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Oh, what a fun weekend!
I did expect a more or less boring favorite-wins-it-weekend, since many games did look quite one-dimensional, but we had several games where the fans did storm the field, since the heavy underdog did pull an upset for the ages.
That did shuffle the standings and rankings a bit.
Overall, it will be interesting to see, whether teams, which did lose, will lose again, maybe even soon, or the team does have a turnaround / recovery.
Some news on the conference realignments, with no word so far from the PAC-12, still looking for at least 1 more team to join, the Mountain West did pitch some offers and got a 'no, Thank You' card from Texas State of the Sun Belt (with no real reason why given) and a 'Yes, we love it' from UTEP from Conference USA. MWC still in need for another full member to stay a conference.
CUSA is right now stable to stay a conference with the loss of UTEP.
Let's jump into the reviews!
The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 6
Sat. Oct 05
#9 Missouri @ #25 Texas A&M
Well, this will be fast, Missouri was unable to do anything in the 1st half and A&M was already leading 24:0 at the half.
They did increase the score to 34:0 until Mizzou did start scoring and at the end it was a landslide win from the Aggies, which was for sure a big setback for the Tigers and a big step for the Aggies.
#9 Missouri 10 @ #25 Texas A&M 41 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 14-4
#12 Ole Miss @ South Carolina
Another of those clear games, which was over at the half, when Ole Miss did lead already 24:3. South Carolina was just not able to stop the Rebels.
The 2nd half did go much slower, but the Gamecocks did more or less just let the time run down and lost in a boring game.
Ole Miss has a win on the record, which gives them a small boost again and South Carolina needs to focus on the next games to eventually get the 6 wins for a bowl.
#12 Ole Miss 27 @ South Carolina 3 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 15-4
SMU @ #22 Louisville
This was a much better game. SMU did look like the clear winning team at half, leading 24:13.
Then the Cardinals came out of the locker room and scored on the 1st drive to cut the Mustangs lead to 4.
Mustangs were held to a field goal and the Cardinals did score on their next drive a TD to tie the game at 27.
When then SMU was held for another field goal try, which they missed, the Cardinals fans did smell hope.
But Louisville was unable to score and that went on for both teams, until SMU did score a TD with less than 7 minutes left to play.
More than enough time, right?
Yeah, Louisville did march over the field, went to the red zone and ... was intercepted ...
SMU won and Louisville got a big kick in the butt.
SMU 34 @ #22 Louisville 27 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 16-4
Oh man, 3 of 3 in the top games, but I promise I have picked worse on other games.
And some other interesting games:
Sat. Oct 05
Boston College @ Virginia
A good example to stay focused for the whole game. Virginia was down 6:14 at the start of the 4th quarter. Then they scored a field goal, intercepted BC on the next drive and scored a TD on the next drive. BAM. Virginia leading 17:14.
Next drive BC, they crawled to mid field, slowly and then ... fumbled the ball, it was returned for a TD and the game was basically over.
Virginia had even a missed FG in the remaining time, but it did not matter, they won 24:14 and my nice theory of the hot Eagles became a story of the Eagles, losing the ball like hot potatoes ...
Jacks interesting games Score: 10-8
South Alabama @ Arkansas State
A very defense driven game (which was at least for me surprising), with Arkansas State leading at the half 6:3.
The 3rd quarter was in favor of South Alabama, and they took the lead after a TD 10:9.
Then the game became a bit alive in the 4th and Arkansas State score a TD (and failed the 2-pointer), South Alabama scored a TD (and failed the 2-pointer) and Arkansas State did score a Field Goal for the lead, with a few ticks left, to win 18:16.
Jacks interesting games Score: 10-9
Kansas @ Arizona State
And this here was quite epic.
Tied at the half at 14 did both teams gain and lose constantly.
Kansas was in lead by a FG, ASU scored a TD, Kansas answered with a TD also and got the lead back.
ASU scored, Kansas scored, fans all in the bonfire of constant lead change.
ASU got the ball with roughly 2 minutes left to play and they needed a TD.
And they got it with a few ticks left to win 35:31.
A rough start for the Jayhawks so far and a good start for the Sun Devils.
Jacks interesting games Score: 11-9
Wheeeee, that was close to fail all picks in this category. Let's get to the REAL upsets.
And some more funny result of week 6:
- Syracuse did take on UNVL on the road and after OT, they won 44:41. It's the 1st loss of UNLV so far and after that 1st win with their new starting QB, when everyone did say, 'who was that guy leaving again?', now they might regret to let their QB redshirt over 100K. With that loss, I say, they have to win the conference now to have an outsider chance to get in the playoffs.
- Houston did play TCU on the road and man, TCU has again a rough season. Houston won 30:19 and both teams have already 2 conference losses, which makes it unlikely they will play for the conference title.
- Now to the biggest upset of the weekend, when Alabama did visit Vanderbilt. Alabama was ranked #1, hat that big win against Georgia last week and lost this big time. Vandy did lead 23:14 at the half, Alabama looked like they would recover in the 3rd, but failed to stop the Commodores offense and allowed in the 4th quarter 10 points in a row (thanks to a Tide fumble) to be in deep trouble when they got the ball with 5 minutes left to play. Alabama scored a TD, gave Vandy the ball with almost 3 minutes left and ... sucked on the defense part. Vanderbilt did beat Alabama 40:35, which was the 1st ever win by Vandy against a #1 team, EVER. They also did not win against Alabama in 40 years (23 games). The fans did storm the field and took down the goal posts, carried it through Nashvilles downtown and tossed it into the river. Not sure why, but try to stop them, I guess. The university was fined 100.000$ for the storming to be paid to Alabama. Massive win for Vandy, BIG embarrassing loss for Alabama, who were a 20+ points favorite in this game.
- And we had more, with Arkansas beating Tennessee 19:14. The Vols did lead until 3 minutes left to play, when Arkansas did get the ball and suddenly marched over the field in 4 plays and score a TD with 1 minutes left to play. Tennessee tried the comeback and came even to the red zone, but time ran out when they tried to get a TD. Same pictures here, fans stormed the field and took down the goal posts. The team was fined 250.000$ (for the 2nd event of such nature) to be paid to the Vols. For Tennessee a big setback in the conference and national wide.
- A different funny game at Cal, where Miami was the big favorite, but was behind 25 points in the 3rd quarter. Then the Hurricanes did start to recover and did score a TD, held Cal to a field goal and then ... it went all downhill for Cal, big time. Miami scored a TD, Cal was stopped, quickly, Miami score again, Cal was again stopped and (I guess you know it) Miami scored another TD to get the 39:38 lead. Less than 30 seconds to play did Cal try to do something, was intercepted and Miami did prevail to win this shocker 39:38. Miami stays hot, while Cal did get a cool shower after this home loss.
- Next upset, with Washington playing Michigan in a rematch of the National Championship game. The Huskies did look like they would lose it, at home, but had a burst of scoring in the 4th and won the game, 27:17. The fans did storm the field but left the post intact as it seems.
- Next field storming? USC did play Minnesota on the road and were 9.5-point favorite. But the Gophers did come from behind in the 4th and did beat the Trojans 24:17 with a late TD. Gophers fans did get on the field, but not compare to Vandy ....
- Wake Forest did beat NC State, 34:30. Wake Forest got the ball, trailing, with 7 minutes left to play and did slowly eat away the clock and scored the TD with a minute left to play. NC State was intercepted on the next play and the Deacons ran down the clock to get that 1st conference win.
- Charlotte did win against East Carolina, 55:24. East Carolina so far with a very inconsistent season so far.
- James Madison came to Monroe. Louisiana to play ULM, as 16.5-point favorite and did lose 19:21. A really big win for the Warhawks, who are (as usually losing team) 4-1 so far.
That's that for week 6.
A sidenote, 2 teams did already reach Bowl eligibility, Miami and ... Indiana. Who would have thought that? Not many teams did even had the chance to get those 6 wins, but I think no one did expect Indiana hit a perfect 6-0 start.
As dull week 6 did look like on paper last week, as exciting does look week 7 this week. I hope the games will be thrilling, but at least they will be important.
The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 7
Sat. Oct 12
#1 Texas vs #18 Oklahoma
The RED RIVER RIVALRY is coming and it's the 120th game between the two teams. Oklahoma did win last season, but Texas leads the series by 12 wins.
This season it seems the game is quite clear, since Texas is a 14.0-point favorite, but don't underestimate the rivalry factor in this game.
On paper, Texas is better suited, they might even have their starting QB back in the lineup, even the backup did play very good and eventually a QB-battle is brewing at the Longhorns.
Oklahoma is not perfect as Texas and had one loss against Tennessee, but more important, they had also not very convincing wins in some of the other 4 games.
Played on neutral site, there is no homefield advantage.
Everything is possible in this game, but if all goes well, Texas will win here by at least a score.
Longhorns win.
#2 Ohio State @ #3 Oregon
This looks like a dream matchup in the new BIG10, with Ohio State and Oregon both being contender and ranked so close together. It could be also a preview on the conference final, but the season is not even half done, so a lot can happen.
Both teams are unbeaten and did look convincing strong, even Oregon had a close game against Boise State in September.
Played in Eugene, Ohio State is still the favorite by the books by 3.0 points.
Not a lot.
The key will be, whether Oregon can get their offense going and keep the Buckeyes offense in check.
So far, no team was able to control the offense of OSU, so we might see a high scoring game, which would be great.
Ohio State did put a lot of effort and money this off-season into the team and the coach has to deliver.
On paper the Buckeyes should be much better than Oregon, but so far they had no chance to really show the full firepower.
I have doubt Oregon can keep up with that team, but I do respect the homefield advantage and the long travel for the Buckeyes.
I expect a high scoring game and a quite close win by ....
Buckeyes win.
#9 Ole Miss @ #13 LSU
Ole Miss had dreams about the playoffs and more with a very mature team. They got a hit into the family jewels 2 weeks ago against Kentucky but recovered against South Carolina.
LSUs ambitions are always high, and they had in the past few seasons great results, just the last push did not happen to be a TOP SEC team. They started the season against USC and lost, but since then they did win all games, but all of those teams were not that good.
Now they face Ole Miss, with their high-flying offense and I fear the Tigers have to play catchup all game.
Played in Death Valley, the homefield will be crucial for LSU and is likely the main reason Ole Miss is only favored by 3.0 points.
I could be wrong, but I think Ole Miss has the potential to score on almost every drive, while LSU did so far not prove they can play with the big boys this season on offense or defense.
Rebels win.
And some other interesting games:
Fri. Oct 11
#16 Utah @ Arizona State
I think no one did expect this game to be crucial for the BIG-12 contention, but both teams did lose in the last 3 weeks, and they are in need to win here to stay in the contention.
Utah was expected to be a contender, but the struggle against Arizona in their last game was a bit of a stunner. They had a bye week since and should be well prepared to play Arizona State. The Sun Devils lost 3 weeks ago against Texas Tech but are much better than anticipated and play at home.
Utah is favored by 6.5 points, which I'm not so convinced to agree on.
I do favor them, by an inch, based on their overall strength and the bye week. If the Sun Devils can take a few pages out of the Wildcats playbook and copy the way they did beat Utah, ASU has a road to victory.
I actually torn between the small edge I give Utah and the gut feeling that ASU will play this season much better than expected.
Ah damn it ...
Sun Devils win.
Sat. Oct 12
#4 Penn State @ USC
Another test for the Lions, this time a long trip away in the new BIG10-rivals town L.A.
Vegas has Penn State head by 5.5 points, which is reasonable, since USC did so far not deliver according to the expectations.
They lost against Michigan and last week against Minnesota.
That's not the USC team the fans want to see.
Penn State is way better than Minnesota and have bested every team so far. USC is their real big test, and it is on the road.
Will that limit them? Maybe.
But their offense looks good and so far, did their defense play strong.
I expect a close game, but ...
Nittany Lions win.
California @ #22 Pittsburgh
Last preview, with a team not many did see here coming.
Cal lost 2 times in a row, last week against Miami on a crazy meltdown.
Pittsburgh is perfect so far, which is one of the big surprises so far and many do thing, whether this will hold on, or will the team break down at some point, eventually this weekend.
Pitt is favored by only 3.0 points.
Their most surprising wins were against UNC and West Virginia.
If the Bears can control the Pitt offense better, I think they have a chance. Other than that will Pitt just outscore Cal.
I do believe the Panthers will fall at some point, but I doubt it will happen at home against a team like Cal.
Panthers win.
'Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE
Tags: Block of Granite, News
2024-10-01 07:20
An interesting month comes to an end.
Season start is always some sort of the 1st step of the correction between the pre-season expectations (which are usually the extrapolations of results of former changes and result towards the future, combined with hopes, dreams and wishes), and the hard facts after every gameday.
And it is only the 1st step, because often the season start is dominated by non-conference games, which often are expected to be one-sided. The 2nd step than happens October, when many of the teams have a big set of conference games and sometimes very hopeful looking records are often shattered against the conference opponents, or bad starts are turned around, for whatever reason.
Usually in September no coach is fired, and this season no coach was fired in September. Some are for sure on a hot seat with the Florida HC likely being THE hottest one, but of course you only have to look at the teams with negative or very negative record so far and if the coach is not in his initial year and the school is a historic winning team or had a winning coach in the past decade, the coach is in trouble. If you are in your 3rd plus season with a negative record, you are in deep trouble.
But speculations do not bring us further here, often firing of HC is emotion (like after a lost rivalry game), feeling (like the feeling that the HC will never make the next step, winning a conference or get to a bowl or win a bowl) and at last business (like when you can fire the coach now or in 4 month and the difference is tenth of millions).
As far as I did read it and heard it, a college football coach has to manage a lot of stakeholders, including the big booster (money donators), and if the majority of those stakeholders is willing to make a change, the change is done, regardless the costs. This might change (as I did already hint it in past texts) thanks to NIL and the extra money now needed to pay players, but overall, the logic is still intact as the past 100 years. You are promoting here a brand and if that brand becomes tarnished, you have to act. Sometimes (if not often) the acting ends the HC reign, but finding a BETTER replacement is not as easy as expected or wanted. I know several bad examples from the past, where the trigger level on that 'tarnished' status had to be lowered with every HC coming in, since every cycle did become worse and worse.
Anyway, week 5 is in the books and some upsets did happen, and actually one coach was fired, but only an OC, not a HC. Purdue did part ways with his OC, since their offense was unable to produce yardage and points. Well, that's also part of the business. Usually, we only see the HCs chopped, but sometimes the HC starts the chopping to secure his own job status for a little longer. I would have to dig in deep, whether such a move did actually help a HC in the long run.
Let's get into week 5 reviews.
The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 5
Sat. Sep 28
#15 Louisville @ #16 Notre Dame
Notre Dame had a big 1st quarter and won that 21:7.
But then the game did change and slowly the Louisville did gain some ground.
At the half they were still 10 points behind, in the 3rd, both teams did not have any production and in the 4th did Louisville score another field goal to make it a 1 score game.
Notre Dame did score TD on their next possession, but as did Louisville and time did become a factor.
Notre Dame was stopped after 3 plays and Louisville got the ball back with less than 3 minutes to play but failed to get past mid-field and the 4th down try was stopped.
The Irish did run down the clock and won at home.
If not for the NIU game, the Irish would look quite good right now, but that Huskies game will haunt them.
Still, they did gain some spots back and are now at #14 in the rankings.
Louisville did drop to #21 now, but they have 2 paths to the playoffs, either via the rankings (even the AP polls are NOT the final verdict here, they are a good indication) or winning the ACC.
Notre Dame NEEDS a good ranking.
Next for Louisville is a tough game against SMU and Notre Dame has a bye week and after that a seemingly walk in the park against Stanford.
#15 Louisville 24 @ #16 Notre Dame 31 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 11-4
#2 Georgia @ #4 Alabama
I think the game did live up to the hype it had.
A game between to top ranked teams, both unbeaten, long-lasting rivalry, especially very important the past few seasons, national television.
What happened?
Alabama came out of the locker, all fired up, won the 1st quarter 21:0.
Then came Georgia out of the locker and finally score, but Alabama did control them fine, won that quarter 9:7 and led big time at the half.
Must have been a fun game for Tide fans.
But did some of them fear a comeback try by the Bulldogs? For sure.
In the 3rd quarter did Georgia had a long drive and score a TD and Alabama were suddenly not that efficient anymore, were held to a field goal and Georgia won the quarter 8:3, still training by many points.
But Georgi had a flow established, scored in the 4th quarter 3 TDs and stopped Alabama on every drive afterwards, took even the lead, until they that streak did break, and Alabama score a TD on a 75-yard-first-play-after-kickoff-drive.
BAM, Tide had the lead back and the momentum in the stadium did shift again.
Georgia got the ball back with a bit more than 2 minutes to play and had a good drive going but committed their 4th turnover in the endzone and lost the game.
No big problem for the Dawgs, they lost against the now #1 ranked team in the country and the conference title game can still be reached.
Alabama is right now happy as it can get, since they did lose their hall-of-fame-HC in the off-season and are STILL now #1 in the country.
#2 Georgia 34 @ #4 Alabama 41 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 12-4
#19 Illinois @ #9 Penn State
I think this was an ugly game.
Both teams did not gift the other team much, at the half the score was tied at 7, with both teams already missed field goal tries.
Penn State came out of the locker a bit better and scored, while Illinois did try to do the same, but committed errors, which the Lions did happily accepted as gifts.
Penn State won a crucial game, even it was not expected to be such a game at season start.
And Illinois did lose this, sure, but it was against one of the top teams inside the conference, so if they win more games, that loss will be not that hard on the overall record as it might seem right now.
Only future will tell.
Illinois will play Purdue after a bye-week, which will likely help them to gain some ranking spots back.
And Penn State will play UCLA, which had so far not a great season, so maybe another W for the Lions coming.
#19 Illinois 7 @ #9 Penn State 21 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 13-4
And some other interesting games:
Sat. Sep 28
Washington State @ #25 Boise State
Until the 3rd quarter, this game was quite open.
Only it did look like, Washington State had to play catchup every drive.
But when Boise State went into the 4th quarter with a 24:10 lead, it was clear, Wazzu had to react, or they would lose here.
They did, and score a TD, so 24:17.
But Boise State did also and score a TD on the next drove and led 31:17.
Wazzu? Stopped.
Broncos? Scored another TD and then I think it was clear the game was over.
Washington did try what was possible, but realistically the game was over, and Boise won at the end 45:24.
A big setback for the Cougars, it did likely eliminate them from any playoff discussion.
A good win for Boise to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.
Jacks interesting games Score: 9-6
Colorado @ UCF
Colorado did play an almost perfect game here and won 48:21.
UCF was unable to stop the high-powered offense of the Buffs and ... well ... if you can't do that, you lose. Sure.
Colorado will play Kansas State after a bye and that will be interesting, for sure.
UCF will play Florida next and might get hit down again or they might set one of the nails into the coffin of the Gators HC.
Jacks interesting games Score: 9-7
North Carolina @ Duke
Pffff. Not as much fun as I wanted.
UNC started good, lead 10:0, then 17:0.
The blue Devils seemed to be somewhere else.
Then in the 2nd half, they did appear and did win the 3rd quarter 7:3, which is far from enough to overcome the deficit.
And then ... well, let's say, the UNC offense was bad and the Blue Devils good enough to score the go-ahead TD with less than 6 minutes to go.
Then both teams were unable to do anything, and the game ended with a Blue Devils win 21:20.
The UNC HC is for sure now in hotter water than before with next stop at Pittsburgh and Duke will face the Yellow Jackets.
Jacks interesting games Score: 10-7
And some more funny result of week 5:
- Miami had their trouble with Virginia Tech but won 38:34. Miami now highly ranked national wide and VT is looking for answers to at least get to a bowl.
- Rutgers did win against Washington, 21:18. Not easy to be a Huskies fan right now, the last PAC-12 champ does not look good under the new coach, while the old coach did lead Alabama to #1 so far.
- A major upset did happen when #6 Ole Miss did lose against Kentucky 17:20, at home. Kentucky did almost upset Georgia last week, but this week they got their win. A big setback for Ole Miss and a big step forward for one of the most underrated programs of the past 10 seasons, Kentucky.
- And another major upset, here by Arizona winning against #10 Utah. For Arizona the end of a downward spiral (after last seasons great results) and for Utah a setback in the BIG-12 and national wide.
- Michigan did survive against Minnesota, 27:24. Minnesota again without a win and some say, their HC is at least in question, but honestly, he is the best they have in a long time, so better not fire him.
- Oklahoma did beat Auburn, on the road, 27:21. Auburn is looking for some positive news, but they just don't get them.
- UConn has beaten Buffalo, 47:3. The same Buffalo, who did beat ranked NIU last week, which have beaten Notre Dame before. That's crazy.
- Louisiana did beat Wake Forest, 41:38, on the road. Wake Forest really in a slump this season.
- TCU won against Kansas, 38:27, on the road. The energy and positive development of Kansas of last season seems to be gone.
- It seems Central Michigan is playing for their HC now, because they won again, this time against San Diego State, 22:21. After their big loss against FIU I thought the HC would be toast, soon. But now ... not sure. I think the Michigan-games against Eastern and Western will be crucial.
- UT Martin (FCS) has won against Kennesaw State, a quite new FBS team in transition from FCS, 24:13. But UT Martin is not a good team, so that does not look for the future this season for the Owls.
- Louisiana Monroe did beat Troy, 13:9. Big win for the Red Hawks, a often losing team.
- SMU has won against Florida State, 42:16. That is now the 4th loss by FSU, which is for sure not as expected.
That's that for week 5 reviews.
Now we go to week 6, the 1st week in October. Unfortunately the games scheduled do lack the thrill I did hope for, so I did pick some games close and hopefully entertaining.
The BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 6
Sat. Oct 05
#9 Missouri @ #25 Texas A&M
Last season was the best season for Missouri in a long time, finishing after a bowl win with 11-2. That did earn the Tigers a lot of respect for this season. So far, they did win 4 games, but the last 2 games were very close and not against opponents you would expect such close results against. Boston College seems to be undervalued, so maybe at the end of the season this win will be evaluated different, but Vanderbilt is not in best form and the Tigers escaped at home by 3 in 2 OT.
Now they travel to the Aggies under new management and it's safe to say, it seems the Aggies are moving into the right direction. They lost the opener against Notre Dame (by 10), and then won 4 straight, including wins against Florida and Arkansas. I would bet, they are not on the level as the top SEC teams, but it seems they can give them at least a lot of resistance. Texas is favored by 2.0 points and that does basically describe, how the teams are viewed. I think nobody is sure what to make really out of the Tigers and the Aggies.
This could end in a blowout, if one teams clicks and the other not. Or it can be close, of both teams play on the same level. The 12th man behind them, will the Aggies prevail against a strong Tigers team? Will the Tigers offense finally show up big time?
I just don't know.
I lean towards the Tigers, but I respect the new Aggies and their homefield.
I expect progress on both sides, but I expect also, that Missouri will be a bit stunned by their 1st road game and that directly at the Aggies home.
Aggies win.
#12 Ole Miss @ South Carolina
Ole Miss did hit a wall last week, when they lost at home against Kentucky, something which did not happen since the 70s.
South Carolina had so far a good start and lost only to LSU in a close game. The Vegas line is Ole Miss -9.5, so the betting community sees Ole Miss still as a strong favorite.
Likely that is true.
But the Gamecocks have also a good offense and they have the homefield.
Will that be enough?
Likely not. The key will be the Ole Miss defense. If they can control the line, they will win the game.
I expect a high scoring game, and I hope South Carolina gives Ole Miss something to play for, but I fear that Ole Miss will try to burn the Gamecocks down to make the Kentucky loss forgotten.
Rebels win.
SMU @ #22 Louisville
Very interesting matchup. SMU is new in the ACC and did so far play almost perfect.
With 4-1, the loss against BYU by 3, the team has a good record and is coming from a great win against FSU.
Louisville, they lost against Notre Dame last week and are 3-1.
Vegas has them ahead by 7.0 points, but I'm not so sure the Cardinals, even at home, will be able to control the high-flying SMU offense, which did score in the last 2 games over 100 points against power 5 teams.
If Louisville has to play catchup, they will lose.
I did listen to my guts, and they said ...
Mustangs win.
And some other interesting games:
Sat. Oct 05
Boston College @ Virginia
Virginia is favored by 2.5 points, which I do not really understand. They are 3-1 but lost to Maryland and the other games were not really against power houses.
BC is 4-1 and lost only to Missouri by 3 and won against FSU and MSU. Granted they escaped against WKU by a point, but I think the team is far ahead of schedule and even Virginia will be a good test, I think they can best it.
Eagles win.
South Alabama @ Arkansas State
This could be a fun game.
South Alabama is still in the position to do something big inside the Sun Belt and they have the tools.
They are 2-3, thanks to a bad starts against non-conference foes, but did win against App State.
Arkansas State is 2-2 and they did more or less win the games expected and lost the games expected. That last loss, against Iowa State, was ugly, so likely that explains, why USA is favored by 2.5 points on the road.
I think South Alabama has the offense to actually beat that, the question will be, whether their defense will show up 100% or not.
Jaguars win.
Kansas @ Arizona State
Oh man, I fear Kansas has a down season.
ASU is favored here by 3.0 points and that sounds right.
The Jayhawks are 1-4 and lost already 4 in a row, 3 against opponents, I did think they would beat.
The Sun Devils are 3-1, but that loss against Texas Tech is a bit concerning.
IF Kansas finds their mojo back, they will win here, but I have deep doubts and so I think ASU will get this game at home managed to win.
Sun Devils win.
As a sidenote, the conference realignment stuff is ongoing, but no big news so far, so nothing worth to tell.
'Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE
Tags: Block of Granite, News
