Category Archives: On TV This Weekend

This Weekend in College Football: Week 1

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Thursday
6:00: North Carolina @ South Carolina (ESPN): Aaaand we’re back! It’s the first game of the college football season, and it can’t get here soon enough. In the battle of the Carolinas, though, I expect the southern one to prevail.

7:00:

  • Tulsa @ Bowling Green (ESPNU): Tulsa will probably win, but it has plenty of potential to be more exciting than…
  • Nevada-Las Vegas @ Minnesota (BTN): Minnesota should win.

8:00: Utah State @ Utah (FS1): Both of these teams have made strives in recent years, but the level at which those strides are taking place vastly differs. Utes should roll.

9:15: Mississippi @ Vanderbilt (ESPN): It’s Week 1 ESS-EEE-CEE football. Vandy has 3 straight wins in this series (and 6 of the last 8), and I’d probably expect them to get another.

10:30: Rutgers @ Fresno State (ESPNU): I’m not required to have an opinion on this game, right? Huh. Well, apparently I am. Let’s go with Fresno just for the hell of it.

11:00: Southern California @ Hawaii (CBSS): Okay, now this is really the last time that I can say the last time the Trojans played a game they lost to Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl. I’m going to miss that. Also despite not apparently having a quarterback, they should win this one.

Friday
8:00:

  • Texas Tech @ Southern Methodist (ESPN): A potentially fun in-state showdown, but still a likely Texas Tech win.
  • Florida Atlantic @ Miami (ESPNU): I’ll be employing the “Miami context clue” gimmick this year. But in this case, does it really matter which one? Either would probably win.
  • Western Michigan @ Michigan State (BTN): Well, it’ll be a useful tuneup for Sparty, I guess. (Editor’s note: there are other games Friday, on major networks even, but our general policy is only to list games between two FBS teams, with limited exceptions.)

Saturday
Noon:

  • Buffalo @ Ohio State (ESPN2): And finally, the first proper football Saturday of the year. Just think Ohio State, you’d probably be a shoe-in title game pick if you’d scheduled a proper team here.
  • Villanova @ Boston College (ESPNEWS): Included entirely because ESPNEWS is apparently showing live football games now.
  • Purdue @ Cincinnati (ESPNU): Two things: Cincy still has a player named “Munchie Legaux”, and they’ll probably win.
  • Massachusetts @ Wisconsin (BTN): Remember, the BTN game in this timeslot is usually regional and it’s not always obvious which one will get shown nationally. That said, the other one involves a FCS team, so I get to actually say Wisconsin will probably win.
  • Toledo @ Florida (SEC): Maybe it’s just because I follow edsbs on Twitter, but Florida’s offense this year may have more in common with rocket explosions than the Toledo Rockets. But that said, it’s still Toledo, and the Gators will roll.

12:30:

  • Louisiana Tech @ North Carolina State (ACC): For a second I thought the first team said “LSU” but then I saw that this was on the ACC syndication package, so yeah, probably not. That said, this one is debatable. Oh, right, Louisiana Tech hired Skip Holtz and will probably be less explosive on offense. Yeah, that bodes well for the Wolfpack.
  • Florida International @ Maryland (ACC): I had forgotten about this until this tweet, and it got me scratching my head all over again.

    It’s game week and I’m still half waiting to hear FIU say firing Mario Cristobal was some kind of longform performance art prank
    — Holly Anderson (@HollyAnderson) August 26, 2013

    I think karma dictates that Maryland wins.

1:00: Rice @ Texas Agricultural and Mechanical (ESPN): Rice could well be very good this year. It won’t matter against TAMU.

3:30:

  • Temple @ Notre Dame (NBC): [checks “is Temple still bad?” watch] Hrm, yep, yeah, I never said the first weekend of the season was going to be filled with thrills. You’re just supposed to be happy real football is back.
  • Syracuse vs. Pennsylvania State (@East Rutherford, NJ; ABC/ESPN2): Penn State mostly surprised everyone last year by not being as awful as everyone though. Same with the ‘Cuse. Of course, the primary difference is that one of these teams isn’t on a set of scholarship restrictions which generally hurt later more than they do now. That said, Penn State may well still be good enough to eke out a win here.
  • Mississippi State vs. Oklahoma State (@Houston, TX; ABC/ESPN2): Mississippi State had the rare distinction of being a “middle tier” SEC team last year. That said, it’s hard to see them keeping up with the Cowboys.
  • Brigham Young @ Virginia (ESPNU): Boy howdy Virginia probably isn’t very good this year. I’ll go with the Stormin’ Mormons in this one.
  • Central Michigan @ Michigan (BTN): Victors will, perhaps, be hailed after this one.

4:00: Louisiana-Lafayette @ Arkansas (SEC): UL-Lafayette will probably be pretty good this year, well, for a Sun Belt team. Razorbacks roll.

5:30: Virginia Tech vs. Alabama (@Atlanta, GA; ESPN): Well, short of the bus (does Alabama even take a bus to any game?) breaking down on I-20, things don’t look very good for the Hokies. Maybe Alabama will forget to pack some cleats? Maybe both the first and second teams accidentally take the wrong exit on the Connector? Maybe Saban decides to go off the rails and installs a read option offense in the middle of the second quarter while still using AJ McCarron at quarterback? I guess what I’m trying to say is good luck VPI, you’re probably going to need it.

7:00:

  • Kentucky vs. Western Kentucky (@Nashville, TN; ESPNEWS): More ESPNEWS games! Will wonders ever cease? Yeah, probably, since Kentucky will still win this game in the most mediocre fashion possible.
  • Washington State @ Auburn (ESPNU): This game has the potential to be the best game of the day featuring two teams who won 6 games last year. That is, 6 games combined. Also, there is the potential for lots of points, but since Wazzou has had an extra year to get acquainted with the ideas of “playing offense” and “scoring points” I’ll have to favor them.
  • Miami @ Marshall (CBSS): I like Marshall slightly in this one, but I’m not sure why.

8:00:

  • Georgia @ Clemson (ABC): This is the real game of the day. I hope to catch at least some of this, despite being otherwise totally preoccupied this weekend. What will carry the day? Georgia sports an inexperienced defense, but returns a bunch of excellent players on offense. So does Clemson, though, and remember that their last win was a thrilling victory over LSU in the Chick-fil-a Bowl. On a different forum, I went with Georgia, and I’m going to stick to my guns, but I can really see this going either way.
  • Wyoming @ Nebraska (BTN): It’s too bad that in football the road team traditionally wears lighter colors, because I find it hard to resist Wyoming’s ugly brown uniforms. Alas. Oh, and yeah, Nebraska wins.

9:00: Louisiana State vs. Texas Christian (@Arlington, TX; ESPN): This is the second most interesting game of the day. TCU has done well so far in the Big 12, but can they go toe-to-toe against one of the SEC’s powerhouses? Of course, most any coach will have a schematic advantage against the Hat, but I suspect that once again the Bayou Bengal’s immense pool of talent will eke out the win.

10:00:

  • Boise State @ Washington (FS1): As stated earlier, I’m really looking forward to seeing confused Idahoans in downtown Seattle on Saturday. That said, they should be happy Idahoans, as I think they’ll get the win.
  • Nevada @ California-Los Angeles (PAC12): Well, the only upside of not being a DirecTV customer anymore is that I do get the Pac-12 channels. So, yeah, if anything I’ve read about UCLA this offseason is true, they’ll probably win.

10:30: Northwestern @ California (ESPN2): I guess we’ll find out pretty quickly if Cal made the right move firing Tedford. Still going with NU though.

Sunday
3:30: Ohio @ Louisville (ESPN): How good is Teddy Bridgewater? I would say we’ll find out, but mostly this game will just ensure he’s not, like, really awful.

6:00: Colorado vs. Colorado State (@Denver, CO; CBSS): Here’s a rivalry game for your troubles. Unfortunately, there’s been a lot of trouble in Colorado football as of late, as both these teams were pretty not-good last year. But then again, both of them should be slightly better this year, which is bad news for the Buffs since they lost and all. And it’s quite tempting to pick them to lose again.

Monday
8:00: Florida State @ Pittsburgh (ESPN): Crazy fact: Pitt has a coach coming back for a sophomore season for the first time since 2006. Will that help them against Florida State? Well… probably not.

Hopefully things will be more informative next week. Until then, enjoy the weekend!

This Weekend in College Football: Week 15

There’s only one FBS game this weekend, so as usual this also doubles as my yearly foray into the FCS playoffs.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Friday
8:00: Sam Houston State @ Montana State (ESPN2): It will be below freezing in Bozeman tonight with a 90% chance of snow. That’s reason enough to watch this if you ask me, though Montana State doesn’t quite have the same appeal as Montana does in terms of “played in what appears to be some sort of post-apocalyptic hellscape with a football stadium in it”.

Saturday
Noon: Georgia Southern @ Old Dominion (ESPN): The reason to watch this is, of course, Georgia Southern’s Paul Johnson-style option attack.

1:00: Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Jackson State (SWAC Championship @ Birmingham, AL; ESPNU): APB already played Jackson State back in October and won 34-24. I’ll say it again: the SWAC only has 10 teams and they already play a 9 game conference schedule. What’s the point of this again?

3:00: Army vs. Navy (@Philadelpha, PA; CBS): Army’s win over Boston College says more about BC than it does Army, and their win over Air Force that makes this game the deciding game for the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy really came out of nowhere. Those are the only two wins for the Black Knights this year. Also, I hope you like running, because both of these teams are in the top 10 in rushing yards and the bottom 4 in passing. Fortunately, I do, so that’s why I’ll be watching this one anyway. Given their track records this year, though, it is pretty much impossible to pick Army to winthis.

This Weekend in College Football: Week 14

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Thursday
7:30: Louisville @ Rutgers (ESPN): I’ve given up on predicting the Big East at this point seeing as how both these teams managed to lose last weekend. And don’t even get me started on picking Louisville over UConn for ACC expansion. Anyway, the quick fire prediction here is Louisville.

Friday
7:00: Northern Illinois vs. Kent State (MAC Championship @ Detroit, MI; ESPN2): It’s exceedingly possible this game will be much more compelling than the Pac-12 championship. On one side, NIU has one of the most dynamic quarterback and wide receiver duos in the country, while with a win the Golden Flashes’s first bowl game since 1972 could end up being the Orange Bowl. However, I actually like the Huskies better. While both have top-10 rushing offenses, NIU has a more credible passing game (see above) and a slightly better defense.

8:00: California-Los Angeles @ Stanford (Pac-12 Championship; FOX): The idea that UCLA purposely threw last week’s regular season game against Stanford so they could play Stanford again is ludicrous, mostly because the idea anyone actually wants to play the Cardinal twice in two weeks is the same. (As EDSBS put it, playing Stanford is like “being bludgeoned with a sack of sledgehammers”.) Anyway, the idea that UCLA will succeed this time is not ludicrous, but still highly unlikely.

Saturday
Noon:

  • Oklahoma State @ Baylor (FX): Both teams played overtime games this past weekend, though I think most would agree Oklahoma is better than Texas Tech. Expect plenty of points, also, take a drink every time the Baylor defense makes a stop and the announcers insinuate they’re not as bad as the statistics show. (I suspect that’s not really a very good drinking game since it won’t result in you taking a lot of drinks, so maybe make it a shot or something.) Also the Cowboys should win.
  • Oklahoma @ Texas Christian (ESPN): TCU had a great win last Thanksgiving, but I think it’s been thoroughly demonstrated by now that the Sooners have it slightly more together on offense.
  • Central Florida @ Tulsa (Conference USA Championship; ESPN2): Okay, so based on what I said about UCLA-Stanford I guess I have to pick Tulsa again here, but on the flip side UCF is pretty much banking on this season being awesome. Or they should be, because by delaying their bowl ban via an appeal I’m pretty sure the NCAA will bring the hammer down on them. So I’m somewhat irrationally going with the Golden Knights here.

2:30: Kansas @ West Virginia (FSN): Despite how awful they’ve been this year, no one has yet scored 60 on KU. That may change. Also the Jayhawk offense is so bad that WVU doesn’t even have to worry about how terrible their defense is.

3:30:

  • Boise State @ Nevada (ABC): I’m a little surprised this game is on ABC. Anyway, the Broncos will probably win but I think Nevada is good enough to make a game of it.
  • Cincinnati @ Connecticut (ABC): Not that it means much in the Big East, but Cincy should win this one.

4:00: Georgia vs. Alabama (SEC Championship @ Atlanta, GA; CBS): Despite watching my team lose to them by 32 last weekend, I still think UGA is overrated: their second best win all year is over Vanderbilt (or maybe Mississippi State, but they went and lost to Ole Miss, so…). Granted, Vandy is 8-4, but still. I’ll concede this year’s Alabama isn’t as good as last year’s, but I think they have a good enough defense to stop UGA and a good enough offense to overcome them.

7:00: Pittsburgh @ South Florida (ESPN2): This sure is a football game that will be televised and everything. Pitt probably becomes bowl eligible.

8:00:

  • Wisconsin vs. Nebraska (Big Ten Championship @ Indianapolis, IN; FOX): Much to Nebraska’s relief, there will not be a 30 mile per hour wind inside of Lucas Oil Stadium this weekend. The Cornhuskers only won by three back in September, but that was then, and this is now.
  • Texas @ Kansas State (ABC): K-State has had a week to think about their shocking loss to Baylor. Nonetheless, their is still a chance to clinch a bid to the Fiesta Bowl for one of the best seasons in school history here, and I think they’ll get it.
  • Florida State vs. Georgia Tech (ACC Championship @ Charlotte, NC; ESPN): Where do you even begin? While no one expected GT to win last weekend, a fair number of reasonable people expected the Seminoles to expose the Florida once and for all. For a little while in the 3rd quarter, it looked like it was going to happen. Everything was going wrong for UF, including a freak bobble on a handoff that literally fell right into the arms of a FSU defensive end who ran it in for a touchdown. And then everything went wrong for FSU, to the tune of 24 straight points for the Gators and the win.
    Tech last played the Seminoles in 2008 and 2009, after the original bout of ACC realignment put them in separate divisions. As previously detailed here, Tech managed to win both of those games. Of course, those Tech teams were better, and those FSU teams worse than the current editions.
    Everything that could have gone wrong for Tech last weekend did, just about. Despite racking up 306 yards rushing against one of the nation’s top rushing defenses, we only scored one touchdown. The tone of the game was set on Tech’s first drive, as UGA’s first drive proved it was going to be a game where Tech needed to score on all of their drives to have a shot. At the end of a 10 play, 83 yard march down the field that started at our own 15, Robert Godhigh had the ball stripped as he was trying to go in for the tying touchdown at the UGA 1 yard line. Tech kicked a field goal the next time it got the ball to make it 14-3, but then the next three possessions of the first half ended on a turnover on downs, an interception, and a missed field goal.
    The keys for this game, and a shot at creating the most absurd BCS bowl game ever, lie in the same keys any team has in seeking to pull of an upset. Don’t turn the ball over and capitalize when they do. Basically, if any football cliche applicable to this situation, GT needs to adhere to it.

This Weekend in College Football: Week 13

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Michigan @ Ohio State (ABC): Ohio State has, eventually, dispensed with every Big Ten challenger in their way. I’ve said it all year, but there really ought to be a Terry Bowden Trophy for teams on probation that go undefeated, because I think the Buckeyes would get it if it existed.
  • Tulsa @ Southern Methodist (FX): SMU had glimpses of a promising season several times this year, but it looks as though the dream will die against the Golden Hurricane.
  • Georgia Tech @ Georgia (ESPN): To Hell With Georgia.
  • Rutgers @ Pittsburgh (ESPN2): I agree with most of the snarky tweets from Friday that lament the loss of the Backyard Brawl. Rutgers should win, I guess?
  • Virginia @ Virginia Tech (ESPNU): It’s almost unbelievable that VPI needs to win this game to go 6-6. And they should win, but UVA has been feisty a few times this year.
  • Alabama-Birmingham @ Central Florida (FSN): It’s funny that UCF is basically doing the opposite of what Miami did. Instead of trying appease the NCAA, it’s like George O’Leary just said “eff it” and go for a bowl game and conference title. Well, UAB almost certainly isn’t going to stop them.
  • Illinois @ Northwestern (BTN): Illinois is a lot like Cal in several ways. One of the first ways that comes to mind for me is that in academic circles Illinois usually UIUC and Cal is usually just Berkeley. They also have in common that they’ve fallen behind an in-state, also notable private school rival.
  • Kentucky @ Tennessee (SEC): I’m not sure I would’ve guessed that Joker Philips would be the coach still on the sideline for this one, even if this is his last game. Either way, Tennessee should win, but that’s not something that’s gone well for them this year.
  • Miami @ Duke (ACC): Miami should win, but well, I’ve been wrong before.

2:30: Baylor vs. Texas Tech (@Arlington, TX; FOX): Baylor had an Earth-shattering upset of K-State last weekend, but nonetheless they need to beat either TTU or Oklahoma State to get to 6 wins. I like their chances for that with Texas Tech better than with Oklahoma State.

3:00:

  • Oregon @ Oregon State (Pac-12): This game will not be available for many of you, which is just a crime really. This game should be good viewing. I think Oregon will still win but the Civil War is always good viewing, regardless how the season is going for either.
  • Maryland @ North Carolina (ACC): Well, UNC should win. Given your other options I can’t really recommend that you watch this.

3:30:

  • Auburn @ Alabama (CBS): Well, unless, as I said in my bowl predictions, Gene Chizik is preparing to unleash the greatest practical joke in the history of the state of Alabama, this one is in the bag for the Tide.
  • Florida @ Florida State (ABC): Well, this won’t be appointment viewing probably, but it will be important. FSU needs this win badly to even be in consideration in the national title discussion. I actually like their chances, really. Florida basically stopped playing offense about two months ago, relying entirely in defense and special teams to general any semblance of offensive output. FSU, meanwhile, can actually move the ball and I think that will be the difference in this game.
  • Oklahoma State @ Oklahoma (ESPN): Offense will not be the issue in this one. Instead, it’s OU with the advantage, in the sense they’re one of the few Big 12 teams that bothers to play any defense at all.
  • Wisconsin @ Pennsylvania State (ESPN2): I think Wisconsin can beat Penn State, which would at least give the Big Ten the ability to say teams on probation didn’t finish #1 and #2 in the Leaders. (Still had to look that up by the way.)
  • Vanderbilt @ Wake Forest (ESPNU): I just don’t see how Wake can beat this edition of the Commdores.
  • Tulane @ Houston (FSN): Having the 100th ranked scoring offense and 118th ranked scoring defense is not a recipe for success, which explains why the Green Wave are not having any.
  • Michigan State @ Minnesota (BTN): Well, there are some other traditional Big Ten games left, thankfully. Anyway, I like Sparty’s chances.

6:30: Stanford @ California-Los Angeles (FOX): Why watch this now when you can watch the same game from Palo Alto next weekend?

7:00:

  • Missouri @ Texas Agricultural and Mechanical (ESPN2): TAMU should win this one pretty easily, and it could well clinch a Heisman for Johnny Football.
  • Mississippi State @ Mississippi (ESPNU): It’s hard to see how Ole Miss will keep up with their rivals offensively. I think the Bulldogs can get this one.

7:15: South Carolina @ Clemson (ESPN): I’ve been going back and forth on this one all week. Clemson, really, has been tested only once all year (against FSU) and they failed. South Carolina had a brutal October, and while they got the win over UGA, they then lost to LSU and Florida, thus playing themselves out of the SEC East race. So really, it’s hard to say. Clemson does have all their offensive weapons, which has generally led me to favor them over the at-times piecemeal Gamecock attack (especially minus Marcus Lattimore). That said, the Gamecocks still have an excellent defensive line, so I consider this one basically even. Still leaning slightly for the Tigers though.

8:00: Notre Dame @ Southern California (ABC): After USC’s performance against UCLA last weekend, it’s hard to really see how they will be able to do anything against Notre Dame’s defense. I think this one will mostly come down to whether the Domers are able to handle the enormous presure and expectations. On the flip side, it may help them that USC will almost has to be reminded that back in August they were the ones supposed to be going into this game playing for a national title, not ND, thus reminding the Trojans how everything in this season has gone wrong.

10:30: Louisiana Tech @ San Jose State (ESPN2): Ah, a nice WACtion nightcap. Not many more of these! I like LaTech here.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day, and may your team of choice win on this day. Unless you’re a Georgia fan.

    This Weekend in College Football: Week 12

    As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

    Noon:

    • Iowa @ Michigan (ESPN): Where have you gone, Denard Robinson? / Wolverine nation turns its lonely eyes to you  Okay perhaps not quite yet, but regardless if the former wunderkind plays today or not Michigan should win.
    • Northwestern @ Michigan State (ESPN2): Picking Northwestern to win Big Ten games feels so wrong, yet so far this year it’s been almost mostly right.
    • Florida State @ Maryland (ESPNU): FSU should be able to name their score in this one.
    • Central Florida @ Tulsa (FSN): This might be the best game of the bunch. What to expect? Points, and lots of ’em. That said, I expect a rematch between these two in a couple of weeks, so this one is probably for home field advantage in that game. I’m expecting the rematch to be in Orlando.
    • Temple @ Army (CBSS): Temple, probably.
    • Indiana @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): Penn State, almost certainly.
    • Arkansas @ Mississippi State (SEC): Miss State just lost the three games on its schedule it was supposed to lose. Now the question is if they can get back on the horse and see things out to 9-3.

    12:30: Virginia Tech @ Boston College (ACC): Virginia Tech’s offense is bad, but fortunately for them they’re facing one of the few that is even more inept.

    1:30: Washington @ Colorado (FX): The only thing worse than Colorado’s offense is their defense. Serious: they score 17.6 per game (118th in the nation) while their opponents score 47.2 (124th in the nation, aka, dead last). Yeah, I think the Huskies have this one.

    3:00:

    • Southern California @ California-Los Angeles (FOX): As pointed out elsewhere, UCLA won’t be lame ducking their way into the Pac-12 title game this year, but that said, I don’t think they’ll get there at all because I think USC will win this one. Maybe I’m just not looking closely enough, but still, I like the Trojans here.
    • South Florida @ Miami (ACC): Virginia sure isn’t very good, but that was probably a fluke. The Hurricanes should prevail once again over USF, if for no other reason than because unlike USF, Miami actually is in any area one might reasonably call “south Florida”.

    3:30:

    • Mississippi @ Louisiana State (CBS): Well, this result will probably be less embarrassing than last year’s 59-3 “kneel down with 8 minutes to go” debacle, but not by much.
    • Wake Forest @ Notre Dame (NBC): Despite their numbers, Wake is still 5-5, which may cause some to say that they’re not awful. The thing is, they certainly aren’t very good, and it’s hard to see how the nation’s 109th ranked scoring offense is going to do anything against its best defense. Oh sure, the Demon Deacons could catch a few lucky breaks, but that’s their only hope.
    • Ohio State @ Wisconsin (ABC/ESPN2): So Wisky already has the Big Ten (checks divisions again because they still make no sense) Leaders division in the bag, while Ohio State still has the diluted goal of an undefeated season. (Still think there should be a “Terry Bowden Trophy” for this situation.) Anyway, the point is, the Buckeyes are probably going to win.
    • North Carolina State @ Clemson (ABC/ESPN2): This the last chance for Clemson to pull a Clemson this year. Doing so would probably actually cause more chaos in the BCS than Alabama’s loss did last weekend. That said, it wouldn’t be much of a Clemson-ing if one could actually predict them, so therefore I have to take the Tigers.
    • Duke @ Georgia Tech (ESPNU): Not sure what to write about this one. I think of Duke’s competent passing attack and think of our shambolic defense. I see Sean Renfree (one-time GT commit, though given his abilities I’d say he made the right decision after Chan got fired) doing his best Matt Ryan impersonation, bombing above and behind our beleaguered secondary. Both of these defense give up more than 30 points per game. GT is slightly better on offense, though that’s certainly been spotty at times.
      Simultaneously the most entertaining and maddening thing about college football is its unpredictability. Duke should not be in a position to play for the ACC title. Neither should Georgia Tech. The difference, though, is one of these teams is happy with a potential 6-6 record, the other should not be, having recorded at least one utterly inexcusable loss. If the win over UNC last week was an upset, then it was certainly a narrow one – Tech has beaten no other opponents this year against which we have been not been favorites. So we haven’t pulled off the upset, and we’ve been victims to multiple ones.
      I guess I’m just rambling (no pun intended) at this point. Anyway, there’s a pretty good reason why I always say “all predictions wrong” because I suspect that more often than not I am. And even though I have to for the bowl predictions, I hate making predictions involving my own team. All I can do is watch and hope.
    • Colorado State @ Boise State (NBCS): In yet another edition of “awful offense” against “really good defense”, Boise should win in a landslide.
    • Texas Tech @ Oklahoma State (FSN): Overtime against arguably one of the worst teams in major college football does not do much to inspire confidence in me, Texas Tech. Also I still have this probably irrational respect for Oklahoma State. I say that because I’m pretty sure I haven’t actually seen them play this year. But hey, it makes sense. I think.
    • Texas State @ Navy (CBSS): Thanks to their special exemption, Army and Navy get to play a week after the actual end of the season, meaning after this Midshipmen don’t have another game for two weeks. They should head into their double-bye with a win.
    • Minnesota @ Nebraska (BTN): Minnesota is most of the way through my prediction of them going 2-6 in the Big Ten and making a bowl game. Don’t let me down, Gophers!

    7:00:

    • Oklahoma @ West Virginia (FOX): Oh sure, WVU might score 40, but their defense is so awful the Sooners could well score 80.
    • Tennessee @ Vanderbilt (ESPN2): I think I predicted Vandy to beat Tennessee last year as well, and as I recall, they probably should have. They should again this year, but as stated often around these parts, that doesn’t mean much.
    • Syracuse @ Missouri (ESPNU): With Texas A&M on the docket for next weekend, this is their last, best hope for a bowl game. I’ve been predicting all year in the bowl predictions they won’t make it, so may as well stick to my guns.
    • Iowa State @ Kansas (FSN): It’s difficult to overstate how awful the Jayhawks are this year, so let me just say it again: Kansas is awful. Fortunately for everyone there, basketball season has started, so there will only be a few curious and/or brave souls to see that they lost to Iowa State.

    8:00:

    • Stanford @ Oregon (ABC): Game of the day right here. I know everyone’s probably saying that but that doesn’t make it any less true. That said, it’s only the Cardinal’s decent defense up against the onslaught that is the Oregon offense. If you read one article about college football this week that isn’t this one, it should be Chris Bown’s article about the Oregon offense. (Really, you should be reading lots of other article about college football in a given week because this one isn’t very good.) A lot of people think that Chip Kelly will go to the NFL if he wins a national title. I really hope he gets the chance to kick the NFL into the 21st century. Oh, the league is gradually evolving, but Kelly would jump the league right into the deep end. (Probably the key takeaway from the article for me was the point about Kelly’s quarterbacks: they actually don’t run that much, negating one the usual cracks on run-based college offenses in the NFL. Also I still think even the Urban Meyer spread offense could work in the NFL, because it certainly couldn’t be any worse than every attempt I’ve ever seen at running the speed option in a NFL Game. I just tear my hair out going “the pitch angle is all wrong, it’s like they’re just doing this for the hell of it!”) Anyway, as for this game, I think Stanford isn’t going to be a wet piece of toilet paper, but Oregon should still win by at least 2 scores.
    • Kansas State @ Baylor (ESPN): One might be tempted to be worried about Baylor’s offense against Kansas State, but then you remember they’ve already beaten several teams as good or better on offense than the Bears this year. And then you also see that K-State is 14th overall in offense, and their ability to measure out drives means that they can make time of possession meaningful. It’s difficult to score if you don’t have the ball, which I think is a predicament the Bears will find themselves in.
    • Texas-El Paso @ Southern Mississippi (CBSS): Reminder: Southern Miss won 12 games last year. One of these days I’ll remember too look up if anyone has ever had a 12 game swing from year-to-year, because USM is probably on their way.

    10:00: Arizona @ Utah (ESPNU): They’re finding their feet, but the Utes are still a little out-of-place in the Pac-12. Arizona should be able to handle them.

    10:30: Brigham Young @ San Jose State (ESPN2): Well, you can’t have MACtion on a Saturday night, but you can certainly have WACtion. Okay that was bad, I’m sorry. Anyway, this one should be pretty interesting, but nonetheless I think BYU is a little better and will come away with the win.