GAMES OF SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30:
3:30 pm EST ABC, GamePlan
  #15 Oklahoma State 7-1
-16 #1 Oklahoma 8-0
Wow. I'm a bit shocked here. I mean I know that Oklahoma has been virtually untouchable all year, but 17 point favorites over a team that has had their number two years running? In a year when Oklahoma State is actually beating other teams also?

Very sketchy.

Yeah, and isn't this game usually at the end of the year? What's up with that?

Pick: Oklahoma
7:45 pm EST ESPN
-3.5 #1 Miami 7-0
  #11 Virginia Tech 6-1
0900: Roll out of bed. Scratch. Load up car and head to the tailgate. Don't shower. No, we need the funk of 60,000 well-marinated Hokie fans wafting over to the Hurricane bench. Every inch counts, folks. And we must be willing to fight and claw and yes, STINK for that inch. Every last one of them.

1000: Kegs and eggs. If you need that last trip to ABC or to Kroger, you'd best be there by now. No excuses, it's less than 10 hours before kickoff!!! Those really on the ball should be in their parking spots and well set up for a day of debauchery. Let the beer pong begin!

1100: ESPN College Gameday. If you don't have a TV at your tailgate, find a neighbor who does. Wait until the heads start talking about how Miami will win tonight. Remember it. Savor it. Use it.

1200: Nebraska - Texas or the battle of Michigan. Whichever you choose, they are both worthy appetizers. Out of towners? Yes, I expect you to have arrived by now. I demand that all tailgates be near 90% capacity. I'll be checking attendance.

1530: It's The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. I personally care little for either team, but I admire the spirit of the celebration. If there are any Miami fans near you, toast in their honor. It is still early, and for now at least, they are our brothers.

1545: If there are any Miami fans still near you. Tell them to go to H***!  It's four hours until kickoff, and time to crack open the Jell-O shots.

1600: The Dangertones, featuring TSL's own Baltimore Hokie, will rock the Steamthingie.

1630: Mosey on over to F4EHokie's tailgate (Lot 3 # 171) to catch the Ladies of TSL Halloween Costume Extravaganza.  I'm not sure what to expect, but it promises to be entertaining!

1645: Three hours to kickoff - Jell-O shot!

1730: Time for The Walk.  Line up along Spring Road and show your support.  It's easy, just a hop and a skip from F4E's tailgate :)

1745: Two hours to kickoff - Jell-O shot!

1800: Throw that last burger on the grill, and top off your beverage. The time for celebration is nearing an end. Now it's time to get serious. The music had best be loud, and had best have a dark edge. No country, no hip-hop. No sir. It's time to get pumped.

1845: One hour to kickoff - Jell-O shot!

1900: Begin the walk to the stadium. Do not ridicule or harass Miami fans. For at this time they are beneath us. Ignore them like you would the common squirrel.  You have a mission.  Do not allow yourself to be distracted along your way.

1930: IN YOUR SEATS! ALL OF YOU!

1945: Noise ladies and gentlemen, and lots of it.

As much as it pains me to invoke the specter of last week's game in Morgantown, let me point to that as an example of what a hostile environment can do to a good football team. That being said, the game is history. Let no more be said of it.

Now it's our turn to show everyone what The Hokie Nation is capable of. Those of you at Lane two years ago know what I'm talking about. When Eric Green blocked that punt late in the fourth quarter, I couldn't hear myself screaming. It was, without a doubt, the loudest moment I have ever experienced at any sporting event I have ever attended.

And that's what I want again this year.  But not just at the end.  No sir.  I want a sustained, cataclysmic torrent of sheer volume from the moment the teams run out on to the field.  I don't want to hear it, as much as I want to feel the vibrations in every fiber of my being.

You've got your orders men.  Now go out and make our nation proud!

Pick: HOKIES!
7:00 pm EST ABC, GamePlan
  #6 Washington State 7-1
-11.5 #3 USC-West 7-1
As the ashes from Southern California wildfires rain down upon the sun bleached turf of the Los Angeles Coliseum, the battle for the championship of the Pac Ten will be joined. USC snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in this game last year, but they've been playing like a team possessed since they dropped an OT thriller to Cal.

This could be a great game.  A high-flying offense on one side, and an absolute stone wall of a defense on the other.  I like the Trojans, but I'm gonna hedge my bets and say WSU keeps it close.

Pick: Wazzou
3:30 pm EST CBS
-2.5 #4 Georgia 7-1
  #21 Florida 5-3
And here's where we've got a serious upset alert. Florida is playing much better of late, and the injury total is just getting bigger and bigger for the Bulldogs. Throw in the fact that U of F is 12-2 in the last 14 meetings, and the Dawgs could be in some trouble!
Pick: U of F
2:30 pm EST NBC
-11.5 #5 Florida State 7-1
  Notre Dame 2-5
Florida State wants revenge for last year, of course they also want a quarterback who can run the offense effectively without turning the ball over.
Pick: FSU
3:30 pm EST ABC, GamePlan
-7 #7 Ohio State 7-1
  Penn State 2-6
It figures, the one week I actually wanted to watch the Notre Dame game, I got Iowa - Penn State instead. I guess all those NoVA Nits must have staged a massive call in campaign to the local ABC affiliate, upset at being denied their God given right to see their team get spanked ... again.
Pick: tOSU
12:00 pm EST ABC, GamePlan
  #9 Nebraska 7-1
-5.5 #16 Texas 6-2
blah blah blah ... OK, I got nuthin here.  But this should be a great game, and the winner will likely take the Big XII North title.  I think most everyone outside of Texas wants Nebraska to win this game, it just isn't fun to think about another whitewashing...
Pick: Nebraska
12:00 pm EST ABC, GamePlan
-4 #12 Michigan 7-2
  #10 Michigan State 7-1
Michigan State just keeps rolling along. Louisiana Tech taught them that all 60 minutes in the game count, and they've been unstoppable since then. Clean and sober this year, QB Jeff Smoker is making his case if not for the Heisman, certainly for the Unitas Award.

Michigan is simply an enigma. When they're "on", they're among the best in the nation. Just ask Purdue. But they seem to have an awful lot of trouble with consistency, and special teams. OK, maybe that's it. Maybe they're winning games based on talent, and not paying attention to the details. Yeah, that makes some sense. Sounds like a coaching issue!

And MSU is the higher ranked team, with the better record, at home ... and is an underdog. They may lose, but I have to pick the upset here.

Pick: MSU
2:00 pm EST Fox Sports Chicago
  Ball State 5-4
-15.5 #22 Northern Illinois 7-1
From BCS party crashers to mid-major conference also-rans in sixty short minutes ... such is life in the MAC.  Hey, now at least they won't feel slighted when they play in the Motor City Bowl.
Pick: NIU
1:00 pm EST  
-1 #23 Pittsburgh 5-2
  Boston College 5-2 (1-2 Big East)
Last week against Syracuse was probably the best game that the Pittsburgh defense has played this year. And look what it got them ... back into the Top-25! Well bully for them. Pitt opened the week as a one point dog, and now they're a one point favorite ... but to be honest I wouldn't touch this game with real money to save my life!
Pick: UPitt
1:00 pm EST Sunshine Network
  Central Florida 3-5
-21 West Virginia 3-4
It's a shame that it took WVU five games to figure out how to play good football. If they can keep up this high level of execution, they should go bowling. They've got almost no margin for error though, and if they miss out on a bowl at 6-6, they've got no one to blame but ... future conference-mate Cincinnati!
Pick: WVU
OTHER TOP 25 & BIG EAST GAMES:
#8 LSU (7-1) -26 v. Louisiana Tech (4-4)
#14 Iowa (6-2)
-26 v. Illinois (1-8)
#17 Purdue (6-2)
-18.5 v. Northwestern (4-4)
#18 Tennessee (5-2)
-25 v. Dook (2-6)
#19 Minnesota (7-2)
-28 v. Indiana (1-7)
 

           

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