Must List: Week 6

Looking at this week's slate of game I have ask, is college football not as deep anymore? We know the SEC isn't as deep this year. The Big 12 is basically just Oklahoma. The Pac-12 is the deepest conference. The B1G is gonna B1G. So I have to ask, is this a product of conference realignment? Are these conferences so watered down now that we're not getting the usual great slate of games week-in, week-out? Or is it because some teams (USC, Texas) not living up to expectations? Or are new recruits coming into the game not as good? Is it because almost all Pac-12 games not being played until late in the day so we're not paying attention?

I honestly don't have answers for any of this but I do know we're just not getting a full slate of games anymore that makes me wait in anticipation for games. There used to be at least two good games in each window of the day. Now I struggle to find games that I really want to watch.

Hopefully everything evens out next season because this season is looking like Alabama, Ohio State, and the Pac-12 or bust.

Thursday, October 3rd
UCLA at Utah, 10:00 (FS1: Justin Kutcher, Petros Papadakis, Kristina Pink) Utah is 3-1 on the season but it hasn't been pretty. They struggled to beat Utah State and BYU and already have a Pac-12 loss on their resume. So how will this game play out? For one Utah's defense is going to have to play the game of their lives because UCLA can rack up points. Hopefully this game will be a shootout because I'm not interested in Cleveland-Buffalo.

Friday, October 4th
BYU at Utah State, 8:00 (CBS Net: Andrew Catalon, Aaron Taylor, Lauren Gardner) BYU's offense is so bad to watch that it's becoming even more incredible they smashed Texas the way they did. It's amazing that Texas had the willpower not to clip Mack Brown Lane Kiffin-style after that game ended. Meanwhile I can't say this enough, watch Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton. He's freaking amazing.


Saturday, October 5th
Air Force at Navy, 11:30 AM (CBS: Spedo Dedes, Steve Beuerlein, Evan Washburn) According to Brett McMurphy this game is a go. Right now I'm writing this Must List Wednesday morning so who knows if this game will be played or not. I'll update tomorrow if anything happens. Rumor I've heard about this game is that President Obama sent the Naval and Air Force recruits to the WW2 memorial to stop the tyrannical WW2 vets from visiting. 

Maryland at Florida State, Noon (ESPN: Dave Pasch, Brian Griese, Tom Luginbill) Two factors against Maryland in this game. 1. they haven't played anyone yet and 2. they're not playing this game at home. I never like betting against home teams even if they're chokers like Florida State. Also isn't fascinating you're not reading or hearing any hit pieces on Maryland coach Randy Edsall? Amazing what winning can do for a coach. Makes me wonder if this Bucs soap opera would even be played if they were winning.

Minnesota at Michigan, 3:30 (ABC/ESPN2: Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham, Jeannine Edwards) Remember what I said about having a hard time finding games to talk/watch in every window on Saturday? Yeah sadly this is the only interesting game being played in the 3:30 window. That's how sad these slate of games have become because I'm telling you to watch a shaky Michigan team take on a Minnesota team that just lost to Iowa.

LSU at Mississippi State, 7:00 (ESPN: Joe Tessitore, Matt Millen, Maria Taylor) Even though they lost I can't remember the last time I've been this excited to watch LSU play. It's amazing what happens when a team actually has a good quarterback. Mississippi State though might be looking for a new coach after the season. The Dan Mullen experiment looks like it has ran it's course with already two losses on the season.

Arizona State vs. Notre Dame in Arlington, Texas, 7:30 (NBC: Tom Hammond, Mike Mayock, Alex Flanagan) Ah Notre Dame's annual neutral site game that will feature more Irish fans than opposing fans but will be considered the opposing team's home game. Unluckily though for the Irish the Sun Devils aren't some cupcake like Navy or Washington State. The Sun Devils just smashed USC and got Kiffin fired and kept up with Stanford. Arizona State wins a shootout.

Ohio State at Northwestern, 8:00 (ABC: Brent Musbuger, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox) This game makes up for the rest of the schedule on Saturday for the potential that this game goes HAM. Ohio State's offense is a machine in way that none of Urban Meyer's teams at Florida were. Hell even their backup quarterback can throw 5 touchdowns in a game. Northwestern also has a really good offense but I just don't believe they'll be able to keep up with the Buckeyes.

Washington at Stanford, 10:30 (ESPN: Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe) My favorite USC-coaching rumor was that the Trojans are interested in Washington coach Steve Sarkisian. This makes me laugh because Sark is basically just Kiffin but with less notoriety. He's basically done nothing at Washington in what? 5 years? But he's the guy that the Trojans are targeting because he coached there during the Carroll years. USC you can do better than Sark. Much better. Keep your eyes open and be creative with your search. Hire someone out of your comfort zone like you did with Carroll.

Recipe of the Week, Bloody Baked Rats: My friend James Craven provided this Halloween themed recipe. And it's that time of the year to dust off the oven and get to baking. This recipe looks like it's a chore to put together but what else are you doing this weekend?

Alcoholic Beverage of the Week, Crown Royal: I talk about Crown Royal in this column every year but it's really the best whiskey and this is the time of the year to start drinking it. You see I can't drink whiskey during the summer. It makes me hot and sweaty. The weather cools down though and I'm all over Crown Royal. I like my whiskey mixed with a soda usually 7 Up or a Coke. Seriously drink this whiskey.