Do you know what this Saturday is? I’ll wait a second while you think about it….. that’s right, Saturday is the long awaited battle between Middle Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic, woooo!! The Hilltoppers and the Mean Green, two of college football’s most unique mascots. In addition to this lovely affair that college football is treating us to, Saturday is also one of my favorite days of the year: Halloween!

Halloween is an exciting holiday because you get to pretend that you are something, or someone, totally different from your true identity. Several football teams are pretending to be something they are not by appearing to be national championship contenders at this point in the year. But as the 2009 season approaches its final stretch, which teams are true contenders and which are merely pretenders hiding behind a mask and weak schedules?

With no playoff in place for college football, many teams’ fate are left at the mercy or arbitrary polling and computer formulas. Unlike any other sport, only two teams have a chance to play in the title game. You can tell your daughters and your little sisters that there will be no Cinderella after Halloween this year, at least until March Madness rolls around. Several teams, however, will need to keep their beauty pageant contestant costumes ready if they play to make it to the big game. Here is a list of pretender vs. contender for teams who have a decent shot at making the BCS Title Game through week 8:

Contenders:

Florida #1: the Gators have one ranked team left on the schedule (@ #22 South Carolina) but they also play tough games against UGA and Florida State. A matchup with the winner of the SEC West, either Alabama or LSU, will most likely decide which SEC team will play in the BCS Title Game. The Gators will definitely be the better team in every game they play until the SEC Title Game, which could go either way. But at this point, the Gators are as real as it gets.

Alabama #2: the tide squeaked out a win against Tennessee to remain undefeated in week eight. A loss would have been devastating to the tide’s national championship ambitions. It won’t get much easier for bama this week as they host #9 LSU (a game which will decide who represents the SEC West in the title game. Bama just seems to have an answer for every question their opponents pose this year.

Texas #3: The Longhorns face their toughest remaining test this weekend when they travel to #14 Oklahoma State. Coly McCoy, although not as gaudy as last year, is putting up some impressive numbers (1806 yards and 14 TDs). Other than the game against Oklahoma, the ‘horns have scored at least 34 points in each of their games and have held opponents to 20 points or less in six of their seven contests so far. While this weekend will likely forecast the team’s fate, Texas certainly looks like they are on their way to the BCS Title Game.

USC #5: anytime USC is in the top five of the BCS standings before December, there is a good chance the Trojans will keep climbing to the top. A tough remaining schedule for USC has its advantages (impressing voters with potential quality wins over #10 Oregon, #20 Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, and UCLA) and disadvantages (risk of losing to any of those capable squads). While it will be tough to justify a one loss USC over an undefeated team currently in the top 3, the Trojans still have a shot. And if they get chance, the talent and coaching at USC makes them a contender.

Cincinnati #8: I’ve been saying this for weeks now: Cincinnati is sneaky good. Although they are no longer flying under the radar, the Bearcats continue to impress voters. While averaging 40.7 points per game and holding opponents to 13.7 points per game, Cincinnati has been dominant all year (their closest victory being an 8 point win against Fresno State). Like USC, the Bearcats will need a loss or two from the current top three teams to continue to climb the BCS standings. The schedule looked a lot easier earlier in the year than it does now for Cincy: #21 West Virginia and #15 Pittsburgh, still on the schedule, have been shockingly good thus far. If the Bearcats run the table in the Big East (and win an out of conference matchup against a struggling Illinois team), it will be tough to keep them out of the national championship picture.

Pretenders:

LSU #9: Let me start by saying that LSU and Alabama could easily swap roles if LSU comes away with a win this week. However, LSU has been far too consistent on offense to be considered a true contender at the moment. With a subpar performance against Mississippi State and only scoring 3 points against Florida, LSU has shown that they don’t necessarily bring their A-Game week in and out. When they do, LSU is tough to beat. The problem is, LSU still has to play #2 Alabama, #25 Ole Miss, and a tough Arkansas team, as well as Florida in the SEC Championship game (assuming they make it that far). That is a rough gauntlet for an unfocused team that doesn’t play to its potential every week.

Boise State #7: The Broncos have been getting an awful lot of mileage out of a week one win against Oregon (at home). Climbing to #7 without playing a ranked team or even so much as another BCS conference opponent is a little ridiculous for Boise State. I understand that they will most likely be undefeated, but to justify an appearance in the BCS Title Game with that schedule is almost impossible. I wouldn’t feel bad about BSU getting left out in January.

TCU #6: TCU deserves more respect than Boise State, having played Clemson, Virginia, BYU and still Utah remaining on the schedule. But there is really only room for one BCS buster, and an undeserving Boise is standing in the way of the Horned Frogs. Almost zero percent chance TCU gets the chance to win a national title this year.

Iowa #4: There is just something about this team that I can’t buy into. A last second win over Michigan State, barely beating Northern Iowa and Arkansas State, and an overall weak schedule (Penn State and Ohio State are the only teams they’ve faced who will be ranked at the end of the year): I’m just not sold on the Hawkeyes. On Tuesday came news that their starting RB is out for the rest of the year and their best offensive lineman is also out for an extended amount of time- its going to be an uphill battle for the Hawkeyes. Iowa is sitting pretty at #4 in the current BCS standings, but a November 14^th visit to Ohio State will most likely change that.

Oregon #10: The Ducks offense came to life after an embarrassing (in more ways than one) showing in Boise. Its better to lose early in the world of college football, so the Ducks got that one right. Just as Oregon is gaining back respect, USC is on the docket this weekend. It doesn’t get much easier after this week as Oregon still must play Arizona State and Oregon State at home, as well as Stanford and Arizona on the road. Better crank up the “quack, quack, quack” underdog chant if Oregon has a prayer of making it through the rest of the year unbeaten.

Georgia Tech #11: The only team outside of the top 10 that I decided to include and here is the reason: Tech is sitting at #11 with an extremely manageable remaining schedule, probably easier than any of the top 10 teams. With home games against Wake Forest and Duke and road trips to Vandy and Georgia, there isn’t a huge challenge left for the Jackets. They have a long, long way to move from 11 to 2 in just four games, but if the chips fall right, I think Tech is capable (but not likely) of contending for a title. If they win out, they could very well be a one-loss ACC champ stuck on the outside looking in. That is, unless a few miracles happen.

Here are my picks for the week (winners in bold):

UNC @ VA Tech (Thurs)

West VA @ USF (Fri)

USC @ Oregon

Texas @ OK State

Mich @ Illinois

Mich State @ Minnesota

UGA @ Florida

South Carolina @ Tennessee

Ole Miss @ Auburn

EMU @ Arkansas

Miss State @ Kentucky

Georgia Tech @ Vandy

Tulane @ LSU

Ravens/Vikings Trip Recap

Despite both of my teams (and my bank account) losing, I had a great trip to Minnesota this past weekend to catch the Ravens play the Vikings. I haven’t been to many NFL games over the years, but the whole experience was definitely my best yet. Here is a recap of the trip:

Thursday (day before leaving): I keep checking the weather every ten minutes or so to see if someone was pulling a joke on me and tricking me into thinking it was actually going to be in the 30’s and 40’s my whole time up north. I begin to dread the arctic freeze ahead (especially with a slight head cold developing thanks to living with 2 other guys who were snotted up all week). I pack my bags and get some sleep so I can dream about a Metrodome filled with purple and a mall big enough to fit roller coasters. Mini-soda, here we come.

Friday evening: Jon, David and I arrive at the airport with plenty of time to grab a bite and a beer before the flight (unlike our fourth companion, Spitty, who missed his flight and would now be arriving early Saturday morning). AirTran decided to give us a little more time by delaying our flight for over an hour. Thanks AirTran, now we have time to hit the Hartsfield-Jackson International hotspot known as “Last Call” for a few more pints. A few more $6 pints of Budweiser and we are playing the “recap the NFL draft” game where I quiz Jon and DQ about past NFL draft orders, schools and teams. This is entertaining for at least 45 minutes, especially for the old guy next to us who was conspicuously eavesdropping. I could tell he knew a few of the answers that were bugging the other two contestants, but he kept mostly to himself. I don’t think we ever declared a winner to the NFL draft game, but we definitely all tied in the draft beer game: 4 pints down before the flight.

We finally board the plane, have a successful takeoff, and anxiously await the in-flight beverage service, always a must when traveling on a weekend evening.

Saturday morning: we wake up early to pick Spitty up from the Airport and decide to head to the famous Mall of America. When pulling up to the mall, I was underwhelmed with the exterior size of the mall. I was expected a building I couldn’t see from end-to-end. But once I got inside and saw the rollercoasters and rides, along with all of the different levels with escalators and elevators everywhere, I appreciated it vastness. The highlight of this trip: cameo appearance by Sully Sullenberger. That’s right, the guy who had an emergency plane landing in the Hudson River. He was doing a book signing at the mall and Dave spotted him right away (from 5 stories by nonetheless). Tried to find some cool Ravens gear at the mall, but supplies were limited. Time to eat anyway.

We hopped in line at Hooters inside the mall. After checking out the waitresses (and a little future event planning) we decided to pass up Hooters and went for a local sports bar which was pretty solid. After lunch we hit a small hole-in-the-wall type bar called Jerseys to kill some time before our next stop. Here, we had a group debate over how hot the bartender was. I was giving her a 7-7.5, others in the group lobbied for as high as 9. Eventually, I talked a few of them down into the 7.5-8 range (counting this as a victory for myself and my flawless rating system). Next we visited an establishment known as the King of Diamonds (more fondly to the locals as “K.O.D.”). This establishment didn’t open until 3:30 PM and had a nice $1 beer happy hour until 5:30.

When we arrived at 3:28PM, there was literally a line of gentlemen waiting to get in. Our group decided that we had to wait in the car because waiting in a line to get into a place like that at 3 in the afternoon would have (hopefully) been a low point for all of us. We enjoyed our happy hour beers by the tableful (15 at a time for the group, which was growing at this point) and headed back to the Quick house for a family event. Nothing like a family cookout after an early afternoon drinking marathon. After some nice Minnesota home cooking (and some more adult beverages), we ended up hanging around and watching sports the rest of the night: Gators cheated and won, Auburn lost, Yanks won in extras- terrible sports evening for me. I was ready for some live NFL action.

Sunday, earrrrrrrrrrrrrrrly.- awake and ready for some tailgating. We load up the minivan and we’re at the Metrodome by 8A.M. Breaking news: it is cold in Minnesota in October at 8 A.M., really cold. Most of my initial thoughts when we started tailgating were about how cold I was and that I couldn’t wait to get inside that dome. After a few beers, a little more sunshine, and tossing the football around, my blood starting flowing and it was more bearable. But still cold! We had fresh hamburger meat with no preservatives or any of that junk in it- straight from a farm in South Dakota, courtesy of our weekend host’s family farm. Damn good hamburger. We ran into a few Ravens fans, but mostly just Viking after Viking after Viking. One guy had a nice 30 rant about me being a murderer for wearing a Ray Lewis jersey. That was awkward for everyone around for sure. But hey, someone has to be “that guy.”

The Game: I don’t want to talk about it, you know what happened. Stupid kickers! At least we had some good seats and saw a great comeback (even though it fell short). Quick notes: Ray Rice is nasty, AP is crazy fast in real life, Favre really is impressive (and yet so underrated- someone should really give him some credit every now and then), and the fans in Minnesota are, except for the idiots behind us, pretty nice. Here’s a look from our seats:

After the game we grabbed some dinner and a few more drinks and headed back to the house where we hatched a genius plot: going to the casino after drinking for 12 straight hours. This has to work out well, right? It actually did for everyone in our group, besides me.

Late Sunday night: The Casino

My blackjack experience paralleled that of the Ravens/Vikings game that I attended earlier in the day: got killed early on, had a huge comeback, but still came up short. The Karma never got off on the right foot in the early stages of the night for me. Karma is the most important thing going for you at blackjack table- it can affect your confidence which can affect the way you play the game. Its just a very powerful part of playing cards, and once someone messes it up, you need to walk away. But through my stubborn (read: intoxicated) state, I decided to ride it out. After all, 21 has its swings that you must endure too, even with good Karma. I got down to my last few chips, finally moved tables (way too late) and lost the rest of my chips. Not to be deterred by temporary setbacks such as this, I reclaimed additional chips and started over at a new table where I actually did pretty well.

Jon and I were playing two hands each and making some decent money, but we were both absolutely exhausted. I was ready to call it a night, but I knew that we couldn’t drag the other members of the group away from the table for at least another hour, so we had to suck it up. As the dealer finished the shoe for about the 15^th time Jon gave me this look like Rudy to the sidelines, asking his coach “WHAT DO I DO?!?”, so I flashed back the inspiring nod/arm wave and give him the old “STAY ON” routine. And stay on we did, long enough for Jon to earn some big time interest on a few borrowed bucks from Spitty. I was still digging out of my original hole, but there was light at the end of the tunnel. That is until Karma killer sat at our table and insisted on playing on of the two hands that Jon had in front of him. I’m telling you, these things really do affect the flow of the game. The winning became less and less frequent until we decided to walk away, Jon up big and me down still from my earlier massacre. Still good solid 5 hour blackjack session that I’ve been needing for quite a while now (Vegas this spring/summer anyone?!)

Highlight of the night for me: I was playing slots with a few long singles that I had left over and I was down to my last pull. I bet my remaining balance (around 60 cents or so) and pull the trigger. Lights start flashing, the machine starts making this insanely loud noise (and keep in mind I’m the only one playing on any of the slots around and there are about 12 people playing blackjack nearby, including Dave and Spitty, so its pretty quiet in the room). Everyone looks over in excitement upon hearing the noise. I look down and notice that my big “winnings” were…… 25 cents. Still, I wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity with flashing lights, big sounds and everyone watching me; I stand up and yell “ I WON!” to which everyone of course asked how much. I yelled “I WON, I WON!” a few more times before finally revealing that it was only a quarter. Everyone got a kick out of that. What a tease that slot machine was. Overall, it was a fun casino outing.

After finally getting to bed after a 16 hour booze/football/gambling bender (and still feeling the effects, by the way) we headed home on Monday afternoon. My total damage for the weekend: 1 Auburn loss, 1 Ravens loss, Phils/Yanks (two teams I hate) closing in on the world series, lost money playing blackjack, extreme exhaustion, but tons of great memories and an overall awesome roadtrip (can you still call it that if you fly?). I love football season.

Like the Ravens, I’m taking a week off (from making picks). I hope you don’t squander your nest egg without my expert advice. At least you know the refs won’t let Florida lose, so go ahead and bet everything on the Gators moneyline this week. Until next time, happy watching.

College Football: Week 7

What's good for the goose is what's good for the gander. So what is the gander? Obviously, its the goose that got the switcheroo pulled on it....... anyone?

Alabama pulled the switcheroo after pollsters voted for the tide to jump Texas to claim the #2 spot in the AP poll. A lot of people are trying to make a big deal out of it, but since they will have to play Florida (assuming) in the SEC Championship Game, Texas is safe as long as they win out. I also expect Texas to reclaim the #2 spot if they can manage a win against Oklahoma this weekend -- big game for both teams.

There is a slew of great games this week. And since I'm short on time (who knew working was so time consuming) and I'm heading to the arctic freeze in Minnesota to go to the Ravens/Vikings game, I'll simply leave you with my picks:

Cincy @ South Florida

Pitt @ Rutgers

Oklahoma @ Texas

Iowa @ Wisconsin

USC @ Notre Dame

Minnesota @ Penn State

VA Tech @ GA Tech

Missouri @ OK State

UGA @ Vandy

MS State @ MTSU

Arkansas @ Florida

UAB @ Ole Miss

Kentucky @ Auburn

South Carolina @ Alabama (in a close one)

College Football: Week 6

Another glorious week of college football has come and gone, filled with more drama and excitement than a Gene Hackman movie. Why Gene Hackman? He is unofficially the actor who has been in the most movies ever. So this week, I am going to compare some teams/players to the corresponding Hackman flick.

Absolute Power - Texas Longhorns/Alabama Crimson Tide

There are a similarities between these two top 3 teams- for starters, neither team has been tested yet. Sure, the Tide had a semi-close game against the Hokies in week one, but they still dominated that game (and VA Tech has looked unbeatable since). Neither Texas nor Alabama have had team closer than 10 points in the final score. Both teams have scored at least 34 points in every game so far. Both teams boast very strong defenses that should enable them to have no problem winning if they can continue to score 34+ points per game. Both teams have four ranked teams left on the schedule, two at home and two on the road (kinda for Texas). There are no games on either teams' schedule that look un-winnable. Alabama and Texas have absolute power in controlling their own destiny, and their march to the BCS Championship Game.

Under Suspicion- LSU Tigers

LSU has looked extremely vulnerable during their 5-0 run to begin the season. Most expected blowouts, even on the road, against Washington and Mississippi State. After squeaking out a win in Athens, LSU will have to prove that it belongs among the elite teams by hanging with the Florida Gators this weekend.

Heartbreakers- Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooner faithful have to be deflated. Most experts and fans thought the Sooners would basically walk into the BCS Championship Game again this year. Losing in week one and losing your Heisman quarterback were bad enough. Losing an out of conference game for your 2nd loss, with Texas, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Texas Tech, and Nebraska still on the schedule- heartbreaking. The Sooners are the only ranked team with two losses- but don't expect a BCS appearance from the consensus #2 team to start the year.

The Replacements - Florida State

Jimbo Fisher better be ready, in a hurry, because it looks like Bobby Bowden's reign is nearing its end in Tallahassee. The 'Noles have suffered an extreme fall from grace over the past few years. Fisher can only hope his replacement players, coaches and philosophy can get FSU back to a national (even though they'd probably settle for state) powerhouse.

Mississippi Burning - Ole Miss Rebels

The Rebels were the #4 team in the nation two weeks ago. This week they will host the #3 team in the country, Alabama. Jevan Snead isn't living up to expectations and the defense hasn't looked like it did in the second half of 2008. A loss this weekend could send the Rebels into a free fall, with a schedule that is not getting any easier.

Enemy of the State - Lane Kiffin

102,000 people can get really, really loud during a football game. During a home loss to Auburn this past weekend, Vols fans weren't loud enough to cause any false start penalties or big miscues on offense for Auburn, but they sure got loud when they booed Jonathan Crompton. The 2nd loudest moment of the night came when Crompton finally completed a pass for a first down after 7 straight incompletions and the crowd sarcastically cheered. The real boos may not have been for Crompton, but for the playcalling and decision by Kiffin to leave Crompton in the game. The Tenneessee fans are quickly losing their temper with Kiffin. The Vols look like they are heading for a losing season and watching bowl games from home. With a lot of seniors graduating, Kiffin is not impressing many people in Knoxville. Expect the boos to continue for a while.

Superman - Tim Tebow

Really, I'm actually doing this? If only Gene Hackman, as Lex Luthor, would have known that the only real kryptonite for Superman was his own player's knee to the back of the head. That would have been much easier than trying elaborate bank heists and joining forces with terrorists in attempts to destroy the Eiffel Tower. Can a concussion really keep Tebow from the biggest game of the year for Florida? Nope.

Heist - Boise State Broncos

As previously discussed on the blog, Boise is well on their way to a BCS Bowl. It is simple robbery with their remaining schedule. They will not be tested again until the post season. We will see if they deserve the high ranking or if they took advantage of the vulnerable polling process.

Postcards from the Edge- Maryland Terrapins

Just when I thought the Terps were one of the worst ten teams in all of D-1A football, they bust out an ACC win over Clemson. I was worried that the Terps were very, very close to the edge after losing to Middle Tennessee State and barely beating D-1AA James Madison. For now, Ralph Friedgen can step back from the edge.

Extreme Measures- Oregon Ducks

After dropping a road game at Boise State in week one, Oregon looks like it might be a contender in the Pac-10. Chip Kelly has realized that his team may need LeGarrette Blount, after all, if they want to keep the train rolling. I'm confused because they lost the only game that he played in- a game which he had negative rushing yards. Yet, there is talk of letting him back on the team? Odd decision to me.

Narrow Margin- Miami Hurricanes

A last second dropped touchdown pass against FSU, a one point victory over Oklahoma: the 'Canes fans better have the defibrillator close by. This team is fighting and clawing its way to respect. Even after an embarrassing display against Virginia Tech, Miami is flirting with the top ten. A win is a win, no matter how ugly. I'm sure Randy Shannon doesn't mind winning by one point, or winning at the last second.

Loose Cannons- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Paul Johnson's offense is capable of dominating a game at times, and at others, not moving the football at all. When the Jackets O is clicking, this team is dangerous.

It was very tempting to use Hoosiers or Crimson Tide to talk about those respective teams, but that was too obvious, and I didn't have anything to say about Indiana football. There were a lot of other good flicks that I had to leave out, because I know you are reading this while at work and you are being unproductive, get back to it! But real quick, here are my predictions for this weekend:

#21 Nebraska @ #24 Missouri (Friday)

Boston College @ #5 VA Tech

Purdue @ Minnesota

#15 OK State @ Texas A&M

Wisconsin @ #9 Ohio State

#13 Oregon @ UCLA

Connecticut @ Pittsburgh

#22 Georgia Tech @ Florida State

Michigan @ #12 Iowa

Georgia @ Tennessee

Vanderbilt @ Army

#17 Auburn @ Arkansas

Kentucky @ #25 South Carolina

Houston @ Mississippi State

#3 Alabama @ #20 Ole Miss

#1 Florida @ #4 LSU

Okay, one more:

Get Shorty - Nick Saban

Get it? He's short.

Quick Sunday Morning Thoughts

-AJ Green is the best receiver in the SEC, one of the best in the nation

-Speaking of receivers, a guy that pretty much no one knows about, Eric Decker from Minnesota, is putting up ridiculous stats. The guy is good- look him up

-Charlie Weis is awful. No more than two years left at ND

-Lou Holtz needs to be told to quit being the biggest Notre Dame homer ever on the air at ESPN. If I have to listen to him tell me how good ND is after they barely beat Washington, at home, I might lose it

-LSU continued its mediocrity with a narrow road win in Athens. The Tigers look very vulnerable and will most likely be exposed when the Gators come to town next weekend

-If Oklahoma is still ranked, the AP Poll needs to be gone. There are enough zero and one loss teams that deserve to be ranked, yet the Sooners will probably still be in the 20's

-- And now its Sunday, time for some NFL. Speaking of NFL, the 2010 draft will probably be one of the better draft classes in a long time

Happy Watching

College Football Week 5 Preview

Hard to believe its already week five of college football. There has already been a great deal of shakeups in the polls and some dramatic injuries to key players. A few teams will be looking ahead to next week when we will see some marquee match ups across the nation (Florida @ LSU, Michigan @ Iowa, Alabama @ Ole Miss). But this week should give us a few good games as well. Here is what I'll be watching:

Pittsburgh @ Louisville: the Big East continues to be less and less impressive. I think Pittsburgh has the potential to dominate that league but they aren't quite there yet. Still think they beat Louisville.

Michigan @ Michigan State: the Wolverines are hot right now. Tate Forcier (and the rest of the young Wolverines) haven't played an away game yet- so this will be a mental test, but Michigan should win this one.

Wisconsin @ Minnesota: the Gophers are much improved from the previous decade, but still lack the overall talent and depth to hang with the big boys of the Big-11 (if you can call Wisconsin a big boy). Badgers beat the Gophs.

Clemson @ Maryland: sad to say, but the Terps have to be one of the worst 10 teams in division 1-A football. Clemson wins big.

Alabama @ Kentucky: do I really need to say anything about this one? Bama big.

LSU @ Georgia: this game is very, very important to both teams. Neither can afford to lose a conference game this early. Is LSU looking ahead to Florida next week? Probably not- I think they are out to prove that they deserve that #4 ranking. Solid road win for the Bayou Bengals.

--- Scary that I've picked all road teams so far, that's never a good sign.......

Washington @ Notre Dame: the Huskies got too much credit for a bad Trojan habit. Jimmy Clausen, the ostrich, has a big game and leads the Irish to victory (and a win for the home team, whew!)

Florida State @ Boston College: snoozer. I don't know why ESPN College Gameday is going there. I couldn't really care less about this meaningless game- but hey why not go with the noles to complete the self destruction- BC wins.

South Carolina State @ South Carolina: for my dedicated readers/ hardcore Gamecock fans- I really hope you guys don't play down to ScarSt's level in this one. You're almost ranked now, hang in there and win big this week.

Georgia Tech @ Mississippi State: Tech should struggle in this one- Miss State has shown a lot of improvement under Dan Mullen (almost knocked off LSU last week). I think the Bulldogs figure out how to shut down Tech's option attack and come away with a solid victory.

Auburn @ Tennessee: Auburn will face its first road test and the best defense it has opposed this year. This battle will be won in the trenches, with both teams stacking the box. Auburn's secondary vs. Jonathan Crompton and Chris Todd vs. Eric Berry- I think we'll see 6 combined interceptions this week. Get ready for the turnover battle to begin! Auburn is young in a lot of positions and Todd didn't play well on the road last year. I have to give the edge to the Vols.

USC @ California: Cal has to be happy that they are playing back at home since they don't even bother showing up on the road. USC should be re-focused on being an elite team. The Stafon Johnson incident will probably give them something extra to play for this weekend (as if the Trojans need it). USC wins on the road.

Oklahoma @ Miami: the Sooner offense, sans Bradford, appears to be coming together. They aren't the OU offense of 2008, but they should be able to outscore the 'Canes.

While there are some quality games this week- I am glad I'm not coaching or playing this week, because I'm definitely looking forward to next week already. The top 5 will be shaken big time in the next two weeks, guaranteed.

Happy Watching.