Cram Session - Week 5

Huge weekend in college football. Hard to believe we are already five weeks into the season. Two games pit Top 10 teams against each other. #7 Florida travels to Tuscaloosa to take on #1 Alabama, while #9 Stanford goes to Autzen to take on #4 Oregon. Both these games will have a huge impact on this year's national championship picture.

Games That Matter to Me That May Not Matter to You

Notre Dame (1-3) at Boston College (2-1)

The Irish received the beatdown that I was expecting from Stanford last Saturday. It get's no easier for them as they have to go on the road in primetime against Boston College. The Eagles aren't actually any good but they have had the Irish's number, especially when playing the Irish at home. Boston College was embarrassed themselves last weekend. Virginia Tech shut them out at Chestnut Hill 19-0, the first time the Eagles have been shutout in 12 years. The poor performance has caused them to turn to freshman Chase Rettig. Rettig should feel fortunate that he gets to play the porous Irish defense. Trying to remain patient but four games into the Brian Kelly era nothing has changed from what we saw in the Charlie Weis era. The offense can pass but not run, and the defense can do almost nothing right. I think the Irish are more talented than Boston College but it is hard to see them winning there. Ah, screw it, Boston College sucks.

Prediction: Notre Dame 24, Boston College 17

Top 10

#7 Florida (4-0, 2-0) at #1 Alabama (4-0, 1-0)

I am surprised by the lack of buzz this game seems to be receiving. Seems that almost no one is giving the Gators a chance. The Gators unveiled QB Trey Burton against Kentucky last weekend and he definitely impressed, scoring 6 touchdowns. Their starting QB John Brantley continues to be efficient but not really spectacular. He may have to be spectacular to beat the Crimson Tide. Alabama was tested by Arkansas but did what championship teams do and found a way to pull out a victory. It was surprising that the Tide were somewhat shut down on offense by the Razorbacks, and the Gators are far more talented on the defensive side of the ball. I think this game will be closer than the experts think but tough to pick against Alabama.

Prediction: Alabama 21, Florida 19

#2 Ohio State (4-0, 0-0) at Illinois (2-1, 0-0)

This one figures to get pretty ugly. Some may point to the Buckeyes mystifying loss at Purdue last season and claim that the Illni may have some hope. I would point to the fact that Illinois only beat Northern Illinois by 6 at home. Obviously, they will probably be far more motivated for this game but talent-wise they are nowhere near a match for the Buckeyes. It is all about October 16th at Wisconsin for the Buckeyes.

Prediction: Ohio State 38, Illinois 17

#3 Boise State (3-0, 0-0) at New Mexico State (0-3, 0-0)

The Broncos open up their WAC schedule against the atrocious Aggies. This one will be over within the first 5 minutes.

Prediction: Boise State 58, New Mexico State 13

#9 Stanford (4-0, 1-0) at #4 Oregon (4-0, 1-0)

Oregon escaped Arizona State with a win despite giving up a mind boggling 597 yards of total offense. With that being said, the defense still played a huge part in the Ducks victory, forcing seven Sun Devils turnovers. As mentioned above the Cardinal embarrassed Notre Dame on the road and because of that everyone has given them instant respect. As much as it pains me to say Oregon is ten times the team the Irish are and the Cardinal will be in for a much stiffer test. The QB battle should be fun to watch between the Ducks Darron Thomas, and the Cardinals Andrew Luck. I think the difference in this game will be Oregon's advantage in the rushing game with LaMichael James. Having this game at home is also huge for Oregon, as I would take Stanford if this game was on the road.

Prediction: Oregon 41, Stanford 38

#5 TCU (4-0, 0-0) at Colorado State (1-3, 0-0)

For some strange reason, I guess because Boise beat TCU in the Fiest Bowl last year, no one is giving TCU much discussion for being a potential national championship team. The Horned Frogs won't earn any additional attention after this weekend, as they get to play the sorry Rams.

Prediction: TCU 50, Colorado State 17

#21 Texas (3-1, 1-0) at #8 Oklahoma (4-0, 0-0)

This game lost quite a bit of its luster after the Longhorns were embarrassed by UCLA last weekend. However, it still is the Red River Rivalry and should prove to be an interesting game. Oklahoma has been schizophrenic all season, looking amazing against Florida State but pretty ordinary in their other three games. The Sooners barely escaped with a win against the Bearcats and really struggled in establishing a run game. The Longhorns have been inconsistent on offense all season and the defense finally caved in their loss to UCLA. Neither of these teams are that impressive and clearly a step below Nebraska in the Big 12 pecking order. The winner of this game will likely meet the Huskers in the Big 12 Championship in December. This game is really a coin flip, but I will go with the Sooners.

Prediction: Oklahoma 24, Texas 21

Louisiana-Monroe (1-2) at #10 Auburn (4-0)

We close with a dud as Auburn gets a nice week's respite after back to back hard fought wins against Clemson and South Carolina.

Prediction: Auburn 34, Louisiana-Monroe 10

Last Week: 9-1
Overall: 37-4