COLLEGE FOOTBALL
TOP 25 FACEOFFS
3 TCU (9-0) at 5 UTAH (8-0) 2:30p
As close to a playoff college football game as you'll get. The winner of these 2 undefeated programs from the Mountain West conference gets a chance to finish in the top 2 in the BCS and land a national title. The loser will have zero chance barring a miracle. Its hard to determine a clear favorite, as both teams are excellent. If we look at common opponents this year, each team has faced UNLV, Wyoming, Colorado State, and Air Force. Utah outscored those four 155-45, while TCU outscored them 15-13. The key in this game will be defense and TCU has the best defense in college football, followed closely by Utah. These teams are used to scoring 40 plus a game, that won't be the case on Saturday. Tough game on the road, but I think its the Horned Frog's year.
TCU 24-21
6 ALABAMA (7-1) at 10 LSU (7-1) 2:30p
Now on to a more traditional top 10 matchup between two storied universities. In what's been dubbed the Saban Bowl due to the fact that current Bama head coach Nick Saban also coached and won a national championship at LSU. Like the TCU/Utah game this one is proabably an elimination game for the national title. Preseason favorite Alabama has bounced back from their loss at South Carolina with 2 convincing wins since. LSU is coming off a tough road loss at Auburn. In games versus Tennessee and Florida, LSU squeaked out victories by a total of 5 points. Whereas Alabama blasted both teams by a total score of 72-16. The Crimson tide have the momentum back and are poised to make another title run. Like TCU above, tough one on the road.
ALABAMA 34-26
13 STANFORD (7-1) vs 15 ARIZONA (7-1) 7p
These two teams are playing 2nd fiddle in the PAC 10 this year next to Oregon, who's not slowing down and definitely not losing this week at home versus struggling Washington. Stanford has already lost their chance against Oregon this year, but Arizona has a shot at them on the road November 26th. However, all eyes should be staring down the Cardinal this week, and especially at the guy behind center, Andrew Luck. In fact, the Wildcats might need a little luck to go with talent this week.
STANFORD 31-24
17 OKLAHOMA STATE (7-1) vs 21 BAYLOR (7-2) 11:30a
Well the Cowboys have burned me the last 2 weeks, I picked for them vs Nebraska and against them versus Kansas State, and they proved me wrong each time. Now they face a Baylor team who's spent the last 2 weeks in the top 25, equally the same amount spent the last 17 years. Both teams will beat you on offense before they do so on defense. And I've always like the 3 headed monster of QB Weeden, RB Hunter, and WR Blackmon. I'm going back to the Cowboys this week, hoping for better results.
OKLAHOMA STATE 45-34
18 ARKANSAS (6-2) at 19 SOUTH CAROLINA (6-2) 6p
Two of the top 10 rated QB's face off in this one as the Razorbacks Ryan Mallet duels it out against the Gamecocks Stephen Garcia. Mallet throws early and often and has talented wide receivers, but he doesn't have Alshon Jeffrey, the Gamecocks 6'4" 230 WR should pass 1000 yards receiving and already has 7 touchdowns on the year. South Carolina came up big against Alabama, where Arkansas came up short. Look for similar results in this one.
SOUTH CAROLINA 31-28
RIVALRY GAMES
WESTERN MICHIGAN (3-5) at CENTRAL MICHIGAN (2-7) Friday 5p - CANNON TROPHY
The trophy has been given out only since 2008, but the series dates back another 100 years to 1907. Western Michigan leads all time 43-35-2. The trophy represents the cannons that are fired at both CMU's Kelly/Shorts Stadium and WMU's Waldo Stadium, it sits atop the trophy and each of the schools' wins are noted on both sides. Keep an eye out for the Broncos (WMU) Jordan White, who's 5th in the nation in receiving yards, including 348 in their last 2 games. That being said, there's nothing else to watch here. These 2 teams have combined to beat 3 FBS teams, Ball State 2-7, Eastern Michigan (1-8), and Akron (0-9).
WESTERN MICHIGAN 31-21
25 NORTH CAROLINA STATE (6-2) at CLEMSON (4-4) 11a - TEXTILE BOWL
Why textile? Apparently NC State and Clemson are two of the biggest and best Textile schools in the country. They'll be weaving against each other again this weekend in a game that dates back to 1899 and trophy game since 1981. Clemson leads all time 50-27-1 and has a current 6 game winning streak. They seem to be in a down year, yet all 4 of their losses have been by less than 10 points. NC State has struggled on the road, losing at East Carolina a few weeks ago. This game is also my UPSET SPECIAL as the Tigers will look to continue their dominance over the Wolfpack.
CLEMSON 28-25
AIR FORCE (5-4) at ARMY (5-3) 11a - COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF'S TROPHY
The Commander-in-Chief's Trophy is awarded to each season's winner of the triangular college football series among the United States Military Academy (Army Black Knights), the United States Naval Academy (Navy Midshipmen), and United States Air Force Academy (Air Force Falcons). In the event of a tie, the award is shared, but the previous winner retains possession of the trophy. Air Force leads all time with 16 wins, but none since 2002. If they win on Saturday, that 8 year losing streak will end. You can put away the plane tickets and take out the car keys because this game will be decided on the ground. Two of the nation's worst passing teams and not coincidentally two of the best rushing teams. Although the records are similar, the guts of the schedules are not. Army's best win of their 5 comes against 3-5 Tulane. While the Air Force is lacking a signature victory, they have faced 3 top 10 teams this year and came close versus Oklahoma (27-24) and Utah (28-23). Falcons have the experience and will become bowl eligible after this weekend.
AIR FORCE 34-24
SOUTHERN MISS (5-3) at TULANE (3-5) 2:30p - BATTLE FOR THE BELL
These 2 teams are separated by 110 mile stretch of interstate and have been battling for the bell since 1979. Southern Miss has dominated the series 22-7, including the last 5. This one is in New Orleans, and while on paper I like the Golden Eagles, I have little other information and knowledge on this game and will say that the Green Wave of Tulane has victories against decent teams Rutgers and UTEP, so maybe they can pull out another one.
TULANE 38-35
GOPHER WATCH
MINNESOTA (1-8) at 14 MICHIGAN STATE(8-1) 11a
Get ready for a bloodbath. The Spartans are coming off an ugly loss to Iowa and will be looking for revenge as they still are in the driver seat for a Big Ten Championship. This one with get ugly early as the Gophers just don't have the talent to stay with anyone in the Big Ten.
SPARTANS 52-10
NFL
BUCCANEERS (5-2) at FALCONS (5-2) Noon
You could make a solid argument for the Falcons being in this position, but not so much for the Bucs, who were thought to still be in rebuilding mode this year. But as the story with the NFC goes, nothing is normal this year. Tampa Bay has a future all pro Quarterback in Josh Freeman, really keep your eye on this guy, in my opinion he's just a few steps away from being an elite QB. The LeGarrette Blount project is in full swing too as the troubled Oregon running back has emerged as the go to guy in the ground game. His 222 yards are just 10 yards more than Cadillac Williams, but blount has gotten there in 43 carries as opposed to Williams' 84. On the other side, the Falcons are no longer a 1 man show now that QB Matt Ryan and WR Roddy White have formed a top 5 combination. While Tampa has improved, they're not contenders yet until they can prove to stop the run, currently the worst defense against the run. They won't stop Turner or Ryan/White for that matter this Sunday.
FALCONS 27-17
CARDINALS (3-4) at VIKINGS (2-5) Noon
The Randy Moss experiment is now officially over. Just a month ago, Vikings fan were praising the move and ready to buy their playoff tickets. Now, Vikings fans just assume burn their Moss jerseys and are calling for Childress' head. It's a must win scenario this weekend for a couple, one the fan base desperately needs it and two if they lose it stands to be a long season and this core of veterans will be blown up for a rebuilding year or years to come. The Cardinals are not good this year, their Derek Anderson experiment has gone completely awful. Fitzgerald is only effective when he gets the ball, and he hasn't gotten enough this year. Although Arizona did somehow pull off a shocker versus New Orleans this year,Minnesota knows what the stakes are and should pull off the win.
VIKINGS 34-21
GIANTS (5-2) at SEAHAWKS (4-3) 3p
A possible playoff preview takes place in this battle of Division leaders. The parity of the NFL shines brightly in Seattle where the Seahawks weren't expected to compete. It could be a product of their division however as the NFC West is arguably the weakest division in the NFL. Seattle doesn't even do anything that great, they are near last in rushing, passing, and pass defense. Their top 10 pass defense is the only thing to hold a candle to. The Giants on the other hand are well deserving of their record. Of the 4 categories mentioned above, the Giants hold a top 8 ranking in each. Manning, Bradshaw, and Nicks will roll this weekend.
GIANTS 38-24
CHIEFS (5-2) at RAIDERS (4-4) 3:15p
Like the Seahawks, the Chiefs and Raiders have been a surprise this year, the Chiefs especially, proving that their opening day win versus San Diego was no fluke. Its #1 vs #2 on Sunday at the Black Hole. That's the #1 rushing team in Kansas City, vs #2 Oakland. The Chiefs Jamal Charles and the Raiders Darren McFadden are very familiar with each other, both being taken in the 2008 draft, both with mediocre rookie seasons, and while Charles exploded last year, McFadden is on pace this year. The Black Hole is a tough place to play as the Seahawks found out last week, and the Chiefs are without a road victory yet. This game is always charged up with it being a division rivalry, but this year has possible playoff implications. If the Raiders win, we'll have a dogfight battle for the AFC West on our hands.
RAIDERS 27-25
COLTS (5-2) at EAGLES (4-3) 3:15p
The Hank Bassett Bowl takes place on Sunday afternoon as Bassett's former teams play each other. I suppose most wouldn't call it that way, but since he's now on the Vikings and when Brad Childress was asked by the media what impact it would have on the receivers, he mentioned, "we still have Hank Baskett". Whew, thank god, right? Anyways, Vick returns well rested and ready to gunsling again. Should be a good matchup vs prime time QB's Vick and all-world Peyton Manning. The Eagles have a balance run/pass game, the Colts rely more on the passing. A toss up matchup, I'll go with the Vick returning, home game for Philly angle.
EAGLES 28-20
NBA
Its too early for the NBA, long season and hard to get excited for anything now.
NHL
Same thing as NBA, I'll try to make some futile attempts at this later in the season. No promises though.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Starts on Monday! Look for previews of top matchups next weekend!
Well thats it for now, hope you enjoy this first weekend in November and don't forget to turn your clocks back on Sunday!
bsv
the courtesy wave
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