Friday, October 05, 2007

Bye Week - What to Watch

So there is no Cal football on Saturday. The bye could not have come at a better time for the team. But what about us fans? Right after a huge win, we are amped, chomping at the bit to see more of our Golden Bears.

Some might choose to use this Saturday to spend time with the loved one's you have been ignoring for the past 5 Saturdays. Others might be downloading torrents of previous Cal games and running them on loop.

For everyone else, this is a great weekend to watch some fantastic games without the fear of possibly dropping dead from a heart attack like last week. Here is what to watch and why.

Wisconsin vs Illinois (Noon EST on ESPN)
With the Whiskys still hanging around (and I mean barely) as an undefeated, how they do in this game can affect Cal, possibly. If Wisconsin wins this one in a blow out, I can see some voters giving them a little bump in the polls. Illinois is coming off a big win against Penn St and is looking to be an outside contender for the Big Ten crown.
Prediction: Another undefeated bites the dust, Illinois over Wisconsin

Oklahoma vs Texas (3:30 EST on ESPN)
The Red River Shootout has lost some luster with both teams falling last week. The game will come down to which QB, OK's Sam Bradford or UT's Colt McCoy can bounce back from terrible outings last week.
Prediction: Oklahoma big over Texas, because I hate Mack Brown.

Georgia vs Tennessee (3:30 EST on CBS)
As Cal fans we must now root for Tennessee. Georgia has been playing well since its loss to South Carolina and has a great rushing attack. Tennessee can counter with Ainge running the no huddle offense and put points on the board.
Prediction: Tennessee over Georgia, to help with the strength of schedule.

Florida vs LSU (8:30 EST CBS)
As I understand it, in the spread offense, the QB puts the ball into the gut of the RB and has the option to hand it off or pull it out. In the Florida spread offense, the QB always keeps the ball. Tim Tebow is great but until one of the RB emerges the LSU defense will be focused only on stopping one player.
I would love to see Florida take it to LSU and hear more comments from Les Miles about how the SEC is too tough. But the LSU defense is looking too good right now.
Prediction: Florida over LSU, because then Cal is #2 in the nation.

USC vs Stanford (7:00 Versus)
Cal's natural rival, Stanfurd against Cal football's biggest rival, U$C. I think most fans want to see USC come to Berkeley undefeated to set up the biggest game at Memorial Stadium since who knows when.
I can not see anyway that Stanfurd keeps up with the Trojan. Particularly because Stanfurd HC Jim Harbaugh seems to have a way with pissing of USC HC Pete Carroll. This should be fun for Cal fans because it is always fun to watch Stanfurd get beaten down.
Prediction: USC in a blow out.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Enjoying a USC victory in football is just as bad as enjoying a UCLA victory in basketball. These are the same folks who kept us out of the Rose Bowl by throwing three straight incomplete passes into the in zone against UCLA in the 70's. Root for non-career ending injuries.

Anonymous said...

...but it's just as fun watching $C get a beat down, too...especially from the dregs of the Pac-10--nay, just about all of the FBS--and on their own turf, to boot!

Now, THAT'S fun to watch!

Stanfurd (using a completely untested QB): 24

$C (they HATE being referred to as "Southern California," doncha know?!): 23