Back in the Saddle
Ahhhh....fresh off a week in the British Virgin Islands I'm ready to jump back into the sports world. I was surprised to find a tiny 12" television in our room that was able to pick up ESPN amongst others so I wasn't completely shunned from sports. Hell, I even got to see some of the Texas game (it was on in one room, but not mine...weird).
Here are my quick-hit observations from last weekend:
Texas at Oklahoma State:
I'll come right out with it Horns' fans - Texas will struggle in this game and frankly, I don't see them winning this one. Let's take a stroll down memory lane - the last 3 years, Okie State led early only to see Texas make unbelievable comebacks to take the victory (the first two of those Texas was down by 4 touchdowns - thank you VY). One thing we know about the horns - they do not play 4 quarters. Other than Iowa State, Texas hasn't put a complete game together and they've played some very poor teams. Believe it or not, Okie State is tied with OU for the lead in the Big 12 south with their showdown looming towards the end of the season. This game marks a stretch of 3 tough games to close out the year for the Longhorns with Tech next weekend and then the annual game with the Aggies. I see Texas winning maybe 1 of these games.
Look for this game to be a high-flying affair. The Cowboys are one of the top teams in the conference in total offense and points scored. However, they are near the bottom in total defense. Seeing what Nebraska did to Texas' defense, look for OSU to run all over this defense - Okie State has a tremendously balanced offense. But, whether or not Texas will be able to move the ball on their porous defense will depend on Texas - given how this season has gone, I'm not banking on anything...much less our game preparation.
At the end of the day, I think Oklahoma State will have revenge on their minds - they offense is clicking, they're at home and they've got the Big 12 south crown in their sights. Okie State beats the horns this weekend.
Oklahoma State - 31
Texas - 17
LSU at Alabama:
Why in the world do LSU fans dislike Saban so much? If I'm not mistaken, he brought this team out of oblivion, won them a national title and set them up for a bright future with lots of success (Les Miles stepped into a can't lose scenario). It would be one thing if he left LSU for Alabama, but that's not the case.
Either way, this should be a great game. I do think LSU is the better team, but Saban can get his team up for the big ones. This will be a close, hard-fought game, but I'll look for LSU to pull out the victory. The Tigers will be without Perrilloux which may limit their offense a bit, but they should be able to pull it out.
LSU - 27
Bama - 23
Wisconsin at Ohio State:
Although there are still quite a few doubters out there (me being one of them), OSU continues to roll past the competition. Granted, I think we would all agree that the Big 10 is down this year, but they keep winning their games and that's what counts. Wisconsin should be a fairly decent test for them. Although I believed Wisconsin was one of the most overrated teams coming into this season (and I was right mind you), they are still a formidable opponent. I look for OSU to win the game here, but I also believe it will be close early on.
Ohio State - 31
Wisconsin - 21
Texas A&M at Oklahoma:
Sorry Aggie fans, but we could very well see a carbon copy game from 2003 when OU demoralized the aggies 77-0 (and it could have been a lot worse if you recall the OU running back falling down before running into the end zone in the final 2 minutes). I'm afraid the aggies don't have much of a chance here. And after this game they get to travel to Columbia, MO to take on the top dogs in the north division - ouch. At least they'll get to end the season on a high note by beating the horns.....sorry Fran, it won't save your job this year.
Oklahoma - 41
Texas A&M - 16
College Football Quick Hits:
Yes, I'm looking forward to this game...who isn't? I'm just hoping it lives up to the hype. I'm not sure if the talking heads on television realize this or not, but the Colts are undefeated too you know. Much like the USC days of the last 5 years, the media has surgically implanted their lips on the New England Patriots' asses and it's nauseating. No doubt the Pats are playing tremendous right now, but this Colts team is head and shoulders better than anyone they've faced thus far - better than the Chargers and better than the Cowboys...by a mile. Of course the same goes for Indy. I believe these teams are pretty evenly matched and yes sports fans, if the Colts wanted to score 40 a game, they probably could. They are looking to win games and maintain momentum, not try and show the world how big their dingy is.
I've got to go with the Colts in this one for the primary reason that they are playing at home and the Colts' receivers will blow by the Pats' secondary. Should be a high scoring game here, but I'm giving the edge to the team who's won the past 3 meetings (2 in Foxboro).
Colts - 34
Patriots - 30
That's what I got folks - enjoy the weekend and I'll have a recap of the madness on Monday morning.
Here are my quick-hit observations from last weekend:
- Pretty ugly game from what I can tell for the Longhorns. Stewart Mandel of cnnsi.com had a very simple and 100% accurate take on Texas (I'm paraphrasing here) - "Texas is Texas - you know they'll win 10 or 11 games every year, but unless they can get another Vince Young to come in, they won't be winning the big games anytime soon." How true that is. Let's be very frank here - Nebraska is terrible. I mean horrible this year. Sadly, I predicted this would happen (I actually picked Texas to lose that game which sounds like they should have). I'm actually glad I didn't get to see any of the first half as I'm sure I would have blown a gasket. Texas may be the most deceiving 7-2 team in the land - and they keep climbing the polls with others losing.
- Jamaal Charles - what a game...I guess. 290 yards with 216 coming in the final quarter and over half of that coming off of 2 plays. Either way, 290 yards is 290 yards. Still not in love with the guy, but that was a great game for him.
- Didn't get to see one play or highlight from the Aggie/Kansas game, but sounds like a good one. I know they haven't played anyone too good, but I still say Kansas is good and runs the table leading up to the Big 12 championship game.
- When you're wrong, you're wrong - and I was wrong about Tech...they ARE the same Tech team we know and love from years past.
- I did get to see the entire Giants/Dolphins game from London (it rained all day on Saturday and Sunday) - what a terrible football game.
- The Ohio State watch party continues - will these guys run the table? They may although I'm still saying they lose their final game to Michigan. If they do run the table I still don't see them beating LSU or Oklahoma (and yes, I still think it's one of these guys in the championship game unless OSU loses). The only thing that will keep Oregon out of the big game is the lack of conference championship game.
- Speaking of Oregon - clearly the best team in the Pac 10 right now - I think they run over ASU this weekend
- Hey, how many chances is LSU going to give Ryan Perrilloux? This kid is a bona fide thug...he would fit in perfectly in Austin.
- I don't know about you guys, but I'm soooo tired of Belichek's and Brady's demeanor/attitude in their press conferences. Yes, they are dominant, but I just don't like them. Should the Patriots keep this childish BS up, look for some crazy dude to try and take Brady out with a cheap shot. More on this big game later.
- The Kobe Bryant trade talk/puppet show will absolutely decimate this Laker team this year. Give it a rest media - report on it when something happens.
- You have to feel bad for Andy Reid....but I don't understand why he doesn't step down and take care of his family.
- The younger Steinbrenner kids will find a way to completely screw this whole thing up - I hope A-Rod goes to another AL team and just shreds them next year.
- Great second game for Kevin Durant last night - game high 27 points. He's got to get to the free throw line more than 4 times a game and he'll definitely have to work on his on-ball defense...you can't let a one-legged Grant Hill go by you every time.
Texas at Oklahoma State:
I'll come right out with it Horns' fans - Texas will struggle in this game and frankly, I don't see them winning this one. Let's take a stroll down memory lane - the last 3 years, Okie State led early only to see Texas make unbelievable comebacks to take the victory (the first two of those Texas was down by 4 touchdowns - thank you VY). One thing we know about the horns - they do not play 4 quarters. Other than Iowa State, Texas hasn't put a complete game together and they've played some very poor teams. Believe it or not, Okie State is tied with OU for the lead in the Big 12 south with their showdown looming towards the end of the season. This game marks a stretch of 3 tough games to close out the year for the Longhorns with Tech next weekend and then the annual game with the Aggies. I see Texas winning maybe 1 of these games.
Look for this game to be a high-flying affair. The Cowboys are one of the top teams in the conference in total offense and points scored. However, they are near the bottom in total defense. Seeing what Nebraska did to Texas' defense, look for OSU to run all over this defense - Okie State has a tremendously balanced offense. But, whether or not Texas will be able to move the ball on their porous defense will depend on Texas - given how this season has gone, I'm not banking on anything...much less our game preparation.
At the end of the day, I think Oklahoma State will have revenge on their minds - they offense is clicking, they're at home and they've got the Big 12 south crown in their sights. Okie State beats the horns this weekend.
Oklahoma State - 31
Texas - 17
LSU at Alabama:
Why in the world do LSU fans dislike Saban so much? If I'm not mistaken, he brought this team out of oblivion, won them a national title and set them up for a bright future with lots of success (Les Miles stepped into a can't lose scenario). It would be one thing if he left LSU for Alabama, but that's not the case.
Either way, this should be a great game. I do think LSU is the better team, but Saban can get his team up for the big ones. This will be a close, hard-fought game, but I'll look for LSU to pull out the victory. The Tigers will be without Perrilloux which may limit their offense a bit, but they should be able to pull it out.
LSU - 27
Bama - 23
Wisconsin at Ohio State:
Although there are still quite a few doubters out there (me being one of them), OSU continues to roll past the competition. Granted, I think we would all agree that the Big 10 is down this year, but they keep winning their games and that's what counts. Wisconsin should be a fairly decent test for them. Although I believed Wisconsin was one of the most overrated teams coming into this season (and I was right mind you), they are still a formidable opponent. I look for OSU to win the game here, but I also believe it will be close early on.
Ohio State - 31
Wisconsin - 21
Texas A&M at Oklahoma:
Sorry Aggie fans, but we could very well see a carbon copy game from 2003 when OU demoralized the aggies 77-0 (and it could have been a lot worse if you recall the OU running back falling down before running into the end zone in the final 2 minutes). I'm afraid the aggies don't have much of a chance here. And after this game they get to travel to Columbia, MO to take on the top dogs in the north division - ouch. At least they'll get to end the season on a high note by beating the horns.....sorry Fran, it won't save your job this year.
Oklahoma - 41
Texas A&M - 16
College Football Quick Hits:
- UPSET SPECIAL: I just have a feeling Florida State will go in and upset Boston College...I just feel it.
- I think there's a chance that Navy could beat the Irish this year...a pretty good chance at that. I would love it.
- Never thought I'd be saying this, but could UCONN really win the Big East? They take on Rutgers this weekend to determine the possibilities. What a crazy conference the Big East is this year.
- Keep an eye on the bowl eligible teams for the major conferences over the next couple of weeks - some conferences may have more bowl eligible teams than there are "official spots" for them. Should be interesting. More interesting - the uber talented SEC may actually only send one team to a BCS game this year the way things are going. Go look at the SEC standings - crazy stuff.
- Man, UCLA is quite an enigma. And sorry Dorrell, but there's no chance you're still coaching next year...no chance at all. How do you lose by 20 to Washington State??? That's a sorry team right there....and they had 20 returning starters from last year. 20.
- I'm really not buying the Matt Ryan for heisman hype just yet.
- If you haven't seen the 15 lateral play by Trinity to win the game - check it out...it's the most amazing play I've ever seen. http://theutubeblog.com/2007/10/28/trinity-college-wins-on-last-second-using-15-laterals-to-beat-millsaps/
Yes, I'm looking forward to this game...who isn't? I'm just hoping it lives up to the hype. I'm not sure if the talking heads on television realize this or not, but the Colts are undefeated too you know. Much like the USC days of the last 5 years, the media has surgically implanted their lips on the New England Patriots' asses and it's nauseating. No doubt the Pats are playing tremendous right now, but this Colts team is head and shoulders better than anyone they've faced thus far - better than the Chargers and better than the Cowboys...by a mile. Of course the same goes for Indy. I believe these teams are pretty evenly matched and yes sports fans, if the Colts wanted to score 40 a game, they probably could. They are looking to win games and maintain momentum, not try and show the world how big their dingy is.
I've got to go with the Colts in this one for the primary reason that they are playing at home and the Colts' receivers will blow by the Pats' secondary. Should be a high scoring game here, but I'm giving the edge to the team who's won the past 3 meetings (2 in Foxboro).
Colts - 34
Patriots - 30
That's what I got folks - enjoy the weekend and I'll have a recap of the madness on Monday morning.
posted by The Bearden Wonder at 8:47 AM
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