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Don’t go overboard with Texas Tech’s rout of Kansas

Texas Tech Red RaidersLooks like No. 8 Texas Tech will have to wait yet another week before finally facing a decent opponent as they run roughshod over No. 23 Kansas on Saturday, 63-21.

Don’t be fooled by the score. Yes the Red Raiders offense is unbelievable and they again showed how explosive they are in racking up 63 points and close to 600 yards. But the Jayhawks have shown week in and week out that they aren’t the same team that finished 12-1 last year and beat No. 3 Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

Kansas turned the ball over five times and couldn’t have stopped Tech’s offense had they only played with Graham Harrell (386 yards, 5 TDs) and Michael Crabtree (9 rec. 70 yards). Again, not to take anything away from them, but the talk next week (depending on how the Longhorns do against Oklahoma State) is how the Red Raiders could upset Texas. I guarantee you everyone is going to hop on the Tech bandwagon and forget how the Longhorns absolutely destroyed Oklahoma and MIZZOU this month.

I think Texas Tech is fun to watch and Harrell and Crabtree are amazing. But Texas is the most complete football team in the nation right now (again, assuming they don’t stumble against OK State and make me eat my words), so hopefully the mainstream media doesn’t go overboard with the upset talk next week. (Although who am I kidding, we all know they will.)

Week 9 College Football Primer

Top 25 vs. Top 25
Zac RobinsonNo. 6 Oklahoma State at No. 1 Texas, 3:30 PM ET ABC
Colt McCoy and the Longhorns are the talk of college football right now, and rightfully so with the way they destroyed Chase Daniel and Missouri last Saturday. But Zac Robinson and the Cowboys are playing as well as anyone right now and this is a huge opportunity for them to prove that they can hang with the big boys. Robinson is completing nearly 70% of his passes and has 14 touchdowns on the year to just four interceptions. But for OK State to pull off the upset, the Cowboy defense will have to be aggressive in getting after McCoy, who completed 29 of his 32 passes last week in the rout over MIZZOU. Mack Brown won’t let his team take their foot off the pedal, but this is UT’s third straight tough Big 12 matchup in as many weeks and the Cowboys won’t be any pushovers.

No. 3 Penn State at No. 9 Ohio State
The Nittany Lions are red hot and destroying everything in their path. The switch the spread offense has been a great success for PSU’s offense and QB Daryll Clark, who ranks 18th in the nation in pass efficiency. Clark will certainly have his work cut out for him this Saturday going against a veteran OSU defense, although the Lions can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the trenches. They also have protected Clark incredibly well this season, which has allowed for big plays in the passing game. For the Buckeyes offensively, frosh QB Terrelle Pryor is the real deal and really stepped up his game last week against Michigan State after struggling to make plays in previous weeks. PSU is allowing more than a half-yard less per carry than OSU’s stingy defense, so it might be tough sledding for Heisman candidate Beanie Wells. Either way, expect a battle at the “Horseshoe” this weekend in matchup of the best the Big Ten has to offer.

No. 7 Georgia at No. 13 LSU, 3:30 PM ET CBS
This is a huge game for UGA after clawing back into the top 10 last week. LSU is coming off a solid come-from-behind win over South Carolina last week and still has plenty to prove themselves after Florida ran roughshod over them two weeks ago. UGA’s inexperienced offensive line has been an issue at times this year, so QB Matthew Stafford must get the ball out of his hands quickly against a stout Tiger pass rush. And even though Heisman candidate Knowshon Moreno gets a lot more pub, LSU RB Charles Scott is rushing for over six yards a carry. The Tigers are a staggering 41-4 in Tiger Stadium since 2002, which doesn’t bode well for the road ‘Dogs.

Graham HarrellNo. 8 Texas Tech at No. 23 Kansas, 12:00 PM ESPN
The Red Raiders have flirted with disaster the past couple of weeks, even though Heisman candidate Graham Harrell continues to play beyond impressive. Still, Tech is off to its best start in 32 years and will get to test its mettle against the upper-echelon of Big 12 foes over the next four games. The Jayhawks, meanwhile, were drubbed by Oklahoma last week and just haven’t looked sharp in over a month. They have sorely missed Brandon McAnderson in the backfield, but they could be due for a game in which they put it all together. Could this be the prime upset of the weekend?

Upset Watch:
Michigan State at Michigan, 3:30 PM ET
The Wolverines have been absolutely brutal this year, but this is a game they win. The Spartans were crushed by Ohio State last week in a game that they were trying to use as a measuring stick to see how good they were. This is a huge letdown game for them and Rich Rodriguez is desperate not to lose to his in-state rival and save at least a little face in his first year at Big Blue.

Top 10 Active NFL Rushing Leaders

Racking up yards in the NFL looks easy, but these guys take a beating like nobody else in football. The ones that do it year in and year out are just tough physical specimens who are also quick and elusive, and probably work their butts off in the gym. Here is a list of the active career rushing leaders…..

1. Edgerrin James, Arizona Cardinals (11,970)—Most of these yards were in Indianapolis playing in one of the best offenses in NFL history. But Edge is still only 30…and no, that’s not a typo.

2. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers (11,096)—LT needs to get over his toe injury and have a few LT-like games to climb past James. If he doesn’t do it this season, he will in 2009.

3. Fred Taylor, Jacksonville Jaguars (10,957)—Taylor and WR Joey Galloway are those older players who just won’t go away. Just when you think they have reached the peaks of their careers, they drink from the fountain of youth, as Taylor did last year with 1202 yards.

4. Warrick Dunn, Tampa Bay Bucs (10,604)—Dunn only has 48 career touchdowns, but this guy has always had breakaway speed in the open field.

5. Jamal Lewis, Cleveland Browns (9508)—He tormented Cleveland for years with those “former Browns” known as the Baltimore Ravens. Now he’s one of the good guys.

6. Shaun Alexander, Washington Redskins (9437)—Was it as weird for you to see Alexander in a Redskins uniform last week as it was for me? Clinton Portis has rushed for the equivalent of a few country miles the last few weeks, so Alexander could see some action soon.

7. Ahman Green, Houston Texans (8929)—He can’t seem to stay on the field, but when he does, he still has skills. Could Green now be used as a touchdown vulture to Steve Slaton?

8. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins (8533)—I always want to avoid this guy in my fantasy drafts, but then he always comes back to haunt me when I play against him.

9. Ricky Williams, Miami Dolphins (7363)—Williams, who likes to smoke reefer, missed the 2004 season, the 2006 season, and 15 games of the 2007 season. Yet, he’s still on this list. Well, those 1853 yards in 2002 have something to do with that.

10. Thomas Jones, New York Jets (6981)—Julius’ older brother has had a nice career, but you get the feeling he is on the downside of it, don’t you?

Source: Pro Football Reference

Willie Parker misses practice, may not play

“Fast” Willie Parker wasn’t on the Steelers’ injury report earlier this week and it looked like he was ready to go for the showdown with the Giants on Sunday. He missed practice on Friday and is now unlikely to play.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Willie Parker unexpectedly did not practice Friday because of ongoing problems with his sprained left knee and is unlikely to play Sunday against the New York Giants.

Parker has missed three games with a sprained medial collateral ligament, but practiced earlier in the week and was expected to be ready for the matchup of teams with 5-1 records. He is listed as doubtful.

Parker would be replaced by Mewelde Moore, who began the season as the third-down back, but has rushed for 219 yards in the last two games. Moore gained 120 yards and scored three touchdowns, one on a pass reception, during a 38-10 win in Cincinnati last Sunday.

Some fantasy owners might have cut Moore once Parker practiced this week, so snatch him up if you can. It looks like FWP’s knee problems are ongoing, so Moore may have considerable value over the coming weeks. He was certainly stellar last week (as he killed me in five different leagues).

Isiah Thomas overdose?

It looks like Zeke might be involved in an “accidental” overdose.

A 47-year-old man was taken to the hospital and treated for an accidental overdose of sleeping pills at the suburban home of former New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, police said on Friday.

Police would not identify the victim, except to give his age. Thomas is 47. Harrison Police Chief David Hall said the case was not a suicide attempt.

The New York Post and WCBS-TV in New York reported that the man who overdosed was, in fact, Thomas. The station cited unidentified sources in the report.

Madison Square Garden spokesman Barry Watkins told The Journal News newspaper, “Isiah is fine.” WCBS Radio reported that the call involved an “issue with sleeping pills.”

It has been a tough couple of years for Thomas. Let’s hope he’s okay.

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