Week 11 Commentary for 2007
Shakeup complete. More fun to follow.
Illinois, once the cinderella of the Big 10 (when this season started) is now tasked with the unenviable trip to the 'shoe to take on the #1 Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State proved last week against Wisconsin that it has much more than just a powerful D. The Bucks have a superior offense to balance it out, and QB Todd Boeckmann is doing more than just not making too many mistakes, throwing for nearly 2,000 yards and 23 TDs. Chris Wells is living up to the expectations he set as a prep standout, and is a tough player for any D to game plan for. The Illini, on the other hand, only lost to Iowa in a bad fashion (in the sense that they really should have won, but 6 points was not enough). They lost to a good Michigan club and a good Mizzou club. They beat Wisconsin and Penn State and buried everybody else they played, including Minnesota last week. Rashard Mendenhall and Juice Williams are dangerous when they touch the football, not to mention Arrelious Benn. Will the Illini bring enough firepower, or will the Buckeyes prove dominant yet again?
USC travels to Berkley in their annual clash with Cal. Surprisingly, no Pac 10 title is on the line like everybody thought at the beginning of the season. The Trojans have seemingly stumbled from their lofty perch, dropping the shocker at home to Stanford and a tough one in Autzen stadium to Oregon a couple weeks ago. Similarly, Cal lost back-to-back-to-back games to Oregon State, at UCLA, and at Arizona State before overcoming their skid (barely) against Wazzu last week. Will the Trojans reestabilish themselves, or will Cal hand them a third loss?
Florida State travels to Blacksburg a week after doing what the Hokies could not: beat BC. Now the Hokies must fight to stay atop the ACC Coastal standings with hopes of potentially challenging BC to a rematch. Will the Hokies reign supreme, or will the Noles turn out the lights in Blackburg?
In what may have been pegged as a fight for the Big East Title at the beginning of the season, Louisville travels down to Morgantown to take on West Virginia. The Cardinals have suffered through 4 losses by a touchdown or less (and a few agonizingly close victories), disappointing many that pegged them as the class of the Big East. Meanwhile the Mountaineers' only loss (and only close game this year) was in Tampa to a tough South Florida team. Will Louisville regain some pride, or will Steve Slaton and Pat White run roughshod on the Cardinals D, or both?
Auburn travels to UGA in what always amounts to an entertaining slugfest between the hedges. Both are trying to stay alive for the SEC Championship Game, with UGA leading the SEC East. While Auburn's hopes for the SEC West title are slim, with LSU leading the pack, the Bulldogs are very much alive. This is the last game for Auburn prior to a two-week break before the Iron Bowl. Will the Bulldogs stay on top of the East, or will Auburn lay it all on the line and keep a small glimmer of hope alive?
Stay tuned, sports fans. All these questions and more will find an answer this weekend.
My top 10:
1. the OSU - waiting for the battle in the Big House
2. LSU - Survived Tuscaloosa unscathed. Anybody else?
3. KU - When will the Jayhawks lose?
4. Oregon - Great O, tough D
5. OU - Sooners blasted the Aggies
6. Mizzou - Looking toward showdown with KU
7. WV - Unstoppable running game
8. UH - Maybe the most dominant WAC team ever
9. ASU - Tough but close loss to Oregon
10. BC - At home loss to FSU |
