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Week Five Games of the Week

So I am watching Curb Your Enthusiasm last night, which I think is hilarious, and the topic of the show is getting a nice gift that rhymes with hoe mob while driving down the road.  LD thinks getting the gift is dangerous and the rest of the cast thinks the gift is divine.  I happen to side with the rest of the cast on this one.  Anyway, I also happened to catch David Letterman’s announcement of having indiscretions with CBS staff members and thought as a race car enthusiast, Letterman is probably in favor of the hoe mob while driving. All of this has nothing to do with college football except October always brings us new surprises.  Thanks Dave.

 

Here are my conference games of the week.

 

 

ACC

 

I’ll discuss the OK/Miami game in the Big 12 section.  In ACC play, the game of the week is Wake vs NC State.  After an opening season loss to South Carolina, the Wolfpack have rebounded to win three straight.  Last week’s win over Pitt probably showed that NC State is good team.  Wake has been up and down losing to Baylor and BC, but beating Stanford.  Which team shows up tomorrow?  Not sure.  Wake is the home team and the game should be close.  I still like NC State.

 

Big East

 

Slim pickens in the Big East this week so I’ll go with South Florida vs. Syracuse.  South Florida is undefeated and is coming off a mild upset win over Florida State.  Syracuse is an improved team sitting at 2-2 under first year HC Doug Marrone.  The Bulls have shown a tendency to cool off in October.  This game will be close, but I like SF to get the win.  Don’t be shocked if Cuse pulls the upset.

 

Big Ten

 

Michigan vs. Michigan State.  After losing three in a row, the Spartans are lost right now.  Michigan barely escaped Indiana last Saturday.  Surprisingly, Michigan State is favored in the game.  Michigan wins a big road game by two TD’s.

 

Other game to watch:  Minnesota vs. Wisconsin.  The NCAA’s longest rivalry standing at 116 games, and they play for the Paul Bunyan Axe. Wisky will keep the Axe for the sixth year in a row. 

 

Big 12

 

Oklahoma vs. Miami.  The Sooners will be playing without Sam Bradford.  The U is licking their wounds after the beatdown by Virginia Tech last Saturday.  I said last week that we should hold judgment on the U until they played the Sooners.  Their loss last week exposed the Canes weaknesses, and the Sooners are going to pound them even more.  Sooners big. 

 

PAC 10

 

USC vs. Cal.  Cal ruined a potentially great season with the embarrassing loss against Oregon last week.  USC’s week has been difficult with the weight lifting accident to Stefon Johnson that almost cost him his life.  Thankfully, Johnson will recover.  Cal is at home, but the hangover from last week’s loss carries over into this game.  USC wins by 14. 

 

SEC

 

Georgia vs. LSU.  This game is huge.  LSU is undefeated, ranked #4, but there are serious questions about the team based on last week’s narrow win over Mississippi State.  Georgia also escaped against Arizona State.  The Bulldogs cannot afford another loss and LSU would like to be undefeated going into the Florida game next week.  Tough call, but I think Georgia gets a close victory.

 

Other game to watch:  Auburn vs. Tennessee.  Auburn is undefeated under first year HC Gene Chizik.  Much of Auburn’s improvement can be traced to new OC Gus Malzahn.  The Tigers are #3 in total offense.  This is saying a lot considering Auburn was dreadful on offense in 2008.  Auburn goes into Rocky Top and gets the victory.  The Orange faithful will be grumbling on Sunday morning.

 

That's the list this week.

End of September Thoughts

The first month of the 2009 college football season is in the books.  After four games, we know a lot about the direction of this season.  With this in mind, here is a breakdown of the surprises and disappointments to date.  (as usual, this can change by week six.  I reserve the right to frequently change my mind)

Surprises:

Houston is good enough to compete in the Big 12.  The Cougars are 2-0 against the South division which is considered one of the toughest in college football.  The WAC and MWC usually generate the BCS buzz, but this year may belong to Conference USA.  If they beat Mississippi State in two weeks, that's a 3-0 sweep of the big boys.  Houston's conference schedule is manageable so they might just be BCS buster this year.  TCU and Boise are also in the mix which I'm sure will stoke the playoff fire as the season progresses.

Auburn's offensive turnaround is nothing short of a miracle.  Last year, Auburn averaged 17.3 points per game.  This year, 45.25.  This is close to a 300% gain in points per game.  Guz Malzahn did wonders for Arkansas and Tulsa, and is now doing it with the Tigers.  Considered an afterthought in the SEC race, Auburn is a legitimate title contender.  

Interjection:  How good would Ohio State be this season with an OC like Malzahn?  Seriously.

Missouri has not missed a beat after losing Chase Daniels, Chase Kaufman and Jeremy Macklin.  In case you wondered, these three combined for just over 7000 yards of offense and over 40 TD's last year.  This year, the Tigers are 16th in total offense and 20th in scoring average.  Missou's competition has been pretty good too with Illinois, BG and Nevada.  Their conference schedule is brutal drawing Texas and OSU from the South, but I like their chances in the Big 12 North race.

Wisconsin is 4-0 and playing much better than they were at the end of 2008.  All of the games have been at home and the competition has been just ok, but for a team that lost their identity last year, 2009 is starting well for the Badgers.  October will prove challenging with games at Minn and OSU and at home against Iowa and Purdue.  Splitting these four games likely means making a good bowl game.

Disappointments:

Michigan State.  Coming off a 9-4 season with 15 returning starters, expectations were high in East Lansing to compete for a Big Ten title.  Sitting at 1-3 with losses to ND, Wisky and Cent Mich and the only win is against FCS Montana State, the only conclusion is 2009 is not going well for the Spartans.  The road schedule in the Big Ten is pretty tame with games at Minn, Purdue and Ill.  A rebound is possible, but not likely considering the defense is weak. 

Notre Dame.  I know the Irish are 3-1, but this team has looked pretty average in beating Mich St and Purdue.  ND could easily be sitting 1-3.  They're not, and that is a testament to better leadership on the field, but the special season most pundits were predicting is in jeopardy.

Heisman Hopefuls stats.  Don't get me wrong, Tebow and McCoy are having fine seasons and will be vying for the hardware at the end of the season, but comparatively, their stats are below expectations right now.  With Tebow's concussion, McCoy can gain a huge advantage in the coming weeks.  Should be an interesting race.

That's the list for now.