First some sad news in the world of College Football. Legendary Coach Darrell Royal, head coach at University of Texas from 1957 – 1976, has passed away at the age of 88. He brought a style and swagger to Austin that had not been seen there prior to his arrival. Condolences to his family!
OK, here we go: In the SEC we have 1 Alabama hosting 15 Texas A & M and their freshman sensation, QB Johnny Manziel. This game should be interesting. One would expect Bama to win at home, but they will be tested, and you never know how they will respond after the huge come from behind victory in Baton Rouge last weekend. Some think this game is a more dangerous game for them than the one they faced last weekend in the bayou. They will be at home and should prevail. But…stranger things have happened!
Another interesting SEC game showcases 15 Mississippi State traveling to 7 LSU. Miss State us coming off getting pounded by Texas A & M and LSU is recovering from their almost but not quite upset of Bama. This one will be a good one, expect LSU to take out their frustration.
5 UGA will travel to the plains to take on struggling Auburn. UGA can clinch the SEC east and a trip to Atlanta with a win. (Should they falter, Gators would win SEC east?) At first glance, this game seems like a sure thing for UGA, BUT it is a rivalry game. Strange things happen in rivalry games. Predicting a UGA victory, but they will need to be ready to play, and they have lost another starting receiver for the year.
Finally, Arkansas will travel to Columbia to take on 8 South Carolina. South Carolina is wounded, but expect a win for the Gamecocks and the old ball coach.
In the ACC: Georgia Tech travels to Chapel Hill to take on North Carolina. This game could be a good one, depending on whether Georgia Tech shows up with their gold helmets on ready to play. North Carolina is ineligible for post season play and cannot win the Coastal Division. Georgia Tech can take another step towards salvaging a bad season and continuing to improve and hope to become bowl eligible. (Numbers wise, they are not out of the Coastal Division race!)
4 Notre Dame will play Boston College in Chestnut Hill. This would seem to be a Notre Dame victory, but again a bit of a rivalry game. Will be a wait and see how they play kind of day!
Big game in ACC is on Thursday night in Blacksburg, VA. 10 FSU will play Virginia Tech in Lane Stadium on ESPN. FSU is the better team, likely the best team in the ACC (Clemson might object to that), and Virginia Tech has had a very disappointing year and did not look good against Miami. That being said, Virginia Tech is a force of its own on Thursday night games, especially in Blacksburg. Look for FSU to win, but don’t be shocked if …
Other noteworthy games: Arizona State University will take on 19 USC (gave up 62 last weekend to Oregon at home), 9 Louisville will travel to play at Syracuse, 3 Oregon will play at Cal (expect Oregon to ROLL…and SCORE!!!), 2 Kansas State will play at TCU and the big question will center around the health of their QB Collin Klein. He is expected to play and I think he will. Kansas State should stay undefeated. Big game on the weekend menu will be 11 Oregon State at 14 Stanford, and their just announced new starting QB, redshirt freshman Kevin Hogan. This one is too close to call. Also, the surprising 18 UCLA will play at Washington State.
Well, that is the ever popular College Football preview, hopefully wetting your appetite for some of this weekend’s must see College Football. Back with you later…
