The Crimson Tide got held back by an unexpected wall in College Station – I mean where did that team come from!? – and now tries to weather the storm in a remote Mississippi town known as Starkville to get back into serious National Championship contention.
The answer as to whether or not Alabama can bounce back rests entirely on the team and someone needs to emerge as a leader – the “alpha dog” – in Nick Saban’s terminology. It would be a big benefit, too, if one of the receivers would tell the others to “catch the damned ball.”
Elsewhere, is the rest of college football going to the Dawgs? The Prognosticator still feels the team’s traditional flop game will come to bite it somewhere along the way. Over in Cornfield County, the flightless birds find themselves at #2 but probably don’t believe it themselves; just win baby, right?
Now onto the games. All times Pacific because the Prognosticator lives on the West Coast.
Friday, Oct. 15 College Football Games
Clemson at Syracuse (4:30 p.m., ESPN)
If there has been one team that has been a thorn in the paw of the Cats the past few years it’s the Orangemen, who play their home games in their basketball arena. But how seriously can one take a team that lost to Florida State? This game should be a layup for Clemson but Prognosticator is going with the nemesis theory here. Winner: Syracuse
Cal at Oregon (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
The Prognosticator’s Oregon fan/friend was kind of relieved when his team had its Duck Farts against Stanford because, in his words, “now I have my Saturdays free again!” By that he meant he did not have to spend all day and into the night glued to the TV each week hoping all other Top 10 teams would lose as well as grinding his fingernails into the side of the bar while watching the Ducks. Now he can have the best of both worlds: getting a W as well as a free Saturday. Winner: Oregon
Saturday, Oct. 16 College Football Games
UCF at Cincinnati (9 a.m., ABC)
While others in the college football (media & fans) world are hoping that this city-named school in Ohio will break the big boys’ hold on the College Football Playoffs and feel the team has the chops to do it with wins over Notre Dame and Big 10 Indiana, the Prognosticator is not buying into the Beardown Cats. They are doing just fine, yes, but would not fare will in the playoffs. In a meaningless bowl game against an uninspired opponent yes, but not with a title on the line. Maybe they are also looking ahead just a bit and the Gus Bus certainly knows how to pull off the occasional shocker. Winner: UCF
Michigan State at Indiana (9 a.m., FS1)
Has anyone paid any attention to Sparty this season? And here he is up to Top 10? That certainly can’t continue for long, if not this week then another one. Winner: Indiana
Oklahoma State at Texas (9 a.m., FOX)
The Pokes having been hiding under the college football rug as effectively as has Sparty but now it’s time for them to start poking out so others can notice them. Maybe they prefer it this way, the ambush over the attack. Whatever their method, they are going to be running the Sarks around like a steer at a rodeo. Winner: Oklahoma State
Auburn at Arkansas (9 a.m., CBS)
Coaches claim they “take them one game at a time” and don’t look ahead to certain opponents but you can bet that the Pit Hog has had this game bookmarked ever since last year’s win was ripped out from under the team by a horrible official’s call. The Hogs are still piglets, growing into their own skin modeled by their coach but they do have a lot of fight in them. The flight path of the visiting Eagles is all over the map. It changes like the wind, which is seemingly how the coach chooses which quarterback is at the controls. Winner: Arkansas
Florida at LSU (9 a.m., ESPN)
Bengal Tiger fans may be throwing shoes on the field in this one, first directed at the UF bench but as the game progresses they may change their target and start aiming at Coach Oh No. This is a program that’s coming unglued like the model airplanes I used to make. The Bayou Boys play Ole Miss next week then have an off week before the Bama game. LSU is true Tiger bait right now and it’s doubtful ‘ol gravel voice will make it onto the field against the Tide. Winner: Florida
Texas A&M at Missouri (9 a.m., SEC Network)
Normally, when a team puts everything it has into beating Bama it has nothing left the next week and loses. But the Cadets are soldiers of great fortune, for they get to march into a Tiger den of sleeping Cats. The only thing that could possibly cause them to lose would be if they forget to bring their ammo to Farout Field (I’m not making up that name, by the way) because of the the 11 a.m., start time. But they are used to those early-morning reveille calls, right? Winner: Texas A&M.
Kentucky at Georgia (12:30 p.m., CBS)
Cats and Dawgs. Bluegrass and the Hedges. Can the team that nearly lost to UTC go into the home of the B52s and leave with their own Love Shack? That seems about as likely as UGA’s owners leaving the famous mascot back in Savannah. There is some Wild in the Cats’ running game and while it is tempting to go for an upset, it won’t happen in the Dawgs’ house. Winner: Georgia
Purdue at Iowa (12:30 p.m., ABC)
Here’s what will happen in this game. The Railroaders will charge through like they are going to railroad the Hawkeyes’ season, only to somehow lose it at the end. That’s as much of a Purdue tradition as the students waking up to doing Boilermakers on game mornings. Winner: Iowa
Alabama at Mississippi State (4:30 p.m., ESPN)
From screaming Cadets to cowbells. The Pachyderms got startled by a bunch of mice last week and now will hear a lot of loud ringing in their ears They face a team that will – like A&M and Florida – play way over it head in hopes of a monumental upset. And they already have accomplished one thing that Alabama has not: beaten A&M on the road. It’s hard to fathom the Tide sinking two weeks in a row, tho. Winner: Alabama
TCU at Oklahoma (4:30 p.m., ABC)
The Stacked Beer Cups were just about to collapse last week when a backup quarterback and a backing up Texas D allowed them to keep stacking the pyramid for another week. The blue Frogs are not as horned as they used to be in past years and even lost to the Burnt Orange earlier this season. So the stack will continue to grow for one more week. Winner: Oklahoma
Ole Miss at Tennessee (4:30 p.m., SEC Network)
Joey Freshwater goes fishing back in familiar waters in Neyland Stadium and he’s already acting like a shark circling a victim, making all sorts of trolls on Twitter. He should be more focused on game planning because while the Vols are not anywhere close to where they want to be, they have the power of a revenge-seeking crowd and enough big-play potential to put a lot of holes in Joey’s fishing boat. Winner: Tennessee
UCLA at Washington (5:30 p.m., FOX)
Since the Trampolines won last week, they should lose this week, right? After all, one week up and the next one down. Well, there are exceptions to that rule because this program has a way of pulling off surprises. Plus they are on the road and they tend to get up for away games when people are not expecting them to win. Winner: UCLA
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