LegendaryGT
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A late start to the preview, which for one game is actually a postview, in a week that looks pretty sparse on the surface, but has some gems here and there.
Thursday, September 24
7:30 PM - Cincinnati at Memphis
I was going to recommend this game in a 'hey this might be okay' type of way because Memphis is clearly pretty good, but it turned out to be way better than anyone expected as these teams shredded eachother for over 1300 yards of offense among 10 lead changes. Cincy outgained Memphis by almost 200 yards while its freshman QB broke a school passing record in the wake of a serious-looking injury to Gunner Kiel, but they committed 3 of the most ill-timed turnovers in sports. Were it not for the only freshman mistake made by the freshman, the final interception, you'd be waking up this morning to 75OT with the score at 551 to 551, watching the stadium staff handing out hygiene supplies and snacks like the audience was on a trans-atlantic flight or something. Today's in flight movie: Lord of the Touchdowns, extended cut, all 3 films. If you missed this game, it's worth trying to find the replay.
Friday, September 25
8:00 PM - Boise State at Virginia
William & Mary gave UVA one hell of a game, capitalizing off a pair of UVA turnovers to take a 10 point lead early in the 2nd quarter. UVA had it well in hand by the third, but allowed a 4th quarter surge including a safety on a blocked punt to bring this game to within 1 possession. Fun note, the Tribe has a Dedmon at WR and a Dorka kicking field goals. The question here is going to obviously be: trap game? Boise obliterated Idaho State, showing that it's still Boise. This could be an interesting game if UVA can match its play against Notre Dame, but if it plays like it did against W&M, UVA is toast. Look at the bright side, though. Barring some unusually committed prank on behalf of the Broncos, the field won't be blue.
10:00 PM - Stanford at Oregon State
In Soviet Russia, tree chops down beaver!
Saturday, September 26
12:00 PM - Kansas at Rutgers
What happens when two dumpster fires meet on the field of battle? It's probably a felony of some kind.
12:00 PM - BYU at Michigan
BYU couldn't keep the hail mary magic alive, standing on the UCLA 42 with just about a minute to go, down by 1. Bronco Mendenhall looked pretty frayed around the edges after the second game, so I'd imagine they are going to have to give him some pain killers and try desperately to keep the cameras away if they want to keep his heart from exploding during this one. Michigan looks like it is fielding a capable defense and it is putting the pieces together on offense. They are not going to achieve powerhouse levels of performance by kickoff, but they should be considered the most recent dangerous installment in the BYU schedule of sudden and constant danger. And yes, that is partially because I suspect Harbaugh has a bag of knives, a syringe full of animal tranquilizer, and about 400 lbs of plastic wrap in the trunk of his car. The clever name of his personal boat docked on lake Michigan that subtly hints at his dark serial killer nature? The "I kill people".
12:00 PM - Southern Mississippi at Nebraska
Southern Miss is a team that is going to surprise everyone they play this year. They can move the ball on anyone, I suspect, and have proven they can do so against high caliber athletes. Coming off a close emotional loss to Miami and perhaps looking ahead to their first conference game against the okay looking Illinois, the possibility exists for a flat performance which would spell trouble. Nebraska can probably out-depth the Golden Eagles, but this could be a fun close one either way it breaks.
12:00 PM - Georgia Tech at Duke
Watch this game, because it's better than all the others.
3:00 PM - Rice at Baylor
Watch Rice hang 30 to 40 points on a top 5 team (and still lose by 30). To say the Baylor defense is suspect is kind of like saying Craig James is the primary suspect in the slaying of 5 hookers while at SMU.
3:30 PM - Oklahoma State at Texas
Texas probably loses. How much more mediocre do they have to get before they join the ACC?
3:30 PM - Virginia Tech at East Carolina
Seems like VT's defense should be able to win this one, but ECU shredded them last year. Obviously there are some personnel differences on ECU's roster from last year, and they just got their teeth kicked in by Navy, but this could turn out to be a good fun game. ECU has always been a fan of eating ACC teams.
3:30 PM - Tennesee at Florida
Two SEC teams struggling to return to their glory years clash in a battle that could actually be semi-important to the SEC East. Florida looked much like its old self in the win over Kentucky, so I'd be tempted to give Tennessee the edge here, but Butch Jones play calling is in the paradoxically conservative zone. The guy is so scared of screwing the game up on offense, that he screws the game up on offense. If Florida gets a lead, we might just see Tennessee start taking a knee to kill the clock and prevent the blowout. Florida might just manage to get a lead, too, because it doesn't look like anybody is moving the ball on them this year. As was made clear by coach Jim McElwain's now famous reaction to just a little excitement, enthusiasm about on-the-field happenings is not something that is to be tolerated on his watch. He's going to kill every single yard of offense he can find.
3:30 PM - Louisiana Monroe at Alabama
ULM could maybe give it a good quarter. They have probably scored more points on SEC teams over the last few years than half the FBS.
4:45 PM - TCU at Texas Tech
They keep saying TCU looks flawed, and Texas Tech just kicked Bielema's ass both on and off the field. Pro tip, Bielema, you can't have beef because you're all hog. Texas Tech did, however, give up 45 points to something called SHSU, which may or not be a university in China? Giving up 24 to Arkansas is also not great when Toledo held them to half of that. There's the potential here for a close game, but I think everyone expects TCU to win it.
5:00 PM - California at Washington
This game isn't particularly super important, but it looks like California is back in prime form both allowing and scoring touchdowns at will and just kind of rolling the dice at the end of the game. Very fun to watch.
7:00 PM - Texas A&M at Arkansas
Whereby Texas A&M gets into the top 10 and/or picks up a quality loss. Just kidding, there's absolutely no way Arkansas wins this game. Bielema is toast and/or bacon.
7:00 PM - Vanderbilt at Ole Miss
I only put this here because I want to see Vanderbilt hold Ole Miss to fewer points than Alabama did. I don't think Vanderbilt will score in this game without a pick six.
7:30 PM - Miss State at Auburn
Miss State looks pretty awful, but Auburn looks supremely awful. Sleeper agent Muschamp is incredibly effective at destroying rivals of UGA football, and has worked his venom deep into the bones of Auburn with incredible speed. If he's anywhere near as good as previous sleeper agents, Auburn will miss a bowl this year and it'll be decades before they recover. It all starts crashing down right here, folks.
7:30 PM - Missouri at Kentucky
The fact that Missouri is ranked at this point tells me everything I need to know: everyone subconsciously knows they are going to win the East somehow. Despite looking like absolute garbage for two weeks in a row, having beaten UConn by just 3 in one of the worst football games of all time, this Missouri team is in the top 25 and Kentucky is not. My incredulity will be made to look incredibly stupid when Missouri wins this game by 2 touchdowns but I really can not see that happening. I mean I know it's going to happen, but there's no way it happens. Missouri is confusing the hell out of me.
8:00 PM - UCLA at Arizona
Another week of strong night games and a pretty big week for the Pac 12. Both UCLA and Arizona are undefeated in 3 games and face their biggest challenges yet. UCLA has been tested against a tough opponent and came out slightly ahead, where Arizona has not been tested yet and has opted to demolish lesser competition. I expect a close one either way, and a game that could propel one of these teams directly into the playoff picture.
9:00 PM - Utah at Oregon
Undefeated Utah hasn't faced anyone with quite as potent an offense as Oregon will field, but Oregon's defense is not looking stellar. Last year, Oregon crushed Utah 51-27, on the back of Kaelin Clay's famous goal line 'fumble' which was actually just him dropping the ball too soon in celebration like a doofus and then watching like a doofus while it got run back 100 yards for an Oregon touchdown. Utah could have been up 14-0 and we might have had a very different game, but that was then and this is now. Oh yeah also Mariota is gone. Minor details. The winner of this game is also squarely in the title picture, for sure.
10:30 PM - USC at Arizona State
USC fans will probably know how this is going to go by the end of the Oregon State game. Either Stanford is going to blast Oregon State and USC just lost to a good team, or Stanford is going to struggle (or lose!) and then USC fans will be sweating it out going into this one. Arizona State didn't look fantastic in their first few weeks, but they still have enough talent to be dangerous to a flagging opponent.
Thursday, September 24
7:30 PM - Cincinnati at Memphis
I was going to recommend this game in a 'hey this might be okay' type of way because Memphis is clearly pretty good, but it turned out to be way better than anyone expected as these teams shredded eachother for over 1300 yards of offense among 10 lead changes. Cincy outgained Memphis by almost 200 yards while its freshman QB broke a school passing record in the wake of a serious-looking injury to Gunner Kiel, but they committed 3 of the most ill-timed turnovers in sports. Were it not for the only freshman mistake made by the freshman, the final interception, you'd be waking up this morning to 75OT with the score at 551 to 551, watching the stadium staff handing out hygiene supplies and snacks like the audience was on a trans-atlantic flight or something. Today's in flight movie: Lord of the Touchdowns, extended cut, all 3 films. If you missed this game, it's worth trying to find the replay.
Friday, September 25
8:00 PM - Boise State at Virginia
William & Mary gave UVA one hell of a game, capitalizing off a pair of UVA turnovers to take a 10 point lead early in the 2nd quarter. UVA had it well in hand by the third, but allowed a 4th quarter surge including a safety on a blocked punt to bring this game to within 1 possession. Fun note, the Tribe has a Dedmon at WR and a Dorka kicking field goals. The question here is going to obviously be: trap game? Boise obliterated Idaho State, showing that it's still Boise. This could be an interesting game if UVA can match its play against Notre Dame, but if it plays like it did against W&M, UVA is toast. Look at the bright side, though. Barring some unusually committed prank on behalf of the Broncos, the field won't be blue.
10:00 PM - Stanford at Oregon State
In Soviet Russia, tree chops down beaver!
Saturday, September 26
12:00 PM - Kansas at Rutgers
What happens when two dumpster fires meet on the field of battle? It's probably a felony of some kind.
12:00 PM - BYU at Michigan
BYU couldn't keep the hail mary magic alive, standing on the UCLA 42 with just about a minute to go, down by 1. Bronco Mendenhall looked pretty frayed around the edges after the second game, so I'd imagine they are going to have to give him some pain killers and try desperately to keep the cameras away if they want to keep his heart from exploding during this one. Michigan looks like it is fielding a capable defense and it is putting the pieces together on offense. They are not going to achieve powerhouse levels of performance by kickoff, but they should be considered the most recent dangerous installment in the BYU schedule of sudden and constant danger. And yes, that is partially because I suspect Harbaugh has a bag of knives, a syringe full of animal tranquilizer, and about 400 lbs of plastic wrap in the trunk of his car. The clever name of his personal boat docked on lake Michigan that subtly hints at his dark serial killer nature? The "I kill people".
12:00 PM - Southern Mississippi at Nebraska
Southern Miss is a team that is going to surprise everyone they play this year. They can move the ball on anyone, I suspect, and have proven they can do so against high caliber athletes. Coming off a close emotional loss to Miami and perhaps looking ahead to their first conference game against the okay looking Illinois, the possibility exists for a flat performance which would spell trouble. Nebraska can probably out-depth the Golden Eagles, but this could be a fun close one either way it breaks.
12:00 PM - Georgia Tech at Duke
Watch this game, because it's better than all the others.
3:00 PM - Rice at Baylor
Watch Rice hang 30 to 40 points on a top 5 team (and still lose by 30). To say the Baylor defense is suspect is kind of like saying Craig James is the primary suspect in the slaying of 5 hookers while at SMU.
3:30 PM - Oklahoma State at Texas
Texas probably loses. How much more mediocre do they have to get before they join the ACC?
3:30 PM - Virginia Tech at East Carolina
Seems like VT's defense should be able to win this one, but ECU shredded them last year. Obviously there are some personnel differences on ECU's roster from last year, and they just got their teeth kicked in by Navy, but this could turn out to be a good fun game. ECU has always been a fan of eating ACC teams.
3:30 PM - Tennesee at Florida
Two SEC teams struggling to return to their glory years clash in a battle that could actually be semi-important to the SEC East. Florida looked much like its old self in the win over Kentucky, so I'd be tempted to give Tennessee the edge here, but Butch Jones play calling is in the paradoxically conservative zone. The guy is so scared of screwing the game up on offense, that he screws the game up on offense. If Florida gets a lead, we might just see Tennessee start taking a knee to kill the clock and prevent the blowout. Florida might just manage to get a lead, too, because it doesn't look like anybody is moving the ball on them this year. As was made clear by coach Jim McElwain's now famous reaction to just a little excitement, enthusiasm about on-the-field happenings is not something that is to be tolerated on his watch. He's going to kill every single yard of offense he can find.
3:30 PM - Louisiana Monroe at Alabama
ULM could maybe give it a good quarter. They have probably scored more points on SEC teams over the last few years than half the FBS.
4:45 PM - TCU at Texas Tech
They keep saying TCU looks flawed, and Texas Tech just kicked Bielema's ass both on and off the field. Pro tip, Bielema, you can't have beef because you're all hog. Texas Tech did, however, give up 45 points to something called SHSU, which may or not be a university in China? Giving up 24 to Arkansas is also not great when Toledo held them to half of that. There's the potential here for a close game, but I think everyone expects TCU to win it.
5:00 PM - California at Washington
This game isn't particularly super important, but it looks like California is back in prime form both allowing and scoring touchdowns at will and just kind of rolling the dice at the end of the game. Very fun to watch.
7:00 PM - Texas A&M at Arkansas
Whereby Texas A&M gets into the top 10 and/or picks up a quality loss. Just kidding, there's absolutely no way Arkansas wins this game. Bielema is toast and/or bacon.
7:00 PM - Vanderbilt at Ole Miss
I only put this here because I want to see Vanderbilt hold Ole Miss to fewer points than Alabama did. I don't think Vanderbilt will score in this game without a pick six.
7:30 PM - Miss State at Auburn
Miss State looks pretty awful, but Auburn looks supremely awful. Sleeper agent Muschamp is incredibly effective at destroying rivals of UGA football, and has worked his venom deep into the bones of Auburn with incredible speed. If he's anywhere near as good as previous sleeper agents, Auburn will miss a bowl this year and it'll be decades before they recover. It all starts crashing down right here, folks.
7:30 PM - Missouri at Kentucky
The fact that Missouri is ranked at this point tells me everything I need to know: everyone subconsciously knows they are going to win the East somehow. Despite looking like absolute garbage for two weeks in a row, having beaten UConn by just 3 in one of the worst football games of all time, this Missouri team is in the top 25 and Kentucky is not. My incredulity will be made to look incredibly stupid when Missouri wins this game by 2 touchdowns but I really can not see that happening. I mean I know it's going to happen, but there's no way it happens. Missouri is confusing the hell out of me.
8:00 PM - UCLA at Arizona
Another week of strong night games and a pretty big week for the Pac 12. Both UCLA and Arizona are undefeated in 3 games and face their biggest challenges yet. UCLA has been tested against a tough opponent and came out slightly ahead, where Arizona has not been tested yet and has opted to demolish lesser competition. I expect a close one either way, and a game that could propel one of these teams directly into the playoff picture.
9:00 PM - Utah at Oregon
Undefeated Utah hasn't faced anyone with quite as potent an offense as Oregon will field, but Oregon's defense is not looking stellar. Last year, Oregon crushed Utah 51-27, on the back of Kaelin Clay's famous goal line 'fumble' which was actually just him dropping the ball too soon in celebration like a doofus and then watching like a doofus while it got run back 100 yards for an Oregon touchdown. Utah could have been up 14-0 and we might have had a very different game, but that was then and this is now. Oh yeah also Mariota is gone. Minor details. The winner of this game is also squarely in the title picture, for sure.
10:30 PM - USC at Arizona State
USC fans will probably know how this is going to go by the end of the Oregon State game. Either Stanford is going to blast Oregon State and USC just lost to a good team, or Stanford is going to struggle (or lose!) and then USC fans will be sweating it out going into this one. Arizona State didn't look fantastic in their first few weeks, but they still have enough talent to be dangerous to a flagging opponent.
