A Leopard Can't Change His Spots

Linebacker Willie Williams was kicked off the Louisville football team after being arrested earlier this week. He was pulled over by the cops (after pursuing him several blocks) who found him attempting to hide/destroy marijuana by chewing on it. They found pot elsewhere in the car and charged him with misdemeanor possession, misdemeanor driving without a license, and a felony for tampering with evidence.
You may remember that on a recruiting trip to the University of Florida, a few years ago, Williams hugged a female student without her permission, hit a man at a bar and set off three fire extinguishers in his hotel, all in a span of five hours.
That prompted a review of Williams's background which showed that he had been arrested 11 times starting when he was only 14 years old.
Williams enrolled at Miami (who took him because hey, what's one more criminal on the roster), redshirted one year, played sparingly in another, then asked for his release.

What I'm Watching: Week 5

12:00pm LSU vs. Tulane (ESPN2) - It's always good to watch the best teams in the country play, even if the games are only interesting for a half, or a quarter, or a half of a quarter. I won't be watching Notre Dame because they suck and I don't care about teams that suck.

1:38pm Oklahoma vs. Colorado (FSN) - Should be starting right around the time the LSU game turns into a blowout. Right now Oklahoma is the third ranked team in the nation. They should beat Colorado, even on the road which would set up a great matchup next week against Texas.

3:30pm California vs. Oregon (ABC) - You think the Pac-10 is weak? The winner of this game becomes poised for a huge game against USC. That's the good thing about the Pac-10, everyone plays everyone else. Dennis Dixon vs. DeSean Jackson should be exciting to watch. The over/under on this game is 72. I expect at least 80.

8:00pm USC vs. Washington (ABC) - I chose this one over Auburn/Florida but because of remote controls you don't have to. What an early season schedule for Washington, before October 1st they'll have played Syracuse, The Ohio State, Boise State (Derek's 3 favorite teams) and now USC. As impressive as Jake Locker is I'd be shocked if the Huskies stayed within 20 points of the Trojans.

Pumpin' For Thursday: Week 5

Southern Miss (+10.5) at Boise State, Over/Under 49.5

Vegas Algebra says: Boise State 30.0, Southern Miss 19.5

Thoughts: Both Southern Miss and Boise State were off last weekend, giving both squads a chance to rest and a week to prepare. However, nothing prepares a school to play on the “Smurf Turf” of Boise State’s home field. In fact, Boise State is riding a 31-game home winning streak in regular season games and is 53-2 in its last 55 home games overall. That is true home-field advantage.

This Broncos squad is not the giant-killing, Fiesta Bowl-winning squad of last year with the loss of starting QB Jared Zabransky to the NFL. RB Ian Johnson still leads a rushing offense that racks up 199 yards per game, although collectively their opponents allowed an average of 208 YPG. Also, the 30 PPG average of the Broncos is misleading. After rolling Weber St. at home 56-7, Boise State only managed 10 points in a 24-10 road loss at Washington and 24 points in a 24-14 home victory over Wyoming (The Broncos were a 12 point home favorite in that contest).

Southern Miss averages 27.3 PPG, scoring 35, 19, and 28 points in their three games. The 19 points came in a 39-19 road loss to Tennessee, which they followed up with a 28-21 victory at East Carolina. This will be the Golden Eagles third road game in a row.

Sophomore tailback Damion Fletcher is the workhorse of the Southern Miss offense, leading a rushing attack that is averaging 182 yards per game on the ground. Senior QB Jeremy Young is a dual-threat option, passing for over 200 YPG and chipping in over 60 yards rushing per game.

With both teams favoring the ground game and Southern Miss coming in averaging over 27 PPG, it was surprising to see Boise State as a double-digit favorite. Truth is, oddsmakers usually give the Broncos a 6 to 6.5-point edge for the blue field before taking into account the opponent. With this knowledge, the Broncos are 32-12 ATS as home favorites since they started making lines on there games.

Suggestion: With two run-oriented teams and Boise State probably still receiving the benefit of the doubt based on previous years, this line is way over-inflated. Take Southern Miss plus the points. The half-point on the over/under allows for a 28-21 Boise State victory. Go under.

Mike Gundy is a Man!

Jenni Carlson of "The Daily Oklahoman" newspaper in Oklahoma City penned this column questioning the attitude of former starting QB Bobby Reid.

This is what Head Coach Mike Gundy thought of it...



I sometimes wonder if coaches do this just to make YouTube at this point.

Mike Patrick, "Leave Britney Alone"

I've said before on this blog that Mike Patrick is a perfect college football announcer when he isn't paired with blowhards who go off tangent. Well I think he thought he was at a Duke blowout of Florida State with Dick Vitale instead of an overtime SEC game.



Also...a pretty good ending to a football game.