Army (1-1) at Wake Forest
(0-2) 3:30
PM
Why to Watch:
The Demon Deacons are among the
nation’s best 0-2 teams, thanks
to a 10-point defeat to BC and
last week’s late three-point
loss to Nebraska. Despite using
backup QB Brett Hodges, Wake put
pressure on the highly-regarded
Cornhuskers throughout the game
and could well have won it if
not for a few key late mistakes.
Army, meanwhile, is trying to
build on a 14-7 overtime win
over Rhode Island, the first
ever for new coach Stan Brock.
Yes, the Rams are an FCS team,
but the struggling Cadets won’t
be snobs about whom they beat at
this point. They’ll try to
gather some momentum behind a
stingy defense and emerging
passing game in what would
amount to a program-changing win
if they can pull it off.
Why Army Might Win: The
Black Knights got a boost from
sophomore QB Carson Williams,
who took over for injured David
Pevoto (ankle) and threw for 148
yards on 12-of-20 passing.
Williams may not be as
experienced as Pevoto, but he
engineered two TD drives and
threw the winning TD pass in OT.
The Army defense has allowed
just 295 total yards a game and
piled up five sacks. If the
Cadets are going to win,
however, they must be more
effective on the ground, since
they’re only averaging 52 yards
a game rushing.
Why Wake Forest Might Win:
Simply put, Wake is too good to
be 0-3 this year. Last year’s
magical season is long gone, but
the Deacons still have plenty to
play for, and a win Saturday
would be a good kick start. QB
Brett Hodges has played well in
relief of Riley Skinner
(shoulder) and runs the Wake
offense well, even though he’s
still learning on the fly. He
has a great weapon at his
disposal in wideout Kenneth
Moore, who has proven to be
tremendously versatile this
year, rushing for 116 yards and
a TD against Nebraska and
catching a whopping 15 passes
versus BC. Since Army’s passing
offense woke up last week, and
Wake has given up 333.0 yards
passing per game, the Deacons
need to tighten that up.
Who to Watch: Army opened
up in a two-tight end formation
last week, and it turned out to
be a good move, since senior
Justin Lawson ended up catching
the winning TD pass in overtime.
Lawson, who played in all 12
games last year but caught just
five throws, already has nine
receptions this year. He and
Mike Evans give Williams and
Pevoto a pair of solid targets.
What Will Happen:
The Deacon attack is too savvy
and versatile for the Cadets,
and Wake should take out some of
the frustrations it has felt the
past two weeks.
CFN Prediction: Wake
Forest 38 … Army 13
... Line: Wake Forest
-21
Must See Rating: (5
Britney at the VMAs - 1 Big
Shots) ... 1.5
Florida International (0-2)
at Miami (1-1)
3:30 PM ESPNU
Why to Watch:
On the surface, this is as ugly
as it gets, but it’s an
important chance for the ‘Canes
to get things straight after a
clubbing by Oklahoma last
Saturday. But then you remember
last year’s matchup, and the
reason to watch comes into sharp
focus. The ’06 edition of this
rivalry featured the infamous
brawl that led to 31 suspensions
by the teams and became the
beginning of the end for both
coaching staffs. There won’t be
the bad blood this time around
with new head coaches Mario
Cristobal at FIU and Miami’s
Randy Shannon handling things
far differently. Even so, this
will still be a hard fought game
with FIU looking to make a big
statement in some way, as
Cristobal tries to make his
program like the one down the
road.
Why Florida International
Might Win: The Golden
Panthers weren’t too pleased to
see that Miami was whipped in
Norman last week, since the
Hurricanes are liable to be
focused and mad. Still, Miami is
an imperfect team with a shaky
passing attack that manages just
84 yards a game. Kyle Wright
gets the start this week, but
there’s no guarantee he’ll be
any better than Kirby Freeman,
who was inept. FIU had better
get its offense going,
particularly on the ground,
since it has rushed for just 79
yards in its two losses. A
better rushing attack will help
QB Wayne Younger be a little
more accurate (42.6%) against
the tough Miami defense.
Why Miami Might Win:
Wright may be inaccurate and
inconsistent, but he’ll have
plenty of opportunity to look
good against the leaky FIU
defense. Wright came on in
relief last week and led Miami
to its only TD. Even if
implodes, the ground game should
be sufficient to dominate the
Panthers. Graig Cooper (142
yards) and Javarris James (127
yards, 2 TDs) have been
excellent so far and could each
get over 100 yards Saturday. The
Hurricane defense is still
reeling from last week, but it
continues to produce turnovers
(plus-4 margin) and should be
able to add to that total
Saturday.
Who to Watch: There are
plenty of times when a son plays
for his father in college but
precious few when fathers and
sons are opponents. That’s what
happens Saturday, when Shannon
squares off against his son,
Xavier, FIU’s starting center.
The Miami head man has said that
he and his son will be enemies
during the game, and family
after it. The third-year
starting junior (he was a
regular for five games as a
frosh) is 6-1, 288 and a solid
middle man for the Panthers.
What Will Happen: Expect
relative peace between the
teams, but on the scoreboard,
the Hurricanes will romp.
CFN Prediction:
Miami
40 … FIU 6
... Line: Miami -33
Must See Rating: (5
Britney at the VMAs - 1 Big
Shots) ... 1.5
Wofford (2-0) at
NC State (0-2)
6:00 PM
Why to Watch:
How often do you get a chance to
watch a game between two schools
which haven’t met in 87 years?
Not too often, so why not see if
the Terriers, ranked 11th
in I-AA, can avenge a 90-7
spanking absorbed in 1920? NC
State doesn’t care about margin
of victory. The 0-2 Wolfpack is
just looking for its first win
under new coach Tom O’Brien, but
given the Southern Conference’s
success so far against I-A
schools (hello, Appalachian
State!), don’t rule out the
Terriers, who have won seven in
a row.
Why Wofford Might Win:
The Terriers average 359.0
rushing yards per game, and the
Wolfpack surrenders 218.5, so
there is an opportunity for the
Wofford ground-based attack to
thrive. Backs Kevious Johnson,
Jeremy Marshall and Michael
Hobbs have each rushed for at
least 100 yards this season,
while QB Josh Collier has two
TDs on the ground. Wofford is
also an opportunistic team, with
a plus-5 turnover ratio, a good
thing, since the Wolfpack is
minus-8 in that department.
Wofford has also been successful
against the run, allowing only
107.0 a game, not good news for
a State team that has managed
just 70.5 yards in two games.
Why North Carolina State
Might Win: Even though
Wofford isn’t a pushover, the
Pack should be too strong,
particularly since three of the
Terriers’ offensive linemen
weigh 285 pounds or less. QB
Harrison Beck piled up plenty of
passing yardage in last week’s
loss to Boston College, with 321
yards. NC State is 14th
nationally in passing, and
Wofford has let up 276.5 yards
per game through the air. And
junior Andre Brown has stepped
up well at running back, with
136 yards and a TD, in relief of
injured starter Toney Baker.
Also, the NC State defensive
front will be fortified by the
return of Alan Michael Cash, who
missed last week’s loss due to
his father’s funeral.
Whom to Watch: After
practice Tuesday, Wolfpack QB
Harrison Beck had a conversation
with O’Brien and said he
understood that he hadn’t played
well, and that he would improve.
That wasn’t a bad idea after
Beck threw five interceptions
against Boston College. The
Nebraska transfer has a good arm
and the ability to get the ball
downfield, but he must be more
accurate (55.1%) and less prone
to making bad decisions.
What Will Happen: Wofford
will be able to run the ball a
bit, but NC State will make too
much progress through the air to
be denied.
CFN Prediction: NC State
24 … Wofford 13
... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5
Britney at the VMAs - 1 Big
Shots) ... 1.5
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
Florida State
(1-1) at Colorado (1-1)
10:00 pm ESPN
Why to Watch: In
an interestingly odd matchup of
two conferences that rarely
cross paths, Colorado looks to
get the first big name win in
the Dan Hawkins era, while
Florida State tries to
jump-start a season that's
started off rocky at best. The
Noles showed good heart in
coming back late to make a game
of it in the loss to Clemson,
and then they came out and
struggled against an awful UAB
team. With Alabama coming up,
followed by the meat of the ACC
season, the time is now for all
the coaching changes, and all
the tweaks to the offensive
system, to kick in. For
Colorado, the key is
establishing a little bit of
consistency. After opening the
season with a win over Colorado
State, the Buffs were never in
the game in the loss to Arizona
State. The offense has to
finally start showing some signs
of life, and the defense has to
play much better than it has to
start the year. Florida State
won the only time the two play
in a 47-7 blasting in 2003.
Why Florida State Might Win: Colorado
can't throw. Cody Hawkins is a
great-looking young prospect who
should grow into the role over
the next few years, but right
now, the passing attack hasn't
been appreciably better than
last year when it was the worst
in America. The Seminole
secondary has talent, and hasn't
been bad over the first two
weeks, and it would be a lot
better if the defensive front
could start to generate a pass
rush. If FSU can get up early
against the Buffs, it could be over. CU
doesn't have comeback ability,
and the overall explosiveness
isn't getting any help with
Bernard Jackson, last year's
starting quarterback who became
a receiver, likely done thanks
to academic problems.
Why Colorado Might Win: It's not
all going to be about Hawkins
this week as he get some big
help returning. RB Hugh Charles
missed the ASU game with a
hamstring problem and now is
back to 100% and ready to roll.
Without him, CU rushed for a
mere 32 yards against Arizona
State and 129 against Colorado
State. With a first option to go
to in the offense, Hawkins
should be more comfortable and
shouldn't have to make every
play happen on his own.
Who to Watch: What's up with
DeCody Fagg? The one-time
superstar receiver recruit for
the Noles came into the season
as one of the team captains, and
now he might turn into a reserve
after catching just five balls
for 34 yards, dropping several
key passes, and making a slew of
mental mistakes. Also needing to
step up and do more is Greg
Carr, who came through with a
nice day against UAB, but still
hasn't developed into a
full-time go-to receiver. Will
he ever catch more than five
passes? The offense likes to
spread it around, but with
Fagg's problems, Carr quickly
has to be the number one target.
What Will Happen: Both teams have
major problems, but Florida
State has more talent to make up
for all the issues. This will be
the game the defensive line
finally starts to play like the
Florida State offensive line,
and while Hawkins will have a
decent game, he won't get the
passing game going quickly
enough to jump out to a
desperately needed early lead.
CFN Prediction:
Florida
State 31 ... Colorado 20
... Line: Florida State -4.5
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
... 2.5
ACC Fearless Predictions, Week
Three, Part 1
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