College Football!

[topspeed]

Well kids, we're knee deep in the new season. So, how's your team looking so far?

My Trojans are looking pretty mean right now, although I'd feel better if we didn't loose someone on defense every game! I know we have depth, but do we have to test the limits so early in the season?!? The running game looks strong (love the way Stephon Johnson looks) and it appears our passing game is finally coming around. Should be a good year. *knocks on wood*

LSU's defense is flat scary. I thought we had a good defense, but from what I've seen LSU's is ridiculous! Wow. Now let's see them play someone tough away from the comfy confines of Tiger Stadium.

Oklahoma hasn't really played anybody, IMO. Their offense is blowing people away right now, but until I see them play someone with speed on D, I'm reserving judgement. This, btw, is in no small part biased by the pre-hype to the '05 Orange Bowl before Troy's D-line spent more time in the backfield than Adrian Peterson and flamed the schooner into dust.

Florida's Tebow is impressing the heck out of me, and they sure need him. Last weekend's win over Miss was hardly impressive, regardless of Tebow's numbers. They played away from home and the defense showed a few cracks, particularly in the secondary. Let's see how LSU exploits that...

Finally, ahhhh...

Notre Dame.

Is there anything better than watching Notre Lame start 0-4? OK, maybe if the Bruins started 0-4, but the loss to the Utes was good 'nuff. If you're a Domer, go ahead and blame Willingham, you certainly do with everything else. Me, I'm happy as a clam because Willingham was shafted in that whole ordeal and this is proof positive of kharma. 0-8 is right around the corner...Whoo Hoo!

[kexodusc]

Oklahoma hasn't really played anybody, IMO. Their offense is blowing people away right now, but until I see them play someone with speed on D, I'm reserving judgement.

Pfffffftttt...says you old man...Boomer Sooner!

Though I'm with you - watching Notre Dame lick llama anus is surprisingly, dare I say vindictively, rewarding...

[Rich-n-Texas]

HOOK 'EM!

[Woochifer]

Do me a favor, wake me up when it's basketball season!

I can tell it's going to be another one of those white knuckle seasons for my Bruins -- not good for the ole blood pressure! (Fortunately, I was at a wedding and didn't have to watch the Utah debaucle) Seems like the defense has been reading way too many of their pre-season press clippings, and not doing enough tackling drills ... or watching enough film on defending spread offenses. QB Ben Olson's also been regressing every week (he didn't play in the W against Washington last week because of a concussion). He has the physical tools to be the second coming of John Elway, but if he keeps this up, he'll wind up as the next Jeff George. At this point, I'll be happy if he's the next Wayne Cook!

And from what I've seen, a lot of the guys have got that match up with the Domers in two weeks circled on their calendars and talking about payback for that meltdown in South Bend last year. Of course, this means that they don't have the game with Oregon State (who actually beat the mighty Utes!) circled for THIS WEEK, and I'm sure you can appreciate the hazards of a trap game up in Corvallis.

I'll be happy with a W this week, no matter how ugly it is. If that happens, then I think Notre Dame is in for a merciless beatdown when they visit the Rose Bowl on Oct 6. How quickly Weis' stock has fallen, and there are only so many service academies available for the schedule! The Bruins are a mature and experienced team, so I don't think the Utah game will affect them. But, under Dorrell they have proven frustratingly inconsistent -- capable of rebounding from a bad loss and rising to the occasion in a big game, but just as capable of laying an egg after a great win and going into a funk against an overmatched opponent.

... well, at least basketball practice starts up in less than a month!

Up here in the Bay Area, it's all Cal all the time. Should be interesting when the Trojans visit Memorial Stadium in November, but I don't think it will be the match up of undefeateds that the media's predicting. Cal can pile up points in a hurry and they probably have the best tandem of playmakers in the Pac-10. But, this is not one of Tedford's better defenses, and they've had their share of lapses (like last year, when their late season tank job against Arizona cost them a berth in the Rose Bowl). Plus, they're headed into a potential ambush up in Eugene this weekend, and they visit the Rose Bowl after a bye week for the Bruins.

[Fred333]

Notre Dame should have never got rid of Wilingham. Washington got a real gem there.

[topspeed]

Kex,

I forgot you were a Sooner fan. Figures. At the Orange Bowl, the Sooner fans were the nicest people you could meet. Gracious to the very end, which was saying something considering they were getting anihilated.

This, of course, was in stark contrast to...

HOOK 'EM!

Uh, more like BOOK 'EM!

Geez Rich, where does Mack recruit from? The state pen?



Wooch,

Admit it, you may wear baby blue, but you bleed cardinal and gold .

Like it or not, UCLA will never return to the glory of the Donohue days until Dorrell is canned. You know it and I know it. This is exactly why he should get a 5 year extension.

The PAC 10 is really strong this year and somehow, we were "lucky" enough to get all of the tough games on the road: Washington, Cal, Oregon, ASU. Who the hell made this schedule, the Marquis de Sade?!? I hope our guys don't overlook UW, because Willingham happens to be the last coach to beat SC at home. The man can coach!

Cal vs. Oregon is going to be a shoot out this weekend and should be fun to watch. I honestly have no idea who will win. I think Cal is better, but it's at Autzen which is never a fun place to travel to.

I'm surprised no SEC fans have chimed in.

[Rich-n-Texas]

GEAUX TIGERS!!!

Geez Rich, where does Mack recruit from? The state pen?

The same place the Cowboys got Tank Johnson the ex-con. Not recalling which prison though.

[Woochifer]

Admit it, you may wear baby blue, but you bleed cardinal and gold .

Hmmm, obviously you weren't around the last time I slit my wrists! It formed a blue pool in the image of John Barnes...

Like it or not, UCLA will never return to the glory of the Donohue days until Dorrell is canned. You know it and I know it. This is exactly why he should get a 5 year extension.

Donahue glory days?! Don't hang around too many Bruin fans, eh? We're still pining for the return of Red Sanders!

If anything, the criticism of Dorrell is that he's a Donahue clone. Good administrator, good talent evaluator, runs a clean program, but a conservative coach whose gameday decisions cost us 1 to 3 losses a year and a young guy who's learning how to be a head coach on the fly. (Toledo was the opposite -- very good gameday coach, but a lousy judge of talent who ran a very loose ship and let the program run aground) But, if Dorrell indeed follows in Donahue's footsteps, he'll hopefully adopt a less dogmatic offense and stop calling the game like he's still in the NFL (Donahue didn't start winning Pac-10 titles until he junked his beloved option offense and let Homer Smith install a more modern offense).

If you want a contract extension for Dorrell, he's already got a six-year rollover deal! But, at least the administration didn't go ape#### and give him a 10-year extension like the one that ND gave Weis midway through his first season (Willingham got off to an even better start, but was never afforded that kind of courtesy).

The PAC 10 is really strong this year and somehow, we were "lucky" enough to get all of the tough games on the road: Washington, Cal, Oregon, ASU. Who the hell made this schedule, the Marquis de Sade?!? I hope our guys don't overlook UW, because Willingham happens to be the last coach to beat SC at home. The man can coach!

Well, if your guys can get through the schedule unblemished, this will definitely be Carroll's best coaching stretch yet.

Agreed on Willingham -- it takes a GREAT coach just to get GOOD results at Stanford because of all the academic requirements. Willingham was a consistent winner and got Stanford into the Rose Bowl (even Bill Walsh and Dennis Green never got the Cardinal to the Rose Bowl; if Jim Harbaugh builds a winner on the Farm, he'll get to pick from Michigan or any number of NFL gigs). He totally got railroaded at Notre Dame, and should have been given a chance to win with his players. Faust and Davie were given chances to turn things around (and Weis will be given the chance), yet Willingham was shown the door after only three seasons. At UW though, he has a good opportunity and the team is already much improved over last year.

I think you'll be fine against UW. QB Jake Locker gave my Bruins fits last week and he already looks like the best running QB in the Pac-10 this side of Dennis Dixon. But he's a freshman and will make more than enough mistakes against a decent defense. Locker though is a freakish talent, and he'll be a formidable foe over the next few years. (check out his Wikipedia bio -- his senior year in HS he had 24 TDs rushing and 49 passing TDs with only 3 picks, plus he was the state player of the year in football AND baseball)

Cal vs. Oregon is going to be a shoot out this weekend and should be fun to watch. I honestly have no idea who will win. I think Cal is better, but it's at Autzen which is never a fun place to travel to.

Especially for Cal -- they haven't won in Eugene since 1988. Plus, the Oregon fans are still bitter at Tedford for leaving UO, since a lot of them viewed him as Bellotti's heir apparent (and a big reason for Bellotti's success).

[dean_martin]

ROLL TIDE!!!

Bama is a couple years away from being a legit contender for an SEC championship and dare I say a national championship, but they sure are fun to watch. My son is in his first year at Bama and he's in the Million Dollar Band having tons of fun. My family has 4 season tickets that we've been sharing so that everyone gets a chance to see him. Unfortunately, I was at the Georgia game. A lackluster start for the offense seemed to make the ending inevitable. But at least they are competing and I think they'll be in every game they play this season including the LSU game at home. I've already claimed my ticket for that game.

Auburn is struggling. Tennessee is struggling, but the Vols are always dangerous. Florida needs a few more players on the defensive side of the ball. They lost quite a few from last year's team, but there is no doubt they're good. Kentucky is probably one of the more exciting teams to watch in the SEC. I'm glad they're not on Bama's schedule this year. LSU in the West and Florida in the East are still head and shoulders above the rest. Right now, I'd put Kentucky, Bama, Georgia and South Carolina in the 2nd tier (not in any particular order), but with some luck any one of those teams could play their way into the SEC championship game. Ole Miss, Miss St., Vandy, Auburn, Tennessee and Arkansas make up the bottom tier right now, but they all have the potential to knock off someone they're not supposed to. Arkansas hasn't lived up to expectations so far, but McFadden can win a game by himself.

This week's big games include Auburn vs. Florida and Bama steps out of conference to play Florida St. in Jacksonville. Florida beats Auburn handily. FSU hasn't played its best game yet and they do have some athletes as always. Bama is coming off its first loss under Saint Nick and every Bama fan is holding his/her breath to see how the team responds. I can't bring myself to call this one.

[Woochifer]

ROLL TIDE!!!

Welcome back! One of my best friends is originally from Huntsville, and damn her family takes their football seriously!

The week of the Iron Bowl, the brothers, sisters, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, 2nd cousins, grandparents, etc. all split up into different houses based on their school allegiances (even if they didn't actually attend either Bama or Auburn). Those who root for Bama have a list of families/houses that they will stay with for the week, and those who pull for Auburn have another list of families to shack up with. My friend backed Bama (and never attended Bama), and her brother backed Auburn (and never attended Auburn) -- ever since they were kids, they lived under different roofs the week of the Iron Bowl. None of the others talk to one another during the game week, and none of them see one another until the game's over!

Geez, I'm a Bruin and my dad's a Trojan, and we'll still talk during game week! I guess I'm just one of them fair weather west coast fans ...

[kexodusc]

Ok, so the Sooners play Colorado...uhhh....anyone know who CU's got? Geez, the spread is 21-22...who made this schedule?

Downside to games like this - you'll hear it all year long if you lose.

[topspeed]

Arkansas hasn't lived up to expectations so far, but McFadden can't win a game by himself.

Fixed.

The problem with Arkansas is that everyone knows they are going to run because they can't pass. The fact that McFadden racks up those numbers facing 8 or 9 in the box is astounding, but it doesn't translate to wins. Balance is what it takes, and Arkansas is one dimensional right now.

BTW, I was wondering how long it would take before we lured you back out of the shadows. I knew a football thread would do the trick. Wooch is right, you southern gents take football seriously! I'm about as big a Trojan nut as they come (only wear cardinal and gold on gamedays, had the kids singing the fight song at 2 years old, blahblahblah), but I'd be classified as "fair weather" by just about any of the SEC nutjobs I've run across.

Perhaps the dumbest argument amoung CFB fans is the "Which conference is best?" They even have a dedicated weekly article on espn.com to this very question. WHO CARES?!? Only one team from the conference is going to make it to the title game, so what's the freakin' difference? If you think polls are arbitrary, try picking strength of conference.

[topspeed]

GEAUX TIGERS!!!


The same place the Cowboys got Tank Johnson the ex-con. Not recalling which prison though.

Awright...pick a team!
Backing the Tigers now, are we? What's next, joining Pixel in declaring LCD world domination?!?

[topspeed]

Well.

That was an interesting weekend.

7 of the top 13 go down in the same weekend. Amazing. What was in the Gatorade?

My Trojans looked absolutely miserable and our quarterback, Booty, is going to give me a heart attack before the end of the year. All hopes that the Rose Bowl Booty (4 td's, ~ 400 yards, precise deep ball) would be my quarterback, and not the incredibly inconsistent one that plagued us through '06 are now dust. Despite the fact that some of the 16(!) penalties against 'SC were suspect, the fact remains that until we get a consistent leader under center, the only way we'll make New Orleans is with a good deal of luck. Heisman contender?!? Shoot, I'm not convinced he's the best quarter back on our team! 'Course, the icing on the cake: starting C & RG lost on the same play! Our third string corner, Shareece Wright, was also lost...and he was in because our first and second string corners were already injured!!!

Oh man, Lady Luck better be a Trojan.

LSU is the new #1, although they only looked marginally better than Troy and it could be argued Rice is inferior to Washington. In what was their most uninspired performance yet, they still looked better than SC and deserve the ranking.

Where's Kex?
See post #1.

Apparently 'Ole Miss saw something that the rest of the SEC did, too. Florida's defense isn't last year's and if you contain Tebow (a tall order), the Gators can go down. So much for Tuberville's hot seat. The next three games are all away with the next being LSU. Can you say consecutive losses?

So how'd your team do, guys?

[kexodusc]

Well.

That was an interesting weekend.

7 of the top 13 go down in the same weekend. Amazing. What was in the Gatorade?

My Trojans looked absolutely miserable and our quarterback, Booty, is going to give me a heart attack before the end of the year. All hopes that the Rose Bowl Booty (4 td's, ~ 400 yards, precise deep ball) would be my quarterback, and not the incredibly inconsistent one that plagued us through '06 are now dust. Despite the fact that some of the 16(!) penalties against 'SC were suspect, the fact remains that until we get a consistent leader under center, the only way we'll make New Orleans is with a good deal of luck. Heisman contender?!? Shoot, I'm not convinced he's the best quarter back on our team! 'Course, the icing on the cake: starting C & RG lost on the same play! Our third string corner, Shareece Wright, was also lost...and he was in because our first and second string corners were already injured!!!

Oh man, Lady Luck better be a Trojan.

LSU is the new #1, although they only looked marginally better than Troy and it could be argued Rice is inferior to Washington. In what was their most uninspired performance yet, they still looked better than SC and deserve the ranking.

Where's Kex?
See post #1.

Apparently 'Ole Miss saw something that the rest of the SEC did, too. Florida's defense isn't last year's and if you contain Tebow (a tall order), the Gators can go down. So much for Tuberville's hot seat. The next three games are all away with the next being LSU. Can you say consecutive losses?

So how'd your team do, guys?

Well...the only thing more embarassing than losing to CU has to be....hmmm....losing to Kansas State 2 years in a row...The only bright spot in a miserable weekend...

For the record - The offence put up 24 pts against a pretty tough defence...that clearly wasn't the problem...a bit of help on D would have been nice. Time to focus and rebound, cause there's a big game comin' up vs those lousy Longhorns....Boomer Sooner!

[topspeed]

OU is going to beat Texas by at least 14. Watch. The Longhorns go as McCoy goes, and so far he hasn't gone very far. Big difference between this year's 'Horns and last year's.

Honestly, I think the CU game was an aberration, a loss of focus if you will. OU doesn't have the glaring questions that UT did going into the weekend. All the K-State game did was confirm the suspicions that many CFB fans outside of Texas had about the 'Horns. I know it's a rivalry game and all that implies, but I just don't see enough in the Texas cupboard to overcome the Sooners. I don't think The Shootout will be close, but I've been wrong before

[kexodusc]

OU is going to beat Texas by at least 14. Watch. The Longhorns go as McCoy goes, and so far he hasn't gone very far. Big difference between this year's 'Horns and last year's.

Honestly, I think the CU game was an aberration, a loss of focus if you will. OU doesn't have the glaring questions that UT did going into the weekend. All the K-State game did was confirm the suspicions that many CFB fans outside of Texas had about the 'Horns. I know it's a rivalry game and all that implies, but I just don't see enough in the Texas cupboard to overcome the Sooners. I don't think The Shootout will be close, but I've been wrong before

Yeah, lightning strikes every now and then. Can't take anything away from a CU who showed up ready to play.
My biggest fear is that OU takes this uppercut to the national title hopes really bad and, and doesn't have a good week of preparation. Emotions are a funny thing - and if they think they're going to have an easy time with the Longhorns like everyone else does, they're mistaken.
That said, I have full confidence in Coach Stoops ability to rally the troops. Beating Texas always cures my blues...

[Rich-n-Texas]

Awright...pick a team!
Backing the Tigers now, are we? What's next, joining Pixel in declaring LCD world domination?!?

Ha ha ha ha!!! Just saw this. I pick teams like I pick cars doesn't I? Well, at least LSU won their game right?

SC =

[Rich-n-Texas]

Actually, I grew up cheering on Penn State when I lived in Jersey, but they fell flat as well. What'll come first, Joe Pa finally retires or goes blind while still on the sidelines?

[dean_martin]

Fixed.

The problem with Arkansas is that everyone knows they are going to run because they can't pass. The fact that McFadden racks up those numbers facing 8 or 9 in the box is astounding, but it doesn't translate to wins. Balance is what it takes, and Arkansas is one dimensional right now.

BTW, I was wondering how long it would take before we lured you back out of the shadows. I knew a football thread would do the trick. Wooch is right, you southern gents take football seriously! I'm about as big a Trojan nut as they come (only wear cardinal and gold on gamedays, had the kids singing the fight song at 2 years old, blahblahblah), but I'd be classified as "fair weather" by just about any of the SEC nutjobs I've run across.

Perhaps the dumbest argument amoung CFB fans is the "Which conference is best?" They even have a dedicated weekly article on espn.com to this very question. WHO CARES?!? Only one team from the conference is going to make it to the title game, so what's the freakin' difference? If you think polls are arbitrary, try picking strength of conference.

Speedy - I said "a" game intentionally. I meant that although they're down now, with McFadden they can win at least one they're not supposed to win. That's usually the way it goes in most conferences. In the SEC it was Vandy last year. I think everyone knows about KY this year. I can see Arkansas sneaking up on someone especially if Felix Jones or McFadden returns a punt or kickoff for a TD and McFadden gets close to 200 yards in the same game.

I won't give any props to Auburn at all. The only reason they beat FL is because they play better as the underdog. They can't handle success. It stems from the deep-seeded inferiority complex that progam and all its fans suffer from.

Yeah, I agree with you on the conference thing. OTOH, I do like a big intersectional matchup between elites from the big conferences during the season and it's interesting to follow how the conferences do in bowls.

As Wooch said about his friend's family in Huntsville, it does get nutty down here. Reading the paper or watching the news after the Iron Bowl is interesting because there's always at least one story about someone getting stabbed, struck with a blunt object, shot, trailer burned down, etc. because of the outcome.

Before we marched into Neyland Stadium back in '86, the band director told us to place our chin straps under our chins because Tennessee fans will steal your shako (uniform hat). We normally wore our straps across our chins under the bottom lip. My first reaction was, "Damn hillbillies!" After I thought about it for a bit, I realized my head could go with the hat! I left my strap where it was.

[Woochifer]

Well, given the general sentiment about Notre Dame, seems that we got a lot of Bruin fans this week (well, maybe except for Speedy who's lobbying the NCAA to bring back tie scores in time for this weekend)!

As far as my Bruins are concerned, don't let that 40-14 score from Saturday fool you. They looked horrible (at least the offense did) but they did persevere and finally start clicking in the last 9 minutes of the game. They were actually behind the entire game until midway through the 4th quarter, and only managed to put the game away when Oregon State turned the ball over on three straight possessions. Seeing QB Ben Olson continue to miss routine throws and get pounded in the pocket, it's hard to believe that he was the consensus HS All-American as a senior and competed for top honors that year with Vince Young. His backup Pat Cowan only had one other offer (from I-AA Sacramento State), yet he might wind up taking over the starting job when he recovers from his knee injury.

Fortunately, it looks like our defense has finally gotten its act together, so I expect that they will provide more than enough short field opportunities for the offense to pull out a comfortable win against the Domers.

With all the churning in the top 20, Cal (?!) is now ranked #3 -- their highest ranking in more than 50 years. That game against Oregon turned out to be every bit worthy of the hype, and a lot more compelling than the track meet that everyone expected. I still think Cal's defense is suspect, but they managed to contain QB Dennis Dixon (who's one of the most nightmarish matchups for any defense because of his speed and big game experience) and made the plays when needed, especially that forced fumble through the end zone at the end of the game.

I still don't think they'll run the table before their Nov. 10 showdown against the Trojans in Berkeley (for one thing, they got a potential trap game against UCLA at the Rose Bowl in two weeks), but if they do, that's already setting up as the biggest game ever in Strawberry Canyon. Remains to be seen if they can pull it out -- Cal has the longest Rose Bowl drought in the Pac-10 for a reason, and their script of high hopes in the early season and late season collapses has played out many times before.

[topspeed]

well, maybe except for Speedy who's lobbying the NCAA to bring back tie scores in time for this weekend!

You know, either way I'm going to be a happy camper. Either the Bruins or Domers are going down this weekend. I can't lose!

Truth be told, I'd prefer the Bruins win (Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugggghhhhh! Spontaneous combustion!!!! M-m-m-must reach fire extinguisher!) if for no other reason than Pac10 pride.

Personally, I don't think Oregon should have dropped in the rankings. If anything, if Cal is #3 then the Ducks should be in the Top 10. You can't tell me Wisconsin, a team that has played like dog doo all season, is better than Oregon. Has anybody seen both play? Wisconsin barely beat Iowa and had to turn on the jets in the second half to beat The Citadel! The Ducks crushed Michigan at The Big House!

[topspeed]

Someone's National Title Hopes are going down the tubes this weekend. Who will it be?

Red River Shootout:
Texas and Oklahoma go at it for bragging right and the inside track to the Big 12 title. The loser can kiss their hopes of New Orleans goodbye. My pick is Oklahoma...and it won't be close.

Kitty's Roar!
The Gators come into the land of Gumbo and hookers after dropping one to Auburn. I'm telling your right now, someone better get some bibs on the LSU front line because they are absolutely drooling over the prospect of dropping the hammer on Tebow. I know he's big and strong, but the guy is still a quarterback and at some point in the game, he is going to get drilled so hard he'll see Tweety flitting around his helmet. Welcome to N'awleans, y'all! Tigers by 7.

UCLA will devour Notre Lame. 'Course my son's flag football team could do that.

OSU v. Purdue could actually be one of the best games of the day. Purdue's offense is no joke. The Boilermakers can score a lot of points in a hurry. I'm actually calling for the upset in this game. Purdue by 3.

As for my Trojans, we face a Stanford team with a rookie quarterback that has never taken a college snap. Lucky kid gets thrown into the grinder at a venue where his opponents haven't lost since 2001. No pressure. That said, the way my boys are playing right now, there is no way we beat the ridiculous 49 point spread. Oh, we'll win. The problem is this game won't tell us anything. If we look great, is it because Carroll righted the ship or because we're playing Stanford? Who knows?

Good luck to your teams, guys.

[kexodusc]

Someone's National Title Hopes are going down the tubes this weekend. Who will it be?

Red River Shootout:
Texas and Oklahoma go at it for bragging right and the inside track to the Big 12 title. The loser can kiss their hopes of New Orleans goodbye. My pick is Oklahoma...and it won't be close.

Kitty's Roar!
The Gators come into the land of Gumbo and hookers after dropping one to Auburn. I'm telling your right now, someone better get some bibs on the LSU front line because they are absolutely drooling over the prospect of dropping the hammer on Tebow. I know he's big and strong, but the guy is still a quarterback and at some point in the game, he is going to get drilled so hard he'll see Tweety flitting around his helmet. Welcome to N'awleans, y'all! Tigers by 7.

UCLA will devour Notre Lame. 'Course my son's flag football team could do that.

OSU v. Purdue could actually be one of the best games of the day. Purdue's offense is no joke. The Boilermakers can score a lot of points in a hurry. I'm actually calling for the upset in this game. Purdue by 3.

As for my Trojans, we face a Stanford team with a rookie quarterback that has never taken a college snap. Lucky kid gets thrown into the grinder at a venue where his opponents haven't lost since 2001. No pressure. That said, the way my boys are playing right now, there is no way we beat the ridiculous 49 point spread. Oh, we'll win. The problem is this game won't tell us anything. If we look great, is it because Carroll righted the ship or because we're playing Stanford? Who knows?

Good luck to your teams, guys.

49 point spread? Man, that's almost worth betting on...wow.

Interesting call on Purdue - I was thinking the same thing...then again, I thought CU was cannon fodder for my Sooners. But they just didn't want to over exert themselves with the big game this obviously in their minds. Those dirty cheatin' Longhorns ain't gonna know what hit'em...

[Rich-n-Texas]

Someone's National Title Hopes are going down the tubes this weekend. Who will it be?

Red River Shootout:
Texas and Oklahoma go at it for bragging right and the inside track to the Big 12 title. The loser can kiss their hopes of New Orleans goodbye. My pick is Oklahoma...and it won't be close.

Kitty's Roar!
The Gators come into the land of Gumbo and hookers after dropping one to Auburn. I'm telling your right now, someone better get some bibs on the LSU front line because they are absolutely drooling over the prospect of dropping the hammer on Tebow. I know he's big and strong, but the guy is still a quarterback and at some point in the game, he is going to get drilled so hard he'll see Tweety flitting around his helmet. Welcome to N'awleans, y'all! Tigers by 7.

UCLA will devour Notre Lame. 'Course my son's flag football team could do that.

OSU v. Purdue could actually be one of the best games of the day. Purdue's offense is no joke. The Boilermakers can score a lot of points in a hurry. I'm actually calling for the upset in this game. Purdue by 3.

As for my Trojans, we face a Stanford team with a rookie quarterback that has never taken a college snap. Lucky kid gets thrown into the grinder at a venue where his opponents haven't lost since 2001. No pressure. That said, the way my boys are playing right now, there is no way we beat the ridiculous 49 point spread. Oh, we'll win. The problem is this game won't tell us anything. If we look great, is it because Carroll righted the ship or because we're playing Stanford? Who knows?

Good luck to your teams, guys.

Cardinals winYEAH!!!