College Football: Week 7 Preview

Thursday, 6:30PM: #8 Cincinnati at #21 South Florida
I told you in Week 1 to get yourself a look at Cincinnati QB Tony Pike - if you didn't do it, here's your nationally televised chance. Huge game for the unbeaten Bearcats against a South Florida team that has gotten a major spark from backup quarterback B.J. Daniels (starting QB Matt Grothe went down in week 3 with a torn ACL). And Bulls coach Jim Leavitt, who built the program from scratch, is always good for some entertainment (of both the play calling and sideline antics variety). Somewhat irrelevantly, I'm headed to Cincinnati to see the Bearcats take on West Virginia in November and I'd really, really like them to be undefeated at that time.
Prediction: Tough since I haven't seen South Florida this year. It's hard to imagine they could keep up with Cincy's high octane offense. Cincinnati must find a way to keep Bulls DE George Selvie out of Tony Pike's face, but if they can do it, they'll win big. Arrgh. Bearcats by 10.

Saturday, 11AM: Two games taped and watched quarter by quarter to avoid crawler spoilers!
#20 Oklahoma vs. #3 Texas (Neutral Site)
College football fans, even outside the Big 12, have been looking forward to this one since last year. Oklahoma’s drop out of the national championship race does dull the excitement a little, but not as much as you might think. The Sooners have their Heisman trophy winner back, a lot to prove after losses to second tier teams BYU and Miami (relax, Mormons and 'Canes fans: I mean this in the sense of ‘not a recent threat to win the national championship’), and can still play spoiler. Fans in Norman will appreciate ruining the Longhorns season almost as much as a national championship.
Prediction: This will be by far the best opponent to date for both teams, so it's a tough call. In the end, I haven't seen Oklahoma put together a game against a good team, with or without Bradford. And Texas does have that win over Tech. So....Texas in another wildly entertaining shootout.
#11 Iowa at Wisconsin
I realize it’s not on the scale of the Oklahoma-Texas matchup, but this is a huge Big Ten game between undefeated Iowa and a better-every-week Wisconsin team that is 5-1 with its only loss coming at the Horseshoe. Even though this should be an old school run-first football game (admittedly, I thought that about Iowa last week and I was…wrong), I would guess that this one will come down to the quarterback play. Badgers QB Scott Tolzien was originally a long shot to get the starting job, but he’s managed games well, even in the Horseshoe. Iowa’s Ricky Stanzi has been somewhat shaky, particularly at the beginning of games, but has stepped up in a big way when his team needs him. Consistency will be the key here.
Prediction: I have to take Iowa here. They have a more experienced quarterback, more big play threats, and a faster defense.

Saturday, 2:30PM: #6 USC at #25 Notre Dame
The last few years of this series have been embarrassingly lopsided, but this is the best start for a Notre Dame team in quite a while. Taylor Mays and the rest of the USC defense will be by far the best Jimmy Clausen and the Domers have seen. Meanwhile, the Trojans have a quality win at Ohio State (hey, you know I hate ‘em, but you have to admit that their defense is legit), but have been largely untested since then. Word on the street is that rookie QB Barkley gets better with every game – he’ll have to prove it here. Read: we’re about to find out right now how good both teams are.
Prediction: I sort of hope both teams lose, but failing that, a lot of people are saying either USC wins big or Notre Dame wins in a close game and I’d have to agree with that. Since the Trojans are far superior in talent (albeit possibly inferior in the ‘caring about winning’ sense) and have already proved themselves in a hostile environment, I have to go with the USC big scenario. Plus, it’d be fun to watch!

Saturday, 5PM: #4 Virginia Tech at #19 Georgia Tech
I have to admit that it's possible that my intense dislike of run first quarterbacks like Tyrod Taylor has kept me from giving Virginia Tech a fair shake, so I'm going to watch this one so I know for sure. Georgia Tech is probably not a worthy opponent for the Hokies, but that triple option offense can explode without warning, particularly if they don't have to play from too far behind, so you never know.
Prediction: VT's defense is reportedly good enough to handle a simple attack like this one. I'll take the Hokies by two touchdowns.

Saturday, 6:45PM : #22 South Carolina at #2 Alabama
More interesting than it looks at first glance. This is the beginning of a three game home stretch for the Tide and the next two opponents are Tennessee and LSU, whom you might remember as prominent opponents of the top-ranked Florida Tebows. If Alabama wins these games convincingly, they could be looking at a #1 ranking. So yes, Alabama should beat up on the Gamecocks, but they'll be on their way to some serious respect for doing it. I also haven't seen the Tide play yet and I'm anxious to compare 'em to the Gators.
Prediction: Tide rolls.