A nice 4-1 performance last week to keep the season win column moving up. Now to this week's picks.
Maryland vs Florida St
After beating West Virginia for the first since 2004, the Maryland Terrapins look to get another big win and beat the Florida State Seminoles for the first time since 2006. The Terps have been rejuvenated by the stellar play of QB C.J. Brown. Brown has completed 67% of his passes and has thrown for seven touchdowns and only one interception. He has also ran 45 times for 283 yards and six touchdowns. WR Stefon Diggs has added an explosive element to the Terrapin offense averaging 22.2 yards per catch to go along with three touchdowns. The Terps have spread the ball around well through the first four games, which has led to a very balanced approach on offense. The biggest improvement for the Terps has been their defense. The Terps gave up 28 points per game last season including three games in which their opponent scored more than 40 points. So far this season, the Terps rank sixth in total defense and have only allowed 10 points per game. The defense will need to continue to play as well as it has if the Terps expect to beat an explosive offensive team like the Seminoles.
The Seminoles are 4-0 for the first time since 2005 after beating Boston College last week in a game that was closer than many expected it to be. QB Jameis Winston threw for 330 yards, four touchdowns and one interception against the Eagles and will look to put on a similar show at home against the Terps. Winston is an early Heisman candidate, racking up 1159 total yards, 14 touchdowns and one turnover. The Seminoles also have a plethora of talent on the offensive side of the ball including RB Devonta Freeman and the touchdown machine that is Rashad Greene. 26% of Green's catches have been for touchdowns as he and Winston have developed a chemistry early on this season. Freeman hasn't been a slouch either, averaging almost nine yards per carry with his speed and versatility. Both teams should put up points early and often.
Prediction: Florida St will come out early with a touchdown drive on a Winston pass to Greene to go up 7-0 early. Maryland will strike back with a touchdown pass to Diggs to even the score. After forcing a Seminole punt, the Terps score again on a Diggs end around to go up 14-7 nearing the end of the first quarter. The Terps catch a break and force a fumble on a sack on Winston and recover deep in Seminole territory. The Seminole defense holds and only gives up a field goal, increasing the Terp lead to 10. Winston scores on the Seminoles ensuing drive to cut the lead down to three with five minutes to go in the half. After forcing a punt the Seminole's get the ball back with a few minutes left. After a couple short dink and dunks, Winston goes for the home run and connects with Kenny Shaw for the score to put the Seminoles up at the half 21-17. After both steams stumble to start the second half, Maryland takes the lead again on a C.J. Brown touchdown run to go up 24-21 midway through the third. Winston drives the Seminoles down field but they have to settle for a field goal to tie the game up. Brown leads his team downfield on a 12 play drive but can't punch it in the end zone and the Terps have to settle for a field goal. Down three with a little over seven minutes to play, Winston makes some plays with his feet to drive his team to midfield with four minutes left. After a couple of short yardage gains, Winston completes a slant to Greene to put his team in field goal range with two minutes to play. Making sure the Seminoles get last possession, Winston calls his own number two plays in a row to set up another short third down at the Terrapin 15 yard line with a minute left. After a timeout, the Seminoles surprise the Terps with a draw to Freeman and he scampers in for a touchdown with 50 seconds remaining. Brown tries to lead his team down the field for the game winning drive but runs out of time as he is tackled in bounds trying to get the first down before the hail mary and Florida St hangs on.
+Florida State Seminoles 31 - +Maryland Terrapins 27
Michigan St vs Iowa
The Spartans travel to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes, who after a first game disappointment, are looking to improve to 5-1. The Spartans are coming off a buy week after losing to Notre Dame in South Bend 17-13 and are looking to get back on track against the Hawkeyes. After splitting snaps through the first three games of the season, the Spartans have turned to Connor Cook to take over the reigns at QB. Cook will look to improve upon his last performance in which he completed 16 of 32 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown against Notre Dame. The Spartans will also look to get their running back tandem of Jeremy Langford and Nick Hill back on track. The Spartans, who average 187 rushing yards per game, rushed for only 115 yards against the Irish with the longest rush accounting for 11 yards. Michigan St will need to get the running game going against a very tough Iowa defense, who only give up 79 rushing yards per game in order to take some pressure off of Cook. The Spartans can also help Cook out by using their own stout defense to create turnovers and flip field position. The Spartans rank first in total defense, which can help take some pressure off of Cook if they can't get their running game going throughout the game.
The Hawkeyes come into their game against the Spartans on a roll of their own. The Hawkeyes have won four games in a row, including last week against a previously undefeated Minnesota team in Minneapolis. QB Jake Rudock was efficient throwing for 218 yards with a touchdown and an interception to go along with a strong running performance from RB Mark Weisman. Weisman is averaging 5.2 yards per carry so far this season and will look to add to that average against a very physical and tough front seven of the Spartans.The Hawkeyes also sport an impressive defense of their own, ranking seventh in the country in total defense and only give up 15 points per game. Look for the Hawkeyes to try and run the ball against the Spartans early and often in an attempt to prevent their young quarterback from making any mistakes.
Prediction: This will be a physical and hard hitting game from beginning to end. Both teams will struggle in the beginning against each others tough defense's. Michigan St will strike first on a touchdown run from Jeremy Langford at the beginning of the second quarter. On the ensuing drive, Rudock will throw a costly interception that will lead to a Michigan State field goal, putting the Spartans up 10. The next drive for both teams will result in a punt and Iowa will get the ball back with only a few minutes left in the half. After a couple short completions from Rudock, Weisman will go up the middle for a big gain leading to a field goal to end the half. The physicality will spill over into the second half with each team trying to ground and pound their opponent to submission. Iowa kicks another field halfway through the third to make it a 10-6 ball game. After forcing a punt, Rudock throws a touchdown pass to Kevonte Martin-Manley to put the Hawkeyes up 13-10. Michigan St drives down the field on a long and methodical drive that eats up almost 8 minutes of clock. A short touchdown run by Langford puts the Spartans back up 17-13 with nine minutes left in the 4th quarter. After a couple of three and outs, the Spartans work a short field into a field goal going up seven with only four minutes to play. Forcing the Hawkeyes to throw, the Spartans pick Rudock off again at mid field to put the game away.
+Michigan State Athletics 20 - +University of Iowa 13
Ohio St vs Northwestern
The Buckeyes will face another tough Big 10 opponent this week when they travel to Evanston to take on the 4-0 Northwestern Wildcats. The Buckeyes are coming off a nice win over Wisconsin, in which Braxton Miller came back from his ankle injury to throw for 198 yards and four touchdowns in the 31-24 victory. He also ran 22 times for 83 yards to go along with Carlos Hyde's 17 rushes for 85 yard performance. The Buckeyes were proficient against the Badgers all night, especially against the run, holding the Badgers, one of the nations leading rushing teams, to 104 rushing yards. The Buckeyes also won the turnover battle last Saturday, which has been a habit for them recently. The Buckeyes will look to exploit a much softer defense than the Badgers this week, especially on the ground with Miller and Hyde. The Buckeyes defense will have to adjust however, as this week it will face a spread offense attack with more weapons compared to the power running attack of the Badgers. The Buckeyes will need to adjust to the Wildcat speed and put pressure on the two quarterbacks in order to win this game.
The Wildcats will host the Buckeyes in what quite possibly might be the biggest game in Northwestern football history. The Wildcats are 4-0 and are looking to beat a top 5 team for the first time since 1959. The Wildcats offense has been explosive so far this season, averaging 41 points per game along with 484 yards of total offense. QB's Trevor Siemian and Kain Coulter split snaps with Siemian being the threat through the air and Coulter the threat on the ground. Both have been efficient with Siemian almost 70 yards and 4 touchdowns while Coulter has averaged six yards per carry and has three touchdowns. RB Treyvon Green is another integral part of the Northwestern attack, rushing for 400 yards and five touchdowns so far this season. Green will need to run the ball effectively on Saturday if the Wildcats are to have any chance at beating the Buckeyes. The defense will also need to play a monster game as well and crate some turnovers.
Prediction: Both teams will score on their first two possessions with Ohio State getting two touchdowns and Northwestern a touchdown and a field goal. Ohio State will amass a 75 yard touchdown drive to go up 21-10 to end the first quarter. Siemian throws an interception on his next possession and the Buckeyes cap it off with another touchdown to go up 28-10. The Wildcats stay true to form and keep splitting QB reps which leads to a 44 yard touchdown run from Coulter. After Ohio State's only punt of the first half, Northwestern gets a nice return which leads to a field goal to end the half 28-20. Siemian throws a touchdown pass to open the third quarter and Coach Pat Fitzgerald rolls the dice and goes for two and gets it. Miller answers with his only 65 yard touchdown strike to Philly Brown. Green gashes the Buckeye defense on the next drive, but a costly drop causes the Wildcats to kick a field goal. Miller slows the pace down and leads a long methodical touchdown drive to go up 11 points with only six minutes left. Siemian comes out firing on his next possession and gets the Wildcats in the red zone where Green finishes it off on an option from Coulter. The Wildcats go for two again but this time miss. With only two and a half minutes to go an one time out, the Wildcats kick the onside kick, but the Buckeyes recover. The Wildcats need to force a three and out to try for the game winning touchdown, but Hyde gets a first down on a second and short run to finish off the Wildcats.
+Ohio State Buckeyes 41 - +Northwestern Athletics 36
Washington vs Stanford
Washington will look to upset Stanford for a second year in a row as the Huskies travel to Palo Alto to take on the Cardinal. The Huskies are coming off an impressive performance against the Arizona Wildcats, in which the Huskies imposed their punishing running game and held the Wildcats to 13 points. QB Keith Price threw for 165 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while RB Bishop Sankey rushed for a school record 40 times for 161 yards and a touchdown. The most impressive improvement for the the Huskies has been their defense. The Husky defense is much more physical than in years past and has allowed only 11 points per game. The Huskies will need to be physical as Stanford is one of the most physical teams in the country.
The Cardinal will look to avenge last years loss to the Huskies and improve to 5-0 and stay in contention for a national championship. The Cardinal annihilated the Washington St Cougars 55-17 last week in Pullman. QB Kevin Hogan threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns while the rushing attack mounted 238 rushing yards on 40 attempts. The Cardinal will no doubt try and run against the Huskies to impose its will on them as well as keep the Husky offense off the field. The Cardinal defense hasn't been as good as it has been in the past, but it is still physical and capable of stopping the opponents run. The Cardinal are only giving up 105 rushing yards a game and will need to be just as tough against a tough runner like Sankey.
Prediction: The Cardinal will score on its first possession eating almost seven minutes of clock in the process on a short touchdown pass from Hogan. After stuffing the Husky offense, the Cardinal march down the field again and score another touchdown on a Tyler Gaffney touchdown run. After both teams punt, the Huskies finally get on the board with a field goal halfway through the second quarter. On the ensuing Stanford drive, the Cardinal answer back with a field goal of their own to go back up by 14. The Huskies are led down the field by Price and the drive is capped off with a touchdown run by Sankey with only a few seconds left in the half. The Huskies start the second half giving it to Sankey. Sankey finds some holes in the Cardinal defense to lead a quick drive down the field but after a miscommunication between Price and a receiver, the Huskies are forced to kick a field goal. The Cardinal roll off a 12 play drive capped off by a Hogan touchdown run on 4 and goal from the one yard line to go up 24-13 with two minutes left in the third. Price forces a throw on the next drive and is intercepted leading to a Cardinal field goal. The Huskies don't abandon the run just yet which pays dividends as the Sankey picks up chunks of yardage and leads to a touchdown run by price in only three minutes. After a Cardinal punt, the Huskies drive down the field again on a tired Cardinal defense. With five minutes left in the game, the Huskies go for it on fourth down from the Cardinal 27 yard line but fail to convert. The Huskies force a punt, but not after giving up a first down and using all three timeouts. With only two minutes to go, the Huskies need to drive 77 yards to get the game tying touchdown. Price can't get out of the pocket and is forced to dink and dunk at the start of the drive, eating up precious seconds off the clock. After a nice 20 yard reception to Kevin Smith, the Huskies are only 25 yards away from the end zone, but only have 20 seconds to get the score. After two incompletions, Price is forced to throw for the end zone with only eight seconds left on the clock and it falls incomplete. The game comes down to one play and Price connects with Kasen Williams, but he is tackled before he can keep the play alive with a lateral and Stanford survives the upset.
+Stanford University 27 - +Washington Huskies Athletics 20
Upset Special:
Ole Miss vs Auburn
Bo Wallace and the Rebels look to bounce back after losing to Alabama last week as they take on the Auburn Tigers. Wallace has led an impressive spread offensive attack that has put up over 30 points three times this season and will look to do it again on Saturday. Wallace has accounted for 932 total yards and seven touchdowns so far this season. RB Jeff Scott brings explosive speed to the Rebel offensive, averaging over eight yards per carry. WR's Donte Moncrief and Laquan Treadwell have stretched opponents defenses early this season, which has allowed TE Evan Engram to attack the defense underneath. Ole Miss has had trouble stopping opponents' offenses so far this season and will need to do a better job if it expects to beat Auburn.
Auburn is off to an impressive 3-1 start under first year Head Coach Gus Malzahn. The Tigers are looking to rebound after losing to LSU last week in Baton Rouge. Junior QB Nick Marshall has been up and down so far this season and will need to play better if the Tigers expect to bounce back. Marshall has accounted for 957 yards and four touchdowns but has thrown four interceptions and has been sacked five times. The Tigers will look to continue their up tempo offensive style, specifically leaning on their ground game with their three headed running back attack. The Tigers average 232 yards per game on the ground and have scored eight rushing touchdowns through four games with two of those games being against SEC competition. Expect the Tigers to run the ball early and often to try and keep the Rebel offense off the field.
Prediction: The Tigers crowd will be roaring to start the game. The Tigers will get the ball first and immediately try and run on the Rebel defense. After a couple of first downs, the Tigers run a play action and get Marshall some confidence with a nice completion Sammie Coates to get into Rebel territory. On the ensuing play, Tre Mason scores on a 45 yard run to put the Tigers up 7-0. A quick three and out by the Rebels and the Tigers set up a nice return to get good field position. Marshall gets his first touchdown run of the year from 20 yards out to put the Tigers up 14-0 halfway through the first. After a great kick return by Jeff Scott, Wallace hits Donte Moncrief for a 35 touchdown pass to get within seven. Both teams punt on their next two possessions and only amount two first downs during those four drives. With six minutes to go in the first half, Marshall moves the ball down field with a couple of short passes leading to some nice yards after the catch. Three plays later, Corey Grant runs by the Rebel defense for the score putting the Tigers back up 14. The score stays that way until the third quarter when the Rebels get a field goal on their opening drive. The Rebels get the ball right back after Robert Nkemdiche sacks Marshall and forces a fumble. Two plays later, the Rebels score on a screen pass to Scott. The score stays 21-17 at the end of the third quarter. The Rebels are forced to punt on their first possession of the fourth quarter and the Tigers send the house resulting in a block and the Tigers recover at the goal line. Marshall sneaks it in from a yard out to put the Tigers up 28-17. The Rebels know time is not on their side and are forced to start airing the ball out. After a nice drive to get within field goal range, the Rebels kick the field goal to get within one possession at 28-20. With eight minutes to go, the Tigers get the ball back and look to break the Rebels back. With the Rebels selling out to stop the run, Marshall throws a bomb to Sammie Coates who beats his man in one on one coverage to put the Tigers up 15 with five minutes to go. Wallace tries to get his team back in it with a late drive but it is to little to late as the Tigers pick him off in the end zone and run the clock out on the ensuing possession.
+Auburn Athletics 35 - +Ole Miss 20
Week 5 Picks: 4-1
2013 Season: 15-10
No comments:
Post a Comment