Midway Point Notes and This Week's Upset Alerts

One midseason regret so far: I have to eat crow on the Longhorns. I put my chips in their corner to do great things this season but they fell flat on their faces and their defense is mainly to blame. They came into the season with high hopes and have just about lost everything to play for. Except pride. And a lot of that is gone after a thumping by Oklahoma.
They're playing Baylor this week, one of the best offenses in the Big 12, and in my opinion the country. It could be the week Texas bounces back. But this is an in-state rivalry game and I think Baylor will beat the Longhorns for the 2nd year in a row.

Another dissapointment: BYU. They were so set to be a BCS buster this year. Riley Nelson seemed like he was ready to lead the team and get the offense together. But it hasn't happened.
Their defense has been playing lights out, but after a dismantling by Oregon State, even that can't be entirely true.
They play another stout defense this week in Notre Dame, their Catholic Brothers, and Notre Dame is probably trying to stay awake and not sleep this week. They've heard the noise about this being a trap game and for their sakes they better treat this game like any other. The real question going into this; who has the better offense. Probably Notre Dame, but not by much.

Two Big SEC Upset Alerts for this week.

The first is with newcomer and upstart Texas A&M. Their offense has seemed to gel around Johhny Manziel. He can pass, he can throw. The Aggies have started putting up big offensive numbers. Of course, LSU may have the best defense in the country. Texas A&M hasn't played a defense like this since Florida, but they've grown a lot since then. Johnny Football is a true freshman, so that says a lot.
LSU also hasn't played an offense like this yet. The Tigers have been coasting by, and I don't think their win over South Carolina was a walk in the park. They had to play better that day and they forced the Gamecocks to make mistakes. I think, in order for LSU to win they have to do the same thing. Get Manziel off balance, force him into mistakes and capitalize. The Aggies should hope to score early and not let the Tigers wear them down, like Florida did.

And the other game: an old SEC rivalry that hasn't had much pizazz the last few years. Tennessee versus Alabama. Just like LSU, Bama hasn't faced an offense as good as this yet. They have the best defense in the country, but we seem to forget their defense is still young. If the Vols strike quickly, with Alabama's slightly weak secondary, they could carry this game into the fourth quarter and then we'll really see if Bama can go for all four quarters. As any rivalry game, anything can happen. A few years back, it took a blocked field goal for Bama to escape and keep it's perfect record alive. If the Vols man up on defense, and play their usual offensive self, they can keep this close. And in close games in the end, it's usually who can make the bigger plays. Tyler Bray is the type of player that can make those plays.