Early start this week. I am off to Liberty to see the Flames host the Panthers of FIU. Bought my ticket ($8) and tailgate parking ($21) this morning. The demand is not high. I should know. Repeated requests to have folks join have fallen on deaf ears. It is a hard sale to make given the Flames play in the middle of nowhere, Virginia. Add to the mix a dry tailgate at a small stadium, and it doesn’t get more appealing. The Flames do play good football which in this case could mean a blowout against FIU. Fingers crossed that the game is a good one.
Last Week: Make it a Double – A Georgia Double
It was a stark difference between Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Kennesaw State is a new program and it shows, from unused reserved tailgate spots to playing second fiddle to the visiting team’s band. That may be unfair, Jacksonville State’s marching band is one of the best in the country. Their halftime performance may have been the highlight of the game. That, or meeting Layne in the stands, who has 126 stadiums in his portfolio. Not surprisingly, he was going to the Georgia game on Saturday too.
Georgia, on the other hand, was everything you would expect from a top SEC program. I got to join a tailgate that’s got thirty plus years and three generations of history. It was fantastic. I love how Sanford Stadium is nestled in the beautiful Georgia campus. The in-stadium experience is very good, but surprisingly was slightly less impressive than my top five. I will lay it all out in the review in a couple weeks.
Notes from last week.
- ESPN College Football Final made the same note about last week. “Eh, going to be a meh week.” Of course college football responds with a crazy week of upsets.
- Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia exploded in cheers when the Bama – Vandy score was posted. The Bulldogs were very happy to see the Tide go down.
- I am going to the Army-Navy game this year and it likes like it is the right time to do it with both programs being 5-0
- If you didn’t see how Temple lost to UConn, give it a quick Youtube search. Tough loss for a program that does not have a lot of bright spots.
The Picks
Week 6 Results
The wheels are officially off – another 1-3 weekend.
- Look, I knew Kennesaw State was a long shot. All my cheering couldn’t help the Owls in the second half against Jax State. Even a post game fireworks show could not keep me there for the whole 4th quarter.
- Nothing more frustrating then seeing a game when your team is the favorite and they head to OT. You just know they aren’t going to cover. I am done with you, UNLV.
- Navy saved my bacon. As noted, the midshipmen are for real. I mean as real as any small program can be.
- Georgia looked good against Auburn, but not great. It didn’t take long to realize they were not going to cover against the Tigers. It wasn’t exactly War Eagle, but Auburn hung around way too long.
Week 7 Picks
At this point, I feel like Chris “The Bear” Fallica, the former ESPN prognosticator who more often got his Game Day picks wrong rather than right. However, the show must go on so here’s this week’s rationale for my picks.
- Mizzou took a beating at the hands of Texas A&M last week. There’s not much of a better place to get healthy than at UMass. The Tigers should roll.
- Pitt may be the luckiest 5-0 team, but I think their luck holds this week when the heavily traveled Cal Bears come to town. It will be interesting to see the impact of realignment on the win/loss record of away games over this season.
- I like LSU in Death Valley against Ole Miss. It seems like Ole Miss always disappoints me, so take note. They will probably jump up and smack around the Tigers just to spite me.
- This pick is just based on pedigree. It feels like Utah should be able to handle ASU. How’s that for expert analysis?
The big game this week is Ohio State at Oregon. It should be a great game. I like the Buckeyes, but I would not be surprised if the Ducks pull out the upset. OU is not getting a lot of respect at the Red River Shoot-Out (yes, I will continue to use the old name). The Sooners are getting 14.5 points, which might be enough in this huge rivalry game. The Florida – Tennessee game also intrigues me because the Gators are slowly improving. A win in Knoxville would be huge for the Gators.
Lastly, as I was looking at the games, and Louisville (3-2) at Virginia (4-1) immediately jumped out at as a game I should think about attending. This is after catching three games in last seven days. I have realized that I may have a problem. Hopefully, no one calls me and asks me if I want to drive over to Charlottesville to catch the game because it wouldn’t take much to convince me.
Enjoy the games, and be thankful you aren’t going to a Liberty tailgate.
Tree
