Oklahoma-Texas is an order of magnitude bigger than USC-Ohio State, which turned out to be a battle between two teams either of which arguably not worthy of being in the Top 10.
But OU-UT -- by far the biggest rivalry game of the year and, for now, the biggest game of the year, period -- isn't just about who gets pole position for the Big 12 title and the BCS title game. It is representative of the Big 12's "Big" year -- when it eclipsed the SEC as the best conference in the country.
(It's a sign of the Big 12's depth at the top that Mizzou-Oklahoma State is, itself, a massive game. Anyone willing to take the Over if I set the O/U at 100?)
I'm torn: Oklahoma's passing game should be able to exploit UT's defensive weaknesses; on the other hand, new UT defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is the best D.C. in the country -- ask any Florida fan. If anyone can scheme to stop the Sooners, it's Muschamp.
Speaking of the Gators, they have a make-or-break game against LSU at the Swamp in primetime. They beat LSU there two years ago en route to the national title, and last season, in Baton Rouge, Florida played its best game of the season -- and played LSU as tough as anyone did in B.R. all season -- but lost enough 4th-down battles to lose the game. (For what it's worth: I think Tim Tebow goes back to the old Tim Tebow for this game; if they were "saving" him with their offense this season, this is the time to cash in. Maybe that's just wishful thinking.)
Great, great weekend of games ahead.
BTW: Great post on why the BlogPoll matters. I'll get to my post about it eventually.
Let's get to the picks:
(1) Oklahoma over (5) Texas -- Game of the Week
(3) Missouri over (17) Oklahoma State -- O/U: 95?
(11) Florida over (4) LSU -- GOTW Jr.
(6) Penn State over @Wisconsin
(7) Texas Tech over Nebraska
(8) USC over Arizona State
(9) BYU over New Mexico
(10) Georgia over Tennessee
(12) Ohio State over Purdue
(13) Vanderbilt over @Mississippi St.
(14) Utah over @Wyoming
(15) Boise State over @Southern Miss
(16) Kansas over Colorado
(20) Auburn over Arkansas
(21) Wake Forest over Clemson -- locked Thursday
(22) North Carolina over Notre Dame
Northwestern over (23) Michigan St. -- !!!!
(25) Ball State over @Western Kentucky
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1 comment:
I realize I'm in the minority here, but I honestly believe Oklahoma and Texas to both be better than Missouri. The winner of the game shouldn't have the inside track for the title game, they should be inside track to win the title game.
How murderous is Texas's schedule right now, though? Oklahoma followed by Missouri. Ouch.
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