Games of the Week
Season Record (17-8)
#8 Ohio State Buckeyes at #17 Northwestern Wildcats
This could be a sneak peek at the Big 10 Title Game. Both teams look to be the best in their division, so it wouldn't shock me to see a repeat of this game in Indianapolis. The game is in Evansville, but I really don't know of much of a home field advantage the Wildcats will have there. Ohio State's athletes will give Northwestern's defense a run for their money because Northwestern doesn't have a lot of elite athletes. So they will need a few big splash plays to create a couple of advantages. However Braxton Miller could have a good day. But with that said, Ohio State isn't a juggernaut on defense and Northwestern's offense is very dynamic and should be able to put up points. This should be a fun back and forth game.
Prediction: Ohio State 42 Northwestern 38
#16 Washington Huskies at #4 Stanford Cardinal
One of the best things about college football is early conference games have such an impact on title hopes. That can be said for this game as the Pac 12 North Division looks to be a three team battle. Oregon, Stanford, and Washington have all separated themselves so far. So whoever wins this game gets an early advantage in hopes of going to the Pac 12 Title Game. This game will be a battle won on the ground. Both teams love to run the ball. Washington brings RB Bishop Sankey and the 11th ranked rushing attack, while Stanford uses their powerful offensive line to open up holes for their committee of backs. With both teams possessing elite defenses, the game could come down to which quarterback makes the fewest mistakes. Husky QB Keith Price is a three year starter and a play maker, but how will he do against a fierce pass rush of Stanford? Can Kevin Hogan stay mistake free against the Huskies? Stanford looks to have the better team, but Washington has more play makers than Stanford. Would you be shocked to see an upset?
Prediction: Washington 23 Stanford 27
#24 Maryland Terrapins at #7 Florida State Seminoles
At the beginning of the season, nobody would have assumed this game would be considered the third best game of the week. But with Maryland's 4-0 start and convincing wins, it's tough to ignore. Now we get to see if they are for real, or just played an easy schedule. But don't think that Florida State is guaranteed to roll them at home. Aside from the opening game against Pitt and the FCS opponent, the Seminoles haven't looked like a juggernaut. Florida State has struggled to start games and if the Terrapins can get some early momentum this could be a really exciting game. Let's not forget that Florida State lost to NC State last year when many thought they would go undefeated. Is Maryland able to catch them for that big time win? Or is Florida State just too much for this rebuilding program
Prediction: Maryland 17 Florida State 31
Illinois Fighting Illini at Nebraska Cornhuskers
This may be a game between unranked teams, but there is a lot to find out here. After a horrible 2012, Illinois is 3-1 and looks like a sleeper in the Leaders Division. Nebraska hasn't looked like the Husker teams of recent memory and are looking to get back on track and keep up their winning ways. Both teams are right outside of the top 25 and a whichever team wins will likely be ranked. Look for this game to be high scoring. Both teams don't have strong defenses so we could see them trading touchdowns early on. Nebraska does have more talent defensively, and have shown in glimpses to getting things fixed. Could that be a difference? Also Husker QB Taylor Martinez likely doesn't play. Can the Illini rattle freshman QB Tommy Armstrong?
Prediction: Illinois 26 Nebraska 38
Michigan State Spartans at Iowa Hawkeyes
With the Legends Division being wide open, this came could really help the winning team get one step closer to winning the division. Michigan State badly needs somebody to win the QB job and help their defense out by scoring points. Iowa has become relevant largely due to their offensive and defensive lines stepping up their play. If Iowa wants to win they are going to have to try and move the ball against one of the best defenses in the nation. QB Jake Rudock's play has really done wonders for this offense, but he'll have to be mistake free against this turnover happy D. Iowa's defense is only allowing 15 points per game so far and they'll need to hold the Spartans under 14 points if they really want a shot to get the win. Expect an old school Big 10 slug fest here.
Prediction: Michigan State 17 Iowa 6
What is he thinking?
Todd Graham's Headset
No the picture above isn't a member of REO Speedwagon or any other musical performer. That's actually Arizona State head coach Todd Graham. For whatever reason instead of wearing some type of traditional headset like most coaches wear. Graham has decided to go with the ear piece microphone that you normally see on TV sets or recording artists use during concerts.
At previous stops in Tulsa and at Pittsburgh Graham used the traditional headset. So why change? Maybe Graham is concerned the headset messed up his hair? Nobody wants headset hair, right? Maybe he thinks the new ear piece makes him look more hip? Being more hip would relate better to his players and possible recruits? But all joking aside, it just looks funny to see a coach where something like that. I don't know if I've ever seen any other coach have that.
Division Power Rankings
Power Rankings are a common theme for sports and college is no different. Various news outlets rank teams within their conferences and even rank the conferences themselves. But with so many conferences split into divisions, I thought it would be fun to rank which divisions are the toughest. Here is a look at the top five divisions in college football
1. SEC West
Want to know how good this division is? Five out of the last six National Champions have come from this division. This year is likely to be no different. Behind the Tide you have Texas A&M and LSU who are top 10 teams and hoping Alabama slips up so they can slide into the National Title picture. Right behind that group is Mississippi who is vastly improved and gave Alabama all sorts of fits last weekend. Auburn is improved and Arkansas has shown the ability to be very good. Poor Mississippi State.
2. Pac 12 North
It's hard to knock the SEC West out of the top spot, but if anybody could it's these guys. Oregon and Stanford are #2 and #4 in my rankings. Both are legit National Champion contenders. Behind them is Washington whose ranked in the top 16. They are stout defensively and have the ability to score points in a hurry. You can't take them lightly. Oregon State as your 4th best team in the division means that it's pretty deep. Normally California and Washington State are patsies. But Cal could take a big leap under Dykes, while Wazzu is already making strides under Mike Leach. Look at SEC West.
3. ACC Atlantic
The ACC Atlantic finds themselves in this spot mainly off the top tier talent in both Clemson and Florida State who are both top 10 teams. Both are right in the thick of the National Title hunt and both should be BCS bowling this year. But after them there is a sharp drop off. Maryland is helping out, but I want to see more of them. NC State is a solid, but unspectacular team. Wake Forrest, Boston College, and Syracuse this year are nothing to brag about.
4. SEC East
I was real close to having the SEC East at #3 but they don't have the elite teams the Atlantic does. Yes Georgia is the 5th ranked team, but they did lose to Clemson. Also Florida and South Carolina are top teams, but they aren't as good as Florida State. After those three teams there is a pretty big drop off. Vanderbilt is solid, but Tennessee, Missouri, and Kentucky are bad.
5. Big 10 Legends
Unlike the previous four divisions, the Legends Division doesn't have a single elite team. But they make up for it in pure depth. They have four teams that could easily win the division, and I almost put Iowa in there. Only Minnesota has no shot. So whether a team or teams will stand out, or they will all beat up on each other. But this is the most wide open race off all the divisions.
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