Even though Texas has a bye this week there is still plenty of college football going on. The weird thing this weekend is the fact that ESPN Gameday is at the Florida State vs Boston College game. Is anyone really interested in this game? Let’s check out the actual games to watch this weekend.
4 LSU at 18 Georgia (-3.5) – 3:30 PM EST on CBS. LSU is ranked 4 in the country, but they find themselves having to apologize for their high ranking due to their poor performance last week against Mississippi State. If they want to stay in the Top 5 they will have to bring a much better effort against the favored Georgia Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are 9-1 in their last 10 games against the SEC West and has won the last 3 matchups in this series. The real stat that I am looking at though is Georgia 1-7 ATS in their last 8 at home and 1-8 in their last 9 overall. Georgia just doesn’t seem to step-up in the big games. I like LSU plus the points in this one.
7 USC at 24 California (+5) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. I will must say I am pretty bitter in regards to Cal after they completely laid an egg last weekend against Oregon. USC still has a lot to prove after losing to Washington and struggling against Washington State. USC is also dealing with the scary events of recent days when running back Stafon Johnson suffered a crushed neck and larynx after a weight lifting accident. I expect USC to pull together and play a tough game for star running back. Their defense has been outstanding and I see them putting a lot of pressure on the struggling Cal QB. Take USC in this one.
8 Oklahoma at 17 Miami (+7.5) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. This is the game I have been looking forward to for a couple of weeks now. Oklahoma is without Sam Bradford again this week, but that hasn’t slowed them down as backup Landry Jones has filled in well. Oklahoma still has the athletes on both sides of the ball and I expect them to put a lot of pressure on Miami QB Jacorey Harris. He showed last week that he still has a lot to learn, making bad throw after bad throw. Those kind of mistakes won’t fly against Oklahoma. Oklahoma wins this one easy on the road.
College Gameday
(13) Georgia at (9) Oklahoma State (-5.5) – 3:30 PM EST on ABC. Oklahoma State is starting the season with the highest ranking in school history. A few years ago Oklahoma State got absolutely killed in their season opener and will no doubt be looking for some revenge. This is OK State’s chance to show just how much they have improved and that they are ready for the big stage. I Georgia has too many question marks and OK State wins this one pretty easily. Give the points.
(20) BYU at (3) Oklahoma (-22) – 7:00 PM EST on ESPN. Oklahoma is known to start of the season a little slow, but I expect them to finally learn from their previous mistakes and take care of business here. By now you have probably all heard of Gresham’s injury, but I don’t see that being a huge factor here, Oklahoma just has too many weapons on offense. I don’t like the 22 number, but I would go ahead and give the points here.
Louisiana-Monroe at (2) Texas (-42) – 7:00 PM EST on FSN. Wow, another 42 point spread season opener. Obviously this game won’t get much national attention, but it is always good to try and get some opening season questions answered. Has the defense matured from last year? Who is going to step up at running back? Now I almost never bet on Texas, but even with the 42 points I think Texas covers this easily. Look for something in the neighborhood of 59-7.
(5) Alabama at (7) Virginia Tech (+6) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. You can’t start the season off much stronger than this night-time battle of top tens. Virginia Tech is also coming in with their highest ranking in school history and has a few question marks after some injuries this preseason. Alabama started off last season better than anyone, but fell short in their last two games. Saban hopes to start erasing those bad memories with a big win tonight. Virginia Tech is starting a freshman at QB and RB. In my opinion that spells trouble against the Alabama defense. I think Alabama covers this spread, though it might just be by 1. Give the points here.
Posted February 10th, 2009 by Brian
Filed under: Football, Recruiting
The Longhorns didn’t finish off the 2009 recruiting class with the bang some fans were hoping for, but the class is still one of the top in the nation. Rivals.com ranks Texas as fifth overall class overall, but is with [tag]Florida[/tag] and USC for best average rating per prospect. Check out a brief video feature on the entire top ten below:
Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State
Another solid 2-1 last weekend and I am planning on going undefeated today. Let’s see what’s going on:
#22 Georgia Tech at #11 Georgia (-7.5) – 12:00 PM EST on CBS. Georgia doesn’t have a shot at going to the National Championship, but they probably don’t care much about that this Saturday as all they want to do is kill Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech, and the whole ACC for that matter, has been very up and down this season. Since Georgia Tech played so well last weekend, they are due to get blown out this weekend. Take Georgia and the easy win.
Auburn at #1 Alabama (-14.5) – 3:30 PM EST on CBS. Even Auburn had ANY semblance of a real quarterback, I would probably take them in this game. Even though this is a heated rivalry game, since Alabama already has the SEC West wrapped up, I feel they may be looking ahead to Florida. But that won’t really matter much since they will jump out early and dominate this game from the beginning. Take Alabama, but buy the half point just in case.
#4 Florida at #20 Florida State (+16.5) – 3:30 PM EST on ABC. The same thing applies in this game. Florida already has the SEC East wrapped up and all anyone can talk about it their matchup against Alabama. Florida State actually has the athletes that can keep up with Florida and won’t be too surprised by their speed. Now that won’t help them win, but I do think it will help them cover. I am thinking Florida State covers this one.
Baylor at #7 Texas Tech (-23) – 3:30 PM EST. The big question in this one is whether or not Texas Tech will have a letdown game after getting drubbed in Norman. Baylor has played pretty well this season and I think this 23 points might be a tad high. Yeah Tech can score some points, but I bet a lot of them think their season is over. Baylor might even win this one. Take the Bears and the points.
#3 Oklahoma at #12 Oklahoma State (+8) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. Obviously the biggest game of the day for Texas fans. Luckily this weekend we actually get to root against OU. As much as I would like to think Oklahoma State can hang with OU, I just can’t make myself believe it. Oklahoma State does have the extra week to prepare for this one, but if OU plays up to their potential that doesn’t matter. I expect Stoops to have Oklahoma extra ready for this one and they probably plan to make another statement this weekend. Take Oklahoma and give the points, and say goodbye to our National Championship dreams.
Thanks to a (joyous) [tag]Penn State[/tag] loss the Longhorns have moved up another spot in the latest BCS rankings released Sunday. Thanks to that loss and human voters seeing the error of their ways, Texas is third ahead of [tag]Florida[/tag] and more importantly [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]. The Horns dropped big from number one after their loss to [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] but moved back passed those teams this week in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the Harris Poll.
Texas’ ranking against the Sooners is huge on the chance their is a three-way tie between those two teams and the Red Raiders for the Big 12 South. In that scenario the division winner will be determined by which team has the highest BCS ranking. If the Horns end up winning out and in the Big 12 Championship, a win over the North’s representative would likely mean a shot at the whole enchilada.
The BCS top 10 rankings are listed below:
| BCS | Harris Poll | USA Today | Comp. Rankings | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BCS Avg | Prvs | RK | Pts | % | RK | Pts | % | Avg | % | |
| 1 | Alabama | .9814 | 1 | 1 | 2808 | .9853 | 1 | 1508 | .9889 | 2 | .970 |
| 2 | Texas Tech | .9715 | 2 | 2 | 2768 | .9712 | 2 | 1469 | .9633 | 1 | .980 |
| 3 | Texas | .8798 | 4 | 4 | 2471 | .8670 | 5 | 1300 | .8525 | 3 | .920 |
| 4 | Florida | .8640 | 5 | 3 | 2531 | .8881 | 3 | 1348 | .8839 | T-5 | .820 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | .8444 | 6 | 5 | 2427 | .8516 | 4 | 1314 | .8616 | T-5 | .820 |
| 6 | USC | .7896 | 7 | 6 | 2329 | .8172 | 6 | 1268 | .8315 | 8 | .720 |
| 7 | Utah | .7692 | 8 | 8 | 2034 | .7137 | 7 | 1104 | .7239 | 4 | .870 |
| 8 | Penn State | .6839 | 3 | 7 | 2073 | .7274 | 8 | 1074 | .7043 | 10 | .620 |
| 9 | Boise State | .6783 | 10 | 9 | 1940 | .6807 | 9 | 1028 | .6741 | 9 | .680 |
| 10 | Georgia | .6156 | 13 | 12 | 1581 | .5547 | 12 | 842 | .5521 | 7 | .740 |
Related: View the full BCS rankings
Things are heating up in the Big 12 South as two more undefeated teams square off on Saturday. Texas has to travel to Texas Tech where the fans remind me of those from the Philadelphia Eagles. The two best teams in the SEC also face each other this weekend, Florida vs. Georgia, in the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” in Jacksonville, Florida. It doesn’t get much better than this folks.
I went 2-2 again last week as the Tech/Kansas game surprised me a little. There are really only 2 games to watch this weekend, but luckily both of them should be great.
#8 Florida at #6 Georgia (+6.5) – 3:30 PM EST on CBS. Florida is fresh off a huge route against Kentucky. Florida has really hit a groove on offense since losing to Ole Miss and their team speed looks unstoppable. Georgia is also coming off a big win absolutely destroying a good LSU team in Baton Rouge. Florida has to be looking for some revenge in this game after Georgia’s team celebration in the end zone. Whoever wins this game will take control of the SEC East. Bottomline is Florida’s team speed is too much for Georgia to handle and they will cover the touchdown.
#1 Texas at #7 Texas Tech (+3.5) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. Another week and another undefeated Big 12 South opponent. This time Texas has to travel to Lubbock in their first big road test. The Tech fans can be rowdy, and this being a night game no doubt things will be extra crazy (drunk). Tech has proven they can score points (ala Kansas), but they have also proven they can struggle mightily (ala Nebraska and A&M). If Texas can pressure Harrell early they should be able to control the clock and the game. I think the defensive front seven of the Longhorns will be the key to this game. Colt will score the points, and the defense will save the game. Take Texas and give the points.
The Texas defense bent (a lot) against [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] but held strong just when they needed to secure the win. In what may have been the most important play of the season so far they stuffed the OSU offense on fourth down on a critical fourth quarter drive. The defense sniffed out the wide receiver slip screen and defensive tackle [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag] tackled Dez Bryant as soon as he caught the ball, well short of the needed yardage.
That play is up against plays from [tag]Florida State[/tag], [tag]Georgia[/tag]. and probably the deserving winner from the [tag]Ohio State[/tag]/[tag]Penn State[/tag] game. That big hit and then fumble by Terrelle Pryor probably put Joe Pa in the title game.
Go to www.pontiac.com/ncaa and vote for the Horns. Be sure to click on “Rush” to see the ESPN guys talk at length after a good replay of [tag]Vince Young[/tag] running for 80 yards against Okie State back in the incredible 2005 game.
The new BCS standings are out and the Longhorns remain easily atop the list. A close game against [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] had no effect on either the human or computer polls that make up the rankings. Texas is number one in every computer poll and holds nearly every first place vote in both the Harris and USA Today Coaches poll.
All the team has to do is take care of business and it appears there’s no way any other team could jump them in the rankings. One indicator of how much both the humans and robots love the Longhorns are the rankings of both OSU and [tag]Oklahoma[/tag] even after losses to Texas. After the loss this weekend the Cowboys only fell one spot in the Harris Poll and two in the USA Today poll. This might mean the Horns could lose a game and still be around number three in the BCS. Let’s hope we don’t find out.
Check out the top ten in the latest BCS rankings below:
| Harris Poll | USA Today | Computer Rankings | BCS | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | RK | Pts | % | RK | Pts | % | % | Comp avg | BCS Avg | Prvs | |||
| 1 | Texas | 1 | 2839 | .9961 | 1 | 1522 | .9980 | 1.000 | 1 | .9981 | 1 | ||
| 2 | Alabama | 2 | 2696 | .9460 | 2 | 1439 | .9436 | .960 | 2 | .9499 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Penn State | 3 | 2650 | .9298 | 3 | 1414 | .9272 | .920 | 3 | .9257 | 3 | ||
| 4 | Oklahoma | 4 | 2370 | .8316 | 4 | 1265 | .8295 | .820 | T-4 | .8270 | 4 | ||
| 5 | USC | 7 | 2255 | .7912 | 6 | 1228 | .8052 | .750 | 6 | .7822 | 5 | ||
| 6 | Georgia | 8 | 2124 | .7453 | 8 | 1137 | .7456 | .820 | T-4 | .7703 | 7 | ||
| 7 | Texas Tech | 5 | 2286 | .8021 | 5 | 1246 | .8170 | .610 | T-10 | .7431 | 8 | ||
| 8 | Florida | 6 | 2258 | .7923 | 7 | 1199 | .7862 | .610 | T-10 | .7295 | 10 | ||
| 9 | Oklahoma State | 9 | 1871 | .6565 | 10 | 972 | .6374 | .730 | T-7 | .6746 | 6 | ||
| 10 | Utah | 10 | 1802 | .6323 | 9 | 987 | .6472 | .730 | T-7 | .6362 | 11 | ||
Related: View the full BCS rankings
Some really good match-ups this weekend, especially in the Big 12. You get to start off the day with Texas Tech playing on the road in Kansas, and then get to watch the #1 Texas Longhorns play Oklahoma State in the afternoon. Then you get to finish on the day with Penn State playing at Ohio State in the late game on ABC. Overall not a bad Saturday, not bad at all.
Now I did only go 2-2 last week, but I am still around 70% for the season. This weekend should be good.
#8 Texas Tech vs. #23 Kansas (PK) – 12:00 PM EST on ESPN. Texas Tech is 7-0 for the first time since 1976, but their undefeated is in serious jeopardy this weekend playing at Kansas. Kansas has proven they can score and Texas Tech’s defense has been looking pretty week in the last 2 weeks. The over/under in this one is around 68, which is not nearly enough for these two teams. Look for this one to be in the 80s as Kansas pulls out the victory in the end.
#6 Oklahoma State vs. #1 Texas (-12.5) – 3:30 PM EST on ABC. Texas doesn’t get a break as they face another top ranked team for the 3rd straight week. I think Texas has proven they can handle the pressure of being #1 in the nation by demolishing Mizzou last weekend. Even though Texas has won 10 straight in this match-up, Oklahoma State has been a trouble spot for Texas in recent years, needing many a miracle 2nd half comeback to pull out the victory. I think this year Texas will jump out early at home and continue to apply pressure throughout the game. Give the points in this one.
#7 Georgia vs. #13 LSU (-1.5) – 3:30 PM EST on CBS. To me this one seems pretty simple. LSU has nothing at the quarterback position, and that will kill you with the SEC defenses. LSU’s defense struggled mightily against Florida’s speed, and it will probably be more of the same against Georgia. I really hate to go against LSU, but my gut tells me they don’t have a shot in this one.
#3 Penn State vs. #9 Ohio State (+2) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. This one might be the toughest on the board. You can make pretty good arguments both ways. Ohio State has been playing much better since getting blown out by USC, but Penn State has just been dominating every opponent. To me this one just comes down to offense. Ohio State struggles to score points, and Penn State averages 45 points per game. Even though this one is at OSU, take Penn State minus the points.
Not sure any weekend will be able to top the match-ups we saw on Saturday, but there are plenty of good games to watch tomorrow. You get to start your day off with an early SEC battle with #22 Vanderbilt playing at #10 Georgia. Then you get a nice afternoon game with #16 Kansas playing at #4 Oklahoma. After that I suggest you take a quick nap and then it will be time for #1 Texas to take on #11 Mizzou in the marquee match-up of the day. Gameday will be in Austin, as will I.
Let’s take a look at the rest of the big games. FYI, I went 3-1 last weekend against the spread (for around the 5th straight weekend). Hopefully some of you are making some money with me.
#22 Vanderbilt at #10 Georgia (-15) – 12:30 PM EST on ESPN Gameplan. How will Vanderbilt respond to their first loss of the season? I’ll tell you how, they will get destroyed by Georgia in Athens. Let’s just take a quick look at the numbers here. Georgia is averaging 440 yards in total offense and Vanderbilt is only averaging 262.5 yards. Georgia is averaging 280.8 yards passing and Vanderbilt is only averaging 102.7 yards. This has blow-out written all over it.
#16 Kansas at #4 Oklahoma (-20) – 3:30 PM EST on ABC. Talk about a line jump, this game was set to open at 14 and was immediately bumped up to 20. Seems like a big number to me. Oklahoma’s best defensive player Ryan Reynolds is out for the season and their defense is fresh off allowing 438 yards to Texas. Kansas’ 7th ranked passing offense should keep them in the game. I don’t expect Kansas to win, but I think they can hang in there and not lose by 3 touchdowns.
#12 Ohio State at #20 Michigan State (+3.5) – 3:30 PM EST on ABC. I guess you won’t really be able to watch this game since the OU game will be on, but this one could get interesting. Ohio State should be on high upset alert as Michigan State has been on a roll winning their last 6 games. You may know by now I am a big advocate of the run game, and that is where Michigan State excels with Javon Ringer already racking up over 1100 yards. And just so you know since Pryor took over the quarterback duties from Boeckman, the Buckeyes have had the 10th worst passing offense averaging 128 yards per game. I am liking Michigan State here, money-line.
#11 Missouri at #1 Texas (-5) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. I remember reading Hornfans last week and noticing most people seemed pretty level headed in that it would take a great game to beat OU. Now if you read Hornfans you will see a lot of people talking about how we will dominate Mizzou and how we will be all over Chase Daniel, etc, etc. This scares me a little. Missouri is a tough team and they don’t average 555 yards (383 yards passing) for nothing. And then you have the fact that Texas just gave up 5 passing touchdowns and you can see where my concern is. With all of that said I think Texas will be up for this game and ready to defend their #1 ranking. Home field advantage is the key here.
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