CigarSmokinFootball

Rivalry Weekend Part 1

The saying, save the best for last, always applies with college football! This is the weekend were families are split, married couples refuse to be in the same room with each other, friendships are put on hold and where fame can be found that lasts forever! This is the weekend that we love the hate that goes one.
Thursday
Thank goodness there is at least one college football game on Turkey day and its not all NFL. This used to be the day that Texas and Texas A&M played but NO! the Longhorns haven’t gotten over the fact that the Aggies bolted for the SEC and left UT behind. Hopefully, they will get back to playing each other, come on guys, seriously, get it together, Thanksgiving it’s not the same without y’all. Instead, A&M will be playing LSU. This is a rivalry, sort of, not on the same level at UT/A&M, but they do have a history of not liking each other. This year, however, both teams are searching for an identity here at the end of the season. LSU has one main weapon on the field and it appears he can rule himself too hurt to play and then, after showing he has no character and/or class, suddenly declares himself healthy enough to play, all in the span of thirty minutes. We’re talking about Fournette; – after that the Tigers have nothing. Not only that, but its become evident that interim coach Orgeron will not be getting the head coaching job he desires. Ergo, what does LSU have to play for? Their program is in complete disarray. The Aggies have a better record, and still have something to play for, but, let’s be honest, this is a program that needs a shot in the arm. They were playing pretty well when they had Trevor Knight under center, but, even then, they had no running game and not much defense. Its become the same old story every year that Coach Sumlin has been there. They do okay until they meet up with the big boys of the conference, and then whey wilt. Sumlin began the season on the hot seat and it appeared to be cooling off, but there came the big boys and the same old questions have popped up again. A&M cannot, must not, lose to LSU. They are a better balanced team with fewer questions, but losing to the Tigers should cause the Aggie backers to resume calling for a coaching change that looks to be needed.

Friday
NC State vs North Carolina- These two schools are located just down the road from each other, Tobacco Road. It’s really brother against brother. NC State needs to win this game to become bowl eligible. The Pack has had some close games this year but consistently come up short, think the Clemson game. This is a good football team and the program appears to be making strides to respectability, but they need to get over the hump. Thought the win over Notre Dame would have done it, but, nay, not yet. Ending the regular season by beating the Tar Heels would help them get ready for next year- and a bowl invite this year.
North Carolina, as a team, has been a tease. They entered the season with high expectations but right from the get-go, they lost to Georgia. BUT they regrouped and starting winning, and, right when it seemed the ship was righted, BAM! They lost to Virginia Tech, badly, a beat down, 34-3. The Heels did nothing right. Then they won three more straight and it looked like they’d still make the ACC championship game, when, out of nowhere, WHAM! They got snookered by Duke. To lose to the thired team in the Research Triangle would cause all kinds of alarm bells in Chapel Hiss. UNC now has moutains of pressure on them to win, and NC Sttate has none, which is why CSF is calling for the underdog Wolfpack to make shambles of the Tar Heel’s season. Let me see, Mack Brown went to Texas from a mediocre record at UNC;- maybe that’s why I’m hearing Larry Fedora’s name mentioned for the new Longhorn mentor.

Washington vs Washington State– The Apple Cup! Not in my lifetime has the Apple carried as much weight as it has this year. Washington, for most of the season, has been the talk of the PAC-12. The Huskies were picked to rule from the onset and they did. Right up until they met USC on tier own turf in Seattle and got beat, got beat pretty good, too. But “U-Dub” didn’t just lay there in the grass and stomp their feet and cry, they picked themselves up and went down to Tempe and thumped the Sun Devils, back to playing winning football. The Huskies have to win the Apple Cup in order to make that all expense paid trip to the PAC-12 Championship game. UW is the more talented and more balanced team. QB Jake Browning, who should be in the Heisman race, and probably should be the favorite, has had an outstanding season. He’s on the verge of throwing for over three thousand yards, 37 touchdowns, with only 7 int’s. The huskies need his steady hand to make it to the promised land for the playoffs. Beating the Cougars will not easy, but, then again, achieving greatness never is.
Washington Stat has had a Helluva season! First they were dead in the water, losing to Eastern Washington and Boise State, then they won eight straight, and last week, in Boulder, CO, they played a fantastic game against the Buffaloes, coming up short, and plumb wore out, in the fourth quarter. The defense did something that has not been done in Pullman, WA, in decades. They played solid defense and actually stopped some teams. Radical concept, I know, but they did it. Against the Buffaloes last week the Cougar “D” defense couldn’t stop the run in the second half, and, by the fourth quarter, they just didn’t have anything left in the tank. But, if they win the Apple Cup, guess what? They go to the PAC-12 Championship game! Wouldn’t the Pirate Coach of the Pacific Coast just love to thumb his nose at all the folds who said WSU couldn’t win the northern division. (He’ll do it, too, if he gets the chance). Washington has a pretty strong ground game and they’ll use it against WSU, which may be the difference in the contest. By the fourth quarter, CSF expects the Cougs to be out of gas one more time. Washington wins.

Short Smokes
Houston does it’s best to put Louisville behind them and beat Memphis. They did it to the Cardinals, didn’t they?

 
Arkansas runs all over Missouri.

 
Boise State grounds the Air Force.

 
Texas, which is, what, confused(?), will still beat TCU. Then they’ll fire Charlie Strong and try for Tom Herman, from Houston, or Larry Fedora, from North Carolina. They should try and hire PJ Fleck from Western Michigan.

 
Nebraska is going to be in for more of a game with Iowa then they expect. I look for the Hawkeyes to pull the upset.

 
Southern Mississippi is going to have a very hard time winning against Louisiana Tech, might not even happen.

 
Baylor vs Texas Tech…..hhmmmmm…..J’m guessing Baylor. Look for both teams to have new coaches next year.

 
Tulsa should slam Cincinnati, maybe even ending Tommy Tuberville’s coaching stint there. I still harbor unpleasant memories from when Tuberville left Ole Miss for the Auburn job. I harbor unpleased thoughts for anyone who takes the Auburn job. But that’s just a Bama fan talking.

 
Arizona State should beat Arizona, just about everyone else has, why not the Sun Devils? Unless the Wildcats decide to go out in the blaze of glory with a win in the Territorial Cup. Does anyone care?