Let’s recap Week 10, shall we?

Game of the week: No. 1 Alabama at No. 5 LSU

Final score: Tide 21, Tigers 17

Pregame rant: As good as this game will be, we don’t want to see the Tide and Tigers play in the national title game again.

Alabama hasn’t lost since it fell 9-6 in overtime at home to the Tigers. The Tide dominated LSU in the national title game, but the Tigers can avenge that loss and really put themselves in the national title picture.

The Tide are first in the nation in run defense. LSU is eighth. So the team that has the better quarterback should win Saturday.

Edge Alabama.

A.J. McCarron has thrown 18 touchdowns, no interceptions and can make all the throws. If Zach Mettenberger is called upon to beat the Tide, it’s not going down.

Post-game commentary: McCarron wasn’t his best until it matter most.

With that Death Valley crowd roaring and ready to pounce on him for predicting the Tide would win, McCarron was 4-of-5 for 72 yards and a game-winning touchdown pass with 51 seconds left to beat the rival Tigers.

Mettenberger actually played well. Was 24-of-35 for 298 yards and a touchdown.

Truth be told, the Tigers had this game won. They had more yards, won the turnover and time ouf possession battle and limited Alabama to 1-of-9 on third-down conversions.

So why did they lose? Penalties and bad play calling.

The Tigers had seven penalties for 51 yards and LSU coach Les Miles called a fake field goal on a 4th-and-12 play down 7-3 in the first half.  It failed miserably.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here are three college football games worth watching in Week 10.

Game of the week: No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0 SEC) at No. 5 LSU Tigers (7-1, 3-1 SEC), Saturday, 8 p.m., WSEE (CBS).

Pregame rant: As good as this game will be, we don’t want to see the Tide and Tigers play in the national title game again.

Alabama hasn’t lost since it fell 9-6 in overtime at home to the Tigers. The Tide dominated LSU in the national title game, but the Tigers can avenge that loss and really put themselves in the national title picture.

The Tide are first in the nation in run defense. LSU is eighth. So the team that has the better quarterback should win Saturday.

Edge Alabama.

A.J. McCarron has thrown 18 touchdowns, no interceptions and can make all the throws. If Zach Mettenberger is called upon to beat the Tide, it’s not going down.

Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s recap Week 9 shall we?

Game of the week: No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma

Final score: Irish 30, Sooners 13

Pregame rant: This is the Irish’s toughest test yet. Oklahoma’s lone loss was to No. 4 Kansas State, which has risen to the top of the Big 12.

It’s a classic match-up. Oklahoma is averaging 488.17 yards and 44.67 points a game. Notre Dame is allowing just 280.71 yards and 9.43 points a game.

Something has to give.

Post-game commentary: The Irish didn’t give.

Oklahoma rushed for just 15 yards on 24 rushing attempts in falling to Notre Dame at home. The Sooners may have given up on the run too early, but they couldn’t have expected the Irish’s offense to hit them so many big plays last week.

Before this game, I thought all the talk about Notre Dame senior linebacker Manti Te’o winning the Heisman Trophy was a bit much.

After seeing how he leads the best defense in the nation outside of Alabama’s, I’m rethinking my votes. He had 11 tackles, a sack and an interception last week. Great player.

Read the rest of this entry »

Penn State has the task of slowing down Houston senior quarterback Case Keenum./AP Photo.

What a way to start the work week in 2012.

Watch six bowl games from noon till midnight.

Don’t lose your job over it, but just take an extended lunch or dinner break to check out some really good bowl matchups.

Ticketcity Bowl (Dallas, Texas) – No. 20 Houston (12-1, 8-0 C-USA) vs. No. 24 Penn State (9-3, 6-2 Big Ten), noon, ESPNU.

The Big ?: Can Penn State’s 10th ranked defense, which allows 300.92 yards a game, slow down the nation’s top offense? Houston is averaging 599 a game.

My pick: Houston. Although the Cougars didn’t even win their conference title game, that’s far less to overcome than what the Nittany Lions have dealt this season. The Jerry Sandusky situation has changed everything at Penn State.

Outback Bowl (Tampa, Fla.) – No. 12 Michigan State (10-3, 7-1 Big Ten) vs. No. 18 Georgia (10-3, 7-1 SEC). 1 p.m., ABC.

The Big ?: Whenever an Big Ten teams plays an SEC team, the same question surfaces. Can the Big Ten school match the speed of the SEC school?

My pick: Georgia. Speed rules.

Read the rest of this entry »

Let us recap week 14, shall we?

SEC title game – No. 18 Georgia (10-3) vs. No. 1 LSU (13-0)

Pregame rant: Don’t sleep on the Bulldogs here. One, this is in essence a home game for Georgia because the game is in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Two, the Bulldogs have won 10 straight. Three, their two losses are to ranked opponents – No. 9 Boise State and No. 14 South Carolina. With all that being said, LSU is still the favorite, but if Georgia can be within striking distance late, the Tigers could start feeling that pressure to win to reach the BCS title game.

Postgame commentary: Like Arkansas, Georgia made it interesting – for a half – against LSU before getting hammered, 42-10, in the Georgia Dame. Tyrann Mathieu is the real deal for the Tigers. Turned the game around on that punt return for a touchdown. Now the match up is set: No. 1 LSU vs. No. 2 Alabama in the BCS title game. Who will win the rematch?

Read the rest of this entry »

Let us recap Week 13, shall we?

No. 23 Penn State (9-3, 6-2 Big Ten) at No. 15 Wisconsin (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten)

Pregame rant: Now the NCAA is getting involved in the whole Penn State situation surrounding former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Playing a game of football has been the best way for Penn State’s players to deal with what’s going on. The Nittany Lions will have to play one of their best games of the season to defeat Wisconsin. The question is can Penn State, which is ranked 106th in scoring offense (20.9 ppg.) score enough points to win?

Postgame commentary: The Nittany Lions couldn’t muster enough points nor stop Wisconsin in their 45-7 loss to the Badgers. Montee Ball ran for 156 yards and four touchdowns. The win puts Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game. As for the Nittany Lions, the focus will remain on the actions off the field. Sad story on a variety of levels.

Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s recap Week 5, shall we?

No. 2 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC) at No. 17 Florida (4-1, 2-1 SEC)

Pregame rant: Everyone talks about Florida’s team speed, but this game will see if the Gators truly have some burners.

Postgame commentary: The Crimson Tide can slow down any team. Add Florida to that list. The Gators had just 15 yards rushing and were held scoreless the last three quarters of their 38-10 loss. Oh by the way, Alabama has the nation’s top back in junior Trent Richardson, who rushed for career-high 181 yards and two touchdowns against Florida.

Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s recap Week 3, shall we?

No. 16 West Virginia (3-0) at Maryland (1-1)

Pregame rant: This will be the first road game for the Mountaineers, but that’s not the major concern. New Maryland head coach Randy Edsall is not only one of the best  coaches in the country, he’s had two weeks to prepare for WVU.

Postgame commentary: When a team has a 34-10 lead as WVU had and the opponent comes back and has a chance to win it in the end as Maryland had, games like that are bound to end with a turnover. Danny O’Brien had completed 14 straight passes for 94 yards before throwing an incomplete pass and an interception on his final two passes as WVU survived, 37-31. Got to give the Mountaineers credit for holding on,  but when Edsall gets better players, Maryland will be a beast in the ACC.

Read the rest of this entry »