TUCFC: 2015 Week 8

Texas Christian (9 TUCFC) defended the TUCFC with a 45-21 win over Iowa State (77). Next they play West Virginia (46) on a Thursday night the 29th.

With Michigan (6) blowing their win in dramatic fashion to Michigan State (10) we have a new number 1 team according to the TUCFC power rating, Utah.  Utah travels to USC (44) this weekend and so far being the number one rated TUCFC team has not done teams any favors, so could we see an upset?

But week 8 in the 2015 college football season is all about one game.  At 7pm on Saturday, October 24th Western Kentucky (27) goes to Baton Rouge to take on LSU (4).  The SEC has struggled this year out of conference so we have to hope for the best for Western.  GO TOPS!!

Games to Watch This Week

Temple (6-0) at East Carolina (4-3)
     So the AAC has 3 undefeated teams:  Houston (24), Memphis (12), and Temple (20).  Memphis this past weekend pounded Mississippi (14), so the AAC at this point has to be considered for putting a team in the playoff.  Assuming one of them comes out undefeated and other teams all have multiple losses.  At this point the AAC just needs these undefeated teams to keep winning.  This will be a fun one to watch on a Thursday night.

Georgia Southern (5-1) at Appalachian State (5-1)
     We have these two teams also on Thursday night fighting it out for the top on the Sun Belt conference.  Appalachian State (23) has adjusted well to the FBS.

Western Kentucky (6-1) at LSU (6-0)
     I don't know a lot about Western Kentucky football history.  They have only played for the TUCFC once in 2007.  Outside of that I don't know what their big football moments are, they have been more of a basketball power.  But if they could pull off the upset in LSU on Saturday, well that would probably become their biggest moment.


TUCFC Power Rating

Rank	Team	Record	WP	WDiffP	LP	LDiffP	Power
1	Utah	6-0	159.344	261.150	0.000	0.000	420.494
2	Ohio State	7-0	121.969	265.725	0.000	0.000	387.694
3	Iowa	7-0	116.938	244.063	0.000	0.000	361.000
4	Louisiana State	6-0	134.000	218.513	0.000	0.000	352.513
5	Alabama	6-1	113.875	266.463	4.250	28.250	347.838
6	Michigan	5-2	106.000	250.200	2.500	11.000	342.700
7	Florida	6-1	111.469	229.038	1.000	7.000	332.506
8	Baylor	6-0	44.531	284.550	0.000	0.000	329.081
9	Texas Christian	7-0	83.344	242.250	0.000	0.000	325.594
10	Michigan State	7-0	128.000	194.825	0.000	0.000	322.825

Top KY Team

27

Western Kentucky

6-1

42.875

196.100

10.563

42.000

186.413

Thankfully, the Angels Lost, Too

So, ...

I don't know about the Oakland players, but I, for one A, am happy to have today off from a game. This is an intense race for the American League West Division pennant, and a grizzled (literally, in my case) veteran like me needs more rest than does, say, one of our babe-in-the-woods brothers-in-arms such as Billy Burns.

I found it amazing to learn the other day that Billy Burns, 24-year-old from Marietta, Ga., is the first rookie to play for the A's all this fantastic season. He debuted earlier this week in the Houston series (which didn't go that great; Oakland lost two of three and had to rally from 4-1 down in the ninth to win one). 

Billy Burns was born Aug. 30, 1989. On Aug. 30, 1989, I had just turned 21 years old, had just finished a summer internship at The Courier-Journal and was just getting back to WKU for my senior year as editor of the College Heights Herald. Let me tell you; I thought I was a big shot. I'm sure Billy Burns feels like a big shot now. Of course, he feels like a big shot--he's a freaking Major League Baseball player with the freaking Oakland A's, battling for the freaking American League West pennant. Billy Burns is a big shot. I don't know what else I want to say about that--other than that I hope he enjoys it, that I hope he receives it gracefully (more gracefully than did 21-year-old I, when I was only feeling like a big shot) and that I hope he receives it gracefully, too, whenever, inevitably, his plans are changed.

At the time his picture was snapped for this 1969 baseball card, Hank Bauer would have been 46, the age I am getting ready to turn this weekend. And here's Joe Rudi, who was 22.