CigarSmokinFootball

Penn State vs Michigan State –  Two teams coming off heartbreaking losses that they should have won. Penn State’s loss to Ohio State has to be the tougher loss. The Lions were in control of that game when they returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Why they relaxed, slacked off, became over confident, is beyond my understanding, but they did, and it allowed the Buckeyes to get back in the game, even to win it.

Auburn vs Texas A&M – This will not be a game that The Daughter will  enjoy watching. If the Aggies could have played Mississippi State better, there might be some hope in College Station, but, after getting destroyed by the Bulldogs, who were destroyed by Georgia, and then by Auburn, there is not much optimism abounding. In Aggieland, though, hope springs up like the morning grass, anew every day. Auburn, on the other hand, is brimming with confidence. They have only one conference loss, to LSU, who lost to Troy, and that still makes me laugh. Believe it or don’t, the Plainsmen are still in the running for the SEC West Title. They run a very similar offense to MSU and, after seeing how much trouble it caused A&M last week, and how inept the A&M offense was, it’s giving the Tigers of Alabama plenty to smile about. I’m not pulling for the Plainsmen, I’m with the Daughter, but it won’t end well.

South Carolina vs Georgia – The Gamecocks are perched at 6-2, and there is not a living soul outside the Palmetto State, and I dare say most of those rabid supporters as well, who believed this was going to happen. However, a lot of this success has been against some teams that were supposed to be better than they turned out to be. Now they come up against the juggernaut of Georgia. It’s time to fish or cut bait. It is very doubtful, almost beyond belief, that the Cocks will win this game. It’s very doubtful that South Carolina will even keep it close. UGA is playing as the most complete team in the college football world. Their offense has little to no weakness, they run the ball at will, and they actually have a quarterback that is a serious threat. The Gamecock receivers are fast and catch the balls that are thrown at them. The defense is hard-core, aggressive and very disciplined, rarely are they out of position. This is exactly what I was afraid of when Kirby Smart left Alabama to take this job. Dawgs win in a cakewalk

Ohio State vs Iowa – The Buckeyes are coming off that stunning come-from-behind victory over Penn State. Now they travel over to the corn state of Iowa, which necessitates leaving the comfortable confines of the Horseshoe, where they play, not all, but most of their games. They played Indiana away, right? Remember? Overtime? But I digress. Which is not too far from the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk, which will happen March 22^nd, 2228. OSU is listed as a big favorite, 17 points, not sure it will end that way. It isn’t in the Horseshoe, remember? There is something that tells me the Buckeyes are not taking this game seriously. The Hawks have lost three games so far, all conference games, and IU hasn’t played poorly. They just can’t seem to put a complete game together. Ohio State proved to themselves that they can compete against top tier teams (in the Horseshoe) and has assumed the driver seat of their division. The seven-team East division of the fourteen team Big 10. All they have to do is keep doing what they are doing, winning, but there’s a rumbling within the Force that they will be slacking off Saturday and finding themselves in more of a game then they anticipated. Remember Indiana, away from the Horseshoe?

Army vs Air Force – The Black Knights have a better record at 6-2 than Air Force does at 4-4, but the Falcons are at home in the rarified air of Colorado and the Vegas pick in the game by 7 points. Huh….this might have something to do with Air Force upsetting Colorado State last week, 45-28, and the fact that Army struggled to down Temple two weeks ago. But Army is coming off a week’s rest, they will enter this game with vim, vigor, vitality, and relentless attitude. The Falcons are speared by the Army lance. Army Wins.

Oklahoma vs Oklahoma State –  Bedlam! This game was moved from the end of the season to Week 10 because the powers that are destroying the Big 12 that only has ten teams, thought these two teams would be the top teams in the conference and would play each other in the new Conference Championship, and they didn’t want them playing each other two weeks in a row. That is quite a sentence, when you get right down to it. Now this might not be a problem. Both teams have a conference loss and the loser of this game is going to need some help getting back to the title game. OU had little problem dispatching Texas Tech last week. Now they begin a tough two week stretch. Once they face the Cowboys, Mayfield and his band of merry men must deal with TCU, the top team in the league. But since this is a cross-state rivalry, it’s doubtful the Sooners are overlooking this game. Oklahoma State has had one game where they didn’t score more than 30 points, and that was their win over Texas, where they scored only 13. After that game, questions surfaced over the Cowboys’ freewheeling offense and whether they had lost their mojo. Those doubts appear to have been put to the rest in their victory over West “By Golly” Virginia, where they scored 50. “Hung 50 on them,” as former OU Coach Bob Stoops used to brag. The Cowboys have a habit of struggling against teams with a defense and OU has a great run defense. Problem is, they also have a terrible pass defense. This should mesh right into OSU’s style of play. OSU has another problem, though, like Alabama has with winning in the Sugar Bowl, and that is the Pokes appear to be cursed when they play Oklahoma. No matter how well OSU is doing, they seem to find ways to trip over themselves when they play the Sooners. This curse seems to come at the worst times. There is no telling if the blight will come into play on Saturday or not. Oklahoma is the favorite, and they’ll stay that way, unless something bad happens to Baker Mayfield. Boomer Sooner picks up the win, the misfortune lives on.

Texas vs TCU – The Longhorns might be the best 4-4 team in the land. They played OU tough, then held OSU to 13 points, and barely shut down Baylor…ok that’s not such a big deal, except for the closeness of the final score. Everyone shuts down Baylor this year. But the Horns have shown strides of great improvement. They still mess up and are known to make bonehead plays, but they’re getting better. This might be the best time for them to play TCU. The Horn Frogs are coming off a loss to Iowa State, and there is no telling how this affected them. Texas Christian was the class of the Big 12 that only has ten teams, they were scoring mega points, playing defense like a boss, and taking giant steps toward winning the conference. That all took a huge hit when Iowa State stopped the Frogs cold. If TCU allows the Iowa State game to stay in their heads it could prove costly against the Longhorns. On the other hand, if the Horned Frogs squirt some blood from their eyes and jump all over Texas, they’ll be right back in charge. TCU should, “SHOULD”, win but it might be a close game.

LSU vs Alabama –  The Bengals of the Bayous have made their way back into the top 25, they’ll enter this game ranked 19^th. LSU has two horrible losses in their resume. They were destroyed by Mississippi State, and then they lost to Troy, in Baton Rouge, on Homecoming. Since that humiliation they have racked up two wins against top 25 teams, in Florida and Auburn. In their last game against Ole Miss, the Rebels hardly slowed them down. LSU Linebacker Devin White told the press that …”when you get old enough and you get big enough and you think you can beat your older brother. So I feel now is the time for us to beat them up.”  This might not be the best time to give Alabama locker room material. The Tide just learned that the Selection Committee does not think they are the Number One team in the nation, and now Devin White gives them more reason to be motivated. Now, speaking as a younger brother, it’s a great day when you realize that you’re bigger than your older brother but that doesn’t mean you can take him. Something about being the older brother gives him an edge. What is the saying, “age and treachery will always overcome youth and exuberance”? It takes a lot more than just being bigger to take down Big Brother. I’m not even sure LSU is bigger than Bama. Alabama has one outstanding weakness, and that’s a big one, cause it’s the ‘continuing to start’ QB Jalen Hurts’ ability to pass the ball. He’s terrible, but he’s not as terrible as he was when Saban let that quartet of fabulous passing quarterbacks transfer. Now they have Tua as a back-up, and he is a real threat throwing the ball, and he’s still a back-up. There is no way St. Saban doesn’t use all this as motivation for the team. Alabama rolls over LSU and it’ll be by a big margin. Roll Tide!

Virginia Tech vs Miami – In the battle for the ACC the Hokies tackle the Hurricanes. VA Tech lost to Clemson but has since beaten BC and UNC. Miami is undefeated, but last week they struggled against North Carolina. They have struggled in every game this year, but they did win, and this is an important trait. The argument can be made that the Canes were overlooking last week’s contest in anticipation of the Hokies. Who all were they anticipating in their other cliffhangers? Head Coach Justin Fuente has done a remarkable job in Blacksburg and the Hokies are a major force to be reckoned with. This could also be an audition for the Florida head-coaching job. Miami is ranked 10^th in the nation but they haven’t played anyone with a pulse. Their next two games will tell if the “U” is for real. First, they have to beat Virginia Tech, and then they’ll be taking on #3 in the Nation, according to the Committee, Notre Dame. If, when, the Canes win these two affairs, we’ll believe they’re for real. For now, we think VA Tech is going to take this game.

Short Smokes

Memphis roars against Tulsa

Utah takes down UCLA

Wisconsin plays yet another team with a losing record in Indiana

Florida, with their interim coach, will still win against Missouri

Why is Mississippi State playing UMass? Seriously

Kansas State Wildcats will not prevail against Texas Tech

Baylor vs Kansas….whatever

Florida State continues its descent, this time to the Syracuse Orange. How the mighty have fallen.

Georgia Tech wins against Virginia

Hopefully, Wake Forest beats Notre Dame and everyone will shut up about the resurgent Irish

Stanford may beat Washington State. In Pullman? I don’t think so.

Northwestern husks more Nebraska corn. Is Scott Frost going back to Lincoln?

Kentucky growls against Ole Miss

Colorado State vs Wyoming will be more interesting than most believe

Southern Miss will upset Tennessee and ruin the Vols carefully planned exodus of Butch Jones

Minnesota can beat Michigan, but not sure they will. Row, row, row. For Goodness sake, Gophers, ROW!!!

Colorado vs Arizona State has the potential to be a very good game

Oregon Ducks provide Washington Huskies with fresh meat

Arizona upsets USC. What, you’re an unbeliever?

UNA destroys West Florida. Yes we’re pretty cocky after beating Delta State. Roar Lions!