Week 11 Recap and Week 12 Preview

Well, things got a little clearer, yet a little muddier this weekend. Clearer: if LSU and Oklahoma State win out, that’s your championship match-up. Muddier: What the heck do you do with one loss Alabama, Oregon, Oklahoma, Va. Tech, and God forbid, Arkansas if they beat LSU in a couple weeks? And let’s not forget about what may be the hottest team in the country: Georgia. Can you imagine what happens if we end up with a couple upsets in the PAC-12 and SEC Championship games? Those scenarios make my head want to explode.

I was only 2-3 in big games this past weekend, but still a respectable 31-14 overall.

Now here’s the Autumn Wind’s week 11 Top-10 recap (a little early this week – I’ll be out in the sticks Monday-Thursday with no interwebz access):

1. I haven’t looked, but this has to be a record breaking season for points scored. It seems every weekend there’s a handful of games with teams scoring 65+. Many of them multiple times.

2. Both Alabama and LSU had hangover games and started slow, but luckily it was against crappy teams, so they still wound up with victories.

3. Have I said before that Oklahoma State is special? Let’s get this out there: Texas Tech went into Norman and beat Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State went into Lubbock and beat Tech 66-6. Bedlam is gonna be bedlam when the Sooners come to Stillwater in the de-facto Big-12 Championship Game.

4. Ya think Boise State will be recruiting some better kickers? Two years in a row, their perfect season is ended because of a missed kick (though, in fairness, that pass interference call on 4^th down on that final drive was the worst home town refereeing I’ve seen since Hickory went up against Cedar Knob in “Hoosiers”). And hats off to Gary Patterson for going for two late in regulation.

5. Florida 5-0 v. unranked teams. 0-5 v. ranked teams. Didn’t I say that weeks ago? Yes, I did.

6. Nebraska won a tough road game over a top-15 team for the first time in many, many years, in the new era at Penn State. In the words of Forrest Gump, that’s all I’m gonna say about that.

7. More from the Big Ten – I can’t really keep track with who is in the lead for playing in the Big Ten title. It doesn’t matter; the winner gets smoked in the Rose Bowl by Oregon (if the Ducks don’t make the BCS Championship).

8. In the matchup of ugliest helmets, Notre Dame wins against Maryland. Well, they won the game at least.

9. In the last Big-12 match-up between Texas and Missouri, did Texas seriously only score five points? Wow. Mac Brown’s only loss to Mizzou comes in their last regular meeting, Good luck in the SEC, Missouri. *snicker*

10. Oregon @ Stanford recap: Much was made about how Oregon would play on long grass. Ironically, the home team, Stanford was the one slipping and sliding on the wet stuff. I can now see why they call it the Farm. The field was in poor shape. Oregon is relentless; in incredible physical shape, strong and fast; a deceptively good defense that had Luck on his heels the whole game; well coached; and executes the game plan extremely well. I admittedly have been giving favor to Stanford all year, but if they played Oregon 10 times; they lose eight of them. Nice job by Oregon.

Now on to the Top-10 in the standings:

Top-10:

#1 LSU (10-0) – Clearly #1.

#2 Oklahoma State (10-0) – Clearly #2.

#3 Oregon (9-1) – #3-#5 all have a legit claim to #3. Oregon’s is their current streak, and how many yards/points they got against LSU in week 1.

#4 Alabama (9-1) – Alabama’s case is that they lost to #1 by basically missing many field goals.

#5 Arkansas (9-1) – Arkansas’s case is that they’re as hot as Oregon, and would beat Alabama in a re-match right no.

#6 Stanford (9-1) – Though they got slaughtered by Oregon, the fact that Luck didn’t lose his composure (especially after that late pick six) confirmed that he has a legit shot at the next level.

#7 Oklahoma (8-1) – One word. Bedlam. That’s all that matters for the Sooners right now.

#8 Virginia Tech (9-1) – Meh, I had you #7 in my pre-season poll. Classic Va. Tech. Start out at #7, drop down, then slowly work your way back up.

#9 Houston (10-0) – Can you believe I have a Houston game in my big games for this week?

#10 Clemson (9-1) – Starting to be a believer (okay, not really, but I couldn’t put Georgia in the Top-10. Yet).

Rising Fast:

Oregon – If I had to match up the two hottest teams right now, it would be Oregon and Arkansas.

Falling Faster:

Arizona – Gosh this makes me smile. Seeing UofSuck lose again, this time against a crappy Colorado team. And losing as a 10 point favorite. But, the Territorial Cup is next, and sadly, the bad team usually wins.

Heisman Watch:

Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State – Huge numbers, huge scoring totals, undefeated team; and have I mentioned that Oklahoma State is special this year?

BCS Title Game Prediction:

LSU v. Oklahoma State – I’m sold. I’ve seen what Oregon could do against LSU on a neutral field. I think Oklahoma State can do better.

Week 12 Big Games:

Nebraska @ Michigan – Nebraska at the Big House! Awesome! Where the hell is Keith Jackson? Both teams need this game. Nebraska is so wounded on defense, especially the d-line; and Michigan is so fast on offense. Michigan 31 Nebraska 16

SMU @ Houston – SMU and Houston in a game with BCS relevance? Why yes!!! Houston 54 SMU 30

Oklahoma @ Baylor – Baylor keeps hanging around, and Griffin III keeps coming up with 4^th quarter comebacks. Oklahoma is off a bye, and hungry. Oklahoma 36 Baylor 30

Arizona @ Arizona State – The Territorial Cup is the oldest longstanding rivalry in the game (or whatever the specific language is – too lazy to look it up). So many times the crappy team wins and spoils the other team’s Rose Bowl dreams, but that’s not on the line here: Arizona State 186 UofSuck -12

Week 12 Games of the Week:

USC @ Oregon – USC has been surprising this year, despite the sanctions from the Petey days. Hell, I think Lame Kiffin has more wins this year than his previous three coaching jobs combined. They took Stanford to multiple O.Ts, and they have been solid when they can avoid turnovers. Will Oregon have a hangover game after the huge win @ Stanford? No. USC is like Stanford-light; and Oregon is back home. Oregon rolls: 58 to 38

Until next time…