Instant Analysis
There will
be few games this year with greater implications than Alabama at Texas
A&M. Both have relatively manageable
conference schedules with only LSU (who could swoop in an steal the whole show)
for real competition the rest of the way.
Along with BCS Championship implications this game represents two very
opposite ways of approaching the game.
Alabama and Nick Saban are process, process, process with the whole
greater than the sum of its parts. Texas
A&M or, more specifically, Johnny Manziel is the anti-Saban. He’s the star of the show that lives on the
edge and does things his way, waiving his middle finger in the air. His improve goes against all things ‘process.’
This game
will go down to the wire and will have a surprise around every turn. Johnny Manziel always seems to shine under
the bright lights but can you really bet against Saban? I think the Tide pull one out here but my
confidence points are pretty low.
Keys to Victory
AlabamaContain Manziel. It’s that simple. Alabama won’t stop Manziel totally, but they must stay in their pass-rush lanes and keep him bottled up. The better Alabama can do at keeping him in long down and distances the better. They must force Johnny to throw contested passes into tight windows.
Offensively,
Alabama has a big advantage against a very shaky A&M defense. ‘Bama’s offensive line must own the line of
scrimmage and get TJ Yeldon and the ground game going. A&M’s defense got exposed against Rice
and Alabama must own the trenches.
Texas A&M
Get the
lead and keep the pressure on Alabama to keep up. Kevin Sumlin just needs to keep the tempo up,
let Manziel make quick throws and run.
Defensively,
A&M must blitz early and do some run-blitzing. Virginia Tech blitzed Alabama a lot in week
one and Alabama’s offensive line never got in sync.
Fun Facts
Show me
the money! Alabama-Texas A&M 2013 is
the heights average ticket price in college football history at $763 per
ticket.
These teams
have played five times with Alabama holding a 3-2 edge.
Our Picks
Jeremy- Alabama, 31-30Nick-Alabama, 31-24
No. 16
UCLA @ No. 23 Nebraska, noon ET, ABC
Instant
Analysis:
I am very interested to watch this game on Saturday. I want to
see how Taylor Martinez responds in this game after his tough outing last year.
Both teams are averaging more than 500 yards of total offense. The interesting
thing to see will be how the Nebraska defense can handle a solid UCLA passing
game. I think ultimately UCLA’s defensive front will for Martinez to throw the
ball and slow down the Husker rushing attack. That in turn will lead to
three-and-outs for the Huskers putting Hundley and the UCLA offense on the
field a lot and they have the ability to rack up some yards.
Keys
to Victory:
UCLA: The key
in this game for UCLA will be to sling the ball all over the field. The Bruins
had 302 passing yards in week one and will need that many if not more to take
down the Husker defense. Good thing is the Husker secondary is bad and Brett
Hundley should be able to throw the ball at will. If UCLA racks up over 400
yards passing it should be able to win this one on the road. The UCLA defense
is going to have to slow down the Husker rushing attack and get off the field
on third down. The UCLA D needs to stop Martinez and Ameer Abdullah and force
Martinez to throw the ball.
Nebraska: The
Huskers are going to have to stop the UCLA passing attack, by making Hundley
uncomfortable all game. The UCLA passing offense is tough and the Huskers have
had trouble stopping the pass so far this season, but it will need to to win
this game. On offense, Martinez and Abdullah needs to lean on the UCLA
defensive line and keep the ball out of Hundley’s hands. If the Husker offense
can stay on the field and run the ball well the Huskers should be able to win
this one at home.
Fun
Facts:
UCLA defeated Nebraska last season 36-30 in the Rose Bowl. The
Huskers lead the all-time series 6-5.
Our Picks
Nick’s pick-UCLA, 41-40Jeremy’s pick- UCLA, 48-41
Instant Analysis
This is a
solid matchup between two schools with contrasting styles, looking to make a
splash in their respective conferences.
Despite promising starts to their seasons I remain a little skepticism
about whether either team can really content in their conferences. Wisconsin and ASU have won big so far but
neither has played an FBS opponent. The
Badgers have blown the doors off their first two opponents (albeit FCS
opponents) and seem right at home under first year coach Gary Anderson. In year two of the Todd Graham era, Arizona
State looks the part of a contender. The
Sun Devils have a strong-armed quarterback who can chuck it all over the yard
and some talented pieces on defense.
This matchup should give us a pretty good barometer of where these teams
are and how far along each program is under their new head coaches. I give Wisconsin a slight edge because of
their ability to win at the line of scrimmage and their deep backfield. That said, ASU can score points in a flash
and Wisconsin could struggle if they’re forced to play from behind.
I think
Wisconsin will be able to control the line of scrimmage and in doing so,
control the tempo and the pace of the game.
Look for a big day from the Wisconsin backs. ASU has a lot of firepower and will be
competitive but the Badger’s should be able to grind out a tough road win.
Keys to Victory
WisconsinWisconsin ran for 387 yards against UMass in week 1 and followed that up with 393 rushing yards against Tennessee Tech last week. If Wisconsin can win at the line of scrimmage against a solid front for ASU, the Badgers should be able to control the game, keep the Sun Devils powerful offense off the field and assert their will. Anderson has a dynamic trio of running backs (Melvin Gordon, James White and Corey Clement) who are all over 250 rushing yards after two games. Getting these three going will keep constant pressure, from a fresh runner on ASU’s defense and eventually wear them out.
Defensively,
Wisconsin must get after Taylor Kelly.
Kelly struggled against quality opponents last year and it starts with
making him uncomfortable. In ASU’s five
losses last year they gave up 22 sacks and threw nine interceptions. Pressure will slow this offense down and
Wisconsin must capitalize on opportunities for picks.
Arizona State
The Sun
Devils have to win on first downs.
Offensively, they have to get positive yards early and stay ahead of the
sticks, keeping Wisconsin’s pass rush at bay.
Defensively, they have to stop or at least limit Wisconsin on first down
runs and keep them behind the sticks. If
they let Wisconsin get big yards on first down, the Badgers ground game will
run roughshod through ASU. Wisconsin’s
quarterbacks haven’t won a game for them since Russell Wilson was the
quarterback. Load the box and make them
throw.
Fun Facts
The Sun
Devils are 8-0 all-time at home against the Big Ten Conference.Wisconsin is 10-3 in their last 13 night games since the 2009 season.
These two teams have played three times with ASU holding a 2-1 edge. Wisconsin won their last meeting in 2010, at home 20-19
Our Picks
Nick’s pick-Wisconsin, 30-27
Jeremy’s pick- Wisconsin, 37-34
No. 25 Ole
Miss @ Texas, 8 p.m. ET, Longhorn Network
Instant
Analysis: How is Texas going to respond after giving up 500-plus yards to BYU and the firing of Manny Diaz? Tough thing for the Longhorns is Ole Miss is a much improved team and has the chance to take UT down. This should be a really close game as both teams are averaging 35-plus points a game and allowing nearly 24. I would expect this to get very high scoring, but in the end Texas will use the home field advantage to win the game. The Longhorns will respond well to the Diaz firing and the offense will just plain score more points than the Rebel offense.
Keys
to Victory:
Ole Miss: Ole Miss
is going to need to just slow down the Texas offense enough to let its offense
get ahead. The Ole Miss offense just needs to run the ball effectively. It
needs to run the ball well and force the Texas defense to stop it. The Rebels
are going to have to ignore the 100,000-plus fans screaming at DK-Royal and run
all over the Longhorns.
Texas: Texas’
defense needs to rebound quickly for it to have a chance in this game. If it
gives up 500-plus yards of total offense again it is going to get run off its
own field. The Longhorn defense is going to need to stop the young Ole Miss
team and force them to early three-and-outs getting them off balance. The Texas
offense needs to just keep moving the ball because it is averaging nearly 40
points and 580 yards a game. Get David Ash rolling early and the Longhorns can
feed off the DK Royal crowd.
Fun
Facts:
Texas gave up 550 rushing yards last week the most in school
history. Ole Miss has not started 3-0 since 1989. Ole Miss was last in the top
25 to end the 2009 season.
Our picks-
Nick’s pick-Texas, 48-45Jeremy’s pick- Ole Miss, 28-24
Instant
Analysis:
This game has a circle around it because we are really interested
to see how South Carolina will respond from the loss to Georgia last week
against a much-improved Vanderbilt team. South Carolina gave up over 500 yards
of total offense to Georgia, given Vandy’s offense is not nearly as dynamic as
Georgia’s, but it will be something to watch. South Carolina’s defense will
control this game and I think it will be its coming out party as I am sure it
is tired of hearing about how awful it has been this season.
Keys
to Victory:
South
Carolina: I am waiting for Jadeveon Clowney and the Gamecock defense to
break out and a return trip to Colombia should be just what they need. The
South Carolina defense is going to need to slow down Vandy quarterback Austin
Carta-Samuels and the Commodore passing attack to win this game in a run away.
USC need to force Carta-Samuels to throw every down in this game. The South
Carolina offense needs to rely on its run game with Mike Davis and Connor Shaw
to play keep away from the Vandy offense. USC is average 227 yards on the
ground and it could use that in this game.
Vanderbilt: The Vandy
offense is the key to this game, but it has been pretty average so far this
season and is really relying on the pass averaging 286 through the air this
season. It is only gaining 147 yards on the ground so far and is going to have
to improve to have a chance in this one. If Vandy is forced to throw all game it
better hope Carta-Samuels is hitting his receivers. The Vandy defense is going
to have to shut down the USC running game to win this game.
Fun
Facts:
South Carolina leads the all-time series 18-4, and has won the
last four times. Vandy headman James Franklin has the bet winning percentage, 16-12 (.556) of the last 10 head coaches.
Our Picks
Nick’s
pick-South Carolina, 35-21Jeremy’s pick- South Carolina, 34-31
#24 TCU @ Texas Tech, 7:30pm
ET, ESPN
Instant Analysis
This game has built interest over the past two weeks. Texas Tech and TCU seem to be going in slightly different directions. TCU suffered a tough week 1 loss to LSU. They came back and got a win against SE Louisiana but lost quarterback Casey Pachall along the way. TCU was an early season dark-horse to win the Big 12 and I thought they’d be the surprise team in the conference. That’s still possible but they’ll really need a good showing this week.
Texas
Tech, with a new head coach and a true freshman, walk-on quarterback were
almost Big12 afterthoughts but after an impressive 41- point, 460 yard
performance over SMU in week 1 and a 61-point, 731 yard performance over SF
Austin last week, the Red Raiders are probably the hottest team in the
conference over the first few weeks.
Texas Tech’s offense move at warp-speed and quarterback Baker Mayfield
play’s like a seasoned vet.
It’s hard
to bet against a Gary Patterson team, especially when his defense is lining up
against a true freshman quarterback. TCU
is fast and athletic and I actually think the loss of Casey Pachall will make
this offense a little more consistent and allow them to gain an identity. Tech will push the Horned Frogs, but I think
TCU pulls out a tough road win.
Keys to Victory
TCUGet after Baker Mayfield. Hit him and shift in the secondary. Mix up your coverage’s and make him throw into tight windows. Offensively, TCU must get their running game on track. Waymon James is a solid runner and Boykin is also a threat from the quarterback position. Patterson needs to give Boykin some space and let him play his game.
Texas Tech
Run and
gun. Mayfield will make a mistake here
and there. He’s young and he’s going up
against a veteran defense. Mayfield must
put mistakes out of his mind and just keep chuckin’.
Fun Facts
This game
was first played in 1926 and these teams have met 55 times with Texas Tech up
on the Frogs 29-23-3.
Our Picks
Nick’s pick-TCU, 45-42Jeremy’s pick- TCU, 30-27
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