Well, here's Brett Favre again, fixing to be in front of us on the tube.
God bless us all, it's not about a comeback. Proving that TV networks will sign anybody, Favre is becoming an announcer.
At this point, it might only be for one game, Southern Miss vs. Rice, and it's on Comcast Sports Southeast.
There is no truth to the rumor that Jenn Sterger will be the sideline reporter.
PEACH STATERS
Georgia at Ole Miss: First of all, a memo to the world that there is no 'd' in Ole Miss. It's not Old Miss. Never had it, never will. Ollllllll Miss.
No, Georgia won't beat Ole Miss like it did Coastal Carolina. And no, Georgia won't lose, either.
The Rebels are decent at pass efficiency defense, but not decent at much else. That's good for Georgia, which needs to work on its running game.
Ole Miss is, however, third in punt returns. And for all of the experience, it's only 100 in kickoff returns.
Saturday will be more practice in that area.
Georgia 40-14.
North Carolina at Georgia Tech: Finally, we'll get an idea of who Georgia Tech is.
You can't tell from playing Western Carolina, Middle Tennessee State, and Kansas. And those Sagarin Ratings are currently 172, 127 and 69. That gives the Jackets the No. 146 schedule, compared to 73 for North Carolina.
Tech is 20th and UNC 24th in the overall ratings.
The Heels have the No. 16 rush defense, and at least have played a better I-AA (James Madison) and two BCS programs (Rutgers and Virginia). They give up 76.67 yards a game.
Contrast? Holy Cow. Tech is getting 427.67 yards on the ground, tops in the nation. And the Jackets have been good for 675.33 yards total offense and 59.33 points.
While one or two keys are obvious, note that Tech is 63rd in rush defense and 47th in pass efficiency defense while UNC 42nd in rush offense and eighth in pass efficiency, so we'll see what the Jackets' defense can do against somebody decent.
There are a few hunches that UNC will be a roadblock, but not enough to make the pick.
Tech 37-30.
Western Carolina at Georgia Southern: Top-ranked Georgia Southern had the week off and gets the aforementioned Catamounts of Western Carolina.
WCU isn't as bad as some think, owner of a decent offense that needs to make up for a shaky defense. The Cats are respectable in most areas.
But not respectable enough.
Georgia Southern 42-17.
KICKIN IT OFF
Whooooo called Clemson over Auburn? Yup.
OK, that was unfortunately countered by missing FSU over Oklahoma, Ohio State over Miami and Tennessee over Florida. UCLA couldn't come through - and that smell of pork is Rick Neuheisel's backside burning - but Navy did make South Carolina sweat profusely and never gave up any breathing room.
It's the weekly reminder of how we help Vegas build hotels.
Florida State at Clemson: The hunch is back.
FSU was exposed a little bit as maybe overrated, and the Noles aren't healthy by any stretch. QB E.J. Manuel is doubtful, and that's clearly huge, except for the fact that Clemson is 97th in total defense and 55th in pass efficiency defense.
Clemson isn't much healthier, but it picked up a huge jolt of confidence last week in thumping Auburn, and even with a mid-afternoon kickoff, Death Valley will be rocking. The Tigers need to pick it up defensively.
The hunch is orange.
Clemson 28-21.
Oklahoma State at Texas A&M: The Big 12 is falling apart, and they're expecting a record crowd of about 91,000 in College Station for a pair of top-10 teams.
How stupid is our world of college football and its people in charge?
A&M coach Mike Sherman is calling for a bigger defensive struggle than people think because of the big offenses. That means a special teams play will be the difference.
Vanderbilt at South Carolina: The last time Vandy won an SEC game by 23 points or more, before the 30-7 thumping of Ole Miss, was in 1971.
Wow.
And, sadly for those in the Magnolia State, it was s 49-19 win over Mississippi State.
Just as sadly for the Commodores, Vandy lost its next four straight, managing just seven points in three games against Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss.
The teams have scored 58 points each in splitting the last four meetings. USCE will more than take care of that, moreso in the second half when the crowd and Steve Spurrier get antsy and motivational.
USCE 37-13.
LSU at West Virginia: Yes, there'll be extra interest from this seat, having covered both programs before heading to Macon.
Both places are hard on a person's sleep, liver, sanity.
Morgantown is very similar to Athens: campus stops where downtown begins, and there's nothing but people downtown. Good food, good music scene.
And everybody in town is as delusional as everybody in every other town.
LSU's defense is absurdly good, but WVU has SEC speed. Can the offense come up with just enough tweaks to find the Tigers out of position enough to pull off the upset?
Mississippi State isn't as good as WVU and gave LSU some trouble. Geno Smith is an athletic quarterback with quality QB skills. He has 1,008 yards passing in three games.
LSU is certainly used to wild crowds, but WVU miiiiight be a hair rowdier, especially with a perceived snub by the SEC and ACC amid all this conference crap.
This will be helmet crackin', rib shakin, knee quakin football. Fans and band members should wear a cup.
LSU 24-21.
This week's "Call ya bookie" games:
Louisiana-Monroe giving 17.5ish to Iowa - The Hawkeyes rebounded from losing - gasp - to Iowa State by beating Pittsburgh 31-27. ULM gave TCU a quality game before losing 38-17. The Warhawks will have something of a letdown - odd, right? - and Iowa needs to flex some muscle before heading to Penn State in two weeks. Iowa covers.
Georgia giving 10ish to Ole Miss: Yeah, Georgia, the Bulldogs actually cover, pulling away in the second half.
Quickies: Michigan is only an 8-point favorite over San Diego State? Yikes. ... Keep an eye on Temple and Maryland. The Owls nearly knocked off Penn State, and the Terps watched a comeback fall short against West Virginia. ... Is this the week Florida makes me look smart and struggles? Well, it's Kentucky, and this game hasn't been close since 2007. ... Could Auburn have a hangover against Florida Atlantic? It would have to be one major freakin' hangover.
LOUGHDMOUTHINGS
The Braves will need to go to church on Sunday, a day on which they may be tied in the wild-card race or even behind.
They're two games up on St. Louis, which gagged away a big lead to the Mets on Thursday. The bad news: Atlanta plays Washington, which annoys the Braves on a regular basis. ...
The NBA has postponed training camps.
Methinks the fundamentals might suffer a bit. ...
Random Unrelated Thought: The theme song to "Curb Your Enthusiasm" automatically puts me in a better mood. ...
Every conference commissioner better have a limber neck to keep looking over his shoulder after the Big 12 overthrow of commish Dan Beebe because he couldn't babysit good enough.
Just like the NCAA is a group of presidents and ADs, so is a conference. Blaming Beebe is passing the buck, which people in charge are experts at.
Are there no mirrors anywhere any more? ...
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times notes that San Fran relief pitcher Jeremy Affeldt's season ended after "after stabbing his right pinkie with a knife he was using to separate frozen hamburger patties.
"Scouts say he could certainly use a little work on his cutter."
As an American, I'm anti-Cowboys and anti-Yankees, but I like Tony Romo and wish he'd get a new job.
He will never be given the benefit of the doubt in Dallas. Guy plays with a busted rib and lung and leads a comeback win, and it's countered by a fumble and bad pass a few weeks earlier.
Selective memories are too good for him to get a break. When he goes somewhere else decent, watch. He'll be elite and consistent. ...
From the aforementioned Mr. Perry:
"Basketball recruit Archie Goodwin reportedly dropped Baylor from consideration because he's not a big fan of green and gold.
"Different strokes for different folks," said Cam Newton's father." …
Conan O'Brien actually had a funny, regarding the fan who brought a Taser into the Dallas-New York game:
"Arrested — and immediately signed by the Oakland Raiders."
No comments:
Post a Comment