College Football Week 9 Recap

    The season presses on as we head into week 10 and have a look back on a big week 9.

    #4 Notre Dame took on #9 Oklahoma and proved all doubters wrong with a very strong showing, beating the Sooners 30-13. The Irish have played the hardest schedule this season, and are now 8-0. There are people, however, that have said they have not played anyone, and their record is a fluke.

Notre Dame QB Everette Gholson

    But the Irish have wins vs. Michigan State, Michigan, Miami (FL) #13 Stanford, BYU, and now have one over #14 Oklahoma. All critics should be silenced, and Notre Dame should win it's next four games vs. Pitt, Boston College, Wake Forest, and #16 USC.  Note Dame has the best chance out of the other three undefeated schools with legit title hopes (Alabama, Oregon, and Kansas State), to win out, and they have taken a stake in the national title talks.

    Former #3 Florida was taken down by Georgia, and could quite possibly ruin the Gator's title hopes. #14 Oregon State was upset by Washington, and the Beavers title hopes are gone as well. I think Oregon State was always overrated, and the high rankings in the BCS and AP polls were way too high to me. The loss brings them back down, and the Huskies get a much-needed conference win.

    #6 USC lost all their title hopes too to a crushing defeat to Arizona. The Trojans play #2 Oregon this weekend and hope to salvage a spot in the BCS.


Top 25

1. Alabama 8-0
2. Oregon 8-0
3. Notre Dame 8-0
4. Kansas State 8-0
5. Ohio State 9-0
6. Georgia 7-1
7. LSU 7-1
8. Florida State 8-1
9. Florida 7-1
10. Clemson 7-1
11. Louisville 8-0
12. South Carolina 7-2
13. Stanford 6-2
14. Oklahoma 5-2
15. Texas AM 6-2
16. USC 6-2
17. Boise State 7-1
18. Mississippi State 7-1
19. Texas Tech 6-2
20. Texas 6-2
21. Nebraska 6-2
22. Oregon State 6-1
23. Arizona 5-3
24. Louisiana Tech 7-1
25. Oklahoma State 5-2

Next 5 In:

West Virginia 5-2
Kent State 7-1
Michigan 5-2
UCLA 6-2
Toledo 8-1

Dropped Out:

Rutgers (#17)
Michigan (#20)
NC State (#21)
Ohio (#23)
West Virginia (#25)


Non-BCS schools to watch:

Tulsa 7-1
Northern Illinois 8-1
Louisiana-Monroe 6-2
Utah State 7-2
Ohio 7-1
San Jose State 6-2

What To Watch:

#15 Texas AM (6-2) @ #18 Mississippi St. (7-1)
12:00 pm ET, ESPN

Mississippi State was blown out of the water by Alabama, and they will look to show they are an elite force in the SEC. Texas AM will try to continue their winning streak. The Aggies will make it close, but Mississippi State is just too good, and will shut down the Aggies' high powered offense.

Prediction: Mississippi St. 24 TAMU 16

TCU (5-3) @ West Virginia (5-2)
3:00pm ET, FOX

It's now or never for West Virginia to salvage this season, and now or never for Geno Smith to get back into the Heisman race. Smith's season reminds of Baylor's RGIII last year. He started off very strong but abruptly fell off the map, as did his team. But then he came back at the end, won the Heisman, and the #2 pick in the draft. That very well could be the same for Smith this year, and it could start this week. A bye should help West Virginia get the W.

Prediction: West Virginia 35 TCU 21

#2 Oregon (8-0) @ #16 USC (6-2)
7:00 pm ET, FOX

The two best teams in the PAC 12 square off in Pasadena, and the Ducks have a lot to prove as they have been passed over in favor of Kansas State and Notre Dame in most polls. A big win over a down Trojan squad will go a long way. USC has a good chance of a win here, but Oregon has the upper-hand. 

Prediction: Oregon 47 USC 44

#1 Alabama (8-0) @ #7 LSU (7-1)
8:00 pm ET, CBS

A rematch of last year's title game - this will be Alabama's hardest game of the season so far, and LSU needs a win to keep their title hopes alive. It should be another low scoring game, but Alabama has a better offense. They also have a slightly better defense, and they should roll over LSU like they did last January. 

Prediction: Alabama 13 LSU 6

#25 Oklahoma State (5-2) @ #3 Kansas State (8-0)
8:00 pm ET, ABC

Kansas State has another test vs. a very good Big 12 school. The Wildcats should come away with another win, but we have seen all of the Big 12 beat up on each other week in and week out. It has been hard to distinguish a clear-cut favorite in the Big 12, but a win over the Cowboys could give K-State that label. Don't sleep on an Oklahoma State upset, but Kansas State should win this one. 

Prediction: Kansas State 51 Oklahoma State 41

#23 Arizona (5-3) @ UCLA (6-2)
10:30 pm ET, Pac-12 Network

You never know who will beat who in the Pac 12 this year, and aside from Oregon, the Pac 12 resembles the Big 12. Everyone is beating up on everyone else. Arizona is fresh off a huge win over #16 USC, and will try to also beat the Trogan's rival UCLA. The Bruins are a talented team though, and I am calling an upset here.

Prediction: UCLA 42 Arizona 36

Other Predictions:

Virginia Tech 27 Miami (FL) 21
Washington 27 California 24
#5 Ohio State 38 Illinois 25
Michigan State 24 #21 Nebraska 20
#9 Florida 35 Missouri 10
#14 Oklahoma 38 Iowa State 21
#11 Louisville 27 Temple 18
Michigan 42 Minnesota 7
ECU 36 Houston 30
Air Force 35 Army 26
Tennessee 38 Troy 14
Arkansas 36 Tulsa 28
Auburn 45 New Mexico State 14
Georgia Tech 24 Maryland 17
#13 Stanford 41 Colorado 7
Kent State 35 Akron 14
Utah 27 Washington State 14
#6 Georgia 28 Ole Miss 7
#3 Notre Dame 38 Pittsburgh 10
#20 Texas 38 #19 Texas Tech 36
#24 Louisiana Tech 49 UTSA 14
#10 Clemson 38 Duke 10
UCF 38 SMU 28
Southern Miss 24 UAB 13
#17 Boise State 24 San Diego State 10
#22 Oregon State 35 Arizona State 31
Ohio 42 Eastern Michigan 27

BCS Bowls Today:

Championship: #1 Alabama vs #2 Oregon

Rose: #21 Nebraska vs #3 Notre Dame

Fiesta: #4 Kansas State vs #13 Stanford

Sugar: #6 Georgia vs #10 Clemson

Orange: #8 Florida State vs #11 Louisville

College Football Week 8 Recap

    We push on into the college football season, and week eight brought us big games with surprising results.

    #14 West Virginia was coming off its first loss of the season, a 49-14 throttling at the hands of #19 Texas Tech. This week, West Virginia took on #7 Kansas State, who has shocked some with it's 6-0 record coming in. 

Kansas State QB Colin Klein

    Geno Smith, West Virginia's QB, has had a great season so far, and came in without a single interception. But it was another rough game for all of West Virginia's team, as their defense was exposed again, and Kansas State won 55-14. Geno Smith threw his first two interceptions of the year. 

     But the real star, who has taken all of Smith's stardom this week, was Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein. Klein went 19/21, with 323 yards, and three touchdown passes. On top of that, Klein also ran for an astonishing four touchdowns on only 12 carries. Klein now looks like the Heisman favorite this week, and Geno Smith has fallen out of the conversation. 

    West Virginia as a team also looks bad, especially its defense. The Mountaineers are in a midst of playing the Big 12's best six teams, six straight weeks. They are 1-2 so far. They have a win over Texas (who is having big problems of their own), but have terrible losses at the hands of #19 Texas Tech, and now #7 Kansas State. Next week it is TCU, followed by Oklahoma State, and #10 Oklahoma. If they do not turn their defense around, which will be hard to do, a 5-5 record after the gauntlet of talented teams is very likely.

    #8 LSU also had their problems vs #25 Texas AM, and they still look like the fourth or even fifth best team in the SEC. As for the best, #1 Alabama still holds that spot after a big win over Tennessee. Number two though, now is #4 Florida who had a huge 44-11 win over a banged-up #9 South Carolina squad. 

    Florida has a huge test next week vs #11 Georgia, but a win gives them the SEC East. Alabama has game vs an undefeated #16 Mississippi State. Both have some very tough contests to finish the year, but it's looking like Florida and Alabama will face off in the SEC title game for a spot in the national title.

Top 25

1. Alabama 7-0
2. Oregon 7-0
3. Florida 7-0
4. Notre Dame 7-0
5. Kansas State 7-0
6. USC 6-1
7. Ohio State 8-0
8. LSU 7-1
9. Oklahoma 5-1
10. Georgia 6-1
11. Florida State 7-1
12. Clemson 6-1
13. Mississippi State 7-0
14. Oregon State 6-0
15. Texas Tech 6-1
16. Louisville 7-0
17. Rutgers 7-0
18. South Carolina 6-2
19. Stanford 5-2
20. Michigan 5-2
21. N.C State 5-2
22. Texas 5-2
23. Ohio 7-0
24. Boise State 6-1
25. West Virginia 5-2

Next 5 in:

Arizona State 5-2
Texas AM 5-2
Louisiana Tech 6-1Nebraska 5-2
Penn State 5-2

Dropped Out:

Cincinnati (#20)
Arizona State (#24)
Texas AM (#25)


What To Watch

Cincinnati (5-1) @ #16 Louisville (7-0)
Friday, 8:00 pm ET, ESPN

Cincinnati was undefeated before an under-the-radar upset to Toldeo last week dropped them out of the polls. This is the same team that beat Virginia Tech and will give Louisville a fight as two of the three best teams in the Big East square off. Louisville can gain momentum with a big win on their way to a possible Big East championship.

Prediction: Louisville 30 Cincinnati 27

#3 Florida (7-0) @ #10 Georgia (6-1)
3:30 pm ET, CBS

Florida is fresh off a giant win over #18 South Carolina and a win over Georgia, and with a win here will have beaten the two teams who pose a threat to take the SEC East title. Florida should roll with another big performance.

Prediction: Florida 28 Georgia 14

#15 Texas Tech (6-1) @ #5 Kansas State (7-0)
3:30 pm ET, FOX

Expect another huge scoring affair but with a little more defense then we have seen recently. Texas Tech is a suprise team this year, and Colin Klein looks to build off the huge game he had last week vs West Virginia.

Prediction: Kansas St. 48 Texas Tech 41

#7 Ohio State (8-0) @ Penn State (5-2)
5:30 pm ET, ESPN

Both schools are under penalty from the NCAA. Ohio State is having a great season with eight wins despite some concerning play thus far. Penn State is on a five game winning streak and looks to take down another Big 10 foe. Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller should be back after the head injury sufferd vs Purdue last week, and that will be the key factor in the Buckeye's improving to 9-0.

Prediction: Ohio State 38 Penn State 14

#22 Michigan (5-2) @ Nebraska (5-2)
8:00 pm ET, ESPN2

The winner of this game will most likely represent the Legends division in the Big 10 title game, unless Northwestern has something to say about it. But Michigan and Nebraska's fate lie in this game. Nebraska has underachieved this year and should slow down Michigan, but I see the Wolverines squeaking one out.

Prediction: Michigan 17 Nebraska 13

#4 Notre Dame (7-0) @ #9 Oklahoma (5-1)
8:00 pm ET, ABC

It isn't usual to see such a big non-conference game in midseason, but we have one this weekend between Notre Dame and Oklahoma. If you are not sold on Notre Dame yet, this game will do it. The Irish will assert their dominance and continue as a title favorite this year with a huge win over Oklahoma.

Prediction: Notre Dame 37 Oklahoma 14

#13 Mississippi St. (7-0) @ #1 Alabama (7-0)
8:00 pm ET, ESPN

Mississippi State has a chance to pull the biggest upset in school history, and with this talented team they have a chance. But Alabama is just too good, and intimidation could be a huge factor here. The Tide will roll in a defensive battle.

Prediction: Alabama 24 Mississippi St. 10


Other Predictions:

#12 Clemson 45 Wake Forest 17
Nevada 35 Air Force 33
Northwestern 27 Iowa 21
Missouri 28 Kentucky 27
Pittsburgh 26 Temple 21
#22 Texas 46 Kansas 21
#18 South Carolina 25 Tennessee 14
Northern Illinois 35 Western Michigan 24
#21 NC State 27 North Carolina 23
Southern Miss 34 Rice 25
Arizona State 37 UCLA 35
BYU 14 Georgia Tech 6
#2 Oregon 63 Colorado 8
#6 USC 47 Arizona 35
#11 Florida State 27 Duke 22
Wisconsin 21 Michigan State 17
#23 Ohio 27 Miami (Oh) 15
Oklahoma State 37 TCU 35
#19 Stanford 42 Washington State 17
Texas AM 38 Auburn 34
Vanderbilt 45 UMass 7
UCF 37 Marshall 35
California 35 Utah 32
#14 Oregon State 38 Washington 24

BCS Bowls

Championship: #1 Alabama vs #2 Oregon

Rose: #6 USC vs #9 Oklahoma

Sugar: #3 Florida vs #4 Notre Dame

Fiesta: #5 Kansas State vs #20 Michigan

Orange: #16 Louisville vs #11 Florida State