Week 9 Recap and Week 10 Preview

A couple more top-10 teams went down this weekend, though anyone that had Kansas State in the top-10 was a fool (similar to those having Florida in the top-15 after a 4-0 start). I was 3-1 in big games: extending the record to 27-9 overall. Not bad.

Now here’s the Autumn Wind’s week 9 Top-10 recap:

1. I really want to sneak Va. Tech back into my top-10, but whenever I try, they do something like only beat Duke 14-10.

2. The Blackshirts finally came to play as Nebraska dominated Michigan State from start to finish. About damn time. Nebraska @ Michigan on November 19^th will decide the Big-10 whatever it’s called sub-division.

3. And just like that, Florida is 4-4. Didn’t I call that 4 weeks ago when Florida was 4-0? Why yes, I did.

4. Can anyone slow down Oklahoma State’s offense? Even with Baylor scoring three garbage TDs in the 4^th, the Cowboys rout another opponent. They’ve scored 59 or more four times, and only UofSuck held them to less than 38. This team is special.

5. When Kansas State loses their next 3 (and fourth in a row) and folks start asking “what happened?” Answer with this: they finally started playing someone. Remember, this is team that barely won against Eastern Kentucky in week one. And, Oklahoma is back!

6. I told you I couldn’t buy what Clemson was selling…though, they’re still gonna run away with the ACC-Atlantic as the rest of that division sucks. And hurray; we’ll get a Clemson re-match with either Va. Tech or Georgia Tech in the ACC-Championship game for the right to get blasted by a real team in a BCS Bowl Game.

7. Speaking of crappy conferences, only two teams in the Big East are above .500. And this conference still gets an automatic BCS bid? Boy, that’s gotta piss off some SEC, Big-12, and PAC-12 teams…

8. Houston continues their quest for an undefeated season, and Case Keenum shattered the career D1 TD record by through for nine in the blowout over Rice. In the rain. Who throws for 500+ yards and 9 TDs in the rain?

9. Do you think the PAC-12 is regretting inviting Colorado? The Buffalos are bad. Their only win this year is against lowly Colorado State. At least they still have games against UofSuck and Utah to get out of the toilet bowl in the PAC-12 South.

10. The Stanford-USC rivalry has been getting better and better since Stanford upset USC several years ago as 42 point underdogs. This was a true heavy weight match-up with each team responding to blow after blow. Luck is solid, and there was hardly any doubt that he wouldn’t lead Stanford to victory in this one.

Now on to the Top-10 in the standings:

Top-10:

#1 Alabama (8-0) – November 5^th is here!

#2 LSU (8-0) – November 5^th is here!

#3 Stanford (8-0) – With USC out of the way and Oregon at home, Stanford should end up 13-0.

#4 Oklahoma State (8-0) – I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – this team is special.

#5 Boise State (7-0) – Nothing says Big East, like Idaho.

#6 Oregon (7-1) – Can you survive the next three: @ Washington, @ Stanford, v. USC?

#7 Arkansas (7-1) – Really? Needing Vandy to miss a FG in order to win? And here comes South Carolina!

#8 Oklahoma (7-1) – Boomer Sooner looking to get back into the top-5…

#9 South Carolina (7-1) – Huge game this weekend against Arkansas.

#10 Nebraska (7-1) – All of the sudden, Nebraska is in the driver’s seat in the Big-10 whatever it’s called sub-division.

Rising Fast:

Penn State – 8-1 (and their only loss is to #1 Alabama), despite being 101^st in the country in scoring offense…but, your last three are against Nebraska, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. Good luck.

Falling Faster:

Wisconsin – oops. First you lose to Sparty on a hail mary; then you lose to Ohio State?

Heisman Watch:

Andrew Luck, Stanford – 16 straight, and counting, for the Cardinal. Four masterful drives in the 4^th quarter and three OT’s @ USC.

BCS Title Game Prediction:

Alabama v. Stanford – I’d love to see Andrew Luck pick apart the ‘Bama secondary.

Week 10 Big Games:

Texas A&M @ Oklahoma – Oklahoma is back on track and licking their chops for this matchup. OU is second in the country in passing offense, and A&M is the worst pass defense in the country. OU wins and wins big: 58 to 24.

South Carolina @ Arkansas – Both teams have struggled in recent weeks, but both have a chance to get back into the picture in the SEC. Arkansas is six point favorite at home, but South Carolina will prevail: 27 to 17.

Kansas State @ Oklahoma State – Kansas State gave up over 500 yards to OU; and it may be even worse this weekend in Stillwater. This OSU team is special (I’m gonna keep saying that!): Oklahoma State 51 Kansas State 30

Week 9 Games of the Week:

LSU @ Alabama – Looking at the numbers (offense, defense, results against common opponents, etc.), these teams are eerily similar. Surprisingly, this is the first regular season #1 v. #2 match-up in SEC history. While #2’s have done really well v. #1’s in recent years (5-2). Alabama hasn’t given up any second half points in over a month, and LSU hasn’t given up more than one TD to any SEC opponent. Which defense will break first? The key to this game will be redzone offense. You can’t win this type of game kicking field goals. Alabama’s at home; Saban is a master in big game prep (especially with an extra week to prepare), and let’s face it: Alabama is just better. Alabama grinds out a huge win to stay atop the polls: 27 to 16.

Until next time…