Another 4-1 week in the books and we will look to carry the momentum over the last three weeks into this week's picks.
Florida vs Missouri
The Gators look to right the ship Saturday when they travel to Columbia to take on the unbeaten Tigers. Florida is coming off a 17-6 loss to LSU in which the offense couldn't mount any momentum throughout the entire game. QB Tyler Murphy was 15-27 for just 115 yards and no touchdowns. The Gators will need to rely on RB's Mack Brown and Kelvin Taylor against the Tigers in an effort to continue to not force the young quarterback to make too many plays himself. Both Brown and Taylor are averaging around four yards a carry and the Gators will hope for that kind of production on Saturday against a tough front seven as the Tigers defense ranks 25th against the rush. The Gators will also need to rely on their stout defense to stop the Missouri spread offensive attack. With James Franklin out, it will be interesting to see what the Gators do on defense with Maty Mauk running the Tiger offense.
The Tigers are roaring after beating #7 Georgia last week 41-26 and are now 6-0 for the third time under Head Coach Gary Pinkel. The Tigers offense was balanced throughout the game and did a good job mixing up the play calling. QB James Franklin accounted for 182 and two touchdowns but was injured late in the game and is now out for the regular season. QB Maty Mauk will look to fill his shoes albeit against a very good defensive team in Florida. RB Henry Josey will look to help his QB out but that might prove to be extremely difficult as the Gators are third in the nation against the run. Mauk will need to make some plays not only with his arm, but with his feet as well if the Tigers are going to beat the Gators. L'Damian Washington and Dorial Green-Beckham will try to put themselves in position against the Gator defensive backs to help out Mauk.
Prediction: This will be an ugly game to start with both teams offenses struggling to put any points on the board. Both teams will stack the box forcing the opposing QB to beat them through the air. While Florida has the better defense, the Tigers can put pressure on the QB with their defensive line and that will be huge on Saturday against the Gators and their inexperienced QB. Also the Gators don't really have any huge offensive play makers while the Tigers have three and they will come up big in the fourth quarter. This will be a tight game throughout with the Tigers finally pulling away in the final minutes.
+Mizzou Athletics 24 - +Florida Gators 14
UCLA vs Stanford
Brett Hundley and the Bruins travel to Palo Alto and will look to knock off the Cardinal for the first time since 2008. The Bruins are coming off a 37-10 offensive clinic against the Cal Golden Bears and the offense has been proficient all year. Hundley threw for 410 yards and three touchdowns despite the running game struggling a bit against the Golden Bears. Even with that game, the Bruins average over 223 yards a game on the ground to go along with 323 yards through the air. To say the Bruin offense has been lethal is an understatement. The Bruins offense will be tested against the Cardinal defense as this will be the best defense the Bruins have played so far this season. Stanford is very good against the run and won't need to put an extra man in the box like Cal did in an effort to stop the run. This will also help the Cardinal in the pass where Cal was shredded so Hundley will need to pick his spots and continue to play the way he has and not make any mistakes.
The Cardinal will look to rebound after losing last week 27-21 to Utah and what better way to try and rebound than to go back home. Stanford has beaten two ranked opponents at home so far this year and will look to make it three on Saturday. QB Kevin Hogan will need to play better against the Bruins than he did against the Utes. Hogan was 15-27 for 246 yards and a touchdown. However, the offense had trouble moving the ball consistently and lacked the big play. RB Tyler Gaffney was huge for the Cardinal rushing for 106 yards and a touchdown and will look to continue that success against the Bruins. The biggest need for improvement for the Cardinal is the rushing defense. The Cardinal allowed 176 yards on the ground against the Utes and now face a Bruin team that is better running the ball than Utah. Expect the Cardinal to play better against the run and rely on Tyler Gaffney while taking some more shots down field with Hogan to open up the Bruin defense.
Prediction: This is going to be a great, physical game. Both teams will have their way against each other early and will need to make adjustments to their game plan to stop their opponent. Hundley will be dominant throughout this game picking his shots against the Cardinal defense. Hogan will try and keep up by taking more shots down the field and spreading the ball around to someone other than Ty Montgomery. This game will come down to the final possession and with a tie game, Hogan will lead the Cardinal into field goal position and the Cardinal will go onto win a thriller as the kick is good with no time left on the clock.
+Stanford University 34 - +UCLA Bruins 31
USC vs Notre Dame
The Trojans travel to South Bend to take on one of their arch rival's in Notre Dame. The Trojans are coming off a 38-31 win over Arizona in Ed Orgeron's first game as head coach. The Trojan offense moved the ball at will against the Wildcat defense racking up 546 total yards. QB Cody Kessler threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns while the rushing attack totaled 249 yards and three touchdowns spread across six rushers. This offensive explosion will need to continue if USC wants to beat Notre Dame in South Bend. USC's defense has struggled this year, however, they are playing an offensively challenged team and if the Trojans can force a turnover or two, they will be in great position to win.
The Fighting Irish are coming off a bye week and will look to continue the success it had against Arizona St the week before. Against the Sun Devils, QB Tommy Rees threw for 279 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Rees moved the ball down the field well and outside of the interception was very good with his decision making. RB's Cam McDaniel and George Atkinson rushed for 136 yards combined as well. The Irish will look to stifle the USC offense, which at times has struggled this year, while managing the game on offense with Rees and trying to run the ball down the Trojans throat.
Prediction: The Trojans will look to come out and run the ball as well as they did against the Wildcats the week before. While the Trojans will have some success, they won't have nearly the success they did against the Wildcats and will need Cody Kessler to move the team down the field. Much like the Trojans, the Irish will need to rely on Tommy Rees to move the team down the field as the Trojans will stack the box and force him to beat them. This will be a low scoring game throughout much of the contest until the game is decided by a Tommy Rees interception deep in the Irish territory that turns into a USC touchdown. Rees tries to bring the team back, but throws another late interception and the Trojans run out the clock.
+USC Trojans 20 - +Notre Dame Athletics 10
Florida St vs Clemson
The game everyone has been looking forward to since last year if finally here. Florida St travels to Memorial Stadium to take on the Clemson Tigers. Florida St is coming off a bye after throttling Maryland 63-0 at home two weeks ago. QB Jameis Winston has been sensational this year completing 73% of his passes as well as throwing for 17 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He will look to get the ball to his play makers early and often against the Tigers. RB's Devonta Freeman and Karlos Williams have combined to rush for 629 yards and nine touchdowns so far this season. Winston also has wheels of his own rushing for 135 yards and two touchdowns. The real question for the Seminoles is how will their defense hold up. The Seminoles have only been tested by Boston College so far and the Eagles have far less offensive talent than the Tigers do so the Seminoles will benefit from the week off to prepare for the Tigers.
Clemson is coming off their own close call against Boston College beating them 24-14 in a game that saw the Clemson offense move the ball extremely well but failed to put up many points. QB Tajh Boyd threw for 334 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 33 yards and another touchdown. RB Roderick McDowell ran for 91 yards while star wideout Sammy Watkins had 101 yards receiving and a score. These three will need to play big against the Seminoles if the Tigers want to stay in the National Championship picture. The Tiger defense will also need to keep playing at their current level and force some turnovers against the Seminoles if Clemson is going to win this game.
Prediction: If you thought the Tiger crowd was loud against Georgia, just wait for this game. The atmosphere will be absolutely electric and this game will exceed the hype. Both QB's will put on Heisman like performances and will move their teams down the field at will. This will be a back and forth game with each team leading by 10 at some point in the game. The breakthrough will come early in the fourth quarter when the Tigers force a turnover from Winston, leading to a touchdown. The Seminoles will be down 14 but will drive down the field quickly to get back within seven. After a Tiger field goal, the Seminoles get another touchdown with a minute left but can't get the onside kick and the Tigers get another close home win over a top 10 opponent.
+Clemson Tigers 41 - +Florida State Seminoles 38
Upset Special:
BYU vs Houston
Its the Cougar bowl as the BYU Cougars look to knock off the undefeated Houston Cougars. BYU is coming off an impressive victory over Georgia Tech in which the offense moved the ball both through the air and on the ground consistently against the Yellow Jackets. Taysom Hill was 19-27 for 244 yards and a touchdowns and also ran for 65 yards and a touchdown. Hill has improved his accuracy dramatically over the last three games compared to the first three games. Through three games, Hill was completing 34.8% of his passes. Over the last three games, Hill is completing 66.8% of his passes. The team will go as Hill's arm goes. The Cougars can pound it down any opponents throat, but if Hill can't throw accurately, than opponents will stack the box and force him to throw. It will be interesting to see what the Houston defense does to try and throw Hill off his game as it is very good against the run.
The Houston Cougars are coming off a 25-15 win over Memphis in a game that saw the defense play great but the offense wasn't very good. John O'Korn was 13-30 for 198 yards and a touchdown. His accuracy will need to be much better against an even better defensive team in BYU if Houston wants to win. Along with this, Houston only ran for 38 yards in their win over Memphis. Houston will need to run for their average of 188 yards a game because if Houston turns one dimensional against BYU, they will lose.
Prediction: This will be a very physical and defensive game with each team trying to force the opposing teams quarterback to beat them. Both running attacks will be stuffed early but will see some holes later in the game. While Houston's defense has been great and has kept the team in games when the offense has struggled, the power running attack of Jamaal Williams and Taysom Hill takes it toll on teams and wears them down by the third quarter. Throw in the fact that Hill has been extremely accurate of late and that does not bode well for Houston. This will be a close game until early in the fourth quarter, when BYU will finally pull away.
+BYU 27 - +University of Houston 14
Last Week: 4-1
2013 Season: 24-11
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