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Arkansas State at Texas A&M,
7:00 EST
Why to watch: Mike
Sherman starts out his Texas A&M
head coaching career with a
decent first game that should be
more than just a light scrimmage
before dealing with New Mexico.
Arkansas State's big change is
in the nickname, going from the
Indians to the Red Wolves, and
it has a tremendous running game
that should keep the Aggie
defense on its toes. Of course,
A&M will like to pound the ball,
but this might also be a chance
to see if the Aggies can throw
the ball a bit more effectively
last year. ASU threw a mighty
scare into Texas in a 21-13 loss
in last season's opener, and
this year's team is better. Yes
Aggie fans, there's reason to be
afraid. This might be one of the
most entertaining Big 12 games
in week one.
Why Arkansas State might win:
ASU might be the sleeper in the
Sun Belt race. There are some
big holes, mostly in the
secondary, but the defense was
the best in the league and
should be even better up front.
Offensively, the Red Wolves has
a big, beefy line that should be
able to do some shoving around.
Corey Leonard is a veteran
quarterback who can do a little
of everything, while Reggie
Arnold is a dangerous back the
Aggies will have to worry about.
Why Texas A&M might
win: The ASU linebacking
corps should be good, but it's
woefully undersized and should
be pounded on by the A&M
offensive line. Yes, the
secondary should be fine in
time, but you don't get better
by Tyrell Johnson and Khyyam
Burns. Stephen McGee and the A&M
passing game should be able to
work in the middle of the field
without much of a problem.
Who to watch: With
thunderback/fullback Jorvorskie
Lane hurting with a variety of
issues, even more of the
workload should fall on Mike
Goodson, the A&M star back who
was going to be the main man in
the attack anyway. The Aggie
coaching staff has gushed from
day one over Goodson, but he'll
have to work behind a revamped
offensive line and will be the
total and complete focus of the
ASU defensive front. This is a
game he has to produce to set
the tone for the first half of
the season to allow McGee more
time to get the passing attack
going.
What will happen: A&M
will get pushed and pushed hard
before pulling away late. If you
like running games, this will be
for you, but don't expect much
in the way of a pass rush. These
were two of the nation's worst
teams at generating sacks last
season.
CFN Prediction: Texas A&M
27 ... Arkansas State 14 ...
Line: Texas A&M -21
Must See Rating: (5 90210
- 1 90210, at least what you’ll
say among your friends) …
2
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
Florida Atlantic at Texas,
7:00 EST
Why to watch: Last year,
Texas opened up the season at
home against a Sun Belt team and
got a mega-scare in a near-miss
against Arkansas State. Florida
Atlantic, the defending Sun Belt
champion, is a better team than
that Indian (now the Red Wolf)
team. FAU was one of the
breakthrough teams of last
season led by Sun Belt Player of
the Year, QB Rusty Smith, and
the defense gets nine starters
back. Texas is flying a bit
under the radar compared to the
hot new stars like Missouri,
Kansas and Texas Tech, but this
is a potentially great Longhorn
team with the addition of
defensive coordinator Will
Muschamp and a slew of talented
young players ready to break
through. Can FAU build on the
momentum of last year and the
New Orleans Bowl win over
Memphis, or will Texas bring
back some of the nastiness from
the Holiday Bowl thumping of
Arizona State? This is a good
measuring stick game for each
team, even if Texas wins without
too much of an issue.
Why Florida Atlantic might win:
Muschamp might be a premier
coordinator, but he'll have
plenty of work to do in the
early part of the year with his
revamped secondary. Smith is a
smart, efficient passer who
won't press and won't make too
many mistakes. It'll help that
Smith has a fast group of
receivers to stretch the field.
FAU was third in the nation in
turnover margin and has to be at
least +2 in the takeaway
department to pull off the
shocker.
Why Texas might
win: As good as FAU might be
good, but there's still a
ten-mile wide talent gap between
the Owls and the Longhorns. This
is a fast, veteran Owl team, but
it's not going to be all that
great against the run. The Texas
offensive line should be able to
dominate from the start.
Who to watch: Many teams
have a quarterback controversy
just before the season starts.
Texas has a running back
controversy, to a point, trying
to replace Jamaal Charles. It
was a three-man race throughout
the summer, with the plan to go
running back by committee, and
Texas still might do that with
Vondrell McGee getting the most
work and Chris Ogbonnaya serving
as a third down back and a
blocker. Fozzy Whitaker will end
up playing a big role, but he
had issues with a knee injury
late this summer and will have
to work his way back into the
rotation. Establishing a perking
order is vital sooner than
later.
What will happen: Attack,
attack, attack. Texas is going
to be flying all over the place
on defense while the offense
will explode midway through the
first half on the way to a
stunningly easy win.
CFN Prediction: Texas 45
.... Florida Atlantic 16 ...
Line: Texas -23
Must See Rating: (5 90210
- 1 90210, at least what you’ll
say among your friends) …
2
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
Florida International at Kansas,
7:00 EST
Why to watch: It's one of
the biggest questions of the
off-season. Is Kansas the real
deal? The college football world
won't find out until next week
against a decent Louisiana Tech
and the week after at South
Florida, but anything less than
big-time blowout of a bad FIU
team will get Jayhawk fans
nervous. The Golden Panthers got
better as last season went on
and came up with its first and
only win of the year in the
finale. Even though they're
experienced and should be far
better across the board this
year, it won't be a pretty start
with another paycheck game at
Iowa next week.
Why Florida International might win:
The only chance FIU has of
keeping this from being a
laugher is if the defense can
get to QB Todd Reesing and force
mistakes. The linebacking corps
should go from a weakness to a
strength, while the line should
get into the backfield just
enough to make Reesing hurry.
Coming up with at least four
turnovers will be vital, but FIU
will have to take chances to get
them.
Why Kansas might
win: Score. FIU's offense
was the worst in America by a
long shot, even though it
started to find its legs late in
the year. Even with a new
offensive coordinator and a more
promising overall attack, this
isn't an offense that'll go on
any sort of a scoring run. A
17-point KU first quarter should
end the fun.
Who to watch: How long
will Jake Sharp be the No. 1 KU
running back? He was supposed to
be the main man going into last
season, but that quickly changed
with the emergence of Brandon
McAnderson. This year, it's top
JUCO transfer Jocques Crawford
who appears ready to become the
focal point of the ground game
sooner than later, but for the
time being, Sharp will get the
early work. He has to make the
most of the opportunity.
What will happen: KU
might not be razor sharp like it
was all throughout last year,
but it won't matter. The machine
will start humming by early in
the second half.
CFN Prediction: Kansas 48
... FIU 10 ... Line: Kansas
-36.5
Must See Rating: (5 90210
- 1 90210, at least what you’ll
say among your friends) …
1.5
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
Eastern Washington at Texas Tech,
7:00 EST
Why to watch: If you want
to see what 900 yards of passing
looks like in one game, this
could be it. It's not like Texas
Tech ever schedules the USCs and
LSUs of the world, and on the
surface it appears that Eastern
Washington is another light,
breezy cupcake. It's not so. EWU
is one of the nation's five best
FCS teams and the favorite to
win the Big Sky conference even
though Paul Wulff has left to
become the head coach at
Washington State. The Eagles
like the bomb away, and this
just in, so does Texas Tech. The
assault on the record books
begins as the loaded Red Raiders
look to get the machine revved
up and rolling. This is supposed
to be one of the nation's best
teams, and it needs to play like
it from the opening snap.
Why Eastern Washington might win:
This is one of the few teams in
America, FCS or FBS, that has a
shot at keeping up the offensive
pace with Texas Tech. EWU has
the ability to score in bunches
with QB Matt Nichols, the
defending Big Sky Player of the
Year, getting most of his top
weapons back. This should be an
ultra-efficient passing attack
from the start. No warm up will
be needed.
Why Texas Tech might
win: Eastern Washington
might be able to score in
bunches, but Texas Tech is at a
whole other level. Not only is
this a team used to putting up
big numbers, but it's used to
coming from behind when needed.
That might not be necessary, but
there will be no panic if the
Eagles pull off an early shock
and come up with some big early
scores.
Who to watch: The offenses
will take center stage, but the
real key going forward will be
the Texas Tech defense,
particularly the run defense.
EWU won't be trying to pound the
ball all that often, but if
there's any Eagle rushing
production, there might be
tweaking needed before dealing
with Nevada next week. The
defensive line has the potential
to be special with good depth
thanks to a slew of good JUCO
transfers, but for now, Brandon
Williams, the team's best pass
rusher, will be counted on to do
even more to get to the
quarterback.
What will happen: Lots of
passing yards, lots of points,
and lots of fun for a FBS vs.
FCS matchup. The Texas Tech
defense won't look as good as
Red Raider fans might like, but
that's not that big a deal; EWU
really is that good.
CFN Prediction: Texas
Tech 55 ... Eastern Washington
27 ... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 90210
- 1 90210, at least what you’ll
say among your friends) …
2
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
North Texas at Kansas State,
7:05 EST
Why to watch: These are
the two wild cards in their respective
conference races. Kansas State was on
its way to a great 2007 before
everything fell apart in a four-game
losing streak to end the year. North
Texas struggled in the first season of
the Todd Dodge era, but it showed off an
occasionally devastating passing game
that's expected to only be better now
that the pieces are getting into place.
The emergence of a slew of JUCO
transfers will be the storyline for
Kansas State, while UNT will hope
experience will translate into more
production.
Why North Texas might win:
What's the passing game going to do? The
Kansas State secondary had a nightmare
of a time towards the end of last
season, and the Mean Green will be
getting off the bus throwing. This is an
attack that put up 601 yards against SMU
last season and should take advantage of
any time it gets to work. However ...
Why Kansas State might
win: ... the Mean Green
defense doesn't appear to be appreciably
better than last year when it was among
the worst in America. This was the
nation's worst scoring D and was 113th
in total yards, and even though it's
undergoing a major personnel overhaul,
it's still not going to be a brick wall.
Kansas State will need time to get all
the new faces in the right places, but
it has enough offensive talent and
athleticism to simply outscore and
outbomb its way to a win. The defense
should be able to generate consistent
pressure on UNT QB Giovanni Vizza.
Who to watch: Will Ian
Campbell go back to being Ian Campbell?
One of the nation's most dangerous pass
rushers as a sophomore, the Kansas State
star was moved to a hybrid of defensive
end and outside linebacker and wasn't
nearly as effective. He's better when
he's able to beat a blocker off the
line, and now he'll be moved back to end
where he'll need to show right away that
he's back to form. He could
single-handedly screw up the UNT passing
game.
What will happen: The
Mean Green will put up plenty of yards
and have its moments, but Kansas State's
offense will start scoring from the
opening kickoff and won't let up. Expect
some huge numbers to be put on the
board.
CFN Prediction: Kansas
State 52 ... North Texas 23 ... Line:
Kansas State -24.5
Must See Rating: (5 90210
- 1 90210, at least what you’ll
say among your friends) …
2.5
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
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Colorado State vs. Colorado
(in
Denver),
7:30 EST
Why to watch: Invesco
Field is having a big week with the
Barack Obama acceptance speech on
Thursday night and one of college
football's most underappreciated
rivalries on Sunday. It might not be
Michigan vs. Ohio State on a national
scale, but no rivalry has been more
thrilling or more exciting over the last
six years with all six games decided by
seven points or fewer. Over that span,
Colorado is 4-2 beating the Rams by a
total score of 155 to 148. This year,
CSU is kicking off a new era as Steve
Fairchild takes over for Sonny Lubick, a
legend who made the program a force for
several seasons, but had lost his touch
in the end. Nothing would do more to
kick off the new era with a bang than
beating the Buffs, but this is an
improved team under head coach Dan
Hawkins. After a mega-disappointing 2006
and an underwhelming 2007, even with a
win over Oklahoma, Colorado needs a win
to get off to a hot start with a nasty
Big 12 season, and non-conference dates
with West Virginia and Florida State to
follow.
Why Colorado State might win:
The running game should be able to pound
away without much of a problem. The
combination of Gartrell Johnson and Kyle
Bell should be the best in the Mountain
West as they run behind a big, beefy
line that'll try to flatten the Colorado
front four. The defense might not be a
prize out of the gate, but there are
veterans in the linebacking corps and
safeties Klint Kubiak and Mike Pagnotta
are back after getting hurt last year.
Why Colorado might
win: There's no real threat
of a Colorado State passing game. There
will be one in time, but the receiving
corps is all but starting from scratch,
while QB Billy Farris is being thrown
into the fire in a high-energy,
pressure-packed environment. The Rams
will try to manufacture more of a pass
rush this season after failing to get
much of any last year, but that will
take time. The Buff O line might be
young, but it's good and should give
Cody Hawkins plenty of time to operate.
Who to watch: While the
Ram rushing tandem should be tremendous,
all eyes will be on Colorado's Darrell
Scott, arguably the nation's top running
back recruit. He has the speed, the
power, and the total package of skills
to be the focal point of the offense in
the near future, but it might not be
right away. Demetrius Sumler is a good
back as well. Scott got a bit out of
shape this summer and is still trying to
get back to form, but that doesn't mean
he won't be ready.
What will happen: It's
Colorado State vs. Colorado. There will
be several momentum swings, plenty of
big plays, and a close finish. That's
what these two do. In the end,
Colorado's defense will be a little bit
better than Colorado State's.
CFN Prediction: Colorado
27 ... Colorado State 24 ... Line:
Colorado -11.5
Must See Rating: (5 90210
- 1 90210, at least what you’ll
say among your friends) …
3
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
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Big
12 Week One Fearless Predictions
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