Last Saturday was beautiful. There is no other word to describe all of the wonderful action that took place for nearly 12 hours Satuday. The early game included the most impressive team in the country, Miss State. Then came the loaded 2:30 time slot with 3 matchups between ranked teams, all of which were riveting. In particular the Ole Miss/Alabama game was perhaps the best this year. To make the action even better, most of the favorites, Alabama for instance, were defeated. It was unlike any Saturday I have ever witnessed. This Saturday is also terrific. I don’t think we will have the kind of excellence seen last Saturday, but there is plenty of meat on the bone. Lets have a look:
#2 Auburn @ #3 Mississippi State– It gets no easier for the Bulldogs as Gus Malzahn’s Auburn Tigers come to Starkville for a top 5 showdown. We will see is the Dogs can put last weeks monster win in the rear view and focus on the Tigers. This is going to be a hell of a game. I enjoy the styles of these two teams better than last week. I really liked what I saw from the Bulldog defense last week against A&M. They rattled and turned Kenny Hill over 3 times. Nick Marshall is far more seasoned than Hill and the MSU defense will have to be up to the task. MSU QB Dak Prescott has been marvelous to this point and he will have to be again if MSU is going to win this game and take over the #1 spot. Ive doubted Dan Mullen’s team all season. I think I am done with that. Give me the home team in this most excellent of games.
#9 TCU @ #5 Baylor– This game is likewise going to be fantastic. These 2 teams truly despise one another. This rivalry goes back a long, lon g way. TCU is coming off an impressive win over Oklahoma. I gave the Frogs no chance, but was greatly impressed with what I saw. TCU Offensive Coordinator Sonnie Cumbie’s offense has really taken flight in Fort Worth. Trevone Boykin threw for 318 yards and ran for 77 yards against a Sooner Defense that I smothered in praise. Can he repeat such an impressive performance this weekend in Waco? I’m anxious to see. Meanwhile Art Briles team leads the nation with 51 points per game and have cruised up to this point, including a 21 point victory in Austin last weekend. The Frogs will be far and away the best team they have faced. I’m not sure how the Bears will respond. I have no clue who will win this game, but whoever does has the inside track on a league title and a spot in the playoff.
#12 Oregon @ #18 UCLA– This is a survival game for 2 teams that had playoff aspirations a week ago. This week’s loser is out of the playoff picture entirely. UCLA has been maddeningly inconsistent this year. One week they thump Arizona State, the next they get upset at home by Utah. A team that I felt was loaded to the gills with talent has played in 4 one possession games thus far. That is ridiculous. Oregon was thought to be amongst the very best teams in the country prior to losing to Arizona last weekend. Now they face a survival game in the Rose Bowl. I like Marcus Marriota and the Ducks in this game. Oregon has won 5 in a row in this series and I prefer the way they have played to this point. The Bruins have been far too inconsistent for me to just believe they will turn it on Saturday night.
#3 Ole Miss @ #14 Texas A&M– Its a bounce back game for the Aggies, after getting beat up by Mississippi State. In comes the Rebels with their speedy, blood thirsty, Defense. That Defense is only allowing 10.1 points per game. That figure is impressive but I smell a massive road let down for Hugh Freeze’s club. Bo Wallace and Company are highly suspect on Offense. I think the Aggie Offense will put up too many points for the Rebels to counter. Kyle Field will be swaying, and A&M will play lights out behind Kenny Hill, Trey Williams and Josh Reynolds. The young Rebels will still be thinking about Alabama and the Aggs will slap them around. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
USC @ #10 Arizona– The Arizona Wildcats might be 2014’s feel good story. Rich Rodriguez’s tale of redemption is pretty cool. His tenure at Michigan was a total train wreck, but when he got the Arizona job, I was confident he would have success. Its good to see. This Saturday the feel good story will continue as the Wildcats get past the USC Trojans. I cant figure out Southern Cal. They beat Stanford in Palo Alto, and then lose to Boston College and then blow a late lead to Arizona State. Give me Nick Wilson and Terris Jones Grigsby, who both average over 5 yards per rush, to pace the Wildcats in a defeat of the Trojans. This game will most likely be tight, but I like what I see from Arizona. They have confidence of playing in a lot of close games and talent to burn. I’m not sure what the rest of the season holds for this team, but I am excited to see the program Rich Rod has put together in Tuscon.
Pick of the Week- My struggles continue as Oklahoma loses to TCU and my record fall to 1-4. Oh brother.
This weeks Pick is Northwestern +4.5, winners of 2 in a row, to go to Minnesota and beat the spread. After a miserable start, Pat Fitzgerald’s team has gotten its bearings, beating Penn State and Wisconsin in consecutive weeks. Minnesota is inferior to both of those teams. I really cant see why they are an underdog at Minnesota. Seems like a good pick, but you’ve heard that before.
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