On Campus 9/9
5 Games to watch:
#18 Clemson vs. Boston College- The Tigers make their first ACC visit to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College. People down south don’t think teams in the north can play football, but BC came down to Clemson and beat them last year. This will be Clemson QB Will Proctor’s first road game and first game against a real opponent. How he will react to a hostile crowd will be paramount for Clemson. Boston College has a more proven commodity at QB in Matt Ryan who registered his first career start and win in Death Valley last season. Ryan started off with a strong performance in game 1 this year throwing for 300+ yards and 3 scores. The x-factor here is Clemson Super-Soph James Davis, if he can run the ball successfully it will take the pressure of off Proctor. But folks remember, Tommy Bowden has a history of losing these games where he is a favorite and gearing up for a bigger game next week down in Tallahassee.
Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati- This is an important early Big East match-up with the winner having the inside track at third place in the conference (more than likely West Virginia & Louisville will finish 1,2). Pittsburgh is in their second season under the direction of Dave Wannstedt, and pre-season last year they were a ranked team. One of the main reasons for that was QB Tyler Palko. Palko is now a 5th year Senior and firmly entrenched as the starter, and though much maligned throughout his career he has thrown 44 TD passes with only 17 INT’s. It would be an important win for Pittsburgh on the road because it could set up a potential big match up with Rutgers come mid October. Cincinnati has been strong at home over the last 2 seasons going 8-3 so it is a tougher place to play than one would think.
#12 Georgia vs. South Carolina- People always ask me does South Carolina have a conference rival, if they do, Georgia is that team. Steve Spurrier has the Gamecocks on an unprecedented 6 game SEC winning streak and he would hate to see that end at home. Neither team learned much that they didn’t already know during the first week of the season. Spurrier knew his offensive line was suspect but he still does not know how good his defense is because Mississippi State was playing with their backup QB most of the night, and the offense was atrocious with the starting QB in there. Georgia still does not know what to expect out of senior signal caller Joe Tereshinski III, and he will be facing a very hostile environment on the road in Columbia. If the Gamecocks struggle to block again this week Defensive End Quentin Moses could become close friend with Cocks QB Blake Mitchell. The game will be a defensive struggle, but South Carolina may have a few more playmakers right now on offense that could make the difference, like Sophomore wideout Sidney Rice who’s coming out party was down between the hedges last season and junior Tailback Cory Boyd is back off of his suspension from last season.
#1 Ohio State vs.# 2 Texas- Whoa, Nelly! This is a 4 dag gummite game. Remember how last season Texas came storming into Columbus with the chip on their shoulder, the favorite in the game and the team with the most electrifying play maker. Well switch all that around, especially the play maker. Ohio State QB Troy Smith is the best player in the country and he is looking to lead his team to a revenge win against Texas. In the first game of the year Troy Smith threw 3 TD passes before his first incompletion. The Buckeye defense, which has 9 new starters, was expected to be an immoveable force, except someone forgot to tell Northern Illinois Tailback Garrett Wolfe that, as he went off for a combined 285 yards of offense. Texas has a strong running attack with a duel threat of Selvin Young and Jamaal Charles. Texas may be able to control the ground game and limit how much Troy Smith and the Buckeyes ultimate Weapon Ted Ginn, jr. have the ball on offense. But look out Longhorn fans, Smith and Ginn only need one touch to make something special happen.
#4 Notre Dame vs. #19 Penn State- Notre Dame got a solid win down in Atlanta against Georgia Tech in week 1 and Penn State defeated defending MAC Champion Akron with a solid effort in Happy Valley. I t was a good tune up for both teams, but now they have to step up their games for this week. Brady Quinn, Charlie Weis and the mighty Notre Dame offense better be ready for a steady diet of Paul Posluszny. He can control a game roaming the middle of the field for the Nittany Lions and he can make Quinn’s life a nightmare. Unfortunately the Nittany Lion secondary may struggle with receive Jeff Samardzija because of his massive size. On the other hand the stout Notre Dame defense will be going up against Penn State junior Anthony Morelli making only his second career start and first on the road. Morelli needs to rely on the experienced legs on RB Tony Hunt and get the ball in the hands of his playmakers, like Sophomore Derrick Williams. Again it looks like this one could be a defensives struggle but Notre Dame has the edge being at home and having the experienced QB in Brady Quinn.
4 Players to see:
Steve Slaton, RB West Virginia- The Sophomore running back is making his case as perhaps the best back in the country. He completed a stellar freshman campaign with 1100 yards and 17 TD’s. He picked up right where he left off going for 203 yards in week 1 versus Marshall. This week he faces an Eastern Washington team who gave up over 200 yards on the ground to Oregon State.
Josh Parker Wilson, QB Alabama- Wilson has the unenviable task of replacing one of Alabama’s favorite sons at quarterback, the homegrown 3 year starter Brody Croyle. In his first game Wilson tossed for 253 yards against a weak Hawaii defense. This week he will be facing his first SEC competition against a solid Vanderbilt defense which only surrendered 130 yards to Michigan starter Chad Henne while on the road. It will be Wilson first real test, let’s see if he passes.
Quinton Culberson, LB Miss St.- Last week in a season opening loss to South Carolina Culberson was all over the field. On the first play of the game from scrimmage he intercepted a pass. He then stalked the Gamecocks backfield all night long, collecting 7 tackles, a sack and another pass break up. He will be called on by Coach Sylester Crrom to slow down the Auburn rushing attack.
Isaiah Stanback, QB Washington- The Huskies senior signal caller is a solid dual threat QB. In week 1 he threw for 168 yards and rushed for another 100 yards and accounted for 2 TD’s in a win against San Jose State. Coach Tyrone Willingham loves to have a run/pass Quarterback to fit in his system and Stanback is the right type of guy for that. If he can have a big game, 300+ yards of total offense, the Huskies could pull off a big win down in Norman.
#18 Clemson vs. Boston College- The Tigers make their first ACC visit to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College. People down south don’t think teams in the north can play football, but BC came down to Clemson and beat them last year. This will be Clemson QB Will Proctor’s first road game and first game against a real opponent. How he will react to a hostile crowd will be paramount for Clemson. Boston College has a more proven commodity at QB in Matt Ryan who registered his first career start and win in Death Valley last season. Ryan started off with a strong performance in game 1 this year throwing for 300+ yards and 3 scores. The x-factor here is Clemson Super-Soph James Davis, if he can run the ball successfully it will take the pressure of off Proctor. But folks remember, Tommy Bowden has a history of losing these games where he is a favorite and gearing up for a bigger game next week down in Tallahassee.
Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati- This is an important early Big East match-up with the winner having the inside track at third place in the conference (more than likely West Virginia & Louisville will finish 1,2). Pittsburgh is in their second season under the direction of Dave Wannstedt, and pre-season last year they were a ranked team. One of the main reasons for that was QB Tyler Palko. Palko is now a 5th year Senior and firmly entrenched as the starter, and though much maligned throughout his career he has thrown 44 TD passes with only 17 INT’s. It would be an important win for Pittsburgh on the road because it could set up a potential big match up with Rutgers come mid October. Cincinnati has been strong at home over the last 2 seasons going 8-3 so it is a tougher place to play than one would think.
#12 Georgia vs. South Carolina- People always ask me does South Carolina have a conference rival, if they do, Georgia is that team. Steve Spurrier has the Gamecocks on an unprecedented 6 game SEC winning streak and he would hate to see that end at home. Neither team learned much that they didn’t already know during the first week of the season. Spurrier knew his offensive line was suspect but he still does not know how good his defense is because Mississippi State was playing with their backup QB most of the night, and the offense was atrocious with the starting QB in there. Georgia still does not know what to expect out of senior signal caller Joe Tereshinski III, and he will be facing a very hostile environment on the road in Columbia. If the Gamecocks struggle to block again this week Defensive End Quentin Moses could become close friend with Cocks QB Blake Mitchell. The game will be a defensive struggle, but South Carolina may have a few more playmakers right now on offense that could make the difference, like Sophomore wideout Sidney Rice who’s coming out party was down between the hedges last season and junior Tailback Cory Boyd is back off of his suspension from last season.
#1 Ohio State vs.# 2 Texas- Whoa, Nelly! This is a 4 dag gummite game. Remember how last season Texas came storming into Columbus with the chip on their shoulder, the favorite in the game and the team with the most electrifying play maker. Well switch all that around, especially the play maker. Ohio State QB Troy Smith is the best player in the country and he is looking to lead his team to a revenge win against Texas. In the first game of the year Troy Smith threw 3 TD passes before his first incompletion. The Buckeye defense, which has 9 new starters, was expected to be an immoveable force, except someone forgot to tell Northern Illinois Tailback Garrett Wolfe that, as he went off for a combined 285 yards of offense. Texas has a strong running attack with a duel threat of Selvin Young and Jamaal Charles. Texas may be able to control the ground game and limit how much Troy Smith and the Buckeyes ultimate Weapon Ted Ginn, jr. have the ball on offense. But look out Longhorn fans, Smith and Ginn only need one touch to make something special happen.
#4 Notre Dame vs. #19 Penn State- Notre Dame got a solid win down in Atlanta against Georgia Tech in week 1 and Penn State defeated defending MAC Champion Akron with a solid effort in Happy Valley. I t was a good tune up for both teams, but now they have to step up their games for this week. Brady Quinn, Charlie Weis and the mighty Notre Dame offense better be ready for a steady diet of Paul Posluszny. He can control a game roaming the middle of the field for the Nittany Lions and he can make Quinn’s life a nightmare. Unfortunately the Nittany Lion secondary may struggle with receive Jeff Samardzija because of his massive size. On the other hand the stout Notre Dame defense will be going up against Penn State junior Anthony Morelli making only his second career start and first on the road. Morelli needs to rely on the experienced legs on RB Tony Hunt and get the ball in the hands of his playmakers, like Sophomore Derrick Williams. Again it looks like this one could be a defensives struggle but Notre Dame has the edge being at home and having the experienced QB in Brady Quinn.
4 Players to see:
Steve Slaton, RB West Virginia- The Sophomore running back is making his case as perhaps the best back in the country. He completed a stellar freshman campaign with 1100 yards and 17 TD’s. He picked up right where he left off going for 203 yards in week 1 versus Marshall. This week he faces an Eastern Washington team who gave up over 200 yards on the ground to Oregon State.
Josh Parker Wilson, QB Alabama- Wilson has the unenviable task of replacing one of Alabama’s favorite sons at quarterback, the homegrown 3 year starter Brody Croyle. In his first game Wilson tossed for 253 yards against a weak Hawaii defense. This week he will be facing his first SEC competition against a solid Vanderbilt defense which only surrendered 130 yards to Michigan starter Chad Henne while on the road. It will be Wilson first real test, let’s see if he passes.
Quinton Culberson, LB Miss St.- Last week in a season opening loss to South Carolina Culberson was all over the field. On the first play of the game from scrimmage he intercepted a pass. He then stalked the Gamecocks backfield all night long, collecting 7 tackles, a sack and another pass break up. He will be called on by Coach Sylester Crrom to slow down the Auburn rushing attack.
Isaiah Stanback, QB Washington- The Huskies senior signal caller is a solid dual threat QB. In week 1 he threw for 168 yards and rushed for another 100 yards and accounted for 2 TD’s in a win against San Jose State. Coach Tyrone Willingham loves to have a run/pass Quarterback to fit in his system and Stanback is the right type of guy for that. If he can have a big game, 300+ yards of total offense, the Huskies could pull off a big win down in Norman.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home