I described this past week’s games as pretty much vanilla, and they were. That’s not to say there weren’t some surprises, but nothing that changes the general balance of power. I wasn’t all that shocked at Tennessee’s victory over Georgia, even though I picked the dogs. The Vols were overdue to win a come-from-behind game after losing a couple.

Florida took care of Missouri, but I really thought the Tigers would upset them. Close, but no banana. The rest of the SEC games went as expected, with the favorites taking care of business. State and Ole Miss soundly whipped their “dogs de jour.”

In action on the national stage, Washington beat a floundering Southern Cal, Texas won over Oklahoma, and both games might be called a minor upset. Michigan is growing stronger every week, and their showdown with Michigan State should be a classic. Ohio State remains #1, but I expect Penn State to whip them next weekend in Columbus.

Next Thursday Auburn and Kentucky meet in a game that is critical to both programs. I believe Auburn can win, and I hope that they do, but it will take a better effort than they have shown so far. In another must match, both Georgia and Mizzou need to win in order to stay in the hunt.

Memphis is enjoying their best start in memory. They are 5–0 and have beaten a couple of creditable opponents. Their hopes for an undefeated season and high national ranking will end next Saturday when they fall to Ole Miss. The Blue Bengals tend to choke when they see Red & Blue.

There are two crucial games in the SEC this week. LSU should beat Florida, and Texas A&M is going to shock Bama. Okay, both of these games could easily go the other way. There is truly parity in the SEC. Vandy has a chance to beat South Carolina when they meet in Columbia.

Some of the luster has faded from the Notre Dame/USC game, but it’s a fierce rivalry, and the Trojans should fall to the Fighting Irish in a close one. The state schools of Oregon and Washington meet on the gridiron when the Universities and the cow colleges play next Saturday. Outside of the Pacific Northwest, no one really cares, but it does have some symmetry.

I can only offer my condolences to Ken, Donnie and Joey. I had really hoped Ken’s Orangemen could whip South Florida and MTSU could handle W. Kentucky. The Hurricanes played well, but fell to the Seminoles as expected. Some seasons just don’t work out as we might hope.