Week 3 - One Direction

Standings
1) Draper                 8-1    (1-1 upset)
1) Seeberg               8-1    (0-2 upset)
3) Schweinfurth     7-2    (1-1 upset)
4) Hoying                5-4    (1-1 upset)

Hope you enjoyed those easy victories over Virginia Tech and Hawai'i, Buckeye Nation, because the cupcake train is over. Coming up, the Bucks have not one, but TWO games against teams from the MAC, the first conference this season to crack the ALMIGHTY SEC WEST. There are a few ranked matchups scattered across the college football landscape, but the real action this Saturday will be down by the banks of the Olentangy.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Draper: Malik Zaire is gone and that is simply devastating to the Irish hopes of greatness.  They eked out the win last week, but GT is just steamrolling people now.  Paul Johnson is showing what can happen with the option offense and really good athletes.  It's nearly impossible to get ready to face a pure option offense that runs this well.  The best chance to win is to outscore the option team...and ND lost their QB.  Jacketstime! GT: 41 -- ND: 24
Hoying: Old and busted...new hotness. The Irish are losing weapons fast, with RB Tarean Folston going down at the hands of the 'Horns and QB Malik Zaire getting destroyed by the 'Hoos. The injuries haven't hurt the Irish yet, because they played...Texas and Virginia (and apparently college DBs still don't know what "defense" is), but a powerful Georgia Tech offense is going to put a lot of pressure on the Notre Dame offense to keep up. Good thing they still have Everett Gols...whoops. The Ramblin' Wreck crashes into the playoff discussion with a big road victory. GT: 34--ND: 24
Schweinfurth: Notre Dame had a game last week, eh? Losing Zaire plus several other playmakers are going to make, what looked like a top 10 team, a team that will probably make a meh bowl game. Georgia Tech can just grind teams down and that is exactly what the Yellow Jackets do. GT: 35--ND:20
Seeberg:  At the start of the season I had Georgia Tech as the surprise ACC winner.  Notre Dame might have been a decent test as they can likely score with the Ramblin' Wreck (they're a heckuva engineer), but without Zaire at QB I can't picture them conjuring up enough points.  Georgia Tech's triple option is tough enough to prep for as it is, and ND's subpar defense will be exposed.  GT: 38--ND: 21

Ole Miss Rebels @ Alabama Crimson Tide
Draper:  Ole Miss seems to continually get credit simply for playing in the SEC West.  They pulled the upset last year...then collapsed.  They've overrun the 'competition' this year, but those quotation marks tell a story.  Revenge is always a factor and Nick Saban doesn't forget.  Revenge game in Tuscaloosa? Sorry Rebs.  Miss: 17 -- Bama: 31
Hoying: Poor Ole Miss. Last year they pulled off the monster upset in Oxford, catapulting them into the national title discussion, and it didn't matter at all. Alabama still ran the table and ended up #1 in the final playoff committee rankings. After last week's SEC West near-implosion, it looks like the Tide are poised to do it again, regardless of the outcome of this game. And that's a shame, because Ole Miss has blown the doors off their first two opponents and look like they could really put a scare into another super-tough Tide defensive squad. But if there's anything my last two weeks of craptastic picks have taught me, it's that 2015 does not appear to be the year of the upset. Pick the favorite and move on. Miss: 24--Bama: 31
Schweinfurth: Ole Miss' offense has looked really good this year, albeit against very inferior competition. However, Alabama's offense isn't exactly lighting teams up. As much as Saban likes to play defense and a adequate offense, the Tide are going to have to score a lot of points. I think Ole Miss pulls this one out...and Bama will drop 1 spot in the poles.  Miss: 42--Bama:35 
Seeberg:  The Ole Miss football team is averaging 74.8 points over its first two games.  Allow that to sink in for a minute.  For perspective, only 29 men's BASKETBALL teams averaged more last season.  That average is likely to drop significantly against a staunch Crimson Tide D...but not as much as you might think.  The Bama offense has been very mediocre thus far, managing just 36 ppg, including a sleepwalking 37-point performance against Middle Tennessee State.  To put it bluntly, I don't trust Lane Kiffin to keep the ball away from Ole Miss long enough.  He'll probably give the ball to Derrick Henry more often than he did in the Sugar Bowl (I've said it before and I'll say it again- if he had 25 touches in that game the Buckeyes would have lost), but I don't think it will be enough.  The Rebels do the unthinkable and pull back-to-back upsets of the King of the SEC.  Miss: 38--Bama: 33

BYU Cougars @ UCLA Bruins
Draper:  Everyone continues to hype the Bruins, but how good are they really? BYU has been the master of the Hail Mary, but will that last?  Something's gotta give.  BYU is an ok team...but I don't see a real contender (especially without Taysom Hill).  Rosen isn't the second coming, but he's pretty darn good.  The game in the Rose Bowl solidifies the choice.  Bruins win comfortably (and make sure the game is not within a TD on the last possession).  BYU: 20 -- UCLA: 38
Hoying: How good is UCLA's prevent defense? We know how good Nebraska's and Boise State's are (bad, m'kay.) 2-0 is 2-0, and against 2 good teams at that, but the Cougs are 2 Hail Joseph Smiths away from being another mid-major also-ran with a busted QB. Meanwhile every trendy voice in the college football world is falling all over himself to crown freshman QB Josh Rosen as the next Jameis Manziel. With no Taysom Hill taking the field for BYU, we won't learn as much about UCLA as we might've from this game, unless they lose. Make sure you keep a 2 possession lead until the end, Bruins. BYU: 20--UCLA: 31
Schweinfurth: Let's see, I know enough about these teams to pick a score. :) BYU: 17--UCLA: 28
Seeberg:  UCLA has looked remarkably steady under freshman QB Josh Rosen early.  BYU has looked exactly how you'd expect a team to look under a reasonably talented backup thrown into duty:  bipolar.  Still, both squads are 2-0 making this a surprisingly intriguing early-season game.  I can't decide if Rosen will break out and drop 50 on anyone this year.  I don't think it will happen just yet, but a sound bend-but-don't-break defense (*cough Tressel cough*)  will keep the freshman confident and he appears to play well as a front runner.  The Cougars run out of Mormon Magic in the Rose Bowl.  BYU: 13--UCLA: 34

Auburn Tigers @ Louisiana State Tigers
Draper: Auburn has those stirring wins vs. 0-2 Louisville and in OT vs. Jacksonville State...woof.  LSU has an impressive win vs. CLANGA on the docket, and returns to the Bayou...uh oh.  I think this one should be a sizable win for the Tigah's, but  Les Miles tries to 'dumb it up' and makes it closer.  Leonard Fournette is still a stud and will finally show that Malzahn is back to earth.  Aub: 17 -- LSU: 31
Hoying: Y'all is still Tiger bait. One team can't throw the ball well, the other doesn't even try to. I suppose that gives the advantage to the team that can run the ball. LSU has Leonard Fournette, who gashed the Bulldogs for 159 yards and 3TDs. Auburn has Peyton Barber: good, not great. Then again, this game might come down to the team that doesn't collapse during the 4th quarter, a feat neither of these teams has yet accomplished (though it hasn't cost either one...yet). LSU should have the lead at that point, so...advantage Auburn? Hahahaha no. Aub: 17--LSU: 24
Schweinfurth: Auburn almost lost to Jacksonville St. While I don't think LSU is a world beater, Auburn should have lost to Jacksonville St. Because Auburn should have lost to Jacksonville St, I'll take LSU. Aub: 10--LSU: 17
Seeberg:  Auburn looked very good for a half against Louisville...and very horrendous in the three halves (plus OT) they have played since.  I really thought that the Tigers' (Auburn Tigers, that is) run game would give Jeremy Johnson enough time to adjust and surprise a few people.  I thought wrong.  He has a mediocre QBR and less than 190 passing yards per game against Louisville and a 1-AA opponent (albeit one on the top 5).  LSU is just too suffocating on D and Fournette will keep the ball away from Auburn, limiting their opportunities to score.  This one goes to the Tigers (can't go wrong there!)  Aub: 13--LSU: 27

Northern Illinois Huskies @ THE Ohio State University Buckeyes
Draper: This is simply another round of: Will Urban call a game suited to the strengths of this team?  If he stretches the field with Cardale and/or runs the read option with JT, this team won't be stopped.  Otherwise, I'm confident the Bucks win comfortably, but I want a pasting.  The defense was great last week.  If they keep it going, we'll be in great shape.  I'm more concerned with the offense.  There are no more excuses.  Time to stomp these teams mercilessly.  38-0 is great, but we were not good on offense.  What happens if we do play well on offense? It may be rated NSFW.  That's what we need here. Take no prisoners and be the monsters of college football that you should be.  NIU: 10 -- OSU: 56
Hoying: Whither the Buckeye O? Cardale didn't look too sharp on Saturday, and the defenders were getting outside before Zeke was, but the Bucks did have an impressive red zone performance, going 5-for-5 with 4 TDs. With a full week to prepare for a mediocre MAC-style defense, Buckeye Nation should expect a few more fireworks this week. Of course, you always win when the other team doesn't score, and the Silver Bullets look even better than they did during last year's championship run. They'll be tested by QB Drew Hare and the impressive Husky passing attack, but Eli Apple, Gareon Conley, and Vonn Bell should be able to make some big plays and preserve a big margin for our beloved Bucks. MORE JT! NIU: 13--OSU: 52
Schweinfurth: The offense was a hot mess last week. The execution was messy and I think the Slobs looked tired. I am in the camp that a short week after a VERY physical game will do that to a team. Yes, Northern Illinois is a good MAC team. The Huskies just aren't on the same level as the Buckeyes. I do think the Huskies will score and keep it close for a quarter or two, but Ohio State just has way too much talent to lose. I expect the Silver Bullets to stay loaded and force a few turnovers. The offense will respond and we should see the typical Cardale led offense that we grew accustom to in the postseason last year. Zeke gets his yards, Braxton goes X-Brax again, and Cardale shows of the 12 gauge. On a side note, Ohio State made the best decision in bringing back the grey sleeve stripes. NIU: 17--OSU: 49
Seeberg:  Let's be honest, even if this were the Northern Illinois team circa 2012 that was ripping the MAC apart, they would still be no contest for the Buckeyes.  Sadly for the Huskies, they are a couple notches worse than those NIU teams and they are entering the 'Shoe to face a team looking to prove last week (a 38-0 win, mind you) was nowhere near their best game.  The playcalling offensively has been head-scratching at times, likely a combination of new play-callers not knowing how to best use the vast array of weaponry available to them.  No shutout this week, but an equally convincing win.  NIU: 10--OSU: 48

Upset Special
Draper: Stanford over SC (saw Duke was favored)
Hoying: Boston College over Florida State
Schweinfurth: Air Force over Michigan St (why not)
Seeberg:  Western Kentucky over Indiana