The
big news this week was the release of the first BCS poll. Alabama was obviously
first, but then it was Florida, not Oregon, at two. The first one-loss team was
LSU at six. It’s weird not seeing a Big Ten team ranked, although Ohio State
would be if they were eligible (7th in AP poll). This week now is a
huge week for many of the top teams. Here are some key games and our previews.
7 South
Carolina at 2 Florida
A
big story leading up to this game is whether or not Marcus Lattimore will play.
He is probably the top skill player in college football so his status is
something to watch. And even if he does play, another back may start and/or at
least see a lot of time. If he were healthy, I’d take the Gamecocks, even on
the road. But due to his status, I’m picking Florida in a tight one. – Andrew
South Carolina did not play a good game last week at LSU, and
still barely lost. That being said, the Gamecocks have also been ravaged by
sickness and injury this week. Florida takes advantage and South Carolina drops
out of the top ten. – Greg
Andrew: Florida 21, South Carolina 20
Greg: Florida 21, South Carolina 14
4 Kansas
State at 13 West Virginia
Kansas
State has been very impressive this season and continues to pile up wins. West
Virginia was on a roll until a rare off game last week. Geno Smith was the
clear Heisman choice until that loss, and my bet is that he bounces back with a
big performance. So with that and the home field advantage, I think they give
the Wildcats their first loss. – Andrew
Kansas State wins this game on the road. They have a more
traditional offense, and defense, and are a very well coached team. K-State has
also already gone on the road and upset a better team than West Virginia (Oklahoma)
this season. The Wildcats win a wild one in Morgantown. – Greg
Andrew: West Virginia 38, Kansas State 31
Greg: Kansas State 40, West Virginia 37
6 LSU at 18
Texas A&M
Despite
a loss a couple of weeks ago, LSU remains in a good spot in the BCS among
one-loss teams. The Aggies also have one loss and that was a season opening
three-point loss to Florida. That means they have won five in a row and have
averaged 47 points a game so far. So of course I’m intrigued by the matchup of
LSU defense vs. Texas A&M offense. Defense wins out! – Andrew
In my huge upset pick of the week, I'm going with the Aggies
over the Tigers in a stunner. Texas A&M has a great home crowd and
Tommy Manziel is a budding star. His QB play will give the Tigers fits and
Mettenberger will again make huge mistakes on the road. – Greg
Andrew: LSU 30, Texas A&M 24
Greg: Texas A&M 31, LSU 18
17 Texas Tech
at 23 TCU
Both
teams are 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12. I think Texas Tech has the edge
when looking at offense. TCU has the better defense though. This game may come
down to how Seth Doege plays. He was the terrible against Oklahoma in their
only loss, but bounced back to have a great game a week ago. I say he struggles
again and TCU pulls off the minor upset. – Andrew
TCU finally gets back on track over a ranked opponent here. Home
games are always an advantage, and after the high of beating WVU last week,
Texas Tech is poised for a let down. TCU wins going away. – Greg
Andrew: TCU 24, Texas Tech 21
Greg: TCU 45, Texas Tech 20
1 Alabama at
Tennessee
Do
I smell an upset? Not a chance. The Alabama defense is just too good. Tennessee
is large in name but they won’t be in their play tomorrow. In fact, just like
they have all season, Alabama will likely blow this game open, even on the road
in front of what I’m sure will be a raucous crowd. – Andrew
Rocky Top will be rocking, but it won't matter. This will be
close for a while, as Tennessee has some talent, but the Crimson Tide are just
too much for the Vols. It is hard to imagine Alabama getting beat this year. –
Greg
Andrew: Alabama 41, Tennessee 17
Greg: Alabama 35, Tennessee 14
Andrew’s
Upset Pick: Toledo over 21 Cincinnati
Cincinnati will come to Toledo undefeated on the season. Toledo
is unbeaten in conference play and has won six straight. The reason I’m picking
the upset is that Cincinnati hasn’t played a true road game this season. I
think they get off to a slow start and won’t be able to catch up. – Andrew
Andrew: Toledo 31,
Cincinnati 27
Greg’s
Upset Pick: South Florida over 16 Louisville
I don't really know much about either of these teams, other than
Louisville is one of the two unbeaten teams in the Big East, and USF always
seems to pull off a shocking upset every year. I'm betting this is one of those
shocking upset games. – Greg
Greg: South
Florida 38, Louisville 35
Enjoy your Saturday!
By: The Sports Guys
Andrew continues his hot streak and wins again. Greg picked KSU correct but Andrew picked LSU correct. We both missed the Texas Tech game (3 OT's) so it came down to wildcard picks. I picked correctly with Toledo beating Cincy. But you were wrong due to a late FG that let Louisvill hang on.
ReplyDeleteHere are some random thoughts about the college game:
- Florida is legit. Maybe they do deserve the 2 spot over Oregon.
- Klein is the new Heisman favorite. Lattimore's injury is killing his chances, Geno Smith's last two games set him back, but Klein keeps getting better. Oh yeah, Barkley is still there too with 6 TD's yesterday.
- Notre Dame isn't that good. Sorry Irish fans (Greg), but there so-called killer schedule has turned out to not be as good as advertised (Michigan and MSU being great examples). Their offense is ugly and they can't even decide on a QB week to week. Defense is good but that's it. They will lose to Oklahoma in a week!
Andrew
Several things:
ReplyDelete1.) Missing multiple picks in a week, and being so far off on the points in those picks that you shouldn't even be given credit for picking correctly is far from a hot streak.
2.)It was obvious that Florida deserved the #2 spot. They had played 5 SEC games, and Oregon hasn't really played anyone yet.
3.)Lattimore never was a heisman contender in the first place. Geno Smith has no shot, and Klein is the front-runner (but mainly due to the fact that his team is ranked in the top 5 and a National Championship contender). Seth Doege is also in consideration for the award.
4.Your assertion that the Irish aren't that good is false. They win differently than most other teams, because they actually run the ball effectively. Their difficult schedule still has two road games against 2 top 10 teams, which in addition to the schedule they've already played makes it an extremely difficult schedule. Everett Gholson is the starting QB, but was out this week with a concussion (Coach's decision). Tommy Rees makes this team totally different because of his inability to run the ball out of the QB position. BYU won 10 games last season, and has a great defense as well. This was your classic "trap game" and the irish were down at home and still responded and were able to win the game. They will be, at worst, a 10-2 team this season. I know all this because I actually watch all college football games, which I know for sure you did not this weekend.
Regardless of all of this- College football is doing very well right now. The country is full of solid teams with good shots at getting into the BCS Nat'l Championship game against Alabama.
I have actually watched Notre Dame this year a good margin. And I am a hater. But they should have lost already vs. Stanford... and no, I'm not talking about the goalline call. I am talking about how their game tying drive was only continued due to an absolutely horrific pass interference call. So that's one loss.
ReplyDeleteThere have been other close games (including BYU) where they could have lost but maybe not should have lost like the Stanford one. And all I'm doing is using what you always say against you. You ridicule Tebow even though he made a living last year winning games like this. And all you said was he is lucky, they suck, blah blah. Now cause you like ND you overlook that ND is doing that stuff?
ND has a great defense but they don't have an identity on offense. They are overhyped all the time because of who they are and will get a massive wakeup call this Saturday at Oklahoma. Sooners by at least 2 TD's!