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- Oct 18, 2009
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It's week 5 of college football now, and around this time every year, the undefeated list starts to fit roughly inside the top 10. With more than 90% of the sport outside that group, most of us are by now looking up at a log-jam to the respective conference or playoff games that is of seemingly infinite density. It's hard to project an undefeated team to lose, and just as hard to project a defeated team to win out, so the mental calculus of the population all over college football has now, for the most part, entered irrationally dire territory.
So let's do what we fans do best, and freak out about the long term future on the basis of the most recent result (whether we're right or not). This week in foobaw, it's overreaction week.
Thursday, September 27
8:00 PM - North Carolina at #16 Miami. North Carolina is performing the ancient Coastal ritual of losing flatulently out of conference, then dominating the division. That's right. After losing hilariously to Cal and utterly surrendering to pirates, North Carolina leads the Coastal race (UVA and VT both have the same ACC record, but their wins are over Atlantic teams).
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
Friday, September 28
8:00 PM - Memphis at Tulane. I mean, it's football.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
9:00 PM - UCLA at Colorado. When life hands Chip Kelly lemons, you laugh at Chip Kelly. If you want supplementary laughs, just look up UCLA's remaining schedule.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
Saturday, September 29
12:00 PM - #12 West Virginia at #25 Texas Tech. Texas Tech has pantsed two killer teams in a row now, and somehow can barely be afforded a top 25 spot? Well, you have to imagine West Virginia's top 15 ranking on the back of being 3-0 against nobodies is going to piss them right off.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
12:00 PM - Bowling Green at Georgia Tech. I'm contractually obligated to list this game, and tell you to attend it. Non-attorney spokesperson.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
12:20 PM - Virginia at NC State. Gotta keep up with the UNC's of the world.
OVERREACTION (no matter who wins):
3:30 PM - Pittsburgh at #13 UCF. The most confusing possible result for everyone here would be for Pittsburgh to dominate UCF. That's probably not going to happen.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
3:30 PM - #18 Texas at Kansas State. Look everyone, after beating two ranked teams in a row, Texas is ranked.
OVERREACTION (no matter who wins):
3:30 PM - Purdue at Nebraska. When life hands Scott Frost lemons, you laugh at Scott Frost.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
3:30 PM - Florida State at Louisville. Two teams ruined by Alabama collide. Louisville only managing to put 200 yards and 3 points on UVA doesn't seem like it's going to cut it against an FSU defense that's actually starting to gel. Their only hope is the kind of offensive multi-turnover ineptitude that has become FSU's brand under Taggart.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
6:00 PM - Florida at #23 Mississippi State. Dan Mullen returns to CLANGAtown. I'm not sure how cowbell fans feel about that, and I'm not hopping a train to find out, but we'll surely see it anyways.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
7:00 PM - Virginia Tech at #22 Duke. Cutcliffe's salty-rage based mad science experiment has become too strong, and has escaped the lab. VT is the first ACC team that will be yanked off screen by the unseen evil and devoured.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
7:00 PM - Boise State at Wyoming. Wyoming has had this game circled all year. I think this is technically the MAC equivalent of "WE WANT BAMA"?
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
7:00 PM - Iowa State at TCU. Well, TCU had a nice good hangover against Texas, but it's time to chug some water and get back in gear, or this will become a death spiral. Iowa State's plenty fine with being the agent of a death spiral.
OVERREACTION (no matter who wins):
7:30 PM - #20 BYU at #11 Washington. You've got to think that a team which can beat Wisconsin has a shot at Washington. The Huskies offense has proven to be quite vulnerable through four weeks, and BYU seems to have a pretty punishing defense, not allowing more than 24 points in three straight power five games.
OVERREACTION (no matter who wins):
7:30 PM - #4 Ohio State at #9 Penn State. Either Ohio State picks up a signature win, guaranteeing them a playoff spot, or they pick up a quality loss, guaranteeing them a playoff spot when Wisconsin beats Penn State in the B1G championship game. Y'all ready for the 8 team playoff?
OVERREACTION (no matter who wins or loses):
7:30 PM - #7 Stanford at #8 Notre Dame. Can either of these teams possibly crack the top 6 with a win? For Notre Dame, a loss here doesn't give them much of a chance to rebound into the playoff, since all of the remaining teams on their schedule are already badly damaged goods.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
7:30 PM - South Carolina at #17 Kentucky. Suddenly, Kentucky looks like they have themselves a hell of a team, after shedding their old ways of sucking and subsequently detonating 14th ranked Mississippi State like some sort of SEC power might. If somebody is going to challenge UGA in the East, Kentucky has to win this game and keep winning.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
So let's do what we fans do best, and freak out about the long term future on the basis of the most recent result (whether we're right or not). This week in foobaw, it's overreaction week.
Thursday, September 27
8:00 PM - North Carolina at #16 Miami. North Carolina is performing the ancient Coastal ritual of losing flatulently out of conference, then dominating the division. That's right. After losing hilariously to Cal and utterly surrendering to pirates, North Carolina leads the Coastal race (UVA and VT both have the same ACC record, but their wins are over Atlantic teams).
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
Friday, September 28
8:00 PM - Memphis at Tulane. I mean, it's football.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
9:00 PM - UCLA at Colorado. When life hands Chip Kelly lemons, you laugh at Chip Kelly. If you want supplementary laughs, just look up UCLA's remaining schedule.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
Saturday, September 29
12:00 PM - #12 West Virginia at #25 Texas Tech. Texas Tech has pantsed two killer teams in a row now, and somehow can barely be afforded a top 25 spot? Well, you have to imagine West Virginia's top 15 ranking on the back of being 3-0 against nobodies is going to piss them right off.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
12:00 PM - Bowling Green at Georgia Tech. I'm contractually obligated to list this game, and tell you to attend it. Non-attorney spokesperson.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
12:20 PM - Virginia at NC State. Gotta keep up with the UNC's of the world.
OVERREACTION (no matter who wins):
3:30 PM - Pittsburgh at #13 UCF. The most confusing possible result for everyone here would be for Pittsburgh to dominate UCF. That's probably not going to happen.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
3:30 PM - #18 Texas at Kansas State. Look everyone, after beating two ranked teams in a row, Texas is ranked.
OVERREACTION (no matter who wins):
3:30 PM - Purdue at Nebraska. When life hands Scott Frost lemons, you laugh at Scott Frost.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
3:30 PM - Florida State at Louisville. Two teams ruined by Alabama collide. Louisville only managing to put 200 yards and 3 points on UVA doesn't seem like it's going to cut it against an FSU defense that's actually starting to gel. Their only hope is the kind of offensive multi-turnover ineptitude that has become FSU's brand under Taggart.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
6:00 PM - Florida at #23 Mississippi State. Dan Mullen returns to CLANGAtown. I'm not sure how cowbell fans feel about that, and I'm not hopping a train to find out, but we'll surely see it anyways.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
7:00 PM - Virginia Tech at #22 Duke. Cutcliffe's salty-rage based mad science experiment has become too strong, and has escaped the lab. VT is the first ACC team that will be yanked off screen by the unseen evil and devoured.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
7:00 PM - Boise State at Wyoming. Wyoming has had this game circled all year. I think this is technically the MAC equivalent of "WE WANT BAMA"?
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
7:00 PM - Iowa State at TCU. Well, TCU had a nice good hangover against Texas, but it's time to chug some water and get back in gear, or this will become a death spiral. Iowa State's plenty fine with being the agent of a death spiral.
OVERREACTION (no matter who wins):
7:30 PM - #20 BYU at #11 Washington. You've got to think that a team which can beat Wisconsin has a shot at Washington. The Huskies offense has proven to be quite vulnerable through four weeks, and BYU seems to have a pretty punishing defense, not allowing more than 24 points in three straight power five games.
OVERREACTION (no matter who wins):
7:30 PM - #4 Ohio State at #9 Penn State. Either Ohio State picks up a signature win, guaranteeing them a playoff spot, or they pick up a quality loss, guaranteeing them a playoff spot when Wisconsin beats Penn State in the B1G championship game. Y'all ready for the 8 team playoff?
OVERREACTION (no matter who wins or loses):
7:30 PM - #7 Stanford at #8 Notre Dame. Can either of these teams possibly crack the top 6 with a win? For Notre Dame, a loss here doesn't give them much of a chance to rebound into the playoff, since all of the remaining teams on their schedule are already badly damaged goods.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
7:30 PM - South Carolina at #17 Kentucky. Suddenly, Kentucky looks like they have themselves a hell of a team, after shedding their old ways of sucking and subsequently detonating 14th ranked Mississippi State like some sort of SEC power might. If somebody is going to challenge UGA in the East, Kentucky has to win this game and keep winning.
OVERREACTION (no matter who loses):
