Friday, October 16, 2009

Why Cougars Rule!! Week Seven

Why Cougars Rule!! : Week Seven

Greetings College Football Fans,

I’m sure like for most of you it was a crazy work week. It clearly was for me, but a good one.
With that said, I’m just getting around to the college football update this week. It’s Friday night and I’m watching Pitt vs. Rutgers. It’s cold outside here in Atlanta.

This week we will just go down the Top 25 and review the games. Here we go:

It’s a beautiful thing that Florida and Alabama don’t play each other this year during the regular season. These two teams are on a catastrophic collision course for what could be the best SEC Championship Game in history. If both teams maintain their consistent play we will see one versus two in this game. I love it. How about the Red River Shootout this weekend. It will be the first game between Texas and Oklahoma in the Dallas Cowboy’s new stadium. Texas continues to struggle in the first half against opponents. Last week against Colorado, Texas made the Buffalo’s look like a ranked team, and then the Longhorns pummeled them in the second half. Texas can’t afford to have a slow first half this week against the Sooners.

1. Florida Gators (5-0): Tim Tebow played as expected and the Gators came away with a huge win in Baton Rouge. The Gators are at home this weekend against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Arkansas looked great in their win against Auburn last week. Florida is favored by 25.5 this week against Arkansas. If you’re in Vegas take that bet. The Gators win big in Gainesville against the Razorbacks. Florida 47, Arkansas 18.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0): The hype is over…Not the Crimson Tide hype, the Ole Miss hype. Alabama took them from Ole Miss, to OLD Miss. The Rebels BSC hopes are over. Last week I suggested Miss QB Snead needs a big week against Alabama and the Tide shut him down. This week the Alabama faces Steve Spurrier and the South Carolina Game Cocks in Tuscaloosa. South Carolina may be able to pull off the upset!! Not so fast my friend. Alabama wins a close defensive battle. Alabama 17, South Carolina 7.
3. Texas Longhorns (6-0): Last week Texas played a bad Colorado team in Austin. Texas beat the Buffalos 38-14. I can’t get over the consistent slow starts Texas gets against the weak opponents they’ve faced this year. The Longhorns strength of schedule so far this year is 101 out of 120. This week all that will change on a neutral site against the Oklahoma Sooners. Do you remember last year’s game? Will the Sooners stampede the Longhorns? Texas wins again. Texas 43, Oklahoma 39.
4. USC Trojans (4-1): Last week the USC Trojans had a bye week. Bye weeks are huge in college football, particularly when the team with the week off has such a good coach. I was listening to “The Hurd” on ESPN radio this morning and former Notre Dame great Tim Brown was a guest. He said that Notre Dame Fans expect to beat USC this weekend. I guess Notre Dame has a lot of confidence. USC does have to travel to cold South Bend. USC plays out of conference teams on the road better than any team in the country. It will be closer than usual. USC 23, Notre Dame 17.
5. Virginia Tech Hokies (5-1): Boston College is a pretty good football team. Virginia Tech beat Boston College 48-14 last week. This week Virginia Tech has to travel back to Atlanta. I say travel back, because the first week of the season Virginia Tech played Alabama in the Georgia Dome. Bama gave the Hokies a beat-down. This week Virginia Tech travels to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech. This visit to Georgia will make Tech happy. Which Tech? Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech 21, Georgia Tech 12.
6. Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1): Last week Ohio State handled Wisconsin fairly easily. It was tough for the Buckeyes in the first half, and then Ohio State pulled away. This week the Buckeyes travel to Purdue. I have a feeling it will be a tough game, but only in the first half. Ohio State 28, Purdue 7.
7. Cincinnati Bearcats (6-0): Last night (Thursday) Cincinnati played South Florida. Remember what I said about having a bye week in college football, particularly when the bye team has a good coach. In this case it was Cincinnati and their coach is one of the best coaches in the country. South Florida gave Cincinnati a tough game but Cincinnati pull it out 34-17, in a game that was closer than the score suggests.
8. Texas Christian Horned Frogs (5-0): TCU played a tough Air Force Academy team last week. Air Force played a great game on their home field in a loss to TCU (24-17). This week Colorado State travels to Fort Worth to play the Horned Frogs. TCU stays undefeated. TCU 32, Colorado State 19.
9. Miami Hurricanes (4-1): It’s about time the Canes played a team that wasn’t ranked. Miami had their way with Florida A&M last week 48-16, in a well deserved break from the action. This week it gets a little tougher for Miami as they play Central Florida. Miami cruises to a victory. Miami 28, Central Florida 12.
10. Oklahoma Sooners (3-2) : Clearly the best two loss team in the country. The Sooners played an improved Baylor as a warm up game for Sam Bradford in his first game back in action. I think Oklahoma and Texas are evenly matched. As I suggested earlier, the Sooners will soon be the best three loss team in the country. Texas beats Oklahoma 43-39.
11. LSU Tigers (4-1): A well needed bye week for the LSU Tigers. Last week their defense looked impressive against Florida, holding them to only 13 points. If LSU can get their offense together this year perhaps they can be ready for Bama later this year. First LSU has to deal with Auburn next weekend. That should game be interesting.
12. Iowa Hawkeyes (6-0): Iowa just keeps winning ugly. Last week it was against my beloved Wolverines in prime time. The importance of home games. The game against Michigan could have gone either way. Michigan QB Tate Forcier was hurt and didn’t play the last two series of the game. Iowa stepped up big in a 30-28 win. This week will be another grinder for Iowa as they travel to Wisconsin. Look for Iowa to get its first loss of the year in Madison, Wisconsin. Wisconsin beats Iowa 28-20.
13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5-1): Georgia Tech made history last week in Tallahassee. They beat Florida State at home for the first time in school history. “Da Gummit” (spelling?), is what Bobby Bowden said after the historic loss to the Yellow Jackets in a high scoring weather delayed shootout (49-44). This week in the battle of the Tech schools the Yellow Jackets lose to a very good Virginia tech team. Virginia Tech 21, Georgia Tech 12.
14. Boise State Broncos (6-0): Those bye weeks again. Boise State had the week of before traveling to Tulsa in a game that was up for grabs until the final minute. Tulsa wide out Slick Shelly was wide open on a fourth down play when QB G.J. Kinney couldn’t connect. Boise State lucked out in this game. The Broncos barely won 28-21, and as you can tell from the score it wasn’t a convincing win for Boise State.
15. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-1): “Yawn” , Penn State plays another weak non-conference opponent as they crushed Eastern Illinois 52-3 in a challenging (to stay awake) contest. Don’t look for any blowouts in Happy Valley this week. The Minnesota Golden Gophers come to town. It depends on how you define blowouts. Penn State beats Minnesota firmly 37-7.
16. BYU Cougars (5-1): Last week UNLV hosted BYU and was dominated 59-21 by the Cougars. It would be tough to be a college football player that has to travel to Vegas to play a game. But I guess it’s worse if you’re a college football player and you live in Vegas. Another distracting place to travel to play a game is San Diego. That’s where BYU travels this week to play San Diego State. BYU stays focused and smashes San Diego State 48-19.
17. Oklahoma State Cowboys (4-1): I’m still getting over Oklahoma State wide out Dez Bryant getting suspended for lying to the NCAA about something that wasn’t illegal. His suspension kept fans in suspense as Oklahoma State barely beat Texas A&M last week. This week the Cowboys face the Missouri Tigers. The suspense continues and Oklahoma State keeps winning. Oklahoma State 27, Missouri 20.
18. Oregon Ducks (5-1): UCLA looked awful on offense last week against Oregon. The Ducks beat the Bruins 24-10 in Pasadena. Oregon’s next road trip is to Washington after a bye week this week.
19. Kansas Jayhawks (5-0): Kansas barely beat Iowa State last week in a 41-36 defensiveness Big-12 classic. Kansas puts their undefeated record on the line this week against Colorado in beautiful Boulder. Kansas KO’s Colorado 32-18.
20. Wisconsin Badgers (5-1): Wisconsin had a chance to make a statement in Columbus last week but fell way short losing 31-13. Too many mistakes against Ohio State proved to be the difference. Wisconsin returns to Madison to host the Iowa Hawkeyes who are either lucky or good. Iowa’s luck runs out this weekend. Wisconsin 28, Iowa 20.
21. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-1): Back to the Bye week again. This advantage only applies when the opposing team doesn’t also have a bye week and/or the coach is average. Notre Dame had a bye week to prepare for USC, but USC also had a bye week to prepare for Notre Dame. I’ll take Pete or Charlie any day. USC 23, Notre Dame 15.
22. South Florida Bulls (5-1): The Bulls hosted a brilliant Cincinnati team last night (Thursday) on ESPN. Cincinnati does it again beating South Florida 34-17.
23. Houston Cougars (4-1) : Cougars seem to be popular these days, at least in the college football rankings (see BYU). Houston makes it back into the top 25 with a win against SEC Mississippi State. Houston heads to the Big Easy to take on Tulane. Let’s see if the Houston Cougars can beat Tulane the same way the BYU Cougars beat them. Cougars rule!! Houston 41, Tulane 14.
24. Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-1): Nebraska looked great beating a good Missouri team 27-12. If my memory recalls, Nebraska score all their points in the second half. Will Nebraska get back into the Big-12 limelight this year? The Cornhuskers will have another solid test against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. It will be a fun game to watch as Nebraska gets back to elite form. Nebraska 43, Texas Tech 39.
25. Utah Utes (4-1): Teams that battle from behind and win games on the road are teams to watch and respect. Last week Utah pulled out a close win against Colorado State in Ft. Collins, CO 24-17. UNLV travels to Utah (what a contrast in geographies, again see BYU) this week. Utah makes it look easy. Utah 54, UNLV 27.

Enjoy the weekend college football fans. I look forward to catching up to you next week from Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Michigan vs. Penn State)

1 comment:

  1. I stayed up as late as i could waiting on your post dog... As ALWAYS ..ITS GOOD STUFF.I TOTALLY AGREE WITH ALL YOUR PICKS..Not so fast my friend.I love to pick the underdog... so I will be posting my picks in the next few minutes..check it out.

    ReplyDelete