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San Jose State (1-0) at Nebraska
(1-0),
12:30 EST
Why to watch: Nebraska
passed the first test in the Bo
Pelini era with an impressive
47-24 win over a good Western
Michigan team. The Broncos have
a veteran defense that was
ripped apart for 483 yards,
including 345 through the air.
Nebraska is hardly back to being
the Big Red Machine that
dominated for so long, but it
was a good first step. San Jose
State is going to be more than a
mere layup, even if the Spartans
needed a last minute touchdown
pass to get by UC Davis 13-10.
This a veteran, athletic Spartan
team with a good defense and a
veteran head coach in Dick Tomey
who knows how to get a team up
for a big game. There's a
massive talent discrepancy, but
San Jose State has just enough
to make this interesting if the
Huskers aren't on.
Why San Jose State might win:
Nebraska's pass defense
struggled last year, and it
didn't do much to show things
have changed against Western
Michigan. Despite getting a
steady pass rush to help the
cause, the secondary still
allowed 342 yards of passing
offense. Granted, the Broncos
were in comeback mode and had to
keep throwing to stay alive, but
the Spartans should be able push
the ball through the air. The
offense sputtered against UC
Davis, but the passing game
still put up 231 yards.
Why Nebraska might
win: San Jose State couldn't
handle the UC Davis pass rush,
and now it's about to have a
nightmare of a day. The Spartans
gave up four sacks last week and
struggled to keep the UCD
linemen from hitting the
quarterback. Nebraska was
ultra-aggressive last week,
cranking out four sacks and
seven tackles for loss, and it
should be able to get into the
backfield on a regular basis.
Set the over/under on 6.5 sacks;
the Huskers should be able to
come up with several
drive-stopping plays.
Who to watch: It's the
start of the Kyle Reed era at
San Jose State. The transfer
from Cal was supposed to be the
main man from the start this
off-season, but he suffered
broken foot, got it relatively
healthy, and then suffered a
setback that cost him a shot at
the starting job. Jordan LaSecla
and Myles Eden were ahead of
Reed going into last week, and
they weren't bad combining to
complete 12-of-15 passes for 94
yards, but they each threw a
pick and didn't get the offense
moving. In came Reed, who
completed 14-of-18 passes for
132 yards and two touchdowns,
including the game-winner. Now
it's Reed's job.
What will happen:
Nebraska won't be sharp, and the
defense will show it still has a
long way to go before it can be
dominant, but it'll be a second
straight double-digit win. It
just might take three quarters
to get the job done.
CFN Prediction: Nebraska
34 ... San Jose State 16
... Line: Nebraska -25.5
Must See Rating:
(5 Entourage premiere - 1
One Tree Hill premiere) … 2
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
Montana State (1-0) at Kansas
State (1-0),
3:00 EST
Why to watch: Kansas
State might be looking past this
date against an FCS team with a
trip to Louisville ahead, but
Montana State has a good enough
team to hang around and make
this far more interesting than
the Wildcats might like. The
Bobcats are expected to
challenge for the Big Sky title
with a decent defense and a
high-octane offense that hung 59
points on Adams State in a
blowout win. With a trip to
Minnesota up next, MSU has a
chance to make some headlines
against the FBSers.
Why Montana State might win:
Turnovers. This is a strong,
aggressive MSU defense that
forced five turnovers and three
fumbles last week against Adams
State. The defense also came up
with five sacks and 12 tackles
for loss. Kansas State lost the
ball twice against North Texas
and didn't generate any
turnovers, and if MSU can
somehow be plus-three in the
turnover margin, and if it can
generate a few early scoring
drives, this could be a bit of a
battle.
Why Kansas State might
win: Kansas State has way
too much speed. Montana State
has a good team with enough
talent to hang around and make
this a ball game, but it doesn't
have the home-run hitting speed
the Wildcats do. The KSU offense
was humming last week on North
Texas with Josh Freeman throwing
well, the running game working,
and the offense doing what it
needed to do to put the game
away. When needed, there should
be a big play here and there to
keep Montana State at arm's
length.
Who to watch: Without
Jordy Nelson to throw to
anymore, Freeman has to spread
the ball around and make his
receivers better. He did just
that last week completing 18-of-24 passes for 232 yards and
three touchdowns without an
interception, and he ran five
times for 23 yards and two
scores. No longer the young
player trying to grow into his
role, Freeman now owns the team,
and especially the offense. In a
conference of great
quarterbacks, he needs to keep
improving week after week to be
ready to battle with all the big
boys.
What will happen: Montana
State won't be bad, but Kansas
State will have way too much on
offense in the second half.
CFN Prediction: Kansas
State 42 ... Montana State 17
... Line: No Line
Must See Rating:
(5 Entourage premiere - 1
One Tree Hill premiere) …
1.5
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
Eastern Washington (0-1) at
Colorado (1-0),
3:30 EST
Why to watch: Eastern
Washington did a good job of
hanging around with Texas Tech
in a 49-24 loss last week, and
with one of the best passing
offenses among the FCS teams,
there's a puncher's chance of
pulling off the upset of
Colorado doesn't show up. The
Buffs had a nice,
more-dominant-than-it-might
seem, win over rival Colorado
State, and with a showdown
against West Virginia ahead next
week, it could be in trouble if
its head isn't in this game.
This should be a fun game with
plenty of passing and lots of
points, and if Colorado isn't
on, there could be a shocker.
Why Eastern Washington might win:
The passing game. 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, and he's coming off a
335-yard passing game with a
touchdown against Texas Tech.
However, he threw three
interceptions. As long as he
keeps his mistakes in check, and
if he's able to get time to
throw, the Eagles should be able
to put close to 30 points on the
board.
Why Colorado might
win: Colorado has the
balance and the explosiveness.
From the passing of Cody
Hawkins, to the running of
super-recruit Darrell Scott, to
the return game thanks to one of
the stars in the Colorado State
win, Josh Smith, there are more
options than Colorado has had
over the last few years, and
there are more weapons than the
decent, but not great EWU
defense will be able to deal
with.
Who to watch: Colorado
will have to come up with a few
big plays on defense to slow
down the Eastern Washington
offense, and that's where Ryan
Walters comes in. The senior
free safety is a great
all-around playmaker who came up
with
11 tackles, an
interception, and broke up two passes in the win over Colorado State. He'll have
to do more of the same this week
as the tone-setter for the Buff
defense.
What will happen: The two
teams will combine for over 700
yards, but Colorado will crank
out over 200 yards on the ground
to come away with a tougher than
expected win.
CFN Prediction: Colorado
31 ... Eastern Washington 21 ...
Line: No Line
Must See Rating:
(5 Entourage premiere - 1
One Tree Hill premiere) … 2
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
Texas A&M (0-1) at New Mexico
(0-1),
5:00 EST
Why to watch: While
Virginia Tech and Pitt are among
those battling it out for the
honor of being the biggest
disappointment of week one, but
under the radar, Texas A&M and
New Mexico came up with duds of
their own. The Aggies, in the
first game of the Mike Sherman
era, not only lost, but they
lost to a Sun Belt team at home
dropping a tough 18-14 battle
with Arkansas State. New Mexico
at least lost to a Mountain West
title contender and a potential
BCS buster in TCU, but the 26-3
home defeat was still a major
dud. All of a sudden, what
appeared to be a nice matchup
between two decent mid-level
teams in their respective
conferences becomes a battle of
desperation. New Mexico hosts
Arizona next week to end a
three-game homestand, and then
it's on the road for three of
the next four game. A&M gets an
improved Miami next week and
might be looking at an 0-3 start
if they crash and burn in
Albuquerque.
Why Texas A&M might win:
New Mexico is built on being
able to run the ball, and it ran
into a brick wall last week
netting 56 yards against TCU.
While Rodney Ferguson is one of
the Mountain West's elite backs,
he was held to 59 yards, while
the Lobo offensive line allowed
five sacks. The Texas A&M
defensive line was able to get
into the backfield against
Arkansas State, and it should be
able to do even more this week.
Why New Mexico might
win: Turnovers. A&M shot
itself in the foot last week
with two fumbles and two
interceptions, and while the
Lobos also had a hard time
hanging on to the ball, giving
it away three times against TCU,
they have good enough hitters to
force a few takeaways if the
Aggies get sloppy again. The
Aggies might want to get the
passing game going, but UNM has
the best corner tandem in Glover
Quin and DeAndre Wright that QB
Stephen McGee might see all year
long.
Who to watch: New Mexico
QB Donovan Porterie is supposed
to be on the verge of becoming
one of the Mountain West's elite
quarterbacks after two promising
seasons, but he had a nightmare
of an opening day completing
4-of-10 passes for 37 yards with
an interception before getting
knocked out with a neck injury,
but he's fine and practiced all
week. The offense will still try
to revolve around Ferguson and
the running game, but Porterie
simply has to be better.
What will happen: It's
not going to be pretty. The two
running games should finally get
going a bit for New Mexico,
while the secondary will keep
the Aggie passing game under
wraps. Which team will rebound
first? New Mexico, but if the
Aggie running game gets into a
groove and rumbles for 250 yards
or more, Sherman will get his
first win.
CFN Prediction: New
Mexico 23 ... Texas A&M 20 ...
Line: Texas A&M -3
Must See Rating:
(5 Entourage premiere - 1
One Tree Hill premiere) …
3
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
Kent State (0-1) at Iowa State
(1-0),
7:00 EST
Why to watch: Don't
blink, because this game could
be one of the fastest played in
week two. Kent State has to run
the ball, it wants to run the
ball, and it didn't run the ball
last week in a 21-0 opening day
loss to Boston College. The
Eagles, with their defense and
linebackers, were an awful
matchup for the Golden Flashes,
and Iowa State is hoping its
defense can do a little of the
same. The Cyclones throttled
South Dakota State 44-17 to
start the season, and have the
in-state rivalry battle against
Iowa next week, but if they
can't hold down QB Julian
Edelman, RB Eugene Jarvis, and
the ground game, the upset is
possible. Iowa State was shocked
in last year's battle 23-14, and this year's Kent
State team is better.
Why Kent State might win:
Do the Cyclones have the
linebackers to keep Jarvis and
Edelman in check? The Cyclone
defensive front is improving,
but it'll have to adjust to the
speed and the quickness early
on. Jarvis ran for 113 yards and
a touchdown last year against
Iowa State, and Edelman ran for
75 yards and a score. This
year's Cyclone linebacking corps
isn't as good.
Why Iowa State might
win: The Cyclones should be
able to run the ball. The Kent
State defensive front got shoved
around by the Boston College
offensive line, and the Eagle
backs, considered a potential
weakness going into the season,
rolled for 230 yards. Iowa
State's offensive line isn't as
good as BC's, but it's not bad
and it should be able to crank
out a few long drives. Iowa
State's offense tore off 229
yards on the ground last week,
but that was against South
Dakota State. If the ground game
can hit the 200-yard mark, and
if the defense can force Kent
State to throw a bit, it'll be a
second straight win.
Who to watch: And the
Iowa State quarterback will be
... both. Again. Austin Arnaud
is the starter, and he came up
with a strong game completing
8-of-11 passes for 98 yards and
a touchdown, and ran for a short
score, while former wide
receiver Phillip Bates
completing 5-of-8 passes for 61
yards and a score to go along
with 55 rushing yards. Bates is
the dangerous X factor as a
runner, while Arnaud is the
better passer.
What will happen: Jarvis
will be the star of the show
with over 150 rushing yards, but
Iowa State will get a second
straight strong game out of its
quarterbacks in a hard-fought
Cyclone win.
CFN Prediction: Iowa
State 24 ... Kent State 20 ... Line: Arkansas -11
Must See Rating:
(5 Entourage premiere - 1
One Tree Hill premiere) …
2.5
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
-
Big 12 Week
Two Predictions, Part 2
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