I kept a watch out for all eight teams who were undefeated entering last weekend’s football games. And as N.C. State, Virginia Tech and Georgia played follow the leader to Notre Dame, I smiled.
The Notre Dame loss was more beautiful than I imagined it. The day would have been complete had Nebraska decided to kick a field goal with 16 seconds left to send the game to overtime with Texas rather than THROWING AN INTERCEPTION! But it’s OK, Texas lost a few weeks ago.
It was a great day in college athletics, and it has stirred a lot of controversy, starting with Ohio State relieving Miami of the No. 2 spot in the Bowl Championship Series poll. WHAT A CROCK!
Miami at Tennessee
Miami has started slow in its last few games after forcing its first five opponents into submission. But think about it, if you knew you played for the best team in the country, would you get pumped up for games against Rutgers? Think about it.
Nevertheless, the Hurricanes should start playing like they are the best, because the central question in college football asks, “What have you done for me lately?” The pollsters don’t care if they’ve won 30-straight. They care about what they did last week, and that wasn’t pretty.
This game was supposed to be THE game of the 2002 college football season at the commencement of the year. But that large thud you’ve been hearing the last few months is the sound of the Tennessee flop. The Volunteers ruined what could have been a huge game with BCS implications.
This still can be a good game, but Tennessee will have to play its best game of the season. Casey Clausen will have nowhere to throw the ball, so it will be left up to Cedric Houston and the Vols’ offensive line to carry the load. But it really doesn’t matter, Miami had its let down last week.
Miami 31 Tennessee 17
Ole Miss at Georgia
I am very interested in this game. The last time we saw the Bulldogs they were limping off the field with their tails tucked between their legs.
An important question to ask is, “Did the Bulldogs lose their swagger?” But seriously, I don’t know if Georgia ever had a swagger.
Ole Miss knows it has a chance to win this game. A win would bring the Rebels to .500 in the Southeastern Conference and make them bowl eligible.
The ‘Dogs have home-field advantage and future All-SEC defensive end David Pollack, so they get the nod.
Georgia 28 Ole Miss 24
Arkansas at South Carolina
This is a big game for both teams. Whichever school wins the game will become bowl eligible and will remain in the upper half of their respective division within the SEC.
The Hogs rank first in the SEC and 10th in the country with 246.9 rushing yards per game, and South Carolina has not defended against the run very well this season.
Razorback free safety Ken Hamlin is one of the better defensive players in the league, but the Arkansas secondary is giving up way too many big plays. Expect USC quarterback Corey Jenkins to have his best passing day of the season.
Most think this game will be low scoring, but for some reason I don’t. Arkansas will establish a powerful running game and will run away with the victory.
Arkansas 33 South Carolina 20
Mississippi State at Alabama
The Tide will dominate this game in the trenches. State will get a lot of pressure on Tyler Watts, but the stable of ‘Bama backs will run all day on the porous Bulldog run defense.
Like usual, the Bulldogs will get absolutely no momentum on offense, and they will have their worst game of the season. And based on their previous eight games — 3-5, 0-4 SEC — that is a very, very bad thing.
Alabama 45 Mississippi State 6
Florida at Vanderbilt
The Gators did not allow Georgia to convert one third down play last week. That is good.
Vanderbilt, during the past few decades, has played like its nickname is the Commodes instead of the Commodores. I mean come on, Vandy is terrible. I feel sorry that Florida has to waste its time and finances on travelling up to Nashville, Tenn. If Vandy didn’t raise the SEC’s GPA by two points, I would want them out of our league.
Florida 51 Vanderbilt 13
Notre Dame at Navy
Did anybody watch Boston College beat Notre Dame last week? Did you throw a party? Did you want to go out and celebrate? I did all of the above.
I finally realized what I was doing wrong. By constantly picking Notre Dame to lose, that dang leprechaun kept giving the French-Irish boys a lucky clover. By picking them to win, he had no motivation.
Here we go again. Navy has not beaten Notre Dame since 1963, and even then it took a marvelous performance by Heisman trophy winner Roger Staubach to pull it off.
These two teams have played every year since 1927, making it the longest continuous rivalry in the nation. That means Notre Dame has won 39-straight games over Navy. Maybe the Irish will actually show a little offense this week. Ooh, exciting.
Notre Dame 27 Navy 6