Pac-10 potpourri, Week 4

Hats off to Georgia. Clearly the better team at Sun Devil Stadium on Saturday. ASU needed all decks on hand to have a shot against the Bulldogs, and without tailback Keegan Herring, they lacked a credible running attack to keep the Georgia defense honest. But as physical as the Bulldogs are, Herring's presence may not have made much of a difference.

Say this about Pac-10 football, though: the conference's emphasis on speed, finesse and pass-happy offense makes the game more entertaining. As a fan, what would you rather watch -- a nap-inducing SEC slugfest like Georgia's 14-7 snoozer over South Carolina or Auburn's 3-2 win against Mississippi State last week, or a wide-open game like ASU-Georgia, where the Sun Devil defensive scheme challenges Georgia to tap into its full arsenal of athletic talent? Knowshown Moreno, Matt Stafford and A.J. Green all had huge games on Saturday in front of a national audience as Georgia abandoned the smashmouth approach and actually spread out the offense. Take note, SEC apologists.

Not much to speak of elsewhere in the Pac on Saturday, other than Oregon's predictable collapse and U of A's surprising drubbing of UCLA. And while I will, of course, root for ASU to pull off an upset against USC next month, I find myself envisioning a BCS title game that should have happened last year: USC-Georgia.

The Crystal Ball: Haiku Review...

A summary of The Crystal Ball's Saturday predictions...

Iowa beats Pittsburgh in a no-offense slugfest.

Alabama beats Arkansas with offensive balance.

UPSET ALERT: Troy gives Ohio State a run for its money in Columbus.

Florida handles Tennessee in Knoxville.

Miami's speed and defense help the Hurricanes beat Texas A&M.

Michigan State forces Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen into some poor decisions and the Spartans beat the visiting Irish.

Virginia Tech beats North Carolina with speed on defense.

Utah beats Air Force with offensive balance.

UPSET ALERT: Ball State beats in-state rival Indiana. The Cardinals will rely heavily on screens and draws.

TCU runs over SMU in Dallas, but the Mustangs show signs of improvement offensively.

Florida State take an early lead over Wake Forest and then hold on for dear life.

LSU beats Auburn by converting on third down when it counts.

Arizona State keeps it close early, but Georgia pulls away and wins comfortably.

Remember these names...

Baylor Freshman QB Robert Griffin... He runs like a gazelle and has a Vick-like cannon, but he's raw yet. In time, he could one day be dominant and take Baylor to places they've never been.

Connecticut Junior RB Donald Brown... A tank that can also make shifty moves, he reminds me of Matt Forte, the outstanding rookie running back for the Chicago Bears. He's a bit short at 5-10. Yet, I predict Mr. Brown will be playing on Sundays for somebody.

If you haven't heard about them yet, just you wait.

The Crystal Ball: "Yay for Cooler Temps" edition

Fall is just about here, which for Texas means 85-degree afternoons and nights in the 60s. After suffering through nastacularly hot weather for the last six months, I'll take it... Cooler temps means football season is ramping up. And with a big weekend here, the Crystal Ball is feelin' it. Some predictions:

Iowa beats Pittsburgh at Heinz Field on the strength of their defense, but it's close. I foresee one of those anemic-offenses, no-one-can-convert-on-third-down kind of games.

Alabama is clearly better than Arkansas this year, but Nick Saban's teams tend to show inconsistency once conference play starts. Still, I think 'Bama handles the hostile Hog crowd and beats Arkansas with offensive balance.

UPSET ALERT: Watch for Troy to give Ohio State a run for its money in Columbus. Ohio State is coming off a bad loss and Troy is hungry and has the talent and offense to pull off the upset. If Ohio State comes out angry and uses QB Terrelle Pryor early and often, I think the Buckeyes win. If the Bucks look like they are sleepwalking and feeling sorry for themselves, then I predict upset city.

Florida handles Tennessee in Knoxville, but it's one of those classic afternoon-on-CBS, SEC slugfests that comes down to defense and special teams. Florida's defense and special teams are better and that makes the difference.

Texas A&M will be fired up in College Station, but Miami's speed and defense help the Hurricanes overcome an anemic passing game to win.

Michigan State forces Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen into some poor decisions and the Spartans beat the visiting Irish by more than a touchdown.

Virginia Tech at North Carolina. A tough one. One week, North Carolina barely survives against McNeese State. The next, the Tar Heels hit the road and crush Rutgers on national television. What's the Crystal Ball to do? As the experts say, always put your money on defense: Virginia Tech's D has gotten better and is certainly much stouter than the one Rutgers puts on the field. The speed of the Hokies neutralizes Carolina's burning WR Brandon Tate and Virginia Tech wins in Chapel Hill.

An interesting league matchup in the solid-as-a-rock Mountain West: Utah (3-0) at Air Force (3-0). The cadets will raise a fury in the stands, but I think Utah has too much offensive balance to lose.

UPSET ALERT: An inspired and surprisingly talented Ball State team beats in-state rival Indiana. The Cardinals will rely heavily on screens and draws.

TCU runs over SMU in Dallas, but the Mustangs show signs of improvement offensively.

Is Florida State good enough to knock off Wake Forest at home? I say yes, but it's awfully close. In fact, I would not be surprised if the Deacons steal one at the end. Wake has a lot of heart and a good junior QB in Riley Skinner. The Seminoles take an early lead and then hold on for dear life.

Now for the Big Ones...

Many have focused on defense in the LSU-Auburn showdown. Both Ds are stacked, yes. That said, I think it will come down to who can convert on third down, especially when the stakes are highest. The answer is LSU.

Georgia at Arizona State. A big game for both teams. Georgia can chalk up a successful "road test" and solidify its Top Five standing. Arizona State can infuse some pride into the Pac-10 and reestablish itself on the national scene. The crowd will be into it early, but I think Georgia is just too talented and balanced offensively to lose. ASU and QB Rudy Carpenter will do their best, but the Bulldogs win comfortably.

Why West Virginia won't win the Big East...

West Virginia's 17-14 overtime loss to Colorado Thursday confirms something that first became apparent last year in the Mountaineers' late-season debacle against Pittsburgh. No passing attack equals no chance in critical situations. None.

Look, no one is faster in the backfield than West Virginia with QB Pat White and RB Noel Devine. Even backup RB Jock Sanders is a burner. Yet I am convinced teams examined the Pittsburgh game and mastered the rushing attack of the Mountaineers. Excluding their somewhat fluky Fiesta Bowl win, West Virginia has not been the same.

Sure, Pat White gets his yards. But generally, defenses are playing West Virginia like this: Keep the Mountaineers in third and long. Protect the middle of the field and the middle of the line. And force West Virginia's explosive speed to the outside. Against Colorado, the Mountaineers constantly faced third-and-8s and third-and-12s. Without a legit passing attack, Colorado simply stacked the line and it worked. The Mountaineers kept running option even in the two-minute drill because, well, that's all they have. East Carolina used a similar strategy two weeks ago and we all know how that turned out (an East Carolina upset win).

There will be times later this season that West Virginia will face much stouter defenses than Colorado's (Auburn and South Florida come to mind.) If the Mountaineers don't figure out how to counter how defenses are playing them, I foresee a bowl in Charlotte versus one in Miami or Tempe.

Nintendo Stat of the Week...

Stock price per share of Fannie Mae.

September 2007: $68.

September 2008: 49 cents (as of this morning).

If only it weren't true.

"It was the ____ of times..."

Non Football Thought:

With Texas facing hurricane destruction, the newspaper industry on the fritz and Wall Street imploding before our eyes, I've been channeling my inner Dickens lately. If not for sports, and specifically football, I think I'd just as well sit in my pajamas all day with the shades drawn sucking down Shiner Lights and watching SportsCenter.

But we all have to remember, what goes for sports also goes for life... Remember when Notre Dame was a juggernaut under Lou Holtz and USC was but a 7-4 Holiday Bowl mainstay and Pete Carroll was a washed up coach for the Jets? Remember when the Kansas City Royals were good? Remember when hockey mattered? Remember when Tom Brady was a backup? Remember when the Tampa Bay Rays couldn't buy a win and played routinely in front of crowds of 6,000? (Actually, that last part is still true.)

Point is, America is pretty much Tampa Bay circa 2006. We're in last place. We're pushing 100 losses. We're playing out the string with our Triple A guys. It's ugly and unpleasant, I know. It looks like things just aren't going to turn around for the rest of eternity.

And then, at some point --- and God knows when it will come --- but, at some point, things will turn around. We'll make that Herschel Walker trade, sweep the Yankees, upset USC at the Coliseum, beat the Russians in hockey.

We'll get there, for sure. All it takes is time, patience and the hope for a better tomorrow.

I'm Ted Kim and I approved this message. Keep choppin'!