Week 13 Musings

Last week was 6-6, once again, right up there with a coin flip. Nice. What's the point, then right? Sometimes I think the same thing. Actually, oftentimes, I think the same thing because what's the point of proclaiming your acumen if you can't pick your boxers out of your asscrack, let alone have any clue whether or not Alex Brink is going to yell "you want 7 more?" at the Oregon St D as he lofts pick #6 of the first half up for grabs. Actually, in addition to the 6 picks, Wazzou also failed on a fake punt and were stopped on downs at the OSU 1 in the first half...the equivalent of 8 turnovers in one half. Resident village idiot/douchebag Bill Doba mut be very proud of "his guys". Way to entertain the home crowd in a must win game!!

After watching this past Sunday's NFL lineup, I must ask he following question: Does anybody cover anyone in the NFL? Why is it that I can routinely watch Terrell Owens streaking through the Washington secondary, completely ignored by the Redskin DBs. Maybe I'm just naive, or the game has passsed me by or whatever, but if a certain HOF wide receiver runs past you, and you are a cornerback, isn't that somewhat alarming? Like I said, I might be naive, but when I played, my #1 concern or fear was letting a receiver get behind me, because it might result in....GASP....a touchdown! That's bad! Am I right? Giving up a TD is a bad thing, right? Just checking. So why do I watch NFL cornerbacks nonchalantly backpedaling and then pretty much ignoring Randy Moss/Terrell Owens as they sprint past them, instead choosing to lock up a piece of grass in their assigned zone. "Hey man, I have deep help...I can just let him go." Yeah, deep "help". That means there MIGHT be someone back there to HELP you. You still might want to cover that guy, instead of minding a piece of field turf. Last I checked, a square yard of field turf can't catch a football, then gyrate suggestively in your face after it sashays into the endzone pimp-style. One more time: On third and 19, if Randy Moss runs past you, ther's a chance he might actually catch the ball if they throw it to him. That IS possible. You might want to buck the recent trend and try covering him. That's all.

One other quick rant: Why am I hearing this underlying Heisman babble for Glen Dorsey? Since there isn't a clear cut frontrunner(and really, who the hell gives a shit anyway), some morons are trying to bang the drum for Dorsey, since it would be cool to have a defensive guy win it. First of all, Tim Tebow should win it, and it's not even close. He just broke the season record in the SEC for most rushing TDs in a season, has the 2nd best passer rating in the country, and has done all this with a shoulder that keeps popping out of it's socket. But Dorsey? Why should he win it? Because he's the best player on a defense that gave up 40+ to Kentucky? Because he's the best player on a defense that got carved up by JP Wilson? Because he's the best player on a defense that just gave up 465 yards of offense to Ole Miss? Huh? That's actually not very good. Let's go ahead and nip that drivel in the bud, ok?

Season numbers: 72-59 on the numbered. 55%. On to this week.

1. Kansas -2 v Missouri: Both of these smiling genius programs are unbeaten against the spread. So Kansas will probably win by 2 right? Well, maybe, but I like the Jayhawks quite a bit in this one. First, this is being billed as a neutral site game, but it's actually a KU home game that they voluntarily moved to Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City is in Missouri, but it's a KU town. Suffice it to say, the crowd will be mostly pro-Kansas. Both of these offenses are very good, but Kansas offers a little more balance. I also think KU has the clear advantage on the defensive side of the ball, and Mangino definitely is the superior coaching micnd compared with Gary Pinkel. If K State hd a set of balls or a couple of firing synapses, they could have run away with the game last week, especially since they outgained the Tigers 250-112 in the first half. I think KU is better in just about every phase.

2. Texas -5 1/2 @ Texas A&M: This is probably Coach Fran's swan song...ask Lloyd Carr how that went for him last week. 91 total yards...yeesh. Last year, in Austin, A&M came in and beat the Horns, who were in a bit of a freefall at the time because of Colt McCoy's problems with his melon. They pressured him, beat him up, and got just enough offense to pull the upset. Texas definitely remembers that, and will be out for revenge, especially since they can see how vulnerable Oklahoma is if Sam Bradford doesn't go on Saturday. Texas's offense has been firing on all cylinders lately, and A&M has had all kinds of trouble stopping good offenses. They key for A&M will be to stop the run and put pressure on Mc Coy, but they are giving up a lot of rushing yards (5.5 ypc on the road) and rank 107th in the country in sacks. They might hang for awhile, but once the emotion wears off, it might get ugly for the Aggies.

3. South Florida -10 1/2 @ Pitt: Another road dog, but this is a bad matchup for Wanny and company. South Florida can stuff the running game, which at this point is Pitt's bread, butter, toast and jam and they are going to be tough on freshman QB Bostick with their attacking style. Pitt has really hung tough the last couple weeks...their D has been good, but I think this is the week that they get opened up like stuck pig.

*****Thursday4. @Arizona St +3 v USC: This is a real lack of respect for a Sun Devil team that is 9-1. I realize that USC is the gold standard in the Pac 10, but they HAVE NOT been that team this year. On the road, their offense has been staunchly pedestrian. They lost to Stanford, struggled with Washington, almost lost at home to Arizona, struggled like crazy with a Cal team that has completely imploded and looked like a bunch of losers in their game at Oregon. Arizona St hung with a much better USC team last year with Dirk Koetter at the helm in Los Angeles. USC is decidedly less explosive on offense now, and say what you will about Dennis Erickson and his mysterious but unconfirmable sliminess, he makes a difference on both sides of the ball. ASU's defense is good, especially at home, and once they get rolling, their offense is solid with good balance, regardless of who is running the ball. I do believe that Arizona St is the better team, and they are at home and are getting a FG. Unless they shit the bed at the mere sight of the false idols, they should be in good shape. There is a lot of value here.

5. Arkansas +13 1/2 @LSU You might want to wait until tomorrow, because the spread might go to 14. Last year, Arkansas outgained LSU despite getting a 3 for 17 performance from QB Casey Dickface, I mean Dick. This year, he's better. Arkansas has been able to play well defensively against LSU in each of the last 2 years, and we all know that LSU, since the Va Tech game, has not been able to blow out anyone. Les Miles catches a break this week because he matches up with a coach that he won't get completely made a fool of by, but he still is at a disadvantage. I think the Hogs have it in them to put together a nice performance. If McFadden and company can really get it going, they are capable of making things very uncomfortable for LSU as they try not to screw up their spot in the MNC game.

6. @UCLA + 1 1/2 v Oregon: Talk about a tough spot. Oregon is coming off a devastating loss against Arizona when they were ranked #2. Pretty much everyone else that has lost this season in that scenario has laid an egg in the following week. Oregon is a huge candidate for that. First of all, they are a completely different team with Brady Leaf at the helm instead of Dennis Dixon. This week, they'll be facing off against a solid defense on the road in UCLA with RB Jonathan Stweart hobbled. Second, their defense has been underwhelming all year, depending on the offense to outscore the other team. That's unlikely to happen this week without turnovers. UCLA might oblige, but I think this matchup favors UCLA. It's a bad spot for the Ducks.

7 @Boston College -14 1/2 v Miami(Fl): Miami has completely given up. It's true that BC has locked up a spot in the ACC title game, but it'll be Senior Day, and Miami is still a team tha people get up for, unfortunately for them. They are completely helpless in the passing game, and BC puts pressure on the QB. With Kyle Wright hurting, there might actually be a Kirby Freeman sighting. If BC puts effort into this one and actually gives a shit, it should be over by the middle of the 3rd quarter.

8. Florida St +14 @ Florida: Florida's defense is not good enough to cover this, in my opinion. Drew Weatherford, as long as he is healthy, can be effective, as he's only thrown 1 interception all year compared to 8TDs. They also moved Preston Parker to RB with good results last week. Defensively, Florida St is jacked up, and they hit hard, leaving open the possibility that Tebow will take some shots on his already injured shoulder. I think FSU will show up and play with emotion, something they did not do 2 years ago in Gainesville when they got whupped.


Others: Oklahoma might be without Sam Bradford, and they for sure will be without De Marco Murray(RB). Their defense remains very shaky against the pass. Oklahoma St is getting 11 1/2 here.If Bradford doesn't play, and they struggle on offense with the backup, that Big 12 South title that seemed a given 3 weeks ago might not happen after all.....I have a hunch that Tennessee takes care of business and wins at kentucky. They need it to get to the SEC title game. Kentucky is in a good spot motivationallty, but they're favored by 3, which I think will work against them. It's against all logic, since UT has been so awful on defense on the road this year, but I can see Ainge pulling out a good performance. I think they'll win, and really like getting points in the process.....I like Utah catching 4 1/2 in he rivalry game with BYU. There's something about BYU that keeps me unsold on them, and Utah has been on fire lately. Their coach is an asshole though......Virginia is a very good dog at home, and they are catching 3 1/2 against Va Tech. Not many people are giving them much of a shot in this one, but I have a feeling they can hold their own.....Clemson generally collapses at this point in the year, and they are favored(2 1/2) against South Carolina on the road. Spurrier has had two weeks to prepare, and this is South Carolina's last chance to actually show some balls and stop someone. Last year, South Carolina completely beat up this Clemson team, and moved the ball at will throughout the entire game. Chances are, with an extra week to prepare, they'll be in position to do so again this year.....I also like Nebraska Friday getting 4 from Colorao. With Joe Ganz under center, they have been almost unstoppable on offense. Colorado...they haven't been doing anything lately.....K State should be able to throw it at will with Josh Freeman and Jordy Nelson. There is no excuse, if they are worth a crap at all to not win as a 1 point dog at Fresno. That's about it for the week. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!