Thanksgiving Football
I'm in Pennsylvania visiting some relatives. Here's a quick rundown of Thursday and Friday's key match ups.
11/24- Pitt at West Virginia- The Mountaineers control their own destiny to the Big East's BCS bid, needing wins over Pitt and South Florida. Pitt, meanwhile, needs to win at WVU to avoid going from a BCS team to bowl ineligibility. Pat White, Brandon Barrett, Steve Slaton and the rest of the WVU offense have been tearing it up lately and rarely do the Mountaineers drop an important against Pitt in Morgantown. Wannstedt has done poorly in the big games this season and I don't see him improving on that. 35-21 West Virginia.
11/24- Akron at Kent State- Playing at 10 AM on Thanksgiving Day, it is clear that both are desperately looking for national exposure. The Zips can become bowl eligible for the second consecutive season with a victory and the Golden Flashes can salvage an awful 1-9 season with an upset over hated Akron. Luke Getsy has done a serivceable job replacing Charlie Frye and RB Brett Biggs and WR Domenik Hixon are gamebreakers. The Zips should roll the Flashes and get the Wagon Wheel. 45-17 Akron.
11/25- Texas at Texas A&M- A trap door game for the Longhorns. A win and they are a win in the Big 12 Championship Game away from the Rose Bowl. A loss to Texas A&M could and likely would, crush their dreams of a championship. The Aggies need a win to become bowl eligible and Aggie Land is one of the toughest places to play and they would obviously love to spoil their hated rival's season. Vince Young and the Longhorns will put up points but I expect the Aggies to make this closer than most would believe. 45-31 Texas.
11/25- Arizona at Arizona State- The Wildcats already spoiled UCLA's hopes of an undefeated season, now they have a chance to prevent the hated Sun Devils from getting a bowl game. Arizona State needs a win to reach 6-5. Arizona could take a huge step towards a brakout season in 2006 with a second consecutive victory over the Sun Devils. Mike Stoops will have his team well prepared and they will step up to the challenge. This should be a fun Pac-10 shootout. I think Arizona takes that step towards a breakout season. 41-38 Arizona.
11/25- Nebraska at Colorado- The Buffaloes are looking for a second consecutive victory over Nebraska and the Big 12 North title. Both teams will be going bowling no matter the outcome but Nebraska will be trying to avoid only a one win improvement over last season's mark and avenging last season's loss to Colorado that kept them from going bowling for the first time since the late 1960's. The Buffaloes stumbled against Iowa State but thye have otherwise only lost to Miami and Texas. I don't see Barnett letting this opportunity slip away, while Callahan has become notorious at Nebraska for the exact opposite. I always enjoy this game, one of my Black Friday favorites. The whipping Colorado laid on Nebraska in 2001 is one of my favorite, non-Penn State memories. 24-14 Colorado.
11/25- Arkansas at LSU- LSU can clinch the SEC West title with a victory while Arkansas is trying to win their third consecutive game and finish the season with a huge upset and the Golden Boot. LSU clearly has the favorable match ups and superior talent but the Razorbacks are playing wiht confidence with wins over Ole Miss and Mississippi State to go from 2-6 to 4-6. The Bayou Bengals should win handily. If this game was in Fayetteville or Little Rock, I would call for the upset. Instead, I'll just say that Arkansas makes LSU earn that SEC West title. 23-21 LSU.
And my Turkey Day NFL selections....
Atlanta over Detroit 28-21
Denver over Dallas 21-17
11/24- Pitt at West Virginia- The Mountaineers control their own destiny to the Big East's BCS bid, needing wins over Pitt and South Florida. Pitt, meanwhile, needs to win at WVU to avoid going from a BCS team to bowl ineligibility. Pat White, Brandon Barrett, Steve Slaton and the rest of the WVU offense have been tearing it up lately and rarely do the Mountaineers drop an important against Pitt in Morgantown. Wannstedt has done poorly in the big games this season and I don't see him improving on that. 35-21 West Virginia.
11/24- Akron at Kent State- Playing at 10 AM on Thanksgiving Day, it is clear that both are desperately looking for national exposure. The Zips can become bowl eligible for the second consecutive season with a victory and the Golden Flashes can salvage an awful 1-9 season with an upset over hated Akron. Luke Getsy has done a serivceable job replacing Charlie Frye and RB Brett Biggs and WR Domenik Hixon are gamebreakers. The Zips should roll the Flashes and get the Wagon Wheel. 45-17 Akron.
11/25- Texas at Texas A&M- A trap door game for the Longhorns. A win and they are a win in the Big 12 Championship Game away from the Rose Bowl. A loss to Texas A&M could and likely would, crush their dreams of a championship. The Aggies need a win to become bowl eligible and Aggie Land is one of the toughest places to play and they would obviously love to spoil their hated rival's season. Vince Young and the Longhorns will put up points but I expect the Aggies to make this closer than most would believe. 45-31 Texas.
11/25- Arizona at Arizona State- The Wildcats already spoiled UCLA's hopes of an undefeated season, now they have a chance to prevent the hated Sun Devils from getting a bowl game. Arizona State needs a win to reach 6-5. Arizona could take a huge step towards a brakout season in 2006 with a second consecutive victory over the Sun Devils. Mike Stoops will have his team well prepared and they will step up to the challenge. This should be a fun Pac-10 shootout. I think Arizona takes that step towards a breakout season. 41-38 Arizona.
11/25- Nebraska at Colorado- The Buffaloes are looking for a second consecutive victory over Nebraska and the Big 12 North title. Both teams will be going bowling no matter the outcome but Nebraska will be trying to avoid only a one win improvement over last season's mark and avenging last season's loss to Colorado that kept them from going bowling for the first time since the late 1960's. The Buffaloes stumbled against Iowa State but thye have otherwise only lost to Miami and Texas. I don't see Barnett letting this opportunity slip away, while Callahan has become notorious at Nebraska for the exact opposite. I always enjoy this game, one of my Black Friday favorites. The whipping Colorado laid on Nebraska in 2001 is one of my favorite, non-Penn State memories. 24-14 Colorado.
11/25- Arkansas at LSU- LSU can clinch the SEC West title with a victory while Arkansas is trying to win their third consecutive game and finish the season with a huge upset and the Golden Boot. LSU clearly has the favorable match ups and superior talent but the Razorbacks are playing wiht confidence with wins over Ole Miss and Mississippi State to go from 2-6 to 4-6. The Bayou Bengals should win handily. If this game was in Fayetteville or Little Rock, I would call for the upset. Instead, I'll just say that Arkansas makes LSU earn that SEC West title. 23-21 LSU.
And my Turkey Day NFL selections....
Atlanta over Detroit 28-21
Denver over Dallas 21-17
posted by The Nittany Blog at 10:11 PM
1 Comments:
If I can spar with you...
I think LSU trounces Arkansas...45-14.
Same thing for Colorado against Nebraska and I agree with your sentiment about the 2001 game.
A&M will do well until half and then Texas will assert themselves, but with Mack Brown, your just waiting for him to "screw the pooch".
I would love to see Pitt defeat West Virginia because i dont think the Big East deserves a BCS bid.
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