2016 Week 8: Back In The Saddle

More Like Manhattan PROJECT Amirite????

Devin Duvernay: running out of Baylor and into our hearts.

2016 Prediction Record: Don't worry about it.

Heyyyyyy guys. I took some personal time off from here to reflect on the season and complete some workplace sensitivity modules, THANKS OBAMA. The modules really just revealed that I was watching and emulating way too much of Seasons 1-3 of Mad Men. The season reflection time has only emboldened me to double down on Charlie Strong, Lamar Action Jackson, and the deeply held belief that Alabama will bring a biblical apocalypse to A&M in the form of 37 five-star defensive ends. R.I.P. Trevor Knight.

Fletcher's Top 10 That He Reserves The Right To Change At Any Moment

#1 Alabama
#2 Ohio State

#3 Michigan

#4 Clemson

#5 Louisville

#6 Texas A&M

#7 Washington

#8 West Virginia

#9 Nebraska

#10 Boise State

Week 8 Predictions

Alabama 35 - Texas A&M 17

Trevor Knight has beaten Alabama before when he played with Oklahoma in the 2014 Sugar Bowl. Much like his school's mascot, Nick Saban never forgets. The curse Saban placed on Knight after that game caused him to do so poorly that he had to transfer to College Station. The grand finale of the curse is allowing Knight to win 6 games before having to play a very good Alabama team in Tuscaloosa. R.I.P. Trevor Knight. R.I.P. Swagcopter.

Georgia 24 - Bye Week 23

UGA....bro. Vandy doesn't even PLAY football! The best thing to ever happen at Vanderbilt football is Jay Cutler. CUTLER! Jacob Eason is amazing, Nick Chubb is amazing, and hiring Kirby Smart might work out next year or later in the future. But man, if I knew I could get a guaranteed 9 win team every year with Mark Richt, that would be tough for me to give up. Somebody find out what the youngest member of the Dooley family thinks about this.

West Virginia 35 - TCU 31

Clint Tricky Trickett may be gone, but Dana Holgerson's beautiful hair is still there patrolling the sidelines. Having gotten absolutely no respect so far, mostly due to the Big 12 sucking REAL hard, WVU is looking to carry on the Ws here against TCU and Kenny Trill at home. If TCU can navigate the streets filled with burning couches to make it to the stadium, I don't think they'll find the field or the fans any friendlier. The WVU players are also much more used to the high Coal dust content in the air and I think that's going to make the real difference here. WVU....mount up!

Texas Football

California and the combined powers of the state of Oklahoma were not  kind to us, and we didn't do ourselves any favors on the defensive side of the ball. At this point, barring some crazy late season finishes, we're out of the Big 12 race with 2 losses in conference play. We're still thin on the defensive front, Chris Warren is out for the year, and D'onta Foreman plays most games with his appendix on the outside of his skin. Will Charlie Strong even be here next year? Who knows with our boosters and athletic department's disarray.

The first 5 games were an emotional rollercoaster that I don't care to ride again.

Then Iowa State! Hope! Redemption! 

Last year, the Iowa State game was one of the most depressing spectacles of ineptitude I've ever seen. We got shut out by people that choose to live in Iowa. These are not America's best and brightest. And they wrecked. Our. Lives. 

So yeah, only giving up 2 field goals in the first 8 minutes of the game and then shutting them down for the next 52 was pretty gratifying. 

The defense actually played their best game of the year all the way through, the offense giving up a turnover on their first possession and then just generally farting around in the first half was worrisome, but we got everything rolling together in the second half. 

Now we know who Kansas State is. Bill Snyder has been there long enough that everyone thinks he IS Kansas State. Stop me if you've heard this before: his quarterback isn't very talented but he's scrappy, their defense is very disciplined, and they've played a lot of close games this year. 

We've struggled mightily against them at various points in the past 10 years, so a win here is no guarantee. But I have to imagine that Kansas State's weak aerial offense won't give us the fits that other games this season have, Shane and the offense should be able to squeeze out some points, and all the players know that they're playing every game for Charlie's job. 

We've taken a lot of Ls on and off the field this season, it would be nice to get a winning streak going as we get deeper into conference play. I think we turned a corner last week and I'm looking for us to continue the positive momentum today. Hook 'em.

Texas 40 - Kansas State 23