College Football - Week of 11/8

[Andy]

Top 25 games

-----------------

(1) Alabama at (15) LSU (3:30 pm, CBS)

(8) Oklahoma State at (2) Texas Tech (8 pm, ABC - Regional)

(3) Penn State at Iowa (3:30 pm, ABC – Regional)

(4) Florida at Vanderbilt (8 pm, ESPN2)

Baylor at (5) Texas (12 pm, FSN/CSN)

(6) Oklahoma at Texas A&M (3:30 pm, ABC – Regional)

(21) California at (7) USC (8 pm, ABC – Regional)

Utah State at (9) Boise State (2 pm)

(11) TCU at (10) Utah (8 pm Thursday, CSTV)

(12) Ohio State at Northwestern (12 pm, ESPN2)

Kansas State at (13) Missouri (7 pm, FSN/CSN)

(14) Georgia at Kentucky (12:30 pm)

Northern Illinois at (16) Ball State (8 pm Wednesday, ESPN2)

San Diego State at (17) BYU (2 pm, The Mountain)

Purdue at (18) Michigan State (12 pm, Big Ten - Regional)

(22) Georgia Tech at (19) North Carolina (12 pm)

Cincinnati at (20) West Virginia (7 pm, ESPNU)

(23) Maryland at Virginia Tech (7:30 pm Thursday, ESPN)

Clemson at (24) Florida State (3:30 pm, ABC – Regional)

Louisville at (25) Pittsburgh (12 pm)

 

Other games of interest

------------------------------

Illinois vs Western Michigan – in Detroit (12 pm)

Wisconsin at Indiana (12 pm, Big Ten – Regional)

Syracuse at Rutgers (12 pm, ESPNU)

Michigan at Minnesota (12 pm, ESPN)

Iowa State at Colorado (12:30 pm, Versus)

Arkansas at South Carolina (1 pm)

Wyoming at Tennessee (1 pm)

UT-Martin at Auburn (2:30 pm)

Kansas at Nebraska (2:30 pm)

NC State at Duke (3:30 pm, ESPN360)

Oregon State at UCLA (6 pm)

Arizona State at Washington (7 pm)

Notre Dame at Boston College (8 pm, ESPN)

 

Fordham at Holy Cross (12:30 pm)

Western Illinois at Southern Illinois (3 pm)

Missouri State at Northern Iowa (5 pm)

Sacramento State at UC Davis (5 pm)

 

 

Other nationally televised games

-----------------------------------------

Miami (OH) at Buffalo (7:30 pm Tuesday, ESPN2)

Toledo at Akron (8 pm Wednesday, ESPNU)

Nevada at Fresno State (9 pm Friday, ESPN2)

Tulane at Houston (8 pm, CSTV)

 

Howard at South Carolina State (7:30 pm Thursday, ESPNU)

Penn at Princeton (8 pm Friday, ESPNU)

[Mephistopheles]

70.4% #1 Alabama over #15 Louisiana State

60.0% #2 Texas Tech over #8 Oklahoma State

71.5% #3 Penn State over Iowa

93.6% #4 Florida over Vanderbilt

93.0% #5 Oklahoma over Texas A&M

93.8% #6 Southern Cal over #22 California

98.0% #9 Boise State over Utah State

62.4% #11 Texas Christian over #10 Utah

55.2% #12 Ohio State over Northwestern

89.7% #13 Missouri over Kansas State

74.4% #14 Georgia over Kentucky

78.6% #16 Ball State over Northern Illinois

95.9% #17 Brigham Young over San Diego State

84.9% #18 Michigan State over Purdue

69.4% #19 North Carolina over #21 Georgia Tech

68.5% #20 West Virginia over Cincinnati

72.4% Virginia Tech over #23 Maryland

66.2% #24 Florida State over Clemson

80.2% #25 Pittsburgh over Louisville

 

Upset Alert

Game of the Week

 

Accuracy

 

Last Week:

90-100: 5-0

80-90: 5-0

70-80: 2-1

60-70: 2-2

50-60: 0-1

 

Year to Date:

90-100: 36-4 90%

80-90: 27-3 90%

70-80: 16-10 62%

60-70: 10-6 63%

50-60: 8-8 50%

[OleMissCub]

Wonder what the spread is against Vandy for Florida? 24, 30? :-)

[CubInOK]

Texas A&M always plays OU close when the game is in College Station. As much as ATM sucks this season, I'm thinking take ATM and the points.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Final home game for Daniel, Coffman, and the rest of the seniors. Should be a lot of fun, considering that K-State may be the worst team in the North.

 

I'm also rooting hard for Nebraska against Kansas this Saturday. A Husker win, and a Texas win over KU next weekend gives Mizzou the chance to wrap up the North before they even go to Arrowhead.

[Mephistopheles]

Wonder what the spread is against Vandy for Florida? 24, 30? :-)

 

Should be 29.

[Andy]

ND/BC is a much bigger game for ND than BC - which might be the first time that's ever happened. If Charlie is going to ever win a title at ND, it needs to start with beating teams on the second tier, between top 10 type teams and mediocre teams. ND is not good or experienced enough yet to be expected to beat top-tier teams but they need to beat teams like BC and next week's opponent, Navy, consistently if they're going to get past the 8-9 win area.

 

NIU will be Ball State's sternest conference test this season to this point. It would be nice if BSU's offense can dominate early, something they haven't done in over a month now.

Edited November 2, 2008 by Andy

[Butterscup1679666578]

Final home game for Daniel, Coffman, and the rest of the seniors. Should be a lot of fun, considering that K-State may be the worst team in the North.

 

I'm also rooting hard for Nebraska against Kansas this Saturday. A Husker win, and a Texas win over KU next weekend gives Mizzou the chance to wrap up the North before they even go to Arrowhead.

 

I get to attend this game as a fan, so I'm excited. I'm also pumped it's a night game.

[TruffleShuffle]

ND/BC is a much bigger game for ND than BC - which might be the first time that's ever happened. If Charlie is going to ever win a title at ND, it needs to start with beating teams on the second tier, between top 10 type teams and mediocre teams. ND is not good or experienced enough yet to be expected to beat top-tier teams but they need to beat teams like BC and next week's opponent, Navy, consistently if they're going to get past the 8-9 win area.

 

NIU will be Ball State's sternest conference test this season. It would be nice if BSU's offense can dominate early, something they haven't done in over a month now.

 

if they're losing to a team like navy, they're not reaching the 9-win area.

[snoodmonger]

Final home game for Daniel, Coffman, and the rest of the seniors. Should be a lot of fun, considering that K-State may be the worst team in the North.

 

I'm also rooting hard for Nebraska against Kansas this Saturday. A Husker win, and a Texas win over KU next weekend gives Mizzou the chance to wrap up the North before they even go to Arrowhead.

 

K State is atrocious, made even worse by a dinged up O Line. You guys will feast.

 

This is such a huge game for the KU program. It'll guarantee a 7-win season and put us in position to play for the North title. And 7-5 looks so much better than 6-6.

 

Honestly, as a Mizzou fan, you should root for KU to win this week. While the showdown will hardly be as heralded as last year's, if the North title is up for grabs, our game is bound to get more attention. (Which is good for both programs.) And Our pass defense is so bad, there's little to no chance we'll be able to stop you guys and win the game, so you'll get the best of both worlds--some pregrame hype, followed by a likely win.

 

Look for us to be North champs next year, though.

[Warpticon]

What about the Arkansas-SC game?

[Mephistopheles]

Harris Poll is out:

 

1. Alabama (79)

2. Penn State (17)

3. Texas Tech (16)

4. Florida (1)

5. Oklahoma

6. Texas (1)

7. Southern Cal

8. Oklahoma State

9. Utah

10. Boise State

 

Tulsa is still ranked...

[Mephistopheles]

expect tonights BCS to look something like this:

 

1. Alabama

2. Penn State

3. Texas Tech

4. Florida

5. Texas

6. Oklahoma

7. Oklahoma State

8. Southern Cal

[SouthSideRyan]

Harris Poll is out:

 

Tulsa is still ranked...

 

Awful.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Honestly, as a Mizzou fan, you should root for KU to win this week. While the showdown will hardly be as heralded as last year's, if the North title is up for grabs, our game is bound to get more attention. (Which is good for both programs.) And Our pass defense is so bad, there's little to no chance we'll be able to stop you guys and win the game, so you'll get the best of both worlds--some pregrame hype, followed by a likely win.

 

Look for us to be North champs next year, though.

 

Meh. The game is already guaranteed to be an early game on FSN, and while the prospect of a North Championship game is neat, it's not enough for me to root against peace of mind going into Arrowhead, plus the schadenfreude of KU going .500.

 

You're right about next year though, KU will be the favorite for the North. Unless Mizzou can have a smooth transition at QB there's no reason they wouldn't win it either.

[Mephistopheles]

I'll put Bo Pelini's Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Big XII North discussion. Obviously their defense is atrocious right now, but Pelini's probably on of the best defensive coaches in the country, if not the best. The second year is almost always the big improvement year under a new coach. They'll have to replace Ganz, but they've got some young talent at QB. I think they'll finish in the top 25 next season. I'm really not sure Mizzou or Kansas. I wouldn't be at all shocked if we see an Alabama type Renaissance from them next season.

[Butterscup1679666578]

Honestly, as a Mizzou fan, you should root for KU to win this week. While the showdown will hardly be as heralded as last year's, if the North title is up for grabs, our game is bound to get more attention. (Which is good for both programs.) And Our pass defense is so bad, there's little to no chance we'll be able to stop you guys and win the game, so you'll get the best of both worlds--some pregrame hype, followed by a likely win.

 

Look for us to be North champs next year, though.

 

Meh. The game is already guaranteed to be an early game on FSN, and while the prospect of a North Championship game is neat, it's not enough for me to root against peace of mind going into Arrowhead, plus the schadenfreude of KU going .500.

 

You're right about next year though, KU will be the favorite for the North. Unless Mizzou can have a smooth transition at QB there's no reason they wouldn't win it either.

 

I don't know enough about the state of KU's program to know why they'd be favorites next year. Is it more of what Mizzou is losing, or is KU getting that much stronger?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I'll put Bo Pelini's Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Big XII North discussion. Obviously their defense is atrocious right now, but Pelini's probably on of the best defensive coaches in the country, if not the best. The second year is almost always the big improvement year under a new coach. They'll have to replace Ganz, but they've got some young talent at QB. I think they'll finish in the top 25 next season. I'm really not sure Mizzou or Kansas. I wouldn't be at all shocked if we see an Alabama type Renaissance from them next season.

 

Nebraska loses their starting QB, RB, FB, both starting WR, and 2 offensive linemen, plus 2 starters at each level of their defense (6 total leaving). They aren't close enough to the top teams in the North to lose that much and move up the ranks. Furthermore, Pelini hasn't been a big recruiter and he doesn't have a great class coming in, or anything close to it.

[dew1679666265]

Please beat Wyoming, Tennessee. The team has already probably played Fulmer out of a job, lets go ahead and win out and get a Music City/Liberty/Independence/3000 Flushes bowl.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I don't know enough about the state of KU's program to know why they'd be favorites next year. Is it more of what Mizzou is losing, or is KU getting that much stronger?

 

KU isn't getting a huge influx of talent by any means, so it's probably more of the former. KU loses 3 Offensive Linemen, but returns the rest of their offense. They do lose 5 defensive starters including all 3 linebackers(the current strength of their defense), but that's nothing compared to Mizzou losing 7 defensive starters, 8 if Weatherspoon leaves early. The difference comes down to the most important position on the field. If Gabbert(or Dalton or Glaser) can impress as a freshman, then by the two teams are in pretty similar situations(with Mizzou probably having more talent around the field). However, having a 3rd year starter at the most crucial position is a decided advantage.

[CubInOK]

expect tonights BCS to look something like this:

 

1. Alabama

2. Penn State

3. Texas Tech

4. Florida

5. Texas

6. Oklahoma

7. Oklahoma State

8. Southern Cal

:confused:

 

Both the Coaches and the Harris have OU ahead of Texas. This isn't a case of whether that is right or not (it's not), it's a case of having 2/3 of the BCS formula look that way.

[Mephistopheles]

Well. If the Longhorns average 4th in the computers behind Tech, Penn State and Alabama, and the Sooners get the same computer rankings they got last week, the BCS ratings will be:

 

OU

0.819047619 Coaches Poll

0.819649123 Harris Poll

0.806666667 Computers

 

UT

0.779047619 Coaches Poll

0.814736842 Harris Poll

0.880000000 Computers

 

BCS Score:

0.82459482 Texas

0.81512114 Oklahoma

 

We do know that Texas did not fall below Penn State in two of the computers. The computers had Texas Tech below Oklahoma last week, and that won't be true this week. If Texas doesn't fall below them, which they won't, then Oklahoma is going to lose points there. Florida also jumped Oklahoma in at least one of the computers.

[snoodmonger]

Honestly, as a Mizzou fan, you should root for KU to win this week. While the showdown will hardly be as heralded as last year's, if the North title is up for grabs, our game is bound to get more attention. (Which is good for both programs.) And Our pass defense is so bad, there's little to no chance we'll be able to stop you guys and win the game, so you'll get the best of both worlds--some pregrame hype, followed by a likely win.

 

Look for us to be North champs next year, though.

 

Meh. The game is already guaranteed to be an early game on FSN, and while the prospect of a North Championship game is neat, it's not enough for me to root against peace of mind going into Arrowhead, plus the schadenfreude of KU going .500.

 

You're right about next year though, KU will be the favorite for the North. Unless Mizzou can have a smooth transition at QB there's no reason they wouldn't win it either.

 

I don't know enough about the state of KU's program to know why they'd be favorites next year. Is it more of what Mizzou is losing, or is KU getting that much stronger?

 

Both.

 

KU returns all its playmakers on offense (Reesing, Meier, Sharp, Brisco, and the rest of the receiving corps. The o-line will probably be better. Our interior will graduate, but we have seasoned guys ready to step in, and our tackles--who are freshmen this year--should be much improved.

 

As far as our D goes, our front four should be much better. We're getting a true pass rusher who allegedly can make an impact immediately, and our true fresh D-tackle should be much more ready to play. We'll be thin in experience at the LB position, but I think the guys we have stepping in are much better suited to defend the spread than our current batch.

 

But really, it's all about the O. We'll still have trouble stopping teams, but I think our O will be able to overcome that except against the OUs and UTs.

[Mephistopheles]

Vance, Gamedays going back to Baton Rouge. It'll be the third time they've seen the Tide this year and the second time they've seen the Tigers.

[shnsajax]

Texas A&M always plays OU close when the game is in College Station. As much as ATM sucks this season, I'm thinking take ATM and the points.

 

Whats the spread? I am thinking you win by 30 this year, this is the worst A&M team in a while.