HelmetNation

Wedding Helmets

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:02:00 +0000

Some of the coolest helmets we worked on last year ended up being the first helmets of 2010. I was commissioned by a customer to do helmets to commemorate his wedding which he then gave to his groomsman. We worked together on the design. We started with a maroon Schutt DNA shell and a black facemask. The right side logo on the helmets were a black/gray/white penguin with a top hat logo he found and liked. The left side logo was the bride and grooms stylized cursive name in black with a white outline. Each helmet had a 1/2" black stripe flanked by a 1/4" white stripe with a little space letting the maroon show through between the stripes. The front bumper had each groomsman's cursive last name in black text on a white background. The rear bumper was the date of their wedding in black cursive text on a white background. These were really a lot of fun to do!

Congrats to the happy couple! We were proud to be a small part of your big day!

Wisconsin Fantasy Football League Helmets

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:52:00 +0000

We often get inquiries about doing Fantasy football helmets. However, usually, the inquiries are about doing one helmet for a guy's individual team that he has in a league every year. We really enjoy doing those helmets. However, this request was for a league logo helmet. We did these for the Wisconsin Fantasy Football League based in Fond du lac, WI. This was a fun helmet to put together. It was loosely based on the Miami Dolphins helmet. We used a white Schutt DNA shell with an orange facemask. The helmet features their league logo, which is a cow on a lime green cutout of the state of Wisconsin and the stylized letters WFFL over the top. They had three 1/2" stripes that were lime green - orange - lime green with a small white space in between the stripes. The front bumper was WFFL in orange text on a white background. They did not have a rear bumper.

If you run or are part of a Fantasy Football league, we would love to help you do your helmets. If you have a Fantasy Football team and want to get your teams helmet done, give us a call @ 800-576-9706. If you call now we can get them done in plenty of time to have for your Fantasy draft!

Syracuse Titans 5A football in Utah

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:42:00 +0000

It was great to receive a call from a local high school team here in Utah. These helmets are for the Syracuse Titans of Syracuse, Utah who made it to the 2nd round of the 5A State Playoffs where they lost a hard fought battle against the eventual State Champs. Their mini-helmets are a white Schutt DNA shell with a navy blue facemask. They have their bold Block S in navy blue on each side of the helmet and a 1/2" navy blue stripe. On their front bumpers was TITANS in navy text on a white background and their rear bumper was SYRACUSE TITANS in navy on white.

Good luck Titans in your 2010 Season!

SACS Lions Youth Football

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:30:00 +0000

Another helmet I really enjoyed doing was the SACS Lions Youth football team from Texas. Their helmets are a Schutt DNA Metallic Vegas Gold helmet with a gray facemask. We put their players last names and numbers on the right side of the helmet. Their lion logo is on the left side. They did not have any stripes but we did put the year date on the front bumper in maroon text on a white background and we put SACS Lions on the rear bumper in maroon text on a white background.

We know the Lions will roar again in 2010 and hope we will be able to do their mini-helmets again!

Fairfield Indians Youth Football

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:14:00 +0000

Now that the season is over, we will be posting a little less. I am going to be posting the last five helmets we did for 2009 spaced out over a couple of months. The first is the Fairfield Indians Youth Football team from Fairfield, Ohio. Their mini-helmets are a scarlet red Schutt Pro-Air II helmet with a white facemask. They have a stylized Indian head on the each side of the helmet and give their players tomahawk award stickers which we replicated by giving each player a sheet of award stickers to place how they wanted. I placed the award stickers on the helmet you see in the picture based on a the pictures of full-size helmets I was sent. We hope that Fairfield will be back next season!

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:30:00 +0000

2009 Season Final HelmetNation Top 25

Here is the final rankings for the 2009 season of college football. Congrats to the HelmetNation National Champions: the Boise State Broncos.

We will be posting a bowl season recap next week and our blogs will be happening about once a week for a bit.

1) Boise St. – Bowl game: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Beat #4 TCU 17-10. As far as I am concerned, the Broncos are the National Champions. They beat Oregon and TCU. And I am fairly sure they would have beat Alabama. Of course that is anyone’s guess since they will never have a chance to play thanks to the crooksters of the BCS. However, they looked faster, meaner, and more disciplined than any other team I saw in the Bowl games. Oh yeah, all but 1 starter returns for 2010.

2) Alabama – Bowl game: BCS National Championship Game. Beat #5 Texas 37-21. This team got lucky that Colt McCoy got injured on the first series for Texas. McCoy plays and they most likely win. Alabama didn’t look well coached (fake punt, onsides later in game, etc) and they looked nervous for much of the first half. If not for equally poor coaching by Mack Brown, the Longhorns still might have won with a freshman QB.
3) Florida – Bowl game: AllState Sugar Bowl. Beat #9 Cincinnati 51-24. Even after all the hubbub about Coach Meyer, the Gators annihilated the Bearcats in a game that was never close. I think the game was more an indication of the Bearcats playing with their hearts ripped out than it was Florida domination. Although, I am sure that it being Tebow’s last game, also helped the Gators. Now begins life after Tebow.
4) TCU – Bowl game: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Lost to #1 Boise St. 10-17. I honestly expected the Horned Frogs to beat the Broncos. You could still see how great their defense was in holding Boise St to just 17 points. I think the loss to Boise was more an indication of just how good the Broncos are rather than saying anyting about TCU.
5) Texas – Bowl game: BCS National Championship. Lost to #2 Alabama 21-37. I wasn’t pleased to see Texas in this game; however, it would have been much more interesting to see the game played with Colt McCoy at QB. I honestly believe that the Longhorns could have won the game had he played.

6) Ohio State – Bowl game: Rose Bowl. Beat #11 Oregon 26-17. Terrelle Pryor finally looked the part of the ballyhooed recruit he has been against Oregon. I will admit the Big 10 surprised me during bowl season with several victories I didn’t expect. This was one of them.
7) Iowa – Bowl game: Fedex Orange Bowl. Beat #12 Georgia Tech 24-14. The tough Hawkeye defense stymied the GT option game for most of the night. Iowa often plays well in bowl games and they did so here.
8) Nebraska – Bowl game: Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. Beat Arizona 33-0. Clearly the most dominant performance of the entire bowl season as the Huskers posted the first shutout in several ways; 1) first shutout in a bowl by a Big 12 team since the conference was formed, 2) first shutout in the history of the Holiday Bowl, and 3) first shutout in 46 bowl games for the Huskers. The offense showed some creativity with the use of freshman Rex Burkhead in the wildcat formation and the defense was dominant all the way around.

9) Cincinnati – Bowl game: AllState Sugar Bowl. Lost to Florida 24-51. Some might claim that Cincinnati didn’t deserve to be in this game. Even I haven’t been a Bearcat believer this season and their defense towards the end of the year wasn’t what it was to start the year. However, all that being said, this team had its heart ripped out when Brian Kelly left to take the Notre Dame job. Even their interim coach took the head job at Buffalo so all the players knew nobody was returning for them next season. They played like it. If Brian Kelly and staff are around for this bowl game, I think the result is much closer.
10) Virginia Tech – Bowl game: Chick-fil-A Bowl. Beat Tennessee 37-14. Virginia Tech clearly dominated every phase of this game. Ryan Williams was tough as usual.

11) Oregon – Bowl game: Rose Bowl. Lost to #6 Ohio St. 17-26. This was a surprising result. Ohio State was able to negate Oregon’s speed and contain their playmakers.
12) Georgia Tech – Bowl game: Fedex Orange Bowl. Lost to #7 Iowa 14-24. The YellowJackets had a tough time running up the middle against the stout Iowa D-line and their passing game wasn’t strong enough to loosen up the Hawkeyes defensively.
13) Brigham Young – Bowl game: Maaco Las Vegas Bowl. Beat Oregon State 44-20. Another surprising result as BYU completely shut down the Beavers and simply played faster and more aggressive than Oregon St.

14) Utah – Bowl game: San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. Beat Cal 37-27. This game was not as close as the score. All Utah does is win bowl games (this is 9 in a row) and the future looks bright for the Utes with QB Jordan Wynn. After throwing an early pick-6, all he did was have a career best day in yards, etc.
15) Pittsburgh – Bowl game: Meineke Car Care Bowl. Beat North Carolina 19-17. Dion Lewis continued to impress as Pittsburgh won on a late FG with :52 sec left.
16) Penn State – Bowl game: Capital One Bowl. Beat #17 LSU 19-17. The Nittany Lions did just enough to beat the Tigers on a field that the groundskeepers should be embarrassed about.

17) LSU – Bowl game: Capital One Bowl. Lost to #16 Penn St. 17-19. The weather and field conditions completely negated the speed advantage the Tigers would have on an artificial turf. The game was sloppy and dominated by the defenses. I still believe if you play this game 10 times, LSU wins 7 of them.
18) Central Michigan – Bowl game: GMAC Bowl. Beat Troy 44-41. Dan LeFevour showed why he should get a shot at being drafted as he brought CMU back from a two score deficit late in the 4th Q and took his team to a victory in OT.
19) Texas Tech – Bowl game: Valero Alamo Bowl. Beat Michigan State 41-31. After an incredible week, filled with more distractions than one could imagine with TT firing Head Coach Mike Leach just days before the game, the Red Raiders played as a team under interim coach Ruffin McNeill (who I think should have gotten the head job that was given to Tommy Tuberville, who isn’t black) and rallied to beat the Spartans in a back and forth game.

20) Wisconsin - Bowl game: Champs Sports Bowl. Beat Miami 20-14. Miami played listless and Wisconsin came in fired up. It was shocking to see Wisconsin hang with Miami’s speed, but the Hurricanes were clearly outplayed.
21) USC – Bowl game: Emerald Bowl. Beat Boston College 24-13. Matt Barkley had one of his better games of the year in working steadily past a pesky BC team.
22) Navy – Bowl game: Texas Bowl. Beat Missouri 35-13. The Tigers had no answer for the Navy option game and inexplicably the Tigers refused to run the ball against Navy’s 2-down lineman defense. Navy played with heart and passion, just what we expect from our future military leaders. The option is beautiful when it is working.

23) Oklahoma – Bowl game: Brut Sun Bowl. Beat Stanford 31-27. Oklahoma wr Ryan Broyles went off for a career day against the Cardinal in a very close game. Oklahoma was able to salvage a down year with a nice bowl victory over a quality opponent.
24) Mississippi – Bowl game: AT&T Cotton Bowl. Beat Oklahoma State 21-7. The Rebels rode their all-purpose back Dexter McCluster to a win over an OSU team that finished their season very disappointingly.
25) Rutgers – Bowl game: St. Petersburg Bowl. Beat Central Florida 45-24. Rutgers looks like they could be good for a while as they rode some young freshman players to a nice bowl victory over the Golden Knights.

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:29:00 +0000

2009 Bowl Preview (Week of Sat. Jan. 2nd – Thurs. Jan. 7th)
(All helmet images courtesy of the great work done by Charles Arey at The Helmet Project. http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/index.htm)

International (aka the Building Canadian Good Will) Bowl
Sat. Jan. 2 Noon Toronto, CAN ESPN2
Northern Illinois Huskies (MAC 7-5) vs. South Florida Bulls (Big East 7-5)

I’m sure South Florida will be thrilled to go from 80 degree weather to 20 degree highs in a game that’s not even played in this country. Against Northern Illinois. The Bulls are immensely talented but unless they can eliminate the late season collapses which have come to define their program, they may want to just reserve their visas ahead of time every year. Northern Illinois 23 South Florida 20

Papajohn’s.com Bowl
Sat. Jan. 2 2pm Birmingham, AL ESPN
Connecticut Huskies (Big East 7-5) vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (SEC 7-5)

What’s weird is that this isn’t even the Papa John’s Bowl. It’s the Papajohn’s.com bowl. I guess they had to find a way to top Little Caesar’s. South Carolina eats too many of those yummy breadsticks at halftime- Connecticut 27 South Carolina 23

AT&T Cotton Bowl
Sat. Jan. 2 2pm Dallas, TX FOX
Oklahoma St. Cowboys (Big 12 9-3) vs. Ole Miss Rebels (SEC 8-4)

I don’t care for either team, honestly. Too much hype, nothing to back it up. Ole Miss 27 OSU 24

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Sat. Jan. 2 5:30pm Memphis, TN ESPN
Arkansas Razorbacks (SEC 7-5) vs. East Carolina Pirates (C-USA 9-4)

Again two spotty teams who can get red hot and then ice cold all in the same quarter. Arkansas 31 East Carolina 10

Valero Alamo Bowl
Sat. Jan. 2 9pm San Antonio, TX ESPN
Texas Tech Red Raiders (Big 12 8-4) vs. Michigan St. Spartans (Big 10 6-6)

Talk about your lopsided match-ups. Texas Tech 56 Michigan State 20

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Mon. Jan. 4 8pm Glendale, AZ FOX
TCU Horned Frogs (MWC 12-0) vs. Boise St. Broncos (WAC 13-0)

TCU will stop Boise St dead in their tracks, mark my words. Especially since the Broncos lost their best receiver. TCU 55 Boise St. 27

Fedex Orange Bowl
Tues. Jan. 5 8pm Miami, FL FOX
Georgia Tech YellowJackets (ACC 11-2) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (Big 10 10-2)

I cannot stress this point enough: I loathe the Hawkeyes. Georgia Tech 45 Iowa 16

GMAC Bowl
Wed. Jan. 6 7pm Mobile, AL ESPN
Central Michigan Chippewas (MAC 11-2) vs. Troy Trojans (Sun Belt 9-3)

I hope this guy named Troy knows he’s taking on an entire team- led by a future NFL qb. Chippewas 31-10.

Citi BCS National Championship Game
Thurs. Jan. 7 8pm Pasadena, CA ABC
Alabama Crimson Tide (SEC 13-0) vs. Texas Longhorns (Big 12 13-0)

Alabama earned this one, Texas backed their way in. Bama’s defense will try to replicate what Nebraska’s did and they won’t be intimidated by Mack Brown’s group in the least. In fact, it may be the other way around. I see blitzes coming from Bama all night long...and you know what that means. Alabama 37 Texas 19

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:03:00 +0000

2009 Bowl Preview (Week of Sun. Dec. 27th – Fri. Jan. 1st)
(All helmet images courtesy of the great work done by Charles Arey at The Helmet Project. http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/index.htm)

Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl
Sun. Dec. 27 8:30pm Nashville, TN ESPN
Kentucky Wildcats (SEC 7-5) vs. Clemson Tigers (ACC 8-5)

Kentucky vs. Clemson? Geez, the Tigers didn’t do themselves any favors losing the last 2 games on their schedule. Kentucky in a shootout: 57- 49

Advocare 100 Independence Bowl
Mon. Dec. 28 5pm Shreveport, LA ESPN2
Texas A&M Aggies (Big 12 6-6) vs. Georgia Bulldogs (SEC 7-5)

Finally a game to break out the Tivo for! Texas A&M’s offense is about as fun as it gets in college football this year. Georgia is so up and down that nobody knows who will show up (actually that could be said for either team) so let’s just hope for a fun one. In the highest scoring game in college football bowl history since the invention of the facemask (I’m guessing): A&M 64 Georgia 61

EagleBank Bowl
Tues. Dec. 29 4:30pm Washington D.C. ESPN
Temple Owls (MAC 9-3) vs. UCLA Bruins (Pac-10 6-6)

I’m picking Temple over UCLA in this one 27 to 20. Temple has a good ground game and will be completely jacked up for this one since they haven’t been bowling since, well, before anyone reading this blog was probably born.

Champs Sports Bowl
Tues. Dec. 29 8pm Orlando, FL ESPN
Miami Hurricanes (ACC 9-3) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (Big 10 9-3)

Wisconsin always wins when you least expect 'em to, but I just think Miami has too much talent even if they had a late-season meltdown. Miami 37 Wisconsin 31

Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl
Wed. Dec. 30 4:30pm Boise, ID ESPN
Idaho Vandals (WAC 7-5) vs. Bowling Green Falcons (MAC 7-5)

If they really were humane they’d cancel this game. Idaho 49 Bowling Green 31

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
Wed. Dec. 30 8pm San Diego, CA ESPN
Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big 12 9-4) vs. Arizona Wildcats (Pac-10 8-4)

Nebraska has no business being here. Meaning, they should be in the BCS. And they will be pissed. Arizona is thrilled to be here but will get a defensive wake up call the likes of which no other Pac-10 team could possibly have prepared them for. Nebraska 17 Arizona 3

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Thurs. Dec. 31 Noon Fort Worth, TX ESPN
Houston Cougars (C-USA 10-3) vs. Air Force Falcons (MWC 7-5)

Pass-happy offense vs. nasty pass defense. Air Force 31 Houston 30

Brut Sun Bowl
Thurs. Dec. 31 2pm El Paso, TX CBS
Oklahoma Sooners (Big 12 7-5) vs. Stanford Cardinal (Pac-10 8-4)

This is a crazy cool match up if you ask me. Lucky may not play, which would be huge. Gerhardt versus that defense? Sticky, just plain sticky. I can’t get a read on Oklahoma this year but they will stack the box and leave their db’s in man coverage unless the cardinal can beat ‘em through the air, which I don’t think they can. Oklahoma 24 Stanford 17

Texas Bowl
Thurs. Dec. 31 3:30pm Ft. Worth, TX ESPN
Navy Midshipmen (Ind. 8-4) vs. Missouri Tigers (Big 12 8-4)

Another intriguing match-up. How much time (or effort) do you really think Mizery is going to put into defending the triple option? Hell, I don't even think Pinkel would know HOW to practice defending it even if he did care. This is really Navy vs. Danario Alexander. I’m picking the team who wants to be here: Navy 41 Missouri 34

Insight Bowl
Thurs. Dec. 31 6pm Tempe, AZ NFLN
Iowa State Cyclones (Big 12 6-6) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big 10 6-6)

Here’s some insight for you: Minnesota doesn’t deserve to be in a bowl game. Iowa St 37 Minnesota 17

Chick-Fil-A Bowl
Thurs. Dec. 31 7:30pm Atlanta, GA ESPN
Tennessee Volunteers (SEC 7-5) vs. Virginia Tech Hokies (ACC 9-3)

No-Class Kiffin vs. Only Class Beamer. Hmmmm...too bad Tyrod Taylor is your quarterback. Tennessee 20 V Tech 17

Outback Bowl
Fri. Jan. 1 11am Tampa, FL ESPN
Northwestern Wildcats (Big 10 8-4) vs. Auburn Tigers (SEC 7-5)

I like Northwestern’s spunk and they have all the momentum. Northwestern 20 Auburn 13

Capital One Bowl
Fri. Jan. 1 1pm Orlando, FL ABC
LSU Tigers (SEC 9-3) vs. Penn State Nittany Lions (Big 10 10-2)

Les Miles and LSU has no offense. Penn St. is softer than a marshmallow in a cup of steaming hot chocolate. Do I have to pick a winner of this one? Arghh….At least these two teams will be evenly matched and should produce a good game!LSU 17 Penn St. 15

Konica Minolta Gator Bowl
Fri. Jan. 1 1pm Jacksonville, FL CBS
Florida St. Seminoles (ACC 6-6) vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (Big East 9-3)

I can’t believe I’m saying this but I wouldn’t mind if Bowden went out with a win. And I bet his players feel the same. FSU 45 West Virginia 35

Rose Bowl presented by Citi
Fri. Jan. 1 4:30pm Pasadena, CA ABC
Oregon Ducks (Pac-10 10-2) vs. Ohio St. Buckeyes (Big 10 10-2)

Ohio St should conceivably win this one with their defense, but Oregon is gonna be through-the-roof amped up. And the Buckeyes haven’t faced an offense like this all year- not even close. Oregon 51 Ohio St. 24

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Fri. Jan. 1 8:30pm New Orleans, LA FOX
Florida Gators (SEC 12-1) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (Big East 12-0)

Florida needs to dig deep after their loss to Bama. For Tebow this is it. Cincinnati looks like they just lost their head coach and their defense was already atrocious to begin with. Gator defense will rise to the occasion. Florida 37 Cincy 21

It's Bowl Season!

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:36:00 +0000

2009 Bowl Preview (Week of Sat. Dec. 19th – Sat. Dec. 26th)
(All helmet images courtesy of the great work done by Charles Arey at The Helmet Project. http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/index.htm)

New Mexico Bowl
Sat. Dec. 19 4:30pm Albuquerque, NM ESPN
Fresno St. Bulldogs (WAC 8-4) vs. Wyoming Cowboys (MWC 6-6)

Hey, I live in Utah, how come we don’t have our own bowl yet? Never mind, it’s too cold here. Fresno St 44 Wyoming 35

MagicJack St. Petersburg Bowl
Sat. Dec. 19 8pm St. Petersburg, FL ESPN
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Big East 8-4) vs. Central Florida Golden Knights (C-USA 8-4)

I’m gonna be perfectly honest with you, I had no idea this bowl even existed until about 30 seconds ago. Admit it, you didn’t either... Rutgers 21 Central Florida 20

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Sun. Dec. 20 8:30pm New Orleans, LA ESPN
Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (Sun Belt 9-3) vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles (C-USA 7-5)

I figured I would get sued for leaving off the sponsor, so even though I doubt anyone is actually reading this, I gave it to you anyway! Southern Miss 17 Middle Tennessee 14

Maaco Las Vegas Bowl
Tues. Dec. 22 8pm Las Vegas, NV ESPN
Oregon St. Beavers (Pac-10 8-4) vs. BYU Cougars (MWC 10-2)

The Beavers are under-rated, the Cougars are over-rated. Oregon St 31 BYU 14

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Wed. Dec. 23 8pm San Diego, CA ESPN
Utah Utes (MWC 9-3) vs. California Golden Bears (Pac-10 8-4)

When these two teams play each other it always ends in a nail-biter. Utah can and should win this, being a much more physical team on defense. They’ll be so thrilled to get out of Utah for some sunshine, however, that they may forget to show up for the game. Don't forget your sunscreen! Utah 35 Cal 32

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Thurs. Dec. 24 8pm Honolulu, HI ESPN
Nevada Wolf Pack (WAC 8-4) vs. SMU Mustangs (C-USA 7-5)

In a tight, defensive struggle for the ages: Nevada 62 SMU 49

Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl
Sat. Dec. 26 1pm Detroit, MI ESPN
Ohio Bobcats (MAC 9-4) vs. Marshall Thundering Herd (C-USA 6-6)

You go Coach Solich! Ohio (and plenty of crushed pepper) 31 Marshall 10

Meineke Car Care Bowl
Sat. Dec. 26 4:30pm Charlotte, NC ESPN
Pitt Panthers (Big East 9-3) vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (ACC 8-4)

Pitt does NOT want to be here, trust me on that one. North Carolina had huge aspirations at the beginning of the year as well. I have no idea who will show up to this one but I’m enamored (read: Man Crush) with Dion Lewis. Pitt by a moustache: 22-20.

Emerald Bowl
Sat. Dec. 26 8pm San Francisco, CA ESPN
USC Trojans (Pac-10 8-4) vs. Boston College Eagles (ACC 8-4)

This, to me, is the least intriguing bowl game on the entire schedule. USC 20 Boston College 10

SUH-perman!

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:05:00 +0000

Suh The Right Thing

Voters finally have a chance to make the Heisman a meaningful award again. This is the year. Yep, time to put your money where your mouth is, throw the politics out the window and vote a defensive player into the Top 3 of the Heisman finalists where you know he belongs. I'm not telling anyone that they have to vote Suh #1. It is subjective criteria, after all. But you can't in good conscience or sound judgment, put him lower then third. McCoy is out of the conversation- he folded like an origami dragon at Chinese New Year against the only tough competition (OU/NU) he faced all year. I wouldn't vote him higher than about 8th, well behind the other finalists as well as guys like CJ Spiller, Tony Pike and Case Keenum. Heck, I'd put the true freshman Dion Lewis from Pitt ahead of McCoy. None of them had the supporting cast that McCoy did. Tebow on the other hand has always been deserving- you throw the stats out when you've willed your team to victory all year- except he just was not himself in the SEC champ. game, and that is the one game where Florida needed him most. Gerhardt and Ingram put out their best efforts against top competition, just like Suh did all year- so I'd have to put those 3 as my finalists.

However, here is the difference between Suh and the other two. Suh is the only athlete who literally changed the landscape of the game and became bigger than his position. It takes a rare athlete indeed to accomplish this feat. Barry Sanders did it in 1988. Bo Jackson embodied it. Reggie Bush was beyond extraordinary. Tebow did it 2 years ago when he came on the scene and literally took over the sport at his position. He changed the way the quarterback plays, motivates and leads his team. Suh changed the way a defensive lineman controls the outcome of a game. He transcended the position of DT and EASILY made those around him better. Did Gerhardt or Ingram do the same? I argue no. To say that Suh's masterpiece was in his biggest game of the year is to forget that it was only one masterpiece of many masterpieces. It's like asking which of Mozart's symphonies was his finest? Each of them simply defied logic. Fan or not, you are drawn to Suh because of his relentless passion to dominate his opponent, his sheer unnatural strength, and perhaps above all, his humble and business-like demeanor, which is a rare trait indeed in these times. Suh is the first college football player to make NOT watching the ball sexy. He didn't just put the Blackshirts back on the college football map; he drew the map, colored it in and then stamped it with his 6 foot 4, 300 lb wrecking ball frame. In two years his defense passed 100 other teams in statistical improvement: moving from 103rd in the nation to 3rd. Think about that- 100 other teams. All great athletes leave everything they have on the field. Suh left not only all of himself, but many opposing body parts as well. He was not a man among boys, but a giant among insects. A humble giant who led never with his mouth but only by his example. By coming back for his senior year, he forever etched his place in college football history as one of The Greats. Capital T, capital G. There is only so much room in the history books reserved for those types of athletes. Lucky for Suh, forcing his way in has never been a problem. Which is why I would vote Suh for Heisman.

The Final Word on the B(c)S!

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:48:00 +0000

Elitism, A Love Story

By now much, if not everything that really matters, has been said about the BCS disaster that will spoil what was yet another great year in college football. It is hard for me to understand how the regular season of any sport can mean more and be more exciting than the postseason. It would be like watching the NFL all year and then getting depressed after Week 17. That doesn't even make sense in my head, but such is the state of college football in 2009. The only sport that prefers to be an 8 track when it could be a third generation ipod. The BCS represents everything that is reprehensible to our society: Elitism, Hypocrisy, Double-speak, Greed, Sloth, Arrogance, Lack of Accountability and Absolute Power. I wonder how much Bill Hancock, aka the BCS' little spokes-bitch, gets paid to shovel us his slop. Luckily for him he doesn't have to look at himself in the mirror at night. After all, you have to have a soul before you can have a conscience. I get physically nauseous when I hear him throw out quips like "Nobody else has managed to come up with a better solution", or "We never said it was a perfect solution, only the best one so far", or my personal favorite "We love talking about the possibilities of a playoff and we always look for ways to better our sport." Bill is an arrogant, self-righteous, and certainly self-loathing coward. And those are probably his best traits. And please don't tell me he's only doing his job, which is to promote the benefits of the BCS. Nobody put a gun to his head and forced him to sell his soul.

He says there are too many unsolved questions. Questions such as the following:

How many teams would be involved in the playoff?
Would there be automatic qualifiers?
When would the games be played?
Would they be on neutral sites or on home field?
What would you do with the rest of the bowls?

(Before you go any further, I want you to stop reading this and go here:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=dw-ncaafplayoff120709&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Dan Wetzel, sports writer for Yahoo.com has put together one of the best articles I’ve read recently on how simple and extraordinarily lucrative a 16-team playoff would be in college football- while exposing the BCS and it’s cartoonish attempt at defending the current system by hiring an outside PR agency. It’s a must read.)

Of course, these questions have actually been answered by so many different people so many times, I believe we could have a dozen logistically and financially sound plans for a playoff on the table for discussion within 5 minutes of posting the announcement that it's up for debate. The fact remains that the BCS is so hypocritical that it would never entertain an idea of a playoff no matter how sound the plan is, because they can't bear to face the thought of losing out on the huge cash cow they have in place right now. And this is why I hope Congress gets involved- the hypocrisy. The smugness. The double-speak that we all so disdain in our daily lives but hear spewed forth from every BCS homer until it makes our ears bleed. This all goes back to my original point about the regular season. It's over, folks! And guess what, we all know that it was the best part. College Football- the only meal where you DON'T look forward to dessert. Who in the room is excited to see Texas Tech play Michigan State in the 'I Just Threw Up in my Mouth Bowl?' Fascinating. What about Georgia Tech and Iowa in the 'Meaningless Bowl Games for Dummies Bowl?' Can't wait. My personal fav: USC vs. Boston College in the 'Do We Honestly Have to Go Through With This' Bowl. I didn't even know Boston College won 2 games this year, let alone qualified for a bowl. Honestly, if we can't get a playoff let's just end the season after the conference championships and have one game- 1 vs. 2 and be done with it. I'm dead serious. Oh, I know the kids deserve to be rewarded for their stellar 6 and 6 seasons- but I deserve to be rewarded, too. I spent a lot of time watching games, buying merchandise and putting my fat butt in the stadium. What do I get out of it? The Little Effing Caesar's Bowl. What do the players get in their swag bag at that game? 2 for 1 coupons? Free breadsticks? Hey, give me a spear like the Little Caesar's guy and I'd shove it up Bill Hancock's pasty white cheeks. (By the way, I thought student athletes couldn't get freebies while attending school, something about NCAA violations??? I guess when the freebies come directly from sponsors and pass through the blood-soaked hands of the NCAA, it's okay to not only bend the rules, but completely disavow that they even exist at all. Apparently hypocrisy is a table for two when the NCAA and the BCS come to dine.) To say that the BCS is the best plan up to this point is like saying I'd rather kill myself with a shotgun than with a toothpick. Sure, it's more efficient, but they're both still painful as hell and end in a bloody mess. I just simply do not understand how an organization like the BCS can come in and pitch it's tent smack dab in the middle of camp college football, kick dirt in almost everyone's face and get away with it with no repercussions whatsoever. I despise the networks- especially ESPN- for their role in this mess. Mark my words, in 3 years the NC game will be a PPV event that will cost you upwards of 60-70 bucks to watch. Maybe they'll bundle all the BCS games into a nice package and throw you a 10% discount so you can see 'em all for 119.00, plus tax and surcharge. Don't think ESPN isn't drooling over the possibilities. Will the players get any of that money like boxers or UFC fighters do? Don't make me laugh. It will go into the fat pockets of the even fatter-jowled BCS administration, with a bone thrown to the schools and some vomited scraps heaved the way of the non-BCS schools. There is one and only one way the system will ever change- Congress. It's a sad, sad world we live in when the government of a world-leading country has to get involved in something as innocuous as college football, but if it means there is a chance for change and I won't have to listen to Bill Hancock as an added bonus, hey, I'm going to embrace it.

AJD

Falcons, Cougars and CBS Fresno!

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:54:00 +0000

We delivered some very cool helmets this week! We also have some exciting orders that will be delivered in the coming weeks leading up to Christmas! Also, don't forget that we carry a full line of mini- and full-size NFL and NCAA football and baseball helmets. In addition, we are in the process of adding custom and NHL mini- hockey helmets to our product line! Keep up with all the exciting changes here at HelmetNation!

Our first delivery this past week was to the Dacula Falcons youth football team in Dacula, Georgia. The Falcons are repeat customers and their helmets are a navy blue Schutt DNA shell with a navy blue Schutt DNA mask. They have vegas gold, Raven's style, tapered stripes and a very cool stylized vegas gold, white, and navy Falcon logo on the each side. On the back is the player's number in vegas gold and the front bumper says FALCONS in navy blue text on white.

Our next delivery was also to Georgia. This was the helmet for the Alexander High School Cougars in Douglasville, Georgia. Their helmet is a very cool combination of the Georgia Bulldogs scheme and the Arizona Wildcats A logo. Their helmet was a scarlet red Schutt DNA shell with a white Schutt DNA facemask. They have a single white stripe and the front and rear bumpers say COUGARS in black text on a white background. The logo is the Arizona A inside a white oval similar to the Georgia oval. It is a very clean, sharp look! We enjoyed doing these helmets for Coach Bissell and the Cougars!

Our last delivery of the week was for CBS 47 Television in Fresno, California. Their helmets are for a specific sports segment called On Your Sidelines. We used a metallic silver Riddell VSR-4 shell with a black Riddell Z2B facemask. They have a single red stripe and the front and rear bumpers say CBS47.TV in red text on a white background. We put the CBS47 On Your Sidelines logo on each side of the helmet.

Thanks again for your orders! Remember HelmetNation, When Ordinary Won't Do!

The BS that is the BCS

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:08:00 +0000

This is what we have been waiting for all year? They can’t truly be serious? They really want us to buy that Texas is the best matchup for Alabama for the National Championship? It is this kind of B---S--- that causes me (and apparently 70%+ of other college football fans) to HATE the BCS.

Let’s start with the fact that Texas was exposed defensively by Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night. Then, on Saturday night, the Longhorns needed help from the Big 12 brass and officiating crews to escape having their offense TORE UP by the Husker Defense and in particular Ndamukong Suh. The Horns should have never been given that second back. I completely agree with the assessment of Don Borst and you can read his article here: http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/10481260/Texas-shouldn't-have-gotten-a-'second'-chance
Mack Brown has been campaigning since last season for his ‘Horns to be in the NC game and he managed to sell well enough to get it to happen.

What bothers me the most is that BCS supporters, or even just those who accept the system, give Texas the nod based on the ridiculous notion that because they are in the Big 12 they are better than TCU, or Cincinnati, or Boise State. The circular logic at work there makes me want to hurl. If you watched TCU play this year, you know just how fast, skilled, and explosive they are. I personally think that TCU is the best team in the country and I have watched multiple games of all the undefeated teams. That having been said, if I just argue that TCU should be playing Alabama, then I am no better than the fraudulent BCS. No, what should be so simple to do, but hasn’t been done, is give these teams a chance to play each other on the field to determine the champion. Even an 8-team playoff, using the 4 major bowls (Rose, Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta) as the opening round games would answer all our questions. (If you want to hear my simple, easy, equitable playoff format, just let me know) But no, we are stuck with a team in the Championship game that really doesn’t deserve it and 4 other irrelevant games.

Lastly, I want to speak directly to the point of the Fiesta Bowl. Clearly, they are taking one for the BCS team. Matching TCU against Boise State and couching it in terms of “We allowed in 2 Non-AQ teams, see we take care of them, so the system works” is crap so deep and so thick it is corrupt and should be illegal. These teams should have been given a chance to match up against AQ teams to show they belong. Instead, they have been relegated to play each other which answers nothing and purposefully so. Can you imagine the BCS trying to keep their sham going if TCU and Boise State beat Florida/Ga. Tech/Cincinnati or Iowa? They wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. Thus, the Tostitos Non-AQ Fiesta Bowl.

Well, with the exception of the greatest game of the season, The Army – Navy game, the regular season is complete. We will post our Final Top 25 after the BS National Championship Farce on Jan. 7th. However, we are going to hopefully have Bowl Game preview blogs for you over the coming weeks!

Week 15 HelmetNation Top 25

1) Alabama – I was honestly surprised by how good Alabama looked. They were the complete team on the field Saturday. Up next: vs. # 7 Texas in the BCS National Championship game, Thurs. Jan. 7
2) TCU – Season complete. This team should be playing for a National Championship. They are fast, mean, and have skill all over the place. If you don’t think they could whoop Texas, you aren’t paying attention. They got royally screwed by the BCS matching them up with Boise State. It is an absolute slap in the face to all Non-AQ teams. Up next: vs. #4 Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, Mon. Jan. 4
3) Cincinnati – This offense can score with anyone. Marty Gilyard is the heart and soul of this team. I think they could outscore the Longhorns on a neutral field. They also would have been a better choice to play Alabama. Up next: vs. #5 Florida in the Sugar Bowl, Fri. Jan. 1

4) Boise St. – Another team that could outscore Texas. They have more athletes than you realize with great speed. Kellen Moore gets better every week and he is only a sophomore. They should have been given a chance to play a BCS conference team, but were made irrelevant by the BCS by pairing them up with TCU. Up next: vs. #2 TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, Mon. Jan. 4
5) Florida – For a team that returned 20 of 22 starters this year, it was one of the two that was gone that seems to have made the biggest difference. Not having Percy Harvin really hurt the Gators against Alabama. It was not the storybook ending Tebow had hoped for. Up next: vs. #3 Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, Fri. Jan. 1
6) Oregon – The Civil War sure lived up to its hype! What an outstanding game to watch. The Ducks are fast and Masoli and James are dangerous. Now you add Blount back in the mix for a changeup and they just get better. They may have lost a couple of games, but they would take Texas behind the woodshed on a neutral field. Up next: vs. #15 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, Fri. Jan. 1

7) Texas – If you have watched Texas in their last two games, you saw their defense exposed by A&M and their offense shredded by Nebraska. They played in a mediocre (at best) Big 12. Luckily Big 12 Conference big-wigs wanted a team in the National Championship more than extra BCS money and got them their truly undeserved victory over the Huskers. Mack Brown sounds like a used car salesman trying to pump his Horns as the best matchup for Alabama and somebody needs to adjust Colt McCoy’s internal clock. This team isn’t that good and doesn’t deserve a shot at the National Championship. Up next: vs. #1 Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game, Thurs. Jan. 7
8) Virginia Tech – Stumbled a few times this year but Ryan Williams is a beast with a bright future. Up next: vs. Tennessee in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Thurs. Dec. 31
9) Georgia Tech – Held off a spunky Clemson team to win the ACC Championship. It bugs me everyone calls their offense the spread option. It is a triple option offense and I LOVE the Triple option. It is so hard for people to prepare for this offense and no one has shut it down yet since it got to Tech. Up next: vs. #18 Iowa in the Orange Bowl, Tues. Jan. 5

10) LSU – This is a pretty good Tiger team that gets overlooked. Lost close to both Florida and Alabama and on a coaching screw-up against Ole Miss. Up next: vs. #20 Penn State in the Capital One Bowl, Fri. Jan. 1
11) Oregon State – The Beavers game the Ducks all they could handle. The Rodgers brothers were outstanding. They play with speed and will blow up BYU’s average defense. Up next: vs. #16 BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl, Tues. Dec. 22

12) Nebraska – Robbed of the Big 12 Championship against Texas. They shredded the Longhorn offense. Sacked Colt McCoy 9 times. Ndamukong Suh had 12 tackles, 7 tfl’s, and 4.5 sacks. He is the best player at any position in college football and should win the Heisman. Definitely exposed the Longhorns for Alabama. But let’s be realistic. Terrance ‘Mount’ Cody, couldn’t hold Suh’s jockstrap. He’s “Fat Bastard” in a football uniform and he won’t disrupt Texas like Suh did. Huskers should be playing in the Fiesta Bowl. Up next: vs. #23 Arizona in the Holiday Bowl, Wed. Dec. 30

13) Stanford – Gerhart and the Cardinal may struggle without QB Luck if he can’t go for the bowl game. The Sooners D is still tough and will make Toby work for every yard. Up next: vs. Oklahoma in the Sun Bowl, Thurs. Dec. 31
14) Pittsburgh – Played their hearts out against Cincinnati. If they don’t muff the PAT snap, who knows what happens in OT. Dion Lewis is the man and will be fun to watch the next couple of years. Up next: vs. North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, Sat. Dec. 26
15) Ohio State – The Big 10 should really try to make themselves more relevant by playing games the weekend of Thanksgiving and after. Terrelle Pryor is going to get a look at an offense that would have used his skill set a whole lot better. Up next: vs. #6 Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Fri. Jan. 1
16) Brigham Young – Hopefully Max Hall has turned his personal venom elsewhere. They are going to need it to contend with the speed and aggression of Oregon State. Up next: vs. #11 Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl, Tues. Dec. 22
17) Utah – The Utes will need to rebound from the tough loss to BYU to keep their bowl win streak alive against a bipolar California team that just got waxed by Washington. Up next: vs. California in the Poinsettia Bowl, Wed. Dec. 23

18) Iowa – The Hawkeyes are going to need more than luck and they won’t be able to rely on a late game comeback to beat Georgia Tech. They will have the added benefit of being a bit healthier by the time the game comes around. Up next: vs. #9 Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl, Tues. Jan. 5
19) Miami – The Hurricanes weren’t quite as “back” as the talking heads were thinking they were at the beginning of the season. Still, superior speed should help them easily run past the lunkering Badgers. Up next: vs. #24 Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl, Tues. Dec. 29
20) Penn State – Thankfully, the Nittany Lions did not get the BCS bid. Not that Iowa was a great choice, but the Hawkeyes did beat Penn State. Up next: vs. #10 LSU in the Capital One Bowl, Fri. Jan. 1
21) Oklahoma State – Finished the season by getting embarrassed by Oklahoma. Hopefully, they will have some swagger back for the bowl game. Up next: vs. Mississippi in the Cotton Bowl, Sat. Jan. 2
22) West Virginia – Beat Pitt and a good Rutgers team in the last two games. Noel Devine is a great RB and fun to watch. Up next: vs. Florida State in the Gator Bowl, Fri. Jan. 1
23) Arizona – Pulled off the upset by beating USC at their place. Stoops should be proud that he has the Wildcats at only 4 losses in a regular season. It only took him 6 years. Up next: vs. #12 Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl, Wed. Dec. 30
24) Wisconsin – Threw around their size and weight advantage against Hawaii to finish the season. Up next: vs. #19 Miami in the Champs Sports Bowl, Tues. Dec. 29

25) East Carolina – Despite having Case Keenum throw for over 500 yards against them, the Pirates upset Houston to win the Conference USA Championship. Up next: vs. Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl, Sat. Jan. 2

That Good Ole' Boy!

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:00:00 +0000

What a crazy week in college football and sports in general. What happened to Tiger Woods this past week is easily the biggest sports story since Michael Vick introduced America to an alternative lifestyle for dogs. The sad thing is, neither story is about sports. Our culture has long been obsessed with the private lives of our celebrities more so than their actual accomplishments (Fox Sports Radio barely mentioned the dismissal of Bobby Bowden or Charlie Weis all week in favor of beating the Tiger Woods story to death) but seeing as how that's not what this blog is about- nor do I care all that much what happened to begin with- we're going to stick to actual college football news and predictions.

Dadgum!
Being a life-long Husker fan I have experienced the frustration of never getting over on Bobby Bowden's Florida St. Seminoles. He owned us in the early 90's and unfortunately, by the time the Huskers finally developed their own recipe for success midway thru the decade, they never got another shot at the Seminoles for redemption. For the record I've never been a big fan of the Good 'Ole Boy attitude that Bowden displayed time and again in the face of team violations, which inevitably cropped up every year under his watch. Oh sure, Bowden achieved some incredible plateaus during his coaching tenure; 14 straight top-5 finishes, 11 consecutive bowl wins, 34 consecutive years with a winning record (they have to win their bowl game this year to keep that streak alive) but I think he also provided an example of how NOT to go out at the end of your career (as if there weren't already enough of those).

I understand that I'm not in his shoes, I have no idea how hard it would be to step down from what you love doing, etc., etc., but there comes a time when you have realize that you are still in it for you, and not for the greater good of the program. Some say Paterno should follow his lead. The only difference is, Paterno is still winning (albeit in the Big 10) and getting big-time recruits, which is something FSU has failed to do over the past few years. For a moment I was geniunely sad for the coach who longed to go out on his own terms, but who was denied that right by the ones who sign his paycheck, all because he was too stubborn to let go of the reigns when the time was right. Seinfeld had it right- it's best to get out while you're still on top. Just ask Michael Jordan.

Weis on the other hand left a completely different type of legacy. As bad as he is at being a head coach, he's much worse at being a teacher or mentor. If I have to hand it to him for one thing it's that he's sure managed to keep all of this at arm's length. He somehow always managed to separate himself from the losses. In my opinion, the man is deceptive, arrogant and possibly lacking a soul. He threw his players under the boss numerous times over the past 5 years and after his final game as ND head coach, rather than face the media head on, he dismissed himself without a word or an explanation to the media. I guess it was just as well, I mean, what would he have to say, anyway? He didn't know who his bowl opponent would be so he couldn't very well tell us that he was already focused on his next opponent. Get serious. ND is one more bad head coaching choice away from getting a new Athletic Director. After all, how many chances do you get to make a decent pick? I will say this, I don't think any of us have a clue who the next head coach at ND will be. (And to hear Lou Holtz declare it as still the best head coaching job in America just makes me wonder what he is still doing with a job himself...but that's a topic for another day.)

Some of the best matchups of the year are going down this week. Let's take a look:

Oregon St. vs. Oregon

I'll admit, I haven't seen enough of OSU this year to make a decent prediction for this game. But I will say that every year they get better as the season goes on. That's just a trademark of Oregon St. football. They did beat Stanford and Cal, barely lost to USC and were in every game this year. I'm gonna say that the magic runs out for Oregon this week and their offense gets stymied by the defensive scheme of OSU. Both teams will score points, however. Oregon St. 37 Oregon 31

Cincinnati vs. Pitt

Can Cincinnati stop Pitt's Dion Lewis? If so, they'll be just fine, since Pitt won't be able to match Cincy's offensive output. I think Pitt takes the Bearcats deep into the 4th quarter but Cincinnati pulls this out in the end to keep the BCS an incredible mess. Cincinnati 42 Pitt 37

Georgia Tech vs. Clemson
ACC Championship Game

Both of these teams took a huge step backward last week in embarrassing losses. Who will be able to put it behind them and rebound for this game? My question to you is this: when was the last time Clemson won an important game? My thoughts exactly. Tech 31 Clemson 19

Florida vs. Alabama
SEC Championship Game

No Carlos Dunlap for Florida. A hobbled Mark Ingram for Bama. Can Florida put enough pressure on McElroy to get him to make some errant passes and create turnovers? That's what will win the game for Florida. Well, that and leadership at the QB position. Florida pulls away in the 2nd half of this one and wins 27-17.

Texas vs. Nebraska
Big 12 Championship Game

Nebraska has laid an egg in one game this year- against Texas Tech. Other than that they have lost 2 other games by a total of 3 points. Texas has played one other team with a defense the caliber of Nebraska's, and they struggled mightily against Oklahoma. This Texas team is not the same as they were 6 weeks ago...they play loose, they play with drive and they play like they belong in the championship game. The only thing that has run out on these longhorns is lady luck. Too many simply unlucky things have happened to Nebraska when playing this team over the past decade. It doesn't make sense and it can't go on forever. Against my better judgment my heart says that the luck this year will fall in favor of the Huskers and even out the past. With not nearly as much to lose as the Longhorns, Nebraska will play confident, almost mistake-free and will knock Texas around in a physical match-up for the ages. Nebraska 24 Texas 21

Enjoy the games!

The Week's deliveries from HelmetNation!

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:11:00 +0000

We had some fun with the deliveries we had this week! The first order we managed to pull together rather quickly. These helmets were for the Regis Jesuit HS Raiders of Aurora, Colorado. Regis Jesuit just made their first trip into the quarterfinals of the Colorado High School playoffs! Congratulations to the Raiders on a fine season! Their helmet is a very clean look. We used Riddell VSR-4 Scarlet Red shells and the Riddell Z2B white facemasks. The only decal on their helmet is an offset RJ in white. They did not have any front or rear bumper decals or stripes.

The other order we delivered was a fantasy football order. We don't usually get a lot of fantasy football orders since one helmet is a bit more expensive to get done. However, fantasy helmets are often very creative and a lot of fun and that can certainly be said for the Hecklers which are Frank Dimauro's fantasy team in Massachusetts. We actually did two helmet color schemes. The decals were the same on both helmets and we used Schutt DNA helmets for both. One was a white shell with a purple facemask and the other was metallic silver with a black facemask. Both of the helmets had a Jester looking logo on each side. They also had Denver Bronco's style stripes with a black center stripe and 2 purple stripes flanking it. Then, the front bumper said HECKLERS in purple text on a white background.

There is still time to get your order placed and get your helmets before Christmas! Just contact us at HelmetNation and we will help you get what you need! We also continue to carry a large selection of NCAA, NFL, and MLB licensed products if you are looking for that perfect gift for your rabid fan!

HelmetNation - When Ordinary Won't Do!

HelmetNation Week 14 Top 25

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:43:00 +0000

Well, Week 13 certainly was the week of the offensive shootout! There were a number of games that saw plenty of yards and points and very little defense. Week 13 also saw the farewell to the Swamp from Tim Tebow and several upsets in rivalry games such as Georgia beating Georgia Tech, West Virginia beating Pittsburgh, North Carolina State beating North Carolina and Oklahoma wiping the floor with Oklahoma State.

However, what I will remember most from the weekend is the behavior of two individuals. First, let’s talk about Max Hall, the QB at BYU. He was largely shut down by the Utah defense for the majority of the game. BYU was ahead by 2 touchdowns going into the 4th quarter and the Utes climb back to tie it and take the game into OT. Utah has the ball first and kicks a go ahead FG. Then, on BYU’s possession, Hall hits TE Andrew George right between 2 Utah defenders and he scores on the 25-yard pass play. Congrats to Max Hall and BYU for pulling out a hard fought, 26-23 OT win. However, after the game Max Hall goes on to run his mouth spewing hatred and vitriol towards his opponents, their fans and their university. What bothered me most about this is that he is the most visible player on a private University that makes a huge deal about leading highly moral lives. He certainly did not make a positive impression for his University or religion during his short, immature, hate-filled postgame comments. (It should be noted that Max Hall issued what might be called an apology late Sunday evening)

The other individual I want to mention is UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel. Now, I am not going to lie, I can’t stand Slick Rick. I feel he single-handedly destroyed the once-proud football program at Washington. I think he is all about the show and has no substance as a human being. So, while watching the end of the USC-UCLA game, it came as no surprise that he calls a timeout with :56 remaining in the game, down 21-7, after Pete Carroll has Matt Barkley take a knee to run out the clock. After that little bit of petty showmanship by Neuheisel, Carroll let’s his young gunslinger loose and he throws a 48 yd. TD pass to a wide-open Williams. I think it is the perfect comeuppance for Rick and UCLA and loved to see them get burned by his petty nature.

Well, this coming week should be a great one and here is our Week 14 Top 25. Hopefully, we will see some more upsets this weekend so that the BCS tree gets shaken up.

1) Florida – Gave Tebow the fairly tale ending to his home career by tearing up the rival Seminoles. Up next: vs. Alabama in SEC Championship game

2) Alabama – Fought off Tigers who played hard. Worst part of game was hip-pointer that Mark Ingram got during the game that makes him questionable for the SEC Champ game. Up next: vs. Florida in SEC Championship game
3) TCU – Completed undefeated season by routing New Mexico Up next: Reg. Season complete.
4) Texas – Won an offensive shootout with Texas A&M with Colt McCoy’s best game of the year. Up next: vs. #12 Nebraska in Big 12 Championship game

5) Boise St. – Held Nevada team at bay just enough to get the victory in another offensive game. Up next: vs. New Mexico State
6) Cincinnati – Also won a shootout with Illinois to remain undefeated. Next opponent got upset this weekend so they should be pissed coming into this game. Up next: @ #13 Pittsburgh
7) Oregon – DNP. Boy this is going to be a fun Civil War! Up next: vs. #8 Oregon State Thurs. Dec. 3

8) Oregon State – DNP. Boy this is going to be a fun Civil War! Up next: @ #7 Oregon Thurs. Dec. 3
9) Virginia Tech – Blew out Virginia to finish off the season. Up next: Reg. Season complete
10) Georgia Tech – The YellowJackets were upset by Georgia who brought their own running game. Luckily their opponent has no momentum either after their own upset going into the ACC Championship Game. Up next: vs. Clemson in ACC Championship game

11) LSU – Managed the clock better and the field goal team was ready this week. Hung on to beat Arkansas in OT. Up next: Reg. Season complete

12) Nebraska – Another ugly win. Offense does just enough and the defense came up big when it had to. Had both a special teams score and a defensive score to hold off Buffaloes. Up next: vs. #3 Texas in Big 12 Championship Game
13) Pittsburgh – Were upset by West Virginia in The Backyard Brawl. Hopefully, they will be pissed facing Cincinnati this weekend for Big East Championship. Up next: vs. #6 Cincinnati

14) Stanford – ND had no answer for Toby Gerhart who trucked multiple Irish defenders. The Cardinal won another offensive shootout from the weekend. Up next: Reg. Season complete
15) Ohio State – DNP. Up next: Reg. Season complete
16) Brigham Young – Played sloppy but intense game but came out on top in OT Holy War. I am really not sure this team is that good. In addition, QB Max Hall is a baby who has now deflected attention away from a solid team win to himself with is lame postgame comments. Up next: Reg. Season complete
17) Utah – Lost a tough one on a lucky throw in OT. Will be interesting to see their bowl opponent and if they can keep their bowl win streak alive. Up next: Reg. Season complete
18) USC – I loved that Pete Carroll punked Rick Neuweasel after the asinine time out call with a minute left in the game. It was the perfect comeuppance for Slick Rick because Carroll had Barkley taken a knee on the first play. Just goes to show if you want to play stupid games, you will get burned. Up next: vs. Arizona
19) Penn State – DNP. Up next: Reg. Season complete
20) Miami – Routed the bipolar South Florida Bulls. Up next: Reg. Season complete
21) Iowa – DNP. Up next: Reg. Season complete
22) Oklahoma State – Looked mighty pitiful getting routed, no, getting shut out by Oklahoma with a BCS birth on the line. Up next: Reg. Season complete

23) Houston – WOW! I knew Rice was bad but Houston put up 59 in the first HALF on their way to 73 for the game. Damn. Up next: @ East Carolina in Conference USA Championship Game
24) West Virginia – Upset Pitt in the Backyard Brawl. Last game won’t be any easier. Up next: @ Rutgers
25) California – DNP. Up next: @ Washington

Ebb and Flow

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:01:00 +0000

Five teams dominated the 70's- Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama and USC. The 80's gave way to the likes of Penn St., Miami and Notre Dame. The 90's saw Miami back out and make way for Florida St. and Nebraska. The new millenium has seen total dominance by USC and Florida. Sprinkled in you'll get a dose of Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio St., or Alabama. But one thing is certain, what goes around comes around. Did Alabama ever really disappear from off the scene? Maybe they weren't relevant for a few short years under that Shula kid, but that was a short window. USC went hiding for a couple decades until they found a coach who knew how to take advantage of the perfect geographical location of the school and turned it back into a dynasty. Why hasn't UCLA been able to do that? Why isn't Auburn synonymous with college football championships instead of Alabama? Why is it that Nebraska and Oklahoma- with nary a beach or a belly shirt within 1,500 miles of their campus- are able to have continued success (with spurts of ineptitude sprinkled in from time to time, mind you) over programs like, say, Kansas, Colorado or Iowa?

Don't say it's tradition...programs have to CREATE their own tradition at some point, and it starts with two things: a man and a vision. That man may be a coach, an AD or a president. It doesn't matter who it is, as long as he is able to project that vision and sell it to others who are willing to buy. And then the hard work begins. With vision comes discipline and unwavering standards that don't bend and they certainly don't break. Offensive styles may come and go, quality athletes may walk in and out of the university's doors, but those standards are what BUILD a tradition from scratch and keep it going through the lean times as well as the times of plenty. The schools that flounder after a year or two into anonymity are the ones who have generally failed to put people in place who will uphold the standards at whatever cost necessary. Or worse, no clear standards are ever put in place to begin with. We are witnessing programs who are starting out on their path to a winning tradition by consistently achieving excellence over the past few years- Utah, TCU, Boise St, Oregon, BYU, among others. And in some cases, programs are putting a chokehold on their place in history by abiding by the same unwavering standards. Florida is the first program that comes to mind there. Other programs continue to waste their opportunity to build winning traditions by coming in through the out door. You can't have double-standards and be a consistent winner- eventually you become a house of cards. Once proud programs like Notre Dame, Florida St., Auburn, Arkansas, Michigan, Tennessee and others have traded their football birthright for a bowl of porridge when they bring people into the program who aren't willing (or in some cases able) to uphold the standards that were originally put in place. In some cases, those standards have been completely trampled under foot by the new regime. As a Nebraska native and football fan I witnessed it first-hand when a man who refused to acknowledge the standards that were put in place decades before him by honorable men hired another man who, quite frankly, had no interest in even LEARNING what the standards were, let alone abiding by them or having his players or staff abide by them. Luckily those days seem long gone...but their effects bleed over for years, sometimes even decades, and are never entirely erased from the history books. I find it fascinating to watch the ebb and flow of college football programs and seeing which ones get it right year after year while others just can't seem to get out of their own way. Onto the games!

Texas vs. Texas A&M
A month ago I would have looked at this game and said it would be close. However, McCoy is simply a different player than he was a few weeks ago. This team doesn't seem to playing tight anymore and that spells trouble, real trouble- as in we're gonna be down by 4 touchdowns by halftime trouble- for A&M, (who, by the way have been one of the most consistently inconsistent programs this year in college football history!) Texas won't be looking forward to Nebraska- until halftime at least. Texas 49 Texas A&M 13

Alabama vs. Auburn
Not much intrigue on this one- at least not on the outside. Auburn is going bowling regardless of the outcome, but Bama would probably be out of the BCS picture with a loss, although that's not a given, either. This may be Ingram's best game yet (he's already averaging an amazing 6.8 yds per carry) as he gashes the Tigers' defense for upwards of 200 yards. Alabama 31 Auburn 21

Georgia vs. Georgia Tech
Regardless of the outcome, Richt isn't going anywhere at Georgia. Not for now. But this game could give his program a much-needed lift after sorely underachieving this year. Tech is on their way to a showdown with Clemson and I don't think Georgia will have an answer for the triple option. This game will be physical and unrelenting but the wasps pull it out. Georgia Tech 44 Georgia 41

Missouri vs. Kansas
Kansas will win this game. No question in my mind as there is just too much pride on the line with all the turmoil going on behind the scenes at Kansas. Missouri is nothing special and Kansas should put up enough points to match the crazy string of performances that Danario Alexander has been putting together lately. Can Kansas really lose 6 games in a row? I don't think they will. Kansas 51 Missouri 45

Florida vs. Florida St.
I like this game...yes it will be Tebow's last home game (tissue, please), yes Meyer OWNS Bowden right down to his 'Depends', and yes the Seminoles have been gloriously unspectacular this year...BUT...does anyone really know which St. team will show up? I know I don't, and I guess I can't count them out completely for that reason. But no way in Hades does Tebow lose his last home game. Nuff said. Florida 37 Florida St. 17

BYU vs. Utah
I love how much these two teams hate each other. It's the best rivalry in college football that nobody knows about (unless you live in Utah or you're a Mormon, that is.) Utah is pretty much who we thought they were, and their freshman QB is playing well and showing signs of a very bright future. BYU, on the other hand, had BCS- heck, even national title hopes after beating Oklahoma- but has been grounded since then with humiliating losses by Florida St. and TCU. Max Hall has had a very good if not great career at BYU, but I would say he's underperformed as a senior and the defense has definite weaknesses. If Utah can rattle Hall he will throw picks. Probably 3 or more. I'm going with my gut on this and picking Utah 35 BYU 27.

Nebraska vs. Colorado
If I was Ryan Miller I wouldn't worry so much about playing to keep his coaches job. I'd actually be much more concerned about not getting physically impaled by one of the most dominant defensive tackles in the history of college football. Miller will be trying to guard Suh in this match-up and even though the Buffaloes are hapless, hopeless and helpless (they were taken off of life-support about 3 weeks ago), this rivalry game is almost ALWAYS a close one and will be decided in the trenches. The Buffaloes will be lucky, however to score 10 points on this defense- and those will probably come off trick plays or a kickoff runback. They're defense is better, however, and will keep them in this game probably until the 4th quarter. Nebraska's offense (aka this year's cardiac kids- I can't take credit for that one) love to keep us fans guessing until about the middle of the 4th quarter, when they decide to steamroll opponents and win the game. Why don't they just steamroll opponents from the beginning of the game, you ask? The reason is, well, it's complicated! I have no idea, but this year, a win is a win and the Huskers will take it and look forward to Texas in the Big 12 Championship game. Nebraska 28 Colorado 10 (I already told you they wouldn't score more than 10 points, weren't you reading?)

Other notable match-ups:
Ohio 31 Temple 30
Pitt 41 West Virginia 34
Oklahoma 35 Oklahoma St. 30
Stanford 57 Notre Dame 35

Upset of the week:
UTEP 51 Marshall 47 And you can take that to the bank!

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Andrew

What's up @ HelmetNation?

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:19:00 +0000

This past week we delivered two more orders! We continue to keep busy heading into the holiday season. In addition, we are starting to get to the end of youth and high school football seasons. We hope to hear from you if you really want to make your end of the season banquet memorable!

Our first helmet we delivered was for the Cactus High School Cobras in Peoria, Arizona. We have done helmets for Cactus HS for 3 years running and love our association with them. Cactus is currently tearing it up again in the Arizona State High School playoffs! They are currently 11-1 and have won their first 2 playoff games by a combined score of 139-28. Their helmets are Columbia Blue Schutt DNA shells with a black Schutt DNA facemask. They have CACTUS stylized as their logo on their helmets and they have a 1/2" white stripe flanked by 1/4" black stripes. It is a sharp looking helmet.

Our next helmet was delivered to Rice Lake Weighing Systems of Rice Lake, Wisconsin. According to their website they work, To be the best by every measure™, Rice Lake Weighing Systems designs, manufactures, distributes, services and supports the most dependable weight-related equipment the world over―from heavy capacity truck and track scales to the most precise laboratory balances; from the fastest, most intelligent indicator/controllers to load cells and test weights; from custom designed processing systems to replacement parts shipped same or next day. You can find them on the web at www.ricelake.com Their helmets are a scarlet red Schutt Pro-Air II shell with a black facemask. They have their main logo on each side of the helmet in white. On the front bumper we put RICE LAKE in black text on a white background and on the rear bumper we put their website address, www.ricelake.com, in black text on a white background.

We will have some orders delivered by our next update next week. Just remember that When Ordinary Won't Do, to think of HelmetNation to give your players or employees a trophy they won't forget about! Just give us a call at (800) 576-9706 or email us at customerservice@helmetnation.com.

We at HelmetNation hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving Holiday!

HelmetNation Week 13 Top 25

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:34:00 +0000

We are starting to wind down the season and see where some people will be playing in the postseason. Personally, I would love to see Texas lose to A&M, or even better, to Nebraska,

because I really want to see TCU get a legitimate shot at the National Championship. I think they deserve it and I think they could win it. Without that Texas loss we are going to see the same scenario as last year. The Florida/Alabama winner vs. Texas for the National Championship with TCU playing possibly the loser of that SEC game and winning handily and finishing no better than #2. When are we as fans going to stop accepting the hypocritical BCS crap? We can do a playoff and it should be done! That being said, here is the

HelmetNation Week 13 Top 25

1) Florida – The Gators took Florida International’s best shot and came out on top in a close 62-3 contest. Up next: vs. Florida State

2) Alabama – The Crimson Tide took Chattanooga’s best shot and came out on top in a close 45-0 contest. Up next: @ Auburn Fri. Nov. 27

3) TCU – Slept through the first half and then toyed with the Cowboys as they ran away with an easy victory. Up next: vs. New Mexico
4) Texas – Cruised to an easy victory over the reeling Jayhawks . Big game on a short week playing Thanksgiving night. Up next: @ Texas A&M Thurs. Nov. 26

5) Boise St. – Utah State hung close for a quarter and a half. Then the Broncos lit them up. Last test of any kind is this week. Up next: vs. Nevada Fri. Nov. 27
6) Georgia Tech – DNP. Very quietly this is a stellar 10-1 team. Up next: vs. Georgia

7) Cincinnati – DNP. Up next: vs. Illinois Fri. Nov. 27
8) Pittsburgh – DNP. Up next: @ West Virginia Fri. Nov. 27
9) Oregon – All I can say is the Arizona student section must feel really stupid! I don’t even like the Ducks, but when I saw the Zonazoo coming down onto the sidelines with Oregon close enough to come back, I wanted to see Oregon win. What a comeback. Now the Civil War is for all the Rose Bowl marbles! Up next: vs. #13 Oregon State Thurs. Dec. 3
10) Oklahoma State – Clearly missed QB Zac Robinson as Colorado hung tough. Finally held off the spunky Buffaloes. Should be an interesting Red River Rivalry game. Up next: @ Oklahoma

11) Utah – Routed San Diego State to set up a very competitive and interesting Holy War. Utes stay balanced and it looks like Wynn has tightened his grip on the starting QB job. Up next: @ #19 BYU

12) Virginia Tech – Routed overmatched North Carolina State team. Up next: @ Virginia
13) Oregon State – Spanked a terrible Washington State team. The Civil War is for the Rose Bowl. Should be a great game to watch. Up next: @ #9 Oregon Thurs. Dec. 3
14) LSU – What was Les Miles thinking? I am usually a Les Miles fan but the last 30 seconds of this game were inexplicable. Can’t blame the players for truly poor coaching in this situation. First, take your time out earlier. Second, have your field goal team ready to rush onto the field to possibly take that shot. WOW! Up next: vs. Arkansas
15) Ohio State – Discussing their throwback uniforms would be more interesting than discussing the lame win vs. Michigan. Four interceptions and you still only win by 11? The Big 10 is PATHETIC!!! Up next: Regular season finished. Will play in the Rose Bowl vs. either Oregon or Oregon State.
16) Stanford – Well, the bipolar Golden Bears were up for this game. I was a bit surprised at the result. Should still put the final nail in the Charlie Weis coffin. Up next: vs. Notre Dame

17) Nebraska – K-State brought everything they had. It was a tough, hard-hitting, scrappy game with the Huskers coming out on top and clinching the Big 12 North Division. Up next: @ Colorado Fri. Nov. 27

18) Clemson – Secured a spot in the ACC title game opposite of Georgia Tech by beating up the Cavaliers. How will they handle success? Historically, not well. Up next: @ South Carolina

19) Brigham Young – Oddly looked much better against Air Force than they did the previous week against new Mexico. Now it is all about the Holy War. Up next: vs. #11 Utah
20) North Carolina – Ran Boston College out of their own stadium using defensive scores. Up next: @ North Carolina State

21) USC – DNP. I am not a Trojan fan but I hope they smoke the Bruins and Rick Neuweasel. Up next: vs. UCLA

22) Penn State – Routed Sparty in a game that was close until the 3rd Quarter. Up next: Season finished. Will play in a Bowl game.
23) Miami – Duke hung tough until the 4th Quarter which completely belonged to the Canes. They now face another of those consistently inconsistent teams. Up next: @ South Florida.
24) Houston – Ripped through a terrible Memphis team. Now finished out with another terrible 2-win team. Up next: vs. Rice Owls.
25) Mississippi – The Rebels can thank Les Miles for getting them back into the Top 25 with his boneheaded coaching at the end of that game. Dexter McCluster and the Rebs will be up for the Egg Bowl. Up next: @ Mississippi State

HelmetNation Week 12 Preview

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:53:00 +0000

Humpty-Dumpty Had a Great Fall
This just in- Coach Mangino gets large serving of humble pie along with his Thanksgiving turkey. And from the sound of what is being reported by previous players, its long overdue. When you have 1 or 2 accusations of impropriety, you look at the accusers. When you have a multitude of accusations all coming over a period of time from a myriad of sources, you look right at the accusee. And when that accusee is Coach Mangino, he ain't hard to find. Now, certainly the use of foul language is nothing foreign to a football practice atmosphere, but his apparent endearment with the philosophy of 'breaking players down to build them up' seems more in line with boot camp than spring camp, if you ask me. Yes, athletes need to have a thick skin when it comes to getting feedback from their coaches, especially if they screw up in key situations. Like it or not, that's just part of the gig. And if you had just one or two players coming out with these accusations, I'd have to take a closer look at those players and their background before laying any blame at the coach's feet. However, it has become apparent at this point that Mangino clearly has a history of verbally and mentally abusing his players by publicly humiliating and berating them- and we are only now hearing about this due to the fact that he doesn't have a winning record to keep everyone happy.

Folks, the administration is as much to blame as the coach. You mean to tell me that the AD never knew that this type of behavior was going on? That is hogwash if I've ever heard it. Only one player so far has admitted to being asked to keep quiet regarding an alleged situation of physical abuse, but how many others have yet to come forward? How many never will? Coach Bill Snyder could probably help us answer that question. Apparently, as long as the seats were filled and the W's kept coming, all was well in Lawrence, Kansas. Shame on the administration for taking 5 years to investigate this behavior, and shame on all of the coaches involved in letting this slide. Coach Mangino, if the accusations are true, your pathetic and lame defense that 'this is how I've always coached' should go down in the hall of fame as one of the worst pissant excuses of all time. It is painfully obvious that the only thing bigger than Mangino's exceptional girth is his ego. Remind you of another coach with a not-so-subtle anger management issue? Hey Coach Mangino, look on the bright side, once you're fired- and you will be fired this season- I'm sure we'll see you on the 4 letter network with a nice cozy (albeit very large) chair right next to Coach Knight. I mean, after all, that does seem to be a good fit for bullies, egotistical maniacs and womanizers alike. Although I highly doubt there is a room ANYWHERE (even at ESPN) that's quite big enough for both of those egos.

Cooking the Books
Hey, I'm just glad Coach Rodriguez isn't my accountant. I mean, I could just picture him telling the IRS "I promise, I started keeping those receipts once I became aware that I was supposed to."

Some coaches just have their houses in order and some don't. Does it really make any difference whether it's a mandatory NCAA regulation or not to keep records of what your football team is doing? Isn't it always in a program's best interest to be transparent and thorough when it comes to record keeping? I swear, there is ALWAYS something following this guy. I call weasel all the way. I would never want my kid playing for a guy like that.

Onto the actual games. This could be a quiet weekend...but it could also answer a lot of questions.

Stanford vs. Cal

Stanford...be afraid. The best defense that Cal has against these guys is the media. If Stanford can listen to enough people tell them how they are the best thing since green jello, Cal may have a shot. Emphasis on may. Cal is to soft, fluffy bunny rabbits as Stanford is to a Sherman Tank. Finesse (and cute furry cuddly-ness for that matter) may beat some opponents on some days, but I don't think this Cal team has the mentality to take on Stanford in a 60-minute grudge match. It all depends on the mentality of the Stanford offensive line. If Stanford is forced to pass all day due to lack of a running game, they lose. I just don't see it happening. Stanford 45 Cal 31

Texas vs. Kansas

Have you heard that song 'Ain't No Stoppin Us Now...'? I'm not sure who originally sang it, but Texas will be playing it all over the Kansas Uglybirds until the final whistle blows. Texas 59 Kansas 14

Oregon vs. Arizona

Does anyone want to win the Pac-10 this year?h It's up for grabs for the first time this late in the season since 2001. Four teams could possibly reach the Rose Bowl, but in the end I think Oregon St. upsets Oregon next week to go to the Rose bowl. however, this week they take care of business. Oregon 38 Arizona 20

Michigan vs. Ohio State

This is Michigan's season. A victory here would really be an epic upset, but Michigan's defense has been shredded as of late. Where did the early-season confidence and swagger go? Look for the Michigan DC position to be open after this weekend. Ohio State 27 Michigan 21

Nebraska vs. Kansas State

What Bo Pelini has done with the Blackshirt defense in 2 years is nothing short of remarkable. What Bill Snyder has done with this Wildcat team in less than a year is nothing short of miraculous. Statistically, K-St. is average across the board, but they will throw everything and the kitchen sink at the huskers. However, there is just too much speed, too much pride, too much desire on the part of Nebraska for this K-State team to have a realistic shot at an upset. Nebraska 44 Kansas St. 16

HelmetNation rides again!

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

We had two orders that we delivered this past week. The first order was for a company called ISS. ISS is a facilities services company and you can see all they have to offer at www.us.issworld.com We were contacted by John Madla to produce these helmets for his department. He requested a white Riddell VSR-4 shell with a white Riddell Z2B facemask. The ISS logo was done in navy blue on each side of the helmet. We also put ISS on the front bumper in navy text on a white background and the members of his department's names on the back bumper in navy text on a white background.

The next order we delivered was for the Mountain Crest Mustangs youth football of Logan, Utah. We did their helmets on a white Schutt DNA shell with white Schutt DNA facemask. The running mustang logo was done in orange with a navy blue outline. They also had a 1/2" navy blue stripe on each helmet. We put MUSTANGS in navy text on a white background on the front bumper and MOUNTAIN CREST in navy text on a white background on the rear bumper. I really like the clean look of this helmet and the running mustang is a classic logo. I like how it looks in orange.

We will have several more deliveries in the next week that we will post next Wednesday. If you want to give your players or employees a gift they won't forget or put into storage, give them a great custom authentic mini-helmet from HelmetNation! Give us a call at (800) 576-9706 or email us at customerservice@helmetnation.com.

HelmetNation Week 12 Top 25

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:40:00 +0000

Week 11 revealed much to us here at HelmetNation. We clearly believe that TCU is a Top 3 team with Florida and Alabama. Their speed was shockingly fast and we have seen both TCU and Texas play this year. Vegas may not agree with us, but we give the edge to TCU.

Frankly, we are hoping that an upset happens somewhere that allows TCU to play for the National Championship. They deserve it. And if they get that chance, they clearly need to thank the Utah Utes for paving the way for that opportunity.

Notre Dame and Iowa continued their fall back to mediocrity. Notre Dame should really join the Big 10. That whole league is about being mediocre. I would take the Mountain West head to head with the Big 10 anyday.

Georgia Tech and the triple option continue to roll. Stanford is looking more and more dangerous with Gerhard running roughshod and Luck playing well. USC is in real trouble and the luster is finally dulling just a tad on Pete Carroll. (Although I am sure Colin Cowherd can’t tell since his head is still stuck up Pete’s ass) Miami is average. Nebraska’s offense finally showed up and Rutgers and North Carolina are looking good right now.

HelmetNation Week 12 Top 25

1) Florida – Took down Spurrier and the pesky Gamecocks as they continued their march to the SEC Championship game. They could play their 3rd string and win with a blow out this weekend. Up next: vs. Florida International
2) Alabama – Hammered Mississippi State as they continued their march to the SEC Championship game. They could play their 3rd string and win with a blow out this weekend. Up next: vs. Chattanooga
3) TCU – After watching the Horned Frogs tear up the Utes, this team might be the best in the country. Their speed is insane and they love to hit. This team is badass! Up next: vs. @ Wyoming

4) Texas – Dismantled Baylor. However, after having watched this team play a couple of times and having seen TCU, I think the Horned Frogs are clearly a better team. I couldn’t go along with all the other talking heads and just pretend that because Texas is in the Big 12 that they are better. Up next: vs. Kansas
5) Boise St. – I think TCU ups its lead over the Broncos. I think head to head TCU is clearly several levels above the Broncos. Boise did crush Idaho this past weekend, however. Up next: @ Utah State
6) Georgia Tech – Stomped all over the Blue Devils. Year 2 running the Triple Option (not Spread option as the announcers kept calling it) and no one seems to be stopping it yet. I doubt they will. Up next: vs. Georgia Nov. 28th
7) Cincinnati – Okay, I am not even a Bearcat fan, but that was a touchdown. He had control as the ball crossed the plane. Once the ball crosses the plane and it is a touchdown the play is dead. How hard is this? That being said, I think the Bearcats have some weaknesses and they could be exploited by Pittsburgh down the road. Up next: vs. Illinois
8) Pittsburgh – Continued the Irish slide. The game wasn’t as close as the score as the Panthers dominated the trenches. Up next: @ West Virginia

9) Oregon – Tore up the Sun Devils in a nice rebound from losing to Stanford. Up next: @ Arizona
10) LSU – Struggled with Tech in a game they clearly were overlooking. But they did put them away. Up next: @ Mississippi
11) Oklahoma State – Safely put away an up and down Texas Tech team. Defense stepped up to keep the Red Raiders at bay. Up next: vs. Colorado
12) Stanford – This team is really coming together and Gerhard is an absolute BEAST! Trashed the Trojans for a 2nd straight time in the Coliseum. Up next: vs. California
13) Utah – I don’t think this loss was so much an indicator of Utah not being as good as thought, but just how good TCU really is. Wynn played well as a true freshman and the Utes will bounce back. Up next: vs. San Diego State
14) Virginia Tech – Jumped out early and often on the Terrapins and beat them up. Up next: vs. North Carolina State
15) Ohio State – Needed OT to beat Iowa and their redshirt freshman backup QB. If anything, this game symbolized the pathetic parity of the Big 10. Up next: @ Michigan
16) Oregon State – This team has been quietly good. They just annihilated a tiring Washington team. Up next: @ Washington State

17) Wisconsin – Just rolled Michigan. Whoop – di – do. The Big 10 is so sad right now. Up next: @ Northwestern
18) Rutgers – Absolutely crushed the roller-coaster South Florida Bulls. This team is fast and athletic and hasn’t even reached their potential. They just keep Choppin Wood! Up next: @ Syracuse

19) Nebraska – Offense picked up the defense this past week and put away Kansas in the 4th quarter. If they can put both of them together they could be truly dangerous. The game this Saturday is for all the Big 12 North marbles. Up next: vs. Kansas State

20) Clemson – Spiller and the Tigers ran past the Wolfpack. Are they peeking late? You never can tell with the consistently inconsistent Tigers. Up next: vs. Virginia
21) Brigham Young – How does this team even let New Mexico hang with them? This Cougar team is also as inconsistent as I have seen in a while. Taking on the option won’t be easy for them. Up next: vs. Air Force
22) North Carolina – Put a beat down on the Hurricanes of Miami. The Tar Heels can play a little football too! Up next: @ Boston College
23) USC – I am not even sure this Trojan team should still be ranked in the Top 25 at all. I am probably being way to kind leaving them here. Pete Carroll finally has some work to do. Up next: vs. UCLA
24) Penn State – Again, beating up on Big 10 weaklings does nothing to impress us. Up next: @ Michigan State
25) Miami – So much for all the early season National Championship hype. This team seems fairly pedestrian to us. Up next: vs. Duke

Let's See How Far We've Come

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:49:00 +0000

Want a good laugh? Here is the preseason AP poll released back on Aug 22, 2009.

1- Florida
2- Texas
3- Oklahoma (oops)
4- USC (oops)
5- Alabama
6- Ohio St
7- Virginia Tech

8- Mississippi (Honestly?)
9- Oklahoma St (Doh!)
10- Penn St (I know, Paterno has earned his right to suck)
11- LSU
12- California (worst. pick. ever.)
13- Georgia (Yikes)
14- Boise St.
15- Georgia Tech
16- Oregon
17- TCU (can you say under-rated?)
18- Florida St (can you say 'someone retired too late?')
19- Utah
20- BYU

21- North Carolina (someone thought this was the preseason basketball poll apparently)
22- Iowa
23- Notre Dame (those pesky Navy Midshipmen gotcha twice in a row, huh Weis? Ouch, that's gotta hurt.)
24- Nebraska
25- Kansas

Now here we are in week 11:

1- Florida (I think they've been #1 for 8,421 weeks straight now. At least it feels like it.)
2- Texas (still unproven if you ax me)
3- Alabama
4- TCU (deserves a shot at the big boys)

5- Cincinnati (good but not great)
6- Boise St (no idea how good this team is but if they end up playing TCU in a BCS bowl game I'm gonna vomit)
7- Georgia Tech
8- Pitt (WTF?)
9- LSU (I still don't know a single team that would want to play these guys)
10- Ohio St.
11- USC (I'm sorry, didn't USC beat Ohio St?)
12- Miami
13- Houston
14- Oregon
15- Iowa
16- Utah
17- Oklahoma St

18- Arizona (Let's get serious, voters)
19- Penn St (I just don't get the ongoing Paterno love-fest)
20- Virginia Tech (every year this team gives a few games away)
21- Wisconsin (Again...how does this happen? Did they threaten to curdle all the cheese if they weren't voted in?)
22- BYU
23- South Florida
24- Clemson (used to not be able to finish, now they start weak and finish strong)
25- Stanford (was Saturday an anomaly?)

Let's play the 'Who have you beat for me lately?" game...

Florida- Since Meyer got there? Just about everyone...
Texas- Barely beat the worst Oklahoma team in a decade and a sporadic at best OK St. team. Not impressed so far, and they won't get tested the rest of the way unless they face Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game.
Bama- Beat Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, South Carolina and LSU, to name a few
TCU- that win at Clemson earlier this year is looking better and better. Oh, and they held BYU to it's lowest point total of the year.
Cincinnati- Beat Oregon St. and South Florida. Hmmmm...not truly convinced. Yet.
Boise St.- Beat Oregon and, uh, er, well, How 'bout them Cubbies???

Georgia Tech- Beat NC and Virginia Tech.
Pitt- Beat South Florida and some small innocent, defenseless animals. Still has to play the Nati.
LSU- Georgia, Auburn
Ohio St.- Wisconsin, Penn St. and well, Navy, which is more than Charlie Weis can say.
USC- Ohio St, Cal (they don't count) and Notre Dame. They don't count, either, actually.
Miami- Florida St, Choklahoma and Georgia Tech
Houston- Oklahoma St, Texas Tech
Oregon- Utah, Cal, USC
Iowa- Beat Penn St., Wisconsin and your mom
Utah- Buehler? Buehler?
Oklahoma St- Georgia
Arizona- please stop wasting our time
Penn St.- Temple. Oh, wait. Buildings don't count.
Virginia Tech- Nebraska, Miami

Wisconsin- WTH is this team doing in the Top 25???
BYU- Oklahoma. Wow...this team had pretty high expectations, too.
South Florida- Florida St, West Virginia. Oh, and Wofford.
Clemson- Miami, Florida St
Stanford- Oregon

Well, there you have it. A lot of teams with not very good resume's. But there are a few great weeks left in the season and this week's match-ups is no exception. And I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but when did ESPN start scheduling college football every day of the week? Not that I'm complaining, mind you. But let's put some watchable games on if that's gonna be the case.

We may have to wait til Friday for the first good one. West Virginia will look to upset Cincinnati and it could be a tough test for the Bearcats. Can they keep the unbeaten streak alive? I think Cincy's defense will keep WV under 30 points, which is more than enough to win this one.

Indiana will beat Penn St- mark my words.

Iowa at Ohio St.
Right now the Hawkeyes are just beaten down. Ohio St will roll on and the Hawkeyes will roll right on outta the Top 25. For good.

Florida at South Carolina
If I'm a gator I'm a little worried about this one. Not sure why, but my gut says this could be an upset in the making. Look for an extremely low-scoring affair, but Spurrier plays his old team tough, and this time he's caught the Gators while they're struggling on offense. Florida 17 South Carolina 15

Idaho at Boise St.
A few weeks ago I saw this as a potential upset, but I really think the Broncos will be on fire against this somewhat-worthy opponent. BSU 54 Idaho 31

Stanford at USC
Who knows what will happen in this game. Stanford may be emotionally and physically drained after beating Oregon, but USC's offense looks terrible right now. They caught USC at a good time and Stanford will again unleash the sledgehammer that is Toby Gerhardt against a defense without much confidence. Taylor Mays vs. Gerhardt- can't wait to see that tackle. Stanford 31 USC 21

Utah at TCU
If Utah still had Brian Johnson this would be an epic game. But TCU is at home against a freshman QB who is going to taste the turf more than once on Saturday night. Too much speed on both sides of the ball for Utah, but it should'nt be a blowout. TCU 35 Utah 28

Texas Tech at OK St.
Not knowing who will start at QB for TTech makes this a hard one to call. Heck, it could be Leach's fat little girlfriend for all we know. I'm gonna have to say the Cowboy's pull out a squeaker: OSU 42 TTech 38

Notre Dame at Pitt
Crappy timing for Weis, great timing for Wannstedt. That being said, neither team has beaten a single worthy opponent and I don't see Pitt living with prosperity. ND's D line will actually show up for this one and Clausen will hang his golden helmet on one highly-overrated win for his whole career. ND 31 Pitt 24

Nebraska at Kansas
Kansas has melted down worse than a slab of butter on a desert highway. Both offenses are in disarray but I think Nebraska will use the 2 QB system the rest of the way, taking the pressure off both QB's and allowing them to just go play. And with NU's Blackshirt defense, Reesing's limbs may look like C3PO after he got stuffed into Chewie's backpack by the end of the game. Nebraska 27 Kansas 14

Thank you for your time. We hope you enjoyed your stay! Please come see us again soon.

Andrew

PS - Think about this, if Iowa beats Ohio St. and Arizona wins out we could see those two teams in the Rose Bowl. Sound exciting? Yeah, not to me, either.

What a week @ HelmetNation!

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:43:00 +0000

It has been a crazy busy week @ HelmetNation! We delivered 5 orders this past week! Here are the helmets we did!

The first was the San Jacinto Ravens a youth football team from Deer Park, Texas. We used a white Schutt Pro-Air II shell with navy blue facemask! I really like the use of the Baltimore Raven head with the dark and light blue colors. In addition, we put each player's number on the rear of the helmet in navy blue outline in columbia blue.

The next helmets we delivered were for the Christopher High School Bearcats out of Coello, Illinois. We did these helmets on a Kansas blue Schutt DNA shell with an orange facemask. I really like the blue and orange combination on this helmet. We also put each players number in orange on the rear of the helmet and BEARCATS in orange on a blue background on the front bumper.

Our third helmet that we delivered was for the Dowling Catholic High School Maroons in West Des Moines, Iowa. These helmets were done on white Schutt DNA shells with a maroon facemask. They have the letter D on the side of the helmets and a maroon stripe. The front bumper says MAROONS in maroon on a white background. On the rear of the helmet they had 2 decals. One was a black cross and the other had FFF 09 to honor Coach Ed Thomas of Aplington-Parkersburg High School in Iowa who was shot and killed this past year. In addition, we also put each players number in maroon on the rear of the helmet.

The fourth helmet we did was for the Amelia High School Barons of Amelia, Ohio. This helmet was also Kansas blue but we used the Schutt Pro-air II shell with a black facemask. They have a large A logo with a knights head over Amelia Barons. On the rear bumper we did Barons in Kansas blue with a white background.

The fifth and final helmet of the week that we delivered was for a youth team from Port Orchard, Washington. They are the South Kitsap C-Grey team. I was very excited to do this helmet as I lived for several years very close to Port Orchard and I love that area of the country. Now, we did the helmets on a white Schutt Pro-Air II shell with a gray facemask. However, I made one for my display on a Schutt DNA shell and mask and that is what is seen in the pictures. They had a maroon, interlocking SK with a gray outline as their logo. They had a gray stripe and the rear bumper decal says C-GREY in maroon on a white background. In addition, we did each player's number in maroon on the rear of the helmet.

We really enjoyed getting these orders done and think the players will love them for a long time! We have several orders that are in production now including at least one that will be delivered this weekend. If you want to do something exciting for your players, let us know! You can reach HelmetNation by email at customerservice@helmetnation.com or by phone at (800) 576-9706. We hope to hear from you soon!

HelmetNation Week 11 Top 25

customerservice@helmetnation.com (HelmetNation) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:53:00 +0000

Well, you heard it here first! We did not buy into all the hype surrounding Iowa. We told you that they would not be able to sustain winning if they continually played to the level of their opponent and played from behind. Northwestern was able to dump Iowa this week and look for them to lose again this coming weekend @ Ohio State.

Now, just because Ohio State only has one loss, does not mean they are an elite team. Their loss was at home to the weakest USC team we have seen in the Pete Carroll era. Their wins have come in the Big 10 and against other weak competition. Again, HelmetNation does not buy the hype surrounding Ohio State and the Big 10 and they will not be ranked higher than 15.

HelmetNation was also excited to see the Midshipmen of Navy beat Notre Dame. Why was Navy, who doesn’t have near the athletes, able to beat Notre Dame? Because they have heart and great coaching! Something Notre Dame lacks in both respects. When will Coach Nuimatalolo get the respect he deserves as one of the best coaches in the country? More importantly, when will the TV and BCS people stop kissing Notre Dame’s ass? Do you realize that if they had won out and only had 2 losses, they would very likely have been in a BCS bowl game? That is simply a travesty that should never occur! Thank goodness Navy put an end to that possible fiasco!

Lastly, we just want to salute the Nebraska Cornhusker defense! The Husker offense is seriously troubled right now and just can’t produce. But the Blackshirt defense is a magical one to behold. They almost single-handedly beat the Sooners with 5 interceptions. Despite continual decent field position for OU, the Blackshirts were able to hold the Sooners out of the end zone despite OU running 87 plays.

After a great weekend of football here is the Week 11 HelmetNation Top 25.

1) Florida – The SEC East is all sewn up and the Gators have punched their ticket to the SEC Championship game against Alabama. All us will be details. Up next: @ South Carolina
2) Alabama – The SEC West is all sewn up and the Crimson Tide have punched their ticket to the SEC Championship game against Florida. All else will be details. Up next: @ Mississippi State
3) Texas – Longhorns are sitting pretty for the National Championship game. One of the SEC teams will be out and the Longhorns in after the SEC Championship game. Smoked UCF. Up next: @ Baylor
4) TCU – The BCS finally caught up with HelmetNation and now has TCU #4 as well. They obliterated SDSU on the way to matching up with Utah, their only loss from last season. The game will be in Fort Worth and well worth watching. Up next: vs. #8 Utah
5) Boise St. – The Broncos needed late scores to top Louisiana Tech. Interesting matchup this weekend. Up next: vs. Idaho
6) Georgia Tech – The YellowJackets had to rally to avoid the upset by beating Wake Forest in OT. Still the best team in the ACC. Up next: @ Duke
7) Cincinnati – Took Connecticut’s best shot and avoided the upset by 2 points. Pike and Collaros equal QB controversy on an undefeated team. Not out of the woods yet as they have two tough teams in the last 3 games of the season including this week. Up next: vs. West Virginia

8) Utah – Freshman QB Jordan Wynn looked great against possibly the worst team in the nation in New Mexico. He better grow up fast cause the #4 Horned Frogs are next. Up next: @ #4 TCU
9) Pittsburgh – Lit up Syracuse and has quietly put together a great season. Look for them to continue Notre Dame’s slide and speed up the Irish search for a new coach. Up next: vs. Notre Dame
10) Oregon – Duck players just couldn’t handle the success of ripping USC and lost a shootout to solid Stanford squad. Up next: vs. Arizona State

11) LSU – Just couldn’t make enough plays to pull off the victory at Alabama. Losing Jefferson @ QB didn’t help. Up next: Louisiana Tech
12) Houston – Winning crazy shootouts seems to be Houston’s thing. Their defense certainly isn’t winning games for them. Up next: @ UCF
13) USC – Clearly, this is not the typical dominant Trojan squad we are used to. We said it last week and are saying it again this week. Pulled out 14-9 squeaker over the Sun Devils with only 1 offensive TD. Up next: vs. Stanford
14) Miami – Crushed a weak Virginia squad. Remaining schedule seems manageable. Up next: @ North Carolina
15) Arizona – The Wildcats dismantled a pitiful Washington State team. Will now take on Cal who will be without RB Jahvid Best. Up next: @ California
16) Ohio State – Terelle Pryor is a better QB than he is getting credit for. Tressel, let the kid play! You are shackling him! Beat Penn State in Happy Valley further reinforcing the Big 10’s mediocrity in our opinion. Look for them to pound the Hawkeyes. Up next: vs. Iowa
17) Oklahoma State – Did what they should do to Iowa State in crushing them. This Cowboy team is hard to put your finger on. Up next: vs. #22 Texas Tech
18) Wisconsin – Held off feisty Indiana team by running out the clock with four minutes remaining. Up next: vs. Michigan

19) Stanford – Toby Gerhardt is a BEAST and the Cardinal is starting to round into shape. Can they handle last weekend’s success and go on the road to beat USC? Up next: @ #13 USC
20) Virginia Tech – Ryan Williams ran roughshod over the Pirates of East Carolina to the tune of 179 yards. Up next: @ Maryland
21) South Florida – DNP. Don’t look now but the Bulls roller coaster continues. One week you expect them to win and they lose. The next week the opposite happens. Which USF team will show this week? Up next: @ Rutgers
22) Texas Tech – DNP. Who will start at QB for the Red Raiders? Will it matter? Can they hang with the Cowboys in Stillwater? Up next: @ #17 Oklahoma State
23) Brigham Young – Lit up Wyoming for 52 while not allowing the Pokes from Laramie to score. Lucky for them their next opponent sucks too! Up next: @ New Mexico
24) Penn State – Lost at home to Ohio State. I bet the Nittany Lions think Pryor is a pretty good QB. Up next: vs. Indiana

25) Iowa – We told you didn’t we? We have said all along that Iowa is a paper tiger! Look for the Hawkeyes to get run by Ohio State and remove any doubt whatsoever. Up next: @ #16 Ohio State