As the title says, "Saturdays are sacred." Not all Saturdays, though...just those special Saturdays that fall during the College Football season. Each new Saturday brings another opportunity to see something spectacular, something heroic, or something heartbreaking. And what better complement to those glorious games than a cold beer and delicious BBQ? There are few things that can touch the sheer joy of watching your favorite team score a touchdown against a hated rival while enjoying an ice cold beer and a plate of tender pulled pork (or ribs...or brisket...or tri-tip) with friends and family...especially if that hated rival is one of your friend's favorite teams.
Since this is my first post and the friend who wanted me to write this is a long-suffering UCLA Bruin fan, who has nightmares about the Bruins inability to stop Edgerin James in 1998, my predictions for UCLA this year are below. I've gone 10-2, 9-3, and 10-2 picking Bruins games the last three years. He always enjoys the picks even if he doesn't enjoy the results; I hope you do as well.
First off, let me say that I'm fearful for the lives of the Bruins quarterbacks this year. Coach Rick Neuheisel has decided that running a pistol offense is the way to go. From what I saw of UCLA's quarterbacks last year, this is a very bad idea. Neither Price nor Brehaut appear to have any kind of running ability or the talent to make this offense work and the pistol just seems like a way to get them either killed or seriously maimed. Running this offense, my predictions are as follows:
at Kansas State - Win - Coach Snyder loves scheduling out of conference cream puffs. Too bad he wasn't around when this game was set up. It will probably be ugly, like UCLA's bowl win over Temple, but it's a win.
Stanford - Loss - A 7:30pm kickoff which means the Stanford Tree will probably already be three sheets to the wind and I give the Tree about a 20-25% chance of being arrested for either aggravated assault, lewd conduct, public drunkeness or a combination of all three. No Toby Gerhart, but it won't matter.
Houston - Win - This is a tough one, as the Cougars QB Case Keenum will try to put it up 50+ times, but the gutty little Bruins will find a way to get it done.
at Texas - Blowout Loss - Years ago, UCLA beat up the Longhorns 66-3. Not this time, and if the Bruins are still running the pistol at this point, I'm predicting one of their quarterbacks will be knocked out of the game. Let's call it 47-10. Hopefully the Bruins players will get a chance to check out some Texas brisket and have at least one good memory from their trip to Austin.
Washington State - Win - Remember when the Cougars used to be good? Remember when they had studs at the skill positions and seemed to make a run at the Pac-10 title every few years? Yeah, I'm struggling trying to remember that as well. This is the high water mark for UCLA, a convincing win at home. Enjoy that winning record while you can; it's about to get ugly.
at Cal - Loss - For some reason, Cal seems to always struggle with UCLA. I think they get over this year and start a horrible run for the Bruins.
at Oregon - Loss - Autzen Stadium at night. No chance. Scheduled to be on ESPN and I'd encourage all of you who aren't aware of the fine talent that patrols the sidelines of Oregon games to give it a look. Those ladies rival anything the Pac-10 has to offer, including the legendary Song Girls of USC.
Arizona - Loss - I have a feeling the Wildcats are going to be dangerous this year and with the Trojans on probation, they might even get to that first Rose Bowl.
Oregon State - Loss - Another blowout loss. Too much talent on the Beaver offense to score less than 35 against UCLA. On a side note, when are Oregon State and South Carolina going to get together and play a game that will be banned throughout the Bible Belt?
at Washington - Loss - I'm not sure the Huskies are going to be as good as people think they'll be, but Vegas has them at 6.5 wins and I think this is one of them.
at Arizona State - Loss - If the Sun Devils don't turn it over, they win it going away. If they turn it over like they did in last year's game, it's close and the Bruins might get a win.
USC - Loss - This is the Trojans' bowl game this year. Yeah, yeah, yeah....it's a rvialry game and you can throw out the records. If USC comes into this game 9-2 or 10-1, they are going to blow the doors off UCLA. If they're at 8 wins or less, it will be a little closer but still a Trojan victory. And lots and lots and lots of "Conquest" being played.
Overall, 3-9, with a seven-game losing streak to end the season. Ouch. Hope you still have your 2009 Eagle Bank Bowl Champions t-shirts on hand.
Pulled Pork and Baby Back Ribs at Smokey Bones in Frederiksburg, VA
No comments:
Post a Comment