2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 11

Aug. 2, 2007

By Adam Caparell

CSTV.com

	ADAM CAPARELL Adam is CSTV.com's football editor and national football writer. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- FOOTBALL 01/23: Feeling It 01/18: Post-Bowl, Pre-Spring 2008 Preseason Top 25 01/11: Late Season Run Priming Dawgs For '08 01/07: Ring A Bell? 01/04: Tressel's Hopefully Prepared For Anything 12/21: Hokies Have Something To Play For 12/14: Name Game 12/8: Little Surprise Tebow Takes Heisman 12/8: Back For More 12/7: Class Act 12/6: Flutie's Legacy Still The 'Miracle' 12/4: Dixon Can Still Smile 12/2: Wishful Thinking 11/30: Daniel Driving Missouri On BCS Run 11/28: 'Game' Still Largely Defines Beban 11/23: Long Time Coming 11/21: Bandstanding Brown 11/16: Georgia In The Know 11/14: Only Eddie Held Eddie Back 11/9: Soft Schedule Could Have Hawai'i BCS Bound 11/7: The 'Bear' And Crow 11/2: No Secret To Oregon's Success 10/31: Age Only A Number 10/26: Nittany Lions Know It's Got To Be Close 10/24: In Long Line, White Continued Tradition 10/19: Trojans In Unfamiliar Territory 10/17: Rogers Larger Than Life 10/12: Missouri The Machine 10/10: The Jet Likes To Run 10/5: Meyer's Seen This Before 10/4: Polled Over 10/3: Long On Memories 9/28: Season Begins For Dixon And Ducks Saturday 9/26: Desmond The Poser 9/21: Spurrier's Being Honest 9/19: All In The Family With Rozier 9/14: USC Ready For Another Early Road Test 9/12: Detmer's Magic Won Him Heisman 9/7: 'Show' Time For Virginia Tech 9/5: Drive Drove Dorsett 8/31: Family Affair 8/29: Count On The Gamecocks To Hatch 8/28: Youth Gone Wild On Gator Defense 8/28: Talent Comes Naturally To Tigers 8/27: SEC Preview 8/27: All Hail Saban 8/25: No More Lazy Sundays 8/24: Illinois D Brimming With New Confidence 8/23: Big Ten Preview 8/23: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 14 8/22: Tee'd Off 8/16: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 13 8/15: Brohm's Back, And All Is Well 8/15: Coaches Split On Early Signing Period 8/14: Schiano's Success Starting to Show 8/13: Big East Preview 8/13: It's Not About Respect With Leavitt And USF 8/11: Production Time for Seminole Signal Callers 8/10: Shannon Looking To Return Swagger 8/10: Wake Up? 8/9: Atlantic Coast Conference Preview 8/9: Tough Turkeys, Once Again 8/9: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 12 8/8: Preseason Top 25 8/2: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 11 8/1: Big Ten Expansion Doesn't Make Sense 7/26: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 10 7/25: Beamer's Burden 7/19: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 9 7/18: Good Vibrations 7/12: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 6 7/11: Three and Up 7/4: And The Winner Is... 7/2: Where In The World Is Ed Smith? 6/28: SEC East's Big Weekend 6/27: Summer Bowl Forecast 6/21: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 5 6/20: Big 12 Loses Its Big Man 6/14: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 4 6/13: Trick Up His Sleeve 6/7: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 3 6/6: For the Record 5/31: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 2 5/30: Like Clockwork 5/24: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 1 5/23: Florida Freshmen Get Defensive 5/16: Maroon Affected 5/10: Brennan's A Numbers Guy 5/9: More Than Just One Play 5/2: Post-Spring, Pre-Preseason Top 25 4/27: Quinn's Fallen, But He'll Still Be Up There 4/26: Size Does Matter 4/25: Troy Smith Now Middle of Pack QB 4/24: Peterson Can't Wait For The Moment 4/21: QB Biggest Question Facing Buckeyes 4/21: Don't Forget About The D 4/20: Bowl Game A Boon For Bluegrass Boys 4/19: The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall 4/18: New Coordinator, New Scheme, New Results? 4/18: Earlier The Better 4/17: It's Your Turn Offense 4/16: Spartans Hope Big Changes Go Long Way 4/14: Defense The Question Mark For Michigan 4/12: Height's Nothing But A Number 4/5: Two Much To Handle 3/28: More To Hill Than Just TDs 3/21: Down Could Mean Up For Delaware's Patrick 3/14: Changes In Store For Gill and Buffalo 3/7: Lurking In the Backgroung 2/28: What A Mock-ery 2/25: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same 2/24: Piscataway Proud 2/23: 40, For Better or Worse 2/22: The Ultimate Q and A 2/21: Combine's A Coming 2/14: Rights For Recruiting Wrongs 2/8: Recruiting No Joke For Coaches 2/6: Lemming Retrospect: Class of 2006 1/31: Coker In No Rush To Move On 1/30: Ross Bows Out, But Leaves His Mark At Army 1/26: Seniors With Something To Prove 1/25: Coaching For The League 1/24: Welcome To The Pros 1/17: Pre-Spring, Post-Bowl 2007 Preseason Top 25 1/10: Irish Have A Ways To Go 1/8: Siler and Gators After Something More 1/4: Russell Sweeter Than Sugar 1/3: Irish Out For Respect

Over the summer, CSTV.com will be taking a look at the college football schedule, highlighting the top matchups, the can't-miss games and the storylines that make certain contests so intriguing. Check in every Thursday for the heads-up on what games are shaping up to be the best each week, the matchups that could foul up the BCS, Heisman showcases and a few others that have piqued our interest. 

We've got a weekend on our hands where the picture in several conferences should really clear up. The Big East, MWC and Pac-10 all will feature their marquee matchups this weekend between the best teams in each league.

Rivalry of the Week

Thurs., Nov. 9 - Louisville at West Virginia

The premier matchup in the Big East takes place in Morgantown on a Thursday night yet again. If the past two meetings between these two teams is any indication of what's in store for this year's version, we're in for another treat. You have three Heisman Trophy candidates going up against each other in this one with Brian Brohm squaring off against Pat White and Steve Slaton. The Cardinals got the best of the Mountaineers last year and two years ago they went to three overtimes before West Virginia emerged victorious. As has been the case with this matchup the past two years, the winner figures to be the leading candidate to take home the Big East Championship and head to the BCS.

BCS Buster of the Week

Thurs., Nov. 9 - TCU at BYU

The two best teams in the MWC meet with the conference championship on the line. TCU will rely on its running game to set up the deep ball while BYU will look to throw dink and dunk passes all night long. There are lots of changes for the Cougars this year. They're bringing in a new starting tailback and quarterback while the Horned Frogs also feature a new signal caller in Marcus Jackson who only hopes to be able to equal the success Jeff Ballard had running TCU's offense. BYU actually lost more starters than any other Top 25 team from last season. Was their unblemished run through the conference last season strictly a product of senior leadership? We may find out in this one.

Sat., Nov. 11 - USC at Cal

Over the length of USC's reign as the Pac-10's clear cut best, no other team has played the Trojans as tough as the Bears. And there's no reason why that shouldn't be the case this November. Nate Longshore and DeSean Jackson go up against that stacked USC defense. There are no holes to be found with the Trojans. From the defensive line to the secondary, USC will parade out some of the best in the nation. But shutting down the Bears is no easy task.

Sat., Nov. 11 - Florida State at Virginia Tech

The ACC Championship Game is essentially played a month early as the two best teams in the conference meet in Blacksburg. Can Drew Weatherford or Xavier Lee - whoever is the Seminoles quarterback at the time - solve the Hokies' defense, which will be just as formidable as it's been the past two seasons? Probably not, especially with all the talent coming back for the Hokies and with Weatherford still yet to solidify himself as a dependable starter.

Sat., Nov. 11 - Florida at South Carolina

Steve Spurrier came this close to beating his former team in The Swamp last year. If it wasn't for Derrick Harvey blocking an extra point and what would have been the game-winning field goal as time expired, Florida doesn't win a national championship and Spurrier has his signature, and most significant, win since he's been in Columbia. Now the Gamecocks are a year older and will be much better and Florida has all but two starters returning on defense. It still won't be easy for the Gamecocks, but the Gators can be had.

Heisman Showcase Game of the Week

Sat., Nov. 11 - Michigan at Wisconsin

The Wolverines have Mike Hart and Chad Henne while the Badgers feature P.J. Hill. Hart, who finished fifth in the Heisman voting last season, is healthy after missing all of the spring after shoulder surgery and he's added some muscle to his frame. He said he's never run faster than he did this summer and he'll need every step going up against the Badgers' defense. Hill, on the other hand, is considered a Heisman candidate - albeit a long one since he's a sophomore. The loser will in all likelihood be eliminated from the Big Ten Championship. Wisconsin historically has not had much success against Michigan - they were only 3-8 against the Wolverines in the Barry Alvarez era and were outplayed in Ann Arbor last season. Not that the Wolverines will be overlooking Wisconsin, but they get Ohio State after this one.