College Football Rewind: Week 7

Felt a bit like Groundhog day for teams in the Top Ten this week, as Week 7 brought more blowouts and #BEATEMDOWNs. Much like Week 6, it was quite an uneventful weekend of college football. Thankfully, it appears the games scheduled for this weekend have the potential to be truly memorable. Let’s hope so, because I’m tired of writing about teams getting their asses kicked.

#1 LSU defeats Tennessee, 38-7

Another weekend, another dominating performance from the Bayou Bengals. Since September 24, LSU has scored 35 or more points in each game, while only giving up 25 points total over their last 3 wins. Not surprising that they’re still undefeated is it?

Things are about to get just a tad tougher for Les Miles and the Tigers, as the Auburn Tigers come to town this weekend. Think of this game as the appetizer to next weekend’s monster matchup between LSU and Alabama. While Auburn will give LSU the first challenge they’ve had in several weeks, I still don’t believe that LSU will have any real trouble in winning the SEC’s version of the Tiger Bowl. Wouldn’t be surprised at all if this matchup turns out to be a low-scoring, brutal defensive battle.

Prediction: LSU 17, Auburn 13

#2 Alabama defeats Ole Miss, 52-7

Remember when you were a lot younger playing sports against your younger brother? You might decide to take it easy on him playing a game of hoops, only to have him blow right by you as you start playing. He then showboats up and down the court. That ticked you off didn’t it? You then went out of your way to humiliate him didn’t you? Because that’s exactly what Alabama did to Ole Miss this past weekend. The Runnin’ Rebels scored first, the Crimson Tide got pissed off and proceeded to go out of their way to embarrass Ole Miss. Trent Richardson’s sick juke = Exhibit A.  

Alabama has another conference cupcake on the schedule this weekend with Tennessee coming to town. For some teams, this might have the makings of a trap game – not for Alabama. The Tide is going to beat Tennessee like a government mule on Saturday.

Prediction: Alabama 49, Tennessee 10

#3 Oklahoma defeats Kansas, 47-17

Not quite as big of a blowout as I predicted, but still a blowout nonetheless. Kansas just doesn’t have the firepower to compete with a team like Oklahoma. I guess they could take the fact that they scored just as many points on Oklahoma as Texas did as a moral victory.

The Sooners return home to Norman this weekend with a matchup against the Texas Tech Craig James Red Raiders. Don’t be surprised if Coach Stoops fires up the #BEATEMDOWN express once again this weekend.

Prediction: Oklahoma 34, Texas Tech 13

#4 Wisconsin defeats Indiana, 59-7

Finally, this was the last of the Badger’s cupcake home games. And this one, like all of the others, resulted in another massive blowout. #AllRussellWilsonEverything managed to even catch a touchdown pass in this game, further advancing his Heisman campaign. Not much more to say about this game, other than Indiana should ball up their football program and throw it in the toilet.

Wisconsin finally has their first true road game of the season with a trip to East Lansing, in what should easily be the game of the week this Saturday. And truthfully, this is their last real tough game on their schedule. A win against the Spartans almost solidifies Wisconsin’s trip to the Rose Bowl. There’s a lot on the line for #AllRussellWilsonEverything this weekend, and I expect them to pass this test with flying colors. 

Prediction: Wisconsin 31, Michigan State 26

#5 Boise State defeats Colorado State, 63-13

This game really isn’t even worth mentioning. In fact, it’s pretty well summed up by this Mortal Kombat clip. 

Next up for the Broncos is a matchup with Air Force, and again, like everyone else they’ve played in their absurdly weak schedule, shouldn’t have any difficulty in winning this football game. Look for more of the same from Kellen Moore and the rest of this high-octane offense.

Prediction: Boise State 44, Air Force 17

#6 Oklahoma State defeats #22 Texas, 38-26

While Texas certainly played better than they did against Oklahoma, this game was not as close as the score indicated. Brandon Weeden had a rather pedestrian game by his standards, but Cowboys RB Jeremy Smith made up for it with a monster game, going for well over 100 yards and 2 TD’s. He sliced through Texas’s swiss cheese defense with relative ease.

OK State heads out on the road again this weekend with an early game against Missouri. Noon games always seem to lead to slow starts, and I feel like that trend will continue this week. But eventually the Cowboys’ offense will wake up and take care of business against the Tigers.

Prediction: Oklahoma State 32, Missouri 23

#7 Stanford defeats Washington State, 44-14

Speaking of slow starts, it took until the second half for the Cardinal to really get rolling, but once they did, the XFL Chicago Enforcers Washington State had no chance to win.

Washington rolls into Palo Alto this weekend, who is quietly having a pretty good season in the PAC-12. That all ends Saturday, as Stanford is by far the best team the Huskies will face all season. Should be another blowout, and look for QB Andrew Luck to do something that will try and outdo #AllRussellWilsonEverything for Heisman recognition, as at this point, it’s basically a two-horse race between the two of them.

Prediction: Stanford 34, Washington 14

#8 Clemson defeats Maryland, 56-45

Somehow, someway, the Tigers managed to avoid the Clemson game, though they did everything they could early on to lose. I’m not sure whether it says more about how good a team Clemson is, or how absolutely lousy the MaryLOLnd Terrapins are. Seriously Terps, how do you blow a huge lead against Clemson, who was absolutely due for one of their patented meltdown games? Absolutely pitiful.

Moving on, Clemson returns to Death Valley this weekend to play the North Carolina Tar Heels at high noon. Much like Oklahoma State’s game, look for another slow start (especially for UNC, who has been abysmal when having to play early games). Personally, if Clemson can somehow manage to keep themselves from losing that Maryland game, I don’t think they’re going to lose to North Carolina. At any rate, the Tigers will need to keep winning to stay a step ahead of Wake Forest in the divisional race, who is putting together a season similar to their ACC Title season from 2006. That should be motivation enough to put away the Tar Heels on Saturday.

Prediction: Clemson 24, North Carolina 17

#9 Oregon defeats Arizona State, 41-27

Turns out missing LaMichael James did make a difference in Oregon’s offensive effectiveness, but not as much as I thought it would. The Ducks also started slow this week, but finished strong in the second half and put away a very good Arizona State team. While the Sun Devils are unranked, this was a huge win for Oregon, especially with James out of the lineup.

Speaking of James, if his injury is even slightly worse than previously thought, there is no point in trying to play him this weekend on the road against lowly Colorado. Pretty sure Oregon’s third string could easily defeat Colorado’s first string. Don’t think the Ducks will have another slow start – in fact, this one could be over by the end of the first quarter.

Prediction: Oregon 64, Colorado 10

#10 Arkansas (idle)

After their week off, the Razorbacks hit the road this weekend for their turn with lowly Ole Miss. A fully rested Arkansas team versus an Ole Miss team coming off a vicious beatdown from the hands of Alabama – really, who do you think is going to win? That’s right, I thought so.

Prediction: Arkansas 31, Ole Miss 18

The IHJJR Top Ten: Week Eight

1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Oklahoma
4. Wisconsin
5. Stanford
6. Oklahoma State
7. Boise State
8. Oregon
9. Clemson
10. Arkansas

For the first time all season long, the entire Top Ten remains intact. If my predictions for this week hold, the Top Ten for Week Nine is going to look exactly like Week Eight.

LOL of the Week

So many choices for the Week Seven winner. Should it go to Duke’s football fans, who had probably the worst turnout I’ve ever seen for what was at the time an incredibly important football game against FSU? Or should it go to the Ole Miss player who got his ankle’s shattered by Trent Richardson? Or how about the fact that North Carolina’s new athletic director Bubba Cunningham looks suspiciously like Bill Simmons (as pointed out by @danwiederer)?

While all solid choices, this week’s winner goes to the Spartans of Michigan State for stealing UAB’s uniforms playing in some of the most atrocious uniforms I have ever seen. Seriously, gold helmets? Gold isn’t even one of your colors!

That’s a wrap for Week Seven. Got any comments or questions? Leave them here or find me on Twitter @thrillis4. Enjoy the games this weekend!