Football Future-see 2013: Week Eight

RECORD

Week 1	8-2
Week 2	4-1
Week 3	4-1
Week 4	5-0
Week 5	5-0
Week 6	3-2
Week 7	2-3
Week 8	1-4
Week 9
Week 10
Total	32-13	.711

The Great Crash of 2013 continues.

That hurt. Man, did that hurt. I haven’t been under .500 for a week since Week 14 of 2012. But Northwestern not showing up in Madison, going with the heart over the head in Athens, and a Texas team that suddenly remembered how to play football all cost me three wins. Oregon won 45-24…I predicted a Ducks win of 42-20, and LSU stymied Florida. I’m beginning to wonder if anyone can even survive the SEC East. The rate of attrition is staggering. Georgia has lost three wide receivers (two for the year, one may be back in late November), two running backs (one is primed to return, the other is out for the year), and a punter (concussion on what might or might not have been a cheap shot). Florida is down several starters on both sides of the ball. South Carolina lost QB Connor Shaw for a short time. Now Missouri is going to be without star QB James Franklin for the next 3-5 weeks. And it’s a darn good bet that one of those four teams will represent the East in the SEC Championship Game. Assuming they all survive…

(As an aside, if Georgia somehow manages to get back to Atlanta, then it’s a safe assumption they will also make a bowl game against a ranked team. If that happens, Georgia will have potentially played as many as eight ranked teams in one season. So the idea that the SEC doesn’t play tough enough schedules starts to sound ludicrous.)

So what’s on deck, this week? Four games matching Top 25 opponents and the obligatory UGA pick. Among the Top 25s, we have an ACC match-up, a PAC-12 match-up, and two SEC games.

5 Florida State at 3 Clemson (8:00pm, ABC).....CORRECT

The game of the week. Also the second time in two months that College GameDay has been to Clemson. The Tigers are coming off a relatively weak performance in a win over Boston College, and Dabo Swinney’s squad will undoubtedly be looking to make their case as the possible top team in the nation. But Florida State is playing some of the best football of anyone in the game. Freshman QB Jameis Winston is a beast. Another 8pm start time, another visit from GameDay, and you have to figure another raucous crowd welcoming in the visiting team. But I think FSU can do what Georgia came just short of doing. Florida State wins a close one. I’m actually more interested in seeing is Lee Corso picks FSU, simply because of this:

Final Score: Florida State 28, Clemson 26

22 Florida at 14 Missouri (12:21pm, ESPN 3).....INCORRECT

Missouri just notched arguably their biggest win since joining the SEC, knocking off Georgia between the hedges. But it was a costly win, as they’ll now be without QB James Franklin for over a month. The Gators are even more injury-riddled than Missouri, though. It seems like Florida loses someone to injury every week. This war of attrition will eventually allow one team to separate from the pack in the East. It’ll be a tough test for the Gator to travel into Columbia, considering their recent loss in Baton Rouge. But I think the combination of a hungry Florida team and a QB-lacking Missouri team spells upset. Plus, just imagine the chaos a Florida win would bring to the SEC East.

Final Score: Florida 21, Missouri 17

15 Georgia at Vanderbilt (12:00pm, CBS).....INCORRECT

Will Todd Gurley be back on the field for the Dawgs? If so, then it may prove the catalyst that boosts the Georgia offense. Frankly, the team is sputtering, but that’s what a massively difficult schedule (the four ranked opponents they’ve played this year are currently ranked #3, #6, #11, and #14) and a hailstorm of injuries (see introduction) will do. Vanderbilt is not playing up to their recent levels, either, though. The Commodores gave up 51 to Missouri and is currently giving up an average of 42 points per loss. The three wins Vandy has notched this year have come against Austin Peay, Massachusetts, and Alabama-Birmingham. And life doesn’t get easier for the ‘Dores, as Texas A&M welcomes Vandy to College Station next week. If UGA QB Aaron Murray has Gurley backing him up Saturday, expect Georgia to get back on the winning track. The Dawgs next have a bye week and then travel to Jacksonville for the yearly battle with Florida.

Final Score: Georgia 31, Vanderbilt 17

24 Auburn at 7 Texas A&M (3:30pm, CBS).....INCORRECT

Auburn coming in at #24 allowed the SEC to set a record by getting eight teams in the AP Top 25. That’s right, better than 30% of the AP Poll comes from the same conference and the balance is evident: four from the West, four from the East. But remember, Big XII coaches have told us the SEC is top-heavy and the top-to-bottom depth is not as good as other conferences. I expect Auburn to bring their A-Game against the Flying Johnny Footballs, but the Aggies will simply be too much for them to contain. Auburn may even have the lead at halftime, but I look for Johnny Manziel to make things happen for the Aggie offense. A&M win.

Final Score: Texas A&M 35, Auburn 24

9 UCLA at 13 Stanford (3:30pm, ABC/ESPN 2).....INCORRECT

What to make of Stanford? The Cardinal has, quite possibly, the best front seven in the nation on defense. So a staggering loss to unranked Utah is confounding. And there’s not much time to recover, as an even tougher test, in the form of a rolling UCLA squad, is coming to Palo Alto. Can Stanford get back to their winning ways? Or is this the beginning of the end for David Shaw’s Cardinal team in 2013? UCLA is averaging nearly 46 points per game. Stanford is giving up just over 22 per game. UCLA has already beaten Utah, and Utah beat Stanford. Now, I don’t like applying the transitive property to football, because teams match up differently against other teams. But I kinda get the sense that UCLA knows they can stamp their mark on the PAC-12 with a win here.

Final Score: UCLA 34, Stanford 28

The Right Wing Top Ten

Week Two of the Right Wing Top Ten.

In this week: South Carolina, UCLA

Out this week: Georgia, Stanford

10. South Carolina Gamecocks

The Gamecocks re-crack the Top Ten thanks to a solid one-loss record, but more tests await, like a game against Florida and the yearly battle with Clemson.

8. UCLA Bruins

The Bruins have been fairly impressive out of the PAC-12.

9. Miami Hurricanes

Miami has a win over Florida and has run well in the ACC so far, beating Georgia Tech, for one.

7. Texas A&M Aggies

I’ll be honest; the Aggies are only here because they have an impressive single-loss resume in the SEC West. Earn it from the point forward, Aggies.

6. Ohio State Buckeyes

I hate putting the Buckeyes this high, as the mediocrity of the B1G is really becoming apparent.

5. Louisiana State Tigers

LSU has knocked off Florida and only lost to Georgia by 3. That’s a good resume, but a November tussle with Alabama will tell us all we need to know about these Tigers.

4. Florida State Seminoles

The game against Clemson looms larger and larger. Jameis Winston will have the Noles ready for the raucous environment that is Death Valley.

3. Oregon Ducks

Nothing against you Oregon, but we’ll know a lot more about you over the next few weeks. It’s not your fault Clemson currently has the more impressive resume.

2. Clemson Tigers

Clemson gets their biggest test of the year (sorry, Georgia) when a hungry #5 (AP) FSU rolls into Death Valley Saturday. That game could be a de facto semi-final for the National Championship.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide

I’m going to leave Alabama as the #1 team, given they are defending National Champions and are unbeaten. They still have LSU in November, but they’ve already topped Texas A&M and shut out Ole Miss