2012 College Football Week 9!

2012 College Football Week 9

Commentary: This weekend will separate the pretenders from the contenders.  With four matchups between top fifteen teams we will see who the true contenders for the BCS National Championship are.

For Oklahoma its time to get back in the national spotlight.  Kansas State may be undefeated but we saw how quickly that died down the last time they were unbeated this late in the season (1998).
For Notre Dame its time to show that the Irish really are back.  Brian Kelly has them winning in his third season and doing it well.
For Florida its time to build swagger.
For Georgia its time to shake the demons that haunt the team in Jacksonville every year.
For Alabama its time to merely maintain the top status.
For Mississippi State its time to show how far the program has come under Dan Mullen.

Cheering for:
-Florida: It is revenge time.  Please get revenge on UGA from last year.

Laughing at:
-Cincinnati: Going on the road to play a team with only one loss means you shouldn't be overlooking that team.  Cincinnati did and lost on the road to Toledo with the game this week against undefeated Louisville.

Feeling sorry for:
-Southern Miss and UMass: both are still winless.  Southern Miss plays at 2-6 Rice, UMass plays at 3-4 Vanderbilt.  Both are chances to win but not much of them.

Top 25
1 Florida
2 Notre Dame
3 Oregon
4 Oregon State
5 Kansas State
6 Alabama
7 Ohio State
8 Rutgers
9 Mississippi State
10 Louisville
11 Ohio
12 LSU
13 Oklahoma
14 Texas Tech
15 Cincinnati
16 Clemson
17 Michigan
18 Louisiana Tech
18 Georgia
18 USC
18 Florida State
18 West Virginia
18 South Carolina
18 Texas A&M
25 Northern Illinois
25 Toledo
25 Tulsa
25 Nebraska
25 Wisconsin
25 Western Kentucky

Yeah, using my points system there was a massive jam at #18 and #25.  I didn't feel like overloading my brain to figure out who was really ranked the highest in that.  Keep winning and it will settle itself out.


The picks:
-Clemson at Wake Forest: Wake Forest has been a thorn in Clemson's side for some time.  Between 2003 and 2008 the teams split six games.  Clemson has won the past three, last year the Tigers won it on a late field goal to clench the Atlantic Division of the ACC.  Overall the teams are in similar positions like last year, Clemson should come out on top tonight.  Clemson by 7.
-Tennessee at South Carolina: Tennessee desperately needs this win.  Derek Dooley has not faired well against top 25 teams during his tenure with the Vols.  South Carolina is coming off two straight losses and won't overlook anyone the rest of the way.  South Carolina by 10.
-NC State at North Carolina: Usually this game would indicate who controls the state of North Carolina but UNC has already lost to Wake Forest and Duke this year.  NC State has won 5 in a row over the Tar Heels and that won't stop this year either.  NC State by 10.
-USC at Arizona: USC may be a one loss team but they've not played that well over the course of the season.  Blowing out Colorado isn't an accomplishment this year.  This is also a big trap game for the Trojans with Oregon coming to LA next week.  With all that said, Arizona isn't a bad team at all but doesn't have the horses to keep up yet.  Maybe next year.  USC by 4.
-Duke at Florida State: It is week 9 and the two leaders of the ACC divisions are FSU and DUKE?  I certainly didn't see this coming at the start of the season.  FSU will bring Duke down a level or three.  This may be the best Blue Devils team in a long time, but not good enough to win in Tallahassee.  FSU by 20.
-Florida vs Georgia in Jacksonville, FL: The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is on.  Florida comes into this game ranked #2 in the BCS, Georgia comes in #10.  The last time both teams came in this highly  ranked (or close enough) was 2008.  Dawg fans don't want to remember that game.  UGA hasn't beaten Florida enough lately to count statistics, and that won't change here.  Florida by 10.
-Kent State at Rutgers: You may wonder why this game is here.  Between the two teams there is one loss (Kent State lost earlier in the season to Kentucky).  Rutgers hasn't done anything flashy except win seven games.  Kent State had one big name opponent and lost.  That will be the difference here too, Rutgers wins by 20.
-TCU at Oklahoma State: With Texas faltering a bit Oklahoma State is still alive for the Big 12 title.  TCU comes in after an overtime loss to Texas Tech that may be tough to recover from.  Oklahoma State hasn't lit up teams like they did last year, but they're still winning.  If this game were in Fort Worth I might give TCU a chance, but it isn't.  Oklahoma State wins by 3.
-Texas Tech at Kansas State: Texas Tech has been quite the surprise this year, shutting down West Virginia two weeks ago and winning on the road against TCU last week. Kansas State did the same against West Virginia, but did it in Morgantown.  Tech's one loss was to Oklahoma at home, Kansas State won in Norman.  This should be a fun game to watch, but Kansas State will win.  KSU by 7.
-Ohio State at Penn State: Currently these two teams sit on top of the Big Ten's Leader's division, and neither are eligible for the postseason.  Penn State shook off the horrible start to win five straight, Ohio State simply wins.  Urban Meyer's teams rarely lose to rivals, and this is a good one.  Ohio State by 10.
-Michigan at Nebraska: Last year Michigan beat up Nebraska in Ann Arbor.  Nebraska would certainly like to return the favor.  Michigan doesn't always win pretty, but wins are wins.  So far you have to be undefeated to beat the Wolverines and Nebraska isn't.  Michigan by 3.
-Notre Dame at Oklahoma: Defense wins championships.  Both teams have a pretty good defense.  Oklahoma's offense is a little better, so this game goes to the Sooners.  Oklahoma by 4.
-Mississippi State at Alabama: I have to hand it to Mississippi State.  They've overcome a few obstacles this year to reach this point in the season undefeated.  Prior to this year, under Dan Mullen, Mississippi State hadn't beaten any team in the SEC West that wasn't Ole Miss.  Beating Auburn convincingly changed that.  This isn't Auburn they're playing this week.  This is Alabama.  This won't be pretty.  Alabama comes in playing much better football.  Alabama wins this by 17.