The Five and Five: Watch out for Wisconsin, Stanford, and Nov. 5th
I'll be honest. I was at a dinner-type birthday party last night (i.e. not the type where a TV is blasting in the background) and as a result, I missed most of the end of Michigan-ND. I looked at it on my phone at 24-7 ND, then saw some Facebook updates before bed about Michigan winning. I figured the people posting were drunk. Then I took to the Interwebs and indeed, Michigan had won. Fun times. I've watched the YouTube two or three times this AM.
Let's chat.
FIVE OBSERVATIONS FROM WEEK 2
1. Watch out for Wisconsin, Stanford: Yes, neither team has played anyone yet. But Wisconsin gets Nebraska at home -- and Nebraska gave up 29 to Fresno State yesterday -- and only goes on the road for two key games: Ohio State (who was almost outgained by Toledo) and Michigan State (this game could decide the Big Ten). Stanford is @ USC, but gets Oregon at home. Both these teams could run the table.
2. Texas isn't that great: Kinda thought Texas was a potential 10-2 sleeper this year, but 17-16 over BYU was a bit of a wreck. They have talent, yes, but they seem closer to 8-4.
3. Brian Kelly's got some 'splaining to do: This is an obvious storyline, hence moving it to No. 3. Losing a 24-7 lead to a main rival in a nationally-televised prime-timer is not good. If MSU drops them (they could easily do so), that's 0-3 for a team some thought would be 11-1. Paging Urban Meyer. (Although, to be honest, giving a head coach only two years would be a joke.
4. All about November 5: That's LSU-Bama. That's gonna help decide one-half of the SEC Title Game / potentially one-half of the BCS Title game. Fun times.
5. Mark Richt is prolly gonna get fired: Again, fairly basic observation -- and again, probably not fair. These two losses are to (a) probably a top-three team in America and (b) potentially the third-best team in the SEC. It's not like losing to Sacramento State or anything. If Richt gets fired, expect Kirby Smart (Alabama D-Coordinator and UGA alum) to get that gig. Side note: what is it with Americans and our obsession to have people on hot seats?
FIVE OBSERVATIONS FOR WEEK 3
1. Time to knuckle up, Sooners: They rolled FSU last year. This year it's in Hassee. Stoops always tends to lose one game early. Is this it?
2. NCAA infractions joke time: Miami vs. OSU is this upcoming weekend. Yay for punchlines. (Actually should be an interesting game, though; both have looked "very good" / "horribly undisclipined" at times.)
3. Tyler Bray time: The Tennessee QB threw for over 400 yards against Cincy (a bunch of people had Cincy winning that game). Now it's Bray vs. the Gators -- and the winner is 3-0 in a generally weak SEC East.
4. Texas and UCLA: Remember above, when I said Texas wasn't that good? Ha, good. Apparently you can read. Last season, UCLA rolling Texas was the game when everyone was like, "WTF is up with Texas?" UCLA hasn't looked great this year, but rolling Texas again might buy Ricky Neuheisel a little bit of time.
5. LSU/Mississippi State: This is the Thursday night game. I kinda thought LSU was in a trouble spot here -- and I mean, they still might be, since the game is in Starkville -- but (cliche alert) this is what LSU does: they just win big football games, especially on the road and/or at neutral sites. I'd take LSU here, but it's worth watching.
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