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West Virginia
(1-0) at Marshall
(0-1)
11:10 AM ESPN
Why to watch:
For the first time in almost a
century, West Virginia travels
to Huntington to face Marshall
in the second annual Coal Bowl.
A genuine feeling of hatred
exists between these two
schools, but until the Herd can
close the widening gap on the
Mountaineers, the game will only
have regional appeal. West
Virginia got off to a fast start
in the opener, torching a better
Western Michigan team than the
62-24 score would indicate. As
has been the case for the past
two seasons, the catalysts were
QB Patrick White and RB Steve
Slaton, who had their hands in
seven touchdowns and enough
highlight reel plays to get the
Heisman talk rolling. The
Mountaineers remain No. 3 in the
country, waiting for either USC
or LSU to create an opening in
the top two, but they’ll need to
keep winning impressively. If
Marshall is about to inch closer
to its glory days, you wouldn’t
know it from the opener, a
listless, mistake-filled loss at
Miami. With Ahmad Bradshaw in
the NFL and Albert McClellan
injured, last year’s offensive
and defensive stars,
respectively, are no longer in
Huntington. If the Herd wants
to get back on the map for
something other than a Hollywood
flick, shocking a
heavily-favored rival would be a
great place to start.
Why West Virginia might win:
As long as White and Slaton are
healthy, no one is stopping this
offense, so the way to beat the
Mountaineers is to outrace them
in a track meet. Unfortunately
for Marshall, it just doesn’t
have the pieces on offense to
stay close in a high scoring
game. The Herd managed just 234
yards and three points in the
Orange Bowl, and QB Bernard
Morris showed no signs of
snapping out of his career-long
funk. However …
Why Marshall might win:
Western Michigan actually
shutdown the WVU ground game for
a quarter. The plan actually
worked, to a point, until White
showed off his passing accuracy.
If you’re going to pick your
poison, you’ll take White
throwing the ball over running
it. The main Achilles ’ heel
remains a defense that allows a
lot of big plays and is
susceptible through the air.
Morris needs to have the game of
his life, using his scrambling
ability to avoid the rush and
his big arm to find TE Cody
Slate and an improving cast of
young receivers. The Herd
should be able to move the ball,
but none of that will matter if
they can’t protect it. Don’t
discount the impact of a juiced
home crowd that’s been waiting
years for a visit from West
Virginia.
Who to watch: Is anyone
in the state of West Virginia
happier these days than
Mountaineer S Ryan Mundy? Now a
key member of the Mountie
secondary, he transferred from
0-1 Michigan during the
off-season. The interior war
between Marshall C Doug Legursky
and West Virginia NG Keilen
Dykes, two future pros, is an
entertaining change-of-pace from
all the burners that’ll be in
Edwards Stadium.
What will happen: Spurred
on by a geeked student section,
Marshall will hang around for 15
or 20 minutes. And then White,
Slaton or WR Darius Reynaud will
snap off a 60-yard run that
quiets the crowd. While emotion
will carry the Herd for a while,
its offense will be unable to
get it to the finish line.
CFN Prediction:
West Virginia
41 ... Marshall 14
... Line: West Virginia -21
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 2.5
Final Score:
Grambling
(1-0) at Pitt
(1-0)
12:00 PM
Why to watch:
The good news for Pitt? It used
Eastern Michigan as a tune-up
and a matter-of-fact opening day
win. The bad news? The victory
cost the Panthers their
quarterback, junior Bill Stull,
who’s out for an indefinite
period of time after injuring
the thumb on his throwing hand.
While not irreplaceable, he was
the clear winner to replace
Tyler Palko for a reason, and
both of his backups are
freshmen. Stull’s replacement
will be either Kevan Smith or
Pat Bostick, a mega-recruit from
this year’s class. Now more
than ever, the Panthers need to
dominate at the line of
scrimmage, and establish a
consistent running game. The
only good news surrounding the
quarterback quandary is that
Pitt’s next game will be against
I-AA Grambling, and not some
nasty Big East opponent. The
high-powered Tigers opened with
a rout of Alcorn State, getting
303 yards and four touchdowns
from Brandon Landers, the SWAC’s
premier quarterback.
Why Grambling State might win:
The Panther D better come ready
to play for 60 minutes because
Grambling is not your typical
I-AA offense. With Landers
spreading the ball around to a
bunch of slippery veteran
wideouts, and freshman Frank
Warren providing some pop in the
running game, the Tigers will
move the ball on a Pitt defense
that’s still adjusting to life
without LB H.B. Blades and CB
Darrelle Revis.
Why Pittsburgh might win:
If Dave Wannstedt is determined
to run the ball with more
conviction this Saturday, he and
the Panthers have an ideal
opponent to get it done. While
Grambling isn’t horrible against
the run, it lacks the presence
and skill to get penetration
against the likes of Jeff Otah
and Joe Thomas. Unlike a week
ago, the holes will be wider for
RBs LeSean McCoy and LaRod
Stephens-Howling, which is
comforting news for the new
starter behind center.
Who to watch: Mike
McGlynn is a pro prospect and
Pitt’s best blocker, but
off-season shoulder surgery has
limited his availability this
year. Now close to 100%, he’s
expected to get more 30-35 reps
Saturday afternoon, and could be
used at either tackle, guard or
center. A healthy McGlynn would
do wonders for the anemic
Panther running game.
What will happen: With
all eyes fixated on the freshman
quarterback, Pitt’s freshman
back, McCoy, will steal the
spotlight and answer Wanny’s
call for a better ground game.
A trip to East Lansing is next
for the Panthers, so expect the
intensity to last long into the
second half.
CFN Prediction:
Pitt 34 ... Grambling 14
... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 1
Final Score:
Maine
(1-0) at Connecticut
(1-0)
7:00 PM
GamePlan
Why to watch:
Who cares that last week’s
opponent came into the game
riding a 20-game losing streak?
Needing a fast start in the
worst way, Connecticut got it at
the expense of beleaguered Duke,
45-14. The Huskies bagged a
momentum-building win, but also
found a promising quarterback to
build around for the next two
seasons. Tyler Lorenzen was a
revelation in his first game out
of junior college, going
22-of-30 for 298 yards and two
touchdowns, while adding 56
yards on the ground. If the 6-5
junior can continue making
strides, his presence along with
the running of Donald Brown will
give UConn its most dynamic
offense since Dan Orlovsky
graduated. The Huskies will try
to get to 2-0 against Maine, a
familiar foe from their days
together in the Yankee and
Atlantic 10 conferences. Picked
by league coaches to finish
third in the new Colonial
Athletic Association, the Black
Bears opened 2007 with a 21-14
win over Monmouth, and would
really benefit from upsetting a
rival for regional recruits.
Why Maine might win: The
Huskies’ woes in run defense
could get exposed by a Black
Bear offense that welcomes back
four starters along the line,
including all-league LT Shawn
Demaray, and a ground game that
produced a pair of 100-yard
rushers last weekend. On
defense, Maine allowed just 61
yards on the ground to Monmouth,
and will press the line to stop
Brown.
Why Connecticut might win:
Don’t look now, but for the
first time in years, the Huskies
appear capable of beating
defenses in more than just one
way. The potential for balance
exists now that Lorenzen can
keep the opposition from ganging
up on Brown at the line of
scrimmage. Although Maine is a
disciplined and well-coached
group, it simply doesn’t have
the size or athleticism to stop
a unit that’s confident and on
the verge of getting crisper.
Who to watch: One of
Lorenzen’s favorite targets is
none other than D.J. Hernandez,
one of a number of failed
quarterbacks in Storrs, who’s
making a successful switch to
wide receiver. A decent athlete
and a big, physical, he had two
catches for 69 yards and a
touchdown, and another 43-yard
pick-up negated by a penalty.
With further development,
Hernandez will be a solid
complement to No. 1 receiver
Terrence Jeffers.
What will happen: No
stranger to I-A foes, Maine
won’t cower in front of a large
crowd or a Big East opponent.
The Black Bears will, however,
succumb to a UConn ground attack
that’ll produce 200 yards, most
on the strong legs of Brown.
CFN Prediction:
Connecticut 31 ... Maine 10
... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 Mad Men - 1
Chelsea Lately)
... 1
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:
Big East Fearless Predictions, Week
Two, Part 1
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