Five for Friday

Welcome to Five for Friday, where we pick what we consider to be the five most interesting games for the week, and then make an uneducated guess as to which team is going to win. We're usually wrong, so it's best to use these as a "bet against" guide. Enjoy!

Texas Tech is going to fly the friendly skies all over Texas. I think that Texas Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp is God’s gift to defensive coordinators, but we need to be honest with each other here: Texas Tech’s offense is just plain nasty good. The Red Raider’s QB Graham Harrell has thrown for 3100+ yards and 28 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions in eight games. And he did this against actual opponents, not on an xbox or the practice field. That is just un-freaking-believable. The Longhorn’s weak point in this game is their 112th ranked pass defense going up against the Red Raider’s 1st ranked pass offense. Look for Muschamp to throw some new defensive kinks at Mike Leach’s vaunted spread offense, particularly regarding blitz packages that Tech’s strong offensive line haven’t seen so far this year. Heisman front runner Colt McCoy will do a more than passable job at keeping the Longhorns in the game, leading a balanced offense to try and exploit the Red Raider’s weakest defensive point, their secondary. For me, this game comes down to the fact that if Tech can stop Texas on two drives, they will win the game.

Florida is going to give Georgia a hangover at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Georgia QB Matt Stafford has 12 TDs with only 5 interceptions, and RB Knowshon Moreno has almost 1,000 yards rushing and 12 TDs, while Florida has a huge chip on their collective shoulders from last year’s loss to Georgia, and a baby rhinoceros named Tim Tebow. The aforementioned Tebow also has 12 TDs but with a paltry 2 interceptions on the year. Florida doesn’t have a single back to match Moreno, but they do have a committee of rushers, including Jeffrey Demps, Chris Rainey, and reformed FB Tim Tebow. The real story of this game is a Florida team who wants revenge for a celebration at the beginning of last year’s game that galvanized the Bulldogs to a victory. The key to this game is going to be the Gator’s passing attack, as they try to exploit the Bulldog’s 79th ranked pass defense. I have a feeling that Georgia might want to go ahead and put on those mourning jerseys again for this one.

Florida State thrusts a Flaming Spear into Georgia Tech’s Heart. With all the talk about Penn State and Joe Pa, has anyone noticed Florida State is the highest ranked ACC team and has only one loss. With Maryland on bye this week Florida State could take full control of the Atlantic Division with a win over the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech’s offense has been extremely anemic, as Josh Nesbitt still has trouble moving the ball down the field. Don’t look for a lot of points with the 3rd(FSU) and 11th(GT) best defenses in the country going head to head. If the Noles win it will be them and Maryland leading the ACC pack. When they play each other in a few weeks the unthinkable may happen. College Gameday for an ACC game!

West Virginia stops Connecticut RB monster, Donald Brown. If you think Florida vs. Georgia is the unofficial game for the SEC East, then this is the unofficial Big East Championship. West Virginia (#1 in the Big East) will try to stop Connecticut’s (#2 in the Big East) running game. Leading this powerful rushing attack is Husky RB Donald Brown, a Heisman caliber back who has already compiled 1324 yards and 14 TDs. Connecticut will try their best to stop a revitalized Pat White who moved the ball up and down the field against a good Auburn defense. Whoever wins this game still has to play Pitt and South Florida. I like the Mountaineers to take a two score lead in the third quarter and never look back.

Arkansas is going to go all “Katrina” on Tulsa. It’s funny because Tulsa’s mascot is the Golden Hurricane. Wait? That’s not funny? Oh well. Sure, Tulsa is ranked 19th, and sure, statistically speaking they have the number 1 offense in the country, averaging a hair over 600 yards per game. The Razorbacks have something far more intimidating on their side: The crushing weight of history. The Golden Hurricane (you aren’t supposed to pluralize that I’ve been told) haven’t won against the Razorbacks since 1976. Let me put this in a little more context for you: Tulsa hasn’t won against this team since the Ford administration. Since the Bee Gees were cool, George Lucas was filming the first Star Wars, and Eric Clapton was still doing massive amounts of cocaine and heroin. What I’m trying to say is that it’s been a while. Look for Bobby Petrino to finally be able to hang his hat on a “quality” win this year as the Razorbacks fall bass ackwards into a victory over poor, snakebit Tulsa.