Clubhouse Article

CFB: Week Eleven – Top Three Games to Watch

November 7th, 2012 by Patrick Sturgeon

The latest weekly rundown of the best college football games on ESPN America. PATRICK STURGEON (aka “Paddy The Brick”) gives a personal overview of his top games to watch and predicts a winner for each game.

WEEK ELEVEN GAMES TO WATCH

#9 Louisville at Syracuse
ESPN America’s first live game on Saturday is a rare Big East encounter that actually means something. If you haven’t been paying attention this season, the Louisville Cardinals are unbeaten at 9-0 and coincidently ranked number 9 in the country. Their head coach is a guy named Charlie Strong, who seems to be saying all the right things to the media about the Cardinals surprising start. He even warned his team about taking Syracuse too lightly.

The Orange (4-5) need to win two of their three remaining games just to qualify for a Bowl game. Syracuse has been all over the place this season and this will be their last home game. But in the end, I like Louisville to continue their path to a BCS bowl game, they will too “Strong” for Syracuse.
Final Score: Louisville 34, Syracuse 29
#15 Texas A&M at #1 Alabama
The Crimson Tide came within a couple of plays of losing to LSU last Saturday in one of the best games of the season. I gained a lot of respect for Alabama QB AJ McCarron, who lead his team on the game winning drive in the final minutes after having a horrible second half. One thing I will always remember is how he cried (tears of joy I assume) after his heroic performance. He even ran into the stands after the game to hug his family and friends. Now that my friends is what college football is all about. Pride and Passion.

This week’s opponent for the number one ranked team in the country is #15 Texas A&M, who feature their own form of pride and passion, QB Johnny Manziel and their no huddle offense that is one of the top-10 offenses. But Johnny “Football” has never played a SEC road game against Alabama who’s defense is a well oiled machine. The Crimson Tide can clinch the SEC West and a trip to the SEC Championship Game with a win.
Final Score: Texas A&M 21, Alabama 31

#4 Notre Dame at Boston College
Luck almost ran out for the Fighting Irish on Saturday, but somehow they managed to beat Pittsburgh 29-26 in triple overtime. I was at the edge of my seat as I followed this game. Pitt missed a short field goal that would have won it, and Notre Dame had enough left in the magic lamp to continue their unbeaten run. The Fighting Irish are a huge favourite to defeat BC, but the Golden Eagles always seem to give ND trouble in this battle of Catholic schools.

The game is in Boston, but there will be thousands of Irish fans on hand, similar to their game earlier this year in Dublin, Ireland. I fully expect the luck and the talent of the Irish to continue.
Final Score: Notre Dame 24, Boston College 10
Last Week: I was an amazing 3-0, but just barely. Florida beat Missouri, but the 14-7 score was a lot closer then I thought, Georgia had little trouble with Ole Miss as predicted. Alabama defeated LSU in the last minute, Ironically, I was very close to the correct score as well. The final score was 21-17, I predicted 23-16. Not bad for a kid from Youngstown, Ohio, the late Jimmy the Greek, from nearby Steubenville, Ohio would be proud of my 3-0 week.

 

About the author

PATRICK STURGEON (aka ‘Paddy the Brick’) is the Director of Programming for ESPN America. He has been working in the TV sports business for 25 years. Patrick started his career in Arizona where he was a Emmy Award winning sports producer and director. He moved to the Europe in 1994 and has been with ESPN America since 2003. He has a broadcast journalism degree from the University of Kansas (Go Jayhawks!).

CLICK HERE

For the latest live and as live College Football games on ESPN America check the NCAA Football TV schedule on the top right of this page or

Click here for our College Football Page

or

To catch more live NCAA games and for on demand access sign up for ESPN Player College Pass:

Click here for more info