Sportaholic College Weekend Setup 11-16-05

Even as the smoke of the Penn State still hazes over the college football landscape, the games must go on. This week features a few marquee matchups on the itinerary including USC vs. Oregon, Nebraska vs. Michigan, and Oklahoma vs. Baylor. This is really the one breather week college football as the next two weeks will feature rivalry week and conference championship week. Teams are now fighting for bowl position as well with the BCS Bowls still up for grabs. The one loss brigade of Oregon, Alabama, Arkansas, Boise State, Clemson, Stanford and undefeated but non AQ status Houston will fight it out to the end for those spots.

LSU and Oklahoma State are slated for the national championship as we stand now but we all know that can change in a matter of a Les Miles crazy coaching moment or a Brandon Weeden knee injury. Both teams still have tough opponents on their schedule with LSU taking on Arkansas and Ok. State still having the whole Bedlam thing with Oklahoma. The stage is set for another dramatic ending to the season for college football.

#17 Nebraska vs. #20 Michigan – This is Nebraska’s first trip to the Big House since 1962 and they will have to deal with Denard Robinson and the Wolverines offense. Robinson isn’t as hot as he was to begin the season but he still is as explosive as any player in the college game. These mirror each other as they are both 8-2 and 5-2 in the conference. They are ranked 12^th and 13^th nationally in rushing with the Huskers coming into the game averaging 232.7 and Michigan at 231.3. The Cornhuskers need a big game from Rex Burkhead as he carried the load for his team with 121 yards and a touchdown against Penn State. The Wolverines Fitzgerald Toussiant has started to make his mark at RB and will get his share of the ball in this one. In the end I trust Nebraska’s defense way more than Michigan’s. Taylor Martinez of the Huskers showed some signs against Northwestern as he completed some tough passes and posted good numbers, even though they lost. Look for Nebraska to put the squeeze on the Wolverines offense with their stellar defense.

The Pick: Nebraska

USC vs. #4 Oregon: Let the Deanthony Thomas bowl commence as the Trojans travel to Eugene to face the Ducks. Thomas was the five-star prospect that spurned the Trojans for the Ducks after being committed to the Trojans for months. Matt Barkley and the Trojans offense have found their groove as they have finally found play-makers aside from WR Robert Woods. Curtis McNeal at running back and freshmen wideout Marquise Lee have really come on and solidified their offense. Everyone knows the Ducks story with their break neck speed offense full of weapons. The Ducks easily handled Stanford with LaMichael James and their potent rushing offense leading the way. The surprising aspect of that game was the Ducks defense which had five turnovers as they seem to be hitting their stride on that side of the ball. USC’s best chance is to turn this one into a shoot out but Oregon’s offense can hang with anybody. The Ducks defense should make enough stops to give them the victory.

The Pick: Oregon

#5 Oklahoma vs. #22 Baylor: I still can’t understand the Sooners lost to Texas Tech. They have played lights out since beating Kansas State and Texas A&M 99-42. That just makes the loss to the Red Raiders more puzzling. The Baylor Bears won’t be a tough out for the Sooners either as they feature the electric QB Robert Griffin III. He has been phenomenal this year. He is 224/302 for 3,093 yards 29 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions, Heisman trophy worthy numbers in other words. He has weapons to as WR Kendall Wright has 81 receptions for 1,073 yards and 9 touchdowns and RB Terrance Ganaway has 889 and 10 touchdowns. The Bears explosive offense will test Oklahoma’s stout defense. We all know what the Sooners offense brings to the table as Landry Jones leads their potent attack. There are worries for them as WR Ryan Broyles of course is out for the year with a torn ACL, RB Dominick Whaley out for the year and WR Kenny Stills being plagued with nagging injuries. This one smells like an upset to me as Baylor has the tools on offense to take down the Sooners. If RGIII can get loose early and gain some confidence, then early momentum can carry the Bears. It happened against Texas Tech for the Sooners and Baylor is even better on offense.  Oklahoma has been playing great but Baylor can spring the upset.

The Pick: Baylor

Game of the week: Oregon vs. USC – This should be an exciting one with two sizzling offense at the helm. Will the Ducks suffer a letdown after last week’s big victory over the Cardinal? Matt Barkley has and the explosive offense will give them a run for their money.

Most Intriguing game: #16 Kansas State vs. Texas  - Colin Klein has become Tim Tebow and is leading the country in rushing TDs. Texas just a couple of weeks was riding high until injuries to RB Fozzy Whitaker and WR Jaxon Shipley. This will be an old fashioned Big 12 slug fest.

Under the radar game: SMU vs. #11 Houston – The Cougars still have an outside chance of making it to a BCS Bowl game if everything falls into place. Case Keenum and the boys take on tougher than advertised in June Jones led Mustangs squad that beat TCU earlier this year.

Coach better get it right game: Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee – The Vols only chance to make a bowl game to beat traditional SEC bottom dwellers Vandy and Kentucky. The problem is that Vanderbilt isn’t a push over this year as Head Coach James Franklin has his team buying into his “All in” message. Tennessee fans won’t except losing to the Commodores, even if they are a decent team. If Derek Dooley can some way to get the Volunteers into a bowl game it would save him a lot of heat going into next year. Coach Dooley, you better get it right. 

Sportaholic College Football Weekend Setup 10/14/11

Week 7 marks the beginning of the second half of the college football season. Most teams are now fighting for conference supremacy and getting into bowl position. No marquee match ups this week but a little bit of everything on the schedule should make for an interesting weekend. Michigan travels to the land of Sparty to take on Michigan State in what is always a fevered game. Arizona State takes on Oregon in what could be the preview of the first potential Pac-12 championship game. Oklahoma State vs. Texas sounded like a good game until the Sooners beat down the Longhorns last week.




This is the turning point for most teams this week. Can a few get hot and make a run at contenders, teams like Michigan State, Washington, and Virginia. All these teams have an outside chance of winning their conference but if that is to come true they have to put the pedal to the medal for the rest of the season;. Can the disappointing teams like Florida State, Virginia Tech and Ohio State do anything to salvage their year? We will find out in the second half and hopefully for these teams sake it will be better than the first half.

# 18 Arizona State (5-1) vs. # 9 Oregon (5-1) – Oregon’s offense will be without the services of the nations leading rusher LaMichael James due to his bum elbow but that shouldn’t hamper the high powered offense. Kenjon Barner will take the place of James and shouldn’t be a significant drop off. DeAnthony “Black Mamba” Thomas also has the speed to turn the corner on any defense. The strength of the Sun Devils is their defense with them being ranked in the top 25 nationally. Top ASU LB Vontaze Bufict will have to step up big time against an Oregon offense averaging 312 yards rushing. The Sun Devils only give up 119 a game so something has to give in that department. I think the key to this one will be the play of Ducks QB Darron Thomas. Without James, will Chip Kelly allow Thomas air it out against a Sun Devils team that is stout against the run? Can big Brock Osweiler and the ASU offense give the Sun Devils defense enough points to contend with the Ducks? I think they can and I believe they will spring the upset. The Pick: Arizona State

# 11 Michigan (6-0) vs. # 23 Michigan State (4-1) - The winner of this game will be in sole possession of first place in the Legends Division and have the bragging rights in the physical series of these two in-state rivals. Denard “Shoelaces” Robinson will be a handful for the Spartans as he threw for 327 and ran for another 117 yards, scoring four touchdowns in the process. The Spartans are led by QB Kirk Cousins and their top ranked defense. Sparty is only allowing 173.4 yards per game and 64 rushing this season. B.J Cunningham is 11th in the in the country with 116.4 yards and is Cousins go to guy. Edwin Baker can also get loose at a moment’s notice as evident from his 147 yard outburst against the Wolverines last year. Its boils down to if the Spartans can stop the one man wrecking crew known as Denard Robinson. He is everything to the Wolverines offense and I think he has another big day and leads them to the win. The Pick: Michigan

Florida (3-2) vs. Auburn (3-2) – It just wouldn’t be right to have a college football column without somehow mentioning the SEC. This weekend’s best game is between a couple of 2 loss teams that were dominated in their last game. It was expected from the Gators as they were without starting QB Jeff Brantley and had to start freshman Jacoby Brissett in his place. The Tigers on the other hand were man handled by Arkansas after handing with the Razorbacks early in the game. Florida’s defense is still talented and they have one of the best front seven’s in all of college football. Auburn will have to find a way to generate some offense and after QB Barrett Trotter’s 6-19 performance last week, the call for stud freshman QB Kiehl Frazier will only grow louder. The Gators will attack the Auburn offense especially when they pass with defensive linemen like Shariff Floyd coming after Trotter. Michael Dyer has been the most consistent player offensively for the Tigers, but I think even he may struggle against this Gator defense. Who ever starts for the Gators at QB rather if it’s Brissett or other QB freshman Jeff Driskell, they should be able to put up points on the porous Tiger defense. Florida still has burners Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps so it appears they will just wear down the Tigers. The Pick: Florida

Game of the Week: Arizona State vs. Oregon - This one was a tough decision this week. As I stated above there are really no marquee games of two top 10 tens facing off or anything like that. I will go with Arizona State vs. Oregon because of its potential implications in the Pac-12. This could be the inaugural Pac-12 championship game and it’s a good contrast in styles as the high powered Ducks are a dominant offensive team going up against the ferocious defense of the Sun Devils. They can play a little football out west I guess.

Most intriguing game: #6 Oklahoma State vs. Texas: I guess you could call this one the mini Red River Shootout as the Cowboys travel to Austin and take on the Longhorns. This one is in intriguing because it marks the second straight year that Ok. State will have to go Austin because of the Big 12 shrinking to 10 teams and scheduling conflicts. Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon look to get loose against a vulnerable looking Longhorn secondary that was torched last week by Landry Jones.

Under the radar game – Baylor vs. Texas A&M: The “Lawsuit” bowl as some are billing this one will be an exciting game. The Aggies have given up two leads of over 15 points in their two losses and Baylor’s RG3 is always ready to air it out and show the athleticism that has made him an early Heisman candidate. Kendall Wright will also have a say in this one. I look for an offensive explosion at college station this weekend.

Coach better get it right game: Jimbo Fisher Florida State – Just a few weeks ago we were talking about how the Seminoles are on the cusp of returning to their glory days. A few weeks later and the wheels have fallen off in Tallahassee as the “Noles are now 2-3 after a humiliating loss to Wake Forest. Now I’m not saying Fisher is in the hot seat but he needs to get his team back to winning and change the momentum that they have had over the last few games. No better place to start then against Duke, who you just can’t lose to if you consider yourself a top program. Coach Fisher you have to get it right this game.