Games of the Week
Season Record (10-5)
#22 Arizona State Sun Devils at #5 Stanford Cardinal
We are going to see some marquee match ups in the Pac 12 over the next several weeks and the first one is here. The Sun Devils are fresh off their win over Wisconsin and validating some of the hype they had going into the season. But they will see their first true test here in Palo Alto. How good is this offense when they face the Cardinal front seven? Can the Cardinal secondary create turnovers? ASU gave up 30 points to Wisconsin who runs a similar offense. Will that experience help them out here? We'll see
Prediction: Arizona State 17 Stanford 20
Auburn Tigers at #7 LSU Tigers
Both teams enter this game kinda flying under the radar. With A&M and Alabama getting much of the love early on, both of these teams are leaps and bounds better than they were last year. LSU's offense has turned a corner under new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and QB Zach Mettenberger looks like the NFL prospect they thought they were getting. Auburn under new head coach Gus Malzahn have beaten three (Wash State, Arkansas State, and Miss State) solid teams and done it with the play of QB Nick Marshall (former defensive back at Georgia). How will Marshall do when he has to play in Death Valley at night? Can he overcome that to lead the Tigers to an upset win? Or will the talented LSU defense cause him issues?
Prediction: Auburn 20 LSU 31
Boise State Broncos at #25 Fresno State Bulldogs
We really get a treat here in what could be a prelude to the first ever Mountain West Conference Championship. Normally this would be a much bigger deal, but after Boise State's loss against Washington and Fresno State's game against Colorado being cancelled, the game kinds is forgotten. But that shouldn't taken away from what should be a great game. The Bulldogs bring in one of the best offenses in the nation behind QB Derek Carr while the Broncos normally stout defense has struggled this season? Are we ready for a new king of the Mountain West? Could this be the year that Boise doesn't win 10 games?
Prediction: Boise State 13 Fresno State 27
Michigan State Spartans at Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Going into the season this looked like a heavyweight showdown. Michigan State was picked by many to win the Legends Division and Notre Dame was a contender to get back to the National Title game. Instead the Irish lost QB Everette Golson and the Spartans offense was even worse with the absence of Le'Veon Bell. But that doesn't mean this game can't tell us a lot about these two teams. After struggling against Purdue, is Notre Dame really that bad? Is the Spartan's answer at QB a freshman? Or the biggest question might be, will both teams combined be able to score 10 points?
Prediction: Michigan State 13 Notre Dame 10
Utah State Aggies at USC Trojans
There might be some people that don't agree with me about this being one of the top games of the week, but it really intrigues me. Sure this game could have been even bigger if USC didn't lose to Washington State or Utah State lose to Utah. However it will be interesting to see if USC's offensive woes are behind them. Because if they are not, Utah State has the offense capable to putting up points. Just imagine what another loss against an (supposive) inferior team would do for Lane Kiffin's job security.
Prediction: Utah State 17 USC 13
Hot Topic
Bo Pelini's Miserable Monday
To say Bo Pelini had a bad day on Monday is an understatement. Coming off a bad loss to UCLA where they gave up 38 straight points to lose 41-21 he was already in a sour mood. Then had to deal with and respond to former QB Tommie Frazier calling for him to fire his defensive staff. Didn't help when he responded by saying that they didn't need Frazier, which sent off a fire storm throughout the country. Things got even worse when Deadspin released an audio clip of Pelini dropping multiple F-bombs directed towards two local sportswriters and Nebraska fans telling them to F off and calling them "Fair-Weathered Fans." Not the way you would want to start the week.
First off Pelini was taken out of context in regards to the Frazier remarks where he stated that if you aren't there to help the program then they don't need your negative comments. The bigger issue was the audio clip. Even though it was two years ago, you cannot say those things about your fans. Especially when your fans have sold out over 320 consecutive games in a row. Those aren't Fair Weather Fans. The question now is whether these loyal fans will forgive Pelini or will this along with recent embarrassing losses on national TV be too much?
We shall see. Pelini survived this turmoil for now. He'll continued to coach this year and if he continues to win he'll get some fans back on his side. But let's not be naive to think that the administration didn't tell him that he better get the team on track. Because Pelini didn't enter this season on the hot seat. But the UCLA loss and all this drama has his seat getting pretty warm. Luckily for him the Big 10 is down.
Battle to Watch
OG David Yankey (Stanford) vs DT Will Sutton Arizona State
Player Profiles
Stanford is known for their power running game and their physical line is the key to that. Yankey is considered their top lineman and that means a lot. He's played tackle, but now slides inside to guard where his skill set is better suited. At 6'5 311 pounds he has an NFL body and will look to overwhelm defenders with that size and strength. Will Sutton is a smaller defensive tackle checking in at 6'0 280 pounds. What he lacks in size he makes up with quickness. He uses his explosive quickness to disrupt and cause havoc in the backfield. Sutton is your prototypical Tampa 2 three technique defensive tackle. More of a pass rusher and run stopper. He many not win many battles at the point of attack, but it's going to hard to get your hands locked onto him.
How Will it Go
This is a classic power vs speed match up. Last week against Wisconsin (which closely resembles Stanford) Sutton was constantly in the backfield causing issues. Yankey is a better and more talented player than who Wisconsin has at guard, so that could change things. The Big 10 has a lot more bigger run stuffers at defensive tackle where as the Pac 12 normally has better athletes along the line because of the more open offenses. Does this experience help Yankey? Or is Sutton just that much better? I'll look forward to watching this battle as I'm sure NFL scouts will too.
Keep an Eye on....
We all know that the SEC is King! They've won the past seven National Championships and have four teams in the top 25. It looks like they'll get number eight this year. But not so fast. Not if the Pac 12 has anything to say about it.
For the longest time the Pac 12 has fielded elite quality teams. Not too long ago USC was the dominant dynasty winning multiple championships. Lately Oregon has been that dominant team, but haven't been able to bring home the championship. However the league hasn't had many quality teams. This year will be different.
Top to bottom the conference looks a lot tougher. Stanford and Oregon are the two elite teams. Both ranked in the top five are contenders for the nation title. Right behind them are a few teams that have always been a sleeping giant, but may be awaken this year. UCLA looks poised to make a run with elite players on both sides of the ball. Washington has always had the talent, but now they are veteran laden and have that experience. Even Arizona State looks like a team to watch and should give UCLA a run for their money in the South Division. Even teams like Utah and Colorado are improved and are no longer easy wins. This should be fun to watch!
No comments:
Post a Comment