My Crystal Ball Says...

...that I know what will happen in this week's key games. Always remember that I'm right, and your team sucks.

#5 Ohio State @ #1 USC
Just for the record, I hate both of these teams. I think USC pays its players. I think Ohio State fans suck. Back in the days before the overtime format in college football, I asked an old friend of mine, a Gator fan, what outcome he hoped for when Florida State and Miami played each other. He replied, “I hope it ends in a scoreless tie with everybody (on both teams) dead.” That’s how I feel about this game. But, I get paid the big bucks (uh huh, right) to make a prediction, so here goes. My gut tells me that USC is a better team. And they are at home. But there is a little part of me that thinks Ohio State has spent a long time hearing that they are going to get steam-rolled in this game, and they’re probably a little pissed about it. I don’ t know why, but I’m going to listen to that little part of me and pick Ohio State.

#2 Georgia @ South Carolina
Steve Spurrier hates Georgia. And God bless him for that. And, despite pulling off the big upset in Athens last year, I don’t think the Cocks have the horses to beat the Dawgs this year. Surprisingly, the one thing Spurrier HASN’T gotten in his years in Columbia is good play from the QB position. He won’t get it this week either.

#10 Wisconsin @ #21 Fresno State
The Badgers bother me. Every year, they begin the season with lofty rankings. And every year, they beat the teams they should beat, and lose to Michigan or Ohio State. Last year, they didn’t play Michigan but they lost to Ohio State and Penn State. In 2006 they lost to Michigan, and didn’t play Ohio State. In 2005, they didn’t play Ohio State, and they managed to beat Michigan but lost to Penn State, Iowa and Northwestern. You see the pattern here. I think the Badgers may be good enough to beat the Bulldogs. Fresno’s win over Rutgers seems a little less impressive now that the Tarheels dismantled the Scarlet Knights in a thorough, demoralizing fashion. But since I’ll be rooting for Fresno State in this one, I’m going to pick them.

UCLA @ #18 BYU
Somehow, I’ve gotten over the hatred I had for BYU that stemmed from them winning the national championship by default in 1984. I don’t really like them. I just don’t hate them anymore. I DO, however, hate Bruin head coach Rick Neuheisel. BYU has won 12 games in a row – the nation’s longest winning streak. UCLA has lost 10 of its last 13 road games. I’m going with the Cougars.

#13 Kansas @ #19 South Florida
South Florida is a 3.5 point favorite in this one, but they struggled against UCF, needing overtime to pull out a 31-24 victory. Both teams are trying to establish themselves as perennial Top 25 material. Kansas won their first 11 games last year. South Florida finished 9-4 last year, but managed to beat then #17 Auburn, and pulled off a stunning upset of then #5 West Virginia. I’d like to pull for the Bulls, but I think Kansas may be the better team.

#9 Auburn @ Mississippi State
Mississippi State pulled 8 wins out of a hat last year, including surprising road wins over Auburn and Kentucky, and a home win over Alabama. They started this year with a loss at Louisiana tech, followed by a home win against Southeastern Louisiana. Auburn seems to have their QB situation settled, and, frankly, they just appear to be a better team. This game could be close, but I think the Tigers pull it off.

#16 Oregon @ Purdue
Oregon may have the worst QB luck of any team in the country. Dennis Dixon’s knee injury probably cost them a shot at the national championship last year. Then they lost projected starter Nate Costa at the beginning of fall drills this year. But, somehow, they lead the nation in total offense. Purdue, on the other hand, is riding a 14 game losing streak against ranked opponents. They’ve been known to throw the ball around a bit themselves, but I don’t think they can swim with the Ducks for very long.

Michigan @ Notre Dame
Did you ever think this game would roll around one pleasant fall and nobody would care? Michigan can’t seem to win a season opener now, and Notre Dame can’t seem to win at all. The oddsmakers have Michigan as a 2 point favorite on the road. I hate Michigan. But I hate Notre Dame worse.

Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech is re-tooling under new head coach Paul Johnson. Virginia Tech is rebuilding after losing eight players to the NFL draft. Georgia Tech is one of 29 teams that have yet to throw an interception this year. Of course, they rank 111th in passing offense, having attempted only 28 passes in two games. If they can’t run on Virginia Tech, this game is over. Virginia Tech is one of only two teams to win 10 or more games in each of the last four seasons. But, in the battle of Tech’s, I think the Yellowjackets pull off the slight upset.

Last Words for Randy Shannon

So... I'm ALMOST done with this whole Miami whining thing. I just have one thing left to say to Randy Shannon:



It's clear he doesn't understand subtleties. By offering up this image of mean old Urban Meyer kicking late field goals, Shannon claims, "...it helped us. It helped us more than you'll ever know." Presumably, he means it helped with recruiting.



But here's the point he is missing. By whining about somebody - anybody - running up the score on the once-mighty U, he is, in essence, admitting that the program has fallen to the level of opening day patsy upon whom the football powerhouses of the world should take pity. Note to Randy: We KNOW your program has fallen, and fallen a long, long way. But thanks for reminding us, and reminding all your potential recruits. We appreciate it.

If you're still hungry for more on the subject, there is a great article by Greg Doyell of CBS Sports.com HERE

Okay, I'm done now. On to bigger and better things. Much bigger. And much better.

A Little Cheese With That W(h)ine?

Here's a surprise... Hurricane fans are complaining that Florida "ran up the score" by kicking a field goal with 28 seconds left. Like this moron on the ESPN conversation boards - "Florida has no class whatsoever. Kicking a field goal with 8 seconds left?" Actually, it was 28 seconds, but, whatever. "The mere fact that they drove the ball that possession alone is incredibly unsportsmanlike. Yes, they opened it up in the fourth quarter, and by that point deserved to win, but not like that." Or, consider the words of Miami head coach Randy Shannon, "I'll just say this one statement. Sometimes when you do things and people see what kind of person you really are you turn a lot of people off. Now whatever you want to get out of that I won't say it again. But it helped us. It helped us more than you'll ever know."

I wondered about the decision at the time, but let's think about it. What should the Gators have done? Take a knee, and just hand the ball back to Miami? Would that make them feel better? Toss one into the corner of the end zone? Hand the ball off? What if the running play had gotten a first down? Or a touchdown? Would that still be classless?

Let's look at reality. This wasn't Our Lady of Great Agony Prep School. This was Miami. First, if the 'Canes have sunk to such a point that they need to complain about somebody - anybody - running up the score on them, well, the irony is palpable. Secondly, let's look at this Box Score from Miami's game against Texas A&M last year in which the 'Canes kicked a field goal with 2:07 left in the game, despite having a 21 point lead. Was that running up the score? Isn't it interesting how you apply a double standard when someone is doing that to you as opposed to the other way around? Thirdly, consider Urban Meyer's explanation after the game. That was the first time Gator kicker Jonathan Phillips had attempted a field goal in a game. With 8 touchdowns in the previous game against Hawaii, Florida attempted no field goals. Now Phillips has one career field goal attempt in a game setting. Granted, it was a meaningless field goal, in terms of the outcome of the game, but it got him out there in front of the crowd, under the lights, with at least a little pressure to succeed. The Gators may need a clutch field goal against Tennessee in two weeks. Meyer can feel at least slightly better now that his kicker is 1 for 1 instead of 0 for 0. So the whiney Hurricane fans should shut their stinking traps. You lost. And you lost to a better team. Deal with it.

But, just for good measure, I dug up this nice old video highlight (below) that reflects how Gators feel about 'Canes. It's Jarvis Williams hitting Melvin Bratton back in the day. It almost brings tears to my eyes.

Afterbirth (Week 2)

You know... the stuff that just kind of falls out when the party's over.

Quickies

I hate to say this, because I think, in terms of class and character, that the Miami Hurricane football team resembles a work release program from the county jail. But their defense is excellent. Based on what we’ve seen from the ACC so far this season, the ‘Canes might be among the league’s best. If they find some offense to go with that defense, they could find themselves paying for the league title.

Suddenly, I’m a Pirate fan. In consecutive weeks, East Carolina has upset Virginia Tech and laid waste to West Virginia. Could they be the next BCS party crasher?

The Big Least

How bad is the Big East? In the first two weeks of this season, Louisville was handled by Kentucky, Fresno State won at Rutgers, Bowling Green beat Pittsburgh, Syracuse was pummeled by Akron (Akron!?) and East Carolina squashed West Virginia.

Who Knows What Evil Lurks...?

I don't know what to think of USC yet. I'm sure they're good. They should be. They're well-paid. If you think Reggie Bush was the only Trojan ever to receive improper benefits, I've got some swampland in Nevada to sell you. But I wanted to puke when the national media crowed about USC's 52-7 drubbing of Virginia last week. Virginia is a lousy team in a lousy league. Yesterday, the Cavs led Richmond, yes the mighty Richmond Spiders, by a score of 3-0 until there was 7:30 remaining in the 4th quarter. USC may beat the hell out of Ohio State this Saturday, but don't try to convince me that they're good based on a lopsided victory over Virginia. At this point, I'm not even sure a win over Ohio State will be all that impressive. If Ohio U hadn't turned the ball over 5 times against the Buckeyes, the outcome of that game could have been different.

For the record, I hate USC. And I hate Ohio State worse.

My Crystal Ball Says...

...that I know what will happen in this week's key games. Always remember that I'm right, and your team sucks.

#24 South Carolina @ Vanderbilt
Does South Carolina have a genuinely good defense? Or is NC State just that bad? It’s hard to tell after last Thursday’s game. But I think Bobby Johnson is a good coach, and has the Commodores playing as well as they can be expected to play.

Georgia Tech @ Boston College
These are two teams that are shells of their former selves, and both are coming off lackluster victories over outmanned opponents in their season opener. All other things being equal, I’ll take the home-standing Eagles.

Cincinnati @ #4 Oklahoma
Oklahoma is 27-2 in non-conference home games since Bob Stoops took over in 1999. But Cincinnati has become the type of scrappy team that makes these games a bit more interesting. I’d love to see an upset here. I’ve never found a reason to like Oklahoma. But I think they have too many horses for the Bearcats.

Oregon State @ #22 Penn State
If I’m reading this crap right, it looks like Penn State is a 2 touchdown favorite in this game. I know they scored 66 points in this first game, but… it was Coastal Carolina for Christ’s sake. Any team called the Chanticleers shouldn’t even be allowed to play football. The Beavers led the nation in rushing defense last year, but has only three starters returning to that unit. After a disappointing road loss to Stanford in their opener (a game in which the mighty Cardinal rushed for 210 yards), this appears to be the recipe for Oregon State to start the season 0-2.

Mississippi @ #23 Wake Forest
It’s hard not to like Wake Forest. After years of being everybody’s Homecoming opponent, Jim Grobe has the Demon Deacons playing efficient offense and tough defense. Mississippi performed well in their first game under coach Houston Nutt – a 41-24 win over a scrappy Memphis team. I’ll go with the home team.

#19 South Florida @ Central Florida
I’ve never liked UCF. Their fans have all the attitude of Miami fans, and none of the history. They built a nice, new on-campus stadium which turns out to be just another place for them to lose. South Florida has had some big wins in the last few years – key triumphs that kept us from being saddled with an unbeaten Big East team pretending to be a BCS championship contender. I’ll always love them for that.

Miami @ #5 Florida
This is Florida’s chance to show that they have addressed the defensive woes that occasionally plagued them in 2007. These are two teams that don’t like each other, and the Gators feel like they have something to prove. Miami is still in re-building mode under 2nd year coach Randy Shannon. Or maybe they are in holy-God-I-hope-we’re-not-sliding-backward-mode. This game will tell us which team is moving up, and which team isn’t.