WBN Games of the Week: Kentucky Black Out
It is finally happening. After years of rumors and speculation, the University of Kentucky football team will wear black uniforms for the first time ever in the history of the program against Mississippi State on Saturday.
This is perfect timing. It’s a night game, it’s Halloween weekend, it’s coming off of a win and this could propel the team’s confidence in order to win their first SEC game.
Traditionalists may scoff at the uniform change but this is what modern college athletics has come to. Look at Maryland and Oregon as prime examples. Their uniforms change on a weekly basis and it is something that recruits get excited about. No need for UK to stand on the sidelines and let trends pass them by.
Fans are encouraged to wear black as well in order to give Commonwealth an ominous aura and the Cats a great home field advantage.
Mississippi State (3-4) at Kentucky (3-4): Saturday October 29th, 7:00 PM
Both teams are looking for their first SEC win of the season. Both teams have been a relative disappointment to their fans, MSU more so than the Wildcats. The Bulldogs were thought to be a contender for the SEC West title but have all but faded away in that conversation.
Two things that Mississippi State does well are run the ball and play defense. They rank 19th in points allowed (19.3) and 38th in rushing yards per game (180). Running back Vick Ballard averages 5.7 yards per carry and has 598 rushing yards per game as well as five touchdowns.
The Bulldog passing game has been less than stellar. There was a quarterback change and sophomore Tyler Russell has been given starting duties over senior Chris Relf. Russell has already eclipsed Relf’s touchdown total and is close to eclipsing his yards passing total in limited duty.
The Cats are coming off of a dominant win over an FCS school. They ran the ball better and may have found a legit starter in Coshik Williams. LaRod King finally stepped up for the receivers and Morgan Newton had his best game of the season. The defense was solid all around and only allowed 14 points and forced three turnovers.
But this is an SEC team. This is a winnable game for Kentucky but I am not a fan of the match ups of their running game and our defensive front. I am also not of fan of their defense vs. our offense.
Bulldogs 21-Wildcats 13
Syracuse (5-2) at Louisville (3-4): Saturday October 29th, 12:00 PM
The sooner the Big East folds or gives up it’s automatic BCS bowl bid the better for college football. Neither one of these teams are any good and either one can win on Saturday.
Syracuse did pull a huge upset over West Virginia in the Carrier Dome on Saturday. The Orange thumped the Mountaineers 49-23. ‘Cuse can score in bunches and average almost 30 points per contest. Their defense is not that great, they allow 27 points a game and have let teams like Tulane, Wake Forest and Toledo score over 25 points on them.
The Cards actually have a decent defense. I am still not going to say they are good based on the teams they have played, but they are decent. They will get a true test with Syracuse this weekend. The Cards offense is still offensive. They have scored over 20 points only twice this season. They will face one of the worst defenses in the Big East this Saturday.
Every dog has his day and they Cards had their day when they beat another dog team when they defeated Rutgers last Friday night. Louisville had one of the worst turnover margins in the NCAA until Rutgers freshman QB Gary Nova threw three interceptions last week. Don’t expect Syracuse to do the same. And Louisville still gets 1,000 penalty yards each game.
Look for the Orange to put up more points than the Cards can match.
Orange 25-Cards 17
SEC Game of the Week: #22 Georgia (5-2) at Florida (4-3) (Game Played in Jacksonville, Fla.): Saturday October 29th, 3:30 PM
They don’t call it the World’s Biggest Cocktail party for nothin’. The Gators and the Dawgs have been playing each other for what seems like forever. And now, the game may be as decisive as it has been in a long time.
The Gators are 2-0 against teams in the SEC East and 0-3 against the West. The Bulldogs are 2-1 in the East and 2-0 in the West. Basically, the East is still up for grabs with South Carolina leading the way with their win over Georgia. If Florida can beat UGA, then defeat South Carolina, they have a clear path to the East title and a clear path to save their season.
Georgia also must win and hope for Florida to defeat the Gamecocks in order to clear a path for their East title. Either way you look at it, both teams need this win in the worst way. Florida has dropped three in a row against LSU, Alabama and Auburn, three of the toughest teams in the SEC. Florida may not be ready for prime time in the West, but they still have a leg up in the East.
Though Georgia has the better QB, but not necessarily the better offense, I am picking the Gators with their backs against the wall.
Gators 25-Bulldogs 23
Non SEC Game of the Week: Baylor (4-2) at #3 Oklahoma State (7-0): Saturday October 29th, 3:30 PM
Who owns the #6 scoring offense in the country? Baylor. Who owns the #2 scoring offense in the country? Oklahoma State. These two schools are headed toward the video game showdown of the season.
Neither team has a very good defense and both have outstanding quarterbacks. The Bears have Robert Griffin III. RG3 has piled up 1,950 yards and 22 touchdowns. The Cowboys have Brandon Weeden. Weeden has racked up 2,436 yards and 19 touchdowns. Weeden also has, in my opinion, the best wide receiver in the country to throw to with Justin Blackmon. But Baylor’s Kendall Wright is no slouch. He actually has one more TD catch that Blackmon almost 100 more yards receiving.
Any way you slice it this will be one helluva football game if you like offense, which I do. Whichever offense is clicking the best that night will most likely come up with the victory. Given that the game is at OK State and they just moved up to #3 in the BCS rankings, then I am giving the W to the ‘Boys.
Cowboys 48-Bears 32
Clunker of the Week: UConn (3-4) at Pittsburgh (3-4): Wednesday October 26th, 8:00 PM
By the time you read this this game will have already been played. You know your game is a stinker if it is played on a Wednesday night. This seems to be a trend for the Big East. Hardly any of their games have been on prime time Saturday night, if on Saturday at all.
There isn’t much to say here. If this was basketball then we might be looking at the conference game of the year, but we aren’t. This game will determine who gets to fight Louisville for worst in the league.
Panters 12-Huskies 10
NFL Game of the Week: Patriots (5-1) at Steelers (5-2): Sunday O
ctober 30th, 4:15 PM
This old fashioned AFC sloberknocker should be a doozey. After a slow start the Steelers have ripped off three straight wins. Ben Roethlisberger has been throwing the ball with some tenacity the last few games and they have been putting up some major points.
Their defense is still sharp and they are allowing the least amount of passing yards in the league. Enter Tom Brady and the Pats who are tops in passing and 10th in rushing. The New England defense is not great but it has improved week by week, something you know Bill Billichick was going to fix.
The Pats are also coming off of a bye week which gave Bill and Tom 2 weeks to prepare for the Steelers. Not good news if you are a Steelers fan.
Patriots 27-Steelers 21
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