Saturday Preview

Just because Penn State's regular season is over doesn't mean we aren't excited about college football Saturdays anymore. Sure, it's not the same as a Penn State football day experience, but today's slate of games should be relatively entertaining, with some big rivalry games. Here's a look five big games on the schedule today, in chronological order.

Georgia Tech @ Georgia, 12:00, CBS
Is this game going to be very exciting? Probably not. Georgia is an 8.5 point favorite over Tech, and frankly, we think that's a little low. Tech has a decent record at 8-3, but 8-3 in the ACC is like 5-6 in an actual conference. The Gameday crew has alerted us this morning that Tech really hates Georgia. Check out this snippet from Tech's fight song:

So then it's up with the White and Gold
Down with the Red and the Black
Georgia Tech is out for a victory
We'll drop our battle axe on Georgia's head, CHOP!

Apparently they don't understand rhyme in Georgia. Anyway, without giving you any real analysis here, we feel Georgia will win this one handily.

Prediction: Georgia 34, Georgia Tech 13


Florida @ Florida State, 3:30, ABC
Can you remember when this game was actually a fierce rivalry? We can, but only vaguely. What happened to teams like FSU and Miami? Did the new ACC just automatically make everyone mediocre upon joining? Florida State is showing signs of life this year, currently sitting at 8-3 after two straight 7-6 seasons, but Florida has been absolutely killing teams ever since they lost to Ole Miss at home in Week 4. In fact, the Gators are averaging 46.5 points a game this year. Look for Florida to jump out to an early lead and never look back, as they are outscoring opponents 146-7 in the first quarter this year. Holy Hell.

If you're a Seminoles fan, it's going to be a long day for you.

Prediction: Florida 52, Florida State 14


Oregon @ Oregon State, 7:00
Here's one that actually matters for us Penn State fans. We all know how this works by now: if Oregon State wins tonight, they go to the Rose Bowl, setting up what we're sure will be an exciting second chapter to the 45-14 beatdown PSU gave them in September (a game that has been mentioned about 0 times in the mainstream media this season, by the way). But if Oregon pulls the (mild) upset and USC wins out, bring on the Trojans, baby.

There's not much between these in-state rivals on paper, as they're both 8-3, though Oregon State holds the edge in Pac-10 play with a 7-1 record (Oregon is 6-2). So what gives the Ducks hope to beat the Beavers (what a matchup of mascots that is...)? Oregon State's great freshman running back, Jacquizz Rodgers, will miss the game due to a shoulder injury. If Oregon can hold the Beavers' passing game in check (something Arizona couldn't do in the last couple minutes last week), they should have a good chance to win in Corvalis.

Prediction: Oregon 23, Oregon State 21


Notre Dame @ USC, 8:00, ESPN
This game really is not all that interesting, except for the subplot of Charlie Weis's eventual termination from his head coaching spot. It's not enough that Weiss is showing that he is a very average coach, but a lot of stories are coming out through mainstream papers and sports talk radio about Weiss being an incredible ass and rubbing a lot of ND alums the wrong way. We just think he's a fat jerk who rode Bill Belichick's coattails all the way to a huge payday and had a good first season with Ty Willingham's players. Either way, he doesn't last another full year at ND, if he even lasts through this year.

And since this game involves USC, let us take the time to mention that we think the Trojans being ahead of Penn State in the BCS is ridiculous. Anyone who says the Pac-10 is head and shoulders above the Big11Ten this year is mildly insane. At the least, the conferences are right on par, at the most, we think the Big11Ten is better this year. Throw in the fact that USC lost to a team that Penn State crushed, and we definitely have an argument to be ranked higher. It doesn't help that Oregon State really turned their season around after the big loss in Happy Valley (whereas Iowa has a mediocre record), but USC being such a high profile program has to help their ranking.

In other news, this game is going to be a massacre.

Prediction: USC 120, Notre Dame 3


Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State, 8:00, ABC
The final game we're previewing is probably the best matchup of the day. Oklahoma State has had a pretty nice season, and they played Texas very closely earlier in the year. If Oklahoma has any sort of hangover from last week's big win, they could have some trouble on their hands. They're not the greatest road team in the world, either.

On the other hand, they have the ability to score 28 points in about six or seven minutes, so if OSU slips up early, it could be over for them just as quickly as it was for Texas Tech a week ago. If Oklahoma does slip up in this one, it would make things way easier for those quirky BCS computers to figure out the Big XII South, but we don't think that's going to happen.

Prediction: Oklahoma 49, Oklahoma State 28

We'll be back next week with actual Penn State news.