It seems trivial to pick the scores of this week’s games due to the horrific terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa.
But Conference USA, the Southeastern, Big Ten , Big 12, Mid-American, Mountain West and Western Athletic conferences decided to play the majority of their conference and non-conference home-games this week.
There are still notable games that have been postponed, including No. 6 Florida State at No. 10 Georgia Tech, No. 13 Washington at No. 1 Miami (Fla.), San Diego State at No. 21 Ohio State, Rice at No. 4 Nebraska, Stanford at San Jose State, California at Rutgers and Ohio at North Carolina State.
Vanilla Rice is 9-1 and Racy Lacy is 6-4 after two weeks.
Missouri (1-1) at MSU (1-0)
After a sloppy 35-21 win over Central Michigan, the Spartans will look to clean up their act on special teams. Missouri is rebuilding its program with rookie head coach Gary Pinkel, and it slaughtered Southwest Texas State 40-6 Saturday.
Vanilla Rice: The collective opinion among the MSU players is they would rather not play this game. But the powers that be gave the go-ahead, and to get ready for this game, the players must take their minds off of tragedy.
Fans should take the same outlook, and not be afraid to attend the game. Nothing is more American than college football and this game can be a venting outlet and patriotic gathering.
MSU 23, Missouri 13
Racy Lacy: Consider MSU’s handful of new offensive formations in last week’s win as foreplay. Count on the Spartans to get a little more freaky this Saturday
Plus, they’ve had a whole week to get their punt coverage straightened out. It should be improved - well, at least it had better be. The Tigers had two safeties and two blocked kicks against Southwest Texas.
The cross-hybrid of the mighty Jeffrey Ryan Van Smoker Dyke should lead the charge in this warm-up for the real game against Notre Dame on Sept. 22.
MSU 38, Missouri 21
Auburn (2-0) at No. 15 LSU (2-0)
It’s Tiger vs. Tiger on the gridiron in Baton Rouge, La., this weekend in what could be a key SEC conference game in the early season. Both teams are undefeated.
Vanilla Rice: To the chagrin of MSU fans, former head football coach Nick Saban has rebuilt LSU and will compete for a top spot in the Bowl Championship Series this season. LSU will come out ahead in this battle of the Tigers, giving them the nod over Auburn in the SEC.
LSU 28, Auburn 20
Racy Lacy: “Death Valley” isn’t a good place to be if you’re a Tiger or a freshman. Auburn rookie quarterback Jason Campbell will have his hands full against a squad that has averaged 24 points more than their opponents.
Saban, who’s referred to as the “complete package” on his purple Web site, www.nicksaban.net, gets the most out of his players. Expect his motivational techniques - dropping F-bombs - to help get the Tigers off to a 3-0 start for just the fifth time in 20 years.
LSU 44, Auburn 14
No. 8 Tennessee (2-0) at No. 2 Florida (2-0)
The Gators are coming off wins over Marshall and Louisiana-Monroe, but those cupcake victories weren’t enough to keep Florida atop the national polls. They’ll be looking to prove something against the Volunteers, but the Vols are still seething over last year’s controversial finish in Knoxville.
Vanilla Rice: Even though it has one of the best defenses in the nation, I still think Tennessee is overrated at No. 8. The Gators are really big and really strong. I like them. A lot. Maybe too much.
Florida 37, Tennessee 17
Racy Lacy: Although the Volunteers have lost the last seven meetings in Gainesville, this will be “The Big Payback.”
These Volunteers are jacked up, especially since they had to endure a crappy call in last year’s 27-23 loss - a three-yard touchdown pass to Jabbar Gaffney with 14 seconds remaining. Plus, who doesn’t get fired up to play the ever-so-cocky Steve Spurrier. I have plenty of suggestions as to what he can do with that ego and that dorky visor.
Tennessee 37, Florida 31
No. 23 Notre Dame (0-1) at Purdue (1-0)
Notre Dame was embarrassed on national TV - the Irish’s second home - by Nebraska on Saturday. In a battle for Indiana supremacy, the Irish will take on a well-rested Purdue team that hasn’t played since a sloppy 19-14 victory at Cincinnati on Sept. 2.
Vanilla Rice: Notre Dame is going to bounce back after getting lashed by Nebraska last week. This is the first real test for Purdue and they probably will be rusty since they didn’t play last week. But Notre Dame better savor the feeling of winning this week because it plays MSU next and has lost to the Spartans the past four years.
Notre Dame 27, Purdue 21
Racy Lacy: Purdue head coach Joe Tiller deserves this win. I’m sure he’s sick of answering all the questions about what he’s going to do without Drew Brees. In big rivalry games, the record and rankings don’t matter.
Expect freshman Brandon Hance to have a breakthrough game in a more balanced offense than last year’s scheme. The Irish only had 43 rushing yards against Nebraska last week, and I think they are still licking their wounds after getting embarrassed in Lincoln.
Purdue 19, Notre Dame 17
Western Michigan (1-1) at No. 20 Michigan (1-1)
Western plays its second straight ranked team on the road this week after getting thumped 31-0 at Virginia Tech on Saturday. U-M lost a 23-18 nailbiter at Washington on Saturday and now welcomes its second MAC opponent in three weeks to the Big House.
Vanilla Rice: The Broncos won’t have any reason to riot after this one either. After losing to Washington, Michigan won’t fall to the Broncos.
Michigan 35, Western Michigan 16
Racy Lacy: Western fans known for partying will have to tip back a few for this one. Unless the Broncos have a linebacker of their own that can play out of his mind and block four punts expect this one to be a blowout.
Michigan 45, Western Michigan 22
