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Tuesday TIME: US | UK WEATHER: US | UK HOME THE NEIGHBORHOOD "Life in the UK" American Groups Essential Contacts Money Education Driving WHAT'S ON US Group Events Diary Dates Music Live FEATURES Politics blog SPORTS Features Sideline blog NFL Draft THE AMERICAN MAGAZINE ONLINE |
SIDELINE ARCHIVE Santa's Sackings January 01, 2009 Ready for the Turkey November 27, 2008 Making it to the Big Dance November 26, 2008 Brighter Days Ahead for Chargers? November 5, 2008 Unnecessary Hits To The Pocket / Upset: BYU October 17, 2008 Romo's Pause / Seattle Seahawks October 15, 2008 Weekend Prep: Red River and More October 10, 2008 College Football's 'Crossroads' Weekend October 9, 2008 Gramatical Error October 7, 2008 Turning The Page September 30, 2008 So Cal 'Quizzed — But Who Will Answer? September 26, 2008 3rd Tuesday Panic Button / Forté Yard Dash September 23, 2008 Two and Oh; Oh and Two September 22, 2008 No More NCAAffeine September 11, 2008 Week 1 College Football September 6, 2008 How To Spell Heisman / Chad Ocho Cinco September 1, 2008 Why the Favre story STILL won't go away August 18, 2008 Olympic Notes / Ricky's Still Relevant August 14, 2008 Committee Meetings August 9, 2008 Let the QB Battles Begin August 8, 2008 Slinging The Slinger — More Favre August 6, 2008 Welcome to the 2008 season July 28, 2008 Plus One May 27, 2008 Draft: The Morning After April 28, 2008 Draft: Thinking the Unthinkable April 25, 2008 Draft: Ready For The Long Haul April 23, 2008 Sofa–bound Sport April 16, 2008 Post–Winter Wonderland April 11, 2008 Six Impossible Things February 4, 2008 Brady's Misdirection Play February 3, 2008 Colorful Language January 23, 2008 Let the Romo–bashing begin: Dallas lost January 14, 2008 Bowl Bites: The Wrap January 10, 2008 All About The Coaches January 1, 2008 Bowl Bites 3 and A Communication Breakdown December 29, 2007 Bowl Bites 2 December 27, 2007 Bowl Bites 1 December 23, 2007 The Empty Chair - Coach Situations Vacant December 22, 2007 For Some, The Playoffs Are Now December 15, 2007 A Certain Lack Of Welcome December 13, 2007 Unrelated Notes November 29, 2007 Two Thanksgiving thoughts November 22, 2007 Halftime: NFC November 9, 2007 Halftime: AFC November 8, 2007 London, Part 2 / A Tale of Two Chads / A Game of Intimidation November 4, 2007 Damp Squib / Other London Notes October 29, 2007 Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em / Dolphins – The Aftermath October 23, 2007 The Dolphins Did What? October 18, 2007 Notes on the Defenses October 13, 2007 Habits to be Broken October 12, 2007 Overtime October 13, 2007 This Week's Starters October 6, 2007: USF: Covering The Spread / Fantastic Football September 27, 2007: Grossman: The Final Act? / McNabb, the Epilogue September 24, 2007: Eagles QB in Slight Controversy September 21, 2007: Leftwich's Parting Gift to Jacksonville? / Boos cruise September 18, 2007: Notre Dame M.I.A. September 16, 2007: Looking Beyond NFL Wk. 1 September 12, 2007: Best Hope For Heisman September 10, 2007: Coaching Hot Seats / AP Poll Feeling ’Appy September 7, 2007: The NFL’s Prime Cuts September 5, 2007: Michigan Falls to Killer Apps September 3, 2007: Look Out Couch / The Taint's On You, Bud September 1, 2007: |
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SPORTS SIDELINE 
Observations, Opinion & Occasional Silliness by Richard L Gale College Football's 'Crossroads' Weekend There are rivalry weekends and there are showdown weekends. With two battles of Big 12 unbeatens (Texas v Oklahoma and Oklahoma State v Missouri), and an SEC headliner (LSU v Florida), this weekend could easily qualify in either category, but beyond the big–game hype there's enough second–tier intrigue to declare it a 'crossroads' weekend. A crossroads weekend is when a bunch of teams make the choice whether they're going to be a contender or not, a bowl team or not. Relevant or not. Not everybody can be in the national spotlight, not every team can be a big noise in a big division. This is a reality check weekend, when the upstarts get slapped down, when odds–defying teams cause their last upset before they cease to be considered underdogs. Ignoring the fact that Vanderbilt's having a season to celebrate, and that every Notre Dame game is a test of their progress, here's 10 other games that'll keep the sports ticker interesting while you're watching the big games: 1. Michigan State at Northwestern Northwestern are unbeaten, but it is Michigan State that are the ranked team here despite a loss. Such is the also–ran reputation of Northwestern. If the Wildcats can find a way to limit Spartans runner Javon Ringer — averaging 200 yards over the past three games — a leap into the top 25 would seem assured. More likely Michigan State goes jumbo on the Wildcats and smacks some reality into their record. 2. Penn State at Wisconsin After Ohio State fell to USC, it was supposed to be Wisconsin that took up the mantle as Big Ten front–runners. Instead, the Badgers leaked points against Michigan, and find themselves looking up at unbeaten Penn State, with a mere 3–2 record. Wisconsin desperately need to upset the odds or they'll be 0–3 in the conference and on a three–game losing streak with Illinois and Michigan State still on the slate. 3. Minnesota at Illinois Still in the Big Ten, and Illinois are in a similar situation to Wisconsin, with a 3–2 start. But this match–up is actually a crossroads game for their opponents. The Golden Gophers' 5–1 record may take a beating from here on, and finding a sixth win to be bowl eligible could be a struggle — even Purdue, their only remaining opponent with a losing record, is a road game. A winning record will require upending a favorite, such as here. That would be a major upset. 4. New Mexico at BYU Trap game alert? Well, this shouldn't test lossless BYU, but one week before facing TCU, Brigham Young could be caught looking ahead to next Thursday. Last time they met, the Lobos lost by one score having coughed the ball up twice in the fourth quarter. Of course, BYU's defense is playing tougher than ever, surrendering only 14 points in the last three games combined, so turnovers could be the Lobos' undoing again. 5. Nebraska at Texas Tech Unbeaten Big 12 teams will be thinner on the ground because of results elsewhere, but there's no upset alert on this game. The Red Raiders' explosive offense faces a Nebraska defense that gave up 460 yards and 52 points last week. What Huskers coach Bo Pelini needs to prove in this game is that last week was an aberration and that Nebraska is moving in the right direction. A repeat performance — or worse — could bury confidence for the season. 6. Arizona State at USC Instead of QBs Mark Sanchez and Rudy Carpenter, it could be Mitch Mustain v Danny Sullivan, but other injuries could factor in, as Arizona State tries to get some rushing going against a Trojans defense that may again miss LB Rey Maualuga. Instead of a meeting of unbeaten Pac–10 contenders, both teams have already lost one game in conference play, and the season heads South for the loser. For USC, it's a win, or goodbye to national hopes. 7. Tennessee at Georgia Another early pick clinging to the idea of muddling back up is Georgia, who've had to relive the loss to Alabama for two weeks. It doesn't help that a year ago Tennessee beat Georgia 35–14. The Trojans this week suspended two offensive linemen, including one prominent back–up — and the line has been a disappointment in any case. Tennessee (2–3) is clearly having a forgettable year. An upset here would do the same for the preseason no.1 Bulldogs (4–1). 8. East Carolina at Virginia Like most BCS–busters gone awry, East Carolina vanished from sight when mortality showed. At 3–2, the Pirates now need to ensure they don't fall back to mediocrity, but it is Virginia that are the head–scratcher. They were blown out spectacularly by USC, 52–7, and lost big to both UConn and Duke. Yet, in their two wins, they shut out their opponents, including a 31–0 trouncing of Maryland last week. For both teams, this is a 'Which way now?' game. 9. Washington State at Oregon State So who are you, Oregon State? You destroy Hawaii, upset USC, and come within a couple of minutes of defeating unbeaten Utah. But you lost to Stanford. If the Beavers are as good as the last three games suggests, they should roll against Washington State, who are surrendering 240 yards a game on the ground and may not have an answer for Oregon State RB Jacquizz Rodgers. They look a whole lot better than 2–3, but they have to prove it. 10. Clemson at Wake Forest And the crossroad weekend starts tonight. A year ago, the Tigers destroyed Wake 44–10, but after starting the season as ACC favorites, Clemson are 3–2, and Wake are the ranked team. Still, Wake is only 1–0 in the conference, Clemson still has only one conference loss, and Clemson's D might be a lot better than Wake's O. The Atlantic division may be free of national implications, but there's still time for Clemson to turn around their season regionally. |
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