In week 12 there is only one game between top 25 teams, and that is #4 Florida – #25 South Carolina. Every other top team has gut check games before rivalry week and Conference Championships get under way. Gut check can easily turn into a punch in the gut if anybody lets down their guard. Here are a few headlines you might see in your Sunday sports section:
With a win of Saturday, North Carolina will surpass it's win total for '06 and '07 combined.
North Carolina Continues It’s Resurgence
With it’s win on Saturday, the North Carolina Tar Heels football team have equalled their win total for ‘06 and ‘07 combined! While students at Duke are already heading to get their basketball tickets, the boys and girls on Chapel Hill will still be watching football and expecting a bowl invitation. This week will be a tough test when they go up to Maryland, the original team to sign with Under Armour, they are good at protecting their house. The key to North Carolina’s resurgence is head coach Butch Davis. Davis was able to unify a hoodlum Miami team who had lost multiple scholarships and was barred from going to a bowl his first year and is now unifying a bunch of losers to win. We won’t mention his stint in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns, it would take you a long time to think of one football coach that successfully transitioned from the college football ranks to the NFL. I’m still thinking and coming up blank…
Cardinals are the Giant Killers
In years past the Louisville Cardinals were the giants, now they are the giant killers. Cincinnati isn’t that big of a giant, but they come into Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium ranked. A couple weeks ago the Cardinals knocked off ranked South Florida and are going to do it again this week. If I were a Louisville fan, I’d much rather be in this position, the giant killer. They are rebuilding and nobody is expecting much from them, so why not throw in a couple upsets and solid wins every year? Steve Kragthorpe has them going in the right direction, but they need to be very satisfied with where they are right now. BYU is experiencing the exact opposite, with lower expectations they went 10-2 in ‘06 and ‘07 and came into ‘08 with great expectations. Right now they are 9-1 and the fans are disappointed! Nobody likes a Debbie Downer.
Texas Tech, Oklahoma Take Week Off, Prepare for Huge Game
Just about every week we look at a game and say, “This is the biggest game of the year.” Then we constantly retract our previous statement the next week and say, “No, this is the biggest game of the year!” (Utah Ute fans went as far as to say their game against TCU last week was their biggest game EVER!) The first blockbuster game was Texas-Oklahoma, then Texas-Texas Tech, and now it’s going to be Texas Tech-Oklahoma. The Sooners still have an outside shot at a National Championship and a loss would knock them out of the picture. With a loss this late in the season, a Texas Tech loss might knock them out of the picture too. Hopefully both teams will get their legs under them because next week’s big game will be a track meet. I smell a 1,000 yard game by both offenses combined in the making.
The sad thing about Ball State is we will never know how good they are unless they play a quality opponent in a bowl.
JIB Picks
Week 11: 14-5 / Overall: 169-35
Week 12: #1 Alabama - Mississippi State / #2 Texas Tech (Bye) / #3 Texas – Kansas / #4 Florida - #25 South Carolina / #5 Oklahoma (Bye) / #6 USC – Stanford / #7 Utah – SDSU / #8 Penn State – Indiana / #9 Boise State - Idaho / #10 Georgia – Auburn / #11 Ohio State – Illinois / #12 Missouri – Iowa State / #13 Oklahoma State – Colorado / #14 Ball State – Miami(OH) / #15 Michigan State (Bye) / #16 North Carolina – Maryland / #17 BYU – Air Force / #18 TCU / #19 Florida State – Boston College / #20 LSU – Troy / #21 Pittsburgh (Bye) / #22 Cincinnati - Louisville / #23 Tulsa – Houston / #24 Wake Forest – NC State
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Tags: NCAA
November 14th, 2008 at 12:46 am
I totally agree with you about BYU disappointing their fans this season!