Week 9 Precap

It's a little quieter through most of this week, as most of the higher-ranked teams are playing teams that they should handle easily. However, there are some good, lower-level games going on earlier in the day this weekend, but things get very spicy Saturday night, with some good games out West. One's a big to-do, and the other's a humdinger. I leave it to you to figure out which is which. But, since we have to wait all day for the good games, I'm going to wait until the last couple of games on the list before I make those picks.

Before we get to that, I do have a comment. The problem with relatively calm weeks is that they usually turn out not to be. A couple bad bounces, a couple bad decisions, an underdog executing a perfect gameplan, and a favorite that was too cocky starts trying to do too much, then they start getting frustrated, then they start forcing things and making even more mistakes. Next thing you know, a bad, mediocre, or underrated team gets a signature win. It's a good weekend to rake leaves, but keep your headphones tuned to your local sports station.

North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech

Dang it, both teams have the same number of losses. I really want to follow the ACC rule: pick the unranked team against the ranked team. Somehow, I just can't. I'll take Virginia Tech to get their groove back against the Tarheels.

West Virginia vs. South Florida

South Florida is in the midst of their annual swoon, though this one got started a little earlier than usual this year. I would like to see Jim Leavitt develop more depth so that this sort of thing would stop happening. But I am starting to wonder if he doesn't trust his second-stringers to hold a lead while his starters take some time off to get their legs back. Maybe he doesn't have solid-enough second-stringers. Either way, West Virginia is still solidly in the Big East race, but they seem to always have problems with South Florida. However, much of that was based on their offense playing right into the hands of the Bulls defense. West Virginia's offense has changed and South Florida has not, so I'll go with West Virginia.

Rutgers vs. Connecticut

How does Rutgers have a better record than Connecticut? Connecticut will take care of that issue this weekend.

Indiana vs. Iowa

Iowa has been on a roll, but they should not sleep on Indiana. I've seen Indiana play and they really aren't that bad. They play with abandon and execute a solid gameplan. Iowa cannot take a week off against the Hoosiers. However, they should be okay, assuming that they are not looking two weeks ahead to Ohio State. But don't be surprised if Indiana makes them work for four quarters. Come to think of it, would that really be a surprise?

Cincinnati vs. Syracuse

I don't know why, but something in my brain is nagging me about this game. I don't know what it is. Cincinnati should, by all rights, knock snot bubbles out of Syracuse. But Syracuse has been scrappy. Still, that doesn't explain why I get the feeling that this one will be more interesting later in the game than I or anyone else has any right to expect. But I'd be nuts to pick against the Bearcats in this game. I'll go with Cincinnati.

Mississippi vs. Auburn

Let's see, we have one team that was expected to do well, but has been a disappointment. We have another team that was not expected to do well, then did well, then was expected to do well, then has been a disappointment. Huh. Well, I am still on the record as saying that Mississippi is a pretty good team that was only guilty of not being as great as everyone made them out to be. I'll pick Mississippi to continue rebounding after their big win over Arkansas.

Southern Miss vs. Houston

Houston has been pretty good all year, one game against UTEP excepted. But Southern Miss is almost always a difficult out. But with the national pressure off of Houston, they should be able to relax and play football up to their ability. Which is to say, they will win.

Georgia vs. Florida

If Georgia can get Florida into a shootout, I think the Bulldogs have the advantage. Unfortunately, that would require Georgia to score tons of points on Florida. Florida wins what is not the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

Michigan vs. Illinois

The thing about Ron Zook is that he tends to get a lot of very good players, then he can never quite pull them all together and get them to win at the level of their individual talent. But he always has one game where, for some reason, everything clicks like it should and they suddenly pull off a huge win out of nowhere. I think that will happen this week against a Michigan team that is looking loose at the seams.

Kansas vs. Texas Tech

This is a tough one. Texas Tech laid an egg against Texas A&M, and Kansas has been struggling on defense. But I'll take Kansas, because I have faith in Todd Reesing.

South Carolina vs. Tennessee

Tennessee has been oh-so-close in their big games this year, but has yet to post a signature win. South Carolina has spent the last few years trying to figure out their offense and how to get over the hump against good teams. However, I think the two teams' defenses are, in different ways, set up very well to contain the other team's offense. At yhe end, I've got to go with Tennessee to, finally, make Lane Kiffin look like less of an idiot. He should enjoy it while it lasts. Come to think of it, we all should.

Texas vs. Oklahoma State

Not knowing all the details, rules, regulations, and whatnot associated with the Dez Bryant case, I can't and won't comment on his year-long suspension. What I do know is that Oklahoma State is missing a vital part of their offensive machine, just as they are about to play their biggest game of the year. Some teams can take their frustrations out on the team that is unfortunate enough to play them the week following such disastrous news. Oklahoma State is not that sort of team. Texas wins.

USC vs. Oregon

Okay, college football fans, you know the drill. Repeat after me, "USC is facing its toughest test yet in the Pac-10. They are going against a team that is loaded and ready to take on the Trojans. This looks like a team that is ready to loosen USC's iron grip on the conference, especially after USC showed its vulnerability in a heartbreaking loss to a team that they were expected to dominate. Will this be the year that USC's reign over the Pac-10 comes to an end?"

The answer, by the way, has been, "No," so often that I fail to see why I should go against that trend. USC wins again.