Week 9 The Bye Week

Alabama's bye week gives me a week to just watch the games for the sake of watching them and not strategically trying to figure out how I'm gonna get to watch Alabama play.

Here are some of the best games at each time slot:

The morning:  11:00-2:00 start time:
Indiana @ #4 Iowa

This should be a huge win for the Hawkeyes.  More importantly though, this will give the nation a chance to finally get a good look at the team.  Nationally, we saw them defeat Penn State early in the season, but that was before anyone thought Iowa had anything to give this season.  That was all about the Penn State choke, not the Iowa win.  Now, with Iowa sitting at Number 4 in the BCS, we need to be shown that they deserve to be there.  As 17.5 point favorites, they need a dominating victory to show they belong,  Iowa's brand of football will not give the this type of victory though.  And they have a history of playing down to their competition.  I see Iowa winning to the tune of 24-17.

#25 Ole Miss @ Auburn 11:21

Which Auburn team is going to show up this weekend?  The one that dominated Tennessee (the team that nearly beat #2 Alabama) or the team that loses to Kentucky?  Frankly, which Ole Miss team is going to show up?  The team from last week that physically dominated Arkansas, or the one from the rest of the season that hasn't looked very good.  Ole Miss is getting 5 on the road at Auburn.  I think Auburn gets it done at home on the strength of the running game and defense 20-13.

The Afternoon:  2:30 - 4:30 start time
Georgia vs. #1 Florida (Jacksonville) 2:30

Amazingly enough, there isn't much going on in the afternoon slot this weekend.  This game is always a battle though.  Florida's offense has been sputtering as of late, and they are getting tired.  Tebow isn't the same Tebow as in years past.  He is probably still not right after his early season concussion.  Their running game can't get it done consistently, and their receivers are just not stepping up.  But Georgia also hasn't looked great this year as of yet.  They got SMOKED by Tennessee a couple weeks back, but also should have beaten LSU were it not for that horrible excessive celebration call.  Florida is getting 15.5 in this one.  I do see a Gator win, but I don't see it by that much.  Pick Georgia by Vegas, but pick the Gators head to head 35-24.

Evening:  5:00 - 700

#22 South Carolina @ Tennessee 6:45

Tennessee is a lot better than their 3-4 record indicates.  But I don't think South Carolina is as good as their 6-2 record.  USCe is getting 6.5 in the game, but I'm picking Tennessee out right.  Jonathan Crompton might finally be coming out of his shell as a quarterback.  A couple of good games back to back could be a trend.  The gamecock defense is very good though.  They only allowed one offensive touchdown to Alabama, and that was late in the 4th quarter.  I still see the UT win but close 17-14.

#3 Texas @ #14 Oklahoma State 7:00

Big time statement game for the Longhorns.  Their toughest competition of the season, Oklahoma, is down this season with the loss of Bradford.  Okie State is going to be without Dez Bryant it looks like for the rest of the season however.  Bryant was by far the biggest play maker on the team.  Texas is giving 9.5 in the game, but I see a much bigger win than that.  Colt McCoy needs this game to really secure his Heisman front runner status, and Texas needs it to maybe even overtake the SEC teams as the top team in the nation.  A two touchdown win over a top 15 could just do that.  If State jumps out to an early lead, don't worry about it.  They do that almost every year against Texas, and Texas finds a way to come back.  Old fashioned shoot-out in the southwest.  Texas 49-35.

#5 USC @ #10 Oregon 7:00 GAME OF THE WEEK

USC always has a hard time on the road in the Pac-10.  But they already have their hiccup against Washington behind them.  Oregon is always very tough at home too.  They have more than recovered from their opening week egg laying against Boise State.  USC needs a statement victory if they want to stay in the national title race.  With four major conference undefeated teams ahead of them (five if you want to count Cincinnati) they need some help to get into the title game.  Or, they need a huge win over a top ten opponent.  USC is giving 3 in the game, which sounds about right.  I do expect a cover, but not by much.  Maybe a seven point win 27-20.