Sports Then and Now

So close to perfection this past weekend. LSU failed to hold off the Florida Gators for four quarters—going down to defeat 14-6.

That was Zultan’s only loss this week—ending at 9-1 in week 6.

Only one of you bettered the all-seeing seer – Chris Humphreys who runs the the Sports Chump Blog (sportschump.net). He scored a perfect 10-0.

Hmmmpf. I wonder what brand of crystal ball he uses??

The rest of you failed to outguess the mighty Zultan during week 6.  Perhaps week 7 will be better because it looks like a promising week for major upsets!

The brief respite for the Hawkeyes is over—not that much good happened during the Iowa “bye” week.  It seems that a few players partied themselves into a tight spot.

Consequently, I had to convince Mom that “The Register” went out of business and that “no news is good news” as far as the Hawkeyes were concerned.

This week the Hawks have to travel to East Lansing to face Michigan State. I will be slipping tranquilizers into Mom’s Bosco.

In the Leaders and Legends Divisions only Ohio State (8) and Michigan (25) are now ranked. The Big Ten Conference continues to sink in all football categories except making money—which is a favorable spot if you cannot excel on the gridiron.

The question now is can you outguess the Fearless One?  Are you willing to take a chance and live life on the edge like Zultan?

Forewarned: Week 7 is going to be rough. There are no easy contests this week.

Still, if you want a piece of the action—just make your picks and we will see who is better at predicting the future on Saturday.

Game 1: [Big Ten] Iowa Hawkeyes at Michigan State Spartans

First of all, the Spartans (4-2) are favored in this week’s game held in East Lansing.

Michigan State held off Indiana last weekend 31-27, winning the game in the fourth quarter showcasing a less than sterling outing against the Hoosiers.

Iowa, coming off a bye week after winning their Big Ten opener over the Minnesota Gophers, had some off-week issues that cloud the crystal ball’s forecasting ability.

What remains crystal clear is the image of Mark Weisman rushing for 177 yards with 155 of those coming in the first half as Iowa shot out to a 24-0 lead.

But, the Michigan State defense is considerably better than Minnesota’s. Plus, the game is in hostile territory for the Hawks.

Pick Michigan State to win at home.   (Do not tell Mom about this pick.)

Game 2: [Big Ten] Northwestern Wildcats at Minnesota Golden Gophers

Northwestern (5-1) lost their first game of the season against Penn State (4-2) last weekend—mainly because of a superior defensive effort in the second half by the Lions.

Then too, Penn State won the final fifteen minutes of the game hands down, 22-0.  That was enough to pull Northwestern off their undefeated perch as the Wildcats suffered their first defeat, 39-28.

Minnesota (4-1) also has only one loss on the season—to the Iowa Hawkeyes in week 5. But the Gophers were without the talented Marqueis Gray sitting in the pocket, leading the Gopher offense.

Offense, however, will not be the issue for the Gophers, whether Gray returns or not.

The main problem for the Gophers will be defense—stopping the potent Wildcat offense.

Pick Northwestern to win on the road.

Game 3: [Big Ten] Wisconsin Badgers at Purdue Boilermakers

What has happened to Wisconsin? The Badgers (4-2) certainly have not performed as we expected at the start of the season.

But, of course, this is a down year for the Big Ten all around.

Last week against Illinois, it took the Badgers three quarters to work up enough speed and will power to overcome the fighting Illini.

Scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter was required in order to win the game over Illinois at home in Camp Randall Stadium.

Purdue (3-2) , on the other hand, could not stop the running attack of Denard Robinson. The Wolverine quarterback rushed for 235 yards on the day, scoring one touchdown on the ground as well as one through the air to Devin Gardner.

Purdue managed 13 points on the day but ultimately the Boilers were crushed by the Wolverines 44-13.

Saturday’s game played at West Lafayette should be a toss-up.

It is a tough, tough pick but ultimately the Badgers have more talent and at this point in the season, they will step it up in order to have a chance to end the season with decent numbers and a shot at a major bowl.

Pick Wisconsin to win on the road.

Game 4: [Big Ten] Illinois Fighting Illini at Michigan Wolverines (25)

Last weekend Purdue had no answers when it came to stopping Denard Robinson and the potent offense of the Michigan Wolverines. It stands to reason that the Fighting Illini will also be unable to stop the Wolverines—especially playing at home in front of Ann Arbor kin folk.

The Illinois squad seems lost this season. They have some good moments but not enough consistency on either side of the ball to win in the Big Ten—at least so far.

Their defense once again this season is severely lacking. You cannot win if you cannot stop the other team from scoring at will.

Pick the Wolverines to win at home.

Game 5: [Big Ten] Ohio State Buckeyes (8) at Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana (2-3) played one heck of a game against the Michigan State Spartans (4-2) in week 6.

The Hoosiers—kept pace step for step until the fourth quarter when the Spartans stepped down hard on the accelerator to shoot past Indiana in the fourth quarter.

Cameron Coffman threw for 282 yards including three touchdowns and no interceptions against a very good Spartan defense.

The Hoosiers, however, gained only 35 rushing yards on the day which eventually led to Michigan State shutting them down in the fourth quarter.

Indiana, however, possesses a lot of untapped potential which seems to emerge week by week.

Ohio State (6-0), however, remains the one bright spot in the Big Ten, ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll in week 7. Last week, according to most, the Buckeyes “crushed” the Nebraska Cornhuskers to make the biggest statement so far.

The scope of the loss knocked Nebraska out of the top 25 in both polls, leaving a huge hole in the Legends Division or perhaps paving the way for Michigan to seize control.

Ohio State is, of course, ineligible for post season play.

But the Buckeyes continue to lead the conference in every conceivable manner—both good and bad.

Pick: Ohio State to win at Indiana.

Game 6: [SEC] South Carolina Gamecocks (3) at LSU Tigers (9)

This is a big game in the SEC and in the top 25.

South Carolina (6-0) must travel to Baton Rouge to do battle with LSU (5-1) on Saturday. Last weekend, of course, LSU lost their first game of the season to Florida (5-0) in Gainsville.

Perhaps the loss will serve as a wake-up call to the Tigers who may be resting on their laurels and their previous season’s success.

This week LSU welcomes in the Gamecocks of South Carolina who dominated No. 5 ranked Georgia last weekend in an unexpectedly lopsided game.

The Gamecocks rolled out 392 yards of offense against the Bulldogs who seemed flat and out of sync on the afternoon. South Carolina’s defense did its job convincingly.

So this week the Gamecocks must travel to Baton Rouge where no doubt they will find a newly inspired LSU team awaiting.

Pick LSU to win at home.

Game 7: [PAC 12] Stanford Cardinal (17) at Notre Dame (7)

Stanford (4-1) travels to South Bend to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in week 7. Both teams are ranked in the top 25 and both have much yet to prove concerning their lofty college football rankings.

To date, Notre Dame remains undefeated while Stanford has suffered one loss on the season at the hands of the Washington Huskies.

Last week the Cardinal had to scramble to outmaneuver Arizona in overtime to secure the win.

Stanford so far has not fared well on the road. In fact, this will be only their second road test of the season.

They lost to Washington on the road and they will lose again to Notre Dame on the road.

Note: If the game were at Stanford, then Zultan would pick the Cardinal to win.

Pick Notre Dame to win at home in week 7.

Game 8: [Big 12] Texas Longhorns (15) at Oklahoma Sooners (13)

It is time for the annual Red River Rivalry game between Texas (4-1) and Oklahoma (3-1), played in Dallas for bragging rights in the Big 12.

The Sooners have already suffered one loss this season to Kansas State. The Sooners can afford no more losses if they wish to play in a BCS Bowl in January.

Texas lost last weekend at home to the West Virginia transplants who proved to have too much offense for the Longhorns to handle on Saturday.

Last second heroics sealed the game for the Mountaineers as they fell on an onside kick booted by Texas after a late fourth quarter score.

Oklahoma has an experienced leader in quarterback Landry Jones bolstered by his backfield. This extra ingredient will be enough to turn the tide.

Pick Oklahoma to win this one in Dallas.

Game 9: [PAC 12] USC Trojans (11) at Washington Huskies

USC (4-1) had to scramble to win against Utah in week 6. The Utes shot out to a 14-0 early lead over the Trojans.

But that was before Matt Barkley and company turned the game around—coming back to win on the road 38-28.

Earlier in the season, USC was stunned—upset at Stanford—this after being the pre-season No. 1 ranked team in college football.

But the Trojans are slowly turning their season around and will no doubt finish strong.

The Washington Huskies (3-2), however, defeated Stanford the week after the Cardinal upended USC in a big upset of their own.

So far Washington has lost twice—to No. 2 ranked Oregon and to a No. 3 ranked LSU.

Playing in Seattle can be tricky. The Huskies like to play at home where the fans are very supportive. But you have to favor the Trojans in this one.

Pick USC to win on the road.

Game 10: [SEC] Texas A & M (22) at [WAC] Louisiana Tech (23)

Louisiana Tech (5-0) has defeated Houston, Rice, Illinois, Virginia and UNLV so far this season. They are undefeated.

The game on Saturday is a makeup game postponed from August 30 when their game with Texas A & M (4-1) was interrupted by a hurricane.

Since then the Bulldogs have been waging a storm of their own, leading the WAC even though they have not played a WAC opponent yet this season.

Texas A & M lost their opener against then No. 24 ranked Florida 20-17. Since then, the Aggies have been undefeated against SMU, South Carolina State, Arkansas and Ole Miss.

These are a couple of high-scoring teams and this one promises to offer plenty of action and plenty of touchdowns.

But you have to pick a ranked SEC team over a ranked WAC.  That is my opinion anyway.

Pick Texas A & M to win on the road.