Weekend Preview

Here are my thoughts on this weekend's games.

Arkansas at Auburn - In theory, Auburn should absolutely crush Arkansas. However, this game screams "trap." With Florida next week, how can the Tigers not look past Arkansas. Yeah, the Hogs are 3-1, but the victories have not been pretty. Mustain has not been a savior. Yet. McFadden and Felix Jones are gonna give AU fits all day, but as long as Mustain doesn't play way above his talent level (at this point), Auburn should pull away in the second half (as it usually does). Auburn 27 - Arkansas 17.

LSU at Florida - I am still not sold on Florida, but LSU gets my vote every week for the rest of the season (unless they blow this game). The Bayou Bengals are playing lights out on both sides of the ball, and I certainly wouldn't want to play them right now. With Florida's secondary being its "weak spot" (I use the term in the relative sense), I don't think the Gators can keep up with all of LSU's receivers. If JaMarcus doesn't choke, how can you not like LSU in the upset. LSU 21 - Florida 20.

Texas v. Oklahoma - The Horns have played no one since Ohio State, and Oklahoma got screwed against Oregon. Now that we've got that out of the way, who's gonna win? I think both teams are incredibly overrated, but that's based more on personal opinion than concrete facts, so feel free to disagree with me. I think Texas is too good for Adrian Peterson to carry the Sooners. Of course, i said the same thing prior to the Oregon game and he proved me wrong. I would love for him to do it again, but as of right now, I believe Texas has more of the key pieces in place than the Sooners. Texas 34 - Oklahoma 30.

South Carolina at Kentucky - I am looking forward to this game, honestly. UK has been surprisingly decent this year, at least on offense. Meanwhile, SC has actually found a quarterback and an offense. I think Newton and Rice will score at will, but UK's vertical passing game will keep it close at home. USC 28 - UK 23.

Tennessee at UGa - So Joe Tereshinski III makes a triumphant return. What exactly does that mean, though? It's not like the Dawgs were scoring in bunches before he got hurt. I think UT is too good for UGa at this point, but Joe T3 could be the spark UGa needs. Somehow I doubt it. Vols 17 - UGa 13.

Oregon at Cal - Both teams are actually decent this year. After the bad opening, Cal has rolled. Oregon has played well despite getting a free victory. In my mind, they are pretty even. I think Cal is going to win because I never have any faith in Oregon. In fact, I think Karma keeps Oregon from winning this game. They'll be winning with less than a minute to go and somehow Cal will win on a controversial play. Then the Pac-10 will suspend the officials for six days (just long enough that they won't be short-handed the next weekend). There will of course be a huge public outcry and Oregon will secede from the Union. The FBI will be brought in to investigate Pac-10 officiating and the government will ultimately shut down the entire conference. All this bc of instant replay...be careful what you wish for. Oregon 42 - Cal 45.

Other games of interest that I don't feel like picking:

Nebraska v. Iowa State. I think an upset is quite possible.
Hawaii v. Nevada. Just a couple of fun offenses.
Washington v. USC. We get to see how far Ty has come.
Clemson at Wake. The bubble had to burst sometime.

Side Note

I actually have moderate respect for the Pac-10 this year. This may be the first time in my life that I have said (typed) those words. The top three teams can play with anybody: USC, Oregon, and Cal. It's the middle-tier teams that have really stepped up this year: UCLA, Washington, Washington State. Of course, it's still early. However, so far, so good. Arizona State can be included in that middle-tier usually, but they are falling on hard times. Honestly, I think that regardless of the number of wins each team has, Michigan State and Arizona State should play in a bowl game just to see who wants to lose more.