Trent's Touchdown - Week 9

Well, I’m rest and back from Puerto Rico and ready to run down this week’s games. Thankfully the Duchess was tired after our trip to Old San Juan so I got to watch the ends of the Alabama/Tennessee and Miami/Clemson games. Even when I go away, the games stay crazy. Hopefully, it’ll be just as exciting this weekend. Anyway, on to the Touchdown.

1) No. 5 USC at No. 10 Oregon – 8:00 on ABC

Unless something weird happens (which is a distinct possibility) this game will decide the Pac-10 champion. If you told me after week 1 that this game would be this big, I would tell you that maybe it’s time to stop sniffing glue.

Oregon has been completely locked in since the infamous Boise State game. Jeremiah Masoli leads the high powered Oregon offense and is suffering no ill effects of the knee injury that sidelined him two weeks ago. The USC defense, which has struggled as of late, will have issues trying to contain Masoli.

On the other side, USC has looked a little shaky all season, with the loss to Washington and the narrow victory against Notre Dame. Freshman QB Matt Barkley makes dumb mistakes, which is going to cause headaches against a ball-hawking Oregon defense. Expect to see USC try and establish the run to try and ease Barkley into the game.

I cannot, in good conscience, pick USC in this one. All signs point to an Oregon win. Oregon is good on both sides of the ball and USC can go long stretches without looking like a patented USC team. I think the home crowd leads Oregon to victory, but the USC defense finally steps up and makes it close.

2) No. 3 Texas at No. 14 Oklahoma State – 8:00 on ABC

I’m not sure if this is going to be one of those Texas games where they blow the doors off the opponent or where they struggle before sealing the deal late and you chastise yourself for every worrying about the outcome.

I like Texas. They are a flawed team, but no one seems to know how to exploit it. The flaw is really Colt McCoy. God love the kid, but he can get lazy and unfocused at times. That interception near the end against Oklahoma was horrible. The sad thing was that I saw it coming from a mile away (as did the DB). Thankfully for him, he has a great defense saving his hide.

Don’t laugh at this next statement, but Oklahoma State is a better team without Dez Bryant. I said don’t laugh! His suspension forces Zac Robinson to step up and make plays without his binky. He now has to spread the ball around, making it tough for defenses to key in on any one receiver. Of course, it makes it easier for defenses to stop the run, but that’s not the point.

I think Texas lets the game stay interesting for a little bit, then kicks it into that other gear and takes Oklahoma State behind the woodshed.

3) No. 1 Florida vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville) – 3:30 on CBS

The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is back for this year’s edition. Yet another reason for people to take a week off and get drunk. Like you need an excuse.

Florida has been having some trouble of late, ever since Tebow came back from the concussion. His passing efficiency has gone down while his interceptions have gone up. If it hadn’t been for Demps and timely plays by the defense, they might be in trouble.

Georgia, on the other hand, has floundered against good teams. While Joe Cox is a good game manager, he isn’t Matt Stafford, and that is what they need. They are coming off a bye week that was preceded by a win against a JV team (Vandy). Plus, the defense for Georgia is horrible, and that’s an understatement. This may be what Tebow needs to get back on track.

I think Florida needs a loss to get them back into the swing of things, much like last year. However, this isn’t the game they lose. It will stay close if Tebow decides to be the quarterback he’s been the last few weeks, instead of the one of the last few years.

4) No. 19 Miami at Wake Forest – 3:30 on ABC

Give me one second to gloat. Both of these teams lost to Clemson. That puts a smile on my face. While both teams need a lot of help to reach the ACC Championship Game, I think this one could be interesting.

Miami will be without four players for this game, most importantly leading rusher Javarris James. The fate of the Miami offense now rests on the unsteady shoulders of Jacory Harris. I’m not saying Harris is bad; I just don’t want to have to trust him. The one thing Miami has going for them right now is the defense, and that’s not a good thing.

Wake Forest has lost two straight, both on the road against Clemson and Navy. The reason for the two losses is solely because Riley Skinner couldn’t get it done. If you have a pass oriented offense, you sort of need your quarterback to produce. Skinner needs to break out to give Wake a chance.

I think Skinner does break out of the rut and keeps Wake Forest close, but Miami pulls it out in the end.

5) No. 22 South Carolina at Tennessee – 7:45 on ESPN

While this game may not be pretty, it should be close. Both teams are coming off close games, with SC barely getting by Vandy at home and Tennessee’s devastating loss to Alabama (two blocked field goals!).

Tennessee actually has a very competent offense, led by the surprising Jonathan Crompton. In year’s past, I would have made a joke about Crompton’s abilities, but he is actually doing quite well this year. The team is balanced out by a very good defense that is led by one of the best safety’s in the country, Eric Berry.

South Carolina hasn’t been flashy, but they’ve been winning and that’s the important thing. Stephen Garcia, like his Tennessee counterpart, is also quite competent at running the SC offense. He won’t wow you, but he won’t kill you either. They also have one of the best pass defenses in the league, which will be more than willing to frustrate Crompton.

South Carolina seems to have problems on the road and I think those problems will continue this week. Tennessee won’t have to worry about blocked field goals and pull out a close one.

6) No. 8 Cincinnati at Syracuse – 12:00 on ESPNU

Come on; watch the undefeated team that no one is talking about. They could easily backdoor their way into the National Championship Game, so jump on the bandwagon now.

Extra Point:

7) Seven. Count them up. There are seven undefeated teams out there right now, each one with a rightful claim that if they can win out they deserve to be in the National Championship Game. Now, you, me, and Dupree all know that if everyone wins out, the winner of the SEC Championship Game and Texas will be playing in that game. But is it right?

Minus the Big East apple polishers, I think we can all agree that a one loss Alabama team is better than an undefeated Cincinnati team (and I like Cincinnati!). However, doesn’t Cincinnati deserve to be in the discussion? Do they get sidelined because of the perceived weakness of the Big East?

For the sake of argument, let’s say we end the season with the undefeated teams of Texas, Alabama, Iowa, and Cincinnati. Why do we have to sideline Iowa and Cincinnati? Are they being dismissed not because of their conference, but because of who they are?

We always seem to reward one loss teams like USC, but are more than willing to discount undefeated teams like Iowa and Cincinnati. How does USC get ranked than 3 undefeated teams, one of them being in a BCS conference? This is the same USC team that doused their drawers against a Washington team that was winless last year.

Here’s the thing, if we end up with multiple undefeated teams, the dreaded P word is going to start popping up again. However, without a playoff, there is no clear way to decide which team is more deserving than others. Hell, most of the computer polls have Iowa as the number 1 team in the country.

The BCS is good at one thing, creating controversy. I think it would be almost fairer to have all the coaches of the teams with an argument to have a big rock, paper, scissors tournament to see which two teams play in the National Championship Game. Of course, Pete Carroll looks like the kind of guy who thinks nothing beats rock, but that’s a whole other discussion.