College Football Week Nine Review: Cheerleader Edition

This is the week in college football where the cheerleaders are not the only ones scantily dressed and ready for a good time. Halloween falls on a Saturday night this year, which means raucous costume parties starting at Thirsty Thursday and lasting all the way through gameday. If your team takes home a victory, expect those costumes to be reduced to mere threads covering up our favorite spots.

Week Nine looks to provide plenty of good matchups on the field as well within the upper echelon of the BCS standings. With two matchups within the top ten (an SEC battle between No. 2 and No. 9 and a Pac-10 matchup fo No. 5 and No. 10), and another within the top 15 (Big 12 powerhouses at No. 3 and No. 14), we look around and wonder why Iowa is the only Big Ten team being represented here in A-List Halloween edition of the NCAA football preview.

No. 1 Florida (7-0) vs. Georgia (4-3)

Saturday, Oct. 31, 3:30 p.m. EST CBS (HD) / Online

There’s nothing like the world’s biggest cocktail party, especially with the Gators are hanging on to their perfect season by the thread of an SEC referee in their own back pocket. Oops, did I say that out loud? The Bulldogs will have to count on a huge game from wideout A.J. Green in order to beat this powerful Florida team with full backing of the conference.

No. 2 Alabama

bye week

After stealing the win last week from Tennessee, Alabama should be happy they have a by week this time around, just so they can hold on to that #2 slot for a little bit longer. (Because a little bit longer is all they’ve got…)

No. 3 Texas (7-0) at No. 14 Oklahoma State (6-1)

Saturday, Oct. 31, 8:00 p.m. EST (ABC or ESPN2) (HD) / ESPN-GP

This will be the toughest test of the season for the Texas Longhorns as they take on the Cowboys this Saturday night in Boone Pickens Stadium. Colt McCoy will soar past the 2000 yard mark on the year in this showdown and a monster game could get his roommate Jordan Shipley past the 1000 yard mark in receiving yards (currently at 713…yes, I said MONSTER game).

No. 4 Iowa (8-0) vs. Indiana (4-4)

Saturday, Oct. 31, 12:00 p.m. EST ESPN (HD)

The shifty Hawkeyes continued their magical season with another nail-biting win over the Spartans at Michigan State last week. Ricky Stanzi hopes to steamroll through the Hoosiers this weekend and get Iowa one step closer to their virtual BCS-game showdown at Ohio State on November 14th.

No. 5 USC (6-1) at No. 10 Oregon (6-1)

Saturday, Oct. 31, 8:00 p.m. EST (ABC or ESPN2) (HD) / ESPN-GP

Somehow a ho-hum home win over Oregon State got the Trojans a free pass to leapfrog Cincinnati and Boise State in the BCS rankings, but this week’s matchup will be the one really makes a statement about this team. Oregon has been a dangerous place for visitors, and USC has a lot to prove after a not-so-dominant first half of the season.

No. 6 TCU (7-0) vs. UNLV (3-5)

Saturday, Oct. 31, 4:00 p.m. EST Versus (HD)

Along with USC, TCU also leapfrogged the two surprising squads from Boise and Cincy, but this Horned Frogs team looks awesome. They shattered the then-ranked No. 16 BYU team on the road behind a stellar performance from quarterback Andy Dalton (241 yards, 3 TD). This week they rest up with a home game against a UNLV team that yielded 559 yards on the ground to Nevada…

No. 7 Boise State (7-0) vs. San Jose State (1-5)

Saturday, Oct. 31, 3:00 p.m. EST ESPN-GP

Boise State flies all the way out to Hawaii and absolutely shatters the Warriors in their own backyard and what do they get? They fall back three spaces in the BCS. Ludicrous. Expect a 60-point victory this week.

No. 8 Cincinnati (7-0) at Syracuse (3-4)

Saturday, Oct. 31, 12:00 p.m. EST ESPNU (HD)

The Bearcats have been impressive all season and still are not getting the proper respect they deserve. They, too, have fallen three spots after annihilating Louisville by a 41-10 score last week, and this week will travel to upstate New York to continue their quest for a BCS bid in the Big East.