CigarSmokinFootball

Week 6

This week has been a great big ball of events and confusion. The government, who just loves spending money, hasn’t been able to pass a budget in over 5 years and is now in slim-down mode because some people figured out that these programs cost too much. Because of this “Slim-down” the Air Force vs. Navy, and Army vs. Boston College games were in jeopardy of being called off because of travel expenses. Boston College stepped up and said they’d pay for the travel of the West Point Cadets. Navy didn’t have that option available to them since they’re government as well, so the leaders of United Airlines spoke up and said not a problem. They’d fly the football team of Air Force to Annapolis free of charge. To the men of Boston College and United Airlines, CigarSmokinFootball.com says, “Job well done! Let us know where to send y’alls cigars. You’ve earned them. Thank you, for taking care of our Service Academy Members.”

First our Cigar Review, this week’s cigar is from Tony Borhani, the “Bahia Blue”.  The Blue ranks in the mild category of cigars. It’s well constructed and is made with Nicaragua tobacco throughout. The texture is good and there is a nice feel when holding this particular cigar. The first puff is a pleasant surprise. There’s a nice taste, not harsh, not bitter, very smooth, with just a bit of sweetness to it. The burn on the cigar was uneven at points and required a bit of maintenance but nothing that took the enjoyment of smoking away. It’s a very reasonable priced cigar, around $3.00 per stick. I don’t consider this a main cigar of choice but it does serve as a great 11:00am puro, which is made possible by the government slim-down. Rating on a scale of 1-5, 3.1.

At the beginning of the season this game didn’t even cause a blip on the radar screen. Who would have thought Maryland, yes, the University of Maryland Terrapins, would be 4-0 and ranked in the top 25? Not I, and not even the biggest Terps fan would have bet money on them. Before the Turtles had a week off they went and beat-up high-powered, offensive-minded West “By Golly” Virginia, 37-0. This upset made the football world sit up and take notice. Not only did they beat the Mountaineers, they shut ‘em out! Then to make that win look even more impressive, WVU beat Oklahoma State which many had picked to win the Big 12 that only has ten teams. Did these Terps become the college rendition of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? It’ll be interesting to find out. These young upstarts now take on Florida State, who is also 4-0 and hasn’t surprised anybody, –  yet. The Fighting Turtles appear to have an offense, they’ve scored over 30 points in all their games and have been pretty consistent. They rank 36^th in passing at 271 ypg game and 24^th in rushing at 226 ypg. Maryland QB C.J. Brown missed this game last year due to an ACL, heck everybody that played QB for Maryland last year went down with a season ending injury, so no big shock there. This year he knows it’s an entirely different team, he’s thrown 7 TDs with 1 INT, and rushed for 283 yards. If the Terps want to continue to score points, their QB will be the key to making their offense work. However, the real Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of this team is the defense. They are allowing opponents to score 10 points on average. They’re fast and physical, and as long as they play up to their standards, Maryland will continue to win. WVU was a huge surprise, but if they want the world to start really Fearing the Turtles, they need to upset FSU.

Florida State has done what everyone thought they would, so far. This school gets more hype and more predictions than anyone in the world, and yet they seldom live up to all their press, not since good ole Bobby Bowden walked the sidelines. FSU has put up points, averaging 51 per game, so even if both schools score their average this game, FSU wins. The Seminoles have a very balanced attack. They average 230 ypg in rushing and 275 ypg in passing. QB Winston has made a few people turn their heads as he is ranked second in passing efficiency at 209.5. He’s going to need to keep that up to beat up on UM Saturday. FSU’s defense has done what has been expected as well, they appeared to slip up against Boston College last week but were still able to pull out the win. The thing is the Seminoles didn’t expect this game to be as important as it’s become. This was supposed to be an easy win, leading into their week off so they’d have two weeks to prepare for the great ACC showdown against Clemson on Oct. 19^th. What are these upstart turtles doing messing with the game plan? Which is why FSU should have red flashing lights and annoying sirens going off in their heads, they are on UPSET ALERT! If they overlook Maryland even a little bit it’s going to cost them their entire season. They could recover a one loss to Clemson, but a loss here and look for the losses to snowball.  Seminoles should win, then again, Maryland SHOULDN’T be this good.

Northwestern University Wildcats started off two straight seasons at 5-0, in 1904-05. Last year they started the season 5-0, this year they are at 4-0 so far for them to break this 107 year old hump they will need to defeat Ohio State, who just happens to be at 5-0 themselves and not suffering from hexes or curses or any other type of black magic. ESPN GameDay will be broadcasting from NW and the entire Great White North Conference will be fixated on this game. If there is any team in the frozen north that can possibly beat OSU, it’s Northwestern. The Wildcats come into this game with a solid rushing attack averaging 249 ypg. Kain Colter is a dual threat QB who as proven effective. The “Sliderule Boys” (for those who don’t know what a slide rule is, its one of those devices that engineers used before calculators.) will be looking for a big boost in the running game with the return of Venric Mark, who has been out due to a leg injury. Sliderulers or not, Northwestern has to run against the Buckeyes, they’ve to got establish that they own the line of scrimmage. It doesn’t matter how they do it, quick blocks, slant blocks, power blocks, or chop blocks, – no, wait, chop blocks are illegal don’t do that one, they’ve GOT to run the ball. If they don’t get production from the run, the Cats lose. Offensively, the chances of the Purple depend solely on the run. Defensively, they like interceptions. They are tied for third in the country with 10 INTs, four that have been pick-6’s. The Wildcats play solid fundamental defense. They’re consistent, pounding away until the other team makes a mistake, usually an INTs, and then they exploit that crack. Saturday they need to be disruptive up front, make those reads difficult for the Buckeye offense, play the fundamentals, and turn everything inside. IF they do this, OSU will have a hard time getting to 6-0.

Ohio State enters this game on a 17-game winning streak. They’re playing hard and never lost in the Urban Myer era. In ’06, OSU beat Northwestern 54-10, in ‘07 it was 58-7, then, in ‘08 it was 45-10. The Bucks are not afraid of playing NWU. Last week Ohio State beat Wisconsin, 31-24. OSU started fast and then held on to win. Against the Wildcats they look to do much the same. Now that they have Miller back at QB, scoring points isn’t much of a problem. No one is going to say  that OSU is not a well-oiled team, they don’t have to prove themselves to anyone. They rank, 12^th in rushing, and 6^th in the nation for scoring points. OSU is on a roll. If they’re able to start off quick with a couple of scores the results of this game will be the same as the last meetings. Ohio State cannot let NW stick around and make this game close. Not sure if I rate this contest an upset alert, but the Buckeyes need to take the Wildcats seriously. In an extremely weak conference any loss like this will result in losing out on a chance of being in the BCS Championship game. OSU is used to the spotlight and big games. ESPN GameDay is nothing, new same old, same old for them. I want the Cats to pull it off – but, alas, this is THE Ohio State University.

Arizona State is taking its high-speed offense to Dallas to challenge Notre Dame. The Sun Devils are coming off a huge win against USC, one that cost Kiffin his job, much to the dismay of the rest of the PAC-12. No, ALL the PAC-12. Live it up the rest of this year, PAC-12, and beat up on USC all you can, Kiffin’s gone, which means this team will soon be good again. Back to the Sun Devils, they have Speed, lots and lots of Speed. They’re sitting at 3-1 with their only loss against big, bad, Stanford. They’d love to beat USC and Notre Dame in the same season, something they haven’t ever been able to pull off……not sure that’s EVER happened before. Granted, ASU’s team is made for desert environs and they’ll be out of their element, but playing a game in JerryWorld should be just as good. With the speed they have it’ll be easy to score points, they just need to make sure they score enough.

Notre Dame is coming off their second loss of the season where Oklahoma treated them pretty poorly. Actually, ND treated themselves pretty poorly, throwing multiple INTs, and their execution was either dirt poor or the Sooners defense was just way too good.  CSF gives credit to the Sooners. Notre Dame is not the team they were before. They’re lack the talent and it appears they lack the ability to block. In rushing, they rank 93^rd. So if people are looking for a fast- paced passing game, this is the one. Defensively, they’re doing alright against smaller schools but against big time schools with pertinent records, they are found lacking. ND has a big problem handling speed, the. As my dad says, “The Irish should lose, but for some reason, some how, they’ll be able to win this game.” Of course, he’s biased for this prediction lays solely on his intense hatred for them. Not sure I buy into that, but he does have a good track record of being right. ASU wins this game anyway. (Editor’s Note: – NAH!)

Georgia takes on Tennessee, both have 3 wins, does anyone truly believe UT will win this game? We don’t either. UGA wins.

Oregon gets to beat up on Colorado, hope they enjoy it because CSF says something is brewing in Boulder and they’ll be winning these games soon.

Clemson goes against Syracuse, Will the true Orange team stand up? Clemson wins.

Washington, ranked 15, travels to play Stanford, at 5, this will be a good indication of the gap between 15 and 5.

LSU leaves the confines of Death Valley to play Mississippi State and they’ll return with a victory.

TCU will test their mettle against OU. If OU wants to be taken seriously for BCS Championship talk, they need to win, and win convincingly. 

USC-South will host Kentucky and the Gamecocks will win, too.

Georgia Tech takes on Miami (FL). There have been a few sports commentators who are picking GT to pull the upset. CSF watched the Jackets play VA Tech. Miami wins.

In the “No Defense” game, West Virginia travels to Waco to play Baylor. Both teams will score points, Baylor scores more.

Kansas State has a great opportunity to jump-start the rest of their desultory season against a hurting Oklahoma State. CSF would love for KSU to win, we like Coach Synder, we’re pulling for him. Unfortunately, OSU wins.

Ole Miss goes to the plains of Auburn with both teams at 3-1. Ole Miss leaves at 4-1. (Editor says, “Not so fast, My Friend. Rebs lose”)