|
Arkansas State at Texas 7:00
PM
Why to watch:
Texas gets a tune-up against a
good-running Arkansas State team
before dealing with TCU. The
Longhorns have the overall
talent, as always, to be in the
mix for the national title, and
with a pillow-soft early slate,
outside of the date with the
Horned Frogs, there will be
plenty of time to get the kinks
worked out before the Big 12
season. But first, the Horns
have to stretch their legs
against an ASU team that should
be among the best at pounding
the ball in the Sun Belt.
There's enough talent on the ASU
defense to keep this from being
brutally ugly for a quarter or
two.
Why Arkansas State might win:
Don't laugh; ASU might have the
best safeties in this game.
Tyrell Johnson and Khayyam Burns
are All-Sun Belt caliber
playmakers, with Johnson
possibly the best defender in
the conference, while the
cornerbacks might grow into the
strength of the team. Yeah, it's
easy to look great when no one's
throwing the ball (NO ONE throws
in the Sun Belt), but these guys
really can play and they should
be just good enough to keep the
fantastic Longhorn receiving
corps from exploding.
Why Texas might win: ASU
has to run to win, and it's not
going to be able to run. The O
line is undergoing an overhaul,
and this Texas front seven,
especially up the middle, isn't
exactly going to be pushed
around. The ASU receiving corps
is strong, but the offense isn't
geared to get them the ball. If
things go as planned, expect a
lot of third and longs, and a
lot of big plays made by the
Texas secondary.
Who to watch: Over the
next month, Texas needs its
offensive line to go from decent
to dominant. By no means is this
a bad line, but it doesn't
appear to be the type of line
you'd expect at Texas. A steady
rotation has to emerge, and
depth needs to be developed.
This is a perfect game to do a
little of both. For ASU, Reggie
Arnold is the best of a good
running back corps that has to
be at least average to keep
Texas from winning by 50.
What will happen: Texas
will take about two drives to
heat up, and then it'll be able
to call its shot. Arkansas State
is a good Sun Belt team that
won't be able to move the ball
at all if the Longhorn defense
is trying.
CFN Prediction:
Texas
48 ... Arkansas State 6
... Line: Texas -39
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:
North Texas at Oklahoma 7:00
PM
Why to watch:
The last time we saw Oklahoma,
Boise State was pulling out
every gimmick play ever invented
to pull off a miraculous David
win over Goliath in the Fiesta
Bowl. Now OU might be a bit of a
national afterthought
considering the loss to the
Broncos, the lack of a proven
starting quarterback, and the
loss of Adrian Peterson to the
Minnesota Vikings. Don't shed
any tears, this is one of the
best teams in America and it'll
look to prove it ... next week.
Miami comes to Norman in a fun
non-conference matchup, but
before we can all get on to
bigger and better things, OU has
to dispose of a North Texas team
with a new head coach, Texas
high school coaching legend Todd
Dodge, and a little more
attitude after a few disastrous
seasons.
Why North Texas might win:
OU could fall for all the trick
plays again. The only chance
North Texas has of keeping this
in the stratosphere is if OU
completely falls apart. The Mean
Green defense has good
experience and a nice
linebacking corps that should
keep the Sooners from running
wild in the first half. If new
Sooner quarterback Sam Bradford
is struggling, UNT will have to
take advantage of every
opportunity.
Why Oklahoma might win:
Set off the fireworks if North
Texas has more than 75 passing
yards before the fourth quarter.
Jamario Thomas and the running
game won't go anywhere thanks to
a rebuilding offensive line
that'll struggle in the Sun
Belt, much less against
Oklahoma, while the Sooner
secondary will erase the awful
UNT receiving corps. The UNT
defense doesn't have nearly
enough of a pass rush to make
Bradford sweat.
Who to watch: It's not
like Oklahoma has had Peyton
Manning, Tom Brady and Drew
Brees in the program over the
last several years. All the
Sooner quarterback has to do is
be efficient, make the throws
that are there, and relax behind
a fantastic offensive line.
Bradford was a scout team star
last year and should be more
than just a caretaker for the
offense, and in time, he could
grow into the face of the
program if he's allowed time to
work through his mistakes. OU
can beat North Texas without
throwing a pass, but it'll need
to bomb away a bit to see what
it has in its new starter.
What will happen: OU
might be playing North Texas,
but it'll be trying to beat
Boise State in the first half.
Expect a lot of pent up
frustration from that Fiesta
Bowl to come out against a
ridiculously overmatched Mean
Green team that won't get a
chance to see what its new
offense can really do until the
fourth quarter.
CFN Prediction:
Oklahoma
52 ... North Texas 7
... Line: Oklahoma -41
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:
UL
Lafayette at South Carolina
7:00
PM
Why to Watch: UL
Lafayette is just good enough to
give South Carolina a battle.
Things have gotten interesting
after the Gamecocks suspended
three players, CB Chris Hall, RB
Bobby Wallace, and most
importantly, QB Blake Mitchell,
because he skipped classes, for
the opener. Considering USC has
the SEC opener at Georgia next
week, the last thing it needed
was to be without its starting
quarterback in what's supposed
to be a tune-up game. The Ragin'
Cajuns are hoping it'll be more
than that, with one of the
nation's most productive running
games. While an upset is asking
for way too much, this might be
an entertaining game for far
longer than USC fans might like.
Why UL Lafayette Might Win: The
concern early on for South
Carolina is a lousy offensive
line that needs to be far more
physical and has to get a push
for the running game. That might
be a problem against a ULL
defensive front that should be
stout, at times, against the
run. ULL's problem should be in
the secondary, but if the USC
passing game isn't quite
clicking without Mitchell, the
green defensive backs should be
able to get by. On the flip side
...
Why South Carolina Might Win: ...
there's no need whatsoever for
the Gamecocks to worry about the
ULL passing game. While the
Ragin' Cajuns have experience at
receiver, they need to run, run,
and run some more to have a
shot. That's not likely to
happen against Jasper Brinkley
and a tremendous linebacking
corps that should keep Tyrell
Fenroy, Deon Wallace and the
ground game from getting on
track. Yeah, Mitchell might not
be starting, but that doesn't
mean backup Chris Smelley
shouldn't be able to dink and
dunk his way to a big game
against the bend-but-don't-break
defense.
Who to Watch: While Mitchell
appears to still be on is way to
a big season, many are ready for
redshirt freshman Chris Smelley,
a top recruit two years ago, to
get his feet wet and take over
full-time. He's not all that
big, but he has a live arm and
has all the tools to be a great
Steve Spurrier-molded passer.
Mitchell should still be the
number one guy when he gets
back, but Smelley could use this
opportunity to close the gap.
For ULL, the star to watch is
junior RB Tyrell Fenroy, who
cranked out back-to-back
1,000-yard seasons with 23
touchdowns. While he's not a big
back, he's a tough workhorse.
What Will Happen: South Carolina
isn't going to come through with
a blowout, but if Smelley can be
efficient and limit his
mistakes, he should be able to
keep the offense moving and come
away with a relatively
comfortable win. The defense has
to do its part by keeping the
ULL ground attack from
controlling the tempo. Early on,
it will.
CFN Prediction:
South Carolina 30 ...
UL
Lafayette 13
... Line: South Carolina -29
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)
Troy at
Arkansas
7:00 PM
Why to Watch: Troy,
the defending Sun Belt champions
have a decent defense and a
veteran quarterback in Omar
Haugabook, to make this a
dangerous game for an Arkansas
team almost certain to be
looking ahead to Alabama. The
Hogs have had a tumultuous
off-season, to say the least,
and could use a confidence boost
after losing its final three
games of last season and with
all the issues surrounding the
program. If Troy can keep it
close, it'll be a major victory
for the Sun Belt and will send
off panic alarms around
Fayetteville.
Why Troy Might Win: There's
a ton of returning experience
and a good enough defense to
keep the Hogs under wraps for
prolonged stretches. Arkansas
can't throw anyway, and now it's
without star receiver Marcus
Monk thanks to a knee injury.
The Trojan secondary has NFL
talent in Leodis McKelvin and
Sherrod Martin, while the
defensive line, led by pass
rushing terror Kenny Mainor,
should make Arkansas even more
one-dimensional than it already
is. The linebacking corps isn't
as fast as the Arkansas running
backs, but it can really, really
move.
Why Arkansas Might Win: Troy just
doesn't have enough offense in
the bag to keep up if Arkansas
gets up early. Haugabook is a
good Sun Belt quarterback, but
he's not the most polished
passer around and will throw
plenty of interceptions
throughout the year. If Arkansas
can force the Trojans to play
catch up and abandon the running
game, there will be plenty of
chances for turnovers to own the
field position battle.
Who to Watch: Arkansas might have
a quick strike running game, but
the more it's kept off the field
and the more Troy can own the
time of possession, the better.
Sean Dawkins is a big, pounding
runner who has to test the Hog
tackles early on and has to keep
the chains moving, while leading
returning rusher Kenny Cattouse
is a quick back who has to crank
out a couple of big runs. Of
course, the stars of the show
are in the Arkansas backfield
with the return of Darren
McFadden and Felix Jones, but
this is a game for Casey Dick.
Even though the much maligned
quarterback is without Monk, his
top weapon, he has to show he
can throw with some semblance of
consistency. If he struggles,
that'll only make everyone lick
their chops that much more to
load up against the run, and get
the fans grumbling even more
about the passing attack.
What Will Happen: Troy's defense
will keep this from getting
ugly, but it'll be the Arkansas
defense that makes this an easy,
but ugly, Hog win.
CFN Prediction:
Arkansas 24 ...
Troy 10
... Line: Arkansas -24
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)
... 2
Final Score:
Sun Belt Week One Fearless Predictions
|