Teams are really starting to be concerned about placement for conference title games, and the week starts with two important ones for the MAC
Tuesday Oct 31
I'm sure these teams are hoping for more treats than tricks, but maybe some trick plays may appear.
Northern Illinois Huskies at Central Michigan Chippewas : Losing this game will likely extinguish any title hopes for the Chippewas. They will fight hard, but the Huskies tend to fight harder in championship-eligible games. NORTHERN ILLINOIS by eight
Buffalo Bulls at Toledo Rockets : They may play in two different divisions, but a loos by Buffalo puts them in jeopardy in the East. Toledo is strong, though, and I don't see them faltering on this, especially since they had an extra week to prepare. TOLEDO by 12
Wednesday Nov 1
Ball State Cardinals at Bowling Green Falcons : Neither team is having the type of year they hoped, but al least the Falcons are less pathetic. BOWLING GREEN by eight
Kent State Golden Flashes at Akron Zips : Well, one of these two teams will have their first conference win. Since the Flashes have the worst offense in the conference, I'll pick Akron to gain that first win. AKRON by seven
Thurs Nov 2
Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Duke Blue Devils : This game might have been better scheduled on Halloween night (demons versus devils? How more appropriate could you get?), but here it is. Duke suffered an embarrassing loss last week, so they want to right the ship. Wake won't make it easy, but they should regain their winning ways. DUKE by eight
Sat Nov 4
Purdue Boilermakers at #1 Michigan Wolverines : Michigan will pulverize the Boilermakers. MICHIGAN by lots
#2 Ohio State Buckeyes at Rutgers Scarlet Knights : Rutgers might start this game strongly, but the second half will belong to the Buckeyes. OHIO STATE by 23
#3 Florida State Seminoles at Pitt Panthers: One week after getting routed by Notre Dame, the Panthers face another blowout. FLORIDA STATE by lots
#4 Washington Huskies at #17 USC Trojans : This might be last week in the Top 25 for the Trojans after starting the season at #1, as they have slid badly. Washington will carve them up. WASHINGTON by 20
#15 Missouri Tigers at #5 Georgia Bulldogs : This might be the best chance for the Bulldogs first loss. Missouri has a tenacious defense. If they force at least two turnovers, they might win the game. Georgia rarely coughs up the ball, though. GEORGIA by eight
Cal Golden Bears at #6 Oregon Ducks : Cal nearly beat USC last week. Oregon won't have any problems. OREGON by 24
#7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Clemson Tigers : Can the Irish paste a second consecutive ACC opponent? Maybe. NOTRE DAME by 26
#8 Oklahoma Sooners at Oklahoma State Cowboys : I'll bet the Cowboys wanted to be the team to hand the Sooners their first loss. Unfortunately, now that that first loss has happened, the Sooners will work extra hard to ensure it doesn't happen again so soon. OKLAHOMA by 16
#20 Kansas State Wildcats at #9 Texas Longhorns : The Wildcats have now entered the toughest stretch of their schedule, and the Longhorns will start their decline. TEXAS by 20
#10 Penn State Nittany Lions at Maryland Terrapins : After last week, I think Maryland and their fans have to be concerned that the Terrapins are facing at least two more big losses. Here's one. PENN STATE by 18
Army Black Knights at #11 Air Force Falcons : Why don't we just award the Commander-in-Chief's trophy to Air Force right now and spare the embarrassment? AIR FORCE by lots
LSU Tigers at #12 Alabama Crimson Tide : LSU is knocking on the door to the Top 25, but the Tide have answered the door. That's worse than seeing a shotgun or a big dog. ALABAMA by 15
Boise State Broncos at #13 Fresno State Bulldogs : The Bulldogs will knock off another Mountain West contender, setting up a match-up with Air Force. FRESNO STATE by 16
#24 Texas A&M Aggies at #14 Ole Miss Rebels : The Rebels are a tough team this year, and with losses by A^M and LSU this week will set them up to challenge Alabama for the West title. OLE MISS by 20
Virginia Tech Hokies at #16 Louisville Cardinals : The Cardinals are proving to be a serious power in the ACC, and perhaps poised to challenge Florida State for the conference title. The Hokies won't be too large an obstacle. LOUISVILLE by 18
UConn Huskies at #18 Tennessee Volunteers : Easy pick. TENNESSEE by lots
Campbell at #19 North Carolina Tar Heels : Even easier pick. NORTH CAROLINA by tons
#21 Miami Hurricanes at NC State Wolf Pack : This might be an interesting challenge for the Hurricanes, but their tenacious defense will see them through. MIAMI by 13
#22 Kansas Jayhawks at Iowa State Cyclones : The Jayhawks have to keep their cool and get overly crazed over their upset of Oklahoma, as they will need to pay attention to the Cyclones. A possible upset here. KANSAS by six
Arizona State Sun Devils at #23 Utah Utes : Utah gets to bounce back from a bad loss, but they can't feel too comfortable. UTAH by 16
#25 Oregon State Beavers at Colorado Buffaloes : Upset alert! Away from home, the Beavers aren't quite so strong, and Colorado has been getting a bit better the past couple of weeks. OREGON STATE by four
Big Ten
Wisconsin Badgers at Indiana Hoosiers : The Badgers prevent the Hoosiers from gaining their first conference win of the season while simultaneously holding their place in the West title race. WISCONSIN by eight
Nebraska Cornhuskers at Michigan State Spartans : The other team looking for their first conference win will also fall, although not without some difficulty. NEBRASKA by nine
Illinois Fighting Illini at Minnesota Golden Gophers : If the Illini learned what they screwed up on during the second half of the Wisconsin game, and can hold onto a lead, they might surprise Minnesota, as the defense is coming together. I'm not sure they've fixed it, though. MINNESOTA by nine
Iowa Hawkeyes at Northwestern Wildcats : Northwestern is coming on, but Iowa had an extra week to heal and work up new defensive strategies (as if they really needed any new ones!). IOWA by ten
Other Games of Interest
Tulane Green Wave at East Carolina Pirates : The Pirates won't be able to steal a win from the surging Green Wave. TULANE by 16
James Madison Dukes at Georgia State Panthers : This might be the last chance for someone to beat James Madison. If they haven't fully recovered from the tight bout they fought with Old Dominion, they might fall. I don't think so, but watch for a possible upset. JAMES MADISON by six
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Liberty Flames : The Flames, on the other hand, don't really have nay stiff competition in the Conference USA this year. LIBERTY by 24
Kentucky Wildcats at Mississippi State Bulldogs : This is an important game for Kentucky. In recent years, the Wildcats start the season strong, and then slip when they start losing against tough SEC opponents. They need a good SEC win to reverse that trend. I think they'll pull out a win, but it'll be too close for comfort. KENTUCKY by four
SMU Mustangs at Rice Owls : The Mustangs are running wild, and the Owls can only watch. SMU by lots
UCLA Bruins at Arizona Wildcats : Arizona won't engineer two upsets in a row. UCLA by 16
No comments:
Post a Comment