This was supposed to be for here: http://fatkidmusings.blogspot.com/ but I screwed that up so the two people who read this can just skim over it or not.
First I'd like to apologize to last week, it was lower then even my low standards of excellence have come to accept, I will never again work nursery stories or fables or whatever into my column, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin. I will also need to stop making guarantees, after this one: The only guarantee that I will make is that only things that can disappoint me will happen ala Penn State making me sad. That was the worst pass interference call of all time. The refs hate Penn State. So if we apply the logic that only things that disappoint me will happen then you will see Utah, Boise, and Ball State all lose, Penn State doesn't go to a BCS game, and Ohio State somehow leapfrogs it's way to the title game against Alabama and afterwards, when Alabama has won, they both decide to join one another to form THE University of Alabama State Crimson Buckeyes, and they higher Bobby Petrino as their QB's coach and Chuck "The Chest" Amato becomes their linebackers coach. Then they make a law that there can never be a playoff and furthermore all non-BCS conferences will not be eligible for BCS games. Then they will outlaw the option and mandate scholarships for all football teams. To switch topics really fast I may be completely wrong minded about this but I think that losing to a lesser opponent is less of a deal then losing to a big name. Take Oklahoma and Texas, and then USC, Penn State and Florida as examples. The last three got caught in trap games where they lost, barely, and they have won handily every other game they've played. Whereas Texas and Oklahoma both lost to quality opponents and they have beaten all the lesser teams they've played. But in my mind I grade them as worse losses then the three teams that got trapped. Am I just dead wrong about this? Probably. Lastly, Why couldn't Penn State not just win out? I mean how many times do they have to get jobbed by the refs in their one loss? The last time they did it granted it was during the Texas/USC national title game but still. Anyways, this week has a pretty weak slate of games, we're talking puppy dog weak, which in football is not nearly as cute and cuddly.
"I gotta admit that I am fairly disappointed with LSU this weekend. They certainly played a great game against a great team, but I just cannot believe that a Les Miles coached team has dropped a 3rd conference game. I expected them to come out and take it to Alabama. I guess this means that LSU is really down this year as a team.
Look for Florida to show up in the national championship game. There is no player in the land more focused and more determined than Tim Tebow right now. They are really spreading the ball around this year, so he may not put up Heisman numbers, but no QB in the nation leads an offense like Tim Tebow. Urban Meyer has these guys poised to make a run. Florida versus Alabama for the SEC title and the right to play for a national championship. The upcoming weeks should be fun! - Darius"
LSU I think is just missing that killer instinct. There is no way they should have lost 3 conference games, and they got blown up by Georgia, a team that I haven't thought was that good all year. So we'll see what happens, it's certainly going to be exciting. I'm not so sure about Florida either.
"So the number 1 team in the nation goes to a place where they have given up over 50 points twice and have no QB and needs overtime to win and that guarantees them to go undefeated in your mind? No way, The Fighting Tebows are going to knock them of in Hotlanta. Texas Tech is ridiculously good on offense and I think their offensive line should win the heisman. I am serious, why shouldn't they? Graham Harrell could take a nap in the pocket wake up make pancakes and the complete 75% of his passes without anyone breathing on him.- Forrest"
They are good, but he's going to need to squeeze some fresh orange juice with those pancakes, and what about making a sandwich for later? I want to see them beat Oklahoma in Norman, and then I'll have faith. LSU may have gotten blown out.in those other two games but they were a couple plays away from being very very close. So in a way my perception of Alabama has changed so that I actually think they have a chance to go undefeated the rest of the year. They took everything LSU had to offer and still won.
Games:
#25 South Carolina at #4 Florida - Lots of people have said that they think Florida has a great shot to get to the national title game if they can beat Alabama. Well it's not quite so simple, first they have to beat the Gamecocks and former Florida coach Steve Spurrier, who has won only once in the three times he's played Florida, but he's kept the games interesting every time, so who knows what the "Ole Ball Coach" has cooked up, maybe some pizza! South Carolina is lead by QBs Chris Smelley and Stephen Garcia, who split time at the position last week, Garcia is a better athlete while Smelley is a better student of the game, which basically means he's bad but he knows the offense. The Florida Gators, are of course lead by former Heisman winner Tim Tebow who is as much a threat to run as he is to pass, and WR/RB/Butcher/Baker/Candlestickmaker Percy Harvin. This game is billed as the South Carolina defense versus the amazing Fighting Tebows offense, and although the Gamecocks might have the better defense, their offense is severely lacking and the last time I checked (last week) the Gators defense was pretty darn spiffy themselves. What confuses me is how a 7-3 team who hasn't beaten any ranked teams this year is back into the top 25? The only winning teams they've beaten were Wofford, who is a division below them, and they only won by 10 points, and umm Kentucky and Ole Miss both of whom have padded their schedules for the most part more then my sister padded her bra in middle school (although to be fair Ole Miss did beat Florida, but I wanted to make that joke work). But enough run on sentences. Florida has the firepower, they have the will power, and they have the…power power? Florida should win this game with ease, which would set them up for a final 2 games against Florida State and then Alabama in the SEC title game, hopefully for all the marbles and a chance to play for the BCS title.
The ACC - Rather than talk about all these games individually, I thought I would just have a quick prospective on the nation's most confused conference. As of now the ACC is still completely wide open with 9 teams that could possibly win the conference. In the Atlantic you have Florida State, Wake Forest, Maryland and even Boston College who could win that part of the conference and end up in the title game. On the coastal side there's North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Virgina, and Miami who could all with the conference, so basically as long as you don't go to Duke you are still in this thing. I can't tell you the ins and outs of who needs to win what and go dancing with whom while somebody else gets stood up for a lunch date to win it all. The only thing I've been able to learn is that Boston College, Maryland, and Virginia Tech all control their own destinies and if they win out they are in. It's a confusing league, with a plethora of possibilities and trying to predict what is going to happen is like herding cats, or trying to control a rambunctious puppy. Noth Carolina plays Maryland this week and all I can tell you is that Maryland is the least consistent team in the country, winning all their games against ranked opponents but getting stomped by Middle Tennessee State and the two big schools from Virginia. So if you go by that trend then the Terrapins are going to beat the 16th ranked Tarheels. Thursday night the VT Hokies play at Miami, a venue which has traditionally cause much stress and heartbreak for Tech fans, but who knows this year. A black cat could run across the field when Miami has the ball and then an errant pass gets intercepted by the ball boy who takes it to the house for 42 points and a Tech win. All possibilities are open, we just have to hope that there aren't any holes in the fabric of the universe during that game. BC also plays at Florida State in prime time, for that game I predict the Cinncinnati Bengals will be victorious.
Harvard at Pennsylvania - In the old nasty haunts of Franklin Field in Philadelphia these two Ivy league foes will face off to determine who will be most likely to take second place in the conference. Both teams lost to Brown so if Brown wins out then they would win the Ivy league. But that doesn't take away from this game, where the 5-3 Quakers face the 7-1 Crimson. Harvard are lead by Senior QB Chris Pizzotti who's highlights this year include him paying off the refs against Lehigh, and that time the guy he wanted to win the presidential election won. Penn on the other hand are lead by their defense, and a reasonably stout running game that goes for about 100 yards a game. As in all Ivy league games, this contest will be a game of wits, grit, strategy, grade inflation, and undersized athletes. If Harvard puts up over 27 points the game is won, because Penn has not once this year broken the 27 point barrier. Harvard has beaten most everyone Penn lost to pretty easily, so I look for the Crimson to roll in this game.
There aren't really too many other games that stick out to me as really sexy to watch. Which usually means there are going to be upsets, could be in any number of games but if I had to guess I'd go with these:
Mississippi State at #1 Alabama - Alabama is going to lose a game this year or so help me I will get a tattoo of Nick Saban on my chest
#6 USC at Stanford - A terrible Stanford team shocked USC last year, is this team terrible enough to be overlooked by USC?#
7 Utah at San Diego State - You don't just come in here and try to enjoy our beautiful weather without paying for it…oh you do, everyone does…ok then have fun then, get a fish taco.
#9 Boise State at Idaho - Boise is in the unenviable position of bing behind Utah in the rankings, which means if they both go undefeated then only Utah is guaranteed a spot in a BCS game.
#3 Texas at Kansas - If Kansas hadn't lost to Nebraska last week I would have wrote about this game, but they did and I'm lazy so you know how that goes.
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