Cardinal Killin' Weekend

On Friday morning, I'll be heading to St. Louis to watch the Reds face the Cardinals. When I purchased the tickets about a month ago, I had hoped that the Reds would simply still be in the race for the N.L Central Division crown and that these would be meaningful games. It turns out the Reds have an 8 game lead. I had faith that the Reds could have the lead at this point, but I never in my wildest dreams thought that they'd be in control as they are now to be cruising into the playoffs like this.

This series isn't as important as I thought it would be when I planned the trip, but it feels even better with a large lead and the chance to bury the Cardinals even further. Especially after the big brawl that happened at Great American Ballpark a few weeks ago, it's going to be bittersweet walking into Busch Stadium with an 8 game lead over the Cardinals, whether they win or not....at this point it doesn't look like it really matters, and will be a fun trip regardless.

I will NOT be attending the Saturday afternoon Reds/Cards game because I'll be in my hotel room watching the Cats beat up on those other Cardinals in Louisville. I will not; however, have a computer with me. I'm hoping to have someone else break down the game for you and the rest of this weekend's college football action, either a previous contributor of Wildcat Wrap (like Mike Brown), or perhaps a newcomer, maybe even a little female perspective will be provided on this Saturday's game? Either way, I'll be back by Labor Day to give you my insight on the Governor's Cup as well as my baseball trip to St. Louis.

When I get back, I'll also explain to you why the Reds have a better chance at winning the World Series (not just the NL Pennant), than Ohio State does of beating Alabama or any SEC school in the BCS National Championship game. It's not rocket science, but many Ohioans don't understand. I'll also make the case for October (playoff baseball, college football, start of Big Blue Madness) to be the greatest month in sports, perhaps even better than March. October is just one month away, folks.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend, everybody!

Clutch Cats win again, improve to 26-1.

I apologize on the late post, but I watched the game in Richmond last night at my Fraternity's Alumni Event that evening at EKU. If you ever go to Madison Gardens in Richmond, try their wings. They've got a unique blend of dry spices they put on them. It's a unique taste, but good and affordable on a college student budget. However, I do not suggest you watch a UK game there. The TV's are small and not situated too well. I generally like the place (despite the not so flattering reviews), I just don't recommend watching a UK game there. Other than the defensive heroics of John Wall in the final minute, the dominating performance of Cousins in limited play due to foul trouble, and the double-double performance by Patterson, it was kind of difficult to keep track of what was going on in the game with the TV set up. This time, instead of writing about the actual game, I'm going to write about the people I watched it with, the guy's that I call my Fraternity brothers.

It's always great to catch up with friends from school and it's even better when some of them can't stand the Cats. There's nothing more amusing and entertaining than watching someone get their hopes up that the Cats are going to go down, then- John Wall makes one of the most spectacular defensive plays I've ever seen at the end of the game to seal the win and also the hopes of haters everywhere. At EKU, you definitely have a lot of die-hard Cat fans that grew up watching the Cats their entire life. However, you also have a fraction of the student body from the Louisville area- many of which are UK fans and many of which are of course Little Brother fans. There's also a large chuck of students that come down from Ohio for a more affordable education.

The Buckeye's that attend EKU are even more delusional and obnoxious than even the Louisville fans, especially in football season. I don't understand how a fan base of such a great traditional football program finds so much joy in picking on and downplaying the success of a program like Kentucky that is making great strides and improvement each year in the nation's toughest conference. You don't see UK fans obsessive over OSU basketball because you know when you're unquestionably the best program in your sport, you don't spend too much time worrying about second rate programs. The Buckeye fans, deep down, aren't as confident about their place atop the mountain of college football as they would like you to think. If they were more confident in their program being the best in their sport, they wouldn't find it necessary to ridicule a football program like Kentucky's, that has struggled historically to finish in the top half of their conference on a yearly basis. When you ARE a second rate program (and I admit- Kentucky is one of those traditionally in football but that is changing), you are constantly rooting against and hating on the traditional powers even though they don't really care about your team at all.

These are the typical characteristics of the UK haters that I went to school with, and if you mention a certain Big Ten team's record against SEC schools in Bowl Games, they'll bring up some silly, obscure stat they looked up in one individual season and claim that the SEC is not dominant or even significantly tougher than the Big Ten on a consistant yearly basis (Matt Nunn). Their confidence and pride, or lack thereof, in their own programs (Louisville, Cincy, OSU) never fails to make me laugh and definitely also makes me thankful that I was born and raised on the right side of the Ohio River and grew up to Bleed Blue. However, I also want to thank these guys, because without the constant facebook arguments over Kentucky sports that even caused a group of Cardinal fans to protest my facebook membership is what encouraged me to create this site, a place where I can share my "biased and ridiculous" comments and opinions without rubbing people (opposing fans) the wrong way on facebook. Without them, Wildcat Wrap- which is nearing its 5,000th hit, would probably not exist.


Last night was one of those nights that I got to experience watching a UK game with a few of those haters, but also with some great Cat fans as well including Eli Roberts and Josh Ford- whom I thank for hooking me up with some great tickets a few weeks ago, 3 rows behind Alabama's bench in Rupp! Eli wanted his "shout out" on the wrap, and there it is (I had to find a way to work it in). And for the 26th time this year, myself, Eli, Ford, Cox, Jake, Burton and the rest of my Big Blue Fraternity Brethren enjoyed the last laugh Saturday night in Richmond as the Cats escaped with a hard fought victory in Memorial Gym for the first time since 2005 and almost certainly secured an SEC Regular Season Championship.

Brown's Picks

Last week was a little better for me. I went 3-2 which brings my season record to 10-11. Cincinnati is off this week so I added in my pick for the EKU game. Some good picks for this weekend should put me over .500 for the short time I've been picking games. Let's get to it:


Ohio St. ( -12) @ Michigan
No matter how poorly either of these teams has performed, the Buckeyes and Wolverines bring their A game for this one. Considered one of the best rivalries in all of sports, Ohio St. and Michigan will go at it this Saturday. Ohio St. has been rolling of late, beating Penn St. and Iowa in the last two weeks and clinching yet another trip to the Rose Bowl. After jumping out to a 4-0 record, the Wolverines have left 4 in a row and 6 of their last 7 (with the only win being against Delaware St.) I think this one will be close in the first half, but Ohio St. will eventually pull away and win by 17.

PICK: OHIO ST.

Virginia @ Clemson (-21.5)
-With a win on Senior Day in Death Valley, the Tigers will be heading to Tampa and to their first ACC Championship game. I think the key to this game is going to be the Virginia defense. Clemson has a number of weapons on the offensive side of the ball. By now everyone knows about CJ Spiller, but I think the big game is goign to come from Wide Receiver and return-man Jacoby Ford. It will be interesting to see how the Tigers handle the pressure of trying to wrap up a division title. I think Clemson wins pretty easily but I'm not sure if they cover the spread. I'm actually going to pick Clemson by 20, with a score of 30-10.

PICK: VIRGINIA

Kentucky @ Georgia (-9)
-Both of these teams come into this game with identical 6-4 records overall. One problem UK is going to face this Saturday is the potential lose of Sophomore Randall Cobb. In my opinion, Cobb has been the best offensive threat the Cats have had all year, leading the conference in touchdowns per game. Cobb didn't practice much this week and Coach Rich Brooks said he will be a game-time decision. With starting QB Mike Hartline already out, UK may need to rely on Cobb more than usual. Georgia has their big rivalry game next week against Georgia Tech and I think UK has a great chance to catch the Bulldogs looking ahead on their schedule. I think this one stays close for most of the game, but being between the hedges will prove too much for UK and their injuries. I like UGA by 10.

PICK: GEORGIA


LSU @ Mississippi (-4.5)
-LSU comes into this game at #8 and with hopes of sneaking into a BCS game. Mississippi is favored in this game, but I think they are going to need a big game from their defense to pull this one out. LSU has not been overly impressive on the offensive side of the ball this year, averaging only 25 points a game. On the other hand, Ole Miss is putting up 31 and 400+ yards of offense a game. This is going to be a tough game for the Tigers; Mississippi wins it by 7.

PICK: MISSISSIPPI

Eastern Kentucky @ Jacksonville St.
-On Thursday night Jacksonville St. demolished Tennessee Tech. That plays an important role in this game, because all the Colonels will have to do in order to win the OVC for a third straight year is beat the Gamecocks in Jacksonville on Saturday. Eastern is also trying to extend their streak of consecutive non-losing seasons. EKU is going to have a hard time handling a Jacksonville St. Offense that is scoring 35 a game. This one is going to be close but I like to Colonels to win the game and another conference championship.

PICK: EASTERN KENTUCKY




That's all for my football picks this week. Enjoy the football everyone!


GO TIGERS!
GO COLONELS!

Brown's Picks - College Football Week 11

I knew last week was a potential disappoint for me. I picked some of the right winners, but the spread is what did me in. I went a dismal 2-6 last week, which brings my overall record to 7-9. Hopefully, this week will treat me better. It’s a shorter list of games because I’ll also be doing some of the big College Basketball games for this weekend.

West Virginia @ Cincinnati (-9.5)

Huge Friday night game in the race for the Big East Championship. Sophomore Zach Collaros will be starting again for the Bearcats but Cincy coach Brain Kelly has said Tony Pike will get some playing time. Cincinnati is coming off a nail-biter against UCONN last week, but I expect the Bearcat Defense to show up tonight. This is a game Cincinnati needs to win before the big matchup with Pitt in a couple weeks. I think WVU keeps it close, but the Bearcats pull it out with a 10 points victory, just barely covering

PICK : CINCINNATI

Iowa @ Ohio St. (-16.5)

This is the Big Ten Championship game. Terrelle Pryor looked pretty good last week at Penn St. He was effective running and throwing the ball and looked like the QB Buckeyes fans have been waiting for. On the other side of the field, the Hawkeyes are coming off a crushing loss to Northwestern and will be playing without starting quarterback Ricky Stanzi, who had surgery on his ankle after injuring it in last week’s loss. Iowa has been in every game this year and I don’ expect anything different this weekend. The Buckeyes win, but not by 17 points.

PICK: IOWA

Clemson (-8) @ NC State

Clemson is in the driver’s seat to win the ACC Atlantic Division and potentially win their first conference championship since 1990. The Tigers’ offense has been rolling, scoring 38 points in four straight games for the first time in the program’s history. Kyle Parker and CJ Spiller should have a big day against an NC State defense that is allowing almost 30 points a game. Clemson shouldn’t have too much trouble with a struggling Wolfpack. Clemson wins this one by 13.

PICK: CLEMSON

Kentucky (-3) @ Vanderbilt

The Wildcats need this one. Kentucky is going into Nashville with a 5-4 (1-4) record. A win this Saturday would make them bowl eligible, and just in time; their last two games are between the Hedges in Athens, GA and at home against an up-and-down Tennessee teams. Those games are winnable for the Cats, but I’m sure they would feel much better going into those games with a bowl already wrapped up. Vanderbilt shouldn’t be much of a test for Kentucky; the Commodores have a scoring margin of -5.8 this year. I think 3 points is a pretty low spread, I see the Cats winning by double digits.

PICK: KENTUCKY

Utah @ TCU (-19.5)

It seems funny to say this about a game in the Mountain West, but this is a big game on the national scene. TCU leap frogged (pun definitely intended) Cincinnati last week to move to #4 in the BCS standings. I had a chance to see TCU earlier this year when they visited Death Valley and handed my Tigers a loss. Let me tell you, they are the real deal. Quarterback Andy Dalton is the real deal and has the HornedFrogs rolling. This game may be in Forth Worth but Utah is very familiar with TCU and ended the Frogs’ hopes at a BCS birth a year ago. TCU will win this game, but not by 20 points.

PICK: UTAH

This is an abbreviated version of Brown’s Pick for Football this week. Check back later tonight for my run-down of some of the big basketball games this weekend.

GO TIGERS!!!

Kentucky vs. Eastern Kentucky

Eastern Kentucky is celebrating 100 years of football this season. The first 100 years has surprisingly only featured two matchups all-time against their neighbors 20 miles up the road in Lexington. Unfortunately for EKU, those 2 matchups were against Tim Couch in 1998 and Andre Woodson in 2007 and the Cats combined to win both games for a score of 102-17.

The Colonels (5-3, 3-2 OVC) are trying to make it a 31st consecutive winning season, one of the longest streaks in the nation at any level. Their goal is to also win the school's 21st OVC Championship and third straight trip to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. They've won two FCS National Championships under legendary coach Roy Kidd in 1979 and 1982. Before the FCS Playoffs were established, the Colonels made appearances in the Rice Bowl and the Tangerine Bowl (winning the Rice Bowl). Danny Hope succeeded Roy Kidd at Eastern and now is the head coach at Purdue, with a win over Ohio State already on his resume. Former Wake Forest Defensive Coordinator, Dean Hood, is now the head boss in Richmond.

In the glory days of EKU football under Kidd, the Colonels were probably the best team in the state in many of those years. In 1982, when Kentucky was 0-10-1 and Eastern was 13-0 and the FCS National Champions, it likely would have been a very embarrassing loss for the Cats that year. They never faced the Cats in that era, but the Colonels did put a 45-21 thumping on Louisville in 1985 and you could say it's questionable as to what the result would be this year if the Colonels had another shot at UofL.

They opened up this season in Bloomington against Big Ten foe Indiana, and scared the Hoosiers to death as they escaped with a 19-13 win against EKU. Down 19-10 at halftime, the Colonels outplayed the Hoosiers in the 2nd half. They only allowed one IU first down in all of the 3rd quarter. Late in the 4th quarter, the Colonels had the ball inside the 5 yard line about to score and take the lead, before fumbling on 2nd and goal.

Although the Colonels are rich in history and tradition, this year's matchup faces a Kentucky program that is building some tradition of their own as they look to win their 4th straight bowl game this season. Three weeks ago, the Cats had a huge win on the road at Auburn. They followed it up with an easy win over Louisiana Monroe before losing a close battle at home with Mississippi State, a game the Cats feel they let slip away. Now, the Cats are angry at themselves and wanting to get back on track, which is not good news for EKU. Their goal is to win out and finish 8-4 and play in a warm temperature bowl game for the first time since 1998 when Tim Couch led the Cats to the Outback Bowl against Penn State. They know that all their dreams and aspirations of playing on New Years Day will not be possible with a loss on Saturday. Coach Brooks has talked this week about taking it one game at a time the rest of the way. There is no margin of error, and with Georgia and Tennessee still on the schedule, losing to EKU would be a disaster.

For EKU, on the other hand, the game is all about pride. Eastern's roster includes 29 players from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, many of whom probably were snubbed by UK in the recruiting process. EKU's goal remains the same: win an OVC Championship. The UK game has absolutely no impact on the Colonels' goal of winning the OVC and getting a third straight automatic birth to the FCS Playoffs, however, it would absolutely make their season if they pulled off the upset in Commonwealth.

In the end, I see UK winning this game fairly easily but closer than the last two times the schools have met. UK needs this game more than EKU does as far as their post-season aspirations are concerned. Despite battling injuries and the flu bug this week, the Cats should have the proper focus after losing last week to avoid it getting too close as they will comfortably extend the 2nd longest non-conference winning streak in the nation. They know they need this game, and they'll take care of business as they make it to a fourth straight bowl win. Eastern will appreciate the experience, learn from it, move on, and hopefully win a third straight OVC Championship. That would be a win-win situation for an EKU Alum and lifelong Cats fan.