Spicy McHaggis

Here's my analysis... Coaching: Pete Carroll versus Mack Brown should be interesting to see. There's a lot of counter-talk to the argument that giving Carroll a month to prepare is a huge advantage for SC. Some say that Mack Brown is a good coach and that his month to prepare will even the odds. But I point to Bob Stoops and the result of last year's championship game. I think Stoops is 10x the coach that Brown is, and what happened? USC laid 55 points on OU's vaunted defense. Personnel wise, Texas is the better defensive team. But combine the coaching of Pete Carroll with the oft-cited "month to prepare" and I think SC's defense should pull even with the Longhorns. The offenses are a different story, however, and I think Texas probably will bring an element that USC hasn't seen. The loss of Norm Chow is still a concern for me, but I believe the quantity, as well as the quality, of weapons at the disposal of the Trojan's offensive coaches should offset that. I give the coaching edge to USC. Special Teams: I have to be fair here and admit that I have not seen much of Texas's special teams. However, with Reggie Bush as a return man, it's easy to give the offensive side of special teams to USC. The first thing Texas should do, is not kick it to him. Also, and as much as I'd hate to see it, the Longhorns could go the cheap way and do what Troy Polamalu did to a Kansas State return man when I was a freshman... punt one high and spear him in the chin. I have watched enough of the Trojans special teams' coverage unit to give the defensive side to Texas. Covering kicks is a real weakness for USC and UT will need to exploit it if they want to win. Special teams are even. Defense: The Trojans will have some work to do on defense if they hope to control the game. They have three vulnerabilities that I think Texas needs to attack. Even with the Ohio State game, I think the Longhorns schedule strength is suspect. However, you don't go undefeated without having the right tools. So they need to use their bruisers and hit SC with a steady diet of runs up the middle. The Trojans may be weaker on defense than last season, but they are still quick. Going up the middle is the first way to counter that. The next way is to take advantage of their eagerness... and that is where Vince Young can break loose. The best side on which to break him loose is that of USC's defensive end Frostee Rucker. When he is excited, he breaks containment big-time. I know it will take him at least a quarter and a half to settle down. The Longhorns need to get off to a quick start. The final exploit should occur against SC's corners... Texas should test them deep as much as possible. Comparing the two defenses, I think Texas is better. Offense: As good as Vince Young, the nation's leader in pass efficiency, and his teammates, leaders in points per game, are on offense, the USC Trojans are better. Young has the numbers, but I say that Matt Leinart is the better quarterback. Now why is that? Physically, Leinart is better mechanically. He can make all the throws, and make them with pinpoint precision. Now, he was shaky to start the UCLA game. And a Vince Young proponent can say, yes he may have a sidearm delivery but if it ain't broke don't fix it. However, in a huge game like this nerves become a factor. Good mechanics limit the impact of nervousness because it is easy to see what, in the throwing motion, is wrong and how to fix it. Mentally, Leinart is head and shoulders above Young in terms of reading defenses. Leinart is also far more battle tested. Two previous national championships, huge battles with Cal, and the game of the century at Notre Dame. Matt Leinart has the edge. But he is only the start of the Trojans weapons. That's one Heisman winner and then we go to this year's winner Reggie Bush. But everyone knows what he can do, and there's no way to stop him. Then there is Lendale White... I believe he will be a factor because the best way to defend Texas is to keep Vince Young off the field, and you do that by grinding it out. Next, you've got Dwayne Jarrett an all-star receiver. We are already quite deep into the attack of USC and we haven't even talked about one of the best offensive lines in the country. I didn't even mention Steve Smith, their other near-thousand yard wide receiver. I believe he will have a huge impact just as he did in last year's championship. There are so many weapons Texas has to account for, they're bound to not be prepared for one of them. Don't forget about the tight ends, including Dominique Byrd, or the fullbacks catching passes out of the backfield. Texas will bring an offense to the table that USC has not seen, yes the Trojans stopped Oregon (in that game, the Ducks ran a similar attack). But Clemens, the Oregon quarterback, is not Vince Young. As good as the Longhorns are, the offensive edge has to go to USC. Texas is great at every offensive position... the Trojans are simply greater. Intangibles: The three main personalities, Vince Young, Reggie Bush, and Matt Leinart all have something in common. They all have the experience of showing off their individual prowess in the Rose Bowl by beating up on Michigan. However, the experience advantage goes to USC because they have simply been in the national title picture much longer than the Texas players. And the Trojans didn't just survive the other championship games, they controlled and dominated them. I also think USC has a schedule strength advantage, but once that first-quarter starts it really does not matter. It's just about these two, awesome, undefeated football teams. Intangibles I give to the Trojans. Prediction: Texas is simply better defensively. Special teams are a push. USC takes the edge in coaching, on offense, and in intangibles. I think this game will stay exciting for quite a while, and I think that the Texas Longhorns will be the best opponent the Trojans have faced in quite some time. Outside of the Notre Dame game this year, this game is one of the most anticipated I have seen. I think Texas will have some success evidenced by some big plays early in the game. I think Vince Young will have a spectacular first half. But I also think the Trojans will pull away in the third quarter, scoring 17, maybe 21 points. I see too many weapons for USC and too much of a coaching edge. My prediction is: The USC Trojans 45-24.

Man, you sure kicked my ass Marvin. Congrats.

What do you mean by "differently" and "in a good way"?

You guys all have a special after-Christmas gift coming your way next week: I, Spicy McHaggis, 5th Year Junior at the University of Southern California, will present my analysis of the 2006 Rose Bowl. Don't be afraid to admit it... I know you can't wait.

Is the teaser the same thing as the Season 5 Prequel that is in the special features disc of the Season 4 DVD set? I am so pumped for this season, the commercials make it look insane! Jack is back... from the dead!

We'll see about that!

Yeah, both of the last two theories are well thought and sort of make sense, but I won't buy either of them. I also agree that a memory altering scenario would feel too much like a ripoff. And the other theory that was posted from the other board just seems too complex. I can't really see myself getting into something involving a collective consciousness...

Anybody have a comment on the Gold Car Theory I posted at the bottom of page 98? I'm also still failing to understand the connection between the EMF and the blast doors... is it that ? The people theorizing the fact that time is being messed around definitely have to be onto something. I was just thinking about the last episode... Kate has to be around, what, 24 or 25 years old? Well, when she went to her dad, were they not talking about his involvement in the Korean War, or was it just that he was stationed in Korea? We could have a real interesting clue if it's the former.

At the risk of sounding like a dumbass, what's the conclusion? I REALLY enjoyed last night's episode, and the fact that the Black Stallion was real lends more credence to, what I like to call, the Gold Car Theory. Some of you may have heard of it before, but I'll sum it up anyway. If you remember from Season 1, a gold sedan appeared in at least three different flashbacks, having a major effect on the events of each character. The ones I can remember are: 1. The gold car that hit Michael 2. The gold car that was in the parking lot where Locke worked 3. The gold car that stopped Kate in her getaway Season 2 has allowed us to add Desmond and now the Black Stallion to the list of devices that have been used to bring the Lostaways together on the island. The fact that Desmond was wearing a Dharma shirt when he met Jack and that the Initiative deals in zoology leads me to believe that everything HAS happened for a reason. Not a spiritual reason. A literal one. The question is... what do you think?

I'm totally with RRR and the rest of the pro-flashback crew... flashbacks are a KEY PREMISE to the show. They should be and will be here to the end. Honestly, you should find a new show if you don't like them. It's like saying 24 would be much better if they didn't hold to the real-time requirements. As far as Ana Lucia goes, I too cannot stand Michelle Rodríguez and her limited acting range. However, I think it's a mistake to say the character is no good because the actress sucks. Granted the character can only go so far, the actor is important, but... I think it's important not to write off AL too soon. After last week I, at least, could relate to her even if I wasn't sympathetic. The reunions were awesome as well. I loved the Bernard and Rose embrace. It was cool to see two people who believed they would survive and then find each other once again see their goal through to the end. Their tears were well earned. Jin and Sun was friggin' emotional. Question: how is Ecko spelled officially?

FRIDAY Arizona State Colorado SATURDAY N.C. State UAB Tennessee Iowa State Mississippi Memphis Louisiana-Monroe Florida State San Jose State Georgia Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Nebraska/Colorado game? 50 Tiebreak #2: How many yards passing will Florida's Chris Leak have against Florida State? 188

SATURDAY Missouri Boston College Virginia Tech Central Michigan Minnesota Oklahoma Purdue Michigan Oklahoma State BYU Washington State Auburn Marshall California South Carolina Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Ohio State/Michigan game? 44 Tiebreak #2: How many rushing yards will Washington State's Jerome Harrison have against Washington? 100

Have you ever smelled a baby? Locke's right.

THURSDAY Fresno State SATURDAY North Carolina Arkansas Missouri Nebraska Boston College South Carolina Central Michigan Virginia LSU Central Florida Oregon State Iowa State Georgia Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Boise State/Fresno State game? 77 Tiebreak #2: How many rushing yards will Auburn's Kenny Irons have against Georgia? 87

THURSDAY Louisville FRIDAY Ohio SATURDAY Northwestern North Carolina Nebraska Northern Illinois Eastern Michigan Iowa State Wake Forest Wyoming Wisconsin California Arizona State Central Florida Virginia Tech Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Pittsburgh/Louisville game? 47 Tiebreak #2: How many total yards will Penn State's Michael Robinson have against Wisconsin? 117

Starks took the words right out of my mouth. For anybody that feels burned by Alias... Damon Lindelof is the true creator and lead writer of Lost. JJ Abrams was asked by ABC for a pilot and he championed Lindelof. You can hear all of this on the bonus features of the DVDs. With regard to Ethan... does anybody else think he may have some relation to Desmond? I've been wondering if the needle he tried to use on Claire in season 1 was an attempt at inoculating her and her baby. Thinking back to Hurley's episode, if you do the math the food supply would have been originally scheduled to run out 3 months from the time it was discovered. How will it be replenished, and who will be doing the replenishing?

THURSDAY Boston College FRIDAY New Mexico SATURDAY Clemson Minnesota Oklahoma Syracuse Kansas East Carolina BYU Florida Northwestern Kentucky Marshall Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Boston College/Virginia Tech game? 45 Tiebreak #2: How many yards rushing will Northwestern's Tyrell Sutton have against Michigan? 134

THURSDAY Virginia Tech FRIDAY UAB SATURDAY Michigan State Virginia Wake Forest Iowa Missouri Texas A&M Mississippi Rutgers Texas Tennessee Vanderbilt Auburn Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Virginia Tech/Maryland game? 54 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Texas Tech's Cody Hodges have against Texas? 314

THURSDAY Clemson FRIDAY UTEP SATURDAY Minnesota Michigan State Ohio Northwestern Iowa State East Carolina Penn State USC LSU Louisville Memphis Nebraska Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the UTEP/Tulane game? 62 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst have against N.C. State? 227

THURSDAY Georgia Tech FRIDAY Connecticut SATURDAY Indiana Minnesota Oklahoma Air Force Missouri TCU Georgia Nebraska Louisville Iowa Utah Texas A&M California Penn State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the N.C. State/Georgia Tech game? 63 Tiebreak: #2: How many rushing yards will Syracuse's Damien Rhodes have against Connecticut? 92

FRIDAY Rutgers SATURDAY Michigan State Virginia Tech Navy Utah Eastern Michigan Minnesota USC Iowa State Florida Oregon State Oklahoma New Mexico State Notre Dame Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Pittsburgh/Rutgers game? 31 Tiebreak #2: How many yards passing will USC's Matt Leinart have against Arizona State? 340

Who else can't wait?!

THURSDAY Utah SATURDAY Northwestern Minnesota North Carolina Ohio State Clemson Wyoming Western Michigan Georgia Tech Colorado State Wisconsin Memphis USC LSU Tulane Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Air Force/Utah game? 51 Tiebreak #2: How many total yards will Virginia Tech's Marcus Vick have against Georgia Tech? 185

THURSDAY TCU FRIDAY UTEP SATURDAY Louisville Maryland Mississippi Air Force Notre Dame Oklahoma South Carolina Miami of Ohio Middle Tennessee State Wisconsin North Texas Fresno State Boston College Florida Clemson Mississippi State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Houston/UTEP game? 49 Tiebreak #2: How many rushing yards will Utah's Quinton Ganther have against TCU? 90

Friday Washington State Saturday Marshall Clemson Notre Dame Air Force Iowa Northwestern Eastern Michigan Stanford Boise State Wake Forest North Texas Texas Arizona State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Washington State/Nevada game? 45 Tiebreak #2: How many total yards will Texas' Vince Young have against Ohio State? 295