The Tip Sheet — It’s the Week Before Indiana Week

Welcome to the Week Before Indiana Week!

It’s always a great week to focus on who the Buckeyes will be playing next week.

The Hoosiers and the Buckeyes have a long history together and when they decided to move in next to each other after the Louisiana Purchase, you knew it was only a matter of time before a pair of pals would grow annoyed by the other.

So over the decades, Ohio State and Indiana have grown into the second-fiercest football rivalry that Ohio State has. I expect the Buckeyes to come out on top, but you have to worry that they’ll be looking ahead this week to the game next week.

Speaking of this week, there’s some decent games that you’ll have a rooting interest in.

Why don’t we talk about them now since I brought it up?

Thursday September 27

Teams: North Carolina (1-2, 1-0) at #16 Miami (3-1, 0-0)
Time (TV): 8:00 pm (ESPN)
Interest: 2
Cheer For: North Carolina

The radio told me today that North Carolina is getting most of their guys back from their NCAA suspensions, so that should make things more interesting tonight. Miami may be benching quarterback Malik Rosier, which couldn’t hurt. I don’t know what NFL game is on tonight, but it can’t possibly be as intriguing as a game between two ACC teams that aren’t that great and nobody really cares about. And one of the two teams is ranked. And don’t come back at me about how Miami’s rankings are fake or how they are overrated. Voters see them as one of the top 25 teams in the nation, so don’t hate the Hurricanes. Hate the people who are foolish enough to have expectations for a program that is more smoke and mirrors than the Copperfield College Illusionists. You can get into tonight’s game for four dollars. Don’t worry, they have an awesome policy where if you get thrown out for fighting in the first half, you get half of your money back! You could probably get your entire four dollars back if you brandish your knife. Careful, though, because you know the guy at the ticket window will have a knife too.

Miami 27 – North Carolina 17

Saturday September 29

Teams: Louisiana (1-2) at #1 Alabama (4-0)
Time (TV): 12:00 pm (SECN)
Interest: 1
Cheer For: Louisiana

You are cheering for Louisiana because gumbo is pretty awesome. And the only food staple that the state of Alabama has given us is chocolate-covered cigarette butts.

Alabama 63 – Louisiana 0

Teams: Syracuse (4-0, 1-0) at #3 Clemson (4-0, 1-0)
Time (TV): 12:00 pm (ABC)
Interest: 4
Cheer For: Syracuse

Clemson is looking for a measure of revenge for last year’s loss at Syracuse. Rather than suffer a second-consecutive loss to the Orange, however, former Tigers starting quarterback Kelly Bryant decided to transfer this week. Syracuse knocked him out of the game last year, and he no doubt remembered the punishment that he received. Clemson is favored by 25.5 points, which is two more points than they were favored by last year. The Tigers will finally be starting freshman phenom Trevor Lawrence at quarterback. With just six more pass attempts than Bryant, Lawrence has thrown seven more touchdowns and for 139 more yards than the former Tiger. A true freshman starting quarterback is always going to cost you at least one game, but I wouldn’t expect it to be this one. (I feel like I’ve said this at least two other times about Clemson quarterbacks. And I feel like I’ve said this at least once before.)

Clemson 38 – Syracuse 24

Teams: #12 West Virginia (3-0, 1-0) at #25 Texas Tech (3-1, 1-0)
Time (TV): 12:00 pm (ESPN2)
Interest: 3.5
Cheer For: Texas Tech

If you like defense, I’d go mow the lawn for the last time this year or maybe work on your solitaire skills. West Virginia is favored by 3.5 points and the over/under has this around a 38-34 win by the Mountaineers. West Virginia is only giving up 12.3 points per game, but their schedule so far has consisted of Tennessee, Youngstown State, and Kansas State. That’s not exactly a tough slate. Hell, Tennessee lost by 13 to Craig from down at the NAPA store on 3rd. Though to be fair to Tennessee, Craig is one of those guys who wears his button-down shirt unbuttoned because he’s got nothing to hide. Craig almost won the SEC East last year, but missed the Mizzou game because it was his weekend with the kids.

Texas Tech 52 – West Virginia 45

Teams: Central Michigan (1-3) at #21 Michigan State (2-1)
Time (TV): 12:00 pm (FS1)
Interest: 1.5
Cheer For: Michigan State

You are cheering for Michigan State because you don’t want to see Central Michigan showing up to the Universities in the State Up North family reunion making MSU look bad in front of Mom and Dad. They’re already so disappointed in Michigan State. Not only did they send MSU to college, but they made him into a college, and look at him now. Over 75% of Michigan State’s student body is composed of federally protected witnesses in mob hits. That’s why it’s annoying for MSU when they have to go home following a bad loss and Mom is like, “So you still giving them dirty snitches free classes?”

Michigan State 42 – Central Michigan 14

Teams: Indiana (3-1, 0-1) at Rutgers (1-3, 0-1)
Time (TV): 12:00 pm (BTN)
Interest: 1.5
Cheer For: Indiana

This is the first time Indiana and Rutgers have met as unranked opponent in over 45 weeks. That is upwards of 27,000,000 seconds, which is a lot of seconds. A win for either team here could get them ranked as long as the pollsters are smoking rubber cement out of Bud Light cans. Rutgers needs something good to happen for them, but any team that gets destroyed at home against Buffalo is pretty far off from any kind of positive.

Indiana 34 – Rutgers 24

Teams: Virginia (3-1, 1-0) at NC State (3-0, 0-0)
Time (TV): 12:20 pm (ACCN)
Interest: 1.5
Cheer For: Virginia

This should really be higher than a 1.5, but I can’t go higher than that with Virginia just yet. You’re rooting for the Cavaliers because they’ve lost to Indiana, and even though your hate for Indiana knows no bounds, this is what’s best for Ohio State. North Carolina State is a trendy ACC pick to upset some teams, which also makes them a trendy pick to get upset. Having watched almost one second of Virginia football this season and nearly as much of NC State, I am completely torn on this game. On the one hand, I’d like to do some research in order to maybe sound smart. On the other hand, I’ve now written another line about this game.

NC State 31 – Virginia 24

Teams: Tennessee (2-2, 0-1) at #2 Georgia (4-0, 2-0)
Time (TV): 3:30 pm (CBS)
Interest: 1.5
Cheer For: Tennessee and quick mercy

Georgia is going to treat Tennessee like most people treat Twitter — as their own personal play thing. The Bulldogs are favored by 24 points in this one. I don’t know if that’s true, I just wanted to throw a guess out there and see how smart I am. I guess I could have just done this in my head, but if I’m too far off I’ll just delete all of this anyway. That’s good thinking, Tony. Thanks Tony. You really are the best friend I could ever have. Dang, UGA is actually favored by 31 points. The Bulldogs will smother the Vols like an overbearing wife who just nags and nags and nags and I’LL TAKE THE DAMN GARBAGE OUT WHEN I’M DONE WITH THE TIP SHEET! JEEZ! Anyway, watch out for Georgia wideout Mecole Hardman. He’s exciting.

Georgia 34 – Tennessee 3

Teams: Baylor (3-1, 1-0) at #6 Oklahoma (4-0, 1-0)
Time (TV): 3:30 pm (ABC)
Interest: 1.5
Cheer For: Baylor

Oklahoma went to overtime with Army last week, which means they are going to put about 65 points up on Baylor. They were too patriotic to do the same to the Cadets last week, which you can only admire. Baylor’s best chance this week is to change their fight song to Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA.

Oklahoma 65 – Baylor 27

Teams: #18 Texas (3-1, 1-0) at Kansas State (2-2, 0-1)
Time (TV): 3:30 pm (FS1)
Interest: 2
Cheer For: Texas

You want Texas in the top 10 because Maryland will have a win over the Longhorns, and the Buckeyes — if they train, say their prayers, and take their vitamins — will eventually have a win over the Terps this season. Texas hasn’t won in Manhattan since 2002, losing the last five trips to the Little Apple. In fact, the 2002 win was their only victory on the road against KState and they are 1-7 all-time on the road against the Wildcats. Texas has seemingly settled down, which makes this win a virtual lock for Kansas State.

Kansas State 17 – Texas 16

Teams: Purdue (1-3, 0-1) at Nebraska (0-3, 0-1)
Time (TV): 3:30 pm (BTN)
Interest: 2.5
Cheer For: Purdue

Purdue could be 4-0 if they knew how to win, but they don’t, so they aren’t. Their three losses have been by a combined eight points. Nebraska’s first two losses were similarly close — losing 33-28 to Colorado at the end, and then 24-19 to Troy. The 56-10 loss last week at Michigan, however, skews the numbers quite a bit. This will be an interesting matchup between a Purdue team with a possibly good offense and a desire to learn how to win, against a Husker team that at some point is either going to get fed up with losing or accustomed to it.

Nebraska 31 – Purdue 27

Teams: #14 Michigan (3-1, 1-0) at Northwestern (1-2, 1-0)
Time (TV): 4:30 pm (FOX)
Interest: 4
Cheer For: Michigan

A week ago, this would have been a much more interesting game, but with Northwestern’s star running back Jeremy Larkin announcing his retirement for health reasons, the threat level here just went down eight or nine notches for the Wolverines. Without Larkin, expect the Michigan defense to harass Wildcat quarterback Clayton Thorson like they disagree with him politically. Michigan’s offense will run the ball and quarterback Shea Patterson will throw the ball when he is allowed. The Wolverines are 14.5-point favorites, but they have struggled on the road at times. It’s something to keep an eye on, but that’s about it.

Michigan 31 – Northwestern 10

Teams: Florida (3-1, 1-1) at #23 Mississippi State (3-1, 0-1)
Time (TV): 6:00 pm (ESPN)
Interest: 3.5
Cheer For: Florida

You can cheer for whichever team you want to here. Arguments can be made both ways. A win for the SEC East over an SEC West team always helps to diminish the fascination with the SEC West. However, you may want to cheer for Mississippi State in order to try and keep them even with Alabama in the division. Of course, this means they would have to win in Tuscaloosa, but you go ahead and dare to dream. They say this is a pretty big game because Dan Mullen is returning to Mississippi State, but how darn big can it actually be when both of these teams have lost to Kentucky? Expect the Bulldogs to be very geared up for this one.

Mississippi State 28 – Florida 17

Teams: #4 Ohio State (4-0, 1-0) at #9 Penn State (4-0, 1-0)
Time (TV): 7:30 pm (ABC)
Interest: 5
Cheer For: Ohio State

Vegas is expecting something along the lines of a 38-34 win for the Buckeyes, which seems like a pretty decent score if the Ohio State back seven isn’t up for the challenge. The linebackers are my biggest concern for Ohio State, but also don’t forget Penn State’s love for the jump ball. I like Dwayne Haskins in any kind of shootout, but the offensive line is going to have to keep him upright. If they allow him to stand in the pocket without worry, he will throw for another 300 yards. I wonder what would happen if Penn State starts dropping eight like teams would sometimes do effectively against J.T. Barrett. I suppose the Buckeyes would just run the ball.

Teams: #7 Stanford (4-0) at #8 Notre Dame (4-0)
Time (TV): 7:30 pm (NBC)
Interest: 4
Cheer For: Stanford

You are cheering for Stanford because the Cardinal would at least have a conference championship game to find a first loss. Notre Dame, on the other hand, needs to lose as soon as possible. They can then watch from the outside as the committee talks lovingly about the 13th data point that Notre Dame will never have until they join the Big Ten. And even then, they’ll “have that data point” just like Michigan does. The Irish are favored by 5.5 points. Notre Dame has made a quarterback change, going from the inaccurate Brandon Winbush to the much more accurate Ian Book. Book threw for 325 yards in a win last week at Wake Forest. He’s about to become a household name, at least on NBC. If Stanford is going to win this, they need to get running back Bryce Love going.

Notre Dame 30 – Stanford 27

Teams: South Carolina (2-1, 1-1) at #17 Kentucky (4-0, 2-0)
Time (TV): 7:30 pm (SECN)
Interest: 2
Cheer For: South Carolina

Kentucky is 4-0 for the first time since 2008. They finished that season 7-6. This year, however, things are going to be completely different. They could be 8-0 when Georgia comes to town for the SEC East Championship Game. Or they could be 4-4. They’re not worried about it, though. The Wildcats are living life to the fullest. They’re sticking their best silverware in the best outlets to see what happens. Kentucky football has never, ever been this hot. They are ranked 17th in the nation. Fewer than 20 teams in the entire nation are ranked higher than they are. No way Kentucky loses this week. Not with so much momentum and confidence.

South Carolina 24 – Kentucky 20

Teams: #20 BYU (3-1) at #11 Washington (3-1)
Time (TV): 8:30 pm (FOX)
Interest: 2
Cheer For: BYU

This is a tough one to call as well. Rooting for BYU here could give them a path to 11-1, but they would have no 13th data point as an Independent. Plus, a BYU win here essentially knocks Washington out of the playoffs. However, Washington has a pretty good shot to lose elsewhere — at Oregon, at Cal, Stanford, at Washington State. It’s your call. I’m not going to tell you what to do. I’ve learned my lesson on that. The last time I told you what to do we ended up having a fistfight on the best way to make ice cubes. I said cold water works best, but you said hot water works best because the water cools faster because it “picks up speed” or something. I never did understand how you came to this conclusion and when I laughed at you and said, “Now I see why your parents crashed their airplane to get away from you,” you got upset because you thought I crossed the line on a family tragedy. I would have agreed, but they were skywriters and literally wrote, “We are crashing this plane to get away from you.” Facts are facts, jerko.

Washington 35 – BYU 21

Teams: Ole Miss (3-1, 0-1) at #5 LSU (4-0, 1-0)
Time (TV): 9:00 pm (ESPN)
Interest: 3
Cheer For: Ole Miss

LSU is one of a small handful of teams that has yet to throw an interception this season, which pretty much confirms my suspicions that Joe Burrow should be Ohio State’s starting quarterback. I also have suspicions that the moon is following me at night on bike rides. LSU is favored by 10.5 points, but I wonder if they have the offense to keep up with an Ole Miss team that might not mind a shootout. The Tiger defense has been okay and so has the offense, but both will need to be pretty good to outscore Ole Miss. I’m not gonna give up on Jeaux Legend just yet, however.

LSU 27 – Ole Miss 24

Teams: #19 Oregon (3-1, 0-1) at #24 California (3-0, 0-0)
Time (TV): 10:30 pm (FS1)
Interest: 2
Cheer For: Oregon

If a tree falls in Berkeley and there is a hippie living in it out of protest, does the hippie make a sound? Last week, Oregon choked away a win over Stanford, which means they’re plenty good enough to win this game. The question is whether or not they have the gumption. And as we know, gumption is what every football coach is looking for in a team. How often have we heard Urban Meyer talk about what he looks for in a quarterback? Number one is toughness. Number two is competitiveness. And number three is gumption. “Gumption, gumption, gumption,” he always says. “Give me a quarterback with gumption and I’ll make the rest work.” The Ducks are favored by a point and a half, which is what I would refer to Buck-I-Guy as if he ever loses half of his index finger and still tries his finger guns. Cal has wins over a depleted UNC by seven and a 21-18 win at BYU. BYU is pretty sucky, though, as they only beat the Badgers by three in Madison.

Oregon 38 – California 37