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Nicholls State
(2-0) at Nevada (0-2)
9:05 PM GamePlan
Why to Watch:
Okay, so the first-ever meeting
between an FCS power and a
member of the WAC isn’t exactly
going to light up the TV ratings
books, but considering the
Colonels knocked off Rice in the
season opener, and with Nevada
reeling after an 0-2 start, this
could have a little bit of
drama. Nicholls is a perennial
factor in the Southland
Conference and a regular on the
I-AA playoff circuit, so it has
some chops. As for Nevada, it is
searching for something to start
up its season, after getting
blown out by Nebraska on Sept. 1
and dropping a heartbreaking
last-minute loss to Northwestern
last Saturday. Don’t look for
this one on the national front
pages, but it has the potential
to be entertaining, if only
because the Pack piles up the
yards and gives them away, and
Nicholls won’t be intimidated by
the step up in competition.
Why Nicholls State Might Win:
In its two triumphs (Nicholls
also beat Southern Arkansas),
NSU has proven to be quite
strong defensively, surrendering
just 223.5 total yards a game
and especially penurious against
the pass (81 ypg). That’s quite
an early performance, especially
since one of the wins came over
an FCS team. Nicholls is going
to rely heavily on fullback
Broderick Cole on offense and
hope that QB Vin Montgomery
(11-22, 248 yards, one TD) can
be as productive as he was
against Southern Arkansas,
rather than against Rice
(3-of-7, 86 yards).
Why Nevada Might Win: Nevada
looked much better against
Northwestern than it did in the
rout against Nebraska, hanging
in until the last minute before
fading. QB Nick Graziano isn’t
the most accurate passer
(50.8%), but he was solid last
week and can get the ball
downfield if given some time.
Running back Luke Lippincott
rushed for 140 yards against
Northwestern and is a fine
complement to Graziano. The Wolf
Pack D, however, needs to
tighten up, after allowing 528
total yards/game in its first
two contests. Another reason to
like the Pack is NSU’s
propensity for laying the ball
on the ground. Nicholls has
fumbled nine times in two games,
losing four of them.
Who to Watch: Ladarius
Webb had a good sophomore year
at Southern Mississippi, making
55 tackles and breaking up five
passes before transferring to
Nicholls State where he made
quite a first impression. In the
win over Rice, Webb picked off
three passes and returned one
for a touchdown, keying the
upset. For the year, the 5-11,
205-pound safety has seven
tackles, one pass defended and
the three picks.
What Will Happen: Last
week’s near-miss against
Northwestern is a more accurate
indication of Nevada’s talent
than the loss to Nebraska. The
Pack gets its first win with a
solid offensive attack.
CFN Prediction: Nevada 34
… Nicholls State 14
... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5
Britney at the VMAs - 1 Big
Shots) ... 1
Hawaii (2-0) at UNLV (1-1)
9:30 PM
Why to Watch: There is
always something to see when the
Warriors crank it up, and last
week proved it. Despite being
favored by four touchdowns,
Hawaii needed a late surge to
gain a come-from-behind win over
host Louisiana Tech, casting
major doubt over whether or not
this top 25 team could really
play with the better teams away
from Aloha Stadium. After
camping out in Houston this
week, Hawaii heads to Vegas for
its second straight mainland
game, with a chance to prove
that this isn’t some gimmick
team that needs teams to make
the long journey. If Hawaii is
legitimate, it wins this game in
a walk. Hawaii is trying to keep
alive its BCS bowl hopes, while
UNLV is trying to rebound after
last week’s 20-13 heartbreaking
late loss against Wisconsin. The
program is still searching for a
signature win in the Mike
Sanford era, and this would be
it.
Why Hawaii Might Win: If
Colt Brennan has a little bit of
time and some blood flowing in
his arm, the Warriors have a
shot to hang 50 on a quick, but
mediocre UNLV secondary that
played over its head against the
Badgers. In just two games,
Brennan has thrown for 964 yards
and completed a ridiculous 76.2%
of his passes with ten touchdown
throws and one interception. His
passing rating of 187.1 is
ridiculous, as are his 9.54
yards/attempt. Simply put, he is
the Hawaii offense, and he has
five receivers with
double-figure catch totals
already. Yes, the Warriors are
going to give up some yards and
points, as they did last
Saturday against Louisiana Tech,
but in the end, Brennan is
likely going to outscore ‘em
all. UNLV doesn’t have the
firepower to keep up the pace.
Why UNLV Might Win: Maybe
those cheese-fed Wisconsin boys
were dazzled by the Strip, but
they needed a late TD to get out
with a win. The Rebels are
playing solid defense, allowing
just 291 yards a game, and just
137.5 through the air. Granted,
they haven’t seen anything like
Hawaii yet, but the defense, as
a whole has improved. The Rebel
spread attack has gotten a jolt
of energy from redshirt freshman
Travis Dixon, who has shown
himself capable of throwing and
running well – just not in the
same game. If he puts it
together, UNLV should be able to
hang for a while if this gets
into a shootout.
Who to Watch: Even though
Dixon is just the second
freshman to start a
season-opener under center for
the Rebels, he wasn’t completely
unprepared, having taken most of
the first-team snaps while Rocky
Hinds recovered slower than
expected from knee surgery.
Dixon ran for 108 yards and two
scores in the win over Utah
State and completed 23-of-36
passes for 258 yards and a score
against Wisconsin. He is a solid
6-1, 190-pounder with good
instincts and the ability to get
the ball downfield. If he limits
the mistakes, the Rebels should
score some points against
Hawaii.
What Will Happen: A
shootout, what else? Hawaii has
too many weapons, most notably
the man under center, in this
one. The long road trip could be
a problem, but Brennan is too
good to get rusty.
CFN Prediction: Hawaii 48
… UNLV
38...
Line: Hawaii -17.5
Must See Rating: (5
Britney at the VMAs - 1 Big
Shots) ... 3
Idaho (1-1) at Washington State
(1-1)
10:00 PM
Why to watch: Entering
its final non-conference game of
2007, Washington State is
exactly where it figured to be
after losing to Wisconsin in the
opener and rebounding with a
lopsided win over San Diego
State. Now, the Cougars need to
get above .500, the first step
toward securing a bowl game for
QB Alex Brink, weathered head
coach Bill Doba, and the rest of
the program. Brink was
brilliant Saturday night,
carving up the young Aztecs for
469 yards and five touchdowns,
while spreading the ball out to
ten different receivers. The
Cougars will be see a familiar
face on the opposite side of the
field, new Idaho head coach Robb
Akey who tutored the Wazzu
defense for many years. His
Vandal team held up rather well
in the opener, losing 38-10 to
USC, and picked up win No. 1
last week at the expense of
I-AA, sorry, FCS, Cal-Poly.
Why Idaho might win: No
one knows the Washington State
defensive personnel better than
Akey, which is a unique
advantage for Idaho and its
freshman QB Nathan Enderle. And
it doesn’t take a former
assistant coach to realize that
this year’s Cougars are going to
be very vulnerable through the
air. In two games against Tyler
Donovan and Kevin O’Connell,
they’ve given up 589 yards and
four touchdown passes, a concern
that isn’t going away anytime
soon.
Why Washington State might
win: The early indications
are that this is going to be a
fantastic year for the Cougar
offense. Brink is off to a
sizzling start, RB Dwight Tardy
provides punch in the running
game, and the offensive line has
allowed just one sack in two
games. With LB David Vobora and
CB Stanley Franks, this is not a
horrible Idaho defense, but
slowing down a balanced Pac-10
offense will be too an order for
this group of Vandals.
Who to watch: With a fast
start to 2007, Washington State
WR Brandon Gibson is building on
last year’s 49-catch sophomore
season. A sure-handed target
that’s terrific in traffic, he’s
already caught 13 of Brink’s
throws for 198 yards and three
scores. The battle between
Gibson and Franks will be
Saturday’s most intriguing
game-within-a-game.
What will happen: With Akey on a
different side of the field and
the schools separated by just
ten miles, this is a really big
game for Idaho. Big enough for
the Vandals to record a
respectable showing against a
Pac-10 team for the second time
in three games.
CFN Prediction:
Washington State 38 …
Idaho
13
... Line: Washington
State -26
Must See Rating: (5
Britney at the VMAs - 1 Big
Shots) ... 1.5
San Jose State
(0-2) at Stanford (0-1)
10:00 PM
Why to Watch:
Something’s gotta give. Two
winless teams hook up to see who
can get off the schneid in a
battle for the Bay Area. This is
the 62nd meeting
between the Bay Area rivals, and
it will be interesting to see
whether the road team can win
for the first time in six years.
Stanford didn’t look awful early
on in its 45-17 season-opening
loss to UCLA, but it faded late.
SJSU, meanwhile, competed a
little more vehemently in last
week’s loss to Kansas State than
it did while being dominated,
45-3, by Arizona State the week
before. Spartans coach Dick
Tomey is looking for continued
improvement, while new Cardinal
boss Jim Harbaugh wants his
first I-A win.
Why San Jose State Might Win:
After managing a mere 115 total
yards against ASU on Labor Day
weekend, the Spartans were more
productive (293 total yards) in
Manhattan and played with more
intensity and fortitude. What
that means for this week remains
to be seen, but the offense was
better. The question is whether
the shoulder injury suffered by
QB Adam Tafralis will be healed
sufficiently for action this
week. He said he’ll be fine.
Meanwhile, Tomey needs to
re-think his strategy of using
Tafralis as a wideout after
getting hurt catching a pass
from Myles Eden. Both QBs will
probably see action again this
week, and San Jose State should
be more productive offensively
against a generous Stanford D
that surrendered 624 total yards
to the Bruins.
Why Stanford Might Win:
Cardinal QB T.J. Ostrander
looked fine against the Bruins,
completing 27-of-59 passes for
331 yards and two scores. Now he
must become more efficient,
particularly if the Stanford
ground attack is going to stall
as it did against the Bruins (52
yards). Stanford should be
successful, since the Spartans
have given up 954 yards of total
offense in just two weeks. It
could be time for everybody to
get healthy after time off to
lick the wounds from the Bruin
loss. Don’t expect SJSU to grind
it out after managing just 113
rushing yards all year. That’s
good news, because Stanford
surrendered a career-high 195
yards on the ground to UCLA’s
Kahlil Bell.
Who to Watch: Stanford
sophomore free safety Bo McNally
says in his media guide bio that
if he had to cook for himself
all the time, he would eat
nothing but macaroni and cheese.
Well, if he keeps playing as he
did against UCLA, McNally will
be eating steak. He had 15
tackles, including 10 solos,
against the Bruins, almost
enough to equal his total last
season, when he had 21 stops.
McNally is a hard hitter who
loves contact and also has a
nose for the ball. He picked off
two passes last year and
returned one for a touchdown.
Yes, it’s not always a good sign
when the free safety is making
all the tackles, but at least
Stanford can rely on McNally
when rivals get through the
front seven.
What Will Happen: The
Cardinal didn’t look great
against UCLA, but it has enough
to knock off the Spartans. The
home team continues to reign
supreme in this rivalry.
CFN Prediction:
Stanford 28 … San Jose
State 20
... Line: Northern
Illinois -14
Must See Rating: (5
Britney at the VMAs - 1 Big
Shots) ... 2
WAC Week
Three Fearless Predictions, Part
1
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