On Campus 9/16
5 Games to Watch:
I do not normally pick all games with highly ranked teams; however this week there are just too many exceptional games that have big time conference and national championship implications.
#11 Michigan vs. #2 Notre Dame- The Fighting Irish look to improve to 3-0, which would be impressive, something this fat guy didn’t think would happen. They get their second straight shot to knock off a Big Ten power. Brady Quinn has looked impressive this year completing 65% of is passes and not yet throwing and interception. The Irish will look to his leadership to lead them to another win. The Wolverines have had less than stellar play from Junior Chad Henne at QB this season, in fact last week he threw for a career low 113 yards against Central Michigan. So Michigan will turn to RB Michael Hart who has rushed for over 5 yards per carry and 262 yards this season. Also, backup Kevin Grady has averaged almost 5 yards and between the two of them they have scored 5 TD’s. If Michigan can establish the ground game and control the ball they will have a chance to pull off the upset.
#6 LSU vs. #3 Auburn- These may be the two most talented teams in the country squaring off down on the plains. LSU is off to a scorching start both offensively and defensively, they are outscoring their opponents 90-6 this season. Les Miles Tiger defense has been outstanding yielding only 164 yards per game, 3rd best in the country. Their offense is lead by veteran starter JaMarcus Russell who is completing 70% of his passes and thrown for 450 yards. Auburn counters that with one of the most impressive rushing attacks in the country. The backfield features Kenny Irons, Heisman candidate, and his backup Brad Lester who are both averaging over 6 yards per run. Last season Irons ran for a career best 218 yards against the Tigers. The winner here has the inside track at the SEC Championship and as Coach Miles said earlier this week when asked about playing a big rivalry game like this, “It’s why you play football.”
#17 Nebraska vs. #4 Southern Cal- Bill Callahan and all of Husker nation is going to find out real quick if they are back on the map as a legitimate power again. Husker power will be on display against the vaunted Trojan defense. The Huskers have a pair of talented running backs in Sophomores Marlon Lucky and Cody Glenn. With Lucky and Glenn the Huskers come into the game with a top 3 offense in both yards and scoring this season. The Trojans will look again to new QB John David Booty to be there leader. Booty was impressive with a win at Arkansas and now gets his first game in front of the Trojan faithful. The Trojan offense may be too big and strong for a still rebuilding Cornhusker defense. If Nebraska wants to win this game they need to jump on top early and hang on, for if the Southern Cal offense scores early they usually score often.
#7 Florida vs. #14 Tennessee- Nothing is better than this yearly early season Sec East rivalry. The whacky stat of the week is that the lower ranked team is 6-2 in this series over the past 8 years. The Gators are clearly the more veteran team with Chris Leak calling the signals. Leak enters his second season in the complex Urban Meyer offense and through two games this year he has look exceptional (67.8% Completions, 600 yards, 7 TD). Leak is a senior who has been playing in this spotlight his whole career, so the 100, 000 plus fans should not bother him (though hearing Rocky Top 75 times or so may drive anyone crazy). The Vols look to their signal caller as well, junior Erik Ainge has a renewed confidence in himself with the addition of QB Coach David Cutcliffe (for those unfamiliar with the SEC, Cutcliffe is the second most important person in making the Manning brothers into Pro Bowl QB’s). Don’t read too much into the close game with Air Force last week; the Vols will more resemble the team that dismantled Cal in week 1.
#17 Miami vs. #12 Louisville- The Cardinals quite simply have the best offense in the entire country. Even after losing their starting tailback in the 1st quarter of the season they still come in 3rd in the country in rushing yards with 337 per game. The Cane defense will have their hands full even if they stop the rushing because All-American Quarterback Brian Brohm is looking to break out. On the other hand, the Cane’s offense has looked mighty pedestrian. Kyle Wright behind center has still struggled throughout two games, only throwing 1 TD pass. Miami will look to keep up with their rushing game and try to keep that Louisville off the field. Although nobody wants to admit it, Louisville and West Virginia are legit, and Louisville has the chance to step up to that next level by beating Miami this week.
4 Players too see:
James Davis, RB Clemson- Davis has not been as crisp this season on the ground as he was last season, his first in college football. This week he goes up against perhaps the best defense and the best rushing defense in the country. The Tigers are on the road for a conference game for the second straight week, in Bowden Bowl 8. Clemson can’t afford to go down 0-2 in the conference and the strong legs of Davis will be needed if they have a chance at getting a win.
Bret Meyer, QB Iowa State- The junior signal caller for the Cyclones is big, strong, and has shown the legs to help become more of a double threat QB this season. This week he brings his cyclones into Iowa City to face the rival Hawkeyes, and next week down to Austin Texas. Meyer has the ability to throw and run for multiple touchdowns in a game and he has two weeks to show off his skills to the entire country. He has completed 68% of his passes; thrown for 2 TD’s and run for 3 more in 2 wins this season. If the cyclones can pull off an upset in the next two weeks it will be the arm and legs of Meyer that help get it done.
Nick Larkin, DE Boston College- The speedy junior defensive end has caused havoc for opposing offensive tackles so far this year. Larkin is tall but slender and uses his speed to get in the backfield and disrupt the offensives timing. Coming off an 8 tackle 1 sack performance against Clemson, he will need to use his speed again to contain the high octane BYU offense coming into Chestnut hill Saturday. Larkin will be relied upon heavily to get to BYU QB John beck and force him into bad decisions, something that hasn’t happened for Beck yet this year with his 0 interceptions and 75% completion percentage. The status off All League linebacker Greg Toal is a game time decision so his loss may put even more pressure on Larkin.
Dennis Dixon, QB Oregon- Dixon is one more in the long line of ultra talented QB’s under Mike Belotti in Eugene. This weekend the Oklahoma Sooners come knocking on Dixons door. The Sooners are susceptible to giving up points so far this year, but not many on the ground. Dixon has relied on his ground game so far in two wins this year, but he will have to become a much bigger factor and begin to throw for some scores if Oregon is going to be Oklahoma. Dixon speed will help him move around in the pocket and bye some time from the Sooner pass rush.
UPSET SPECIAL: I will only do this every once in awhile when I see a huge upset on the horizon. The Div I-AA Furman Paladins over the North Carolina Tar Heels.
I do not normally pick all games with highly ranked teams; however this week there are just too many exceptional games that have big time conference and national championship implications.
#11 Michigan vs. #2 Notre Dame- The Fighting Irish look to improve to 3-0, which would be impressive, something this fat guy didn’t think would happen. They get their second straight shot to knock off a Big Ten power. Brady Quinn has looked impressive this year completing 65% of is passes and not yet throwing and interception. The Irish will look to his leadership to lead them to another win. The Wolverines have had less than stellar play from Junior Chad Henne at QB this season, in fact last week he threw for a career low 113 yards against Central Michigan. So Michigan will turn to RB Michael Hart who has rushed for over 5 yards per carry and 262 yards this season. Also, backup Kevin Grady has averaged almost 5 yards and between the two of them they have scored 5 TD’s. If Michigan can establish the ground game and control the ball they will have a chance to pull off the upset.
#6 LSU vs. #3 Auburn- These may be the two most talented teams in the country squaring off down on the plains. LSU is off to a scorching start both offensively and defensively, they are outscoring their opponents 90-6 this season. Les Miles Tiger defense has been outstanding yielding only 164 yards per game, 3rd best in the country. Their offense is lead by veteran starter JaMarcus Russell who is completing 70% of his passes and thrown for 450 yards. Auburn counters that with one of the most impressive rushing attacks in the country. The backfield features Kenny Irons, Heisman candidate, and his backup Brad Lester who are both averaging over 6 yards per run. Last season Irons ran for a career best 218 yards against the Tigers. The winner here has the inside track at the SEC Championship and as Coach Miles said earlier this week when asked about playing a big rivalry game like this, “It’s why you play football.”
#17 Nebraska vs. #4 Southern Cal- Bill Callahan and all of Husker nation is going to find out real quick if they are back on the map as a legitimate power again. Husker power will be on display against the vaunted Trojan defense. The Huskers have a pair of talented running backs in Sophomores Marlon Lucky and Cody Glenn. With Lucky and Glenn the Huskers come into the game with a top 3 offense in both yards and scoring this season. The Trojans will look again to new QB John David Booty to be there leader. Booty was impressive with a win at Arkansas and now gets his first game in front of the Trojan faithful. The Trojan offense may be too big and strong for a still rebuilding Cornhusker defense. If Nebraska wants to win this game they need to jump on top early and hang on, for if the Southern Cal offense scores early they usually score often.
#7 Florida vs. #14 Tennessee- Nothing is better than this yearly early season Sec East rivalry. The whacky stat of the week is that the lower ranked team is 6-2 in this series over the past 8 years. The Gators are clearly the more veteran team with Chris Leak calling the signals. Leak enters his second season in the complex Urban Meyer offense and through two games this year he has look exceptional (67.8% Completions, 600 yards, 7 TD). Leak is a senior who has been playing in this spotlight his whole career, so the 100, 000 plus fans should not bother him (though hearing Rocky Top 75 times or so may drive anyone crazy). The Vols look to their signal caller as well, junior Erik Ainge has a renewed confidence in himself with the addition of QB Coach David Cutcliffe (for those unfamiliar with the SEC, Cutcliffe is the second most important person in making the Manning brothers into Pro Bowl QB’s). Don’t read too much into the close game with Air Force last week; the Vols will more resemble the team that dismantled Cal in week 1.
#17 Miami vs. #12 Louisville- The Cardinals quite simply have the best offense in the entire country. Even after losing their starting tailback in the 1st quarter of the season they still come in 3rd in the country in rushing yards with 337 per game. The Cane defense will have their hands full even if they stop the rushing because All-American Quarterback Brian Brohm is looking to break out. On the other hand, the Cane’s offense has looked mighty pedestrian. Kyle Wright behind center has still struggled throughout two games, only throwing 1 TD pass. Miami will look to keep up with their rushing game and try to keep that Louisville off the field. Although nobody wants to admit it, Louisville and West Virginia are legit, and Louisville has the chance to step up to that next level by beating Miami this week.
4 Players too see:
James Davis, RB Clemson- Davis has not been as crisp this season on the ground as he was last season, his first in college football. This week he goes up against perhaps the best defense and the best rushing defense in the country. The Tigers are on the road for a conference game for the second straight week, in Bowden Bowl 8. Clemson can’t afford to go down 0-2 in the conference and the strong legs of Davis will be needed if they have a chance at getting a win.
Bret Meyer, QB Iowa State- The junior signal caller for the Cyclones is big, strong, and has shown the legs to help become more of a double threat QB this season. This week he brings his cyclones into Iowa City to face the rival Hawkeyes, and next week down to Austin Texas. Meyer has the ability to throw and run for multiple touchdowns in a game and he has two weeks to show off his skills to the entire country. He has completed 68% of his passes; thrown for 2 TD’s and run for 3 more in 2 wins this season. If the cyclones can pull off an upset in the next two weeks it will be the arm and legs of Meyer that help get it done.
Nick Larkin, DE Boston College- The speedy junior defensive end has caused havoc for opposing offensive tackles so far this year. Larkin is tall but slender and uses his speed to get in the backfield and disrupt the offensives timing. Coming off an 8 tackle 1 sack performance against Clemson, he will need to use his speed again to contain the high octane BYU offense coming into Chestnut hill Saturday. Larkin will be relied upon heavily to get to BYU QB John beck and force him into bad decisions, something that hasn’t happened for Beck yet this year with his 0 interceptions and 75% completion percentage. The status off All League linebacker Greg Toal is a game time decision so his loss may put even more pressure on Larkin.
Dennis Dixon, QB Oregon- Dixon is one more in the long line of ultra talented QB’s under Mike Belotti in Eugene. This weekend the Oklahoma Sooners come knocking on Dixons door. The Sooners are susceptible to giving up points so far this year, but not many on the ground. Dixon has relied on his ground game so far in two wins this year, but he will have to become a much bigger factor and begin to throw for some scores if Oregon is going to be Oklahoma. Dixon speed will help him move around in the pocket and bye some time from the Sooner pass rush.
UPSET SPECIAL: I will only do this every once in awhile when I see a huge upset on the horizon. The Div I-AA Furman Paladins over the North Carolina Tar Heels.
2 Comments:
Anybody else watch the Terps get dismantled last night? How does such a lackluster program generate freaks of nature???? Vernon Davis, Sean Merriman, even EJ Henderson is a freak!
Ralph Friedgen is FAT!
YO... what about the fucking gamecocks getting beat by the TERRIERS!!! The mini COCKS won't be able to stop the dominating option, its over and USC is done baby...
-ClemsonTiger
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