And predictions for those...
Arizona at UT-San Antonio
Thursday night road games are never an easy chore. While most will scoff at UT-San Antonio and say pfft... Arizona shouldn't have too much of a problem... think again! Former Miami Hurricanes head coach Larry Coker has built a big buzz around that program. They only began playing football at UT-San Antonio in 2011 and Coker has been there to oversee things from the very beginning. After beginning things in the FCS with a 4-6 record, the Roadrunners made the jump to the FCS where so far, the results have been very encouraging; going 8-4 in 2012 as a member of the WAC and then 7-5 as a member of Conference USA a year ago. This year began with a 27-7 thrashing of Houston in the opening of Houston's new stadium. In what will be the biggest game for the program to date, they get to take on the Pac 12's Arizona Wildcats in front of what should be a very rowdy scene at the Alamodome. In a couple of years, I think the Roadrunners may well be able to win a game like this. However, I just don't feel as though they'll be quite ready to match a quality Pac 12 team blow for blow for a full 60 minutes. I do expect them to show well though and make the Cats sweat this one out until succumbing late in the 4th quarter.
My Call: Arizona 41, UT-San Antonio 31
Pittsburgh at Boston College
Gotta admit I'd just be taking a shot in the dark on this one regardless of the research I decided to do since I know next to nothing about these two with the exception of Pittsburgh having a very good sophomore receiver in Tyler Boyd. As a true freshman, Boyd caught 85 balls for 1174 yards and 7 touchdowns. In a game that's too close for me to call, I'll take the team that appears to have the player who can make a play for his team in crunch time. That team in this case is the Panthers.
My Call: Pittsburgh 24, Boston College 23
Washington State at Nevada
Expect a ton of points to be scored in this one. That's the M.O. for a Mike Leach coached team, his "Air Raid" offense can score at will but his teams don't normally put out defenses that can stop the opposing teams from scoring. This Cougar team didn't look any different in that regard a week ago in their 41-38 loss to Rutgers. Wazzu QB Connor Halliday does put up a lot of yardage, but he also makes some costly mistakes that lose games for his team. I'd expect more of the same from him and the Cougs this week, except in a win. Why not by the same score they lost by last week?
My Call: Washington State 41, Nevada 38
Arkansas State at Tennessee
In what was a more impressive showing than I expected, the Vols took the hammer and beat down on Utah State 38-7. Tennessee coach Butch Jones is recruiting some serious talent to Knoxville and seemed to send a message that he's ready to take the Vols back towards the top of the conference. Okay, a win over Utah State may not say that, but it sure was an impressive performance in a game many people thought would be far closer. They'll have to avoid the temptation of looking past Arkansas State in this one before going to Norman to take on the Oklahoma Sooners. They should do that. They won't be quite as impressive this week as last, but it'll be plenty good enough to win.
My Call: Tennessee 35, Arkansas State 20
Fresno State at Utah
They sure are missing Derek Carr and Davante Adams at Fresno State. Carr is the new starting QB for the Oakland Raiders while Adams is now a Green Bay Packer. They'll hang closer in Salt Lake City than they did in LA against USC, but they'll go back to Fresno 0-2.
My Call: Utah 31, Fresno State 24
Eastern Washington at Washington
Bad news for Washington is how vulnerable they truly looked last week against an inferior Hawaii club. The good news though is they'll have a new QB under center in Cyler Miles and will be at home against an FCS club. However, Eastern Washington is not your pushover FCS club. These guys can put up some points and have had a ton of success at the FCS level in recent years (they won the 2010 FCS Championship). Not to mention they won't be intimidated by going on the road. They won at Oregon State a year ago, nearly beat Washington State in 2012 and came close against Washington in 2011. They did have an ugly 49-24 road loss to Nevada in their championship year of 2010, but that Nevada team had some guy named Colin Kaepernick as their QB. I hear that guy is now the starter for the San Francisco 49ers, so he can't be too bad. I'm gonna take the upset in this one. Yes, I could look dumb, but the Eagles can hang and Cyler Miles may or may not be the answer at QB.
My Call: Eastern Washington 33, Washington 31
Northern Illinois at Northwestern
Oh what a fall it's been for Northwestern. They began 2013 4-0 and hung right in there with Ohio State all game long before losing late by 10 points. That caused a complete meltdown as the Wildcats lost their next six before beating Illinois to end what began as a promising year 5-7 and now they begin 2014 by laying a big egg to start their season opener against Cal before seeing a comeback fall short in a 31-24 defeat. So which Wildcats team will we see show up? Probably another erratic version. I'll say they beat the Jordan Lynch-less version of Northern Illinois, but I can't say I have a whole lot of confidence in this pick.
My Call: Northwestern 31, Northern Illinois 28
BYU at Texas
The Longhorns were victorious in Coach Charlie Strong's debut, crushing North Texas by a final of 38-7. However, the Horns will be without starting QB David Ash for this one and also without a couple offensive tackles who were suspended for a violation of team rules. Then Texas will also have to deal with BYU QB Taysom Hill. Hill is a handful and he just killed Texas a year ago; not so much on the ground, but rushing for 259 yards on three scores sure did the trick in a 40-21 BYU win in Provo a year ago. This matchup is in Austin though and I do expect Coach Strong to come up with a better defensive strategy than the Horns had a year ago, but the Cougar defense should also be successful enough. In what will be a close game, I'm gonna call for the mini upset and take the Cougars to take down Texas for a second straight year.
My Call: BYU 26, Texas 23
Colorado State at Boise State
What to do? Go with the team that looked vastly superior in Week 1 or go with the home team? I'm leaning towards the Broncos on this one. The Rams don't have a bad team, but Colorado just isn't anywhere near as good as Ole Miss, the team Boise State lost to. My expectation is the Broncos will use their defense to get back on track for this one to help offset some shaky play at QB to keep Colorado State at bay and ultimately pull this one out.
My Call: Boise State 23, Colorado State 17
Oregon State at Hawaii
After coming so close to upsetting Washington in its season opener, the Rainbow Warriors will get another shot at taking down a Pac 12 club. Can they do it against the Beavers? I don't think so.While Hawaii may be improved from where they were a year ago, Oregon State has a far better QB in Sean Mannion than they saw last week from Washington. The flight out to Hawaii isn't easy and that could keep the Rainbow Warriors in it for a while, but I'm liking the Beavers in this one.
My Call: Oregon State 35, Hawaii 21
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Top 25 Predictions (Sans Auburn)
Auburn gets their own game preview and prediction each week since they're my team. After a 27-4 record with my first week predictions (thanks Wisconsin, South Carolina, Washington State and Colorado for messing that up!), we're gonna look to keep it rolling in Week 2. As mentioned last week, I use AP Poll rankings. To make this blog a little more interesting this week, I'll share where a lot of these schools are located. I'm sure some of you may not know the answers. Quite frankly, I'm not sure where a few of them are myself.
The Citadel at #1 Florida State Seminoles
FSU got a real run for their money from a game Oklahoma State team even after jumping ahead 17-0; holding on for a 37-31 win. They shouldn't have any such concerns this week against a Citadel team that lost to Coastal Carolina in their season opener. Jameis Winston makes no mistakes this week and could pretty much end up on the bench for the second half in this lopsided affair to avoid injury. Where is The Citadel, you wonder? In Charleston, South Carolina. It's actually a military school which was originally an all male university until beginning to accept females in 1996.
My Call: Florida State 73, Citadel 0
Florida Atlantic at #2 Alabama
After getting smoked 55-7 by the Huskers in their first game, Florida Atlantic gets to take on the Crimson Tide. Coach Nick Saban is considering tinkering with a two QB system with last week's starter Blake Sims and Florida State transfer Jacob Coker. Gotta wonder how happy he is after a closer than expected 10 point win over West Virginia. It wouldn't matter this week. They can just hand it off to T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry and let them do the rest; sorta like last week against West Virginia except with a much larger margin of victory here. Florida Atlantic is located in Boca Raton; the home of Jerry's parents on the still popular sitcom Seinfeld.
My Call: Alabama 44, Florida Atlantic 6
#7 Michigan State at #3 Oregon
In what will be billed as the game of the week on paper, this out of conference doozy has real BCS playoff implications on the line. And you couldn't ask for a clash of bigger contrasting styles. Oregon loves to play fast and light up the scoreboard while Michigan State is more of the pound and ground type that likes to smack you in the mouth. The Spartans play a style very similar to that of Oregon's Pac 12 nemesis, the Stanford Cardinal. Stanford has been a thorn in the side of the Ducks of late, winning 3 of the last 5 meetings. Michigan State will look to follow that blueprint step for step for a full 60 minutes here. I expect them to be quite successful, but I'm showing faith in the Ducks to figure a way out to pull this one out at will be a very loud Autzen Stadium.
My Call: Oregon 27, Michigan State 24
#4 Oklahoma at Tulsa
They won't get much credit from anyone around the country since Tulsa will be seen as a gimme game, but good for the Sooners giving in-state university Tulsa a fantastic home game its fans and players can be very excited about. Granted the crowd at Tulsa's Skelly Field may be 60 or 70 percent full of crimson shirted OU fans, but still. In regards to this game, I wouldn't be surprised if the Golden Hurricane was able to feed off the crowd for about 10 minutes or so for a slim early lead before the Sooners take over and dominate as they should.
My Call: Oklahoma 49, Tulsa 17
Virginia Tech at #8 Ohio State
The season opener with Navy was a game for about three and a half quarters before the Buckeyes pulled away for good. Now they get to open up their home schedule against a Virginia Tech program that has fallen on some hard times the last couple of seasons. Of course "hard times" for the Hokies would be good times for others, but given what coach Frank Beamer has built that program from the bottom up since taking over in 1987, 15-11 over two seasons can be considered a disappointment for them. I think the Hokies can hang with the Buckyes in this one, but I don't think they have enough offensive firepower to ultimately walk out of Columbus with a win. OSU QB J.T. Barrett may not light it up the scoreboard, but being able to avoid the big mistake should be good enough here.
My Call: Ohio State 24, Virginia Tech 17
Lamar at #9 Texas A&M
In arguably the most impressive first week performance in all of college football, Texas A&M went into Columbia and to quote Steve Spurrier, "kicked butt" in a 52-28 route of South Carolina. After an amazing performance from Aggies sophomore QB Kenny Hill in that game where he threw for 511 yards and 3 TDs, he now wants to be known as 'Kenny Trill', whatever that's supposed to mean. 'Kenny Trill' will get to put up some more big numbers against an overmatched Lamar team. He could get to 511 (or more) again if coach Kevin Sumlin played him the whole game and let him air it out, but I think you'll see plenty of true freshman and backup QB Kyle Allen in the second half of this blowout. As a side note, Kyle Allen went to Desert Mountain High School here in Scottsdale, Arizona where I also went to high school. As far as Lamar University goes, it's located in Belmont, Texas, home of the South Texas State Fair.
My Call: Texas A&M 63, Lamar 10
Northwestern State at #10 Baylor
Baylor senior QB suffered some cracked bones in his spine in the season opener against SMU but is expected to be fine and play through it. Not that it would matter a whole lot for this one as the Bears could call upon my unskilled fat ass to lead them to victory in this game against the way overmatched Demons of Northwestern State. Even if Petty were having issues with his injury, he could just hand it off a lot to running back Shock Linwood. Northwestern State is located in Natchitoches, Louisiana. It was founded in 1714, which makes it 300 years old and Louisiana's oldest town. It has a sister city by the same name in the state of Texas.
My Call: Baylor 66, Northwestern State 3
Memphis at #11 UCLA
The first game of 2014 for UCLA turned into what was a surprising struggle against a Virginia team most expected them to crush. Three defensive touchdowns got them through in a 28-20 victory in Charlottesville. Now they get to go home to the Rose Bowl to battle the Memphis Tigers. I expect this one to go a little more smoothly as the Memphis defense won't limit the Bruins offense to one offensive touchdown. Brett Hundley gets back on the right track. No problem for UCLA in a game filed under 'It would be a more exciting matchup if it were being played on a basketball court.'
My Call: UCLA 41, Memphis 14
Sam Houston State at #12 LSU
In case you're wondering, Sam Houston State is not actually in Houston, Texas in spite of Houston being part of the name of the university. It's actually in Huntsville, Texas which is about an hour outside of Houston. Anyway, LSU sure pulled a rabbit out of their hat against Wisconsin. They were behind 24-7, but the "Mad Hatter" Les Miles called for a fake punt on 4th and 2, LSU got the first down and the game completely turned from there. LSU rallied to win 28-24. Such trickery should not be needed against Sam Houston State. The Bearkats have had a couple of very nice recent seasons in the Southland Conference and the FCS, falling just short in 2011 and 2012 in the FCS Championship Games, both times against North Dakota State. But competing in the Southland Conference and competing against LSU at Tiger Stadium are two completely different animals. They don't have a chance in Baton Rouge this weekend.
My Call: LSU 59, Sam Houston State 13
#14 USC at #13 Stanford
If not for a certain game above taking place in Eugene, Oregon, this Stanford/USC would be "on paper" game of the week. Both squads opened up with convincing victories over teams they're much better than; now they get to open their Pac 12 slates against one another. USC did pull a somewhat surprising 20-17 upset on the Cardinal a year ago, but Stanford has pretty much owned this game otherwise since 2007 when a 41 point underdog Cardinal team went to the L.A. Coliseum and pulled off a shocking 24-23 victory. Can USC make it two in a row to get this matchup going back their way? Yes they can, but they won't. I wouldn't be surprised if this game ended up being as good or perhaps even better than the Michigan State/Oregon game. I'll take Stanford based on their experience and being at home.
My Call: Stanford 30, USC 27
#15 Ole Miss at Vanderbilt (at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee)
2014 didn't exactly get off to the prettiest start for either of these teams, but Ole Miss at least turned up the heat in the 4th quarter en route to a 35-13 win over Boise State. That's a lot better than Vandy, who suffered a painful 37-7 defeat at home to Temple. So what will happen in this SEC opener for both? A Rebel win. Yes, I do expect the Commodores to come more ready to play this one and Ole Miss QB Bo Wallace may not always look great, but the Rebs are simply a vastly superior team on both sides of the ball. Ole Miss could struggle for a while, but they'll gradually wear em down and get out of Nashville with a pretty convincing victory.
My Call: Ole Miss 27, Vanderbilt 10
Michigan at #16 Notre Dame
In what will be the last game played between these two great programs at least for a while, the Wolverines will travel to South Bend to take on the Irish in a game that will be played at night. QB Everett Golson was back and looking good as ever in Notre Dame's convincing victory over Rice a week ago while the Wolverines got past ghosts from 2007 by whipping up on Appalachian State. What did we find out about either team in the first week? Probably not a whole lot. Golson and Michigan QB Devin Gardner should both make some plays in this one giving us a good game that should be decided in the 4th quarter. I'll take the home team; Notre Dame under Golson has been very successful (sans for one game); and Michigan isn't anywhere near the same team that Golson lost to in the national championship game in January of 2013.
My Call: Notre Dame 34, Michigan 28
#17 Arizona State at New Mexico
In a relatively short trip to Albuquerque, the Sun Devils will hit the road to take on a New Mexico team coached by former Notre Dame head man Bob Davie. The Devils will look to move to 2-0 after an easy win over Weber State in its opener while the Lobos will look to bounce back from a 34-27 loss to UTEP. Expect the former to happen with relative ease. If New Mexico couldn't keep a bad UTEP team from beating them and scoring 34 points in the process, how the hell are they going to beat this ASU team? Taylor Kelly, D.J. Foster and Jaelen Strong should again put up some huge numbers in an easy Sun Devil win.
My Call: Arizona State 44, New Mexico 13
Western Illinois at #18 Wisconsin
As I outlined above in the LSU game forecast, the Badgers really blew it last week in Houston. While clobbering the Leathernecks won't fully make up for that collapse, it should at least feel good to take out some frustrations on them. Melvin Gordon will run wild. Western Illinois is located in Macomb, which is obviously located on the western side of the state given their school name. It is about two hours outside of Iowa City, three hours outside of St. Louis and four hours outside of Chicago. Their nickname, the Leathernecks, is actually a slang term for a military member.
My Call: Wisconsin 48, Western Illinois 7
McNeese State at #19 Nebraska
After an easy 55-7 win over Florida Atlantic, the Huskers appear to have another easy one on their hands with McNeese State. The Cowboys don't have much of a chance to beat the Huskers nor in slowing down star Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah, who rushed for 232 yards in the Florida Atlantic game. He has a chance to come up with numbers very similar to that if Bo Pelini calls enough plays to get him the ball before taking him out when Nebraska is leading big. McNeese State is located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which is about a couple hours outside of Baton Rouge by car.
My Call: Nebraska 51, McNeese State 3
#20 Kansas State at Iowa State
After an easy triumph over Stephen F. Austin, K-State heads to Ames to take on a Cyclones team that may be smarting after being trounced by FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. The Wildcats can't afford to look past their Big 12 opener which is possible with Auburn next on the schedule, but Bill Snyder is a great coach who won't let em do that. After not making much of an impact in the season opener, star K-State WR Tyler Lockett should make his presence more felt in this one and that'll be plenty for the Cats to move to 2-0 and then worry about Auburn.
My Call: Kansas State 31, Iowa State 14
East Carolina at #21 South Carolina
Okay, who saw that one coming? I'm not so much shocked that South Carolina lost to Texas A&M (I had them winning by 7, so I called a pretty close game), but it was pretty surprising to see them get blown out by 24 points and give up 52 points in the process. Once the game started, it became obvious that the Aggies were clearly the superior team, but I just didn't see it coming beforehand. Now the question is, can Steve Spurrier's club bounce back? They may not have star running back Mike Davis ready for this one and watching their defense, I think East Carolina can score some points. However, the Gamecocks will score their share also. And after last week's humiliation and with Georgia coming the following week, I think the Ole Ball Coach will make sure his team doesn't overlook this one and evens up its record. It won't always be pretty, especially defensively, but I think it'll be just good enough. And I'll go with the same score as I did last week for their game. They say third time's a charm, but we're hoping it's the second.
My Call: South Carolina 38, East Carolina 31
San Diego State at #21 North Carolina
No, this is not a misprint. The AP Poll gave North and South Carolina the same number of votes (196), so both are ranked 21st by the poll this week. Anyway, after UNC had some struggles with Liberty for two and a half quarters (they actually trailed halfway through the third quarter), they'll look to improve as they play host to what's turned into a solid Aztec program. Coach Rocky Long has done a splendid job with them, and his team will be looking to make a statement with a road win against an ACC program. I'll say they don't quite get it, making the long flight to the East Coast is never easy, but they'll make the Heels earn it.
My Call: North Carolina 38, San Diego State 28
South Carolina State at #23 Clemson
Clemson hung around with Georgia in Athens in the first half playing to a 21-21 tie before they got bulldozed in the second half en route to a 45-21 defeat. They'll get a chance to take out some frustrations on the Bulldogs of South Carolina State and will do just that. It shouldn't matter much whether it's senior Cole Stoudt or true freshman Deshaun Watson under center this week. They'll coast and take the two weeks off to try coming up with a game plan which will get them a win and payback against Florida State. South Carolina State is a historically black college and located in Orangeburg, which is just under 40 miles outside of Columbia (home to the University of South Carolina). NFL great Deacon Jones actually began his college career there, but had his scholarship revoked due to taking part in a civil rights protest. Deacon moved on to Mississippi Valley State, was taken in the 14th round of the 1961 NFL Draft and the rest was history.
My Call: Clemson 48, South Carolina State 13
#24 Missouri at Toledo
In what could be a dangerous game for a retooling Mizzou squad, they'll be going to the Glass Bowl to take on a Rockets team itching for a chance at a big win over an SEC team. Although Mizzou was getting more than it bargained for in its opener with South Dakota State early in the third quarter, a Marcus Murphy kickoff return for touchdown pretty much ended any hope the Jackrabbits had and the Tigers cruised from there. It was sort of the same story for Toledo in their opener with New Hampshire, but a touchdown run by Kareem Hunt early in the third quarter had them cruising the rest of the way as well. Something has to give in this one. You've got two teams that love to throw the ball around and showed in the first week that they were very good at it. This one could take all four quarters to decide. Mizzou better come ready for battle or they could get trampled. I think they'll come ready though and pull it out in the last few moments.
My Call: Missouri 34, Toledo 31
Murray State at #25 Louisville
Louisville got the second Bobby Petrino era off to a nice start with a relatively easy victory over the Miami Hurricanes. Now they get to build upon that in what should be an easy win over in-state school Murray State. The Racers won't be able to keep up. Murray State is located in Murray, Kentucky. It's in the very Southwestern part of the state and is not far at all from the border which could have you standing in three states (Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee) at once. So if you're ever in Murray and want to be in three places at once, just drive to the very Southwestern tip of the state of Kentucky and your dreams of being in three places at once can happen!
My Call: Louisville 56, Murray State 10
The Citadel at #1 Florida State Seminoles
FSU got a real run for their money from a game Oklahoma State team even after jumping ahead 17-0; holding on for a 37-31 win. They shouldn't have any such concerns this week against a Citadel team that lost to Coastal Carolina in their season opener. Jameis Winston makes no mistakes this week and could pretty much end up on the bench for the second half in this lopsided affair to avoid injury. Where is The Citadel, you wonder? In Charleston, South Carolina. It's actually a military school which was originally an all male university until beginning to accept females in 1996.
My Call: Florida State 73, Citadel 0
Florida Atlantic at #2 Alabama
After getting smoked 55-7 by the Huskers in their first game, Florida Atlantic gets to take on the Crimson Tide. Coach Nick Saban is considering tinkering with a two QB system with last week's starter Blake Sims and Florida State transfer Jacob Coker. Gotta wonder how happy he is after a closer than expected 10 point win over West Virginia. It wouldn't matter this week. They can just hand it off to T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry and let them do the rest; sorta like last week against West Virginia except with a much larger margin of victory here. Florida Atlantic is located in Boca Raton; the home of Jerry's parents on the still popular sitcom Seinfeld.
My Call: Alabama 44, Florida Atlantic 6
#7 Michigan State at #3 Oregon
In what will be billed as the game of the week on paper, this out of conference doozy has real BCS playoff implications on the line. And you couldn't ask for a clash of bigger contrasting styles. Oregon loves to play fast and light up the scoreboard while Michigan State is more of the pound and ground type that likes to smack you in the mouth. The Spartans play a style very similar to that of Oregon's Pac 12 nemesis, the Stanford Cardinal. Stanford has been a thorn in the side of the Ducks of late, winning 3 of the last 5 meetings. Michigan State will look to follow that blueprint step for step for a full 60 minutes here. I expect them to be quite successful, but I'm showing faith in the Ducks to figure a way out to pull this one out at will be a very loud Autzen Stadium.
My Call: Oregon 27, Michigan State 24
#4 Oklahoma at Tulsa
They won't get much credit from anyone around the country since Tulsa will be seen as a gimme game, but good for the Sooners giving in-state university Tulsa a fantastic home game its fans and players can be very excited about. Granted the crowd at Tulsa's Skelly Field may be 60 or 70 percent full of crimson shirted OU fans, but still. In regards to this game, I wouldn't be surprised if the Golden Hurricane was able to feed off the crowd for about 10 minutes or so for a slim early lead before the Sooners take over and dominate as they should.
My Call: Oklahoma 49, Tulsa 17
Virginia Tech at #8 Ohio State
The season opener with Navy was a game for about three and a half quarters before the Buckeyes pulled away for good. Now they get to open up their home schedule against a Virginia Tech program that has fallen on some hard times the last couple of seasons. Of course "hard times" for the Hokies would be good times for others, but given what coach Frank Beamer has built that program from the bottom up since taking over in 1987, 15-11 over two seasons can be considered a disappointment for them. I think the Hokies can hang with the Buckyes in this one, but I don't think they have enough offensive firepower to ultimately walk out of Columbus with a win. OSU QB J.T. Barrett may not light it up the scoreboard, but being able to avoid the big mistake should be good enough here.
My Call: Ohio State 24, Virginia Tech 17
Lamar at #9 Texas A&M
In arguably the most impressive first week performance in all of college football, Texas A&M went into Columbia and to quote Steve Spurrier, "kicked butt" in a 52-28 route of South Carolina. After an amazing performance from Aggies sophomore QB Kenny Hill in that game where he threw for 511 yards and 3 TDs, he now wants to be known as 'Kenny Trill', whatever that's supposed to mean. 'Kenny Trill' will get to put up some more big numbers against an overmatched Lamar team. He could get to 511 (or more) again if coach Kevin Sumlin played him the whole game and let him air it out, but I think you'll see plenty of true freshman and backup QB Kyle Allen in the second half of this blowout. As a side note, Kyle Allen went to Desert Mountain High School here in Scottsdale, Arizona where I also went to high school. As far as Lamar University goes, it's located in Belmont, Texas, home of the South Texas State Fair.
My Call: Texas A&M 63, Lamar 10
Northwestern State at #10 Baylor
Baylor senior QB suffered some cracked bones in his spine in the season opener against SMU but is expected to be fine and play through it. Not that it would matter a whole lot for this one as the Bears could call upon my unskilled fat ass to lead them to victory in this game against the way overmatched Demons of Northwestern State. Even if Petty were having issues with his injury, he could just hand it off a lot to running back Shock Linwood. Northwestern State is located in Natchitoches, Louisiana. It was founded in 1714, which makes it 300 years old and Louisiana's oldest town. It has a sister city by the same name in the state of Texas.
My Call: Baylor 66, Northwestern State 3
Memphis at #11 UCLA
The first game of 2014 for UCLA turned into what was a surprising struggle against a Virginia team most expected them to crush. Three defensive touchdowns got them through in a 28-20 victory in Charlottesville. Now they get to go home to the Rose Bowl to battle the Memphis Tigers. I expect this one to go a little more smoothly as the Memphis defense won't limit the Bruins offense to one offensive touchdown. Brett Hundley gets back on the right track. No problem for UCLA in a game filed under 'It would be a more exciting matchup if it were being played on a basketball court.'
My Call: UCLA 41, Memphis 14
Sam Houston State at #12 LSU
In case you're wondering, Sam Houston State is not actually in Houston, Texas in spite of Houston being part of the name of the university. It's actually in Huntsville, Texas which is about an hour outside of Houston. Anyway, LSU sure pulled a rabbit out of their hat against Wisconsin. They were behind 24-7, but the "Mad Hatter" Les Miles called for a fake punt on 4th and 2, LSU got the first down and the game completely turned from there. LSU rallied to win 28-24. Such trickery should not be needed against Sam Houston State. The Bearkats have had a couple of very nice recent seasons in the Southland Conference and the FCS, falling just short in 2011 and 2012 in the FCS Championship Games, both times against North Dakota State. But competing in the Southland Conference and competing against LSU at Tiger Stadium are two completely different animals. They don't have a chance in Baton Rouge this weekend.
My Call: LSU 59, Sam Houston State 13
#14 USC at #13 Stanford
If not for a certain game above taking place in Eugene, Oregon, this Stanford/USC would be "on paper" game of the week. Both squads opened up with convincing victories over teams they're much better than; now they get to open their Pac 12 slates against one another. USC did pull a somewhat surprising 20-17 upset on the Cardinal a year ago, but Stanford has pretty much owned this game otherwise since 2007 when a 41 point underdog Cardinal team went to the L.A. Coliseum and pulled off a shocking 24-23 victory. Can USC make it two in a row to get this matchup going back their way? Yes they can, but they won't. I wouldn't be surprised if this game ended up being as good or perhaps even better than the Michigan State/Oregon game. I'll take Stanford based on their experience and being at home.
My Call: Stanford 30, USC 27
#15 Ole Miss at Vanderbilt (at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee)
2014 didn't exactly get off to the prettiest start for either of these teams, but Ole Miss at least turned up the heat in the 4th quarter en route to a 35-13 win over Boise State. That's a lot better than Vandy, who suffered a painful 37-7 defeat at home to Temple. So what will happen in this SEC opener for both? A Rebel win. Yes, I do expect the Commodores to come more ready to play this one and Ole Miss QB Bo Wallace may not always look great, but the Rebs are simply a vastly superior team on both sides of the ball. Ole Miss could struggle for a while, but they'll gradually wear em down and get out of Nashville with a pretty convincing victory.
My Call: Ole Miss 27, Vanderbilt 10
Michigan at #16 Notre Dame
In what will be the last game played between these two great programs at least for a while, the Wolverines will travel to South Bend to take on the Irish in a game that will be played at night. QB Everett Golson was back and looking good as ever in Notre Dame's convincing victory over Rice a week ago while the Wolverines got past ghosts from 2007 by whipping up on Appalachian State. What did we find out about either team in the first week? Probably not a whole lot. Golson and Michigan QB Devin Gardner should both make some plays in this one giving us a good game that should be decided in the 4th quarter. I'll take the home team; Notre Dame under Golson has been very successful (sans for one game); and Michigan isn't anywhere near the same team that Golson lost to in the national championship game in January of 2013.
My Call: Notre Dame 34, Michigan 28
#17 Arizona State at New Mexico
In a relatively short trip to Albuquerque, the Sun Devils will hit the road to take on a New Mexico team coached by former Notre Dame head man Bob Davie. The Devils will look to move to 2-0 after an easy win over Weber State in its opener while the Lobos will look to bounce back from a 34-27 loss to UTEP. Expect the former to happen with relative ease. If New Mexico couldn't keep a bad UTEP team from beating them and scoring 34 points in the process, how the hell are they going to beat this ASU team? Taylor Kelly, D.J. Foster and Jaelen Strong should again put up some huge numbers in an easy Sun Devil win.
My Call: Arizona State 44, New Mexico 13
Western Illinois at #18 Wisconsin
As I outlined above in the LSU game forecast, the Badgers really blew it last week in Houston. While clobbering the Leathernecks won't fully make up for that collapse, it should at least feel good to take out some frustrations on them. Melvin Gordon will run wild. Western Illinois is located in Macomb, which is obviously located on the western side of the state given their school name. It is about two hours outside of Iowa City, three hours outside of St. Louis and four hours outside of Chicago. Their nickname, the Leathernecks, is actually a slang term for a military member.
My Call: Wisconsin 48, Western Illinois 7
McNeese State at #19 Nebraska
After an easy 55-7 win over Florida Atlantic, the Huskers appear to have another easy one on their hands with McNeese State. The Cowboys don't have much of a chance to beat the Huskers nor in slowing down star Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah, who rushed for 232 yards in the Florida Atlantic game. He has a chance to come up with numbers very similar to that if Bo Pelini calls enough plays to get him the ball before taking him out when Nebraska is leading big. McNeese State is located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which is about a couple hours outside of Baton Rouge by car.
My Call: Nebraska 51, McNeese State 3
#20 Kansas State at Iowa State
After an easy triumph over Stephen F. Austin, K-State heads to Ames to take on a Cyclones team that may be smarting after being trounced by FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. The Wildcats can't afford to look past their Big 12 opener which is possible with Auburn next on the schedule, but Bill Snyder is a great coach who won't let em do that. After not making much of an impact in the season opener, star K-State WR Tyler Lockett should make his presence more felt in this one and that'll be plenty for the Cats to move to 2-0 and then worry about Auburn.
My Call: Kansas State 31, Iowa State 14
East Carolina at #21 South Carolina
Okay, who saw that one coming? I'm not so much shocked that South Carolina lost to Texas A&M (I had them winning by 7, so I called a pretty close game), but it was pretty surprising to see them get blown out by 24 points and give up 52 points in the process. Once the game started, it became obvious that the Aggies were clearly the superior team, but I just didn't see it coming beforehand. Now the question is, can Steve Spurrier's club bounce back? They may not have star running back Mike Davis ready for this one and watching their defense, I think East Carolina can score some points. However, the Gamecocks will score their share also. And after last week's humiliation and with Georgia coming the following week, I think the Ole Ball Coach will make sure his team doesn't overlook this one and evens up its record. It won't always be pretty, especially defensively, but I think it'll be just good enough. And I'll go with the same score as I did last week for their game. They say third time's a charm, but we're hoping it's the second.
My Call: South Carolina 38, East Carolina 31
San Diego State at #21 North Carolina
No, this is not a misprint. The AP Poll gave North and South Carolina the same number of votes (196), so both are ranked 21st by the poll this week. Anyway, after UNC had some struggles with Liberty for two and a half quarters (they actually trailed halfway through the third quarter), they'll look to improve as they play host to what's turned into a solid Aztec program. Coach Rocky Long has done a splendid job with them, and his team will be looking to make a statement with a road win against an ACC program. I'll say they don't quite get it, making the long flight to the East Coast is never easy, but they'll make the Heels earn it.
My Call: North Carolina 38, San Diego State 28
South Carolina State at #23 Clemson
Clemson hung around with Georgia in Athens in the first half playing to a 21-21 tie before they got bulldozed in the second half en route to a 45-21 defeat. They'll get a chance to take out some frustrations on the Bulldogs of South Carolina State and will do just that. It shouldn't matter much whether it's senior Cole Stoudt or true freshman Deshaun Watson under center this week. They'll coast and take the two weeks off to try coming up with a game plan which will get them a win and payback against Florida State. South Carolina State is a historically black college and located in Orangeburg, which is just under 40 miles outside of Columbia (home to the University of South Carolina). NFL great Deacon Jones actually began his college career there, but had his scholarship revoked due to taking part in a civil rights protest. Deacon moved on to Mississippi Valley State, was taken in the 14th round of the 1961 NFL Draft and the rest was history.
My Call: Clemson 48, South Carolina State 13
#24 Missouri at Toledo
In what could be a dangerous game for a retooling Mizzou squad, they'll be going to the Glass Bowl to take on a Rockets team itching for a chance at a big win over an SEC team. Although Mizzou was getting more than it bargained for in its opener with South Dakota State early in the third quarter, a Marcus Murphy kickoff return for touchdown pretty much ended any hope the Jackrabbits had and the Tigers cruised from there. It was sort of the same story for Toledo in their opener with New Hampshire, but a touchdown run by Kareem Hunt early in the third quarter had them cruising the rest of the way as well. Something has to give in this one. You've got two teams that love to throw the ball around and showed in the first week that they were very good at it. This one could take all four quarters to decide. Mizzou better come ready for battle or they could get trampled. I think they'll come ready though and pull it out in the last few moments.
My Call: Missouri 34, Toledo 31
Murray State at #25 Louisville
Louisville got the second Bobby Petrino era off to a nice start with a relatively easy victory over the Miami Hurricanes. Now they get to build upon that in what should be an easy win over in-state school Murray State. The Racers won't be able to keep up. Murray State is located in Murray, Kentucky. It's in the very Southwestern part of the state and is not far at all from the border which could have you standing in three states (Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee) at once. So if you're ever in Murray and want to be in three places at once, just drive to the very Southwestern tip of the state of Kentucky and your dreams of being in three places at once can happen!
My Call: Louisville 56, Murray State 10
Auburn Game Prediction vs. San Jose State
After an even first half with Arkansas which saw the Auburn run defense struggle mightily, they made all the necessary adjustments, outscoring the Razorbacks 24-0 after halftime en route to a season and conference opening 45-21 win. Starting QB Nick Marshall missed the entire first half due to being suspended for a marijuana citation. Backup QB Jeremy Johnson performed well, completing 12 of 16 passes for 243 yards to go along with two touchdown passes. Nick Marshall showed why he's the guy for Auburn under center this season in the second half, but should anything happen, Auburn fans can know they are in capable hands with Johnson. Robenson Therezie may have come up with the play of the game; hitting Arkansas QB Brandon Allen hard on an attempted pass which caused his pass to float and allowed for an easy interception and TD return for senior safety Jermaine Whitehead. It was just a 28-21 lead before that play took place, but after that, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way other than a weather delay which stopped play for some time.
After turning up the heat in the second half vs. Arkansas, the Tigers will look to keep the momentum going in an out of conference matchup against a Mountain West opponent, the San Jose State Spartans. With all the movement for school programs to different conferences, I had to go back and look up to see when San Jose State made their move to the Mountain West as I remembered them being a member of the Western Athletic Conference for almost 20 years. They moved to the Mountain West a year ago. I have to admit I know a little bit less about San Jose State this year than I have in the last couple of years. This is mainly because they lost their starting QB from the last two years, David Fales. In 2012 and 2013, Fales threw for 33 touchdown passes in each season (66 total for you non-math wizards) against just 22 interceptions and over 4100 yards passing in each season as well. He is now the number three QB for the Chicago Bears behind Jay Cutler and Jimmy Clausen. San Jose State opened their 2014 season on a victorious note, clobbering Big Sky opponent North Dakota 42-10. North Dakota was known as the Fighting Sioux, but the university agreed to drop the name a couple years ago since the NCAA thought the name as well as the former Fighting Sioux logo was offensive to American Indians. Due to laws, the university will try picking a new name for the university's athletic teams in 2015.
Anyway, back to San Jose State, their new starting QB is senior Blake Jurich. He was as good and efficient as he could be against North Dakota, completing 22 of 25 passes for 250 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. To me, what stands out with him is his terrific size. Jurich was very lightly recruited out of high school, but even in high school, he stood at 6'4" and about 195 pounds. He still stands at 6'4", but is now up to around 230 pounds. Also gone for the Spartans is WR Chandler Jones. He caught 79 balls for 1356 yards and a whopping school record 15 TD grabs. But they do have a solid new go to receiver in true sophomore Tyler Winston. Winston was last year's Mountain West Newcomer of the Year as he caught 58 balls for 858 yards and 5 TD catches. He got off to a solid start this year in San Jose State's opener, catching 10 balls for 96 yards and two scores. He would seem to be the guy to watch out most for if you're Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson. Sophomore running back Jarrod Lawson could have been another guy to watch out for as he had a respectable redshirt freshman season, rushing for nearly 800 yards to go along with 4 TD rushes. He added 223 yards and a score as a receiver out of the backfield. However, he got handed a two game suspension for a violation of team rules, so he missed San Jose State's first game and will also miss this one.
My thoughts on this game are I wouldn't be surprised to see Winston and Jurich have a couple of nice moments, but as a whole, the Spartans just don't have the overall depth, speed and talent to keep up with Auburn in this one. Nick Marshall will start this one and put up some gaudy totals in his time on the field and so will Jeremy Johnson, who I expect will see a lot of playing time in this one as well. Cameron Artis-Payne and Corey Grant should put up some nice numbers of their own, but I'd like to see Peyton Barber and Roc Thomas get a few carries. As far as the defense goes, there shouldn't be the same problems for Auburn stopping the San Jose State rushing attack that they had with Arkansas' for a half. The Tigers will roll and then take the next 11 days to get ready for a tough Thursday night road test on September 18th against the Kansas State Wildcats.
My Call: Auburn 48, San Jose State 13
After turning up the heat in the second half vs. Arkansas, the Tigers will look to keep the momentum going in an out of conference matchup against a Mountain West opponent, the San Jose State Spartans. With all the movement for school programs to different conferences, I had to go back and look up to see when San Jose State made their move to the Mountain West as I remembered them being a member of the Western Athletic Conference for almost 20 years. They moved to the Mountain West a year ago. I have to admit I know a little bit less about San Jose State this year than I have in the last couple of years. This is mainly because they lost their starting QB from the last two years, David Fales. In 2012 and 2013, Fales threw for 33 touchdown passes in each season (66 total for you non-math wizards) against just 22 interceptions and over 4100 yards passing in each season as well. He is now the number three QB for the Chicago Bears behind Jay Cutler and Jimmy Clausen. San Jose State opened their 2014 season on a victorious note, clobbering Big Sky opponent North Dakota 42-10. North Dakota was known as the Fighting Sioux, but the university agreed to drop the name a couple years ago since the NCAA thought the name as well as the former Fighting Sioux logo was offensive to American Indians. Due to laws, the university will try picking a new name for the university's athletic teams in 2015.
Anyway, back to San Jose State, their new starting QB is senior Blake Jurich. He was as good and efficient as he could be against North Dakota, completing 22 of 25 passes for 250 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. To me, what stands out with him is his terrific size. Jurich was very lightly recruited out of high school, but even in high school, he stood at 6'4" and about 195 pounds. He still stands at 6'4", but is now up to around 230 pounds. Also gone for the Spartans is WR Chandler Jones. He caught 79 balls for 1356 yards and a whopping school record 15 TD grabs. But they do have a solid new go to receiver in true sophomore Tyler Winston. Winston was last year's Mountain West Newcomer of the Year as he caught 58 balls for 858 yards and 5 TD catches. He got off to a solid start this year in San Jose State's opener, catching 10 balls for 96 yards and two scores. He would seem to be the guy to watch out most for if you're Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson. Sophomore running back Jarrod Lawson could have been another guy to watch out for as he had a respectable redshirt freshman season, rushing for nearly 800 yards to go along with 4 TD rushes. He added 223 yards and a score as a receiver out of the backfield. However, he got handed a two game suspension for a violation of team rules, so he missed San Jose State's first game and will also miss this one.
My thoughts on this game are I wouldn't be surprised to see Winston and Jurich have a couple of nice moments, but as a whole, the Spartans just don't have the overall depth, speed and talent to keep up with Auburn in this one. Nick Marshall will start this one and put up some gaudy totals in his time on the field and so will Jeremy Johnson, who I expect will see a lot of playing time in this one as well. Cameron Artis-Payne and Corey Grant should put up some nice numbers of their own, but I'd like to see Peyton Barber and Roc Thomas get a few carries. As far as the defense goes, there shouldn't be the same problems for Auburn stopping the San Jose State rushing attack that they had with Arkansas' for a half. The Tigers will roll and then take the next 11 days to get ready for a tough Thursday night road test on September 18th against the Kansas State Wildcats.
My Call: Auburn 48, San Jose State 13
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