Right now, it's all about the O. |
We are at the fourth week of October, which means for the most part that we know what teams are going to be there at the beginning of December as national title hopefuls, and which ones are just going to be secondary stories. Oregon looked normal (read:great) last night dismantling a UCLA team with a offense that has turned anemic ever since they left Austin with a win. I have a feeling the Ducks would be at the very minimum a 10-12 point fave over anyone in America on a neutral field for a bowl game. Maybe Boise, Oklahoma, or TCU would be single digits, but you can't say that with Darron Thomas and LeMichael James in that offense that you can slow them down that much. The defense... eh, we'll reserve judgement till they play a game where the offense is stymied (and that doesn't count against Wazzu, the Cougars are awful). Now, onto the games for Saturday. Instead of featuring several games at can't miss matchups, I'm going to bullet point all the games, because in all honesty there are a lot of games that you shouldn't miss. We're going from early to late. Any starting times will be Eastern.
THE GAMES:
#7 Michigan State at Northwestern - Kirk Cousins should have a great day vs the Wildcats. They're getting closer in Evansville, but they still need to find a offense.
Purdue at #10 Ohio State- Worst game of the season last week for the Buckeye offense. Purdue shouldn't be a tough opponent to get healthy against... shouldn't is the key word. If Pryor stinks at all this game, I'd start to question how injured he actually is.
Iowa State at #19 Texas - The Cyclones can move the ball on offense. Unfortunately, the Defense moves too... backwards. If Garrett Gilbert doesnt' score more than 30-34 this game, major issues should come up. Then again, the press there will sugarcoat it just like everything else.
Notre Dame at Navy (in Baltimore) - People are telling the world how Notre Dame should blow Navy out of the water. I don't think that's going to happen here, for some reason this team likes to keep the game closer than it should be. Navy will wear this defense out, but the kicker has been how much Navy has passed for per attempt in the last few years vs. the Irish (number is staggering, like 18-20 yards per pass). Notre Dame, but not by much.
Mississippi at #23 Arkansas - Between the loss last week after Ryan Mallett went out, the failure of the D to keep Auburn under 60 (stellar SEC defenses, right?), and the scathing and truthful comments from Cincinatti Bengals' DC Mike Zimmer (who doesn't say anything mean about anyone), Bobby Petrino needs this game badly to stave off the vultures all of a sudden. A loss here, and you can warm up the bus for Shreveport for them. While for Ole Miss, the reverend Nutt has actually had a decent looking team lately since Jeremiah Masoli has started to blossom. I think that, if Mallett is healthy and ready to go, this game shouldnt' be close. However, if Arkansas loses or looks bad winning, expect the boobirds to rain down on this field.
#6 LSU at #4 Auburn - The GAME OF THE CENTURY OF THE WEEK in the SEC is a pretty damn good one, and one that will give the winner the upper hand on their way to Atlanta for the SEC Championship. This will be the best D that Cam Newton and the espresso-puppy offense that Malzhan will face. Auburn will get their points, and will be stopped at times. However, the game still falls on the maddening yet efficent when their backs against the wall offense that Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee are allowed to manage. If this game is close at the end, remember the horseshoe that Les Miles seems to have shoved up his ass. It's not like Auburn stopped Arkansas last week, they just happened to outscore them. I wanna say Auburn, but this is LSU.
#13 Wisconsin at #15 Iowa - This is a very interesting game in the B10 this week, with the way Wisconsin slapped then -#1 tOSU last week, and how Iowa has seemed to be the most consistant team in the conference this year. If you watch it, it will be a very boring game in that both offenses just control the ball and won't give you anything to take advantage of. I say Iowa only because I feel that Wisconsin will be coming down from the beating of the Buckeyes, and for some reason the Hawkeyes are a much different team in Kinnick.
#16 Nebraska at #14 Oklahoma State - No way did I expect that Taylor Martinez would struggle that much against the UT defense. Then again, there was four drops by Nebraska's receivers that would have changed the game. They go to Stillwater where the Cowboy offense has been unstoppable really. This is a large test for Dana Holgorson's passing offense, going against the top pass efficency team in America in the Blackshirts. Kendrell Hunter will be the X factor here, because he will be asked to carry the ball a lot against a running defense that is good but not as good as they were last year. The saving grace for Nebraska is that they will be able to score against this defense. After last weeks game, Bo will have his team's attention. Think Nebraska by about 10 points here.
#22 Kansas State at Baylor - This game is going to be an upset. Kansas State has had a lot of issues against mobile quarterbacks, and Robert Griffin III is as mobile as they come. There's a lot on the line for Baylor. At home, bowl eligibility with a win... no way do they come out slacking on emotions. Kansas State tends to come out flat in these games. Baylor by 2 touchdowns and they tear down the goalposts after the game.
#8 Alabama at Tennessee - The Tide got healthy last week against Mississippi, and go into Neyland to go against a team that is just struggling to find itself. Tennessee's D isn't very good, but their Offense actually seems to do well against teams that have great defenses. Alabama should run for 400 plus on this team. It won't be close.
#1 Oklahoma at #11 Missouri - College Gameday rolls into Columbia for the first time ever as this Saturday night tussle will pit undefeated teams. Missouri's offense is just as good as normal, however they can't run the ball. Missouri's defense, while ranked pretty highly and very good, hasn't been faced by anyone. Oklahoma has found a great offense all of a sudden, and plays pass defense pretty well. The determining factor, however, is all mental. Like Texas being in Nebraska's head, Oklahoma is in Gary Pinkel's head. Bad. OU will win a game that, while is close the whole night, won't be a real contest.
Washington at #18 Arizona - Remember about three weeks ago when everyone was telling you how Arizona was CLEARLY the Pac 10 frontrunners and should easily win the title? I guess that was before people realized how good Oregon was and how phony Arizona looks. Jake Locker and Sark come to town and have a pretty good vibe going after beating Oregon State. With no Nick Foles to throw, I think Washington wins this game and sends Arizona out of the top 25 for the year.
THE FOOD AND DRINK OPTIONS
Some of you are begging for comfort foods for your Saturday. I'm more than willing to oblige, as long as it goes Southern with just a little bit of butter, y'all.....
Barbeque Meatloaf
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Ingredients:
•1 1/2 pounds ground beef
•1 cup fresh bread crumbs
•1 onion, diced
•1 egg, lightly beaten
•1 1/2 teaspoons salt
•1/2 teaspoon pepper
•2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
•3 tablespoons vinegar
•3 tablespoons brown sugar
•2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
•2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
•1/2 cup water, to thin sauce if necessary
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix together the beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce. Form this mixture into a loaf and place it in a shallow pan. Stir together the remaining tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, mustard, Worcestershire and the water (if too thick). Pour this sauce over the meatloaf. Bake for 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes with the pan juices.
Cook's Note: Try serving as a sandwich with mayonnaise
Oh yes we will Paula.... we will... Beverage? Guiness stout. With meatloaf, you can't do no wrong.
Ball is in your court, Cam |
THE HEISMAN FRONTRUNNERS:
Cam Newton - He can either go a long way or spin down quickly with this week vs. a good LSU D.
Kellen Moore - Still keeps winning and looking good. As stable as you can get.
LaMichael James - normal great game last night, although you wonder if Darron Thomas should get some cred.
Justin Blackmon - This could be his coming out party. He's going against two NFL caliber corners this week in Prince Amukumara and Alfonso Dennard. If he can get his numbers, expect him to skyrocket.
btw... I see that ESPN still has Andrew Luck listed as a candidate. How can the third best QB in the conference be the Heisman winner, WWL?
THE COACHES COOKING ON THEIR CHAIRS:
Bobby Petrino - As listed above, Petrino has a laundry list of issues all of a sudden, along with the fact that there will be life after Ryan Mallett. Makes you start to wonder if Petrino will start listening to other schools (no NFL unless Jerry calls... maybe?) about job openings. Minnesota would seem good all of a sudden, you also have possibly Texas A&M if Sherman is asked to leave, Colorado if they can find the money for Hawkins.. a lot of possibilities all of a sudden. And, if he says he isn't leaving... well, take it for what it's worth.
Dan Hawkins - Bad loss against Baylor. Just a matter of time.
Greg Schiano - His time at Rutgers has run it's course. He's done everything to get that program going, and they have shot him down along the way. 90% of any other school in America, he'd be at Nick Saban status.
Paul Wulff - Cant see him doing anything to save his job, even with a Apple Cup win.
Not bright, at all. |
RANT OF THE WEEK:
Larry Scott... why are you thinking? Why make it to where a team in a BCS conference hosts their own title game? Isn't a conference title game supposed to be a fair, neutral site game where it's a reward for said teams to go to? Do you really think that, for a Arizona/Cal team that wins their division, they could be rewarded by going to Pullman or Boulder in the first week of December? Did you even think of the fans when you decided this? Of course you didn't. Was Glendale, the Rose Bowl, Oakland Coliseum, or Qualicomm Stadiums booked with Billy Graham crusades or Amway conventions? Stop the madness. Make this last one year, period.
Enjoy your weekend people... and, just because... GO RANGERS.