Who You Are Rooting For in Week 8

Thursday Night

North Carolina vs. #10 Miami (FL):  The Hurricanes are creeping up the rankings and are about to get into the tougher part of their schedule.  Currently the “U” isn’t ahead of the Cards in any of the voter polls, but they do lead in the Anderson & Hester, Colley, and Massey Polls.  The Tar Heels are a long shot at best to pull the upset, but we really haven’t seen Miami play top competition and I do like Larry Fedora.  But don’t expect an upset here.

Saturday

#3 Clemson vs. #5 Florida State: It doesn’t matter WHO wins or loses this game. The best case scenario here is if either Clemson or FSU gets blown out to ensure a drop in the polls.  Don’t expect a huge hit in CPU rankings, but the CPU benefits for losing could be large.  Either way there will be one less undefeated team on Saturday.

#13 Stanford vs. #9 UCLA:  The Bruins could be the real deal and Stanford doesn’t look like the Stanford we’ve seen the last few seasons.  The Cardinal would find themselves in an impossible situation with a loss to UCLA, and the Bruins would be in the driver’s seat to win the PAC-12 South.  I think UCLA wins big here, but UofL benefits here either way but giving any more momentum to UCLA could be dangerous.  They look very good right now. 

#24 Auburn @ #7 Texas A&M: A&M escaped defeat last week against Ole Miss (who has now lost 3 in a row) and now get to head home to face the Auburn Tigers. Auburn is a surprising 5-1 after a disappointing season a year earlier, with their only loss coming at the hands of LSU.   A&M’s defense is extremely vulnerable to yards & points, but even despite that I think Auburn is a long-shot at an upset here.  But it wouldn’t hurt any UofL fans feelings.

Tennessee vs. #11 South Carolina: The Gamecocks are behind the Cards in the human polls, but still hold an advantage in 3 of the 5 known computer polls right now.  Tennessee took Georgia down to the wire and might be able to do some damage at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.

#22 Florida vs. #14 Missouri: The Tigers are an unexpected 6-0 team and entering the real meat of their schedule.  Florida is ahead of the Cards in a few computer polls, but Missouri is creeping up as an undefeated.  It is time to give them a loss.

Iowa State @ @12 Baylor: It’s a dubious honor, but I think Iowa State might be the best 1-4 team in the nation. The Cyclones have lost 4 very close games and Baylor came back down to earth this week against K-State.  Baylor’s offense is potent and I’m curious to see how they fare against the competition they will see in November.  Iowa State can beat Baylor, but I doubt they do it in Waco.

Vanderbilt vs. #15 Georgia: UGA just got trounced by 15 at home against Missouri, and yet the Bulldogs still are ahead of the Cards in the Anderson & Hester, Colley, and Massey computers.  Georgia is dealing with a great number of injuries and now must go on the road to face a Vanderbilt team that typically starts playing their best football in October.

Washington State @ #2 Oregon:  I have a tough time seeing Oregon losing to Washington State. But it is worth noting that the Cougars are 4-3 as they travel to Eugene.

West Virginia vs. #16 Texas Tech: The Red Raiders are still undefeated and now must travel to Morgantown.  TT is ahead of the Cards in the Colley & Massey computers.  It feels good rocking John Denver, but I’ll do it for the Cards.

Iowa @ #4 Ohio State:  As many of you know I am not a believer in Ohio State this season.  I don’t like their defense and when watching them I just feel like they are very beatable.  I don’t think the Hawkeyes will have a shot on Saturday, but that’s not going to stop me from hoping for a Hawkeye win.

Arkansas @ #1 Alabama:  We won’t hold our breath.  Arkansas has not shown well against top competition and has lost 4 in a row.  We’ll have to wait for a better game to put Bama on watch.

Kansas vs. #18 Oklahoma: Despite a CONVINCING loss to a very sub-par Texas team this weekend the OU Sooners remained ahead of Louisville in the Anderson & Hester & Billingsley Computer Polls.  Kansas is not a good football team, and OU should be able to start repairing some of the damage from Texas this week.

Arizona State vs. #20 Washington:  The Huskies are a 2-loss team but still ranker higher than the Cards in the Massey Ratings.  Arizona State at home has a legitimate shot at knocking off the Huskies, but hoping for a 3rd loss so an undefeated Cardinal team can move ahead strikes me as a flaw in the system.

Central Michigan vs. #23 Northern Illinois: Currently the Cards are behind the Huskies in the Colley Matrix, and gaining that position would certainly help.  BUT if NIU is BCS guaranteed (which looks highly possible) the Orange Bowl may have no choice but to select Louisville if eligible &  both Clemson/FSU are also BCS products. The OB official I spoke with really would prefer to not put its ACC Champion against a future ACC member and give the league a chance to build its brand during the bowl season rather than beating up on one another.

Illinois vs. #25 Wisconsin:  This game shouldn’t matter to Louisville but the Massey Ratings have the Badgers (despite the 2-losses) ahead of the Cards. So the Cards will hope for an Illini victory on Saturday.

Arizona vs. Utah: A game featuring two unranked teams affects Louisville?  Yeah.  2-loss Utah is ahead of the Cards in the Massey Ratings.  The Wildcats taking down the Utes would help the Cards improve their computer rating.

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Mark Blankenbaker

@UofLSheriff50. Louisville native, University of Louisville Business School Grad c/o 2004. Co-Founder of TheCrunchZone.com

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