|
 ESPN's
Gameday crew - Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit
- stayed at home again this week, although they will be hitting
the road again next week. Fowler even kidded at the beginning
of the show if weak back-to-back home dates would hurt it
in the Bowl Championship Series standings.
In the
end, it was another solid show, highlighted by some
very good features.
Features:
1. Gene Wojciechowski on Wisconsin's 6'7", 368-pound offensive
lineman Aaron Gibson, who besides playing football likes to
write poetry and fish.
2. Herbstreit on Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington,
the latest in a long line of outstanding linebackers at Linebacker
U.
3. Fowler on the rise of black quarterbacks in college
football. The feature was well-done, it just seems like it
is late in the season for ESPN to realize this trend.
4. Curry Kirkpatrick on Louisiana Tech's passing combination,
quarterback Tim Rattay and wide receiver Troy Edwards.
Hmm:
1. Herbstreit says, "[The Big 12] is as good a conference
[from top to bottom] in all of college football."
2. Tony Barnhart, reporting from Doak Campbell Stadium
at Tallahassee, Fla., says, "If [quarterback Tee] Martin
keeps playing like this ... Tennessee will be in the Fiesta
Bowl."
Good
Points: 1. Fowler, on UCLA complaining about dropping
in the standings despite beating Stanford, said "You
are not expected to run up the score," but you need to
beat a team like Stanford by more than just a lucky fumble.
2. Herbstreit said that UCLA's drop in the Bowl Championship
standings, coinciding with a drop in the media and coaches
polls, shows that the subjective polls still have a lot to
do with the Bowl Championship Series standings.
3. Fowler compared this time of the college football
season to the beginning of the stretch run in a horse race.
You can get excited when your favorite team noses ahead but
realize there is still a lot of race left. A proper metaphor
to use on Breeders Cup day.
4. Corso says Penn State should rename Beaver Stadium
for Joe Paterno for all that he has done for that program.
He added that the school should do that now before he retires.
Good
lines: 1. Herbstreit says Florida State nose tackle Corey
Simon is listed at 275 pounds but that "his butt alone
weighs 250 pounds."
2. Wojciechowski says Wisconsin's massive Aaron Gibson
"moves more weight than Mayflower."
Glitch:
The television behind Fowler went blank for a few seconds.
Nice
touch: Gameday's opening showed Chris Fowler and Lee Corso
in scenes from Adam Sandler's new movie, "Waterboy."
To see a review of the movie, click here. Click
here to see Dave Kozo's review of "Waterboy."
Predictions:
Herbstreit and Corso's views on this week's games. (Click
on the game to see more about it from George's Saturday
Selections.)
Michigan
State at No. 1 Ohio State - Herbstreit gives 0% chance
of a Michigan State upset and predicts Ohio State wins, 41-10.
Corso also sees an Ohio State win.
No.
3 UCLA at Oregon State - Herbstreit says Oregon State
scores at least 28 points, but UCLA outscores them. Corso
thinks UCLA's defense will get its pride back and will win
the game for the Bruins.
No.
4 Kansas State at Baylor - Corso says Kansas State
score more than 40 and wins.
No.
5 Florida at Vanderbilt - Corso says Florida blasts
Vanderbilt
No.
12 Virginia at No. 6 Florida St. - Herbstreit says
Florida State wins by two touchdowns. Corso, meanwhile, says
this game reminds him for three reasons of last week's Texas-Nebraska
game, in which the Longhorns upset the Huskers at home. 1.
Virginia and Texas have already won big games. 2. Coming into
the game, Florida State and Nebraska already had in-conference
losses. 3. Nebraska and Florida State seem invincible at home
before the game. Having said all that, Corso sees Florida
State winning by a field goal.
Oklahoma
at No. 7 Texas A&M - Herbstreit says Texas A&M
shuts down Oklahoma and wins big.
Minnesota
at No. 8 Wisconsin - Herbstreit sees Wisconsin winning
by a touchdown. Corso says Wisconsin is winning the old-fashioned
- running the ball, stopping the run and with special teams.
He says the Badgers win No. 9.
No.
9 Penn State at No. 22 Michigan - Herbstreit says
Penn State wins big, while Corso says Penn State wins by a
point. Fowler adds that in a close game, special teams could
be the difference, and that neither team has strong special
teams.
Mississippi
at No. 11 Arkansas - Herbstreit says Ol' Miss beats
Arkansas in an upset, while Corso says Arkansas wins by a
field goal.
No.
13 Notre Dame at Boston College - Corso says Notre
Dame running back Autry Denson will have a good game, and
the Irish win big. Herbstreit also thinks the Irish win big.
No.
15 Syracuse at West Virginia - Herbstreit says Syracuse
wins in a high-scoring game. Corso agrees, saying Syracuse
wins big.
No.
25 Air Force at Army - Corso says Air Force wins.
USC
at Stanford - Herbstreit says USC wins.
Mississippi
State at Kentucky - Herbstreit says Kentucky wins by two
touchdowns.
Breeders
Cup - Herbstreit says Silver Charm, Corso says Skip Away
and Fowler said a 127 trifecta box.
Grade:
B+. The crew seemed to be going through the motions in
the studio, but the features were outstanding. (George)
Back
to top
To see
reviews of last week's pregame shows,
click here.
To
see George's picks/previews
of this week's games, visit Saturday
Selections.
To post a comment on the Saturday Selections, go to the Speak
Out page.
To e-mail your opinion to George, click
here.
|
CNN's
half-hour "College Football Preview" is hosted by
Bob Lorenz, who was joined by analyst Trev Alberts and reporters
Tim Layden, in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, the show was
shortened as a result of John Glenn's return from space. 