What to Watch for – Week 14

The Buckeyes, along with the rest of the Big Ten, are in the clubhouse while most everyone else — minus 4 Pac-10 schools and a few Big East schools — finish up this weekend, conference title games notwithstanding.  Presuming there’s anything interesting going on, it should be a nice occasion to stuff your face with leftovers while watching stirring rivalry games like LSU-Arkansas… and Colorado-Nebraska… and Auburn-Alabama… and Kentucky-Tennessee…. hmmmm…

Anyways, here’s what’s on if you have nothing else to do.

Thursday

• Texas A&M @ Texas (ESPN, 8:00PM ET).  Texas A&M were the lead aggressors in this rivalry through most of the 1990s, dropping only 3 decisions during the decade if memory serves correct (1990, 1995, 1998).  However, the course of the rivalry — and certainly the direction of both programs — has changed dramatically since the arrival of Mack Brown to Texas in 1998.  Still, in spite of College Station now being the dusty outpost of the Big 12 South and Austin now being house to a national contender, Texas A&M has a two-game winning streak in this rivalry.  It’d be cool if it continues, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Friday

• West Virginia @ Pitt (ABC, 12:00PM ET).  A lot of football will be played on Friday, though I’m not entirely sure why.  On the topic at hand, this marks the first Backyard Brawl since the ugly “Oh my God how did they lose this?” Backyard Brawl from last year.  The 4-7 Pitt Panthers upset the 2nd ranked Mountaineers, in Morgantown, 13-9 in a game that was supposed to be a coronation ceremony for the BCS Championship Game-bound Mounties.  As it was, WVU’s explosive offense was held to just one second quarter touchdown as the Mounties lost their outright Big East crown, lost their chance at a national title and, well… lost their coach in the process as well¹.  Judging from the course of the program under Bill Stewart, the hangover from this loss isn’t going away anytime soon.
• Mississippi State @ Ole Miss (ESPN360.com, 12:00PM ET).  I’m 99.9% positive this game will be on Raycom Sports, but I’m too lazy to look it up.  I’ve been down here for 3 years now and work with a good number of Mississippi State fans (Starksville is like an hour and a half from Tuscaloosa), and still haven’t gotten a clear answer on why it’s called the Egg Bowl.  This game is one of the more underappreciated, if not the most underappreciated, in the Southeastern Conference.  It’s the only rivalry situation I’ve encountered where teams shout at each other to, quote-unquote, go to hell.  Granted, such wishes are pervasive in just about every rivalry, but often implicit or substituted in lieu of the obscenity brought to you by the letter F.  In the Egg Bowl, though, it’s explicit.  Of course, one of the reasons why this rivalry may be so unknown elsewhere might be attributable to the fact that it’s the state of Mississippi, which, as I like to say, is the Alabama of the South.  If you constructed an alternative reality of states below the Mason-Dixon Line and delineated North and South one step further, Mississippi would carry the new stigma of being Hyper-Southern… like Southern in a fourth or fifth or sixth dimension kind of way.  Sci-fi Southern.  It’s that bad.  At least Georgia has Atlanta as a cultural mecca.  Alabama has Birmingham, a pretty sophisticated city when you look deeper into it.  Mississippi has… umm… hmmm.  Moreover, both teams usually suck, adding to the invisibility of the rivalry on a national stage.
• LSU @ Arkansas (The SEC Network, 2:30PM ET).  The rematch of the 2007 classic which, in a just world, should’ve cost LSU a shot at a national title last year.  Instead, it’s written into the BCS clause that LSU gets to host its own national title games.  But oh well.  LSU is trying desperately to add a 5th loss to its record, having been thwarted at doing so by a furious 4th quarter rally against Troy.  LSU is an interesting program for a variety of reasons.  One of the most intriguing elements to LSU is that it is a program without a real rivalry.  Since the SEC split into two divisions in 1992, the SEC has tried long and hard to create a rivalry for the Tigers.  The Florida Gators, an SEC East opponent (obviously), appears on their schedule every year, never being cycled off, for that very reason.  Further, a rivalry has been hyped up between the Tigers and the Crimson Tide, and not all of it reducible to Nick Saban.  Indeed, before Nick Saban arrived, LSU had not beat Alabama in Baton Rouge for 30 some-odd years.  This lead to the expression down here among the savages “The Tide Always Rolls in Baton Rouge”, though it’s pronounced more like “Tha Tiiiiiiiiiide ahlways rolls in Bahtawwwn Ruuuge. Rooooooooollllll Tiiiiiide”.  Getting back to Arkansas, the need to manufacture some kind of rivalry has led to Arkansas being their designated season finale, having been the case since the Razorbacks joined the conference in 1992.  They even created a trophy for the occasion, a “Golden Boot” signifying how the shape of the two states, when juxtaposed, looks boot-ish.  Are you interested yet? Are ya? Yeah, I didn’t think so…
• Colorado @ Nebraska (ABC, 3:30PM ET).  In 2007, these two defensive heavyweights combined 116 points in regulation in a 65-51 victory for the Buffaloes.  The only thing making that game watchable was the infamous introduction of the Buffaloes by Eric Cartman (defense, offense).  Since ABC/ESPN/WWL/Disney-whatever stopped doing those player introductions — for whatever reason — I can think of no reason to watch this game.  Go do some shopping instead.
• Fresno State @ Boise State (ESPN2, 6:00PM ET).  A Boise State loss gives the Buckeyes an in-road to the BCS… if you’re interested…
• UCLA @ Arizona State (ESPN2, 9:30PM ET).  It’s been awhile since I’ve dialed up UCLA in one of these, mostly because their games haven’t been worth watching and, naturally, have not been on national television.  But now, His Coachness Rick Neuheisel will be returning to my moving pictures box so I may behold his divinity.  I think this will be the first UCLA game I’ve watched since the Tennessee game, where the beauty of His Coachness was confirmed.

Saturday

• Georgia Tech @ Georgia (CBS, 12:00PM ET).  This game doesn’t have any conference implications.  Georgia was out of the running after Florida kicked them in the jimmy a while back.  Georgia Tech is done with ACC play and needs Virginia Tech to lose against Virginia in order to play in the ACC title game under first year head coach Paul Johnson.  That said, if you are not rooting for Georgia Tech in this game to go 2-0 against the SEC this season, I hate you and we cannot be friends.  Paul Johnson is the man.
• Syracuse @ Cincinnati (ESPN360.com, 12:00PM ET).  Cincinnati wins this game and they win a BCS spot.  So lose damn you.  I don’t want to have to hear about Cincinnati making a BCS game while Ohio State may not.
• South Carolina @ Clemson (ESPN2, 12:00PM ET).  It’s ACC-SEC rivalry week.  Root for the ACC accordingly.
• Virginia @ Virginia Tech (ESPN, 12:00PM ET).  If Va Tech loses this, then Georgia Tech gets in the ACC Championship Game.  I’m all for more Paul Johnson on national television, especially as it becomes clear that he can run a gimmick offense without the proper talent and still get instant results whereas Rodriguez struggled so mightily up north.
• Auburn @ Alabama (The SEC Network, 3:30PM ET).  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise: This rivalry is, far and away, the most overappreciated rivalry in college sports.  The fans like each other too damn much — so much that they often interbreed, giving birth to those stupid “House Divided” license frames that are everywhere down here.  Even the thought of a holding a family together in light of these differences validates, for me, that the differences aren’t that important.  And down here, it’s clear to me that Alabama easily obsesses more about Tennessee than they do about Auburn.  I think this town is about 30-35% Auburn fans, openly so, and I’ve been heckled more for my Ohio State shirts down here than any one of my Auburn-inclined coworkers have been for their Auburn truck decals… or truck flags… or license frames… or sunglass straps… or belt buckles… sigh.  Anyways, Alabama has never beaten Auburn in Tuscaloosa, though the rivalry was played in Legion Field before that point (1948-2000, I think)… giving birth to the Iron Bowl monicker.  This rivalry sucks, and in terms of venom, it’s not on the level of Florida-Georgia, Alabama-Tennessee, Tennessee-Florida or even Mississippi State-Ole Miss.  On the game at hand, if Alabama can’t win this and send Auburn home for the holidays with seven losses, then Tuberville truly has their number.  He’s won 6 straight against Alabama, the most for Auburn in the history of the series.
• Florida @ Florida State (ABC, 3:30PM ET).  Again: it’s ACC-SEC Rivalry Week, but, in this game, don’t get your hopes up.
• Maryland @ Boston College (ABC, 3:30PM ET).  If Boston College wins, they advance to the ACC title game for the second straight year under second year head coach Jeff Jagodzsh1qjkjkjkjkjimililinski, or whatever that dude’s name is.  It doesn’t appear that BC is missing Tom O’Brien at all.  On the flipside, if BC loses, Florida State goes to the ACC title game representing the Whatchamacallit Division against either Va Tech or Georgia Tech in the Whatsitcalled? Division.
• Kentucky @ Tennessee (ESPN2, 6:30PM ET).  Kentucky is 6-5. Tennessee is 4-7.  So what does ESPN do with this game? You guessed it: primetime night game.  Ohhhh yeah.  If you thought making Kentucky-Vanderbilt a night game was the worst thing that ESPN could do, guess again, buster.  On the game at hand, no matter how awful Tennessee is, Kentucky can never beat them.  Tennessee has won 23 straight in this series.
• Oregon @ Oregon State (???, 7:00PM ET).  If Oregon State wins this one, they’re in the Rose Bowl.  If they lose this, Ohio State seems to be in prime real estate for a BCS berth.  Even then, that’s not the reason I want Oregon State to lose this game.  With Penn State going to Pasadena for the first time since the 1994 season, the last thing I want to see is some shitty rematch between Penn State and an Oregon State team that the Nitts destroyed earlier this season.  I want Penn State-USC dammit.
• Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State (ABC, 8:00PM ET). BEDLAM.  Oklahoma State looks for its first victory over the Sooners since Les Miles beat them in 2002.  If you remember, it was this same upset of the Sooners in 2002 that virtually ended, once and for all, all petty talk from national commentators about how Oklahoma was more deserving of a spot in the title game in spite of their loss to Texas A&M earlier that year.  The Big 12 South is screwy this season.  If Texas (v. A&M), Texas Tech (v. Baylor), and Oklahoma (@ OK State) all win, the top ranked team in the BCS goes to the title game.  Presently, that’s Texas though a victory over higher ranked Oklahoma State might push the Sooners over the Longhorns.  A loss by any one of them makes it a tiebreaker situation.  Intransitivity is fun, isn’t it?
• Notre Dame @ USC (ESPN, 8:00PM ET).  There was a period under Lou Holtz where the Irish won 11 straight in this series (1983-1993).  Now, USC has won 6 straight and at least appear to be able of blowing that streak out of the water with the least of effort.  Have fun with that game, Notre Dame fans.

1. Albeit losing Rodriguez wasn’t caused by the Pitt loss, per se, just made possible by it.

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