Ness Notes (CFB Week 6)
SportsThe third weekend of the CFB season saw seven games between teams ranked in the AP poll, the most in a single day since the AP began listing 25 teams in its ranking in 1969. It should have been a day to remember. , but it became more of an embarrassment, as both the officials on the field and the officials in the replay booth affected the outcome of a number of major games, most notably Oklahoma/Oregon, but including but not limited to BYU/ Boston College and LSU/Auburn.
With the calendar reaching October, the CFB season has entered its sixth week of play and next Saturday features six games between schools ranked in the AP top 25. The SEC features two such matchups, as No. 5 Florida hosts No. 9 LSU and No. 10 Georgia hosts No. 13 Tennessee. It’s the annual “Red River Shootout” in Dallas as No. 7 Texas takes on No. 14 Oklahoma and with both teams already saddled with a loss, the loser is all but out of the title game picture. BCS. In the Pac-10, No. 11 Oregon is in Berkeley to take on No. 16 Cal and in the Big East, No. 21 Virginia Tech is at No. 25 Boston College.
The first BCS standings will be announced on October 15, and going into this weekend’s game, there are 13 undefeated Division IA teams remaining (last year at this time there were 12). While I often state (as do many others) that point spread tends to be the “great equalizer,” that hasn’t been the case thus far in 2006. The undefeated 13 have combined to go 35-18-2 ATS (with six not defeated). -ranked games), a winning percentage of 66.0. By contrast, the nation’s nine remaining winless teams have produced a pathetic 9-30-2 ATS mark (two games unaligned), for a 23.1 winning percentage.
Ohio State is 5-0 SU and ATS, winning three games over top 25 opponents, including road wins at then-No. 2 Texas (24-7) and then No. 13 Iowa (38-17). Louisville is the only other perfect team in both SU and ATS, going 4-0 in both categories. None of the undefeated 13 have a losing ATS record, but Florida and Michigan (both 5-0) are each 2-2-1 ATS. Among winless teams, Stanford (0-5 SU and ATS) and San Diego State (0-4 SU and ATS) are the worst in the group, while 0-5 Florida International has gone 3-1-1 ATS. The Golden Panthers lost their first four games by one, one, five and four points, before losing 31-6 last Saturday (at home!) to Arkansas State.
BYU defeated TCU a week ago Thursday in Fort Worth (31-17), ending the Horned Frogs’ 13-game winning streak. TCU is in Provo this Thursday night to play the Utes, the team it beat last year in Fort Worth (also a Thursday night), 23-20 in overtime. That TCU win ended Utah’s 18-game winning streak and I’m sure the Utes would have loved to “return the favor” in Provo, but last week’s results ruined “the best plans.” By the way, Utah had a pretty bad weekend, losing 36-3 at home to Boise State, the school’s worst home loss in 17 years.
TCU’s loss leaves No. 1 team in the nation, Ohio State, with the longest active winning streak (12 consecutive). The Buckeyes have also ‘covered’ all 12 wins, an amazing achievement. West Virginia trails just behind the Buckeyes, having won 11 straight games (9-1 ATS with one unaligned game). Ohio State hosts Bowling Green (3-2 and 1-3-1 ATS) this Saturday and the Buckeyes are currently 35-point favorites. West Va is at Mississippi State on Saturday and the Mountaineers are a 24-point early option.
USC owns the longest active winning streak at home (28) as well as the longest active winning streak on the road (18). The Trojans are at home this Saturday to face a much improved Washington (4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS). USC (20 1/2 point pick) has gone 20-8 ATS during its current winning streak at home, but this year’s team has averaged just 25.3 PPG in its last three games, after scoring 50 points in its season opener. season in Arkansas. From 2003 through 2005 (managed by Matt Leinart), Pete Carroll’s team averaged an incredible 42.8 PPG while going 37-2 SU and 25-14 ATS.
Behind USC are Louisville with 14 straight home wins (13-1 ATS!) and Florida with 12 straight home wins (7-4-1 ATS). Texas Tech and Penn State have each won 11 straight home games, with the Red Raiders going 5-3 ATS and the Nittany Lions going 8-2. Louisville and Penn State are on the road this weekend, but both Florida and Texas Tech face big tests at home. The Gators host No. 9 LSU and Texas Tech faces No. 23 Missouri (5-0 SU and 3-1 ATS). Florida is actually a little housedog right now (plus one), while Texas Tech is favored by four points. Not surprisingly, Missouri has yet to fall behind in a game this year!
Temple owns the longest active losing streak overall (17-game losing streak / 6-10-1 ATS) and the longest active losing streak on the road (18-game losing streak / 8-9-1 ATS). The Owls will only be able to end/extend one of those streaks this weekend, as they host Kent State on Saturday. The Golden Flashes went 1-10 last year, but after losing their home opener to Minnesota 44-0, they have covered their last four games, winning SU in the last three! Kent is favored by 24 points.
There’s a huge gap between Temple and the school with the second-longest active losing streak in the country, the Colorado Buffs. Colorado will host Baylor this Saturday, riding a nine-game losing streak (2-6 ATS) in the contest. How did Colorado fall so far and so fast? When Colorado beat Missouri last year 41-12, the Buffs were 7-2. However, they lost their last two regular season games and were then beaten 70-3 by Texas in the Big-12 title game (they had lost 42-3 to Oklahoma in the 2004 Big-12 title game! !).
Colorado then lost to Clemson (19-10) in the Champs Sports Bowl. Head coach Gary Barnett struggled out after the year and in came Dan Hawkins from Boise State, with a 53-11 record over the past five years. Hawkins hasn’t been able to turn things around so far as Colorado is 0-5 (1-3 ATS) and that includes an embarrassing 19-10 home loss to I-AA Montana State in the season opener. It’s Homecoming this Saturday in Boulder (Colorado is a 4 1/2 point pick) and if the Buffs can’t beat Baylor…
Final thought… Northern Illinois’ Garrett Wolfe leads the nation with a 236.2 YPG rushing average. Not only is that total 75 YPG higher than Rutgers’ Ray Rice (the second-ranked running back in the nation), but it’s more than the average of all but SIX schools as a team!