The Four Rivalries to Watch Today

A House Divided (Photo credit: {just jennifer})

The final game of the regular college football season is here. I am a little melancholy because I love college football and of course my Wahoos won’t be going to the post season.

But the final game of the regular college football season means one thing: rivalry games!

I know I went over some of the big rivalry games in the NFL but those guys have nothing, nothing on the college kids. Here is some history of the best rivalries you’ll see today.

Iron Bowl Auburn vs Alabama

This is one of the nastiest rivalries in the country- period. In fact innocent trees have been victims from the outcome of this game. Here’s some back ground.

Since 1893 Auburn and Alabama have met in a game that turns brother against brother in the state of Alabama. Bama leads the series 41-31-1. The name the Iron Bowl comes from the fact that a majority of the series was played in Birmingham which had a large steel industry.

Now the two teams share hosting duties.

During the first game the controversy began as Alabama lost the game 32-22 to Auburn. Alabama considered the game to be the final match up of the 1892 season and Auburn considered it the first game of the 1893 season.

The rivalry took a break in 1907 because the schools couldn’t agree over amount of expenses to be paid players and where officials should be obtained. It took the Alabama House of Representatives to threaten to withhold funding unless they resumed the rivalry game. Serious stakes indeed. The two universities got together and agreed to renew the game- holding it in Birmingham because it was the largest stadium in the state and tickets would be split evenly between the two schools.

So this year’s Iron Bowl- there should be no contest Alabama will win and win big- Auburn hasn’t won a conference game yet this season and going against who many consider the best team in college football today isn’t going to be the day.

If you would like to learn more about this rivalry you should watch ESPN’s documentary Roll Tide/War Eagle. In this well done film you’ll see how fierce the folks down south take this rivalry and how people who didn’t even attend the schools have affected the game.

The Game: Michigan vs Ohio State

This is a game that is fierce no matter the outcome. The first meeting was in 1897 with Michigan beating Ohio State 34-0. In the past four decades this game is a national interest because often it will determine the BIG championship and the winner will often go to the Rose Bowl. According to ESPN this rivalry is the best in America- period.

In 2011 the conference grew to 12 members (well now 14 with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers- boo Maryland!) and the teams were placed in separate divisions. But the teams still play each year and could meet in the BIG championship game again.

The most notable period of the rivalry is known as the “Ten-Year War” between Ohio State coach Woody Hayes and Michigan’s Bo Schembechler. Hayes was notorious of his hatred for not only the University of Michigan but the State of Michigan. He wouldn’t even purchase gas in Michigan on recruiting trips- and almost ran out of gas before getting into Ohio. Schembechler had been an assistant of Hayes at Ohio State before leaving to be a head coach at Miami of Ohio when he left to become the head coach of Michigan.

War was declared.

Four times between 1970 and 1975 both teams were ranked in the top five of the AP Poll before their matchup. Michigan entered every game during those years undefeated and one only once against Ohio St.

In 1973 both teams were undefeated and the game ended in a tie. This forced the Athletic Directors of the conference to vote to see which team would go to the Rose Bowl. Ohio State won the vote and Michigan fans were so angry they threaten to sue.

The War ended when Hayes was fired at the end of the 1978 season after he punched an opposing player during the Gator Bowl. Schembechler had a record of 5-4-1 against Hayes.

In recent years Jim Tressel and his sweater vest brought the rivalry back to a point of focus. In his introduction to Ohio State during its basketball game against Michigan he said “I can assure you that you will be proud of our young people in the classroom, in the community, and most especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Michigan on the football field.” Tressel succeeded leading Ohio State to beat Michigan for the first time in 14 years.

I find it ironic that Tressel’s speech talked about good in the community when he was outed as coach because of players off field antics. And because of that the NCAA sanctions the currently undefeated Ohio State can’t be ranked in the BCS (they would probably be number 2) going into this game.

One notable game during the Tressel era 2006- 1 vs 2. Both teams went into this game undefeated. The day before the match up Schembechler died. Ohio State won the game and played for a national championship against Florida. Another notable note- a half hour after the game ended the Ohio Lottery PICK 4 drawing was 4-2-3-9 matching the final score.

USC vs Notre Dame

These programs are considered the elite in the college football universe. Look at the history. Each school has 11 national championships and seven Heisman Trophies. This is considered an intersectional rivalry because they do not play in the same conference.

Notre Dame leads the series 43-35.

The game began as a conversation between the wives of Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne and USC AD Gywnn Wilson. USC was looking for a national rival and they sent Wilson and his wife to see Notre Dame play Nebraska. Originally Rockne didn’t want a home-home series between the Irish and Trojans because of the travel. It was Mrs. Wilson who convinced Mrs. Rockne that a trip to Southern California was better than cold Nebraska. Mrs. Rockne agreed and convinced her husband. A rivalry was born.

Today’s game is incredible important- as the Irish need to win to stay undefeated and go to play for its first National Title in the BSC. The Trojans- who beginning the season were ranked No 1 in preseason polls has had a most disappointing season are currently unranked and without their starting quarterback Matt Barclay. This is the Irish’s game to love.

Florida State vs Florida

First played in 1958 the Gators vs the Seminoles is a classic in the state of Florida. But the series starts much earlier than that. Florida State College was the predecessor of FSU was abolished by the Florida Legislature and was recreated to become an all-girl college. The University of Florida in Gainsville was created for men. After WWII both schools became coeducational. The governor of Florida requested that the two schools begin competing against each other athletically.

Florida leads the series 33-21-2 but FSU since 1976 the rivalry has become balanced. The last forty meetings- Gators lead 20-19-1. This year both teams have the same record and bragging rights are on the line.

Related articles

• Michigan vs. Ohio State: Remembering Jim Tressel’s Dominance over the Wolverines (bleacherreport.com)
• Irish ranked No. 1 for first time in 19 years (1070thefan.com)
• You: Alabama vs. Auburn: Breaking Down What Makes the Iron Bowl the Best Rivalry Game (bleacherreport.com)

Water Cooler: College Football Edition

The Geno Smith show is good on the Road

After yesterday’s win there is no contest- WVU‘s quarterback Geno Smith is your Heisman candidate. This year he has 1,996 passing yards, 204 attempts and the best stat ever no interceptions.

The game was a close one, all really coming down on a 41-yard field goal that Texas kicker Anthony Fera missed late in the fourth quarter. This is the same kicker who transferred from Penn St– and whose absence was most notable in the Penn St loss to UVa.

Also I must mention the WVU receiving duo Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin- wow. Bailey had three touchdowns and Austin another one plus 111 yards on kick returns.

What this game signifies is that WVU is the top dog in the Big12- nice for your first year.

Oklahoma bounces back

Keeping with the Big 12- OU came up with an impressive win against Texas Tech- 41-20. Landry Jones had 25 of 40 catches for 259 yards and two touch downs. Tech did have 271 passing yards but only 89 rushing yards.

Penn State comes from behind in the 4th to beat N’western

Trailing 11 going into the fourth quarter the Nittany Lions had to pull up their boot straps. They scores three times in the final 10 minutes of the game.

This happened after N’western has a 75 yard punt return for a touchdown late in the third quarter.

Stanford gets overtime victory

Andrew Luck who?

Stanford qb Josh Nunes had a career high 360 yards, threw two touchdowns and ran in for three more.

He was a scoring machine.

But Arizona looked good- they did get over 400 passing yards against Stanford something that hasn’t happened since 2007. But the defense couldn’t hang on.

Florida defends its Swamp for the Win

Oh my- now this was a football game. None of these basketball, let the quarterbacks throw until their arms give out. This was fought on the ground- and the Gators win.

Mike Gillislee ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns giving the Tigers their first regular season loss in 19 games.

South Carolina makes it an ugly day for UGA

Wow- 35-7 victory for the Gamecocks (try saying that name without a giggle- I bet you can’t). They not only got the win but stopped a Georgia team that had a league-leading 48.2 points and 536 yards a game offense.

Notre Dame easily withstands the Hurricanes

Back in the 1980s this was a great rivalry- and if you’re interested a wonderful book called “Perfect Rivals” by Jeff Carroll is an excellent read. This time the Irish has 587 yards total and 376 yards rushing.

This wasn’t even close- Miami only scored once a field goal in the first quarter and then the Irish led for three quarters without a single Miami score.

Did I mention the Irish are undefeated?

The Triangle is Evil and Should be Destroyed

Perhaps next week I won’t write about UVa and Va Tech and then maybe those team will win.

Of course actually playing defense would help as well.

UVa is a mess- but looking I should have expected this with the loss of Kris Bird and Chase Minnifield– it’s just hard to go from your first good season in so many years to a now four game losing streak. And to lose where you score no points in the second half. Grrrr

On the other hand we could be the Hokies who right now need to have a hotline set up to calm fans down. Seriously I was looking at the fan message boards and a scream of S.O.S messages make me wonder- what are y’all thinking? Calm down folks.

I guess when you’re used to winning consistently one bad season is a shock.

On the other hand let’s look at Duke and UNC- obviously Virginia and VT forgot it was football season and went straight to basketball season. I’m not going to look at the numbers- I don’t want to its too painful. Both teams were impressive- especially Duke’s defense. And UNC found many holes in VT coverage- I was shocked.

And no 4 FSU lost in the Triangle as well to NC State makes the Triangle and evil place for ACC football- evil.

So maybe there should never be all three teams having home football games because it caused a great disturbance in the force.

Related articles

• Week Six College Football Preview (sportsgalpal.wordpress.com)

Week Six College Football Preview

There is so much college football this weekend I just can’t handle it! If you are a college football fan get all your Saturday stuff done this morning then get your butt in front of the TV. If you are not a college football fan and you live with a college football nut then take one for the team and find something to do today. Here are the games the Gal Pal is most looking forward to!

Heisman front runner Geno Smith takes his show on the road to Texas

West Virginia vs Texas

This is one game I’ve been looking forward to since the Big 12 announced that WVU would be joining the conference. Both teams have offense for days- and Geno Smith is coming off a career performance against Baylor last week. The Longhorns just had a tough road victory.

Look for lots of scoring- think a basketball type score- it will be an entertaining game to watch.

I’m going to say Hook ’em horns– WVU traveling for the first time this season to a very hostile home crowd- the pressure will finally get to Geno Smith. Texas wins by 7.

Texas Tech vs Oklahoma

Yes there are other games playing in the Big 12- and Texas Tech has only allowed 3 yards a carry the 9^th ranked nationally and they are undefeated. Plus they are undefeated. Tech also leads the country in yards per attempt and passer rating. The Sooners have a weak offensive line and that doesn’t give the quarterback protection against the pass rush.

I think the Red Raiders take this one.

Northwestern vs Penn State

Northwestern is undefeated- and at the tops of the Big 10 ranks. I know it sounds like bizzaro football world but its true and they have a chance to keep their undefeated ranking- but they face the Nittany Lions at home. Northwestern ranks 2^nd in the Big 10 in rushing, but Penn State’s defense is improving so this will not be an easy road test. Plus did I mention that Northwestern has lost five straight to Penn State.

I hope Northwestern can pull out a W.

Arizona vs Stanford

The Cardinals need to have a good game to bounce back from losing to Washington last week. Arizona is trying to survive this stretch of really good opponents- the last two have been ranked and the next four are too.

I think Arizona is too new under the Rich Rod system- I’m going with Stanford.

LSU vs Florida

The Tigers are looking for a win in the Swamp- but Florida at home is no cupcake. The Gators are coming off of a week off and LSU’s offense allowed an FCS school to score 22 points. The key to the game running- whichever team can get a running game going will win.

I’ll take LSU by 3

Georgia vs South Carolina

A BIG SEC MATCH UP! Georgia is ranked number 5 and SC is ranked 6- yay for football fans. The Gamecocks are looking for a third straight victory against the Bulldogs. Both teams are undefeated and both want to go to the SEC championship game.

I think Georgia has the edge- a bit stronger defense and bit more to prove.

Miami vs Notre Dame

Welcome back undefeated Irish and taking on the Hurricanes of Miami who despite have major sanctions are 4-1. Notre Dame, please for the sake of my household please win this game because my husband loves you. The Irish defense should hold Miami back.

Also this is another rivalry game for the Irish- they have like a zillion of them. This time it’s played in Chicago at Soldier’s Field.

UVa and Va Tech head to the Triangle

And finally because I’m a glutton for punishment I’m going to mention that the Wahoos and Hokies are invading the Duke and UNC campuses for much needed road wins.

My Hoos are finally starting Phillip Sims (thank God!) but Duke is 3-1. Please come back with a win I don’t care how close but a win please.

The Hokie Nation is dealing with much as they are not sure what to do- could there finally be a season when they don’t win 10 games. If there is this is it because y’all face UNC, FSU, and Clemson- good luck with that schedule.

I will not pick winners in either game because deep down you know whom I’m rooting for.

Go Hoos!

Water Cooler Talk- College Football Edition

Let’s Re-cap those college football games I was on the lookout for.

Longhorns win on the Road

It was a solid effort from the Texas quarterback David Ash- who was 30 of 37 for 304 yards and three touchdowns. Ash, a sophomore, is starting to really find his rhythm- and keeping his cool during critical plays like a 4^th and 6 on the final drive to seal the victory.

Oklahoma State held its own by running for 275 yards. New QB J.W. Walsh threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns.

University of Virginia No 1 Playboy Party School and Worse in the ACC Coastal Division Right Now!

It was a story of two halves- the first Virginia took the ball and ran keeping – Michael Rocco threw for 265 yards in the first half but was so terrible in the second that he was replaced by Alabama transfer Phillip Sims- who almost saved the game except for the last drive which deserves its own blog post- lets just save UVa‘s biggest problem was defeneding against the screen and penalties- 16 in all for the entire game which cost them 145 yards.

UVa, who went to the Chick-fil-a Bowl last year has so much work to do it hurts. The performance was so bad most of the student sectioned emptied before the beginning of the 4^th quarter- I guess they decided to start celebrating their number one party school ranking from Playboy early.

With big Big 12 debut- WVU QB Geno Smith looks like favorite for Heisman

The final score of the Baylor vs West Virginia game was 63-70 and did I mention it was a football game and not basketball?

Smith had a record breaking game- going 41 of 51 throws for 656 yards, eight touchdowns, and no interception. He had more total touchdown passes than incompletions and it is performances like that which make Heisman Trophy voters get all kinds of excited.

Next week WVU goes down to take on the Longhorns.

Oregon State wins close game against Arizona

With beating Arizona 38-35 on Saturday the Beavers are now 3-0 and are the only team in the nation to have beaten only ranked or previously ranked opponents.

With being the little brother to No 2 Oregon- Oregon State fans should be excited about prospect of their sophomore quarter back Sean Mannion. Last season Mannion threw 18 interceptions- this year with only three games he is 67% pass completion for 363 yards.

O-H-I-O gets Big 10 Opener win on the road

Such a close, tight game- just what you should expect from two nationally ranked teams. Newly installed Ohio St coach Urban Meyer got his fire Big 10 win and despite having three turnovers QB Braxton Miller has a signature road win.

Michigan St start running back Le’Veon Bell only had 17 carries for just 45 yards.

Virginia Tech is 0-2 in the Big East this season

During the second half of the La Tech vs UVa game the biggest cheers came from the out of town box scores when it showed Va Tech losing to Cincinnati- yes very un-sportsman like, I cheered too but when you’re team is consistently behind your rival well I’ll let you finish the thought.

Typically Va Tech defense is solid- but not that game especially in the last few minutes. Eerily similar to Boise State game – the Hokies only had to last two minutes to win the game. Instead Cincinnati wide receiver Damon Julien actually got behind cornerback Kyle Fuller and caught a 39-yard touchdown pass with only 13 seconds left.

What is more shocking is that Va Tech’s offense didn’t make a single first down in the game until very late in the second quarter.

This loss is not good for the Hokie faithful who have a tough slate of ACC opponents including Clemson and FSU.

Related articles

• Geno Smith: How WVU QB Compares to Former Heisman Winners (bleacherreport.com)
• Week 5 College Football (sportsgalpal.wordpress.com)

Week 5 College Football

Logan Thomas of Virginia Tech following his team’s loss to Clemson in October 2011. Will there be smiles after a win? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This weekend is filled with so much college football the Gal Pal just can’t handle it! Here are the games I’m going to be on the lookout for- even while cheering on my beloved Wahoos, live at Scott Stadium tomorrow. If you want to meet up with the Sports Gal Pal she’ll be tailgating with the Camp Wahoo gang.

No. 12 Texas at Oklahoma State

This is a big road test for the Longhorns who are 3-0 leading up to this divisional match up with Oklahoma State.  Coming off an impressive win against SEC opponent Ole Miss, quarterback David Ash threw for 326 yards and had 4 touchdowns in the Longhorn win.

But don’t discount Oklahoma State whose QB J.W. Walsh threw for 347 yards and too had four touchdowns in last week’s match against Louisiana Lafayette.

I look for the Longhorns to come out of top for this match up- but look for a high scoring game for both sides.

Louisiana Tech at Virginia

Yay I get to talk about my Wahoos- and the fact that we could potentially lose tomorrow L

Louisiana Tech is being called a BCS killer for good reason, they are currently a 2.5 point favorite over the Wahoos and average about 55 points a game.  Right now Virginia is coming off of two awful road losses- Duke (3-1) has a better football record than us that isn’t good.

For Virginia to win the offense must do better than the short passing game plan- especially on 3^rd down!

In hate to say it but I think Louisiana Tech is going to win this one.

No. 25 Baylor at No. 9 West Virginia

Geno Smith seems to have everything going his way- and with Michigan and USC losing he just might be in the minds of Heisman Trophy voters too.

In their Big 12 debut I think West Va is going to have a great offense game and Baylor who seems to have a habit of digging into holes early isn’t going to be able to keep up.

The only reason to watch is it is West Virginia’s first round in the Big 12.

West Virginia wins easily.

No. 18 Oregon State at Arizona

Is Oregon State for real? After coming off of two losing seasons the Beavers are ranked 18^th and are 2-0.  But this will be a true road test for them as they face Arizona.

Under new coach Rich Rodriguez the Wildcats have been getting more media attention but there seems to be issue of a lack of depth- especially on defense that could give Arizona trouble.  But they are coming off of an embarrassing lost to Oregon 49-0 last week.

I’m going to give this one to the Beavers- I just don’t think that Arizona has the talent to keep up with an emerging offense.

No 14. Ohio State at No 20. Michigan State

ESPN’s College Game Day is making the trip out to East Lansing. Will it be the Buckeyes or can Sparta say victor in this Big 10 match up?

This could technically be the Big 10 Championship since the Buckeyes are still suspended from post season play- tattooing can be serious stuff kids.

I think the Buckeyes have a solid shot at a great road victory.  But they have been shaking barely getting by UAB and California.  Michigan State can win if they shake off the demons from two weeks ago with their loss to Notre Dame.

I can’t call this one- I think it is a toss up.  If Michigan St’s wide outs can stop dropping passes then they have a real shot.

Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati at Fed Ex Field

These former Big East rivals on a big stage- and the last time Hokies played at Fed Ex they lost to Boise State.  Will Beamer Ball be the winning ticket or will the Bearcat chop on some Turkey?

The Bearcats arrive undefeated and the Hokies are looking forward to not losing twice in a season to a Big East foe.  Interesting note that the last time these two teams played it was in 2009 at the Orange Bowl where Hokies shocked the world by winning a bowl game (come on I had to throw one in there).

If the Hokies can jam the offense then they could pull the win.  All the Bearcats have to do is stop Logan Thomas.

I’m not picking a winner because I don’t want to… and you can’t make me.

Related articles

• Week 5 College Football Picks: (ACC, Big 12, Pac 12) (thepigskinreport.com)
• BCS impact games, Week 5: West Virginia, it’s your time to shine (sbnation.com)

Dear Old UVa: Number One Party School in the Nation

Hoo Knew? The Rotunda is the center piece of UVa- but just around the Corner the nightlife brings happy drunken memories (Photo credit: Phil Roeder)

http://www.playboy.com/playground/view/top-10-party-schools

Playboy has released it Top 10 Party Schools and a big surprise for the Sports Gal Pal is her own beloved University of Virginia ranked number one for its combination of party and sex.

Well it is playboy after all.

What impressed the pollsters was Virginia‘s work hard/play hard atmosphere which made up for its 16^th ranked athletic performance in their review- I guess the 5^th year fifth can make that much of a difference.

I will say with the Corner and the tailgating at football games- the booze flows pretty well. The Camp Wahoo kids alone could have made this survey on their own.

And the best news- no other ACC school made the top ten.

Here is a listing of the top ten:

1. Virginia
2. USC
3. Florida
4. Texas
5. Wisconsin
6. Georgia
7. Vanderbilt
8. Tulane
9. TCU
10. Ohio State

Related articles

• Playboy: UVA Is Nation’s Top Party School (usnews.com)
• University of Virginia Ranked Number One Party School by “Playboy” (washingtonian.com)

Week 3 college football- WTH Happen?

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o taken in 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Talk about a crazy weekend of college football. Not only did the Sports Gal Pal get all her picks wrong (and she isn’t that upset about it- explain in a sec) but the ACC coastal division just stunk.

Maybe it was the announcement of the Irish joining the ACC, but UNC, UVa, and Virginia Tech all loss. Okay I’ll admit that UVa wasn’t suppose to win- but they got shellacked against the Option Offense at Georgia Tech. Perhaps like Streaking the Lawn said “If Al Groh is on the field, Virginia just can’t win.”

Inside joke for all the Wahoos. Just out played- there is no reason to go into the stats- it was a bad bad day for the Hoos.

No the biggest upset for that bunch was Virginia Tech losing to 0-2 Pittsburgh! And we’re not talking about a close, last minute bad luck play. This too was a shellacking! At one point Pitt was 21-0 in the second quarter. They outgained the Hokies 537-324 and this stretches their winning streak against the Hokies to four. The bitter pill for Hokie fans is that Pitt joins the ACC next season. I guess Turkeys are afraid of Panthers. (Come on, I had to get one in there.) Final score 17-35 in favor of Pitt.

Now for the three games I told y’all to be on the look out for.

Smart Kids Win!

Okay I shouldn’t say that but Stanford beating the number 2 country for the fourth time! And this is without their ace quarterback. This means that Matt Barkley, the front runner for the Heisman, is winless in his college career against Stanford. Stanford outgained USC by 137 yard. And much like the Penn St vs UVa game last week the kicker matter. Jordan Williamson of USC missed two field goals and had a third blocked. That could have been the difference in the game because it was close. Final score 21-14

Hello Irish!

In the Gal Pal household at least one person’s team won. And won big on the road against number 10 Michigan State. And this one wasn’t

close as Notre Dame took an early lead and held the Spartans to only a field goal. Manti Te’o had an amazing performance for Notre Dame. The senior linebacker had 12 tackles, one for a loss, and broke up two passes. The Irish broke a 15 game winning home winning streak at home for the Spartans. But hold up Irish fans- you still have the hardest schedule of any school in the nation. Next week you face Michigan.

Gators chomp at the Vols!

Two weeks in a row the Gators come back to win… and win big. This is a rivalry game that many thought, including myself, that Tenn would finally win. Nope, Jeff Driskel threw two touchdown passes and Trey Burton ran for two touchdowns. Tenn QB Tyler Bray was 22 for 44 and threw touchdown passes to Coradarrell Patterson and Mychal Rivera- but the he threw to the Gators twice. Final 37-20.

Related articles

• More Details Come Out About Notre Dame Joining the ACC (sportsgalpal.wordpress.com)
• Notre Dame vs. Michigan State: Irish Squad Proves to Be Legit BCS Contender (bleacherreport.com)
• Florida uses big second half to dump Tennessee (cbssports.com)
• Pitt, 0-2 coming in, knocks off No. 13 Virginia Tech (cbssports.com)

Week 3 College Football Matches to Know about

The USC Trojans on offense during a road game against the California Golden Bears. The Trojans won 30-3. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Week three of college football season Gals and Pals. Will we see another upset like UL Monroe? Or will the favorite win? Here are some games to be on the lookout for.

USC (2) at Stanford (21)

The Pac 12’s biggest match up this week is heavily favored USC coming to Palo Alto to take on Stanford. The biggest question is without their superstar Andrew Luck, can the Cardinals put serious points on the board against a strong USC defense. And of course there is USC offense led by likely NFL first round pick Matt Barkley. If Stanford can pressure Barkley and stop the run from Silas Redd then the Cardinals have a chance from preventing a Trojan slaughter.

My pick USC by 10.

Notre Dame (20) at Michigan State (10)

Wow week three and Brian Kelly’s team is still nationally ranked! But don’t get too excited Irish fans, after all the Irish are facing what many believe is the best team in the Big 10 right now, Michigan St. Going on the road is never easy and facing the likely winner of the Big 10, yeah. Cierre Wood will be in the backfield for the Irish and that should help against the talented Le’Veon Bell of Spartans.

My pick Michigan State by 14.

Florida (18) at Tennessee (23)

Florida is already a proven road warrior going into College Station TX and running the Welcome to the SEC party for the Aggies. Look for Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray to use Justin Hunter as his go to weapon against the Gators. If Tennessee can maintain composure I think the Vols just might have a shot.

My pick Tennessee by 3.

Related articles

• College Football Week 3 Predictions: USC, Ohio State on Upset Alert (bleacherreport.com)
• Week 3 College Football Predictions (chicago.cbslocal.com)