Since most of the big-name teams in college football have been feasting on cupcakes this year, it's been hard to find some really good games that are worth prognosticating over.
Fortunately, there are the occasional upsets that come along that really upset the apple cart, like Minnesota's dominating performance against Bowling Green. Now, granted, Bowling Green doesn't exactly strike fear in the hearts of college football's elite, but Minnesota's team is so bad that they hardly strike fear in the hearts of their scout team. So to see the Furry Critters post a 38-point swing on my prediction, it really makes me want to stand up and take notice -- and to never pick Bowling Green to beat a Big 10 (plus IoWHAT???) team ever again.
Before we pontificate on the upcoming weekend's docket, here's a recap of last weekend's inventory of outcomes (my predictions in parenthesis):
Michigan 16, Miami (Ohio) 6 (Michigan 34-24) -- Boy, the Big 10 (plus IoWHAT???) looks like a real powerhouse conference right now. Combined with Ohio State's near-miss against Ohio, we're just SOOOO excited about seeing the Big 10 champ crash and burn yet again in a BCS game this January.
BYU 28, Washington 27 (BYU 41-21) -- I realize they were following the letter of the law, but the unsportsmanlike penalty on Washington with :02 left that resulted in a blocked 35-yard extra-point attempt has got to be the worst call in college football history. A great shot at an upset knocked down by the ongoing efforts of the powers that be to take the fun and passion out of the game.
Oklahoma 52, Cincinnati 26 (OU 52-17) -- Cincy was a plucky bunch, but the Sooners are looking VERY good right now. I got a baaaaaad feelin' about that NU-OU game on Nov. 1.
East Carolina 24, West Virginia 3 (WV 41-24) -- OK, OK, I get it . . . East Carolina is for real.
Pittsburgh 27, Buffalo 16 (Buffalo 27-24) -- Dave Wannstedt avoids the Ire of Pederson . . . for one more week, anyway.
Minnesota 42, Bowling Green 17 (BG 41-28) -- Might be the Furry Critters' only win of the year. But what a win it was (cough, cough). . .
Florida 26, Miami (Fla.) 3 (Florida 48-21) -- Gators weren't sharp early on, but had a lot of bite left down the stretch against the team formerly known as Miami.
Oklahoma State 56, Houston 37 (OSU 58-48) -- Over 1,100 yards in total offense, 699 coming from the Cowboys. Can't wait to see that rematch with Texas Tech later this year.
Nebraska 35, San Jose State 12 (NU 52-20) -- Coach Watson, your running game has been delivered to the loading dock at Memorial Stadium. Please pick it up and use it this weekend.
This week: 7-3 (.700). Year's total: 14-6 (.700).
It looks like an interesting week for predictions, so let's not waste any time . . . here are the picks:
Kansas at South Florida: When the Jayhawks added the Bulls to their schedule, they were counting on South Florida being a soft touch. Well guess what? The Bulls have some real horns to them and look like a team that's not going to be a flash in the pan. We'll find out if Kansas' program is truly one of a team soaring to new heights or, as they have been in past years, ready to crash and burn: El Toros 34, Blue Birds 31
Iowa State at Iowa: Iowa State is traditionally the weak sister in the Big 12 North. Having said that, they have beaten their in-state rivals seven times in the last 10 years. Boy, good thing for Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz his Squawkeyes play in a weaker conference like the Big 10 . . . if they can't beat Iowa State, who COULD they beat in the Big 12? This year, they SHOULD be able to beat Iowa State . . . shouldn't they??? Squawkeyes 31, Stiff Breeze 21
Arkansas at Texas: Remember the days when the Razorbacks and Longhorns would battle to see which team could rack up the most NCAA recruiting violations in the old Southwestern Conference? The two neighbors renew their rivalry this weekend, but let's be serious . . . Arkansas barely beat Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe to start the season, and neither one of those teams has been caught illegally recuriting football players recently: Arrogant Steers 63, Hairy Pigs 17
Oklahoma at Washington (SUPER-DUPER UPSET SPECIAL): After getting a potential upset win taken away from them by an uptight officiating crew, Washington is going to go all-out and upset Oklahoma this weekend and celebrate in a manner more befitting the outcome . . . golf claps and coutseying like a schoolgirl as they hand the ref the football upon crossing the goal line: Washington 31, Oklahoma 30
Georgia at South Carolina: There's only one thing better than seeing Steve Spurrier get his team's head handed to him . . . and that's seeing a SUPERIOR team doing the job. The look on his face in the 1996 championship game -- when mighty Nebraska pounded overrated Florida 62-24 -- is one that needs to be repeated as often as possible. Georgia gets the honor this week: Big, Bad Bulldogs 48, Southern-Fried Chickens 24
Ohio State at USC: Go ahead and write this down -- the Trojans will blow out the Fraudeyes, Ohio State will be punished by falling just far enough in the polls that, by the end of the year, they will have cruised through the Big 10 (plus IoWHAT???) schedule and "earned" yet another trip to the BCS title game, further proving the need for a REAL playoff formula. Not that I'm bitter about the whole thing, mind you . . . Men of Troy 42, Soybeans 24
Wisconsin at Fresno State: Fresno State isn't one to shy away from the big boys, and they invite a very good Wisconsin team to town. The Badgers could be the best team in the nation that nobody's willing to admit to yet, but this could be a real trip-up game for any potential title hopes up there in Madison: Furry Critters (North Campus) 35, Surfin' Bulldogs 24
UCLA at BYU: After last week's gift from some crotchety old refs, the Cougars hope some home cooking is enough to beat a Bruins team looking for another Top 25 upset. Skippy Neuheisel's boys held off Tennessee at home in overtime, but the mountain air may be a little too much for their liking: Angry Mountain Lions 38, Unassuming Teddy Bears 28
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech: Wow . . . a season-opening loss to East Carolina, followed by an uninspired win over Furman? Isn't this the same Virginia Tech team that was supposed to come to Lincoln and light up our defense like a Christmas tree? They may be lucky to be .500 when they visit in two weeks: Ramblin' Wreck 24, Multi-Hokie Pileup 21
New Mexico State at Nebraska: On paper, this really should be the kind of game where Husker fans are kicking back and relaxing by halftime. Some might even want to get an early jump on the post-game traffic disaster that is Lincoln, Nebraska.
There's just one problem, though -- the offense isn't exactly striking fear in the hearts and minds of opposing teams. And after watching the offense spend three quarters tripping over their own toenails, one has to wonder what kind of game we're going to see Saturday night.
The good news here is that the defense played a much more inspired game last week and showed that some progress has been made from the season opener. And it's not like we're about to see some high-powered offense come to town. New Mexico State likes to run the spread, but they don't do it nearly as well as San Jose State did and they aren't nearly as deep or talented.
That hasn't stopped New Mexico State from throwing out a little pregame bulletin board material. Cornerback Davon House claims that the Aggie defense is well prepared for Nebraska because "we believe our receivers are 10 times better than their receivers."
Ummm....yeah.
If the Huskers can find a ground game to complement the arm of Joe Ganz, this will be the kind of game where those early-bird fans can hit the road at halftime and know they'll get home before their local watering hole closes. If the offense continues to struggle, they might be over at Barry's in Lincoln drowning their sorrows and looking for a cheap motel to crash for the night. Here's to Lincoln's economy not getting THAT big a boost: Huskers 56, Aggies 17
Those are the picks for this week. You've been a great audience. Stay tuned for Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, featuring the guitar-crunching sounds of Peter, Paul and Mary . . .
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