It is a warm fall weekend in Chicago and I am sipping a tall, cool, glass of Haterade.
#19 USC @ Penn State - 6:30 CT - I am nothing if not a hater and this game is a feast for the haters. Matt Campbell is off to a rough start at Penn State. He’s lost the highbrow sports media for having openly defended Joe Paterno, and the fans for having failed to defend the Northwestern run game. Meanwhile USC is losing patience with Lincoln Riley and his parade of Heisman hopefuls with mediocre records. Both of these coaches need a W and nothing makes for good football like desperation and coast to coast jet lag.
#1 Texas @ Oklahoma - 2:30 CT - Texas is ranked #1 because they simply have to be. They’re undefeated including toppling the Buckeye juggernaut. But Arch Manning has been inconsistent and their defense has been keeping them in the close ones. The Sooners aren’t a championship team by any stretch but this game may well become a rock fight. Expect it to be weirdly close with a slight chance of hilarious upset.