LegendaryGT
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- Oct 18, 2009
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Alright, feels like football is finally here. This week is pretty high quality. I don't think my DVR can record enough, so I'm going to have to plan strategically and let ESPN3 do some of the work for me, if I can.
Thursday, October 1
7:30 PM - Miami at Cincinnati
There are 29 undefeated FBS teams left this season, down from 128 just 4 short weeks ago, and Cincinnati has had a direct hand in preserving the records of two of them. Now it gets a shot at a third in Miami, who hopes to remain so going into their game next week against Florida State. Oh crap, wait a minute. Thursday night game... ACC team with an opponent they should expect to beat... Trap game... the signs are all here. Better tune in for this one, folks. Plus, there's nothing else on.
Friday, October 2
7:00 PM - Your choice of beatdowns
Memphis is going to raze USF and Temple is going to salt the earth of Charlotte. Here's something you maybe didn't know before that you will for-certain know in just a second: the Charlotte 49ers (2-2) are currently in their first season of FBS play, and claimed a victory over fellow FBS member Georgia Southern in week 1. It might seem like I am trying to pump this matchup as something interesting or that could become a surprise thriller. I am not.
10:15 PM - UConn at BYU
This should also not be pretty for UConn. Even if the upset happens, it's going to be ugly, because UConn has some of the ugliest play in the NCAA right now. Watch this if you're a fan of trainwrecks AND you have nothing better to do.
Saturday, October 3
12:00 PM - Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech
Both of these teams are coming off repeat defeats to out of conference opponents and missing key players in their first conference games. I don't suspect we'll learn much here aside from who won and whether or not Frank Beamer really is on his way out the door. But hey, it's a conference game between two P5 teams. Good enough for a reserve slot.
12:00 PM - South Carolina at Missouri
Both of these teams are seriously awful looking SEC-East basement dwellers that have been playing some incredibly ugly football. If it's possible, I think they'll both find a way to lose. More for you trainwreck-watchers.
12:00 PM - B1G Special
Three conference games for the price of one: Michigan State vs Purdue, Northwestern vs Minnesota, and Wisconsin vs Iowa. The home teams are all ranked, with one single loss to Alabama to split between them. This sort of sounds like a trap, doesn't it?
12:00 PM - West Virginia at Oklahoma
West Virginia is ranked for beating the crap out of three nobodies, and Oklahoma is ranked for a win over Tennessee's vast, all-consuming, sheer unrealized potential. This will be the game where we determine which of them deserves that ranking. There can be only one! I mean, there really should be only one! We seriously do need these teams to start figuratively beheading eachother, though, because currently 60% of the conference is undefeated, these two teams included. It's that weak schedule Pawwwwwl.
12:00 PM - Texas at TCU
Texas Tech gave TCU a spirited game as an attempt at revenge for an 82 point beatdown last year, and if the Longhorns can mount the same kind of assault, they might make this into a fun one. Then lose it by fumbling the snap for a touchdown in the victory formation or something, because that is apparently the identity of this year's Texas team. In any event, last year the score of this game was worse than the underlying statistics due to Texas committing 6 turnovers. The Texas defense didn't actually do THAT bad, surrendering 6.5 yards per pass and 4.4 yards per run for a total of 368 on the game. It will need to couple a remembrance of that performance with an uptick in offensive productivity and ball security against a TCU defense that is visibly degraded from last year if it wants a shot, but it's not a foregone conclusion that Texas could keep it competitive. This team is improving rapidly, having lost its last two games on disastrous plays that weren't indicative of its overall performance. OF COURSE it's always possible that Texas could get blown out of the water and I have to say that while I still can because it seems like it actually might be going out of style. Keep your eye on the score for this one as it unfolds, even if you aren't tuned into it.
12:30 PM - Louisville at North Carolina State
North Carolina state is one of the ACC's undefeated teams, opting smartly to play abso-freaking-lutely nobody through the first four weeks of the season while the rest of the ACC chose to lose real games and look dumb. Maybe that will be enough to work out all the ACC kinks in their game and transition smoothly into playing real teams. They will have it about as easy as they could, it seems, with a Louisville that has shown flashes but hasn't managed to translate them into a win over anyone other than Samford. Watch as Petrino puts in 4 different quarterbacks and calls at least one questionable timeout in a game that everyone expects to be competitive.
3:30 PM - Boston College at Duke
Boston College held FSU to 7 on offense and Duke has been more or less shutting down everyone they play, so I figure this game is a candidate for the WF-VT repeat for the year.
3:30 PM - North Carolina at Georgia Tech
I am going to be drinking and having a good time while I attend this game. You should too!
3:30 PM - Alabama at Georgia
In easily the biggest game of the day, it looks like Saban will take an Alabama team on the road as underdogs for the first time since 2009, and you've probably read everything about this game already because it is the hugest. Last time these stars aligned, though, Saban made Tebow cry on TV. I don't think I really need to see Greyson Lambert cry, Nick Chubb is the star of the team anyway, and I'm pretty sure there is nothing on earth that could make Mark Richt cry, so don't get your hopes up for that magic to be recaptured. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy a good old fashioned SEC slugfest that will almost certainly end with under 40 points.
3:30 PM - Texas Tech at Baylor
Texas Tech is playing some inspired ball, on offense anyway, and Baylor has calculated that defense is an unnecessary and vestigial construct, antiquated with the ways of men when offenses were not as pure. This will be a barn burner and a very fun game that goes down to the last minute. I would not be surprised by a 65-59 victory for either team.
4:00 PM - San Jose State at Auburn
Got us a nailbiter folks. Hah, this just never gets old.
4:00 PM - ECU at SMU
This could end up being a pretty decent game on a day that looks full of pretty decent games. Last week this would have been one of the stars of the show. SMU can certainly score some points, it's just defense they are having trouble with. That never stopped the Pac 12 from getting TV time on your set, though, and it shouldn't stop this game either.
4:00 PM - Washington State at California
Let us pause to remember the 60-59 thriller that unfolded in this game last year and hope for one more festival of touchdowns. Washington State isn't exactly lighting up the world, but California did just give up 44 to Texas. Anything's possible folks, and we've already seen it happen once. Smoke, fire, all that.
7:00 PM - Ole Miss at Florida
Ole Miss looks like the realest of deals this year. This will be a big game, but I don't think it'll be a close one.
7:00 PM - Arkansas at Tennessee
In a genius scheduling move, two teams that can't seem to win a close game to save their lives have chosen to play eachother in what will certainly be a close game. I'm expecting to see a coach get ejected for incompetence, which is not even a thing but the refs will be so frustrated they just start making up rules, at the beginning of the 12th overtime, right as Butch Jones tells his quarterback to take a knee and Bielema calls a time-out to ice him, which somehow causes a touchdown that is called back by a penalty. The ensuing riot would result in a fire-related stadium emergency, during which time none of the Arkansas fans evacuate purely because they would enjoy watching Bielema burn. They know he's not going to make it through the double doors without help, and they aren't in a helping mood at that point. At the evacuation point, Butch Jones finds the head ref and forfeits the game. A very conservative call.
7:30 PM - Arizona State at UCLA
Reruns. What can you do?
7:30 PM - Mississippi State at Texas A&M
Holy cow both of these teams are ranked, and Texas A&M is in the top 15? It's going to be great to watch one of them lose, but the winner will end up ranked way way way too highly.
8:00 PM - Notre Dame at Clemson
In another huge game nationally, the increasingly impressive Fighting Irish take on Clemson and Deshaun Watson in Death Valley helping to further cement the ACC as "out" of the playoff picture. Clemson is ranked in the top 15 despite having played basically nobody and head into the Notre Dame game for their first big test of the year. Boy this seems familiar.
10:30 PM - Arizona at Stanford
This week is a little light in the night slot, but there's still something intriguing here. Arizona just got stomped on by UCLA, and while Stanford actually looks pretty good, they don't look quite as good as UCLA, so maybe this turns out to be a tight one.
Thursday, October 1
7:30 PM - Miami at Cincinnati
There are 29 undefeated FBS teams left this season, down from 128 just 4 short weeks ago, and Cincinnati has had a direct hand in preserving the records of two of them. Now it gets a shot at a third in Miami, who hopes to remain so going into their game next week against Florida State. Oh crap, wait a minute. Thursday night game... ACC team with an opponent they should expect to beat... Trap game... the signs are all here. Better tune in for this one, folks. Plus, there's nothing else on.
Friday, October 2
7:00 PM - Your choice of beatdowns
Memphis is going to raze USF and Temple is going to salt the earth of Charlotte. Here's something you maybe didn't know before that you will for-certain know in just a second: the Charlotte 49ers (2-2) are currently in their first season of FBS play, and claimed a victory over fellow FBS member Georgia Southern in week 1. It might seem like I am trying to pump this matchup as something interesting or that could become a surprise thriller. I am not.
10:15 PM - UConn at BYU
This should also not be pretty for UConn. Even if the upset happens, it's going to be ugly, because UConn has some of the ugliest play in the NCAA right now. Watch this if you're a fan of trainwrecks AND you have nothing better to do.
Saturday, October 3
12:00 PM - Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech
Both of these teams are coming off repeat defeats to out of conference opponents and missing key players in their first conference games. I don't suspect we'll learn much here aside from who won and whether or not Frank Beamer really is on his way out the door. But hey, it's a conference game between two P5 teams. Good enough for a reserve slot.
12:00 PM - South Carolina at Missouri
Both of these teams are seriously awful looking SEC-East basement dwellers that have been playing some incredibly ugly football. If it's possible, I think they'll both find a way to lose. More for you trainwreck-watchers.
12:00 PM - B1G Special
Three conference games for the price of one: Michigan State vs Purdue, Northwestern vs Minnesota, and Wisconsin vs Iowa. The home teams are all ranked, with one single loss to Alabama to split between them. This sort of sounds like a trap, doesn't it?
12:00 PM - West Virginia at Oklahoma
West Virginia is ranked for beating the crap out of three nobodies, and Oklahoma is ranked for a win over Tennessee's vast, all-consuming, sheer unrealized potential. This will be the game where we determine which of them deserves that ranking. There can be only one! I mean, there really should be only one! We seriously do need these teams to start figuratively beheading eachother, though, because currently 60% of the conference is undefeated, these two teams included. It's that weak schedule Pawwwwwl.
12:00 PM - Texas at TCU
Texas Tech gave TCU a spirited game as an attempt at revenge for an 82 point beatdown last year, and if the Longhorns can mount the same kind of assault, they might make this into a fun one. Then lose it by fumbling the snap for a touchdown in the victory formation or something, because that is apparently the identity of this year's Texas team. In any event, last year the score of this game was worse than the underlying statistics due to Texas committing 6 turnovers. The Texas defense didn't actually do THAT bad, surrendering 6.5 yards per pass and 4.4 yards per run for a total of 368 on the game. It will need to couple a remembrance of that performance with an uptick in offensive productivity and ball security against a TCU defense that is visibly degraded from last year if it wants a shot, but it's not a foregone conclusion that Texas could keep it competitive. This team is improving rapidly, having lost its last two games on disastrous plays that weren't indicative of its overall performance. OF COURSE it's always possible that Texas could get blown out of the water and I have to say that while I still can because it seems like it actually might be going out of style. Keep your eye on the score for this one as it unfolds, even if you aren't tuned into it.
12:30 PM - Louisville at North Carolina State
North Carolina state is one of the ACC's undefeated teams, opting smartly to play abso-freaking-lutely nobody through the first four weeks of the season while the rest of the ACC chose to lose real games and look dumb. Maybe that will be enough to work out all the ACC kinks in their game and transition smoothly into playing real teams. They will have it about as easy as they could, it seems, with a Louisville that has shown flashes but hasn't managed to translate them into a win over anyone other than Samford. Watch as Petrino puts in 4 different quarterbacks and calls at least one questionable timeout in a game that everyone expects to be competitive.
3:30 PM - Boston College at Duke
Boston College held FSU to 7 on offense and Duke has been more or less shutting down everyone they play, so I figure this game is a candidate for the WF-VT repeat for the year.
3:30 PM - North Carolina at Georgia Tech
I am going to be drinking and having a good time while I attend this game. You should too!
3:30 PM - Alabama at Georgia
In easily the biggest game of the day, it looks like Saban will take an Alabama team on the road as underdogs for the first time since 2009, and you've probably read everything about this game already because it is the hugest. Last time these stars aligned, though, Saban made Tebow cry on TV. I don't think I really need to see Greyson Lambert cry, Nick Chubb is the star of the team anyway, and I'm pretty sure there is nothing on earth that could make Mark Richt cry, so don't get your hopes up for that magic to be recaptured. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy a good old fashioned SEC slugfest that will almost certainly end with under 40 points.
3:30 PM - Texas Tech at Baylor
Texas Tech is playing some inspired ball, on offense anyway, and Baylor has calculated that defense is an unnecessary and vestigial construct, antiquated with the ways of men when offenses were not as pure. This will be a barn burner and a very fun game that goes down to the last minute. I would not be surprised by a 65-59 victory for either team.
4:00 PM - San Jose State at Auburn
Got us a nailbiter folks. Hah, this just never gets old.
4:00 PM - ECU at SMU
This could end up being a pretty decent game on a day that looks full of pretty decent games. Last week this would have been one of the stars of the show. SMU can certainly score some points, it's just defense they are having trouble with. That never stopped the Pac 12 from getting TV time on your set, though, and it shouldn't stop this game either.
4:00 PM - Washington State at California
Let us pause to remember the 60-59 thriller that unfolded in this game last year and hope for one more festival of touchdowns. Washington State isn't exactly lighting up the world, but California did just give up 44 to Texas. Anything's possible folks, and we've already seen it happen once. Smoke, fire, all that.
7:00 PM - Ole Miss at Florida
Ole Miss looks like the realest of deals this year. This will be a big game, but I don't think it'll be a close one.
7:00 PM - Arkansas at Tennessee
In a genius scheduling move, two teams that can't seem to win a close game to save their lives have chosen to play eachother in what will certainly be a close game. I'm expecting to see a coach get ejected for incompetence, which is not even a thing but the refs will be so frustrated they just start making up rules, at the beginning of the 12th overtime, right as Butch Jones tells his quarterback to take a knee and Bielema calls a time-out to ice him, which somehow causes a touchdown that is called back by a penalty. The ensuing riot would result in a fire-related stadium emergency, during which time none of the Arkansas fans evacuate purely because they would enjoy watching Bielema burn. They know he's not going to make it through the double doors without help, and they aren't in a helping mood at that point. At the evacuation point, Butch Jones finds the head ref and forfeits the game. A very conservative call.
7:30 PM - Arizona State at UCLA
Reruns. What can you do?
7:30 PM - Mississippi State at Texas A&M
Holy cow both of these teams are ranked, and Texas A&M is in the top 15? It's going to be great to watch one of them lose, but the winner will end up ranked way way way too highly.
8:00 PM - Notre Dame at Clemson
In another huge game nationally, the increasingly impressive Fighting Irish take on Clemson and Deshaun Watson in Death Valley helping to further cement the ACC as "out" of the playoff picture. Clemson is ranked in the top 15 despite having played basically nobody and head into the Notre Dame game for their first big test of the year. Boy this seems familiar.
10:30 PM - Arizona at Stanford
This week is a little light in the night slot, but there's still something intriguing here. Arizona just got stomped on by UCLA, and while Stanford actually looks pretty good, they don't look quite as good as UCLA, so maybe this turns out to be a tight one.