Welcome to Halloween weekend. We're celebrating by running the WATCHLIST with a skeleton crew. [jokes] [get it] [booooooo] Last week I said that someone had to win between Arkansas and Alabama, and hoo boy did we have a winner eventually.
I'm crowning myself champion of last week because Shooter agrees with me and there's no one else here to contradict him.
On to the business at hand. We start with this evening.
Dr. Norris Camacho
Louisiana Tech @ Rice
Friday 7 PM | FS1
Jeff Driskel has over 2400 passing yards so far this season, good for 10th in the nation. Rice is #107 in total defense and struggled with Army last weekend in the rain. The Bulldogs will become bowl-eligible with a win, and Driskel has the chance to further impress NFL scouts in a primetime Friday game.
However, I believe Rice will win because of superior coaching. David Bailiff is an outstanding coach with an innovative streak. In 2013, while getting ready to face the reigning Heisman winner in the season opener, he revealed a few practice secrets:
Now, Driskel is no Manziel. Nonetheless, it wouldn't come as a surprise to learn that Bailiff had revisited his old tactics. Which animal do you think best prepares the Rice defense for Jeff Driskel? Answer in the comments.
- goat
- sloth
- clydesdale
- great dane
- boar
- tiger shark
- stingray
- buzzard
Shooter Flatch
Oklahoma State @Texas Tech
Saturday 2:30 p.m. CST
ESPN
Oklahoma State is undefeated and ranked #12 in the nation. But pollsters and everyone else are still taking a "wait and see" approach with the Pokes due to their...ahem...ease of schedule thus far. They haven't beaten a team with a winning record and October is damn near over. Hell, even Baylor thinks Oklahoma State hasn't played anyone yet.
On the other side of this tilt you have Texas Tech, which looks a whole lot like Baylor 2012 to me. They can score quick and put up a shit ton of points on teams. But their defense doesn't really believe in things like "contact", "coverage", and "tackling". I'm not sure which is seen less in Lubbock, a defensive three-and-out or a student with an SAT above 1,200. With these two offenses, what will spend more time in the air: the football, the tortilla's, or the AA batteries?
The added fun part is the game is in Lubbock on Halloween. Which means the Tech gals will dress up as Naughty Slutty Sluts and the bro's will go to the game as Overly Drunk Obnoxious Tech Fan. For the sake of the lady readers of GBH, I just hope Kliff comes out shirtless wearing a pair of ass-less chaps. Usually if you spend Halloween in Lubbock you leave with a rash, a hangover, and a trip to the Doc for a shot of penicillin. I think Oklahoma State will be lucky to leave with a win.
Doug
Stanford at Washington State
9:30pm CDT
ESPN
Times are bleak when the weekend's top game is Notre Dame at Temple. But the perfect elixir awaits later in the evening. You want weird? Take one part Pirate Mike Leach, one part Pullman, WA at night, and add in the marauding nerds of Stanford Football. On Halloween. [turns weirdness knob to 11]
Since the "WTF was that?" performance of a loss at Northwestern in week one, Stanford has spent its gamedays grabbing other teams by the neck and punching them repeatedly in the face until the Cardinal got bored. It's delightfully entertaining football and is enough to make an Aggie downright envious. One really shouldn't be blessed with both high SAT scores and that level of brutishness, but life ain't fair.
On the Wazzu side, Mike Leach was on an increasingly warm seat after a home loss to an FCS Portland State, but he somehow found a pulse and resuscitated the Cougars, engineering a miracle win at Rutgers and later conference road wins over the likes of Oregon and Arizona. Excellent plot twist by The Pirate, whose new course has him setting sail for what could be an eight win regular season.
Of note, Keep your eye on star Stanford kick returner / running back / guy who takes the ball and does good things with it Christian McCaffrey. He will remind you of Ed McCaffrey. Because Ed's his dad and you are old.
Stuff your face with all the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups you stole from your kid's Halloween haul and/or shamelessly bought for yourself at Walmart, and take in the late night PAC experience as the sugar coma envelops you. And oh yea, more than 62 points will be scored.
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