Thursday, November 23, 2017

Football 2017: Week 13

Thanksgiving means a lot of college rivalry games on TV over the weekend, starting tonight with the Egg Bowl. Ole Miss is playing at Mississippi State in what's being hyped as rivalry made even more vicious this year thanks to the involvement of a MSU player in the NCAA investigation of Ole Miss. I hate both of them, but Ole Miss lost to Texas A&M last week, and MSU blew the Aggies out a few weeks ago. The formula tells me I'm pulling for Ole Miss, a 16-point underdog, to ruin the lives of MSU fans tonight. Update: The Rebels pulled it off with a 31-28 upset win on the road.

On Saturday, Texas A&M closes the regular season at Louisiana State, in a game that possibly will be Kevin Sumlin's last chance at a win as a head coach in the SEC. He isn't expected to get it (as a 10.5 point underdog), and College Football News predicts the Aggies will put forth a good effort, falling short in a 31-23 loss. Update: Due to Thanksgiving obligations, I only watched bits and pieces of this fiasco. The last time I checked the score, LSU was leading 45-21 in the 4th quarter. Ending the season getting stomped by LSU is the newest tradition at Texas A&M.

Second update: Assuming A&M fires Kevin after all, I imagine his next job will be somewhere other than the SEC. There are places where he can be successful, but the SEC is apparently not one of them.

Other TV games, with CFN predictions:
  • Friday, Texas Tech plays the longhorns at Texas U. They'll lose 27-13. Update: The Red Raiders picked off Texas U in their own stadium 27-23. I watched a little of this game; now I wish I'd watched the whole thing. Texas U is 6-6.
  • Florida State at Florida (Saturday at 11:00 AM on ESPN). May be worth seeing for the Jimbo Fisher factor. Both teams are 4-6, but FSU is a 5-point favorite, predicted to beat the Gators 23-20. Update: Didn't have a chance to see it, but the Seminoles handled Florida, 38-22.
  • Georgia at Georgia Tech (Saturday at 11:00 AM on ABC). The Bulldogs have looked strong this season, and are favored by 11 points. CFN believes they'll win 34-17. Update: Georgia won a 38-7 blowout.
  • Ohio State at Michigan. This is usually an interesting traditional rivalry game, but this time, the Buckeyes are a big favorite and should win 30-16. Will not watch. Update: Ohio State won 31-20.
  • Alabama (1) at Auburn (5) is the biggie at 2:30 on CBS, with the Tide favored by 4.5 points. Some people are picking Auburn in an upset, but CFN says Bama takes it 23-17. Will watch. Update: Only saw parts of the game, but Auburn's the real deal. Bama falls 26-14.
  • Clemson (3) at South Carolina (24) at 6:30 PM on ESPN. Clemson is favored by two touchdowns, and the CFN forecast is a 27-17 win.  May watch some of this if the game between A&M and LSU is unbearable. Update: Clemson rolled over S.C. in a 34-10 romp.

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