Michigan State 42, THE 3
(Consider the possibility that I have the final score the exact reverse of what I fear it will be. But damn the THE! Full speed ahead with reflexive optimism!) I think our offense turned the corner; we have moved the ball reasonably well for four weeks now – and unlike the ASU game, have gotten points for it. Eventual 2019 Heisman Trophy Winner Brian Lewerke is developing rhythm and rapport with his receivers. Our defense may have given up more points against IU than they should have, but it is not like they face an offensive powerhouse like IU every week! (I am taking a mini vacation this weekend and will not see the game. If I can avoid looking up the final score, and ignore any articles or comments about the game, the possibility that this prediction will be right and my beloved Spartans will win remains. This is basically why I am a millionaire many times over playing the lottery: as long as you do not check the results, you are not a loser. In this context, call it Schrodinger’s Box Score.)
Methchicken 17, Iowa 13
Everyone blows out Rutgers. You are supposed to blow out Rutgers. I still have questions about Methchicken’s offense – only 3.4 per rush against Rutgers, with what should be a huge gap in line talent - but respect the defense, at least against an Iowa team that does not have a Taylor level talent on offense.
Auburn 31, Florida 14
The third of the three games matching ranked teams. I have said this sort of thing before: the difference between Auburn and Florida is that Auburn has not lost, and Florida has not lost yet. The lower half of God’s Conference are not what they used to be, but Auburn’s waxing of Old Missississippi State last week was pretty impressive.
Maryland 42, Rutgers 3
Speaking of the lower half of conferences…. We got this turkey a month and a half early. But then, I am not sure this is even the worst conference game out there; the Beavers take on the Bruins, Vandy plays Old Mississippi, and the South Atlantic League’s only non sucking team is not playing Saturday. yankguy may have been on the nose about the Terps. On the other hand, everyone blows out Rutgers. You are supposed to blow out Rutgers. I do not know why anyone with ambition would take that job.
Minnesota 27, Illinois 24
The Gophers are technically unbeaten. The Illini technically lost to EMU. Which is why, although the Gophers have not beaten anyone, including an FCS school, by more than 7, they get to be unbeaten for another week.
Oregon 31, University of California* 13
The PAWCP is not dead yet, playoff wise. Oregon or Washington running the table still sets them up it either the Big Whatever or Pure Prairie League has a two loss champion. I suppose there is also the possibility that THE will have one of those horrific inexplicable losses, and Oregon’s loss to Auburn will seem “better”. Anyway, I have seen Herbert play a couple of times now and remain unimpressed about his actual production. Cal has a decent defense but does not really excel anywhere.
*
Washington 21, Stanford 13
Well, Stanford still strikes me as having a capable defense, even if its offense is perfectly capable of not scoring at any given time.
the Pennsylvania State University 35, the Purdue 14
Arguably Brohm should have cashed in his chips last year and left the table. Two straight 6 and 6 regular seasons and two straight bowl games seems to be Purdue’s ceiling anymore.
Oklahoma 52, Kansas 10
Hey! Kansas has two wins! They should be pretty satisfied with that. As for Oklahoma, has any team had three consecutive Heisman Trophy winners with three different players all playing the same position? Hurst is looking like the man to date. Either Lincoln Riley is a pretty good coach for QBs, or his system is a pretty good system for QBs. Or both.
Georgia 41, Tennessee 10
I admit to a morbid fascination with the Jeremy Pruitt deathwatch. Hey, Tennessee! Better snap up Schiano before Rutgers gets to him!
Texas Christian University 31, Iowa State 13
ISU was kind of a sexy dark horse pick for the Pure Prairie League before they actually started to play the games. They have been bad three of the four games – the good one was a romp against Louisiana Monroe. TCU is solid.
Our Lady of the Perpetual Tie 41, Bowling Alley 3
Can a one loss OLotPT make the playoffs without playing that extra championship game? I think that they would need at least two of the Power Five conferences to have a two loss champ, and probably either Alabama or Georgia to lose twice: I think the pecking order is roughly: Unbeatens, One loss Conference Champions, One loss SEC runner up, One loss Notre Dame - or THE or Oklahoma if their one loss is the Conference Championship game. Which I speculate about because this game looks to be boring as hell.
Poll
