Mammoth Blog

There are few great games and not many that would qualify as good games as the college football season turns the corner into week nine. Without a doubt, the highlight of this week's lineup of games is the clash between BCS No. 6 Georgia and No. 8 Florida down in Jacksonville, Fla., also known as 'The World's Largest Cocktail Party.'

Both Florida and Georgia are on a roll coming off big wins in week 8. The Gators blasted Kentucky 63-5, while Georgia outlasted LSU down in Death Valley 52-38. This game has major national championship and conference implications for the winner while the loser will probably be on the outside looking in at the BCS party. Oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com have the Gators listed as -5 ½ point favorites for this game.

The No. 1 Texas Longhorns have survived running the gauntlet of Oklahoma, Missouri and Oklahoma State and on Nov. 1 must travel to Jones Stadium in Lubbock to play the No. 7 Texas Tech Red Raiders. One great advantage the Longhorns have enjoyed is playing on their home field in Austin against Missouri and OSU. Against Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry game in Dallas at Cotton Bowl Stadium, half of the seats were filled with Longhorns faithful. That won't be the case in Jones Stadium where almost every seat will be cheering for the Red Raiders. Sportsbook.com has the Longhorns favored by a -6.0.

No. 2 Alabama has what would appear to be an easy non-conference tilt with Sun Belt member Arkansas State or oddsmakers seem to think so, favoring the Crimson Tide by -24. However; it was only a year ago that Alabama was upset at home by Louisiana-Monroe, also of the SBC. The Tide often struggle in games they are expected to win easily. Earlier this season Alabama failed to cover in a 17-7 SU win over Tulane. The Red Wolves have played in front of big raucous crowds so they shouldn't be too intimidated. ASU defeated Texas A&M SU on the road at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas earlier in September as a +21 point underdog. Alabama had better have its guard up to avoid any letdown.

No. 18 Tulsa University Golden Hurricane had a chance strut its stuff on national television Sunday night and did not disappoint. Tulsa whipped its C-USA rival Central Florida 49-19 SU easily covering the -24 point spread. The Golden Hurricane is hopeful of crashing the BCS party as it climbs the polls. The bad news for Tulsa, it trails four other BCS schools in the rankings, No. 10 Utah, No. 11 Boise State, No. 13 TCU and No. 16 Ball State. This week, the Golden Hurricane ventures into the SEC for a non-conference date with the Arkansas Razorbacks Nov. 1. After going 8-0 against a rather weak schedule, the Golden Hurricane needs style points. A win over Arkansas would provide Tulsa with a signature win over a team from a major BCS conference. Tulsa is listed as a 6 ½ point favorite for the game with Arkansas.

No. 21 Michigan State still has a shot at winning the BIG 10 but can't afford to stumble with only two games left before finishing the season at Penn State. The Spartans are installed as -4 ½ chalk favorites in this game with the Badgers. Michigan State is tied for second in the BIG 10 with Ohio State and Minnesota.

No. 24 Oregon visits Cal for the marquee game in the PAC-10. The Ducks will be looking to avenge last year's 31-24 loss at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. The Ducks are +3 underdogs in this one. Oregon hasn't defeated Cal since a 27-20 OT win in 2005. This is an important game as both schools are knotted with Southern Cal and Oregon State atop the PAC-10 standings. source>>>