Touchdown Thursday

Am I obsessed with football? Possibly. The funny thing is I never regarded it as my favorite sport. That would be baseball. Oddly enough though, football consumes me like no other sport. I watch the Phillies and pay attention to other games in baseball. I do not play in any fantasy leagues, I never know when the draft is, and I'll casually watch the playoffs, unless the Phillies somehow make it in. Football is a different story.

This season I find myself in a pair of fantasy football leagues in addition to two separate football pools and a suicide pool. I have been to more football games this season than I have baseball. I make my football picks every week. I get more into football, but I still think baseball is my favorite sport.

I'm not exactly sure anymore. Am I fooling myself into thinking baseball is still my favorite sport? Am I holding on to sentimental reasons for liking baseball more? I have always said I love the fact that you can sit back, relax, and enjoy a baseball game. Football is a lot more stressful and on the edge, clearly. Perhaps it is my laid back style that prefers baseball to football.

Check back for status updates on my baseball vs. football love affair as the month goes (read: as the Phillies playoff door slams shut).

Let's talk football though. I will be away at the shore this weekend in Wildwood, New Jersey for Irish Weekend so I am getting my picks out there today. And because of that, let's pick a Thursday night game, shall we?

The Miami Hurricanes take on #20 Texas A&M tonight in the Orange Bowl. The Hurricanes are obviously on somewhat of a rebuilding level. So is Notre Dame but Charlie Weis won't admit it. But then again, Charlie Weis won't admit a lot of things. Miami enters the ESPN match up at 2-1 after beating cross town rival Florida International. Miami needed a fluff opponent after getting licked by Oklahoma 51-13 the week before. I believe that Miami, as young and inexperienced as they may be, is very capable of knocking off Texas A&M tonight. The ACC is hoping that Miami can do it though, because their conference is in desperate need of a quality win. With their neighbors the SEC soaking up all the buzz lately the ACC is way behind. In fact the Big East, the conference that was supposed to be left for dead after the ACC raided the top teams, has blown past the ACC in many people's views. I'm still a little reserved on the hype of the Big East, but I support the notion that they are better than the ACC op to bottom. The Aggies have a great rushing offense and they could wear down the Hurricanes as the game drags on. Add to that the fact that A&M has all the momentum going for them in this series, winning the last game 70-14 in 1944, and Texas A&M is the obvious pick. Miami will keep it close though. Besides, Miami is caught in a trap game between Florida International and Duke.

The game that has clearly been soaking up my nervous sweat since the week began is the Penn State-Michigan game. The last time Penn State beat Michigan, I was in high school. They should have a couple games since then but that should be another story. But it is the harsh memories of blown games, calls, and lack of talent that cause me to think that the #10 Nittany Lions are about to drop in the rankings while unranked Michigan is about to make believers out of the media again. Mike Hart scares me.

SCARES ME!

This Penn State defense is really good. Don't discredit them for the teams they have played (Florida International, Buffalo and the worst team in college football, Notre Dame). This defense has talent. What scares me though is the fact that they haven't really been tested. Buffalo put up 24 on them, but that doesn't really concern me either since 21 of those points were 4th quarter scores. Everything should be going Penn State's way heading into this game. But everything should have been going Penn State's way in 1997 (L 8-34), 1999 (L 27-31), 2002 (L 24-27), and 2005 (L 25-27). Penn State has the defense. Michigan has the injured started QB. Penn State has the top ten ranking. Michigan has washed away national title dreams (Let's be honest, all they had before App. State were dreams anyway). Part of me wishes Notre Dame was better so we could maybe better assess both Michigan and Penn State. Both teams destroyed the Irish, leaving us really nothing to determine what kind of teams we have going into this weekend.

My heart says Penn State. Then again, it always says Penn State. At the start of the week I knew Michigan would win this game. But today, Thursday, I'm starting to believe a little more in Joe Paterno's squad. Maybe it's blind faith, maybe it's the fact that all losing streaks have to end at some point, or maybe it's just from reading these two very well put together blogs - MGoBlog, a great Michigan blog, and Run Up the Score!, the Penn State equivalent. While I may be thinking that Penn State is very capable of winning the game against the Wolverines on Saturday, I am not 100% ready to say a poor offensive showing, a bewildered Anthony Morelli, a pair of Austin Scott fumbles, or a lackluster receiving performance won't show up. The defense will play well. Mike Hart will get his yards, and he'll probably notch 100 yards. The key will be making sure he gets those 100 yards in small doses throughout the game. If he gets his 100th yard in the 4th quarter, Penn State wins. If he gets 100th yard early in the third, Michigan wins.

Hate to say it, but I'm picking Michigan. I'll probably pick Michiagn every time until Penn State pulls one out. If ever there was a year to do so, THIS IS THE YEAR!

Whew. all of that Penn State-Michigan talk wore me out. But I still have a few more games to pick! As you know I always pick the Shippensburg game of the week to pay homage to all of my fans in Red Raider Nation. They let me down last week with their second half collapse against Kutztown, and I'm going to have to punish them this week for it. The #20 West Chester University Golden Rams are heading to the Cumberland Valley and I see nothing that tells me the Rams won't pick up their third win of the season while in town. The school and town of Shippensburg are actually taking a page out of the Phillies' playbook and promoting their own "Paint the Town Red" hype. How did that turn out for the Phills? They started the season out 0-3. That wraps up the college games, so let's head to the NFL for a brief look.

Will the Eagles really go 0-3? I don't think so. The Detroit Lions come to Philly with a 2-0 record and something they call a group of "wide receivers". Apparently these wide receivers have the ability to catch footballs thrown their way after they create separation from their defenders. This something we once saw in Philadelphia when the ogre known as Terrell Owens was wearing green. I usually back Donovan McNabb to all the haters, but right now he needs to get healthy. He is clearly not helping the team at this moment in time! The defense has been playing well though, much better than people expected. I don't see this Eagles team going 0-3. I just don't. Maybe 1-4, but not 0-3. Eagles beat the Lions.

My favorite NFL quarterback, Matt Schaub, had a nice article about him written in this week's Sports Illustrated. HE may not have been on the cover, but his 2-0 start is starting to grab some eyes around the league. You think the Indianapolis Colts have realized they are tied at the top of the NFC South with the Texans? After Sunday, Schaub will start leading the Texans to a wild card berth. Colts will win this one, but Schaub will pass for 476 yards, five touchdowns, and run for two more. And the other darling quarterback, Tony Romo, is going to have a very frustrating night in Chicago as the Bears rough him up. Final score; Bears 52, Cowboys -10.


So here's the Week Four Recap for Kevin's Six Pack of Picks for the Weekend...

Philadelphia Eagles (0-2) over Detroit Lions (2-0)
Indianapolis Colts (2-0) over Houston Texans (2-0)
Chicago Bears (1-1) over Dallas Cowboys (2-0)
Michigan (1-2) over #10 Penn State (3-0)
#20 West Chester (2-1) over Shippensburg (0-3)
#20 Texas A&M (3-0) over Miami (2-1)

I'll throw in my suicide pool pick too, just for kicks; Baltimore Ravens (home vs. Arizona Cardinals). I have already used Jacksonville (week two) and Dallas (week one)

This is a tough slate on hand. I hope I can turn around my downward slide. Week one I was 6-0. Week two I was 5-1. Week three I was 4-2. As if I wasn't nervous enough...