Friday, October 9, 2015

Emmylou Harris, John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen go to the State Fair


Last week’s record: 6-2; for the season, 19-8.

Horseshoes, anyone?  Maryland @ #1 Ohio State.  A game of horseshoes might be more competitive this Saturday in Columbus than when the Terrapins visit the Buckeyes.  The Terps are coming off a shutout loss to Michigan.  They’ve lost their last two by a score of 73-6. The Buckeyes have won their last 18, going back to last year and are 25-0 in Big Ten play over the last 25 games, a Big Ten record. Despite some erratic play so far this season which has caused some head scratching among Buckeye fans, there’s no reason to believe an upset is in the works.  Projected winner: Ohio St.

The Emmylou Harris Theorem.  #3 Baylor @ Kansas.  In her song Red Dirt Girl, the great Emmylou Harris sings, “What they don’t tell you about the blues when you got ‘em---you keep on fallin’ ‘cause there ain’t no bottom.”  The Jayhawks are 0-4, Baylor is 4-0.  The Bears are #1 in scoring offense, averaging 63.8 points per game; the Jayhawks are #120 in D.  Metaphorically speaking, this day might be worse than when Quantrill and his boys rode into Lawrence back in the day.  Projected winner:  Baylor

Bring on your wrecking ball (first Springsteen reference of the year, for those of you keeping score). #4 Michigan St. @ Rutgers.  Sparty takes his 5-0 record to Piscataway to face the 2-2 Scarlet Knights.  Mark Dantonio’s team is coming off a squeaker win last week against the Boilermakers. Rutgers made headlines this week when it hired a law firm with NCAA expertise to look into what it called, “any potential rules violations.”   MSU and RU have the BIG Ten’s two most statistically efficient QBs, respectively.  Last year’s 45-3 Spartans win was the Knights worst loss of the season.  Doubtful it’ll be much different this year.  Projected winner: Michigan State.

To paraphrase John Lennon, Instant Karma will not get to get to you. #23 Cal @ #5 Utah.  The Golden Bears bring their Berkeley karma to Salt Lake City on Saturday night.  This is the battle to see which of the PAC 12s last two undefeated teams will wake up undefeated on Sunday morning.  The Bears have the nation’s 3rd best rated QB. On defense they lead the nation in takeaways.  The Utes offense is 16-17 in the red zone and has outscored opponents 49-7 in the 3rd Qtr.  Projected winner: Utah.

Coming to a theater near you, The Swarm.  Ga Tech @ # 6 Clemson.  The Yellow Jackets buzz cross the state line and into Clemson to face the undefeated, fightin’ Dabos Saturday afternoon.  The two teams have something in common:  They’ve both played Notre Dame. Tech lost; the Tigers held on to win over the Irish at the end of the 4th Qtr. last Saturday night.  The Jackets’ run-run-run offense is off a bit this year.  The Tigers D is ranked #12 in the nation.  There’s a lot on the line for the Tigers in the ACC--and for the Final Four—and it’s unlikely that  Tech will unleash any threat like the killer bees did in the 1978 Irwin Allen film.  Projected winner:  Clemson.

Now, some quick headlines…

Madonna, Taylor, Willie and Elvis.  #7 LSU @ South Carolina.  The Head Ball Coach will get to see for himself why the Tigers' incredibly talented running back Leonard Fournette is fast-becoming a one-name legend. Projected winner: LSU.

Welcome to Dreamland.  Arkansas @ #8 Alabama.  No trip to Tuscaloosa would be complete without a stop at Dreamland BBQ (unless you prefer the equally impressive Archibald’s) in the Jerusalem Heights neighborhood south of Bryant-Denny Stadium.  But, wait!  Why on Earth would a Hog from the hills of Arkansas go to a BBQ joint???  Exactly!  Projected winner: Bama.

Howdy folks, this is Big Tex.  #10 Oklahoma vs Texas in Dallas.  The annual Red River Rivalry resumes late Saturday morning at the Cotton Bowl surrounded by the State Fair of Texas.  Just a Hail Mary from the Cotton Bowl gates is the 55-foot tall Big Tex who looks down on fairgoers and offers info and suggestions on what to see, do and eat.  Coach Jim Bob and the Mrs. attended the fair Wednesday afternoon and munched on Fletcher’s Corny Dogs and a Funnelcake ---before attending an evening shindig/premier/preview of an international pop art exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art.  I am not making this up.  Anyway, back to the game, Texas mascot, Longhorn steer Bevo, will miss the game due to a serious, life-threatening illness.  Doctor's orders to Bevo:  DO NOT turn on the TV and watch the game from your room at the vet’s animal hospital.  Projected winner: OU.

Have a great CFB Saturday. Tune in Sunday afternoon for Coach Job Bob’s Sunday Afternoon Tailback.

For your CFB TV watching pleasure, the quintessential, easy-to-read guide: http://www.lsufootball.net/tvschedule.htm

And…the links no fan should be without: 

·         Holly Anderson on Grantland…and her Twitter feed.  http://grantland.com/contributors/holly-anderson/      https://twitter.com/HollyAnderson
      ·         Chris Brown’s Smart Football:  http://smartfootball.com/#sthash.6LKlTyoi.Vau6GANv.dpbs

 

 

 

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