The Week That Will Be (11.02.2013)

Last Week: 4-2 ATS 5-1 SU
For the Year: 28-24-2 (.538) $120 ATS 44-10 (.815) SU

What we learned last week:

• Connor Shaw is Mr. Clutch, delivering three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and overtime periods to bring South Carolina back from a 17-0 deficit in a game where he wasn’t even supposed to play.

• While Tennessee has shown signs of life in the SEC this year, they have now lost to Oregon and Alabama by a combined score of 104-24. Ouch.

• Oregon can be contained…for three quarters.

• Baylor’s Bryce Petty had 348 passing yards against Kansas…in the first half. No mention of national awards for him?

• Is it possible that Texas Tech showed more in a loss than they have in most of their wins this season?

• Lightning delays really, really stink.

How about some Random College Football Thoughts this week:

• The last time that Florida State and Miami both entered their rivalry game ranked in the Top Ten was 2004, when Frank Gore and Xavier Lee were still around. Of course FSU is a three-touchdown favorite here, but it is nice to see this game have some relevance again.

• It is not a good week to be a Pelini. Nebraska loses to Minnesota, turning up the heat on Bo’s already hot seat, and Carl resigns his position at Florida Atlantic amid rumors of alleged drug use. They are probably also St. Louis Cardinals fans.

• Nick Saban this week complained about students leaving games early – yeah, perhaps this Texas thing wouldn’t work out.

• Oh Baylor. Quit sending out press releases when you take the tarp off your stands. It is embarrassing. You have a Top 5 team and play in a 50,000 seat stadium. You should be able to sell every seat.

• You think Mack Brown is kicking himself for not hiring Greg Robinson in say, January?

• Friday, November 8th really needs to be a work holiday. On Thursday night, Oklahoma and Baylor square off at 6:30 PM (we’re removing the TARP!), and Oregon and Stanford kickoff at 8:00 PM. Hook up two TVs in the living room, get your favorite craft beer and send the kids to bed early.

• Ohio State’s schedule the rest of the way: @ Purdue, @ Illinois, Indiana, @ Michigan, Big10 Championship. Yeah. You might need to start scheduling a tougher non-conference schedule, Urban.

• Please wake me up when the Heisman ceremony is over. The award became moot when neither Vince Young nor Colt McCoy won it.

• I wonder if for Halloween Oliver Luck will go as West Virginia’s athletic director.

• Remember when TCU was picked by many to win the Big 12? Or when Texas Tech was picked to finish near the bottom? Or when Blake Bell was the next great Oklahoma quarterback? Or when Oklahoma State had too many good quarterbacks? Or when Baylor had a tarp in their stands?

On to the games...

Tennessee @ Missouri -11.5:

I was going to note that Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley will miss this game with injury, but would suggest that he would have made a difference here.

Missouri 41 Tennessee 24
ATS – Missouri
SU – Missouri

Georgia -2.5 vs. Florida:

Two teams desperate for a win square off in the World’s Largest Cocktail Party, which might turn into a Find This Guy a New Job Party for the losing team.

Florida’s defense has been solid, but they had some trouble against Missouri. Georgia can be just as explosive.

Georgia 28 Florida 16
ATS – Georgia
SU – Georgia

Miami @ Florida State -21.5:

Miami has fallen behind by 10 points or more in three straight games. But, Florida State isn’t Georgia Tech, North Carolina or Wake Forest. Do it here and the game is over.

They’ll be able to give the Seminoles a better game than most, but they just don’t have the offense to keep up.

Florida State 34 Miami 21
ATS – Miami
SU – Florida State

West Virginia @ TCU -13:

The Mountaineers have lost three straight Big 12 match-ups, losing to Baylor, Texas Tech and Kansas State, giving up 145 points in the process…they are simply dreadful, but how much better is TCU at this point?

Casey Pachall was supposed to be the savior of this offense, yet he only threw for 139 yards on 34 (!) attempts against Texas. They should find things easier against a West Virginia defense that is ranked 102nd in the country. At least you would think so.

TCU 27 West Virginia 21
ATS – West Virginia
SU – TCU

Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech -2:

Texas Tech has the better offense, better defense and is at home. Sounds like a winner to me. Add to that Oklahoma State’s quarterback problems and Tech should break OSU’s four-game win streak in this series.

Texas Tech 44 Oklahoma State 31
ATS – Texas Tech
SU – Texas Tech

Kansas @ Texas -28:

How dreadful is Kansas? They haven’t scored more than 19 points since the first game of the season, when they defeated South Dakota 31-14. They’re averaging 15.5 points per game in their other six contests, which won’t get you very far in an offensive conference.

They don’t convert many third downs (115th), can’t score in the red zone (113th), and don’t get many first downs (121st), either.

Their lone bright spot on offense is running back James Sims, who did run for 176 yards on Texas last season in Lawrence, and is averaging 4.6 yards per carry this season. But, of course, it is hard to keep handing it off to the running back when you are down big.

Defensively it isn’t much better for the Jayhawks, as they are 101st in the country in total defense, 99th in rushing defense and 89th in passing defense.
Simply put, this is a game where Texas should be able to do what it wants to do on both sides of the ball quite easily.

Horns hand Kansas their 25th straight Big 12 loss in easy fashion.

Texas 44 Kansas 10
ATS – Texas
SU – Texas

For entertainment purposes only. Save your money for the inevitable Jonas Brothers Reunion Tour.