Wisconsin Badgers @ Michigan State Spartans
Draper: This is BY FAR, the game of the week. Sparty enters on a huge high after beating the hated rival...again, and Wisconsin comes in following their cream puff schedule. MSU has been playing with huge heart and has been the best defense in the B1G but Wisconsin is another story. I think Wisconsin will start slow as they're not ready for the defensive talent from Sparty, but the overall edge still rests with the Badgers. I see MSU jumping out to a quick lead but the lack of offensive talent will allow Wisconsin to slowly take back control of the game. UW: 24--MSU: 17
Auer: Michigan State has proven week after week that their defense is legit. Luckily the Buckeyes loss to the Spartans looks better and better, but how does MSU's loss to the Golden Domers look now? There's no way Wisconsin is going to be looking ahead to next week's night game at the 'Shoe, but me-thinks the Spartans are in for a let-down after another win over "big brother". I think UW is on the fast track to the BCS National Championship game after a big win in East Lansing. UW: 17--MSU:9
Hoying: A week after these teams were established as the clear Legends and Leaders...uh...leaders (no, Penn State, you don't count), the two meet for what is probably the Big Ten clash of the year. Thanks to the new division format, this game will probably not play too heavily into the final B1G standings, but Wisconsin is hoping to stay in the national title chase and MSU needs to build up their resume if they're fighting for a second BCS spot. Wisconsin FINALLY gets to face a superior defense and I think the Badgers will have their hands full, but Russell Wilson is no Braxton Miller or Denard "Notorious I.N.T." Robinson. Notre Dame threw all over Sparty's defense, so this will be the week we find out just how good Wilson is. My guess is just good enough. UW: 21--MSU: 20
Schweinfurth: Ahh, the only game I am looking forward to this week. The big news out of this game will be the absence of William Gholston. Gholston is one of the main anchors for that nasty Spartan D and against the power running game (and containment of Russell Wilson), he will be sorely missed. This one will be old school B1G smash mouth football. The Badgers have one of last true power offenses in the country and they use it to their advantage. This game will be much closer than the experts think, but in the end, Russell Wilson wins the game for the Badgers and the Wilson for Heisman campaign will truly pick up some steam.
UW: 24 -- MSU -- 17
Auburn Tigers @ LSU Tigers
Draper: News flying on the wire that LSU has 3 players suspended including the 'Honey Badger'. Will it matter?.....No. Auburn doesn't have the horses to hang with the big boys in Death Valley. Jarret Lee or Jordan Jefferson will do enough to get over the 14 point mark that will seal it. Auburn took down the Gators but that was at home. Bayou Bengals win easily even with the suspensions. Aub: 10--LSU: 27
Auer: Auburn really isn't that good, LSU is. The interesting thing is the home team in this series has won 10 of the last 11 games. LSU is coming off of their largest victory ever over the Volunteers, and they'll continue to make things miserable for opponents. Aub: 7--LSU: 35
Hoying: Hmm...LSU in Baton Rouge versus an Auburn team that's struggled to stop anyone but the two SEC East patsies they stumbled upon. Looks like an easy pick at first, but this is a potential trap game for the Tigers (the ugly purple ones). LSU may be looking ahead to the colossal showdown at Tuscaloosa, and Auburn has the right coach to match wits with Les Miles. Expect this game to come down to one team making a last-second stupid decision. That team will inexplicably win. Aub: 14 -- LSU: 16
Schweinfurth: Earlier this week, I would have said this game would be no contest. Granted I still think LSU wins, but the score will be much closer after LSU suspended several players this week. Regardless, LSU is the better team here and I think Auburn sticks around because of Les Miles and because Auburn has a tendency to stick around in games. Tigers win... Aub: 17 -- LSU: 38
Washington Huskies @ Stanford Cardinal
Draper: Here's a ranked matchup that no one is looking at because...no one knows that Washington is ranked. Keith Price has been phenomenal for the Huskies but the lack of national attention has hidden the slight resurgence in Seattle. Luck has been playing well but this is the first team that might actually be able to win the Sun Belt that they have played. Were it in Seattle, I might pull the trigger, but the TEs and the Luck factor in Stanford provide too much. UW: 27--Stan:38
Auer: This game shouldn't be close. Andrew Luck is legit, and will continue to prove it with another huge win over the Huskies. UW: 7--Stan: 41
Hoying: For some reason, the Pac-12 continues to play football, so here's a great match-up of teams that are definitely undeserving of their rankings. Of these teams' combined 11 wins, the best one is probably...Washington's win over 3-3 Cal to start their yearly free-fall. Look for another West Coast shootout, as both teams feature excellent QB's and NO pass defense. Stanford has the edge in both, so they win. UW: 31 -- Stan: 45
Schweinfurth: To be honest, I don't know much about the Pac-12 outside of Arizona State, Oregon, and Andrew Luck. With that said I am just gonna pick a score. UW: 21 -- Stan: 45
USC Trojans @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Draper: Remember when this game was relevant? Yes, I know...it's still not important, but this is the best we've got. Kelly's offense has been chugging out tons of yards and should put up points (so long as they quit turning the ball over). USC has been playing pretty well, but they are still suffering from those suspensions. Barkley and Woods have been nice for the Trojan offense, but that's it. Neither defense is worth anything (USC's is still better than ND defensively). Unfortunately for the Trojans, the ND offense is much better than USC (again, without turning the ball over). I like the Irish in a shootout. USC: 27--Irish: 38
Auer: Screw Notre Dame. Go Trojans and dreamy Matt Barkley. USC: 41--ND: 28
Hoying: My report of Notre Dame's death may have been exaggerated. The Irish have put together a decent season since their disaster in Ann Arbor, now that the turnover hemorrhage has dried up, but they face a better-than-expected Trojan team out for revenge after breaking the streak last year. USC, being from the other WAC, has beaten nobody on the way to 5-1, but the passing attack is a legitimate threat and Notre Dame, being Notre Dame, is lacking in pass defense. SC lacks the playmakers on defense to force enough turnovers to make a difference, and the Irish march onward to victory for the 2nd year in a row. USC: 24--Irish 35
Schweinfurth: This is the last chance for for Notre Dame to make a case to play in a BCS game this year and I'm sure this isn't lost on Brian Kelly. Notre Dame's offense is very good (just stay out of the red zone) and this isn't the USC defense of three - four years ago. USC's offense is adequate but the loss of Marc Tyler will hurt. I don't buy into Notre Dame's defense at all so I expect this game to be somewhat high scoring. USC: 28 -- ND: 38
Upset Special:
Draper: Duke over Wake, Northwestern over PSU
Auer: Purdue over Illinois
Hoying: Purdue over Illinois
Schweinfurth: Da U over GT
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment