As I was saying...

I've made a fool out of myself with some of my previous picks but this one will probably take the cake. I will continue to waste your time and neglect the rest of the crazy happenings in college football to focus on the MAC. My brash prediction is...Temple will play in the MAC title game. Hopefully you have finished laughing by now. Right now, Temple sits at 3-2 in their division, a half game back from the lead. Let's see why they will win it after analyzing the teams tied with/ahead of them:

*Records are MAC records

Miami (OH) (3-1): Temple just defeated this former leader of the East Division pretty handily this past weekend in Philadelphia. The RedHawks will do their best not to have players lose limbs against Vandy this weekend because they'll need to be charged and ready for their game against Buffalo the following week. Things don't get any easier with Akron the week after but they round out the season against a poor Ohio team.

Buffalo (3-1): The team Temple will have the most difficulty passing. Buffalo beat the crap out of Temple earlier in the year and even looked decent against Penn State. However, while the Bulls have beaten Temple, their other two MAC wins are against poor teams in Ohio and Toledo while their one loss came in a blowout to mediocre Ball State. Their schedule isn't very easy too the rest of the way. They have face Akron, @Miami (OH) and Bowling Green in their next three games. That won't be easy. They should win their finale against Kent State

Bowling Green (2-1): These guys have a shot at the division too. They have defeated Temple and Kent State but got blown out by Miami (OH). Go figure. Their remaining schedule isn't atrocious but they still have to travel to Buffalo and host Akron. EMU, Ohio and Toledo will try to play the upset roll.

Akron (2-1): Akron is toast. They have to travel to Buffalo, Bowling Green and Miami (OH). Hopefully they can play the spoiler in one of those games, propelling Temple to the MAC East Division Crown.

Temple (3-2): Temple probably has the easiest remaining schedule of this group. They travel to Ohio and Western Michigan while hosting Kent State. All of those games are very winnable, and they'll need to win all of them to have a chance at the division. I think they're up to the task. They have tons of coaches from PSU littering their entire staff and those guys know how to win. Now they have players that believe they can win. Having that down is half the battle.

Long Overdue

I apologize for my lack of blogging as of recent. Blame a hellish week of work and exams for that. I apologize in advance for the absence of frequent updates this weekend -- McDonati is in Bloomington with the Lions, and E and I are out of town. However, I attempt to make my penance with some more college football talk.

First off, did anyone hear about the near-disasterous landing the USC squad had in South Bend? Maybe God really is on the Irish side.

And how about Cinderella's glass slipper shattering last night?

Anyway, last week, the Nittany Lions handed the Wisconsin Badgers a huge, upper-case, bold-faced L, leaving fans scratching their heads for the third-straight week pleading, "Why didn't we do that against Michigan?!" It was a complete role reversal. Suddenly, it was Wisconsin turning over the ball and making silly mistakes and not JoePa's squad. The defense lived up to its end of the bargain once again, holding P.J. Hill to a season low. Man, for somebody who ran into this season with lots of preseason hype, not a lot of talk about him anymore, eh? Anthony Morelli finally looked like a veteran QB and if a play wasn't made, it didn't fall on him. Maybe JoePa was right about his WRs not stepping up and making plays after all... well, at least this week. Yes, Wisconsin was overrated (who called it?!), but this is still a huge win over a ranked team band a great confidence boost.

In a Buy or Sell update, UConn fell to Virginia 17-16 on the road last Saturday, validating my "sell" pick, unless they make an improbable Big East run. I'm now 7-3 on the season for Buy/Sell. Still waiting on Kentucky and Arizona State.

Alright, picks for this weekend.

Florida at Kentucky
Kentucky used up all its magic last week in a thrilling 3-OT victory over LSU last week. A win against Florida keeps them in the SEC East race, but a loss makes South Carolina/Florida the marquee match of the division. The Gators are coming off a 2-game skid and a valuable week of rest, and now they're seeing red. Look for the Wildcats to get chomped in another nailbiter.

LSU at Auburn
Recall that Auburn lost to Sly Croom and Mississippi State at home, 19-14. Also recall that LSU steamrolled M-State on the road 45-0 in the season opener. Yikes. So is the Auburn that lost to USF at home going to show up or the one that shocked Florida in The Swamp? Furthermore, consider that with USF out of the top two, LSU is still well into the thick of the national race. Don't think for a second Les Miles and the fans in Death Valley won't be pumped for this one. LSU takes care of Tommy Tuberville's Auburn team at home.

Tennessee at Alabama
Nick Saban and the Tide have been rolling after two straight losses, but keep in mind that they played Houston and Ole Miss. Tennessee is 1-2 on the road this season, beating M-State last week by 12, but losing to Cal and Kentucky by a combined 53 points. The Tide will roll at home, providing them great momentum into their home date with LSU next week.

Michigan at Illinois
Most people thought Penn State had the best home conference slate in the Big Ten, but my vote would go to Illinois. The Illini welcome their third-straight ranked opponent to Memorial Stadium Saturday, and will chalk up their third win over a ranked opponent at home.

Michigan State at Ohio State
Okay, enough fooling around. MSU had their obligatory win of the season. Time for them to start losing again. Well, okay, maybe that's harsh. MSU and OSU matchups have provided spark in the past, but with this one at home and with OSU's ridiculous defense, the Buckeyes should roll into Happy Valley still the top team in the land.

USC at Notre Dame
Ha! Oh, oops. Sorry. But really, if Booty's out for this one, it could sure get interesting if USC doesn't pull away early. Sharpley has been steadily improving, so it's on the Irish O-line and the defense to make sure this doesn't get ugly.

Texas Tech at Missouri
Missouri has to win this game by outscoring Graham Harrell and the Red Raider offense, because their defense isn't going to win this game for them. Can a defense ranked 100th in passing defense handle Harrell? This one could come down to who scores last, but I think Tech's slightly better defense gives them the edge in this one that ends up having a basketball score.

Buffalo at Syracuse
Bonus pick! This one's gonna be closer than anyone thought at the beginning of the season. Don't look now, but Buffalo's 3-4 and 3-1 in the MAC. Syracuse is a hot-and-cold squad that will shock you one week and disappoint you the next. The disappointments will hit a new low this weekend as Buffalo squeaks by the Orange. Turner Gill becomes the front runner to replace Bill Callahan at Nebraska.

Looks more like MAC pretender

Nah, on this whole Temple in the MAC East issue, I think it comes down to Miami-OH and Buffalo. Having seen Buffalo play, I think they have shown great improvement from where their program was even just a year ago. Sure, maybe they caught Penn State in a look-ahead game, but they were able to put up 10 points on one of the nation's top-ranked defenses and then another 14 on the second string. It'll probably come down to a date in Oxford on November 3rd between the Bulls and the RedHawks.

Sure, the RedHawks have to play the Owls in Philly, but can we really call that home field advantage? Do a lot of people go see Temple football games anyway? I know the Penn State game is sold out, but I attribute that to PSU alumni in Philadelphia more than anything else.