Pete
Fiutak
Q:
After a wild first half of the year, make three big calls for the second
half of the season.
A: 1. It won't be Cal vs. LSU for the national title.
Cal still has to go on the road to face UCLA and Arizona State, and
still has to deal with USC. This might be too nasty a Pac 10 season to
get through unscathed. LSU has a stunningly easy road remaining, with
the toughest game at Alabama. If Stanford can beat USC, and Auburn can
beat Florida, then it won't be a shocker if the Tide pulls off the
upset, or if Auburn, with its defense, makes it interesting. Watch out
for the road trip to Kentucky this week. My call is ...
2. Ohio State vs. USC for the national title.
I'm not saying it's right, I'm trying to predict. USC still has road
trips at Oregon, Cal and Arizona State to make some national noise. This
might not be the juggernaut of past years, but it's still a good team
that'll finally wake up. The Stanford loss didn't cause enough of a
tumble, and the ranking will only creep up with the big wins ahead. Ohio
State isn't going to lose at Penn State or at Michigan, but Wisconsin is
a tough matchup for this team. The Buckeyes won't be impressive, but
they'll be 12-0.
3. Hawaii will be 10-0 going into the final two games against Boise
State and Washington ...
Will split the two and get into the BCS. The polls love unbeaten
teams, and even though they haven't played anyone, the Warriors will
keep moving up and up and up. By November 23rd, they'll be in the top
ten. They'll lose to either the Broncos or the Huskies, but not both,
and will finish at around 16th. Meanwhile, there will be an upset in
either the ACC or Big 12 championship, with the winner finishing lower
than 16th in the final BCS rankings. That'll give Hawaii the automatic
bid.
Richard
Cirminiello
Q:
After a wild first half of the year, make three big calls for the second
half of the season.
A: 1. There will be no unbeaten teams left by the time the regular
season ends on Dec. 1. We’ve seen the blueprint of the 2007 season, and
its theme involves rampant upsets and parity. We’re already down to
just 10 unbeatens with over half a season to go, and no one, not even
LSU, is above getting knocked off in this uniquely unpredictable year.
2. Navy will end its 43-game losing streak to Notre Dame on Nov. 3.
This is the Middies’ best chance in decades to break through against the
Irish, an opportunity that they’ll seize by running the ball right at
one of the nation’s weakest run defenses. If Navy can’t get it done
this fall, it could be another 43 games before it gets this close
beating Notre Dame.
3. Cal will lose to Washington State the week before its big game with
USC. Are you sold on the Bears being the No. 2 team in the country?
I’m not. No disrespect to the program, but it’s still vulnerable to
defensive breakdowns, particularly against veteran offenses that can
move the ball through the air. Wazzu qualifies with senior Alex Brink
behind center and an underrated group of receivers. The Cougars will
come in with nothing to lose, catching Cal looking ahead to the Trojans.
John
Harris
Q:
After a wild first half of the year, make three big calls for the second
half of the season.
A: 1. Texas
A&M will go 2-4 over the rest of the season, finishing 7-5. The back
half of this schedule is way too difficult and this team isn’t that
good. The Ags will be looking for a new head coach for 2008.
2. Illinois won’t win the Big Ten, but will play in a bowl game in
Florida…giving the Zooker an entire month to recruit in the state that
he used to pillage and plunder. Recruiting wise, that is. Uh oh, Big
Ten…look out.
3.
Arkansas RB Darren McFadden will lead his team to a 9-3 record (6-1 the
rest of the way) and win the Heisman Trophy. The only standouts from
top ten teams are Matt Ryan from Boston College and DeSean Jackson from
Cal. Both of those teams will lose along the way and McFadden will roll
up big yards the rest of the way, along with a 150+ yard performance
against LSU. As such, he’ll take the stiff-armed statue home to Little
Rock.
Matthew
Zemek
Q:
After a wild first half of the year, make three big calls for the second
half of the season.
A: 1) Cincinnati wins the Big East. This
is a no-frills team that doesn't look like it will buckle under
pressure. Speed and physicality to match South Florida, even on the
road.
2) Tennessee will run the table. The Vols have a tremendous chance. If
they can bottle up what they drank against Georgia, they're the
second-best team in the SEC East and could amazingly fend off the same
Florida team that beat them by 39.
3) Missouri wins the Big XII North. Long-time doubter, first-time
believer. The Tigers seem ready. They appear to have more competitive
hunger than in the past, and more of an ability to finish teams off in a
cold and clinical manner.
