Saturday matches gives us our first 13 (1-3) club, those unlucky ones, and we’ll see who they are. First I would point out that called upsets of Alabama, Penn State, LSU, Georgia Tech, Miami and BYU. BYU and Georgia Tech lost. Miami cruised. The other three were in a dog fight to the end. I wish some of my underdogs would start coming through instead of just making it close. At any rate, the big upset of the day was Texas, who should no longer be ranked under any logic. But I digress. Let’s look at the unlucky 13.
1. Minnesota- these guys expected much more of themselves. They also didn’t expect to lose to an FCS team. Pretty unlucky year so far that is only going to get a whole lot more unlucky when they play a whopping 5 of their last 8 games against ranked opponents.
2. Alabama- one year removed from an undefeated regular season and they have already dropped three of their first four, with their most recent being a true heartbreaker. Just plain unlucky…or a lot worse now the Brian Kelly is gone. Speaking of…
3. Notre Dame- I wish I had paid attention to the idiotic ESPN analyst who picked Notre Dame for a BCS bowl after only losing 2 games this year. Some pre season expertise right there. Yeah, we all knew the Irish sucked and would continue to suck. And the suck will continue since Pitt, Utah and USC are all upcoming on the schedule.
4. BYU- only two teams have won 10 games or more for the last four consecutive seasons- BYU and Texas. Well, both those records could be in jeopardy this year. BYU sure won’t win 10 games, we’ll see about Texas. I think most saw the Cougar sitting 3-1 at this point, but unfortunately a lack of experience in pretty much every position has really taken its toll.
5. Washington State- perennially awful teams always want to think “this year is our year.” Many of the Washington State faithful probably shared this delusion, but I’ve got news for them, you’re going to get a lot of number ones! As in 1-11.
6. Georgia- who ever thought I would be putting these guys on this list! Truly the worst luck has shown on the Bulldogs, who really, really need AJ Green back. The latest disaster was with Mississippi State…the bulldogs who seemed to have more bite this time around.
7. San Jose State- you really have to feel for these guys. 3 of your first 4 games are against #1 Alabama, #11 Wisconsin and #13 Utah. Makes you wonder why Utah is ranked behind Wisconsin when you compare performances, but different story. The best news for the Spartans? UC Davis is coming to town. The bad news? Nevada, Boise State and Fresno State all come up the three weeks after that. Brutal. I’d say the Spartans aren’t so unlucky in their play as they are in their schedule. Could that be the hardest non-conference schedule out there?
8. Utah State- the Aggies thought they may have turned a corner this year. They almost became the second Utah school in 2 years to knock of a high ranking OU team early. Didn’t quite happen, and neither has much since. Good news? They get fellow unlucky 13 member BYU next week where someone’s fortunes will change.
9. Colorado State- the Rams have been unlucky for a long time now. Things looked great last year after they started the season beating rival Colorado. Everything has been terrible since. 1-3 might be considered lucky for this lot.
10. Florida - didn’t these guys go 12-0 just two years ago? What happened? How do you go 12-0, then 2-10? Now at 1-3 they are just hoping for some improvement on last year, which wouldn’t be much.
11. Duke- the only thing unlucky for these players is that their team name is the Duke Blue Devils. That pretty much means you are doomed to 1-3 starts for life.
12. Michigan - losing in double overtime to Tennessee must have sucked…but it sucks more knowing that you missed 5 field goals in regulation. Unluckiest…kicker…ever.
13. Bowling Green- didn’t these guys have one of the top receivers in the country last year? And go to a bowl game? Now they are labeled a patsy in our fantasy league.