Apparently when Muschamp said he didn't need to fire up the team for the Georgia game because they'd already be fired up, he was wrong. I'm convinced he let them all go drink at The Landing the night before the game, because there's no other explanation for playing as poorly as they did. And Aaron Murray is BAD. I mean REALLY, REALLY BAD. But the way the Gators played was worse.
Best case scenario: Georgia beats Ole Miss & Auburn (hear me out before you go crazy!), Alabama wins out - beating LSU and destroying Georgia, LSU beat Mississippi State, Florida wins out. In this scenario, Florida would be the only one-loss team in the SEC and could play in the Sugar Bowl.
The Rutgers loss hurt, but it really doesn't hurt RU's chances of playing in a BCS bowl since it was out of conference...so all isn't lost. If RU goes undefeated in the Big East, the Scarlet Knights can play in a bowl with the big boys...or maybe the Orange Bowl with someone like FSU. And Nebraska is controlling its own destiny...could end up in the Rose Bowl. Will all 3 of my teams make BCS bowl games?? That would be great...still possible!
Some picks...
Miami beats Virginia Tech in Miami...but who cares? People will only watch because it's the only college game on. Mississippi State rebounds with a win over Texas A&M - but it will be close. I only give this one to the bulldogs because of home advantage. Texas loses at Texas Tech. Georgia beats Ole Miss. I'd love to see Oklahoma State bull the upset at Kansas State, but I don't see it happening. I think USC will be fired up for Oregon...I think it will be closer than many people expect. I'll pick Oregon in a close one. Alabama, you need to beat LSU per my best case scenario above. Thanks.
Florida vs Missouri Tickets - November 3, 2012
Rutgers has no game. Nebraska wins at Michigan State. And of course, the Gators will beat Missouri, and I will be there! Very excited to make my return to The Swamp - haven't been since Tennessee @ Florida in 2009.
Okay, so let me start by saying this: Georgia sucks! Georgia almost lost to Kentucky. Prepare to get Gator'd!!!
West Virginia....your total lack of defense only works when your offense shows up. Geno, that game may have cost you the Heisman. Ohio State - seriously? You needed overtime against Purdue? That's so bad it's not even worth discussing. The Texas Tech-TCU game was a fun one to watch.
Texas A&M gave LSU a good game. Even if Ryan Lochte managed to pick Auburn to win that game. I knew he'd embarrass Gator Nation on GameDay.
The Huskers came back in dramatic fashion to beat Northwestern! Rutgers didn't feel like playing its first half against Temple, but it didn't matter because Steve Addazio knows nothing about offense, and he reminded us all of that in the second half. Way to go RU!
Most important win of the weekend? My Gators, of course. We were what, a 3-point favorite? Final score: 44-11. I think we covered the spread.
Picks:
Thursday Clemson will handily beat Wake Forest. Friday: Cincy falls at Louisville.
South Carolina will rebound with a win over Tennessee. Texas beats Charlie Weis and Kansas, obviously. Picking Wisconsin over Michigan State because it would help Nebraska. Upset alert: Kansas State...be careful with Texas Tech. (Let's go Red Raiders). Pulling for the Blue Devils over the Seminoles. Let's go Nittany Lions - win the B1G battle of the ineligibles! I want to see Duke-Rutgers in the Orange Bowl! Notre Dame is losing at Oklahoma. I'm picking Nebraska over Michigan because Denard Robinson still hasn't given me a reason to believe he's any good. Go Big Red! Rutgers will win its homecoming game over Kent State. Rah! Rah!
And of course...as my ringtone for the week sings...TO HELL WITH GEORGIA! GO GATORS!! BEAT THOSE UGA-ly Bulldogs at the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party!
The first BCS rankings are out! There are, not surprisingly, zero Big
Ten teams ranked in the top 25. There are 6 SEC teams in the top 12.
Yes, the SEC is still much, much better than the Big Ten.
Remember when I said West Virginia has no defense? Remember when I said I had no idea why people were talking about the "great" Texas defense? Can't blame me for having high standards for defense - I watch SEC football.
Rutgers beat Syracuse to remain undefeated. Florida won its "trap game" at Vandy to stay undefeated. Driskel even broke one of Tebow's records.
And the Jets actually won a game. So I was pretty happy about football
this weekend - except for my upset-pick-gone-wrong. Hey, refs in the
Notre Dame game...Stanford scored a touchdown. It's okay. I'll call
next week's upset now: Oklahoma will beat Notre Dame. I was right about
Iowa State giving Kansas a fight. Hoosiers came SO close!
I was right about Wisconsin. I think Texas A&M is better than
people think. I was right about LSU. I just hope South Carolina has
lost its focus after last week.
Go Gators!
On to this week...
I expect Oregon to
win Thursday, but it will be interesting to see if Arizona State's
defense can stop the Ducks and give them a good game. LSU's defense vs
Texas A&M's offense? That's an interesting one. I don't know which
LSU is showing up, but I'll take the Tigers in a close one. Rutgers
wins at Temple because Kyle Flood is better than Steve Addazio.
I think West Virginia is rebounding this weekend and ending Kansas
State's run. I don't say this often, but I hope Miami wins this
weekend. Random upset pick of the week: Texas Tech over TCU. TCU was a
3.5 point favorite last I checked. And of course...I'm picking Florida
to beat South Carolina. Steve Spurrier may know how to win at the
Swamp, but there's a new coach in town. Muschamp - here's your chance
to prove yourself to Gator Nation! Let's go!
Remember this one? I want the same winner, but I hope it's not this close!
Who will be the celebrity guest picker this week at GameDay in Gainesville? I want Emmitt Smith...but I'm expecting someone like Ryan Lochte. We'll see!
GO GATORS!!!!!!!!! Big win. But now we fans have bigger expectations. And yet, while I think the #4 rating may be premature, I feel analysts are still overlooking the Gators. When FSU and LSU were #4, they were in the title discussion. Suddenly the title discussion includes South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas State and Notre Dame in place of Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, USC and FSU. Don't get me wrong - I still think the Gators have a lot of work to do. But are the Gators better than West Virginia? Yes - we actually believe in defense...and we're damn good at it. Do they Gators have a more impressive body of work to date than Notre Dame? Absolutely. Beating up on 3 teams from the worst conference (Big Ten) plus Navy and Miami (who hasnt been relevant in a decade)....I'm supposed to be impressed??? Well, I'm not. Notre Dame is certainly better than it was under Weis, but I'm like McKayla Maroney: not impressed. Stanford isn't fantastic, but it will be the biggest test to date for the Irish.
Huskers, you're killing me. You were in that game. You had some sloppy turnovers, but other than those, you were actually outplaying Ohio State. And then apparently you got sidetracked by a corn field or something. Pathetic. I'm extremely disappointed. So disappointed that I won't even watch you this weekend (you're lucky you have a bye week).
I didn't realize how bad West Virginia really looks. Texas could have won that game easily. I picked WV, but I'm not confident they even deserved that win. Seriously, no defense. And like I keep saying...I'm not sold on Texas. Really not sure why I kept hearing about this phantom "Texas defense." No such thing so far...
Other than Nebraska, all of my picks were correct. (Come on though...I always pick Nebraska, and I always pick against Ohio State). WVU beat Texas. FSU did sleep on NC State and I was extremely happy. Washington didn't pull off another big upset to beat Oregon. South Carolina smothered Georgia. Rutgers won and Florida upset LSU. I think those were the only games I picked, so way to go Liz.
Would you ever pick a team that supports this guy? I wouldn't. Pretty sad when even a 3rd string QB knows he's too dumb to be in class. And at a school where "Exploring" is a major...must be tough...
And this week....
Upset of the week: I'm picking Stanford. Not because I think they're good. Not because I think they'll win. Just because I want Lou Holtz to stop talking about Notre Dame. I actually think Notre Dame will win, but let the record show that I picked Stanford as my upset of the week. Oklahoma will beat Texas in a Red River Rivalry that just doesn't interest me this year. I think Iowa State will put up a fight against Kansas State, but Kansas State will win the game - in closer fashion that most think. Wisconsin will win at PurdZzZzZzZzZ .... Oh! Sorry. I fell asleep just thinking about that game.
Let's go Hoosiers. Beat the Buckeyes. I'll take LSU at home against South Carolina. I think the Tigers are mad after the SEC East showed them up this past weekend. #22 Texas A&M wins at #23 Louisiana Tech. Syracuse is going down. Rutgers wins at home to start 6-0. Rah! Rah! And most importantly....I'm picking the Gators on the road. Florida beats Vanderbilt. GO GATORS!!!
West Virginia: do you have any defense? Does any conference other than the SEC believe in defense? Oklahoma State could have and probably should have beaten Texas, so my upset pick last week wasn't bad. FSU hardly looked impressive at USF. LSU once again looked incredibly beatable against FCS opponent Towson. Is Les trying to fake out the Gators or something?
Husker homecoming was fun, but it wasn't quite the same as an SEC atmosphere. Memorial Stadium holds more than 80,000 people. In other words, when the Huskers play at home, Memorial Stadium becomes the third largest city in the state of Nebraska. Husker football and corn are pretty much all they have in Nebraska. The fans were all very nice and very polite, and the average age of the fan was...well...let's just say much older than the average fan at a Gator game. When I go to games at The Swamp, I expect a wild & crazy crowd throughout the stadium. Nebraska fans were enthusiastic, but hardly rowdy.
A sea of red at Nebraska homecoming
The theme of the game was "the red & the quick." There was a lot of red, but not much quickness. Two Husker turnovers gave Wisconsin control of the first half. The blackshirts got it together in the second half and Nebraska made its second largest comeback ever to win the game.
Sidenote: I sat next to some Wisconsin fans at the game, and I'm truly disappointed in how little they knew about college football. When I mentioned that even the Big East is outplaying the Big Ten this year, one fired back with, "Yeah, Georgetown football looks great." I give up. This is why I don't respect most big ten fans.
On to this weekend....
There are some better games, at last! No surprise, I'm picking Rutgers in the blackout game. Chop UConn!! I'm picking Spurrier over Georgia. I am hesitantly picking West Virginia on the road at Texas. Yes, I'm still not sold on Texas even though I keep hearing how underrated they are, and I can't believe WVU gave up 63 points to Baylor, but I'm sticking with Geno and the offense. I don't think Texas can answer back enough times to stay in the game. I hope FSU is sleeping on the Wolfpack. LET'S GO NC STATE! Does Washington have another top ten upset in them? Probably not. I'll take Oregon. My upset picks of the week should be obvious: Nebraska over Ohio State, and of course, FLORIDA over LSU. (Last I saw Ohio State was a 3.5 point favorite and LSU was a 3 point favorite.)
When Nebraska first joined the Big Ten, my brother said right away that we should go to the first Wisconsin-Nebraska game in Lincoln. I said it would be a fun trip. Well, the game is upon us, and he is ditching me to go to Germany. So I was all set to go watch the game in a Husker alumni bar in New York. But at 10:15 Monday night, I get a text from my father: "Can you get tickets the Nebraska game?" Long story short, my parents and I are going to Husker Homecoming. Yes - we waited until my brother leaves the country to go watch a Wisconsin game.
The Gators and Scarlet Knights are off this week, so they'll remain undefeated. I wanted more from Florida's offense against Kentucky, but I guess Kentucky's lack of a QB didn't lead to much motivation for the Gators to hike up the score. Rutgers is finally ranked now after beating a down Arknasas team. LSU looked awfully beatable against Auburn. What's up with the SEC West? Hopefully LSU will look that way next weekend! But I'll hold off on next week's picks for now. Sidenote: Thank you Washington for proving Stanford was overrated.
A few quick picks for this weekend:
Not many exciting games. West Virginia will beat Baylor by a significant margin. I think Michigan State beats Ohio State. I'm cheering for USF over FSU, but I know better... If I had to pick an upset this week it would be Texas falling at Oklahoma State. Alabama and Oregon will blow out Ole Miss and Washington State respectively.
And most importantly this weekend: NEBRASKA WILL BEAT WISCONSIN.
No Wilson, no offense. So much for Arkansas! And Auburn? How come they never play Florida when they have down years? No disrespect to Louisiana Monroe, but I'd be more impressed if they beat any 2 other teams in the SEC West.
Biggest disappointment of the weekend: Cal. The Golden Bears COMPLETELY outplayed Ohio State, but missing 3 field goals led to a 7-point loss. Thanks Cal...now I'll have to continue hearing about how fantastic the Buckeyes are even though you just proved they're completely overrated as usual.
THANK YOU CARDINAL. Stanford beating Lane Kiffin was fantastic. Anyone who watched ESPN College GameDay saw all Florida and Tennessee fans join together to boo Kiffin when they spoke about him. It was a beautiful thing. I'm sure they'll continue to be overrated and this will just move Stanford way up for the time being (sorry, Stanford...after the SJSU close call I just don't think you're the same team as you were with Luck.)
The Big Ten continues to look terrible. Yeah, Michigan State really looked like a top ten team out there. Crushed by Notre Dame at home? I know Lou Holtz was happy. Great offense, Sparty! Even John Brantley could have scored more than 3 points against the Irish with home advantage. Wisconsin beat Utah State by 2. Minnesota beat W Michigan by 5. Indiana lost to Ball State (they were decent a few years ago, but this is a different team). Predictions: Wisconsin stays ranked and doesn't drop - might even move up, Michigan State stays ranked ahead of Florida, Ohio State jumps into the top ten.
Ole Miss was disappointing. I'm still not sold on Texas and I don't think they'll win the Big 12. Nebraska's defense needs work, but the Huskers still have a definite shot at the Big Ten title given how awful that conference is. Rutgers made me very happy against USF. The Rutgers-Louisville game at the end of the season is looking interesting...Can the Scarlet Knights creep into the top 25 this week??
The Gators apparently don't start well - but I'm okay as long as they finish well. Apparently Florida is a second half team! The team as a whole still needs to work on penalties - though I'm not sure the refs were even watching that game. They called a bunch of nonsense all game and at the end when they called that Driskel run a touchdown after he stepped out of bounds four times the refs pretty much established that they didn't care. But in the end, it didn't matter because the better team won. Eight in a row over Tennessee. Go Gators!! Burton, Gillislee, Hammond, Driskel, Reed and Sturgis seem to be getting better and I like it. Keep it up Gators. None of the current Gators were alive the last time Kentucky beat Florida in football. Let's keep it that way! Beat the Wildcats!!
Picks for week 4...
USC will rebound and beat Cal since Cal doesn't know how to finish games. LSU wins big at Auburn. Arizona loses at Oregon by more than whatever the spread turns out to be. Kansas State vs Oklahoma will give us a better sense of how good these teams are. I'll take Oklahoma at home in a close one. Upset pick of the week: Obviously I'm picking Clemson to beat FSU because it's the one I'd most like to see happen. I think Notre Dame will beat another overrated Big Ten team. Nebraska beats Idaho State. Rutgers at Arkansas should be very interesting now....I'm picking the Scarlet Knights! Even with Arkansas being down, people still won't expect Rutgers to win. So I'll pick my hometown team.
And of course...I'm picking Florida to beat Kentucky again. GO GATORS!!
