Notre Dame (0-1) at Penn State
(1-0)
6:00 PM ESPN Why to Watch: Maybe
Georgia Tech is simply really,
really good. Notre Dame came up
with one of its worst opening
day performances in school
history with a 33-3 loss to
Georgia Tech. Nothing worked.
There was no running game
(netting -8 yards), little in
the way of a passing attack (130
yards), and no run defense
(allowing 265 yards). With
Michigan (and yes, Michigan is
actually good), a resurgent
Michigan State, a high-octane
Purdue, a road trip to UCLA,
Boston College, and USC coming
up, the Irish have to start
making improvements right now.
Good luck with that against a
Penn State defense that appears
to be as nasty as any in the Big
Ten. The Nittany Lions throttled
FIU 59-0 to start the season and
can be 3-0, for all intents and
purposes, (Buffalo is coming to
town next week) by keeping the
Irish slide going. Going back to
last year, Notre Dame has gotten
bombed 114 to 41 over a three
game losing streak. Why Notre Dame Might Win: Penn
State doesn't really have a
running game. Yeah, yeah, it
cranked out 236 yards and five
touchdowns against FIU, but that
was FIU. You could've run for
100 yards on that D if you got
the ball 25 times. The Nittany
Lion offensive line is good, but
it's not as good as Georgia
Tech's, and there's no Tashard
Choice in the backfield to pound
away. Austin Scott averaged a
mere 4.2 yards per carry, while
Rodney Kinlaw and Evan Royster
aren't going to run for more
than eight yards a crack again.
Why Penn State Might Win:
This is a far, far cry from the
Notre Dame offense with Brady
Quinn, Jeff Samardzija and
Darius Walker. The Irish
survived last year because Quinn
was able to make quick reads and
smart decisions despite getting
popped every other play. The
Irish quarterbacks aren't as
good (at least not yet), and
there's no talent at running
back whatsoever to take the
pressure off. Don't totally
blame the skill players for the
collapse against Tech; no one
had time to operate. The
offensive line is still a major
problem, while Penn State's
linebacking corps should be able
to get into the backfield
whenever it wants to. Who to Watch:
O.K. hotshot, the team is yours.
Hyped up freshman quarterback
Jimmy Clausen will get the start
for the Irish after the game of
musical quarterbacks failed
miserably against the Yellow
Jackets. Clausen completed four
of six passes for 34 yards and
didn't move the offense at all,
but it's going to be
sink-or-swim for the franchise
passer as long as he holds up.
To have any success, he needs
help from a running back. Any
running back. The leading rusher
last week was quarterback
Demetrius Jones with just 28
yards. Armando Allen ran for 25
and James Aldridge ran for 19.
Trying to establish a ground
game against the Penn State
linebacking corps isn't going to
be easy. What Will Happen:
Penn State got throttled 41-17
by the Irish last year.
Considering Penn State is
ultra-motivated to get revenge
for the blowout, the Irish might
be lucky if the score isn't
reversed. CFN Prediction:
Penn State
38 ... Notre Dame 17 ...
Line: Penn State -14.5 Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 3 Final Score:
Western Illinois
(1-0) at Illinois (0-1)
7:00 PM Big Ten Network Why to Watch: Eventually,
Illinois is going to win another
game. On an eight game losing
streak going back to last year,
and losers of 20 of the last 22,
this is a program in desperate
need of a win against anyone.
Western Illinois isn't
necessarily anyone. Ranked to
start the season, the
Leathernecks had a surprisingly
difficult time against South
Dakota State winning 29-26 in
overtime. WIU has an aggressive
defense that's great at forcing
mistakes. Illinois has a young
offense that's great at making
mistakes. For all the hype and
all the expectations for Ron
Zook's young Illini, this is a
game it has to win in a blowout
before going on the road to face
Syracuse and Indiana. Why
Western Illinois Might Win: WIU
has to be at least plus-2 in
turnover margin and it has to
establish the running game right
away. The secondary picked off
three passes last week, to go
along with a recovered fumble,
and it has to do more of the
same be generating a consistent
pass rush to push the tempo.
Illinois lost the the ball five
times in the loss to Missouri,
and is all but certain to be
good for at least two turnovers
in key spots. While that's part
one of the WIU equation ... Why Illinois Might Win:
... part two won't be so easy.
Illinois did a good job of
stuffing the Missouri running
game, with LB J Leman coming up
with 20 tackles, and it should
be a brick wall against WIU. QB
Matt Barr can run as well as
throw, but as long as he's
contained, and star RB Herb
Donaldson doesn't get 100 yards,
Illinois shouldn't need more
than a few scores to win. Who to Watch:
While backup QB Eddie McGee did
a relatively nice job against
Missouri, running for 23 yards
and a touchdown and throwing for
257 yards with a score and two
interceptions, he's not Juice
Williams. The rising Illini star
completed six of nine passes and
ran for 11 yards before getting
knocked out after getting hit in
the head. He's back and firmly
entrenched as the starter. The
coaching staff has gone out of
its way to say McGee, even after
coming up with a nice comeback
against the Tigers, is the
backup and Williams is the
starter. What Will Happen:
Ron Zook and his Illini will
experience a home victory for
the first time since beating
Eastern Illinois last September
2nd. WIU won't have the passing
attack to make this a ball game. CFN Prediction:
Illinois 38 ... Western Illinois
13...
Line: No Line Must See Rating: (5
Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 1 Final Score:
Indiana
(1-0) at Western Michigan (0-1)
8:00 PM ESPNU Why to Watch:
If the MAC wants an honest shot
at beating a team from a big
league, this is it. Indiana beat
Western Michigan 39-20 in last
year's opener, and now it goes
for a 2-0 start before facing
Akron and Illinois at home.
While the Illini have improved,
this road date in Kalamazoo
might be the biggest obstacle to
going 4-0. Western Michigan is a
much better team than it showed
in the 62-24 opening day loss at
West Virginia, at least that's
what it's hoping, but with
Missouri coming up, a loss to
the Hoosier will likely mean an
0-3 start before things ease up
for the MAC contenders. The two
offenses are exciting, and the
two teams are relatively even. Why Indiana Might Win: While
IU QB Kellen Lewis isn't West
Virginia's Pat White, he's a
dangerous, mobile quarterback
who led the Hoosiers with 59
rushing yards and a touchdown,
and completed 12 of 21 passes
for 285 yards and three
touchdowns, against Indiana
State. WMU can't load up against
the run, like it tried to do
early against WVU, or the
dangerous IU receiving corps
will make big plays deep. It
can't totally commit the
safeties to stopping the deep
ball, or Lewis will run. Why
Western Michigan Might Win:
The jury is still out on the
Indiana defense. The secondary
is good thanks to a great pair
of corners, but WMU should be
able to run the ball if it
doesn't panic and keeps pounding
away. The Broncos weren't able
to test out its offensive
balance against West Virginia
after getting down, but it
should be able to mix it up a
little. Also look for more of a
pass rush on Lewis than the
Broncos were able to generate
last week. Who to Watch:
The Western Michigan quarterback
situation is now in question
again. Tim Hiller, after a year
off to recover from knee
surgery, got the start against
the Mountaineers and completed
16 of 25 passes for 160 yards.
Thomas Peregrin stepped in and
completed nine of 17 passes for
71 yards and a score. No matter
who starts, there will be a bit
of a quarterback controversy for
the rest of the year. What Will Happen:
Western Michigan will generate
more pressure and be far more
effective than it was last week,
but the deep passing of Indiana,
and a mistake-free game from
Lewis, will mean a tight IU win.
CFN Prediction:
Indiana 31 ... Western
Michigan 30...
Line: Western Michigan
-3 Must See Rating: (5
Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 2.5 Final Score:
Syracuse
(0-1) at Iowa (1-0)
8:05 PM Big Ten Network
Why to watch:
A win’s a win, but Iowa came out
of last week’s 16-3 victory over
Northern Illinois with questions
on offense and a goal to cut
down on mistakes and unforced
errors. Sophomore QB Jake
Christensen was only 12-of-29
for 133 yards with a touchdown
in his debut as the full-timer,
but it wasn’t all his fault.
The Hawkeye receiving corps,
thinned by suspensions to
Dominique Douglas and Anthony
Bowman, dropped a bunch of
passes that should have been
caught. Until the passing game
sharpens, Iowa will lean heavily
on a veteran defense and a
running game that produced 250
yards last Saturday. These
days, Syracuse would take any
win, no matter how ugly it
looks. Coming off an
embarrassing 42-12 home loss to
Washington in which nothing went
right, the Orange are already
staring down the barrel of a
third straight losing season.
With a palpable death watch
following third-year head coach
Greg Robinson, Syracuse will
need to quickly exorcise its
Week One demons to keep this
game competitive. Why Syracuse might win:
One thing the Orange defense can
do is generate quarterback
pressure and turnovers, which
will cause problems for the
unproven Christensen and a young
Hawkeye offensive line. With
few concerns about the passing
game, Syracuse can throw eight
men into the box in order slow
down the steady Iowa ground
attack. Unlike last week when it
had problems with Washington QB
Jake Locker’s mobility, SU’s
defense won’t have to watch for
Christensen taking off too
often, if at all. Why Iowa might win: No
matter how many defenders wind
up near the line, the Hawkeyes
are going to churn out plenty of
yardage with the productive
senior tandem of Albert Young
and Damian Sims, who both went
for 100 yards a week ago.
Allowing more than 300 rushing
yards to Washington showed just
how far the Orange D has to go,
and Iowa should be able to take
full advantage. Orange QB
Andrew Robinson has a bright
future, but a road trip to Iowa
City to face a feisty Hawkeye
defense is a recipe for
turnovers. He’ll be under even
more pressure than he was
against the Huskies. Who to watch: The entire
Iowa defensive line,
particularly tackle Mitch King
and end Kenny Iwebema, will have
a field day against a brutal
Syracuse offensive line that
allowed seven sacks to
Washington last Friday night.
King is a whistle-to-whistle
battler, who’d warrant double
teams if the rest of the Hawkeye
line wasn’t so capable. Robinson
had a relatively nice day
throwing the ball, completing 20
of 32 passes for 199 yards and a
score, but he’ll need to make
better, faster decisions for SU
to have a shot. What will happen: Unlike
last year in the 20-13 win in
the Carrier Dome, Iowa won’t
need an all-timer of a goal line
stand. Behind the running of
Young and Sims, and the play of
the defense, Iowa will go
wire-to-wire, sending Syracuse
fans into a deeper state of
despair. The Hawkeyes will
dominate on the interior, and
only lose a shutout when the
reserves enter the game. CFN Prediction:
Iowa
31 ... Syracuse 7...
Line: Iowa -22 Must See Rating: (5
Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 2 Final Score:
Wisconsin
(1-0) at UNLV (1-0)
10:00 PM Why to Watch: UNLV
tries to put itself on the
national map with what would be
the biggest win by far of the
Mike Sanford era, while
Wisconsin looks to avoid the
mega-upset before getting a
layup against The Citadel. These
two teams have a bit of a
history with the Badgers winning
19-3 in 2004 to avenge a
stunning 23-5 loss in 2003 that
was the only blip in a 6-1
start. Wisconsin shook off the
first half rust to get past
Washington State 42-21, and now
it tried to keep the offensive
balance going, while hoping for
an impressive blowout to
maintain its lofty ranking. UNLV
could be just looking to survive
before facing Colt Brennan and
Hawaii next week. Why
Wisconsin Might Win: UNLV
struggled to beat Utah State,
one of the worst teams in
America, last week. The Rebel
offense, an inconsistent sore
spot throughout last year,
struggled to get going, and now
it faces a Badger defense that's
not going to let down after
having a hard time tackling
against the Cougars. If the UW
linebackers have a good game,
this won't be close. Why
UNLV Might Win: The Rebels
have made a point to be more
active and find ways to make
more big plays on defense this
year, and things started out
well against Utah State with
four sacks and six tackles for
loss. To have a chance to keep
it close against the Badgers,
UNLV has to generate consistent
pressure into the backfield,
while offensively, the offense
has to control the clock. The
longer the defense is off the
field against a UW offensive
line that lives to pound on
defenses in the second half, the
better. Who to Watch:
With Rocky Hinds apparently
still having problems from a
knee injury suffered last year,
the UNLV offense has been turned
over to Travis Dixon, a nice
prospect who did a little of
everything against Utah State.
While he's hardly an
accomplished passer, completing
12 of 20 throws for 141 yards,
he ran 22 times for 129 yards
and a touchdown. He has to use
all his weapons and he has to
spread things out, or Wisconsin
will focus solely on stopping
him, and will succeed. What Will Happen:
Wisconsin's defense isn't the
type that'll let young new
quarterbacks run wild. The
Badger offense will have way too
much balance with QB Tyler
Donovan coming up with his
second straight impressive game. CFN Prediction:
Wisconsin 40 ...
UNLV 17...
Line: Wisconsin -24 Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 2 Final Score:
