Getty ImagesUh-oh.
Not exactly unfamiliar with off-field issues this year, the top-ranked LSU Tigers could be faced with the most devastating of distractions ahead of their SEC West showdown with Auburn this weekend.
Both Randy Rosetta of TigersSportsDigest.com and the Daily Reveille are reporting that cornerback Tyrann Mathieu and running back Spencer Ware could/will be facing suspensions for Saturday’s game against the Tigers. The Daily Reveille, the school’s student newspaper, reports that the suspensions would be for failed drug tests. Rosetta tweets that as many as three LSU starters could be suspended for the game; the identity of the third player was not identified by Rosetta, but the Associated Press is reporting that it is cornerback Tharold Simon. Simon is listed as the backup to Mathieu on the latest LSU depth chart.
While the one-game suspension is bad enough, the situation could get a lot worse for the Tigers as the student paper writes that the one-game suspensions could turn into multi-game suspensions. Such a development could place the players’ availability for the huge showdown with Alabama Nov. 5 in jeopardy.
Attempts by CFT to reach the school for comment on the reported development have been unsuccessful. Head coach Les Miles has a regularly scheduled press conference at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday; we’re assuming these reports will come up during the course of the evening.
The loss of Mathieu and Ware would be a tremendous blow to the Tigers, although more so in two weeks in Tuscaloosa than this weekend in Death Valley. Mathieu is one of the top defensive players in the country and has been mentioned as a potential Heisman candidate. Ware leads the team in rushing with 512 yards.
UPDATED 2:59 p.m. ET: A school official who requested his name not be used would neither confirm nor deny to CFT — even off-the-record — that players had been suspended for failing drug tests. The official said such issues are handled internally and “will be addressed at the proper time by the proper individuals.”
UPDATED 3:42 p.m. ET: “Coach Miles is handling it as an internal issue, within the team and university, but we cannot comment further at this time,” said LSU sports information director Michael Bonnette.
UPDATED 7:31 p.m. ET: In his regularly scheduled press conference, Miles would not directly address the reports that three players have been suspended for failing a drug test, nor confirm the names of those involved, but did say the allegations were “left of center“.
“There’s a process I’ve got to go through and I’m not going to short-cut and once there’s information to share, I will,” Miles said. ”It’s not information I’m going to respond to. I think this is the right way to go.
What? Something wrong at an SEC school? I thought that was against the rules. I’m sure that the NCAA will take its time, “investigate” thoroughly and find that no SEC player did anything wrong and then suspend Ohio State’s Devier Posey 2 more games.
The Reveille usually gets it right. On a few occasions, as former students, and workers in the campus newspaper, we have known them to get it wrong, but not often. We hope this is one of those times they got it wrong, but we doubt it.
We will look forward to Coach Miles’ word on this matter. Tyrann and others could miss some of the biggest games in their careers. Details are really hard to come by at this time, but we hope there will be more information released soon.
Welp, you can kiss your Heisman chances goodbye, Tyrann “The Tyrant” Mathieu.
I wonder how this bodes for Auburn’s chances. I mean, it’s still a long shot, surely, but Mathieu’s plays have been a big factor in LSU’s success thus far. Who the third player is makes all the difference in the world. If it’s a key player on defense, like in the secondary, for example, the game this Saturday could be a much different affair.
Wow! Wonder what the NCAA will be saying and investigating in this matter?
If this is true and the players failed drug testing, then should they be suspended for more than One game?
And that really changes LSU’s potency against Auburn this coming weekend.
The Reveille is on top of it’s investigative Reporting once again…..
Drug test? Honey Badger doesn’t give a shit about drug tests. Honey Badger takes what he wants.
I know you don’t smoke weed….I know this, but…
There has to be more to the story than is out right now, but I have to give the university a lot of credit for doing it now.
Usually, these suspensions are saved for games against directional schools.
How about the rabid LSU/SEC fan that is stuffing the Thumbs Box on post #1? I’ve never seen that many responses to any post, no matter how inflammatory and especially not within two hours.
OK, we get it…..you don’t like his post. Cookies are for eating.
100+ thumbs down has to be a record, right?
I gave him a thumbs up!
Don’t know how any one person gave that many thumbs down that quickly. Never saw that before either. We can’t even do that if we wanted to. We just tried. Give one thumbs up or down and can’t give another one. Is there a robo system for thumbs like there is for robo calls for politicians?
This press conference should be good, and hopefully informative. LSU seems to be pro-active and not waiting to begin suspensions and plans to add to them as warranted….whew. not good for LSU team, nor fans.
LSU is a fine institution and any player indescretions will be handled in a fair and impartial manner,
NOT!
Where do all these poor college scholarship players get all this money for drugs?
I think the ballot is being stuffed from both ends on that first post… who has time for that?
I saw that good ol Miles couldn’t wait to get Mr Jefferson back on the field even though he already had a good winning QB playing.
Must have been some of the brothers who suggested Jefferson needed some time on the field too or else.
Miles pre emptive strategy, wherein he suspends the players before the NCAA has an opportunity to do so has been successful. If in fact LSU has some players using drugs that are not prescribed, or are performance enhancing; it speaks alot to Miles’ character, the character of the football program at LSU, to a shrewd understanding of the way a big time football squad should be run.
Waiting and allowing the NCAA to take action will almost certainly result in bad press, rivals using it to trash talk to the media, and of course sanctions against the entire team by the governing body. We have seen this time and again.
Yes, I agree with the first poster’s thoughts: This is all Posey’s fault, and likely a vast Ohio State conspiracy.
I Tweet at @ProNetworkBuild
JT… quick question… does wordpress or CFT log an IP address when someone votes thumbs up or down?… just curious. Honestly though, 400 some-odd votes in, I don’t think anyone needs confirmation that some psycho(s) are in a thumbs voting war.
Your Coaches don’t normally pull ‘Random Drug Tests kits’ out on their Football Players unless, the Coaches suspect that players could be breaking the rules. So, yes the Coaches and Staff are to be commended for doing the drug tests and since the ‘Urine doesn’t lie!’ and those tests came back positive for drugs, the players who failed most definitely deserve to be suspended and for more than just ONE game.
This really does bite for the LSU Tiger Football program, but at least the Coaches did not try to squash this story……
@pricecube: Not that I’m aware of. I believe we’re clearly dealing with a case of somebody having way too much time on their hands.
Is anybody else getting the feeling that LSU is slowly becoming the U of the 1990′s?
I figured my first post would get both up and down votes, but not like this.
Who administered the drug tests and why were they administered? What do they test for? Is this standard at schools? Is it an NCAA thing? What’s the precedent for suspensions for something like this?
The NCAA has nothing to do with it; it’s up to the schools to determine their own drug policy, and it varies from institution to institution.
Are college football fans as stupid as the people that are posting in these comments?
There isn’t anything Les Miles or LSU is doing that is honorable other than enforcing rules that they likely HAVE to enforce.
Its not like Les is all of a sudden taking a hard stand against drugs. Its out of his hand.
@thompgk, the only good thing for the Coaches is that they did not try to cover it up, they faced the music when the players failed the drug tests.
The really sad part of the story is LSU star players threw away a chance to be really great for what? Drugs.
Do they even mention what drugs were found? I know some GNC products have caused my soldiers to pop positive for Oxycodone and other illegal drugs, maybe something similar here.
Hey rowbear, / mydixienormus are you just SEC trolling? If not, you can comment on all the other non sec teams that have had some issues this season as well, here’s a good start. http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/17/tar-heels-dismiss-starting-linebacker/
I apologize for our school beating yours but trolling on all the SEC threads? You must do that in between playing WOW. As they say on MNF C’ mon man!!!
http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/17/tar-heels-dismiss-starting-linebacker/
Oh goodness!
Handled internally??!?!?! Code for taking money and NCAA violations in my opinion!
Too bad for UM they had that jock sniffer on steroids convicted felon do a tell all prison interview to the yahoo ragtag gang……if they didn’t have a Shapiro fool they could have hid behind “handle internally” “conduct detriminental to the team” etc BS that all these other schools use…..especially SEC schools!!!
gamustangdude ~
Trolling? Thanks. If you happen to notice (and I know you didn’t), I take shots at any school that does something stupid, especially mine. I’m sorry that you’ve only read my comments on this thread, that I took a shot at your beloved SEC AND Ohio State and don’t have the time to post on every single thread, but there is no reason to resort to name calling. Did you even read my second post?
Here we go again with all of the snide remarks and damn it when will it ever end? Yeah the guys got busted but hey we the the proud LSU Tigers have more in our arsenal than these 3. So just give it a break as well as me. The name calling that you do is nothing more than childish and immature. I refuse to stoop to your level but will go on the record and say it one more time, every program has it’s problems and I don’t care who in the hell it is.
rowbear, you can’t speak to children like mustang dude, he is angry anyone would speak bad of the almighty, holy SEC
any criticism of the SEC is automatically trolling, but now bad mouthing anyone else, that’s a different story….
rowbear ya know talk all you want about the sec the 5 deliquents for o gay o state shouldn’t have even played in that bowl game and ya know when the fbi says cam didn’t do anything let it go. Ohio state is overrated always will be get over it helps my bam a boys out though roll tide roll
The SEC is a league of thieves and liars. Winning Football games comes before everything else, including morals and academic standards.
~paulbrownsrevenge do your research, UGA one of the best pharmacy programs, Alabama football athletes are held to high standards by coach sabin, missing class is not tolerated,Auburn teaches more successful agricultural students than anyone, along with a spot on education system, Tennessee has the best CSI department. So theres your education doubt it will cure your ignorance though
I would be lying if I said I was surprised about this. These players have a great opportunity but just don’t seem to be mature enough to take advantage of it. It’s sad & shines a spotlight on the fact that a deeper investigation into character needs to be conducted before wasting scholarships on children who obviously don’t want them.
@paulbrownsrevenge – just when you start making sense in other posts, your brains fall out and you make THAT one.
Did you skip your meds today?
If the SEC is full of theives and liars… then I’ll sail with that pirate crew anytime.
I’ll hold comments on LSU, players, Coach Miles until facts are revealed.
Those words from Miles are probably roughly as accurate as the ones that came out of his mouth when he told Russell Shepard he’d get a legitimate shot to play QB if he signed with LSU.
I am very disappointed in these developments, and am ashamed that LSU is beginning to resemble “the U” of the 90′s, as one poster said. I am heartsick about it.
gannon, yes, the SEC has those three great academic institutions in Georgia, Florida, and Vanderbilt.
If Ohio State is “overrated” and “always has been overrated”, then why are all of those SEC schools so proud that they beat them? If OSU is so overrated, shouldn’t it be expected that they would be beaten?
tr975, there’s just a huge natural disadvantage for northern schools when it comes to bowl season. OSU’s probably actually been better than a few of those SEC teams that beat them, but there’s no substitute for milder weather when it comes to those last couple of months of the season.
It wouldn’t totally offset the practice advantage, but maybe the big bowls should sometimes be played in Minneapolis, Detroit, and Buffalo.
The stuff going on down in “red stick” shouldnt surprise anyone. Louisiana is full of mean, foolish, thugs that also happen to be great athletes. Sabin said it when he left Michigan state for Lsu, he said he could win a national championship there, all he had to do was to keep all the talent in the state. Don’t let them leave for Texas, arky, ole miss, miss st, auburn, bama etc. Leslie has simply kept Sabans blue print for success and has a team is full of thugs!!! Because that state is a $hit hole full of thugs
I went to New Orleans on my honeymoon and several times since (Mardi Gras). I loved the people of Louisiana, the nicest and most hospitatable people I have met anywhere. There are sure some bigots and racists posting on this blog. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
rowbear, you had asked about who did the drug tests. Well that is something that is not known yet. Though each school has their own way that they handle drug testing they are not independent of the NCAA and their conference. From research that I did this afternoon, I found that there are actually 3 levels of drug testing done on NCAA athletes. At NCAA, conference and school levels. Each have their own policies on how to handle it. BUT, any time that a school administers a drug test and it comes back positive it must be immediately communicated to the NCAA. There are even detailed specifications about how the “evidence” (aka urine) is handled and the “chain of custody” (NCAA’s words not mine). It also depends on who orders the testing as to how the suspensions are handled. NCAA and conference usually only do it for championship games, tournaments etc… or if they have reason to believe that an athlete has been using a banned substance. If they knew that a player had failed a test previously they can administer testing. Each athlete, to perform in NCAA events, must sign a form agreeing to random drug testing or they can loose some or all of their eligibility. So, these players agreed to have the testing done no matter who administered it. Seems pretty dumb to me to agree to testing and then go and do the pott.
rowbear says: Oct 19, 2011 6:03 PM
gamustangdude ~
Trolling? Thanks. If you happen to notice (and I know you didn’t), I take shots at any school that does something stupid,
Really? Don’t see your comments on this page
http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/19/miami-dt-suspended-for-punching-tar-heel-in-the-manhood/
nor this one,
http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/18/michigan-state-still-reviewing-personal-fouls-from-gholston/#comments
I guess it is just you trolling on SEC threads, hey at least you keep it consistent right?
@buckeyeboy, sorry I just find it pathetic that people go out of their way to only scrutinize 1 group of schools. Kind of like the pathetic people who only comment on pages to attack people instead of the topic, i.e your post.
This is not Twitter, Facebook or some 90′s era chat room. I now find my eMail in box completely filled up with folks going back and forth about nonsense that means something to them, or inside conversations. I am glad you all enjoy it; and use it as such. I am sure you will have a few smarmy remarks for me, which I will not see, because I will now have to block the eMail alerts so I don’t get them.
You should stick to the subject, and take your conversations to another venue.
burntorangehorn Excuses Excuses Ohio state and the big ten aren’t as god as you put out, SEC goes up north for bowls and wins thats just a poor excuse. The amount of time they are at the location is more than enough time to get acclimated to the environment, I have been to ohio not like they have the same temps 24/7 365. If anything Arizona state is the higher disadvantage, The temps are the same for 9 straight months, so the pac 12 has the gripe there. But get over it Ohio state has yet to defeat the SEC fairly
burntorangehorn Greg Mccelroy for BAMA was named academic all american, look what standards coach sabin holds them to, sabin quoted on a presser saying ” If I can’t trust my athletes to go to class then how can I trust them on the field.” He has actually sat in students classes who e found out were struggling. And a majority of the produce you eat science of growing that is largely taught at Auburn.
Beating a crappy michigan team every year, sharing a big ten title with a team you lost to, being pronounced to have the best damn band in the land Jacksonville state in Alabama has won just as much band comps, And never any doubt The SEC will beat them, they had to cheat to beat a Arkansas team out a receiver, while mallet threw 5 touchdowns that were dropped by a freshman.
Gannon, when does the SEC go up north for a bowl? And you’re missing the point, which isn’t pre-game acclimation; it’s that the players in the much warmer states have the advantages of practicing and even living in warmer temperatures at that time of year. The human body goes through cyclical changes throughout the year, naturally lowering its metabolism, decreasing its range of motion, slowing its response time, insulating itself, etc. as it climatizes to the cold. Teams in the southeast, Texas, and SoCal don’t really face very much of that. Their bodies are able to remain at peak level of performance and efficiency, because they don’t dig in for the winter.
Not to worry, they’ll be back for the Bama game, and they have plenty of depth to win until then without them… after all, it’s not like they kicked somebody in the head or anything.
And gannon, you’re really reaching if you’re touting Auburn’s ag program. Texas A&M is going to be the third-best school in the conference academically, behind Vandy and UF. I would never argue that Georgia is not a fine institution, because it absolutely is, and they have great law and scientific research. But the first three are well ahead of the bottom eight, and there’s a noticeable gap between Georgia and the bottom eight as well. Alabama, Tennessee, and LSU probably comprise the next tier, then South Carolina, Kentucky, and arguably Auburn and Arkansas, with the Mississippi schools of course bringing up the rear.
But let’s not pretend that the overall university’s academic strength in any way reflects the football team’s academic competence. Yes, there are guys like Myron Rolle (rhodes scholar), Greg McElroy (academic all-american), and Sam Acho (two-time academic all-american, 2010 Draddy Award winner, Nat’l Football Foundation postgrad winner, etc.), but these guys also don’t reflect the norm for their teams. I’m sure Nick Saban sits in with guys when they need a little extra reinforcement, and that’s great. A well-reinforced student, athlete or not, can usually get a great education at any of these institutions, or any of the Directional State or Afterthought Tech types, because accreditation review organizations ensure a baseline standard that ensures accuracy and opportunity, leaving it to the students to choose whether they’re going to just learn the basics or make the most of college.
burntorangehorn yeah so ate you blaming the climate hen o gay o state loses in a dome. No excuse
bamainaustin ~
Thanks for your research. Appreciate it.
gamustangdude~
You must have missed my apology for not posting on every single thread. Not sure what two random posts that I didn’t comment on have to do with anything, but I applaud your ability to find them. I would have been more impressed by you finding all the other SEC articles that I’ve commented on. Please show me and the others how I’ve been trolling.
gannon03 says:
Oct 20, 2011 12:08 PM
burntorangehorn yeah so ate you blaming the climate hen o gay o state loses in a dome. No excuse
=============================
Pardon? Not only can’t you read; you also can’t compose a coherent sentence.
burntorangehorn well ya know when buttons are broke on your phone it turns out like that and quite obviously i can read, let me rephrase my current statement, do you blame it on the climate when they lose in a dome, that is all
@burntorangehorn Excuses for the teams thats all you throw out. If the use outside its the climate, if they lose in a dome do you blame it on the turf, if they lose on home field do you blame officiating, just curious
gannon03 and burntorangehorn you two are like two little kids, first off you both have laid points leave it at that, gannon I see what you are getting at no you can not blame the loss on the climate alone, and burntorangehorn you are implying the slight advantage of home turf i get that as well. bottom line here is two teams play the game one wins one loses, just how it goes. Ohio State loses against the SEC simply because the big ten schedule given to them isn’t as demanding,, however not Ohio states fault they play kent state ,toledo ,and ohio,and yes an under coached michigan team ( hopefully to be turned around this year) so take that in to effect, I am an avid Clemson fan my self, however I will admit the SEC is the toughest conference, and an one can argue all they want it’s a fact. but why don’t you two just realize no matter how much facts you two pump out its not gonna change the others views.
big1south who the hell are you to interfere with our debate.
gannon03 Im just trying to get this board on track, the best corner in college football is suspended for a big rivalry game and you two are playing top that like kids on the playground, I’m 46 years young my friend trust me arguing with someone you don’t know is pointless, settle down and give your opinion to the community on this issue. discuss the matter at hand at the top of the page, and no you two aren’t the only two, free to post what you like just trying to talk about the issues here. with that being said losing the badger for one game will suck if he’s gone during the Alabama game that will defiantly change the tide ( no pun intended)
lol all you see this one http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/20/big-ten-slaps-gholston-with-one-game-suspension/
@gannon03 read my post on ACC notre dame story.
SEC=2 AAU mambers
B1G= all but Nebraska.
Your conference represents what’s wrong with society.
How about those graduation rates in the SEC, what a joke.
and yes I spelled members incorrectly, but you can’t spell Saban gannon03.
paulbrownsrevenge you are wrong friend its not just the SEC its all conferences that have blemishes, Jim Tressel is a liar, and badly enough they guy lied to his superiors, not smart. So you can’t single out gannon or any other supporter of the SEC and say there conference is whats wrong, look at the big picture, SMU got the death penalty years back, not SEC, ASU leads with most infractions not SEC, now i know the SEC is on that list of conferences who have done no no’s but so is a team from pretty much all of them. Even my beloved ACC has had its share of problems. Human factor, people screw up. And the SEC has a fairly good graduation rate actually, a lot of the rates are down in areas because the athletes go to the pros ( a rule id like to see changed, In my opinion you should have to finish your time at your school before you are rewarded with more money than you can spend)
big1south is right I’m done arguing you have your opinions I have mine
man o man even with all this tension in here this seals the fact that college football in my opinion surpasses the pros, lot to be supportive of with our teams and all. I hope every ones teams win in here except south carolina
my clemson tigers gonna take it I just know it. the ACC is ours 
well God bless and good luck to all this weekend, pray for safety of our student athletes.
big1south: good post! Thank you. All our student athletes definitely need prayer. Too many major injuries, too many bad decisions resulting in suspensions, etc. Our weekend v. the Auburn Tigers. We have this advantage…a deep defense and special teams, along with Deaf/Death Valley LSU.
Clearly the best football players aren’t good students. Most great football players are so good, because football is all they care about. Just like great students are often “book smart”, but can be criticized for not having common sense, or be comfortable in a work enviorment.
With that being said, the SEC clearly is the best Football conference. Academic standards are lower to land top talent. Top talent doesn’t want to worry about making grades. So the SEC will continue do dominate on the field, but it’s players are just that and that only, players.
It’s not every guy. I get that. The Tebow’s, Mannings, and David Pollacks will always be outnumbered by the Janoris Jenkins, Jordan Jefferson’s, and Janzen Jackson’s of the world in that conference. I’m not sure you can say that about other conferences. The SEC only had 2 AAU members prior to they’re addition of A&M. The BigTen only has one member who isn’t an AAU member.
I watch SEC football for the record. The product on the field is clearly superior at this point in time. Also at this current time in our country HS graduation rates are falling, more and more countries are graduating more doctors and engineers than we are. So watching SEC football shows you where we are as a society.
Our priorities are all out of sorts. I’m as guilty of being consumed by this sport as anyone else. I just remember when the academic part of college football meant a little more. I remember when People took pride in what the football players they looked up to became outside of football.
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About
Predictions 101 — Week 9
Posted by John Tamanaha on October 26, 2011, 12:18 PM EDT
It was bound to happen. No, not Oklahoma finally losing in Norman. P101 having a losing week.
For the first time all season, we were sub .500 vs. “the number,” going 5-7 in Week 8. With all that heavy lumber littering last week’s board, we just couldn’t seem to end up on the right side.
Despite a historic Hail Mary and Dayne Crist’s inability to take a snap, we still posted a 8-4 straight-up mark.
After 96 games, we’re 59-33-2 (two games weren’t on the board) and 73-23.
TOP 10 GAMES (Thurs., Oct. 27 thru Sat., Oct. 29)
1) No. 6 Clemson at Georgia Tech
Sat., Oct. 29 — 8 p.m. ET, ABC
It’ll be interesting to see how the Tigers handle being up on the pedestal. It’s one thing for young players and coaches to climb, but an entirely different challenge to stay.
Clemson (8-0, 5-0 in ACC), which is now ranked fifth in the BCS standings, hasn’t opened a season with nine consecutive victories since its 1981 national championship team rolled all the way to 12-0. Pretty lofty stuff all the way around.
After a pair of disappointing losses at Virginia and Miami, Georgia Tech (6-2, 3-2) is happy to be back at home, hosting an opponent that offers the opportunity to have some of its swagger stolen.
The Yellow Jackets have won six of their last eight meetings with the Tigers, who didn’t look particularly sharp in their previous road game, needing to embark on a torrid comeback to beat Maryland, 56-45.
Opening point spread: Clemson by 4 1/2
The pick: Georgia Tech 32-31
2) No. 11 Oklahoma at No. 10 Kansas State
Sat., Oct. 29 — 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
After last Saturday’s debacle in Norman, the Sooners are jumping at the opportunity to get out of town and escape to the seclusion of the Little Apple.
Oklahoma (6-1, 3-1 in Big 12) clearly showed in its shocking 41-38 loss to Texas Tech that it can be hurt through the air. Unfortunately for Kansas State (7-0, 4-0), Collin Klein isn’t the sort of quarterback who can take advantage. He rushed for four touchdowns in last week’s 59-21 victory over Kansas and is more of a dual-threat type.
Although its passing component ranks last in the Big 12 and 110th in the nation, the Wildcats’ ball-control offense has a shot to limit Sooner possessions, but can’t be expected to match scores. Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones has already passed for 2,589 yards and 21 touchdowns this season, and should eventually wear down the hosts.
Opening point spread: Oklahoma by 13 1/2
The pick: Oklahoma 31-21
3) No. 9 Michigan State at No. 13 Nebraska
Sat., Oct. 29 — noon ET, ESPN
This prediction comes courtesy of Shane Hedani from the P101 satellite office in Maunawili, Hawai’i.
Sparty won an incredible game last Saturday on a Hail Mary and controls its own destiny in the Legends Division and could possibly earn a rematch versus Wisconsin in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game. Michigan State (6-1, 3-0 in Big Ten) is the country’s darling right now.
Nebraska (6-1, 2-1) wants some love too. The Cornhuskers also control their own Legends destiny and have Michigan State right where they want them … in Lincoln, following an emotional game and likely tired from a brutal stretch.
The Spartans, who have had to deal with Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin already this month, are not the same team on the road, where miracles are hard to come by. Don’t forget about the 31-13 decision they dropped to less-than-impressive Notre Dame.
William Gholston is returning to Michigan State after a suspension. This beast of a defensive end will get optioned by Nebraska as the Huskers go “old school” and stick to its strength at home, the run game.
The Nebraska running attack will open things up for the occasional shot down the field. Although Taylor Martinez is no Andrew Luck, the Spartans will be so focused on stopping the run that Husker wideouts will be wide open for a couple big plays.
Opening point spread: Nebraska by 3 1/2
The pick: Nebraska 27-24
4) Baylor at No. 3 Oklahoma State
Sat., Oct. 29 — 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2
The arrival of Robert Griffin III in Stillwater should garner lots of attention, but it’ll still be a challenge for the Cowboys to concentrate on the now.
Being slotted third in the BCS standings is more than enough to weigh on the mind of a team, but that gets even heavier when the top two teams have a date to lock horns next week. Furthermore, Oklahoma State (7-0, 4-0 in Big 12) has a humongous game of its own next week as it hosts Kansas State (currently undefeated at 7-0).
Baylor (4-2, 1-2) has dropped both of its road games this season, including its most recent outing, a 55-28 loss at Texas A&M in which the Bears surrendered 681 total yards. Yikes.
Both defenses allow more than 425 yards and 26.7 points per game. Combine that with the offensive weaponry on both squads and we will be looking at a total somewhere north of 80.
Opening point spread: Oklahoma St. by 15
The pick: Oklahoma State 52-34
5) No. 4 Stanford at No. 20 USC
Sat., Oct. 29 — 8 p.m. ET, ABC
What’s with the ‘World Wide Leader?’ We’ve got this matchup ranked in the middle of the road, but ‘College GameDay’ is caravanning out to the Coliseum. Besides Desmond really wanting to go purse shopping on Rodeo Drive, we don’t get it.
Stanford (7-0, 5-0 in Pac-12) plays the kind of football that USC (6-1, 3-1) was synonymous with for decades — physical on both sides of the line, balanced on offense, unrelenting on defense. The Cardinal are simply machine-like in their destruction of the opposition, winning their last 10 games by at least 26 points. Last week, they rushed for a school-record 446 yards in a 65-21 victory over Washington.
Don’t get fooled into thinking that playing at the Coliseum benefits the Trojans. Incredibly, Stanford has won four of its last six games on USC’s home turf. And remember that this year’s Trojans were gracious hosts to Minnesota (two-point win), Utah (17-14, before score magically changed) and Arizona (surrendered 41 points).
Opening point spread: Stanford by 9 1/2
The pick: Stanford 37-21
6) No. 22 Georgia vs. Florida (at Jacksonville, Fla.)
Sat., Oct. 29 — 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Ever since John Brantley injured his ankle against Alabama on Oct. 1, the Gators haven’t tasted victory. The senior quarterback should be back in the saddle on Saturday, giving Florida (4-3, 2-3 in SEC) a good shot at avoiding a four-game losing streak, which would be its longest since 1988.
Georgia (5-2, 4-1), however, is intent on winning its sixth game in a row and turning things around against the Gators, who have won the last three games in the series and 18 of the last 21.
The Bulldogs still have a lot to prove. Their four SEC wins have come against teams with a combined conference record of 1-15, which is truly horrific since the lone victory among that group came at the expense of a member (Vandy over Ole Miss).
Having a pair of key defenders — lineman Kwame Geathers and safety Shawn Williams — suspended for the first half doesn’t help.
Opening point spread: Georgia by 1
The pick: Florida 24-21
7) Navy at Notre Dame
Sat., Oct. 29 — 3:30 p.m. ET, NBC
Under normal circumstances — meaning no five-game losing streak for a team that’s been to eight consecutive bowl games — nothing this side of Army means more to the Midshipmen than butting heads with the Fighting Irish.
This season, with a bowl game in jeopardy and a loss to Air Force having already dented Commander-in-Chief Trophy hopes, Navy (2-5) has an ultra-intense focus on Notre Dame (4-3).
Conversely, the Irish are candidates to play this one scared. Having already lost three of its last four to the Middies, there’s lots of pressure on Notre Dame, which self-destructed last Saturday in a 31-17 loss to USC. Not only did the Irish give away the football three times in the second half, they also demonstrated a stunning inability to stop the run.
“I’m not going to tolerate it,” Brian Kelly said, after the loss to the Trojans. “It’s not going to be pretty this week in practice. If we gotta go back and tackle every day, we’ll tackle every day.”
Maybe that’ll help, but if USC can rush for 219 yards at Notre Dame, working with a previously maligned offensive line, what will the triple-option Midshipmen, who average 325 rushing yards per game and 5.7 per carry, do to the Irish?
Opening point spread: Notre Dame by 20
The pick: Notre Dame 38-31
No. 12 Wisconsin at Ohio State
Sat., Oct. 29 — 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
The damage has been done. Michigan State’s Hail Mary was answered. The Badgers just can’t let that play beat them for a second time. Carrying any sort of woe-is-me hangover into another road game would be a disaster for Wisconsin (6-1, 2-1 in Big Ten), which needs this one to stay on course to winning the Leaders Division.
Ohio State (4-3, 1-2) doesn’t have anything even remotely resembling the passing attack that Michigan State used last Saturday to beat the Badgers. Buckeye freshman quarterback Braxton Miller hasn’t completed more than five passes or thrown for more than 95 yards in any game since the opener. That’s a far cry from Spartan veteran Kirk Cousins, who went 22-of-31 for 290 yards and three touchdowns to get it done last week versus Wisconsin.
We trust that Bret Bielema will make sure the Badgers bounce back strong.
Opening point spread: Wisconsin by 7 1/2
The pick: Wisconsin 31-13
9) No. 25 West Virginia at Rutgers
Sat., Oct. 29 — 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Last year, the Mountaineers were two-touchdown favorites over Syracuse and dropped a 19-14 decision.
Last week, West Virginia (5-2, 1-1 in Big East) was a 14-point favorite over the Orange and it happened again … only worse. This time, the Mounties got pummeled, 49-23.
If you’re expecting Rutgers (5-2, 2-1) to feel the brunt of a let’s-bounce-back-and-get-this-right effort from West Virginia, please remember that the Mountaineers followed up last season’s loss to Syracuse by getting upset by Connecticut in overtime, 16-13.
After getting picked off twice and sacked four times versus the Orange, WVU QB Geno Smith will have his hands full with a Scarlet Knight pass rush that ranks first in the Big East with 24 sacks on the season.
Opening point spread: West Virginia by 5 1/2
The pick: Rutgers 24-23
10) No. 14 South Carolina at Tennessee
Sat., Oct. 29 — 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2
This prediction comes courtesy of Marc Doche (@MDoche) from the P101 satellite office in Burbank, Calif.
The future is now for a pair of teams in the midst of opposite campaigns.
Tennessee (3-4, 0-4 in SEC) turns to true freshman quarterback Justin Worley, last year’s Gatorade National Player of the Year, who gets thrown into the fire in his first collegiate start as the top-ranked and well-rested South Carolina (6-1, 4-1) pass defense travels to Knoxville.
With all-everything tailback Marcus Lattimore lost for the season due to a knee injury, the Gamecocks’ hopes of remaining atop the SEC East standings rest with sophomore quarterback Connor Shaw, who is likely to struggle as he did two weeks ago against Mississippi State since his ground attack becomes much easier to contain with freshman Brandon Wilds carrying the load.
The Vols, who came up empty through the first four games of their SEC gauntlet, have beaten South Carolina in all but one of its last 15 trips to Neyland Stadium.
Opening point spread: South Carolina by 3 1/2
The pick: Tennessee 23-17
TWO MORE YOU SHOULDN’T IGNORE
Rice at No. 18 Houston
Thurs., Oct. 27 — 8 p.m. ET, FSN
The Cougars have one more Thursday night game to consider watching (Nov. 10 at Tulane), but this “Bayou Bucket” matchup is sure to be something else with the nation’s No. 1 squad in terms of total offense hosting a team that ranks 115th in total defense. Let the fun begin!
Led by record-setting quarterback Case Keenum, who has accounted for 17,173 yards of total offense and 150 touchdowns in his collegiate career, Houston (7-0, 3-0) has scored a total of 224 points in its last four games.
Rice (2-5, 1-3), on the other hand, has scored more than 28 points just once this season and that was in a 56-31 loss at Baylor on Sept. 24.
The last time the Owls made the six-mile trek across town to Robertson Stadium, they got eviscerated, 73-14. The fact that Rice upset Houston last year, 34-31, doesn’t help the Owls’ chances.
The price might seem steep, but we feel it’s a bargain.
Opening point spread: Houston by 25 1/2
The pick: Houston 56-23
Missouri at No. 16 Texas A&M
Sat., Oct. 29 — Noon ET, FX
This soon-to-be-SEC matchup isn’t quite Alabama-LSU, but it will be intriguing.
Missouri (3-4, 1-3 in Big 12) ran out of gas and into turnovers in last Saturday’s attempted upset of Oklahoma State. If the Tigers can be less generous, their balanced attack, which averages 238 yards on the ground (tops in the league) and 253 through the air, could give Texas A&M (5-2, 3-1) all sorts of problems.
The Aggies, who rank dead last in the nation in pass defense, also might have a distracted eye on next week’s trip to Norman.
We wouldn’t be surprised if overtime were required.
Opening point spread: Texas A&M by 15
The pick: Texas A&M 35-28
Week 8 record: 8-4
Total: 73-23
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16 Responses to “Predictions 101 — Week 9”
southernpatriots says:Oct 26, 2011 12:43 PM
John: As we stated last week, we expected you to come down from the heavens to the level of us mortals, and so it was. It is such an humbling experience. We are still remaining high on our very limited predictions, especially of our alma mater LSU being 40 – 10 predictions for Florida, Tennessee and Auburn. With LSU having a bye week this week, we will taking in many SEC and other college football games.
No one we know saw the Texas Tech over Oklahoma, especially not Stoops and team which foreshadowed the defeat by calling in their game the previous second half. Our congrats to Tubby and team.
We pick these straight up: Clemson over Georgia Tech; NE over MI State; USC loses to Stanford; Navy over Notre Dame; WI easy over tOSU; WVU over Rutgers; SC loses to TN; Houston wipes out Baylor; A&M over MO.
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thefoodrapist says:Oct 26, 2011 12:43 PM
“What’s with the “World Wide Leader?” We’ve got this matchup ranked in the middle of the road, but they’re caravanning out to the Coliseum. Besides Desmond really wanting to go purse shopping on Rodeo Drive, we don’t get it.”
*****
I’ll help you out. The “World Wide Leader” (ESPiN) is going to SoCal. because they are AFRAID to go to C-bus and get embarassing on national television, via Ohio State fans with some clever signage on Game Day. The Buckeyes fans are seeking revenge for the BIASED, UNBALANCED, HACKJOB being put on Ohio State by the media, mainly ESPiN since last winter. And rightly so. ESPiN lacks the balls. They’ll use the excuse that Wisconsin losing last week took off a little luster for this match-up, but believe you me – Game Day/ESPiN are scared to be emabarassed.
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blitz4848 says:Oct 26, 2011 12:51 PM
@ southernpatriots
Houston wipes out Baylor??????
Houston plays RICE and BAYLOR plays OK ST
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southernpatriots says:Oct 26, 2011 1:07 PM
blitz4848: Thank you for being so alert and kindly calling our attention to our mistake. JT has the NBC techs working on a edit button (at least he said it is on their “list” but it may be as low and Stanford’s Sagarin’s Strength of Schedule meaurement..ha.) Houston wipes out Rice. we did not predict OK State over Baylor but they should cruise.
We hope to keep busy so we don’t think much about the LSU contest with Bama on Nov. 5th.
Thank you again. Have a great day!
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fuzzebear says:Oct 26, 2011 1:12 PM
I’ll help you out. The “World Wide Leader” (ESPiN) is going to SoCal. because they are AFRAID to go to C-bus and get embarassing on national television, via Ohio State fans with some clever signage on Game Day. The Buckeyes fans are seeking revenge for the BIASED, UNBALANCED, HACKJOB being put on Ohio State by the media, mainly ESPiN since last winter. And rightly so. ESPiN lacks the balls. They’ll use the excuse that Wisconsin losing last week took off a little luster for this match-up, but believe you me – Game Day/ESPiN are scared to be emabarassed.
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If Gameday doesn’t like a sign they make you take it down (which is a shame). They aren’t going to Ohio St becasue that game isn’t going to be competitive becasue Ohio State’s offense is putrid. They are going to get blown out by a PISSED off Nebraska team that is far superior.
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rowbear says:Oct 26, 2011 1:27 PM
@fuzzbear
Um, Ohio State already played Nebraska and the game was anything but a blowout.
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sportsinhd says:Oct 26, 2011 1:37 PM
Why is College Game Day headed to Southern California? Because their options are pretty limited this week. USC vs. Stanford features two Top 25 teams (USC is number 20 in the AP); the only other games between ranked teams are K-State versus Oklahoma (and Game Day has seen the Sooners twice so far this season), and MSU versus Nebraska (Game Day was in East Lansing last week and saw the Huskers when they were in Wisconsin). They kind of have to get Stanford on there at some point, they are ranked number four in the nation.
No offense, but why would they visit Ohio State, Georgia Tech, or Oklahoma State when those games don’t feature Top 25 match ups? Kansas State is kind of getting step-son treatment, but if they keep winning that will take care of its self. Besides, I want to see Will Ferrell on Game Day.
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filmex2000 says:Oct 26, 2011 2:10 PM
Oh yeah, that was some HACKJOB done on the Buckeyes. Just yesterday we heard the audiotapes of the Vest lying to the NCAA, of admitting he was “scared” he might lose players if he actually acted like the upstanding gentleman he pretended to be.
The USC football program was decimated because one player, Reggie “Greedy” Bush, agreed to sign with an agent, had benefits fronted for his parents, then reneged on the deal.
The NCAA agreed the university knew nothing about the deal, Pete Carroll knew nothing about the deal, that this was due to the impatient greediness of one player.
And the sanctions that were dealt have set back the USC football program for a decade. If the NCAA doesn’t clobber the Buckeyes for its multitude of violators, and ban habitual rule-breaker Tressell from football for five years, there will definitely be something rotten in Denmark…errr, Columbus.
You know Buckeye fans can no longer smell the stench when Pryor thinks he can roll up to an event in a rental car, on a suspended license, without a care.
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florida727 says:Oct 26, 2011 4:41 PM
I’m still waiting for “dixienormous”, aka “dickheadnormous” to come on here and trash the SEC and Big 12 schools.
Oh wait… he can’t. Not after his Washington Huskies were HUMILIATED by Stanford. In case you’re reading this “dick…” that 65-21 embarrassment included a 446 yards rushing effort by the Cardinal who had been averaging less than 187 rushing yards per game prior to your visit. The good news is that Stanford ‘only’ scored 20 points MORE than they were averaging coming into the game. Forget about the 10.1 yards per carry average (44 carries, the aforementioned 446 yards) or the 5 TD’s on the ground; those are hardly worth mentioning.
I guess all this is to essentially say YOUR TEAM SUCKS. Think about that next time you want to trash a school from a real football conference like the Big 12 or SEC. Hope you come back on and post though… as soon as your team becomes relevant again. Should be in a decade or four. Have a nice day.
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pricecube says:Oct 26, 2011 4:47 PM
Surprised with how many of these I disagree with… I’ve got:
Clemson over Georgia Tech
Georgia over Florida
West Virginia over Rutgers
South Carolina over Tennessee
The rest I agree on.
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Ever since he has been the head coach for the LSU Tiger football team, Coach Les Miles has been privately encouragingand assisting all his football players to attend class and to graduate. These are efforts he does privately and without media attention or any fanfare. Coach Miles was overheard saying to his players today when the latest NCAA report came out, that he is prouder of this accomplishment by his team than any rankings of #1 because this will benefit them all their lives. The latest NCAA Graduation Success Rate data released on Tuesday confirms his efforts are resulting in rsounding success.
“BATON ROUGE – LSU posted the second highest graduation rate in the Southeastern Conference in the sport of football according to the NCAA’s Graduation Success Rate data that was released on Tuesday.
LSU football’s Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 77 trails only Vanderbilt’s mark of 86. The only other SEC football program with a GSR above 70 is Florida at 76….”
The graduation rates of football players in the SEC has Vanderbilt first with 86 and LSU coming in second at 77. That is a big improvement and we congratulate Coach Miles and his staff for emphasizing an education to his players and working hard with them to see they get one.
Thanks for keeping up on UW stats.
That D sure looked wicked!
Hope they don’t go on a UF streak and lose 3 in a row…
I need to get me some of that faux weed the honey badger was smoking to get me through the week.
We think that stuff is sold as incense in most states as K2 or Spice and is legal in many states. The K2 herbs/spices was developed by Clemson University (we must ask the question that no one else has asked: Why would Clemson develop this?) or go to a state where the real stuff is sold legally–most are out west.
UW will be playing LSU next year on 9-8-2012. Hopefully at that time Washington will be playing the reigning BCS National Champion.
Both teams will be wearing purple and gold.
Should be interesting. Hopefully UW can keep it interesting…
Both in purple and gold will get confusing for somebody. Hope one team changes and wears whites but dear G0d hope LSU wears their traditional whites and not the Nike pro unis they wore for the Auburn game…ridiculous. Thank God these Nike unis did not jinx us the way they did Georgia and Oregon.
The venue could change dependent on how many tickets UW anticipates it can sell…could be like Oregon’s game this season at Jerry’s World which would be an experience for fans of both teams. LSU can sell any number of tickets (40 K, 60K, etc., but the question is how many UW fans are willing to travel that far to see UW and LSU?)
We met many Oregon fans who drove their motorhomes down and they were almost our ages, we were greatly impressed with their faithfulness to Oregon and fed them first…ha! We will do the same to UW fans next season. We enjoyed our tailgating there this year v. Oregon and also at the Cotton Bowl.