Up for Grabs

Couple of big conference games in the SEC and Big 10 with huge ramifications. Big 12? Not so much, unless you're glued to the Big 12 North fight between the Kansas schools this weekend...and I doubt you are.

We'll get into the meaningful games, but first...

Release the hounds. That's what the Texas coaching staff will do this weekend. Their toughest games behind while they seem to be getting closer to hitting a stride equates to a long, LONG day for Central Florida this weekend. The good news is the game is early so they'll likely be home by 9pm or so. I expect to see Colt's biggest day of the year with huge games from Shipley and Whittaker. And I seriously think we're going to see the defense pitching a shutout.

I honestly don't know what else to tell you here - this will be nothing more than a nice warm up to the big afternoon game in the SEC for you die-hard fans.

Texas - 52
Central Florida - 0

Do or die cajun style in Tuscaloosa. LSU visits the Crimson Tide on Saturday afternoon with the SEC West up for grabs. Bama wins and they lock it up. LSU wins and they're in the driver's seat. Both teams have great defenses and questionable offenses. Oh, and by the way, in case you haven't been following, Nick Saban coached down in Baton Rouge, brought them a national title, and then stiffed them for the NFL. Sooo, there won't be a lot of love from what's sure to be a huge Tiger turnout.

Trust me friends, yards and points will be at a premium on Saturday. LSU's offense has been anemic this year, however the last couple of games they've played have seen them actually sustain drives and put up a lot of yards and points. Their QB seems to be getting into a good rhythm and if Charles Scott is healthy, he's a very good back.

Meanwhile, the Tide's offense has seemed to regress a bit, but they still have Mark Ingram and he's a flat-out play maker. I imagine you'll see a lot of 8 in the box with a lot of attention on their number one receiver, Julio.

Because it's college football and more often than not, wrenches get thrown into the mix. It's the last month of the season and I don't believe we'll see ALL 3 of these top teams go through unscathed - chaos begins this weekend as LSU out lasts the Tide on the road...I mean, hell, why not.

LSU - 17
Alabama - 16

Two quarterbacks with something to prove. Ohio State's Terrell Pryor is out to shake off his recent struggles with a big, high-profile game in Happy Valley. Ironically, Daryll Clark is in a similar situation. Both of these guys have struggled to live up to expectations and both have dropped their biggest games of the year.

This game is going to come down to the quarterbacks' ability to protect the ball - both have struggled with turnovers this year. I'm pretty sure Ohio State isn't quite as good as expected this year, and I think it's largely due to the fact that Pryor hasn't progressed as quickly as was anticipated. But, I just don't know how good Penn State *really* are. Don't get me wrong, they're a solid team, but you know what I mean, they're Jekyll and Hyde.

I'm giving the edge to Penn State here and I know that's not a stretch. They're at home, they've got a better defense and Clark is a senior so I think he'll make a few more plays. A win here and in two weeks against Iowa for the Buckeyes and they'll win the conference. I just think that's too much for this team right now.

Penn State - 31
Ohio State - 17

Other College Football Thoughts...

• Let Down Alert in Palo Alto: Coming off of arguably the biggest win in it's school history, Oregon visits Stanford on Saturday. Oregon has beaten these guys something like 7 or 8 straight times so it would be easy to look past the Cardinal, but this is a much better Stanford team than in year's past - they have the top rated QB and the top rusher in the conference in their backfield. Don't be shocked to see Oregon take a dump on their season by looking past Stanford. Not saying it'll happen, but I'm saying keep an eye on this one if you can, could get good.
  
• I mentioned this above, but believe it or not there's a pretty significant game in the race for the Big 12 North division with Kansas visiting Kansas State. I'm jumping on the Wildcats bandwagon and picking KSU to take control of the north.
  
• I think Case Keenum should be talked about more in heisman discussions right now. No one has really separated themselves this year and there's still a good chunk to go, but this guy is money.
  
• And speaking of the heisman - for all you Longhorn homers out, there's still time for Colt to climb back up in the discussion. With this remaining schedule he's got a real shot to throw up 8+ touchdowns and a whole boat load of yards. But seriously, he can't turn the ball over. Period.
  
• Interesting game in Lincoln with OU visiting Nebraska. It's like the good old days....except not. I think OU may destroy them.
  

NFL Notes:

• I'm taking it all back - Roy Williams sucks. He's overrated and a big baby. That's got to be a hard check to write each week for Jerry.
  
• I have a hard time believing the Cowboys continue this run in Philly. The Eagles are coming off of a huge win against the Giants and have to be brimming with confidence. If I'm Wade I consider benching Williams for this game or leaving him home - you let him affect team structure (which is delicate as it is) and you'll get embarrassed.
• The Niners and the Dolphins are two teams that are way better than their records indicate. Both teams are 3-4, but may be the most dangerous teams in their respective conferences.
  
• Will be interesting to see how McDaniels and the Broncos respond after a big road loss. They get the Steelers at home. I'm going with the Broncos here - I believe in McDaniels and that defense.
  
• I can't imagine the Giants losing a fourth straight game this week with the Chargers visiting. The Giants secondary is banged up and hurting, and Rivers has a big arm for the deep ball. Going to be tough, but I've got to think the G-Men can nut out a win.
  
• The next two weeks will tell us if this Bengals renaissance is for real - they get Baltimore and the Steelers. I Benson and Palmer stay healthy, I think they at least split those games.
  
• FANTASY UPDATE: Well, I took one on the chin last weekend. Now I officially have no idea what I'm doing.
  

The Home Stretch

After this weekend, many teams enter the final month of the season with the hardest part of their schedule behind them.....on paper of course. And games aren't played on paper. Nevertheless, teams like Texas and Florida can breathe at least a small sigh of relief. Florida has wrapped up the SEC East and the most formidable opponent remaining on Texas' schedule is a Kansas team that has been underwhelming this season...and that's an understatement. Alabama's schedule doesn't get much tougher, though they do have LSU and Auburn remaining and those won't be cake walks.

Some could argue that it's precisely that kind of mentality that will get one or both of these teams in trouble and they'd be right. The two trap games I see are Florida State for the Gators and A&M for the Horns. Don't laugh Texas fans, regardless of what the Aggies do the rest of the way (they still get two consecutive road trips at CU and OU), I can assure you with 100% certainty that they will bring a fight. We've got a long way to go, but keep an asterisk on that one.

Now THAT was impressive. I don't mean any disrespect to Okie State when I say this, but that game looked a hell of a lot like a varsity scrimmaging the JV. I couldn't believe all of those interceptions. And I know Robinson didn't have his two best weapons, but he's a good QB. When they would get on those sustained drives in the first half, he would make some pretty big plays with his feet and arm. He's good, he just didn't get much help from his receivers in a number of instances. But that Texas defense? Ridiculous. There's no way you can tell me that there's a defense out there better than this one - as good maybe, but not better. No way. Earl Thomas is going to make A LOT of money playing Sundays when he's done at the 40 acres. Defensive coordinator, head coach, whatever - pay Muschamp whatever he wants.

The most promising thing about this game? It was the first of the year when Colt didn't account for at least one turnover. Hopefully a sign of things to come (and should be considering their opponents). Fozzy Whittaker is definitely a play maker. I like the altering styles of he and Johnson together, they complement each other well. However, I do have (still) one beef and that's with the offensive line. They showed glimpses of good protection on Saturday night (when Colt completed those 13+ he had all day to throw), but it was inconsistent at best. They don't seem to run block or pass block very well - just OK. If Texas were to face off against an Iowa, Florida or Alabama, that may prove to be an issue. Along these same lines, I'm too lazy to actually look this up, but I wonder what the difference is between Colt's gross and net rushing yards (QB sacks count against his rushing yards). I bet it's a larger difference than you think. Anyway, I digress. All in all, the best performance of the year by far...and against a quality opponent which looks good on paper....and unfortunately it matters.

The fall of Troy was loud and violent. Before we talk about the enormity of this game for Oregon, let's quickly remind ourselves of this - there's USC of the last 5-7 years and this year's USC. This is the first time in a LONG time when Carroll has had to actually rebuild a little bit. Reloading works when you recruit well (see Texas, Florida, OU, USC, etc.), but every now and again you it's not that easy. For all intents and purposes, they've had to completely replace the all-world defense they had last year...and it's shown more than once this year. And Barkley is a good QB. I mean, you don't get a scholarship to USC, much less get nabbed to start, without being pretty damn good. But he is a freshman. Asking really good freshman to do big things from time to time is one thing, but asking them to sustain that for 12 games is another.

Now, on to the Ducks. What can you say? They are for real. And don't look now, but we may wake up one day in early December to find that Oregon has found itself in the title game. I know, I know - a lot of things need to happen for that to come to fruition, but it's most certainly possible. We all clearly remember what happened on opening night when Oregon visited Boise State, but since then, the only non-BCS team they've faced was Utah who might as well be a BCS team. In addition to their overall favorable schedule (Boise State, Purdue, Utah out of conference) they've got a quality win and a quality loss. That's not to say that teams should lose (that's absurd), but their lone loss came from a top 8 team.

If you haven't seen Jeremiah Masoli play yet, try and catch him once this year. He's quite an athlete. He amassed 386 total yards by himself. They have an explosive offense and when they get going, they really get going. And defensively, they held the USC offense (the best part of it's game) to 3 points and 130 total yards in the second half. When was the last time someone did that to the Trojans? All in all a very big game for Oregon and now with a 2-game lead, I'd be surprised if they lost 3 games the rest of the way. Consider USC off the radar, but they were just replaced with Oregon. And I don't care what you say, Oregon should be ranked ahead of Boise State. There's nothing you can say to make me thing otherwise based on what we're seeing from these Ducks right now (and who they're doing it to).

Just win baby. That's what we keep saying for the top 3 teams - blowouts or ugly, tight wins, if you're Florida, Bama or Texas, that's the name of the game. But, Iowa seems to be taking this pretty seriously as well. For like the eighth time this year, Iowa has rallied from a deficit to win a game. I didn't get to see this one (saw highlights), but I heard from more than one person that the refs were pretty horrendous in this one as well. If I'm not mistaken, Iowa was losing by 10 heading into the fourth quarter? And they won by 18? Wow. Call them overrated or one dimensional, but at the end of the day, they certainly know how to pull out the tough wins. If they're in in at the end, they can find a way to pull it out and that's scary for anyone playing them.

And how about Cincy? Another team who just keeps winning and winning big. I know we like to talk about the Big East and it's lack of talent, but they're still a big time conference. Cincy closes the season at Pitt (who's 7-1 by the way) and if they can win that one, like Oregon, could very well find themselves falling ass backwards into the title game (they need more help than Oregon). I'd love to see an Oregon/Cincy match up....but this would only happen in a title game. Otherwise we'll likely see Oregon and Iowa (or OSU possibly) in the Rose Bowl.

More observations and whims from the college football weekend...

• When you hear people say, "he plays like a freshman", and you don't understand what it means - go watch Tech and their third-string QB. That's what a freshman QB looks like. Freezes in the pocket and holds on to the ball waaaaaay too long. Kansas should have won that game, but they're just not that good.
  
• I challenge anyone to name me a division/bottom portion of a conference worse than the Big 12 north. You can't do it. Kansas State still leads the way at 3-2 with Nebraska at 2-2, Iowa State at 2-3, and Mizzou, Colorado and Kansas all at 1-3. The third best team in the division has a losing conference record. Ugh.
  
• Four games left in the season and Florida has locked up the SEC East - tell me that division isn't down either. They're no where near as bad as the Big 12 north, but they are most certainly down this year.
• Memo to TCU fans - you've got a really good football team currently ranked in the top 8 of the BCS. How about if you actually show up to the games? It's pathetic that there is no fan base to really get excited about. This is why Patterson will ultimately move on to bigger and better things within a couple of years and you will sink back down to mediocrity. Don't believe me? Next time TCU plays an afternoon home game on television, check out the stands.
  
• It's really sick how the media can and will lock onto any one player a year and just has to raise them above everyone else no matter what. It's like their bonuses depend on it or something. Tebow played a great game, certainly his best of the year, but is he all of a sudden the best player in the land? I don't think so. Lest we forget that he stunk it up the last few weeks? Let's not crucify him or anything, but let's just not pretend like that he has been just ok before now, because he has. Good kid, great player, but settle down - Georgia's defense is a horrible. Let's give some other deserving players the spotlight - you know, because they've earned it.
  
• I know Iowa State blows, but the Aggies didn't punt all day on Saturday. That's quite a statistic.
  
• All the Big 12 north bashing aside, KState still controls it's own destiny and in all honesty, seems more impressive than any other team. They made it competitive after getting down big against the Sooners.
  
• Texas has scored 9 non-offensive touchdowns this year. I don't know how that stacks up, but that sure is high.
  
• I don't remember if I hit on this last week, but super classy move by West Virginia and it's fans in honoring UCONN's fallen player just a week earlier.
  
• Tennessee and Georgia get the award for "we're trying to look intimidating in these black jerseys/helmets, but realize we just look silly".

My thoughts from the weekend around the NFL...

• Something is wrong with these NY Football Giants. Something is horribly wrong. Dropping 3 straight in convincing fashion is not good. They need a bye week in a bad kind of way. What happened to that defense? Philly put up 40. Damn.
  
• And with that comes the resurgence of Dallas. NFC East is getting tighter by the week. Will be interesting. They've won 3 straight games and have a big match up at Philly next weekend for the division lead heading into the halfway point. That winner is in the driver's seat.
  
• Hmm...think Tedd Ginn Jr. has been taking all of that criticism personally? That was a redemption performance - 2 kickoffs returned for TDs (both at or more than 100 yards). Unreal.
  
• Calm down Broncos fans, you just ran into a desperate team at home in a must-win situation. They would have beaten anyone in the league in that game. Still, will be interesting to see how Denver rebounds now that they've notched that lost. Some teams relax and settle back in while others crumble. They close out this brutal stretch with Pittsburgh at home next weekend - a win there and this loss is all but forgotten.
  
• Nice little showing for VY - nice, efficient game with high percentage completion and no turnovers. Chris Johnson helped tremendously.
  
• How about this - the Dolphins have swept the big, bad Jets this year. Remember how pissy Ryan was after the first game, dissing the wildcat as a gimmicky joke? I wonder how he'll feel this week...
• Peyton Manning is quietly, but surely locking up the MVP.
  

That's what I got gang - enjoy the week.