Pumpin' for Thursday: Week 6

Kentucky at South Carolina (-3.5), Over/Under 57.5

Vegas Algebra says: South Carolina 30.5, Kentucky 27

Thoughts: By far the most intriguing Thursday game so far. South Carolina and Kentucky are both atop the SEC East and both have one impressive win (Georgia and Louisville respectively). Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson is getting Heisman consideration but Steve Spurrier is 14-0 against Kentucky.

Suggestions: For the past five weeks this site has been crunching numbers and paying attention to facts like Spurrier's record against Kentucky and South Carolina's Top 25 Defense. And PFT is slipping, therefore I am gonna pick this game solely on feel. Kentucky FEELS like a team of destiny and its rare you get a chance to pick a Top Ten team AND get 3.5 points. It's Thursday and Steve Spurrier's involved so the OVER sounds like a good bet here too.

You Can't Grieve Forever

Memphis is going to go ahead and play their nationally televised Tuesday Night ESPN game against Marshall despite the death of defensive lineman Taylor Bradford.
Bradford was shot and killed on campus Sunday evening.
The players voted, unanimously, to play this game as scheduled.

Sunday Hangover

Such a crazy week it took me a few extra days to digest the action. Half the top 10 lost, and 7 of the top 13.

USC 27 Washington 24- Don't get tied up in how close this game was. USC is still great, every team has off games, and Washington isn't bad. But thank god for the BCS. Imagine if LSU won out and we didn't have a way to guarantee those two teams would play each other? What a sham that would be.

Colorado 27 Oklahoma 24 and Kansas State 41 Texas 21-I guess that takes a little luster off the Red River Shootout this week.

Auburn 20 Florida 17- Urban Meyer tried the late timeout gimmick that worked twice in the NFL. Auburn's unflappable kicker made it twice and down go the Gators.

California 31 Oregon 24- A fun game despite only 55 points scored. 11 for 161 and 2 touchdowns for Dasean Jackson and Dennis Dixon threw for 306 yards. Cal moves up to number 3 in the country and they play USC on November 10th. That should be worth watching.

Ohio State 30 Minnesota 7 and Wisconsin 37 Michigan State 34- They're both in the top 5 nationally now and they'll face each other on November 3. But they still have to contend with Michigan which plays Wisconsin on November 10 and then Ohio State on November 17.

Maryland 34 Rutgers 24- Last year's Cinderella is this year's wicked stepsister. Make room for South Florida and Cincinnati. South Florida is #6 in the AP Poll.

Kentucky 45 Florida Atlantic 17- Kentucky is now ranked 8th. In football. For now. They played South Carolina on Thursday, then LSU and Florida. If they win all three of those games they should jump USC and everyone else into the #1 spot. If the Heisman were about on-field performance and not pre-season hype, Andre Woodson would be a top contender. 16 touchdowns, 1 interception.



Hawaii 38 Idaho 20- Colt Brennan throws for only 368 yards and 5 INTs but the Rainbow Warriors still win big.

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.