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Cigars & Football – A Simple Blend

Week 6 Preview

Week 6 Preview

(19) Texas vs (7) Oklahoma – I love the Red River Rivalry! I know they’re not SEC, but these two schools honestly hate each other, and that usually makes for some good games. Oklahoma has been tearing through their opponents, except Army. They only beat the Cadets by 7, and it took overtime, at home, to do that. Everyone else has lost by double digits. Why? I don’t think they were overlooking the Black Knights because they were worried about Baylor. It’s because Army held on to the ball and wouldn’t let the OU offense on the field. In possession time Army had the ball over 44 minutes, 26 first downs and outgained the Sooners 379 yards to 355 yards. The OU offense is geared toward quick strikes, they want to move the ball fast, in big chunks, and score often. But, when they have to work for it, the Sooners are known to stall. The Longhorns’ improvement, in the meantime, is evident, they’re getting better each game. The Horns are better than they were when they lost to Maryland. They’ve defeated two ranked teams, and their confidence is growing. All they have to do is march on long drives, slowly eat up the clock. If the OU defense wore down on Army, UT should be able to break them in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma is picked for the game, but it would not be a surprise if the Longhorns enjoyed their corndogs in the State Fair after beating up on the Sooners.

(5) LSU vs (22) Florida – The Bayou Bengals have had two big tests, Auburn and Miami. They have passed them both. When they played in UCLA (Ugly Corner of Lower Alabama, or, otherwise known as Auburn) they didn’t play all that well and needed a last second field to win, but they did win. Florida has not really been tested yet. They invited Kentucky to the Swamp, and got beat, worse than the score indicates. If Tennessee hadn’t shot themselves in the foot, and the other foot, and feet they don’t even have, it is quite possible that they could have given the Gators a real game. Then, against Mississippi State, the Bulldogs simply forgot why they were on the field. I was stunned, watching that game. If the Gators expect to win against the Tigers, they need to summon the Witches of Endor again and make whatever payment they’ve been making so that LSU, like the others, simply makes too many mistakes and allows UF to win. Not likely. Florida has not done anything impressive this season, they’ve hung around, and been able to capitalize on the other team’s mistakes, but they haven’t gone out there and taken anything from anyone. LSU is the pick for this game, and the Bengals will win, provided the witches’ curse is weaker than the “old woman’s voodoo” from the bayous. I’ve about talked myself into being afraid to watch this encounter of supernaturals.

(8) Auburn vs Mississippi State – The Alabama Tigers didn’t dominate anyone last week, much less Southern Miss, and in past years that could be excused because USM had a habit of upsetting the balances. Not anymore, though. The Tigers’ offensive line seemed to be stumbling out of their blocks instead of firing out and executing assignments. Auburn’s played two ranked teams so far, they are 1-1, and the Plainsmen do not play well outside of their home turf. Nothing like home cooking. As for Mississippi State, last week was a stunner, they completely forgot what they were supposed to do and/or how to do it. It was like watching a little baby learn to walk, on shaky legs, struggling to stand up. If, and right now it’s a big IF, the Bulldogs play like they are capable of, they will beat Auburn. Miss State has all the weapons they need, they have the talent, they have home field (and that is worth more than 3 points, friend), but they have to do it and that’s been a problem the past two weeks.

(6) Notre Dame vs (24) Virginia Tech – Both schools have made a switch at the quarterback position and both appear to have paid off. The Hokies, bless their hearts, need to rid themselves of the stink that is on them from losing to Old Dominion. Last week they beat undefeated Duke, and they beat the Blue Devils pretty bad. Could there be a better way to redeem themselves than by beating top ten ranked Notre Dame? No, no there is not. I believe Bud Foster was embarrassed by the way his defense played at Old Dominion and Durham, and he is determined NOT to let that happen again. I’m willing to bet his players know that he’s upset, too. This defense will be ready for the Irish. ND, on the other hand, has gladly accepted the cheers and accolades bestowed upon them from the adoring press that can see no wrong in what they do and have already reserved them a spot in the College Football Playoffs. They had a good game against Stanford and this new QB, Ian Brook, appears to be very good. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, this is Notre Dame, they are going to slip up, and it’ll be more than once, it’s what they do. This is going to be the start of that slide. VA Tech is mad, they were embarrassed, and they now know they must prove themselves every, single, game. Notre Dame believes they are still College Football Royalty, all should bow down and kiss the ring. They have completely bought into this and love the praise they are getting from the press. This week is not going to go well for them. That’s right, CSF is calling it, right here, right now, the Hokies stun the Irish and pull the upset. VA Tech has something to prove, ND believes they’ve already proven it. One of these two teams is going to blame Old Dominion for their loss Saturday, rightfully so.

Arizona State vs (21) Colorado – The only hope that the PAC-12 has at having an undefeated team is the Colorado Buffaloes. The Buffs are 4-0 and sitting at the top of their division, and conference, for that matter. Ok, they haven’t played anybody of note, but it’s almost like one of those Newton Laws, an object in motion will stay in motion, a team winning seems to continue winning. (Also, an object at rest will remain at rest, etc, etc. It involves a lot of math) With each win the Buffs believe more and more in themselves, which causes them to get better and better. Arizona State is still learning, and learning the Herm Edwards way of football, and life, and it seems to be taking root, bless their hearts. The Sun Devils are playing hard and they’re a tough out, but the problem is that they are one-dimensional. If they could just get a running game to complement their passing attack, they’d be great. Colorado is my pick to win, but they’re going to win by seven or less.

(13) Kentucky vs Texas A&M – In the past, no one, and I literally mean, no one, would ever accuse UK of winning the war in the trenches. It was way back when Bear Bryant coached in Lexington, and that was before College Station, and, … somewhere else, was it Tusculum? No? Tuscaloosa? The Cats have always relied on a passing attack. When they had a good QB, they’d move the ball and score points. The defensive line has generally been more of an afterthought. If they had a guy that was big, ugly and slow, up on the defensive line he went. Well, they did play him at Quarterback for a couple of years, remember? Now, things appear to be different. These Bluegrass Wildcats are actually winning at the line of scrimmage, they’re willing to get their hands dirty on more than coal dust and horse feed. Because of this transformation, they are not just winning games, they are making statement wins. They’ve beaten Mississippi State, Florida, and South Carolina, all by double digits. Yes, it’s impressive. Now they venture into College Station, don’t know if they’ve ever played in this cavernous stadium, but it’s different. Maybe they did some research and saw what happened to Clemson. Aggies are different at home, they have this mid-night yell thing that gets everything going for the weekend, and they don’t stop until sometime Sunday. QB Kellen Mond did not have a good outing against Arkansas, but he wasn’t the only underperformer. Heck, the whole team didn’t have a good outing. They won but so did North Texas against the Hogs. A&M made a poor Arkansas team look good. Why did they struggle with the Razorbacks? They shouldn’t, but it’s happened before. It must be one of those strange physic things, like a particle of matter cancelling out another particle of matter and no one can figure out why. Probably a lot of math involved in physical dynamics, too. In this game, back to football, the Aggies will struggle again, (that burning sensation that I’m getting on the back of my head, is from The Daughter as she glares at me) Sorry. A&M began well, but as the season has gone, on they have not improved. I’m sure it would have been a different story if they would have beaten Clemson, but they didn’t, and that may have taken the wind right out of their sails. Bama’s dismantling on the Texas A&M game plan didn’t help any, either. Kentucky, however, is doing everything right, and they don’t want it to end. I want to pick A&M, if not for my own safety, but I can’t. Look for Ken-Tuck-y to continue their run.

Short Smokes

Alabama will have a good BBQ at Arkansas

Kansas has a made up mascot in a Jayhawk, but West Virginia is going to give them a real butt kicking

Michigan shouldn’t have any problem with Maryland, but they’re going to, and it might be an upset

Michigan State won’t give Northwestern 17 points first.

NC State hosts Boston College, and they’ll win, cause it’s at home

Clemson wins against Wake Forest, whoever is at QB

Too bad Florida State vs Miami isn’t what it used to be, those games were fun. Oh…Miami wins. Wide right.

Ohio State could struggle with Indiana but the Hoosiers don’t know how to win.

Missouri beats up the Gamecocks of South Carolina

I doubt Iowa State will win against Oklahoma State…..BUT they might!

Navy vs Air Force….can they both lose? No?…fine, I’ll pick Air Force. I work for the Air Force so, you know, job security.

I want to watch Iowa vs Minnesota, two evenly matched teams. Golden Gophers or Hawkeyes? What happened to Wolves, and Tigers, and Red Elephants?

Georgia shouldn’t have any problems with Vanderbilt. If they do, I’ll be happy.

Nebraska really, desperately, needs a win. Against Wisconsin it’s not going to happen

Stanford kicks Utah to the curb

North Alabama will recover against West Florida it won’t be easy, cause the Argonauts are a good team, but this game is at home, the Lions are tough, motivated and determined to win! ROAR LIONS!

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