As week 3 concludes and week 4 brings another week of exciting matchups and potential upsets, the one main question on every college football fan's mind is simple; who's for real?
Looking back on this weeks action, USC goes down, Texas and Florida win but look beatable, Alabama beats up on a lesser opponent. All of a sudden, you have Miami creeping into the top 10 as they prepare for my game of the week against Virginia Tech (I'll be there!). You also have Penn State, getting ready to take on Iowa under the lights on Saturday. It will be nice to see what Penn State has to offer, as their horrendous out of conference schedule comes to a pause until Eastern Illinois comes back to town in week 6.
Another great question is, who are this years Heisman candidates? While it was thought to be a lock, Tebow and McCoy have not been outstanding to this point, and Bradford still remains sidelined with his shoulder injury suffered in week 1. Welcome Jahvid Best, who is coming off of a 5 touchdown performance, single handedly outscoring Minnesoty last weekend.
Let's take a look at what this weekend has to offer. Hopefully I can stay hot coming off of a 5-0 week.
Thursday, September 24th
#4 Ole Miss @ South Carolina (7:30 ESPN)
A lot of people have forgotten about Jevan Snead and the Rebels in this young season. This will be a great test for them and an excellent opportunity for them to make their case on the national stage. South Carolina has played pretty well thus far (2-1), and are just a few plays away from being unbeaten as they fell in their matchup against Georgia in week 2. I really like what Houston Nutt is doing with Mississippi, and he will not let this team fail to take advantage of the opportunity at hand. I think that Snead and McCluster will be too much on offense for the Gamecock's defense, and Ole Miss come out on top.
Prediction: Ole Miss 27 South Carolina 21
Saturday, September 26th
#22 North Carolina @ Georgia Tech (12:00 ESPN 360)
Butch Davis and the Tar Heels take on the Georgia Tech, in what could turn out to be a must win for the Yellow Jackets. Tech is coming off of a big conference loss to Miami, and dropping 2 ACC games in a row would be a major let down early in the season. North Carolina appears to be building on their turnaround season in 2008, and will be looking for a big road win. I do in fact think that North Carolina will take care of business in Atlanta, and will be off to a 4-0 start.
Prediction: North Carolina 24 Georgia Tech 20
#6 California @ Oregon (3:30 ABC Regional)
It may not look like much on paper, but if Cal is going to take on USC for the Pac-10 title this season, this is a big, big game for them. With USC losing to Washington on Saturday, the conference championship race appears as though it will be wide open. Why not Cal? Jahvid Best is the best running back in the country, and he will be on full display yet again then the Bears travel to Autzen Stadium. I think that Cal seizes the moment, for this week at least, and shows that they are the team to beat in the Pac-10 in 2009.
Prediction: Cal 38 Oregon 27
#9 Miami @ #11 Virginia Tech (3:30 ABC Regional)
Jacory Harris has led the 'Canes to two big wins in 2009 already, and he looks to continue that trend when The U travels to Blacksburg on Saturday to take on Virginia Tech. Hokies quarterback Tyrod Taylor pulled out some 4th quarter magic last weekend to steal a win from Nebraska, and he will be hoping for more of the same this weekend. Miami looks like it will be able to score with anyone, as they have a very balanced attack to go along with what could turn out to be a very effective defense. I think that Miami is really rolling along right now, and they will be impressive again coming out with a huge win over Va Tech.
Prediction: Miami 23 Virginia Tech 16
Iowa @ Penn State (8:00 ABC)
Daryll Clark will have one thing on his mind this Saturday night; revenge. Iowa has not looked too explosive so far this season, and I really do not think that they have too much going for them this week in Happy Valley. One interesting thing to watch for in this one will be to see if Penn State's offensive line is effective, particularly in the run game. Prior to last weeks win over Temple, the run game had not been outstanding like it normally is. I do think that they will be solid enough to keep a somewhat balanced attack, and Penn State will play a good game defensively on their way to a win to start off their Big 10 slate.
Prediction: Penn State 31 Iowa 13
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment