Sorry, Austin, no BCS championship game for you.
Okay, baseball season’s over. College basketball is still in the exhibition stage. So, let’s get back to the sport that’s really exciting in early November for everyone—college football (no, State fans, we’re not talking about men’s soccer). Fresh off my successful prediction of the USC upset and even though my other upset predictions didn’t happen, I’m ready to predict the outcome of this week’s Top 25 games. This time, I’m including the Thursday night game. The same rules and stipulations from last week apply this week.
Thursday’s game
No. 23 Virginia Tech at East Carolina: What is it with ACC teams and Thursday night games? First Georgia Tech played two Thursday night games in a row, then UNC did it and now it’s Virginia Tech’s turn. Is it because the ACC is so mediocre that they honor them with a game on a mediocre night? Or is it done to highlight how truly splendiferous the ACC is at playing lackluster football? Anyway, now that Virginia Tech has gotten its loss to a ranked team and its loss to a lame team under its belt, it’s time for them to start taking opponents apart in their quest to lose yet another embarrassing game in the ACC BCS bowl. East Carolina is not as bad as they look, but you can’t argue with history. Virginia Tech wins this one.
Friday’s game
No. 7 Boise State at Louisiana Tech. I’m sure the BCS would love to see an upset here because then they won’t have to listen to people who really know something about football complain how Boise State should have been in National Championship BCS game, mainly because a loss would catapult them out of the Top 25. However, complain they will, because I see no upset here. Louisiana State couldn’t even beat Idaho. By the way, let me be one of the first ones to say it. As long as Florida, Ohio State, Texas, Alabama and USC all have football teams, Boise State will never have the chance to taste the national championship. I’m sorry for it, but it’s a fact of football life. Ca-ching.
Saturday’s games
Vanderbilt at No. 1 Florida. Considering that Georgia Tech basically danced past Vanderbilt last week—and we all know what conference the Yellow Jackets are in—this is a no brainer. Florida fans can’t relax, though, because if they don’t beat Vanderbilt by 35 points or more and Alabama beats LSU, they may be kicked out of the top spot. We now know that the pollsters have “Joe Wilson/Kanye West disruption” aspirations and jumble up the Top 3 for no other reason than to get noticed and talked about.
UCF at No. 2 Texas. University of Central Florida? Seriously, Texas? Are
The quarterback of the team most afraid of OOC play.
you really so afraid of OOC play that a C-USA team is the best you can come up with?
No. 9 LSU at No. 3 Alabama. This is actually anybody’s game because it’s being played in Tuscaloosa. If it were in Baton Rouge, it would be no contest. However, I’m predicting an upset simply because I think that LSU is playing with more heart than Alabama right now. I’ve watched both teams play three times this season and I’m still not convinced that Alabama is the No. 3 team in the nation. I won’t be surprised if I’m wrong about this, though.
Northwestern at No. 4 Iowa. Dammit, I want Northwestern to upset someone, but I don’t think it’s going to be Iowa. Despite the fact that Iowa has absolutely no business being ranked No. 4 and I would jump for joy if they lost, Northwestern will have been too worn out after giving Penn State half a game last week to pull off the upset.
Connecticut at No. 5 Cincinnati. Connecticut is not as bad as their record makes them look, but Cincinnati’s way better. By the way, Cincinnati fans, see my comments about Boise State above.
No. 6 TCU at San Diego State. No upset here. TCU fans, your team is in the same boat as Cincinnati and Boise State. It’s sad, really.
No. 8 Oregon at Stanford. If Oregon were an ACC team (and I personally know one Duck fan who celebrates the fact that they’re not daily), they would lose to Stanford. However, Oregon did not blow their wad beating USC. In fact, they made it look easy. Oregon might not cruise, but they’ll win.
Wake Forest at No. 10 Georgia Tech. I’m going out on a limb here by predicting that a ranked ACC team will beat an unranked ACC team. That’s rare in these parts. But after Wake Forest basically handed Miami the game last week after leading decisively, I don’t think that they’ll be able to beat a team that might actually be good.
No. 16 Ohio State at No. 11 Penn State. Penn State doesn’t have a prayer. Despite the fact that Ohio State should really be No. 22 or No. 23, Penn State has beaten absolutely no one and lost to Iowa. Also, Ohio State will win simply to hear their name tossed about as possible National Champion contenders should Florida, Alabama or Texas lose a couple of games apiece.
No. 12 USC at Arizona State. Look for a really pissed off USC to take it to Arizona State. Things have not been going their way this season, aww. And high-fives to myself for predicting that they’d lose to Oregon last week.
The last time this guy played Pittsburgh, he scored 3 points in 34 minutes of play. Of course, it was a different sport.
Syracuse at No. 13 Pittsburgh. Talk about a team that’s better than they look and that’s Pittsburgh. Had it not been for some bad luck in Raleigh, they’d be in the same shoes as Boise State, TCU and Cincinnati—beating fruitlessly at the door of the BCS National Championship game. I also did some checking and it turns out that when Duke played Pittsburgh in basketball in 2007, Paulus played 34 minutes in the game and only scored 3 points. An omen? I’m not sure because I think Paulus is a better football player than he was a basketball player.
New Mexico at No. 14 Utah. Utah should be ranked higher because, apparently, only the really great teams lose to Oregon. They should have no trouble on Saturday.
No. 15 Houston at Tulsa. I don’t know why, but I think that this is going to be one of the better games of the week. Houston is good, but they struggled to beat Southern Miss last week. Houston is the third ranked team that Tulsa has played this season (always a good experience even when you lose) and I think they’ll play them tough and close, but Houston will eventually get the win.
Virginia at No. 17 Miami. Al Groh’s job’s on the line and if anything can inspire Virginia to play even more poorly than they already have this season, it’s the fact that they might lose their coach if they don’t win. It’s the Virginia Way. Miami is overrated and shouldn’t be ranked, but their ability to lose in an embarrassing fashion is amateur compared to the Cavaliers. I think Miami will win by at least a touch down.
Washington State at No. 18 Arizona. Arizona and the Pac 10 will be in major suckage mode if they lose to Washington State. Of course, should Washington State miraculously defeat Arizona, all the Pac 10 fans will tell us it’s because the conference is so tough and that Washington State would have a winning season in any other conference.
No. 19 Oklahoma State at Iowa State. Oklahoma State is now ranked where they should have been all along. As a result, they’ll play well enough to beat Iowa State.
Oregon State at No. 20 California. It’s time for me to stop being chicken and pick an upset that will make most people scratch their heads. Despite the fact that Oregon State is playing at Cal and Cal has lost only to underrated Oregon and overrated USC, somehow I have a feeling that the Beavers might pull this one off.
No. 21 Wisconsin at Indiana. I nominate this for the “Nobody Cares Who Wins Except Big 10 Fans” game of the week. Wisconsin, like Penn State, is ranked…why? They’ve beaten no one and lost to Iowa and Ohio State. Oh, yeah, they’re in the Big 10–the best conference in the country the year I was born. But they should win this one. Indiana likes to scare their opponents in the first half and fold in the second (much like Virginia, a team that actually beat them this year). I don’t see anything playing out differently in this game.
Navy at No. 22 Notre Dame. Notre Dame = overrated (not to mention televised ad nauseum by the Notre Dame Broadcasting Company, aka NBC). Navy = underrated. I hope Navy shocks South Bend on Saturday.
No. 24 Oklahoma at Nebraska. I think that this might be the best game of the week and reminiscent of the days when both teams were powerhouses (of course, I hated both of them with a passion back then and would pray for a scoreless tie with countless injuries when they played). I’ve mellowed toward these two teams in the last five years or so. Both teams have three losses, although Oklahoma’s losses were to higher ranked teams, and it’s a rivalry along the lines of Florida versus Georgia. Playing at home gives Nebraska an edge, but since Oklahoma played it tough against Texas, I think they’ll dig deep and bring up the win in the last quarter.
Those are my predictions for this week. I don’t have a bonus game because the game I would pick as my bonus I’m smart enough never to call. Ever.
Let the Week 10 drinking begin!
Not buying LSU over Bama.
LSU has little to no offensive fire power and Bama will completely shut them down at home.
It will definitely be a low scoring affair, though. I’m figuring 13-3 in favor of the Tide with Bama’s more productive running game being the difference.