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Miami University
(1-2) at Colorado
(1-2)
3:30 PM
Why to Watch: On
November 5th, 2005, Colorado beat
Missouri 41-12 to go 7-2 in a Big 12
North title winning season. Since that
game, the Buffs have gone 3-18 thanks
mostly to an offense that's only a
half-click more efficient than the
current Notre Dame fiasco. Coming off
losses to Arizona State and Florida
State, and with Oklahoma ahead, the
Buffs desperately need to beat a decent
Miami team it they have any prayer of
going bowling this year. The RedHawks,
who are also on an ugly run winning just
three of their last 15 games, aren't
going to be a pushover, despite coming
off a 47-10 loss to Cincinnati. They
have a winnable home game with Syracuse
next week before diving into MAC play,
so a win here could jump-start their
season. These two teams are probably
better than their recent records
indicate. At least that's what they'd
like to think.
Why Miami University Might Win: New
quarterback, same passing problems. To
be more accurate, new quarterback, same
inefficiency. Colorado's Cody Hawkins is
a big-time upgrade in passing ability
over last year's starter, Bernard
Jackson, but the Buffs are still having
a nightmare of a time consistently
throwing the ball. Miami's defense is
having problems with everything right
now, but the biggest issue is pass
defense. That might not be a problem
this week, unless ...
Why Colorado Might Win:
Hawkins has a breakout day, which might
happen if he gets a ton of time. It's
not like Hawkins has been under
tremendous pressure so far, the line has
done a good job in protection, and this
week he'll have 15 days to throw. MU
can't rush the passer and has been
getting dinked and dunked on to death.
Hawkins doesn't have to bomb away, but
if he can just be effective at finding
his short to midrange targets quickly,
the Buffs will finally start being more
efficient. Yards won't be a problem.
Who to Watch: The Miami
quarterback job quickly changed hands
early on this season with Mike Kokal
being replaced by Daniel Raudabaugh.
Kokal struggled mightily in his first
three games of what was supposed to be a
bounceback senior season, but a banged
up thumb and four interceptions to only
one touchdown pass necessitated the
change. Raudabaugh is a big,
strong-armed passer who won't move much,
but it good at getting rid of the ball
quickly. However, the sophomore will
throw picks, giving away three in his
first two games.
What Will Happen: Colorado's
offense will finally work. Miami isn't
that bad, and will try to bomb its way
into an upset, but the defense is just
too porous and the lines are playing too
poorly to pull this off.
CFN Prediction:
Colorado 27 ...
Miami 16
... Line: Colorado -13.5
Must See Rating: (5 Curb Your
Enthusiasm - 1 Kid Nation)
...
2
Northern Illinois
(0-3) at Idaho (1-2)
5:00 PM GamePlan
Why to Watch:
Perhaps you’re thirsting to find out
whether the road team can finally win
one in this series, which has been
played four times. Or, you want to see
if Northern Illinois, which has been a
perennial Mid-American Conference power,
can get its first win of the season.
That might happen, provided the Huskies
can stay healthy, which is hardly a
given since the team has lost five of
its top eight D-linemen already this
year. As for Idaho, the Vandals continue
their one-on, one-of schedule, following
up a loss to Washington State with a
more manageable opponent, just as Cal
Poly was more reasonable than USC.
Why Northern Illinois Might Win:
It would appear as if the Huskies’
offense is awakening, or at least
getting a little more potent. QB Dan
Nicholson has completed 74.5% of his
throws the past two weeks, giving NIU a
solid attack through the air. On the
ground, the Huskies will rely on Justin
Anderson, who has rushed for 249 yards
so far. It would be good if NIU could
cut back on the turnovers (nine) and
shut down the Idaho passing attack
better than it has stopped other
opponents (199.0 yards/game). That could
happen, since Vandals’ QB Nathan Enderle
has completed just 44% of his throws.
Why Idaho Might Win: The Vandals
aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut,
but they do have quite a weapon in
Deonte Jackson, who has rushed for 426
yards (5.3 average) and a score. But
again, if Enderle is completing fewer
than half of his throws and matching his
touchdowns (four) with the same amount
of interceptions, Idaho is in trouble.
The Vandals are relatively sound on
defense, and even though Anderson has
been efficient lately, he’ll have to
look out for safety Shiloh Keo, who has
two interceptions, two broken-up passes,
two fumble recoveries and 21 tackles.
Who to Watch: It wouldn’t be
stretching it to call Anderson the
Huskies’ MVP, at least through three
games. He leads the team in rushing (249
yards), receiving (19 catches) and
scoring (four TDs). Against Eastern
Michigan, he rushed for 168 yards and
caught six passes. His eight receptions
against Southern Illinois were the most
by a back since the school began keeping
such records 25 years ago.
What Will Happen: Despite the
banged-up defensive line, NIU should
hold down the Vandal attack and help the
struggling offense get some breathing
room, but it won’t be enough. Idaho
plays tough under new head coach Robb
Akey and will find a way late to squeeze
out the win. CFN Prediction:
Idaho 24 … Northern Illinois 21
... Line: Idaho -2
Must See Rating: (5 Curb Your
Enthusiasm - 1 Kid Nation)
... 2
Baylor
(2-1) at Buffalo
(1-2)
6:00 PM
Why to Watch: While
Baylor isn't exactly looking like a
challenger for the Big 12 title, it's
been excellent offensively over the last
two weeks in wins over Rice and Texas
State. The parade of lousy opponents
continues with a strange trip to Buffalo
before going to Texas A&M, and while
this might be a tougher game than
expected, a win would mean a nice 3-1
start with a little bit of momentum
building up. Buffalo wasn't been
completely miserable in blowout losses
to Penn State and Rutgers, and crushed
Temple on the road 42-7. This is the
home opener for an improved Bull team
under Turner Gill with an emerging
passing game that should be able to keep
pace with the Bears. No, you're not
going to go out of your way to see this
game, but it could be one of the more
fun shootouts of the day.
Why Baylor Might Win: Buffalo's
run defense is solid. The pass defense
is another story, and the secondary
against midrange passes has been
non-existent. UB is 112th in the nation
in pass efficiency defense, hurt mostly
by an awful week one game against the
Rutgers passing attack, and now it has
to deal with a red-hot Blake Szymanski.
The BU junior threw for 412 yards and
six touchdowns against Rice, and 411
yards and five scores against Texas
State. If he gets a little time, he'll
do the same to the Bulls.
Why Buffalo Might Win:
Drew Willy can chuck the ball, too.
While the Buffalo passing game might not
put up yards in chunks like Baylor's,
it's produced relatively well against
far better competition. Willy is
efficient, and when he gets on a roll,
can hit everything in sight. He
completed 20 of 22 passes against
Temple, and threw for 330 yards against
Penn State. Baylor's secondary can be
thrown on. In other words, the ball will
be in the air all game long.
Who to Watch: Baylor is a pass
only team, but it would desperately love
to find some balance to the offense.
Just a little. Brandon Whitaker had
plenty of room to move over his first
three games as a starter, but he didn't
make things happen and saw his workload
decrease to almost nothing. In comes
freshman Jay Finley, who provides a more
speed, more quickness, and more pop as a
receiver as well as a runner. Watch for
the offense to try to work through him
for extended stretches.
What Will Happen: Is Buffalo
really decent enough to beat a BCS
conference team? No, but it's going to
do it this week as the defense will bend
against the Bears, but won't break all
that often and will come up with at
least three turnovers that'll change the
game. Willy won't outthrow Szymanski,
but he'll come up with just enough key
third down passes to keep the chains
moving.
CFN Prediction:
Buffalo
37 ... Baylor 34... Line:
Baylor -4
Must See Rating: (5 Curb Your
Enthusiasm - 1 Kid Nation)
...
2
Central Conn. St. (2-1) at Western Michigan
(0-3) 7:00
PM
Why to Watch:
It doesn't seem like Western Michigan is
on a seven-game losing streak, but with
no defense to start this year, and a
rough collapse to end last season,
that's the case. The Broncos have had a
rough schedule to start the year, facing
West Virginia, Indiana, and Missouri,
and have earned this apparent breather
before diving into MAC play. The Blue
Devils of CCSU are on a two-game winning
streak thanks to a terrific rushing
attack and stingy run defense. This
might not really be the walk in the park
the Broncos are looking for.
Why Central Connecticut State Might Win:
The Blue Devils use several different
players to move the ball on the ground,
and while Jo Jo Freeman is the main man,
there are enough runners to spread the
wealth around. So far, the WMU run
defense has been abysmal. Playing West
Virginia and Missouri will do that, but
this hasn't been the same aggressive
defense that wreaked havoc throughout
last year. CCSU should be able to get
its yards and keep the clock moving.
Why Western Michigan Might Win:
Welcome to the WMU passing game. Mostly
needed to try to stay afloat over the
last few weeks, the Broncs shoudl be
able to fire away at will on a mediocre
CCSU secondary that hasn't seen an air
attack worthy of note. Considering the
current losing streak, WMU isn't taking
this game lightly and will give it full
attention. If things are clicking like
they're supposed to, this could be over
early, and CCSU won't have the passing
offense to make a quick comeback.
Who to Watch: While it'll be the
WMU passing game that wins this, getting
the ground game going will be a must.
Sophomore Brandon West has gotten the
carries, but after the team has fallen
behind, he hasn't been needed much
throughout games. This is his chance to
be a workhorse, and to finally break off
a few big runs. He's a quick back with
excellent straight line speed, and now
it has to show through.
What Will Happen: Western
Michigan is about to take out a lot of
frustrations with an offensive explosion
that's been building for several weeks.
CFN Prediction:
Western Michigan 45 ... Central
Connecticut State 20
... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 Curb Your
Enthusiasm - 1 Kid Nation)
...
1
Iowa State
(1-2)
at Toledo
(0-3)
7:00 PM
Why to Watch: Iowa
State stopped a two point conversion
attempt in the third overtime to beat
Toledo 45-43 in last year's thrilling
opening day game. This year, the two
teams are struggling, even though Iowa
State might have kickstarted the Gene
Chizik era with a 15-13 win over
in-state rival Iowa. Toledo has been
awful, giving up close to 50 points per
game and getting nothing form the
offense until it's too late. 0-3, the
Rockets could desperately use something
positive to build on before diving back
into MAC play against Western Michigan.
This starts a three-game homestand for
the Rockets, while the Cyclones could
use a second straight win with road
games against Nebraska and Texas Tech
ahead. Follow those up with Texas,
Oklahoma and Missouri, and this could be
a rough stretch.
Why Iowa State Might Win: If
the Iowa State offense was ever going to
get on track, this would be the game.
While the Rockets might have faced three
good offenses to start the year (Purdue,
Central Michigan and Kansas), the D
really has been that bad with no
pressure from the defensive front. There
aren't any playmakers anywhere, at least
not so far, so this has to be the time
the Cyclone passing game finally starts
to produce. If it doesn't happen this
week, it's not going to happen all year
long. Fortunately for Toledo ...
Why Toledo Might Win:
This is the break the defense
desperately needed. Iowa State has
generated 14, 13 and 15 points with an
attack that's moved the ball a little
bit, but can't put points on the board.
Helping the cause will be a Cyclone
defense that doesn't generate turnovers
and is mediocre against the run. The ISU
defensive stats are solid because it
hasn't faced anyone who can throw.
That'll change this week with the
Rockets certain to bomb away from the
start. As long as QB Aaron Opelt gets
time, he'll produce.
Who to Watch: Considering the
struggles of the Iowa State offense, the
last thing it needs is a long field to
deal with on drive after drive. That's
why Toledo senior Brett Kern might be
the key to the game, with a 46.4 yard
average and a nice ability to pin the
ball deep. Iowa State is averaging a
mere 2.83 yards on punt returns. For the
Cyclone offense, lost in the shuffle of
a lousy start has been the running of
JUCO transfer J.J. Bass, who's been the
workhorse when the passing game breaks
down. He was stuffed against Northern
Iowa, but did a good job of getting the
hard yards against Iowa last week. He'll
get the ball 25 times, and he'll need to
crank out a 100-yard day.
What Will Happen: Toledo finally
gets off the mat with a big offensive
performance from all phases. Iowa State
will have its best offensive output of
the year, with QB Bret Meyer throwing
for 300 yards, but if won't be nearly
enough.
CFN Prediction:
Toledo 35 ... Iowa State 24 ... Line:
Iowa State -4
Must See Rating: (5 Curb Your
Enthusiasm - 1 Kid Nation)
...
2
MAC Week
Four Predictions, Part 1 |