WEEK TWELVE CRYSTAL BALL: GURU "Preps" for a Weekend of Pigskin
Published continually since 1994
My friends, THE GURU is in the midst of a huge football week with a couple of massive personal games on the docket:
Friday: THE TRE MAN’s #2-ranked St. Peter’s Prep Marauders play in the New Jersey state semifinals
Saturday: the 161st meeting of Lehigh-Lafayette, college football’s most-played rivalry
But, before those epic matchups, we’ve got a Thursday night showdown with the Bills (7-3, 2-2 away) visiting the surging Texans (5-5, 3-2 home). You can catch the action at 8:15 pm ET on Amazon Prime with vegetable-hater Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit and Kaylee Hartung on the call.
Sadly, Houston is still without C.J. Stroud (concussion) and that means I’m taking Buffalo in a squeaker. Let’s hope the talented QB gets back on the field shortly.
A fact that may interest only yours truly: Houston and Buffalo first met on October 30, 1960, with the Bills topping the Oilers in a 25-24 thriller. One of the day’s highlights: a 50-yard field goal by Houston’s George Blanda, a future Hall of Famer in the midst of a 26-year run as a pro kicker and quarterback.
Blanda wasn’t just old, he was timeless, lasting longer than a McDonald’s fry dropped beneath LE GURU’s car seat. His career stat line: 236 touchdown passes, nearly 27,000 passing yards, and a whopping 335 field goals. An MVP, a champion, the NFL Man of the Year.
The man of the year in the Football Championship Subdivision is none other than Lehigh coach Kevin Cahill, who leads his 11-0 Mountain Hawks into The Rivalry just two years after debuting with a 2-9 campaign. No, Coach doesn’t walk on water, but he doesn’t sink in it either.
Lafayette is 8-3 and having a good season in its own right but the Leopards will be no match for Cahill & Co. Let’s call it 27-10, Lehigh.
One of the Mountain Hawks’ biggest fans, the aforementioned TRE MAN, takes the field Friday in Jersey City as St. Peter’s Prep (8-2) hosts St. Joseph’s Regional (8-2) in a battle royale.
These teams met in September with Tre and his teammates delivering a thrilling 29-28 comeback victory. It was a physical back-and-forth matchup of two heavyweights, just like FATBACK and I going mano-a-mano at the buffet in the early ‘90s. It was always a battle of attrition, and indigestion.
How do I see it?
I’m expecting a knockdown dragout affair that goes down to the wire with Prep QB Tyler Bell making a big play and the defense slamming the door. Next stop: MetLife Stadium and the state title game. Let’s call it 33-31, SPP.
Here’s hoping LE GURU fares better with high school and college picks than with the pros. Sure, last week’s record was 10-5 (.667) but that’s fool’s gold, sports fans, as the season mark sits at an unimpressive 90-73 (.552).
That’s all for this week, folks. I’ll be back next Thursday for more fun. God bless!