It's bloody mid-October already. How'd we get here so soon? Seems like just yesterday we were talking about how the Huskers would rebound from the Billy-Stevey debacle and go 10-2 or 9-3 and once again ascend the mountain towards annual greatness.
Yet here we are, looking at a team still trying to find itself. Perhaps that will happen this weekend.
Also seemed like yesterday everyone expected that USC would face no challenges, that this was Georgia's year, that Clemson would win the ACC. Funny how things happen much differently than you expect. I guess that's the difference between life and a computer game.
BYU was knocked off earlier tonight, so we no longer have to worry about them in the titl game. Is this a harbinger of things to come again this weekend - massive upsets all around?
Ohio State @ Michigan State
Ohio State favored by 3.5
Husker Mike: Smell that? Yep...that's the smell of the Buckeyes trying to weasel their way back into the Top Ten. Or are they looking ahead to next week's matchup with a legitimate top ten team...Penn State
Sparty 28, Bucknuts 17
Corn Blight: This is a legitimately difficult game to predict. Beanie Wells vs Javon Ringer - should be great to watch, but these two cancel each other out. Yet, Michigan State hasn’t shown their usual psychotic inconsistency. This weekend they come back true to form.
Buckeyes 24, Spartans 21
Meechigoon @ Penn State
Penn State favored by 23.5
Husker Mike: RichRod being compared to Billy C as a coach trying to force a square peg into a round hole.
Lions 38, Weasels 6
Corn Blight: Last week was a horrific week for Wolverine fans. At least this week they’ll lose to a good team. The screaming gets louder in Ann Arbor.
Nitts 38, Wolverines 10
Virginia Tech @ Boston College
BC favored by 3
Husker Mike: All Tech does is win.
VT 27, BC 21
Corn Blight: I agree with that. You have to like Tech in close games. Their offense isn’t good, but it hasn’t mattered much... yet.
Hokies 24, Eagles 21
Kansas State @ Colorado
Colorado favored by 3
Husker Mike: Somebody's going to get well here...either Colorado's pathetic offense or Kansas State's sieve of a defense.
Colorado 27, Kansas State 21
Corn Blight: Huge game for both teams. It’s at Colorado. Colorado’s young guys Stewart and Scott will have no problems running through this Wildcat defense.
Colorado 31, Kansas State Princes 17
Kansas @ Oklahoma
Oklahoma favored by 19.5
Husker Mike: Should we vote Ryan Reynolds defensive player of the year in the Big XII now, or should we wait and see if his replacements can stop the hemorrhaging? Sooners 45, Jayhawks 21
Corn Blight: That is a huge spread. Clearly no one expects much from the Jayhawks. That’s okay, they can’t run, so their offense is already one-dimensional. Oklahoma is at home, angry, and ready to prove themselves all over again.
Sooners 41, Jayhawks 28
Baylor @ Oklahoma State
Husker Mike: Oklahoma State favored by 17 Are the Cowboys for real? Are the Bears for real? Is anything really real anymore in college football?
Cowboys 31, Bears 20
Corn Blight: Oklahoma State is as real as anyone else is right now. Perhaps they’re last year’s Kansas team - a low schedule ranking (94th) that has yet to play anyone.… well, except Missouri, whom they beat on the road. Plus, this is the Bears.
Cowboys 42, Bears 28
Missouri @ Texas
Texas favored by 6
Husker Mike: Tigers coughed up a nasty loogie at home last week. Texas is the latest team to be voted #1 in the country. So guess what? Tigers 45, Bovines 31
Corn Blight: Was Mizzou looking past Oklahoma State to this game or were they overrated? Did the Tigers think that winning a game in Lincoln counted more than it did? Oh, the questions. Chase Daniel vs Colt McCoy. Wow, flip a coin. Both make the people around them better. I want so badly to pick Missouri. They have Jeremy Maclin. Unfortunately, I think they come crashing back to earth and auger in. Chase’s Heisman hopes gone with the wind.
Texas 42, Missouri 38
Texas Tech @ Texas A&M
Tech favored by 21
Husker Mike: Nebraska kept the score down last week by playing keep-away against Texas Tech. Do you think Mike Sherman learned anything from that? Of course not. Texas Tech 56, Texas A&M 10
Corn Blight: The Aggies just don’t have it. Not this year. I don’t care how much the teams hate each other.
Red Raiders 52, Aggies 21
Nebraska @ Iowa State
Nebraska favored by 6.5
Husker Mike: Can the Huskers maintain the momentum from last weekend? How will the Clones react to being taken behind the woodshed by Baylor? Key game for both teams.
Huskers 31, Cyclones 27
Corn Blight: The Cyclones have played us close in Ames for a long time. This time is no different, but no cigar for the ‘Clones. Even though it’s at home, I look for us to take the season’s frustrations out on Austen Arnaud. Pressure forces turnovers.
Nebraska 30, Iowa State 21