The USC Trojans seemingly lost their BCS title hopes when they lost to Stanford in their third matchup of the season, but in college football, it’s better to lose early than to lose late, and they’re making a push for national attention in the second half of the year.
Everbank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. plays host to the annual battle between the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs, and this season it will be the site of one of the best contests in all of week nine. The No. 2 Gators and the No. 10 Bulldogs square off this Saturday, and with a win, Florida can clinch the SEC East.
The Texas Longhorns opened the season with three convincing wins against three teams they were supposed to beat. They then went on to struggle against tougher opponents, losing two of those four matchups.
The South Carolina Gamecocks were national title contenders just two weeks ago, but after losing two straight matchups against top-10 opponents, they find themselves trying to bounce back with their SEC title hopes essentially down the drain.
The Pittsburgh Steelers came up with a much-needed win last weekend in Cincinnati. Washington’s last-minute loss at New York was a particularly tough one to take.
This year has been a huge disappointment for Carolina. They were supposed to be building off of last year’s surprising success to become at least a threat in the NFC South.
The Chase for this season’s Sprint Cup title is down to its final four races starting with this week’s running of the Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Headline: Two Teams Looking to Rebound – Seahawks vs. Lions in Week 8
Two surprise teams in the NFL meet in a key NFC tilt on Sunday afternoon when the surprisingly good Seattle Seahawks take on the surprisingly underwhelming Detroit Lions. Both teams are coming off losses in close low scoring affairs. The difference in this one could well be the fact that Seattle has had 10 days to prepare while the Lions have had six.
Does Michigan really deserve that #20 ranking? They shouldn’t really benefit from the fact that the pollsters overestimated how good this team would be before the season started, right?
You have to love the way Vegas pulls no punches. Notre Dame is enjoying their best season in recent memory, perfect so far, with a punishing defense but they are still 11 point underdogs while visiting an Oklahoma team that has already lost at home once this season.
#5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-0) vs #7 Oklahoma Sooners (5-1)
Saturday October 27
Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium – Norman, OK
8:00PM
Moneyline: Oklahoma -400, Notre Dame +325 From TopBet.eu
Spread: Oklahoma -11
O/U: 48
Notre Dame
I was having trouble believing the Irish were an elite team and clearly I am not the only one. It is possible they get embarrassed on Saturday. This squad is a paper tiger right now.
According to the numbers Notre Dame has the second best defense in the country.
It will be pushed to the limit by Oklahoma and it will be critical for them to perform at a high level for the Irish to have a chance. That is because the ND offense has some real question marks. The running game has come alive as of late but the passing game with rotating QBs hasn’t solidified. Further I am not sure they have the receiving weapons to play catchup.
In all but two contest Notre Dame has been held to 20 points or fewer and I think they are going to need considerably more scoring to keep pace with Oklahoma. Those are 11 big points but I think it is important not to get too carried away with the Irish success to date.
If you don’t buy the hype then play against…if you do, maybe sit this one out because you might not be objective enough.
Nobody ever is with ND.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma was stunned by Kansas State a few weeks back but it looks like that game might have shaken out the cobwebs.
Since then they have beaten Texas Tech, Texas and Kansas all by at least 21 points. Their 63-21 beating of the Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry was one of the worst beatings the annual series has ever seen. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Oklahoma is looking at this game as a chance to reinsert themselves back into the BCS picture.
Quarterback Landry Jones may not be living up to expectations but he is still one of the better pivots in the nation. He has the offense rocking right now and the defense is playing much better too. Jones will look to test an Irish secondary that has not been pushed in their early success.
The Oklahoma receiving corp led by Kenny Stills is a beast to handle, especially because you have to respect a run game averaging nearly 200 yards a contest.
If this were a smaller number I would bet the Oklahoma side big time. Still at under a couple of TDs I like the Sooners as I think they will continue their stretch of impressive wins.
This one has great teaser potential too as you can bring it down to under a TD.
Oklahoma at home feels very good against an Irish team still not quite there yet.
Spread Pick: Oklahoma -11
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Oklahoma 38 – Notre Dame 24
Baylor is 0-3 in conference play despite twice scoring 50 or more points. When the Bears take the field you know you can expect up and down action but this year, unlike last, the wins haven’t followed.
Mississippi State is undefeated but that is likely to change this weekend. This week marks the start of a brutal stretch that includes road game at Alabama and LSU sandwiched around a home date with Texas A&M. Odds are this is a 7-3 team heading into the final stretch.
After sitting at .500 a few weeks back Oklahoma State (4-2) has won 2 straight including beating a ranked Iowa State team last week. TCU (5-2) has lost 2 of their last 3 games, including a barnburner last week in triple OT, and with their last loss they fell from the top 25.
Since suffering a season opening loss to a ranked Michigan State team Boise State (6-1) has reeled off 6 straight wins and they sit in first place in the Mountain West Conference.
Many thought this game would have BCS implications, but each lost early in the season and Michigan State (4-4) has lost 3 of their last 4 games and they are only 1-3 in Big 10 play. Wisconsin (3-1) is still in the Big 10 title and BCS picture, as they trail Penn State and Ohio State, who the Badgers play in their last 2 games.
Rutgers (7-0) is one of 3 undefeated teams in the Big East and while they do not have a dynamic offense they win with the nation’s 3rd ranked defense, which is only giving up an average of 11.3 points per game.
