Saturday Live Blog!!

Come one, come all. Just hit REFRESH every once in a while for the latest.

9 a.m.–

I’m hanging out at College Football Pundit’s house today with his glorious college football setup. All you other people out there who think you have a good thing going on Saturday, well, let’s just say you need to come on over some time.

I’m looking at five games right now, all in high definition. There are four games on 30 inch screens and one on the big screen.

Right now, I’m looking at LSU-Tulane, Illinois-Penn State, Michigan-Northwestern, Notre Dame-Purdue and Iowa-Indiana.

Before I begin, here are HP Jr.’s picks for the day:

Illinois (+3) vs. Penn State

While I’ve never been a huge Ron Zook fan as a coach,
he recruiting abilities can’t be questioned and I
think he might finally put it all together. Juice
Williams and Rashard Mendenhall are on fire right now
and I think they pull the upset at home. The Penn
State is a mess and I don’t see anything changing on
Saturday.

Illinois 24, Penn State 14.

Oklahoma (-22) at Colorado

Until somebody proves they can stop Sam Bradford,
DeMarco Murray, Allen Patrick and Malcolm Kelly, I am
not picking against this team. They have too much
offense for the Buffaloes, who lost to a suspect
Florida State team at home last week. The Sooners
pour it on again.

Oklahoma 45, Colorado 14.

USC (-20.5) at Washington

After a lackluster performance against Idaho in the
opener the Trojans have been solid in their last two
games and I expect more of the same. I think first
year starter Jake Locker could be in for another long
afternoon much like his start against Ohio State a
couple of weeks ago. I look for John David Booty to
have another big game as the Trojans win big again.

USC 49, Washington 17.

Arizona State (-14) at Stanford

I think the Sun Devils saw Stanford jump on top of
Oregon early last week and I don’t think that will
happen this time. Yes, ASU commits too many
penalties, but I think they will be able keep their
composure and put the Cardinals away early.

ASU 38, Stanford 20.

Cincinnati (-14) at San Diego State

I love HP’s Chuck Long Rule, but I also really like
Bearcats first year coach Brian Kelly and what he has
done with this Cincinnati team. I don’t expect a let
down from the Bearcats.

Cincy 42, San Diego State 17.

Indiana (+10.5) at Iowa

I don’t know if this is a good thing or not for HP,
but I agree with him yet again. Something isn’t right
with Iowa and Kirk Ferentz’s magic seems to have
disappeared the last couple of years. Thus, I think
the Hoosiers and quarterback Kellen Lewis have a
legitimate shot of going to Iowa City and pulling the
upset.

I have one more bonus game for you.

Miami Ohio (+1.5) vs. Syracuse

I know Syracuse pulled the upset of all upsets last
week, but two weeks ago this team was one of the five
worst offensive teams in the country and now they are
favored on the road. Vegas is underestimating how bad
Louisville’s defense is. If you don’t believe me just
ask Middle Tennesse State, who scored 42 points
against the Cardinals, but have scored just 31 in
their other three losses. I think the Orange come
back to reality in a big way.

Miami Ohio 24, Cuse 10.

Now, some quick thoughts–

I picked South Florida to cover last night. They did. Didn’t think they’d win, but they did. Pat White getting hurt really threw a wrench into the situation. Congrats to the Bulls, a program that is no longer on the rise–it has already risen.

This pretty much puts an end to Mountaineer Heisman hopes.

Other thoughts so far this morning–

LSU missed a field goal where the ball hit the VERY TOP of the upright. Never seen that before.

Arrelious Benn just took a kick back for Illinois. He is one heckuva player. Probably the best freshman receiver in the country.

Indiana cornerback Tracy Porter today illustrated why you never give up on a play. He came down as the gunner on a punt return and hit the return man, only to bounce off and away from the guy. He tried to get his way back into the action, but got blocked out. An opposing player screened him completely out of the play. Then, the return man fumbled and the ball squirted back to his bread basket. Hoosier ball.

Illinois is looking really good against Penn State. Rashard Mendenhall–the Big Ten’s best back–just waltzed into the end zone. 14-3 Illini.

10 a.m.–

The aforementioned Benn just took a slant and broke four tackles, then stiff armed a teammate, on his way to a touchdown. 21-10, Illini. He just has too much speed to go with that strength.

So, Notre Dame will probably start out 0-8. I just don’t think Charlie Weis should be allowed to finish the season if that happens.

Typical Michigan. I pick them to cover against a team that lost to Duke and now Lloyd’s crew is down 13-7. When will I learn?

10:13 a.m.–

Tulane is hanging with LSU after a quarter-and-a-half. Just 7-0 Tigers, who are wearing cool-looking white helmets. Bob Toledo, defensive genius?

Safety for Tulane, 7-2.

My Indiana pick looks good. Hoosiers are up, 21-0.

10:29 a.m.–

Jimmy Clausen just dropped an F-bomb on the sideline after getting stopped on third down.

He spoke too soon. Purdue blocks the field goal attempt.

Tulane keeps rolling down the field. How can that be when Glenn Dorsey is being quadruple-teamed on every play?

10:43 a.m.–

OU and Colorado are on now. I wonder if OU will be looking ahead like LSU has been?

Whatever the case, I think this could the game where Sam Bradford struggles.

11:23 a.m.–

Notre Dame scores!! And now Clausen is hurt. He just couldn’t take the beating any more. If it keeps up, he’ll soon have a 40-year old body to go with his 40-year old hair.

And another score. It’s suddenly 26-13. Can the Irish come back?

noon–

Not sure why Juice Williams is being benched with his team up 24-20. Strange move.

Then, the backup quarterback McGee goes for about 60 yards on an option keeper. I guess Zook knows what he is doing.

(I can’t believe I just typed that…what is the world coming to?)

Michigan is threatening to take the lead on NW. And there it is. It looks like the reversion to Appalachian State-form has been stemmed for now.

Illini go up 27-20 on Penn State with 7 minutes left. OU is up 17-7 over Colorado at the half.

Notre Dame quarterbacks are having a breakout game. 29 of 45 for about 300 yards right now.

LSU is pulling away 27-9. Tigers only rushed for something like 120 yards in this one. Honestly, Tulane’s defensive line looked pretty impressive today.

GREAT catch by Golden Tate. But wow. More drama on the extra points.

ND FINALLY makes a kick. Now, it’s 26-19.

Could this be another miraculous Irish comeback??

12:11 p.m.–

BIG gainer from Morelli to Derrick Williams. The Illini will have to win this one the hard way. The Nittany Lions will not go quietly into the night.

4th down and 13 for PSU. They gotta go for it.

Great scramble by Morelli, who dives for the marker. But he fumbled and the ball goes backward! Illini ball. CFB Pundit points out that the play was really Morelli’s career in a nutshell.

Illinois is about to win this game. I think this team deserves some respect and should be ranked. Hey, I think Illinois has to be considered a contender for the Big Ten title, which may reflect more on the strength of the conference than on that of the Illini.

Uh, looks like PSU got the ball back. 47 seconds and 42 yards. Can Morelli do it?

Nope. Put this one to bed. Great win for the Illini. Zook’s chest is getting puffy as I write this.

12:43 p.m.–

New crop of games are up. Oregon-Cal, Texas-Kansas State, Maryland-Rutgers, Clemson-Georgia Tech and OU-Colorado.

1:30 p.m.–

So far, the Cal-Oregon game is underwhelming. 3-0 Ducks after one. DeSean Jackson looks like he is ready to play.

Colorado is making a run at OU. I think my pick for them to cover the 21 point spread is looking really good right now. Heck, they might have a shot to win outright.

OU is looking ahead some and it looks like Texas is, too. The Longhorns are tied with K-State, 7-7. The Wildcats won last, so this was supposed to be a revenge game for the Longhorns.

Colorado misses a field goal, but Bradford throws a pick on the next play, his second of the game. As I thought, he is having his first rough outing–8 of 17 for 112 yards, a TD and the two picks so far. Colorado is outgaining OU, out-first-downing them and has held the ball for 33 out of 52 minute so far.

Cal and Oregon are in a field goal battle. Who knew?

1:44 p.m.–

We knew Dan Hawkins would bring Colorado back. His son might be the one to help do it, as Cody Hawkins has pushed Colorado back to a 24-24 tie with OU with 4 minutes left in the game.

And now K-State has moved ahead, 14-7, over Texas. Could both Big 12 powers–slated to go head-to-head next week–go down in the same day?

1:54 p.m.–

Rutgers is now down 14-3 to Maryland. Do you see now why I haven’t been ranking them?

Sam Bradford in his first tough moment and the Sooners just went 3 and out. Momentum is squarely in Colorado’s hands at this point.

Just as I type that, the Buffs almost break a punt return.

Now the drive. Hugh Charles is coming up big for the Buffs. Looks like Colorado is getting in position for a field goal.

This could be the third upset of a top six team this year.

COLORADO WINS!! All the early talk about BCS screwing this undefeated team or that one and things work themselves out, don’t they? The crowd is rushing the field, which is always fun to see.

Props to me for picking Colorado to cover. I knew that OU was ripe for a tough game, but I didn’t have the guts to call for the outright win.

This loss hurts for OU. Camera shot of little boy crying. OUch.

2:08 p.m.–

FSU vs. Alabama is underway.

Colt McCoy to the locker room with K-State up 24-14. Texas is in big trouble, though I am curious to get a look at John Chiles. Maybe this is his moment to shine.

2:37 p.m.–

I think Texas is going down today. As I said before, the Longhorns seem to have reverted to their pre-Vince Young form.

It just hit me that the No. 4 (Oklahoma), No. 5 (West Virginia), No. 6 (Cal) and No. 7 (Texas) teams may all be on their way to losing today. I wonder if that has ever happened in college football history. Oh, and No. 9 Wisconsin is in a battle, too.

Looks like it’s No. 8 Ohio State’s day.

3:17 p.m.–

Texas is falling apart. Bad day for the Big 12. Looks like Jamaal Charles is out as a Heisman candidate, too.

Cal and Oregon is looking like quite a battle. Nate Longshore has found his rhythm. I need overtime here to get my 72.5 over!

Someone just said DeSean Jackson is back into the Heisman race after he blew by a defender for a TD. That’s not the case. He needs more than just one game like this for that to be true.

If Jackson had laid out in the end zone for that last ball from Longshore, THEN he mighta been back in the race. Desmond Howard laid out for that pass against Notre Dame and it won him a Heisman.

Did I just hear Dan Fouts prematurely call a Duck TD? He needs to calm down. He sounds like a homer.

Ducks driving for tie and then they throw a pick. There goes my over!

But wait, maybe not. What would an Oregon game be without a controversial ending? Did that ball land in the end zone or not?

No matter. Touchback is ruled and it looks like the right call. Big win for Cal, unless the refs pull an Oklahoma.