By Aaron M Smith
Week 10 in the college football brought us the game of season, a great escape by Oklahoma State, and several upsets (see Nebraska and Arizona State). So in Week 11, what does college football do for an encore? Like any great night out with friends, there is always the dreaded next day – the hangover. That being said, Week 11 is the Hangover weekend – let’s see which game is the Bloody Mary that gets us back on the horse:
W. Kentucky vs. LSU (#1 PSCFP):
After winning the defensive battle with Alabama, the Tigers couldn’t ask for a better game. At home, against an overmatched Western Kentucky, Les Miles has to make sure that his team doesn’t suffer a let down. Plus the Tigers will need to get better offensive production as they hold on to the #1 spot in the poll. Saturday’s game should be a start in the right direction. LSU wins 34-7.
Oklahoma State (#2 PSCFP) vs. Texas Tech:
Hopefully, Oklahoma State was taking notes two weeks ago when Texas Tech went into Norman and upset a then undefeated Oklahoma Sooners. The Cowboys needed a Heisman-like effort from Brandon Weeden (502 yards and 4 TDs) last week to get past Kansas State, but in order for the Cowboys to stay in the National Championship hunt, their defense will need to show up one of these weeks. Don’t expect it to be against Texas Tech, as both of the quarterbacks in this game have combined for 50 TDs in 2011. This will be another shootout for the Cowboys. Oklahoma State wins 38-35.
Alabama (#5 PSCFP) vs. Mississippi State:
A perfect hangover game for Alabama. While their National Championship hopes took a huge hit, the Crimson Tide need to recover from a loss that featured 4 missed field goals and a red zone interception. Trent Richardson should be featured in this game, as the Bulldogs feature a defense that gives up 161.2 yards on the ground per game. Alabama wins 31-3.
Oregon (#6 PSCFP) vs. Stanford (#3 PSCFP):
The first team to 50 in this track meet wins. Both teams feature a high powered offense with contrasting styles. The Ducks feature a full throttle, no-huddle offense that tries to wear teams down. The Cardinals feature an offense built on power and precision. The game features Heisman candidates on both teams – LaMichael James and Andrew Luck. Look for the Cardinals to rely on running back Stepfan Taylor to slow this game down. Luck will be without one his favorite targets, Chris Owusu who has been ruled out of this game. This game has upset written all over it. Oregon in the upset, 41-38.
TCU vs. Boise State (#4 PSCFP):
A rivalry game of sorts. Boise State has been sluggish in its last two games (Air Force and UNLV). The Broncos will have to avoid a slow start against a young, but dangerous, Horned Frogs team. This game is for first place in the MWC, and Boise State must win to keep their National Championship hopes alive. The Broncos may be without star running back, Doug Martin who is day to day with a leg injury. In the end, Boise State is tough to beat on the blue field. Boise State wins 24-14.
Nebraska vs. Penn State (#13 PSCFP):
Emotions will be at an all-time high as the Post Paterno era begins. How will the Nittany Lions react to an emotional week that was capped off with the loss of their beloved leader? Nebraska is coming off a disappointing loss to Northwestern and will be looking to rebound. Expect this to be a low scoring affair, as both teams do not feature a high-powered offense. Emotion will rule the day and in the end – carry the Nittany Lions. Penn State wins 17-14.
Auburn vs. Georgia (#14 PSCFP):
A red-hot Bulldog team will try to take a commanding lead in the SEC East division. To do that, they must get by the defending National Champions, Auburn. To help them, Georgia gets a huge boost with the return of running backs Isaiah Crowell and Carlton Thomas fresh off one-game suspensions. Mix their return with a Tiger defense that gives up 185.7 yards on the ground, and it could be one big headache for Auburn. Georgia wins, 35-21.
Washington vs. USC (#15 PSCFP):
Another PAC-12 track meet. The second game this week that features quarterbacks, Keith Price and Matt Barkley, who have thrown for 50+ TDs combined. Barkley will try to continue his hot play, and build off his 6 TD performance in last week’s win over Colorado. For the Huskies to be successful this week, they will have to get running back Chris Polk going, and keep the pressure off Keith Price (sacked 6 times last week). The Huskies are 0-3 in games against ranked teams in 2011. Expect that to continue. USC wins 37-28.
Maryland vs. Notre Dame:
The battle of the uniforms. Notre Dame will unleash their Shamrock helmets for the second time this year. Maryland, well who knows which state flag they will be wearing. This is a struggling Maryland team that comes into South Bend. Like last week, the Fighting Irish will start with Cierre Woods and Jonas Gray, only to finish with Tommy Rees and Michael Floyd. Notre Dame wins 35-7.
Have a game you wish to discuss? Have a prediction? Let’s hear it on the Pine.
The ND-Maryland game is one of ND’s “barnstorming” games and is actually being played in Maryland with Notre Dame technically serving as the home team.
Brett, thanks for catching that. I didn’t pick up on that in my review of the games. I don’t think it changes my opinion of the outcome, but that is great catch.
Welcome to the Pine!
I hope you’re wrong with the Oregon upset. I’d really like to see Stanford stay undefeated and have them and LSU in the championship game. I’m thinking OK State will drop a game, probably against the Sooners. Or, have everyone lose and have all these viable 1-loss teams. Sort that out, BCS.
While I appreciate Rey’s “Sort that out, BCS” sentiment, I’d really love to see LSU lose (maybe in the SEC championship?) and have a Stanford-Oklahoma St championship. Actually, I’d really like to see Boise St-Stanford, but I doubt that’s gonna happen.
I also think Penn State’s either going to play awesome or terrible this weekend. I wonder what to make of the coaching situation. Is Galen Hall going to be on the sidelines, with McQueary absent, or is he going to send plays down to someone else? Is Tom Bradley going to take on both the role of head coach and defensive coordinator? Could create some chaos. I guess we’ll see.
I like your thinking Chas. Let’s have Arkansas beat LSU. Sooners beat Cowboys. Oregon beats Stanford. We’ll truly have a BCmesS! Of course there are conference championship games, but whatever. You get the point.
PSU and Nebraska will BOTH be emotional; I suspect the result will be an error-filled, high scoring contest. I agree with you Smitty, PSU will prevail. I agree with you Chas; either they play great or terrible. There will be no middle of the road for PSU this day.
I agree with Smitty again; Oregon over Stanford. I am rooting the other way, but I believe Oregon may be 1 of the top 4 teams in the country. Stanford is not one of the others. For this reason I find it hard to see this as an “upset”. A win here and I believe Oregonestablishes itself as the better candidate to get a rematch with LSU than is Alabama. Oregon put up 27 points against the vaunted Tigers defense. Alabama put up 3. If a one loss team is in the championship, I say let it be the Ducks! I heard an interesting “plan” the other day; no team from an AQ conference should play in the championship game if they have not automatically qualified. BTW, Boise will go undefeated and Ok St will lose to OU – IMO! Furthermore, the pollsters will NOT let Boise in that championship game.
So….who are my 4 best teams in the country? They are not necessarily my 4 top ranked teams. Here they are; LSU, Okla, Boise St., and Oregon, probably in that order.
Some interesting games tomorrow. I think that Stanford goes down. Should be a great game though, remember last years? A little more even throughout but I think Oregon can run on Stanford. Back into the Heisman Race for LaMichael.
Boise finally puts together four impressive quarters and romps TCU. OK State goes bananas on TTU. Ill say low 60s.
Most importantly though, In Happy Valley, the focus shifts for three hours from child abuse, sex scandals, firing of legends, and rioting to Penn State football. Win or lose, I know Penn State will be a very emotional place tommorpw. Here’s to hoping for a great senior day for those guys. For the Glory…….
Drew and Pete – I do agree with both of you. An Oregon victory today and I think that they are back in the National Championship talk. And if James has a big day today in a victory, he is back in the Heisman discussion; especially if Luck struggles today.
Should be a great day of college football.
I am not sure, but I think Texas Tech fans are leaving halfway through the second quarter. Wow, 35-0 and there is 14 minutes left in the 2nd quarter!
YES! TCU beats Boise. Thank you Horned Frogs. Now all the whiners about how Boise gets excluded and blah, blah, blah can sit in the corner. Play with the big boys on a regular basis then we’ll talk national championship games. Glad that was taken care of today.
2 years in a row, Boise State can’t hit a field goal to win a game. Kellen Moore has to be asking Chris Peterson why they never recruited a kicker.
No more conspiracy theories. Boise State keeps itself out of the National Championship talk
Notre Dame is playing a home game in Maryland against….Maryland? Is it college football’s goal to just confuse everyone?
Once again looking forward to the top-15. I am interested to see:
1) How far Boise drops
2) How far Oregon rises (Past Oklahoma like the real polls? Maybe even ahead of ‘Bama?)
3) If Houston moves at all
4) If USC stays (was hoping their inclusion was a mistake)
5) Who replaces Penn State
Rey, you’re confusing me. Aren’t you the guy who says all the undefeated teams should be ranked higher than those with losses? Wouldn’t that make you sympathetic of Boise State’s plight? Or, are you pretending to be someone else again? 😉
Yes! That’s me. I have Houston third in the country. I don’t think we should punish FBS teams for their schedule. It’s stupid to me. The whole computerized ranking is just plain dumb compared to having a playoff of some kind. So – we’ll all talk about how Houston really isn’t that good and couldn’t possibly beat a Big 12 or SEC team, but we’ll never know until it’s played. Sometimes that’s true (Boise-OU, TCU-Wisconsin, Utah beat ‘Bama right?) and sometimes it isn’t (Hawaii and someone). YET, everyone seems to laud over Boise every year as if they are being done a great injustice if undefeated and not ranked #1. They beat Georgia and VA Tech, but can’t beat Nevada and TCU? What injustice is being done to them? If they just could have been ranked ahead of everyone in the first place, then drop dramatically when they do lose, we wouldn’t have so much focus on them. Same with Houston now. Put them at #3. Let them play the #4 in a bowl, probably get beat, then we can all settle and see that playing in a big conference really does matter in college football. That probably makes no sense.