Burnt Orange Nation

Though today's slate doesn't exactly make you feel like the rope in gym class, I thought I'd share a few comments about the games of somewhat greater interest to Longhorns fans kicking off later today.

Line-up after the jump...

Texas "Versus" Wyoming - Sad state of affairs when the main storyline centers around the channel broadcasting the game more so than the game itself. No word on the latest contractual dispute between DirecTV and Comcast, but there seems to be no end in site - which may affect Longhorns fans later in the season too as Versus has the 4th or 5th pick in the Big XII broadcasting hierarchy (UT vs. UCF probably being another game destined for this channel). To give you some perspective, DirecTV's penetration in the Dallas market is just under 20%...good for the sports bars and other subscription TV providers to take advantage of (and they are, check out the pull no punches ads in the paper), but still an inconvenience all the same and one that probably could have been avoided.  

Idaho State at OU - How bad must Idaho State be perceived when Vegas makes them a 55-point dog to a team starting an unproven, back-up QB? No doubt gamblers will have to think twice before laying down money on this one. Seems like a suckers bet, but I'm sure Sooners/Bengals will see a lot of action at the sports books.  

Houston at OSU - Definitely has all the makings of a track meet unless the Cowboy's purportedly revamped defense puts the breaks on the well-advertised Cougars' full throttle offense. Regardless, should be a fun one to watch and give us another data point in determining just how treacherous T. Boone's Farm will be in late October.     

USC at tOSU - No doubt Longhorns fans would probably like to see USC get beat tonight. If UT, Florida and USC were to all finish the year undefeated, it'd be hard to make a case for the Longhorns filling one of the top two spots given what looks (on paper anyway) to be one of UT's weakest SOS's in years. Here's hoping Terrell Pryor turns it on for the Bucks, but let's save the VY comparison for another day.  

Notre Dame at Michigan - This one can probably be best described as, "if a tree falls in Ann Arbor, does anybody but those people sitting under the tree care?" Regardless of the outcome, I'm not sure anybody outside of Ann Arbor or South Bend (or Lou Holtz) will buy the "we're back" claims that will undoubtedly spew forth from the winning fan base.  

S. Carolina at Georgia - May be another barometer for Okie State's prowess if Georgia wipes the floor with S. Carolina even though the Gamecocks looked downright pedestrian in week one against NC State.  

BYU at Tulane and Miami (Ohio at Boise State) - Probably not worth watching, but worth keeping an eye on as the Cougars and Broncos seem to be the front runners to crash the BCS party. And if BYU goes undefeated, they could have a legit claim to appearing in the title game.   At least on paper today's smorgasbord of games don't appear to be very appetizing, but you never know when another upset- Saturday is brewing....and truth be told, nothing is ever all that wrong when college football's on.   Please feel free to add comments of your own as well as other games of import to you.

Enjoy your Saturday,
54b

PS. Hate to jump on the pile, but what's up with Colorado? I thought this was Division 1 Football Dan Hawkins, no intramurals.