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Army (0-3) at Texas A&M (1-2),
12:30 EST
Why to watch: Texas A&M
needed to hold on for dear life
two years ago to beat Army 28-24
in a supposedly neutral site
game in San Antonio. Both
programs have changed
drastically since then, and
neither for the better. Army has
been awful so far with the new
running game not doing enough to
lead an offense that’s 115th
in the nation in yards and is
next-to-last in scoring. On a
nine-game losing streak dating
back to last year, the Black
Knights desperately need
something positive to happen.
Texas A&M hasn’t done much
better to start off the year,
barely beating New Mexico and
losing home games to Arkansas
State and Miami. The Big 12
season starts out next week
against Oklahoma State, and the
Aggies have a lot of work to do
to be ready.
Why Army might win: If
the Army offense is ever going
to work against a name team,
this would be the time. The
Aggie run defense has been
awful, giving up 255 yards to
Arkansas State and 216 yards and
three scores to New Mexico. The
linebackers haven’t played well,
and this week, they’re going to
need to shine at a whole other
level if the Army option attack
finally starts to kick in.
Why Texas A&M might win:
Army’s offense has been awful.
It would be one thing to score a
total of 20 points in three
games against LSU, Florida and
Georgia, but Army has played
Temple, New Hampshire, and
Akron. The offense isn’t
working, and there isn’t any
passing game to fall back on.
The defensive line has been
abysmal against mediocre
offensive lines, the turnovers
won’t stop flowing, and the
special teams have stunk. Other
than that, Army has been fine.
Who to watch: The Texas
A&M quarterback this week will
be … both? The Aggie coaching
staff can’t figure out the
quarterback situation as both
Stephen McGee and Jerrod Johnson
have shoulder injuries. McGee is
back after missing last week,
while Johnson, who had a nice
day against Miami but took too
many sacks, will also be in the
mix. The Aggies can play either
one, or both, against Army and
it won’t matter. However, the
team needs a leader to work
around before diving into Big 12
play.
What will happen: Texas
A&M will suddenly look like a
BCS title contender against a
team that might be the worst in
college football.
CFN Prediction: Texas A&M 38
… Army 13 ... Line: Texas A&M
-28.5
Must See Rating: (5
Debate No. 1 - 1 The 2008
Primetime Emmys) … 2
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Click here to receive ATS
Consultants FREE selections
Colorado (3-0) at Florida State
(2-1),
3:30 EST, ABC
Why to watch: With a
chance to send a message to the
country that it’s on the way
back to prominence, Florida
State flopped, losing ugly to
Wake Forest. The Seminoles were
bad on so many levels, including
failing to reach the end zone
and turning the ball over seven
times. After teasing everyone
with routs of Western Carolina
and Chattanooga, the ‘Noles got
exposed as a team in need of
work. Lots of work. FSU is still
making too many mental errors
and unable to develop sustained
consistency at quarterback. Can
they build from here, or do the
FSU follies continue? A visit
from Colorado will answer plenty
about Florida State’s mindset
and direction. The Buffaloes are
riding high after upsetting West
Virginia in overtime with a
large television audience glued
to the waning moments. While it
wasn’t as profound as last
September’s upset of Oklahoma,
it did get the Buffs to the lip
of the Top 25 cup and to 3-0 for
the first time since 2004. A
trip to Florida gives Dan
Hawkins a chance to spread his
program’s message to a whole new
corner of the map.
Why Colorado might win:
The Florida State offense is a
comedy of errors, marked by
turnovers, penalties, and a lack
of depth on the offensive line.
The Seminoles will have a hard
time moving the chains on a
Buffalo defense that just got
done holding West Virginia to 14
points, and has yielded just a
pair of touchdown passes all
year. On the inside, George
Hypolite and Brandon Nicolas are
a couple of future pros, who’ll
dominate that suspect ‘Nole
front wall. We saw last week
what happens when Florida State
can’t run the ball and must put
the offense in the hands of
quarterbacks Christian Ponder
and D’Vontrey Richardson.
Why Florida State might win:
Lost in last week’s debacle was
the play of the defense, which
kept the Demon Deacons out of
the end zone despite those seven
turnovers. Had the ‘Noles not
been so sloppy with the ball,
they might have pitched a
shutout. LB Derek Nicholson was
a force of nature, and the
return of DT Budd Thacker helped
ease the congestion for DE
Everette Brown and the rest of
the defensive linemen. For all
the problems facing Florida
State, the defense isn’t one of
them, giving up just one
touchdown through the first
three quarters.
Who to watch: The
Seminoles will have to contend
with a couple of true freshmen
backs, blue-chip recruit Darrell
Scott and diminutive Rodney
Stewart, who scooted for 166
yards on 28 carries in the win
against West Virginia. The Buffs
don’t have many lethal weapons
at wide receiver, which will
allow S Myron Rolle to spend
more time pressing up to stop
the run.
What will happen: The
Florida State defense will turn
this into an ugly game of punts,
three-and-outs, and field goal
attempts. It’ll also help lead
the Seminoles to a stabilizing
victory, holding Colorado to
just 300 total yards and a
touchdown short of a road upset.
Richardson will provide the
difference on offense, getting
to the corner and beating the
Buff secondary to the end zone.
CFN Prediction: Florida
State 17 … Colorado 13 ... Line:
Florida State -7
Must See Rating: (5
Debate No. 1 - 1 The 2008
Primetime Emmys) … 3
-
Click here to receive ATS
Consultants FREE selections
Arkansas (2-1) at Texas (3-0),
3:30 EST ABC
Why to watch: Let’s try
this again. Hurricane Ike
postponed this showdown between
two former Southwest Conference
superpowers, and since then,
Arkansas got hammered by Alabama
49-14 and Texas rolled over
Rice. Longhorn head man Mack
Brown wanted this off-week to
rest up for the Big 12 season
with a trip to Colorado, the
battle with Oklahoma, and a home
date with Missouri to kick off a
killer stretch of conference
games without a break. The Hogs
need time in general. Like
Texas, they don’t get any sort
of a break. This was supposed to
be the off-week to prepare for
Florida and then Auburn, but now
it’s all about trying to get the
Bobby Petrino era rolling with a
statement performance in Austin.
Arkansas is 2-1, it’s not like
things have gone into the tank
from the start, but the wins
over Western Illinois and UL
Monroe were too tight for
comfort. Meanwhile, Texas beat
Florida Atlantic, UTEP and Rice
by a combined score of 146 to
33.
Why Arkansas might win:
This is going to be a theme for
most of the year: the Texas
secondary is struggling. To be
fair, teams are bombing away in
comeback mode to try to keep up
with the Longhorn offense, but
it’s not like the Texas
defensive backs are stopping
anyone cold allowing 255 yards
to FAU, 267 to UTEP, and 301 to
Rice. Casey Dick and the
SEC-leading Arkansas passing
game should be able to bomb
away.
Why Texas might win:
Pressure. Texas is getting into
the backfield early and often,
cranking out nine sacks and 22
tackles for loss. The Arkansas
offensive line has been a
disaster so far allowing ten
sacks and doing little for the
running game. Injuries have been
a problem, but it’s also about
the transition to the new
coaching staff and the offense.
The Texas defensive front should
be able to take advantage and
force plenty of mistakes.
Who to watch: While Chase
Daniel, Sam Bradford, and Graham
Harrell are just a few of the
Big 12 quarterbacks getting
noticed on a national scale,
Colt McCoy is playing as well as
any of them, if not better. Now
only is McCoy taking the passing
game to another level, hitting
78% of his passes for 833 yards
and 11 touchdowns with an
interception, and he leads the
team with 194 rushing yards and
two touchdowns. By far, this is
his toughest test yet, but it’ll
be nothing like he’ll face over
the next few weeks.
What will happen: Texas
will need a while to get going
with little running game to rely
on outside of McCoy, but there
will be enough of an offensive
mix for the Longhorns to get by
with ease. Two key Hog turnovers
will make an interesting battle
a blowout.
CFN Prediction: Texas 38
… Arkansas 17 ... Line: Texas
-27.5
Must See Rating: (5
Debate No. 1 - 1 The 2008
Primetime Emmys) … 3
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Consultants FREE selections
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Big 12 Week
Five Predictions, Part 2 |