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Central
Arkansas at Louisiana Tech
7:00 PM
Why to watch:
The Derek Dooley era gets
underway at Louisiana Tech
against a Central Arkansas team,
led by former Tech offensive
coordinator Clint Conque, coming
off a not-that-bad 8-3 season as
a provisional D-IAA (now FCS)
team. The Bulldogs need to get
all the kinks out as soon as
possible with a WAC showdown
against Hawaii to come next
week. Considering they had the
nation's worst defense in 2006
and did nothing against the
pass, every moment to get some
work in against the Bears will
be vital.
Why Central Arkansas might win:
The Bears will be able to wing
it around a little bit led by
veteran Nathan Brown, who threw
for 18 scores even though he
missed time with a broken hand.
The passing game isn't
everything to UCA this year with
a good group of running backs to
work with, led by senior Ross
Brown. If the Tech defense isn't
appreciably better than last
year, the Bears should be able
to keep this close.
Why Louisiana Tech might win:
Central Arkansas is all but
starting from scratch on
defense, while the offense has
to replace key starters on the
line and the receiving corps.
The big Bulldog offensive line
can run block and should be able
to shove the Bears around at
will, with Patrick Jackson all
but certain to crank out a
100-yard day. As long as the
Bulldogs can control the lines,
they shouldn't have much of a
problem.
Who to watch: Defense,
defense, defense. After such a
miserable season, the Tech
defense needs every little bit
of confidence it can get before
going to Hawaii. Defending the
UCA spread attack won't be easy,
but it'll be a nice test to see
how things have progressed. In
charge of stopping the spread
from coming up with too many big
plays will be Tech LB Quin
Harris, who led the team with 95
tackles. A big hitter and the
leader the team works around on
the field, this is his defense
and his chance to make the type
of big plays needed to set the
tone for the defense to become a
hard-hitting crew.
What will happen: Don't
be shocked if the Bears give the
Bulldogs a hard time. The spread
attack, especially with a
veteran like Brown running it,
can produce against a
still-developing defense, but
the UCA D won't be able to
handle the running of Jackson.
CFN Prediction:
Louisiana Tech 28 ... Central
Arkansas 20...
Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 Hef
wants you to take his place on
The Girls Next Door, but
you can’t because you have to
watch this game - 1 Cavemen)
... 1.5
Final Score:
Sacramento
State at Fresno State
10:05 PM
Why to watch:
If ever a team needed an easy,
blowout win to get a little bit
of confidence, it's Fresno
State. The Bulldogs closed out a
disastrous season winning three
of their final four games
against some of the dregs of the
WAC, and with road trips to
Texas A&M and Oregon to follow,
it needs to get on track right
away. A bad performance, and
memories of 2006 might start to
creep in before the real season
begins. Sacramento State is
breaking in new head coach
Marshal Sperbeck after a 4-7
season that opened with a 45-0
loss to Boise State.
Why Sacramento State might win:
The Hornets can play a little
bit of defense, especially
against the run. The secondary
will likely have problems early
on, but linebacker Cyrus
Mulitalo and safety Brent Webber
are two of the best defenders in
the FCS. Mulitalo is a tackling
machine who'll lead a decent
front that should be able to
generate a little bit of
pressure.
Why Fresno State might win:
There won't be any letdown. The
Bulldogs want to quickly erase
all memories of the 4-8 2006
season and are going to treat
this game like it's for the WAC
title. The offense needs to get
find a rhythm it couldn't get
last year, while the defense
returns enough experience to
dominate the overmatched
Hornets. FSU simply has too much
speed.
Who to watch: Alright Tom
Brandstater; time to make the
program yours. The junior
quarterback has all the tools to
be among the best passers to
ever play in Fresno, but he
struggled way too often
throughout last year and didn't
make much of anything happen
against a defense with a pulse.
He has to be more consistent and
more accurate, and that big leap
forward has to start this week
for the Bulldogs to have any
sort of real success.
What will happen: Former
Bulldog great David Carr will
get his jersey retired at
halftime. That'll be about it
for the excitement. Fresno State
will come out fired up and with
enough big plays on both sides
of the ball, and enough
offensive balance, to get up
early and coast.
CFN Prediction:
Fresno State 45 ... Sacramento
State 10...
Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 Hef
wants you to take his place on
The Girls Next Door, but
you can’t because you have to
watch this game - 1 Cavemen)
... 1
Final Score:
Idaho at USC
10:15 PM FSN
Why to watch:
Let’s just see how good this No.
1 ranked USC team really is. Of
course the Trojans are supposed
to win easily against an
overmatched Idaho team led by
new head man Robb Akey, but if
this is really the dominant team
it’s supposed to be, it needs to
flex some early muscle before
going to Nebraska in two weeks.
This is a chance to see not just
USC’s wave of proven stars in
action, but also some of the
rookies, such as RB Joe
McKnight, if he’s healthy, and
DE Everson Griffen, as benches
empty early in a one-sided
rout. For future purposes,
special attention should also be
given to C Matt Spanos, who’s
replacing All-American Ryan
Kalil, and the bevy of big,
young receivers vying to replace
Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith.
It’s not like the Trojans’ need
the advanced scouting, but
defensive coordinator Nick Holt
was Idaho’s head coach in 2004
and 2005, and recruited a number
of the program’s current
players. For the third time in
the last four years, the Vandals
will be breaking in a new head
coach with Akey, the former
Washington State defensive
coordinator, all too familiar
with the Trojans. Although he
inherits a decent foundation on
defense with CB Stanley Franks
and LB David Vobora, a pair of
NFL prospects, the coach will
need unexpected help from the
offense to match last year’s 4-8
record.
Why Idaho might win: Or,
why Idaho might earn a moral win
and cover the spread. The
Vandals have a seasoned back
seven and genuine playmakers in
Franks and Vobora that can make
a few third down stops and force
the Trojans to punt more than
they’re accustomed. The USC
offense is loaded, but with a
couple of new starters on the
line and at receiver, it could
be a few weeks before it’s a
well-oiled juggernaut. As long
as they get a little bit of
early confidence, the Vandals
might make this interesting for
a few quarters.
Why USC might win: Aside
from the obvious and
astronomical gap in talent
between the two programs, Idaho
will be using a redshirt
freshman quarterback named
Nathan Enderle against the
vicious USC defense. Uh-oh. As
debuts go, it just doesn’t any
more daunting than a trip to the
Coliseum to face Sedrick Ellis,
Rey Maualuga, Taylor Mays, and
the rest of the Trojan D which
appears to be the best in the
Pete Carroll era. The USC second
team would start for Idaho.
Who to watch: With Vidal
Hazelton nursing a groin injury
and Jamere Holland off the team,
WR David Ausberry’s importance
within the USC offense has been
amplified since the start of
fall camp. In fact, he’ll
probably start along with
Patrick Turner, giving Booty a
pair of 6-5 targets to work
with. Also in the spotlight will
be the USC running game, that’ll
try to figure out which of the
sensational prospects are ready
to be the stars. Call this game
a bit of an audition.
What will happen: Fueled
by a slew of turnovers, the
Trojan defense will outscore the
Vandal offense this weekend. In
the equivalent of an exhibition
game, Carroll and his staff will
be thinking about the trip to
Nebraska by the first couple of
drives of the third quarter.
CFN Prediction: USC 52 …
Idaho
9...
Line: USC -45
Must See Rating: (5 Hef
wants you to take his place on
The Girls Next Door, but
you can’t because you have to
watch this game - 1 Cavemen)
... 1.5
Final Score:
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Northern Colorado
at Hawaii
12:05 AM
Why to watch:
Get the machine revved up.
Hawaii is the team everyone's
waiting to see. Can Colt Brennan
possibly do that two
years in a row? Is this really
the greatest offensive
juggernaut in recent college
football history? This is the
must-see team of the year and
the one to stay up late for. Of
course, it helps that there
aren't any games of note early
on, at least until the road trip
to San Jose State in
mid-October, so watch the
numbers and the stats pike up in
a hurry. Northern Colorado
should provide little in the way
of resistance. Coming off a 1-10
season as a provisional D-IAA
(or FCS) team, it's still light
years behind in terms of talent,
depth, and ability.
Why Northern Colorado might win:
13 starters return to a young,
young team that's trying to
build something. For the most
part, the defense wasn't all
that bad last year, having a few
good moments before completely
falling apart late. The running
game should be just good enough
to crank out a drive or two
that'll keep Brennan off the
field.
Why Hawaii might win: The
Bears averaged just 11.7 points
per game last year and played no
pass defense whatsoever. They
never came up with more than 28
points in any one game, and that
could turn out to be a quarter
for the Warriors. There's no UNC
passing game to speak of, with
Dominic Breazeale throwing just
two touchdown passes and nine
interceptions last year.
Who to watch: Everyone
knows about Brennan and the
Warrior passing game, but the
loss of RB Nate Ilaoa will hurt
unless David Farmer, freshman
Keahoa Pilares, and former
Nebraska Cornhusker Leon
Wright-Jackson can shine. Farmer
is the best blocker of the bunch
and will help keep Brennan
upright, but it's the back who
can consistently catch who'll
see the most action.
What will happen: There
are blowouts, and then there are
potentially epic games with
astronomical scores that get
remembered forever. If Hawaii
wanted to, it could crank out
100 points if it got the ball
enough. Of course, the dogs will
be mercifully called off at some
point, but not before Brennan
puts on a show.
CFN Prediction: Hawaii 68
... Northern Colorado 20...
Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 Hef
wants you to take his place on
The Girls Next Door, but
you can’t because you have to
watch this game - 1 Cavemen)
... 1.5
Final Score:
WAC Week One Fearless Predictions
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