College Football Weekend September 17-19

It will be a very short write-up this week as I have been feeling a little ill the last couple days. Also the best games of the week are on Thursday and Friday this week. Comments below:

“I'm from Cincy Ohio but I will tell you this the Buckeyes are going to embarrass themselves again - getting trampled by the Trojans! Pryor is starting to get cocky and I bet he will be a flop all year. He'll be another what's that former RB who claims his $7K worth of belonging were stolen from his Gremlin?? Maurice Clarett, yup Pryor will end up like Maurice did. Hmmm...maybe another Ryan Leaf dud??? BTW, Buckeyes should not have won that Navy game!!!!!” – Jim
You were right about the Buckeyes, although it was a little closer then I thought, also you should be excited for the Bearcats this weekend who are playing Oregon.

“If it's not #1 on your radar (or your heart), it should be - the Elon Phoenix are an impressive 2-0 so far this season after 56-0 and 42-7 dismantlings of Davidson and Presbyterian, respectively. This week they travel to play the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest in a showdown of bucolic NC schools. I don't know what else I can say besides the obvious - this game is huge.” - Ryan
Elon is always number one on my radar, and good luck to them as they play a Wake Forest team that has been pretty good in the last couple years.

Thursday 17 September
#14 Georgia Tech at #20 Miami 7:30PM EST
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are one of my favorite teams to watch in the entire country due the spread option offense that was brought to Tech by ex-Navy coach Paul Johnson. The spread option typically involves the quarterback and one ore more running backs running the ball on every play, and whomever carries the ball ultimately is decided in the middle of the play by how the defense reacts, it is my favorite college offense to watch, it’s like Dexter (on showtime) but for football.

The Miami Hurricanes coach Randy Shannon has vowed that if Georgia Tech is going to beat them then it won’t be by running the ball. Well as much as Randy means well, lots of people tried to stop the Georgia Tech running game last year, and it didn’t work out so hot for them, just like me when I go on dates. My guess is that it will be a hard fought game and the question will be whether Miami has improved enough this year to play disciplined defense. I’m really thinking Miami will win at home because of the tough game Tech had last week, but I like the option so much that I’ll go with Tech.

Friday 18 September
#10 Boise State at Fresno State 9PM EST
The Fresno State Bulldogs gave Wisconsin everything they could handle last weekend, eventually losing in overtime. Fresno hasn’t beaten a ranked opponent since 2004 when they defeated the now very humble Virginia cavaliers. But Fresno is always tough at home and Boise may be due for a letdown. The Boise State Broncos will need to rely on the efficient passing of QB Kellen Moore, who is currently completing about 65% of his passes.

I got this gem this afternoon, “Boise's run defense is legit this year and that is all Fresno has. I watched them play Wisconsin and their QB is a big time soft tosser who doesn't get the ball out on time on a regular basis. I am down big on Fresno this year as I hate that type of QB.”

Historically I almost always pick against Boise and I’m always wrong. My reasoning is usually along the lines of “They are due to break this winning streak.” or “I think it’s time for this team who are the second best of the decade to lose a game against a WAC opponent”. And it never works out for me. But this week I think I’m due, someone in the WAC will finally topple Boise because they are due to break that winning streak. It’s like betting against the Harlem Globetrotters.

Saturday 19 September
#19 Nebraska at #13 Virginia Tech 3:30PM
The Cornhuskers of Nebraska roll in to play the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Hokies in Blacksburg, where fun goes to die. The major difference between these two teams thusfar is that Virginia tech has actually played a decent team and done well whereas Nebraska has been playing the Weak Sisters of the Poor University, and Slow Skinny Kid Tech, although to be fair the middle linebacker for the Sisters is a nun our of Texas who weighs 250 and runs a 4.3 second 40 yard dash. The main stat here is that Virginia Tech hasn’t lost a nonconference home game in the last 31 tries.

Trying to break that streak for the Cornhuskers is QB Zac Lee who has completed 74% of his passes thusfar. But he hasn’t seen a defense as tough as Tech’s who plays a fast swarming physical style of defense. Historically both teams pride themselves on defense, and much like my annual performance reviews, that’s exactly what this game could devolve into, a defensive struggle. I’m picking Tech for the exact opposite reason I’m picking against Boise, which is to say I’m inconsistent at all times. You could say that the only thing consistent about my thought process is the inconsistencies.

Other games I wish I had the energy to write about this weekend:
Texas Tech at #2 Texas – This was a great game last year and as much as it could be the same this year it’s more likely that Tech has just lost too much to graduation or the NFL to be competitive.

#18 Utah at Oregon – Little revenge game for Oregon who lost earlier in the year at Boise State, Utah will play a solid defensive game and pull a win out at Oregon.

Cincinnati at Oregon State – This game is an interesting match-up between two conferences that rarely clash in the Big East vs. the Pac-10. For those who are constantly arguing about strength of conferences, take a look at this one as both teams are in the upper tier of their respective conference.