CigarSmokinFootball

Week 5

(4) Ohio State vs (9) Penn State- In the marque game of the weekend, it is sure to be a White Out in Happy Valley. This is not going to be the friendly confines of the Horseshoe, nor even the relatively neutral stadium in Texas. The Nittany Lions started off the season with a bit of hiccup against Appalachian State, they were able to score points, but they had a devil of a time stopping the Mountaineers. Since that time, the defense has tightened up. QB McSoley has been flinging the ball all over the field, but all the pressure is on him. Without a good running game, production has dropped a little, but just a little. Against the Buckeyes, they’re going to need every bit of their offensive weapons. For Ohio State, this is the game that they wanted to have Urban Meyer back, even though they should be ashamed of themselves for just giving him a slap on the wrist. But, hey, at least we know he can never be nominated to be a Supreme Court Judge. QB Haskins so far has been a good successor of Braxton Miller. He’ll need all his skills this Saturday. Somehow, the eggheads at ESPN have PSU at 53% for winning this game. Has anyone ever asked how they come up with percentages? Since this game is at Happy Valley, the Lions do have an advantage, but my gut feeling says the Buckeyes are going to pull this one out.

Ole Miss vs (5) LSU – the hot seat under Orgeron has cooled, it got a little warm during the Auburn game, but they pulled it out in the last second. Which, for this Bama fan, was enjoyable. Just a little. Bama faces both these teams later this year. Transfer QB Joe Burrow has proven to be a God-send for the struggling Tigers. The LSU offense is not going have any trouble scoring against the Rebel defense;- heck, no one has had any trouble scoring against Ole Miss. The biggest question is, will the Bayou Bengals stop the Rebel offense? That’s going to be a problem. The Rebs know how to score and they’re going to. Expect this game to be high-scoring. It’ll come down to whoever has the ball last.

South Carolina vs (17) Kentucky – The Wildcats are on a streak. They beat Florida for the first time in 35 years, then they turned around and beat Mississippi State. These Cats might be for real. Now, the Gamecocks are not as good as Kentucky, but since they’ve beaten two big opponents, the question is, can they avoid a let down? If the Gamecocks want to turn their season around, now is the time to do it. They were supposed to give UGA a game, and, instead they laid down and gave up. Against UK, they’re going to need to bring their “A” game. Everything has to be on point. If they have a slip up, they’re going to find themselves in a hole they can’t get out of. The question is can they do it? Having some serious doubts that as well. Going to pick the red-hot Wildcats in this one.

(7) Stanford vs (8) Notre Dame – The Cardinal can win this game. All they have to do is be consistent. Just play a complete game, and the win is theirs. Notre Dame has not had a consistent game all season and it is very doubtful they’re going to have one on Saturday. There were rumblings against Wake Forest with Wimbush on the bench. The Irish have had moments in a game where they were good, and then, the rest of the game, it’s fun to watch that vein in Coach Kelly’s head bulge out and come close to bursting. Ok, it’s not fun for everyone, but it’s fun for me. Stanford needs to keep the ball on long offensive drives, wear down the defense, and make ND play catch up all day long. More than likely, it’ll be a low scoring game. Damn the Luck of the Irish.

(12) West Virginia vs (25) Texas Tech– Anybody want to watch a high scoring game? If you do, this is the game for you. Neither team has invested much in the defensive department, but they’ve invested heavily in offense. They both love to pass the ball;- running the ball, not so much. Not sure what the over/under is for this game, but it’s got to be over 100. WVU will more than likely win, but they’re not going to stop TT. Maybe it’ll come down to turnovers. Who knows? With the Taco Towels TT is giving away, WVU might be smothered in tacos.

(2) Georgia vs Tennessee– The Bulldogs are going to walk all over the Vols. It should be a great spectacle for Bama fans. There is not any way UT is going to win this game. None.

Army vs Buffalo – The Cadets learned a lot about themselves against Oklahoma. They learned they can play with one of the top teams in the nation. Buffalo doesn’t have a chance, you’d think, but the game is in Buffalo, and those guys love homecooking. Go Army!

Virginia vs NC State- UVA is not the UVA they used to be. Improvement is the name of the game. They are actually good, now, and they’re going to give the Wolfpack a run for their money. NCSU has the homefield and if they enjoy being the dark horse of the ACC, they need to win this game. QB Finley, for the Pack, has been on fire;- granted, they didn’t have to play WVU due to a little rain, (it might have been a hurricane), but, still. This is going to be the biggest test for NC State, and they can’t take it lightly. I doubt they’re going to. It’ll be a tough game, it’ll more than likely have a few lead changes, but, in the end, CSF is picking the Wolves. Seriously, why aren’t they just called the Wolves?

Short Smokes

North Carolina will not repeat as a winner against Miami

Colorado is going to stampede UCLA

Alabama will roll over Louisiana Lafayette. Seriously, it could get ugly.

Syracuse beat Clemson last year, but it’ll take a miracle for that to happen again.

Arkansas has not a good year so far, and that will continue against Texas A&M. The Daughter will be happy.

Oklahoma State is not going to allow Kansas to start another winning streak.

Oklahoma is going to crush Baylor. It’ll be a track meet for OU.

Texas will stick it to Kansas State.

Purdue is going to win against Nebraska;– of course, everyone is winning against the Cornhuskers. Watch out, this could see the resurgence of the Huskers.

There was a time when Louisville vs Florida State would be a big game, but this is not one of those times. FSU will win.

Mississippi State will be hosting their old coach as Florida comes to town. MSU is going to ruin his return trip.

VA Tech suffered the upset of the decade against Old Dominion, but can they avoid falling to Duke? Yes, they can, and they will.

Arizona State will skin the Oregon State Beavers.

Arizona will be embarrassed by USC

North Alabama will take on the Camels of Campbell. Never, in the history of the human race, has a camel defeated a Lion, and it’s not going to happen now, either. Roar Lions!!!