Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Football Future-see 2012: Week Ten


Record
Week 1…..8-1
Week 2…..5-0
Week 3…..2-3
Week 4…..5-0
Week 5…..4-1
Week 6…..2-3
Week 7…..5-1
Week 8…..4-1
Week 9…..2-3
Week 10....4-1
Overall..…41-14

Review/Preview:
A 2-3 week is never a good thing, and that’s my third 2-3 week this season, though the overall record stands at 37-13 (a roughly .740 winning percentage). With the exception of one match-up, every game this week features a clash of top 25 teams. The biggest game of the week is, without a doubt, LSU-Alabama, the de facto SEC West Championship game. The winner of that game basically punches a ticket to Atlanta to face Georgia, assuming Georgia wins against Ole Miss and Auburn.

The Games:

23 Texas at 18 Texas Tech .....INCORRECT
This Big XII clash marks, I believe, the third straight week that Texas Tech has appeared in the predictions. They’re 1-1 since I started picking their games, beating TCU and losing to Kansas State. Texas is a team that knows, deep down, that they should be better than they are. Mack Brown’s squad is having a bit of a disappointing season, although I know a long list of teams who would happily take 23rd in the rankings. But going into Lubbock is no easy task, as the Longhorns will find out.
FINAL SCORE: Texas Tech 24, Texas 21

16 Texas A&M at 15 Mississippi State .....CORRECT
Games in which the teams are ranked only one spot apart are hard to call upsets, but I am picking A&M to knock off Mississippi State, even in Starkville. The Bulldogs are coming of a demoralizing loss to Alabama, while the Aggies are riding high after putting up over 400 yards of offense in one half in Auburn. Aggies QB Johnny Football will lead his team to victory.
FINAL SCORE: Texas A&M 27, Mississippi State 21

Ole Miss at 6 Georgia .....CORRECT
The lone match-up on our slate not featuring two ranked teams (since I always pick the Georgia game). Georgia is coming off arguably their biggest win in the last several years, knocking off second-ranked Florida in Jacksonville. The Dawgs now control their destiny (I hate that phrase, it is an over-worn cliché that is actually semantically impossible) in the SEC East. Win out, Georgia, and you get to play for the SEC Championship.
FINAL SCORE: Georgia 31, Ole Miss 14

24 Oklahoma State at 2 Kansas State .....CORRECT
If you told me that no SEC team would be allowed to play for the national title this season, then I would go all in on the Wildcats. QB Collin (Optimus) Klein leads one of the most balanced teams in the country to the field of battle against Oklahoma State. The surprising Cowboys are ranked 24th in the country, but I think it’ll be a short-lived ranking. It’s hard to win in Manhattan.
FINAL SCORE: Kansas State 28, Oklahoma State 14

1 Alabama at 5 LSU .....CORRECT
This is the third time in a year that the Crimson Tide is meeting the Tigers. The first time resulted in a 9-6 LSU victory. The second time resulted in ‘Bama keeping LSU from crossing midfield in a 21-0 National Championship Game debacle. What lies in store this time? Well, frankly, Alabama is the best team in the nation. They just knocked off Mississippi State, who might’ve been playing their best football in my lifetime. The Tide knows that a win here locks them into Atlanta. LSU knows the same thing, but I don’t think the Tigers have the strength to take down the mighty Tide.
FINAL SCORE: Alabama 30, LSU 17

The Right Wing Top Ten
Some major changes to the RW Top Ten.  Just the Top Ten this week.

10. Clemson Tigers
Clemson needs to keep up their pace if they hope for an at-large bid to the BCS.

9. South Carolina Gamecocks
Don’t look for South Carolina to hang around the top ten for too long. Sadly, they’ve lost start running back Marcus Lattimore for at least the rest of this season…maybe longer.

8. Florida State
The Seminoles still have some big games coming up, but their complete destruction of Duke puts them in the 8-spot this week.

7. Florida Gators
Florida came out very flat against Georgia in the sloppiest game of the century.

6. Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia came out on fire against Florida. The defense played its best game all year. Couple that with the fact that Florida’s offense played its worst game all year and you have a UGA win in Jacksonville.

5. Louisiana State Tigers
You get a week off, you move up one spot. Not bad, if you’re an LSU fan.

4. Oregon Ducks
You put up 70 on Colorado, only to watch Notre Dame leapfrog you. Just remember, Ducks, you are only now coming into the meat of your schedule. Those two teams currently ranked ahead of you have already played the worst of theirs. Also, you have a conference championship game. They don’t.

3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Irish took apart Oklahoma in a way I did not see coming. Brian Kelly’s squad is playing some great defense and is trying to make a case for the BCS National Championship Game.

2. Kansas State Wildcats
K-State looked every bit the #2 team in the nation in their dismantling of Texas Tech. The Wildcats may be the most balanced team, after Alabama.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide 
One of these weeks I’ll get to type something other than Alabama is simply the best team in the nation.

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