College Football Notebook - Week Eleven

Is Miami the luckiest team on the planet? Well other than the 1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers. Geez, the ball bounces off of one player into anothers arms and then its handed back and returned for a touchdown. That kind of stuff doesn't happen unless you are destined for something. The question is what are they destined for; A national championship or exposure as a fraud? My guess is the latter. They have played no top teams yet, BC probably being the best (remember the FSU game was Rix's fifth start). That doesn't spell good things when Nos. 14, 16, and 18 are waiting to knock you off your pedestal. Their only consolation is they play two of those in Miami. They will still lose at least one of them. My pick has always been the game at VA Tech. I'll stick with that.

Colorado is right there, as I predicted at the beginning of the season. They have a chance to win the Big XII north with a win against Nebraska on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The Buffs have survived a QB change due to injury and are rolling, perhaps better than they were before.

Florida State is on the verge of being pushed out the top twenty five for the first time since Reagan was President, I believe. Its been a rough season and it may get worse. After the Florida game, Georgia Tech will come to town. A loss there would put them in some bowl game that the 'Nolies have never heard of. A win, ironically, would put them in the Gator Bowl. Think Spurrier would love to see that?

Does BYU deserve to be taking up our discussion time? Most observers say no, but people continue to vote them in the top ten. Why? They are undefeated. I think all teams in the top twenty five would be undefeated if they played the Pop Warner schedule that Cougars have this year. Sorry guys, but you'd be beaten by twenty out of the twenty four other teams currently in the rankings. Enjoy your season, an undefeated regular season is rare, but my guess is you will get it handed to you in your bowl game.

DeShaun Foster and William Green of UCLA and Boston College respectively probably cost their teams victories last week...by their absence. They both screwed up and got suspended. The bowl landscape would have looked very different had those guys been around.

Previews (Last Week 4-2, Season 17-10)

Florida State at Florida - ding-dong the witch is dead. Or is she? The Gators better not be over confident and they better remember their 1997 victory over the then No. 1 Seminoles. This is the type of game that the Gators can lose. They won't, but it will not be as easy as they think. Gators 38 - 24.

Syracuse at Miami - as much as I would like to think the 'Cuse can do it, they can't. They can't do it in Miami. Hurricanes 42-31.

Oklahoma at Texas Tech - there are those in Lubbock who are dreaming of a victory. Keep dreaming. Oklahoma's offense may not be that good, but you guys may punt 13 times. Sooners 31-9

Washington State at Washington - Cinderella vs. Fraud. I've been saying it all along. Washington is doing it with mirrors. State gets seven years of bad-luck as they break the mirror on Saturday. Cougars 28 - 10

Illinois at Ohio State - They should dot the "i" and get the heck out of there. The Illini will romp. Illinois 42-13.

Alabama at Auburn - can Coach Fran get them up for this game? I think yes. It still may not be enough. Another classic ending to one of the best rivalries in the nation. War Eagle!! Auburn 21-19.

Heisman Watch

Then there were three: Crouch, Harrington, Grossman.

Crouch has an undefeated team, Harrington has the excitement, and Grossman is just the best QB in the nation. Crouch's numbers are iffy, Grossman is a sophomore (a no-no to the voters), so, I can't believe I'm saying this, I put Harrington as the favorite right now.

Later...