College Football 2015-16

Thanks to USC & Stanford (and UCLA to a lesser extent) for reminding me I suck at predicting the Pac 12. I'm still not sold on Hogan, Joe. I am sold on Stanford liking to play USC. I also think Sark is over-rated. My U-Dub buds were thrilled to see him go, especially with Petersen coming in.

Ole Miss was debilitated by injuries last year, losing Treadwell & a host of others after the Bama game. I think that had more to do with their dropoff than an inability to handle pressure.

Auburn is going to have a lot of bad days at the office. Alabama turned it over 5 times. Clean that up & they're probably as advertised.

Ohio State's whole season is going to be a trap outside of Michigan & Sparty. When I was in school at A&M we ruled over a weak SWC. We always managed to drop a head scratcher every year. I always thought the absence of being tested hurt more than it helped. It especially turned up in the Cotton Bowl where we got thumped every year against top 5 teams (FSU once, ND twice).

 

Yeah, I'm still trying to figure this one out. I'm not sure if Johnson just doesn't fit in Malzahn's offense or if Malzalhn is stepping out of his element in an attempt to build an offense around Johnson. Either way, Johnson's decisions and throws have been pretty horrendous for the most part.

Also, I take back what I said about Muschamp. WTF is going on there? It's not like he's unaccustomed to the SEC and even still, Jacksonville St didn't punt a single time in the first half of that game. This weekend the tackling was atrocious (not an attempt to discredit Fournette - that guy is a beast), but I'm pretty sure my 11 year old nephew could have made it through the defense without getting taken down.

On to Coastal... still number 1 in the FCS Coaches Poll.

 

It may be on the rb's & o-line as well. Under Malzahn they've been really good at those misdirection runs & play action off of them. Johnson has made a mess of the latter, but the first part hasn't been there this year either.

As for the d, I'm surprised by the poor tackling. But Muschamp didn't inherit a good defense & w/o knowing how complicated his scheme is & how many techniques he's asking them to play, it's hard to say if it's just growing pains or a greater problem.

Guess I was wrong & it'll be the Barn & Miss St duking it out for the cellar....with the injury plagued pigs.

 

Let's just give Marshall Koehn the Heisman now and call it a day.

 

Games of the Week coming tomorrow, but my happiness of College Gameday going to Tucson is tempered by the season ending knee injury to Ucla superstar Myles Jack. I hate to see injuries to college kids. The Bruin defense was meant to keep the team's goal of getting to the playoffs alive while the Freshman QB develops, but they've lost their best defensive lineman, starting corner, and now the undisputed leader at linebacker.

 

Keeping w/Fulhamusa interests since there doesn't appear to be too many standout games.

Big 10 Crew; Indiana (Yes Barry, not a typo), Iowa (and their Heisman Trophy shoe-in), and Northwestern all look good to stay undefeated. Illinois to get back on track..for a week anyway.

#14 Texas A&M v Arkansas at Cowboy Stadium. Aggies looking to heap more misery on Bielema, who went from a contender to an also-ran in short order.

Southern Miss at Nebraska. Dtown making the drive over to Lincoln to see his Golden Eagles. Nebraska has had a strange season, and Mike Riley grumbling already starting.

#18 Utah at #13 Oregon. Great game in SLC last season turned when Utah WR celebrated too soon and Ducks picked it up and returned it 100 yards. Ducks win at home in a tough one.

#9 Ucla at #16 Arizona. Ucla is dealing w/major injuries on D, (see above) but have played some good competition. My boys look to have finally shaken off last season's poor ending, but against inferior opponents. Cats desperately need to create a package for backup QB Randle (LSU transfer) because his runnings skills are sick. Not going to pick against my boys this week even if I'm wrong.

Upset Alert

Wanted to pick Syracuse putting a major scare into LSU because of the travel and the Bayou Bengals having a natural letdown after 2 conference wins, but the Orange will be without their QB.

#3 TCU at Texas Tech. Tech is off to a good start and TCU might be a tad overrated. Add in Tech looking for a little respect after the Frogs put 82 on them last season, and this could be a close one.

 

You say that, but Illinois' opponent, Middle Tennesse St, has put up 143 points in their two games not against Alabama. I wouldn't at all be surprised if my Illini get embarrassed at home.

 

It's okay to forget about the Minnesota Gophers, especially after squeaking out a 10-7 win at home last week against the fierce Kent State. But, SCJ, you should have at least put us in the Upset Alert section against the 3-0 Ohio Bobcats, even though we're at home and it's Homecoming. That's how confident I feel walking into this game. Ugh.

 

Sorry ES my bad. It's hard to replace NFL skill position players like Cobb and Williams. Gophers to take down the Bobcats!

 

After losing two kids for the season, one being an All-American CB, we have a bye week to rest up and get ready for one of the best teams in the conference as we look to win the title outright after sharing with four other schools last year haha.

NC State on the road at South Alabama, expecting the Pack to go 4-0 as they get ready for ACC play.

 

As I mentioned elsewhere, I'm w/o cable & internet since yesterday evening, so since I'm doing this from my phone, I'm going to keep this shorter than usual...i think.

A&M over Arky - Although I'm nervous about this one with their backs against the wall.

Nebraska over So Miss.

Oregon over Utah. Utes have the better d but just don't think they can keep up with the Duck offense.

UCLA over Arizona. Doubt Scooby will have much impact just yet & if Rosen plays within himself, the Bruins' ground game & o-line should be able to control this one.

Big 10 Crew. I like Iowa & Northwestern. Indiana & Minnesota should be okay but I won't be surprised if either just squeak by or even lose.

And the upset special...I agree w Chicago, I think Middle Tennessee beats the Illini.

If anyone is betting you'd do well to fade my Pac 12 picks.

 

Thoughts:

Up goes the state of California & Utah in the Pac 12. Ucla & Usc thrashed the Arizona schools. Cal & Stanford took control of the North. Utah stomped Oregon and looks to be the one roadblock to the LA schools. Road teams are 6-0 so far.

Down goes the state of Arizona & Oregon. At least the Scummies got humiliated also. Ducks reign of dominance looks to be over (at least for this season).

Tennessee & Texas find new and interesting ways to gag games.

It wasn't easy but the Big 10 boys (aside from Fog's Buckeyes and Lax's Hawkeyes rolling) went unscathed. Illinois, Minnesota, and Northwestern squeaked by, but there is no such thing as a bad W. Good thing we don't have any Purdon't or Maryland alumni..hmm

Dtown, your boys gave a very good account of themselves in Lincoln, hope you had a good time.

Matt, from the little I saw it looked like quite a battle for your Aggies.

TCU- Tech....Wow

 

Gotta say -AGAIN- Joe does analysis good as anyone. The Texas games ALL looked like they were interesting, to say the least. Gotta like how Texas Tech rose to the occasion.
Glad to see the BiG other schools did well. Especially impressed by Michigan. Looks like they may be back in contention.

 

Yeah Joe, I was hoping we'd fare better against their power rushing attack. Credit to them though, they got away from the spread attacks that weren't working and went back to their bread & butter. Not sure how much to take from it though as its a rivalry game & we usually have tight games with Pig.

I'd said before I thought Oregon's d was in decline since Kelly & Aliotti left, but that was shocking. Shows how much their defense depends on their offense putting pressure on the opposition by jumping out to leads as well.

My disdain for Texas has diminished after a decade in Longhorn country & our move to the SEC. But even still, I have to admit I had a couple of hearty lol moments watching those 2 late game botches. The missed xp was the best. Google Nick Rose & you'll see a kid w a total douchebag haircut who posts videos on YouTube of himself making trick kicks. Makes the irony of him missing the game tying xp all the richer.

 

Conference play is up and running and a whole bunch of important games:

Big 10 action (sorry to Dynamo and CC for not including Nebraska at Illinois in games of the week, but by all means share your thoughts on how it will go)

#1 Ohio State at Indiana. IU is 4-0 for the first time in 25 years. It will be a great atmosphere, but the Buckeyes will wear the Hoosiers down.

Minnesota at #16 Northwestern. Two well coached teams, but Tim's Cats will put away Encore's boys.

Iowa at #19 Wisconsin. Lax's Hawkeyes are very capable of beating Wisky. However, it's at Camp Randall and will take the Badgers.

#21 Mississippi State at #14 Texas A&M. Payback time for the Aggies, as that MSU loss really changed the fortunes (of both teams) last year.

#23 West Virginia at #15 Oklahoma. Know absolutely nothing about WV this season, except they will be slinging it in Norman. The Sooners should outlast the Mountaineers in a scoring fest.

#3 Ole Miss at #25 Florida. It's at The Swamp, so the Gators should keep it respectable, but like the Rebels to keep proving they're legit.

#6 Notre Dame at #12 Clemson. Brian Kelly doesn't get enough credit for the job he's done in South Bend. They are on their 3rd string QB and backup tailback, but keep winning. I love the Clemson tradition of touching 'Howard's Rock' then running down the hill from the top of the stadium (best entry in college football), I'll take the Tigers, but won't be surprised if the Irish keep..surprising.

#13 Alabama at #8 Georgia. Far be it for me to bring up an old argument , but it's never to late to admit I'm wrong. I made fun of Alabama playing Georgia State more than they play Georgia over the last decade, but I have to give credit where credit is due. The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs are playing in the regular season for the first time in 7 years despite both playing in the SEC. Congrats to both schools, we will see you again in 2022 . As for the game, Nick Chubb is a great rb for the Dawgs, and Bama looks to be in disarray somewhat. However, Georgia kool-aid is dangerous. Ill drink a cup, but already regretting it.

Upset Alert: With an unintended FUSA flavor

Oregon at Colorado. No I haven't been drinking the Georgia kool-aid early. The Ducks defense is a tire fire, and they lost their best wr last week for the season. The Buffs have been slowly building to this.

Louisville at NC State. The Cards are 1-3, while the Wolfpack is 4-0. However, NC State's schedule has been a joke (directional schools and Old Dominion?). It's in Raleigh so they should win, but not buying them yet.

 

Back from the ol RV drive to Lincoln. What a great weekend with friends and watching college football in easily one of the top 5 places. Nebraska fans are always respectful unless you are from Miami.

Great matchups this week.

I'm not pretending to understand anything after the last few weeks. But here goes.

Ohio State continues their roll to the Big 10 championship

Northwestern to win another close game.

I'll take Badgers at home. Don't know much about Iowa, but Wisconsin does dangerous things at home.

I'm pumping the brakes on the Aggies on this one. I think they win, but it's probably closer than most want it to be. I take State getting 7 here.

West Virginia with the upset in Norman. Offense slightly better, but I think it just comes down to West Va stops Oklahoma one more time than OU stopping them. what's the over in this game?

Ole Miss - Painful to say. I think Ole Miss is flat out the real deal. Dave Wommack has that defense playing at levels they've never witnessed in Oxford and I actually think Kelly is a better Qb than wallace ever was. Vandy always gives Ole miss fits, so not shocked by last week at all and I don't think it slows this team down.

ND/Clemson - I have been anti ND all year. So why not go with them this week.

Bama/GA - rumors are the players at Alabama are finally growing tired of the strict approach of Saban. This is the biggest game now of the year for them. But UGA finally has it together and will take the dawgs.

Upset - WVA. As far as the CU game, i'm going to that Sat night. They are really building it up locally and saying this is the year for CU to take the next step and beat a slumping Oregon team. I just can't believe Oregon has fallen that far and I think Oregon finally hits on all cylinders and win this game comfortably.

 

Champaign is preparing for a migration of Nebraska fans for the game this weekend. 15 - 20,000 by most estimates. Personally, I'm just glad someone will be filling the stadium, and Nebraska fans do seem to be a respectful group (unlike other B1G fanbases I've mentioned previously).

I can't say I'm expecting much out of this game from an Illini perspective. A narrow victory over Middle Tennessee didn't inspire much confidence (although I think that's a team that will compete for a Conference USA title). I think the Huskers will have too much for Illinois and win by a couple touchdowns.

 

Lay the 4 points and take Northwestern. If the Gophers can barely escape the likes of Kent State and Ohio (not State) at home, then we are in big trouble in Evanston. Plus, we can't seem to keep anybody out of the infirmary...so we got that goin' for us...

 

East Coast Weather TM is having some fun wreaking havoc with the matches this weekend so it looks like we'll be moved up though we'll still be live on ESPN3 and tape delayed onto the U. As of the last few years we have not done well on TV and we'll, we've never beaten Bethune-Cookman as a Div-I school. So.... a lot to break this weekend.

In big schools: Go Pack, it'll be a big win over Louisville if they can get it and avoid doing NC State things, Illinois will have their hands full as well against Nebraska, and Northwestern should win well against Minnesota.

 

This is looking like a really good weekend for college football.

Ohio St @ Ind - Not sure why you even bothered with this one. The Hoosiers' record against the top 25 is brutal & they average losing those games by 30+. I know every year is different, but the talent gap in this one is huge.

Minn @ NW - Last year the Gophers parlayed a stingy defense with a pretty good offense into a good season. They only have 1/2 of that equation this year. Cats win.

Iowa @ Wisc - Was tempted to pick this one as the upset, but the Badgers probably prevail at home. I don't have a good feel for either of these teams.

Miss St @ A&M - Our performance against Arky's power running game makes me a little nervous going into this one. However, the Belldogs don't have Arky's o-line or rb's. Dak killed us running the ball last year but he hasn't carried it near as much this year & the rumor going around is that he's playing with a sports hernia. Their defense has been stellar but they've yet to face a team that's even competent at throwing the ball. I'm going with my Ags at home.

WV @ Oklahoma - WV's d has been really good so far but they haven't played anyone. Zero U's d has been worrying. Both teams can sling it around. These early starts favor the home team, so I'll take the Paperclips. I won't be surprised if WV wins though.

Miss @ Fla - The SEC is a line of scrimmage league & the Rebs have them whipped on both sides of the ball on that front. Ole Miss wins.

ND @ Clemp - This one comes down to weather & trust for me. Think the weather favors the Irish. The Tigers haven't looked the same without Chad Morris calling plays. And there's a reason why Clemson is a verb. Irish win.

Bama @ GA - Same theory here. Bama has the better run defense but their weakness is on the back end. I think the weather makes that a problem for Georgia. Plus the Dawgs under Richt don't have the best track record in these games. In decent weather I'd favor UGA, but as it stands I think the Tide roll.

Upset - Thought you might go to the BUTT Bowl for your pick, Joe, but I can see why you wouldn't go to the Tech well twice. I actually like your Colorado over Oregon pick. The numbers favor the Buffs, surprisingly enough.

My pick, Woo Pig (+7) over the Vols. Arky got back on track offensively last week despite losing & I think that ground game is just enough to win a close one against the Vols. Plus I won't trust Butch Jones to win a tight one until I see it.