College Football 2012-13

Justin, took a look at Michigan's schedule, and it should be relatively easy run until their Ohio State showdown. Sparty has shown that they are mediocre and Nebraska can't stop a nosebleed, and those are the "toughest" games.

The surprise team of the year #10 Oregon State with a kick in the gut injury. Sean Mannion their star QB (340 yards passing a game) is out for the year w/a knee injury. Put them down for the Upset of the Week when they travel to BYU.

 

Some big ones, none bigger than the one going down in Dallas;

#15 Texas v #13 Oklahoma. You know it's a big game when a name is attached to it. The Red River Rivalry will see half the crowd in the Cotton Bowl wearing burnt orange, the other half in red. One of the great traditional matchups. Both teams have had a similar season, so hard to come up with a prediction. OU has won the last two, and put 55 on the Longhorns last year. I'll go with the senior qb Landry Jones leading the Sooners.

#3 South Carolina at #9 LSU. Death Valley on a Saturday is as tough a place to play as anywhere. LSU was inept on offense last week, and probably won't look any better this week. Steve Spurrier is in the middle game of the gauntlet of a schedule; Georgia, at LSU, at Florida. Just can't see South Carolina winning all 3, so I'll take the Tigers in a mild upset in an ugly 13-10 type of game.

#17 Stanford at #7 Notre Dame. Payback time for the Irish. Stanford is overrated, and the Irish won't have Andrew Luck embarrassing them this time around.

#22 Texas A&M at #23 Louisiana Tech. No, that is not a typo, La Tech is ranked. Had to look them up and :shock: their lowest scoring game is 44 points. The other 4 wins have all been with 50+ points. The Aggies have been very solid under the new coach and QB. Take the over if you're in Vegas, with the Aggies winning a tough one.

Upset Alert. Already listed Oregon State because of the reason above, but will include #6 Kansas State at Iowa State. This is going to be a tight and tough game in Ames.

 

-TX/OU -- Having been to several of these games - they are phenomenal....when Texas wins. A loss is so deflating for the losing fan base. Watching half the stadium celebrating and half hanging their head - with every significant play in the game - is really cool.
Chance for the Horns to show some grit and discipline. I like our D-line vs. the OU OL, however, we give up too many big plays on the back end. OU will score. If we commit to the run early/often - we will wear down the OU defense and win a close game. However, Harsin gets too cute at times and I don't trust David Ash to win a big game like this. Hopeful, but fully expecting the Horns to end up on the wrong end of a 35-31 scoreline.

-Night game in Death Valley? Against an angry now-awake Bayou Bengal team? (Geaux to an LSU night game if you ever get a chance - one of the best college football atmospheres in the country.) Crowd will be rocking. LSU defense will be amazing - likely will outscore the LSU offense. Gotta geaux with LSU 13-7.

-ND wins this one as well. Still not sure they're the 7th best team in the country, but good to see them winning again.

-The size/speed/talent difference will be apparent from the get-go in this one. A&M rolls, unfortunately.

-Gonna disagree on KSU - think they roll ISU this weekend. For my upset special, how 'bout USC/UW. Got a feeling UW has been exposed as a pretender, but I'm not off the bandwagon yet - getting USC at (their temporary) home, with former USC asst Sark at the Helm. Just got a feeling they make enough plays to pull the upset of the week.

 

I understand that there is more defensive talent in the SEC than all the other conferences combined, but watching the LSU-South Carolina saw some brutally bad offense. Play of the game was with SC leading by a point in the 4th and their QB Connor Shaw had a receiver wide open and overthrew him by 15 feet and was picked.

One thing that is really going to hurt these outlier schools that have to travel across the country to play a "conference" game was on display as West Virginia had to fly to Texas for the second week in a row and got worked by Texas Tech. Credit to the Red Raiders, but really tough task for the Mountaineers.

Last score I saw A&M was up huge on La Tech, and was looking forward to an optimistic post from Matt, then saw the Aggies held on to win a crazy 59-57 game. I'm sure Matt will take the win, but a little less aggravation would have been nice.

Shiner, sorry about the Longhorns losing in that fashion. WIll the Mack Brown is too old talk start up??

My sister and brother in-law are Oregon State grads and were texting me with joy after I told them earlier this week that they were losing with the backup QB. He played great and Beavs rolled in Provo.

Great goal line stand by the Fighting Irish in overtime. The call to end it could have gone either way (personally thought he was still twisting and should have been rewarded since he did score).

Where the Big Ten guys at? Lax saw his Iowa Hawkeyes win a 2OT road game at MIchigan State. Tim's Northwestern improved to 6-1. Ohio State gave up 49 to Indiana :shock: , but won. Justin, don't say I didn't mention Michigan as they trounced the JV team known as Illinios.

 

^Already has.
(Appreciate the sympathy - truly embarrassing butt-whipping at the hands of the biggest rival. ouch.)
Amazing how quickly some forget about the dark era of John Mackovic, Fred Akers, et. al, that preceded Brown's arrival. Mack is a great head man, just not a good X/O coach. Usually, he gets the Coord hires right. I'm not sure about Diaz, in particular (way too much defensive talent to play that poorly). Have my doubts about Harsin as well.
Many Longhorn fans are unrealistic enough to think we have a God-given right to the top 10. I remember pre-Mack Brown times. I'm happy that we are consistently relevant again. Having won the Championship a few years back should give Mack the ability to weather this storm. I hope so - he's been very good for the program and he's a darn good guy.

 

Getting this in a day early because...Upset Alert tonight. #3 Oregon at Arizona State. Dennis Erickson got the deserved axe last season, but he did not leave the cupboard bare. ASU gave the Ducks a good game up in Eugene last year, and this one will be in a rocking Scum Devil Stadium. ASU is very good against the run, and that's what Oregon likes to do. Most people think they chuck it all over the place, but the Ducks run it for 300 yards a game. If the Scummies can slow down the Oregon run game and forces the freshman QB to throw, ASU has a legit chance. Yes, that's painful for me to say.

Other Upset Alert; #21 Cincinnati at Toledo. Bearcats haven't lost a game, but Toledo hasn't lost since their opening OT loss at Arizona.

Games of the Week;
#6 LSU at #16 Texas A&M. Interesting game. How will LSU play after playing Florida and South Carolina back to back. Aggies were supposed to have a bye week to prepare, but were unlucky to have to reschedule the La Tech game because of the hurricane. Can see this one going either way, Matt you going?

#4 Kansas State at #13 West Virginia. WVU got blown out at Texas Tech, how will they respond at home? K State have a great 'college' QB in Klein, and the Mountaineers D is swiss cheese, so will go with the road team.

A couple grudge matches; Michigan State at Michigan, Florida State at Miami, FL. Home team in the first and road team in the latter.

**Means nothing in the Pac 12 race, but traveling back to Tucson to see Arizona play Washington. Haven't seen the Cats play at home since the fall of 1990 :character-oldtimer: . Add in my parents both went to UDub and my late father loved Husky football above all things in sports, the nostalgia will be flowing.

 

Saw my alma mater defeat UT San Antonio 34-14 in it's homecoming game last Saturday. It wasnt the best Div 1 football I've ever seen if you know what I mean, but still an enjoyable win. And Ag, the MOB was pretty lame too. For homecoming and the university's centennial celebration, I would have expected something special but it was an incoherent hodge podge with beer gods and a shark roaming around. Sheesh, I think the MOB's best days are way behind them. I would much rather see the precision marching of the A & M band or Ohio U doing gangnam style.

It gets good around the 1:40 minute.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDficEfonAE[/youtube]

 

I see your OU and I raise you a TBDBITL

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNzOVxHhjmQ[/youtube]

GO BUCKS!!! :banana-guitar:

 

Some Big Games;

#2 Florida v #10 Georgia in Jacksonville. "The World's Biggest Outdoor Cocktail Party" as it's called as been owned by the Gators in recent times even though the Dawgs won last year. Pulling for Georgia, but think Florida wins.

#11 Mississippi State at #1 Alabama. MSU is undefeated, but their schedule has been awful. Just can't see anything but the Tide rolling.

#5 Notre Dame at #8 Oklahoma. If ND goes into Norman and wins, Manti Te'o will throw his name in the Heisman mix. There hasn't been a defensive player since Charles Woodson win it, but this kid plays for the right school, and can seriously ball. Everything points to the Sooners winning this game. However, they aren't called Choklahoma for nothing. The Irish have been just getting by the skin of their noses every week. I'll say OU, but wouldn't be surprised to see ND find a way.

#14 Texas Tech at #3 Kansas State. Colin Klein is now the front runner for the Heisman, and the Wildcats have got it rolling. I'll take K-State in close one.

Upset Alert; #9 USC at Arizona. It was awesome to be back in Tucson last week, and came away very impressed with what RichRod is doing in the desert, and loved seeing all the work being done to the stadium. Even though SC should squeak by, it is going to be a great game. Trojans better not be looking ahead to Oregon next week or they're in trouble.

#12 Ohio State at Penn State The Buckeyes have been winning, but have been flirting with disaster much of the time. Bill O'Brien has done an amazing job at Penn State, and that team while limited from all the transfers plays as one.

 

I will take Georgia in a close game. Think it's time for Murray to show what he's got. Plus, I don't want to see an all SEC championship game.

Vegas has got the Alabama game right. Shows you how overrated the SEC is. Miss State can play a shit schedule and be ranked in the top 12. Don't think they're anywhere near the quality of Alabama.

Gonna take Notre Dame here. Te'o is amazing and should be the front runner for the heisman. Don't trust Oklahoma at all to win a big game like this.

Will take Kansas State in a boring high offensive game. Yes, boring because nobody plays defense in that league.

Gonna take USC in a close game in Tucson. Love the way Barkley and company are righting the ship since they lost. Should be a fun matchup.

Finally, Penn State will win because I hate Ohio State. Seriously, they're so overrated. They should have lost at least a couple of games now and it finally comes back to bite them in the ass here.

Also going to take Michigan over Nebraska. Our offense has been rolling, but it's been our defense that's been the biggest contributor to our success. Maybe one of the most underrated defenses in the country. We have been stopping pretty much every team since Alabama. Really like our odds to win here.

 

I've been off this thread for a myriad of reasons. Was going to do a write up on the LSU game I attended last week but came down with a nasty stomach virus that actually landed me an overnight stay in the hospital.

Firstly, having seen WV play a few times, I rescind everything I said about Geno Smith. He's more Akili Smith than RG3.

As for A&M, we're riding the roller coaster of a brilliant freshman qb, but we suffer the mistakes and decisions you get with a freshman qb. I figured us for 6 or 7 wins this year going in and we'll well exceed that. We've integrated into the SEC better than I thought and it's been a fun year. The future for Aggie football is looking better than it has in a long time.

Ok, now this week:

Fla over Ga, Bama over MsSt, KSt to expose the sandfleas from Lubbock for the frauds that they are, and the Landthieves to do the same to the Domers. ND is weak in the secondary and hasn't really faced a team that can spread them out like OU can. I just don't see them being able to match pace on the scoreboard. They haven't played in an environment like they'll face in Norman today either. It's been a good year for Kelly's boys, but I think they'll take the first of 2 losses today (USC being the other). I agree with Meatchicken over the boys from Nowledge U.

Upset pick, the Snarlin Pups of Montlake over Oregon State. UDub is enigmatic as all get out, but they're salty at home and I just haven't been that impressed with the Beavers. If the Huskies can avoid shooting themselves in the foot multiple times, they have more than enough to beat OSU.

 

Matt, sorry about having to be hospitalized briefly, hope the Aggies made you feel better after the Fulham frustration. From National Champion to maybe getting canned 2 years later for Auburn's Gene Chizik? A&M's destruction of the Tigers have turned up the heat. Great call on Washington over Oregon State, thought of it, but after seeing the Huskies get annihilated in person, I couldn't pull the trigger.

:banana-dance: Arizona knocks off USC. Kids showed a ton of heart and took advantage of SC's coughing over the ball time and again. Planned on going to Tucson a few months ago and chose Washington instead of the SC game because I wanted to see a win... :doh:

Notre Dame takes care of Oklahoma to remain unbeaten. Give it up to Brian Kelly, the man can flat out coach.

The SEC has the best talent, especially on defense, but watching snippets of the Florida-Georgia game just highlights how boring SEC football can be for a neutral.

Have to give credit to an unsung conference that is playing some great football this season, and that's the MAC. Had Toledo last week for the Upset, but should have stayed in the conference as Kent State went on the road and throttled #16 Rutgers yesterday. Ohio U got into the rankings this week, but fell to Miami, OH in a close one. Add Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, and Ball State to the above teams and that's a good conference this season.

 

I've missed a few weeks. mostly from being on vacation, but also from hating college football and everything it stands for. not really, but i tell myself that. However, i was lucky enough to go to the Oregon/CU game this weekend. Two main points: 1) Portland is an amazing place and 2) CU is really bad in football. oh 3) Oregon sure is fun to watch. That is all.

 

Quick picks for games of the week;

#1 Alabama at #5 LSU. Two great D's, but only one decent offense, Bama

#4 Oregon at #17 USC. SC is an undisciplined mess. Ducks ranked lower because of strength of schedule, which is ironic since Kansas State cancelled playing Oregon and the Ducks had to scramble to find someone to fill in, and now K State is ranked above them. Ducks dance at the Coliseum.

#24 Oklahoma State at #3 Kansas State. K State wears them down

#16 Texas A&M at #15 Mississippi State. Aggies give Bulldogs another dose of reality.

Upset Alert:
Don't see one off the top of my head, which means all hell will break loose on Saturday.

 

Bama and they cover.

Oregon ROLLS

KSTATE BIG

I actually like Ms State on this one. I do think they are a good football team and getting Aggies at home will put them over the top.

UPSET ALERT CU over Stanford! Just kidding. Looking ,it's hard to pick one. I'll take Mich State over the huskers.

 

Another good weekend in the books for my Aggies. This is the most fun I've had watching A&M football since I was in school in the early-to-mid 90's. I think we have a shot at Bama. It's not a good one, but a few weeks ago I'd have given us no chance. Now I'd say 25% or so. It'll be interesting to see how our offense fares against them.

Notre Damn are lucky. Both on that garbage pi call and in Pitt's utter ineptitude. You could argue Bama was lucky as well, but at least they played a good team. LSU's defense stepped up as advertised and their offense put together one of their better performances of the season.

The surprise win of the week for me was Texas. Lubbock is like the twilight zone and with the way both teams had been playing going in, I figured Tech for the win. I could have lived without the announcers many attempts to rebrand it as the new Texas rivalry (laughable) but until Dodds steps down that's the way these things will go. At least he didn't pick Baylor.

Oregon's offense is incredibly sick and I was thinking this might be the year they break through and win it...provided they can actually get in the MNC game. But the defense they displayed against SC was alarming. SC gashed them on the ground and that's something Bama does well. Bama won't spread them out and threaten them out so much aerially, so maybe the add'l player(s) in the box aid the Ducks there. Bama will put a much better defensive effort up against them than SC did as well. I think this weekend's A&M game may be a good acid test for how the Ducks will fare. Maybe.

Shame I didn't pick, b/c UCLA was going to be my upset pick. I was also impressed with Patterson's gutsy calls to beat WV.

It's been a fun year for college football so far. Now someone go beat those damn Domers already. Please!

 

Oregon is beyond sick, but the D looked exhausted since they haven't played more than 2 quarters all season. Give Saban 5 weeks to prepare and have to like Bama winning that potential matchup.

Echo thoughts on the PI call on 4th down against Pitt, amazingly bad. Still Pitt had a field goal to win it in the second OT and the snap was poor, kid hit 4 of 5 all day, but the one miss was brutal.

Congrats on the Aggies, Matt. Now can the go into Tuscaloosa and make it a 4 quarter game?

Sorry, but the upset choice of UCLA wouldn't of counted since they were a 4 point favorite. Thought the great Arizona QB shouldn't of played because of the concussion last week, and it showed. Thank God I had a birthday party to attend, otherwise I might have been there for that debacle.

 

Somewhere in San Antonio an A&M alumnus is already getting ready...

#20 Texas A&M at #1 Alabama. Imagine that, an SEC team that is fun to watch :shock: The Aggies should be ranked a few spots higher and are catching the Crimson Tide at the right time. Alabama's D is young and talented, but not as good as last years. I'll take the Tide, but if the Aggies can avoid turnovers, things could get very interesting.

#11 Oregon State at #14 Stanford. Both teams are making changes at QB, which isn't a great thing this time of year. OSU's quarterback was playing great, got hurt, came back too early. Stanford's has a true freshman who has won the job and will be making his first start on Sat. which means Stefan Taylor will be running the rock a whole bunch. Will take the Cardinal.

It almost happened last week, but this is the time of the year, where you see some crazy/head scratching upsets. Here's a couple that 3 weeks ago would have been easy wins, but now that the pressure is on for the ranked teams, the senior leaders on the bad or lesser teams see the end of their career and even if it's for only one game they'll put a real scare and even shock a top opponent.

#5 Georgia at Auburn. The Tigers have to be one of, if not the most disappointing team in the country. It's not like the cupboard is bare talent wise. They don't have a clue on the offensive side of the ball at the QB position, but don't be surprised if they don't give Georgia all they want. Auburn hasn't won a conference game, but only lost to LSU at home 12-10.

#9 Louisville at Syracuse. On paper, a 9-0 Lousiville team should have little issue with 4-5 Syracuse...but this is a classic situation where the Cardinals are playing in rarified air and the Orange could take advantage of a rocking Carrier Dome.

#2 Kansas State at TCU. The Horned Frogs had to deal with a step up in conferences and the huge distraction of the starting QB getting in trouble off the field. Gary Patterson is an outstanding coach, and he'll have the kids prepared. Big problem is TCU won in double OT last week, and lost in 3 OTs two weeks previous, how much in the tank will they have? I'll still pick K State, but look out.

 

I think A&M can win but I don't think we will. Maybe a 25% chance. We need Johnny Football to trust in his arm over his feet and I don't know if he has the discipline to do that yet. He's getting there.

I like Stanford over the Beavs. In the other matchup of ranked opponents, I like LSU over Miss St.

As for upsets, Penn St over Nebr, TCU over KSt and Iowa State over texas all have potential. I'll go with Iowa State. They're due to pull off an upset.

 

I'll be attending the TCU vs. Kansas St. game this evening, very much looking forward to a good game. With K-State's QB (Heisman front runner) sitting out the concussion. I see TCU coming up with a huge upset in there first year in the BIG XII.

Although I am a Horns fan. I will be hoping A&M can pull the biggest upset of the day in knocking off Dick Saban's Alabama team.

As for the Horns i shouldn't be worried about them playing Iowa St. but you never know with Ash at QB.