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No such luck Rutgers. Despite losing Pat White for the second straight game, West Virginia got the boost it needed from Jarrett Brown and company to hand the Scarlet Knights their 14th straight loss to the Mountaineers, 24-17 Saturday in Morgantown. Rutgers has never won at Mountaineer Field, dropping to 16-0 all-time, as WVU improved its mark in the series to 30-4-2. But despite a seemingly comfortable 24-10 lead in the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers had to fight to pull out its second straight win. And once again, head coach Bill Stewart’s decision-making has come under fire from media and fans alike. Stew and his coaching staff made things more interesting after Rutgers got within one score on a 14-yard TD pass from Mike Teel to Tim Brown with 6:56 to go. The Mountaineer offense, with Brown in for White, looked poised to all but kill the clock. The unit moved 24 yards and took more than 4 minutes off the clock, but the drive stalled and Rutgers forced a 4th-and-1 at the WVU 45. Stew opted to go for it, lining Brown up in the shotgun. The result: a 9-yard loss, giving the Scarlet Knights a short field with 1:54 left. “I will always, always play to win the football game,” Stewart told Register Herald in this article. “I will never, never play not to lose. That’s why I went for it on fourth down. End of story.” Not known yet is where this attitude was during the closing minutes of regulation at Colorado. Fortuntately for WVU, Teel continued a mostly mediocre game, missing on his first two passes and getting just 5 yards on this third. On 4th-and-5, Scooter Berry batted down the pass and got the ball back to WVU, which ended the game with two knees. As for why Brown was lined up 5 yards back instead of under center, Stew had an explanation for that too. “We tried a sneak out at Colorado and two of our guys didn’t get their heads across and I didn’t want to take a chance this weekend,” he told msnsportsnet.com here. “We used a play that was getting us pretty good yardage (against Rutgers) and we had a guy, again, miss a block at the point of attack and you can’t do that. “We need to be able to bang it up in there a little bit better than we did in that particular situation.” A squib kick near the end of the first half has also come under fire. WVU had just gone up 17-3 after White found Jock Sanders for a 14-yard strike. After giving up several big returns against Marshall last week, Pat McAfee was given the order to squib the ensuing kick with 51 seconds left. The decision backfired, though, because Mason Robinson fielded the ball cleanly and returned it to the Knights’ 44. In just five plays, Teel finished a 56-yard, 31-second drive with a 5-yard rushing score. After the PAT, the game went to half 17-10. It was the first touchdown the West Virginia defense had given up in eight quarters. “I will always squib or sky the ball,” Stewart told the Register-Herald in the previously-linked article. “I will never kick deep and give them a chance to run one back. I will always play to win.” Not all of Stew’s gutsy calls will be derided, however. One such play couldn’t have worked better as WVU kept a drive alive by converting a 4th-and-2 with a fake punt. The snap was taken deftly by Zac Cooper and moved ahead 18 yards. Brown capped the journey with a 1-yard plunge that made the count 24-10 with 5:51 remaining in the third quarter. “Sometimes you get a feel,” Stewart told the Charleston Gazette in this article. “I can’t tell you why, but I got it and I lived with it. It’s not about guts. It’s not about taking a chance. Buying a lottery ticket is taking a chance. We’ve practiced that and I’ll call it again in the future.” Brown finished the game with 44 yards rushing and 21 yards passing, though the coaching staff admitted Sunday they held him back a little more than usual. “I didn’t want to get him to do a lot of razzle-dazzle stuff,” Stewart said in the previously-linked msnsportsnet.com article. “We used him in there with some misdirection. We rolled him out and threw the ball into the right flat. “We probably didn’t do as much as we should have and could have but we will. We have more in the arsenal.” White tossed TD strikes to Sanders and Tyler Urban. The senior completed 10-of-17 passing for 137 yards while rushing for 59 yards. The Jock Sanders shuck-and-jive. Coming soon to a football field near you. White left the game after being shaken up by a helmet-to-helmet hit in the third stanza, though Stewart said he did not have a concussion. “He got dinged up a little bit and we held him out for precautionary reasons,” Stewart said Sunday on his teleconference, also reported in the previously-cited msnsportsnet.com article. “He got hit in the head. It’s kind of a wait-and-see thing. He’s going to be out there for practice but I’m not going to run him around to make sure he’s OK. …… “If everything progresses as we think he will be in the lineup on Saturday.” White is now third all-time in passing touchdowns at WVU, and second in NCAA history in rushing yards by a quarterback. Defensively WVU also suffered a loss when Stewart announced the linebacker Reed Williams will take a medical red shirt and miss the rest of the season. Williams was the Fiesta Bowl MVP but needs to rest his shoulders which both required off-season surgery. His replacement in the lineup showed plenty of promise, though, in leading WVU with nine tackles. All told, the unit held Rutgers to just 72 rushing yards and 270 yards of offense for the game. The Mountaineers (3-2, 1-0 Big East) continue league play Saturday when Syracuse (1-4, 0-1) visits Morgantown. The kick is set for noon on ESPNU. |
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Remember when Rutgers became relevant for the first time in, well, forever? How they were nationally ranked for a number of weeks and seemed to be on the verge of establishing themselves as a perennial contender? How major colleges like Miami, Alabama, and Michigan were all suitors for the services of Rutgers Coach Greg Schiano? That was fun. This season, Rutgers has fallen back to the pack of mediocrity in a big, big way. Blowout losses to Fresno State and North Carolina (the latter nationally televised) and a close loss to Navy have left the Scarlet Knights 1-3 and looking for answers. RU started the season with 3 straight losses before finally getting in the win column last weekend against they Morgan State Mighty Magpies. (Ok, so I have no idea what their mascot is. I don't see why I NEED to know.) Rutgers will be fighting more than just recent history in its quest to notch a win over the Mountaineers. They've lost 13 games in a row to the Mountaineers, and they'll be seeking their first win in program history at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Cougar Mellencamp Stadium.  In terms of a rivalry, Rutgers vs. WVU is sort of like a rivalry between the bugs in your home and the Terminix Man. Sadly for the Scarlett Knights, their entire offensive scheme relies upon Senior quarterback Mike Teel, who has only managed two touchdown passes in 4 games so far this season while playing against defenses that aren't exactly mistaken for the 1961 Alabama Crimson Tide. (They were pretty good on defense, for you whippersnappers.) Not surprisingly, despite evidence to the contrary, WVU Coach Bill Stewart is talking up Mike Teel like he's the second coming of Joe Montana, as evidenced by this comment from his Tuesday press conference: "Quarterback Mike Teel - I'm a big fan of. He is a fifth year man and I've seen him make some great throws and he has played very well against us in the past." Yes, Coach. That monstrous three game total of 511 yards (170 yard/game avg.), 1 touchdown, and 4 interceptions should have us all concerned about the Mountaineer Killer in red.  Contrary to your first impression, this is actually a picture of the reaction to one of Mike Teel's GOOD plays. Rutgers has a few outside threats in Kenny Brit and Kevin Brock (who both definitely sound like they're yoga teachers in Sacramento), but nothing that should pose a threat to the newly-defensive-minded Mountaineers. The Rutgers defense has given up an average of 30 points a game against teams not named Morgan State this year, so the Mountaineers should be able to continue to keep their offensive resurgence going, hopefully finding some time for Pat White to rest his injured throwing hand. COUCH PREDICTION: WVU- 38 Rutgers- 17 Now, for some non-Rutgers Couch Burning Thoughts: - Dave Wannstedt has never met a scenario he couldn't eff up. I know many of you are upset that Pitt beat South Florida last night, essentially assuring that there won't be a top 10 Big East team this season. Fortunately for me, I've accepted the fact a long time ago that the best thing for West Virginia right now is to win out in the Big East and go on to a BCS bowl. There's no chance at a championship- might as well get the next best thing. Pitt isn't going through the Big East undefeated, so laying a conference loss on a team that before last night was viewed as the class of the Big East isn't exactly a bad development. - If that's the case, let's save him for USF and Auburn and call it a season. The Charleston Gazette is reporting that WVU linebacker Reed Williams can play in two more games this season before he will be ineligible to receive a medical redshirt for this season due to problems with his shoulders. From the article: "NCAA by-law 14.2.4 states, among other things, that in order to be eligible to apply for a medical hardship waiver, a player cannot compete beyond the first half of the season (six games in football) and may not have participated in more than 30 percent of the team's scheduled games (30 percent of 12 is 3.6 and the NCAA rounds that up to four games). Williams has played in only two games so far and so can play in the next two without exceeding the four-game limit or going beyond the first half of the season. If he then decides to sit out the rest of the season and apply for a fifth year, WVU would petition the Big East for the waiver after the season. It would not go to the NCAA unless the Big East denies the petition." Of course, best case scenario is that Williams' shoulders start feeling better and that he can play the entire season. Then again, if he can be saved for a year in which the Mountaineers didn't lose their first two D-I games and still have a shot at a championship, there's benefits to waiting as well. - To be fair, it's hard to field a baseball with both hands positioned squarely around your own neck. Apologies to any Cub fans, but I always get a little kick out of Cub fans insisting that THIS IS THE YEAR and then watching them get swept out of the playoffs again. - Maybe he won't campaign for the next month so that his opponent doesn't get the opportunity to criticize him. Far be it from me to inject political discussion into this website, but I think Joe Biden shares a remarkable resemblance to Coach Stew.   Enjoy the game, everyone.  |
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Who cares about the alleged rivalry -- West Virginia just needed a win. Riding a surprisingly stout defense -- and taking advantage of repeated Marshall miscues -- the Mountaineers got just that to break their two-game losing streak 27-3 against Marshall in the third Friends of Coal Bowl Saturday in Morgantown. WVU (2-2) improved to 8-0 all-time against the state’s other Division I football program. “It’s a great rivalry; I think it’s great for the state,” WVU head coach Bill Stewart said. “I’m very happy with the chance to play this game.” The Mountaineers’ defense stole the show in the team’s first game unranked in nearly 50 weeks, holding a previously potent Marshall unit to just 158 yards of total offense and just 3 points, despite four visits to the WVU red-zone. Senior Reed Williams led the defense, totaling 11 tackles -- two for a loss. Mortty Ivy had an interception and 5 stops, while Doug Slavonic snuffed an MU drive with a sack and subsequent fumble recovery. All told, defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel’s unit has continued to mature since a Week 2 loss to East Carolina, working on a 7-quarter streak without surrendering a touchdown to an opponent. “Our kids are getting better day by day … and they practiced well getting ready for this game,” said Casteel. Case in point: the Herd had been averaging 384 yards of total offense in its first three games, but Saturday quarterback Mark Cann was under near-relentless pressure, forcing the freshman into 15-of-36 passing for just 119 yards. Cann was also victimized for an interception, lost a fumble, and overthrew several open receivers, while Darius Passmore, the nation’s leader in receiving yardage was held to just four for 39 yards. Cody Slate pulled in three catches for 40 yards.  Unfortunately for Herd fans, no Herd player was able to get as excited on Saturday as Matthew Mcconaughey is here. Despite the defensive dominance, Marshall did just as much damage to itself to stay off the scoreboard. The Herd missed a 30-yard field goal and blew another chance at 3 when a trick-play backfired and a high-snap resulted in no points, the team fumbled 5 times while losing 2, and a Slate TD reception was negated due to penalty. “It was a bad day to make a bunch of mistakes,” said Herd head coach Mark Snyder. “Credit WVU, they had their backs up against a wall and did what they had to do.” Sophomore back Darius Marshall led MU with 45 yards on 16 carries and provided the Herd‘s lone bright spot, returning 203 yards on four kickoff returns. That’s a bright spot that sticks in Stewart’s craw. "There is not a building in Morgantown tall enough to keep me from jumping off it,'' said the head coach/special teams coach. "That's my pride and joy. … I'm going to find 11 guys who are going to run down there and smack somebody in the mouth. I guarantee you that.'' The Mountaineer offense, meanwhile, rolled along pretty well despite losing Pat White to injury for most of the second half. The reason? Backup Jarrett Brown stepping in as the offense’s X-factor. Brown lined up at times as a running back and at receiver, while also leading WVU to a pair of field goals under center. Brown completed 5 of 7 passes for 44 yards with an interception, complementing 78 yards rushing. White, who left in the third quarter after re-aggravating a thumb injury on his throwing hand from the Colorado game, completed 17 of 21 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed 11 times for 61 yards.  (Photo By: Chris Dorst of the Charleston Gazette in this article.) White moved past Major Harris into fifth place on the school's career touchdown passes list with his two TD strikes. Marc Bulger is the all-time leader with 59. WVU fans need not lose any sleep over the senior’s injury, though, which was termed as “fine“ by Stewart after the game. “I could have gone back in if need be,” White said. “It was still kind of weak.” The Jarrett Brown package will continue according to Stewart. “I told you Jarrett Brown would be in the game. I’ve told him he’d play, I gave him my word.” Brown could prove especially valuable in short-yardage situations where, at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, he is bigger than any back in WVU’s stable. “I’m the big back when we need that third-and-1 or fourth-and-inches,” Brown said. “I’m comfortable with it. We’ve practiced it all week.” With all the distractions of West Virginia’s roving quarterbacks, sophomore Noel Devine was free to cut, slash and dash his way to 125 yards and his first rushing TD of the year. Jock Sanders also got in on the action with 8 catches for 60 yards and a touchdown, and Alric Arnett pulled in 5 passes for 54 yards. Dorrell Jalloh also pulled in a TD from White, while freshman Mark Rodgers racked up 44 yards on 6 rushes in mop-up time. Senior Pat McAfee seems to have recovered from the missed field goal that hamstrung WVU against Colorado, making kicks of 39 and 36 yards. McAfee is now tied for fourth place on the Big East's all-time scoring list with 320 points. “We’ve got a chance to be really good,” Stewart said. “We’re going to get better. “Now how much better we get depends on how hard we work.” West Virginia remains at home for its Big East opener against Rutgers next Saturday. Marshall returns home that day to play another Big East opponent in Cincinnati. WVU 27, Marshall 3 First Quarter WVU—Devine 4 run (McAfee kick), 10:11. Mar—FG Warner 34, 7:33. Second Quarter WVU—Jalloh 21 pass from P.White (McAfee kick), 1:10. Third Quarter WVU—Sanders 5 pass from P.White (McAfee kick), 12:06. WVU—FG McAfee 39, 1:25. Fourth Quarter WVU—FG McAfee 36, 7:00. A—60,154. Mar WVU First downs 13 26 Rushes-yards 25-39 42-319 Passing 119 174 Comp-Att-Int 15-37-1 22-28-1 Return Yards 3 (-10) Punts-Avg. 3-46.0 2-56.5 Fumbles-Lost 5-2 2-1 Penalties-Yards 5-46 7-54 Time of Possession 25:04 34:56 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Marshall, Marshall 16-45, Anderson 1-10, Small 2-6, Spann 1-3, Edwards 1-0, Cann 2-(minus 8), Team 2-(minus 17). West Virginia, Devine 14-125, Brown 8-78, P.White 11-61, Rodgers 6-42, Sanders 2-13, Team 1-0. PASSING—Marshall, Cann 15-36-1-119, Anderson 0-1-0-0. West Virginia, P.White 17-21-0-130, Brown 5-7-1-44. RECEIVING—Marshall, Passmore 4-39, Slate 3-40, Marshall 3-14, Edmonson 2-11, L.Smith 2-10, Spann 1-5. West Virginia, Sanders 8-60, Arnett 5-54, Jalloh 2-32, Lyons 2-16, Johnson 2-15, Devine 1-0, Brown 1-(minus 1), Capers 1-(minus 2). |
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As Mountaineer fans gradually recover from witnessing their beloved team drop two straight games for the first time since before anyone had even heard the name "Pat White" in West Virginia, the Marshall Thundering Herd come rolling into town actually holding a better record (3-1) than the Mountaineers (1-2) going into this game. In a Friends of Coal Bowl game that has a 14 point spread (twice as low as any spread since the two teams began playing each other again 3 years ago), Mountaineer fans find themselves asking the question they never thought reasonably possible... Could WVU actually lose to Marshall?  Wait, we can't actually lose this thing, can we? In a word, no. (You may step away from the ledge, Mountaineer fans.) While Mountaineer fans can't be feeling all that confident about laying a whipping on anyone right now, the Herd, in Morgantown, are exactly what the Dr. ordered to cure the ills of a team looking for an identity. Marshall's 3-1 record is deceptive, in that their competition to date includes 2 Conference USA opponents with a combined record of 2-6, a D-II school that just lost to Eastern Illinois, and an asswhipping at the hands of the Wisconsin Badgers. (Granted, this record is still more impressive than WVU's, as the Mountaineers haven't beaten a D-I opponent yet this season.  )For his part, WVU head coach Bill Stewart has been talking up the Herd this week as if they were the 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers. Many statewide articles, like this one from the Charleston Daily Mail are noting that the last time Marshall defensive coordinator Rick Minter stepped foot in Morgantown was as defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bearcats in 2003 when UC beat WVU, 15-13. (How that applies to a team featuring none of the same players with a new offensive scheme remains to be seen.) Even Marshall students actually think they have a real shot in this game, as noted in this Charleston Daily Mail article. Hilariously, the article notes that "Marshall freshman and former WVU fan Greg Parkins, 18, said his loyalties changed after WVU's disappointing season start. He'll be cheering for The Herd this year." (Way to stand by your team, Greg.) That article includes comments from Marshall students that should serve to infuriate Mountaineer players and coaches alike: "Everybody is pretty excited to see how we'll do because Marshall is actually starting to build a program and West Virginia (University) is kind of slacking off and not doing so hot, Parkins said. "It would be awesome to see Marshall come out on top." "I think there's going to be a lot more competition," said Marshall freshman Morgan Farley. "It seems like there's going to be a lot more intensity in it rather than just thinking we're going to lose. I would like to see Marshall come out on top and I think we can," Farley said. "I think we're pretty hyped up right now, so that might help."  I think we know what fan base he was addressing. Offensively, while the Herd does feature the rushing "attack" of Darius Marshall (averaging 24 carries and a little over 100 yards per game), he only gained 50 yards against the one talented team Marshall's played this season (Wisconsin). However the real weapon for the Herd is senior wideout Darius Passmore. So far this season he's got 24 catches for 473 yards and 4 TD's, and leads the nation with 18.2 yards per catch. Marshall starts redshirt freshman Mark Cann at QB, who has played like a freshman so far this season with 5 TD's and 3 INT's through 4 games, with all of his TD's coming against Marshall's non-BCS opponents. Defensively, no opponent could know the Marshall defense better than WVU assistant coach Steve Dunlap, who was the defensive coordinator for the Herd last season. Considering that Marshall's opponents so far this season have averaged 27 points per game against the Herd (and we're not exactly talking about a murderer's row of offensive ball clubs), one suspects that the Mountaineers should be able to find a way to put the ball in the end zone with more regularity than in recent weeks. (Particularly interesting is that Marshall is giving up over 300 passing yards per game. Maybe we can finally see some of that passing offense we've heard so much about...) Defensively, Mountaineers are coming off of a solid performance against Colorado in Boulder. The much-maligned defense that gave up entirely too many touchdowns and too much yardage against ECU and Villanova (?!?!) seemed to be bolstered by the return of linebacker Reed Williams, who missed the first two games with a broken torso. Offensively, the Mountaineers re-discovered the ability to run the ball against Colorado ("Hey, this zone read option thing works! What do you know!"), but had one of the worst statistical passing games of the past two seasons and couldn't convert third downs with any regularity at all. For his part, offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen thinks Mountaineer fans should be seeing the sunny side of life. "I understand we're 1-2, but we're a double-pass away from being 2-1 with a whole lot of happy people. Yeah, we lost (at Colorado eight days ago), but I was happy with what we did on offense,” Mullen told the Charleston Daily Mail in this article today. How Mullen is pleased with an offensive output of 17 points over the span of two games remains to be seen, but at least the man is an optimist.  Some would look at this glass and say it's half full. Others would say it's half empty. Jeff Mullen sees this glass and puts on a life jacket in fear of torrential flooding. Obviously, it's the job of the Couch to be homerish to a fault and predict blowouts of every team up to and including the Dallas Cowboys. ("Hey, they're close to Oklahoma and we whipped Oklahoma's ass!") But in this instance, it's hard to see the Huntington Community College staying close with a Mountaineer team that has a world of proving to do. Additionally, most of the Mountaineers still have fresh in their minds the memories of trailing the Herd at halftime last year, so it's not likely that any of them will be taking this game lightly. OFFICIAL FRIENDS OF COAL BOWL COUCH PREDICTION: WVU- 42 Marshall- 21 |
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Sorry about the lack o’ column last week folks. Seems that even though Joe did in fact actually narrowly defeat me for the first time this year, he was too stunned by that fact to actually write the damn article. Just kidding folks, Joe is actually missing and no one has any idea where he is. I'm sure he’ll turn up somewhere, most likely with a splitting headache and covered in various bodily fluids. So this week it looks like I’m picking solo, which totally defeats the purpose of the thread, but if you are that much a stickler for rules, WMITC probably isn’t the site for you.  Wake up and make your picks ya lush. The current tally stands at: PB: 35-21 ATS Joe: 34-22 ATS As always, www.wemustignitethiscouch.com does not condone or promote gambling, drinking to the point that you forget you can’t dance or sing, or watching Notre Dame play; however, ALL of those (along with Charlie Weiss/Rich Rodriguez jokes and scantily clad women) will likely be mentioned each week. Also, there will be weekly trivia (at the bottom!!) and a little smack-talk from the previous week's winner. So, be prepared to participate and post your own picks. This week Game of the Week Alabama @ Georgia -7 2 SEC titans collide in primetime. Exactly how far has Nick Saban brought the Crimson Tide in the past year and how badly has UGA been hurt by injuries are 2 questions that will be answered on Saturday. Sideshow to watch: Who is the better frosh WR? Julio Jones or AJ Green. My money is on Green. PB: UGA covers, barely. Joe: ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Michigan Futility Watch #9 Wisky @ Michigan + 6 Plus SIX? You have to be freaking kidding me. The Wolverines just got pummeled by Notre Dame for crying out loud and Wisky is only favored by 6? I may have to break my rule about not betting cash on games I have a rooting interest in….again. PB: Wisky wins by 3 TD’s. Joe: Wisky covers (trust me, Joe would have wanted it this way if he were alive.) I couldn’t stop laughing at this…………it goes on forever. Top 25 #1 USC @ Oregon State Yep, I’m cheating by picking this one. Awesome game. PB: OSU wins outright :) Joe: USC covers.  Minnesota @ #14 OSU Beanie Wells is back, Pryor has looked pretty good, and OSU will be in front of what fans they have that didn’t bail after the USC game. Minny has been feeding on cupcakes and they aren’t ready for OSU. PB: OSU wins big. Joe:  Maryland @ #20 Clemson -11 Possibly the 2 most schizophrenic teams in the country. Maryland can’t beat the Middle Tennessee Outhouses and barely beat Delaware, but annihilated Cal. Meanwhile Clemson doesn’t show up at all against ‘Bama, but has since won every other game big. PB: Clemson covers. Joe: Mississippi @ #4 Florida -22.5 Florida just saw USC lose the #1 spot and wants to show that they deserve consideration. PB: Florida wins very big. Joe: Tennessee @ #15 Auburn -6.5 Both teams are coming off loses to good teams. Fulmer is on the hot seat as usual. PB: Auburn covers. Joe: Arkansas @ Texas -27.5 That’s a big spread, but Arkansas just hasn’t been very good, narrowly beating bad teams and losing badly to the Crimson Tide. Texas has an average margin of victory of 37 so far this year, though admittedly against bad teams. PB: Texas covers. Joe: Houston @ #23 ECU -10.5 God I really hope ECU is good enough to beat Houston by 11. PB: ECU covers. Joe: #25 Fresno State @ UCLA +6.5 I don’t think either of these teams are very good. Give me the home team getting points. PB: UCLA covers. Joe:  Alright listen, I want a to put a nickel on UCLA, plus the over on the LSU and Wake games. Navy @ #16 Wake Forest-16 Wake is 3-0 but hasn’t beaten anyone of note (no, FSU doesn’t qualify) and 16 seems like a big number. PB: Navy covers. Joe: #24 TCU @ #2 Oklahoma -18.5 A blowout by OU gives them the #1 ranking and I’m sure the Sooners know that. It’s not a BCS game so Stoops should be on his A game. Oklahoma’s talent is ridiculous. PB: Oklahoma wins by 30. Joe: Mississippi State @ #5 LSU -24 MSU just lost to Georgia Tech, they shouldn’t be much of an obstacle for LSU in Tiger Stadium. PB: LSU covers. Joe:  With ASU not being ranked anymore, LSU picks up the slack. #13 South Florida @ NC State +8.5 NC State will be trying to knock off it’s 2nd top 15 team in 2 weeks. They beat ECU last week, and this will be a night home game and 60,000 fans at Carter-Finley Stadium will be going nuts. All signs point to an upset for me, so hopefully I’ll jinx them. PB: NC State wins outright. Joe: Weber St @ Utah -off Honestly, who the hell cares? PB: Utah Joe: #22 Illinois @ #12 Penn State Both teams have looked very, very good. Illinois has the one loss to Mizzou, which is an entirely respectable loss. PSU has been feasting on cupcakes and absolutely crushing them without exception. The game is in Happy Valley and the PSU fanbase is starting to think this team is legit, almost delusionally so (I’ve been hearing words like ‘National’ and ‘Championship’ being thrown around.) Should be a really good game and give you something to flip to during Bama/UGA commercials if you are still conscious after the WVU game. PB: Illinois wins outright (that’s for my buddy Patrick) Joe: Fan Trivia How many Div 1-A (Bowl Subdivision) teams are in Texas? Name'em. |