Done Pouting

Tech downs the Huskers in Lincoln.

At least I think I’m done.  The Huskers fell to 1-1 in the Big 12 and 4-2 overall when they laid an egg in Memorial Stadium last Saturday.  After the high of winning in Columbia, Mo. did the Huskers have a bit of a let down?  Or do they have a long road to travel before they can hang with the likes of Texas Tech?

The defense showed up.  With the exception of the Zac Lee and Niles Paul lateral blunder and a late mop up touchdown from the Red Raiders, the defense did an admirable job holding the second rated scoring offense in the country to 17 points.  See that?  Moral victories.  Quite frankly, I don’t give a damn about those any longer.  I want a win against a team from the South that isn’t Baylor or Texas A&M.  Did you know we haven’t had one since 2001?  The Huskers will have another shot November 7th in Lincoln, Ne. when they face off against former Big 8 rival Oklahoma.

The offense needs to get it’s act together.  With the exception of a late rally at Missouri and a too little too late touchdown last weekend, the Husker offense has scored three points since their 55-0 blowout of Louisiana-Lafayette representing the Sun Belt Conference.  Iowa State comes in as a team that gave the Kansas Jayhawks a scare two weeks ago, nearly defeating them in Lawrence, Ks.  Then again, the Jayhawks did lose to Colorado last weekend.  More question marks left to be answered for sure.

I don’t remember the Big 12 North ever being quite so open and up for grabs as it is this year with no clear favorite.  There isn’t a clear bottom feeder either considering Kansas State’s win over A&M by 50 plus points and the Buffs win over the Jayhawks.  But this may be the state of college football in the subsequent years to come.  The college football you remember, teams that are powerhouses leaving a trail of destruction in conference, may be over with.  My prediction as the middle of the road programs rise and top tier schools come back to Earth, you’re looking a conference seasons that resemble that of the NFL.  I, for one, couldn’t be happier.  Seriously.

Let’s Call It a Weekend

Gabbert versus Suh in the rain.

Normally, I wouldn’t post a picture like I did in this post, however it’s too good to pass up.  You see, Missouri Tiger quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who was once committed to Nebraska, said he would not turn on the Huskers like current backup Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman did several years ago.  Well, he did and plays for the last team most Nebraska fans would want to see him go to.  So now, injured ankle and all, Gabbert is 0-1 against the team he spited.  Anyway, on to my weekend picks.

#20 Oklahoma Sooners vs. #3 Texas Longhorns – 11 a.m. Saturday, October 17th on ABC

Can we please go back to calling this game the Red River Shootout?  It sounds cool, and not lame like Red River Rivalry.  Boring.  We’ll get to see who the class of the South is this year, and by tomorrow we’ll know who will play in the Big 12 Championship game.  Wait, we won’t?  Last year’s winner, Texas, did not make the title game despite defeating OU.  My guess is Texas wins again and the Horns will be in Arlington to try and take the conference in December.  Big Game Bob (Stoops) has lost the last three of four to Mack Brown.  Texas 38 – Oklahoma 30

Colorado Buffalos vs. #17 Kansas Jayhawks – 6 p.m. Saturday, October 17th

Jayhawk fans are anticipating a Big 12 North title.  Their first as a matter of fact.  However, with defensive performances like last week at home against Iowa State might not get them past Nebraska and Missouri in the North.  Colorado is a wounded team right now, and could be capable of pulling an upset at home in Boulder, Co.  Trust me, it’s been known to happen.  However, I think Kansas wins again and this time a little easier than the previous week against the Cyclones.  Kansas 45 – Colorado 24

Baylor Bears at Iowa State Cyclones – 6 p.m. Saturday, October 17th

While the two best programs will square off to much national attention, arguably the bottom two programs will do so without much fanfare, even from their own fanbases.  Baylor played Oklahoma pretty tough for a half down in Norman, Ok. last week even without their star quarterback who is out for the rest of the season.  They looked tough on the road, and I think it translates to a win in Ames, Ia.  Baylor 24 – Iowa State 17

Texas A&M Aggies at Kansas State Wildcats – 6 p.m. Saturday, October 17th

Kansas State took it on the chin in one of Bill Snyder’s worst losses as coach of the Cats last weekend in Lubbock, Tx.  Texas A&M under coach Mike Sherman has been one of the worst Big 12 teams in quite some time.  It’s tough to call, but even in Manhattan, Ks. I think the Aggies can pull this one out because of the Wildcat turmoil.  Although it is hard to pick based on how bad each of these teams are.  Texas A&M 30 – Kansas State 24

#16 Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Missouri Tigers – 8:15 p.m. Saturday, October 17th on ESPN2

Last year before this contest the Tigers came off their biggest win over their rival Nebraska in Lincoln.  They were number three in the country and assured a shot a the Big 12 and possibly the BCS Title.  Then the Pokes came to town and spoiled the party of Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin and company.  This year the Tigers travel to Stillwater, Ok. and face the very real possibility of staring 0-2 in the conference after dropping their opener to Nebraska in a rain soaked Columbia, Mo.  It’s not like Mike Gundy’s squad has been setting the world on fire after their top five start and loss to Houston in week two.  However, they are good enough to beat the Tigers.  Oklahoma State 42 – Missouri 28

#15 Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Huskers can exorcise some more conference demons by beating a Red Raiders team in transition.  Mike Leech’s offense typically doesn’t travel well (with the exception of last year in Kansas) and the last time they were in Lincoln, they escaped with a win over a Nebraska team that was not as good as this current version.  Injuries at running back are big questions marks for the Huskers, and the defense will face another test against this high powered offense, yet I remain optimistic on their chances to win and keep rolling in the conference.  Nebraska 37 – Texas Tech 32

National Picks

#25 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. #6 Southern Cal Trojans – 2:30 p.m. Saturday, October 17th on NBC

I’ve never cheered for USC, although they do have awesome road uniforms.  Never have I wanted it team I could care less about beat a team I care even less for.  I’m tired of the ESPN love affair with an overstocked, underperforming and underachieving Notre Dame.  I don’t just want the Trojan defense to hold the Irish to zero points, I want them to intercept Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen 13 times and sack him on every other play.  The Clausen for Heisman talk is old already.  USC 28 – Notre Dame 7

#19 Georgia Tech vs. #4 Virginia Tech – 5 p.m. October 17th on ESPN2

It’s hard to look at Virginia Tech and not think about what could have been for the Huskers.  Without that one play at the end of the game, and a win for Nebraska, the Huskers would be in the top 10.  Ugh, anyway.  If Tech, oh, Virginia Tech wins this game they’ll hold all the major tiebreakers in the conference.  Georgia Tech needs this win to stay alive to try to get to the ACC Championship game.  I’m not to impressed with how the Hokies have traveled this season, losing to Alabama (who wouldn’t?) and struggling with Duke in Durham N.C.  I like Paul Johnson’s squad to play keep away with the ball an control the clock.  The Hokie D is tough, but the Yellow Jackets come out on top in a low scoring struggle.  GT 21 – VT 17

An Exchange of Sorts

Papelbon costs the Sox their season.

I don’t remember this happening, but sometimes I do like to bargain with myself.  “If Nebraska can beat Missouri in Columbia, I won’t mind if Boston loses in the playoffs.”  Every sports fan makes weird bets or deals with themselves, or maybe it’s just me.  No middle ground on this one folks.  The two years Boston won the World Series?  The Huskers go 5-7 and have some of the worst seasons in the 70 some odd years.  This is no mere coincidence folks.  There is something cosmic afoot here, and I want to know what is going on.

It’s been happening on the flip side too.  The year Nebraska won the Big 12 North, Boston missed the playoffs completely.  Flying in the face of this nonsense is the fact that the 49ers have sucked equally well in this time period.  At least until they ran into the offensive juggernaut that is the Atlanta Falcons.

I know, this is payback for growing up and watching my two football teams dominate in my memory.  I remember starting to watch football from when I was about seven or eight, and up until I was 19 for the Niners and about 21 for the Huskers, both teams dominated and annoyed everyone that wasn’t a fan.  1994 will never happen again, I know this, but you never can stop hoping for a Super Bowl and a National Championship in the same year, right?

I wanted to believe in the way Boston was doing things, and part of me still does.  High priced free agents coupled with a great internal system that would dominate the baseball landscape for years to come.  Something Theo and company did not anticipate is in the offseason the New York Yankees would step up their payroll into the stratosphere.  I don’t play the David vs. Goliath card when it comes to these two teams because it is absurd.  But this season, it is different.  The difference between the Yankees’ $208,097,414 payroll and Boston’s $122,435,399 team salary is the difference (approximately $85,000,000) between the Soxs’ number and the Florida Marlins’ payroll of 35,774,000.  The Marlins have the 31st highest (or second lowest) payroll in all of baseball.  There is some perspective most people probably haven’t added up yet.  Baseball is a numbers game when you translate money into big time ball players, and the Yankees are king of the hill.

It’s a big market bonanza this year.  Only two teams outside the top 15 in terms of payroll (Minnesota and Colorado) made it into the postseason this year.  So with Boston out, the excitement of watching an underdog pull of an upset is not happening.  Warm up the stove, because I’m about to check out already.