College Football - Week 5 Games to Watch
| 14
|
by Kwinger 00
Week 5 Games to Watch:
*My pick in bold
Non-Conference Games
- Maryland at No. 10 Rutgers
- Rutgers is sitting pretty good at #10. They set their schedule up like an NFL team: they had three "preseason" games against Buffalo, Navy, and Norfolk St. - all at home, then had an off week last week to prepare for their first test - Maryland. Unfortunately for Maryland, it's at Rutgers Stadium, and they'll be ready. A lot has been made of RB Ray Rice, but QB Mike Teel leads the nation in QB Rating. Check out his projected totals for the year:
- 152 for 228, 3452 yards, 66.7%, 32 TD, 4 INT, 0 Sacks, 236.65 Rating.
- Heisman hopeful Ray Rice better watch his back. On second thought, I don't think he'll have to worry about it.
- Louisville at NC State
- For me, these are the two most disappointing teams in the nation. I thought NC State had a legit chance at winning the ACC. Instead, they're sitting at 1-3, 0-2 in the conference, and their only win is against Wofford (other loss against UCF). Louisville's defense is bad. Really bad. A lot of people are blaming Steve Kragthorpe for Louisville's disappointment. Wasn't he brought in as an offensive genius? Well, Louisville has scored 73, 58, 34, and 35 in their four games. I'm not going to blame defensive coordinator Mike Cassity either. He's been at Louisville as the DC since 2004, and he's shown what he can do. I blame the execution of the players. Too much blame is being put on coordinators these days. The players are the ones to blame here.
- No. 22 Alabama at Florida St.
- Florida St. is actually favored in this one, and I think they'll beat Alabama. After two thrilling games, Alabama travels to Jacksonville to take on the Seminoles, who are coming off a bye week. Sounds like trouble for Saban's boys. That is, if FSU's offense comes to play.
- Sam Houston St. at Oklahoma St.
- Sam Houston St., led by former Oklahoma QB Rhett Bomar, is 28-point underdogs. If I were a betting man, I'd take Sam Houston St. and the points. Unfortunately, I'm not a betting man. I almost pulled the trigger on this one, and I'll be kicking myself if Sam Houston St. pulls this one out. I saw them play their last game two weeks ago at North Dakota St. and Bomar was sensational. I'm expecting more of the same this week. They've had two weeks to prepare for Oklahoma St., which is coming off of an emotional win and an even more emotional post-game press conference. Don't be surprised to see them keep this one close. You heard it here first.
Conference Games
- No. 1 USC at Washington
- Too much was made of Washington's victory over Boise St. It was Boise's first trip to Washington, and Washington isn't bad at home. I had called for the Washington "upset," but didn't have them winning again until Arizona on October 27. Let's see if I'm right. USC is on a roll and has won five straight against Washington. There's no stopping the Trojans now. They've got it pretty easy until their trip to Oregon on October 27.
- No. 6 Cal at No. 11 Oregon
- Oregon's surprisingly favored by 5.5 in this one. Oregon's offense looks to be unstoppable right now. New offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is doing a tremendous job of calling the offense, and QB Dennis Dixon is playing better than expected. Cal's offense has scored 45, 34, 42, and 45 in their first four games. This one will have plenty of fireworks.
- No. 21 Penn St. at Illinois
- Illinois is sitting at 3-1 and 1-0 in the conference. This is a huge game for them. In their next four games, they host Penn St. and Wisconsin, travel to Iowa, then host Michigan. If they can win this one, Champaign will be celebrating Illinois football for the first time since the 2001 Big Ten Champions. Penn St. is coming off a disappointing loss to a team nobody can seem to figure out - Michigan. Did you really think Michigan was that bad? Really?
- Michigan St. at No. 9 Wisconsin
- Michigan St. is off to their typical fast start. Like every year, they'll sputter. They'll lose this one at Wisconsin and struggle against Northwestern next week. Watch, just watch.
- Kansas St. at No. 7 Texas
- In their first four games, Texas has looked awful, okay, bad, and good. If this one was on the road, I may have pulled the trigger on the upset; but it's at Texas. Kansas St. has had two weeks to prepare for this one, but I don't think they can win at Texas. Look for them to keep it close for awhile, but Texas will come out on top.
UPSET SPECIALS
- No. 5 West Virginia at No. 18 USF (*Friday Night)
- Everybody talks about the offenses in the Big East, but the conference is going to be won on the other side of the ball. That's why Louisville's out already. These two teams have arguably the two best defenses in the conference, and defense is what will win it for the Bulls on Friday night. Despite their upset win at Auburn, this will be their real coming out party. USF spoiled West Virginia's Big East title and BCS dreams last year, and I'm calling for the same thing this season.
- UCLA at Oregon St.
- This one is pretty much a toss up, but Oregon St. is favored by 1.5 points. Therefore, it is considered an upset. Either way, UCLA has been almost as good as advertised except for their unfathomable loss at Utah, which nobody can really explain. They've won five of the last six at Oregon St.
- No. 13 Clemson at Georgia Tech
- Georgia Tech was looking like one of the best teams in the ACC, then Boston College came to town... and then they lost to Virginia last week. It's now or never for G.T. According to Phil Steele's preview magazine, nine of the last 11 games have been decided by five points or less between these two teams. Look for G.T. to avenge last year's one conference regular season loss to Clemson.
"UPSET OF THE WEEK"
- No. 23 Arizona St. at Stanford
- Stanford gave Oregon a scare last week before Oregon put up some crazy numbers and "escaped" with a 55-31 win. It was a lot closer than that though. It's their homecoming game, and who better to come to town than Dennis Erickson and the boys. Stanford is 14 point dogs in this one, but I can truly see them playing hard and giving ASU a run for their money in this one. ASU has dropped an amazing four straight at Stanford. It's crazy, but it's the upset of the week.
Week 1: 6-2
Upset Specials: None
Week 2: 9-4
Upset Specials: 1-1
Week 3: 9-6
Upset Specials: 1-1
Week 4: 9-3
Upset Specials: 3-1
Year: 33-15
