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Jones: Will No. 1 go down again this week?

Sports In Paradise By Dale Jones

With still a month to go in the regular season, many have already begun to label the 2010 Iron Bowl as “the game of the year” in college football. That could be the case, but the Tide and the Tigers still have some hurdles to jump before we get there.

Last week, we were almost perfect with our picks, going 13-2. That takes me to 95-25 on the season for a winning percentage of .791 on the year. For the past three weeks, I have picked the top team to lose. This week, the top team is Oregon. Will I go for four in a row? Read on and let’s see what the gridiron seashell has to say about it.

(#5) Michigan St. at (#18) Iowa – This was one of the most exciting football games last season as Iowa came from behind and scored on the last play of the game to win at Spartan Stadium. The Spartan’s should win this game against a good Top 25 foe, but if they start out like they did last week, having to come from 17 points down, they won’t. Michigan State 30 – Iowa 21

(#8) Utah at Air Force – Air Force is not a bad team. They have some athletes, but their offense is sputtering, last week only producing 231 total yards. The Utes, another one of the many undefeated teams still shooting for a championship, have an effective offense and defense. Air Force can put up a fight if they can find a way to make their offense work. If not, it could be another long day for the Falcons. Utah 38 – Air Force 21

(#7) Missouri at (#14) Nebraska – Don’t tell me that Missouri can’t play football. They proved it last week in their 36-27 win over top-ranked Oklahoma. Nebraska forgot about the loss to Texas and played well last week, giving Oklahoma State their first loss of the season. Husker QB Taylor Martinez is probably the best young QB in college football. He and his Husker teammates will give Mizzou all they want and more, and at the end of the day, Nebraska will be back in the Top 10 and the nation will have one less undefeated team. Nebraska 24 – Missouri 23

(#25) Baylor at Texas – At 4-3, this season is obviously not going the way the Longhorns were hoping. Baylor, on the other hand, is ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 1993. Against conference foes, Baylor is averaging 42 points per game and 602 yards of offense. There is no way, however, that Texas is going to lose a third straight home game. Especially not to Baylor. I don’t care if they are ranked or not. Some Longhorn frustration could even make this game ugly. Texas 33 – Baylor 14

UAB at Southern Miss – As you know from reading this column in the past, the one team that I can never seem to pick correctly is UAB. For a while, I considered banning them altogether. Games they are suppose to lose, they win (or come close to winning such as last weeks against Mississippi State) and games they should win, they often lose. You would think that last weeks game would give the Blazers some sort of moral victory as they prepare to travel to Hattiesburg to take on the Golden Eagles. But “The Rock” is a tough place to play on the road, and while I believe that UAB has a good chance to win this one, I’m going to go against my better judgment and give this one to Southern Miss. Southern Miss 24 – UAB 21

Georgia vs. Florida – Question – How much money would Florida pay if they could buy Tim Tebow and bring him back? Neither of these SEC teams is having the season they expected, but this should be a fun game to watch with the Gators coming off a bye week and the Bulldogs enjoying being a slight favorite in this contest. While fans don’t really have anything to do with the outcome of a game, it surprises me how the Georgia fans that I know almost expect to LOSE on a weekly basis. If your fans expect you to lose, how does that translate into momentum coming out of the locker room? Well, it doesn’t. But Dawg fans, you are not alone, because I don’t think you are going to win this week either. Florida 28 – Georgia 21

(#19) Arkansas vs Vandy – Arkansas had a much more balanced attack last week rushing for 197 yards and passing for 196. Although Vandy held South Carolina close, they could never generate any offense to score in their loss to the Gamecocks. The Commodores have to find a way to keep Mr. Mallet and company out of the end zone and hope that their own offense can find a way to it. Arkansas 35 – Vandy 14

(#23) Mississippi State vs. Kentucky – How about those Bulldogs? They are 6-2 on the season, they have won five in a row, they are ranked in the Top 25, and are on a five game winning streak. State’s offense averages 28 points per game, but the Wildcats give up and average of 31 points per game. I love what Dan Mullen is doing with this team and I’m not expecting any let up this week. Mississippi State 35 – Kentucky 27

(#17) South Carolina vs. Tennessee – Following the beat down that the Vols received from the Tide last week, now they find out that freshman sensation Marcus Lattimore should be back out of the field for the Gamecocks on Saturday. Lattimore has 10 TD’s in his first six games for Carolina. He will likely add to that total come tomorrow. South Carolina 42 – Tennessee 24

(#3) Auburn at Ole Miss – My advice to Auburn fans would be, before you poke your chest out because of your BCS No. 1 ranking, keep in mind that you are a member of the SEC, and no matter WHAT the records say, you have to show up every Saturday and bring your best to the table. With that being said, Ole Miss is a bad football team. They show signs of being a good team occasionally, but for the most part, they are ineffective. Auburn, on the other hand, leads the SEC in scoring offense, total offense, rushing offense, and pass efficiency. They average 38 points per game and Ole Miss gives up an average of 35. Auburn should win easily…I said SHOULD. Auburn 42 – Ole Miss 24

Other games:
(#22) Miami 28 – Virginia 14
(#10) Ohio State 44 – Minnesota 3
(#4) TCU 48 – UNLV 3
South Alabama 28 – Georgia State 27

Upset of the Week:
(#1) Oregon at (#24) Southern California – Okay, so the Ducks are 7-0, 4-0 in conference play, and look as good as any team in the country. They have the best offense in the country, averaging 569 yards per game, they average 55.4 points per game, and last season, Oregon gave the Trojans their worst lost in over a decade. But you know what? For the past 3 weeks I have picked the top team to lose and they’ve lost, so why not make it four in a row? How is that for reasoning? USC 34 – Oregon 31
—Dale Jones is a reporter / sports columnist for Gulf Coast Newspapers and a Member of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. You can reach Dale at djones@gulfcoastnewspapers.com

13 thoughts on “Jones: Will No. 1 go down again this week?”

  1. Greeting and salutations Bammer trash….

    WELL…. WELL… WELL… Who’s the Beyatch now! Huh? Whats that Bammertards?
    Does the tiger fan get his propls now…? I told you so. Auburn is back on top of the world. Again.
    And yall are standing there pointing at the cultural epicenter of the universe scratching your prematurely balding scalps going “Huh?”
    See we all knew Gene Chizik would lead the great Auburn men to greatness in a great way.
    Yall shoulda saw it coming.
    Future Predictions.
    1 Cam Newton is such a superstud they give him the first ever lifetime Heisman. After he rushes and passes for 1200 yards in the Iron Bowl.
    2. Georgia forfiets in the second quarter after Cam Newton has injured the entire team in 6 consecutive 99 yard runs.
    3.The SEC will institute the Cam Newton Rule where everytime newton touches the ball he has to run all the way back to the 1 yard line and only then can he run the other way for a sure touchdown.
    4 Micheal Dyer will eclipse the Richardson/Ingman duo.
    6 So will that other boy Ontario mcCanada.
    7 Pat Dye will not have to kick anyone in the testicles this year.
    8 Trooper Taylor will bring back the backwards baseball cap look from the 80’s and soon he will be wearing his pants around his kneecaps.
    8 Tiger prowl will be even bigger and better this year. Know why Bammers? This year Auburn will pull up in a rented tank with magnetized sign on the side. The media will go into a frenzy and Little Nicky $atan will commit suicide.

    Yaller scared now arent ya. Well Bammerhiods you should be. It only gets better and better up here in Lee county.
    Did I mention we have Gen Chizik? Unquestionably the buffest coach in all of football. The women want him and the Men want to be him. The main event, the total package. The Coaching Adonis. Chizik is a man’s man, a coach’s coach. and yall have the $4 million dollar blunder Nicky $atan. What a huge mistake that was. Yall won your little trophey now its time for Auburn to step up and win the next 40. Wanna no why Bammurgoobers? Becasue thats how we roll.
    In closing.
    I was right.
    Yall were wrong.
    Pat Dye will not be nut kicking this season.
    Magnetized signs on tanks.
    Chizik is the man and
    Trooper is a fashion icon.

    Thats all yall need to know.

  2. I love the arrogance

    I love how Auburn fans come to this sit all the time and show arrogant they are in October. You can talk all you want after the Iron Bowl, but until then every win means nothing if you can’t be us.

  3. Folks, refer to post #1 as exhibit A which demonstrates the typical Auburn fan. It’s what the Atlanta Journal-Consititution described as “all the arrogance of Bama fans with a tenth of the justification.”

  4. No, a tenth of the justification is far, far too generous. I agree that Oregon and Mizzou will probably lose, but I think Michigan St will too. Iowa has to win out if they want to go to the Rose Bowl. Also the #1 team will not lose as Ole Miss lacks the talent to beat Awbren. In case you missed it, Awbren is #1, not Oregon. Nothing counts but the BCS ranking. RTR!

  5. I expect you’ll see another field goal as time expires as the house of cards call Abarn wobbles some more.

    It all comes toppling down on Black Friday. You need a defense to win a tough one on the road, and the 53rd D in all the land just isn’t enough.

    Gonna be a lot of sad little barners Nov. 27th. 11-1 has never hurt so much.

  6. vates says caveo of target in vestri tergum Aubie. Suus lentus sursum illic in caput capitis of mons montis. I’m Wiz!

  7. I speak Spanish, not that pig Latin he’s writing, but I’ll take a stab at it. Something about ‘beware of the target you wear on your back Aubie.’

  8. I was just looking at some interesting stats. Boise’s 49-20 win over La Tech was not nearly as dominant as the score looks. La Tech had more first downs, and over 400 yards of balanced offense. Then check out La Tech’s games against Texas A&M and Hawaii. A&M beat them worse than Boise and held them to far less yards. Hawaii beat them almost as bad as Boise and had way more offensive yards while holding them to far less. Is it possible that Hawaii could upset Boise’s apple cart. A&M certainly isn’t a powerhouse. Gonna be a lot of interest in Boise’s games with Hawaii and Nevada. RTR!

  9. Hey Aubie, where’s the love? Mighty #1 is favored over lowly Mississippi by 7. Bama was favored by about 18. Arky beat em by about 14 after you beat Arky by 21. Wha’s up wid dat? Is it posible that the people who put their money where their mouth is know something that the voters who have no horse in the race don’t? Bwaa Haww Haww! RTR!

  10. Who cares what the talking heads say…Who cares what the line is …Wh won by twenty in a beatdown that the scoreboard didn’t do justice to explain.

    We covered the spread on almost all of the ranked opponents we’ve played so far. LSU, Arky, SCAR, Ole Miss….If an idiot wants to bet against Auburn, listen to the Vegas bean counters..So far they haven’t proven any ability whatsoever to put a finger on Auburn.

    It must suck knowing that Gene Chizik is about to whip your ass in your own house.

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