ENTHUSIAST OF ALL

Luckily for me, Week 5 of college football was relatively uneventful, as I spent most of last Saturday at the wedding and reception of a good friend. Week 6 has a lot in store and is probably the best full weekend of college pigskin left on the docket, so grab a beer, a buddy and cook some chili on Saturday! But before I get into this week’s games, here is a brief recap on last Saturday’s action:

• First and foremost, Ohio State is G-O-O-D. They have now not once, but twice gone into enemy territory on the ABC night game and completely dominated presumably formidable opponents. And don’t think for a second that these aren’t incredibly hostile crowds because when Gameday gets there at 9 am, the college kids start drinking and don’t stop until the 7 pm kickoff. Anyway, the Buckeyes are clearly a notch ahead of the rest of the country at this point. I’m still praying for an OSU-Michigan battle of the undefeateds on November 18th, but we shall see.
• Michigan State went Michigan State again and completely folded against one of the worst teams in the country after a heartbreaking loss the week before. Then head coach John L. Smith made a complete idiot of himself at the press conference after responding to one reporter’s question by slapping himself in the face and leaving. Go ahead and mark the Spartans down for a 3-8 season I guess…
• Virginia Tech made me look like a genius for taking Georgia Tech to cover the ridiculous 10 point spread and getting the steal of the season at 4-1 on the money line. The Beamer ballers are clearly a bit depleted this year. Watch out for the Yellow Jackets. Remember, their only loss was a narrow loss to Notre Dame who decided on that Saturday to play some defense.
• Florida got revenge for that painful 31-3 thrashing at the hands of Alabama last season by battling to a 28-13 win. Now the Gators get to show what they are really made of, as they will face LSU and Auburn in the next two weeks.

TOP 25 OF THE MATTY, games through 10/4/06

1. Ohio State (5-0)
2. USC (4-0)
3. Michigan (5-0)
4. Auburn (5-0)
5. West Virginia (4-0)
6. Florida (5-0)
7. Texas (4-1)
8. Notre Dame (4-1)
9. LSU (4-1)
10. Louisville (4-0)
11. Georgia (5-0)
12. Oregon (5-0)
13. Oklahoma (3-1)
14. Tennessee (4-1)
15. California (4-1)
16. Clemson (4-1)
17. Iowa (4-1)
18. Nebraska (4-1)
19. Florida State (3-1)
20. Georgia Tech (4-1)
21. Arkansas (3-1)
22. Boise State (5-0)
23. Boston College (4-1)
24. Missouri (5-0)
25. Virginia Tech (4-1)

HEISMAN UPDATE

1. Troy Smith, Ohio State
2. Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma
3. Brady Quinn, Notre Dame
4. Steve Slaton, West Virginia
5. Chris Leak, Florida

THIS WEEK’S ACTION:

#13 OKLAHOMA VS. #7 TEXAS, 2:30 PM CST, ABC

This game, to me, is still one of the top five rivalries in college football. Texas finally got over the hump last season and gave OU a much deserved killing in route to a national championship. This year, the teams line up similarly to one another and I doubt the score will be as lopsided as the last two. Both teams are led by inexperienced but steadily improving quaterbacks. Both have strong running games and stout defenses. And both are desperately trying to avoid the always feared second loss of the season. I think that Texas has showed a bit more success on defense and may have a slightly better offensive line. Expect a hard fought classic with the Longhorns prevailing narrowly. Texas 27, Oklahoma 21.

#9 LSU at #6 FLORIDA, 2:30 PM CST, CBS

As much as I love the rivalry on the Red River, my growing obsession with SEC football leads me to conclude that this is the game of the day. Florida is undefeated but has yet to completely impress me. LSU, on the other hand, has looked great with the exception of a 7-3 loss at Auburn made all the more perplexing by the Auburn defense giving up 17 points in a narrow win over South Carolina last week. However, Florida will be missing starting running back DeShawn Wynn and playmaker Percy Harvin to injuries, and will therefore be forced to rely heavily on the pass against arguably the nation’s toughest secondary. I like the Tigers to get the better of these matchups and to put points on the board more easily than they did at Auburn . LSU 24, Florida 14.

MICHIGAN STATE AT #3 MICHIGAN, 3:30 PM CST, ESPN 2

Not much to say here. These teams always play each other tough, but I can’t imagine the Spartans are too excited to be heading into the Big House after their disastrous past two weeks.  Michigan 36, Michigan State 20.

#14 TENNESSEE AT #11 GEORGIA, 6:45 PM CST, ESPN

Georgia is one of those teams that I can hardly ever get on the right side of in terms of picking games. This is probably because they tend be be somewhat of an enigma. They looked great early on, albeit against subpar competition, but then nearly lost to hapless Colorado at home. The Bulldogs are working with their 2nd and 3rd string quarterbacks, which can’t help, but still have one of the nation’s best running attacks and a stout defense. Tennessee, on the other hand, has been pretty impressive on all cylinders. I like Tennessee’s experience against tougher foes, although their victory over Cal and hard fought loss to Florida both came at home. This is the SEC, and road games are never easy, but I think Tennessee’s balance on offense gives them a slight edge here. Tennessee 17, Georgia 10.

#12 OREGON AT #15 CALIFORNIA, 7:00p PM CST, ABC

I haven’t been this excited for a Pac-10 game for a long time. Maybe that’s because I like my pick so much. I think everyone knows how overrated I think Oregon is, although I must say I’ve been impressed with Dennis Dixon. However, beating Oklahoma at home with multiple gifts from the replay booth isn’t exactly the same as going on the road to play a superior Cal team that is starting to hit its stride. Cal has way too much on both sides of the ball for the Ducks to handle, not to mention a home crowd likely to be rowdy.  California 40, Oregon 24.

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