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Cigars & Football – A Simple Blend

Week 5

Week 5
At the beginning of the year most fans couldn’t wait to see if their
team was ranked, and if they were, where did they get ranked. Then
there were the people out there complaining that the usual suspects
were at the top of the polls and nothing was ever going to change,
same ole situation. WOW, were the pollsters wrong in every way.
They did get the Alabama’s ranking correct, so they have that going
for them. The preseason rankings look nothing like they do now, and
we’re just at week 5! Not only that, but it’s safe to say that most of
the usual suspects are not going to the playoffs. As a matter of fact,
just how many teams can the SEC send? Has that been established
yet? I mean, is it possible to send three or just all four? This just
might be the year we find out;- then again, the way things are going,
maybe no SEC team goes….ok, that’s taking it a bit far, of course the
SEC will have a team, it just means more. Last week teams that were
supposed to be good either struggled, or, worse yet, lost. Climpson,
bless their little hearts, got taken down by NC State, and, I suspect,
this will not be their only ACC loss this year. Yes, the Tigers have been
playing that poorly. Oklahoma is still ranked in the top ten, even after
they never had the lead against West Virginia until two seconds were
left in the game. Even rock solid Iowa couldn’t find their footing
against Colorado State, and just barely slipped by the Rams. Speaking
of questioning the polling, how is Auburn still ranked? They almost
lost to Georgia State, not Georgia, or Georgia Tech, but Georgia
State! (now don’t get me wrong, if Auburn would have lost I’d still be
laughing) Now we have Week 5, which, in all honesty, could be called
“Separation Saturday!” There are FIVE games that match up top 25
teams where each team is undefeated. Then there are SEVEN games
where an undefeated team is matched up against a single loss team,
or where both teams only have one loss each. If this doesn’t get a
person excited, then they’re dead, and need to be tossed out the
winder and done with.


Ole Miss vs Alabama – This game started causing me concerns right
after Bama won the National Championship. Last year the Tide won,
62- 48, but Bama didn’t pull away from the Rebels until late in the
fourth quarter. Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin knows exactly how to attack
the Crimson Tide Defense, and he has the tools to carry it out. At this
moment QB Matt Corral is the leading Heisman Trophy candidate!
Never thought that would happen. On top of that, the Rebels took
last week off to get ready for this contest. Alabama did whip up on
Southern Miss last week, they played very well, and they kept their
intensity until late in the game, which is a big improvement. Having
said that, this game against Ole Miss promises to be a huge shoot
out, points galore. Because Alabama’s DC Pete Golding’s defensive
calling is no match against Kiffin, the entire Alabama offense better
be in sync, on the same page, and ready to run, and keep on runnibg,
because the call to victory rests on their shoulders. There have also
been reports, rumors, whispers and the such, that Ole Miss has an
improved defense, but they could have improved greatly from last
year’s unit and they still wouldn’t crack the top 50 in the nation, so
how far they’ve improved still remains to be seen. It’s going to be a
barn burner of a game, so strap in, and enjoy the ride. Roll Tide!


Arkansas vs Georgia – The Hogs have arrived on the scene and
they’re not kidding anymore. They’ve already beaten two top 25
teams and they won both in impressive fashion. The teams from
Arkansas West, (aka Texas) both got whipped and now these
Razorbacks are taking their game on the road to test their meddle
against the SEC Eastern Division. UGA is already a big favorite to win,
by something like 18 points, which seems to be disrespectful toward
the Hogs. Georgia has the best defense in the entire nation, and their
offense isn’t bad either, they’ve had some trouble getting started but
the Big “O” has done…alright. The offense has only been tested once
and that was against Clemson, where the Dawgs never found the
endzone and could only produce one field goal which was enough to
win. Now that they’ve had some tune up games, perhaps they’ve
gotten those wrinkles all worked out. This game will tell us who is for
real. Georgia is the heavy favorite, this game is on their home turf,
but it will be closer than most people think.


Cincinnati vs Notre Dame – The Irish are undefeated, true, but taking
down a Wisconsin team that couldn’t complete a pass even if they
were promised a life time supply of their favorite cheese is not that
impressive. While we’re on it, neither is beating FSU, Toledo and
Purdue, so, no, ND has not proven to be a playoff contender. That’s
right, I said it, and I meant it! Cincinnati does not have that
impressive of a record either, even though they, too, are undefeated.
Miami (OH), Murray State, and Indiana does not win a lot of votes
from the Committee. What sets these two teams apart is how
they’ve won. The Bearcats left no doubts in anyone’s mind that they
were going to win. The Irish had everyone wondering if they were
going to win late into the games. The game will be played in South
Bend, where zebas are known to have one-sided vision, and the
Bearcats are the underdogs, but the way this season is going, and the
way ND has been tip-toeing near the edge of the cliff, CSF is picking
Cincy and it could end up being a dominant win.


Iowa vs Maryland – The Terps being led by little brother Taulia
Tagovailoa, have passed their way into an early season perfect
record. Are these Turtles for real? Maybe, they’ve gotten to 4-0, but,
according to HC Michael Locksley, none of them are happy about
how they’ve gotten to 4-0. They believe they are better than what
they’ve shown. Huh, really? QB Taulia is the sparkplug for this team;-
how he goes, they go. Not saying they are a one trick pony, they do
have running backs, and sometimes the RB gets to run with the ball,
but yeah… this team is a one trick pony. Iowa has taken down two
top 25 teams so far, and they’ve been steady and solid, nothing
flashy. Not even sure anyone on this team knows the definition of
the word flashy. The Hawkeyes have a balanced attacked and their
defense has been the rock that has gotten them this far. Against the
Terps, that defense needs to put pressure on Taulia every single play,
he can’t be afforded time to set up, he’s too good and the Hawkeye
secondary is not up to the task. It’s doubtful either team will pull
away from the other until the fourth quarter, where, those big cornfed Iowa lineman will have just worn down the Terps. Iowa wins, but
Maryland doesn’t get blown out.


Baylor vs Oklahoma State – No one was taking the Bears seriously
until they beat Iowa State last week. Up until then they were feasting
on Texas Southern, Kansas, and Texas State, then, out of nowhere,
they beat ISU and that caused everyone to raise an eyebrow and
start wondering could the Bears be serious, or did we all have the
Cyclones overrated? Maybe a little of both. Oklahoma State was also
not being taken seriously until they beat up Kansas State, but against
the Wildcats, the Pokes had a weakness exposed. In the first quarter
they jumped out to a 21 -10 lead, but, after that they only produced
ten more points. The KSU defense finally got tough and they shut the
OSU offense down. One is not going to mistake the BU defense for a
legit title contender but if they’re not scared at the start of the game
they could make this a close contest…well….closer.


Short Smokes
BYU looks to make a sweep of all of Utah by beating Utah State


Michigan, who is 4-0, is the underdog against Wisconsin, at 1-2, but
loud mouth Harbaugh will get the win.


Wake Forest will pluck Louisville apart, watch out for the Deacons!

Coastal Carolina gets to scalp UL Monroe. Come on, Chanticleers!


Oregon Ducks are THE candidate to represent the Left Coast. They
can’t afford to slip up against Stanford, which they’ve done in the
past


Oklahoma gets taken down by K-State, OU’s offense isn’t up to the
task.


Florida is going to have a very hard time against Kentucky, very hard,
indeed


Penn State is seeking revenge on Indiana from last year, and they’re
going to get it.


Michigan State marches all over Western Kentucky

Boston College had Climpson on the ropes last year but the Tigers
pulled out a win. This year, the Eagles win.


Battle of the Tigers! LSU, Louisiana variety vs Auburn, Alabama
variety. Who knows who will win? Who knows who the Auburn QB
will be?


Arizona State looks to be the last one with the ball at the end of the
game against UCLA because whoever gets the ball last will win.


Fresno State crosses the Pacific to beat up Hawai’i.


Tennessee is not going to beat Missouri

Pitt should be better, and they’ll get to prove it against Georgia Tech


Duke is not going to win the first round in the Battle Royal for the
Carolinas against North Carolina


Texas might beat TCU. Then again, you never know which Longhorn
team is going to show up


Navy is still looking for that first win, they will not find it against UCF


Ball State is in for a very long day against Army


Texas A&M will try to recover against Mississippi State….Hopefully
for the Daughter’s sake they will.


Oregon State is going to beat Washington, look out for the Beavers,
they’re getting good.

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