Great slate of games in week

LUCAS Wow. It seems like it's only been a couple of months since we did Game Time Weekly, and it's been nine. I'm glad it's back.

For you GTW old-timers, you know that here in this column, basically tell who I think will do well in our games we've selected this week. For you newcomers, what I do is take the games of which we've tried to pick the winners (on page 7) and analyze them just a bit — factors we don't always mention in game stories, interesting little tidbits, and even a little bit of humor.

Please take the prognostication part with a grain of salt. If I don't pick your team to win and they do, please try to refrain from calling me on Monday and verbally taking me to task. A lot of what we say in this column is in good fun. Present five dollars and this column at Starbucks and you'll get a 12- ounce half-caff, half-decaff breakfast blend, with a pinch of cinnamon and a twist of lemon, better known to the rest of us as that proverbial cup of coffee.

On to the "analysis." But first: our ratings system.

• Five asterisks (*****): One of those games we'll be talking about for years to come, one that, as I've said before, when it comes up in conversation, people will claim to have been there, an all-time great.

• Four (****): One of those games we'll think about when we talk about the 2008 season, one that comes right down to the wire and has a fantastic finish.

• Three (***): A very good competitive game for much of the contest, even if there was an overwhelming favorite coming in.

• Two (**): The game is fairly competitive — within a touchdown or 10 points — for at least three quarters, enough to hold your interest.

• One (*): Here, there's an overwhelming favorite, and little favorite will be knocked off, but you've got to watch football, and it's the only game in town.

• Zero (DUD): STAY AWAY.

This weekend's Hallsville (****): When I talked with Kilgore coach Mike Vallery on Wednesday morning, the main thing he emphasized to me was how much the Hallsville offense resembled Kilgore's. Last week, the Bobcats' result looked like a Kilgore result: 42-7 Hallsville, heavy on the running game, good defense and shutting down an opponent in an entire half of football.

Here's a statistic you probably won't find anywhere else. Dating back to the beginning of the 2005 season, Kilgore has gone 15-2 in road games, with the two losses both coming last season: a wet, messy game at Nacogdoches that could have gone either way, and the playoff loss to Highland Park at Rose Stadium in Tyler. If you throw the 2004 season in the mix, where KHS went 11-0 on the road, the Bulldogs have gone a staggering 26-2 on the road over the last three seasons, coming into this first road game.

If they can slow Hallsville's offense, I think 27-2 is on the horizon Friday night.

• Overton at Union Grove (***): Last weekend, the Overton Mustangs probably walked off their home field thinking they should have beaten Ore City.

They were probably right. But they couldn't protect the lead late in the game, and the Rebels scored with just over two minutes left. If you take out the four turnovers, Overton is probably 1-0 going into this game with a good chance of going 2-0.

At any rate, Ty Robinson should get his first win as Overton's head football coach this weekend.

• Troup at Sabine (**): It's tough being a Sabine football fan right now. But look at it this way, Sabine fans: the best days are yet to come.

Sabine has played only one game. There's plenty of time to right the ship until district play begins. Coach Jerry Baker, his coaching staff, and the SISD administration are committed to building this program over the long haul, and that's what it's going to take. I don't look for Sabine to upset Troup, but maybe being at home for the first time this season will give the Cardinals a little extra juice.

• West Rusk at T.K. Gorman (*): If I'm on the West Rusk football schedule this year, I'm probably not too happy about it. The Raiders are strong on both lines, at tailback, and just about everywhere. I could actually see them getting to District 19-2A play (at home against Elkhart on Oct. 10) unbeaten.

• Henderson at Carthage (****): This one gets four asterisks based on Carthage quarterback S'Darius Blackshire playing, which I also based my page-7 pick on. I heard after the game at Kilgore last week a diagnosis that Blackshire had a knee injury. With Blackshire, Carthage is very, very dangerous. Without him, though, it's going to be tough going.

• Sulphur Springs at Whitehouse (****): Should be an entertaining game, but probably not a lot of defense going on. These two quarterbacks (Brady Attaway of Whitehouse and Tylik Rollison of SS) threw for a combined 7,900 yards last season. I think we could be talking a basketball score here. Whitehouse needs to realize there's no law against playing defense. In my humble opinion, they do play enough on Friday to escape with a win, and avoid an 0-2 start.

This week's college games:

• Tyler Junior College at Kilgore College (****): The Rangers will have to play much better this week to avoid their own 0-2 start to 2008. Fort Scott gave a good but not great performance last week (unless you count that receiver, who had four touchdown catches). TJC beat Independence, a far lesser Kansas opponent. If KC head coach J.J. Eckert has both LaRon Elmer and Cornelius Shackleford available out of the backfield (Shack was on the sidelines last week), this one could be a different story. The quarterbacks and offensive line are going to have to step it up, though.

• Texas at UTEP (****): You never, ever know when the upset bug is going to fly out of nowhere and bite you. If you did, there'd be no upsets. I don't think this one is it although I could see UTEP being pesky for a while. KHS has three former players in this game: Eddie Jones (DE), Britt Mitchell and Michael Huey (offensive linemen) all play for UT.

• Texas A&M at New Mexico (***): If the Aggies lose this one, first-year head coach Mike Sherman should probably not get on the plane ride home. Ryan Whitmer, a former KHS offensive lineman, is on the A&M roster.

• Texas Tech at Nevada (*): Looking at Texas Tech's offensive potential and the crazy numbers put up by quarterback Graham Harrell in coach Mike Leach's offense, you might actually start thinking that Nevada has no chance. You'd just about be right.

• Stephen F. Austin at TCU (**): Hey, two more Bulldogs in this one: Nick Sanders (CB) and Wayne Daniels (DE) both play for the Horned Frogs, who got a win last week and will probably beat the Lumberjacks for another victory on Saturday.

• Miami at Florida (**): My, how times have changed. If we could take the 1991 versions of both of these programs and put them on the field, we'd have a very competitive game. But Miami head coach Randy Shannon, in his second year, has got quite the rebuilding project on his hands. On the flip side, Florida QB Tim Tebow might be my favorite player to watch in college football. He's the complete package.

I can't see how Miami can slow the Gators — like UF big here, maybe by three touchdowns.

This weekend's NFL games:

• Dallas at Cleveland (****): Yes, you DO see four asterisks beside this game. Provided the Browns play at least as well as they did last season, Tony Romo and the Cowboys will have a tough opponent on Sunday for the season opener. I don't know that that's a bad thing. If Dallas wants to be playoff-tested late in the season, here's a fine test, and it's early. I do look for the Cowboys to eke out a win, though. I'd be shocked if Cleveland were able to pull the upset. If that happens, remember this name: Braylon Edwards.

• Houston at Pittsburgh (****): Back when "Saturday Night Live" began in 1975, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, John Belushi and company were known affectionately as the "Not-Ready- For-Prime-Time Players." That might have been a good alter-ego for the Texans. But I think they could actually have a fairly good season. This one could be close.

• Washington at New York Giants (tonight; ****): There are a few closet Redskins fans around here (you know who you are, Frank, and you, too, Michael). I'd love to make the upset pick for you, particularly because the Giants that we knew last year won't be represented here tonight. Not in the game tonight will b Super Bowl hero WR David Tyree (injured), defensive end Osi Umenyiora (knee; out for the season), and defensive end Michael Strahan (retired), among others. But I think the Giants are still a playoff team, and should win tonight.

• Denver at Oakland (***): The Raiders are rebuilding. Seems like we say that every year. But RB Darren McFadden, an unbelievable talent from Arkansas, should be good for Oakland for some time to come, as should big quarterback Jamarcus Russell. They've got a "Monday Night Football" game with the Broncos, who I think are a Super Bowl favorite.

• Minnesota at Green Bay (***): I'm not in love with the Vikings like seemingly everyone else. I know they've got RB Adrian Peterson and a very good defense. I'm just not sold whatsoever on their quarterback situation, and the NFL is a quarterback-driven league.

I don't like the way Brett Favre left Green Bay, and it pains me to do it, but I think the Packers take this win, their first since 1992 without Favre in the lineup.