There are two nice appetizers at noon this Saturday, MSU v. OSU and Wis. v. Minn. Then, the big show starts at 3:30 with 4 great games: USC v. ND, UF v. LSU, PSU v. Mich. and UT v. Colo. (This will be a Saturday when I wish I had 4 TVs and a Domino's in my house.) Of course, USC/ND has gotten a lot of coverage this week. Let's take a look at some of the other games...
#13 Michigan State 4-1(1-1) at Ohio State (3-2)(1-1) 12 ET, ABC
-- A battle between the best Scoring Offense in the Big Ten (MSU) and the Best Scoring Defense in the Big Ten (OSU). Meanwhile, MSU is #1 in Total Offense while Ohio State is dead last in the Big Ten. Both teams need the win to keep their hopes for a Big Ten Championship alive. Ohio State might have a solid defense, but I think the Spartans will overwhelm Ohio State and the defense will keep a struggling Buckeye offense from doing much. Winner: MSU
Wisconsin (5-1)(2-1) at Minnesota(5-1)(2-1) 12 ET, ESPN
-- Another big Big Ten Matchup. The records are the same and each features an excellent RB: Calhoun for Wis. and Maroney for Minn. (each averages over 140 yds/game). QBs Stocco and Cuptio are averaging about 200yds a game in the air. Each team gives up about 23 points/game. All things considered, home field might make the difference in this game between two near identical teams.
Winner: Minnesota
#12 Florida (5-1)(3-1) at #11 LSU (3-1)(2-1) 3:30 ET, CBS
-- This one should be a pretty tough, emotional game. Both teams are coming off convincing wins against inferior teams (LSU over Vandy and Florida over Miss. State.) Statistically, team offense and defense are pretty even. There will be a lot of pressure on one these first year coaches. They'll look to their QBs to step up as leaders. Russell will outplay Leak and even though they lost at home against Tennessee, LSU will prevail in front of their loyal fans in Baton Rouge. Winner: LSU
#7 Penn State (6-0)(3-0) at Michigan(3-3)(1-2) 3:30 ET, ABC
-- Did I mention there are some big games in the Big Ten this week? Penn State travels to Ann Arbor with an undefeated record. Michigan, on the other hand, has had one heck of a roller coaster year to say the least. PSU boasts a better offense and defense than Michigan, but the Wolverines do have a lot of talent (way too much to be playing as poorly as they have.) Of course, Paterno has proven he can still find talent as demonstrated by his phenomenal crop of freshmen. So, after the big win over Ohio State, will Penn State relax a little and get suprised by Michigan? I doubt it. Paterno knows that there is no better statement than beating two of the most revered teams in your conference in back to back weeks. PSU's defense will stuff Michigan and their freshmen will shine. Winner: Penn State
Colorado (4-1)(2-0) at #2 Texas(5-0)(2-0) 3:30 ET, ABC
-- Colorado has been playing fairly well this year, shutting out Oklahoma State and pasting Texas A&M. They could very well be the best team in the Big 12 North. Yay for them. Texas is desperate to show they deserve to be #1 and are praying (probably as hard as the Notre Dame faithful) for an Irish upset over USC in South Bend, especially since Virginia Tech is breathing down their neck. Of course, the only thing Texas CAN do is play well and dominate their schedule. They should whoop Colorado pretty well as long as they aren't looking ahead to a possible undefeated showdown with Texas Tech next week. Winner: Texas
(Kankanation Top 15 Rankings used)
