11:00
Oklahoma at Missouri (ABC-regional): Missouri played the part of an overhyped paper tiger last week, losing to an absolutely pitiful Fran-led Texas A&M team. Apparently, the nasal-induced tranquility of Franchione's voice lulled the Tigers into a loss. Or perhaps it was the seamless gameplanning and coordination for which Franchione is known.
Regardless, Missouri has a good chance of showing that last week was a fluke. Oklahoma, a mere shadow of itself after losing its starting quarterback (who was only trying to make a living in the helter skelter world of car dealerships) and Heisman-hopeful running back, is still a quality football program. A team, however, can only lose so many playmakers before the bottom drops out.
1.5 Beer.Notre Dame at Navy (CBS)- I'm not sure if Charlie Weiss will be able to coach after being verbally castrated by D.J. Gallo. Assuming Charlie is able to recover, Notre Dame will continue to show the Nation how it is an annually overrated program. Navy will not win, but its 30's style offense will give Notre Dame trouble (just like almost every other opponent this year).
2 Beer.
Northwestern at Michigan (ESPN)- Can a team truly recover from pulling the worst chokejob of any modern sports team? Even under normal circumstances, probably not. Against arguably the best team in the nation? Abso-freakin-lutely not.
Five sips of one Beer.
Illinois at Wisconsin (ESPN2)- Notre Dame has an exclusive contract with CBS. Apparently, Wisconsin has an exclusive contract with ESPN/ABC for an 11:00 kick-off. This will be the third week in a row that Wisconsin fans try to cheer for their team through a hangover-induced haze from the night before. In the minds of some U.S. Senators, this type of behavior is considered torture. I'm calling this the Red Eye game, because of the Canadian drink and the gesture Wisconsin fans should make to their admins for allowing the game's airtime.
I'm sure Ron Zook will do something to embarrass Illinois (or, worse for Illinois fans, actually win the game).
1 Beer.
11:30
Auburn at Ole Miss (JP) - Although it shouldn't, this game scares me. Auburn's D has shown weaknesses against two types of players: A mobile quarterback (see South Carolina) and a good, power runner (see Arkansas). Well, Ole Miss has both.
Okay, maybe I'm giving Brent Schaeffer too much credit. He's only completing 47% of his passes this year and, based on last week's game, believes that WR's are allowed to catch the ball out of bounds. But, he has shown a knack for smart running and the big play. Ben Jarvis Green-Ellis, on the other hand, is not getting near the credit he deserves. All he is doing is leading the SEC in rushing behind one of the worst OL's in the nation. Without a doubt, this kid is a quality SEC back who is a presence on the field. He is the type of power runner that can cause some big problems for AU's smallish D Line.
Having said all of that, the absolute playmaker on this OM team is Patrick Willis. He is averaging 10.4 tackles per game. He leads the SEC with 86 total tackles. I don't think I've seen a better sideline-to-sideline linebacker in my entire life. The guy is a beast. Watch him during the game shed blocks and pursue the ballrunner. It is a thing of beauty.
The bad news for OM fans: After Willis, it is a collection of Cutcliffe leftovers (which is not a compliment) and freshmen. Add to that multiple suspensions this week, including a key linebacker, and you have a defense that is just not that good.
If AU can establish the running game early and then allow Brandon Cox to hit receivers on the playaction pass, this game could get out of hand quickly. If the offense stutters, it could result in something usually only reserved for Bama: a Close Game with Ole Miss. (shudder).
4 Beer.
2:30
Miami at Georgia Tech (ABC) - This installment of the Larry Coker Farewell Tour will showcase a well-established Georgia Tech pattern: Get destroyed by a team one week and then show up the next looking like a NC Title contender (Sound familiar?). Reggie Ball will throw for 250 and Calvin Johnson will catch 10 passes. Miami will then jump on the mid-field "GT" after the loss to show their "dominance" and raid a local orphange for "disrespectin the U". 1 Beer.
Georgia at Florida (CBS)- Despite Georgia President Mike Adams attempts to change the nickname, I doubt we're going to see OldTime Lemonade become the drink of choice for this game (unless Vodka is added). This game could get ugly quick. Florida doesn't need much help to win. It has beaten Georgia 14 out of the last 16 times. Even Ron Zook beat Georgia.
Despite Mark Richt's lobbying for the ever-elusive "sixth year of elligibility, D.J. Shockley has graduated. Georgia now has a quarterback system that could not beat Vanderbilt. This is the team that was forced to rely on pathetic coaching decisions by Sylvester Croome to "win" over Mississippi State. Not good.
On the other side of the ball, Florida is coming off of a bye week after losing a heartbreaker to Auburn. Pent up frustation= Tebow runs for days and Thomas destroys whichever quarterback Georgia decides to trot out.
2 Beer
Southern Cal at Oregon State (FSN)- Maybe if USC were playing the other school in the State of Oregon, this would be interesting. As it is, its just another game in which USC will pull out a win after trailing an inferior team.
.5 Beer.
6:00
Washington State at UCLA (ABC)- If UCLA had decided to play defense last week in the last minutes of the game against Notre Dame, I would watch this just for the "Notre Dame goes down!" recaps. I'm still going to watch some of this game because both teams are playing solid football. A win by Washington State could put them in the AP 25. They've only lost to USC, Auburn and Cal, all ranked in the top 10. This past week they got a win against a ranked Oregon team. Washington State is a well-coached team.
More importantly, I have a special place in my heart for Washington State. Mike "Sugar Bear" Price left the comfortable confines of Pullman to a "better coaching opportunity". Price's confusion over the meaning of the phrase "Control your own destiny or someone else will" resulted in one of the funnier events in college football history.
For that, Cougs, I say thank you.
2.5 Beer.
Florida State at Maryland (ESPN2)- Wow. This is going to be a Craptacular game. Of course, the best commentating team will be announcing it to ensure that as few people as possible actually hear them. The only fun thing about this game will be reading the signs from FSU boosters that say "Diddy don't know Diddley". Or, for the more politically-inclined, "Jeff Bowden is to Florida State Football, as James Carville is to political strategy.
.5 Beer.
6:45
Tennessee at South Carolina (ESPN)- Yet another chance to see Spurrier beat Fulmer. After the win, make sure to order your print of "The Cock will Lead the Way".
3 Beer. 
No comments:
Post a Comment