Posts Tagged ‘Wake Forest Demon Deacons’

Cornell won the Ivy League for a second straight year - and got blown out in the first round both NCAA trips

The Other Side to March’s “Madness”

It’s been raining all day today (Friday) here in Knoxville, so I think it’s perfect time to do this post, one I’ve been conjuring up for the past week. A couple of disclaimers: first, it has little or nothing to do with anything Tennessee-related; secondly, overall it just isn’t going to be a happy post in any sense.

The NCAA Tournament is undoubtedly one of the greatest sporting events in the world. It’s my favorite time of the year, along with the fall of course. We all know why it’s so great – a champion being determined on the court, players rising to the occasion, teams playing their best basketball, schools you’ve never heard of putting a scare into a traditional power – so on and so forth. The office pool phenomenon is second to Super Bowl parties in sports-related hooplas. Everybody loves it and says that’s what makes college basketball so much fun to watch.

However, there’s a bad side to just about everything, and the NCAA Tournament/March Madness. And it’s one I’ve come to realize this past March more than ever before.

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Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports College Football BlogPoll hosted by—as you might imagine—CBS Sports.

Week 13

Through 22 November 2008

Well, while my Top 10 remained fairly stable (with the notable exception of the Texas Tech Red Raiders), nearly the entire field in the backend of my ballot from last week managed to lose over the weekend (6 teams from 15-25).  It looks like things are tightening up down the stretch, and we can now begin to see where the teams will land for the bowl season.  Most of my votes should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here is my preliminary BlogPoll Top 25 for this week:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	–
2	Florida	1
3	Oklahoma	1
4	Texas	1
5	Southern Cal	1
6	Missouri	1
7	Utah	2
8	Boise State	–
9	Ohio State	1
10	Penn State	1
11	Texas Tech	9
12	Ball State	–
13	Oklahoma State	–
14	Georgia	–
15	TCU	4
16	Cincinnati	5
17	Oregon State	5
18	Northwestern	7
19	Oregon	5
20	Boston College	6
	Michigan State	4
22	Pittsburgh	6
23	Brigham Young	8
24	Florida State	2
25	Mississippi	1

Dropped Out: North Carolina (#18), LSU (#20), Maryland (#23).

Explanations after the jump…

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Big Games in SEC and Big XII

So amidst the stir I more or less caused with last week’s Alabama hate post and the Big Orange Roundtable collaboration and farks, I never got around to previewing the weekend’s slate of games. For that I apologize now. I also apologize for more or less going M.I.A. since then.

I actually got to go to the Colts-Titans matchup this past Monday night, quite an atmosphere it was. However, having class the next morning made getting back at 3 a.m. have some unfortunate lasting effects.

It’s beginning to look like the BCS is going to have quite the mess on its hands at the end of this year. Texas is undefeated and running through their current gauntlet in the Big XII. If they get by Texas Tech Saturday night, the only real challenge might be the trip to Kansas. Penn State goes undefeated, barring a loss in a tricky trip to Iowa in a couple of weeks. USC is still in the mix.

Alabama’s still unbeaten, and looks to have the SEC West all but wrapped up. Also, their “tough” games – at LSU and Auburn at home – don’t look so tough anymore. Florida and Georgia both look to be rolling into their showdown in J’ville this weekend.

Utah and Boise State are still lurking, and let’s not forget about Tulsa sneaking up into the Top 20.

As we enter the month’s last season, all I’ll say is that it’s going to be real fun watching all this unfold. There’s going to be some great games, and there’s bound to be some upsets and some things no one will have seen coming. So it begins…

SEC Games

Auburn at Ole Miss (12:30, RayCom): Auburn fans, we feel your pain. We know how you feel. While Tennessee’s closing schedule is manageable, it’s just now getting difficult for Auburn. The Tigers close after this road trip with Tennessee-Martin, Georgia, and a trip to Alabama. Not getting to 6-6 for a bowl game is a very likely possibility.

Ole Miss bounced back from the Bama loss by surviving Arkansas. Now they have a chance to all but wrap up a bowl game, and second place in the SEC West – a big step from 0-8 – is within reach, believe it or not. With Auburn reeling, it makes pretty good sense to think Ole Miss will win.

Tulsa at Arkansas (2:00, ESPN GamePlan): Speaking of the Golden Hurricane, this is the toughest game of their season. A win here and they might as well book an undefeated season. The Hogs struggled with Western Illinois and UL Monroe, and their defense has been bad at times. Tulsa’s quirky offense is going to give them trouble, despite Arkansas having the advantage in athletes.The other storyline here is Tulsa offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn’s return to Arkansas, in a game definitely worth keeping your eye on.

Kentucky at Mississippi State (2:30, ESPN GamePlan): Ouch. Kentucky, like Vanderbilt, has somewhat returned to their awful ways. After stealing a W from Arkansas, the Cats were smashed by Florida. How will they respond with a bowl bid potentially on the line in Starkville?

Despite winning last week over MTSU, this is State’s last chance to even think about a bowl bid. They can more or less guarantee getting out the cellar with a win here – remember they already knocked off Vandy, and host Arkansas in a couple weeks. Both these offenses are horrific, so it might be the first to 14 wins. I’ll take Mississippi State at home.

Arkansas State at Alabama (3:00, ESPN GamePlan): Another November Sun Belt opponent at home for Alabama. Arkansas State already won at Texas A&M to open the season. Just throwin’ that out there…

Georgia vs. Florida in Jacksonville (3:30, CBS): So many storylines here. Florida scored 63 points last week and look to be rolling. Georgia hung 52 in Baton Rouge last week. There’s the whole endzone celebration that everybody’s downplaying. Athletes everywhere. The SEC East on the line. Staying in the national title chase on the line. SEC football at its best.

We all remember this little deal...especially the Gators...

I hate to see either of these teams – and Bammer too – play for championships while Tennessee wallows in its awfulness. But I would be a total moron to not watch this game. TOTAL. MORON. The safe pick is Florida. Why? Well, for one they have Tebow of Nazareth. Two, they own Georgia. Three, they remember last year. I thought Florida would win the East at the beginning of the year, and I don’t see how the Dawgs can keep that from happening.

Tennessee at South Carolina (7:00, ESPN2): Six points against Florida. 14 at Georgia. Nine against Alabama. Tennessee’s offense is really bad. OK, enough with stating the obvious. It’s actually South Carolina that has the top defense statistically in the SEC. I have no idea how Tennessee will move the ball and how the Vols will score. Not a clue.

I’m seeing the same ol’ same ol’ from Tennessee. The defense forces some mistakes from Stephen Garcia, keeps the score close for a while, but then just gets worn down. The frustration continues. I would say last weekend was THE bottom (here’s why I think so), but now – down to basically one healthy DT – the team’s gotta go play a road game. I was gonna go, but not anymore. I’ll watch, and be prepared for more frustration.

Tulane at LSU (8:00, ESPN GamePlan): Speaking of reeling, what’s up with LSU? Florida scored 51. Georgia scored 52 – at LSU. The defensive losses eventually became too much to overcome, and now LSU looks like they won’t repeat anything. Tulane hung with Alabama earlier this year in Tuscaloosa, and who knows how LSU comes out after two beatdowns. Just sayin’…

THERE’S MORE

The Weekly Duke Update:Go Duke! The Devils have a winning record in November. In football. After beating Vanderbilt in Nashville last week, David Cutcliffe’s Blue Devils sit at 4-3 entering the toughest part of the schedule. Duke plays at Wake Forest Saturday. The host NC State and North Carolina and play at Clemson and Virginia Tech down the stretch. I don’t know if there’s two wins, but even four wins at Duke is quite the accomplishment.

I know we Vol fans learned how important Coach Cut was to Tennessee, but I for one don’t want to see him come back if/when Fulmer’s done. First, I want a younger up-and-comer. Two, Cut is building something here people.

Duke is 4-3 after beating Vanderbilt, Tennessee is 3-5...go figure...

Elsewhere in the wide-open, who-knows-who’s-actually-good-enough-to-win-the-thing ACC, Florida State plays surprising Georgia Tech in Atlanta. After sucking in September, Al Groh has Virginia of all teams at 3-1 in the ACC after beating Tech last week in Atlanta. UVA hosts Miami Saturday.

The JV League/Big East is garbage and no one cares who wins it. The Big Ten is pretty much Penn State’s, but somehow, someway, Minnesota is 7-1 hosting Northwestern Saturday. The Gophers – ranked in the top 20 now – have beaten exactly zero good teams, and avoid Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan State . Honestly, they could go 11-1 and, if Penn State ends up playing for it all, could sneak into the Rose Bowl a la Illinois last year, where they would likely get trounced by somebody. Feel-good story? Nope, something else that needs to be fixed.

Can Texas stop Graham Harrell and/or Michael Crabtree?

Much like the Big Ten, the Pac 10 is all USC, who hosts winless Washington Saturday. That said, Oregon State still actually leads the league, tied with the USC team they smacked at 3-1. More technically, Oregon leads the league at 4-1. However, they play at 3-1 Cal Saturday afternoon, so an elimination game there that zero of us over here in the South (a) care about and (b) will get on ABC at 3:30.

That leaves the New Pac 10, aka the Big XII. Last week’s Okie State-Texas game was 28-24, which is like a game in the 50s in hoops (which has now started, yes!!). Oklahoma scored 51 points – in the first half – at Kansas State. Forgotten Missouri beat Colorado 58-0. Texas Tech hung 63 on Kansas in Lawrence. Are the defenses this bad? Are the offenses this good? Guess we’ll find out when one of these teams is playing in the title game…

Speaking of that title game, Texas has a trip to Lubbock Saturday night basically between them and a Missouri rematch/unbeaten season (no, I don’t think Kansas gets them). How does my new coach choice Will Muschamp plan to stop Mike Leach and Graham Harrell. Michael Crabtree would be an NFL receiver – now. This should be a great game to watch, with obviously tons of offense. Still, it’s Texas Tech. When have they won these types of games? I like Texas in this game.

ENJOY!

Images Courtesy of: Memphis Commercial Appeal • Mark Humphrey / AP (Daylife) • Matt Slocum / AP (Daylife)

Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports College Football BlogPoll hosted by — as you might imagine — CBS Sports.

Week 9

Through 27 October 2008

Another week in the record books, and we are beginning to see where teams will likely shake out at the end of the season.  Thus, here are the changes in my BlogPoll ballot for this week.  Most of these should be fairly obvious.  Either way, here’s my ballot:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Texas	–
2	Alabama	–
3	Penn State	–
4	Oklahoma	–
5	Southern Cal	–
6	Texas Tech	–
7	Georgia	–
8	Florida	–
9	Utah	2
10	Missouri	5
11	Boise State	2
12	TCU	2
13	Oklahoma State	1
14	Ohio State	5
15	LSU	5
16	Ball State	1
17	Minnesota	3
18	Oregon	6
19	Brigham Young	4
20	North Carolina	6
	Florida State	5
22	Tulsa	4
23	South Florida	7
24	Pittsburgh	6
25	Maryland	1

Dropped Out: Boston College (#19), Georgia Tech (#21), Kansas (#22), Wake Forest (#25).

Explanations after the jump…

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“Separation” Saturday?

Last week? Weak. This week? Matchup-wise, it’s the opposite. I have yet to hear to cliche that ESPN has dubbed this coming week. “Separation Saturday” sounds typical enough…

That’s really what this weekend is, particularly in the SEC East and the Big XII XI. In the East, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee all face “must-wins” according to CBS analyst Gary Danielson. The Vols and Dawgs go at it head-to-head, while Florida hosts LSU in their yearly grudge match.

In the Big XI (inspiration from Pat Forde on ESPN), you of course have the Texas-Oklahoma Cotton Bowl showdown, but also Missouri plays host to the surprisingly unbeaten, chest-bumping Oklahoma State Cowboys.

These three games form quite the nice triple-header for your viewing pleasure. There’s some other quality football on, and as always that’s where I come in. I should say now that this will be the longest “On Remote” preview to this point. Don’t worry, it’s alllllllllllll worth it!

SEC Games

South Carolina at Kentucky (12:30, RayCom): I was wrong on South Carolina last week, as Chris Smelley threw all over Ole Miss’ defense in the Chickens’ 31-24 win in Oxford. The question is can a Carolina QB put together two straight consistent weeks? Kentucky has a better D than Ole Miss, and the Cats’ strength is their front seven.

Despite coming off their first loss of the year, Kentucky should have gained confidence from last week’s game at Alabama. If the Cats offense improves a little, or even limits its mistakes, this team could be dangerous down the road this year. These two always seem to play pretty close games, and Kentucky shot themselves in the foot both last week and in Columbia last year. Still I think Carolina’s QB inconsistency will be the difference in a Kentucky win.

Vanderbilt at Mississippi State (2:30, ESPN GamePlan): So I was wrong on Vandy too. A win in Starkville would put the Dores at 6-0 for the first time since 1928. Yes, 1928. It’s that kind of year. Last year, State was the Alabama State Champions. They have a chance to claim Tennessee the next two weeks.

Bobby Johnson has Vandy on the verge of bowl eligibility

As fundamentally strong as Vanderbilt is and as bad as Mississippi State’s offense is (ie, worse than Auburn’s), Vandy should SHOULD continue their historic year. Oh yeah, a sixth win would mean the Dores’ first non-losing season since 1982.

Tennessee at Georgia (3:30, CBS): Last time we saw Georgia, they were getting smacked at home by Alabama. The Vols are trying to avoid an 0-3 start in the SEC. Basically, it’s an SEC East elimination game, but isn’t every week?

As everyone knows, Tennessee has won three of the last four, the last two in Athens, and the last two years by a combined 86-47. The revenge factor comes into play, but Georgia’s banged up and the Vols have no offense. How healthy is Knowshon Moreno? The Dawg defense took a hit with the loss of Dannell Ellerbe, and appears to have a weakness along the offensive line. Tennessee just plain likes to shoot their toes off in the most frustrating of ways I won’t go into. Nick Stephens, meet the fire.

Yet another reason to miss Mr. Ainge: he was 3-0 against Georgia

I have low expectations. Very low. Tennessee seemingly matches up pretty well, but most reasonable Dawg fans (an oxymoron, I know) will remind you of David Cutcliffe’s absence. Coach Fulmer has struggled – mightily – against Mark Richt without Cut (two wins against UGA without Cut: ‘99 and ‘04). He doesn’t have Cut anymore. T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Not just this week, but this entire season for the Vols.

Tennessee’s defense keeps it close, but I just don’t see Tennessee getting enough offense to win Saturday. Think Auburn. I’m expecting another frustrating Saturday…

Arkansas at Auburn (5:00, ESPN GamePlan): So much for the Spread Eagle. Probably using the fan’s vote, Auburn fired Tony Franklin Wednesday, probably meaning the beginning of the Kodi Burns era and Chris Todd and the bench and headphones/clipboard becoming best of friends. Playing Arkansas should also help, as the Hogs are bad enough that even Tennessee could score on them (I think). Though they are bad, they played Florida much, much tougher than the 38-7 final showed, and I expect Petrino to get an upset at some point…

LSU at Florida (8:00, CBS): Personally, this is one of my favorite SEC games each year. The athletic ability on the field between these two is ridiculous. The coaches (and their egos) are a great match-up. And it’s always a game Florida could very well lose – and I could watch Florida lose every day.

That said, I like LSU in this game, and here’s why: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – LSU has the SEC’s best lines (Bammer is a close second). Florida’s lines? Probably their weakest aspect, due to the athletes everywhere else. While LSU has some questions in the secondary, they should be able to keep it close and be able to wear down Florida with Craig Scott and that offensive line, much like they did at Auburn. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I really like this LSU team – as in I think they’re the best in the SEC.

OH THERE’S MORE!

Tonight’s game has some intrigue. For Vols fans, fellow underachiever/coach-on-the-hot-seat Clemson/Tommy Bowden travel to Wake Forest in an important game in the ACC Atlantic, where Florida State is also in the mix (the Noles are off this week after beating Miami).

The NEW Weekly Duke Update: After being shutout by Georgia Tech last week, Duke has granted Cut a one-week release to be Tennessee’s offensive coordinator for the Georgia game. UGA is screwed and there are rumors of a forfeit. Yeah, WE WISH. Duke hosts Miami next week. Meanwhile, Lawvol’s Tar Heels, fresh into the rankings, host Notre Dame. C’mon, UNC…

Throwing conference affiliations aside, here are the other great games in chronological order…

Colt McCoy

Sam Bradford

Texas vs. Oklahoma in Dallas (12:00, ABC): Ah yes, the battle of the two outstanding QBs who look like they are still in middle school – Texas’ Colt McCoy and OU’s Sam Bradford. My deal with Texas is that they are generally underachieving. They are in Texas. They have recruits fall into their lap from Texas, and Louisiana, where LSU is the only competition. Yet Mack Brown hasn’t won much without Vince Young. OU has the edge defensively, and the Texas secondary is ripe for Bradford and his seemingly countless receiving targets.

And Bob Stoops has Mack’s number. While the QB matchup is essentially a push and the athletes on the field are also at a high level like the LSU-Florida matchup, I like OU. Also, why is this game being played at 11am local time? I know they have the Texas State Fair, but that’s too early for such a big football game….

Michigan State at Northwestern (3:30, ESPN2): Don’t laugh. MSU is ranked and Northwestern is unbeaten. Both have zero Big Ten losses. A State win puts them firmly into the mix heading into mid-October. A Wildcat win continues the “Revenge of the Nerds” theme dominating the season’s first six weeks. I like Sparty…

Mmm...53.4 ppg

Oklahoma State at Missouri (8:00, ESPN2): Quietly, Okie State is 5-0. Missouri is just sick on offense. The ‘Boys aren’t too shabby on offense either, so first to 60 wins. That would be Mizzou. Missouri is second in the nation in points. Oklahoma State is third. Hello fireworks…

I’ve been all “over” the Tigers these past weeks, and as you know by now I almost went there. Obviously the offense is unstoppable with Jeremy Maclin, Chase Coffman, and runnings back are always productive (Tony Temple last year, Derrick Washington this year). Defense was the issue, but there was improvement as the Tigers held Nebraska, who scored 30 on Virginia Tech, to just 10 measly points. Not gonna be much chest-bumping on the OSU sidelines Saturday…

Penn State at Wisconsin (8:00, ESPN): Is Penn State the best team in the Big Ten? So far, it’s almost a certainty. Big Test #1 is Saturday night in Madison, where band-less Wisconsin is coming off a heart-breaking late loss to Ohio State. I like the Lions to continue their roll, though I’m not very confident in Wisky losing two straight home games after a two-pus year streak of never losing. The Lions are in Columbus the 25th.

Whew! That was quite a bit. College football = awesome.

Images Courtesy of: Mark Humphrey / AP (Daylife) • Tom Mihalek / AP (Daylife) • MackBrown-TexasFootball.com • OU Official Athletic Site • Dave Weaver / AP (Daylife)

Here’s my ballot for this week’s College Football BlogPoll which, as always, is hosted by MGOBlog.

Week 4

I know, I know, I’m a moron…

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	–
2	Oklahoma	–
3	Georgia	–
4	LSU	–
5	Missouri	–
6	Florida	–
7	Wisconsin	–
8	Penn State	1
9	Alabama	1
10	Texas	1
11	Texas Tech	1
12	Wake Forest	3
13	Auburn	5
14	Ohio State	–
15	Utah	1
16	Brigham Young	2
17	South Florida	–
18	Colorado	2
19	Vanderbilt	6
20	Oregon	7
21	Kansas	–
22	Illinois	–
23	Boise State	3
24	Fresno State	2
25	Clemson	1

Dropped Out: East Carolina (#19), Florida State (#23), Arizona State (#24).

Comments,  Explanations, and Excuses

Most of this week is self-explanatory, but here are a few of the high-points of the weeks changes:

Colorado (18):

I am glad to see that the Colorado Buffaloes stood up for me and my persistent belief that they are a quality football team by beating the amazingly over-rated West Virginia Mountaineers.  See, I get one right every now and then…

Ohio State (14):

I know that the Buckeyes won, but it was anything but pretty versus Troy.  I realize that the Bucks were feeling cold and flat after the loss to Southern Cal, but they have to pick it up a bit.  If they don’t get it going quickly, they will have several losses in the Big Ten this season.  On the bright side, at least they aren’t playing like Tennessee.

The Rest of the BlogPoll

Having taken the time to consider my feeble attempt at ranking the powers in college football, feel free to try and convince me that I am wrong — which is part of the way the BlogPoll is supposed to work.  I promise that I will consider all comments.

As for the rest of the BlogPoll, well, you can check out how other bloggers voted, how your team fared across the blogosphere, and view the weekly results each Wednesday over at MGOBlog.

– Go Figure …

Cupcake Time Is Over

This weekend marks the first weekend with really a full slate of SEC Football, the best kind of football pretty much ever. Georgia and South Carolina battled last Saturday to give us a little taste, but now it’s on. The SEC race begins in earnest this weekend with four games, and two more interesting non-conference matchups just for kicks.

Indeed, it’s the best part of being a southern football fan. Those of us fortunate enough to be in Knoxville for the showdown with the Gates (at least we all hope it’s fortunate to be there…) will likely be tailgating before. Not only that, but it’s felt absolutely magnificent here in Knoxville this week. PERFECT FOOTBALL WEATHER…

For me, tailgating isn’t complete without a TV. First, football I care about so much about is just on Saturdays. I want to see how other teams are doing. Second, it’s great for getting attention. Honestly, if you don’t have a TV, but the folks next to you brought their 48-inch high-def TV with a satellite dish, you’re going to watch it. Great ice-breaker – as if being fans of the same team wasn’t already enough. That early game is now an SEC game, which makes it that much better.

And after seeing an SEC game in person, there’s more SEC football to watch in high-def. So (hopefully) after a win, you can relax and watch other teams kill each other, knowing you’ve taken care of business – or that your season is going to be a long one. With the lack of a big national game NOT involving an SEC team, much of my focus will be there…

SEC Games

Mississippi State at Georgia Tech: Mississippi State has a chance to redeem themselves for that loss to Louisiana Tech with a win over Georgia Tech in Atlanta. We’ll find out how good the State front seven is against the heavy rushing/triple option offense the Jackets have had success with already – they won at Boston College and nearly won at Virginia Tech last week.

Alabama at Arkansas (RayCom, 12:30): The appetizer for the day. Arkansas starts a death run – after the Tide, it’s at Texas, Florida at home, then at Auburn. I want to say the Tide runs away with this thing, but I just have a feeling Arkansas will stick around – keep in mind the Tide haven’t won at Arkansas since 2002. Either that or Bammer just runs over them with the run game. This will be the first look at the “new” Casey Dick for pretty much everyone who isn’t an Arkansas fan.

Those of us tailgating before the Florida game will most likely be watching Alabama-Arkansas, our first real look at the Razorbacks

Florida at Tennessee (CBS, 3:30): I’m going to wait til tomorrow to really go into my feelings on this game, but I will say this now (and probably again tomorrow): NOBODY expects Tennessee to even keep it close, and that always seems to be to the Vols’ advantage. Also, the last two games in Neyland between these two teams have been determined by a whopping 3 points. That’s all for now…

Vanderbilt at Ole Miss: Speaking of under-the-radar, this game isn’t even on TV. These two teams are probably better than their names suggest they are. It’s the first SEC game in Oxford for Houston Nutt, and it’s probably a good idea to not lose to Vandy.

The ‘Dores have been impressive, and their next three games – trips to the Mississippi schools sandwiching hosting Auburn – are winnable. I can’t lie, as much as Vanderbilt going to a bowl is something I wouldn’t mind seeing, I am ready to see how Vanderbilt will blow this good start and miss on a bowl for the 75th straight year (actually, it’s just been 25 years…)

Wofford at South Carolina: If I was a South Carolina fan, I probably wouldn’t even go to this game – there’s too much better football on…

Then again, it’s a definite win, so Williams-Brice will likely be packed full…

LSU at Auburn (ESPN, 7:45): All you people who claimed Auburn as a shoo-in to win the West, how do you feel now?? I’ve been on the LSU side of that debate since summer, and I think they’ll win this game at Auburn. The thing that makes me a little hesitant is the injury to Darry Beckwith, one of the two Tiger starters returning behind that nasty defensive line. Chris Todd thought Mississippi State was good up front? Uh, he should be having nightmares of the LSU front this week…

Seriously, with the amount of talent surrounding the LSU QB - like Demetrius Byrd - I think I could probably win some games (although not against the Auburn defense)

Of course the LSU QB is the biggest question in this game. That could be interesting thing, seeing as Auburn scored three points last week – and won. I don’t care how bad Mississippi State’s offense is, Auburn’s defense is pretty nasty too. But LSU has an advantage at the WR position, ridiculous talent all over the field, and the best lines in the SEC. Can the QB (Jarrett Lee/Andrew Hatch, I don’t even know…) use that?

Georgia at Arizona State (ABC, 8:00): I was so upset the Georgia Bulldogs pulled out the win in Columbia, but they made the plays they had to for the W. I really do want them to fail at everything. A win in Tempe would make up for “The Fluke” (what I’m calling the UCLA loss from now on), and I haven’t been impressed with Arizona State any – not last year and didn’t think they’d be that good this year. Then they lose to UNLV. Georgia’s the better team and they should win – but of course I want them to fail – miserably.

IN CASE OF BLOWOUTS:

Here’s proof that everyone’s going to be watching the SEC games this weekend. The rest are just not so pretty that I’m not giving them their own little bits.

Tonight’s game (West Virginia at Colorado (8:00, ESPN)) is fairly interesting. How bad would it be if the second best team in the JV League (giving USF the benefit of the doubt of course) went out and lost to the fourth-best team…in the Big 12 North? Maybe it will prove what many talking heads have already been saying – that the Big 12 is this year’s runner-up in terms of conference strength.

The ACC could very well be determined this weekend, as there’s Virginia Tech at Lawvol’s Tar Heels and Wake Forest at Florida State. I can’t lie, I’m on the Seminole bandwagon, so if they lose to Wake they pretty much won’t win the ACC. Not that Wake’s bad because they aren’t, but this a game the Noles need to win.

Another game with an ACC team features Miami at Texas A&M, and it’s another measuring stick for the Canes program. They need this game. Florida State and Miami need to get back up to respectability, to quell the stupid Gator success (or maybe Tennessee should do it themselves…)

Elsewhere, there’s Notre Dame at Michigan State (I hope the Irish fail at everything, too), Boise State at Oregon, and don’t sleep on Troy as they play Ohio State (who doesn’t get bolded anymore til they actually win a big non-conference game).

Enjoy your SEC football this weekend, folks.

Images Courtesy of: Danny Johnston / AP (Daylife) • Chris Graythen / Getty Images (Daylife)