Week 9 in Review

Two teams made the biggest statements in week 9, Oregon beating up USC and Texas suffocating Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Below are my top 10 teams with the Trojans being knocked out and LSU entering the rankings before their showdown in Tuscaloosa.


1. Alabama – The Tide stays at the top for now, but with the Bayou Bengals in town for the SEC West game of the year they will have to prove their worth once again.

2. Florida –The Gators are making more noise off the field than on, with Urban Meyer being fined for criticizing the officials and the SuspensionGate with LB Brandon Spikes. What exactly was the tipping point for every scandal being given a cute nickname ending in “Gate”? Sorry to further the nonsense.

3. Texas – It took some time but the Longhorns have their groove back and look to be on their way to the Big 12 title. They will be at least TD favorites for every game left on the schedule and unless a team from the Big 12 North steps up the Longhorns might have the best road to the BCS Championship game in Pasadena.

4. Cincinnati – What else is new for Cincinnati as they continue to roll over the Big East with a backup QB. They still have to get by West Virginia and Pitt, and this week against UCONN is no easy task.

5. TCU – The Horned Frogs have the game at Utah circled as that seems to be their only bump on their way to their first BCS berth. Utah will be plenty hungry themselves as their only loss of the year was at Oregon, which looks pretty darn good right now.

6. Boise State – A PR firm is now the biggest backers of the Broncos’ BCS dreams. Not sure how they will help their strength of schedule and computer rankings though. It is a sad day in college football when this is making news.

7. Iowa – What can you say about Iowa after watching their comeback win over Indiana last week? They sure don’t look like an undefeated team marching toward a national title. But the eyes can deceive and the Hawkeyes keep winning so they stay above the one-loss teams. I can’t see this team staying undefeated though, so their best hope for a Rose Bowl berth is Penn State beating the Buckeyes this week and winning the tiebreaker over PSU.

8. Oregon –The Ducks made a huge statement to the nation and the Pac 10 on Halloween. It was an astounding sight to see USC so thoroughly beat up and almost quitting on the game. The Ducks though have tough games remaining at Stanford and Arizona and the Civil War against Oregon State. One loss is reasonable and still would give them a good chance at the Rose Bowl.

9. Georgia Tech –The Yellow Jackets have proven to be by far the best of the ACC. Their lone loss was to Miami on an early Thursday game on the road. Their Triple Option offense is piling up points on good defenses and the expectations are now ACC title and BCS berth.

10. LSU - The Tigers have a shot to upset Alabama and earn the chance at a rematch with Florida in the SEC title. It would not be surprising to see Les Miles back in a BCS game if they can stop Mark Ingram and the Tide offense and let Jordan Jefferson lead the way for his offense.



Saturday Lox Week 9 in Review

It was a tough week for my Lox as a good morning, 2-0 with covers by Wisconsin and Cincinnati, turned ugly in the afternoon with 5 losses, and even the big upset in Eugene that I picked couldn’t help the gloomy Saturday it was on Halloween.

Premium Lox

Week 9: 1-2

Overall: 13-17

Cincinnati (-15): 28-7. Winner. Cinci got lucky to cover with a botched field goal ending in a TD.

Miami (-7): 28-27. Loser. Miami never was over the spread in this comeback win over Wake Forest.

Tennessee vs. South Carolina (Under 42.5): 31-14. Loser. A late field goal doomed the pick.

Regular Lox:

Week 9: 1-3

Overall: 12-16-2

Wisconsin (-7): 37-0. Winner. This one was never in doubt as Purdue did not put up a fight.

Oklahoma State (+9.5): 14-41. Loser. The Longhorns destroyed the Cowboys in this big game in Stillwater.

Kentucky (-4): 24-31. Loser. Kentucky got shut out after leading by a TD at halftime in this loss to Mississippi State.

Central Michigan (+6.5): 6-31. Loser. Central Michigan couldn’t get anything going after leading 6-3 in the first quarter.

Upset Specials

Week 9: 1-1

Overall: 7-11

Oregon pulled the upset in the biggest Pac 10 game of the year to get the money line win, but Colorado was not as fortunate as the underdog versus Missouri, as they were thoroughly beaten from the start in a blowout.

Now onto next week and a new month with plenty of season-changing games ahead in college football.