Here we go, another wild week of college football. How can anyone predict the madness that happens on a weekly basis? The answer is no one can, but I am going to attempt it anyway.
I love college football more than any other conglomeration of sports teams for the simple fact that constant chaos ensues...and the fans that support this chaos are some of the most passionate in the world. Without further ado, here goes nothing...
#1 Oklahoma at Baylor - 12:30 pm ET
Not this time Mr. Non-ranked Team. The target on the back of Sooner Nation can be seen from space, I've been told...and Baylor doesn't have the firepower to hit that target.
Prediction: Sooners 45 - Bears 10
Kentucky at #2 Alabama - 3:30 pm ET
Tide Country is MAD with football-fever right now and I would hate to be the team walking into their house this week...sorry Kentucky (you beat Middle Tennessee by 6 points). Saban will have his kids ready and the fans will be brutal. Tide rolls on.
Prediction: Tide 34 - Wildcats 3
#4 Missouri at Nebraska - 9:00 pm ET
This one could be interesting. Pelini is starting to bring back the old Nebraska ways and though they had a tough week with a close loss to V. Tech, they are looking better every game. Allowing 35 points to Tech is never a good sign (which means the "Blackshirts" are a long way off), but I expect this game to be competitive. Top-5 upset here is a possibility, but not probable.
Prediction: Tigers 43 - Huskers 35
#5 Texas at Colorado - 7:10 pm ET
Another top-5 upset possibility. Notice I said possibility. Last year's Colorado probably had a better shot than this year's Colorado. Especially against this year's Texas. "Baby" McCoy finally looks like a man and is throwing and running like that other Texas quarterback that won a National Championship. Even at #5, Texas may be underrated.
Prediction: Longhorns 52 - Buffaloes 10
note: Texas has won 52-10 three times out of four games - I have to go with the odds here.
#6 Penn State at Purdue - 12:00 pm ET
Big Ten matchups always mean upset alert, but Penn State showed it's true colors against Illinois and they were pretty. Curtis Painter has fully underachieved this year and with Penn State's freak-like defense, it won't get any better this week. Penn State BIG.
Prediction: Lions 42 - Purdue 17
#7 Texas Tech at Kansas St. - 3:30 pm ET
I may be out of mind for saying this, but I think Texas tech is one of the most overrated teams in the country. Sure, their offense is VERY dangerous, but one bad game by Harrell could be curtains for the Red Raiders' title hopes...and I am predicting that bad game here. Crazy, I know, but I think the 'Cats will be up for this game and so will the crowd. The score might end up 532-485, but someone will turn the ball over one too many times and I think that someone is Harrell.
Prediction: Wildcats 52 - Raiders 49
#8 Brigham Young at Utah St. - Friday, 8:00 pm ET
Sorry Utah St...Nothing really needs to be said. The locker room pep talk should be, "Let's not get skunked tonight! Now go run around on the field!" No one on Utah St. will earn their scholarship this Friday, but at least they won't get shutout.
Prediction: Cougars 65 - Aggies 10
#23 Oregon at #9 USC - 8:00 pm ET
This should be a fun game to watch, but there is no doubt USC is going to be PISSED. And if you're the dirt in front of that bulldozer this week, God help you. A fun game, but I don't hink a close one. Oregon will wish they hadn't left Eugene.
Prediction: Trojans 40 - Ducks 6
Pittsburgh at #10 South Florida - Thursday, 7:30 pm ET
I've got nothing good to say about Pittsburgh except that everyone liked them before the season started. Too bad the season started. They may be 3-1, but that does not tell the story - loss to Bowling Green, sneaking by lowly Buffalo, and barely beating nothing Syracuse. South Florida has looked great thus far and I expect them to make make the Panthers look silly.
Prediction: Bulls 33 - Panthers 13
#12 Florida at Arkansas - 12:30 pm ET
Urban Meyer will have no mercy and Arkansas will mourn the loss of McFadden and Jones for one more week. If Arkansas even scores a point, I will be surprised...and I am predicting likewise.
Prediction: Gators 31 - Razorbacks 0
#13 Auburn at #19 Vanderbilt - 6:00 pm ET
I am definitely drinking the Vandy Kool-Aid. This may be their best chance in years to be a contender. On the other side of this game, I do not like Auburn's look this year...they've been sloppy and inconsistent. Auburn's defense is Tuberville-classic, but in this game, if the D doesn't score, Auburn might not either. Vanderbilt has had two weeks to prepare, on top of the fact that their win over Ole Miss looks even better now.
Prediction: Commodores 19 - Tigers 10
#14 Ohio State at #18 Wisconsin - 8:00 pm ET
Wells and Pryor in the same backfield is SCARY. What do you defend? Stop Beanie and you open holes for Pryor...Stop Pryor and open holes for Beanie...Stick eight in the box and stop them both and Pryor will beat you deep. I would hate to walk into Camp Randall after their tough loss to Michigan last week, but I don't think the Badgers defense will be able to handle the tandem backfield. If Wisconsin's not careful, they could start the Big Ten season 0-3 (Penn State next week)...I think they will.
Prediction: Buckeyes 35 - Badgers 10
Oregon State at #15 Utah - Friday, 9:00 pm ET
Before last week, this looked like a ho-hum game for Utah. Now, it looks like a major trap game. We all saw Rodgers run through, yes THROUGH, USC's stout defense, including Utah. I fully expect the Utes to take away the running lanes this week, so it will come down to whether or not Moevao can throw the ball downfield with accuracy. Look for Moevao to struggle in the first half, giving Utah even more reason to plug the middle, and then watch him light up the scoreboard in the second half...and still come up short. This is another game that could be a triple-digit combined score.
Prediction: Utes 48 - Beavers 38
#16 Kansas at Iowa State - 12:30 pm ET
Oh, poor cyclones...Let me take this lopsided opportunity to give another reason why I love college football. Even though there isn't a chance of Iowa State winning this game, the stands will be rocking for kickoff. But then again, shortly there-after, they will be silent. Quothe the Cyclones nevermore.
Prediction: Jayhawks 52 - Cyclones 3
Louisiana Tech at #17 Boise State - Wednesday, already happened
I couldn't even type as fast as Boise State killed Tech.
Score: Broncos 38 - Bulldogs 3
Western Kentucky at #20 Virginia Tech - 1:30 pm ET
Virginia Tech has not looked great this year, but Western Kentucky is one of the worst teams in football, in my opinion. Hokies will win and win big...and Beamer's Special Teams won't even be needed.
Prediction: Hokies 21 - Hilltoppers 3
Texas A&M at #21 Oklahoma State - 7:05 pm ET
None of Oklahoma State's wins this year have been over quality opponents, so you would expect them to struggle in their fifth gam eof the season. However, A&M is not a quality opponent. Oklahoma State goes to Missouri next week 5-0.
Prediction: Comboys 45 - Aggies 23
Hawaii at #22 Fresno State - 10:00 pm ET
I think Fresno State is a bit overrated and that a team like Michigan State deserves to be in the top 25 more so than they do, but compared to Hawaii, Fresno looks like the best team in football. They at least will be the best team on the field.
Prediction: Bulldogs 34 - Warriors 17
#24 Connecticut at North Carolina - 7:00 pm ET
Oddly enough, this was the hardest pick for me of any of the games this week. If my Texas Tech upset happens, I'll feel pretty confident about the rest. This one, however, should be close. These are two up-and-coming programs and two fanbases that are expecting a lot out of their teams. If it was in Connecticut, I would give it to Connecticut by ten points. With it being in Carolina, I'll have to give Connecticut the slight edge and say the eke out a victory.
Prediction: Huskies 24 - Tarheels 23
Well boys and girls, there you have it. Feel free to give me the business with any games you just KNOW I have wrong. Texas Tech fans, I expect some noise. Utah State fans, I suggest you stay quiet.
To the roar of a college football game,
Ksquared
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Graham had his bad game. it was at Nevada earlier this year. Career low in successful attempts and under 300 yards for only the 2nd or 3rd time as a starter. I'm not saying he can't have another bad game but since you haven't been paying attention to them. Tech as averaged 148 y/g RUSHING the ball. It would take a seriously crappy game by him for the wildcats to win.
ReplyDeleteHarrell did have his worst game this year against Nevada, but it is all relative. Though it was a "bad" game for Harrell, he still threw for 297 yards and a touchdown and Crabtree had a great game, which means Harrell got him the ball when it mattered.
ReplyDeleteA lot of quaterbacks would kill to have almost 300 yards passing and have the media label it a "bad" game. With teams having more and more information in which to prepare for the Raiders offense, I still maintain his worst game is yet to come, but I could be wrong.
As for rushing yards...1705-586 - Passing yards to Rushing yards - Colt McCoy has more rushing yards than Texas Tech's leading rusher.
You are missing the point. Tech has averaged 4.5 yards per carry for years. They just choose not to run. and almost 300 yards is the bad game for Harrell. His accuracy has been around 76% for his career and it was less than 50% or maybe a little over at the end. He also through 2 picks in that game. They were bad decisions. How many years now are people going to use the "they have tape on them now" They have had tape on Tech's offense for 9 years now. Harrell does make poor decisions sometimes, but his decision making is getting better. He had 4 picks in a game against Mizzou the last 2 years, btw he still had over 400 yards in each of those games. He throws to 9 or 10 different receivers every week. The little bit of a running game that Tech has shown this year is a good thing, and you are forgetting how porous the Wildcat run defense is. I'm not saying it's a lock for Tech by any means. Their big problem is playing down to competition. If they avoid that this year, they are a sleeper to win the Big XII, but they must play better in order to do that, and do what only 2 other teams under Bob Stoops have done. Beat OU at OU.
ReplyDeleteYou definitely have a point. He had career lows in completion percentage and total completions. And against Nevada, if that truly is the worst game he has this year, it will have been the absolute best time to have had it - as you probably know, most games, Nevada's defense doesn't even step on the field.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you read my article about the Big Ten vs. the SEC and Big 12, you will see that I give Harrell major props for his pro-like style of quarterbacking...and one of the reasons for that is how he distributes the ball to different receivers...He's amazing at simply finding the OPEN receiver and is never committed to just one throwing lane. He is going to be a high draft pick next year.
It is one of the only upsets I'm picking this week, and as we both know, there WILL be an upset somewhere (actually, with S. Florida losing, one already happened - and I was wrong about that one). I definitely could be wrong about this one too, but I still see this as a major trap game.
As for OU, if Tech does get through unscathed, that is going to be one hell of a game!
I would like to formally admit to shadowwarrior that I was WAY off. Harrell had an enormous game and Kansas State was overmatched. I can't be right on all of them!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about it. One of these games you are liable to be right unless Tech shows that they are above playing down to the competition. The last time Nebraska came to Tech..I believe it was on homecoming...not sure though. Tech smashed them 70-10. I am worried that they will read the press and think they got this one and look ahead to Kansas and get upset by Nebraska. I like your blog though, you go with your gut and that is important.
ReplyDeleteWell, I will say this, if Harrell plays against every team like he played against K State (and so far, in most of his games he has), Tech may have a chance to do some major damage this year. And how cool would that be?!? Forget Missouri, forget Oklahoma, forget Texas...Here comes the Red Raiders playing Alabama in the BCS Championship...I don't know, the college football gods might just be crazy enough to allow that to happen. Texas Tech vs. Alabama. What a badass NC that would be.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of football to be played, but this is EXACTLY why I love this game. And why a lot of my blog will be devoted to it.