September 13th (All times Eastern)
Rutgers at South Florida, 7:30 (ESPN: Rece Davis, Jesse Palmer, David Pollack, Samantha Steele) Remember when the Thursday night Big East games were fun? Well this one has the potential to be fun. South Florida made a remarkable comeback last week in Reno against Nevada that gives you hope this game could be good. Now watch it stink to high heaven while the rest of us remember the glory years of the Thursday night game.
September 15th
California at Ohio State, Noon (ABC: Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman, Quint Kessenich) If Ohio State doesn't win this game by at least 20 points I'll be shocked. Cal doesn't normally play well on the road against a non-conference opponent (see at Maryland, Tennessee, Nevada) and their ability to shut down an athletic QB is very poor. Expect a big game from Braxton Miller and expect Ohio State to win by at least 20.
UL-Monroe at Auburn, Noon (SEC Network: Dave Neal, Andre Ward, Cara Capuano) Auburn is 0-2 and facing a team that went to Arkansas and beat a very talented Razorback team. Now watch UL-Monroe get crushed by 30 points because it seems like when you expect something in college football, the opposite happens.
Wake Forest at Florida State, Noon (ESPN: Dave Pasch, Brian Griese, Jenn Brown) I'm still not buying Florida State's hype yet, but that can change. They play a Wake Forest team that has given up more passing yards to opposing teams than their own passing yards. Meanwhile FSU QB E.J. Manuel has a 77% completion rating. If I'm suppose to be impressed with Florida State than I should see Manuel destroy Wake Forest through the air.
Alabama at Arkansas, 3:30 (CBS: Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson, Tracy Wolfson) Arkansas has been upset by UL-Monroe and their normal QB is questionable for this game against the Elephants. Also the Arky defensive line looks to be pretty poor. And John L. Smith is still the Arky head coach. If this game isn't a blowout by the end of the third quarter I'll be shocked.
Navy at Penn State, 3:30 (ABC or ESPN: Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham, Jeannine Edwards) Penn State played really well last week against Virginia. If they had a competent kicker they would have probably beaten the Cavaliers. Navy meanwhile is still coming off the thrashing Notre Dame handed them in Ireland. If Penn State wins a game this year than this should be the one.
Texas A&M at SMU, 3:30 (FSN: Ron Thulin, Shaun King, Desmond Purnell) Maybe because it's a habit, but Texas A&M is still one of those schools where I expect an inexplicable loss each year. And isn't this week primed for that loss? They're coming off an emotional first SEC victory, they have to travel to Dallas, and then face a run-and-shoot scheme ran by a QB who has faced the Aggies before. Okay maybe I'm just dreaming of an upset, but it can still happen.
Florida at Tennessee, 6:00 (ESPN: Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe) Tennessee fans haven't been this excited about a football team in a while. While Florida fans hate everything about the Gators at the moment. Isn't this game just primed for a Florida win? Aren't Tennessee fans due for an painful loss at the hands of the Gators?
Arizona State at Missouri, 7:00 (ESPN2: Joe Tessitore, Matt Millen, Shelley Smith) If you look at the stats from the Missouri-Georgia game you'll see Missouri was basically even with Georgia on offense. But then you see Missouri had three turnovers that lead to points. Game over, thanks for coming Tigers. Now they get to play a Arizona State team that is actually playing well and playing disciplined. I'm trying not to get too excited about ASU but damn if they're not making it hard to.
USC at Stanford, 7:30 (Fox: Gus Johnson, Charles Davis, Julia Alexandria) USC's first test of the season is at Stanford. I honestly don't know what to expect from Stanford in this game. They struggled against San Jose State and then blew out a Duke team that had just beaten a good FIU team. Stanford's defense appears to be very good, but are they good enough to stop the USC offense? Also can the Stanford offense generate enough points to beat USC? (I say yes simply because USC gave up 29 points to Syracuse.) This should be a competitive game which is a good thing because GuJo is on the call.
Notre Dame at Michigan State, 8:00 (ABC: Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox) I'm not buying Notre Dame at all. Yes they looked really good against Navy. Sorry but they're suppose to look good against a service academy. Then they struggled against a Purdue team that was playing Robert Marve. They're overrated once again and Sparty is going to destroy them.
Utah State at Wisconsin, 8:00 (BTN: Matt Devlin, Glen Mason, Jay Wilson) Keep an eye on this game because Wisconsin's offense looks terrible, they lost to Oregon State last week, while Utah State has already beaten Utah and look considerably better. Keep an eye out for the upset.
BYU at Utah, 10:00 (ESPN: Mark Neely, Ray Bentley, Paul Carcaterra) Once again I admit to being a sucker for rivalry games and the Holy War is always one of them. BYU had looked good so far this season, thrashing Wazzu in the Pirate's debut, while Utah has looked not as good. This a good game to watch while in bed.
Alcoholic Beverage of the Week, Smoke & Dagger: Smoke & Dagger is a dark lager out of Boston that I tried the other night and have to say it's one of the best beers I've tried in a long time. Smoke & Dagger is roasted malts with chocolate that is extremely easy to drink and leave a chocolaty aftertaste that is actually good. If you can get a hold of this beer I suggest trying it. It's very good.
Recipe of the Week, Bacon Wrapped Hamburger: Bacon can be used on everything. Burgers, jalapenos, bagels, cake (Just kidding, just seeing if you're paying attention. Or am I kidding?), and salads. Bacon can be wrapped including on a burger. The Bacon Wrapped Hamburger is my recipe of the week. My mouth is watering just thinking of this.
CFB pick of the week:
ReplyDeleteTENNESSEE (-3) over Florida
I hope you went with me last week, when I told you Maryland would play well against Temple. In what seems like the first time in 100 years CBS isn't televising this game, I like the Vols at home. Florida's D is banged up and the big receivers Tennessee has should be able to take advantage. I believe the Vols D will take advantage of the swiss cheese o-line of the Gators. Plus, Derek Dooley has to finally get a big win, right?
Tennessee 31-Florida 21