Florida/Louisiana State
Slate:
Tim Tebow got injured... not sure if you heard that. As a result, the Gators will probably be forced to run. Last week, LSU smashed UGA's run game to pieces and although UF's running game is diametrically the opposite, you have to wonder if LSU can just plain stop the run.
Then again, let's look at a typical LSU fan's perspective... shall we? (taken from a message board on sportingnews.com) "URBAN MAYER HAS NEVER WON IN DEATH VALLEY AND TIM TEBOW HAS NEVER WON IN DATH VALLEY. THIS MEANS THEY WILL NEVER WIN! GEAUX TIGERS!!" Tough to argue against that bulletproof logic, but I think LSU's offense won't have much success against the Gator D. Also let's take this time to remember that although LSU as a program has earned the respect of many a UF fan, their non-school affiliated fans cross the line between human being and "sub-human."
UF over LSU
Annie
Florida for obvious reasons.
UF over LSU
Iroquois:
I decline to analyze games in which I have a personal stake.
UF over LSU.
Alabama/Ole Miss
Slate:
Easy pick here. Houston Nutt is coaching an overmatched team against a juggernaut rolling on a railroad track whose only stop is at the SEC championship game. Haven't we seen this movie before? Upset special time, friends.
Ole Miss over Bama
Annie:
Bama for no apparent reason
Bama over Ole Miss
Iroquois:
Slate presents a strong open and shut argument for Ole Miss in this one. It's nearly convincing. However, I don't think this is where Bama trips.
Bama over Ole Miss.
Michigan/The Corn
Slate:
Michigan was exposed last week as a complete and total fraud who was only undefeated thanks to never leaving home and feasting on cupcakes. They walked in to Spartan Stadium and got crushed for 55 minutes against a bad MSU defense... particularly at the line. The Spartan D Line looked fabulous against a Michigan O Line who looked confused and discombobulated. Now we go to math: Iowa D >> MSU D, Thus: Michigan offense + Iowa D =
Corn over Mich
Annie:
Corn because corn is always interesting.
Corn over Mich
Iroquois:
Iowa looked really bad last week against Arkansas State. In fact, were it not for a clearly biased and botched call (in succession: a questionable PI call against Arky State and then a clear ignorance of RTP by Iowa against Arky State) this game may have gone the other way. I don't believe Michigan was exposed last week, so much as they were just unprepared, but I do believe Iowa was exposed at just being able to plan well for Penn State. Look for Iowa to fall (and hard). But don't worry, Corn fans. There's always ethanol.
Mich over Corn.
Baylor/OU
Slate:
Baylor is halfway to a bowl... good for them. It is safe to say that they won't be 66% of the way to a bowl after this game. OU will likely create a blitz of offense so large that by halftime, the U.N. will create a binding resolution to condemn the violence in Norman.
OU way over Baylor
Annie:
Baylor just because
Baylor over OU
Iroquois:
I would have called Baylor in an upset this week had their very talented QB, Robert Griffin, not been disabled for the year.
OU over Baylor
Oregon/University of Caucasians Lost among Asians
Slate:
UCLA is probably better than most think, but the same can be said for Oregon. Oregon brutalized Wazzu last week and seeing as how they have to catch up to USC in the "Pac10 one loss" division, they need to keep throttling teams to impress people into thinking they are good/totally cool enough to go to the mall with the top 10 teams.
Oregon over UCLA
Annie:
UCLA because bears would eat ducks
UCLA over Oregon
Iroquois:
Very interesting. I find this is the toughest call of the week to make. You've got Oregon on one hand, whose inconsistency can only be described as 'perplexing', and UCLA, who has been very quietly effective. Their only loss this year was to a very underrated and cohesive Stanford team. Word out of Eugene is that Jeremiah Masoli is hurt and the backup QB will be playing significant time. Combine this with the road environment, and His Coachness Sir Rick Neuheisel's suddenly stout defense, and I think we have a real upset on our hands here.
UCLA over Oregon
UGA/TN
Slate:
Lane Kiffin needs to thank his dad everyday of his life for many reasons. A newer reason is because Kiffin Sr. has been the only reason his team has even been in games. The inbred... sorry... Volunteer D has been great against high flying offenses (UF, Auburn) but the offense has been pitiful. UGA is looking to rebound from the last second loss to LSU under strange circumstances. It will be close, but Tennessee's offense will almost certainly lose the game somehow.
UGA over TN
Annie:
Georgia because Tennesee sucks
Georgia over TN.
Iroquois:
Simply...
The Meteor to annihilate both teams.
MSU/Fighting Zookers
Slate:
Juice Williams has been benched by the Zooker, which is saying something. Juice is a textbook case of a great athlete who plays QB rather than safety or something like that. Clearly, the zooker thinks that he has a better chance with a dropback QB instead of an X factor. From personal experience/scarring, it is this one's opinion that ANYTHING the Zooker thinks or does is a bad idea. You could think of him as that guy everyone grew up with who never did anything right, but kept on marching to the beat of his own drum, never taking the hint that he was failing at everything. He was the guy who thought that dropping out of school early to get a job at Pep Boys was a good idea because of "how much money (he) will have even though (he's) only 17!" Illinois is terrible this year despite having great recruits. You could almost bet that even a mediocre coach could walk in there in place of the zooker and win 9 games easily.
As for MSU, yes they won against their hated rival, but now we need to see if their defense is actually fixed or if last week's domination for 55 minutes of Michigan was a legit, infrequent or a flat out mistake.
MSU over Zookers
Annie:
The Spartys because I like them
MSU over Zookers
Iroquois:
The Juice wasn't worth the squeeze for the Zooker, I suppose. I wonder if we will see a lot of Jarrod Fayson at QB for Zookers, this being the primary (public) reason he transferred to IL. Amid uncertainty at the helm for Ron Zook, whose game day decisions have always been a shade suspect, I go with the Spartans.
MSU over Zookers.
BC/VT
Slate:
BC caught FSU in another one of those "oopsies" weeks that they seem to have regularly now that Bobby Bowden is not really there anymore. Now we hear about trustees wanting him step down which I feel is something more than Bobby's lack of recent success. More than likely, this is because Bobby supported the "Silver Menace" in the late 1800s rather than "Gold Bugs." As a person who describes his political views as "The National League", this argument is moot. We should have gone to a candy based economy after the Civil War. Society would be far more happy although savings would certainly be down.
Anyway about the game... VT really looked weird against Duke. Weird meaning "they didn't score on every offensive play from scrimmage." Look for a rebound, but it will be tight... because that's how Va Tech rolls.
VT over BC
Annie:
Virginia Tech because it is no longer BC, it is AD
VT over BC
Iroquois:
This ought to tell you how mediocre the ACC is this year. Virginia, the same team that lost to William and Mary, is #3 in the ACC with a 1.000 conference winning percent. If the ACC championship were held today, we'd see VT versus Maryland, the same Maryland that spotted Cal 52 points, needed OT to beat James Madison (though observant CFB fans will note that Jeff Sagarin's ranking system once placed JMU as a Top 10 team in the nation last year), and lost to Middle Tennessee State (though, once again, observant readers are rewarded by noting MTSU has had at least one player in the NFL every season since 1973)
I choose Virginia Tech solely on the fact that if both Miami and VT run the table, Miami gets left out of the ACC Champ. game.
VT over BC.
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