Week 5 NCAA Football Recap

Week 5 ended up with not a whole lot of shake up. Not that it was boring by any means, but because everything went so smoothly, expect HUGE games and matchups this coming week and a much more exciting football weekend. Oklahoma-Texas and Missouri-Oklahoma State are just two of the GIANT bowl-implication games to be had. Here's how I faired in my predictions...

My Prediction: Oklahoma 45 - Baylor 10
What Happened: Oklahoma 49 - Baylor 17
Bradford was near perfect...again. The game of the season is now going to happen as planned and it is going to be a good one. If you watch any game this next week, watch Oklahoma-Texas. This will be one for the ages.

My Prediction: Alabama 34 - Kentucky 3
What Happened: Alabama 17 - Kentucky 14
After Alabama's HUGE victory over Georgia, it was reported that Nick Saban worked his kids to near exhaustion so they didn't get a big head. They didn't have a big head, but they DID look tired against Kentucky. Saban has been a little easier on them this week so far and if they are well rested, Ole Miss could be in trouble.

My Prediction: Missouri 43 - Nebraska 35
What Happened: Missouri 52 - Nebraska 17
As predicted, the "Blackshirts" are nowhere to be seen. After Pelini ran his mouth about shutting out the Tigers, Nebraska proceeded to give up an ungodly amount of points. But don't worry, Nebraska, you're no worse than the rest of the teams Missouri has played this year. Chase Daniels is staring the Heisman in the face and Missouri looks SCARY good so far. They will be tested against Oklahoma State this weekend, where the score could be 115-98.

My Prediction: Texas 52 - Colorado 10
What Happened: Texas 38 - Colorado 14
McCoy looked good, Texas' defense looked stout, and Colorado looked confused. Hawkins just got a nice extension to his contract and it looks like he's going to need it for Colorado to be a contender. Not this year, Buffs. Next week will make or break the Longhorns' season.

My Prediction: Penn State 42 - Purdue 17
What Happened: Penn State 20 - Purdue 6
How good is this Penn State team? I'm not sure we truly know yet. How good is Curtis Painter? Well, not that good, apparently. The Boilermakers have a big hill to climb and I wouldn't want to be a Purdue fan in the next few coming years...it looks bleak. The Nittany Lions, on the other hand, have their biggest problem on the sidelines as to whether or not Joe Paterno will coach from the field or from the press box...What a great problem to have.

My Prediction: Kansas State 52 - Texas Tech 49
What Happened: Texas Tech 58 - Kansas State 28
My mistake of the week, for sure, and to all the Red Raiders fans (and Harrell), I apologize. Texas Tech held strong against an inferior opponent and looked flawless in the process. Instead of having a horrible game like I was predicting, Harrell came out and had one of his best games of the season. So much for parity in college football...Tech was the better team on the field and they proved it.

My Prediction: Brigham Young 65 - Utah St. 10
What Happened: Brigham Young 34 - Utah St. 14

I'm not sure why Max Hall and the Cougars took two quarters off, but it didn't matter. Brigham Young cruised to an easy win that was not as close as the score indicted. At one point, I remember Utah St. making a sack in the 4th quarter with about 3 minutes left and celebrating as if it was a Pontiac Game Changing Performance play. Unfortunately for the Aggies, it was not.

My Prediction: USC 40 - Oregon 6
What Happened: USC 44 - Oregon 10
One of my best predictions of the week, USC showed everyone that they are still for real. Oregon is a pretty strong team in the PAC-10 and USC beat them almost as bad as they beat Ohio State. Everyone in LA is holding their breath that Sanchez is okay and ready to go this weekend, because Arizona State, though they have looked abominable so far, could give them a run for their money.

My Prediction: South Florida 33 - Pittsburgh 13
What Happened: Pittsburgh 26 - South Florida 21

Myself, and thousands of South Florida fans, were embarrassed. The Bulls killed themselves with penalties, Pitt's defense was stout the entire game, and the Panthers controlled the game clock. With those ingredients, South Florida didn't deserve the win and Pittsburgh may deserve another shot at the Top 25. It sounds weird to say it since Pitt lost to Bowling Green earlier this season, but if the Panthers can beat UCONN the last game of the regular season, they could win the Big East.

My Prediction: Florida 31 - Arkansas 0
What Happened: Florida 38 - Arkansas 7
Again, what used to be Arkansas is no more and Florida laughed at them the entire game. The Razorbacks didn't have a chance all game, won't have a chance all season, and may be looking at a pretty long next few years. I won't be surprised to seem some shake-ups in coaching staff this year and the next.

My Prediction: Vanderbilt 19 - Auburn 10
What Happened: Vanderbilt 14 - Auburn 13
A great game and a defensive battle, as expected. Some thought Vandy's offense would be stifled by Auburn's stout D, but the Commodores shined through once again. Interesting to note that Vanderbilt is last in the SEC in offense and third-to-last in the SEC in defense and yet are atop the standings. Their fairy-tale might be coming to an end with very tough in-conference games, but who knows, maybe THIS is the year.

My Prediction: Ohio State 35 - Wisconsin 10
What Happened: Ohio State 20 - Wisconsin 17
MUCH closer than I thought. Wisconsin did a pretty good job on defense and had Pryor confused at times. But when push came to shove, the young true Freshman did not dissapoint...He made plays when the game was on the line and that is the test of a major talent. The Badgers might actually lose three conference games in a row, which NO ONE predicted at the start of the season. We'll see if they can upset a hot Penn State team this week.

My Prediction: Utah 48 - Oregon State 38
What Happened: Utah 31 - Oregon State 28

Closer than I thought it would be, which made for great football. As I predicted, Moevao needed to have a good game to beat Utah. Too bad for Oregon State that their defense couldn't make a stop when it needed to. Props to Moevao and props to Sakoda, the Utah kicker. The teams were fairly even on the field, but Utah outlasted the Beavers. A great game that could have gone either way.

My Prediction: Kansas 52 - Iowa State 3
What Happened: Kansas 35 - Iowa State 33
I think Kansas has been overestimated all season long and I did it again this week. Their defense had major holes in it and they are not scoring like most people thought they would when the season started. The Big 12 is MUCH too competitive for Kansas this year.

What Happened: Boise State 38 - Louisiana Tech 3
The Bulldogs didn't have a chance. Boise State has looked solid all season and didn't let up at all against Louisiana Tech. The blue turf had some major negative effects on the visitors from Louisiana.

My Prediction: Virginia Tech 21 - Western Kentucky 3
What Happened: Virginia Tech 27 - Western Kentucky 13
This game went pretty much as planned, with neither team really impressing anyone. If I could make my own Top 25 (which I will do in the next couple of days), Virginia Tech would not be in it. They still don't have the kind of chemistry on offense that warrants a high grade for a complete team.

My Prediction: Oklahoma State 45 - Texas A&M 23
What Happened: Oklahoma State 56 - Texas A&M 28
Another game that went as planned. Referencing my above explanation, I have Oklahoma State as the opposite of Virgina Tech...the Cowboys have been underrated all year and are just starting to hit their stride. Next week will be THE ultimate test and if they can pull off the game of their lives, they could be a major factor in the polls and the BCS in the near future.

My Prediction: Fresno State 34 - Hawaii 17
What Happened: Hawaii 32 - Fresno State 29 (OT)
Fresno State should be VERY dissapointed with themselves. Everyone has held them on a pedestal only to see the Bulldogs let them down. Nobody loses to Hawaii that's worth a darn this year. And Fresno State has dropped far out of the polls because of it...and deservedly so.

My Prediction: Connecticut 24 - North Carolina 23
What Happened: North Carolina 38 - Connecticut 12
Shouldn't the Tarheels have the Top 25 number in front of their name? These guys are for REAL this year and are proving to everyone that the ACC is not totally dead yet. After a slow start, the conference is starting look like what everyone expected them to be. Props to Carolina for taking this one and doing it handily.

There you have it - My 14-4 week (not counting Boise State's game)...I will post what I think to be the Top 25 shortly, so stay tuned.