We finally did it. After coming close a couple of times, last week was the first 5-0 week in the short existence of this blog. Lets keep the momentum going and try to do it again this week. Here are this weeks picks.
Missouri vs Georgia
Gary Pinkel and the Tigers travel to Athens to take on the Bulldogs in what will be the Tigers' first ever game in the state of Georgia. The Tigers come into the matchup with a 5-0 record and are coming off a 51-28 dismantling of Vanderbilt in Nashville. QB James Franklin will look to continue to lead the Tiger's spread offensive attack that has been clicking on all cylinders so far this season. Franklin, due to his dual threat ability, has amassed almost 1700 total yards, 15 touchdowns and only three turnover so far this season. The Tigers have plenty of weapons to help take pressure off of Franklin including the running back tandem of Henry Josey and Russell Hansbrough. The pair have rushed for almost 700 yards and nine touchdowns combined and are lethal in the zone read option the Tigers like to run. Franklin also has a plethora of receiving weapons as well including L'Damian Washington and five star recruit Dorial Green-Beckham. Both receivers are averaging over 15 yards per catch and have accounted for nine of Franklin's 13 touchdown passes. Franklin will need all of his weapons on Saturday as the Tigers should find themselves in a shootout with the Bulldogs. The question for the Tigers will be how will their defense hold up? So far the Tiger defense has been average at best and that has been against sub par competition. The defense will need to amass some turnovers against a banged up Georgia offense if they are to win in Athens on Saturday.
The Bulldogs came from behind and scored in the final minute to force overtime, where they went on to beat the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville 24-21 in a tough, physical game that saw the Bulldogs suffer more injuries on offense. RB Keith Marshall and WR Justin Scott-Wesley each tore their ACL last Saturday and RB Todd Gurley missed the game with a sprained ankle. QB Aaron Murray had to step up after the injuries and did throwing for 200 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions. He will have to play even bigger on Saturday against the Tigers. The Bulldog defense will also need to play better as well if Georgia expects to beat the Tigers. The Bulldog defense is ranked 95th in scoring defense and has been pretty porous so far this season. Expect the Bulldogs to stack the box in order to take away the Tiger running game and force James Franklin to beat them through the air.
Prediction: This is many people's pick to be the upset of the week with all the injuries Georgia has on both sides of the the ball. Despite the injuries, QB Aaron Murray will rally his team and lead another fourth quarter comeback at home and the Bulldogs will escape by the skin of their teeth for the second week in a row.
+Georgia Bulldogs 24 - +Mizzou Athletics 21
Florida vs LSU
The Gators travel to Baton Rouge to take on the LSU Tigers. The Gators are coming off a dominant 30-10 victory over Arkansas and are 3-0 since Tyler Murphy took over the starting QB role after Jeff Driskel was lost for the season. Murphy has completed 72% of his passes and has thrown five touchdowns to only one interception. He has also been a rushing threat, running for 135 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns. The Gators will need to run the ball with RB's Mack Brown and Matt Jones to wear the LSU defense down early and keep Zach Mettenberger on the sidelines.The Florida defense will also need to keep playing as well as it has. The Gators are ranked second in total defense and fourth in points per game and if it can keep playing up to those standards, it will be tough for the LSU offense to move the ball.
The Tigers are coming off their own impressive victory beating Mississippi St in Starkville 59-26. Zach Mettenberger has been much improved this year under first year offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and will look to continue that success against Florida on Saturday. Mettenberger has thrown for 1740 yards to go along with 15 touchdowns and only two interceptions. 72% of Mettenbergers throws go to WR's Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry and it is safe to say this will continue on Saturday. Perhaps Mettenberger's best offensive weapon is his run game led by RB Jeremy Hill, who is averaging seven and a half yards per carry to go with nine touchdowns so far this season. The Tiger run game helps take pressure off of Mettenberger, however, he has shown that he is capable of leading his team this year and the Tigers haven't relied on the run as much as they have in the past.
Prediction: Expect a physical, run it down your throat kind of game. Florida's offense has been clicking on all cylinders recently and should get some scoring opportunities on a rebuilding LSU defense. At the same token, LSU's offense is much more well rounded then the teams Florida has faced so far this season so expect the Gator defense to struggle at times in this game. While Murphy has Florida moving in the right direction, he has never faced a team nor an atmosphere like he will face at Tiger stadium on Saturday. He will put up a valuable effort but Hill and Mettenberger will be too tough for the Gators to overcome.
+LSU Football 24 - +Florida Gators 17
Oregon vs Washington
The Oregon Ducks look to stay perfect when they travel to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies. The Ducks are coming off a 57-16 blowout win over Colorado and look to continue their offensive success against the Husky defense. The Oregon Ducks high octane offense is led by QB Marcus Mariotta, who has totaled almost 1700 yards to go along with 21 total touchdowns and zero turnovers. Joining Mariotta in the backfield are two dynamic running backs in Byron Marshall and speedster De'Anthony Thomas. The pair have rushed 113 times for 786 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Ducks read option has been tough for opponents to stop over the past few years and Washington can expect a heavy dose of it on Saturday. The Ducks offense ranks third in rushing yards and second in points per game. The main benefit of these two stats is that the defense has been able to pin its ears back and rush the passer as the opposing team has to throw to make up the early deficit. The Oregon defense is second in points per game and 20th in total defense. If Oregon builds and early lead, look for the defense to continue to force turnovers and keep their opponents out of the end zone.
The Huskies look to rebound after a close 31-28 loss to Stanford in Palo Alto. QB Keith Price looks to continue his early season success and throw his name in hat of first round quarterbacks in next year's NFL draft. Price has thrown for 1400 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions so far and has done it against some good competition. RB Bishop Sankey looks to keep building on an already impressive resume that has seen him rush 131 times for 732 yards and seven touchdowns. Look up the definition for workhorse back and Sankey's name will pop up. Expect a heavy dose of Sankey on Saturday as the Huskies will look to keep the Oregon offense on the sidelines and eat up time off the clock. Washington's defense has been great so far this season ranking 10th in total defense and while they have faced good competition, nothing compares to offensive attack the Ducks will feature. The Huskies will look to stack the box and force Mariotta to throw in this match up.
Prediction: This will be a highly competitive game throughout. Both teams will have success on offense throughout the first half and the game will be won by which teams makes better second half adjustments. Mariotta will force the Huskies to respect his arm throughout the game which will open up running lanes later on for himself and Marshall. The Huskies will be forced to try and make up and deficit but it will be too much to overcome and the Huskies will drop their second in a row.
+University of Oregon 38 - +Washington Huskies Athletics 30
Oregon St vs Washington St
The Beavers travel to Pullman Washington to take on the Cougars and will be looking to win their fifth game in a row. The Beavers are coming off a bye week after defeating Colorado the week before 44-17. QB Sean Mannion will look to add to his already gaudy numbers. Mannion has thrown for over 2000 yards, 21 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Mannion has spread most of his passes across four receivers including star wideout Brandin Cooks. Cooks has tallied 52 catches for 800 yards and nine touchdowns so far in five games. The Beaver running attack has struggled a bit so far this season, ranking 121st in rushing yards per game. This has forced Mannion to carry the load and so far he has.The question for the Beavers is how will their defense stack up against the Cougar offense. Washington St ranks eight in the country in passing yards per game and that is an area where the Beavers have struggled a bit so far this season. It will be interesting to see the Beaver game plan after coming off a bye week to see how their defense plans to stop the Cougar passing attack.
Washington St has already surpassed last year's win total under second year Head Coach Mike Leach and will look to continue the success Saturday against the Beavers. The Cougars are coming off a 44-22 win over Cal at Berkley. Like the Beavers, the Cougars are a heavy pass team that struggles to run the football. QB Connor Halliday has thrown for 2000 yards, 13 touchdowns but has also thrown 10 interceptions. He will need to be better with his decision making if the Cougars are to stay in the game. Like Mannion. Halliday has spread the ball around to a plethora of receivers with most of the big plays going to Gabe Marks, who has tallied 41 catches and four touchdowns so far. The Cougars are one spot worse than the Beavers when it comes to their running game ranking 122nd in rushing offense, as they only average 59 yards per game. The Cougars will need to run at some point to keep the Beavers off balance and to try and keep the Beavers offense on the sidelines.
Prediction: Both teams are going to air it out all game long. This should be the highest scoring game of the week. The game will come down to turnovers as Mannion will keep the ball out of his opponents hands, while Halliday will have two costly interceptions. It will be close game for much of three quarters, but Oregon St will pull away in the fourth quarter.
+Oregon State University 38 - +Washington State Cougars 31
Upset Special:
Northwestern vs Wisconsin
The Wildcats look to get back on track after a heartbreaking loss to Ohio St last week and travel to Madison to take on the Badgers. The Wildcats will be led by their two quarterback system of Trevor Siemian and Kain Coulter. Siemian is the passer and has thrown for almost 1000 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions while Coulter is the runner and has amassed 250 yards and three touchdowns. The Wildcat spread offensive attack runs through RB Treyvon Green who is averaging almost seven yards per carry and has five touchdowns himself. The Wildcat offense has been extremely balanced and has been difficult for teams to stop to this point. The Wildcats will look to attack the Badger defense much like the Buckeyes attacked the Badgers a few weeks ago. The Wildcat defense has been improved this year but will need to stop the heavy rushing attack of the Badgers if they expect to contend in this match up.
The Badgers are coming off a bye week after losing the Buckeyes the week before. The Badgers played well but had trouble running the ball against the Buckeyes which is the Badgers strong suit. The Badgers are led by QB Joel Stave who has done a great job keeping his team in games and managing the game. Stave has thrown for over 1000 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions this year. Stave isn't asked to light it up through the air, instead the Badgers rely heavily on RB's Melvin Gordon and Josh White. The pair have rushed 137 times for 1171 yards and 11 touchdowns. Expect a heavy dose of both Gordon and White Saturday afternoon. It will be interesting to see what the Badger's defense practiced during the bye week to stop the Wildcat offense. This should be a thriller that comes down to who has the ball last.
Prediction: Both teams will look to impose their will early with the Badgers leaning on the run and the Wildcats doing a little bit of both. Both Gordon and White will rush for over 100 yards and the Badgers will look to keep the Wildcat offense off the field and milk as much clock as they can. The Wildcats will use their up tempo offense to get back in the game and try and tire out the Badger defense. A costly fumble by Coulter will allow the Badgers to run out the clock and have the Wildcats drop their second straight game.
+Wisconsin Badgers 28 - +Northwestern Athletics 24
Last Week: 5-0
2013 Season: 20-10
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