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San Jose State
(0-1) at Kansas State (0-1)
7:00 PM
Why to Watch: Kansas
State might have lost last week
to Auburn, and it might have
lost by blowing it late (helped
by forgetting to block Tiger DE
Quentin Groves), but it also
gained a measure of respect. The
young team went into one of
college football's nastiest
environments and almost pulled
out a win. A more experienced
team wins that game, and the
loss will likely be seen someday
as a step back to take a giant
leap forward. San Jose State
came into the year hoping to
build on a hot 2006, and then
went out and got blasted 45-3 by
Arizona State. The Spartans
didn't do much of anything
right, looking like the Spartans
of old, and they must quickly
come up with a good performance
or it might take a while to get
the mojo back.
Why San Jose State Might Win: While
it wasn't evident in the loss to
the Sun Devils, San Jose State
can play a little defense. The
Kansas State offense is going to
be hit-or-miss all year long.
Get QB Josh Freeman when he's
off, and you have a chance to
play a Wildcat team without an
offense. The Spartans have to
find a way to get into the
backfield and put continuous
pressure on No. 1, who says he's
fine, but suffered an ankle
injury against Auburn. Not
giving up anything deep is a
must. Freeman threw for 268
yards against the Tigers, but he
did it on 57 passes.
Why Kansas State Might Win: If
the defense plays like it did
last week, and if the San Jose
State offensive line plays like
it did last week, this will be a
brutally ugly blowout. The
Spartans failed to give QB Adam
Tafralis any time to work, and
did absolutely nothing for the
running game. Kansas State's
defensive front did a terrific
job of shutting down the Tiger
running game and didn't have
problems against the pass until
crunch time. San Jose State
isn't Auburn.
Who to Watch: While Auburn's
defense is gong to shut down
most running games, netting 27
rushing yards is still
unacceptable. The Wildcats all
but gave up on handing the ball
off, putting the entire game in
Freeman's hands. While it almost
worked, to have any hope of
winning much in the Big 12, the
ground game has to help the
cause. Leon Patton gained just
two yards on three carries,
while James Johnson led the team
with 14 yards on seven carries.
If they don't produce this week,
it'll be time for KSU to worry.
What Will Happen: San Jose
State's defense will play
night-and-day better than it did
last week, and it won't matter,
The running game will be MIA for
the second week in a row, and
KSU will come up with at least
three picks to make a close
first half game a runaway in the
second half.
CFN Prediction:
Kansas
State 27 ... San Jose
State 10... Line:
Kansas State -16.5
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 1
Final Score:
Rice (0-1) at Baylor
(0-1) 7:00 PM
Why to watch:
In a matchup of former Southwest
Conference rivals, the first
team to ten points might be
declared the winner. In last
week’s openers, while Baylor was
being blanked by TCU, Rice was
taking it on the chin from I-AA
Nicholls State. Although
neither program is likely to be
playing past November, the Bears
have an opportunity to get on a
mini-roll with games against
Texas State and Buffalo coming
up in the next two weeks. The
Owls looked like a shell of the
program that miraculously bowled
in 2006, even failing to get a
touchdown reception for WR
Jarett Dillard for the first
time in 15 games. If nothing
else, Saturday’s winner gets a
valuable talking point when the
two Texas schools inevitably
cross paths along the recruiting
trail later in the year.
Why Rice might win: You
can’t win if you don’t score,
and Baylor’s disjointed offense
is in a serious state of
confusion. QB Blake Szymanski
is clinging to his job after
getting picked three times in
Fort Worth, the running game is
AWOL, and an already depleted
offensive line just lost its
best blocker, LT Jason Smith.
Even the kickers were erratic in
Week One, raising legitimate
questions about how the Bears
are going to get on the board
this season.
Why Baylor might win:
Lost in the Bears’ forgettable
first game was the play of a
scrappy defense that held the
ranked Horned Frogs to just 27
points, 14 through the first
three quarters. The
linebackers, led by Joe Pawelek,
are underrated, and senior CB
Josh Bell is savvy enough to
keep Dillard out of the end zone
for a second straight game.
After performing like a bumbling
mess last Saturday, Rice QB
Chase Clement will face a far
tougher defense than the one he
saw from Nicholls State.
Who to watch: Unable to
count on its offense to crank
out big plays or long drives,
Baylor needs the defense to
create turnovers and short
fields. At 6-6 and 270 pounds,
DE Jason Lamb is the type of
imposing figure up front that
can pressure Clement into poor
decisions and game-changing
mistakes.
What will happen: In one
of the most unappealing matchups
of Week Two, the bad team from
the Big 12 will squeak out a
close win over the bad team from
Conference USA.
CFN Prediction:
Baylor
28 ... Rice 14 ... Line:
Baylor -6
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 2
Final Score:
TCU
(1-0) at Texas
(1-0) 7:00 PM
Why to Watch: While
the Miami-Oklahoma game will be
the marquee matchup of the Big
12 slate, this one might be more
important to the national title
chase. This is TCU's BCS game.
This is TCU's shot at being more
than Boise State. This is TCU's
biggest game in decades. This is
TCU's chance at the big time,
with a win likely to spark a
debate all season long about the
possibility of deserving a spot
in the BCS Championship. The
Mountain West is decent, and
there are road dates at Wyoming
and BYU looming, but this is for
all the marbles in what could be
the program's biggest win since
shocking Oklahoma 17-10 in the
2005 season opener. For Texas,
this is a chance to be Texas
again. It's been a rough
last four games for the
Longhorns with losses to Kansas
State and Texas A&M, followed up
by a lackluster bowl win over a
bad Iowa team, followed up by a
21-13 win over ... Arkansas
State?! Longhorn fans are dying
for their boys to turn it on
again, and this game will show
if this really is a good team,
or if it just looks the part in
the orange jerseys.
Why TCU Might Win: The Texas
offensive line hasn't been up to
snuff, at least it wasn't
against Arkansas State, and now
it'll face one of the nation's
most dangerous defensive lines.
The Horned Frog defensive front
seven is the real deal, led by
the type of pass rushers who
should put more pressure on QB
Colt McCoy than he's seen since
becoming the starter.
Consistency is going to be a
problem for a Longhorn attack
that couldn't run the ball last
week and might not have time to
let the deep pass plays develop.
Why Texas Might Win: It's not
like TCU is going to hang 50 on
the board. All things go through
the TCU defense, and if it's not
dominant, the offense won't be
able to pick up the slack. If
Texas can get up by
double-digits, it's over. While
the Longhorns got ran on by the
Indians, this is a nasty run
defense that's much better than
it showed. UT will put everyone
and the jerseys of Tommy Nobis
and Derrick Johnson up front to
stop the run because ...
Who to Watch: ... TCU QB Andy
Dalton probably isn't quite
ready for primetime. While the
freshman was fine against
Baylor, completing 18 of 30
passes for 205 yards and a
touchdown, he has to do more
than just manage the game and
limit mistakes. He's going to
have to be a difference maker,
and if this isn't his coming out
party, TCU won't be able to pull
off the upset.
What Will Happen: TCU just
doesn't have enough horses to
make it happen. Star DE Tommy
Blake is coming off an
undisclosed illness and star RB
Aaron Brown is injured. Texas
has had to hear about this game
all off-season and will give it
all the attention and focus it
deserves.
CFN Prediction:
Texas 17 ...
TCU
10
... Line:
Texas -10.5
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 4.5
Final Score:
UTEP
(1-0) at Texas Tech
(1-0) 7:00 PM
Why to Watch: UTEP
had them. In one of the best
games of the early part of last
year, UTEP had several chances
to pull off a win over Texas
Tech, but ended up succumbing
38-35 in overtime. The Miners'
opening day 10-6 win over New
Mexico wasn't remotely close to
being as thrilling, but was more
to their liking, with
36-yard Terrell Jackson getting the winning touchdown run
early in the fourth quarter.
Texas Tech had a far easier time
on Monday with a 49-9 laugher
over SMU, with 553 yards of
total offense and 473 through
the air. The Red Raider offense,
with several new starting
receivers, could use all the
warm-up games it can get before
the Big 12 season, while UTEP
would like to make a statement
with its first win over a now-BCS
program since beating Arizona
State in 1974.
Why UTEP Might Win: The only
chance the Miners have to keep
this close is to control the
clock, pound away with the
running game, and hope to catch
several breaks from a Red Raider
team coming off an extremely
short week. With just four days
to rest after facing SMU, the
legs might not be back yet for
Texas Tech, and the Miners have
to take advantage by running
well behind a veteran offensive
line and keeping the defensive
front moving. The UTEP secondary
did a nice job of keeping a good
New Mexico receiving corps in
check last week.
Why Texas Tech Might Win: UTEP's
offense doesn't have nearly
enough firepower to keep up if
this gets into any sort of a
shootout. The Miners are
struggling at quarterback, got
81 yards passing against New
Mexico, and only came up with
one big offensive play to pull
out the win. Worse yet, the
defense didn't generate any
pressure into the backfield. If
Tech QB Graham Harrell gets ten
days to throw like he had
against SMU, this won't be
pretty.
Who to Watch: Trevor Vittatoe has
to be better. The young UTEP
quarterback didn't get any help
from a receiving corps that
couldn't hang on to the ball,
but he didn't have a good game,
completing just six of 21 passes
for 59 yards. Lorne Sam will see
a little bit of work, but this
is VIttatoe's team to run. For
Texas Tech, freshman Michael
Crabtree appears to be the
team's newest receiving star. He
broke open the SMU game with
three straight touchdowns with
scores from one, 42, and two
yards out on the way to a
12-catch, 106-yard day. Danny
Amendola chipped in with ten
catches for 149 yards and a
scores.
What Will Happen: UTEP's offense
will open it up a bit, but it
won't matter. Texas Tech will be
sluggish for about a half before
opening it up once the game
starts to get tight.
CFN Prediction:
Texas Tech
34 ... UTEP 16... Line:
Texas Tech -16
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 2.5
Final Score:
Florida Atlantic
(1-0) at Oklahoma State
(0-1) 7:05 PM
Why to Watch: In
part three of the trilogy,
Oklahoma State looks to go for
the sweep after beating FAU by a
combined score of 71-11 over the
last two years. However, this is
a much, much better Owl team
with a veteran defense and a bit
more pop on offense. Coming off
a 27-14 win over Middle
Tennessee, FAU made a huge
statement in the Sun Belt race,
but it has to deal with the
Cowboys and Minnesota before
going to North Texas. Oklahoma
State has a two-game stretch
against Sun Belt teams, facing
Troy next week, after a
surprisingly poor 35-14 loss to
Georgia. This is an explosive
OSU team that needs to come up
with big performances over the
next two weeks before dealing
with Texas Tech.
Why Florida Atlantic Might Win: In
a perfect world for OSU, it has
good offensive balance with a
running game that provides more
big plays than the passing
attack. FAU has a good defensive
backfield with a linebacking
corps that should hold up well
against the Cowboy speedsters.
Middle Tennessee only netted 18
yards last week, and while OSU
should beat that in the first
few plays of the game, it won't
likely explode like it'll want
to.
Why Oklahoma State Might Win:
While FAU ran the ball
surprisingly well against Middle
Tennessee, it simply doesn't
have the overall firepower to
keep up if OSU gets up early.
This is an aggressive Owl
defense that'll have to take
plenty of chances and is almost
certain to get beaten deep at
least twice on big plays.
Special teams will be an issue
all season long for the Owls,
and it could be part of a
downfall this week. The punting
game is awful and there's no
range from PK
Warley
Leroy. FAU will have to go for it anytime it's within reasonable range,
since Leroy can't hit from
beyond 35 yards.
Who to Watch: While Florida
Atlantic junior RB Charles
Pierre doesn't have the wheels
of the Oklahoma State top backs,
he's a small, shifty speedster
who took over the job late last
year and started off this season
with a bang. His 95 yards,
combining with B.J. Manley's 64
and fullback Williams Rose's 53,
has given FAU a bit of an
offensive identity, and has
taken the pressure off QB Rusty
Smith. The more the backfield
can keep the chains moving and
keep the Cowboy offense off the
field, the better.
What Will Happen: FAU's defense
will make it a harder night than
OSU might like. It'll take a
while, but eventually, the
Cowboy attack will come up with
a few big plays to finally get
comfortable, but it won't be an
easy ride.
CFN Prediction:
Oklahoma
State 45 ... Florida
Atlantic 14... Line:
Oklahoma State -23
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 2
Final Score:
Colorado
(1-0) at Arizona State (1-0)
10:15 PM
Why to watch:
Appalachian State was not the
only “ASU” making noise in
college football on the opening
weekend. Arizona State, with
Dennis Erickson making his debut
in Tempe, completely dismantled
a decent San Jose State team
48-3. The Sun Devils outgained
the Spartans 520-115, displaying
a physical demeanor on both
sides of the ball that was
lacking throughout the Dirk
Koetter era. With similar
results against better
competition this week, you can
start seriously debating whether
Arizona State can be the next
best thing to USC in the Pac-10
this season. After going 2-10
in Dan Hawkins’ first season at
the helm, Colorado got exactly
what it needed to start the
year, a win over intrastate
rival Colorado State. The Buffs
came from behind late and won in
overtime in the type of game
that a young team can feed off
as the schedule gets tougher.
The 31 points Colorado scored in
the opener was well above last
year’s average, largely due to
the efficient passing of rookie
QB Cody Hawkins, the head
coach’s son.
Why Colorado might win: The
Buffs boast an underrated
defense that’s tough against the
run and experienced from front
to back. They were at it again
last Saturday, registering nine
tackles for loss and three
sacks, and holding Ram runners
to under three yards a carry.
With DT George Hypolite getting
a push up the middle and LB
Jordon Dizon tackling everything
in sight, Arizona State will
find moving the ball a whole lot
tougher this week than a week
ago.
Why Arizona State might win:
Senior Ryan Torain is a bona
fide workhorse back who'll pound
away at the Colorado defense
25-30 times, controlling the
clock for the Sun Devils. And
just when Colorado over commits
to the run, a more confident and
comfortable Rudy Carpenter will
play-action his way to long
gainers. Defensively, Arizona
State is on the verge of doing a
180 from last season, which is
bad news for a Buffalo offense
that’s still a
work-in-progress. With DE
Dexter Davis providing pressure
on the outside and LB Robert
James attacking from the
weakside, Hawkins won’t have
much time to set his feet or
locate open receivers.
Who to watch: At 6-4 and 208
pounds with great bounce,
Michael Jones is flashing signs
that he’s about to become the
next dynamite receiver to play
for Arizona State. He had four
receptions for 63 yards and a
touchdown in the opener, and is
going to command the attention
of Terrence Wheatley, Colorado’s
best cover corner. The more the
defense will have to worry about
Torian, the more single coverage
Jones will see.
What will happen: Cody
Hawkins has not lost a football
game since the sixth grade.
Arizona State will end that
individual winning streak,
getting 125 yards and two scores
from Torain, and a second
straight solid effort from its
improving defense.
CFN Prediction:
Arizona
State 37 ... Colorado 17... Line:
ASU -14
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 3
Final Score:
Big 12 Fearless Predictions, Week
Two, Part
1
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