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Nebraska (5-6) at Colorado
(5-6)
12:00 PM ABC
Why to watch: It wasn't all that
long ago that this matchup was
determining Big 12 championships and
having a major influence on the national
title chase. Fast forward a few years
and now it's a battle of teams and
programs going in different directions,
but each needing a positive ending to
build on for 2007. Nebraska is 99%
certain to make a coaching change at the
end of the year, but the Bill Callahan
era can be extended by an extra game
with a win to build on the cathartic
73-31 win over Kansas State to stop a
five-game losing streak. The passing
game has been rolling well enough to
overcome the mediocre defense, and now
it'll be bombs away as the Huskers try
to prove that they really weren't that
horrible all along. The Buffs have put
the horrendous 2006 year in the past
with a decent bounceback season, but
they've blown two good chances to get
bowl eligible with a blowout loss to
Missouri (acceptable) and a 31-28 loss
at Iowa State two weeks ago
(unacceptable). It's easy to forget that
the program went to the Big 12 title
game in 2004 and 2005, and a win this
week would be a solid step back to that
level. While Nebraska is about to tear
everything down and start fresh,
Colorado is rebuilding and could
desperately use the extra practices and
time a bowl game would provide.
Why
Nebraska
might win: To disrupt the Nebraska
passing game, a defense has to generate
consistent pressure. Colorado can't do
that. The Buffs have a strong secondary,
but they're not getting much of a break
with opposing quarterbacks able spend
five days to find second and third
options. It took a full season, and Joe
Ganz stepping in for an injured Sam
Keller, but the air attack is finally
rolling like it was supposed to from the
start of the Callahan era. With 315
yards and three scores against Texas,
405 yards and four scores against
Kansas, and 519 yards and seven
touchdown passes against Kansas State,
the Huskers are in a groove. If they're
on target, Colorado doesn't have the
firepower to keep up.
Why Colorado might win: The Buffs
need to get the running game going early
and control the clock to keep Ganz and
the Husker offense off the field. While
Hugh Charles hasn't been rolling lately,
he shouldn't have much of a problem
against a Nebraska run defense that
hasn't even been close all year. Kansas
State got down too quickly and couldn't
establish its ground game, but before
that, KU ran for 218 yards and five
touchdowns while Oklahoma State, Texas
A&M and Texas all ran for well over 300
yards each in the previous three games
against the Huskers. Colorado won't tear
off three bills, but it should be able
to crank out enough production to
balance out anything Nebraska can do.
Who to watch:
Is Ganz the real deal? He might not look
the part of a prototypical chucker, but
he's been the nation's hottest
quarterback over a two game span with
915 yards and 11 touchdowns. He only
completed half his passes in the loss to
Kansas, and pitched four interceptions,
but he rolled against Kansas State
completing 30 of 40 throws for 510 yards
and seven scores with no interceptions.
He can even run a little bit. If he can
put up huge numbers again, then he'll
start to be considered the real deal,
and if he pulls off the win, it might be
interesting to see if there's a slight
shift in the Dump Callahan movement.
What will happen:
Nebraska hasn't been good on the road,
but this isn't the same team that was
beaten up by Kansas a few weeks ago.
Tired of all the problems, the offense
has started letting it fly knowing it
has nothing to lose; it's all about
attitude with this bunch. Colorado has
something to lose, and it'll play
tighter. That'll make all the
difference.
CFN Prediction:
Nebraska 41
... Colorado 36
...
Line: Colorado -5.5
Must See
Rating: (5
The inside of your eyelids after eating two pounds of turkey
- 1 The inside of a gym with
every 120 calories equaling a mile on the treadmill) ...3
Texas
(9-2) at Texas A&M
(6-5)
3:30 PM ABC
Why to watch:
All of a sudden, this Texas team that
was an afterthought almost all season
long, struggled to get by teams like
Arkansas State, UCF and Nebraska, and
appeared to still be in a malaise after
blowing its seemingly sure-thing trip to
the 2006 Big 12 title, has a shot to
pull off a stunning reversal of fortune
starting with a win over the Aggies.
Last year, all Texas had to do was win
one of its final two games to play for
the Big 12 title, but Colt McCoy got
hurt against Kansas State, wasn't right
against Texas A&M, and Oklahoma slid in
and won it. This year, Oklahoma
supposedly had the Big 12 South title in
the bag, but Sam Bradford suffered a
concussion in the loss to Texas Tech
leaving the door open for the Longhorns.
If they can win on Friday, then the
pressure will be on OU to beat Oklahoma
State to win the South. Texas doesn't
have a shot at an at-large BCS spot if
it doesn't go on to play in the Big 12
title game, but with five straight wins
after the OU loss is hot enough to make
the other Big 12 bowls drool. Texas A&M
is bowl eligible, but it could use the
win to pull up out of its nosedive of a
season. Head coach Dennis Franchione is
basically a lame duck after losing four
of his last five games and could use a
second straight big win over Texas to
slow down the firing process.
Why
Texas
might win: This is a bad matchup for
A&M. Texas is vulnerable against strong
passing teams but is fantastic against
the run. Oklahoma State wanted to run
the ball and only got 164 yards on 45
carries. Only two other teams, Oklahoma
and UCF, were able to get more than 150
yards on the ground, and while A&M
should be able to do that without a
problem, it's not getting enough out of
the passing game to pick up the slack.
It's not like Stephen McGee and the
offense isn't trying, doing a good job
of moving the ball through the air
against Missouri, but this is a running
team that has to control things on the
ground to win.
Why Texas A&M might win: If A&M
can limit the explosions, it has a shot.
Almost like in basketball, Texas is able
to go on runs where it get hot for just
enough of a burst to take over a game.
Sometimes it happens in the fourth
quarter and sometimes it happens out of
the blue. To counteract that, A&M must
power the ball. UCF's Kevin Smith, a big
back, was effective against the Longhorn
interior, and no one else has tried to
pound it; Oklahoma State and Oklahoma
simply ran their normal ground game. If
the Aggie line can get a bit of a push
for McGee, Jorvorskie Lane and Mike
Goodson to run inside, it might have
more success than it planned for.
Who to watch:
McGee hasn't exactly become an A&M
legend yet, but he can cozy up in the
hearts of Aggie fans if he can engineer
a second straight win over the
Longhorns. Stepping in for Reggie McNeal
two years ago, it was McGee, not Vince
Young, who stole the show in the
closer-than-the-final-score 40-29 loss
with 108 rushing yards and two
touchdowns. He ran for 95 yards and a
touchdown in last year's win while
throwing for an efficient 58 yards. Now
he'll have to throw a bit as the
Longhorns will be keying first on
stopping him from running. For Colt
McCoy, this is a chance at redemption.
While he played hurt and gutted it out,
he also hurt his team by throwing for
160 yards and three interceptions. Now
he's fine, now he's throwing relatively
well after a good game against Texas
Tech, and now he has a shot to put last
year's game to rest.
What will happen: If
Oklahoma wants to play for the Big 12
title, it'll have to take care of
business. Texas will slow down the Aggie
running game and McGee won't be
effective enough throwing the ball to
pull off the upset. McCoy will be
terrific.
CFN Prediction:
Texas 34
... Texas A&M 23
...
Line: Texas -5.5
Must See
Rating: (5
The inside of your eyelids after eating two pounds of turkey
- 1 The inside of a gym with
every 120 calories equaling a mile on the treadmill) ...4
Big 12 Week
13 Predictions, Part 2 |