I'm not going to spend much time on that this week except to say this: The officials didn't give up 8 sacks in the first half to Seattle's D. Yes, the calls at the end of the game were awful, but Green Bay's offensive line was equally awful. The NFL is under no duress right now to change things, even though many self-important "guardians of the game" in the media feel they are. Right now the NFL is more popular than it's ever been.
Moving on.
When I unleashed my Texans prediction I had them at 2-1 right now, with Denver being the only loss. That said, after things have played out, Denver is not as good as I thought they might be (although not terrible) and the Texans are playing better. I still have concerns about the run game and the CB's once you get past Jonathan Joseph, and I've still no faith in Arian Foster, but overall I could see this team going as high as 11-5 this year, but I'm going to stick to my prediction because the tough part of the schedule is still in front of them. (Although with Reavis going down and no run game to speak of the Jets are not going to be as tough as I thought.)
Speaking of bad football: The Bayou Bucket is going to be contested for this Saturday and the score should easily surpass the betting line of 74. Neither UH or Rice has a credible FBS defense, and I'm not even sure UH has a credible FBS offense. Neither school has a credible FBS coaching staff. Predict we must: Rice 63 UH 62 3 OT
In the college game this is one of those inevitable weeks where conference play means "meh". That means that you're going to have to dig a little deeper into the schedule to find quality games to watch. Here are a few suggestions and my picks:
Standford @ Washington: I feel that the Cardinal are overrated due to the USC win and I don't think that Washington is as bad as the LSU game suggested. SU 24 WU 27
Baylor @ West Virginia: Consider this a preview of the Bayou Bucket but with much, much better talent for both schools. I believe the Mountaineers are the best team in the Big
Arkansas @ aTm: At the beginning of the year I'd have told you aTm has zero chance in this game. This is why pre-season rankings in college football are stupid. UA 14 aTm 27
Ohio State @ Michigan State: Many, including me, don't believe the Buckeyes are for real this year. This game should go a long way in determining that. OSU 7 MSU 17
Louisiana Tech @ Virginia: Not only are they being ignored by the national press, but they're being snubbed in the rankings as well. La Tech is your B(C)S buster, or should be. La Tech 50 UVA 13
Minnesota @ Iowa: Many, including me, don't believe the Golden Gophers are for real this year. That said, I don't think the pink locker room will matter much here. Iowa is terrible. UM 24 IU 16
Texas @ Oklahoma State: A lot of people talking about the renewed Longhorn "glow" which is odd considering their SOS is pathetic. Still, OSU has issues. UT 35 OSU 31
And that's just about it. My guess is there will be some games not on this list that will turn into barn-burners, which is the unique joy of college football. It's also what makes it so hard to pick each and every week.
