2018-10-25 05:55

Oh my god. I cannot really relate to the feelings a Boilermaker-fan must have now after that weekend.
They destroyed the Buckeyes, at home, big time.
Purdue is not a bad team, in fact this season they are quite goods at do have a shot at the division title at least, but winning against Ohio State does not come often and that way?
I'm sure that game will go down in history as a great one in Boilermakers history.
The consequence is, Ohio State did drop from in the rankings quite hard and now Notre Dame is at #3 and LSU at #4.
That's still not the official playoff ranking, but what seemed for me at least not really realistic does become more realistic every gamdeday.
If the Irish stay undefeated, they will be part of the playoffs.
The rest is a big mystery.
If all plays out as we think it will (but with the Buckeyes game in mind, nothing seems to be for sure), then Alabama and Clemson will get #1 and #2, but #4 is open.
Right now it looks like #5 Michigan could get that spot, since #4 LSU has to play Alabama (and would have to lose in that scenario) but also #6 Texas could be in the mix, because they will get likely a boost in the BIG12 Championship game (if they win it).

With so many games still to play, there are a lot of ifs and thens, so I stop that stuff and go to the reviews after a short info.

Mike Jinks, HC of Bowling Green was fired (already during last week) and Carl Pelini is interim HC.
Bowling Green started the season 1-6 and Jinks record was 7-24 overall with the best season 4-8 in his first season with the team.
Pelini was once the HC of Florida Atlantic, but had to resign because of illegal drug use and went then to his brother (Bo Pelini, former Nebraska HC) at Youngstown State and became DC of Bowling Green this season.

I selected this 3 games as the BLOCK OF GRANITE GAMES FOR WEEK 8

Sat. Oct. 20
#6 Michigan @ #24 Michigan State
What a disgrace that game was. Unbelievable how bad Michigan State did play.
Guys, it doesn't matter you march arm in arm over the field and play strong prior the game, you need to BE strong during the game.
The Spartans never stood a chance and all they had to score was a trickery play.
Michigan did NOT look very good and I'm not convinced they will win THE GAME (against Ohio State) and I'm not convinced they would win the Conference.
But they won the rivalry game, thanks to a soft Spartans defense.
For the Wolverines it's now of never time, but they have to play Penn State (at home) and Ohio State (on the road).
So staying unbeaten will be tough.
The Spartans will have to concentrate on the next few games and getting enough wins to secure a good Bowl game.
#6 Michigan 21 - #24 Michigan State 7 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 15-13

Sat. Oct. 20
#16 NC State @ #3 Clemson
That was as one-dimensional as it can be.
NC State did score 1 TD, in the 4th quarter, and Clemson did score overall 41.
Of cause Clemson has to win the upcoming games, but right now it looks like they are the team to beat.
NC State did get a reality check and failed regarding expectations and rankings.
#16 NC State 7 - #3 Clemson 41 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 16-13

Sat. Oct. 20
Colorado @ #15 Washington
This looked like an open match until halftime, but then did Washington pull away and won that crucial game easily.
Right now is the state of Washington the best in class for the PAC12 and the Apple-Cup (rivalry game between the Huskies and Cougars) looks like a division title game.
Of cause there are still games to play and likely none will help any PAC12 team to get into the playoffs, if not all other conference start losing, but I have to admit, I like the PAC12 because it is all open.
Colorado still has the chance to win the division (as all other teams in the division, being separated only by 1 loss difference right now) and do have some crucial games at home.
Washington have to play Stanford in 2 weeks and on the road against WSU. Hard.
I love it.
Colorado 13 - #15 Washington 27 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 17-13

Other interesting games:

Sat. Oct. 20
#22 Mississippi State @ #5 LSU
LSU held Mississippi State to 3 points in the first quarter and then played perfect defense in terms of the scoring results.
MSU had 4 INTs and thanks to that the offense of LSU was quite often in scoring range and made 19 points total, because otherwise this would have been a very low scoring game.
LSU wins 19-3 and can now bath in the attention it gets as #4 ranked team.
They will face Alabama at home after a bye week.
MSU playes A&M next week.
Jacks interesting games Score: 20-7

#12 Oregon @ #25 Washington State
With national television on the campus the team did deliver with a great effort.
There are some really great plays as highlights and the whole team did win 34-20 with only the 3rd quarter being a down period, allowing 17 points and letting the Ducks back into the game, only to seal the game in the 4th.
Now Wazzu is ranked #14 ahead of instate-rival Huskies at #15 and right now does the Apple Cup look like fun to come. But first they have to win in Stanford next week.
Oregon on the other hand has to focus on the remaining games and to hope for a stumble or 2, of they still want a division title.
Winning against Arizona next week is a must.
Jacks interesting games Score: 21-7

#20 Cincinnati @ Temple
The game went into OT where Temple did score first and then intercepted the Cincinnati pass a few plays later to end the game 24-17.
The Bearcats did play better than I did expect, but overall I think none of the teams will play for the division title at the end of the season.
Could be that next week this is all reality, after Bearcats did visit SMU and Temple did travel to UCF.
Jacks interesting games Score: 22-7

Some other interesting results of week 8:
As said was the biggest stunner for me that Purdue did upset Ohio State 49-20.
Virginia did win against Duke 28-14. Virginia does have a very realistic shot at the division title.
Nebraska won their first game of the season against Minnesota 53-28.
UAB won against North Texas 29-21 and is leading their division.
Utah did win against USC 41-28 and has right now the best short for the division title, but ALL teams in the PAC12 South do still have a shot.
Nevada won on the road against Hawaii 40-22, so Hawaii now 1 game behind the leading teams inside the division, SDSU and Fresno State.

And we move forward to week 9. Last week of October and then will the November come with the first playoff rankings and the final battles for the conference titles.
Honestly this week there are not that many really great games, but of cause plenty enough to cover some of them.

I selected this 4 games as the BLOCK OF GRANITE GAMES FOR WEEK 9

Sat. Oct. 27
#9 Florida vs #7 Georgia
The annual meeting in Jacksonville has some juice this season, more than in recent years.
UGA is favored by 6.5 points and I'm divided between two approaches.
The first one is, that Florida did quite good football lately, but from my feeling are more a mid-level-SEC team this season.
So Georgia should win this with more than a score.
The second one is, that Georgia did look terrible in their loss against LSU and now travels to Florida for this rivalry game, while Florida did look better and better the past few weeks.
So Florida should be on the same level, given the circumstances.
Now, what to do with this?
I think this will come down to some few important plays, where either the offense does get a crucial first down, or not.
I'm not willing to give up Georgia, I think they are still the favorite to win the division, so I pick them as the winner in a low scoring game.
Bulldogs win.

Sat. Oct. 27
#18 Iowa @ #17 Penn State
Iowa did sneak into the rankings with silent wings, I guess.
They did rise in the ranks from week to week and now they are at #18?
They have to travel to Penn State and will face a hostile environment, much bigger than any game they played this season.
They did so far not win against very good teams, except maybe Wisconsin, at home.
Now Penn State knows what's at stake here and will play good old football against the Hawkeyes.
Some do believe that Iowa could go all the way to the BIG10 Championship game, but I think they will at least drop this game here.
The Lions are 6.5 points favorites in Vegas.
I say, they will win with more.
Nittany Lions win
(Wrongly written in the first post as "Hawkeyes win.")

Sat. Oct. 27
#14 Washington State @ #24 Stanford
The Cougars are on a high, actually very high, note right now. They are ranked ahead of rival Huskies and do now face another very crucial game, but on the road.
Stanford is a tough team and lost so far only against Notre Dame and Utah.
Last week they won against Arizona State on the road, which seems to be a tough place to play this season, so don't expect them to bow down to the Cougars.
Vegas has the Cardinals ahead by 3.0 points, which does fit with my feelings about this game.
Close and the winner will be Stanford.
Why?
Because Wazzu has some juice, sure, but Stanford places at home and is also capable of scoring a lot of points, while playing also good defense.
I guess Washington State will fail a few times now, where they did prevailed against Oregon last week.
Cardinals win.

Sat. Oct. 27
#20 Wisconsin @ Northwestern
Wisconsin travels to Northwestern and the season is on the line.
That's maybe not totally new, but a bit unusual and does not happen every year.
Thanks to two losses (BYU and Michigan), the Badgers are barely ranked and need to win this upcoming game against the Wildcats, because otherwise Northwestern stays in the hunt and the Badgers are not only 1 game behind, they do also have the short end of the straw in case of direct compare.
The good news for Badgers fans is, the Michigan loss does look better and better (if that's possible) with Michigan winning further and since Wisconsin did beat several other teams from BIG10 so far, they have a good chance to win here, on the road.
Northwestern is playing right now good football after losing 3 in a row in September including against Duke and Akron.
It will take more than just a wonder to get the team ranked again in the next few weeks, but overall they are just another team with 1 conference loss (against Michigan) and is therefore contending for the division title.
Playing at home helps, but not enough to become the favorite.
In fact they are 7.0 points underdogs.
A perfect playing Wildcats team could take on the Badgers, but I think that will not happen.
Overall will Wisconsin grinds the Wildcats down and wins this, with more than a score.
Badgers win.

Other interesting games:
Sat. Oct. 27
#21 South Florida @ Houston
Nice clash in the American Athletic. South Florida is perfect so far, but did not play real contenders until now, while Houston did lose once, against Texas Tech on the road.
Vegas sees Houston ahead by 7.5 points, I think it will be more.
Cougars win.

Sat. Oct. 27
#12 Kentucky @ Missouri
Kentuckys season is so far a great one, at least for Wildcats fans. Just one loss so far, Bowl ticket already secured and a chance for more.
Mizzou is on the other hand searching for their first SEC win.
Nice of the Wildcats to deliver just that. Favored by 7.0 points will the Tigers win at home against a high flying Wildcats teams.
Why? Because Missouri did lose 3 games against good teams, 2 of them on the road, and will now have the home crowd against a good opponent, but not great one.
Tigers win.

Sat. Oct. 27
#16 Texas A&M @ Mississippi State
The Bulldogs are favored by 2.0 points, but I'm thinking that Fishers A&M team is getting the grip on the game and will win this.
Aggies win.

Sat. Oct. 27
#22 NC State @ Syracuse
Does NC State crash even further or does Syracuses magic start get leveled?
The Wolfpack is only a 2.0 point favorite and it can happen everything here.
Do I believe in NC State? Sure, but I also believe in the Orange stubbornness.
Orange win.

Sat. Oct. 27
#6 Texas @ Oklahoma State
Texas is on their way back to BIG12 glory and Oklahoma State is sinking.
Still Texas is favored only by 3.5 points, which is a joke I guess.
I lost faith in the Cowboys and I think the Longhorns will expose the week defense and will win, big time.
Longhorns win.

'Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE

Tags: Block of Granite