Thursday, October 21, 2010

College Football: Week 8

Another rough week for us both. Brandon beat me by one pick. I doubt I can dig myself out of the whole now. I'm losing more and more ground each week. Brandon was 14-6 (1-1) and I finished 13-7 (0-2). So far the standings are Brandon at 122-22 (5-8) with me at 112-32 (3-13). Being wrong on upsets is clearly being the difference for me thus far. Week seven's helmet sticker from me goes to Jermaine Kearse of Washington. He caught 9 passes from Jake Locker, had 146 yards and 4 TD's as the Huskies upset the Oregon State Beavers in double overtime. Brandon is going with co-helmet sticker winners for last week. It goes to both Kentucky QB Mike Hartline and WR Chris Matthews. Hartline was 32 of 42 with 349 yards through the air and 4 TD's. Matthews had 12 of those catches for 177 yards and 1 of the TD's as the Wildcats upset the first "number-one-killers" of the year, the South Carolina Gamecocks 31-28. They shutout SC in the second half. Great victory for UK.

The season begins to be interesting week by week now with the release of the BCS standings. Brandon and I will move away from the USA Today/Coaches Poll and start going with the BCS standings. We will still be picking one Non-Top 25 game a week.

For Brandon's blog visit the follow link. http://thebiznizfiles.blogspot.com/. He has great opinions on what's going on in the world of sports.

Thursday October 21st  2010

#2 Oregon Ducks 6-0 (3-0) vs UCLA 3-3 (1-2) 7PM ET

Many are wondering why Oregon was only number two in the BCS standings. They have scored at least 42 points in every game this season. The last three weeks the defense has given up 31, 31 and 23 points. In the first three games they allowed 13 points total. I'm not too worried about UCLA exploiting that this week but later in the season the Ducks defense may have to shape up. Although, they were able to hold off Andrew Luck. This week I feel it's another blowout for Oregon. The Bruins do have that nice upset over Texas but I don't see that happening against "The Video Game Offense". Ducks win comfortably in ESPN 3D. Ore. 48 UCLA 24. Bramdon: Ore. 45 UCLA 24

Saturday October 23rd 2010

#7 Michigan State Spartans 7-0 (3-0) vs Northwestern Wildcats 5-1 (1-1) 12 PM ET

Northwestern's record is a bit deceiving. Their loss to a 4-2 Purdue team may look good too but Purdue's schedule has been weak just like NW's. Vanderbilt is on a down year and Illinois State, Rice, C. Mich, and Minnesota aren't exactly desirable opponents. Hosting Kirk Cousins and the rest of Sparty will be a tough test. I do like Dan Persa and I can see him having a decent game with a TD or two, but don't look for an upset here folks. MSU will roll. MSU 35 NW 17. Brandon: MSU 34 NW 17.

#10 Ohio State Buckeyes 6-1 (2-1) vs Purdue Boilermakers 4-2 (2-0) 12 PM ET

The Buckeyes didn't last long as the number one team. They didn't exactly lose in a nail biter to Wisconsin either. Hopefully they can rebound off of that loss. As I mentioned before, Purdue is another Big Ten team who's had a pretty bad schedule thus far. Terelle Pryor will want revenge from their loss last week and the Boilermakers are next up. I don't see Purdue having enough to really do anything to stop him. OSU wins big. OSU 42 Pur. 17. Brandon: OSU 36 Pur. 16.

#19 Texas Longhorns 4-2 (2-1) vs Iowa State Cyclones 3-4 (1-2) 12 PM ET

Texas had the huge season saving win last week on the road at Nebraska. Many, including me had written them off after their two consecutive losses. Knocking off a top five school is great for your BCS resume. They look to stay alive in the Big XII and I don't see Iowa State doing much to stop them. Have they ever done much period? Nope. Texas takes the comfortable victory. UT 34 ISU 10. Brandon: Texas 34 ISU 12.
Noel Devine will help his
team improve to 6-1.

#20 West Virginia Mountaineers 5-1 (1-0) vs Syracuse Orange 4-2 (1-1) 12 PM ET

West Virginia continues to roll on in the Big One conference. I mentioned Syracuse's 4-1 record last week so if you want to know how credible they are as a 4-2 team this year, refer to last week's game breakdown for WVU and USF. Only two of those wins count toward going bowling this year. Syracuse didn't even compete against a bad Pitt team. They lost at home 45-14. This week they face the only team in the Big One conference. This one will be another blow out. Especially because it's a road game for the Orange. Don't be surprised if they lose out. WVU 53 SU 13. WVU 37 SU 20.

#25 Virginia Tech Hokies 5-2 (3-0) vs Duke Blue Devils 1-5 (0-3) 12 PM ET

The Hokies look to be recovering from their devastating loss to James Madison. They've won five straight and it will be six. I don't know what would be worst, the loss to JMU or if Duke upset them here. But don't worry, they won't. Big day for Tyrod Taylor and company. VT 47 Duke 7. Brandon: VT 42 Duke 20.

#23 Arkansas Razorbacks 4-2 (1-2) vs Mississippi Rebels 3-3 (1-2) 12:30 PM ET

The game last week against Auburn was close until Ryan Mallett suffered a concussion. His absence was felt as the Razorbacks got blown out and couldn't stop Cam Newton. Tyler Wilson did have good numbers as he filled in for Mallett. Arkansas faces yet another mobile quarterback. Jeremiah Masoli is no Cam Newton, but the Rebels have a lot of balance running the ball. Brandon Bolden is the leading rusher for Ole Miss with 550 yards and 5 TD's. Masoli has 6 INT's to go with his & 7 passing TD's so Arkansas will look for those opportunities to score. Look for a solid competitive SEC match up here. The Rebels will hang with the Razorbacks but Tyler Wilson is more than capable of filling in for Ryan Mallett if he is unable to return from his concussion. That is still up in the air. Regardless, the Hogs are victorious. Ark. 34 Ole Miss 26. Brandon: Ark. 34 Ole Miss 24.

#6 LSU Tigers 7-0 (4-0) @ #4 Auburn Tigers 7-0 (4-0) 3:30 PM ET

This game was our runner up for GOW. This will be an interesting game and has potential to be very exciting. What game that includes Cam Newton isn't exciting? LSU has had a few solid close victories through the first half of their 2010 season and they now find themselves number six in the BCS Standings. Surely upsetting the number four school will get them to play leap frog with the TCU Horned Frogs right ahead of them. I imagine they'd leap frog Boise State who's third. We will leave that up to the Auburn Tigers to do. LSU hasn't quite faced an athlete like Cam Newton and they're going to his home. Les Miles has been getting a lot of love this year ... but I don't see him pulling this one off. Auburn will take this one as Newton continues be atop the Heisman race candidates. UA 31 LSU 24. Brandon: UA 37 LSU 24.

Ricky Stanzi leads this
Iowa offense.
 #13 Wisconsin Badgers 6-1 (2-1) @ #15 Iowa Hawkeyes 5-1 (2-0) 3:30 PM ET

The Badgers were the second "Number One Killers" of the 2010 season. They beat Ohio State comfortably last week. Something I didn't even think would happen. I thought for sure Terrelle Pryor would get it done. Wisconsin proved their case and they will take that momentum to Kinnick Stadium as Iowa plays host to the Badgers. The Hawkeyes had their own solid victory last week. They traveled to the big house and beat Michigan. Denard Robinson went down with a concussion and Iowa took advantage of him being off the field. Great victory. This is a great Big Ten match up. Both teams have the potential to win the conference and they'll be playing with that motivation. I am a John Clay fan but I think Ricky Stanzi and Adam Robinson will lead their Hawkeyes to victory here. Look for a down to the wire match up. Even potentially an overtime or two. I like Iowa at home. Iowa 27 Wisc. 24. Brandon: Iowa 24 Wisc 21.

#16 Nebraska Cornhuskers 5-1 (1-1) @ #14 Oklahoma State Cowboys 6-0 (2-0) 3:30 PM ET

The Huskers are coming off of their very disappointing loss to Texas. The fans thought for sure this was their chance for revenge after last years controversial loss. Taylor Martinez was completely shut down. He ran for only 21 yards. OSU is flying under the radar in the Big XII and that may be good for them and their season ending match up versus in state rival (and now number one in the BCS) Oklahoma. I would like to see Taylor Martinez rebound after his bad game against the Longhorns. It seems NU was exposed and all the Cowboys have to do is shut down Martinez. OSU on the other hand has a well balanced offense and I see that being the difference. NU is going to run the ball. Everyone knows that. But watch out for Kendall Hunter and the Oklahoma State running game. That will open up the air for Weeden to throw to his favorite target in Justin Blackmon. OSU 31 NU 21. Brandon: NU 30 OSU 27.

Robert Griffin III hopes to lead
his Bears to bowl eligibilty. BU
hasn't done that since 1994.

#22 Kansas State Wildcats 5-1 (2-1) @ Baylor Bears 5-2 (2-1) 3:30 PM ET

The Bears have lost to every good team they've faced this year. They got clobbered by TCU and lost a tough game to Texas Tech. They are very well balanced on offense. Quarterback Robert Griffin III is just under 2000 yards for the year. He also likes to run the ball and has a very talented receiving core. K-State has also lost to the only good team they played and they got smashed by Nebraska. Taylor Martinez ran all over them. I do like Daniel Thomas to have a solid game on the ground with a TD or two but I think Baylor is a little bit more talented as a whole on offense and they will be too much for the Wildcats defense to handle. Especially with against a quarterback who is capable of running. They're too much for KSU. The Bears get their sixth win, but they still need another to go bowling because one of the wins is over a D-IAA Sam Houston State. BU 23 KSU 16. Brandon: KSU 38 BU 17.

#12 Stanford Cardinal 5-1 (2-1) vs Washington State Cougars 1-6 (0-4) 5 PM ET

Andrew Luck versus the Washington State Cougars? Yeah this one is a no brainer and there will be no surprises here. Huge game for Luck as the Cardinal shuts out (yes I'm calling a shutout folks) the Cougars. Will WSU ever be good again? Stanford 55 WSU 0. Brandon: Stanford 41 WSU 14.

#9 Utah Utes 6-0 (3-0) vs Colorado State Rams 2-5 (1-2) 6 PM ET

The Utes continue their weak schedule against CSU. All Utah fans are circling the calendar for the TCU game in November but head coach Kyle Whittingham is making sure his players stay focused. All they can do is just keep winning one game at a time and they will do just that when they host the Rams. Steve Fairchild looks as if he had CSU back on the map in the Mountain West. Unfortunately his Rams will suffer their sixth loss of the season and are now one loss away from missing a bowl game. Utah 48 CSU 10. Brandon: Utah 47 CSU 21.

#8 Alabama Crimson Tide 6-1 (3-1) @ Tennessee Volunteers 2-4 (0-3) 7 PM ET

The Vols are looking to get their first SEC win of the season at home. Wouldn't that be nice? A lot of folks including myself agree that the Tide still aren't out of the picture for defending their BCS title. They didn't necessarily blow Ole Miss out of the water but a W is a W. Especially in this conference. I have a hard time seeing Tennessee pulling this one off. Bama 28 Ten 10. Brandon: Bama 28 Ten 20.

#21 South Carolina Gamecocks 4-2 (2-2) @ Vanderbilt Commodores 2-4 (1-2) 7 PM ET

Talk about inconsistent. One week removed from upsetting the number one team in the land the Gamecocks lose to Kentucky. Looks like upsetting Bama in the regular season will be the highlight of the year. Having said that I do like them to beat the Commodores on their home field. Vandy is just flat out bad. Look for a big game for both Stephen Garcia and Marcus Lattimore. SC 38 Vandy 20. Brandon: SC 30 Vandy 14.

#24 Mississippi State Bulldogs 5-2 (2-2) vs UAB Blazers 2-4 (1-2) 7 PM ET

Earlier in the season I was giving the Bulldogs lots of love and picking upsets. They let me down and I totally dropped them. I didn't even consider them to beat Florida and yet they did and now they find themselves at the bottom of the BCS standings. They step away from SEC play for another week to finish non-conference play in 2010. Not much really to say about UAB. They lost to Tennessee in overtime earlier this season. They won't come out of Starkville with a win. Not even close. MSU 37 UAB 10. Brandon: MSU 28 UAB 10.

TJ Yates hopes to get UNC back
into the top 25.

NON TOP-25 GAME
North Carolina Tar Heels 4-2 (2-1) @ Miami (FL) Hurricanes 4-2 (2-1) 7:30 PM ET

Solid match up here in the ACC. Both schools have been in the top 25 this season. North Carolina is on a four game winning streak and will be looking to take that momentum to Sun Life Stadium. Miami (FL) is trying to get back to powerhouse regularity. Jacory Harris has good passing numbers except for his 9 INT's. TJ Yates has 11 touchdowns but only 1 pick this season. Both teams try to make their case to win the ACC and both are very capable of that. As far as this one game goes, I understand it's in Coral Gables but I think the Tar Heels play a little bit more clean then the Canes. Miami's turnover trouble will end up being the difference in this game. Look for a close one with the Heels coming out on top. UNC 27 Miami (FL) 20. Brandon: Miami (FL) 30 UNC 21.

Blaine Gabbert has many weapons along side him on this
Tiger offense. Will that be enough to upset the Sooners?

GAME OF THE WEEK
#1 Oklahoma Sooners 6-0 (2-0) @ #11 Missouri Tigers 6-0 (2-0) 8 PM ET

Some were saying Oklahoma didn't belong atop the BCS standings when they were released. They struggled against Utah State, Air Force and Cincinnati and some thought that would be enough to keep them away from the top. Apparently not. The Tigers are next up to play "beat the number one" and will be trying to upset the Sooners on their home field. That would be three weeks in a row the number one team goes down. What a phenomenal match up we have here. Landry Jones is doing a fantastic job taking over for Sam Bradford. After a tough freshman season Jones has thrown 14 touchdowns and only 3 picks. Ryan Broyles is his main target while Demarco Murray is providing very reliable insurance on the ground. Blaine Gabbert only has 3 picks this season as well to go with his 10 touchdowns. The Tigers also have a balanced running game. Mizzou fans like the fact that beating the #1 team could get them to perhaps jump TCU and Boise State in the BCS standings. That will not be an easy task to conquer. The Sooners have had a rough time putting teams away exempting last week and the Florida State game. I like this one to be a thriller. Down to the wire and has all the potential to be taken into overtime. The difference for me ... (drum roll) will be the home field advantage. OU's depth hasn't been tested very much so if the Tigers can shut down Murray and or Broyles I believe they'll take the victory. Missouri has a little bit more depth and have proven they have more than one weapon at each position. The Tigers will take down the Sooners. Mizzou 23 OU 19. Brandon: OU 34 Mizzou 30.

#5 TCU Horned Frogs 7-0 (3-0) vs Air Force Falcons 5-2 (3-1) 8 PM ET

My hopes have been high for the Falcons this year. I and many others thought they were going to be a sleeper in the Mountain West. After last weeks loss to Sand Diego State those hopes have fallen. That was unexpected and I believe their momentum has been taken from them. Not many teams beat TCU in Fort Worth. The Frogs are known for their solid defense especially at stopping the run and that's all Air Force does. This one won't be close. With all due respect to the academy, you won't be competing in this one unless you learn how to have a dependable passing game. TCU 38 AFA 14. Brandon: TCU 35 AFA 20.

#18 Arizona Wildcats 5-1 (2-1) vs Washington Huskies 3-3 (2-1) 10:15 PM ET

I am having a hard time figuring out the Huskies this season. Heck, I'm having a hard time figuring out the entire Pac-10 besides Oregon. The Huskies don't have consecutive wins or losses this year. They lost to a bad BYU team, destroyed a terrible Syracuse team, got demolished by a great Nebraska team, upset a solid USC squad by a point, lost by ten to Arizona State who has been struggling for some time now, and then upset Oregon State in double overtime. I honestly don't know how to take that team. Jake Locker has been up and down all year. The Wildcats recovered from their tough loss to Oregon State and are hoping to be bowl eligible after this week and I believe they will. Not just because I want Washington to continue with their pattern, but because the Wildcats are at home and it's time for them to get their act together if they want a trip to the Rose Bowl. Nick Foles has many different weapons to give the ball to while Locker is the main man for UW. If he struggles, the whole team struggles. If the Cats shut down Locker, the game is over. I'm not saying they will necessarily succeed at shutting him down completely, but I do believe that AZ has more weapons than the Huskies. Arizona 27 UW 17. Brandon: Zona 35 UW 24.

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