College Football Tour Guy, episode 4. Dateline: Knoxville, TN.

Enjoy!

Tennessee from Dan Rubenstein on Vimeo.

Conference play is in full swing this week so plenty to talk about.

1.) Is Alabama for real? We’re gonna find out. The gameplan for Georgia on defense is to load the box and force Alabama Senior QB John Parker Wilson to win the game through the air. Alabama has the 14th best rushing offense vs. the 3rd best rushing defense in Georgia so at least on paper, it looks like a compelling match up. Vegas likes Georgia by 6.5- I sure hope it’s that good.

2.) Is Penn State for real? An inconsistent Illinois team should provide a reasonable barometer. Illinois is coming off a bye-week and risks being 2-2 should they lose to Penn State. Unfortunately for Illinois, to be successful they’ll need to establish the run game which I don’t think they’ll be able to do.

3.) Can TCU slow down Oklahoma? TCU has the #1 ranked defense but hasn’t faced an offense even on the same planet as OU. On offense, TCU has gotten it done on the ground and via turnovers (+12 turnover margin). The Horned Frogs will need some productivity through the air (0 touchdowns this season) and some timely turnovers to keep Oklahoma from rolling.

4.) What are the Michigan Wolverines made of? We’re gonna find out. Michigan stands at 1-2 with Wisconsin, Illinois, and Penn State in three of their next four games. A bad stretch and the Wolverines could be staring at a 2-5 record plus the likelihood of not going to a bowl game. Sitting home for the holidays would break a streak of 12 consecutive bowl games dating back to Lloyd Carr’s second year as head coach. It’s gut check time for Rich Rod and the Wolverines. They’ve got the defense to slow down Wisconsin, the question is can they avoid the turnovers that cost them the game against Notre Dame last week?

5.) Tennessee fun fact: each of the past three years following the Volunteers loss to Florida, they’ve won the next game, including a 30-27 upset win at # 3 LSU in 2005.

6.) Auburn fun fact: two out of the last three years following their loss to LSU, the Tigers have won their next game, both of those wins coming at the hands of Mississippi.

7.) Will Tar Heels’ Head Coach Butch Davis be successful in his return to the Orange Bowl (Dolphin Stadium) against his former team Miami? Davis has been successful so far in his plan to raise North Carolina to mediocrity and borderline national awareness. Unfortunately, he just lost his QB for six weeks to an injury, on an offense that wasn’t very good to start with. Miami continues to either not recruit for or not care about offense (94th in total offense) but they do have a decent defense. Take the Canes in this one.

8.) Which UCLA team is going to show up against # 25 Fresno State today? The one that beat Tennessee in week one or the one that got blown out by BYU and Arizona?

9.) Which team will be more awesome in their beating of a team from Mississippi- Florida when they beat down ‘Ole Miss or LSU when they steal Mississippi State’s lunch money? It’s a trick question. By default, since both teams are in the SEC, and per NCAA regulation 2006.115A, the sum of its’ parts is greater than the whole, ergo ipso facto the awesomeness of the conference as a whole makes it very difficult to solve for the awesomeness of any one particular team. (check my math though)

You’re welcome.