Rankings: Week 5

Draper Top 25
1. Bama
2. FSU
3. Oregon
4. Kansas State
5. Florida
6. Georgia
7. South Carolina
8. Texas
9. Notre Dame
10. LSU
11. West Virginia
12. Ohio State
13. Oregon State
14. USC
15. Northwestern
16. Oklahoma
17. Rutgers
18. Louisville
19. Cincinnati
20. Stanford
21. UCLA 
22. Nebraska
23. Washington
24. Clemson
25.  TCU

Hoying Top 25

1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Florida State
4. Georgia
5. Notre Dame
6. Kansas State
7. Oregon State
8. Florida
9. Texas
10. West Virginia
11. Ohio State
12. Texas Tech
13. South Carolina
14. LSU
15. TCU
16. Louisiana Tech
17. Rutgers
18. Northwestern
19. Mississippi State
20. Stanford
21. Cincinnati
22. Louisville
23. UCLA
24. Ohio
25. Washington

Schweinfurth Top 25

1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. Oregon 
4. Georgia 
5. South Carolina
6. LSU 
7. Kansas State
8. Florida
9. West Virginia 
10. Texas
11. Notre Dame
12. Clemson
13. Ohio State
14. Stanford
15. USC
16. Oklahoma  
17. TCU
18. Oregon State
19. Louisville 
20. Northwestern 
21. Nebraska
22. Rutgers 
23. Mississippi State 
24. Ohio
25. Cincinnati

Week 6 Picks: SEC!!!!!

Standings
1. Schweinfurth        16-4  (3-2 upset)
2. Draper                  13-7  (2-3 upset)
2. Hoying                 13-7  (2-3 upset)
3. Auer                      9-7   (0-4 upset)

LSU Tigers @ Florida Gators
Draper: Everyone....EVERYONE is going to jump on the Gators this week.  Ben Hill Griffin stadium is the most insane stadium I've ever been in when the Gators are on top, but I just don't see a great Florida team.  They continually prove me wrong, but I'm going for it again.  LSU looked horrid against Towson (who?) but I'm going with that being a look ahead game.  The Tiger D-line is studly.  Their offense is not good but neither is Florida's.  This should be a slugfest but LSU will play their best game of the year to come out with a big road win. LSU: 13--UF: 10
Auer: The Gators are at home, coming off a bye, and Will Muschamp has "made hay while the sun shines" for Florida. LSU hasn't been impressive and hasn't faced the competition that the Gators have. I expect the pretender to be exposed as the Gators' balanced attack gets it done on the home field. LSU: 17--UF: 31
Hoying: I keep picking against the Gators, and I keep getting proven wrong.  Florida has traveled to two of the toughest venues in the game, Kyle Field and Neyland Stadium, and come away with victories.  Meanwhile, the Tigoueauxrs have struggled of late against pedestrian competition.  Florida QB Jeff Driskel is still developing as a passer, but LSU QB Zach Mettenberger has the purple and gold faithful missing the likes of...Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson.  Yikes.  The Swamp will be rocking, and Florida's absence from the ranks of the elite ends Saturday night.  LSU: 17--UF: 20
Schweinfurth: LSU has definitely struggled the last few weeks and, most recently, Towson.  Will Muschamp has shown the ability to make huge adjustments during halftime. Gators QB Jeff Driskel has improved every week and has brought home some big wins in some very difficult environments.  I expect the Tigers to jump out to a modest lead and the Gators to come roaring back in the second half for the win.  LSU: 10--UF: 17

Georgia Bulldogs @ South Carolina Gamecocks 
Draper: Both teams avoided gagging last week on the road to set up what should be a battle for the SEC East.  I expect a very close game in which one big play sways it.  These SEC defenses are superbly overrated but their offenses have been humming.  Aaron Murray has looked like the best QB in the SEC and the UGA defense has shown flashes (of brilliance and crap). Marcus Lattimore is a stud running the ball and Shaw has looked remarkably confident behind Spurrier's tutelage.  I'm so torn on this one because I could see it fall either way.  I'll go with the home team (begrudgingly) in a very close battle. UGA: 24--USC: 27
Auer: Last year South Carolina squeaked out a win over the 'Dogs scoring 4 defensive and special team touchdowns. I don't see them getting that lucky again as the Gamecocks have struggled against subpar competition thus far. UGA: 35--USC: 27
Hoying: The Bulldogs and the Gamecocks have been able to live up to their preseason hype, setting up the biggest matchup of the year so far.  SC QB Connor Shaw has been an absolute beast after recovering from his early injury, and Georgia slinger Aaron Murray has been terrific as well.  If you loved not seeing any defense last weekend, tune into this one, as both squads will be powerless to stop each other's attack.  Ummm...Dawgs win, I guess.  UGA: 49--USC: 42
Schweinfurth: South Carolina looks like the real deal this year.  Marcus Lattimore is an absolute beast as a running back who does a great job taking the pressure off of Connor Shaw.  Georgia looked a little shaky last week and is without one of their top receivers.  Both teams have good offenses, but this will be lower scoring than a lot of people think.  The Gamecocks win on a late field goal.  UGA: 21--USC: 24

West Virginia Mountaineers @ Texas Longhorns
Draper: Everyone loved the scorefest by Geno Smith and the Mountaineers last week, but Baylor's (and WVU's ) defense is...non-existent.  Texas doesn't have a world beater defense, but they are better.  The Neers attack is very good with the Holgo scheme, but Texas at DKR will get just enough key stops.  The Longhorns are humming behind David Ash and the WVU 'defense' shouldn't stop a thing.  Look for another shootout with Bevo taking out the hillbillies. WVU: 34--UT: 41
Auer: Yeah yeah yeah, WVU looked so awesome last week.... wait, you're supposed to actually play defense and cover guys? Frankly I don't think WVU has a chance against a team with a pulse, but that's just me. The Longhorns surprised me with their win against Oklahoma State last week, and will continue to garner attention from the pollsters as they shutdown the Mountaineers. WVU: 21--UT: 42
Hoying: While the media swooned over Geno Smith's performance against Baylor, I watched in horror and wondered how so many scholarships could be wasted on flatfooted defenders.  West Virginia is an offensive juggernaut, but defense wins championships, and there is none to be found in Morgantown.  The good news for WVU is Texas doesn't have much of a defense either, and their attack isn't quite as strong.  No athlete on the field in this matchup is capable of stopping or outdueling Smith.  Texas is improving, but they have reached their ceiling.  WVU: 49--UT: 38
Schweinfurth:  Texas has been sneaky good this year and is quietly undefeated.  However, the Longhorns are still in a rebuilding phase.  The Longhorns play better defense than Baylor, but it's still a Big 12 defense. Geno Smith is good, but I could have hit some of the receivers last week (especially if they don't have a defender within 10 yards).  West Virginia has no defense.  This is the week Geno comes down to earth (and throws for 4 TDs).  WVU: 35--UT: 31

Nebraska Cornhuskers @ THE Ohio State Buckeyes
Draper: Martinez is not a great passer--advantage OSU.  Sad thing is, he may be the best passer left on the Buckeye's schedule.  The run defense was spectacular last week against a traditional attack, but the outside runs (QB and RB) have flustered the Buckeyes of late.  I expect Martinez and Burkhead to exploit the screen game to pick on the weak Buckeye secondary, but Hankins will totally eat up the inside run game.  Look for the turnovers to be cleaned up on offense and a fairly efficient attack as Miller and the Bucks return to the friendly confines.  The crowd will be rocking and will be the deciding factor in a 2 score win.  Neb: 24--OSU: 34
Auer: The Buckeyes come into this one after an unlikely win in East Lansing. For whatever reason night games have been hit or miss for the Bucks, losing 3 of the last 5 home night games, and overall going 5-5 in night games over the last 4 seasons. After the emotional and physical toll the win over Michigan State took out on the Bucks, this could be a bit of a let down for Ohio State. This game will come down to Braxton Miller learning from last week's HORRIBLE reads and some questionable passing decisions. Neb: 35--OSU: 37
Hoying: Revenge!  The Cornhuskers roll into Columbus with a terrific rushing attack but not much in the way of a passing game.  Yeah, Martinez looked great against Southern Miss, Arkansas State, and Idaho State, but he hasn't been able to deliver through the air when it counts.  What happened to the last team of this makeup that faced the Buckeyes?  Make no mistake, the Buckeye secondary is still horrible, but that may not matter the rest of this season.  Last year we learned that the Nebraska can't stop Miller, so once again: as goes Braxton, so go the Buckeyes.  NU: 20--OSU: 31
Schweinfurth: Tackling for the Buckeyes has been an issue and shifty running backs seem to give the Silver Bullets issues.  Enter Nebraska's Abdullah, who is a quick shifty back.  The Buckeyes will need another big game out of Big Hank to control the middle of the line and good gap control by Sabino and Shazier.  On offense, the Huskers couldn't stop Braxton in a very boring, vanilla offense last year.  Only Bauserbombs allowed Nebraska back into the game.  If Braxton stays healthy and plays for more than 2 1/2 quarters, the Buckeyes win easy.  These are not the Blackshirts of old and it's Urban's first night game.  As Jay Cutler says, "Good luck!" NU: 17--OSU: 35

Upset Special
Draper: Purdue over Michigan
Auer: Arizona over Stanford
Hoying: Texas Tech over Oklahoma
Schweinfurth: Washington State over Oregon St.

 

 

Grading the Bucks--Week 5: MSU

That's better.  Still plenty of issues, but this was the best executed game since Miami (OH) and this one was against a team with a pulse.  The Bucks are certainly not ready for the big time, but they're on the way.

Offense: B
Pedestrian play calling but Braxton is this offense. This might become a real issue as Buckeye nation holds their collective breath whenever he goes down.  Carlos Hyde really ran well, but there's still an aversion to I-formation smack-em in the mouth at times.  The biggest knock for this game was clearly turnovers.  The interception was just awful and the fumbles need to go (I know Miller was in pain...but you can't drop the ball inbounds).  I believe all 3 turnovers happened on the MSU side of the field which was the only reason this game was close.  I will say this: the pass from Miller to Smith was absolutely perfect.  The O-line has improved by leaps and bounds which leads me to think things are moving in the right direction.  The only knock on the receivers is that Smith isn't blocking particularly well--he should take notes from Corey Brown who had a career day catching the ball and blocks exceptionally well.

Defense: B
Yes. We held a beast of a runner to almost nothing.  This shows where the athletes are on this defense. Luckily, there isn't a QB/offense remaining on the schedule that can hurt us downfield, which leads me to believe we'll be favored from here on out.  I love Nathan Williams at rush linebacker.  Hankins and Roby are NFL ready right now...unfortunately, that's it.  Simon needs to live up to the hype and the rest of the secondary needs to learn how to tackle.  If I were Urban, Christian Bryant would be riding the pine until he learns to tackle with his arms and not his shoulder (2 horrendous missed tackles).  Johnson had a nice game, but not without flaw.  The worry is that Maxwell who had done nothing thus far, played a solid game because our secondary can hang.  The run stuffers were fantastic so I wish we played no one but pro style offenses.


Special Teams: B+
Thankfully, the special teams wasn't in the forefront this week like last.  The blocked punt was a thing of beauty (hence the upgrade).  No missed kicks and some nice punts....that's enough.

Coaching: B
Good scheme on defense but the corners are still playing in left field on every play (15 yards off the line) which will be exploited over and over again.  The offensive playcalling is so predictable and that has to change.  Everything is from the gun, but sometimes, you have to smack them in the mouth (especially with an unpolished QB and a better-than-advertised O-line).

Overall: B+/B
Win on the road is always a plus vs. a ranked opponent.  It was close, but that's nice for the coaches as we don't fall into a sense of complacency.  This is a very good team with aspirations of greatness.  Probably not this year, but we're moving in the right direction. Get rid of the turnovers and this is an A- performance. Keep it rolling.