College Football Week 8
Bang. Bang. Two more top 5s bite the dust.
Week 7 was very exciting. Kentucky pulled off a triple-OT stunning upset of top-ranked LSU. The Tigers had looked unbeatable before traveling to Lexington and failing to get the TD in the 3rd OT. Then Cal lost to Oregon State, and I do mean LOST to Oregon State. The Bears were in the red zone with a few seconds left. And they ran the ball. With no time outs. Yeah. Brilliant. So that put the Ohio State in the top spot, followed by South Florida, BC, OU, and LSU (I guess enough people thought the UK win was a fluke). In other news, Boise pulled off a quadruple-OT win over Nevada Sunday night on the smurf turf. Colin Kaepernick was looking a little like Vince Young in the Rose Bowl shortly before being tackled short of the goal line on the two point conversion to seal an amazing 69-67 win for the Broncos that proved just how much more fun college football is to watch than the NFL version several channels away at the same time.
The week begins with South Florida traveling to Piscataway, NJ to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Thursday night. The Scarlet Knights just ended a two game skid by beating the Syracuse Orange. They have big play potential, but struggled against Cincinnati and Maryland. I guarantee you James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano) will be in the crowd for this one. The Bulls, on the other hand, are extremely dangerous and fired up. They just blasted a Central Florida team that held their own against Texas. They've won at Auburn and they beat West Virginia. This team is real enough that they might just deserve that #2 ranking. Will they prove it, or will Tony Soprano's Knights do the talking?
Two high-flying spread offenses collide as 6-1 Texas Tech travels to Columbia on Saturday to take on the 5-1 Mizzou Tigers. Mizzou is coming off a tough loss to the #4 Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, while the Red Raiders crushed Texas A&M 35-7 in Lubbock. The Tigers hung tough in Norman, even taking a brief lead, before a series of mistakes allowed the Sooners to capitalize for the win. Tech's lone loss came in a 49-45 shootout at Oklahoma State on September 22. Graham Harrell is playing very well, but the Raiders will need some kind of pirate magic in their defense to slow down Chase Daniel and Mizzou. Which score-a-thon spread offense will prevail in Columbia?
Auburn, ever the upset minded team under Tommy Tuberville, is looking to hand the LSU Tigers their second straight loss. After a defensive slugfest against the Razorbacks in Fayetteville, the Auburn Tigers are on a 4 game tear, including an upset win in the swamp over the Florida Gators. Les Miles and his LSU Tigers, despite a horrifically nail-biting 3-OT loss in Lexington, Kentucky, are still in the top 5 of everyone's poll. They are a tough team at home, among the toughest in the nation, but if Auburn could win in the swamp, they could win anywhere. Even in Baton Rouge. Which Tiger will prevail deep down in Loosiana: Aubie or Mike?
Kentucky, facing the second part of a scary home double-header, must now take on Tim Tebow and the Urban Gators. They must feel pretty fortunate to get both LSU and Florida in Lexington, but at the same time, having to play both is hardly a godsend, especially considering it is in consecutive weeks. It will be very tough for Andre Woodson and the Wildcats to inspire a repeat performance of their (now mentioned for the third time) triple-OT victory from last week. Florida, however, is hardly the seemingly unbeatable juggernaut they were last year. In fact, they are on a two-game losing streak following a home loss to Auburn and a road loss to LSU. Maybe Tebow and company can take solice in the fact that Kentucky's mascot is not a Tiger. Will Woodson and company pull off another stunning upset, or will Super Tim prove his mettle in Lexington?
Michigan, once the whipping boy of the entire nation for their loss at home to App State (and a severe beatdown in the big house to the Oregon Ducks in week 2), are now sitting pretty just below rival Ohio State in the Big 10 standings atop a five game winning streak. The streak is impressive, considering the rocky start of the Wolverines, the beat downs of Notre Dame (38-0) and Purdue (48-21), and the defensive victory over Penn State in Week 4. Illinois has played beyond most expectations, partly due to a recruiting boom with the arrival of Ron Zook at the helm. Losing to Mizzou in week 1 was tough. Losing at Iowa last week was even rougher, considering how the Illini lost. Eddie McGee seemingly had the game won with a receiver open in the endzone at the end of the game. His relief of Juice Williams would have been justified. Enter Brett Greenwood of Iowa. In one of those undefinable moments of football, McGee seemed to throw the ball right into Greenwood's breadbasket for an INT. Game over. Now they play host to a white hot Michigan team in Champagne. Will the Wolverines extend their winning streak, or will the Fighting Illini regroup at home?
Stay tuned, sports fans. These questions and more find an answer this weekend.
My Top 10 for this week:
1. the Ohio State - still standing
2. BC - good QB play and a tough D
3. USF - possibly the best in the country?
4. ASU - unbeaten and looking strong
5. OU - big win at home against Mizzou
6. UK - biggest win in program history last week
7. South Carolina - Tough, tough D
8. KU - yup, til somebody beats them
9. LSU - tough loss in 3OT on the road
10. Cal - I shouldn't even put them in the top 10 after the worst clock management in history
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