|
Pitt
(2-0)
at Michigan State
(2-0)
12:00 PM ESPN
Why to watch:
The two teams face off for the
second straight year in a pivotal
crossroads game for both
schools. Win, and you’ve got
the wind at your back as the
toughest portion of the schedule
begins. Lose, and the memories
of the past few disappointing
seasons begin to resurface.
Both programs know the fast
start/slow finish routine all
too well, and both are
desperately looking to put their
demons behind them and play well
early on. The Spartans have
opened with wins over UAB and
Bowling Green, displaying the
physicality on defense and in
the running game that’s
consistent with the
personalities of new head coach
Mark Dantonio and defensive
coordinator Pat Narduzzi. With
the help of numerous
underclassmen, the Panthers have
fought through some injuries to
shoo aside Eastern Michigan and
Grambling State. A road trip to
an improving Big Ten team is
just the type of step up game
that’ll tell plenty about the
progress Pitt is making under
Dave Wannstedt.
Why Pittsburgh might win:
In both games this month,
Michigan State showed hints of
its youth at cornerback,
allowing too many yards through
the air to average
quarterbacks. The Panthers can
expose that weakness with a big
and dynamic receiving corps that
includes Oderick Turner, Marcel
Pestano, and TE Nate Byham. On
the contrary, Brian Hoyer and
the Spartans will have problems
achieving offensive balance
against a Pitt secondary that’s
allowed just a single touchdown
pass to teams that were
determined to establish the
pass.
Why Michigan State might win:
Behind a huge line and the
diverse combo of Javon Ringer
and Jehuu Caulcrick, the
Spartans have the talent to run
at the Pittsburgh defense
without much of a problem. The
Panthers have gotten away with
playing two poor running teams
to open the season, but all that
changes on Saturday when the Big
Ten’s No. 2 running game exposes
Pitt’s shaky front seven. At
the worst possible time, the
Panthers have also lost for the
season DT Gus Mustakas, easily
the most productive of the
team’s interior linemen. If MSU
can establish the ground game on
the inside, everything will open
up everywhere else.
Who to watch: Like a
throwback player from a
half-century ago, Michigan
State’s Kellen Davis is
contributing to both sides of
the ball for the Spartans. As a
tight end, the 6-6, 250-pounder
is second on the team in
receptions and hauled in his
first touchdown catch of the
season last Saturday. As a
part-time defensive end, he’s
had a sack in each game, and is
helping spark a revival of a
Michigan State pass rush that
was nonexistent in 2006. He’s a
top pro prospect who needs to
put it all together to make a
lot of money next year, and he’s
beginning to do it.
What will happen: This
game will be won on the ground.
Pitt’s LeSean McCoy is a budding
star, but for now, advantage
Michigan State. The Spartans
will wear down the Panther D,
and land a long pass or two to
WR Devin Thomas when the defense
over commits to the run.
CFN Prediction:
Michigan
State 30 ... Pitt 17
... Line: Michigan State -8.5
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
... 3
Minnesota
(1-1) at Florida Atlantic
(1-1)
1:00
PM
Why to Watch: With
the way Minnesota played in its
first two weeks, going into
overtime against both Bowling
Green and Miami University, it
can't take anyone lightly. Now
Tim Brewster's team has to go on
the road to face a spunky
Florida Atlantic squad with a
good defense and enough fight to
make this a
tougher-than-expected battle.
The Owls all but shut down the
same Middle Tennessee that blew
up against Louisville with a Sun
Belt-statement making 27-14
opening day win, but had to deal
with a fired up Oklahoma State
team last week in a 42-6 loss.
If Minnesota has any dreams of
doing anything in Big Ten play,
or to go to a bowl, it has to
win this game impressively and
start to establish something
positive before facing Purdue.
Why Minnesota Might Win: The
Gopher defense desperately needs
a break, and it'll get it this
week. FAU doesn't have enough in
the bag to put up big numbers
against anyone, and while the
defense should be fine, at
times, it'll struggle against
quick teams with good offensive
balance. Minnesota's problems
haven't been on offense, where
the running game has averaged
276 yards per game and the
passing game has been efficient
enough to win with. A quick
early lead should be enough to
get the job done.
Why Florida Atlantic Might Win:
If FAU can somehow keep this
close into the fourth quarter,
the elements might take over.
Brewster has tried to simulate
the humidity of south Florida by
making the Minnesota indoor
practice facility hot, but it's
not the same as actually
fighting through the sticky
weather against a live opponent.
For FAU to win, Minnesota needs
to screw up a lot. Considering
how turnovers, penalties, and
strange defensive lapses have
been an issue over the first two
games, the Owls will probably
get plenty of chances to make
some big things happen.
Who to Watch: Call the last few
weeks a step back, at times, to
eventually take a giant leap
forward for redshirt freshman QB
Adam Weber. Brewster's offense
has been effective so far, but
Weber hasn't been sharp for a
full sixty minutes yet. He runs
well, came up with four
touchdown passes against Miami,
and has come up with a few
clutch drives. Now he needs to
be consistent, more accurate,
and do even more to keep
defenses from focusing solely on
RB Amir Pinnix.
What Will Happen: For about a
half, Florida Atlantic will
believe it has a shot to pull
off a huge upset and put a big
feather in the Sun Belt's cap.
Then the Minnesota offensive
line will take over, and the
Owls won't be able to come up
with the second half drives
needed to keep pace.
CFN Prediction:
Minnesota
34 ... Florida Atlantic 17
... Line: Minnesota -9.5
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
... 1.5
Iowa (2-0) at Iowa State
(0-2)
1:30 PM
Why to Watch: The
painful "throw out the record
book" cliché here as Iowa State
always gives Iowa problems. The
Cyclones would like to throw out
the first two games of the Gene
Chizik era, losing home games to
Kent State and Northern Iowa,
and looking awful in both. As
bad as things have been, the
season can take a wicked
180-degree turn if the Cyclones
can pull off their magic against
an Iowa team that struggled
against Northern Illinois, and
then dominated Syracuse in a
35-0 stomping. With a showdown
against Wisconsin next week,
Iowa could use a breather of a
game to work on getting all the
young players and the backups
some meaningful work, but this
is a rivalry game. Iowa State
will have other ideas.
Why Iowa Might Win: When in
doubt, when Iowa State starts to
get a little bit of momentum,
Iowa should be able to rely on
the lines and come through with
a long drive, or a stuffing
stop, when it absolutely needs
to. The Cyclone running game
hasn't been bad, but it's about
to hit a brick wall against a
Hawkeye defensive front that's
swallowing up the run. Iowa
State's biggest problem has been
turning the ball over and making
big mistakes, and with the
fearsome Hawkeye pass rush sure
to pressure Bret Meyer, there
should be several opportunities
to force turnovers. Northern
Illinois and Syracuse aren't
great, but they're better than
Iowa State and they combined to
net 45 rushing yards.
Why Iowa State Might Win: Iowa
State's defense hasn't been
awful so far, and it should play
just well enough to keep the
game close. The offense has been
the issue, and the run defense
has struggled, but the secondary
has done a good job so far,
while the defensive front has
generated decent pressure. This
is an entirely different animal
for new Iowa QB Jake
Christensen, as he'll now have
to deal with a road game in a
rivalry game. Better Iowa teams
than this have fallen to the
Cyclones in the past. Iowa State
will play like this is its Super
Bowl.
Who to Watch: It's time for Bret
Meyer to save his season and
come up with his first really
good performance against Iowa.
Meyer is 1-2 against the
Hawkeyes, and while he ran well
last year, he struggled mightily
to get anything going in the
passing game with just 152
yards, 154 the year before, and
100 as a freshman. He had to do
everything for the offense last
week, but while he threw for 255
yards, he didn't throw a
touchdown pass and tossed two
picks. For Iowa State to have
any shot, he can't just be
effective; he has to be
brilliant. For that to happen,
it's time for WR Todd Blythe to
show up. With only seven catches
for 97 yards and a touchdown in
the first two games, he hasn't
been able to help the struggling
attack.
What Will Happen: The emotion of
the game will carry Iowa State
for a half, as the defense
forces a few Iowa mistakes, but
the Cyclone offense will be shut
down in the second half. The
Iowa defensive line will be the
difference.
CFN Prediction: Iowa 23 ...
Iowa State
10
... Line: Iowa -17
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
... 2
Ohio State
(2-0)
at Washington
(2-0)
3:30 PM ESPN
Why to watch:
Although it’s not going to be a
preview of the Rose Bowl, this
week’s game in Seattle between
the Buckeyes and Huskies has
suddenly turned into one of the
banner interconference match ups
of Week 3. Washington is flying
high after upsetting Boise State
to end the nation’s longest
winning streak, while reaching
2-0 for the first time in six
years. The Huskies are
beginning to knock on the door
under Tyrone Willingham, but
while beating Boise State was
nice, getting a win over Ohio
State would finally return the
program to national prominence,
while being a huge feather in
the Pac 10’s cap. The Buckeyes
are also 2-0 with a defense that
appears to be even better than
last year’s, and light years
ahead of what it was in the BCS
Championship debacle. The
surprise so far has been how
futile the offense has been in
lethargic wins over Youngstown
State and Akron. For a program
still looking for national love
after being pantsed by Florida,
beating Washington would go a
long way to showing that things
haven’t changed too much. Also,
this has become the one possible
stumbling block for a possible
8-0 start.
Why Ohio State might win:
Washington has thrived against
two of finesse teams, but how
will it respond when the
Buckeyes line up and pop it
right in the mouth? The Ohio
State defense has been as good
as advertised through two games,
allowing just 245 yards and two
field goals over that period.
The front seven, led by LB James
Laurinaitis, rarely misses
tackles, and is more than
capable of being the first team
to make QB Jake Locker play like
a freshman. Don’t expect Locker
to break off many big runs
against this crew. If the game
becomes tight, OSU has a huge
edge in special teams, and that
might be all the difference with
field position and placekicking
likely to play a big role.
Why Washington might win:
For all of the attention that
Locker’s been receiving, the
Huskies might not be unbeaten
without the play of the
defense. In games versus
Syracuse and Boise State,
Washington has allowed just a
pair of touchdowns and has been
stout against the run. The way
to beat the Huskies these days
is through the air; however,
Ohio State has struggled in the
passing game with new starting
QB Todd Boeckman. The same
Buckeye attack that broke a
sweat to score 20 points on
Akron won’t generate many big
plays against a Husky defense
that’s gelling on the fly. OSU’s
problem? The line has been
merely average, while UW has
cranked out nine sacks in the
first two games.
Who to watch: In just his
second season at Washington, LB
E.J. Savannah is growing into
one of the Huskies’ most
dependable defenders. While
Laurinaitis will be the name
linebacker everyone will be
focusing on, with 19 tackles so
far this year, Savannah has been
just as good. Blessed with
outstanding instincts and range
from the weakside, he’ll be
spying Ohio State RB Chris Wells
all afternoon.
What will happen: Is it
Washington’s time to show it
belongs to be back at the big
boy table? Yes, but the Ohio
State run defense will keep the
Huskies from pulling off the big
upset. It’ll come down to
special teams. Ohio State’s will
come through; Washington’s
won’t. The Buckeyes are gunning
for this game as a chance to get
back a measure of
respectability, and it’ll play
like it.
CFN Prediction:
Ohio State
23 .. Washington 17
... Line: Ohio State -4.5
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
... 4
Duke
(0-2)
at Northwestern
(2-0) 8:00
PM Big Ten Network
Why to Watch: There's
a recent history between the two
top-notch academic institutions
with Northwestern winning five
in a row since Duke thumped the
Wildcats 44-10 in 1998. After a
brutally ugly start, losing to
Connecticut and Virginia by a
combined score of 69 to 27, the
Blue Devils desperately need a
good performance to break the
22-game losing streak before
facing Navy next week. After
that, the schedule only gets
tougher with the only reasonable
shot at pulling off a win not
coming until the rivalry date
with North Carolina to end the
season. If Duke goes 0-12, it'll
take the losing streak up to 32
games, two shy of the dubious
record set by Northwestern from
1979 to 1982, but that's still a
long way off. For now,
Northwestern can't look past the
Blue Devils to Ohio State and
Michigan. The Wildcats needed a
last-minute comeback to stun
Nevada, and while they're 2-0,
they're still searching for
consistency on both sides of the
ball. A win would give
Northwestern just its second 3-0
start since 1965.
Why Duke Might Win: The
Wildcats aren't getting the
production from the lines that
was expected early on. The
offensive line has been fine for
the ground game, but has
struggled in pass protection.
The defensive line has gotten
into the backfield, but has
struggled against the run. Duke
has to take advantage of this.
Getting into the backfield has
been one of the only things the
defense has been able to do
reasonably well, while there's
decent talent in the backfield
to finally get the running game
going. However ...
Why Northwestern Might Win: ...
the defense made the mediocre
Connecticut and Virginia
offenses look like the
Indianapolis Colts. The Huskies
and Cavaliers are severely
deficient in receiver talent,
and have mediocre passing
quarterbacks, but the Blue Devil
secondary couldn't do anything
against either air attack.
Northwestern has a balanced
offense that's getting timely
passing and good production out
of the receiving corps. A
ten-point lead against this Duke
team might as well be a 55-point
margin.
Who to Watch: The pressure will
be on the Wildcat passing game
to produce with star RB Tyrell
Sutton likely to be out with an
ankle injury. Senior Brandon
Roberson picked up the slack
against Nevada with 128 yards
and a touchdown, but he's never
had to be the workhorse before.
He broke off a 76-yard dash
against Nevada, and while he
likely won't have to hit any
home runs, he'll have to be
consistent enough to make Duke
worry about the run. For Duke,
someone has to emerge to help
the ground game. Justin Boyle
only has 45 yards on 13 carries,
and he's the team's leading
rusher.
What Will Happen: Duke will
finally show a little bit of
offense, but it won't matter.
Northwestern will get a crisp
game out of QB C.J. Bacher, and
it won't need any last minute
heroics.
CFN Prediction:
Northwestern 27 ...
Duke
16
... Line: Northwestern -16.5
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
... 2
Big Ten Fearless Predictions,
Week Three, Part 1 |
