• #8 Oklahoma at #17 Miami: Word from Oklahoma is that Sam Bradford still isn’t ready to play, so he won’t be

  

  Sam Bradford, Image: Newscomstarting against Miami. The team may not have a perfect record so far, but the Hurricanes have more than proven that they’re a solid group of players, not just lucky. Without Bradford, I do think Oklahoma could lose to them unless their offense can really step it up to out-play the Miami D-line.

• #22 Michigan at Michigan State: Michigan is on a roll, and I’m curious to see just how far they’ll go. They’re already ranked #22, when few had hopes for a winning season this year. Are they really the sleeper team that will take the Big Ten? Michigan State will be a harder opponent then some they’ve faced in the past, but I’ve been disappointed in them this year, so it should be a fairly easy game for the Wolverines IF they really are as good as I think they might be.

• #4 LSU at #18 Georgia: This is one of “the” games of the week, and I hope it doesn’t turn into a game of “who sucks less.” Personally, I think LSU is way overrated at the number four spot. Georgia may be about right sitting at 18. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

• Washington at Notre Dame: With Jimmy Clausen not at 100% (and the team not that great anyway), can Notre Dame beat Washington. Remember, this is the team that beat #3 USC. Of course, they had some bad losses too, so I wouldn’t count the Fighting Irish out just yet.

As always, I’ll also be interested in the Penn State score, even if Iowa has ruined their chances for a perfect season. What games interest you most in Week Five?

Post from: EveryJoe

Week Five 2009 Preview

Image: sxc.hu

Flu outbreaks, however, can knock down an entire team, and since this strain is so contagious, it is spreading like wildfire across college campuses, where students are always in such close proximity to one another. This isn’t an isolated problem at just a few schools.

My issue is that players are, at times, probably still playing games even though they don’t feel 100%. That leads to outbreaks at other schools, since football is a contact sport. Let’s look at the spread of flu over the past few months:

• Duke: One player was confirmed to have swine flu this August, and dozens of others from the team experienced flu-like symptoms.
• Tulane: A week before their season opener, 27 players had “mild” flu symptoms.
• Washington State: 16 players missed practices right before the season opener, and many also missed the game due to a flu outbreak at the school.
• Georgia: Safety Makiri Pugh tested positive for this strain of the flu and sat out during week one. So far, no other players have reported illness.
• Mississippi: The number of players experiencing symptoms is still growing. We’re sitting at around 30 right now, including quarterback Jevan Snead.
• Wisconsin: So far, at least 10 players have the flu.

None of these school has been as highly affected as Div-II school Stillman, however. They had to cancel their season opener, which couldn’t be rescheduled due to time issues. Ouch.

The problem is that players are worried that missing practices or games is letting the team down. If they are able, they attend, even if they’re still sniffling. Coaches need to be more forceful with players, telling them to stay home and isolate themselves for at least 48 hours before returning to the field. We don’t want to see games get canceled, and we definitely don’t want to see teams lose just because they’re down so many first-string players.

Post from: EveryJoe

Swine Flu: Where Will it Hit Next?

Week One is usually not very exciting, unfortunately. My favorite team, Penn State, plays Akron, so although this game means they’ll likely be able to keep a high rank, it won’t actually be that fun to watch. Actually, I don’t even think the game is being televised… Maybe I’m selling Akron short. *shrug*

Can Kellen Moore take Boise State to a BCS Bowl this year? Image: Newscom

In any case, despite all of the easy non-conference games we’re seeing during Week One, there are some games to watch as well. The season officially starts on Thursday at 7:00 PM EST, when a number of teams kick off, but the real start to the season, in my opinion, is at 10:15 PM EST when #16 Oregon takes on #14 Boise State. The games on ESPN, and you bet I’ll be watching. Boise State has a lot more on the line than Oregon, since it will be harder for them to be bowl eligible as a WAC team than it will for Oregon as a Pac-10 team. It’s also at Boise State, and Kellen Moore is a solid quarterback, so I give them the edge in this game.

Another game to watch? San Jose State at #4 USC, with a kickoff at 3:30 PM EST on Saturday. Now, no one here expects this to be a close game. In fact, if USC doesn’t run all over San Jose State, I think you’ll have to pick my jaw up off of the floor. I want to see the freshman golden boy quarterback play, though. People put so much emphasis on Pete Carroll’s choice to play true freshman Matt Barkley instead of returner Aaron Corp. This game will really test him to see if he can handle the pressure of being the leader of such a popular team. Will Corp get any playing time at all? We’ll see.

The USC game isn’t nationally televised, so I’ll have to keep up with it online…but that’s ok, since my eyes will be glued to the 3:30 PM EST game on ABC: #13 Georgia at #9 Oklahoma State. My heart is with Oklahoma State on this one, but it isn’t going to be an easy game by any means. They’ve lost Matt Stafford, but if Joe Cox, their new quarterback, really steps up, they could be the surprise of the SEC this year. Florida who? This game is going to set the stage for Georgia for the entire season, so I feel like they’ll fight tooth and nail for it, but Oklahoma State isn’t going to just bend over and take it. They have a huge number of returning starters and are also looking to set the stage for a surprising season. Otherwise, they’ll never be competitive in the Big 12.

On a side note, I’ll also be checking in with the 3:40 game, Missouri versus Illinois. The teams aren’t ranked, but I think it will be an even match up and a good game. Big Ten love!

Sam Bradford is back, hoping to lead the Sooners to a National Championship game again. Image: Newscom

At 7:00 PM, another possibly great game hits ESPN – #20 BYU versus #2 Oklahoma. Ok, I may be going against the grain a little here when I say that I think BYU is overrated. I do love that they’re helping to make a name for a non-BCS conference, which pushes the issue of a playoff system. Do they have a good enough offensive line to beat Oklahoma? What about receivers? They may have the defense they need to keep Oklahoma’s numbers down, even though OU has some amazing returners like Sam Bradford, but you can’t win if you don’t put any points on the board. My vote for winner definitely does to Oklahoma. Sorry, BYU, better luck next year.

Just an hour after the BYU-OU game starts, #5 Alabama meets #7 Virginia Tech on the field, the game televised on ABC. This is a tricky game to predict, in my opinion. The Hokies may take the ACC, and Tyrod Taylor is back at quarterback. Is that enough to top Alabama? The Crimson Tide are replacing great offensive players like Andre Smith, and they have a new quarterback, but players like Mark Ingram could make the difference in this game. Like with Georgia, Alabama needs to win this game to set the stage for the season if they’re going to be competitive in the SEC.

It’s going to be a great Week One – better than we’ve seen in quite a few seasons. I’ll also be interested to see how Notre Dame does against Nevada – an easy win for the Fighting Irish, maybe, but I want to see is quarterback Jimmy Clausen can really put up numbers. Also on my radar is Maryland at #12 California, which starts late Saturday night and Miami at #18 Florida State which is on ESPN at 8:00 PM EST on Monday.

Post from: EveryJoe

College Football Week One 2009 Preview