|
Miami University (0-1) at
Michigan (0-1),
12:00 EST ESPN2
Why to watch: Michigan
didn't exactly clunk in the Rich
Rodriguez debut, the team showed
heart in the second half and
Utah isn't Appalachian State,
but it wasn't exactly the type
of overall performance Wolverine
fans were hoping for. If nothing
else, Michigan was supposed to
be able to run the ball with a
good group of backs behind a
talented line, but it didn't
happen. The defensive front was
supposed to be able to hold up
against the run and get into the
backfield to generate pressure.
Neither happened. It was a
disappointing loss, but it's not
like the Wolverines were going
to win the BCS Championship
Game. The resurgence is going to
take a little while, but for the
season to be a success, the
turnaround has to happen now
with a road trip to Notre Dame
and dates with Wisconsin and
Illinois to follow. Miami might
be the MAC's best team, but it
didn't play like it in a 34-13
loss to Vanderbilt. The offense
struggled, the defense didn't
stop the run, and it was an
overall dud for both the team
and the MAC. All can be
forgotten about and forgiven
with a win in the Big House.
Why Miami might win: 36
yards rushing. The University of
Michigan, led by one of the best
head coaches in the game when it
comes to exploiting mismatches
in the running game, came up
with 36 yards rushing against
Utah. Miami got ripped apart by
Vanderbilt's running quarterback
Chris Nickson for 166 yards, and
gave up 269 yards on the day,
but the Wolverines don't have a
Nickson running the ball. The
RedHawk linebackers are far
better than they looked against
Vanderbilt and should be able to
keep the Wolverines from
consistently producing on the
ground.
Why Michigan might win:
The pass rush should disrupt and
destroy the MU offense. The
RedHawks allowed three sacks and
several other pressures last
week, while Michigan was able to
get to Utah's Brian Johnson
early and often with six sacks
and 11 tackles for loss. The MU
line isn't athletic enough to
handle the Wolverine quickness
at any of the four spots.
Who to watch: It might be
a case of musical quarterbacks
again for Michigan if the
production isn't there. Steven
Threet will get the start after
a decent second half against the
Utes, but Nick Sheridan isn't
out of the picture. There are
also question marks at the other
skill spots with top receiver
Greg Mathews likely out with an
ankle problem, Kevin Grady
finally back from suspension
after getting arrested for a
DUI, and Carlos Brown is likely
out with a shoulder injury. In
other words, Michigan is far
from being a finished product.
What will happen:
Michigan will score on its first
drive, struggle to put the game
away, and will finally end the
drama with two long drives with
the running game pounding away.
CFN Prediction: Michigan 31 ...
Miami University 13... Line:
Michigan -14
Must See Rating:
(5 Entourage premiere - 1
One Tree Hill premiere) …
2.5
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
Ohio (0-1) at Ohio State (1-0),
12:00 EST ESPN
Why to watch: Ohio State
is looking to get in, get out,
and start working on the biggest
fish in the pond, No. 1 USC. The
Buckeyes won the opening day
scrimmage over Youngstown State
with a 43-0 walk-through, but in
the process they lost star RB
Chris Wells to a toe injury. The
Heisman candidate will be out
this week as he tries to heal up
for the Trojans, and while he
won't be needed to beat Ohio,
this could be a tougher game
than expected if the Buckeyes
are mentally on a plane to L.A.
The Bobcats are coming off a
tough 21-20 loss at Wyoming and
need everything to go right to
keep this from being a blowout,
but they have just enough
defensive talent to hang around
for a half.
Why Ohio might win: The
secondary might be as good as
USC's, at least at the corners
(fine, the safeties aren't in
the same ballpark). Mark Parson
and Julian Posey might be the
MAC's best corner tandem and
they should keep the Buckeye
passing game from consistently
producing like it might hope
for. There's a ton of talent in
the OSU backfield, but without
Beanie, the running game isn't
going to be the same.
Why Ohio State might win:
What happened to the Ohio
running game? Head coach Frank
Solich was known for putting
together great rushing attacks,
led by Kalvin McRae for the last
few years, but the Bobcats were
held to a mere 39 yards on the
ground last week and turned into
a passing team. You don't get
healthy in the running game by
playing Ohio State, who held
Youngstown State to -11 yards.
Who to watch: So with
Beanie out, who's going to run
the ball? It'll be a combination
of talented, speedy backs with
Maurice Wells, Brandon Saine,
and Dan Herron all getting work,
but the spotlight will be on
Terrelle Pryor, who stepped in
and cranked out 52 yards and a
touchdown and completed 4-of-6
passes for 35 yards. The
Buckeyes aren't going to do
anything crazy and will try to
keep the ball on the ground as
much as possible.
What will happen: Ohio
State will go through the
motions, and while Ohio will
come up with a few defensive
stops, the offense won't be able
to take advantage of a the few
available opportunities.
CFN Prediction: Ohio State 40 ...
Ohio 6 ... Line: Ohio State -35
Must See Rating:
(5 Entourage premiere - 1
One Tree Hill premiere) …
2
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
Marshall (1-0) at Wisconsin
(1-0),
12:00 EST Big Ten Network
Why to watch: Is
Wisconsin really a national
title contender? The 38-17 win
over Akron was far more
impressive than is might appear
as Badger mistakes near the goal
line kept the game from being a
brutal blowout, but with a nasty
road trip to Fresno State ahead,
followed up by a killer stretch
of games against Michigan, Ohio
State, Penn State, Iowa,
Illinois and Michigan State, the
team needs to sharpen up now.
Marshall has improved with the
most experienced, talented team
in the Mark Snyder era, but it
needs a splashy, signature win
to finally turn things around.
This would be it. The opening
day win over Illinois State
showed off a balanced attack
with a good running game, but
the defense struggled a bit
giving up 327 yards. The
Conference USA slate kicks in
for the Herd next week against
Memphis.
Why Marshall might win:
Wisconsin continues with its
nasty habit of letting inferior
teams hang around. The Badgers
dominated the Zips but the game
was way too close over the final
three quarters because the
offense struggled to drop the
hammer and end the drama.
Marshall has just enough pop in
the passing game and just enough
experience to come up with the
big play here and there to turn
the momentum around if the
Badgers don't put the game away.
Even though the UW defense has
gotten healthier, there are
still major dings dating back to
last year. The Badgers are
hardly 100%.
Why Wisconsin might win:
The offensive line is really,
really good. It has been fine
over the last few years, but
against Akron, it was a tight,
dominant unit that appears ready
to take the production to
another level. The line has been
building to this point over the
last few seasons, and it should
come out and steamroll the
Marshall defensive front. The
running game cranked out 404
yards on Akron and should hover
around 300 against the Herd.
Who to watch: Can Allan
Evridge actually play? The
Badger quarterback has been
biding his time for the last few
seasons, but he was hidden a bit
last week against Akron and was
a bit too shaky. He threw a bad
interception in the end zone to
kill a late first half drive
that led the way to a late Akron
field goal, and he hung up a few
other throws that should've been
picked off. He'll have to be
more than just a caretaker over
the next several games, and it
has to start this week.
What will happen:
Marshall will keep it
interesting for just over a
half, and then the Wisconsin
running game will pound its way
to a double-digit win.
CFN Prediction: Wisconsin 34 ...
Marshall 10 ... Line: Wisconsin
-20.5
Must See Rating:
(5 Entourage premiere
- 1
One Tree Hill premiere) …
2
-
Click here to receive ATS
Consultants FREE selections
Eastern Illinois (0-1) at
Illinois (0-1),
12:00 EST Big Ten Network
Why to watch: If nothing
else, this should be a good
offensive show one way or
another. Illinois is coming off
an interesting loss to Missouri
which saw the two teams combine
for 1,081 and 94 points, but
despite pulling within ten on a
last second touchdown pass, it
wasn't the type of opener the
team might have wanted. If
nothing else, QB Juice Williams
showed he could throw the ball,
chucking for a career-high 451
yards and five touchdowns, but
over the next two weeks the
Illini needs to get the running
game back on track. Eastern
Illinois has won three straight
Ohio Valley Conference
championships and is expected to
be a major player in the FCS
race, but the Panthers struggled
to get the offense going in a
31-12 loss to Central Michigan.
With a layup against Indiana
State next week, the wins will
start coming. Any production
against Illinois will be a
confidence-booster going
forward.
Why Eastern Illinois might win:
If the Illinois secondary plays
like it did against Missouri,
there's hope for the EIU passing
game to get going after
struggling against CMU. This is
a running team, at least it was
last year, but it only came up
with 83 yards last week. Even if
the ground attack is working,
the Panthers have to start
throwing the ball better.
Illinois allowed 323 passing
yards last week to Missouri, and
while Bodie Reeder isn't Chase
Daniel, he can be effective with
a little bit of time to work.
Why Illinois might win:
Where was the offense against
Central Michigan? It's not like
the Chippewas have a brick wall
of a defense, but the Panthers
were ineffective and sputtered
way too much in the loss. The
Illinois defense is far better
than it showed against Missouri
and it's due for a great game
from the back seven. EIU should
have a problem with the Illinois
speed.
Who to watch: After an
entire off-season of hearing
about how the running game was
sputtering without Rashard
Mendenhall, Illinois got a nice
game from junior Daniel Dufrene,
who rushed for 75 yards on 13
carries and caught six passes
for 50 yards. He'll be more and
more involved in the offense
with the goal being to lessen
the dependence on Williams and
the passing attack.
What will happen:
Fired up by the throwback day in
Champaign and with several
legendary Illini stars back for
the home opener, Illinois will
come out hot putting the game
away midway through the
second quarter.
CFN Prediction: Illinois 51 ...
Eastern Illinois 20 ... Line: No
Line
Must See Rating:
(5 Entourage premiere - 1
One Tree Hill premiere) …
1.5
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
Northern Colorado (0-0) at
Purdue (0-0),
12:00 EST Big Ten Network
Why to watch: If you're
looking to see Purdue come out
and hang a half a hundred
without breaking a sweat, this
is your game. Northern Colorado
isn't very good, expected to
finish at or near the bottom of
the Big Sky Conference after
going 1-11 last season. Purdue
got a week off to prepare not
just for this week, but for
Oregon next week. This is a
scrimmage for the Boilermakers;
they have way too much firepower
for this to be close. If this is
close in any way, it might be
time to worry about the
Boilermakers.
Why Northern Colorado might win:
This is a veteran team that has
plenty of experience in key
spots. The talent level might
not be all that great, and
there's a lot to work on, but
the coaching staff's own
admission, but Purdue might not
be all that sharp in the season
opener. If the Boilermaker
offense sputters a bit, and if
Florida transfer Bryan Waggener
can be the quarterback the Bears
were missing last year, there's
a chance for a little bit of
excitement for a quarter or two.
Why Purdue might win:
This is a gross mismatch. Purdue
has way too much athleticism on
defense for the Bear offense,
and there's next to no chance of
Purdue QB Curtis Painter being
pressured on a consistent basis.
There's way too much Boilermaker
firepower for the Bears to keep
up the pace.
Who to watch: One of the
key things Purdue has to work on
is finding a No. 1 go-to target,
and the hope is for senior Greg
Orton to be the one to take
over. He's a good veteran and
one of the lone holdovers from
last year, and it's a chance to
grow into his role and get more
live work with Painter. Now
Orton will be the first option.
What will happen:
Northern Colorado will come in,
get blasted, get its check and
go home. Purdue should be able
to call its shot.
CFN Prediction: Purdue 63 ...
Northern Colorado 17 ... Line:
No Line
Must See Rating:
(5 Entourage premiere - 1
One Tree Hill premiere) …
1
-
Click here to receive ATS Consultants
FREE selections
-
Big Ten Week One Fearless Predictions, Part
2 |