Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
College Picks: Longhorns face another big test this weekend
By Ralph D. Russo, AP College Football Writer
Thursday, October 16, 2008 | No comments posted.
Staying No. 1 will be even tougher than getting there for Texas.
The Longhorns follow their rousing Red River Rivalry victory against Oklahoma, which vaulted Texas to the top of the rankings, with another major test.
Chase Daniel and Missouri come to Austin on Saturday, trying to rebound from their first loss of the season.
The Tigers haven’t won in the Texas state capital since 1896 and are 1-13 against the Longhorns since 1931. That speaks volumes about how mediocre Missouri football has been over the years and how far it’s come recently under coach Gary Pinkel.
For Texas, the Longhorns will be playing as a No. 1 team for the first time since 1984, when they tied Oklahoma 15-15, and ended up falling to No. 3 in the next poll. That season didn’t end well for Texas. Under coach Fred Akers, the Longhorns lost four of their final five games, including the Freedom Bowl against Iowa, and finished 7-4-1.
A repeat of that wouldn’t be shocking, considering Texas’ remaining schedule. The Longhorns are in the second game of a stretch that will likely have them facing four ranked teams — Oklahoma State and Texas Tech are up next for UT. Texas has never played four consecutive games against ranked opponents.
Saturday’s slate has three other matchups of Top 25 teams, with Kansas at Oklahoma, Ohio State at Michigan State and Vanderbilt at Georgia.
The picks:
Today
No. 9 BYU (pick) at TCU
Cougars’ 16-game winning streak and BCS hopes on line ... BYU 20-17.
Friday
Hawaii (plus 241⁄2)
at No. 15 Boise State
Broncos humming along to another big season ... BOISE STATE 45-14.
Saturday
No. 11 Missouri (plus 6)
at No. 1 Texas
So, who’s going to be No. 1 next? ... MISSOURI 31-28.
Mississippi (plus 13)
at No. 2 Alabama
Maybe the Tide? ... ALABAMA 27-17.
Michigan (plus 231⁄2)
at No. 3 Penn State
Nittany Lions will make their case for top spot, too ... PENN STATE 35-10.
No. 16 Kansas (plus 20)
at No. 4 Oklahoma
New-and-improved Jayhawks take old-fashioned beating in Norman ... OKLAHOMA 48-21.
No. 6 USC (plus 421⁄2) at
Washington State
Hopefully, Cougars can escape serious injury ... USC 55-0.
No. 7 Texas Tech (minus 201⁄2)
at Texas A&M
Red Raiders try for first four-game winning streak against Aggies ... TEXAS TECH 45-28.
Baylor (plus 161⁄2) at
No. 8 Oklahoma State
Bears freshman QB Robert Griffin yet to throw an INT ... OKLAHOMA STATE 50-24.
No. 22 Vanderbilt (plus 15)
at No. 10 Georgia
Bulldogs’ O-line woes hurting Knowshon Moreno’s Heisman chances ... GEORGIA 30-10.
No. 12 Ohio State (minus 3)
at No. 20 Michigan State
Spartans looking for first seven-game winning streak since 1978 ... OHIO STATE 24-17.
No. 13 LSU (minus 3)
at South Carolina
Gamecocks seem to have found a QB; Tigers not so sure about theirs ... LSU 28-17.
Colorado State (plus 211⁄2)
at No. 14 Utah
Utes have won four of five in series ... UTAH 44-21.
No. 17 Virginia Tech (plus 21⁄2)
at Boston College
Hokies quietly have won five straight ... VIRGINIA TECH 24-20.
No. 18 North Carolina (minus 5)
at Virginia
Tar Heels have lost 13 straight at Charlottesville ... VIRGINIA 31-24.
Syracuse (plus 24)
at No. 19 South Florida
Mountain West, WAC getting more attention than Big East these days ... USF 46-14.
No. 21 Wake Forest (minus 1)
at Maryland
Trying to figure out up-and-down Terps can cause dizziness ... MARYLAND 24-20.
No. 23 Pittsburgh (minus 3)
at Navy
Middies knocked off Pitt 48-45 in double OT last season ... PITT 33-24.
No. 25 California (minus 21⁄2)
at Arizona
Inconsistent Wildcats are Terps West ... CALIFORNIA 35-30.
The Longhorns follow their rousing Red River Rivalry victory against Oklahoma, which vaulted Texas to the top of the rankings, with another major test.
Chase Daniel and Missouri come to Austin on Saturday, trying to rebound from their first loss of the season.
The Tigers haven’t won in the Texas state capital since 1896 and are 1-13 against the Longhorns since 1931. That speaks volumes about how mediocre Missouri football has been over the years and how far it’s come recently under coach Gary Pinkel.
For Texas, the Longhorns will be playing as a No. 1 team for the first time since 1984, when they tied Oklahoma 15-15, and ended up falling to No. 3 in the next poll. That season didn’t end well for Texas. Under coach Fred Akers, the Longhorns lost four of their final five games, including the Freedom Bowl against Iowa, and finished 7-4-1.
A repeat of that wouldn’t be shocking, considering Texas’ remaining schedule. The Longhorns are in the second game of a stretch that will likely have them facing four ranked teams — Oklahoma State and Texas Tech are up next for UT. Texas has never played four consecutive games against ranked opponents.
Saturday’s slate has three other matchups of Top 25 teams, with Kansas at Oklahoma, Ohio State at Michigan State and Vanderbilt at Georgia.
The picks:
Today
No. 9 BYU (pick) at TCU
Cougars’ 16-game winning streak and BCS hopes on line ... BYU 20-17.
Friday
Hawaii (plus 241⁄2)
at No. 15 Boise State
Broncos humming along to another big season ... BOISE STATE 45-14.
Saturday
No. 11 Missouri (plus 6)
at No. 1 Texas
So, who’s going to be No. 1 next? ... MISSOURI 31-28.
Mississippi (plus 13)
at No. 2 Alabama
Maybe the Tide? ... ALABAMA 27-17.
Michigan (plus 231⁄2)
at No. 3 Penn State
Nittany Lions will make their case for top spot, too ... PENN STATE 35-10.
No. 16 Kansas (plus 20)
at No. 4 Oklahoma
New-and-improved Jayhawks take old-fashioned beating in Norman ... OKLAHOMA 48-21.
No. 6 USC (plus 421⁄2) at
Washington State
Hopefully, Cougars can escape serious injury ... USC 55-0.
No. 7 Texas Tech (minus 201⁄2)
at Texas A&M
Red Raiders try for first four-game winning streak against Aggies ... TEXAS TECH 45-28.
Baylor (plus 161⁄2) at
No. 8 Oklahoma State
Bears freshman QB Robert Griffin yet to throw an INT ... OKLAHOMA STATE 50-24.
No. 22 Vanderbilt (plus 15)
at No. 10 Georgia
Bulldogs’ O-line woes hurting Knowshon Moreno’s Heisman chances ... GEORGIA 30-10.
No. 12 Ohio State (minus 3)
at No. 20 Michigan State
Spartans looking for first seven-game winning streak since 1978 ... OHIO STATE 24-17.
No. 13 LSU (minus 3)
at South Carolina
Gamecocks seem to have found a QB; Tigers not so sure about theirs ... LSU 28-17.
Colorado State (plus 211⁄2)
at No. 14 Utah
Utes have won four of five in series ... UTAH 44-21.
No. 17 Virginia Tech (plus 21⁄2)
at Boston College
Hokies quietly have won five straight ... VIRGINIA TECH 24-20.
No. 18 North Carolina (minus 5)
at Virginia
Tar Heels have lost 13 straight at Charlottesville ... VIRGINIA 31-24.
Syracuse (plus 24)
at No. 19 South Florida
Mountain West, WAC getting more attention than Big East these days ... USF 46-14.
No. 21 Wake Forest (minus 1)
at Maryland
Trying to figure out up-and-down Terps can cause dizziness ... MARYLAND 24-20.
No. 23 Pittsburgh (minus 3)
at Navy
Middies knocked off Pitt 48-45 in double OT last season ... PITT 33-24.
No. 25 California (minus 21⁄2)
at Arizona
Inconsistent Wildcats are Terps West ... CALIFORNIA 35-30.
The comments below are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Not already registered?
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
Close Guidelines