during the Wittenberg game, but quite frankly, looked a little bit out of his element.  In sharing time, he just never really got comfortable, and I think maybe struggled to get adjusted to the speed of the game.  But somehow, the following week, something changed.  So when I wrote my blog on Friday night, I was truthful in saying that I was confident our quarterback would get it done... I just had no idea it was going to be like this.  Chase was 18-31, a good completion percentage against any defense, let alone one of the best ones in our conference, and threw four touchdowns.  Keep in mind, he's a freshman, and this is his very first start.  12 weeks ago, he had never run this offense before - now, he's running it like a seasoned vet.  But here is the key statistic - ZERO interceptions.  Maybe I should follow his lead.  He did the one thing that he had to do in order to win this game - take care of the football.  Not only did he take care of the football, but he learned a very valuable lesson on Saturday: When in doubt, throw to #1.  Because he's not bad.

Overall, though, I'm very happy with the win.  And I'm very happy to report, I've practiced the past two days.  Still am not sure if I'll be cleared to play by this weekend by the medical staff, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm ready to go and I can't wait to get back onto the field against Oberlin this weekend.  And it's not that I have to play this weekend, because I don't.  I'm extremely confident that the other QBs can get the job done just as well as me.  But I need some game experience before the Bell Game.  Because you can't take a 5-week hiatus from games and expect to go in there and light it up - you just can't.  So my body is telling me that I'm ready to go, hopefully the medical staff will tell me the same thing at the end of the week.

Okay, as has become customary following a weekend of football, I have some thoughts about the NFL.  1) Say what you want about the Colts' schedule so far, but they're not leaving anything to chance.  They are absolutely killing teams, and with the parity in the NFL, it's rare to see a team take care of business every single week like they do.  Colts fans, don't take this era for granted, because you are witnessing one of the most special runs in the history of the NFL.  2) It's looking very much like a Colts - Saints Super Bowl at this point.  First team to 45 wins it.  3) I get really tired of hearing all the Bears fans all the time, because they make a huge deal about relatively small accomplishments, but yesterday, I almost felt sorry for them - almost.  4) Just when you think Oakland has turned a corner - BOOM.  Back to inferiority.  5) Dallas isn't dead yet.  And Tony Romo really isn't that bad.  6) Cleveland may be the most sorry excuse for an offense I've ever seen.  They make the Raiders look like the Saints.

Okay, time to roll out.  Hope everyone has a great week, and enjoy wrestling tonight - I know I will.  In hopefully earning my job back... I'm out.