The Crier

The Lowdown

I hang my head in shame.

Tim Shields · Sport · Oct 19, 2007

Last week my picks were not so hot and Andy, my counterpart, finally broke through and defeated me. I think I’m just going to have to bounce back this week and show him what’s what. Last week in college football added to the chaos of what many consider the craziest season in recent memory. LSU and Kentucky played a thrilling triple overtime game in which another number one team was knocked off. Now, Ohio State is the default number one without beating a single team of consequence. (More power to the sweater vest for not being upset by a Youngstown State.) Maybe we’ll see more number one upset magic from the Spartans.

Three Games to Watch This Week:

1) California at UCLA 3:30 ABC California is coming off a heart breaking first loss of the year in which a true-freshman quarterback blew the game by taking a sack with no timeouts. UCLA has looked terrible in games against lowly Utah and Notre Dame but suddenly finds itself in control of its own destiny in the Pac-10. This game depends greatly on two things: which UCLA team shows up and whether Cal quarterback Nate Longshore is good to go. With Longshore, Cal is a dominant offensive force, with weapons at running back, receiver and quarterback. Without, they lose to Oregon State. No matter who starts at quarterback for the Bears, Cal is just the better team and should bounce back nicely this week. Prediction: Cal 30 UCLA 23

2) Florida at Kentucky 3:30 CBS This match-up features arguably the top two quarterbacks in the SEC and the country, Andre’ Woodson for Kentucky and Tim Tebow for Florida. Both are Heisman-caliber quarterbacks leading top fifteen ranked teams. Kentucky is riding high after an upset of number one LSU while Florida is coming off two straight losses and a bye week. Kentucky’s defense came up big in the third overtime but looked shaky against LSU’s running option quarterbacks. That does not bode well for them this week as Tebow is an excellent runner, and head coach has had two weeks to get his team ready to take on Kentucky. I expect Kentucky to stay close all game, but the experience of Florida and their coaching staff to push them over the top in the end. Prediction: Florida 31 Kentucky 27

3) Michigan at Illinois 8:00 ABC Another two teams coming into their games from opposite ends of the spectrum. Michigan is coming off is best game of the season while Illinois is coming off its worse. Michigan played a complete game against Purdue, offense, defense and special teams. Mike Hart, my Heisman leader to this point, rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns in only one half of play before leaving the game due to injury. His return is extremely important to Michigan’s game plan. Without Hart, Michigan will be forced to air it out and attack Illinois’ secondary. This may not be a bad thing, since Illinois’ secondary has looked suspect so far this year. Now. I’m not saying I don’t want Hart to play, he is the soul of the team, but I do hope Chad Henne is allowed to pass in non-passing situations. Michigan’s defense also looked impressive against a spread offense for the first time this year. The difference is Illinois runs more of a run heavy spread compared to Purdue’s pass-heavy one. Michigan needs to stop Illinois’ quarterback’s ability to run and slow down Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall. It will not be easy, but Michigan should be able to slow down Illinois enough to run away from them. Prediction: Michigan 31 Illinois 17

Upset of the Week:

Back in 1998, Ohio State was riding high and the number one team in the country. They seemed unbeatable heading into a match up with heavy underdog Michigan State in Columbus. MSU picked off OSU’s quarterback on the final drive, sealing the biggest upset of the year. Situation sound familiar? Well OSU doesn’t really seem unbeatable this year, but MSU is definitely a big underdog on the road, in Columbus. State’s running game could give OSU’s defense fits, and their wide receiver Devin Thomas can be a game breaker. Nine years later, look for another shocker at the Horseshoe. Upset: MSU 34 OSU 30

Top 5:

1) Ohio State – Number one by default. South Florida just lost to Rutgers and LSU is no longer undefeated. Could change this weekend.

2) Arizona State - Last unbeaten in the Pac-10. They haven’t played in major competition, but they look impressive on offense and defense.

3) LSU - Sure, they lost to Kentucky, but it was in triple OT and their starting WR and RB were injured. They also have the best resume so far this season.

4) South Carolina - They beat Kentucky who beat LSU. That has to mean something right? Spurrier is showing he still knows how to coach at the college level.

5) Oklahoma - They don’t really play anyone the rest of the season, save for a potential rematch with Missouri in the Big 12 title game. They could and should waltz into the BCS title game with one loss and a Big 12 title.