Football Weekend 10/7/17

Since it is Friday, the order of business is to check out the upcoming football games for this weekend.  Before getting to those weekend college games, let me say that NC State has quietly inserted itself into any discussion of “top teams” in the country.  The Wolfpack already had a win over Florida State in the bag last night when they beat Louisville by 2 TDs.  They still have Clemson on the schedule and the game is in Raleigh on 4 November.  As of this morning, that looks like a spotlight game.

There are some interesting games in college football this weekend involving good teams:

1. LSU at Florida:  After losing to Troy at home, LSU’s Ed Orgeron is clearly feeling the heat.  As each week goes by, that loss to Mississippi St. looks worse too.  This should be a low-scoring affair.
2. Georgia at Vandy:  I have only seen Georgia once, but I am very impressed.  Too bad Georgia and Alabama are not scheduled to play one another this year…
3. Alabama at Texas A&M:  The line is Alabama – 27.  That seems like a fat line for a road team in a place where home field advantage is a real thing.
4. Michigan St. at Michigan:  The key element of this game is pretty obvious:  Can Michigan get production from the QB position now that they have been forced to make a change?  Michigan State has been anything but a world-beater so far this year.
5. Miami at Florida St.:  Miami seems to be a team on the rise; Florida St. seems to be just the opposite.
6. Stanford at Utah:  Expect a defense-dominated slugfest here…
7. San Diego St at UNLV:  Do not be fooled by UNLV’s 2-2 record.  This is the team that lost to Division 1-AA Howard at home as a 43-point favorite.  Also, there is no way to assess to what degree the mass murder in Las Vegas will affect the emotions here.  Could be interesting to watch…

There are also a couple of college games this weekend involving some of the less-than-very-good teams in the country:

1. Hawaii at Nevada:  Hawaii is favored by 4 points on the road; Hawaii is not a good team this year and is rarely a good road team.  There is information content in that betting line.
2. Oregon St. at USC:  Oregon St. is a 34.5-point underdog.  Oregon St. is over-matched in the PAC-12 and will likely be seeking a new coach soon.
3. Tulsa at Tulane:  Here are two teams seeking the cusp of mediocrity.  However, it is a matchup of two great team names; the Golden Hurricane takes on the Green Wave.  That’s all I got …

Before making comments on some of the NFL’s weekend lineup, let me say something very simply:

• Cam Newton is an immature meathead.

I will cut him the slightest bit of slack regarding his apology for his stupid remarks; at least it did not sound as if someone wrote it for him to read in front of a microphone/camera.

One more thing …  The Patriots have no pass rush and do not blitz.  Even though they beat the Bucs last night, Jameis Winston had tons of time in the pocket on most of his pass attempts.  That is an area of the game the Pats will have to improve upon if they plan to do anything come playoff time.

Here are some interesting NFL matchups for this weekend:

1. Bills at Bengals:  I find this game very interesting.  Are the Bills for real?  Did the Bengals regain consciousness last week or was it just that they played the Browns?  I sorta like the Bengals here …
2. Jets at Browns:  The Jets can advance to a 3-2 record with a win here.  No one saw that coming…
3. Niners at Colts:  These are 2 bad teams notwithstanding the fact that the Colts are only 1 game behind the division leader in the AFC South.  The oddsmaker says Colts – 1.5; I say do not bet on this game and watch something else.
4. Chargers at Giants:  Both teams are 0-4 – – and still I think this will be a better game to watch than the Niners/Colts game.  The Giants have lost two heart-breakers in a row; the Chargers will invent a way to lose once again.
5. Seahawks at Rams:  This is one of the top three games for the weekend.  Are the Rams for real?  Can the Seahawks play well on the road?  Will the LA Coliseum be 60% full for this game?  So many questions …
6. Ravens at Raiders:  Both teams are 2-2; both teams have looked horrible in the last 2 games.  Ravens offense is non-existent; Raiders’ defense cannot stop anything; the moveable object meets the resistible force.  Might there be an Amari Cooper sighting this weekend?  Venue call if you must play this game…
7. Packers at Cowboys:  This is another of the top three games of the weekend.  The Cowboys need a win here more than the Packers need one.  Expect plenty of points in this one.
8. Chiefs at Texans (Sunday Nite):  The best game of the weekend.  Despite the Texans’ offensive eruption last week for 57 points, do not expect a lot of points in this game.  The Total Line is 45.5 and I think the oddsmaker is right on.

Finally, here is a comment from Lou Holtz – former coach at Arkansas, NC State, Notre Dame and other schools – about job stability for college football coaches:

“I have a lifetime contract. That means I can’t be fired during the third quarter if we’re ahead and moving the ball.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………