Weekend Preview: 9/16/2005

Something to think about: How good is the Big 12 really?

We know Texas can go to Ohio State and beat them. We know that Iowa State surprised Iowa. We know any Big 12 team can beat a Sun Belt team. But other than that, the results have been disappointing.

- OU lost to TCU, a team that has beaten 2 BCS teams from last year (more on their second victory below, keep reading), and let Tulsa hang around.

- Missouri lost to New Mexico at home

- Colorado needed a last second field goal to beat Colorado State after the Rams basically outplayed the Buffs the majority of the game.

- You could probably figure this out based on the above info, but it bears repeating: The Big 12 is 1-2 versus the Mountain West.

- Texas A&M lost to Clemson. Granted it was a road game, and A&M did rally, but A&M could not stop Clemson's passing game.

- Kansas State only beat Marshall because the opposing coach gambled on a pass play to get more yards when he should have kicked the game winning field goal. The Wildcats did not look good that game.

- Oklahoma State needed a 4th quarter touchdown pass to beat 1-AA Montana State, and the defense bailed the offense out in the win over FAU.

- Prior to their upset of Iowa, Iowa State allowed 3 touchdowns to 1-AA Illinois State.

- In Texas Tech's big victory over FIU, the first team defense allowed a bunch of long drives.

- Kansas has not really looked good in either of it's blowouts.

- Nebraska was not impressive against Maine (though they looked better against Wake Forest).

- Baylor barely beat SMU, who will be one of the worst teams in Conference USA when it's all said and done.

The Big 12 may be better than the Big 10, but given the Big 10's recent results against BCS teams outside of conference, that may not be saying much.

Colleges

Getting their weekend off early

TCU 23, Utah 20 (OT)
The BCS conferences can breathe a sigh of relief. They won't have to worry about splitting the pie with an undefeated mid-major again. (Granted, UTEP could still go undefeated, but they aren't playing anyone of note, which pretty much excludes them from any BCS buster talk.)

It's probably safe to say that the Mountain West has been decided. TCU went to the ground to beat last year's BCS buster and the other top team in the MWC, a strategy which will prove effective against every other 3-3-5 Stack defense in that conference.

It's also probably safe to say that last week's Horned Frogs loss to SMU was a fluke.

By the way, the officials did miss a pick on the winning play, but Utah could have helped themselves by scoring a touchdown instead of a field goal on the opening drive. Had they gotten 7 instead of 3, the pick play would have tied it instead of won it and the Utes would've had another chance.

Utah also could have avoided overtime completely by containing TCU freshman running back Aaron Brown, who went off for 163 yards. 163 yards to a freshman not named Adrian Peterson? Pitiful.

Big XII/Texas Game of the Week
#23 Oklahoma at UCLA
Saturday 2:30 PM ABC (KVUE 24)
Regional Coverage: Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Lubbock, Amarillo, Midland, El Paso, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Rio Grande Valley, Tyler, Lufkin, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Lawton, Ada, Wichita, Western Kansas, Shreveport, Albuquerque, Jonesboro (AR).
Overview
OU needs this one in order to re-establish itself as a contender going into their Big 12 schedule. The question may be whether or not they can get it. UCLA is better than a lot of people expected, they have solid performers on both sides of the football, a dark horse Heisman candidate in Maurice Drew. Plus, they can be surprisingly tough at home for teams that have to adjust to the Pacific Time Zone.

Key Matchup
Maurice Drew vs. Oklahoma's defense
Maurice has put up some good numbers, but against bad competition. Oklahoma allowed only 1.7 yards/carry against TCU and 2.5 yards/carry against Tulsa.

Key Player for Oklahoma
Rhett Bomar
At some point, OU will be in a passing situation. Rhett Bomar needs to show he can be the man.

Key Player for UCLA
Drew Olson
Here's OU's passing defense stats through their first 2 games:

Opponent	Comp %	Comp.-Att.	Yards	Yards/Catch
TCU	53.3%	24-45	226	9.4
Tulsa	66.7%	24-36	246	10.25
Total	59.2%	48-81	472	9.8

And here's Drew Olson's stats through 2 games:

Opponent	Comp %	Comp.-Att.	Yards	Yards/Catch
SD State	66.7%	10-15	152	15.2
Rice	72.0%	18-25	296	16.4
Total	70.0%	28-40	448	16.0

Yo! Think someone's going to have a good day throwing the football?

Tale of the Tape

Category	Edge	Notes
Oklahoma offense vs. UCLA defense	UCLA	Simply put, OU has no passing game, which simplifies things for UCLA's defense
UCLA offense vs. Oklahoma defense	UCLA	Running defense, good, Passing defense, not so much.
Special Teams	UCLA	Kickers seem to be even. I give UCLA the edge in the return game.
Coaching	Oklahoma	Bob Stoops is a better game coach than Karl Dorrell, but he may have his toughest coaching job yet.
Intangibles	UCLA	Oklahoma doesn't have the swagger and they are waiting for someone else to make the big play instead of trying to make it. UCLA, on the other hand, comes in with a bit of confidence.

Big XII Games

SMU at #25 Texas A&M
11:30 AM FSN Southwest/Midwest/Rocky Mtn.
A&M, after a bye gets a chance to reintroduce itself to the nation after the debacle at Clemson. SMU isn't as good as their win over TCU would suggest.

Baylor at Army
2:00 PM ESPN Classic
Baylor would like to have a win going into their Big XII schedule, but Army will play them tough. Don't think it will be a "classic", but it will be a tight ball game.

Pittsburgh at Nebraska
2:30 PM ABC
Regional Coverage: Omaha, Lincoln, Albion, Western Nebraska, Sioux Falls (SD), Sioux City(IA), Des Moines, Topeka, Kansas City, St. Louis, Columbia, Joplin, Springfield. (Cedar Rapids and some portions of Missouri that border Illinois will get Ohio State-San Diego State)
Speaking of teams needing a non-conference win to prove themselves, Pittsburgh needs this one after bad losses at Ohio (not State) and against Notre Dame. Nebraska's played two soft opponents, and is looking to down a 3rd cupcake before their conference opener.

Rice at Texas
6:00 PM FSN Southwest/Midwest/Rocky Mtn.
Can the Longhorns put the big win in Columbus out of their minds. It helps that they are playing Rice this week, but the Longhorns need to play assignment football.

Troy at Missouri
1:00 PM
Missouri suffered a bad loss last year at the hands of the Trojans, now they get to avenge the defeat this year at home. The real difference: Brad Smith now has the green light to run at will. (He has 299 yards already)

Sam Houston State at #20 Texas Tech
6:00 PM
Jarrett Hicks returns for Texas Tech as they host last year's Division I-A runner-up and former Tech QB Phillip Daugherty.

Louisiana Tech at Kansas
6:00 PM
Louisiana Tech comes off a blowout against Florida and now must play Kansas. Kansas needs a big blowout here to put everyone in the Big XII North on notice.

Bye week
Colorado
Kansas State
#24 Iowa State

Our Adopted Team

As we said last week, Cheap Seats is adopting the Tulane Green Wave because we love their attitude in the face of being displaced by the Hurricane

Mississippi State vs. Tulane
at Ruston, LA
Saturday 7:00 PM CSTV
I know Mississippi State's an SEC team, but they're a bad SEC team, and Tulane is a very dangerous team that will play anyone anywhere.

Other Texas Teams

Houston at UTEP
Tonight, 7:00 PM ESPN2
UTEP has a chance to get an early jump on the Conference USA West race by beating Houston.

Tulsa vs. North Texas
Saturday, 7:00 PM
After getting blistered by Adrian Peterson, Tulsa now faces the 1-2 rushing attack of Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas.

National Games of Note

#4 Tennessee at #6 Florida 7:00 PM CBS (KEYE 42)
Michigan State at #9 Notre Dame 1:30 PM NBC (KXAN 36)
Oregon State at #11 Louisville 11:00 AM ESPN
#10 Florida State at #16 Boston College 6:45 ESPN
#14 Miami (FL) at #21 Clemson 2:30 PM PPV
Fresno State at Oregon 6:00 PM TBS

NFL

Pittsburgh at Houston
Sunday 12:00 PM CBS (KEYE 42)
Overview
Well, the expansion label is off this year, so we can officially say that the Texans stink. And it only gets worse for them as the Pittsburgh Steelers come to Reliant Stadium.

Key Matchup
Texans' D-line/ILBs vs. Willie Parker
One thing for the Texans to give up a ton of yards to Willis McGahee, but not being able to stop a one-week fantasy wonder would be a bad sign going forward.

Key Player for Pittsburgh
Tommy Maddox
With Ben Roethlisbeger possibly not starting, it's up to Maddox to manage the game and complete passes when necessary.

Key Players for Houston
Texans Offensive Line
This offensive line simply has to be better than Week One.

Tale of the Tape

Category	Edge	Notes
Texans offense vs. Steelers defense	Pittsburgh	Texans could possibly be the worst offensive team in NFL history.
Steelers offense vs. Texans defense	Pittsburgh	No matter who starts at quarterback for the Steelers, The Texans' defense can't stop a three-toed sloth.
Special Teams	Pittsburgh	Texans have an unreliable kicking game and return game.
Coaching	Pittsburgh	If anyone knows Dom Capers' tendencies, it's Bill Cowher. Capers was once Cowher's defensive coordinator.
Intangibles	Pittsburgh	The pressure is squarely on Houston to produce. The expansion label is gone and the natives are restless.

New Orleans at New York Giants (Let's not kid ourselves)
Monday 6:30 PM ABC (KVUE 24)
Overview
San Antonio's new temporary home team plays it's first home game, but they are not playing it close to home. Oops on the NFL's part. Still, it's not like the New York Giants are good or anything.

Key Matchup
Eli Manning vs. Saints Secondary
The Saints held Jake Delhomme to 209 yards passing and forced a couple picks. Eli Manning threw a couple picks against a bad Arizona defense, though in a win, and now faces a secondary a heck of a lot better.

Key Player for New Orleans/San Antonio
Deuce McAllister
Fantasy owners have known what it's taken the pundits a while to figure out (and some still don't get it) McAllister is one of the top 5 backs in the league. New Orleans's offense revolves around him.

Key Players for the New York Giants
Will Peterson and Will Allen
These guys will be in single coverage much of the time as the Giants' safeties will have to provide run support. In the NFL, single coverage favors the offense.

Tale of the Tape

Category	Edge	Notes
Saints offense vs. Giants defense	New Orleans	Can't stop the Deuce. Won't be able to stop the play action.
Giants offense vs. Saints defense	New Orleans	Let's see 42 points against a real team before we decide Eli Manning is for real.
Special Teams	New Orleans	John Carney... Good night everyone!
Coaching	New York	Tom Coughlin can get the most out of a bad team. You never know what to expect from Jim Haslett
Intangibles	New Orleans	They have nothing to lose, and they are going to play like it.

Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys
Monday 7:00 PM ABC (KVUE 24)
Overview
One of the NFL's few true rivalries lines up for another edition this Monday Night, but don't expect it to be close. Washington is a mess despite their 9-7 opening day victory over the Bears

Key Matchup
Mark Brunell vs. Dallas's pass rush
Brunell doesn't have the mobility that he used to and the Cowboys can really put some heat on the quarterback.

Key Player for Washington
Clinton Portis
A solid rushing game will take some of the heat off Brunell and give the Redskins more makeable 3rd downs.

Key Player for Dallas
Rob Pettiti
Can the unheraled rookie right tackle hold up against a very good Washington defense?

Tale of the Tape

Category	Edge	Notes
Dallas offense vs. Washington Defense	Dallas	While the defense is the only functioning part of this Redskins team, Dallas got some good yardage against a good San Diego defense.
Washington offense vs. Dallas defense	Dallas	If LaDanian Tomlinson, the best back in the league, only got 72 yards, what makes Washington think Portis is going to get more? Did we mention the quarterback situation is a mess?
Special Teams	Dallas	Jose Cortez was reliable on extra points at least and Mat McBriar is capable of completely flipping the field.
Coaching	Dallas	While Bill Parcells seems to have adapted to the modern NFL, Joe Gibbs still seems stuck in the past
Intangibles	Dallas	Dallas is coming off a big victory and Washington already has a quarterback controversy

Monday: Weekend Wrap-up

A thin line between fandom and insanity

It's ok to support your team and cheer and boo and all that stuff. That's what fans do. You can care about your team.

What Ohio State fans are doing to TE Ryan Hamby, however, is over the line.

Hamby dropped a TD pass in the 3rd quarter (note that) that could have given the Buckeyes a 10 point lead. Instead, the Buckeyes settled for a field goal and Texas came back to win the game.

Now Buckeye fans are sending hate mail to Hamby. Over a 3rd quarter dropped pass. What a bunch of lunatics.

Even Jackie Smith wasn't treated this badly by Dallas Cowboys fans and he dropped a game winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl.

TMQ on "The Throwdown"

Gotta love Greg Easterbrook's parody of the Eagles-Falcons throwdown:

And in other football news, as I was getting limber to write this column -- jumping up and down, chanting to myself "a gerund is a noun derived from a verb, a gerund is a noun derived from a verb, yes!" -- Peter King of Sports Illustrated comes out of nowhere and jams in my face. "Your historical references lack footnotes!" this guy screams. I get right back in his face and shout, "Your metaphors exhibit reductionist solipsism!" Before you know it we're messin' with each other, and in comes Supreme Court nominee John Roberts to throw the flag. Now King and I are banned from writing for the New York Times op-ed page for a week. Is that fair? We were just jive-talking in warmups!

And if you miss any more class, Bob Stoops will shake his finger at you.

Adrian Peterson was suspended for 2 days of practice for missing class.

That's right, A.I., "Not a game, we talking about practice!" And we're talking the two easiest days of practice also: Monday and Tuesday.

Bob Stoops says he has not decided Peterson's status for the game, but let's not kid ourselves. Oklahoma desperately needs this UCLA game after the Sooners lost to TCU and looked bad against Tulsa. And they desperately need Peterson to be Peterson. So he's going to play.

Bohls: Vince Young has better chance at Heisman.

Longhorn mouthpiece Kirk Bohls continues to push Vince Young's Heisman candidacy, but admits there is one stumbling block:

Of course, it would help if Southern California's Matt Leinart up and quit football in favor of the pro ballroom dancing circuit. We understand it's a much less physical league.

If the Trojans' senior quarterback sticks it out, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner may well have the first matched set since Archie Griffin's pair.

Parcells: Curb Your Enthusiasm

Despite the fact that the Cowboys went on the road and beat a possibly playoff-bound San Diego Chargers team, Bill Parcells thinks his team stinks.

And he needs to get over it.

I know they started out horrible, but they eventually got things together. They battled the whole game. They got turnovers. They slowed down San Diego's pass rush enough to give Drew Bledsoe the time to throw.

Bottom line: They corrected themselves. Parcells doesn't need to labor the point further.

Astros lose ground on Wild Card

On the surface, it appears that Bruce Dreckman's phantom call cost the Astros a chance to make up ground in the wild card race.

With the game tied 2-2 in the 7th, Dreckman called a 3-2 pitch to Florida's Juan Pierre a ball because Astros pitcher Wandy Rodriguez allegedly licked his fingers before throwing the pitch. Rodriguez was replaced, and Paul Lo Duca homered on the next at bat.

However, the Astros could have made this a non issue by doing 2 things:

1) Leaving Rodriguez in there and not bringing in Chad Qualls. The Astros middle relief is horrible and Rodriguez should have had an opportunity to work himself out of that situation.

2) Hitting with runners in scoring position. They left 10 runners on base.

Eddie Sutton Sings!

Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball coach Eddie Sutton sung "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" yesterday during the Chicago Cubs game versus Cincinnatti yesterday

Video of the alleged singing incident can be seen here (Daily Oklahoman), although compared to Ozzy Osbourne and Jeff Gordon, he can at least carry a tune.

Plus, he's still not the worst singing basketball coach in the Big 12. Check out Quin Snyder's rendition of "Eye of the Tiger". (Courtesy Phog Blog)

Trotter has to "be a man"; Eagles pay the price

Falcons players celebrate a recovered fumble that Donovan McNabb dropped. (Rich Addicks/Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

New strategy for teams facing the Eagles: Pick a fight with Jeremiah Trotter.

Seriously though, how bad did the Eagles defense look after Trotter got ejected? 200 yards rushing? You'd think Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson was in Atlanta's backfield.

I know a lot of people are rushing to Trotter's defense and saying that he's just trying to "be a man." and defend his side of the field. I'm not buying the explanation. "Being the man" doesn't give you license to be stupid. And letting someone get in your kitchen that much that you have to push back immediately, rather than wait until kickoff where you could have kicked his tail legally, is stupid.

He could have walked away from that and channeled it into a better performance on the field. Instead, he got ejected and cost his team the game.*

Worse, other players are going to try and start stuff with Trotter because a) they know they can and b) they know it's to their advantage to get Trotter ejected.

BTW, Kevin Mathis is an idiot too for instigating the thing. His idiocy is more obvious, and I shouldn't have to repeat what others can say better.

Hopefully, the players have learned their lesson and they can be professionals about this.

Later today: Blogpoll Ballot and Roundtable.

* - Matt, if you ever have to do a sermon on "turning the other cheek", this would be a good object lesson.

Weekend Wrap-Up: "Who Dat Say Gonna Beat Them Saints?" Edition

Congrats to the New Orleans Saints on their emotional win over Carolina yesterday.

College Football

Big Story of the Weekend: Ohio State gets Hooked

In the biggest regular season college football game this decade (so far), the Texas Longhorns went into The Horseshoe and beat the Ohio State Buckeyes.

In fact, it's UT's first regular season win against a top 10 team this decade. The last one came in 1999 against Nebraska.

True, they won the Rose Bowl last year, but you still had to wonder if that was a fluke or Mack could really coach a big game.

Now we know he can. Maybe there's hope for the Red River Shootout this year.

The Rest of the Big XII

Iowa State 23, Iowa 3 - Maybe the Cyclones aren't another one year wonder. They played inspired football and forced 5 turnovers to beat their cross-state rivals.

By the way, the top 3 teams in the Big 10: Iowa, Ohio State, and Michigan, all lost. Maybe the Big 12 isn't so bad after all.

Oklahoma 31, Tulsa 15 - This should read: Adrian Peterson 21, Tulsa 15. Rhett Bomar threw 2 picks, which is 2 more balls thrown than OU as a team had in the entire second half. (That's right, they didn't throw a single pass in the second half).

Texas Tech 56, Florida International 3 - 5 years ago. Texas Tech would have struggled to beat a team like this. Now they are blowing them out.

Kansas State 21, Marshall 19 - Don't let the final score fool you. The only reason K-State won this game is because Marshall decided to go for an ill-advised pass (which KSU picked off) on their last drive when they were already in field goal range.

Let me repeat that for any Wildcat fans that happen to read this:

You didn't beat Marshall. Marshall handed that game to you.

New Mexico 45, Missouri 35 - Last year, Missouri dropped a non-conference game to unheralded Troy. This year, they drop one to unheralded New Mexico. Hope all the people who paid for that webcast got their money's worth.

By the way, the Mountain West is 2-1 against the Big XII, and if it werent for a field goal by Colorado's Mason Crosby in Week 1, it could have been 3-0. Speaking of which...

Colorado 39, New Mexico State 0 - Colorado bounces back from last weeks near-debacle against their cross-state rival. New Mexico State really misses Tony Samuel right about now.

Nebraska 31, Wake Forest 3 - Well, at least the defense works.

Oklahoma State 23, Florida Atlantic 3 (Thursday) - Despite the win, Donovan Woods has been replaced at QB.

Kansas 36, Appalachian State 8 - Wow. Appalachian State got that many points?

Baylor 48, Samford 14 - Again, that's Samford, not Stanford. The difference? A couple letters and 1000 SAT points (on average).

Texas A&M had the week off.

Around the State

SMU 21, TCU 10 - See what happens when you read too many of your own press clippings, Horned Frogs?

UCLA 63, Rice 21 - UCLA gets a little momentum heading into the Oklahoma game. Drew Olson's line: 18-25, 296 yards, and 3 touchdowns.

Houston 31, Sam Houston St. 10 - If you could ever call a 31-10 victory "pedestrian," this game would be it.

North Texas 14, Middle Tennessee State 7 - MTSU outgained North Texas and had more first downs, yet only put 7 points on the board. Pathetic. Doesn't speak well about the Mean Green either.

UTEP and our adopted team Tulane both had the week off.

Blogpoll Ballot

Still working on it. Will post later.

NFL

Cowboys 28, Chargers 21

After an early stutter, the Cowboys came back to win. Drew Bledsoe looked really good as he had 3 touchdowns. The new defense looked really good, holding LaDanian Tomlinson to 72 yards rushing and picked off Drew Brees twice. And where did this Patrick Crayton kid come from? Wow.

Game Ball: Patrick Crayton
Led the Cowboys with 6 catches for 89 yards and his first NFL touchdown. May have cemented his spot on the roster and doomed Terry Glenn's chances once Peerless Price learns the offense.

Bills 22, Texans 7

Used to be the Texans just had problems blocking on passing downs. Now they have problems blocking period.

The Texans have had this offensive line problem every year of their existence, and GM Charlie Casserly has failed to come up with a solution. If someone's head should roll for this so-called football performance, it's his.

Right now, I bet Houston is sorry it asked for another football team.

Game Ball:None
No one deserves it.

Monday Night Football vs. CSI: Miami

This week's MNF: (Philadelphia vs. Atlanta): A rematch of last year's NFC Championship, which was a slaughter despite the fact that Terrell Owens was out with injury. Now T.O. is playing and Atlanta doesn't have a chance.

This weeks CSI:Miami ("10-7"):
Yahoo TV Listings:

Horatio finally learns the truth about what happened to his brother, and the repercussions will change his life forever

This was last year's season finale. It revealed a lot about Horatio Caine and it's worth viewing again to prepare for the season opener, where more details will be revealed about Horatio Caine's past.

Verdict:
Let's face it, this game's going to be a blowout. Not really worth watching.
CSI:Miami

Update: Maybe the Monday Night Football game was more interesting after all...

Katrina Update: UNT-LSU game rescheduled.

North Texas has finally rescheduled it's games with LSU and Louisiana Monroe(DMN)

The updated schedule reads as follows:

North Texas at LSU - Oct. 29

North Texas vs. Louisiana-Monroe - Nov. 19

Weekend Preview - 9/9/2005

(BlogPoll rankings displayed. All Times Central)

Before I begin, I gotta relay what I saw on Cold Pizza this morning:

Jay Crawford, Woody Paige, and Skip Bayless were in Columbus for the Texas-OSU game (more on that below), and during one of their little "First and 10" segments one of the cheerleaders, Jaclyn Burke, through an absolutely perfect spiral up to Woody Paige, who's on an elevated stage about 20 yards away. Then when Coach Tressel was up on the stage with Jay, Jaclyn threw him another perfect pass, which he bobbled. Later, she won a contest to win $500 in groceries by throwing another pass that was on the money.

Jaclyn Burke, 3rd in from the left on the front row, was "The Girl with the Golden Arm" on Cold Pizza. (Ohio State Athletics)

One thing's for sure, there are a bunch of co-rec intramural football teams at Ohio State that are rushing to sign her as a QB. (And the way co-rec rules are with the "closed/open" downs, you are at a disadvantage if you don't have a female who can throw.)

Anyway, with the Big XII falling on it's face in the marquee matchups last week, it falls to Texas to prove the conference's strength as they go into Columbus for possibly the biggest non-conference game you will see this decade. Texas Tech finally opens this season after taking the opening week off.

Colleges

Starting their Weekend Early

Oklahoma State 23, Florida Atlantic 3

Sure, the score looks really good. But the Cowboys only managed 98 yards passing and had no passing touchdowns. This from a team trying to install a passing offense. Their defense did force 4 turnovers, however.

Big XII/Texas schools Game of the Week

#2 Texas at #5 Ohio State
6:00 PM ABC (KVUE 24)
Overview
Unfortunately, because all the good independents from the 1980s like Miami and Florida State that always scheduled strong have been forced into conferences, and because strength of schedule has been taken out of the BCS formula, matchups like this are now a rarity.
It's nice to see that there are still title-contending programs like Texas that have the spine to risk everything on a road game like this.

(It would be nice if fans could organize to demand better matchups, but for every fan that boycotts, there's about 4 or 5 others waiting to take their season tickets.)

As for the game, I thought Texas would win this game at the outset of the season because of the talent they have on both sides of the football. However, the nagging thought of "Mack Brown can't win big games" is still creeping in my head.

Key Matchup
Ohio State's Linebackers vs. Vince Young and Texas's Linebackers vs. Troy Smith.
(Note: I know there's a possibility that Justin Zwick will start, but he's as mobile as a rock and the Texas defensive line will get to him. Troy Smith, if he doesn't start, will be in there sooner rather than later)
Both Vince Young and Troy Smith are fast, but so are the opposing linebackers they face. When the LBs rush, they have to stay in their lanes. When they spy the QB, they must be vigilant. Whoever is able to contain the other QB's running ability will win the game. (Hmm... sounds like a college game from the 1920s or 1930s)

Key Player for Ohio State
Bobby Carpenter
He now must back up his smack talk by not getting stuffed by Texas's massive offensive line on run plays and spying Vince Young on passing plays.

Key Player for Texas
David Thomas.
Like many close games, controlling the ball and controlling the clock will be important. That means converting a lot of 3rd-and-6s and 3rd-and-7s. Thomas must provide a consistent safety valve for Vince Young on those plays to make the linebackers respect him enough to cover him. Taking a linebacker out of the box will open things up for Young's scrambling ability in obvious passing situations.

Tale of the Tape

Category	Edge	Notes
Texas offense vs. Ohio State defense	Texas	One of the best offensive lines in the country. Texas *must* run the ball well to keep Ohio State's offense and the Longhorns' defense off the field
Ohio State offense vs. Texas defense	Push	I would give Texas the edge, except no one knows how they will defend Troy Smith when he's in there, and their secondary vs. Ted Ginn and Santonio Holmes is a big unknown.
Special Teams	Ohio State	Everyone says Ohio State has an edge in the kicking game, but last I checked, Mike Nugent graduated, so it's probably even with 2 kickers that have never had to perform under this kind of pressure. Where Ohio State does have the edge is with Ted Ginn's speed in the return game.
Coaching	Ohio State	Jim "Sweater Vest" Tressell has a BCS National Title game win under his belt. Yes, the methods he used to get quality players were underhanded, but a good football coach still has to put the good players in the right position to win. (You can cheat and still lose, just ask any bottom-feeding SEC program) Mack Brown, on the other hand, has had great talent, and not a whole lot of big game results outside of last year's Rose Bowl.
Intangibles	Ohio State	Texas is 10-14 in non-conference games under Mack Brown(!). Plus, he's only got 1 win against AP Top 5 competition.

Big XII Games

#20 Oklahoma at Tulsa
Saturday 11:30 AM FSN Southwest/FSN Midwest/FSN Rocky Mtn.
Oklahoma should beat Tulsa, but if they want to prove they are better than what they showed last week, they need to perform better than Minnesota, a mid-level Big 10 team, did last week. For the record, Minnesota beat Tulsa 41-10 and Laurence Maroney had 205 yards. If Oklahoma wants to show they've recovered, they need to beat Tulsa by better than 31 and Adrian Peterson needs to have more than 205 yards.

Kansas State at Marshall
Saturday 9:30 AM ESPN2
No, that time is *not* a misprint. That's the time they moved it to in order to accomodate TV.
Kansas State beat FIU last week, but did so without making a big play against a very bad defense. Also, K-State let FIU hang around until late in the game. Now the Wildcats step up to play a very dangerous team, Marshall, on the road.

#9 Iowa at Iowa State
Saturday 2:30 PM ABC (KVUE 24)
Regional Coverage: All markets in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa will get this game
Iowa might as well have scheduled Ball State again this week, it would have provided the same level of competition. The Cyclones allowed 21 points to a I-AA team last week.

Wake Forest at Nebraska
Saturday 6:00 PM TBS
If this was a basketball game, Wake Forest might have a chance. However, this is a football game. And it's at Nebraska.

New Mexico State at Colorado
Saturday 9:00 PM FSN Southwest/FSN Rocky Mtn
(FSN Midwest affiliates check local listings)
After surviving Colorado State, Colorado now faces a much easier New Mexico State opponent that was manhandled by UTEP last game.

#21 Texas Tech at Florida International
Saturday 6:00 PM
(Note: Mike Leach said Vincent Meeks and Jarrett Hicks will not suit up for this week's game, but only told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that it was an "in-house matter", which suggests that they have been suspended.)
Watch how Texas Tech's defense is performing in this game. They need to hold FIU to a touchdown or less on offense to prove that they are better than last year. Texas Tech also needs to roll up a bunch of points on FIU's bad defense to prove that they are ready to go.

New Mexico at Missouri
Saturday 6:00 PM (Webcast at 9:00 PM ($$$))
New Mexico is a team that can surprise an unwary opponent, as they did Texas Tech a few years ago. Missouri must stop the Lobos' DonTrell Moore to avoid a surprise here.

Appalachian St. at Kansas
Saturday 6:00 PM
No offense to Appalachian State, a very good I-AA team, but they are going against a talented Kansas defense. Their only hope is that the QB situation is still unsettled.

Samford at Baylor
Saturday 6:00 PM
That's Samford, not Stanford. Stanford probably would have beaten Baylor.

Bye Week
Texas A&M
Next Game: September 17th vs. SMU

Adopted Team

Bye Week
Tulane
Next Game: September 17th at Mississippi

Other Texas Teams

TCU at SMU - "The Iron Skillet Game"
Saturday 8:30 PM CSTV
TCU, fresh off their upset win over Oklahoma, must take the Iron Skillet Game by a wide margin or else people will regard their hard-earned win as a fluke. It stinks, but that's how the system treats mid-majors.

North Texas at Middle Tennessee State
Saturday 6:00 PM PPV
Still waiting for word on a possible make-up date for the LSU game, the Mean Green face off against Middle Tennessee State, the biggest challenger to North Texas's Sun Belt dominance.

Sam Houston St. at Houston
Saturday 6:00 PM
After losing a heartbreaker to Oregon last week, Houston tries to rebound against the I-AA Bearkats from nearby Huntsville (home of Texas's "Death Row"). Should be no contest.

Rice at UCLA
Saturday 9:00 PM
I'd love to see the expression on the Karl Dorrell haters at Bruins Nation when UCLA beats this team by 45 and they have to put up with Dorrell for another week.

Bye Week
UTEP
Next Game: September 16 vs. Houston

NFL

Houston at Buffalo
Sunday 12:00 PM CBS (KEYE 42)
Overview
Two teams with outside chances to make the playoffs this year face off in this game. Houston starts it season knowing it can no longer fall back on the "expansion team" excuse if it fails to make the playoffs again. Buffalo showed some flashes at the end of last year, but enters the year needing to show it's more than a one-dimensional offense. (But what a dimension!)

Key Matchup
Texans' D-line/ILBs vs. Willis McGahee
With an inexperienced quarterback, it's imperative that the Texans' challenge the Bills to beat them through the air. That means containing Willis McGahee.

Key Player for Buffalo
J.P. Losman
We know Willis McGahee can run, but it's up to Losman to provide balance to this offense or else Buffalo will face 8-man fronts for the rest of the season.

Key Player for Houston
Domanick Davis
Establishing a solid running game with Davis will help slow down the pass rush. Domanick Davis must also pick up blitzers on passing plays.

Tale of the Tape

Category	Edge	Notes
Texans offense vs. Bills defense	Buffalo	It's probably too much to ask this Texans O-line to block this aggressive Buffalo defense.
Bills offense vs. Texans defense	Push	Buffalo must show the league it can pass the football now that Drew Bledsoe is in Dallas
Special Teams	Buffalo	Kris Brown is not a reliable kicker outdoors
Coaching	Houston	Dom Capers has a better track record than Mike Mularkey
Intangibles	Buffalo	The pressure is squarely on Houston to produce. The expansion label is gone and the natives are restless.

Dallas Cowboys at San Diego Chargers
Sunday 3:15 PM FOX (KTBC 7)
Overview
Dallas wants to prove it wasn't the 5-11 team that they were last year. San Diego wants to prove to the naysayers that last season was no fluke. San Diego has LaDanian Tomlinson. Dallas has Julius Jones. Both teams have solid 3-4 defenses.

Key Matchup
Dallas' front 7 vs. San Diego's O-line and LaDanian Tomlinson
We know the new defensive scheme can produce a good pass rush, but can they stop the run? Especially a running game powered by TCU alumnus Tomlinson.

Key Player for San Diego
Antonio Gates
As with most good NFL tight ends, he creates matchup problems for any defense, but especially the Cowboys as neither OLB is as good in coverage as they are in the blitz.

Key Player for Dallas
Drew Bledsoe
In his first game, Bledsoe faces a defense that blitzes frequently. He's got to show the poise of a veteran on pass plays.

Tale of the Tape

Category	Edge	Notes
Cowboys offense vs. Chargers defense	Dallas	Hello San Diego. Meet Julius Jones and Jason Witten.
Chargers offense vs. Cowboys defense	San Diego	Antonio Gates is the perfect antidote for an agressive blitz.
Special Teams	Push	Neither kicker or return unit is all that impressive
Coaching	Dallas	Come on, it's Parcells against Schottenheimer. Would you want Marty in a close game given his big game history?
Intangibles	San Diego	Both teams feel like they have something to prove this year, but this is the first real NFL game for Dallas's new defense.

Monday: Weekend Wrap-up