There are a few games to choose from for the game of the week, but I think #7 Oklahoma State at #8 Texas A&M will be the most important going down the stretch, as they seem like the two best teams to challenge #1 Oklahoma for the Big 12 title.
On Saturday morning, San Diego State plays at #22 Michigan, and this game is intriguing as Michigan head coach Brady Hoke plays against his old team. Both teams are 3-0 and have one somewhat impressive win as SDSU beat Washington State and Michigan beat Notre Dame. Both teams rush the ball well and struggle to stop the run. Michigan is 13th in rushing offense (245 YPG) and 103rd in rushing defense (202.5 YPG) while San Diego State is 24th in rushing offense (220.7 YPG) and 98th in rushing defense (197 YPG). Both teams have a big playmaker in the backfield, with Michigan QB Denard Robinson and SDSU RB Ronnie Hillman. Robinson is 3rd in rushing (153 YPG) and Hillman is 2nd (165.7 YPG). It should be a fun game to watch and interesting to see if San Diego State can play well on the road against a bigger team.
We'll get an idea of how good #25 Georgia Tech is this weekend. They lead the nation in total offense (675.3 YPG), rushing offense (427.7 YPG), and scoring offense (59.3 PPG). Those numbers are just ridiculous. They host North Carolina, who has the 16th best rush defense (76.7 YPG) and are only allowing 16.3 PPG.
#14 Arkansas plays at #3 Alabama. Alabama is second in scoring defense (6 PPG) and in the top 5 in all major defensive categories (rush - 4th, pass - 5th, total - 3rd, pass eff - 2nd). It helps that they've played two awful offenses in Kent State and North Texas, but they also played at Penn State. They also have two rushers averaging just over 100 yards with RB Trent Richardson and RB Eddie Lacy. Arkansas, on the other hand, has the 8th best passing offense (346.7 YPG) and the 8th best scoring offense (47 PPG). Despite the big numbers, QB Tyler Wilson only has 5 TDs and 2 INTs. He's going to need to have a huge game to be able to beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Alabama defense will be very tough to crack and the Arkansas receivers will need to play physical to be able to get open. In the game last year at Arkansas, they led 20-7 late in the third quarter but Alabama came back to win 24-20. They'll come out with a fire trying to get revenge, but I'm not sure that's enough to beat one of the top defensive units in the country.
#11 Florida State looks to rebound this week at #21 Clemson. It's the first conference game for both teams and will give the winner an advantage in the Atlantic division race as they look to be the top two teams. Clemson has been racking up a lot of yards on offense, and Florida State has been playing tough defense. Clemson ranks 9th in total offense (522.6 YPG) with a balanced attack, ranking 27th in rushing (216.7 YPG) and 21st in passing (306 YPG). FSU is 5th in total defense (195 YPG), 17th in rushing defense (77 YPG), and 6th in passing defense (118 YPG). Last week, they held Oklahoma QB Landry Jones to 199 yards and picked him off twice. I thought FSU would be pretty unstoppable on offense and just good enough on defense, but the defense has been playing incredible so far. On the road against Clemson in the late afternoon can be tough, but I think we'll see Clemson implode a bit as they won't be able to move the ball at all against the FSU defense. They have great stats because they've played three awful defenses - Troy (109th), Wofford (85th in FCS), and Auburn (117th). FSU's is worlds better than any of those defenses, and will be the reason they control the game and eventually win the division.
#2 LSU will attempt to cool down QB Geno Smith when they travel to #16 West Virginia. This is their second big non-conference game, as they beat Oregon opening week. LSU's defense has been stellar the last two games, especially last week against Mississippi State. They rank 3rd in rushing defense (47.7 YPG), 19th in passing defense (160 YPG), 6th in total defense (207.7 YPG), and 15th in scoring defense (12 PPG). Oregon scored 27 points on them, but the last two teams have combined for 9 points. West Virginia ranks 7th in passing offense (356 YPG) and Smith has thrown 7 TDs and 1 INT while completing almost 70% of his passes. He'll need to have more of that to upset LSU at home. This is a late night game in Morgantown, with kickoff at 8:00 PM local time. West Virginia has won 16 of the last 17 at home, and LSU has won their last 35 non-conference regular season games. I actually think WVU has a chance here at home with new head coach Dana Holgorsen and Smith throwing the ball well. They'll need to have a flawless game to be able to get the win. I picked WVU to win the Big East and the offense has been playing well so far. The defense stopped a Maryland comeback late in the 4th quarter last week to hold on for a win on the road. If WVU can upset LSU, they'll shoot into the top 10 and probably be 10-0 going into their final two games against Pittsburgh (home) and South Florida (away).
One last game to quickly mention is #23 USC at Arizona State in what figures to be a big Pac-12 South matchup. Arizona State has had two tight games, winning in overtime vs Missouri and losing by 3 at Illinois. USC cannot advance to the conference championship, but a win for ASU would give them a good start in the division and an advantage over Utah. If USC wins, they'll be 2-0 in the conference and have wins over Utah and ASU and likely be at the top of the division when the season ends.
Here are the games I would like to watch some of this weekend:
Friday 6:00 - UCF at BYU (ESPN, ESPN3)
10:00 - San Diego State at #22 Michigan (BTN)
10:00 - North Carolina at #25 Georgia Tech (ESPN, ESPN3)
1:30 - #14 Arkansas at #3 Alabama (CBS)
1:30 - #7 Oklahoma State at #8 Texas A&M (ABC, ESPN3)
1:30 - #11 Florida State at #21 Clemson (ESPN, ESPN3)
5:00 - Florida Atlantic at Auburn (ESPN3)
6:00 - Missouri at #1 Oklahoma (FX)
6:00 - #2 LSU at #16 West Virginia (ABC)
8:15 - #10 Oregon at Arizona (ESPN2, ESPN3)
8:15 - #23 USC at Arizona State (ESPN, ESPN3)
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