AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2007 > October > 05
Friday, October 5, 2007
Call me crazy, but Florida upsets LSU
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Auburn’s upset of Florida, Alabama’s loss to Florida State and Oregon, which was in position to beat Cal but fumbled on the one-yard line, gave us a record of 7-3 last week. That makes us 36-14 on the season.
So here once again, and back by popular demand, is the Fearless Friday Forecast:
1. Florida at LSU: Occasionally in this business we are called upon to throw caution to the wind. At times we just have suspend all pretense of common sense and made decisions that have absolutely no basis in logic. This, dear readers, is one of those times. LSU has the nation’s No. 1 defense and they are playing at home. ESPN’s College Game Day will be in Baton Rouge. CBS will show the game in prime time. LSU is No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time since 1959. The Tigers should roll easily in this game. You’re going to call this pick dumb and you’re probably right. But here it is anyway: Florida 24, LSU 20.
2. Georgia at Tennessee: The Volunteers have had an extra week to get ready for what is a very important game for coach Phillip Fulmer. For if Tennessee loses, the Vols drop to 0-2 in the SEC and out are of the conference race just one week into October. All of the intangibles are on Tennessee’s side. But as an old coach once said, intangibles ain’t worth nothing if you can’t stop the running game. Unless John Henderson and Al Wilson are coming back, the Vols still don’t have anybody to slow down the run. And if they commit too many players to Georgia’s running game, Matt Stafford will burn them with the play action pass. Georgia 28, Tennessee 20.
3. Georgia Tech at Maryland: The Yellow Jackets got back on track with a big win against Clemson last week. Now we want to see if they can play another smash mouth game with the Terps, who knocked off No. 10 Rutgers last week. Maryland is No. 8 in the ACC against the run (141.2 ypg) so the Jackets can be counted upon to serve up a lot of running back Tashard Choice. But QB Taylor Bennett is going to have to make a couple of plays before this game is over. He will. Georgia Tech 17, Maryland 10.
4. Vanderbilt at Auburn: If you’re an Auburn fan, you should be scared to death of this game. The Tigers are coming off a huge upset last week at Florida. The game starts at 11:30 in the morning, local time, and Auburn has a history of missing their wake up call for these games. Vanderbilt is well coached and needs an upset somewhere along the line if it is going to get to a bowl. This could be the spot. Auburn struggles but finds a way to win at home. Auburn 14, Vanderbilt 7.
5. Virginia Tech at Clemson: The season is only five games old and already there is a sense of urgency at Clemson. The Tigers made a million mistakes last week against Georgia Tech and in Virginia Tech are facing the league’s No. 2 scoring defense (15.0 ppg). Virginia Tech will try to shut down the run and hope that Clemson QB Cullen Harper doesn’t beat them. Harper will bounce back from last week’s game and play well. Clemson gets it done at home. Clemson 20, Virginia Tech 17.
6. N.C. State at Florida State: QB Xavier Lee gets his first start of the season for Florida State and here is what inquiring minds want to know: Can Lee, who has a whole lot of talent, keep the job for an entire game? Lee has always been a player who breaks your heart because he’ll follow a great play by one that just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But given the state of Florida State’s offense, which is pretty shaky, coordinator Jimbo Fisher may have to live with the mistakes for a while. Won’t matter today, though. Florida State 31, N.C. State 10.
7. Miami at North Carolina: The Hurricanes have more talent and should win the game easily, but this one is going to be closer than the experts think. Three of the Tar Heels (1-4) four losses have been by a total of 12 points. And Miami didn’t exactly set the world on fire last week in beating Duke (24-14). Butch Davis says his ties with Miami, where he was once the head coach, are not a factor in this game. Don’t believe that. Miami 28, North Carolina 17.
8. Texas vs. Oklahoma (in Dallas): It’s been a long time since this game created so little buzz. But this is still a huge game because the loser is definitely out of the national championship hunt and probably out of the Big 12 race as well. Texas QB Colt McCoy really got beat up last week and if he plays, he’ll probably be a little gun shy. In fact, Oklahoma will see to that. Oklahoma lost to Colorado last week but they didn’t get dominated physically the way Texas did. That’s why the Sooners have the edge. Oklahoma 27, Texas 17.
9. Ohio State at Purdue: Five of the last six games in this series have been decided by seven points or less. Four of those were by four points or less. Something in this game has got to give. Purdue has the Big Ten’s best offense (45.4 points per game). Ohio State has the league’s best defense (7.2 ppg). Ohio State is trying to position itself should LSU or Southern Cal stumble down the stretch. Go with defense. Ohio State 24, Purdue 14.
10. Wisconsin at Illinois: I’m not sure about much, but I do know this. Any team that gives up 31 points to The Citadel is probably not the No. 5 team in the nation. But thanks to all the upsets last Saturday, that is where Wisconsin (5-0) is ranked as they go to Champaign to play the Fighting Ron Zookers. Illinois beat Penn State last week at home and will pull another upset on Saturday. Illinois 31, Wisconsin 28.
