We’re so close, but so far away.
With six weeks behind us, the midpoint to college football’s regular season occurs after this weekend’s last whistle is blown.
With most teams a few games deep in conference play, that means its time for talk to heat up even more. Inter- and intra-conference hierarchies are nearly set, names are entering awards talks as well as exiting, and most BCS-crashers and championship pretenders have been tossed aside.
The majority of the remaining questions surround the one-loss teams. Is Virginia Tech the best of the bunch? Is Miami actually for real? Are Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Nebraska and Oklahoma State out of the national title hunt? Is USC fading, and is Notre Dame any good?
As always, one more Saturday of play will give us fodder for another week’s worth of speculation; but let’s start with speculation over Week 7 first.
Game of the Week: (20) Oklahoma vs. (3) Texas
Here at Future of Fantasy, we love alliteration. But that’s only one of the reasons we look forward to watching the Red River Rivalry.
I can’t decide if this game is going to be really good or really bad. (Hmm…seems I had the same worry last year – remember Vanderbilt was undefeated then? Crazy). Oklahoma hasn’t had a chance to be offensively consistent due to injuries to TE Jermaine Gresham, Heisman winner Sam Bradford and WR Ryan Broyles. Against the Longhorns this week, though, Gresham will be the only man out. Pollsters believe the Sooner to be the best two-loss team in the country, the only one in the Top 25.
On the other sideline, the Texas Longhorns have looked slightly weak, winning over Texas Tech by only 10 and going into halftime without the lead in a home game against the lowly Colorado Buffaloes last week. There’s a reason ‘Bama jumped them in the rankings.
Week-to-week momentum seems to suggest that OU has the power to take this one, but Stoops and Co. will surely have their hands full.
Oklahoma’s defense hasn’t allowed many points this year – they rank third in scoring defense, and half those points were made by Miami – but while their run defense has been exceptionally strong, their pass defense lacks. It’s not a bad pass defense, but with Texas having a mediocre running game and 300 yards/game pass attack, the Sooner secondary could have their hands full with the antics of roommates Jordan Shipley and Colt McCoy.
Winner: I’d be foolish to go against my preseason BCS Championship pick. Texas takes it.
Quick Picks:
(6) USC at (25) Notre Dame: Hey, Fighting Irish. Time to get real. You’ve pulled out some real squeakers in recent weeks, so congrats on your clutch play…against Michigan State, Purdue and Washington – teams with a combined record of 7-11. The Trojans won’t be so kind, even in South Bend. Lucky for Jimmy Clausen’s Heisman hopes, USC’s secondary only has picks. Unlucky for Clausen, Golden Tate and Michael Floyd, however, they don’t allow big plays: they’re tied for 12th in the country with only 5.4 yards allowed per attempt. As much as I want to see an upset here, I don’t think Weis’ team can pull it off. Trojans win.
(4) Virginia Tech at (19) Georgia Tech: The battle of the Techs takes place in Yellow Jacket country, but that doesn’t really mean much. The ACC is not a great conference outside of Miami and VT, so expect Beamerball to own Atlanta. If the Hokies can stop the rushing attack – which they have all year, with exception of Crimson Tide RB Mark Ingram’s 150 yards in Week 1 – they win easily. GT doesn’t have a pass game to resort to at all.
Missouri at (16) Oklahoma State: This is my upset of the week. Blaine Gabbert has looked great so far this year, and the Tigers shut down Nebraska’s offense completely before mistakes in the torrential downpour. The Cowboys won’t have Dez Bryant, leaving Missouri senior linebacker Sean Weatherspoon more opportunity to cover the middle of the field instead of taking on pass coverage. Oklahoma State’s average defense won’t do them much good against this high-powered Missouri Tiger team.
