Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2021 13:25:00 GMT -5
It’s easy to forget sometimes how much further north Europe is than North America. We are hardly in what could be considered Northern Europe and yet we are as far north as Seattle or Quebec City. Point is, days are already noticeably shortening.
On workdays I am up at 5:30 in order to be in the office by 7. At the end of June, the sun comes up at 5:30, and sets at 9:30, making for a 16 hour day. By mid-August the sun rises when I leave the house at 6:30, and sets around 8:30. But now, here we are in only mid-September and it is still dark when I leave the house. Sunrise today was at 7:07, and the sun will set at 7:41, down to 12 ½ hour days. (In case any of you were wondering, the latest sunrise is at 8:15, the earliest sunset is at 4:41, and the shortest day is 8 ½ hours).
Anyway, the point to all this is that fall is here. Today it’s in the low 60s and rainy. Leaves on some of the trees are already starting to change, and there is a tree on our street that is bright red. All of which puts me in a football mood, which is good, because while at first glance this looks like a boring week, there are actually some decent games.
For starters, games against FCS teams are down. Last week 35 of the 78 scheduled games (43%) were against FCS schools. This week it is down to 21 of 73 (29%). The top 3 ranked teams are all playing P5 teams, which is also a departure from previous weeks, even if two of those games are Nebraska @ Oklahoma and South Carolina @ Georgia.
There are 3 ranked vs. ranked games (Alabama @ Florida, Auburn @ Penn State, ASU @ BYU), but there are also a few other games that should be fairly entertaining.
Nebraska @ Oklahoma FOX 6:00 p.m.
Oh for the days when this was THE game. I’ve told the story of why I root for the Huskers (recap: went there for a game. Most welcoming fans I’ve ever encountered). I really had high hopes when Frost went there, but he clearly has not been the answer so far.
The two teams are meeting for the first time since the 2010 Big 12 Championship, which is far too long. Nebraska will be motivated, and OUs defense has been less than stellar, but there is no way they can keep up with the Sooners offense. Oklahoma by 2 TDs.
Cincinnati @ Indiana ESPN 6:00 p.m.
It’s been a big early season in Cincinnati- CFP dark horse, B12 invite, and wondering how many more games they will have a head coach for. Add to that the fact that they finally have to go on the road and play someone with slightly more of a pulse than Miami (OH) and Murray State, and it would seem that the Bearcats CFP dreams would come crashing down. They won’t. Indiana has been terrible in the passing game, and Cincinnati will take advantage defensively. Bearcats by double digits.
3 stars
Michigan State @ Miami ABC 6:00 p.m.
Miami just isn’t as good as advertised. Sure Bama can make anybody look bad, but the Canes didn’t exactly roll against Appalachian State either, beating them by 2. The D line is probably Miami’s best unit, which is good, because the Spartan O line is great, and they are rushing for more than 300 ypg. Michigan State will win the battle of the lines, and the game.
3 stars
Virginia Tech @ West Virginia FS1 6:00 p.m.
Yes, West Virginia lost to Maryland in the opener, but it was 4 turnovers that doomed them. The defense has been playing well, but so has the Hokie D. And VT did do us all a favor and put us out of our North Carolina misery. I’m still picking WV at home, provided they don’t turn the ball over 4 times.
3.5 stars
Purdue @ Notre Dame NBC 8:30 p.m.
Speaking of teams who aren’t as good as advertised…How this team is ranked in the Top 10 is beyond me. And now they are getting a Purdue team that is actually pretty good, especially in the air where they are putting up 344 ypg. I think Notre Dame’s stay in the Top 10 ends here, with Purdue pulling off the upset.
4 stars
Alabama @ Florida CBS 9:30 p.m.
I want to preface this by saying that in no way shape or form is this meant to disrespect either team, but, let’s be honest here, the competition so far has been, less than stellar. Miami appears to have been vastly overrated, and the other game was Mercer. On the Gator side, sure they’ve looked very good, but that was against USF and FAU. Point here is, this will be a step up in competition for both teams, so the question is who handles it better.
Florida has been able to run the ball, but the passing game has had some issues (4 INTs in 2 games) and that wasn’t against Bama. The Gators may hang around for a little while, but Bama will win comfortably.
4 stars
Auburn @ Penn State ABC 1:30 p.m.
Speaking of a step up in competition, Auburn has looked good against Akron and Alabama State, but this is an entirely different animal all together. The Penn State D held Wisconsin to 180 rushing yards, and Ball State to 69. I think Auburn can keep it close but playing at home will give Penn State the edge.
5 stars
Arizona State @ BYU ESPN 4:15 a.m.
Speaking of steps up in competition Part III- ASU has beaten Southern Utah and UNLV, but they now they have to travel to Provo. BYU dominated both lines against Utah, which was the exact opposite of what I thought would happen. I doubted them once, I won’t do it again. BYU moves into 1st place in the P12 South.
4 stars
Fresno State @ UCLA PACN 4:45 a.m.
Speaking of a step up in competition, Part IV- I kid LSU fans, I kid.
I made a comment on FB that there wasn’t a single game this year that I don’t think that UCLA can find a way to lose. The history is there, from the 1988 team that destroyed Nebraska and was sitting at 7-0 with a 4th quarter lead at home against Washington State, when they went conservative, lost the game and finished 10-2, to the 1998 10-0 team, on a 20-0 run, that traveled to Miami in a hurricane delayed game who gave up a TD to Edgerrin James (he was down!) with 50 seconds to play and finished 10-2, to all the times they lost to Stanford when they shouldn’t have, UCLA will find a way to lose.
Which brings me to this game. Fresno put up nearly 300 yards passing against Oregon, and UCLA’s biggest weakness is the pass defense. That’s not good. On the other hand, UCLA’s lines have been very good, opening up huge holes for the RBs, and spending a lot of time in the backfield on the other side.
I think Fresno has enough to hang around for a half, possibly even 3 quarters, but I think UCLA does enough to win. Maybe. Possibly. Fuck, I hate the history of this team.
5 stars
Note 1: Yes, I know this has nothing to do with AFN
Note 2: All times are CET
Note 3: These opinions are mine and mine alone. I welcome comments, rebuttals, questions, agreements, challenges, predictions of your own, bottles of scotch, bottles of gin, and as many Belgian Tripels as you can send.
On workdays I am up at 5:30 in order to be in the office by 7. At the end of June, the sun comes up at 5:30, and sets at 9:30, making for a 16 hour day. By mid-August the sun rises when I leave the house at 6:30, and sets around 8:30. But now, here we are in only mid-September and it is still dark when I leave the house. Sunrise today was at 7:07, and the sun will set at 7:41, down to 12 ½ hour days. (In case any of you were wondering, the latest sunrise is at 8:15, the earliest sunset is at 4:41, and the shortest day is 8 ½ hours).
Anyway, the point to all this is that fall is here. Today it’s in the low 60s and rainy. Leaves on some of the trees are already starting to change, and there is a tree on our street that is bright red. All of which puts me in a football mood, which is good, because while at first glance this looks like a boring week, there are actually some decent games.
For starters, games against FCS teams are down. Last week 35 of the 78 scheduled games (43%) were against FCS schools. This week it is down to 21 of 73 (29%). The top 3 ranked teams are all playing P5 teams, which is also a departure from previous weeks, even if two of those games are Nebraska @ Oklahoma and South Carolina @ Georgia.
There are 3 ranked vs. ranked games (Alabama @ Florida, Auburn @ Penn State, ASU @ BYU), but there are also a few other games that should be fairly entertaining.
Nebraska @ Oklahoma FOX 6:00 p.m.
Oh for the days when this was THE game. I’ve told the story of why I root for the Huskers (recap: went there for a game. Most welcoming fans I’ve ever encountered). I really had high hopes when Frost went there, but he clearly has not been the answer so far.
The two teams are meeting for the first time since the 2010 Big 12 Championship, which is far too long. Nebraska will be motivated, and OUs defense has been less than stellar, but there is no way they can keep up with the Sooners offense. Oklahoma by 2 TDs.
Cincinnati @ Indiana ESPN 6:00 p.m.
It’s been a big early season in Cincinnati- CFP dark horse, B12 invite, and wondering how many more games they will have a head coach for. Add to that the fact that they finally have to go on the road and play someone with slightly more of a pulse than Miami (OH) and Murray State, and it would seem that the Bearcats CFP dreams would come crashing down. They won’t. Indiana has been terrible in the passing game, and Cincinnati will take advantage defensively. Bearcats by double digits.
3 stars
Michigan State @ Miami ABC 6:00 p.m.
Miami just isn’t as good as advertised. Sure Bama can make anybody look bad, but the Canes didn’t exactly roll against Appalachian State either, beating them by 2. The D line is probably Miami’s best unit, which is good, because the Spartan O line is great, and they are rushing for more than 300 ypg. Michigan State will win the battle of the lines, and the game.
3 stars
Virginia Tech @ West Virginia FS1 6:00 p.m.
Yes, West Virginia lost to Maryland in the opener, but it was 4 turnovers that doomed them. The defense has been playing well, but so has the Hokie D. And VT did do us all a favor and put us out of our North Carolina misery. I’m still picking WV at home, provided they don’t turn the ball over 4 times.
3.5 stars
Purdue @ Notre Dame NBC 8:30 p.m.
Speaking of teams who aren’t as good as advertised…How this team is ranked in the Top 10 is beyond me. And now they are getting a Purdue team that is actually pretty good, especially in the air where they are putting up 344 ypg. I think Notre Dame’s stay in the Top 10 ends here, with Purdue pulling off the upset.
4 stars
Alabama @ Florida CBS 9:30 p.m.
I want to preface this by saying that in no way shape or form is this meant to disrespect either team, but, let’s be honest here, the competition so far has been, less than stellar. Miami appears to have been vastly overrated, and the other game was Mercer. On the Gator side, sure they’ve looked very good, but that was against USF and FAU. Point here is, this will be a step up in competition for both teams, so the question is who handles it better.
Florida has been able to run the ball, but the passing game has had some issues (4 INTs in 2 games) and that wasn’t against Bama. The Gators may hang around for a little while, but Bama will win comfortably.
4 stars
Auburn @ Penn State ABC 1:30 p.m.
Speaking of a step up in competition, Auburn has looked good against Akron and Alabama State, but this is an entirely different animal all together. The Penn State D held Wisconsin to 180 rushing yards, and Ball State to 69. I think Auburn can keep it close but playing at home will give Penn State the edge.
5 stars
Arizona State @ BYU ESPN 4:15 a.m.
Speaking of steps up in competition Part III- ASU has beaten Southern Utah and UNLV, but they now they have to travel to Provo. BYU dominated both lines against Utah, which was the exact opposite of what I thought would happen. I doubted them once, I won’t do it again. BYU moves into 1st place in the P12 South.
4 stars
Fresno State @ UCLA PACN 4:45 a.m.
Speaking of a step up in competition, Part IV- I kid LSU fans, I kid.
I made a comment on FB that there wasn’t a single game this year that I don’t think that UCLA can find a way to lose. The history is there, from the 1988 team that destroyed Nebraska and was sitting at 7-0 with a 4th quarter lead at home against Washington State, when they went conservative, lost the game and finished 10-2, to the 1998 10-0 team, on a 20-0 run, that traveled to Miami in a hurricane delayed game who gave up a TD to Edgerrin James (he was down!) with 50 seconds to play and finished 10-2, to all the times they lost to Stanford when they shouldn’t have, UCLA will find a way to lose.
Which brings me to this game. Fresno put up nearly 300 yards passing against Oregon, and UCLA’s biggest weakness is the pass defense. That’s not good. On the other hand, UCLA’s lines have been very good, opening up huge holes for the RBs, and spending a lot of time in the backfield on the other side.
I think Fresno has enough to hang around for a half, possibly even 3 quarters, but I think UCLA does enough to win. Maybe. Possibly. Fuck, I hate the history of this team.
5 stars
Note 1: Yes, I know this has nothing to do with AFN
Note 2: All times are CET
Note 3: These opinions are mine and mine alone. I welcome comments, rebuttals, questions, agreements, challenges, predictions of your own, bottles of scotch, bottles of gin, and as many Belgian Tripels as you can send.