Seattle (4-2) at San Francisco (4-2), San Francisco favored by 7
Big early season game for the 49ers as they battle the upstart Seahawks for first place in the division. The Niners were humbled at home by the Giants last week and hopefully will be fired up to get that bad taste out of their mouth. The Seahawks don't have much of a passing game but were able to hit some big passing plays last week to defeat New England. They are a team that relies on effectively running the ball, and playing suffocating defense. In other words, they are very similar to San Francisco. Neither team has offenses that have an ability to overcome deficits, so whoever jumps ahead early in this game will have a huge advantage. I think we could see a lot of field goals tonight and I expect a close game. I think that Alex Smith will not have a turnover filled game like he did last week, and that the Niners will be committed to Frank Gore and the run. All of that lead will lead to a much needed 49ers victory.
Prediction: San Francisco 20, Seattle 14
Some really good games this weekend in college football. The SEC has two good ones, South Carolina at Florida, and LSU at Texas A&M. The Big 12's marquee matchup features undefeated Kansas State traveling to Morgantown to take on West Virginia. The rest of the Top 10 will be looking to avoid the upset bug.
Games That Matter To Me
Nebraska (4-2, 1-1) at Northwestern (6-1, 2-1)
I was busy getting married a couple of weeks ago so fortunately I was spared from watching the debacle that was the Nebraska/Ohio State game. The defense for the Huskers continues to regress at a rapid rate and is conjuring up memories of the Bill Callahan era. It's a shame too because Taylor Martinez has showed marked improvement as a passer, although he did put the defense in a lot of bad spots with three picks in that game. The Huskers will be looking for revenge against the Wildcats from last season's shocking loss at home. Northwestern is 4-0 at home this year and is a team that likes to stuff it down the defense's throat with their running game. RB Venric Mark receives most of the carries, and is coming off a 182 yard rushing effort against Minnesota last weekend. Quarterbacks Trevor Siemian and Kain Colter have split time this season, but Colter is much more of a dual threat than Siemian. The Wildcats defense has been up and down all season, so you would figure the Huskers high powered attack can take advantage of that. Martinez has to avoid turnovers at all costs, as the defense is simply not good enough to compensate for those mistakes. I think the bye week will help Nebraska and hopefully Bo Pelini has coached them up for this game. They still have a Big Ten championship to play for and need to keep fighting to avoid this turning into a completely disappointing season.
Prediction: Nebraska 34, Northwestern 27
Top 10
Thursday, October 18
#3 Oregon (6-0, 3-0) at Arizona State (5-1, 3-0)
There were some rumblings after the first BCS standings were released and the Ducks came in third, behind Florida. Oregon will have all eyes on them tonight in primetime, as they face their first true test of the season, in Tempe against Arizona State. The Sun Devils are coming off impressive back to back road wins and are playing with a lot of confidence. QB Taylor Kelly is quietly having one of the better seasons in the country, throwing 14 TDs versus 2 INTs so far this year. The Sun Devils defense will have their hands full with an Oregon offense that has yet to score less than 40 points in a game. Strange things happen in Thursday night games, and I am tempted to pick the upset. However, while I think the Ducks will get a scare, they have too many playmakers that can break something off at a moments notice to allow the upset to happen.
Prediction: Oregon 28, Arizona State 25
Saturday, October 20
#1 Alabama (6-0, 3-0) at Tennessee (3-3, 0-3)
Alabama just keeps crusing through their schedule, but some potential road blocks await the next month. After this game, the Crimson Tide play three straight games against ranked opponents. The Vols can't get a win but have been competitive in every game. I have a feeling that streak will stop Saturday, as their high powered offense hasn't seen anything like the Crimson Tide's defense.
Prediction: Alabama 40, Tennessee 17
#7 South Carolina (6-1, 4-1) at #2 Florida (6-0, 5-0)
This is the marquee matchup of the weekend. The ole ball coach Steve Spurrier visiting his alma mater and where he made his coaching name. The Cocks are coming off a heartbreaking loss at LSU, but are still very much in the thick of things in both the SEC and national title races. The Gators just keep finding ways to win. The next two weeks could make or break their season, as they follow up this game with a game against Georgia in Jacksonville next weekend. This game may very well determine who represents the SEC East in the SEC championship. The Cocks could be without their best player, RB Marcus Lattimore who is dealing with a bruised hip. This will be a low-scoring, defensive battle, reminiscent of the LSU/Florida game from a few weeks ago. Not having Lattimore would be detrimental for sure, but even if he plays, I think the Gators will find a way to knock off South Carolina.
Prediction: Florida 20, South Carolina 17
#4 Kansas State (6-0, 3-0) at #13 West Virginia (5-1, 1-1)
I think this is a very dangerous spot for Kansas State. West Virginia was completely whipped by Texas Tech last week, and now they return home, under the lights with a crowd that will be crazy. I expect that Geno Smith and the offense will get back on track and this will be the typical high-scoring affair on both sides that Moutnaineer fans are used to. Colin Klein will have success and this game will come down to which quarterback has the ball last. I think that will be Smith and the Mountaineers will hand the Wildcats their first loss of the season.
Prediction: West Virginia 38, Kansas State 35
BYU (4-3) at #5 Notre Dame (6-0)
Things are getting exciting in South Bend. The Irish won a slugfest against Stanford last weekend to remain unbeaten. Now they host 4-3 BYU, who is coming off a butt whooping loss at home to Oregon State. I hope Irish fans and especially the players aren't overlooking the Cougars. This game scares me for many reasons. One, it could be a trap game with the Irish looking ahead to the game at Oklahoma next week. It could also be a letdown game after the battle the Irish had with Stanford. BYU QB Riley Nelson will have his hands full with a Notre Dame defense that hasn't allowed a touchdown in over a month. The same can be said for Everett Golson, if he starts as expected. The Cougars give up just 13.6 points per game, 7th best in the country. This will be a game that fans of offense will likely not enjoy. The tough defenses, mixed with the Irish probably feeling a little bit of a letdown will make this another tense weekend for Irish fans.
Prediction: Notre Dame 20, BYU 13
#6 LSU (6-1, 2-1) at #18 Texas A&M (5-1, 2-1)
Fans will be tuning into this one to see how Aggies freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel fares against the Tigers defense. Ever since losing to the Gators, the Aggies offense has been nearly unstoppable. LSU looks a lot like last year's team, one that can barely stay out of their own way on offense, and wins games with their defense. They can't win a shootout with A&M, so the defense knows the pressure will be even higher on them this weekend. I just can't pick A&M to win a game like this, as they have continually fallen flat on their faces in spots like this in recent years.
Prediction: LSU 30, Texas A&M 27
Utah (2-4, 0-3) at #8 Oregon State (5-0, 3-0)
The Beavers can make history on Saturday, as a win will give them their first 6-0 start in 105 years. I thought that their Cinderella season would start to unravel after they lost starting QB Sean Mannion to injury a few weeks ago. But his replacement, Cody Vaz played very well at BYU and gives the Beavers hope. As long as the Beavers don't overlook a struggling Utes team, they will have another trip to In-N-Out awaiting them Saturday night.
Prediction: Oregon State 31, Utah 20
Kansas (1-5, 0-3) at #9 Oklahoma (4-1, 2-1)
The only way this game becomes slightly interesting is if Choklahoma looks ahead to their big game with Notre Dame next weekend. Former Irish coach Charlie Weis and former Irish QB Dayne Crist are both suffering through miserable seasons for the Jayhawks.
Prediction: Oklahoma 44, Kansas 16
Colorado (1-5, 1-2) at #10 USC (5-1, 3-1)
The question in this game is simply, how bad will Colorado lose by?
Prediction: USC 52, Colorado 13
Last Week: 6-2
Overall: 56-10
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