#4 Arizona State at #5 Oregon: The Sun Devils (8-0, 4-0 Pac-10) are coming off a huge win over Cal where they overcame a 14-3 deficit. Meanwhile, the Ducks (7-1, 4-1) are coming off an even bigger victory over USC. This game not only has implications on the Pac-10 and a Rose Bowl berth, but implications for the national championship, in which the winner will still be in contention.
Ducks 34, Sun Devils 23
#3 LSU at #17 Alabama: Nick Saban faces his former team for the first time in a battle for first place in the SEC West and the inside track to the SEC Championship Game. Both the Tigers (8-0, 4-0 SEC) and the Crimson Tide (6-2, 3-1) are well-rested coming off bye weeks. However, don't expect either team to be that rusty. Backup QB Ryan Perriloux, who constantly is inserted into the game for running plays in particular, will be out with an injury, leaving the responsibility solely on the shoulders of senior starter Matt Flynn. Tigers 21, Crimson Tide 14
#1 Ohio State vs. #21 Wisconsin: The Badgers (7-2, 3-2 Big Ten) are back in the rankings for the first time in three weeks following three straight victories, which followed two consecutive losses. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes (9-0, 5-0) will look to keep an even keel after their surprising win in Happy Valley last week vs. Penn State. Buckeyes 24, Badgers 14
#12 Michigan vs. Michigan State: We have ourselves a rivalry game! The Wolverines (6-2, 4-0 Big Ten) continue their resurgence against the pesky Spartans (5-3, 3-2). Don't expect UM to get slowed down in this game. Wolverines 41, Spartans 24
#19 USC vs. Oregon State: The Trojans (6-2, 3-2 Pac-10) face what was believed in August to be an impossible reality: fifth place in the Pac-10 if they lose. The place in the conference will be the same for the Beavers (5-3, 3-2) with a defeat. However, starting quarterback John David Booty has returned to the field for the Trojans after missing the last three games, and USC should have revenge on their minds after having their national title berth hopes ended by the Beavers' 2006 victory in Corvallis. Trojans 35, Beavers 24
#13 Connecticut vs. Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights (5-3, 2-2 Big East) were giant-slayers once already this season when they topped then-#2 South Florida in New Jersey. However, this second giant-slaying opportunity comes on the road, without the previous advantage of a home crowd behind them. Meanwhile, the Huskies (7-1, 4-0) look to continue their surprising run this season after jumping from unranked to 13th with one victory.
#2 Boston College vs. Florida State: The Seminoles (5-3, 2-2 ACC) are one of four mediocre teams left for the Golden Eagles (8-0, 4-0) to conquer before their national championship-berth hopes are realized. Can FSU give BC a battle? Eagles 27, Seminoles 21
#23 Virginia vs. #24 Wake Forest:First place in the ACC Coastal Division is on the line between the Cavaliers (7-2, 4-1 ACC) and the again-surprising Demon Deacons (6-2, 4-1), who would most likely face Boston College in the ACC Title Game. Cavaliers 31, Deacons 28
Notre Dame vs. Navy: Why this game? Because it's a bit of a rivalry, with the two schools having played 43 times. However, the rivalry is a bit one-sided, with the Fighting Irish (1-7) a perfect 43-0 against the Midshipmen (4-4). If there is ever a year for Navy to get that first-ever win, it's this year. Fighting Irish 24, Midshipmen 20
Friday, November 2, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
8 Minutes To Go: Thoughts on the New Jazz Season
49-33. This is what I predict will be the Utah Jazz's record this season. We will beat Denver by one game to win the division. Then we will lose in the first round, probably to the Rockets.
This prediction may sound pessimistic, but a quick evaluation of the Jazz and of the rest of the league makes this prediction understandable. First, the Jazz lost Derek Fisher, losing leadership, wisdom, professionalism, outside shooting, and our starting shooting guard and backup point guard in the process. Fisher brought all of these factors to the table. No matter what replacements Jason Hart and Ronnie Price do, it is unlikely that they can replace all of these attributes.
Signing Hart and Price is all we did in the offseason, along with drafting Morris Almond and Kyrylo Fesenko. Meanwhile, what did the rest of the league do? Well, Boston obviously took large strides forward with acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. How about in the West? Houston made their weak position a strength by acquiring Steve Francis (again) and Mike James from Minnesota, only getting rid of Juwan Howard, whose career is nearing its end. This basically pushes shaky point guard and '06-'07 Rafer Alston to the third string, if not the fourth, if former Oregon guard Aaron Brooks keeps playing the way he did in the Vegas Summer League. Meanwhile, Denver has Melo and A.I. together for a whole season, while Kenyon Martin and Nene will be completely healthy to make a strong front line when teamed with Marcus Camby.
For these reasons, I'm afraid that the Jazz will be slightly worse. We lost the intagibles that Fisher brought to the table, while Houston and Denver, the teams directly above and below us in the playoff seeding last season, made huge steps toward improvement. In addition, super sub Matt Harpring's effectiveness may be limited for a while with recovering from his surgeries. So our depth has taken a huge hit as well.
I love our team, and they still have a lot of core pieces that will carry the team, but the question is how far can they take them when everybody else around them in the West is so tough still, and improving?
This prediction may sound pessimistic, but a quick evaluation of the Jazz and of the rest of the league makes this prediction understandable. First, the Jazz lost Derek Fisher, losing leadership, wisdom, professionalism, outside shooting, and our starting shooting guard and backup point guard in the process. Fisher brought all of these factors to the table. No matter what replacements Jason Hart and Ronnie Price do, it is unlikely that they can replace all of these attributes.
Signing Hart and Price is all we did in the offseason, along with drafting Morris Almond and Kyrylo Fesenko. Meanwhile, what did the rest of the league do? Well, Boston obviously took large strides forward with acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. How about in the West? Houston made their weak position a strength by acquiring Steve Francis (again) and Mike James from Minnesota, only getting rid of Juwan Howard, whose career is nearing its end. This basically pushes shaky point guard and '06-'07 Rafer Alston to the third string, if not the fourth, if former Oregon guard Aaron Brooks keeps playing the way he did in the Vegas Summer League. Meanwhile, Denver has Melo and A.I. together for a whole season, while Kenyon Martin and Nene will be completely healthy to make a strong front line when teamed with Marcus Camby.
For these reasons, I'm afraid that the Jazz will be slightly worse. We lost the intagibles that Fisher brought to the table, while Houston and Denver, the teams directly above and below us in the playoff seeding last season, made huge steps toward improvement. In addition, super sub Matt Harpring's effectiveness may be limited for a while with recovering from his surgeries. So our depth has taken a huge hit as well.
I love our team, and they still have a lot of core pieces that will carry the team, but the question is how far can they take them when everybody else around them in the West is so tough still, and improving?
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Utah Football is on Fire, climbing the Mountain
Since the last blog about University of Utah football, the Utes have followed a huge 27-20 win over TCU in Fort Worth with a blowout of Colorado State 27-3, setting their record at a respectable 6-3 and setting the stage for a big November in which Utah could possibly find themselves in the thick of the Mountain West Conference race.
Against TCU, the defense gave up just 13 points to strong running back Aaron Brown and the Horned Frog offense, while the Ute offense did enough, behind Darrell Mack' 100 yards. The offense particularly came through in the first half and fourth quarter, to buoy the 'D.' The defense, however, helped themselves out when defensive end Martail Burnett returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter.
The Utes intercepted Frog quarterback Andy Dalton four times, with a fifth taken away by a horrible pass-interference call.
Utah then followed up the big win with a 24-point stomping of Colorado State yesterday. The Utes had two 100-yard rushers in Mack (142 on 20 carries) and junior Ray Stowers (123 on 11). Brian Johnson went 13-20 for 130 yards, marking his third straight so-so game following a fantastic performance on ESPN against Louisville.
However, it didn't matter as the defense was dominant, holding the Rams to 2-13 on third-down conversions and 0-4 on fourth-down attempts. Utah most likely faced longtime Rams coach Sonny Lubick for the last time, who is contemplating retirement.
Now, the fun is set following a bye next Saturday. The Utes are set to make a push for the title with games all in the state of Utah, with home games against Wyoming (5-3) and New Mexico (6-2), who is second in the conference and one game ahead of the Utes. If Utah can get the job done as they have the last five weeks in those games, then the stakes may be pretty high in the showdown in Provo.
Utah's five-game winning streak has not only awarded them bowl-eligibility and a rise in the conference rankings, but in the national hierchy as well. Following the Utes' loss to Air Force, they were at #89 out of 120 on the CBSSportsline.com rankings. However, after beating UCLA 44-6, they jumped to 78th before falling clear back to 94th after the embarrassing defeat to UNLV. However, with the winning streak, the Utes are up to #46, just nine spots behind BYU and are in good position to go to a bowl game.
Against TCU, the defense gave up just 13 points to strong running back Aaron Brown and the Horned Frog offense, while the Ute offense did enough, behind Darrell Mack' 100 yards. The offense particularly came through in the first half and fourth quarter, to buoy the 'D.' The defense, however, helped themselves out when defensive end Martail Burnett returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter.
The Utes intercepted Frog quarterback Andy Dalton four times, with a fifth taken away by a horrible pass-interference call.
Utah then followed up the big win with a 24-point stomping of Colorado State yesterday. The Utes had two 100-yard rushers in Mack (142 on 20 carries) and junior Ray Stowers (123 on 11). Brian Johnson went 13-20 for 130 yards, marking his third straight so-so game following a fantastic performance on ESPN against Louisville.
However, it didn't matter as the defense was dominant, holding the Rams to 2-13 on third-down conversions and 0-4 on fourth-down attempts. Utah most likely faced longtime Rams coach Sonny Lubick for the last time, who is contemplating retirement.
Now, the fun is set following a bye next Saturday. The Utes are set to make a push for the title with games all in the state of Utah, with home games against Wyoming (5-3) and New Mexico (6-2), who is second in the conference and one game ahead of the Utes. If Utah can get the job done as they have the last five weeks in those games, then the stakes may be pretty high in the showdown in Provo.
Utah's five-game winning streak has not only awarded them bowl-eligibility and a rise in the conference rankings, but in the national hierchy as well. Following the Utes' loss to Air Force, they were at #89 out of 120 on the CBSSportsline.com rankings. However, after beating UCLA 44-6, they jumped to 78th before falling clear back to 94th after the embarrassing defeat to UNLV. However, with the winning streak, the Utes are up to #46, just nine spots behind BYU and are in good position to go to a bowl game.
BCS Standings Accurate Thus Far
Say what you want about the BCS, but the cold hard truth is that this year, the standings are right on so far.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Blue-White Individual Grades
Centers: C+
*Gary Wilkinson- Showed a various array of moves around the basket and played solid defense. He will make a major contribution to the team this year. A-
*Brayden Bell- Was lost on defense, had horrible shot selection on offense, and got his coach upset with his one decent play of the night. D
*Moduo Niang- The project showed that he has potential to help the program in a couple of years. C-
Power Forwards: B
*Steve DuCharme- The senior, who averaged 10.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season, had a difficult time finding his place in the post on offense. Solid on defense, however. B-
*Tai Wesley- Worked hard in the post against bigger players, but had a couple TOs and went just 1-4 from the free-throw line. B
Small Forwards: B-
*Deundrae Spraggins- Was fairly impressive in this scrimmage. Showed he can probably hit the outside shot with consistency, is a good perimeter defense, and penetrated to the basket well. B+
*Nick Hammer- Struggled coming off of his collarbone injury, which kept him from playing basketball for three weeks. Played fairly decent defense, however. C
*Pooh Williams- The 19-year old freshman showed flashes of being a decent college swingman with his tremendous athleticism. He is one of the two or three most athletic players on the team. B-
Shooting Guards: A
*Jaycee Carroll- Leading scorer, hit the 3, nabbed many steals, threw down a fabulous dunk. Won't be surprised if he reaches second-team All-American this season. A+
*Brad Brown- The true freshman from Minnesota played the last four minutes of the game and missed his only shot from the corner with 7.2 seconds left. C
Point Guards: B+
*Kris Clark- The word that comes to mind every time with this guy is solid. The 2006 WAC assists-to-turnover ratio leader did a great job running the rotation players. A
*Desmond Stephens- Demonstrated tremendous quickness and a great ability to run the fast break. Should be a major ignition switch every time he enters the game. B
*Jaxon Myaer- This true freshman from Salt Lake City did a surprisingly good job, handling full-court one-on-one pressure from the older point guards and hitting a couple of nice three-pointers. B+
Whole Team: B
*Gary Wilkinson- Showed a various array of moves around the basket and played solid defense. He will make a major contribution to the team this year. A-
*Brayden Bell- Was lost on defense, had horrible shot selection on offense, and got his coach upset with his one decent play of the night. D
*Moduo Niang- The project showed that he has potential to help the program in a couple of years. C-
Power Forwards: B
*Steve DuCharme- The senior, who averaged 10.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season, had a difficult time finding his place in the post on offense. Solid on defense, however. B-
*Tai Wesley- Worked hard in the post against bigger players, but had a couple TOs and went just 1-4 from the free-throw line. B
Small Forwards: B-
*Deundrae Spraggins- Was fairly impressive in this scrimmage. Showed he can probably hit the outside shot with consistency, is a good perimeter defense, and penetrated to the basket well. B+
*Nick Hammer- Struggled coming off of his collarbone injury, which kept him from playing basketball for three weeks. Played fairly decent defense, however. C
*Pooh Williams- The 19-year old freshman showed flashes of being a decent college swingman with his tremendous athleticism. He is one of the two or three most athletic players on the team. B-
Shooting Guards: A
*Jaycee Carroll- Leading scorer, hit the 3, nabbed many steals, threw down a fabulous dunk. Won't be surprised if he reaches second-team All-American this season. A+
*Brad Brown- The true freshman from Minnesota played the last four minutes of the game and missed his only shot from the corner with 7.2 seconds left. C
Point Guards: B+
*Kris Clark- The word that comes to mind every time with this guy is solid. The 2006 WAC assists-to-turnover ratio leader did a great job running the rotation players. A
*Desmond Stephens- Demonstrated tremendous quickness and a great ability to run the fast break. Should be a major ignition switch every time he enters the game. B
*Jaxon Myaer- This true freshman from Salt Lake City did a surprisingly good job, handling full-court one-on-one pressure from the older point guards and hitting a couple of nice three-pointers. B+
Whole Team: B
Aggie Basketball Team holds Blue-White Intrasquad Game
On Friday, October 26, five days in advance of their exhibition opener vs. EA Sports and two weeks in advance of the regular-season opener against Southern Utah, the Utah State basketball team held an intrasquad game. The scrimmage consisted of two ten-minute halves and a 10-minute intermission.
Standouts from the game included Jaycee Carroll, obviously, who went 2-4 from three-point land and had numerous breakaway steals. Carroll led the team in scoring with 18 points.
Also impressive were two of the newcomers: post Gary Wilkinson and swingman Deundrae Spaggins. Wilkinson demonstrated an array of moves around the basket, and had a strong take to the bucket in the first half. Spraggins showed that he has the capability of being the Aggies' other top three-point threat, in addition to being a strong penetrator. JC transfer, point guard Desmond Stephens, also demonstrated tremendous quickness and ran the fast break well.
A surprising strong performance came from true freshman Jaxon Myaer, who as the team's #3 point guard is expected to redshirt. Myaer hit a couple of three-pointers and commanded the offense impressively for a young player.
Returned missionary Tai Wesley, who came back just last May, did well working the post, despite being a bit undersized at 6-6 compared to the 6-9 giants Wilkinson and Brayden Bell, and the 6-8 posts Steve DuCharme and Matt Formisano. However, he went just 1-4 from the charity stripe.
However, a couple of other players showed a bit of rust. Small forward Nick Hammer's play indicated that he hasn't fully recovered from his broken collarbone injury. The senior hit a three-pointer in the first half, but was out of sync on offense most of the time. He was solid on defense, however.
Meanwhile, Ohio State transfer Brayden Bell, the all-state player from Brighton High School who redshirted in Logan last year, did not impress. All he did was fade away in an ugly fashion when shooting, was lost on defense, and when he did do one good thing, a behind-the-back assist to Wilkinson, coach Stew Morrill was upset with his unnecessary flashiness.
Also, DuCharme, who should still do well this season, didn't do to well in this particular mock game, with some awful passes out of the post that missed everything, including Coach Morrill on the sideline. It is obvious that DuCharme is having a little bit of trouble finding his place on offense in the post with Wilkinson and Wesley around. However, I have confidence that the senior will figure everything out by December.
In the first half, the Blue team beat the White squad 21-13. In the second, the Blue, with a new mix of players, beat the White 23-19.
Standouts from the game included Jaycee Carroll, obviously, who went 2-4 from three-point land and had numerous breakaway steals. Carroll led the team in scoring with 18 points.
Also impressive were two of the newcomers: post Gary Wilkinson and swingman Deundrae Spaggins. Wilkinson demonstrated an array of moves around the basket, and had a strong take to the bucket in the first half. Spraggins showed that he has the capability of being the Aggies' other top three-point threat, in addition to being a strong penetrator. JC transfer, point guard Desmond Stephens, also demonstrated tremendous quickness and ran the fast break well.
A surprising strong performance came from true freshman Jaxon Myaer, who as the team's #3 point guard is expected to redshirt. Myaer hit a couple of three-pointers and commanded the offense impressively for a young player.
Returned missionary Tai Wesley, who came back just last May, did well working the post, despite being a bit undersized at 6-6 compared to the 6-9 giants Wilkinson and Brayden Bell, and the 6-8 posts Steve DuCharme and Matt Formisano. However, he went just 1-4 from the charity stripe.
However, a couple of other players showed a bit of rust. Small forward Nick Hammer's play indicated that he hasn't fully recovered from his broken collarbone injury. The senior hit a three-pointer in the first half, but was out of sync on offense most of the time. He was solid on defense, however.
Meanwhile, Ohio State transfer Brayden Bell, the all-state player from Brighton High School who redshirted in Logan last year, did not impress. All he did was fade away in an ugly fashion when shooting, was lost on defense, and when he did do one good thing, a behind-the-back assist to Wilkinson, coach Stew Morrill was upset with his unnecessary flashiness.
Also, DuCharme, who should still do well this season, didn't do to well in this particular mock game, with some awful passes out of the post that missed everything, including Coach Morrill on the sideline. It is obvious that DuCharme is having a little bit of trouble finding his place on offense in the post with Wilkinson and Wesley around. However, I have confidence that the senior will figure everything out by December.
In the first half, the Blue team beat the White squad 21-13. In the second, the Blue, with a new mix of players, beat the White 23-19.
Big Games in College Football, Week 9
#2 Boston College 14, #8 Virginia Tech 10: Matt Ryan threw two touchdown passes in the final 2:11 of the game to seal the win and avoid becoming the fourth straight #2-ranked team to lose, maintaining their ranking with four games left and a very manageable schedule remaining.
#5 Oregon vs. #9 USC: For the first time in four years, the Trojans head into a game as underdogs. This game marks the first time that Autzen Stadium will be hosting two Top-Ten teams as both squads look to stay one game behind both Arizona State and UCLA in the Pac-10 race, and work themselves into the national championship hunt. Ducks 31, Trojans 27
#1 Ohio State at #24 Penn State: Joe Paterno, speaking about this game, said it best earlier this week when he said "If we're good enough to win this game, then we will." In a season that is so crazy and complicated, it's good to see a wise football master like JoePa simplify it all. Todd Boeckman has done a fabulous job quarterbacking the Buckeyes (7-0) to another #1 ranking. But the hostile environment of Happy Valley may be too much pressure for him. Buckeyes 24, Nittany Lions 14
#7 Arizona State vs. #18 Cal: The suddenly reeling Golden Bears (5-2, 2-2 Pac-10) will try to play spoiler and end the Sun Devils' national title aspirations, a situation that California was in just two weeks ago. Surprisingly ranked #4 in the BCS, Rudy Carpenter should throw for plenty of yards in Tempe. Problem is, DeSean Jackson is on the Golden Bear side. Bears 42, Devils 38
#9 Florida vs. #20 Georgia: The stakes are high, but simple: the winner grabs control of the SEC East and gets the inside track to the SEC Championship Game in December. Matt Ryan's heroics yesterday may have put him on the inside track just before Gator QB Tim Tebow, giving Tebow the opportunity to make a statement of his own in the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party-" er, apologizes to the two prestigous universities who don't want to call it that anymore. Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford is a pretty decent quarterback himself, especially for a sophomore, who could make fireworks happen in Jacksonville. Gators 23, Bulldogs 13
#11 South Florida at Connecticut: Explain this: The UConn Huskies (6-1) are leading the Big East, one of the nation's four toughest conferences this season, with a perfect 3-0 record. They are the only undefeated team left in the conference. This means they are leading West Virginia, the Bulls, Cincinnati, and Rutgers, all who are ranked, yet they are not ranked themselves. Do not be surprised if UConn, the home team, hands the Bulls their second consecutive loss. This is the Huskies' chance to show the nation that they are for real. Huskies 27, Bulls 24
#15 South Carolina at Tennessee: Yet another huge game in the muddled, but extremely good, SEC East. The Gamecocks (5-2, 3-2) are tied for first in the division with Florida and Georgia, while the Vols (4-3, 2-2) are just a half-game behind the three teams. Steve Spurrier has done a great job with his squad, but faces a stiff test at the Rocky Top, particularly after their surprising loss to Vanderbilt last weekend. Volunteers 21, Gamecocks 20
#17 Texas vs. Nebraska: While they are 5-2, the Texas Longhorns feel that they have underachieved this season, especially when there is little chance that they can work their way into the Big XII Championship when they are two games behind Oklahoma in the Big XII South. Meanwhile, the Cornhuskers feel the same way at just 4-4 and two games behind Kansas in the Big XII North, a division they were supposed to win this season. When they were 4-3, New Husker AD and Nebraska coaching great Tom Osbourne said that it was OK; at least they were still having a winning season. I won't be surprised if his feelings drastically change in just two weeks when the team is a losing club with just three games remaining. Longhorns 34, Huskers 17
#5 Oregon vs. #9 USC: For the first time in four years, the Trojans head into a game as underdogs. This game marks the first time that Autzen Stadium will be hosting two Top-Ten teams as both squads look to stay one game behind both Arizona State and UCLA in the Pac-10 race, and work themselves into the national championship hunt. Ducks 31, Trojans 27
#1 Ohio State at #24 Penn State: Joe Paterno, speaking about this game, said it best earlier this week when he said "If we're good enough to win this game, then we will." In a season that is so crazy and complicated, it's good to see a wise football master like JoePa simplify it all. Todd Boeckman has done a fabulous job quarterbacking the Buckeyes (7-0) to another #1 ranking. But the hostile environment of Happy Valley may be too much pressure for him. Buckeyes 24, Nittany Lions 14
#7 Arizona State vs. #18 Cal: The suddenly reeling Golden Bears (5-2, 2-2 Pac-10) will try to play spoiler and end the Sun Devils' national title aspirations, a situation that California was in just two weeks ago. Surprisingly ranked #4 in the BCS, Rudy Carpenter should throw for plenty of yards in Tempe. Problem is, DeSean Jackson is on the Golden Bear side. Bears 42, Devils 38
#9 Florida vs. #20 Georgia: The stakes are high, but simple: the winner grabs control of the SEC East and gets the inside track to the SEC Championship Game in December. Matt Ryan's heroics yesterday may have put him on the inside track just before Gator QB Tim Tebow, giving Tebow the opportunity to make a statement of his own in the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party-" er, apologizes to the two prestigous universities who don't want to call it that anymore. Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford is a pretty decent quarterback himself, especially for a sophomore, who could make fireworks happen in Jacksonville. Gators 23, Bulldogs 13
#11 South Florida at Connecticut: Explain this: The UConn Huskies (6-1) are leading the Big East, one of the nation's four toughest conferences this season, with a perfect 3-0 record. They are the only undefeated team left in the conference. This means they are leading West Virginia, the Bulls, Cincinnati, and Rutgers, all who are ranked, yet they are not ranked themselves. Do not be surprised if UConn, the home team, hands the Bulls their second consecutive loss. This is the Huskies' chance to show the nation that they are for real. Huskies 27, Bulls 24
#15 South Carolina at Tennessee: Yet another huge game in the muddled, but extremely good, SEC East. The Gamecocks (5-2, 3-2) are tied for first in the division with Florida and Georgia, while the Vols (4-3, 2-2) are just a half-game behind the three teams. Steve Spurrier has done a great job with his squad, but faces a stiff test at the Rocky Top, particularly after their surprising loss to Vanderbilt last weekend. Volunteers 21, Gamecocks 20
#17 Texas vs. Nebraska: While they are 5-2, the Texas Longhorns feel that they have underachieved this season, especially when there is little chance that they can work their way into the Big XII Championship when they are two games behind Oklahoma in the Big XII South. Meanwhile, the Cornhuskers feel the same way at just 4-4 and two games behind Kansas in the Big XII North, a division they were supposed to win this season. When they were 4-3, New Husker AD and Nebraska coaching great Tom Osbourne said that it was OK; at least they were still having a winning season. I won't be surprised if his feelings drastically change in just two weeks when the team is a losing club with just three games remaining. Longhorns 34, Huskers 17
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