Trent's Touchdown: Six Games to Watch in Week Nine

As I stated in my blog a few weeks ago, the Touchdown (and other articles) was put on hiatus due to Wedding/Honeymoon issues, as in I was both getting married and going on my Honeymoon. However, I am now back and will subject you to more insane yet slightly insightful college football ramblings.

On a side note, anyone who can guess the unnamed Caribbean island mentioned in my Honeymoon blog entry will get to pick the subject of next week's Extra Point. Happy guessing.

Anyway, on to the Touchdown.

1) No. 3 Penn State at No. 9 Ohio State: 8:00 on ABC

This one will pretty much decide the Big Ten champion and it’s two top 10 teams, so it’s got to be number one. Laugh if you want, but the key to this game is Penn State’s defense. Their focus needs to be stopping Beanie Wells. Penn State has an issue stopping the run.

OSU needs to slow the game down and let Wells carry the load and pound Penn State. They can’t hope to beat Penn State in a shootout, so they need to control the tempo, slow the game down, and drive it down the throats of the defense.

That being said, PSU will win by doing what they always do—overwhelming their opponent.

2) No. 6 Oklahoma State at No. 1 Texas: 3:30 on ABC

Texas just keeps getting the tough opponents. Even if they get through this game, they have to play Texas Tech on the road next week.

Anyway, in my opinion, Oklahoma State has a better shot to beat Texas than either Missouri or Oklahoma did. Why? Because Oklahoma State has a better offense than either of those teams. Oklahoma is a paper tiger, and Missouri is a one trick pony (Daniel to Macklin for six).

The problem Texas will have is that this is going to dissolve into a shootout, and Oklahoma State has nothing to lose.

3) No. 7 Georgia at No. 13 LSU: 3:30 on CBS

I have my issues with the SEC this year, but more on that later. This is going to be an ugly one. Neither team has really lived up to expectations, nor is either team solid offensively at this point. Expect both teams to rely on their running games to try to win it, but Georgia could air it out if Stafford gets his groove back.

This game will be won defensively as both are really good defensive teams. Expect a low-scoring affair.

4) No. 8 Texas Tech at No. 23 Kansas: 12:00 on ESPN

I don’t know when I got excited about the Big 12, but I’m ready to be counted as a fan. I’ll admit that I like Kansas, but this game doesn’t look good for them. They lost in the shootout that broke out in last week's game against Oklahoma, and this game has all the same markings.

Offensively, Texas Tech is sounder than Oklahoma and will fling the ball all over the field. Tech just needs to make sure it’s not looking ahead to Texas next week.

5) No. 2 Alabama at Tennessee: 7:45 on ESPN

I’m not completely sold on Alabama yet. They seem to have everything they need to win, but something doesn’t feel right. You ever get that feeling in the pit of your stomach? Maybe it’s just some bad cheese. The whole Alabama team ingesting bad cheese is the only way Tennessee has a shot to win this one.

Of course, this could be the game where John Parker Wilson finally implodes in on himself. One thing I’ve learned is that you can never be sure when it’s an SEC conference game.

6) Auburn at West Virginia: 7:30 on ESPN on 10/23

Remember when these two teams were highly ranked? What happened? Oh yeah, losses to LSU, Vandy, and Arkansas for Auburn (not to mention pitiful wins against Miss State and Tennessee), and losses to East Carolina and Colorado for West Virginia. I would laugh, but I’m a Clemson fan.

Extra Point

7) Earlier this season, I wrote somewhere that the National Championship Game would and/or should be USC against whoever made it out of the SEC.

I will now admit I was wrong, but not about USC. I’m not buying the SEC anymore. I still think it's one of the toughest conferences, but no team there would scare me if I was an opponent.

Each team in the conference is flawed in some way (just wait for the other shoe to drop in Alabama). When I say “flawed,” I don’t mean, “their secondary is a little sketchy”; I mean, “their quarterback looks like he pooed himself on the sidelines.”

The only team I can really point to that is good is Florida, but they’re schizophrenic.
I don’t know what to expect from them. Just when you are feeling good about them, they go ahead and douse their drawers against Ole Miss.

Granted, if Alabama wins out, they deserve to be in the National Championship Game, but do you really see that happening?