The King Isn't Quite Dead

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Well, I told you so.

Last week it was the trendy thing to do to pick #3 Florida State to turn back #1 Alabama in their much–ballyhooed season–opening battle.

A victory for the Seminoles, it was said, would accomplish two things — it would dislodge Alabama as the king of college football (even though, technically, Clemson is the defending national champion) and the SEC as the dominant football conference. It would be the dawn of a new era, they said, in which Florida State and the ACC would be college football's gold standard.

And there were a lot of folks jumping on the Florida State bandwagon.

But a funny thing happened en route to this brave new world.

Alabama beat Florida State soundly 24–7, just as I predicted last week. OK, maybe I didn't anticipate the margin, but the king clearly isn't dead and likely only faces two or three legitimate challenges — if that many — between now and what probably will be the Crimson Tide's 12th appearance in the Southeastern Conference's championship game.

No, the outcome in Atlanta didn't surprise me.

And I wasn't really surprised that Maryland gave #23 Texas a rough time. As I wrote about a month ago, I thought Texas was overrated — and I definitely still think so after Maryland's victory in Austin last weekend.

In an email conversation with a friend of mine the next day, we agreed that new Texas coach Tom Herman was bound to be on the hot seat after such a dismal debut and with Southern Cal, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State looming in the not–so–distant future.

The sports writers in Austin seem to be giving Herman some room, acknowledging that the Longhorns are "the same players that lost to Kansas" last season.

But I grew up in this part of the country, and I know how impatient Longhorn fans can be. They might not be saying it right now, but the honeymoon is over for Herman. Now comes the hard part. It was always going to be the hard part, but it was made harder still by a 10–point loss to an 18–point underdog.

Kirk Bohls of the Austin American–Statesman wrote that Herman (only the third head coach in UT history to lose his very first game — and one of the prior two had a legitimate excuse, having lost on the road to an Auburn team that would lose only once that season) was baffled by Texas' tendency to be its own worst enemy.

I am tempted to compare the Longhorns to Donald Trump and his inclination to send out Tweets at the drop of a hat. Both seem to have a tendency to shoot themselves in the foot, and it is far from clear whether either will be able to right the ship in time to save it.

The Longhorns' long–time rival Texas A&M appeared to be on the brink of a major road upset, but the Aggies allowed UCLA to rally from a 34–point deficit for a 45–44 victory.

Looks like both coaches will be squirming on the hot seat this season.

Friday

• #11 Oklahoma State at South Alabama, 7 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2: This is the first–ever meeting between these schools. South Alabama will probably hope it will be the last.
  
  I pick Oklahoma State.

Saturday

• Fresno State at #1 Alabama, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2: Alabama has only lost three games at home since 2012 — and each loss was to a national contender (at least after that team beat 'Bama).
  
  Fresno is coming off a 1–11 season. I hardly think Fresno will be 'Bama's fourth home loss since 2012.
  
  I pick Alabama.
• #5 Oklahoma at #2 Ohio State, 6:30 p.m. (Central) on ABC: It's been almost 40 years to the day since Oklahoma's only other visit to Ohio State. The Sooners won that game, 29–28, on Uwe von Schamann's 41–yard field goal with only a handful of seconds remaining.
  
  Then as now, the game featured two teams from the Top 5. On that day, Oklahoma was ranked third and Ohio State was ranked fourth.
  
  I'm expecting another good, close game. And since the visiting team always wins in this series (when the teams played in Norman in 1983, Ohio State won, and the Buckeyes won again in Norman last season, 45–24), I choose Oklahoma in a modest upset special.
• #13 Auburn at #3 Clemson, 6 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: For the first half of the 20th century, these teams faced each other nearly every year.
  
  But they have only met five times since the 1971 season — and two of those games were in postseason bowls.
  
  Historically Auburn has dominated the series, winning more than 70% of the time. But Clemson has won the last two meetings.
  
  And my guess is that Clemson will make this its third straight win.
• Pittsburgh at #4 Penn State, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ABC: For most of the 20th century this was an annual in–state rivalry that got national attention every November, but it has been almost 17 years since their last meeting.
  
  Pittsburgh has been good but not great for the last several years. Penn State struggled for awhile in its transition from the Joe Paterno era but seems to be back on track. I expect home–field advantage to lift Penn State to victory.
• #14 Stanford at #6 Southern Cal, 7:30 p.m. (Central) on Fox: Historically Southern Cal beats Stanford about two–thirds of the time.
  
  But Stanford has won seven of the last 10 meetings, including the Pac–12 Championship Game in 2015.
  
  I pick Stanford in an upset special.
• Montana at #7 Washington, 7 p.m. (Central) on Pac–12 Network: Washington is on its way up.
  
  I don't know anything about Montana, but I doubt that it will be much of a game.
  
  Washington is the choice.
• Cincinnati at #8 Michigan, 11 a.m. (Central) on ABC: After the way the Wolverines manhandled Florida last week, I'm a believer.
  
  I choose Michigan.
• Florida Atlantic at #9 Wisconsin, 11 a.m. (Central) on Big Ten Network: I can't see this one staying close for long.
  
  I pick Wisconsin.
• Louisiana–Monroe at #10 Florida State, 11 a.m. (Central) on ABC: After losing to Alabama last week — and it is certainly no disgrace to lose to Alabama — I expect the Seminoles to bounce back.
  
  Florida State should have no problems.
• Chattanooga at #12 LSU, 6:30 p.m. (Central) on SEC Network: It's hard for any visitor to win at LSU.
  
  For Chattanooga it should be impossible.
  
  I choose LSU.
• #15 Georgia at #24 Notre Dame, 6:30 p.m. (Central) on NBC: It has been more than 36 years since the last time these teams met. It was New Year's Day 1981, and top–ranked Georgia beat seventh–ranked Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, 17–10.
  
  The setting is not nearly so dramatic this time — and Georgia clearly has no Herschel Walker in the backfield this time — but I predict the same outcome. I choose Georgia.
• #16 Miami (Fla.) at Arkansas State, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPNU: I grew up in Arkansas, and this may be the highest–profile team to play in Jonesboro.
  
  I don't know if Arkansas State is any good, but I can't imagine ASU staying in this one for long.
  
  I pick Miami.
• #17 Louisville at North Carolina, 11 a.m. (Central) on ESPN: This one might actually be close for awhile.
  
  North Carolina has been to bowls in the last four seasons and even had an 11–win season in 2015.
  
  Louisville holds a 4–3 lead in the series, but the teams are tied at 2–2 in games played at North Carolina.
  
  While the home field may help the Tar Heels for awhile, my pick is Louisville.
• Delaware at #18 Virginia Tech, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ACC Network: There is no reason why this one should be close.
  
  Virginia Tech will win.
• Charlotte at #19 Kansas State, 11 a.m. (Central): The oddsmakers don't think this will be competitive, and neither do I. The oddsmakers make Kansas State a 35–point favorite. I agree.
  
  The pick is Kansas State.
• Boise State at #20 Washington State, 9:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: Washington State has won all four of the previous meetings with Boise State, but the teams haven't met since 2001.
  
  In the interim Boise State has had some pretty good teams. Only recently has Washington State been regarded as one of the nation's best.
  
  The Cougars are favored by 10. I can go along with that. The pick is Washington State.
• #21 South Florida at Connecticut, 11 a.m. (Central) on ESPNEWS: UConn went 3–9 last year. One of those losses was by 15 points at South Florida.
  
  Sounds about right, even though UConn is at home this time. My pick is South Florida.
• Northern Colorado at #22 Florida, 6:30 p.m. (Central) on SEC Network: The bookies aren't taking bets on this one anymore, and who can blame them?
  
  Florida should win easily.
• #23 TCU at Arkansas, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on CBS: When I was growing up, these two teams played in the Southwest Conference, which meant they faced each other every year.
  
  It was practically an automatic win for the Razorbacks, who lost to TCU for the first time in my lifetime when I was in college.
  
  Things have changed for both schools, and they have only met once since the SWC disbanded, but Arkansas won that encounter. I predict that Arkansas will win this one, too. It's another upset special since TCU is picked by a field goal, but it seems like old times ...
• Indiana State at #25 Tennessee, 3 p.m. (Central) on SEC Network: The only time that I can recall that Indiana State had a team worthy of national attention was when Larry Bird played basketball there.
  
  I fully expect Tennessee to triumph.

Last week: 18–3

Overall: 20–3

Last week's upset specials: 0–2

Overall upset specials: 0–2

Football Returns, But How Is Texas in the Top 25?

No matter what your thermometer may say, today is an important day for football fans.

For one thing, the NFL's Hall of Fame game is being played tonight between the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals. The game means nothing in the standings, and few starters — if any — will play tonight, but its importance is more symbolic than anything else.

It tells football fans — who have suffered through basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis and golf since February's Super Bowl to get to this point — that football is back.

For another, USA Today released its preseason college football poll today.

And that always has a few eyebrow–raising items.

Like, for example, the fact that the University of Texas, 5–7 last year (including a loss to lowly Kansas), is ranked No. 23.

Considering their records last year, I suppose the rest of the Top 25 deserved to be there — at least, most of them did.

But I can't justify the Longhorns being in the Top 25. Admittedly, Sports Illustrated reports that UT is doing better at recruiting than it has in awhile, and that definitely will be a factor in the future. But it won't have an impact on this season — and it may not have much of an impact on the 2018 season, either.

If Texas is ranked in the Associated Press poll, which will come out shortly before the season begins, my guess is it will be short lived. The Longhorns play at Southern Cal (No. 4 in the USA Today poll) on Sept. 16 and host Kansas State (No. 19 in the poll) on Oct. 7 before the annual battle with Oklahoma (No. 8 in the poll) on Oct. 14 — followed by a home game against Oklahoma State (No. 11 in the poll) and a trip to Baylor.

A Ride on the Ryan Express

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Prior to the 1989 season, the Texas Rangers signed Nolan Ryan, and a new era of Rangers baseball began.

Until that time, the Rangers were a major–league joke. They were seldom competitive in the American League — in fact, in the previous two seasons, they had been last or next–to–last in their division. In my memory, baseball in north Texas in those days was nothing more than a place filler between football seasons.

Nolan Ryan changed that. He energized the team's fan base and attracted new fans. Turned out, north Texas was itching to support a baseball team that was committed to at least trying to win, and signing Ryan was the clearest signal to date that the Rangers management definitely wanted to win.

That really makes all the difference in whether a professional sports team succeeds. There have always been — and always will be — people who watch sporting events for other reasons (those who watch auto races just to see a crash or a hockey game just to see a fight). They exist in every city. In my experience, the larger that demographic is within a team's local fan base, the less seriously that team is taken elsewhere.

I went to a few Ranger games before Nolan Ryan came along, and most of the people I saw were there to see the Rangers' Keystone Kops–style baseball. A few were tourists in the Metroplex, taking in a baseball game because there was nothing better to do.

But, as I say, Ryan changed that. The Rangers of '89 leaped from the gate and took first place in their division on the fifth day of the season. They were 15–4 on April 28 when they began a weekend series at home against the defending AL East champion Boston Red Sox.

A friend of mine and I had been following the pitching results and rotations and we figured that, if there were no rainouts or injuries, Ryan and Boston ace Roger Clemens would be on track to face each other in Arlington on Sunday, April 30. In a remarkable display of confidence at which I can only marvel today, we purchased tickets roughly two weeks ahead of time.

We knew it was risky. We knew the old saying about April showers. We knew it was possible that either team could be rained out at any time. And we knew that either pitcher could get hurt (Ryan, we figured, was particularly vulnerable, being 42 when the season began). But none of those things happened, and Ryan and Clemens faced off as expected in Arlington 25 years ago today.

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny late April day in Arlington, Texas. A crowd of 40,429 came out to the ballpark to see the game — it was the closest thing to a playoff atmosphere I had ever experienced at a Rangers game.

The Red Sox took a 1–0 lead in the first inning, and that was the score until the bottom of the eighth when Rafael Palmeiro hit a home run off Clemens with Cecil Espy on base. The Rangers, leading 2–1, then relieved Ryan in the ninth. Jeff Russell retired the Red Sox in order to earn his fifth save of the season, and Ryan's record improved to 3–1. Clemens suffered his first loss of the season.

It wasn't until I was in the car driving home, listening to the postgame program on the radio, that I learned that Ryan had been pitching with back spasms from the second inning on — yet he only yielded three hits all day. (If he had been playing for a National League team, he would have had to take his turns at bat — and, as a result, might not have lasted as long as he did.)

The Rangers didn't make the playoffs in 1989, but they went from being 33½ games out of first place in 1988 to 16 games out in 1989. They didn't make the playoffs before Ryan retired in 1993, but, had it not been for the baseball strike in 1994, the Rangers might have been in the playoffs that year (they led their division by a single game when the strike began).

They did make the playoffs in 1997 and 1999 — and they were in the World Series a decade later.

And I will always believe they did all that because Nolan Ryan joined the team 25 years ago.

Kirk Gibson's Walk-off Home Run

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I'm a Los Angeles Dodgers fan. Always have been. I don't really know why. I've never lived in Los Angeles. In fact, I've only been there twice in my life.

I grew up in central Arkansas, which was kind of an extension of St. Louis Cardinals territory. There was a minor league team in Little Rock that was affiliated with the Cardinals for a long time, and, when I was a child, I could always get Cardinals games on my radio. When folks in my hometown went on a summer vacation, nine times out of 10 they went to St. Louis to see a game or two. Heck, even my family did that a couple of times — and no one in my family could be called a Cardinals fan.

It would have been so easy to do as most of my friends did and take the Cardinals as my team. But I guess I wanted to assert my individuality so I picked the Dodgers.

And I have been loyal to the Dodgers ever since.

They haven't always made it easy. Many times, they haven't come close to being in the playoffs. Then, when they have been in the playoffs, they've often found some way to blow it.

They're in the playoffs again this yearm currently facing the St. Louis Cardinals for the National League championship. The Cardinals won the first two games during the weekend, but the Dodgers won Game 3 last night and are hoping to even the series tonight.

I discovered it was a small club, too. that list of Dodger loyalists. I didn't know any other Dodger fans when I was growing up. I met one or two in college, and I met one or two after I finished work on my bachelor's degree so I know that Dodger fans did exist in Arkansas when I lived there. They were just few and far between.

The last time the Dodgers were in the World Series, 25 years ago, I was certain they were going to lose it. They had had a spectacular run that year, beating the favored New York Mets for the National League title, and pitcher Orel Hershiser had had a remarkable year, setting a record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched in the waning weeks of the regular season.

But the foe in the World Series would be the Oakland A's, an intimidating team that had rolled through their American League competition behind the exploits of the so–called "Bash Brothers," Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. Oakland swept the Boston Red Sox in the AL playoffs that year.

The A's won four more games that season than the Mets did. Their 104–victory total was greater than any American League team except one in nearly 20 years — the 1984 Detroit Tigers, who also won 104 games.

I just felt like the Dodgers couldn't compete with the A's. Neither did most sports observers.

In those days, I was working on the sports staff of a modestly sized afternoon newspaper in north Texas. Game 1 of the World Series was on a Saturday night, the one day of the week that a morning edition was prepared — for delivery on Sunday morning. Everyone on the staff was at work from about 3 in the afternoon until midnight.

The game began around 7 that night, and I timed my dinner break so I could run home and start my VCR with the first pitch. That way, I knew I could watch the game later.

As it was being played, though, I tried to monitor it from my desk, which was in view of the newsroom TV (there was no commercial internet to consult in 1988 — I had access to the sports wire, of course, and it provided score updates, but details were sketchy until game accounts began to move). From time to time, people came in from the backshop to ask about the score, and, for much of the evening, it seemed things were going to play out about as expected.

Things weren't going well for the Dodgers. They took a 2–0 lead in the first inning but immediately surrendered it to Oakland when the A's scored four runs in the top of the second.

The Dodgers added a run in the sixth but trailed, 4–3, in the bottom of the ninth.

Kirk Gibson had been the offensive star of the season for the Dodgers, but he was hobbled by injuries to both legs and had not started the game that night. However, in the ninth inning, he decided to make himself available for pinch–hitting duty and came to bat with one on and two out.

What followed was so implausible, so dramatic that no novelist or screen writer could have gotten away with writing it.

Oakland's ace reliever, Dennis Eckersley, was on the mound. No other reliever in the majors had as many saves as Eckersley did that year. Oakland fans regarded him as automatic — and rightfully so.

The count was full, there was a runner at second, and Eckersley threw a slider. Gibson swung, connected and drilled it over the fence.

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Most people, when asked what they remember about that moment, will tell you they remember Gibson pumping his right arm in jubilation as he circled the bases.

And I remember that, too. (It was the crowning touch on a moment in baseball history that has truly become iconic in the last quarter of a century. It is always shown in baseball's postseason, along with the clip that is arguably the Dodgers' lowest moment as a team — the Giants' Bobby Thomson's walk–off homer in the deciding game of the National League playoffs against the Dodgers in 1951.)

But what I remember most about that moment is watching Gibson's painful run around the bases. And I use the word run generously here. It wasn't really a run. It was more of a walk that was intended to be a run, but it just didn't work out. Sometimes it was a limp.

Kind of gave a new meaning to the term walk–off. Gibson's spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.

But, when you hit a home run, you don't get extra points — or credit — for running around the bases at a record clip. All you've got to do is touch each base — especially the last one.

And that's what Gibson did. The fact that it took him longer than usual to do it simply meant Dodger fans had more time to savor the moment — and A's fans had to suffer through it longer.

By the way, Gibson played for the '84 Tigers.

Legendary Longhorn James Street Dies

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In my mind's eye, I can see quarterback James Street scrambling and passing for the University of Texas during his college football career in the 1960s.

Street died today at the age of 65.

Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News recalled Street's role in executing "the best play [coach] Darrell Royal ever called" — the fourth–and–three play action pass that set up the winning touchdown against Arkansas in the "Great Shootout" in Fayetteville, Ark., on Dec. 6, 1969.

The Shootout was a rarity in college football at that time — a game between the top two ranked teams in the nation.

"Street made [the play] work, his pass falling six inches behind two sets of Arkansas hands and into Randy Peschel's," Sherrington writes, "setting up the winning touchdown in a 15–14 game that won Texas a national title. In the process, Street made believers out of every teammate, coach, Longhorn and Razorback."

I guess that was true. I grew up in Razorback country. Ever since I was old enough to follow football, I pulled for the Razorbacks on autumn Saturdays, and the Shootout broke my young heart.

But I guess Sherrington is right. Street made a believer out of me — or, at least, his 20–0 record as Texas' quarterback coupled with Texas' victory in December 1969 convinced me.

(The memory still hurts even after all this time. I truly believed Arkansas would win that game.)

As much as I admired Bill Montgomery, Arkansas' quarterback in those days, I have to admit that I wished the Razorbacks had Street — in much the way that fans today wish their team had Peyton Manning.

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When the game was over, Street joined Royal to accept the plaque from President Nixon proclaiming the Longhorns national champions.

But Street and Royal knew they still had to defeat Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day — which proved to be a formidable task.

I watched that game — and wished again that it could be Arkansas playing for a national title against Notre Dame.

Instead, the Razorbacks lost the Sugar Bowl to Archie Manning and Ole Miss that day. The loss was meaningless, of course, compared to what the Razorbacks had lost a few weeks earlier — and what they could have won on that New Year's Day if they had beaten the Longhorns.

But it was Street who left the Cotton Bowl as the unblemished quarterback of the national champion.

Winning a City's Heart

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I didn't grow up in Dallas, but my parents did, and we made about three or four trips to Dallas every year to visit my grandparents.

And I have lived here for the better part of the last 25 years so I feel I have a pretty good grasp of certain facts about this area.

Particularly sports allegiances.

And, even though I did not grow up here, there is one thing that I have always known about this area. I don't remember if anyone ever told me this. Maybe it's just been understood. Or implied.

Football reigns.

And, while it is hazardous to make generalizations about any state, I think that is true of Texas, not just the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. It is the eternal truth of Texas. Football is king.

That is why an article by Drew Davison in today's Fort Worth Star–Telegram has been provoking discussions everywhere you turn — TV, radio, internet.

According to Davison, "The Texas Rangers are more popular than the Dallas Cowboys," a conclusion that is based on the fact that, in a survey of Dallas–Fort Worth area adults, more respondents said they had watched the Rangers play, either in person or on TV, or listened to a radio broadcast in the last year than had watched or listened to the Cowboys.

It's the first time the Rangers have outperformed the Cowboys in the survey, Davison wrote, and it made the DFW area one of a handful of places in the country where the baseball team is more popular — by that yardstick — than the football team.

I would argue that a couple of factors are at work here, and they both really relate to the same thing — Sports fans around here love winners.

Consequently, the survey shows fans gravitating to the team that is winning. The Rangers, long the doormats of the American League West, have been in the playoffs the last three years. In 2010 and 2011, they advanced to the World Series. They lost both, but they took the 2011 Series to seven games and were on the brink of winning it all a couple of times.

I have seen more people wearing Rangers apparel in the last few years. More folks wear Rangers caps in public. Attendance at home games has been stunningly high.

I've seen this at work here before. A few years ago, when the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA title, I noticed more Mavericks bumper stickers and window decals on cars and more people wearing Mavericks apparel. When the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999, there was a similar explosion in hockey's local popularity.

Call it the bandwagon effect, and, typically, it has been a fleeting thing. Within a couple of years of winning their championships, the Stars and Mavericks had reverted to their usual form, and their fan bases were back to the diehards.

I'm not entirely sure that will happen with the Rangers. But I'll get back to that.

Because of that affection for winners, I'm inclined to wonder if some of the respondents to the survey — frustrated by the Cowboys (22–26 with zero playoff appearances in the last three years and 2–7 in the postseason since their last trip to the Super Bowl in January 1996) — simply told the survey takers that they didn't pay attention to the Cowboys even if they did.

There's been plenty of local anger directed at Cowboys owner Jerry Jones since he bought the team 25 years ago and unceremoniously dumped iconic coach Tom Landry. Telling the pollster that they didn't pay attention to the team would be one way to get back at him, I suppose.

Most fans forgave him for firing Landry when Jones' choice to succeed Landry, Jimmy Johnson, won two Super Bowls, but then Jones' now–legendary ego apparently interfered, and he and Johnson came to a parting of the ways. He brought in Barry Switzer to lead the team for a few seasons, and Switzer did manage to win a Super Bowl with, essentially, the team Johnson had pieced together, but he couldn't co–exist with Jones, either.

The Dallas coaching job has been a revolving door ever since. Big–name players have signed high–dollar contracts, but there has been little to show for the investment.

It's frustrating for football fans. Can they be blamed for not wanting to be affiliated with this squad?

Even more frustrating is the fact that, in spite of the franchise's instability, the organization continues to raise ticket prices.

How sweet it would be for football fans if enough people refused to pay the ticket prices that the organization had no choice but to lower them. Unfortunately, however, enough people are willing to pay the price.

The Rangers were once an area joke. There have always been serious baseball fans around here, just as there are serious basketball fans and serious hockey fans, but they remained mostly silent until their local team began to win.

Things really started to turn around in the late 1980s when the Rangers signed veteran pitcher Nolan Ryan, who came here for the final five years of his Hall of Fame career. Now he runs the team, and he's built a solid winner that should be a contender on a regular basis.

Sure, there have been some complaints in the offseason about personnel developments for the Rangers, but, as Davison writes, "it's nothing compared to the vitriol thrown daily at the Cowboys." Even after losing star Josh Hamilton, the Rangers' popularity seems to be undiminished.

As Davison points out, the Rangers have raised their ticket prices, too, and it remains to be seen what kind of impact that will have on attendance. But I get the sense that, thanks to three consecutive playoff appearances, the Rangers will be harder to dislodge from the top of this local popularity poll than the Stars or Mavericks.

They don't seem to be a flash in the pan. That's good news for the Rangers and their followers.

And, although they probably don't think so, that's good news for the Cowboys, too. Because this area is so predisposed to love football, it's been as if the Cowboys have been given a pass since winning three Super Bowls in the 1990s.

But that reservoir of goodwill has been used up as far as many fans are concerned. It's time to put up or shut up.

The Cowboys now must work to regain the area's sports fans' allegiance. It won't be handed to them.

From time to time, one still hears talk about big–name coaches or big–name players who are being courted by the Cowboys. We've been through this all before many times, and I really thought the lesson had been learned.

Winning teams tend to have a certain chemistry, not a collection of resumes.

That's what wins a city's heart.

A Giant Falls in Texas

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There were many giants in college football when I was growing up, and Darrell Royal was one of the largest figures.

He wasn't physically imposing — he always looked rather ordinary to me — but he was still intimidating. Maybe it was his reputation as a winner.

Or maybe it was his way with words.

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"You dance with who brung ya."

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He was an honorable man, and he remained a beloved figure in Texas long after he left coaching.

My grandmother lived in Dallas most of her life, and there was a little Mexican restaurant about three blocks from her home. It was just a little family owned restaurant, not a franchise or anything like that, and the walls were filled with photos of Royal, many of which had been signed by him. Most of them said something like "To my friend [whatever his name was]. I always love to eat at your place when I'm in Dallas. Darrell Royal"

(I don't know if the owner and Royal really were friends or not. I once asked the cashier if the signatures were authentic, and she said they were, but I was never sure she understood my question. Her English wasn't very good, and the extent of my Spanish is that I can count to 10.)

His death today at the age of 88 truly marked the end of an era for me, even though it has been more than 30 years since he walked the sidelines — and even though he was my greatest nemesis when I was growing up.

One by one, the familiar faces from those days have been disappearing over the years, but Royal's death may be the biggest one yet from these parts. As Kirk Bohls writes in the Austin American–Statesman, Royal "became the biggest college football icon in a state that worships the sport."

Actually, a case could be made that Royal was the biggest football icon in Texas — period. Tom Landry may have surpassed him in popularity when he took the Dallas Cowboys to five Super Bowls in the 1970s, but in the 1960s, while Royal was winning national championships on the college level, people around here were talking about how Landry couldn't win "the big one" in the NFL.

I grew up in Arkansas, where the Razorbacks rule, and you just couldn't be an Arkansas fan without hating Texas. The annual football game between the schools was an event — even though it usually didn't end too well for Razorback fans. (I can count on one hand the number of Arkansas victories over Texas in the first 20 years of my life.)

As a result, there was a certain amount of resentment directed toward Royal. It seemed he always had the upper hand.

Arkansas fans knew Texas didn't have a better coach. Arkansas had Frank Broyles, who is justifiably regarded as a legend in the sport as well, but he might have been the most dominant coach in the Southwest Conference had it not been for Royal.

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They had both won national championships in the 1960s. But when they met in 1969's "Great Shootout," Texas fans were strutting with confidence about the success of the wishbone offense that Royal had pioneered with assistant coach Emory Bellard. Any thought Arkansas fans had of beating it, Texas fans said, was nothing more than dreaming the impossible dream.

Texas was to Arkansas what Muhammad Ali was to Joe Frazier or what Secretariat was to Sham — the ever–constant barrier to greater things.

And, for that, many Razorback fans could never forgive him.

But they always respected him.

Renewing the Red River Rivalry

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Earl Campbell ran for 126 yards and the game's only touchdown
when #5 Texas defeated #2 Oklahoma on Oct. 8, 1977.

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This Saturday brings the 103rd meeting between Oklahoma and Texas in what is known as the Red River Rivalry.

As in most such border battles, there is a lot of pride involved. But a big portion of that pride comes from the fact that both OU and UT partisans are accustomed to having their teams in the Top 10 (if not the Top 5) when they play each other. Thus, there are national championship implications — even if neither team ends up playing for the national title.

The last time these teams met and neither team was ranked in the Top 10 was in 1999, when Texas was ranked 23rd and Oklahoma wasn't ranked at all. In fact, the 1990s was hardly the best decade in the series. Only the Oklahoma teams of 1990 and 1991 entered the game with Top 10 rankings.

It was a far cry from the 1970s and 1980s, when one or both teams routinely brought Top 10 rankings to Dallas' Cotton Bowl.

No matter what the rankings were, though, the OU–Texas game always seemed (to me) to be about two main things — ground games and defenses.

Having grown up in Arkansas and having graduated from the University of Arkansas, I have no fondness for the Texas Longhorns. Texas was Arkansas' greatest rival until the Razorbacks left the Southwest Conference in the early 1990s. It still isn't easy for me to go through an entire football season without an Arkansas–Texas football game.

For me, LSU and Alabama will always be surrogates for the real thing.

Actually, I have no real fondness for the Oklahoma Sooners, either, but the Razorbacks have seldom played Oklahoma. In fact, the teams have played each other only three times in my lifetime.

(Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I did work at OU as a journalism professor in the 1990s — and during that time, I did pull for the Sooners. But I stopped doing that when I left the campus.)

With Texas, it was different. The Longhorns played Arkansas every year. They were in the same conference. And Texas usually beat Arkansas every year. There were a few exceptions when I was growing up, but, for the most part, Texas prevailed.

I didn't pay much attention to the Texas–Oklahoma game most of the time. More often than not, both were undefeated — and they usually faced each other the week before Arkansas played Texas. I remember hoping that Texas and Oklahoma would beat each other senseless and fight to a draw (there was no overtime in college football in those days).

My hope was that Texas would limp into the game with Arkansas and, thus, be vulnerable. There were several occasions when Oklahoma hammered Texas, but it never really worked out that the Longhorns were so devastated that they could dispose of the Razorbacks.

Probably the OU–Texas game that made the greatest impression on me was the one played 35 years ago — when the series was known as the Red River Shootout. Behind a third–string quarterback named Randy McEachern and a powerful running back named Earl Campbell (who wound up winning the Heisman Trophy that year), fifth–ranked Texas defeated second–ranked Oklahoma, 13–6.

I hoped against hope that the Longhorns and their fans had exhausted themselves in the Cotton Bowl that October, but no such luck. Texas came to Fayetteville the following week and beat the Razorbacks, 13–9.

George Schroeder writes in USA Today that the series is losing its luster. But I don't agree. It still shines in these parts.

The OU–Texas football game, set against the backdrop of the Texas State Fair, is one of the great spectacles in college sports. Even if it doesn't have the dramatic twists and turns of that 1977 game, it is almost always worth watching.

Idle: #2 Oregon, #14 Georgia, #16 Clemson

Saturday

• #1 Alabama at Missouri, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on CBS: Missouri actually leads this series, but there's a catch. These teams haven't played each other in 34 years.
  
  Missouri won the first two meetings — in the 1968 Gator Bowl (35–10) and in Birmingham, Ala., in 1975 (20–7) — but Alabama won the only encounter where today's game will be played, Columbia, Mo., in 1978.
  
  If there is little to be learned from the past, perhaps the numbers from the present can give us some clues.
  
  For instance, Alabama has the top–rated defense in the nation; Missouri's defense is a respectable #26. I'm inclined to think that Alabama will have an easier time with Missouri's offense (ranked 96th) than Missouri will have with Alabama's offense (68th).
  
  What's more, unbeaten Alabama is coming off a bye week while Missouri is still looking for its first SEC win. I pick Alabama.
• #3 South Carolina at #9 LSU, 7 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: This will be the 20th time these teams have played each other, and South Carolina has won only twice — in 1994 and in the very first meeting in 1930.
  
  That should provide plenty of incentive for the Gamecocks, and they're going to need it. LSU's third–ranked defense is likely to be a problem for South Carolina's offense (#63 in the nation), but LSU's 76th–rated offense isn't likely to be much more successful against South Carolina's #11 defense.
  
  I'll go with the home team — LSU.
• #4 Florida at Vanderbilt, 5 p.m. (Central) on ESPNU: These teams have been playing each other regularly since the end of World War II, annually since 1992, and Florida has completely dominated the series.
  
  The Gators have compiled a 34–9–2 record against Vanderbilt, and they will be looking for their 22nd consecutive win over the Commodores today.
  
  I think they'll get it. Florida has the 12th–ranked defense in the nation (Vandy's defense is ranked 33rd). The offenses are similar — Florida's is ranked 88th, Vanderbilt's is 90th.
  
  But it's worth noting that the unbeaten Gators have already played Tennessee and LSU. Vanderbilt, on the other hand, played South Carolina tough on opening day but got blown out by Georgia.
  
  I feel confident in picking Florida to win.
• #5 West Virginia at Texas Tech, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ABC: West Virginia, with Geno Smith at quarterback, has the nation's third–ranked offense.
  
  Texas Tech's offense isn't too shabby, either, holding down the 16th spot in the national rankings.
  
  Texas Tech, however, has the #2 defense in the land, which would suggest that West Virginia's offense might have some trouble in Lubbock — except for a couple of things to keep in mind — 1) Oklahoma's offense is ranked 28th, pretty good, not perfect but it still slapped Tech around last week, and 2) West Virginia's defense is currently ranked #102, but the Mountaineers have had to fend off Texas and Baylor in the last couple of weeks, obstacles the Red Raiders have yet to face.
  
  The history of the series is of no help, either. The only other time these teams faced each other was in the Jan. 1, 1938 Sun Bowl (won by West Virginia, 7–6).
  
  It should be an interesting game, but I choose West Virginia to keep its Cinderella season going for another week.
• #6 Kansas State at Iowa State, 11 a.m. (Central) on FX: After knocking off TCU last weekend, Iowa State has the challenge of facing a Top 10 team this week.
  
  Iowa State holds the all–time edge in the series, but Kansas State has won five of the last six encounters — and, frankly, figures to make it six of the last seven.
  
  In the 95 games these teams have played, though, only two others were played on Oct. 13 (in 1951 and 1979), and Iowa State won both. I suppose that is as good a reason as any to be hopeful that Iowa State will prevail.
  
  The numbers from the current season don't offer much hope for the Cyclones. Kansas State's offense is ranked #41 in the nation (Iowa State's is 91st), although the Wildcats' defense is #44 (compared to Iowa State's 28th–ranked defense).
  
  History, however, suggests that Iowa State can be dangerous. TCU, of course, was the latest to learn that, losing to Iowa State last week and tumbling out of the Top 25. Last year, Oklahoma State stumbled in the same place where TCU did this year — and where Kansas State is playing today.
  
  I choose Kansas State.
• #17 Stanford at #7 Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on NBC: The first time these teams played, it was in the Rose Bowl, Knute Rockne was the coach of the Irish and Calvin Coolidge had just won a full term on his own after completing what remained of Warren Harding's term after his death.
  
  This will be the teams' 27th game, and, if the Irish win, they will have won exactly two–thirds of their encounters. But Stanford has won the last three in a row — and will be hoping to make it four straight.
  
  Can the Cardinal do it?
  
  I don't think so. Notre Dame has a higher ranked offense and defense — and the home field advantage. I don't think the Cardinal will be able to overcome that. Clearly — well, I presume it's clear — I choose Notre Dame.
• #8 Ohio State at Indiana, 7 p.m. (Central) on Big Ten Network: This series is just about as lopsided as it gets.
  
  Ohio State has won 68 of 81 meetings (that's 86%) and 24 of 27 games played at Indiana (that's more than 90%).
  
  At this point in the season, Indiana has the nation's #26 offense (compared to Ohio State at #44). And the Hoosiers have been scoring a lot, even as they have taken three consecutive losses following a 2–0 start.
  
  But Indiana has the 94th–ranked defense — thanks in large part to giving up 116 points in the last three games.
  
  The 6–0 Buckeyes, on the other hand, had held all their opponents below 30 points until last week's 63–38 victory over Nebraska.
  
  Is there any chance Indiana can win? I don't think so. I pick Ohio State.
• #10 Oregon State at Brigham Young, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ABC: Not nearly as productive offensively as its in–state rival, Oregon State does have a better defense than Oregon (but not by much).
  
  BYU, however, brings the fifth–ranked defense, which should be able to handle OSU's 32nd–ranked offense. QB Sean Mannion leads the Beavers.
  
  Once known for its prolific quarterbacks, BYU's offense now ranks #72, and that should be even easier for Oregon State's defense to deal with, even though the Beavers are ranked #39.
  
  I'm just not sold on the Beavers. Maybe I will be after their game with the Cougars. But they've only played two games at BYU — and the last one was in 1986 — so there really isn't much recent history to study.
  
  I'm going to go with Brigham Young and its defense.
• #11 USC at Washington, 6 p.m. (Central) on Fox: The good news in this game is that the Huskies are at home.
  
  When they've had to play the Trojans in Los Angeles, they've lost nearly three–quarters of the time. But in Washington, the Huskies and Trojans are almost even. USC leads, 18–17–4.
  
  And the Huskies won the last time they played the Trojans in Washington — but that victory snapped a three–game winning streak for the visitors.
  
  History can tell you a lot about what to expect — but it isn't infallible. For that, it helps to know how the teams have been performing to date.
  
  And Southern Cal has just been better on both sides of the ball than Washington. I have to go with USC.
• Boston College at #12 Florida State, 4:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2: When I was growing up, the cliche was that defense wins championships.
  
  In recent years, we've seen some exceptions to that rule — but, for the most part, it still seems to hold true.
  
  And Florida State has the nation's #4 defense — so far. If it plays up to expectations, Florida State should have little trouble with Boston College's 52nd–ranked offense.
  
  And I would expect the Seminoles' 14th–ranked offense (led by the nation's eighth–ranked QB, E.J. Manuel) to manhandle Boston College's defense, which hasn't even been good enough to rank in the Top 100.
  
  All this — and the home field, too. Give me Florida State.
• #15 Texas vs. #13 Oklahoma, 11 a.m. (Central) on ABC: When I was growing up, this series was never really known as an aerial circus.
  
  But, this year, Texas bring the #3 quarterback in the country, David Ash, who is completing more than 75% of his passes.
  
  The series really was known more for its punishing ground attacks — in that regard, OU has Damien Williams, who is averaging nearly eight yards per carry — and great defenses — OU's is 17th in the nation so far.
  
  But if the Sooners have the advantage on defense — and they do (Texas is ranked 74th) — the Longhorns have the edge (but, really, only slightly) on offense. Texas is 25th in that category; Oklahoma is 28th.
  
  In large part, I guess it could be said that Texas' numbers have been disproportionately affected by the Longhorns' recent schedule. They played Oklahoma State and West Virginia in the last two weeks, two of the best offenses in the country; Oklahoma will play those teams back to back in November.
  
  But the Sooners have faced Kansas State and Texas Tech in their last two games — and held both under 25 points.
  
  I think defense will prevail, and Oklahoma will beat Texas for the third straight time.
• #18 Louisville at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. (Central) on ESPNU: I suppose one could be forgiven for wondering what is on the line in this game.
  
  Pittsburgh is 2–3 and winless in Big East play. Louisville is 5–0 and coming off a bye week.
  
  Well, Louisville might have something to prove, even against the likes of Pitt. Hold on to your hats, but Pittsburgh is ranked ahead of Louisville in both offense and defense.
  
  OK, the difference between them on defense is almost nonexistent — Pitt is 22nd, Louisville is 24th. It's much greater on offense, where Pittsburgh (led by QB Tino Sunseri) is ranked 31st and Louisville (led by QB Teddy Bridgewater and halfback Senorise Perry) is 70th.
  
  It's a streaky series. Louisville has lost the last four in a row, but, if the Cardinals can snap that skid, they will knot the series at 8–8.
  
  I think Louisville will do it.
• Tennessee at #19 Mississippi State, 8 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2: In the last 25 years, these teams have played 10 times — and Tennessee has won nine of those games.
  
  But Mississippi State's last victory over Tennessee — in 1994 — came in Starkville, where today's game will be played.
  
  Perhaps that is a good omen. Some of the numbers from this season sure aren't. For example, Tennessee has a higher–ranked offense (#17 in the nation compared to #64), behind QB Tyler Bray and halfback Rajion Neal. The 3–2 Volunteers have scored 197 points. The Bulldogs do have QB Tyler Russell but little else.
  
  However, in the proud tradition of SEC champions, Mississippi State is 25th in defense (and trails four conference rivals in that category) whereas Tennessee languishes in 87th place.
  
  It can be argued that Tennessee has faced tougher competition than Mississippi State, but that will change. The Bulldogs will face Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU in succession in late October–early November.
  
  At that point, we will find out just what kind of defense the Bulldogs have. For now, I think it will be enough to win for the sixth time this season.
  
  I'll go with Mississippi State.
• Syracuse at #20 Rutgers, 11 a.m. (Central) on Big East Network: This series predates America's entry into World War I and has been played annually since 1980.
  
  Syracuse has won more than 70% of the games that have been played between the two schools, but most of those games were played when Syracuse had a much better program than Syracuse.
  
  But times have changed. Since 2005, Rutgers has won five of seven meetings. Even better for Rutgers is the fact that the Scarlet Knights have been more successful at home than on the road against Syracuse.
  
  Of course, it's all relative. Rutgers has won nearly 30% of its home games against Syracuse and about 29% of the road games (Syracuse won two encounters played in New York during World War I).
  
  Rutgers has been enjoying much more success on the gridiron since 2005 than it did in the preceding years — and, off to a 5–0 start, the Scarlet Knights may well be on their way to their best season ever. If they can get five more wins, they will be in double–digit victory territory for only the third time in school history.
  
  Syracuse has the edge in offense, ranked #37 compared to Rutgers' #89. But that seems like a contradiction. Rutgers has a higher–rated passer (Gary Nova) than Syracuse (Ryan Nassib). And Rutgers' halfback (Jawan Jamison) is 13th in the country.
  
  Rutgers has been winning mostly on the strength of its 15th–ranked defense (Syracuse is ranked #40). And, if you have been reading me for awhile, you know that I tend to favor a good defense.
  
  Accordingly, I will take Rutgers — by about 10 points.
• Fordham at #21 Cincinnati, 1 p.m. (Central) on ESPN3.com: I seldom gamble on anything, but I would be willing to bet that this is the first time in a long time — if ever — that a Fordham game has been televised.
  
  Even if it is online.
  
  It&apsos;s a first, as far as I can see. Certainly, it appears to be the first time these teams have faced each other in my lifetime.
  
  And it is a formidable challenge for Fordham. Cincinnati has the 28th–ranked offense in the land. QB Munchie Legaux has completed only 55% of his passes, but he's thrown three times as many touchdowns as interceptions, and halfback George Winn is contributing more than 100 yards per game on the ground.
  
  Cincinnati's defense has been good but not spectacular, holding the 40th ranking nationally.
  
  But, really, how good does it have to be to top Fordham? I think Cincinnati will win easily.
• #22 Texas A&M at #23 Louisiana Tech, 8:15 p.m. (Central) on ESPNU: In the overall rankings, A&M is one slot ahead of Louisiana Tech.
  
  But in total offense, Tech is one spot ahead of A&M. They are 11th and 12th, respectively. Tech has scored more than 50 points against all but one of its opponents so far.
  
  The undefeated Bulldogs have been playing the likes of Houston and Rice, though, and their closest contest was their game with Virginia. The Aggies have played Florida and Arkansas.
  
  The Aggies bring a higher—ranked defense (#45) into the game than Tech (#119) so I'm inclined to give the advantage to Texas A&M.
• Fresno State at #24 Boise State, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on NBCSN: This hassn't been an extensive (or regular) series — the teams will be meeting for the 15th time since 1977 — but Boise State has dominated, especially at home.
  
  In fact, Fresno State won the first time the Bulldogs traveled to Boise, but the Broncos have won the last five in a row.
  
  In the past, it has seemed that teams tended to win in the Mountain West Conference by scoring — a lot. If that still holds true, the edge should belong to Fresno State, currently ranked #20 and led by QB Derek Carr and halfback Robbie Rouse (Boise State is ranked 85th, even though QB Joe Southwick has completed nearly 65% of his passes).
  
  Both teams are pretty good on defense. Boise has a slim edge in that category; the Broncos are 27th in the nation, the Bulldogs are 31st.
  The 4–1 Broncos have bounced back with four straight wins since losing to Michigan State in their opener. Of their five opponents, only New Mexico has scored more than 17 points on the Broncos.
  
  The 4–2 Bulldogs surrendered 42 points in their loss to second–ranked Oregon and gave up 40 points in their win over San Diego State., but three of their foes have been held to two touchdowns or less.
  
  I'm tempted to take Fresno State, but — perhaps based only on reputation — I'm taking the home team, Boise State.
• Illinois at #25 Michigan, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ABC: These Big Ten rivals don't always play each other — but, when they do, Michigan usually wins.
  
  They've played 93 times since 1898, and Michigan has won about three–fourths of the time, whether the games has been played in Champaign or Ann Arbor.
  
  And, frequently (but not always), Illinois wins when it faces a Michigan team that has been having an off year.
  
  This Michigan team isn't really having an off year. Sure, the Wolverines are 3–2, but those losses have been to #1 Alabama and #7 Notre Dame. The Illini, meanwhile, are staggering along at 2–4.
  
  In spite of the presence of Denard Robinson in the lineup, Michigan is ranked #73 in offense, but that looks positively gaudy compared to Illinois' #101 ranking.
  
  On the defensive side of the ball, Michigan is currently ranked #19. Illinois isn't bad at #37, but everything really points to a (low scoring) Michigan victory.

Last week: 11–7

Season: 97–23

How NOT to Bounce Back From a Shocking Loss

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It was — beyond any doubt — the upset of the young college football season.

There may well be other upsets in the weeks ahead. As a matter of fact, experience tells me there will be other upsets. It's the nature of the beast.

But none will tear at my heart the way the upset in my one–time hometown of Little Rock did last Saturday night.

The beginning of any sports season brings with it fresh optimism for the future. That optimism is eventually dashed for most teams — earlier for some than for others — and, having been a fan of the Arkansas Razorbacks most of my life, as well as a graduate of the school, I long ago grew accustomed to the idea that, no matter how good the Razorbacks were, someone would knock them off.

(They have only had one unblemished season in my lifetime — but I was far too young to appreciate it.)

Usually, that someone was Texas. There were a couple of years in there in which Texas was the only team to beat the Razorbacks, but, mostly, the Texas loss was merely one of several. It wasn't always the first blemish. It was just the one you could always count on.

But sometimes the first loss came at the hands of a completely unexpected nemesis. I remember one particularly brutal season in which The Citadel, of all schools, upset the Razorbacks in the season opener — and cost the head coach his job.

None of those surprises could match Arkansas' overtime loss to Louisiana–Monroe last Saturday, though, and the voters in the Associated Press poll seem to agree with me. After all, Arkansas fell from #8 completely out of the poll.

But the Razorbacks will remain in the Top 25 conversation for at least another week. Top–ranked Alabama is in town today, and my guess is it won't be pretty.

On the other hand ...

This reminds me of my senior year at Arkansas. In early October, the Razorbacks lost to TCU for the first time in my life. A couple of weeks later, top–ranked Texas came to Fayetteville.

The general consensus was that Texas would win easily. My girlfriend and I had tickets to the game, but we considered — briefly — not going. In the end, though, we couldn't stay away. It was the only time the Arkansas–Texas game would be played in Fayetteville during our college careers, and we decided to go. If the game was out of hand by halftime, we agreed, we would leave.

As it turned out, the Razorbacks won, 42–11.

That's what it's always been like — at least, as far back as I can remember. Arkansas wins when it is supposed to lose and loses when it is supposed to win.

I'm not saying that is what will happen today. I'm just saying it has happened before — and I know because I was there.

I'll also say that playing the top–ranked team in the land the week after a shocking loss to an inferior foe is not the way to revive a team — especially one that gave up an average of 436 yards per game to the likes of Jacksonville State and ULM.

Makes me dread seeing what Alabama QB A.J. McCarron, currently the third–best passer in the country, is going to do to the Arkansas secondary.

This may be a brutal experience for Arkansas fans.

Idle: #5 Oklahoma

Today

• #1 Alabama at Arkansas, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on CBS: When I was in school at the University of Arkansas, the Razorbacks played the Alabama Crimson Tide for what was only the second time — ever.
  
  That really surprised me when I first heard it. The schools seemed like natural regional rivals. They just never scheduled each other.
  
  They've been playing each other regularly for the last 20 years, though, ever since Arkansas joined the Southeastern Conference. And Arkansas has performed pretty well, at times, but Alabama has owned the series since 2007.
  
  Most folks probably expect Alabama to extend that streak, given that Arkansas lost last week to a team it should have hammered — and, in the process, apparently lost its quarterback.
  
  ESPN has been reporting that QB Tyler Wilson, who suffered a head injury in last week's loss, will not play against Alabama. Former coach Bobby Petrino seems to have kept a stable of talented quarterbacks on his roster so there are some good backups available — but they lack the experience to remain cool in the face of Alabama's tenacious defense.
  
  And, although I really would love to see the Razorbacks win, I'm afraid that it just isn't in the cards this year. I pick Alabama.
• #2 USC at #21 Stanford, 6:30 p.m. (Central) on Fox: These schools first played each other 90 years ago — when Warren Harding was president.
  
  USC won seven of the first 10 meetings and has dominated the series overall, but Stanford has won four of the last five. Of course, that was accomplished with Andrew Luck in the lineup. Without him, I have to go with USC.
• Idaho at #3 LSU, 7 p.m. (Central) on ESPN3.com: These schools have met once before, in Baton Rouge in 1998, and LSU won, 53–20.
  
  Today's game is in Baton Rouge as well, but expectations are exceedingly low for Idaho.
  
  Actually, I don't think it would matter if the game was being played in Idaho — or if they had never faced each other before. I expect LSU to win by a wide margin.
• Tennessee Tech at #4 Oregon, 2 p.m. (Central) on Pac–12: Another first–time matchup that shouldn't be close.
  
  Oregon should have no trouble winning this one.
• Wake Forest at #5 Florida State, 11 a.m. (Central) on ESPN: These schools became conference rivals 20 years ago, but they were already familiar with each other, having met 10 times as nonconference opponents.
  
  In all, they have played 30 times, and Florida State has dominated the series about as thoroughly as is possible. The Seminoles are 23–6–1 in the series — but, ironically, Wake Forest has won two of the last three games played at FSU.
  
  Can Wake Forest make it three of the last four? Well, I guess anything is possible — but not necessarily probable. I expect Florida State to win handily.
• Florida Atlantic at #7 Georgia, 6:30 p.m. (Central) on CSS: These schools are meeting for the first time.
  
  And I refer you to the Tennessee Tech–Oregon game. Using the same logic, I pick Georgia.
  
• Alabama–Birmingham at #8 South Carolina, 6 p.m. (Central) on FSS: South Carolina dodged a bullet in the opener against Vanderbilt.
  
  But UAB hasn't had a winning season since 2004. I expect South Carolina to trounce UAB tonight.



• James Madison at #9 West Virginia, 3:30 p.m. (Central) on ROOT: I'm not sure if West Virginia is a Top 10 team.
  
  But I cannot imagine the Mountaineers losing this game. I pick West Virginia.



• #20 Notre Dame at #10 Michigan State, 7 p.m. (Central) on ABC: These teams first met just before the turn of the century — including that day back in 1899, they have played 69 games in all.
  
  Folks with long memories will tell you the teams fought to a 10–10 tie when they were the top two teams in the country in 1966. Notre Dame has been the winner more frequently, regardless of the venue, but the Irish have lost the last two times they have visited Michigan State.
  
  And my instincts tell me they will lose for the third straight time. It may be a relatively close score, at least when compared to some of the other matchups in the Top 25 this week, but when that final gun sounds, I expect Michigan State to be the winner.



• Furman at #11 Clemson, 2 p.m. (Central) on RSN: Another first–time matchup, and I just can't see Furman staying with Clemson long enough to make it interesting.
  
  I expect Clemson to win easily.



• California at #12 Ohio State, 11 a.m. (Central) on ABC: It's been 40 years since these schools last met on the football field.
  
  It's been even longer (more than 90 years) since California beat Ohio State. Since that lone victory for the Bears over the Buckeyes, Ohio State has won five straight.
  
  Make that six for Ohio State.



• #13 Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh, 11 a.m. (Central) on ESPNU: This is actually a more extensive series than you might think.
  
  These schools have faced each other 11 times since 1993, and Tech has won seven of them, including the last three in a row.
  
  Times have changed. The teams were competing in the same conference in all their previous meetings but no more so they haven't played in nearly a decade.
  
  But this year they are renewing their series as a nonconference game for both schools. I don't expect a change in the outcome, though. I pick Virginia Tech.



• #14 Texas at Ole Miss, 8:15 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: These schools have played six times — but this will be their first encounter since 1966.
  
  Texas won all but one of those previous games.
  
  It would be nice to think that this game will be a throwback to the 1960s, when both schools were forces in football. But, with only eight wins in their last 26 games, the Rebels face quite a challenge against the Longhorns.
  
  And I don't think they're up to it. I pick Texas.



• North Texas at #15 Kansas State: This is an intriguing match for me — but not because I think it will be close. I don't.
  
  But it intrigues me because I hold degrees from Arkansas and North Texas. Arkansas beat Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl last January, and now KSU is hosting North Texas.
  
  It will be the second time in the last four games that one of my alma maters has faced K–State. I fully expected Arkansas to win the Cotton Bowl, and, likewise, I fully expect North Texas to lose today.
  
  Obviously, my pick is Kansas State.



• #16 TCU at Kansas: When I was growing up in Arkansas, a game between TCU and Kansas would have been regarded as the Toilet Bowl of college football.
  
  The TCU football program is more highly regarded today, and some of the teams the Frogs will be facing in their new conference will be first–time foes. But TCU and Kansas have played each other 28 times in the past.
  
  It's safe to say they know each other — or, at least, they know a lot about each other.
  
  They haven't faced each other in 15 years, and TCU hasn't beaten Kansas since 1994.
  
  I've found that history is frequently a useful guide in anticipating the outcomes of future events — when it is applied to some human endeavors — but such history in sports is practically ancient history and has little, if any, bearing on what will happen.
  
  Having said that, though, I expect TCU to win.



• Massachusetts at #17 Michigan, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on Big Ten Network: I would expect this to be a much more competitive matchup if it was in basketball.
  
  But in football — in the Big House of Ann Arbor — I expect Michigan to win by a substantial margin.



• #18 Florida at #23 Tennessee, 5 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: Before the season began, I never would have predicted that both of these schools would be ranked when they played each other in mid–September.
  
  Nevertheless ...
  
  Each team holds a slight advantage at home. If there is a genuine historical edge for either team, it may be the fact that Florida has won seven consecutive games against Tennessee.
  
  The Volunteers have only had three winning seasons since the last time they beat the Gators. Florida, meanwhile, won two national championships and a Heisman Trophy — and the Gators haven't been through a season in which they lost more games than they won since 1979.
  
  Having said that, I suppose it is to be assumed that I pick Florida to win this game — which, in fact, I do — but I think it will be very entertaining, and I expect the score to be close.



• North Carolina at #19 Louisville, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ABC: History says this game should be entertaining.
  
  Louisville is 1–1 at home (Carolina is 2–2). Half of the games in the series have been decided by a touchdown or less; of course, there have also been blowouts (such as the time in 2005 when Louisville won, 69–14, or the game the year before that Louisville won, 34–0).
  
  As Forrest Gump might say, you never know what you're going to get. Still, I will go with the favorite — Louisville.



• Houston at #22 UCLA, 9:30 p.m. (Central) on Pac–12 Network: This will only be the seventh time these schools have met, but there is a definite pattern. The home team is 2–1, which means that history favors the Bruins.
  
  So, too, I suppose, does common sense. UCLA, after all, is coming off what appears to be a major victory over Nebraska, and is ranked in the Top 25. That's pretty heady stuff for a program that has won only three bowl games in the last 14 years.
  
  But I'm inclined to think UCLA will be up to the challenge and will defeat Houston.



• South Carolina State at #24 Arizona, 9:30 p.m. (Central) on Pac–12 Network: It's hard to imagine South Carolina State traveling across the country to Arizona — and emerging with a win.
  
  Of course, as last Saturday's game in Little Rock demonstrated, anything really can happen. But I don't think anything like that will happen at Arizona tonight. I pick Arizona to win by a wide margin.



• #25 Brigham Young at Utah, 9 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2: This will be the 88th edition of this series, and Utah has dominated it — although the Utes have been far more successful at home (34–16–3), where this year's game will be played.
  
  That should work in the Utes' favor, right?
  
  Actually, I think it will.
  
  Look, it's still early in the season, and, let's face it, many teams are ranked simply because they were successful in the past. But, aside from a handful of early tests, most teams remain unknown quantities.
  
  So the fact that BYU is ranked and Utah is not does not mean much to me.
  
  I predict a very close game, and I pick Utah to win it.

Last week: 18–6

Season: 40–6

The Swan Song for Two Legends

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When I was a boy in Arkansas, as I have written here before, I was a fan of the Arkansas Razorbacks — like nearly everyone else.

Many of my earliest memories are of Saturday afternoons at my friends' houses — where, more often than not, the Razorback play–by–play could be heard on the radio in the kitchen or the living room.

I'm still a Razorback fan, but many things are different for me now. Yet, sometimes, when the breeze blows just so or I catch the scent of honeysuckle in the evening air or I feel a slight chill after an autumn rain shower, my memory bank conjures up, however briefly, a snippet from my childhood.

Most of the time, I don't remember the game or the circumstances — or the names of people whose faces I can see in my mind's eye for a second or two.

I only know that it is a link to a time that was early in my life, when things seemed more reliable, more stable.

Maybe that was one of the things that I always liked about the Razorbacks. They were reassuringly constant. They almost always had competitive teams, and I always got excited when Arkansas and Texas were about to play.

I guess you could say there were three things that I felt I could count on in those days:

• Frank Broyles was the coach of the Razorbacks. There had never been any other head coach at Arkansas in my lifetime.


• Darrell Royal was the coach of the Longhorns. There had never been any other head coach at Texas in my lifetime.


• The Arkansas–Texas football game was always televised. (That wasn't as routine as it might seem to 21st century football fans, who are used to the idea that most of their favorite team's games will be televised. There was no cable in those days, and there were restrictions on the number of regular–season TV appearances a team could have.)

Probably the most memorable of the Arkansas–Texas games in my childhood was the one played in December 1969. It is remembered as the "Great Shootout," and it was so big it brought the president of the United States to tiny Fayetteville, Ark.

I may be wrong, but I believe that, until native Arkansan Bill Clinton came to dedicate a statue on the UA campus, it was the only time a sitting president ever came to Fayetteville.

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That game, I must say, was not an example of stability — and not only because it drew higher–profile attendees than usual.

Ordinarily, Arkansas and Texas met in mid–October — but, because everyone figured they were the two best teams in the country, they were persuaded to move their 1969 game to the first week in December, when no other games would be played (this was a couple of decades before conferences started holding championship games), and the attention of the nation would be on that game alone.

And, in fact, the gamble paid off. It turned out that Texas was ranked #1 in the nation and Arkansas was ranked #2 when they met in Fayetteville on that December day. The winner would go to the Cotton Bowl to play Notre Dame for the national title, but the president was on hand to prematurely proclaim the winner the national champion.

When the game was over, I remember watching President Nixon gush about the Longhorns as he presented them with a national championship plaque that he said would be engraved with the winning school's name — and I noted bitterly that he hadn't said anything about the Razorbacks, who had shut out the Longhorns for the first three quarters.

If Texas was the best team in the nation, I reasoned, Arkansas was nearly as good. The Longhorns beat the Razorbacks by a single point that day.

I didn't dream that, nearly seven years later to the day, in another Arkansas–Texas game that had been moved to December, Broyles and Royal would leave the sidelines together for the last time.

I'm not sure if I ever knew the reasons why Arkansas and Texas agreed to move their 1976 game to early December. They had shared the Southwest Conference championship with Texas A&M the year before, and perhaps the ABC executives were gambling that, as in 1969, the two would be the best teams in the conference — if not the nation.

If that was the gamble, though, it came up way short of expectations. Arkansas and Texas tumbled out of contention early that season. Newcomer Houston won the conference title and went to the Cotton Bowl. Neither Arkansas nor Texas played in a bowl game that season so 35 years ago last weekend, the coaching careers of Broyles and Royal came to an end.

I don't know when or why those two men decided to retire from coaching. It just always seemed right that they did so at the same time. I couldn't imagine watching another Arkansas–Texas game and seeing one but not both on the sidelines.

Both continued to influence athletics as the athletic directors at the schools where they had built their coaching reputations.

And Broyles, at least, continued to wield the kind of power that successful football coaches in small states tend to wield. During his coaching days — and afterward, as athletic director — Broyles was, arguably, the most influential individual in Arkansas — more powerful than governors or senators, more revered than ministers (and, in devoutly religious Arkansas, that truly is saying something).

Broyles retired a few years ago. He's still living — he'll be 87 the day after Christmas — and, while he may still be an influential figure within Arkansas, outside the state one hears little about him anymore.

Royal marked his 87th birthday last summer. One hears even less of him. After he stopped coaching, he continued, as Broyles did, to serve as the school's athletic director, but only for a few years. Texas re–named its football stadium in his honor, and you hear his name mentioned whenever the Longhorns play in big games, but he has mostly remained out of the spotlight for the last three decades.

He now serves as a special assistant to the UT president — which sounds a lot like professor emeritus. If that is, indeed, what it is, he earned the honor, winning nearly three–quarters of the college games in which he coached.

Likewise, Broyles enjoyed a successful coaching career. He won more than two–thirds of his games, and he remains the only Arkansas football coach to win 100 or more games.

Current coach Bobby Petrino would have to win every regular season game, every conference championship game and every postseason bowl game from now until the end of this decade to match Broyles — and, since Broyles' 1964 team was the last Arkansas team to go through an entire season without losing, it seems likely that Petrino would have to remain at Arkansas well beyond 2019.

Even at his present pace (10 wins in each of the last two seasons), it would take Petrino until the year 2023.

Of course, if he manages to do that, he is sure to replace Broyles as the most powerful man in Arkansas — by which time, Broyles is likely to be deceased or far too old to care. In the immediate future, though, Broyles' status is secure.

Royal is also the winningest coach in Texas history, but the current coach, 60–year–old Mack Brown, needs only 35 wins to pass him.

In 2005, Brown became the second Texas coach to win a national championship. Royal was the first, and he went on to win three of them. Brown needs two more to match him.

No matter how you slice it, Broyles and Royal are living legends, and, for many long–time fans of both schools, their legacies are intertwined, like the epic boxing duels between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier or the tennis matches between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova or the Triple Crown races between Affirmed and Alydar.

It was fitting that they ended their coaching careers together.

The Return of the Red River Rivalry

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For a long time, it was known as the "Red River Shootout."

But then I guess someone objected to the use of the word shootout. I suppose it evoked imagery that was too violent.

Too violent for football? That is kind of a strange concept, isn't it?

Well, anyway, for the last five or six years, it has been known as the "Red River Rivalry."

I guess that minor name change doesn't really mean anything. I mean, I've lived in Oklahoma and I live in Texas, and I know one thing about the series between OU and UT — the fans of the respective schools will hate each other no matter what their annual clash in the Cotton Bowl is called.

A rose by any other name ...

But it just wouldn't be the same if the game wasn't played in Dallas. Oklahoma and Texas have been playing in Dallas since Herbert Hoover was president. It's a tradition. The actual Cotton Bowl game is no longer played in the Cotton Bowl stadium, but the OU–Texas game is and, for some folks, that's all that matters.

Nevertheless, the schools apparently are talking about moving the game when the current contract expires in a few years.

Idle: #4 Wisconsin

Thursday

• California at #9 Oregon, 8 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: Oregon generally beats California — but not always and not always easily, either.
  
  Last year, for example, when Oregon went unbeaten during the regular season and played Auburn for the national title, Cal barely lost to Oregon, 15–13, It was, by far, Oregon's worst scoring performance of the year.
  
  I don't really expect that this time. Last year, Oregon was known for its explosive offense. Being held to 15 points by the Bears was like a slap in the face, and I expect Oregon to make up for that in a big way.

Friday

• #5 Boise State at Fresno State, 8 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: Boise State has won nine out of 10 games with Fresno State since 2001.
  
  But that single exception came where they will meet on Friday — Bulldog Stadium in Fresno.
  
  Fresno, however, couldn't top a woeful Ole Miss team there last week. It would take a miracle worthy of inclusion in the Bible for the Bulldogs to win this game. And I don't think that's in the cards.
  
  Some people will tell you that miracles happen all the time, and, if that is true, then there is reason for Fresno to hope. But I expect Boise State to win by more than three touchdowns

Saturday

• #17 Florida at #1 LSU, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on CBS: Fans of the SEC like to point out that teams from the conference have won five consecutive national titles.
  
  Fans of the LSU and Florida programs will tell you that, in three of those five years, the winner of the LSU–Florida game went on to win the national championship.
  
  Back in the 1990s, Florida tended to dominate this series — as it dominated most of its series with SEC teams.
  
  But, in the last 10 years, each team has won five times, and each has won on the other's home field. When Florida last traveled to Baton Rouge, the Gators beat the Tigers; in fact, they have won four of the last six times they've visited LSU.
  
  But the good news for the top–ranked Tigers is that, when they won the national title in 2007, they played Florida in Baton Rouge and won. It was close — 28–24 — but the Tigers still won the game and, as I say, went on to win it all.
  
  It was probably always going to be a challenge for the Gators to think they could face down this LSU team on the road, but the task became even greater this week when it was revealed that the Gators' starting quarterback, a senior, is injured and a freshman will be pressed into service.
  
  The Gators are good — better than the score of last week's Alabama game would suggest — but they aren't good enough to overcome that. I expect LSU to win by a couple of touchdowns.


• Vanderbilt at #2 Alabama, 6 p.m. (Central) on ESPNU: In the last couple of weeks, the Alabama defense has made the potent offenses of Arkansas and Florida look like the Keystone Kops.
  
  If the Hogs and the Gators could fare no better than they did against the Crimson Tide, I can't imagine any scenario that might present itself on Saturday that could permit Vanderbilt to leave Tuscaloosa with a victory.
  
  Alabama has beaten Vanderbilt 20 consecutive times. The last time Vandy upended Alabama, Ronald Reagan was campaigning for a second term as president.
  
  I think Alabama will win this game and it might be out of hand by halftime.


• #3 Oklahoma vs. #11 Texas at Dallas, 11 a.m. (Central) on ABC: Only once since 2000 have these teams taken the field and only one was in the rankings.
  
  But this is Oklahoma–Texas. Rankings mean nothing in this game. Even so, it just seems wrong when either team enters this game unranked, which happened regularly in the mid– to late 1980s and early 1990s.
  
  It seems worse when neither team is ranked. When that happens — and it's only happened twice since the late 1960s — this game has no meaning at all except to the students and fans — and that really doesn't seem right.
  
  No chance of that this year, though. OU, once ranked #1, has dropped a few spots in the last few weeks only because LSU and Alabama have been so impressive and OU has been, well, rather ordinary. But OU is unbeaten and, if the top four or five remain basically unchanged, things will shake down eventually in the SEC — after all, somebody has to win the Alabama–LSU game on November 5, right? — and OU will be positioned to face the winner for the national title.
  
  But the Sooners have to be careful. Thoughts like that can lead to complacency, and that is precisely what you don't want in Red River Rivalry week.
  
  Texas is ranked 11th — not exactly what the Orangebloods would like but better than they had any right to expect when the Longhorns spun out of control in the last half of the 2010 season.
  
  And Cedric Golden writes in the Austin American–Statesman that the Longhorns relish their underdog role.
  
  "Texas has the look of an up–and–coming team after four straight wins," Golden writes, "but the Sooners have the look of a team that's already arrived."
  
  The fact that both teams are unbeaten and ranked makes this year's game must–see TV, writes Stewart Mandel in Sports Illustrated, and he is correct.
  
  But, when the smoke clears and the dust settles, I expect Oklahoma to prevail by a margin in double digits.


• Kansas at #6 Oklahoma State: OSU has defeated Kansas in six of their last seven meetings. But the exception occurred in Stillwater, where the teams will meet on Saturday.
  
  I don't expect Kansas to duplicate that achievement. In fact, I expect Oklahoma State to win — and I don't think it will be close.


• Colorado at #7 Stanford, 6:30 p.m. (Central) on Versus: This will be the first meeting between these schools as conference rivals, but it won't be their first–ever encounter.
  
  They've met periodically over the years, the last time in 1993, when the schools squared off at Stanford, as they will on Saturday, and Stanford won the last time.
  
  I expect Stanford to win this time, too — and by about three touchdowns.


• Boston College at #8 Clemson, 2 p.m. (Central) on RSN: After playing (and beating) Auburn, Florida State and Virginia Tech in succession, the undefeated Tigers are entitled to a breather.
  
  And 1–4 BC, with only a win over UMass to its credit, seems to fit the bill nicely.
  
  But wait a minute. The Eagles are 4–2 against the Tigers since 2005, including a 16–10 win last year, so a Clemson victory is hardly guaranteed.
  
  I think it will be closer than the records would suggest. I think Clemson will win — but by about 10 points.



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• #15 Auburn at #10 Arkansas, 6 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: The first time these teams played as SEC rivals, the game ended in a tie.
  
  Perhaps that was a sign of things to come. In the 18 games they have played since then, Auburn holds a 10–8 lead over Arkansas. The Razorbacks did beat Auburn the last time the Tigers played in Fayetteville. But, overall, Auburn holds a 5–4 advantage over Arkansas in Fayetteville, and the Tigers won the three contests there before they lost the 2009 game.
  
  Home field really doesn't mean a lot in this series. Each team has beaten the other at home only twice in the last decade.
  
  Auburn won at home last year, but the game was enormously entertaining, with the teams combining for 108 points and more than 1,000 yards in total offense. The quarterbacks who started that game are in the NFL now, but Arkansas' new QB, Tyler Wilson, shattered his predecessor's school single–game passing record in the victory over Texas A&M last week.
  
  Wilson actually made his Razorback debut a year ago against Auburn, throwing for four touchdowns and more than 300 yards, but he was pressed into service when the starter, Ryan Mallett, went down with an injury and Auburn was already leading.
  
  He received plenty of credit for bringing Arkansas to within a single score, but Auburn pulled away in the end.
  
  He'll get to play from the first whistle this time, and I think he will be the difference, too, as Arkansas prevails by 13 points.


• #12 Michigan at Northwestern, 6 p.m. (Central) on Big Ten Network: Michigan is 10–4 against Northwestern since 1991, but Northwestern won their last meeting.
  
  However, Michigan has not lost at Northwestern since 2000.
  
  And I don't think the Wolverines wil lose this one, either. I think the game will be close, and I think they will be beaten, perhaps more than once, before the season is over, but I believe Michigan will win this game.


• Maryland at #13 Georgia Tech, 11 a.m. (Central) on ESPNU: Maryland has struggled at Georgia Tech, winning only two of its last 10 games there.
  
  
  Maryland might give a valiant effort, but, in the end, I see no reason to think that the Terrapins can win the game. I believe Georgia Tech will win by eight points.


• Ohio State at #14 Nebraska, 7 p.m. (Central) on ABC: This will be Nebraska's first home game as a member of th Big Ten.
  
  It won't be the first time the Cornhuskers have played the Buckeyes — but it might as well be. Their last encounter, at Columbus, Ohio, was in 1956 — the day before the first anniversary of James Dean's fatal crash, for you trivia buffs out there. And, while it hardly has any relevance to 2011 and the teams that will take the field in Lincoln, Neb., Ohio State won that game more than 50 years ago, 34–7.
  
  Ohio State beat Nebraska in Columbus a couple of years before that — but I don't believe the Buckeyes have ever played in Lincoln.
  
  I think Nebraska will play better at home this week than it did last week at Wisconsin. And I think Ohio State is clearly not as good as it was last year.
  
  The margin may be in single digits, though. Give me Nebraska by about nine points.


• Connecticut at #16 West Virginia, 11 a.m. (Central) on Big East Network: Connecticut is 1–6 against West Virginia since joining the Big East, and the Huskies have never beaten the Mountaineers on the road.
  
  UConn might have the horses to stay with West Virginia until the second half, but I expect West Virginia to win by about 12 points.


• Kentucky at #18 South Carolina, 11:21 a.m. (Central) on SEC Network: When Kentucky upset South Carolina last year, it snapped a 10–year losing streak.
  
  And I just can't see Kentucky defeating South Carolina in football in consecutive years, especially since the rematch will be in South Carolina. I have no problem picturing Kentucky dominating South Carolina in basketball — but not in football.
  
  South Carolina should win this game by about 16 points.


• #19 Illinois at Indiana, 1:30 p.m. (Central) on Big Ten Network: Illinois is 10–6 against Indiana since 1995.
  
  These schools have probably been accustomed to having their share of attention when they have played in basketball, but an experience like this during football season has ben rare, indeed.
  
  (I thought it was revealing that the Champaign–Urbana (Ill.) News–Gazette featured a picture of Hoosier ex–coach Bobby Knight throwing a chair at a basketball game as the illustration for the prediction in the football game. I would have thought the newspaper would post a photo of the 19th–ranked Illini in action.
  
  (I suppose that, if it weren't for the recent success of the NFL franchises in Chicago and Indianapolis, football season would have little meaning for many folks in those two states.)
  
  Well, I'll pick Illinois to win this game by about 13 points.


• Missouri at #20 Kansas State, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ABC: Missouri has beaten Kansas State five consecutive times, and that includes two straight wins at KSU.
  
  But, prior to that, KSU won eight straight home games against Missouri.
  
  Missouri seems to be slipping while K–State seems to be on its way up. For that reason, I'll take Kansas State


• Miami (Fla.) at #21 Virginia Tech, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ABC: This will be the 20th straight year these schools have met on the football field.
  
  In such a time period, few schools in recent decades can say they have beaten Miami more frequently than they have lost — but Virginia Tech can make that claim. The Hokies are 11–8 against Miami since 1992.
  
  What's more, the Hokies have won six of the last eight meetings.
  
  Virginia Tech should continue to dominate a Miami team that has plenty of distractions these days.


• #22 Arizona State at Utah, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on FSN: Utah is joining the Pac–12 this year so this is Utah's first conference game with Arizona State. But it isn't the first time the schools have faced each other.
  
  Their last encounter came in September 1993, when Arizona State blanked visiting Utah, 38–0. They also played in 1991 and four times in the 1980s — each time in Tempe — and Arizona State won each time.
  
  Things weren't any different when they played in Salt Lake City. The last time they did that, though, was in 1977. ASU won by nearly 30 points.
  
  The last time Utah beat ASU was about a week and a half after Jimmy Carter was elected president. The last time Utah beat ASU at home was nearly 40 years ago.
  
  While all those games are part of the fairly distant past, it's still going to be a challenge for the Utes, who have been much better in recent years, to win this game. They've struggled to a 2–2 record this year, but I'll predict a modest upset — Utah by a field goal.


• #23 Florida State at Wake Forest, 11:30 a.m. (Central) on ACC Network: It's a little hard for me to understand why Florida State is still in the Top 25.
  
  I mean, the Seminoles got off to a 2–0 start (with wins over Louisiana–Monroe and Charleston Southern), but then they lost to Oklahoma and Clemson and had a bye week last week.
  
  So FSU hasn't won a game since Sept. 10 and has been beaten twice by other ranked teams.
  
  Wake Forest has a better record (3–1) but is not ranked. Of course, the Demon Deacons haven't faced a ranked opponent yet, either — and, whereas Wake Forest had some good seasons in the middle of the last decade, they have been more apt to succeed in basketball than football.
  
  Head to head, Florida State is 16–3 against Wake Forest since 1992 and is 7–1 at Wake Forest during that time.
  
  I don't expect that trend to change. Florida State should defeat Wake Forest by about 12 points.


• #24 Texas A&M at Texas Tech, 6 p.m. (Central) on FX: The Aggies must be reeling after blowing two significant halftime leads in the last two weeks and tumbling from the Top 10 to #24. Meanwhile, Tech has been quietly compiling a 4–0 mark.
  
  Since they have been members of the Big 12, Tech has won two–thirds of its games with A&M, and the Red Raiders have been even more dominant at home, winning six of seven meetings.
  
  Practically the reverse was true in the last 15 seasons of the Southwest Conference. The Aggies beat the Raiders 60% of the time in those years, and they won in Lubbock half the time.
  
  I expect the margin to be close, but, when all is said and done, I believe this game will more closely resemble the ones from the SWC days. Texas A&M will win by about five points.


• Iowa State at #25 Baylor, 6 p.m. (Central) on FSN: Since they became Big 12 rivals, Iowa State has won its head–to–head series with Baylor, 5–3. In Waco, however, the series is tied, 2–2.
  
  They played once before that, in 1988, when Iowa State came to Waco and lost, 35–0, so Baylor does enjoy a slight edge at home in its all–time series with the Cyclones. But this is an opportunity to seize the advantage in the series as conference rivals.
  
  Of course, no one knows how long the Big 12 will continue to exist.
  
  But if this turns out to be the last time Baylor hosts Iowa State, I expect it will be a good experience for the Bears. Baylor will win.

Last week: 14–4

Season: 89–14