Professor Chaos!

 

Hello Football Fans!

It’s Professor Chaos Time!  (safe for all viewers)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ocaztxj87E

We’re due.  Not just the Hawks, but the entire college football world is due for a crazy, crazy weekend full of upsets and just plain weird…shit.  Everything is going way too darn smoothly.  Alabama and Florida keep winning.  Texas is humming along like it’s playing in Conference USA (which most of the Big 12 resembles, actually).  TCU, Cincinnati, and Boise State hardly get challenged.  Heck IOWA is on the cover of Sports Illustrated!  (More on that later.)

Usually this crazy weekend happens sometime around mid-to-late October.  But much like this fall weather that we’re finally experiencing…sometimes things just take longer to hit.  The only thing that will stop this from being total CHAOS is that Texas is playing a Patsy – too bad that A&M game wasn’t this weekend.

———-

How die-hard are Hawk fans?  So die-hard that I heard about the Iowa/DJK-Sports Illustrated by Tuesday morning, and had no less than 5 emails sent to me with the picture by that evening.

And like my Hawk fans, my first reaction was: “Oh…crap.”  I’m sure that all of you know the extensive power of the Sports Illustrated cover curse.  Here are a few examples if you think it’s all a bunch of hooey:

• This September, both Oklahoma State AND Ole Miss lost after being featured on the cover.
• In 2004, the Kansas City Chiefs were 9-0, put on the cover, and then lost that Sunday to the Bengals.
• Howard Cosell is featured on the cover…then 3 days later utters his “that little monkey”statement and his career comes to and end.
• In 1993, Nike CEP Phil Knight is on the cover of SI, a few weeks later 800 people were laid off from Nike.

The scary thing is that I could go on and on…

But I will not.  Why?

Because this is pretty darn cool.

I was actually raking leaves this afternoon, when I saw my mailman come up the sidewalk and I almost pee’d in my pants a little bit.  I took my mail right outta his hands.  Even though I had already seen the exact picture in an email, I wasn’t going to believe that it was true until I had the issue with my name and address on it in physically in my hands.

Well I got it.  And it’s still pretty darn cool:

 

———-

Northwestern Wildcats @ #4 Iowa Hawkeyes

11:00 AM / ESPN / Line: Iowa by 16

Of course much as been made of the Iowa Hawkeyes being so “lucky”.  I actually liked the SI article, because they labeled us as both ‘lucky’ AND ‘good’…something that I happen to agree with.  The scary thing is that the Big Ten team that we’ve had the least amount of luck with over the past 6 or 7 years is…the Northwestern Wildcats.  You will find this a lot in sports.  Penn State has pesky Iowa.  LSU has troubles with Arkansas.  I will now move on as I’m too scared to think any further about this.

—–

Northwestern is not that great.  They are also not horrible.  They’re 0-2 against teams with winning records…and 5-2 against teams with losing records.  Their only blow-outs (either way) were a semi-blowout loss against Penn State last weekend, and a blow-out win against Townson in week 1.  Against that schedule, this is pretty much the definition of mediocre, folks.

However at this point in the year, teams like this are sitting in a spot where they have nothing to lose.  Northwestern sits at 5-4 with Illinois still on the schedule, so they have bowl-eligibility all but wrapped up.  (Although 7 wins is the real definite win total to lock down a bowl bid.)

So the point I’m trying to make?  We have a lot more to lose than they do.  Like…I LOT more.

—–

Northwestern runs their entire offense through their QB, #13 Mike Kafka – he’s their leader in both passing and rushing yards.  He came up limp last week during the game, but then he came back.  Not sure exactly how he’s feeling this week, but everything points to him playing.  And that means he will be a mobile thorn in our side.

—–

Game

OK here’s a newsflash: We are certainly a better team than Northwestern.  We’ve played a much tougher schedule, and have a much better record.  But this is a bad match-up for us – just like it always is – and it’s bad timing from us as well.  We’re coming off an emotional win, and we’re getting ready to go to Columbus.

Northwestern’s offense will score.  And almost as important, they will manufacture drives that will take a lot of time.  This will put a lot of pressure on our offense to be efficient and mistake-free…and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Rick Stanzi and this offense do that.  And right now, we don’t have the running game to pound away to take the pressure off the passing game.

We won’t be able to lean on our defense to make plays to fuel the offense.  The offense will have to fuel the defense and I don’t see it happening.

AND we’re on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Northwestern 19 – Iowa 17

 

(And Professor Chaos strikes.)

—–

Week 10 “Precarious Predictions”

YTD NCAA Record       41-46-2

Last Week                   3-5 

Iowa ATS                     3-5-0

SATURDAY

Big Ten

Did you know?  The Big Ten Conference has a rule that in November…no game is to be played after 2:30 pm?  (Weird but true…)

—–

#21 Wisconsin @ Indiana

11:00 AM / BTN / Line: Wiscy by 10.5 

Although I am a believer that Indiana has talent, I don’t think they can come back AGAIN after another heart-breaking loss.  Also, this is a bad match-up for them.

Wiscy covers.

 

Purdue @ Meeechigan

11:00 AM / BTN / Line: Wolverines by 6

This is a tough, TOUGH spot for RichRod and his Wolverines.  Make no mistake – this is not the team that we played just a few weeks ago.  They are in shambles.  And until I see them pull out of it, I’m taking points when I can get ‘em.

Purdue + the points.

 

Illinois @ Minnesota

11:00 AM / BTN / Line: Gophers by 6

I don’t care about last week, Illinois still sucks.

Gophers cover.

 

Big Ten Game of the Week:

#16 Ohio State @ #11 Penn State

2:30 PM / ABC / Line: Penn St by 5

Not that Ohio State has played a bunch of world beaters, but Penn State’s schedule has been especially bad.  Penn State has played one good team (Iowa) = Loss.  And one pretty good team (Northwestern) = sluggish.

I just don’t trust Darryl Clark in big games.

OSU + the points.

(Professor Chaos strikes again!) 

 

Around the Country:

#7 Boise State @ Louisiana Tech

7:00 PM / ESPN2 / Line: Boise St by 21

Too much PR.  Too much pressure.

La Tech + the points.

(FEAR Professor Chaos!)

 

Oklahoma State @ Iowa State

2:30 PM / Reg ABC / Line: OK St by 7.5 

Why is this game so freaking intriguing to me?  Is it because I believe ISU actually has a chance to win this game?  Yes…I think it is.

Iowa State + the points.

(I am Professor Chaos!)

 

#24 Oklahoma @ Nebraska

7:00 PM / ABC / Line: Texas by 4.5

How is Nebraska going to score?  I honestly think that if Oklahoma can score 17 or more points, they’ll cover with no real problem.

OK covers.

#8 Oregon @ Stanford

2:30 PM / ? / Line: Oregon by 7

I…was…SHOCKED when I saw that this line opened up at 5.  Up to 7 now, but that still seems to low.  I get that Oregon might have a hangover from last weekend.  And I get that Stanford runs an ‘anti-Oregon’ strong running attack. But they’ve only won 1 out of their last 3.

I still don’t think that 7 is enough.

Oregon covers.

 

UCONN @ #5 Cincinnati

7:00 PM / ? / Line: Cincy by 17

Cincy is due for a turd bomb.  They’re DUE I tell ya…they’re DUE!

UCONN covers.

National Game of the Week:

#9 LSU @ #3 Alabama

7:00 PM / CBS / Line: ‘Bama by 7.5

Other than the Florida-LSU game…this is the first S.E.C. game that’s really got me all that geeked up.

‘Bama has issues, and I think LSU is just PO’d enough to take advatage of them.  That is, they’re PO’d that nobody is taking them seriously in the BCS Championship talk, and they are going to try to take Mark Ingram’s head off.  And I think they will.

LSU + the points.

(Professor Chaos strikes again!)

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

GO HAWKS!

-Jeffrey the Greek!