Campus Confidential

By Adam Abramson

Let me set the record straight.

I’ve been moaning and groaning about baseball playoffs and not having time to do this blog, and yeah, it did suck, but I will miss baseball. Playoff baseball comes third after college football season and the Super Bowl for me.

But, we’re back…and it feels good.

This may be surprising, but the game that intrigues me most this weekend is Rutgers at Pittsburgh. I’m talking to my Pittsburgh buddy Phil as I’m writing this and he sums it up perfectly:

“When’s the last time that was a big deal, huh?”

Talk about. But it is. The Big East has proven to be a formidable conference to all the naysayers (I was one of them), so it’s time we took games like Rutgers-Pitt very seriously. Both of these teams still have to go through West Virginia and Louisville, but what if the winner of this game goes on to knock off the current juggernauts of the conference.

We could have three one-loss teams in the Big East. Is the Big East going to get two BCS bids? What if Pitt or Rutgers wins out, they’ll get an automatic bid. Would WVU/Louisville still have done enough to make it if one of them ends up with one loss? Let’s not forget, as a reader pointed out earlier in the week, Notre Dame could be the X-factor here.

But, this game isn’t the only thing going on this weekend. While they’re aren’t any games that carry the weight of a Ohio State-Michigan, there are plenty of potential upsets and games with serious conference implications.

I’m going to try it with a different format this week:

• Iowa at No. 2 Michigan: I would say Iowa needs this game as much as Michigan, but there isn’t national title hopes on the line for the Hawkeyes. However, at 5-2, and coming off of a bad loss, they need this game in the worst kind of way. On the other side, Michigan knows it can’t stumble, and the Wolverines are at home, so I’m taking the men of the Big House.

• No. 5 Texas at No. 17 Nebraska: This could be the first of two meetings (highly likely Big 12 Championship match up). This is a game where both quarterbacks have a lot to prove. I’m going to go bold and pick Nebraska, but Texas in the Big 12 Championship game.

• Alabama at No. 7 Tennessee: It’s about that time of the year. The time of the year where Tennessee loses a game it needs to win. My second upset of the weekend.

• UCLA at No. 10 Notre Dame: This will be a close game, but I don’t have it in me to pick the Irish.

• No. 13 Georgia Tech at No. 12 Clemson: This will likely be the biggest game in the ACC this year. I like Clemson, but with how the ACC has been going, who really knows…

• Final thoughts: Florida State needs to run the ball against No. 22 Boston College this weekend. They have the talent on paper, time to take it to the field … I know I said I liked Wisconsin earlier this week, and I do, but knocking off Purdue at home won’t be easy, but I think the Badgers will do it. Watch the tricky Wildcats of Kansas State against Missouri…that’s all I’m gonna say.
  

NBC’s Dateline “To Catch A Predator,” I’ll tape it and watch it at some point.
Texas at Nebraska, noon
UCLA at Notre Dame, 2:30
Boston College/FSU, Iowa/Michigan, Alabama/Tennessee 3:30
Rutgers at Pitt, 5:45
Georgia Tech at Clemson (with Southern Miss-Virginia Tech on Internet radio), 7:45

OH, and about that game in the Big East...I'll taaaaaaaaake...man...umm...Pitt.

I’ll be at work, so feel for me. Enjoy.