Things were going smoothly enough in college football, and then last week happened. Down went the No. 1, 2 and 4 teams and it seems like we're back to the chaos of 2007. Last night did nothing to dissuade after lowly Pittsburgh pretty much took it to No. 10 South Florida all night and emerged victorious 26-21.
So now we shift to Saturday and the bloodthirsty college football masses will not be satisfied without a few more ranked heads rolling. It's like Rome meets the French Revolution, misplaced blood sport for the sake of pure carnage.
Well, who are we to get in your way? Let's take a look at potential messes sure to satisfy the mob.
Resurgent No. 6 Penn State will play at Purdue at noon (Eastern). Outgoing coach Joe Tiller didn't get his wish of one more Notre Dame slaying last week , but maybe some roast Nittany Lion will suffice? Magic 8 Ball says: not likely.
Perhaps by default, No. 1 Oklahoma heads to Waco to play Baylor at 12:30. Baylor has walking highlight Robert Griffin at quarterback. Is he the new Vince Young? Then again, Vince The Great once lost 12-0 to Oklahoma. Oklahoma did lose to Colorado last year, but methinks Baylor doesn't have the depth of talent on defense to keep things close even if their offense puts up some points. Magic 8 Ball says: hahahahahaha. No.
Everyone's sentimental No. 1, second-ranked Alabama plays host to Kentucky at 3:30. After such a thorough whooping of Georgia on the road last week, it's back home to T-Town, which maybe isn't a good thing. Kentucky's not anything to write home about this year, but perhaps Alabama's in for a modest letdown game? This success thing is still new and they're not all that far removed from the embarrassing 21-14 home loss to Louisiana-Monroe last year. Magic 8 Ball says: Hmm ...
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Wide-open, wild-eyed No. 7 Texas Tech is yet another top 10 team hitting the road. They're facing Kansas State this week, also at 3:30. The Wildcats have been so-so this year, posting a 3-1 record but dropping one to pedestrian Louisville and squeaking by Louisiana-Lafayette 45-37 last week. Let's call this a pick-me-up game though. They did topple Texas last year (a thorough pantsing, at that) and are always dangerous with Josh Freeman at quarterback. After some furious shaking and a few bribes (hey, we need the drama) Magic 8 Ball says: fear the Wildcat.
Sneaky quiet, sneaky good No. 5 Texas visits Colorado at seven. Yes, another roadie for a top 10 team. Maybe I'm not as into college football anarchy, but this parade of road games doesn't have me feeling many upsets coming. Colorado was dropped 39-21 by yet another pedestrian Florida State team 39-21 last week. Look for Texas to do the same. Magic 8 Ball says: Hook 'Em.
Wait, they're still in the top 10? I guess we have to write about 'em No. 9 USC plays host to a dangerous No. 23 Oregon at eight. The Trojans are heavily favored but there's something deeply unsettling about the way their lines were pushed around for the duration of last week's unbelievable upset loss to Oregon State. This year feels different, but for the time being data points to USC always rebounding from its disappointments. Magic 8 Ball says: maybe.
Finally, we arrive at the Phoenix Suns of college football, the No. 4 Missouri Tigers. At some point this year they'll play some defense but who needs it most weeks when you've got that beautiful offense? They'll travel to Nebraska (9 p.m.), late of the sieve-like home defeat to Virginia Tech who posted 35 points which I didn't think they could do against a D-II team let alone Nebraska. I could see Nebraska rallying here and making me look stupid, but for now, no. Magic 8 Ball says: hahahahahaha.
