By "old school," I'm making reference to what in the world is happening to college football. All offense, and basically no defense. Need proof of that situation, here's some examples. Last week, Baylor hung 56 points on West Virginia and gained 617 yards, by HALFTIME. Thankfully, the Bears eased up on WVU, with 73 points and 872 total yards for the game. Oregon has scored at least 55 points in all of their games, this season; that's a lot of duck paddling. That Duck mascot must be in excellent shape having to do all of those push-ups, every time the Ducks score. Then there is Florida State, which embarrassed Maryland, 63-0. How many ES(know-it-alls)PN, were calling out the Seminoles for an upset alert concerning Maryland. That worked out pretty good, didn't it. Somebody must have pounded that memo into Jameis Winston's head; or, rather his arm. He must have smoked a couple of cartons of Winston's because he lit up that Maryland defense, passing for nearly 400 yards with five touchdowns, all by the third quarter. Yikes. Also, LSU hung 59 points on Mississippi State. How about Washington State/California game. There were 179 total plays in that game in which 129 were passes. What happened to running the football? Goodness I wish for the old days, again. Back when running the football and playing defense mattered. Thankfully, there are a few teams around that still believe in that philosophy. BTW-Remind me of how long it has been in which a team that runs the no huddle, hurry-up offense, has won a national championship? Good luck with that question.
Next up, I was going to say something about the officials from various games, from last week; but, what's the use. Even with instant replay, they still manage to screw up calls, just ask any Washington fan. So instead, I'll bark about the most asinine call by a coach from last week. The moon pie award for most idiotic call, goes to Charlie Weis, of Kansas. With the score tied against Texas Tech, at 10, midway through the second quarter, and Kansas facing fourth down with 13 yards to go, from its own 16-yard line, Weis called for a fake punt. They came up just a little bit shy, actually a lot. Of course, the Red Raiders reeled off 44 straight points, after Weis's brilliant move. Note to Charlie Brown Weis: Better have "Two Men and a Truck" on speed dial; your dismissal is right around the corner. You just know that Jayhawk fans are chomping at the bit because basketball season can't get here fast enough.
Did anyone detect a disturbance in the force, last Saturday? The state of Florida was 7-0; even South Florida and Florida International, managed to scratch out their first victory of the season. I'll go out on a limb and say that streak will end, come Saturday. Also, from the department of the bizarre; I wonder how many people had a heart attack in the closing seconds of the Ohio State/Northwestern game. Considering the line was Ohio State -7, and the Buckeyes were leading 34-30 and Northwestern was near its end zone, decided to play hot potato with the football, on the last play of the game, which resulted in a fumble in their end zone, which was recovered by Ohio State, sending the score to 40-30, and the Buckeyes covered the spread. Rumor has it that nearly 100 million dollars was affected by that end result. Further proof that the safest bet is not to bet.
Moving on. After reaching the summit, two weeks ago, I managed to land on my rump after last week's brilliant selections. Thanks again to Iowa, and Notre Dame (glad to see both of them with a bye week). For those that are keeping tabs, I went 6-4, with 38 moon pies. For the season, the record stands at 45-15, with 266 bread crumbs, good for 96.1%. Considering what's on the menu in regards to this week, I wouldn't mind going 6-4, again. Time to unveil the (chuckle, chuckle) "Master List."
Oklahoma (10) vs Texas @ Dallas - The Red River shootout the last two seasons, has just been that; a shootout, courtesy of Oklahoma. Texas may lead the all time series record; however, Stoops and company have owned this series over the last decade and a half. Is there any way that Texas can win this game? Yes, if Oklahoma fails to show up for the game; otherwise the only thing that Texas has a chance of winning is the coin toss; everything else will belong to the Sooners, including the final score. Oklahoma over the Longhorns, 41-23.
Florida @ LSU (9) - The only thing that kept me from putting this game at 10 points is the fact that the game is being played in the afternoon. Seriously, LSU seems to have found an offense. The last two games they have scored 100 points; and Florida is not a team that can score a lot of points. On the flip side, Florida doesn't give up a lot of points, so something has got to give. It will; the Gators will give up a few more points than they usually do, giving the Tigers just enough for a victory. LSU over Florida, 31-20.
Texas A&M (8) @ Mississippi - Ole Miss is coming off of the "Heart of Dixie Daily Double" with a loss on both ends. Now, they catch an Aggie team which has had a bye week to get ready for the Rebels. Plus, you have to factor in that Bo Wallace said that his receivers were better than A&M's the week before the Bama game. Rut roh. Ole Miss has a shot at keeping it close; but two things must occur for that situation to happen. First, Hugh Freeze needs to ease up on his "Riverboat Gambler" status, in regards to play calling. And, second, keep the turnovers to a minimum; I'm talking two or less. In the end, the Rebel faithful will be saying: "We may have lost the ball game; but, at least we have never lost a party; Aggies over the Rebels, 44-35.
Missouri @ Georgia (7) - Great; the talking heads at ESPN have put Georgia on upset alert. Question; have these morons at ESPN correctly called for an upset which occurred? Heck, you keep yelling "wolf," eventually one will show up, just to see what the thunder is going on. Anybody with a pulse knows that Georgia lost a lot of key personnel in their last two ball games. So it would be easy to pile on by saying that they need to be on upset alert; but, since the Einsteins at ESPN are the ones doing the piling, so much for Missouri's chances in pulling off an upset over Georgia. One thing I have learned is that when a Bull dog is put in a corner, he doesn't lay down. He finds a way to come out swinging; so will these Dawgs. Georgia over Missouri, 33-24.
South Carolina (6) @ Arkansas - I see where Spurrier had a change of heart over the Clowney situation. Clowney is the first player that has gone from Spurrier's outhouse to the penthouse, in less than a week. Come on, we all know what Spurrier was doing in singing his love for Clowney; it's called damage control to keep the potential recruits for next year's class on board. Meanwhile, there's a game that will occur in Fayetteville, against the Hogs. Until Arkansas can find a way to make their passing attack equal their running attack, South Carolina will load up the box with eight or nine players to stop the hogs from running wild. Look for the Roosters to spur the Hogs, 29-20.
Oregon (5) @ Washington - Finally, Oregon will play a respectable opponent. The only problem I have with Washington is that they are coming off a tough loss to Stanford. Sark, didn't help his cause by running his mouth by complaining that Stanford was faking injuries. I would have rather him to complain about the officiating, from that game, because it sucked. As for this game, the Ducks have scored at least 55 points in every game, this year. Can they make it six in a row, at that pace. No; but, they will come close. The duck paddle will outlast the dog paddle; Oregon makes it 10 in a row over the Huskies, 45-33.
Northwestern @ Wisconsin (4) - In the last 20 or so years, this series is just about even. If my math is correct, Whisky is 9-8 (they haven't played every year), during this timeframe. A couple of times, Northwestern has gone into Madison, and managed to pull off an upset. Had they beaten the Bucknuts last week, I could see them catching Bucky the Badger by surprise. However, these Badgers have had a week off to lick their wounds after that stinging loss in Columbus. Should be an entertaining game. Look for Northwestern to keep it close; nevertheless, I'll take Wisconsin to claim a victory over the Wildcats, 30-27.
Oregon State (3) @ Washington State - Give ole Mike Leach credit; he can coach. Now, give him some players to go along with his coaching ability, and teams are going to hate to go to Pullman, Washington. As for Mike Riley; it's hard for me to figure him out. Sometimes, he can call a flawless game; and, sometimes his play calling needs to be placed in a toxic waste landfill. He has the players; let us see if he can coach then up to their potential. I like the Beavers over the Cougars; but, not by much. Oregon wins this battle over the States, 41-38.
Michigan (2) @ Penn State - Penn State laid a true egg against Indiana. That's not the sad part. The attendance for the game was announced at around 42,000; yet whenever the cameras spanned the crowd, it would be hard to make a case that there were 15,000 that actually showed up. That crowd wouldn't be enough to fill up Assembly Hall, for an Indiana basketball game. As for this contest, flip a coin. I can't make a case for either team. Michigan turns the ball over too much, and Penn State is too unpredictable. I'm banking on the Wolverines to score a few more points than the Nittany Lions, 28-24.
Georgia Tech @ BYU (1) - Okay, time for this week's edition of the "Who Cares Game of the Week." Why waste time trying to justify this nonsense. I will not. Cougars over the rambling wreck, 24-23.
Like I said at the beginning of this diatribe, if I want to see a 73-42 ball game, I'll tune in to see Kansas beat Baylor, in basketball. This ain't football; at least not to me. I don't mind seeing low scoring games; at least you get to see a little more strategy than when someone's up say 56-17, by HALFTIME. Remember to tread at your own risk with these unprofessional picks. Enjoy the games and everyone have a great and safe weekend. Until later, Roll Tide.
Jljmbake
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