NCAA/NFL Top 10s

Someone Make Them Stop

It has been a busy week here for the Game Owl.  Sometimes actual jobs get in the way of writing and enjoying sports.  But it is those times that pay the bills.  A lot has been going on in the sports world as most are aware.  The NHL season has begun, the NFL and NCAA are in full stride, and the Baseball playoffs are now in each league’s Championship Series.  One major pet peeve I have with baseball now is the champagne celebrations after A. Winning a Division/Wild Card, B. Winning Divisional Series, C. Winning Championship Series, D. Winning World Series.  That means the future World Series winner would have worn stupid swimming goggles 4 times in a little over a month.  Someone needs to tell these guys that too much celebration is way over the top.  Plus they look ridiculous with the goggles/plastic covering everything.  How about you guys try something else as a celebration.  Maybe not using champagne would be a start.  I guess I can understand why winning a division is important and worth celebrating after 162 games, but after a 3,4,5 game divisional series…come on…seriously?  How about you guys leave the goggles to the swimmers and concentrate on not spraying your teammate in the face.

Deon Butler's Nittany Lions head to Camp Randall

In NCAA football this week I will be definitely watching the Penn State game at 8 PM.  Actually the three 8 o’clock games are all pretty great this week so going to a bar to watch all three simultaneously would be a great idea.  It is time to find out if Oklahoma is the real deal in the Big 12 during the Red River Shootout.  And Vanderbilt is going to have a tough road test at Mississippi State where points are hard to come by.  It will also be interesting to see how an undefeated Northwestern team plays against a tough Michigan State squad.  My under the radar game is TCU at Colorado State for all the Mountain West fans out there.

1. Texas vs. Oklahoma - Red River Shootout -12 PM
2. LSU at Florida - 8 PM
3. Penn State at Wisconsin - 8 PM
4. Oklahoma State at Missouri - 8 PM
5. Vanderbilt at Mississippi State - 2:30 PM
6. Tennessee at Georgia - 3:30 PM
7. Arizona State at USC - 3:30 PM
8. Michigan State at Northwestern - 3:30 PM
   

   Will Red Rule the Day?

9. Colorado at Kansas - 12:30 PM
10. TCU at Colorado State - 3:30 PM

Another set of byes for my Steelers, the Titans, Chiefs, and Bills.  I think there will be a few high scoring affairs and we are going to start and see what teams will be in the playoff hunt this year.  We also get to see the new Raiders coach against the Saints, who will need a big win after the disappointing loss Monday night.   The Sunday night game should be a good one as both teams need a win.  I think the Chargers are the better team right now, even though their defense isn’t as good as it was last year.  If the Patriots pull out a win this week look for that to really boost Matt Cassel’s confidence.  I didn’t pick the Tampa Bay/Carolina game because I think it is a toss up and might not be that entertaining.  The Bucs defense deflates the passing game (ask the Broncos) and I don’t think their offense is that entertaining.  I also think the Cardinals at home against the Cowboys can pull out an upset in what should be a very entertaining game.

Sunday Night Fun

Last week I went 5-5 bring my total to 32-18.  So here are my picks for Week 6 in the NFL.  I think most of these games will be entertaining and I amazingly tried to sum up each game with just two words.

Punt Return Machine

1. New England at San Diego - 8:15 PM - Chargers 28 - Patriots 24 - Dolphin Victims
2. Dallas at Arizona - 4:15 PM - Cowboys 38 - Cardinals 35 - Dessert Shootout
3. Jacksonville at Denver - 4:05 PM - Broncos 24 - Jaguars 21 - Playoff Contenders?
4. Philadelphia at San Francisco - 4:15 PM - Eagles 30 - 49ers 28 - Rebound Game
5. Miami at Houston - 1:00 PM - Dolphins 28 - Texans 17 - Wildcat Attack
6. Chicago at Atlanta - 1:00 PM - Bears 21 - Falcons 14 - Sacked Ryan
7. Detroit at Minnesota - 1:00 PM - Vikings 38 - Lions 24 - Viking Quest
8. New York at Cleveland - Mon 8:30 PM - Giants 35 - Browns 17 - Giants Rock
9. Oakland at New Orleans - 1:00 PM - Saints 42 - Raiders 21 - Bush Returns
10. St. Louis at Washington - 1:00 PM - Reskins 28 - Rams 10 - Skinned Rams