Well I didn’t get the Wednesday Preview done by Wednesday, so now this week it is on Thursday.  So let’s do the preview.

Games to Watch

Trine (Indiana) Thunder vs. Defiance (Ohio) Yellowjackets
Mike and Mike’s Small College Game of the Week
The Clash of Mother Nature’s Wrath
This might be an interesting game to tune in to, although, I don’t know if it’s on TV somewhere.  Someone else thinks that Trine will win the game.  It seems that they have the better record, maybe the better team.  They’ve already won one game 41-13.

Georgia vs. Arizona State
Much of the intrigue left when UNLV upset the Sun Devils in Tempe.  Was Arizona State looking past the Running Rebels?  Maybe.  Georgia’s sloppy performance at South Carolina may have also been due to the ‘Dawgs looking past the Gamecocks to this week.  I think both teams will show up for national TV.  I also think Georgia’s defense will smother the Sun Devils.

LSU vs. Auburn
This one is the one ESPN has decided to go with on Saturday night.  It looks like a good fit, but if you like to see the ball get flung around and wide open offenses, then you better watch Oregon vs. Boise State.  Both defenses look like they are among the top 10 best.  If you like a defensive “slug fest,” well you might want to order a pizza.

Boise State vs. Oregon
Boise still has a good program, and with Oregon being a little vulnerable at the QB spot, this could have upset written on it.  Boise has shown the kind of play over the past couple of years that makes it a difficult team to put away.  Oregon’s offense shouldn’t be quite as effective with a backup QB, but they should run the “zone read” almost to perfection.

Troy vs. Ohio State
I admit it, I want to see how this game turns out.  I think Troy may be the class of the Sun Belt this year, and they have impressive wins over teams that are about the same level of competition as Ohio State.  However, the Men of Troy never struggled.  Ohio State lost more than a game last week, they lost any credibility they had left for being a top level team.  How is the team’s psyche?  I think that this group of Trojans from Troy (Alabama) is a very dangerous team for Ohio State to play after the embarrassment they suffered to USC last week.  Things get real interesting in Buckeye-land if Terrelle Pryor starts and plays most of the game.

Three weeks make a huge difference in college football.  By now, we know a little more about teams.  And, it helps when teams play inter-conference games.  It helps fans and experts alike measure teams against teams in other conferences and conferences as a whole against other conferences.  Therefore, the Pac 10 vs. the Mountain West Showdown this weekend goes a long way in evaluating the teams and the conferences.  After the MWC swept the Pac 10 in those games, fans might cry out to give their champion an automatic bid to a BCS Bowl game.  The Mountain West has fared well this year against other teams, but the “sweep” was astonishing.  Most pundits were predicting a 2-2 record for the MWC in this week’s match-ups.  TCU and BYU were favorites, but who would have thought that New Mexico would beat Arizona, and even more, UNLV would upset Arizona State in overtime in Tempe?  It is still a long year, and teams come out and play flat often.  There will always be games when a good team, a great one even, will squeak by against a much weaker team.

Battle for the Butter

Stony Brook vs. Maine
Dubbed by Mike and Mike in the Morning as the Battle for the Butter, these two played on Saturday with Maine picking up the win 28-13 behind 4 touchdown passes by Black Bear QB Adam Farkes.  Stony Brook had 4 turnovers, however, they held the ball almost 3 minutes longer.  It didn’t matter as Maine out-gained Stony Brook in total yardage 316 to 271.  The win puts Maine at 2-1 for the season.

Looking Ahead

Alabama who has looked pretty impressive this year including their 34-10 whipping of Clemson in their first game travels to play at Arkansas who is probably the worst 2-0 team in the country.  This game in intriguing because it is the first time this year that the Tide’s young Freshmen will travel to a hostile environment to play.  In spite of how good they are, and they are really good, these Freshmen will struggle at some point with mistakes.  While the game against Clemson was considered a road game, it was played in the Georgia Dome where the Tide had plenty of fans of their own.  In Fayetteville, it won’t be that way.  The Hogs also have some talented Freshmen of their own playing.  They have struggled early, but when the Razorbacks needed the scores, they made the plays.  With the Tide going to play in Athens against Georgia next week, this is a huge trap game.  Arkansas’ defense is not very good, but they have the weapons on offense that, if they avoid the mistakes, might keep them in the game.  And when that happens, well, you know what can happen.

Arizona State hosts Georgia.  Neither team looked particularly good Saturday, but Georgia won.  The ‘Dawg win was on the road at South Carolina, so Georgia has experienced its first road test.  The Sun Devils have not left the state of Arizona.  They have also experienced adversity, but they failed to overcome it losing at home to UNLV in overtime.  This is only the beginning of a tough stretch as Arizona State plays four straight ranked teams (Georgia, Cal, USC, Oregon) although Cal will not be ranked after losing to Maryland.  They have to travel to USC to take what should be a major beat-down.

Auburn hosts LSU.  If you like smash-mouth defenses, then this game is for you.  Auburn knocked off Mississippi State 3-2 on Saturday while LSU squeaked by North Texas 41-3.  LSU is not as explosive as last year, Auburn is still trying to find a rhythm offensively.

I wrote in a previous post that I would reveal my top ten coaches list. Here is my list. Of course, I know it is a subjective exercise. Most will not agree with me. That’s fine. But I’ll give you my list, and I will also try to explain why. As before, this list is not in ascending or descending order.

1. Jim Tressel, Ohio State University–It’s hard to argue with Tressel’s success at Ohio State. However, he won four national titles in Division I-AA before jumping to Division I-A (now the Bowl Championship Division) to coach Ohio State. In 21 years as a head coach Tressel has 11 Ten Win seasons. Four titles in Division I-AA and one in Division I-A while at Ohio State. His accomplishments should not be diminished by the Buckeye losses in two straight national title games. The Buckeyes will be an early favorite to make a third straight appearance in 2009, and this time they might win the game. Tressel’s ability to lure prize recruit Terrelle Pryor may have been the advantage he needed to win the title.

2. Urban Meyer, University of Florida– Coach Meyer has been head coaching for 7 years, and 3 of those seasons were Ten Win seasons. Remarkably, Meyer has not finished a year as a head coach with less than 8 wins. Meyer is the hot new young coach for most. His Gators expect to be a major contender both in the SEC and nationally during the 2008-09 season behind returning QB and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

3. Pete Carroll, University of Southern California– Few could argue with Carroll’s inclusion on a Top Ten Coaches list. USC had an astounding 10 players taken in the 2008 NFL draft. Carroll was 6-6 in his first season at USC, but then he won at least 11 games in each of his next six seasons. Carroll led USC to 2 BCS National title game appearances, 2 AP and 1 BCS National Championships, and six straight top 4 finishes. Carroll’s Trojans have either won or tied for the Pac 10 Championship for six straight seasons. In the last three years, USC has been an early season favorite to play in the BCS National Championship Game. Carroll’s resume is impressive.

4. Dennis Erickson, Arizona State University–In 21 seasons as head coach, Erickson has 7 10 win seasons and 2 National Championships. Erickson has coached six different college football teams and is prone to jumping around a bit. Nevertheless, when Erickson takes over a program, he usually makes it a winner. His first year at Arizona State, Erickson led the Devils to 10-3 record and a share of the Pac 10 Championship. Erickson is leading a Devil Storm in the Desert.

5. Bob Stoops, University of Oklahoma–Stoops had a fast start in Norman. In just his second year, the Sooners won the National Championship. Rarely does Stoops lose the annual Red River Rivalry against Texas. Stoops has seven 11 win seasons in 9 years as the head Sooner coach. Stoops’ teams have reached a BCS Bowl 6 different times, winning the first 2.

6. Mac Brown, University of Texas–Brown’s resume was punctuated by a National Championship in 2005 with a thrilling win over USC in one of the greatest 1 vs. 2 and National Championship Games ever. Led by QB Vince Young, Brown’s Longhorns answered every challenge during the year by several teams to make it to the Rose Bowl for the National Title. USC did not have answer for UT’s Young as he scrambled and passed his way to a second consecutive Rose Bowl title and the BCS National Championship. Brown has ten 10 win seasons in 20 years of coaching.

7. Phillip Fulmer, University of Tennessee–Fulmer has nine 10 win seasons in 16 years as head coach of the Volunteers. Fulmer has six SEC East Division Titles (1 shared) and 2 SEC Championships. Fulmer’s Vols have been to two BCS Bowl games and won one National title. Fulmer has a 76.6% winning percentage. All he has done at Tennessee is win. In Knoxville, there are 109,000 screaming fans singing Rocky Talk.

8. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech University–Beamer has been a head coach for 27 years, yet he still produces good teams. Beamer has nine 10 win seasons including four straight. Bearmer’s teams are usually among the best in special teams, and players regularly compete for a lunch pail.

9. Mark Richt, University of Georgia–Richt has five 10 win seasons in 7 years as a head coach, all at Georgia. Richt’s teams have been to three BCS Bowls and has two SEC Championships. Richt’s ‘Dawgs are many people’s pre-season favorite to win the 2008-2009 BCS National Championship. Georgia rallied last year after two early season losses to finish number 2 in the final polls. The Bulldogs were widely considered the hottest team at the end of the 2007-2008 season.

10. Gary Patterson, Texas Christian University–Patterson’s Horned Frogs have four 10 win seasons in his 7 years as head Frog. Patterson’s teams have finished ranked four times. The Frogs have accomplished all of this during the Patterson era while competing in three different conferences and knocking off teams from BCS conferences. Twice in the Patterson era TCU knocked at the BCS Bowl party door. The Frogs under Patterson have upsets against Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Iowa State. The Frogs recently knocked off Stanford in 2007 the week after the Cardinals upset USC at the Coliseum. The Frogs return a lot of talent to make another run at the Mountain West Conference Title.