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Syracuse
at Northwestern,
12:00 EST, ESPN2
Why to watch: If you’re
looking for a sleeper out of the
Big Ten, Northwestern just might
be it. The Wildcats have a fleet
of talent on offense, a young,
third-year coach settling into
the job, and a schedule that
generate instant momentum. After
fumbling opportunities to get to
the postseason, head coach Pat
Fitzgerald shook up the staff in
an attempt to prevent a repeat
performance. New offensive
coordinator Mick McCall has
installed a no-huddle offense
that could get unheralded QB C.J.
Bacher, the Big Ten’s leader in
total offense last season, the
notoriety he deserves. The more
things change, the more they
stay the same for Syracuse,
which is trying to save Greg
Robinson’s job and snap a string
of four straight losing seasons.
The consensus preseason choice
to occupy the Big East basement,
the Orange recently lost top
receiver Mike Williams and
starting DE Brandon Gilbeaux to
academic issues.
Why Syracuse might win:
The Northwestern secondary is a
work-in-progress, and Orange QB
Andrew Robinson will be looking
to exploit it. He progressed
well in his first season as a
starter, finishing with 13
touchdowns and just seven
interceptions. The expected
returns of backs Delone Carter
and Curtis Brinkley finally give
defenses a reason to defend the
run, opening things up
for Robinson to find Donte Davis
and Lavar Lobdell. Disruptive NT
Arthur Jones is capable of
wreaking havoc against a Wildcat
offensive line breaking in three
new starters.
Why Northwestern might win:
The Orange doesn’t have the
weapons on offense to keep up
with a Wildcat offense loaded
with playmakers and potential.
With Bacher at the controls,
Tyrell Sutton and Omar Conteh
running the ball, and three of
the top four receivers back,
Northwestern can simply out gun
Syracuse. The feeble Orange
offensive line will have its
hands full with the strength of
the Wildcat defense, a rugged,
physical defensive line that
could quietly be among the best
in the Big Ten.
Who to watch: With tackle
John Gill sitting the game out,
the headliner of the Wildcat
D-line will be end Corey Wootton,
a man-child who’ll face a
Syracuse line that allowed 54
sacks a year ago. At 6-7 and 270
pounds, he has NFL size and
potential if he can show more
acceleration off the edge.
Without Gill to attract
attention on the inside, the
ends must get more pressure than
last season if the pass defense
is going to have a chance.
What will happen: With
the program confident and headed
in a northern direction,
Northwestern will use Syracuse
to make a statement in front of
a national TV audience. Of the
10 best players on the field,
nine of them will be wearing
purple, and it’ll show in a
one-sided win for the Wildcats.
CFN Prediction:
Northwestern 37... Syracuse 20
... Line: Northwestern -12
Must See Rating: (5 90210 - 1 90210, at least what you’ll say among your friends) …
2
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FREE selections
Western Kentucky at Indiana,
12: 00 PM EST, Big Ten Network
Why to watch: Western
Kentucky is in limbo as it waits
one more year before jumping
into the Sun Belt as a full FBS
member. In the meantime, the
Hilltoppers will look to make
some noise and jump start a
potentially decent season.
Indiana is coming off a
breakthrough season that
finished off with a bowl loss to
Oklahoma State, and now it's
vital to get off to a hot start.
The Big Ten season isn't going
to be easier than last year, but
fortunately for IU, the
non-conference slate is squishy
soft. However, WMU isn't going
to be a pushover.
Why Western Kentucky might win:
The Hilltopper running game
should be fantastic, and IU
needs to show that it can handle
a good ground attack. WKU
averaged 247 yards per game last
season helped by its two
quarterback system, and it'll be
more of the same for the
Hoosiers to deal with. While the
IU defensive front should be
tremendous, it'll be tested.
Why Indiana might win:
WKU's secondary should be an
Achilles heel. A major problem
throughout last season, IU will
start pushing the ball deep
early on to loosen things up.
The Hoosier offensive line isn't
good enough to pound away with,
but Kellen Lewis and the new
quick-timing passing game.
That's if ...
Who to watch: ... Lewis
is actually the main man. He's
the team's signature star and
the veteran to work around, but
after being suspended for spring
ball and missing significant
time this off-season, Ben
Chappell is in the hunt for
playing time, if not the
starting gig. Chappell got the
most work in the new
quick-timing passing game, and
he was fantastic at times
showing enough to warrant
meaningful time even when, not
if, Lewis becomes the leader
again.
What will happen:
Indiana's offense will have its
problems as it struggles with
the timing and the speed of the
live game, but the defense will
pick up the slack. WKU will try
to test the new starting
corners, but the Hoosier
defensive front will provide the
pressure to help the cause.
CFN Prediction: Indiana
31 ... Western Kentucky 20 ...
Line: Indiana -21
Must See Rating: (5 90210 - 1 90210, at least what you’ll say among your friends) …
2
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FREE selections
Youngstown State at Ohio State,
12:00 EST, Big Ten Network
Why to watch: How ready
is Ohio State to get back on the
field? After a second straight
brutal off-season of angst and
ridicule for daring to lose a
national title game to a
fantastic team, the Buckeyes
will be looking to prove early
on that they deserve to be
considered the nation's best
team. And why not? With almost
all the starters and all the
talent returning in all phases,
this is the most complete team
in America. Of course, only a
national title win over an SEC
team will silence the critics,
and Youngstown State is hardly
an SEC-caliber power. This is
OSU head man Jim Tressel's
former team he's going with, and
it's good enough to be
considered a threat to win the
FCS national title. Even so,
this is part one of a two-week
warm-up for the Buckeyes before
the USC game.
Why Youngstown State might win:
The Penguins can play a little
bit of defense. The 14th best
FCS scoring defense returns with
enough talent to be excellent
again, while the offensive line
is tremendous in pass
protections. YSU doesn't give up
sacks and it should allow new
starting quarterback Todd Rowan
enough time to work against a
Buckeye secondary hit by
suspensions.
Why Ohio State might win:
The defense isn't going to give
up many big plays. YSU is a
good, sound team, but it won't
be explosive. It'll win big in
FCS play with its defense and
great O line, but to stay with
Ohio State, the home runs have
to come early and often. They
won't. As the game goes on,
OSU's offensive line should
control the tempo and give all
the skill players as much time
as they need to work.
Who to watch: So how much
will Terrelle Pryor play? While
it might not be said out loud,
Ohio State would love nothing
more than to get a few quick
scores to be able to throw the
prized freshman to the wolves.
Considering YSU doesn't have the
offensive pop to hurt the
Buckeyes if Pryor makes
mistakes, this is as safe a time
as any to get him on the field.
If nothing else, he needs to get
some work in to get USC thinking
and game-planning two weeks from
now.
What will happen: Ohio
State can call its shot, but
Tressel isn't going to run it up
on his former program. Expect
big throws early to end the fun,
and running throughout the
second half with Pryor being the
big story.
CFN Prediction: Ohio
State 38 ... Youngstown State 3
... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 90210 - 1 90210, at least what you’ll say among your friends) …
1
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
Coastal Carolina at Penn State,
12:00 EST, Big Ten Network
Why to watch: Penn State
has had a rough off-season with
suspensions, questioning from
the media about a program
seemingly out of control (at
least according to a
sensationalized TV piece), and
the persistent questions about
Joe Paterno's retirement. What
hasn't been talked about is that
Penn State should be good.
Really good. However, it's
putting in an up-tempo, quicker
passing offense that needs to
have the timing down before
Oregon State comes to town next
week. Coastal Carolina will
provide more than just a
scrimmage with a veteran team
that should be among the stars
of the Big South.
Why Coastal Carolina might win:
The Penn State offense might not
be in place yet. It took all
summer to figure out the
quarterback situation in Happy
Valley, and it's still up for
debate. Meanwhile, the offense
will need to get the timing down
and be far more efficient than
it was this off-season in
practices. Coastal Carolina
might have plenty of veteran
talent, but it's coming off a
disappointing season and has
several question marks primarily
at ...
Why Penn State might win:
Quarterback. The Chaticleers
have far bigger quarterback
problems than Penn State, who's
merely trying to figure out
which option will see more
playing time. William Richardson
was last year's starter for CCU,
but he was going to be bounced
out by Jamie Childers before
suffering a case of viral
meningitis. On the other side of
the ball, this was a very
opportunistic Coastal Carolina
defense, but it wasn't very
good. Penn State should be able
to hammer away with the running
game.
Who to watch: Daryll
Clark and Pat Devlin have been
neck-and-neck for the starting
job, and while Clark is the
better fit, and will start, Devlin will see more
than his share of action. Penn
State isn't above going to a two
quarterback system. Consider
this an audition for the rest of
the year. If one significantly
outplays the other, the job is
there for the taking.
What will happen: Four
Penn State turnovers will keep
this from being a total joke,
but Coastal Carolina won't have
enough in the bag on either side
of the ball to keep pace in the
second half.
CFN Prediction: Penn
State 45 ... Coastal Carolina 0
... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 90210 - 1 90210, at least what you’ll say among your friends) …
1
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FREE selections
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Big Ten Week One Fearless Predictions, Part
2 |