Friday, November 07, 2008

Week 11

Well the Bucks are back after a needed bye and they travel to the typically friendly confines of Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. I, along with many fellow brethren will be in attendance on Saturday cheering on the Bucks in what should be a great game in perfect football weather (40's, rain, wind). Records so far: Gomer (70-34) Chief (73-31)

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. North Carolina Tarheels
Gomer: Georgia Tech shocked a lot of people by pounding the FSU defense on the ground (to the tune of 288 yards). Many pundits believe that the Tarheels defense will be the difference in this ACC Coastal tilt, but I, like my colleague, believe that the 'Noles have the best defense in the conference. Georgia Tech will pound the Heels on the ground and the Tech D-line will beat up UNC QB Cam Sexton forcing him to make mistakes, making this more lopsided than expected. GT: 31 - UNC: 16

Chief: Another crucial game in the ACC in which nearly everyone is still in the hunt for a conference title. Watching some ACC games this year, I’ve come to the conclusion that the conference is getting a bad rap (this year). There are no dominant teams in the conference, but they truly are beating each other up yielding mediocre records. This game will most likely determine the Coastal division. Butch Davis has done a number in his second year, getting the Tarheels back onto the national stage, thanks largely to all-around player Branden Tate. On the flip side, Paul Johnson has worked a miracle at GT in one year (thanks to a gift-wrapped win last week). The triple option has stumped great defenses, and I don’t think UNC is a great defense. Look for Tech to ride the wave to another victory (and perhaps the Noles can earn a chance for revenge). GT: 27—UNC: 17

Alabama Crimson Tide vs. LSU Tigers
Gomer: LSU's defense has shown that they struggle to stop an offense with a pulse (see vs. Florida and vs. Georgia). Alabama's offense has been powerful, but lacks that extra spark seemingly. This is also the homecoming of LSU turncoat Nick Saban, but I don't think it will have a huge impact on this game. While getting stomped by the Gators and 'Dogs, LSU's D has not allowed more than 72 yards to any other opponent. If Alabama struggles to put some points on the board early, LSU has a chance to pull of the huge upset. 'Bama: 17 - LSU: 9

Chief: Ah, sweet homecoming. Many are curious as to the reception Mr. Saban will get when entering his old stomping grounds considering he bolted for the NFL but led the Tigers to the championship in 2003. Remember one thing about college football fans, they are stupid and have no memory at all. This crowd will have no remorse at tearing into Saban and his (now) ‘dirty’ tactics and will make the Tide face a truly hostile environment. Wait, what happened the last time they went to the Bulldawgs House? Oh yeah, they blew out a Georgia team that is much better than the Tigers (remember UGA killing LSU last week in Baton Rouge). I don’t like Alabama, but I dislike LSU even more. The return of Mount Cody will stuff the LSU running game and Bama should score once or twice which should be enough. Could the Les Miles in Ann Arbor days be approaching? SEC fans could care less about what happened a year ago (see Phil Fulmer). Bama: 13—LSU: 3

Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Gomer: The Raiders were able to win a thriller vs. the #1 Longhorns last week, and are due for a letdown. Oklahoma State is just talented enough to hang with the Raiders but lacks the defensive prowess needed to slow down their attack. The Raiders seem to have an unlimited amount of points to score, and won't be slowed down this week (the let down is looming however). OSU: 45 - TTU: 56

Chief:
Sweet victory. After one of the most exciting games in the history of the sport in which Texas Tech took down the juggernaut of Texas (called by this guy), the Red Raiders try to replicate the monumental win against another top 10 team. The Pokes are one of the teams flying under the radar in the Big 12 because of all the tradition powers hogging the headlines. Offensive Coordinator/Head Coach Mike Gundy is indeed a man and keeps the OSU offense churning out points, but Texas Tech under OC/HC Mike Leach also knows how to light up the scoreboard. The true key to the TT success lies, not in their superstars (Crabtree and Harrell), but in their monstrous offensive line. That was my key to the upset last week, and I believe it holds suit again this week. All eyes descend on the 2 best wide receivers in the country: Michael Crabtree and Dez Bryant (get ya popcorn ready!). The big-uglies provide all the time in the world to continue the Heisman campaigns of Crabtree/Harrell, while the Pokes take another loss that’s closer than the score indicates. OSU: 31—TT: 41

Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Northwestern Wildcats
Gomer: The Buckeyes are back at it after a needed bye week. The loss to Penn State still looms in the back of the memories of the Bucks, and while the fans sure don't give two hoots about this week's game, hopefully the team has had enough time to stew on the two losses so far this season. Northwestern's offense is dangerous enough to make the Buckeye defense pay if they're caught sleeping. Mike Kafka not only threw for 143 yards (that's a lot compared to Terrelle Pryor) but ran for a whopping 217 yards. In the past, mobile QB's have given Ohio State lots of trouble (see Illinois, Ohio, Florida, etc...), and I expect that struggle to continue. On the flip side, the Buckeyes need to pound the ball with Beanie Wells. The coaching staff has squandered away the season (no Nat'l Title, no Big Ten Title = Failure) by not utilizing him effectively. The 'Cats have the nations 26th ranked run D but hopefully the Bucks will keep them off balance by effectively using TP and the PA pass. OSU: 27 - NU: 17

Chief: The Wildcat backup QB Mike Kafka looked like a different player last week against the Gophers as he kept his team in the game almost single handedly until the defense dropped the hammer. I don’t know who starts for Northwestern (Baucher or Kafka), but it appears either option is ok. The Bucks hope to break that nasty streak of losing after bye weeks and I think we can end the pain. The PSU game provided a framework to beat OSU: stuff the run with 11 people and make Pryor throw. The Bucks decided to keep banging their collective heads against the brick wall that was the Nittany Lion D and failed (thanks to 1 freaking mistake). While I believe that OSU can stick to the run game more or less exclusively and come out with a win (NW front seven is nowhere near as good as Penn State’s), I hope we try more of the short passing game. Pryor showed last week a propensity to underthrow every deep ball, but looked pretty good on the few quick slants, flats, and hitches. Stick with what works and the Bucks win easily. Look for the Bullets to control the ranked (?) Wildcats and cruise to victory. OSU: 27—NW: 10

Purdue vs. Michigan State, Gomer: MSU - Chief: MSU
Penn State vs. Iowa, Gomer: PSU - Chief: PSU
Clemson vs. Florida State, Gomer: Clemson - Chief: FSU
Cincinnati vs. West Virginia, Gomer: WVU - Chief: WVU
California vs. USC, Gomer: USC - Chief: USC

Monday, November 03, 2008

Rankings

These rankings are comprised of the old BCS formula, with one minor tweak of my own, I add in Collegefootballnews.com rankings. Something to note about their rankings, unlike AP and Coaches, CFN looks at how the team is playing, not necessarily how they could end up.

1. Texas Tech
2. Alabama
3. Penn State
4. Texas
5. Florida
6. Oklahoma
7. USC
8. Oklahoma State
9. Utah
10. Boise State
11. Georgia
12. Ohio State
13. TCU
14. Missouri
15. Michigan State
16. LSU
17. North Carolina
18. Brigham Young
19. Georgia Tech
20. Ball State
21. Florida State
22. California
23. Northwestern
24. Minnesota
25. West Virginia

A few notes:
-Quite a shake-up in recent weeks...

If the BCS selected today:

Rose Bowl (Big Ten vs. Pac-10)
Penn State vs. USC

Sugar Bowl (SEC)
Utah vs. Florida

Fiesta Bowl (Big 12)
Ohio State vs. Texas

Orange Bowl (ACC)
West Virginia vs. North Carolina

BCS Championship (#1 vs. #2)
Alabama vs. Texas Tech

Ugh wow, talk about some ugly match-ups. PSU getting left out of the BCS NCG "screws" Ohio State into a non-Rose Bowl BCS game. How bad are the ACC and Big East? I can't find a better place to put WVU other than against the other bad conference champion... hopefully that ends up being Florida State to make things more interesting. Here is how it would be in a perfect world with a play-in game to help satisfy those who demand a "play-off"

#1Texas Tech vs. #4 Texas... This would be a helluva re-match
#2 Alabama vs. #3 Penn State... Traditional powers collide

#5 Florida vs. #6 Oklahoma... Very nice

#7 USC vs. #8 Oklahoma State... Not bad, potential blow-out

#9 Utah vs. #10 Boise State... Ugh, this won't happen thankfully