Something this season has taught us thus far is that there is no singular great team in college football. Florida State is the defending national champion and still undefeated, but frankly Notre Dame got more praise for its loss to the Seminoles last Saturday than FSU got for its shaky win. There are fewer undefeated teams through week eight of the season than at any time in the last 20 years. In the absence of one or two great teams, we could argue that it makes every week in college football that much more compelling. Every weekend is now must-see TV. So let’s pick up our virtual programming guide and see what plot lines we can find in week nine’s episodes.
LSU (6-2) vs. Ole Miss (7-0), 7:15 pm, ESPN
We keep waiting to find out that Ole Miss’ season is like a JR Ewing plot line and this undefeated season is some wacky dream. Yet, the Rebels are still front and center each week. Their offense still has questions, averaging only 3.8 rushing yards per carry, which is 12th in the SEC. That puts more pressure on quarterback Bo Wallace and he has been just good enough from week to week.
The Ole Miss defense on the other hand has been stifling. They held Tennessee’s offense to just three points in a blowout win last weekend and are giving up an average of just under 12 points per game which is second in the country. LSU has two SEC West losses but is improving. The Tigers will challenge the Rebels defense with a strong run game behind Leonard Fournette who is averaging five yards per carry. The scenery will be big. They are playing in Death Valley on a Saturday night and many programs have had their story arcs cancelled there.
Kentucky (5-2) vs. Mississippi State (6-0), 3:30 pm, CBS
The Bulldogs are playing as the nation’s top-ranked team for the first time in school history. MSU quarterback Dak Prescott has quickly jumped into leading man status. His 22 touchdowns and more than 1,400 yards passing with only four interceptions have him in Heisman contention. State is averaging 264 rushing and 265 yards passing per game indicating great balance on offense.
The Bulldogs had a bye last week to absorb their new found success and critical acclaim. Kentucky doesn’t figure to play the role of antagonist to MSU’s great storyline. The Wildcats got hammered by 38 points in Baton Rouge against LSU last week. Their one quality win is a then-surprising victory over South Carolina three weeks ago. Kentucky has been one dimensional on offense, relying almost entirely on the passing game. Last week they were held to under 80 yards rushing for the second time this season.
Michigan State (6-1) vs. Michigan (3-4), 3:30 pm, ABC
Let’s face it, Michigan football has been like that show you find at 2am on some obscure cable channel you didn’t even know you had. You stumble across it and realize it is such a train wreck, you can’t turn away. The once historic program has one conference win, no one expects head coach Brady Hoke to be back for another season and now quarterback Devin Gardner says he has been the subject of more than 1,000 racial slurs on his Twitter and Instagram accounts.
This game is critical for Michigan State, however. A few weeks back most analysts, including this one, wrote off the Big Ten’s chances for a playoff spot. But with all the upheaval this season, the Spartans are not being written out of the script just yet. Their only loss is to Oregon and at this point as we compare which team has more forgivable losses, Michigan State looks pretty good. The Spartans have been prone to fourth quarter letdowns and giving up big running plays this season. If Michigan’s offensive athleticism kicks in at any point, we may have ourselves a cliff hanger.
Tennessee (3-4) vs. Alabama (6-1), 7:30 pm, ESPN2 Remember when Bama was criticized for only beating Arkansas by one point a couple of weeks back? Yeah, so did Nick Saban. He put the pedal down on Texas A&M last week with a 59-point blowout win. Remember when Nick Saban spent the offseason trying to get the NCAA to implement rules that would slow down fast paced offenses? Yeah, us too. Then he turned around and hired Lane Kiffin as an offensive coordinator and installed a much faster Crimson Tide offense.
Remember when Lane Kiffin held an impromptu, late night press conference in 2009 to announce that after just one season as Tennessee head coach, he was leaving for Southern Cal? So do the Volunteers faithful. They will undoubtedly have some insight for Kiffin this week as he returns to Knoxville for the first time. There are rumors that he will coach from the press box for the first time this season to avoid the distractions.
Penn State (4-2) vs. Ohio State (5-1), 8 pm, ABC
Ohio State is the Mrs. Kravitz of the Big Ten right now, (younguns need to find Bewitched reruns on one of those off-the-map cable channels). The Buckeyes are hanging around, looking out the window at what’s going on around them because they are still on the fringe of the conference title and potential playoff opportunities. Their new found offense is averaging 56 points per game the last four games. Ironically, they also need Michigan State to keep winning until they get a chance to beat them in three weeks in order to boost their strength of schedule.
Penn State has the ignominious status of having given Michigan its one and only conference win last week. The team was so embarrassed, the captains held a players-only meeting to discuss how to get right again.
Cal (4-3) vs. Oregon (6-1) 10 pm, Fox Sports 1 (Friday)
Oregon’s offensive line is healthy and the Ducks are an offensive juggernaut again as a result, averaging 44 points per game the last two weeks. Quarterback Marcus Mariota has thrown 238 consecutive passes without an interception dating back to November of last year, the renewed offensive line has not given up a sack in the last three games and just like that Oregon is in control of the Pac-12 North.
The Bears are like the well-noted cartoon character looking for a picnic basket, only to get thwarted in the end. They lost on a Hail Mary at the end of the Arizona game three weeks back. Last week they were driving for the game ending winning score against UCLA. A field goal would have done it, but head coach Sonny Dykes curiously went for a corner touchdown pass which got intercepted. The game will take place at the 49ers new digs in Santa Clara, CA, a good 40 or so miles south of Cal’s campus in Berkeley.
Utah (5-1) vs. USC (5-2), 10 pm, Fox Sports 1
This is likely a cancellation notice in the Pac-12 South race for the losing team. Trojans’ quarterback Cody Kessler had the game of a lifetime with seven touchdown passes against Colorado. Utah is curiously starting Travis Wilson at quarterback over Kendal Thompson. USC’s defense has been susceptible to outside speed. Thompson has that. Wilson does not.
One final note from the quality-in-programming department: It’s worth noting that some teams still battling for their playoff spot, Baylor, Georgia, Notre Dame and Florida State are all on mid-season hiatus this week.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @TonyBruin.
Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest in sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
Main Photo:
