Games of the Week
Season Record (24-11)
#4 Florida State Seminoles at #3 Clemson Tigers
Who says we don't have a playoff already? We have two top five ranked teams with National Title dreams vying for the ACC Atlantic Division. The winner of this game moves on, the loser's hopes are gone. Sounds like a playoff to me. Expect a shootout in this game with two high scoring offenses. My gut tells me to pick Florida State here, but the home team in this series has won every time since 2007. I like Tajh Boyd's experience and feel that the ruckus Death Valley crowd could get to freshman Jameis Winston just enough to cause a few mistakes.
Prediction: Florida State 31 Clemson 34
#8 UCLA Bruins at #9 Stanford Cardinals
This could have been an even bigger game if Stanford wouldn't have lost to Utah, but that still doesn't take away from the impact. UCLA has a lot to prove in this game, but Stanford is also looking to bounce back. The Cardinals have a vaunted defense, but it really hasn't played like the elite unit we thought. QB Brett Hundley is a dynamic dual threat who will give the Cardinal defense fits up front. The Cardinal do have the advantage going against UCLA's defense. The Bruins have good talent, but they will struggle against Stanford's physicality. Look for Stanford to pound the ball and eventually wear down the Bruins defense.
Prediction: UCLA 24 Stanford 27
Florida Gators at #13 Missouri Tigers
Missouri has all the momentum going into this game with a huge win at Georgia. Pair that up with Florida's non existent offense and it's no wonder why the Tigers are favored in this game. BUT, lets not forget that Missour will be without starting QB James Franklin. Instead they'll start red shirt freshman Maty Mauk for the first time in his career. He'll be going against a very stout Gator defense which will make it very difficult to score points. If Florida had some form of an offense I'd probably pick them, but their inability to score will cost them another game.
Prediction: Florida 14 Missouri 17
Auburn Tigers at #7 Texas A&M Aggies
Hats off to Auburn and Gus Malzahn for the turnaround they've had. They are a fringe top 25 team and with a win here they are likely in. But that's gonna be real tough with the way Johnny Manziel is playing. If Auburn is going to win this game they need to contain Manziel and force him to make turnovers. Auburn does get back QB Nick Marshall who sat out with an injury, but I don't know if they have enough firepower they'll need to win this game.
Prediction: Auburn 30 A&M 42
Central Florida Knights at #14 Louisville Cardinals
At some point I see Louisville losing this year. They just aren't good enough (even with the soft schedule) to go the entire season flawless. History points out that the Cardinals under Charlie Strong drop a home game each year. Last year it was UConn, the year before it was Pitt and Marshall. UCF is a team to take seriously. They almost knocked off South Carolina and beat Penn State. The Knights aren't going to blow you away, but their strong defense will give the Cardinals fits and as we saw against Rutgers they are not as talented as we thought. This will be a close game and the Cardinals will need Bridgewater to come up big to get the win.
Prediction: UCF 24 Louisville 21
Matchup to Watch
vs
Jadeveon Clowney DE South Carolina Antonio Richardson OT Tennessee
Player Profiles
We all know about Jadeveon Clowney. He's one of the best pass rushers and players that college football has seen in years. He has a rare combination of size (6'6 270) and speed that comes around once in a decade. Clowney explodes off the ball and makes the tackle have to react to him rather than the opposite. He has the speed and quickness to blow past lineman and the strength to bull rush them or disengage from blocks. However Clowney's star has faded a little this year and he's struggled with conditioning, injuries, and effort.
Richardson you may not now too much about. Richardson is massive man checking in at 6'6 338 pounds, but moves well for his size. His strength really stands out. He's a good run blocker and will drive defenders off the ball. He isn't an elite pass blocker, but can move his feet and use his size to keep defenders out of the backfield.
How will it go?
This won't be the first time we've seen these two face off. Last year Clowney was held in check for most of the game, but had a big strip sack that decided the game. You know that Richardson wants to atone for that mistake and prove that he is one of the top tackles in the nation. But let's also not forget that Clowney has been a huge disappointment this year and been accused of mailing it in. Will he use this game to break out? This seems like a bad match up for Richardson. Clowney's athletic ability will pose problems for Richardson. But he must avoid allowing Richardson to get his hands on him. With Richardson's strength it will make it hard for Clowney to disengage. Also look for Tennessee to run at Clowney and use Richardson to win at the point of attack. I would think that Clowney should win this battle. But that might come down to him wanting to. And so far this year, he hasn't wanted to much.
Mid Season Awards
Offensive MVP: Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M
As much as I want to give this to Mariota, Manziel has been phenomenal. He's single handily winning games for the Aggies and keeping them in the National Title hunt.
Defensive MVP: Vic Beasley DE Clemson
Tajh Boyd and Sammie Watkins get all the love when it comes down to Clemson, but Vic Beasley and the defense need some. Beasley is leading the nation with 9 sacks and taking some needed pressure off the offense.
Freshman of the Year: Jameis Winston QB Florida State
This one isn't even close. Winston came in right away with a ton of hype and hasn't disappointed. He's added a play making threat and put the Seminoles in the National Title discussion.
Coach of the Year: Mark Helfrich, Oregon
When Chip Kelly left to go the Eagles he handed the keys to the Ferrari to Helfrich. So some may say he's not as deserving. But I disagree. Not only has he keep the machine rolling, he's actually made them even better. The offense is more efficient and the defensive is better than it ever has.
Coach on the Hottest Seat: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
This is tough because I believe Mullen is an excellent coach. But he's just in a no win situation. The Bulldogs pay in the toughest division in college football and have fallen behind. Don't be surprised to see him get let go so the school can start fresh. Somebody could be getting a pretty good coach in my opinion.
Best Unknown Player: Melvin Gordon RB Wisconsin
How people still don't know about Gordon is amazing. He's the nation's third leading rusher with 870 yards, but it could be even more if talented James White wasn't there to get touches too. Gordon is an explosive runner who can take it to the house at any moment. Just watch last year's Big 10 Title Game.
Biggest Disappointment: Jadeveon Clowney DE South Carolina
When you're a Heisman favorite before the season started and yet you've done nothing this season, that's a big disappointment. Labeled as a sure fire top 3 pick in the NFL Draft, Clowney looks like he's already looking forward to his pay day.
Best Game so far: Michigan at Penn State
Four overtimes, five lead changes, and keeping you at the edge of your seat the entire game. In the final OT period, PSU went for it on 4th down when they could have easily kicked a FG to tie it up. They got it and then score a TD to win the game. It's going to be hard to top this one.
Best Upset so far: Utah over Stanford
There really hasn't been a bunch of upsets, so this game gets the nod. Stanford was a top 5 ranked team and looked to be on a collision course with Oregon for the Pac 12 Title. But Utah wanted nothing to do with that. The Utes took the lead in the 2nd quarter and used a goal line stand to hold on and get the upset.
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