Week 5 Preview

This should be a really entertaining weekend. For one, we're heading to a buddy's place in Newnan for a full weekend of tailgating. But also, there's plenty of good games on TV and Auburn has a (relatively) easy game at noon, so it should be as close to a non-stressful bye week as I'm going to get. (Now Auburn will lose by 10.)

On to the games...

1. While many people are predicting this to be a mere warm-up to the headliner in early December, Florida shouldn't be penciled in for a trip to Atlanta, especially if they lose in Tuscaloosa. This Gator team has a great defense, but they have serious deficiencies on offense. While I expected UK to keep it closer, Florida has really only been a one-trick pony thus far, and that's not going to work against Alabama (or South Carolina, or even LSU).

A loss for the Tide wouldn't hurt quite as bad; they'd probably still get a re-match with the Gators and most voters are going to be willing to send a one-loss SEC Champion Alabama team to Tempe over an unbeaten Boise State, TCU or Utah.

But its going to be fun to watch this one regardless. Florida's going to have to play a near flawless game to win in Tuscaloosa (which has become the toughest place to play in the SEC, regardless of what this S.C. yahoo said).

I'm surprised at the high spread (Alabama -9.5), because I just don't see a ton of points scored on Florida's defense. Plus Alabama is coming off the hard-fought win in Fayatteville, but this is Bama/Florida week, so it's not like there'll be a lack of focus. Hopefully I can slowly enjoy our day-long cookout so I can fully enjoy (i.e. remember) this one.

Who do you like? A Duck or a Tree?

2. While Alabama/Florida is the headliner (though for some reason, not getting the national love it deserves), I'm really excited about this Oregon-Stanford game in Eugene. The kickoff was originally scheduled for 11:15 EST (and given the way these team throw, might not have ended until 3 a.m.), but kickoff was moved up by ABC to pull eyeballs from CBS's coverage of AL/FL. No problem for us, as long as Temp has the two TVs going.

I hate to sound like the Pac-10 flag bearer, but the conference looks strong this season (I'm backing off my Big Ten claim I made weeks ago). Though Washington State, Washington and Cal appear weak, the rest of the league has played well nationally and the winner of this one will have an early lead in the conference.

I like both these teams, and the two different schemes will be fun to watch. Oregon has the spread offense rolling, and Stanford has been dominant with their pro-style attack behind a big offensive line. I'm expecting an Oregon win but will be pulling for Luck, Harbaugh, and the underdog Cardinal.

At the very least, the broadcast will match up two of the nation's oddest mascots.

3. Only a few years ago, this game would have been huge for both the SEC and national title  race, and now it's barely making a blip nationally and in the conference. This is LSU-TENNESSEE!  The Vols almost beat a deflated Tiger team in the 2007 SEC Championship game before LSU won the national title. And Saban and LSU knocked UT out of the 2001 national title game.

But the Vols are a shell of their former selves, while LSU is playing 1920-style football. Miles can't lose this game with at Florida, at Auburn, Alabama and at Arkansas remaining. It's in Baton Rouge, so I don't see the Tigers falling to Tennessee, though the Vols will keep it close.

4. In August, most UGA fans thought the game in Boulder was almost a certain win, given the way the Buffalo have played in recent years. No one would have though Colorado would be entering with a better record, though UGA is still a 4.5 point favorite. A loss would put the Dawgs at 1-4 with big games "at" Florida, at Auburn and Georgia Tech to go.

AJ Green's return is going to have a huge effect, keeping the Buffalo defense somewhat honest, and finally allowing the offensive line the ability to open holes.  Murray has now played two road games (with three more ahead of him), so UGA should start getting better performance from him away from home, though Richt and Bobo are going to keep things conservative. I haven't seen the Buffaloes play this season, so while I wouldn't give up the points, I do expect a UGA win. And it's always good when two of college football most iconic mascots face off.

A side note here, Colorado is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its 1990 National Championship and has sent out a press release detailing the consensus national title. Only problem is that their title wasn't a consensus - they shared it with Georgia Tech, who was recognized by the Coaches' poll. It takes some serious cojones to claim a consensus title from a team that essentially cheated to beat Missouri, but in needing a press release to sway people into believing there was a consensus title proves that there must not have been a consensus. The fact that they decided to release this the week they're playing Georgia just shows that they don't know that Georgia and Tech are two different schools.

5. The Red River Shootout lost some of its luster last week when UCLA steamrolled Texas, actually making it look like the Bruins know how to run the Pistol (jury's still out on that one). Maybe the Longhorns were looking ahead; UCLA might be a 'name' team but they haven't played like one this decade, and no current Longhorn player can remember Rout 66.

The Sooners have looked equally dreadful this season, save for a complete domination of Florida State. But given how poor the ACC appears to be, a dominating win over FSU might not be so grand. This is obviously a game to watch, but it might turn out that UT ends up with a handful of losses while OU is just average. But at least the players get to say hi to Big Tex.

Bonus: I was looking over several bowl predictions when I realized that a few of the sponsors have changed, and not for the better.This day and age you get used to bowl games changing sponsors. For years, the Sugar Bowl was sponsored by the USF&G, which as a kid, I thought was some sugar conglomerate out of Latin America. Actually, it was an insurance and financial services company, whose poor marketing might explain why it was bought out by Traveler's.

But recently, FedEx axed it's 21-year relationship with the Orange Bowl, who was left scrambling for a new sponsor. So get ready, come January, it'll be the Discover Orange Bowl, which just makes me want to go looking for fruit.

Then there's the new bowl in Yankee Stadium: The Pinstripe Bowl, where both teams will have new Nike uniforms that resemble a Kirbstreit suit.

The old Emerald Nut Bowl is now being sponsored by Kraft. While it seemed way too blunt to have a nut bowl in San Francisco, I don't know how I'm going to get geared up for 'The Fight Hunger' Bowl.

And finally, there's the three-year-old bowl game in St. Pete. While I just spent 20 minutes on their website and still can't tell you what a magicJack is, I love it much more than the newly named Beef o' Brady's Bowl, which, if it's restaurant is any indication, will require Tropicana field modified with blinding fluorescent lights and fake wood paneling. God how I hate Beefy o' Brady's.