#19 Nebraska vs #10 Michigan St
Ameer Abdullah and the Cornhuskers will look to upset the Spartans and put themselves in better consideration for the Playoff when they visit East Lansing Saturday night.
Abdullah has been absolutely insane so far this year rushing for over 200 yards in three of the first five games while accounting for 10 total touchdowns. Abdullah will look to replicate his performance from last year against the Spartans in which he ran for 122 yards in a 13 point loss. Abdullah will no doubt get the ball early and often in an effort to soften up a tough Spartan front seven in hopes of allowing quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. to beat the secondary over the top.
Armstrong Jr has been equally as good on the ground as Abdullah averaging over eight yards per carry. Armstrong Jr has also done a good job protecting the football throwing for 10 touchdowns while only throwing three interceptions. Armstrong will need to make some plays with his feet on Saturday, but most importantly will need to take care of the ball if the Cornhuskers expect to go into East Lansing and beat the Spartans.
The big question will be how will the Cornhusker defense fare against the Spartan rushing attack. The Cornhuskers are one of the best in the country at stopping the run, but will face their toughest test yet on Saturday in a hostile environment.
If the Cornhuskers can get Abdullah going early and stop the Spartan rushing attack, than they will be very much in contention to pull off the upset on Saturday.
Michigan St will look to keep its title hopes alive when it welcomes Nebraska to East Lansing Saturday night.
The Spartans are coming off an easy win over Wyoming and will look to carry the offensive momentum from that game into this contest. The Spartans have been rolling on offense all year with a very balanced offensive attack that has racked up on average 263 passing yards per game and 252 rushing yards per game.
Running Back Jeremy Langford is the workhorse for this offense and will no doubt get the call early and often for the Spartans in this one. So far this season Langford is averaging over five yards per carry and has gotten the ability to rest in two of those contest that saw the Spartans demolish two overly matched teams. Langford's legs should be rested and will need to be rested if he and the Spartans expect to run against the Nebraska front seven who are finally starting to resemble the black shirts of old.
Quarterback Connor Cook is building upon his impressive 2013 season and is doing a very good job managing the offense so far this season. Cook is completing almost 70% of his passes while throwing for nine touchdowns and only two interceptions. Cook will need to play with that kind of efficiency as the Cornhuskers will more than likely stack the box to stop Langford and force Cook to beat them through the air.
If Cook can beat the man coverage he is likely to see on the outside throughout the game, it will allow Langford some rushing room and put the Spartans in great position to defend their home turf and continue to be put in the Playoff discussion.
Prediction: Both teams will try and establish the run, but will have a hard time doing it. The Spartans will open their running game up by allowing Cook to challenge the Nebraska corners. Nebraska will get back in the game, but will face a fourth quarter deficit and will have to rely on Armstrong Jr's arm to dig them out of it. After getting within three points, a critical turnover by Armstrong will set the Spartans up with a short field and will punch in the game deciding touchdown.
+Michigan State Athletics 31 - +Nebraska Huskers 21
#4 Oklahoma vs #25 TCU
Oklahoma will look to make its case that it is the best team in the country when it takes on the Horned Frogs Saturday.
The Sooners have had a week to prepare for the Horned Frogs after beating West Virginia the week before 45-33 in what was an exciting game. The Sooners have an explosive up tempo offense that can attack quickly through the air or powerfully and methodically on the ground. The Sooners will need to keep that balance if they want to beat the Horned Frogs on the road.
Quarterback Trevor Knight has shown that last season wasn't a fluke. Knight isn't asked to beat the defense himself but instead manage the offense and put his team in position to rely on the run game. Knight will need to play better than he did against West Virginia against a much tougher defense in the Horned Frogs.
Luckily for Knight, he has a incredible rushing attack that can help take the pressure off of him. Running Backs Keith Ford and Samaje Perine have ran all over their opponents averaging six yards a carry combined while accumulating 10 touchdowns so far this season. The Sooners were without Ford against West Virginia after he hurt his foot against Tennessee and if Ford can't go in this one, Perine will need to carry the load if the Sooners expect to win on Saturday.
If the Sooners can get the running game going early and force a few turnovers on defense, than this game could get ugly in a hurry.
TCU is back in the top 25 for the first time in a while and will look to prove that they belong on Saturday. The Horned Frogs are coming off a crushing win over SMU, but then again who hasn't done that this year.
Quarterback Trevone Boykin has been much improved this season and is one of the reasons the Horned Frogs are back in the top 25. Boykin has been impressive both with his arm and his feet and will need to make plays with both against Oklahoma if the Horned Frogs expect to pull the upset. Boykin is completing 64% passes while throwing eight touchdowns and only one interception. He is also averaging over six yards per carry and will look to replicate both of these statistics on Saturday.
Boykin will look to get the ball out in space to his plethora of receivers including Deante' Gray, David Porter, Josh Doctson and Kolby Listenbee. All four of these receivers have caught at least 9 passes on the year and have accounted for eight receiving touchdowns. These receivers will look to take a page out of the West Virginia playbook from two weeks ago in which the Sooners struggled throughout the first half defending the pass. The Horned Frogs will need to keep that game plan together for the entirety of the game unlike West Virginia who scored only 10 points in the second half.
If TCU can protect Boykin and force the Sooners into some third down and long situations, than the Horned Frogs will have a chance to pull off the upset on Saturday.
Prediction: This will be a close game for the entirety of the ball game. Both teams will have success early at the quarterback position, which will put pressure on each defense to come after the quarterback with blitzes. The Oklahoma rushing attack will prove to be too strong in the end with or without Ford and the Sooners will escape out of Fort Worth by the skin of their teeth.
+The University of Oklahoma 31 - +TCU Athletics 28
#3 Alabama vs #11 Ole Miss
The Crimson Tide will look to replicate last year's beat down against Ole Miss when they travel to Oxford to take on the Rebels.
Alabama has had a week to prepare for the Rebels after demolishing the Florida Gators and will look to wreak havoc on the paltry Ole Miss offense. Quarterback Blake Sims has been everything the Tide has expected and more so far this season, throwing for 1100 yards and eight touchdowns. Sims has thrived under the Lane Kiffin offense and will look to continue that momentum against the Rebels on Saturday.
Sims also has the luxury of a physical running game with running back Derrick Henry and T.J. Yeldon carrying the load for the Crimson Tide offense. Together Henry and Yeldon have averaged over 20 carries per game this season and if the Crimson Tide expects to win in Oxford, that trend will need to continue. If the running back duo can average four to five yards a carry against the Ole Miss defense, than the Tide will be rolling on Saturday.
If that wasn't impressive enough, the Crimson Tide also have the best receiver in the country in Amari Cooper. Cooper has already caught 43 passes for 655 yards and five touchdowns. Sims will look to Cooper early and often as the Rebel defense will have to pick its poison between the Crimson Tide rushing attack or trying to shut down the passing attack of Sims and Cooper.
The Crimson Tide will also bring in the fifth best defense in the country. The defense has only given up an average of 250 yards per game while only allowing 14 points per game. This will be the biggest mismatch in terms of unit vs unit as the Ole Miss offense has been downright awful at times this season.
If Alabama can run the ball and force some mistakes from Rebel Quarterback Bo Wallace, then this game will be over by halftime.
Ole Miss will look to pull off one of the biggest upsets ever when the Rebels host the Crimson Tide.
The Rebels are coming off a less than stellar win over Memphis at home in which the Rebels only scored 24 points. If the Rebels expect to compete in this game, the offense will need to operate with much better efficiency than it has so far this season.
Quarterback Bo Wallace has had his moments at the start of this season. Wallace has been incredibly accurate completing 71% of his passes for over 1200 yards and 11 touchdowns. The problem is that Wallace has also thrown six interceptions and has been sacked seven times. Wallace will need to find the happy medium of trying to make a play while at the same time protecting the ball against the Crimson Tide defense.
The biggest problem for the Rebels has been their inability to consistently establish the run. Running backs Jaylen Walton and I'Tavius Mathers have struggled to find the hole as neither of them have rushed for more than 100 yards in a game this season. It won't get any easier for Walten or Mathers as Alabama is one of the best defenses in the country against the run.
The biggest bright spot for the Rebels has been their defense. The defense this year has been much improved and has playmakers all across the field. If the Rebels can get some pressure on Sims and force a turnover or two in that raucous environment, it could shake the Tide's signal caller and give the Rebels a chance to pull off the upset.
Prediction: Alabama will have to implode for the Rebels to win this game. The Crimson Tide are simply better at every facet of the game than the Rebels are. The Crimson Tide defense will pressure Wallace all game long and Sims will hit Cooper deep twice in the first half and this game will be over by halftime.
+Alabama Crimson Tide 45 - +Ole Miss - The University of Mississippi 10
#14 Stanford vs #9 Notre Dame
Kevin Hogan and the Cardinal travel to South Bend and will look to beat the Irish in South Bend for the first time since 2010.
The Cardinal are coming off a sloppy win over Washington in Seattle last week that saw the Cardinal rack up eight penalties for 85 yards and three turnovers. The Cardinal will need to play much better on Saturday if they expect to go to South Bend and knock off the streaking Irish.
Quarterback Kevin Hogan was very efficient in his last start, completing 65% of his passes, however he only accumulated 178 yards total. While Hogan isn't asked to throw for 300+ yards, he will need to move the ball downfield in order to keep the Irish defense honest and out of the box. If Hogan can move the ball down the field and keep the Irish offense off the field, the Cardinal will be in a good position to win.
The Cardinal still haven't gotten the running game going yet which is quite surprising give that this has been one of the best rushing teams over the last few years. Running backs Barry Sanders, Remound Wright and Kelsey Young have yet to rush for over 100 yards in a game. The rushing attack looked better against the Huskies but still wasn't the kind of rushing attack that we are used to from a Stanford squad.
If the Cardinal can run the ball effectively and put some pressure on Golson early and often than the Cardinal will have a great opportunity to win.
Everett Golson and the Fighting Irish will look to get themselves back in the National Championship picture and a win over the Cardinal wouldn't hurt.
Golson has looked very good so far this season after not playing last season due to suspension. Golson is looking like a legitimate NFL caliber quarterback after working with quarterback guru George Whitfield over the summer. Goslon has thrown for at least 250 yards in each game and two touchdowns as well.
Golson is essentially the Irish offense. Everything goes through him as he is tied for the team lead in rushing attempts with 39. The Irish have four different rushers that have carried the ball at least 33 times including Golson. The Irish will need to establish the run at some point, which could prove to be difficult as the Cardinal have been very good against the run. Golson will need continue his hot ways both through the air and on the ground if the Irish are going to beat the Cardinal on Saturday.
The Notre Dame defense has been very good at times this season and will look to get the offense a short field to work with at some point in this game. Given the Cardinal's struggles running the football, it is safe to assume the Irish will bring pressure throughout this game to try and get Hogan off of his rhythm.
Prediction: This is going to be a tough, grind it out kind of game. Each team will have troubles early and will need to adjust in order to move the ball down field. Ultimately Golson's ability to make plays with both his legs and his feet will be the difference in this game, which will come down to the wire.
+Notre Dame Athletics 24 - +Stanford University 20
Upset Special
#6 Texas A&M vs #12 Mississippi St
The Aggies will look to continue the climb up the SEC West standings when they travel to Starkville to take on the Mississippi St Bulldogs.
The Aggies are coming off a come from behind win against Arkansas at Jerry World and now will have to make the difficult trek to one of the most underrated atmosphere's in all of college football.
Quarterback Kenny Hill has been better than most people would have imagined taking over for Johnny Manziel at the helm of the Aggy offense. Hill has thrown for over 300 yards three times this season while also throwing for four touchdowns three different times this season. Hill will look to continue that success against a much improved Bulldog defense.
Hill will look to get the ball out quick to his playmakers including Malcome Kennedy, Josh Reynolds and Ricky Seals Jones. The Aggies have so many weapons both at receiver and at running back that it makes defending their offense quite the challenge.
The Aggies also sport a very good rushing attack with running backs Tra Carson, Trey Williams and Brandon Williams sharing the workload. All three guys average six yards a carry and will look to find some holes against one of the best rush defenses in the country.
If Kenny Hill can work the ball down field and keep help open some running lanes for his running backs, than the Aggies will be in very good position to stay atop the SEC West.
Dak Prescott will look to lead the Bulldogs to another upset victory when they welcome the Aggies to Starkville on Saturday.
Prescott is coming off an incredible performance against the LSU Tigers in which he accounted for 373 yards and three touchdowns in Baton Rouge to upset the Tigers. Prescott has been great all season, totaling 14 touchdowns to two turnovers. If the Bulldogs expect to pull off the upset, Prescott will need to continue to play the way he has all season long.
You can expect a heavy dose of both Prescott and Josh Robinson carrying the ball for the Bulldogs as Mississippi St ranks 15th in the country in rushing adds per game. This will be the biggest weapon for the Bulldogs as they can use their success in the running game to keep the Aggy offense off the field and while the Aggies have improved their rush defense from last year, they are still vulnerable against the run.
While the Mississippi St defense has been one of the best against the run, they have been gashed through the air ranking 121st in the country against the pass. That is not a place you want to be when going up against one of the best passing offenses in the country. It is safe to say that this will be a shootout.
Prediction: Both defenses will have trouble stopping the opposing offenses early. With the Bulldogs struggles against the pass, the offense will use its rushing attack to keep the Aggy offense on the sideline. This strategy will slowly wear down the Aggy defense which will open up rushing lanes for Prescott and Robinson early in the fourth quarter. Down 14 Hill will lead a touchdown drive to get his team back within a score, but the onside kick is recovered by Mississippi St and the Bulldogs will pull of their second upset in as many weeks.
Last Week: 3-2
2014 Season: 16-9
2014 Season: 16-9
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