2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 12

Aug. 9, 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 top offensive matchups, Heisman showcases and a few others that have piqued our interest.

At first glance of the schedule, you'd think Week 12 is the season's final breather, a weekend when the really big matchups take a break and wait until after Thanksgiving to kickoff. Then you realize you didn't look closely enough and you see just how many great games there are that will either propel a team toward a conference championship or potentially derail someone's national title hopes.

Yep, Week 12 is a pretty good one after all, especially when the premier rivalry in college football takes center stage.

Games of the Week

Sat., Nov. 17 - Louisville at South Florida

How big this game is really depends on whether Louisville can get past West Virginia unscathed nine days earlier, in their annual showdown with the Mountaineers. If so, then this will be the second of a brutal three-game stretch for the Cardinals as Rutgers looms on the horizon in the season finale Nov. 29. This one is against the Bulls, who could very easily be playing for the conference crown as well. Historically, USF has played the Cardinals tough, winning a few. National title implications could very well be a factor in this one.

Sat., Nov. 17 - Kentucky at Georgia

SEC East foes meet in Athens where chances are the Wildcats won't be gunning for the division title, but there hasn't been a year in recent memory where Kentucky's had a better chance to compete for it. The Wildcats pulled off a neat little four-point upset in last year's meeting of the two teams that snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.

Sat., Nov. 17 - Miami at Virginia Tech

If you like defense, this one is for you. Points will be at a premium in Blacksburg where the `Canes and the Hokies battle for Coastal Division supremacy in the ACC. Miami could very well be in the mix in for the division title heading into this one if Randy Shannon can find a reliable quarterback and a few dependable wide receivers. But it's going to be awfully tough to move the ball against a Tech team that's been the No. 1 defense in the nation the past two years, and seems bent on doing it a third year. And it certainly doesn't help Miami's chances that this one comes in Lane Stadium. Another one where national title implications come into play.

Sat., Nov. 17 - Boston College at Clemson

Boston College has its sights set on contending for the Atlantic Division title in the ACC, as does Clemson. But will the Tigers still be players in the division by the time this game rolls around? It remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: the Eagles have a very tough stretch to close out the season and this is their toughest test on the road in the month of November.

Heisman Showcase of the Week

Sat., Nov. 17 - Pittsburgh at Rutgers

Anyone remember what Ray Rice did against the Panthers last year? On 39 carries he single handedly defeated Pitt on the road as he rushed for 225 yards, almost out-gaining the Panthers by himself. This year's Pitt team will feature a less experienced group than what was run out there last year.

Rivalry of the Week

Sat., Nov. 17 - Ohio State at Michigan

It doesn't get much bigger than this in all of college athletics. The winningest program in college football history welcomes its arch rival to The Big House where the Wolverine senior trio of Chad Henne, Mike Hart and Jake Long try to beat the Buckeyes for the first time in four tries. Just like his players, Lloyd Carr hasn't faired very well in this game - Jim Tressel is 5-1 in the last six meetings. Do the Wolverines' national title hopes die a second straight year at the hands of the Buckeyes? And, with all the speculation about his job status and health, is this Carr's final game as coach in Michigan Stadium?