Oct 3, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators quarterback Will Grier (7) drops back during the first quarter against the Mississippi Rebels at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
When I was a student at Hueytown High School in rural Jefferson County, Ala., there was this lady who reportedly claimed to be a fortune teller. Her office … or whatever fortune tellers call their place of work … was in an old trailer in between two subdivisions off Rutledge Drive in Fairfield Highlands.
A word of warning … Beware fortune tellers with trailers between subdivisions.
Often as we would drive by her trailer, which sat in front of a small crashed airplane (I never did figure that out), we talked about visiting her. I think her name was Lady France, but I’m not completely sure. Some of my friends did stop by her place from time to time for some insight and good fortune. Not sure how that worked out, but if they ever hit it rich based on what she said, they didn’t share any of it with me.
Not sure that the prediction business was very lucrative back then, since we never saw her with a car and often saw her walking down the road.
I thought about Lady France this weekend as I watched my pregame predictions fade away faster than the sun going down on the Warrior River. The prediction business from my perspective wouldn’t be very lucrative now, either.
Has there ever been a wackier season when it comes to trying to figure before kickoff which teams are going to win? Lindy’s editors and writers pick games for our weekly newsletters and for the “Picks to Click” feature on our web site … that’s at www.lindyssports.com. Hope you’ll check it out each week.
So, based on my informed analysis of last weekend’s games … in hindsight, it apparently was my blind guesses about those games … I wrote in advance the lead for my weekly column, based on wins by Ole Miss, Georgia, UCLA and a few others. That column was deleted to the Recycle Bin by midnight on Saturday … and I’m writing about Lady France!
Games of this past weekend give evidence of how unpredictable and unexplainable the first five weeks of the 2015 season have been.
Start in Gainesville where the No. 3 Rebels took on the undefeated Florida Gators. Of course, you would take the visiting team, but after watching the game, you start to understand the mascot controversy in Oxford … the Ole Miss team hibernated for this one like black bears in the Smokey Mountains.
Just two weeks before, Mississippi had put up almost 500 yards against Alabama in Tuscaloosa and never trailed in the game. Florida had narrow wins over East Carolina and Kentucky, then a miracle last minute win over Tennessee. They could have been 1-3. Instead, they now sit at 5-0, ranked in the Top 25 and a contender for the SEC Eastern Division title.
Then, move to Athens, Ga., where that same Crimson Tide team faced Top 10 ranked Georgia with its powerful offense led by record-setting players, runner Nick Chubb and quarterback Greyson Lambert. There were legit questions about Alabama. Would a consistent quarterback finally emerge? Would the defense finally live up to its eternal hype? (For the record, in three of their past seven games, the Tide had given up 44 points to Auburn, 42 points to Ohio State and 43 to Ole Miss. Not exactly stellar defense on the big stage.)
What happened? Jake Coker did establish himself under center; the Bama defense sledgehammered the Bulldog offense; the Tide kept alive its hopes for the Western Division championship. And, Georgia fans are renewing their chorus … Mark Richt can’t win the big one.
And, how do you explain what has happened to the team from Knoxville? Before the season, Tennessee was ranked in the Top 25. Many people, including me, had them as the darkhorse threat for the division title. On Saturday, the Volunteers had another second-half collapse, this time at home against one-win Arkansas. I had the Vols with no losses heading into this week’s match-up with Georgia with both teams fighting for the division lead. Instead, Butch Jones’ team has three losses and joins the Bulldogs, both just fighting to stay relevant in the conference race.
Upsets weren’t limited to the SEC. UCLA, looking like the best team in the Pac-12, lost at home by 15 points to Arizona State, which was trounced the week before at home by USC, 42-14. ESPN Gameday this week will be at a Pac-12 game, one of the nation’s headliners between the last two undefeated teams in that conference … California and Utah!
California and Utah! You’ve got to be kidding!
The surprises also weren’t limited to ranked teams. Illinois had been massacred by North Carolina and struggled to edge Middle Tennessee at home. Nebraska had suffered heart-breaking last minute losses to Brigham Young and Miami. Of course, I took the Cornhuskers. The Illini won it, 14-13, scoring all of its points in the fourth quarter, as Nebraska lost another one down the stretch.
Among the teams currently undefeated … Temple (4-0), Memphis (5-0), Navy (4-0), Houston (4-0), Northwestern (5-0), Iowa (5-0) and Toledo (4-0). Among the teams already with multiple losses by the first week of October … Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Arkansas, Tennessee and South Carolina with three each; Oregon, Wisconsin, Auburn, Mississippi State, Arizona State and Arizona, each have two. And, don’t even talk about Texas!
I’ve started evaluating the games coming up on Saturday.
Oklahoma State travels to West Virginia; Navy plays at Notre Dame; Missouri hosts Florida; and Miami goes to Florida State. Those are in addition to the ones already mentioned above. And, don’t forget to protect the women and children … Oklahoma plays the Longhorns (and their four losses) in the annual Red River Shootout in Dallas on Saturday.
After last weekend, my confidence level isn’t too high.
So, here’s another word of warning … If you want validation for your team this week, you might want to avoid calling me. See if you can get in touch with Lady France.
