CFB Weekend Preview: Death Valley
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by Suckatsports
College football weekend preview will run weekly, and will take a quick gander at some of the upcoming games. Quick breakdowns and predictions will be included, but don't quote it on SportsBook, they'll still take your money.
Hey, aren't we almost at BCS rankings week? I can't wait till more worthless rankings come out so that we can tear them to shreds. If you watched football last team, and your team had hopes of a national championship, they're now dashed - which makes things extremely fun. Most of the games now is like when a divorcee cries herself to sleep every night, the beginning of the end. Some of those teams, however, can start a rebuilding processes immediately this week, the only problem is, their hope for a championship is no longer solely in their hands. And, no matter how much SEC fans slop over their conferences (overrated this year, by the way), there aren't going to be two teams from that conference in the championship game. I'm sure Charley is devastated.
If you could watch one game this weekend, it better be the late-game match up of two top 10 teams. Florida travels to the LSU for a game that was circled on many a calendars. However, both of these teams come into this game not without controversy. LSU didn't play their best against Tulane, and really let them hang around too long; many have attributed this to packing it in early to practice for the Gators. But beyond that, Matt Mauck Flynn is noticeably struggling because of his injury, he can't move as well, and some of his throws are really off target. Is there a QB controversy to start highly touted backup Ryan Periloux? Florida comes in with much bigger issues, however, the biggest one of which has to be their loss. Certainly this game lost some of its luster last weekend when the Gators lost at home to a then unranked Auburn squad. The loss revealed issues that were otherwise masked in lopsided wins, such as the absence of a reliable running back, and the bad secondary. Speaking of a very thin secondary, their best player and captain Tony Joiner was arrested, and since released. As of now, we still don't know his standing with Meyer or for this game. Surely, Urban would like to have him back there, being the only experienced player of the four. Urban Meyer has a great record in high pressure games, and Les Miles does not. Les Miles, however has been much better this year, and his defense is immensely talented. If this was at Florida, I'd pick LSU to shit themselves like they did last year, but with the home crowd behind them, they send Urban into a cocaine induced coma after a second loss in a row. They might ask for his head. LSU 34, Florida 20.
Other games that need your attention:
- Oklahoma at Texas. Well, they're in Texas - this game is being played in Dallas. Another game tainted by the surprising (Oklahoma) and devastating (Texas) losses last week is still the marquee game in the Big 12. It should also decide the Big 12 championship, because Big 12 North sucks. Either way, Texas is really reeling, and have never been a Top 10 team since the first stinker they put up against Arkansas State. It wasn't as if they were overlooking them because they were playing UCF next weekend or anything. Everyone pegged Kansas State for the win last week, so that was no surprise. Why? Well, I agree that they really miss Vince Young. Well, him, and the rest of their team that's wearing burnt orange in the county jail right now. Oklahoma I've been really high on, and while the loss to Colorado pushes their progress back, that was obviously a look-ahead loss, because they were cruising by three scores for about three quarters. Don't expect them to give up that kind of margin to offensively challenged Unihorns. Oklahoma is more ready, more athletic, and have got the better coach, playing in Texas shouldn't be a problem, since they steal most of best recruits from there, so it's really a homecoming, and the game will play out as such. Oklahoma 37, Texas 14.
- Kentucky at South Carolina. Wait, Kentucka' is a top 10 team? In all seriousness, I think this team is for real, and Andre' Woodson is unreal. In fact, I think he's good enough to win the Heisman trophy in Kentucky, and good enough to carry his team to some big wins. They're undefeated and boast a very balanced and methodical offense, run by the aforementioned Woodson. On the other hand, OBC has changed his stripes and is now winning with a dominating defense (at South Carolina!?) instead of an imaginative offense. They're at home, they're at night, and they're the sexy pick. Here are the problems: their best defense player Jasper Brinkley is out for the season, and their "big" win at Georgia is overrated, as are they. The Smelley offense can't keep up with Kentucky, and Rich Brooks gets the key to the state. Kentucky 31, South Carolina 19.
- Nebraska at Missouri. The real surprise here is that there are two ranked teams in the Big 12 North playing each other. It seems like Missouri was for 5 straight weeks, I haven't seen highlights of them, nor their scores scroll on the bottom of any ESPN broadcast. Nebraska, on the other hand has been busy getting embarrassed on the defensive side of the ball. In back to back weeks they gave up at least 40 points a game (USC, Ball State), and both games have been at home. Missouri plays all sorts of offense, and they play it very well at home. This could cause problems for the defense deficient Huskers. So, are they celebrating now that Bill Callahan is there for a while? They shouldn't be. Missouri 44, Nebraska 21.
- Ohio State at Purdue. Ohio State is back to their old tricks, fielding a dominating defense, numbers of which have been inflated with inferior competition. Purdue is back to to their old tricks of a multi-faceted offense, numbers of which have been inflated with inferior competition. In the end, we still don't know what these teams realistically have to offer. We do know that for whatever reason, Ohio State struggles with Purdue, Holy Buckeye in 2002, OT win in 2003, and a loss in 2004 have been the late outcomes. Unlike a lot of people, I feel this is a trap game, for about three quarters. Ohio State 30, Purdue 17.
Heisman Lookout. This is a crucial week for one Andre' Woodson, because he is going up against a statistically good defense. If he puts up good numbers it'll put him on the inside track to hold the bronze trophy. What a huge upset this will be over pre-season favorite Darren McFadden. The race isn't over, but McFaddy has to lift his teams to a couple of wins, also the head-to-head somehow holds weight. I called Steve Slaton, and Pat White and told them to send back those Heisman Watchlist gift cards, they no longer need them. We'll see you guys in the NFL.
Notes. Clemson is playing Virginia Tech, and they're two ranked teams, but they also reside in the ACC. I'm not sure what's going on in that conference, but there isn't one team in it that I take seriously. Don't believe in Clemson, because they are coached by a Bowden, and sooner or later they'll blow things. It's in their blood.
Florida football captain arrested for burglary [Washington Post]
Texas is missing Vince Young type leadership [Stewart Mandel]
This post is cross-published from We Suck at Sports.
