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I just don't have the heart to do recaps this week, gang. Still very drained and upset. However, Bama has a couple of weeks against lesser but still halfway-decent opponents (Houston, Ole Miss) before the annual showdown against Tennessee. Hopefully plenty of time for our offense to rediscover itself.

Anyway, here are the week's standings. It ain't pretty.

Ultra Jorge: 7-3 (.700)
Blockade Boy: 6-4 (.600)
Lard Lad: 6-4 (.600)
Vee: 5-5 (.500)
Cobalt Kid: 4-6 (.400)
Kid Prime: 4-6 (.400)

Man, my picks stunk.

Interestingly, we had an overall single winner each week (Kid Prime, Blockade Boy, Ultra Jorge.) Will this trend continue? Here are the overall standings.

Blockade Boy: 20-10 (.667)
Ultra Jorge: 13-7 (.650)
Vee: 18-12 (.600)
Kid Prime: 17-13 (.567)
Lard Lad: 16-14 (.533)
Cobalt Kid: 15-15 (.500)

And here are the potential games for this week. As always, let me know if you would rather see any other games on the list, though for this week, most of these matchups are pretty great.

#8 Kentucky at #11 South Carolina
Georgia Tech at Maryland
#25 Nebraska at #17 Missouri
#12 Georgia at Tennessee
#20 Cincinatti at #21 Rutgers
#15 Virginia Tech at #22 Clemson
#10 Oklahoma at #19 Texas
Oklahoma State at Texas A&M
#9 Florida at #1 LSU
#4 Ohio State at #23 Purdue

Alternates:
Kansas at #24 Kansas State
Vanderbilt at Auburn

Yay, I'm outta the cellar!

Oh well, that Clemson loss still hurts, though...

Man, I'm doing terrible

I actually was at a wedding all day Sat and missed just about every game. I'm shocked at all the upsets. One of the oddest weeks ever in college football! All I caught was the ND game and it pretty much broke my heart to see them decimated like that again.

Can't believe how poorly I did and that I'm in last place! Oh well...

I'm a bit too burnt out from work and stuff to recap, and like I said, I missed all the games but ND, Boise State and West Virginia.

I have a cool story about how I visited Oklahoma U's stadium on Friday, but now I feel like I was bad luck . Still, it was really cool. All of Oklahoma is in shut-down in preperation for Texas, but they were looking too far ahead, and forgot they still had one more game to play.

I like the picks you've got up there Kippers, rather than the alternates.

PF - UCONN is 5-0!!!!!!

Folks, let's put it this way. This is the first time I've ever led a pick'em game,

ever.



We are sorry pickers but we are Legion!

So, whatever I pick for G-Tech, you all should pick the opposite because that's the way that's been rolling. Alma Maters are so difficult. Speaking of, my other, Purdue University (Undue Purversity, where men are men, women are too and sheep are scared, is playing Ohio St.

THE Ohio St, which pounded a Washington that gave USC more game than they wanted. THE Purdue, which almost blew it against the hapless Irish of ND.

That was fun to type. I'll do it again.

the hapless Irish of ND, ~snicker~


Anyhow, as for the next set of games, that's a good set. Lot's of tough picks in there.

My alma mater is USF. I feel good. I'm actually a bigger UF fan and am a bit sad about that.

MAN! That IS gonna be a tough week to pick! I can see me going under .500 after all is said and done, easily.

Very tough but those look like good choices to me too. Let's go with them.

So let it be written, so let it be done...

Here are the games for this week's round!

#8 Kentucky at #11 South Carolina - THURSDAY
Georgia Tech at Maryland
#25 Nebraska at #17 Missouri
#12 Georgia at Tennessee
#20 Cincinatti at #21 Rutgers
#15 Virginia Tech at #22 Clemson
#10 Oklahoma at #19 Texas
Oklahoma State at Texas A&M
#9 Florida at #1 LSU
#4 Ohio State at #23 Purdue

Let the carnage begin!

#8 Kentucky at #11 South Carolina: SC
Georgia Tech at Maryland: GT
#25 Nebraska at #17 Missouri: Missouri
#12 Georgia at Tennessee: GA
#20 Cincinatti at #21 Rutgers: Rutgers
#15 Virginia Tech at #22 Clemson: Clemson
#10 Oklahoma at #19 Texas: Oklahoma
Oklahoma State at Texas A&M: Oklahoma St.
#9 Florida at #1 LSU: FLFLFLFLFLFLFLFLFLFLFLFLFL
#4 Ohio State at #23 Purdue: duh Ohio State

Well, here goes nuthin'!:

#8 Kentucky at #11 South Carolina (SC)
Georgia Tech at Maryland (GT)
#25 Nebraska at #17 Missouri (Mizz)
#12 Georgia at Tennessee (GA)
#20 Cincinatti at #21 Rutgers (Rut)
#15 Virginia Tech at #22 Clemson (Clem)
#10 Oklahoma at #19 Texas (OK)
Oklahoma State at Texas A&M (A&M)
#9 Florida at #1 LSU (LSU)
#4 Ohio State at #23 Purdue (OS)

Not confident at all!

#8 Kentucky at #11 South Carolina - SC
Georgia Tech at Maryland - Georgia Tech
#25 Nebraska at #17 Missouri - Missouri
#12 Georgia at Tennessee - Georgia
#20 Cincinatti at #21 Rutgers - Rutgers
#15 Virginia Tech at #22 Clemson - Clemson
#10 Oklahoma at #19 Texas - Texas
Oklahoma State at Texas A&M - Texas A&M
#9 Florida at #1 LSU - LSU
#4 Ohio State at #23 Purdue - Ohio State

#8 Kentucky at #11 South Carolina - South Carolina
Georgia Tech at Maryland - Georgia Tech
#25 Nebraska at #17 Missouri - Missouri
#12 Georgia at Tennessee - Georgia
#20 Cincinatti at #21 Rutgers - Rutgers (c'mon boys!)
#15 Virginia Tech at #22 Clemson - Virginia Tech
#10 Oklahoma at #19 Texas - Okalahoma
Oklahoma State at Texas A&M - Texas A&M
#9 Florida at #1 LSU - LSU
#4 Ohio State at #23 Purdue - Ohio State

So I was in Oklahoma all last week and had some hours to myself finally, so I went and checked out OU's campus. I love college campuses and really miss them this time of the year still. I could have been an undergrad forever and been happy.

Anyway, how should I put the OU/Texas rivalry? OK: basically, all of Oklahoma shuts down for the entire week. Even though OU had a different opponent last Sat, they were looking too far ahead and I think that hurt them. Kids were already wearing their 'beat Texas' t-shirts.

But man, its so electrifying! It doesn't get much more real than this for college rivalries. OU dominated this rivalry a few years ago, when they won the National Championship, but Texas has had complete control of it the last three years or so. I'm hoping OU can turn the tide here. Let's go Sooners!

As for OSU and Texas A&M, though I have a loyalty for Oklahoma because I know so many people there, I can't help but stick by the Aggies. As I've mentioned I have a friend that went to A&M (actually just graduated) and I love their traditions (re: cult-like loyalty ).

#8 Kentucky at #11 South Carolina: Wow, I really think this game is a tossup. Kentucky has gaudy offensive numbers and a strong Heisman candidate at QB, but they have not been challenged defensively this year. South Carolina has a very strong defense, and the offense seems to be doing better under Smelley at QB. Another huge test for undefeated Kentucky. Two great coaches building programs. My head says South Carolina, but my heart says Kentucky. I gotta go with my heart.

Winner - Kentucky

Georgia Tech at Maryland: Both had a big upset win last week, but who looks better at this point? I think Maryland's win over Rutgers is notable. They really figured out how to beat them with X and O's, shutting down Ray Rice and their offense. GT plays pretty good defense too, but I honestly think Maryland is a bit better than they have shown this year, and the Rutgers win underscores that.

Winner - Maryland

#25 Nebraska at #17 Missouri: Missouri has had a series of not very notable wins against unspectacular opposition. Nebraska, on the other hand, lost in spectacular fashion to USC and nearly lost at home to Ball State. Honestly, I think Missouri is going to get exposed in the upcoming weeks, but not at home against this lackluster Nebraska team.

Winner - Missouri

#12 Georgia at Tennessee: Knoxville is Georgia's playground. This year will be no different.

Winner - Georgia

#20 Cincinatti at #21 Rutgers: Cincinatti has put up a gaudy 5-0 record playing nobody. Rutgers was untested as well until last week, when they totally fell apart against a Maryland team that was tougher on both sides of the ball. Rutgers is also looking for revenge against Cincinatti, who closed the storybook season of theirs last year. Another toss-up, maybe. I think Cincinatti has looked more impressive.

Winner - Cincinatti

#15 Virginia Tech at #22 Clemson: VT barely beat UNC last week. UNC is HORRIBLE. Clemson barely lost to GT last week. GT is pretty good. The fact that Clemson only managed to put up 3 pts. against GT does give pause, but given that their offensive production prior to last week's game has been mighty impressive (including a 21-point single quarter blitzing of a FSU defense that I can tell you is freakin' scary) I gotta go with them.

Winner - Clemson

#10 Oklahoma at #19 Texas: Sorry, Vu. There's just no way.

Winner - Oklahoma

Oklahoma State at Texas A&M: Francione is being burned in effigy at A&M even as we speak, while Gundy is being hailed as a folk hero for being a man and being 40. Even though I have no doubt that the Aggies will indeed come after him, I think OSU will prevail. I just hope that the columnist who wrote this prediction (me) doesn't turn out to be, well, garbage.

Winner - Oklahoma State

#9 Florida at #1 LSU: Florida's weakness have been exposed over the last two weeks in a tough win against a 1-4 Ole Miss team and a statement loss last week against They-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. LSU will exploit these weaknesses.

Winner - LSU

#4 Ohio State at #23 Purdue: This could be a potential sexy upset pick. However, if the 21'st century in college football has shown us anything, it is that Jim Tressel is perhaps the most dependable coach today in winning the games he's supposed to win.

Winner - Ohio State

South Carolina
Georgia Tech
Missouri
Georgia
Cincinatti
Clemson
Oklahoma
Texas A&M
LSU
Ohio State

Vee... ouch! I'm sorry, man.

One comment for Saturday night:

LSU-Florida: SPECTACULAR.

Talk about carnage! You know you're in trouble when you can't be sure exactly who you picked to win most of these games. I found myself going back and forth to the computer to see which team I had finally settled on for each game...never a good sign but proof that this was a very tough week in College Football. In any case, here's my Sunday Morning Recap....


(8) Kentucky 23 Final
(11) South Carolina 38

This was the first time these two teams have faced each other as ranked opponents and the Kentucky Wildcats sure had enough reasons to be fired up for this contest. Spurrier has a way of getting under everyone's skin and he's been doing so to the Wildcats since last year. Stevieboy had a 14-0 record against Kentucky going into this game and he made sure the Wildcats knew it. Whatever the reason, Kentucky was out of sync for much of this game, making mistake after mistake against a team that punishes you for them. In the end, the interceptions, fumbles, & muffed laterals did in a talented Kentucky team.


Georgia Tech 26 Final
Maryland 28

The Maryland Terps are turning into the "surprise" team of the ACC. And it's not because they're that good, although I think they are better than many (including me) have given them credit for this year. They struggled in their wins against Villanova and Florida International early in the season and followed that up with losses to West Virginia & Wake Forest. But last week they beat #10 Rutgers in Piscataway and followed it up this week by taking down Georgia Tech, a very talented team that can't seem to get it's act together. Upcoming opponents of the Terps had better take them seriously because on any given weekend they seem to be able to play the role of spoiler.


(25) Nebraska 6 Final
(17) Missouri 41

Talk about a statement game. Missouri came into this game with something to prove. One of the few remaining undefeated teams in the country, yet they've gotten little or no respect from the pundits. Nebraska on the other hand, has lingered in the Top 25 on reputation alone. Missouri handled the Cornhuskers easily, allowing them only 2 field goals during the game. But now that they're on the radar, Mizzou will need to be ready to play every weekend from here on out if they hope to make it to a top tier bowl. Just about every game from here on out this season is a must win conference match up against Big 12 teams at least as talented as this Tigers team. Should make for an interesting run.


(12) Georgia 14 Final
Tennessee 35

This game just proves that I may never be able to figure out the SEC. Everything pointed to a Georgia rout over a struggling Vols team. Yes, it was in Knoxville but that hasn't been much of an issue for the Bulldogs in the recent past. And this is a potent Georgia team. So what happens? Tennessee takes Georgia to the woodshed. The Bulldogs never even crossed the 50 yard line until the third quarter and by then it was way too late. In the meantime the Volunteers could do no wrong. They scored on 4 of their first 5 possessions and showed that they really do have a potent running game. My only consolation? Everyone else guessed wrong on this one also


(20) Cincinnati 28 Final
(21) Rutgers 23

Looks like the Scarlet Knights stay in the Top 25 has ended...for now. I still think they have a shot at winning the Big East but it will take some very hard work to do so. I'm not sure if Rutgers was still reeling from the upset loss to Maryland last week but they certainly seemed to not be at 100%. Heisman candidate Rice could not get his running game going and QB Teel made some very poor decisions on top of being off target for much of the game. On the other hand, Cincy showed that they were ready to prove themselves worthy of a Top 25 ranking. They did a great job containing Rice, holding him to just 94 yards on 34 carries and kept Teel off balance for much of the game. Rutgers had a chance to pull this out late in the 4th quarter, driving down field from their own 20 to the Bearcats 17 yard line. But Bearcats linebacker Ryan Manalac stepped in front of a Teel pass to Rutgers Tim Brown and intercepted the ball, ending the Scarlet Knights' hope for a last minute comeback victory.


(15) Virginia Tech 41 Final
(22) Clemson 23

Grats to Cobie for being the only one who thought VTech could go into Clemson and pull out a win. And it wasn't even close. Beamer Ball was in full force yesterday as the Hokies returned a punt for a TD, an interception for a TD and a kick off for a TD. This was a VA Tech team that looked more like the Hokies of the past few years than the team that has been on the field this year. Although their offense sputtered a bit, it didn't matter all that much with their special teams providing 21 points. The Hokies defense also played tough, holding the Clemson tandem of running backs ~ Davis & Spiller to a combined total of 12 yards on 12 cariies...that's right 12 yards. With the lackluster play this year by just about everyone in the ACC except for Virginia and BC, the Hokies could end up winning the title once more. Their game against BC on October 25 could very well be a prelude to the ACC championship outcome.


(10) Oklahoma 28 Final
(19) Texas 21

Oklahoma could only muster one touchdown per quarter in this years' Red River Shoot Out but it proved to be enough against the Longhorns. To be fair, Texas was no patsy. They kept coming back and coming back to tie up the game but each time, Sooners QB Bradford managed to pull off a TD pass to put the Sooners back in the lead. Even in the 4th quarter, Texas had four chances to tie the game again but came up short each time. Both of these teams still have a chance of winning the Big 12 South Division but the Sooners have the edge now.


Oklahoma St. 23 Final
Texas A&M 24

This was one of the games I most wanted to watch this weekend. Unfortunately, it wasn't shown here at all. From the looks of it, the Cowboys were in control for much of the early game but the Aggies managed to come storming back in the 2nd half, finally taking the lead for good with 8 minutes left to play in the game. Still, the Cowboys managed to drive down the field again before they stalled out on the Aggies' 8 yard line. A penalty forced them back and they had to settle for a field goal instead of a go ahead touchdown with only 3 minutes remaining. On the Aggies next possession, the Cowboys held them and forced a punt but were called for roughing the kicker which gave the Aggies another set of downs and the chance to run out the clock.


(9) Florida 24 Final
(1) LSU 28

Boy, oh boy! What a great game. For most of this game LSU seemed to be on the defensive, trying desperately to contain Tebow, who lead the Gators to three 10 point leads during the game. But the #1 ranked Tigers proved they deserved the top ranking by pulling out a win against a very potent Gators team. And it took them all game to get there, finally going ahead with only a minute remaining. Both teams deserve kudos for a well played, hard fought game. If Tigers coach Les Miles were less of a gambler this could easily have gone the other way. Great game!


(4) Ohio St. 23 Final
(23) Purdue 7

Wasn't able to see this game either but it appears OSU was pretty much in control for the entire game. Purdue, who came into the game averaging 45 points and almost 500 yards per game, were forced to punt a school record 12 times and managed only 4 rushing yards the entire game and 272 total yards. OSU would have shut them out had the Boilermakers not managed to sneak into the endzone on their last possession with just 10 seconds left in the game. This victory certainly thrusts Ohio State into the National Championship picture, although they have barely been tested all season. With victories over the likes of Youngstown, Northwestern, Akron and Minnesota their 6-0 record is hardly all that impressive. Even their victory over Washington has lost some of its luster given the Huskies disappointing results this year. However, with the Big 10 as weak as it appears this year, OSU could well be on their way to another shot at the Championship...if they can get past Illinois on Nov 10th.


One final thought, this will be the second week in a row in which the Top 25 is turned on it's ear. With #2 USC losing to Sanford, #5 Wisconsin falling to the unranked Illini, #8 Kentucky faltering against the #11 Gamecocks, #9 Florida losing a heartbreaker against #1 LSU, and #12 Georgia losing to Tennessee the new poll will be radically different. All in all, this has been a very fun, nerve wracking, topsy turvy year and from the looks of things, there are plenty more surprises ahead.

Thanks KP. Kyle Wright continues to disappoint me. Just wish Kirby Freeman were furhter along in his development so he could take over at QB again but he still has a way to go. The sad thing is that Kyle is a very talented QB. He has flashes of brilliance but also makes many very poor decisions in the heat of the game. And you simply can't afford to make those mistakes when you wear a Hurricane uniform. Every opponent is always going to be "up" when they are playing the Canes whether we're rebuilding or at the top of our game.

The Week 7 Polls are out...


AP Top 25
1. LSU (65)
2. California
3. Ohio State
4. Boston College
5. South Florida
6. Oklahoma
7. South Carolina
8. West Virginia
9. Oregon
10. USC
11. Missouri
12. Virginia Tech
13. Florida
14. Arizona State
15. Cincinnati
16. Hawaii
17. Kentucky
18. Illinois
19. Wisconsin
20. Kansas
21. Florida State
22. Auburn
23. Texas
24. Georgia
25. Tennessee


USA Today
1. LSU (58)
2. California
3. Ohio State (2)
4. Boston College
5. South Florida
5. Oklahoma
7. USC
8. Oregon
9. West Virginia
10. Virginia Tech
11. Missouri
12. South Carolina
13. Arizona State
14. Florida
15. Wisconsin
16. Hawaii
17. Cincinnati
18. Kentucky
19. Illinois
20. Kansas
21. Florida State
22. Texas
23. Georgia
24. Purdue
25. Auburn

I feel the same way about our opponents, and I'm sure Cobie feels the same way too. Price of success, or at least notoriety, I guess.

I think I scored negative points on my picks this week.

Wow, wow, wow, wow.

What a great—nay, AWESOME—weekend for College Football! And I finally had nothing to do again on a Sat and could enjoy the games all day. Here’s what I was able to watch:

Wisconsin vs. Illinois – usually I try not to root for the underdog *every* time, because it just feels so cliché. But I couldn’t help but root for Illinois, and they did not let me down. Talk about a team playing their hearts out! Everything was clicking: defense, passing, rushing, special teams. Wisconsin looked dazed and confused at times on the field. Great game to start the day! And at the same time, I was flipping too…

Kansas vs. Kansas State – which was another hella-great game! Right on down to the final minutes, this cross-state rivalry was ferocious. One team ranked and a contender, the other unranked and pretty lacking of the respect an undefeated team deserves, but both generally hating each other enough to keep the Kansas Bowl entertaining.

Oklahoma vs. Texas – this was the game I waited all week to see above all others and I was not let down. Texas really scared the bejeesus out of me though, and it didn’t look good at times, but that is a tribute to how good Texas is. But as I thought, OK is just a little bit better, and they proved it with their ultra-aggressive defense and killer offense for a great, great game. This is in my top 5 favorite rivalries in sports.

Texas A&M vs. OK State – I missed a good portion of this game as I was glued to the OK vs. TX game which was going on at the same time, but it kept me pleased to know that across the OK/TX border there were fights breaking out a variety of reasons! Still, I had A&M in this one because I really love the cult-like mindset there, and the highlights showed them coming through. The back and forth scores though definitely led me to think this had to be a great game.

USC vs. Stanford – as Sat moved to the evening hours and Cobie found himself gallivanting around the social bar scene, imagine my surprise when I looked up at the LSU/FL game to see the little box score that said…STANFORD BEAT USC! Yes! Talk about an underdog! I think they were like 41 points down in the spread or something! This might be the biggest upset of the year, moreso than Appalachian State over Michigan. What a great year its been so far!

LSU vs. Florida – but of all the games of the day, this was probably the best one, and I’m glad it was saved for last. LSU has impressed me so much this year that I was rooting for them, but Florida not only made it a game, they came so close to a win that the fans in Louisiana had to be freaking out. All the things that supposedly make LSU unbeatable (night game, home field advantage, etc.) didn’t seem to apply here—it was an old fashioned powerhouse vs powerhouse match-up. Down to the very end of the game. Just…wow. Awesome game.

Other thoughts on games I missed:

- Nebraska, whom I thought would be good this season, just doesn’t seem to have it. I picked Missouri over them and am glad I did.

- Kentucky looked kinda rough on Thursday night. Andre Woodson looked sloppy at times and I know he’s a better player than that.

- Can’t believe Rutgers lost. THAT SUCKS! I guess that if they can’t be a top 10 team, then I have to hope they can lose to UCONN for the Big East championship

- Ohio State, half-way into the season, has pretty much proven that once again, you can never count them out when it comes to rounding up who the best teams in college football are. So many pundits and writers want to exclude them at the beginning of every season when there is even a hint that they are ‘rebuilding’…and now look stupid for doing so.

- Notre Dame…they didn’t even show this game here because ND’s record has been so bad…but yeah. Just yeah . Its about time! And UCLA is not a pushover. Good for the Fighting Irish. If they could pull off an upset on BC, they can at least try and balance their record this season to regain some integrity…

- Louisville…I can’t believe another loss. Not a good past few weeks for Louisville…

- Re: the Polls. Sometimes I think the pollsters just don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.

- I definitely feel you Vee. Like KP said, everyone is up for ND when they play them no matter how good they are. I have friends at Penn State who consider ND their biggest enemy, yet I’ve never given Penn State a second thought as a rival for ND (I’m more concerned with hating on Michigan and Michigan State).

I HATE THE SOONERS.

(Still a but numb from the game.)

I personally think the LSU/FL game was the championship game. I just think those are the two best teams in college football.