Football Future-see 2013: Week Seven

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
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Total	29-6	.829

Well, when you crash, sometimes you crash hard. 3-2 after two straight 5-0 weeks hurts. Maybe I can do better this time out. For Week Seven, I’ve got two SEC conference games, then one conference game apiece from the Big XII, B1G, and the PAC-12. Also, this is the first week of the Right Wing Top Ten.

2 Oregon at 16 Washington (4:00pm, FoxSports1)

Our PAC-12 game features Oregon traveling to Washington. It’s entirely possible that Washington is the best team Oregon has played so far. The Huskies are for real, hanging very close with Stanford. But Oregon is just too much. QB Marcus Mariota might very well be the best all-around player in the nation. Look for Washington to keep it close until the third quarter, at which time Oregon will pull away.

Final Score: Oregon 42, Washington 20

19 Northwestern at Wisconsin (3:30pm, ABC)

I though Northwestern could beat Ohio State, and they nearly did. But, the game is over; Northwestern lost, and consequently dropped a few spots. The Wildcats now travel to Wisconsin to battle the Badgers. Wildcats QB Kain Colter really impressed me against the Buckeyes, and RB Venric Mark shows loads of promise. But Wisconsin is better than their record suggests. They hung with Ohio State just as Northwestern did, which begs the question: Is the B1G more loaded than we thought, or is Ohio State not really as good as we thought? The Badgers should have one more win than their record indicates, but a group of PAC-12 officials kept them from the opportunity. Northwestern wins, but it should be a great game.

Final Score: Northwestern 31, Wisconsin 24

25 Missouri at 7 Georgia (12:00pm, ESPN)

Can one team possibly suffer more injuries than Georgia in one game? The Dawgs lost so many offensive stars against Tennessee…and they still won. Why? Aaron Murray. The QB has truly shed the label of choking on the big stage. This will be a tough test, though. Missouri is playing good football, having recently hung 50+ on Vanderbilt (no longer an easy task). Georgia RB Todd Gurley may be back for this one, which will help the now depleted Georgia passing game. Maybe this is just a prediction with the heart instead of the head, but I’m still going Georgia.

Final Score: Georgia 28, Missouri 21

17 Florida at 10 LSU (3:30pm, CBS)

The other SEC game on the slate matches Florida and LSU in their yearly conflict. Florida has one of the best defenses in the nation, while LSU has an explosive offense with two of the best WRs around. Florida is running with a back-up QB, which has worked so far. LSU will pressure them a little more, and the Tigers will be able to score like no one else Florida has played so far. This will be a good game, but look for LSU to prevail.

Final Score: LSU 27, Florida 20

12 Oklahoma vs Texas (Cotton Bowl) (12:00pm, ABC)

The Red River Shootout looks to be rather lopsided this year. Oklahoma is simply far superior to Texas. The Longhorns have losses to BYU and Ole Miss on their record, and only escaped Iowa State thanks to some shady referee work. I can’t see Oklahoma losing this game. If it gets really out of hand, we may see a very early departure of Mack Brown from Austin.

Final Score: Oklahoma 45, Texas 17

The Right Wing Top Ten

See, poll voters, this is how it should be done. You can wait until a few weeks have passed and so learn who is the best in the nation. You’ll note that Louisville is not in my Top Ten. Sorry, Cardinals, but you can’t play that weak of a schedule and expect me to lump you in with the big boys.

10. Louisiana State Tigers

Only LSU can claim to be even remotely as battle tested as Georgia. The Tigers, though, lost to UGA, so they are ranked farther back. Perhaps it is SEC bias on my part that 4 SEC teams are in the Top Ten. But they all have to play SEC conference schedules. Georgia has already played 3 top ten teams, LSU, A&M, and Alabama all have to play each other.

9. Miami Hurricanes

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

8. Texas A&M Aggies

Losing by only a touchdown to the Crimson Tide is nothing to be ashamed of. Putting up 42 on that same Crimson Tide team is a worthy accomplishment.

7. Ohio State Buckeyes

For a while, I didn’t consider Ohio State worthy of so high a ranking. But they’ve beaten Wisconsin, who is better than their record, and they went into a madhouse in Evanston and knocked off Northwestern.

6. Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia is decimated on the offensive side of the ball. I’ve never seen so many players go down with injury in one game. That said, Aaron Murray is easily having the best year of his career. He’s shed the “can’t-win-the-big-one” label and been the absolute leader of this team. No one is as battle tested as the Dawgs.

5. Florida State Seminoles

Maryland looked like a decent Top 25 team going into the game last Saturday. FSU made us realize that was a fraud. 63-0 over a top 25 conference foe gets you a lot of props.

4. Stanford Cardinal

Stanford is one of the best teams in the nation on both sides of the trenches. Their match-up with Oregon will possibly decide one half of the National Championship Game.

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 is just plain impressive. A season-opening win over Georgia set their course. Fans are still waiting on them to “pull a Clemson,” but I’m not sure they will. An upcoming game with FSU will tell us a lot more about the Tigers, but for now I’m comfortable putting them #2.

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.