THE WORLD OF BAX: The Insanity of Mainstream Sports Media

What happens if USC, Georgia, and Oklahoma all go undefeated? After enduring a week of Atlanta Sports Radio debating what would happen in such a scenario and shaking my head at the inherent stupidity of such a question after four weeks, I was quite pleased to see not one, but TWO of those teams fall off this weekend, proving a simple point: Don’t EVER project ahead to the end of the season in September.

Now, I understand that the Sports Radio folks have to have something to talk about, but why not talk about the excitement of opening conference play all across the country? All I heard was that the Pac Ten was awful and USC would have a cakewalk. Meanwhile, these PAID PROFESSIONALS neglected to mention that USC has lost TWICE in Pac Ten play in the past two years. Those professionals neglected to notice that it has been four seasons since a SEC team went undefeated and it has been three seasons since any BCS team went undefeated. Is it so hard to say that we have a lot of football left to play? Does anyone remember the last three weeks of last year?

Am I the only one who sees things with a sense of moderation? Was USC the best team in history? Of course not and the people saying so were doing nothing but practicing shock jock radio. Meanwhile, E! SPiN (a wonderful moniker for ESPN; they want the celebrity of E! and like to put their own agenda into everything) has further annoyed me by transitioning into the SEC network, sending College Gameday out this week to the 5 th SEC game in the season’s first seven weeks. Whatever happened to responsible journalism and a sense of fairness towards everyone? E! SPiN can’t seriously consider skipping the Red River Shootout when both teams are in the top 5 for the LSU-Florida game, can they?

I can promise you all one thing: I will NEVER write with an agenda. I love college football and I’ll tell you who I see as the best teams and best players without caring if I like the teams or not. I don’t go with the wave of E! SPiN-based publicity and that has borne fruit from my preseason love for Penn State and preseason doubt of Georgia, both of which look pretty smart right now. I’ll be wrong at times ( Tennessee in the SEC East? Shame on Phil Fulmer and shame on me) but I’ll call a spade a spade and be honest with you, something more than E! SPiN can offer. That’s why you got my assessment of the early conference strength last week with brutal honesty (sorry Big East fans, it’s the truth) and that’s why I’ve been shooting from the hip all season and that will never change.

Louisiana Tech @ Boise State

Wednesday, 8:00 PM EST

Boise State currently occupies the #4 spot outside my top 25 rankings and they certainly look strong, led by senior Ian Johnson, who must be in his 7 th or 8 th season in Boise. All kidding aside, L-Tech boasts a win over the SEC’s Mississippi State and should give the Broncos a challenge. However, Boise State is a solid team and they’re only two weeks removed from a big win over Oregon in Autzen Stadium. I would be very surprised if the Broncos had a letdown this week and I expect them to hold off a challenge from the Bulldogs.

Boise State 34, Louisiana Tech 27

Pittsburgh @ #11 South Florida

Thursday, 7:30 PM EST

It was a year ago that the Bulls vaulted onto the National scene, defeating a highly-ranked West Virginia squad on a Thursday night. This year, the Bulls are the Big East’s standard-bearer and Pitt comes to the Bay Area with the intention of knocking off the Bulls and re-entering the top 25. I think Pitt is the biggest challenge that the Bulls are going to get in Big East play and the Panthers showed a lot of fortitude two weeks ago in edging Iowa at home by a single point. I think Pitt is going to establish a solid running game and take it to the Bulls early before Matt Grothe gets his team back into the game. Expect this to be a physical battle but the Bulls will win this one on a late field goal to take early control in the Big East race.

South Florida 33, Pittsburgh 31

Oregon State @ #15 Utah

Thursday, 9:00 PM EST

The Beavers have been in the spotlight for the last week after their surprising upset of USC. This week, they have an equally tough test as they hit the road to face Utah in the Utes’ final non-conference game. Utah has to be very aware that this game is even more important than their season-opening win over Michigan because now they are expected to win and are facing a team that just knocked off one of the country’s best teams. A win here would give them a big boost in national perception. Meanwhile, Oregon State has to get back up for yet another big game and I’m not so sure that they can do it. I think that Oregon State plays tough but my gut says that Utah is going to win this game.

Utah 27, Oregon State 24

#2 Penn State @ Purdue

Saturday 12:00 PM EST

Penn State leaves the cocoon of Happy Valley for the first time this year to face off against a reeling Purdue team that is coming off of tough losses to Oregon and Notre Dame. The Boilermakers simply don’t have the defense to withstand the Nittany Lions’ passing attack and while Curtis Painter probably will put up some points through the air, Penn State wins their first road game of the season handily.

Penn State 41, Purdue 24

Kentucky @ #3 Alabama

Saturday 3:30 PM EST

Nick Saban sure is hyping up a decent-at-best Kentucky squad. “They might have the best defense in the country.” Really, Nick? Is this the same Kentucky team that almost lost to Middle Tennessee State that you’re talking about here? Well, I guess you don’t have to be honest to coach a fantastic team, which Alabama is. However, look at the first time that the Crimson Tide went to Georgia and knocked off a top 10 team; The next week they struggled with Tulane. I think that the Tide plays a fairly close game, at least for a half, against the Wildcats before pulling this one out.

Alabama 27, Kentucky 10

#20 Illinois @ Michigan

Saturday 3:30 PM EST

A week ago, I wouldn’t have seen this game as remotely interesting. Michigan hadn’t shown any signs of life on offense and Illinois looked like a very solid team. While my perception of Illinois hasn’t changed, Michigan inexplicably woke up against a lethargic Wisconsin team and now I’m not sure whether they finally figured out their offense or just took advantage of a Badger group that lost their intensity. While I still think that Michigan is no better than a 6-6 finisher this year, they’re suddenly dangerous enough to knock off some of the conference’s better opposition. Look for Illinois to come into the Big House and give the Wolverines a dose of reality keep their own conference title hopes alive.

Illinois 31, Michigan 20

 

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Florida State @ Miami (FL)

Saturday 3:30 PM EST

Seriously, neither of these teams are ranked? When was the last time that happened? Anyways, Miami had victory literally pulled from its clutches on the game’s final play last week while the Seminoles appeared to find an offense against Colorado. Florida State’s defense has been very impressive this year and while Miami is definitely moving in the right direction, I like the Seminoles to knock off the Hurricanes with their newfound running game and excellent defense.

Florida State 20, Miami (FL) 16

#4 Texas @ Colorado

Saturday 7:10 PM EST

Texas has been one of the most impressive teams in the season’s first month and they begin conference play traveling to Boulder to face a dangerous Buffaloes team. Colorado is clearly better than last season and definitely has the potential to defeat one of the Big XII’s top teams. However, I just don’t see the Buffaloes slowing down Colt McCoy, who has been the Big XII’s most impressive quarterback thus far. Texas opens Big XII play with a big road win.

Texas 41, Colorado 23

#19 Oregon @ #8 Southern California

Saturday 8:00 PM EST

How will USC react to losing their first game of the season? Well, they certainly don’t have an easy game to get things back on track. Remember, the Ducks knocked off USC last season and would likely have broken the Trojans’ run atop the Pac Ten had Dennis Dixon not been injured. This time, Oregon has to play the Trojans in the Coliseum, where good teams go to die (see: Ohio State). While I really like Oregon, I simply can’t see them beating an angry USC team in Los Angeles, though they will score some points.

USC 34, Oregon 26

#9 Ohio State @ #16 Wisconsin

Saturday 8:00 PM EST

I’m still in shock that Wisconsin blew a 19-0 lead at halftime against an inept Michigan team which turned the ball over 5 times and had 21 total yards of offense at the break. In fact, Wisconsin’s absolute inability to throw the ball until late in the game really surprised me. Alan Evridge has shown why he didn’t beat out Tyler Donovan last year and I was completely unimpressed by Wisconsin’s lack of fire in the second half. Meanwhile, Ohio State has played well on defense the last two weeks and their offense seems quite intimidating now with Beanie Wells and Terrelle Pryor in the backfield. All signs point to a big Buckeye road victory in one of the Big Ten’s toughest road venues. Remember, the last time OSU went to Camp Randall in 2003, the Buckeyes’ 19 game winning streak came to an end. This time, the result will be different.

Ohio State 30, Wisconsin 16

#5 Missouri @ Nebraska

Saturday 9:00 PM EST

Missouri had a week off to prepare for this game, while Nebraska played Virginia Tech to the wire. The Cornhuskers certainly look to be an improved team under Bo Pelini and their offense has the potential to take advantage of Mizzou’s questionable defense, but I can’t see the Cornhuskers improved defense slowing down Chase Daniel enough to pull out a win here. While I think that the Tigers’ defense is going to cost them a game at some point this season, I don’t see it being this Saturday Night in Lincoln.

Missouri 38, Nebraska 30

By Matt Baxendell
CollegeSports-fans.com Staff Writer

Matt Baxendell is collegesports-fans.com’s newest staff writer. If you’d like to join his college football therapy group, email him at matt.baxendell @ gmail.com with all your questions, comments, and anything else you would like to share. Also be sure to check out Matt's 2008 conference previews and college football Top 25 rankings here at CollegeSports-fans.com!

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