Standings:
1.) Draper 3-1 (1-0 upset)
1.) Schweinfurth 3-1 (0-1 upset)
3.) Seeberg 2-2 (1-0 upset
3.) Hoying 2-2 (0-1 upset)
You say: look at this early season ranked matchup wasteland (Ole Miss - Tulane? Really?). We say: the landscape is ripe for season-defining upsets. Just keep them away from the home opener in Columbus.
Iowa Hawkeyes @ Iowa State Cyclones
Draper: Ah...the Classico...or perhaps.... This is all about the Climb to 325. Will Brian Ferentz do juuuuust enough to keep setting football back 50 years? Probably? I honestly have no data on which to base this, but let's go with Iowa on the road under one of the top QBs in Iowa City in 10 years in Cade McNamara (is this a typo?). Iowa: 17--ISU:10
Hoying: Cade...start the reactor. Yes, our old nemesis Cade McNamara has decided to follow up his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ride Hassan Haskins to a streak-breaking victory by taking his middling QB talents to Iowa. Yes, that Iowa, the home of the worst offense in college football, masterminded by the incomparable Brian Ferentz, a nepotism hire so shameless it would make our current and former Presidents blush. Yet, despite this mess, the Hawkeyes did manage to go 8-5 and came one win of a second straight Big Ten West division title. On a side note, I am in favor of getting rid of divisions in the Big Ten, as long as we get rid of the Big Ten West first. But at least you know what to expect from Iowa. Iowa State was the next breakthrough team for a couple of years in recent memory before they crashed back to Earth before coach Matt Campbell could jump ship to a blue chip program. But you can't rely on them to be bad either; they were awful last year and still managed to upend Iowa in a 10-7 sickofest that drove home the fact that the Hawkeyes' horror show O was here to stay. The Hawkeye D should stand strong (you can't go 8-5 scoring 17 points per game otherwise) and Cade's steady-ish hand should be enough to guide Iowa past the Cyclones for the 14th time in Kirk Ferentz's tenure. Iowa: 20--ISU: 13
Schweinfurth: El ASSICO!!!! The Sickos Committee put out a great .gif of the "Climb to 325." I think Hawkeye fans are watching this to see if Brian Ferentz can meet that contractual offensive output this year. Good luck with that. Iowa's defense is still pretty good at least. Good enough to beat Iowa State this year? Yes. Another week, another underperforming offensive output. Iowa: 20--ISU: 7
Seeberg: The Cyclones made this annual bleh bowl competitive for the better part of a decade. Matt Campbell was linked to literally every high profile job it seemed. My how the turn tables. ISU is bordering on full irrelevance again. Meanwhile the Hawkeyes keep doing what they do: stout on defense and nepotism on offense. First to 20 wins! Iowa: 20--ISU: 10
Hoying: Cade...start the reactor. Yes, our old nemesis Cade McNamara has decided to follow up his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ride Hassan Haskins to a streak-breaking victory by taking his middling QB talents to Iowa. Yes, that Iowa, the home of the worst offense in college football, masterminded by the incomparable Brian Ferentz, a nepotism hire so shameless it would make our current and former Presidents blush. Yet, despite this mess, the Hawkeyes did manage to go 8-5 and came one win of a second straight Big Ten West division title. On a side note, I am in favor of getting rid of divisions in the Big Ten, as long as we get rid of the Big Ten West first. But at least you know what to expect from Iowa. Iowa State was the next breakthrough team for a couple of years in recent memory before they crashed back to Earth before coach Matt Campbell could jump ship to a blue chip program. But you can't rely on them to be bad either; they were awful last year and still managed to upend Iowa in a 10-7 sickofest that drove home the fact that the Hawkeyes' horror show O was here to stay. The Hawkeye D should stand strong (you can't go 8-5 scoring 17 points per game otherwise) and Cade's steady-ish hand should be enough to guide Iowa past the Cyclones for the 14th time in Kirk Ferentz's tenure. Iowa: 20--ISU: 13
Schweinfurth: El ASSICO!!!! The Sickos Committee put out a great .gif of the "Climb to 325." I think Hawkeye fans are watching this to see if Brian Ferentz can meet that contractual offensive output this year. Good luck with that. Iowa's defense is still pretty good at least. Good enough to beat Iowa State this year? Yes. Another week, another underperforming offensive output. Iowa: 20--ISU: 7
Seeberg: The Cyclones made this annual bleh bowl competitive for the better part of a decade. Matt Campbell was linked to literally every high profile job it seemed. My how the turn tables. ISU is bordering on full irrelevance again. Meanwhile the Hawkeyes keep doing what they do: stout on defense and nepotism on offense. First to 20 wins! Iowa: 20--ISU: 10
Texas Longhorns @ Alabama Crimson Tide
Draper: No...no, no, no, no.... Last year was monumentally close in Austin and could have swung on a questionable call in the endzone, but I don't expect a nailbiter here. Sure, Texas has 2nd year traitor in Quinn Ewers and some talent under Sark, but Nick Saban is inevitable. Bama may not be the absolute juggernaut of the last decade...but they're still Bama, and the talent is off the charts. Unless Ewers has the game of his life, this is going to be rough in Tuscaloosa. UT: 17--Bama: 34 (Note: Credit to Hoying for picking the score first but I didn't look at his pick).
Hoying: Once upon a time, people wondered if the Buckeyes should pull out all the stops to keep Quinn Ewers, up to and including benching CJ Stroud. These people were dumb. The end. Quinn has been OK for the Longhorns but came up short in 2022's biggest moments, putting up abysmal numbers in losses to TCU and Oklahoma State. He may have been on course to guide the Horns to a shocking upset of Alabama last year, but now there's no Bijan Robinson. And they're in Tuscaloosa. True, Alabama doesn't have Bryce Young anymore either but there's no team in America that can reload as fast as the Tide. This should be another standard issue early nonconference Nick Saban pasting. If not, maybe there's some truth to Old Nick finally starting to lose a step. UT: 17--Bama: 34
Schweinfurth: The Longhorns were a Quinn Ewers injury away from pulling this one out last year. The thing is, you don't get a second chance against Saban. The Tide looked improved last week and it should roll over to this one. UT: 14--Bama: 28
Seeberg: We all know how last year went- Ewers stays healthy and the Longhorns looked likely to spring the monumental upset and declare themselves "back" for the millionth time. Two massive stars have exited for the NFL, however, in Bryce Young and Bijan Robinson. Texas actually has the edge at QB in this year's tilt, but Bama is superior just about everywhere else, and Saban won't be caught September snoozin' twice in a row. Tide pull away late. UT: 20--Bama: 34
Hoying: Once upon a time, people wondered if the Buckeyes should pull out all the stops to keep Quinn Ewers, up to and including benching CJ Stroud. These people were dumb. The end. Quinn has been OK for the Longhorns but came up short in 2022's biggest moments, putting up abysmal numbers in losses to TCU and Oklahoma State. He may have been on course to guide the Horns to a shocking upset of Alabama last year, but now there's no Bijan Robinson. And they're in Tuscaloosa. True, Alabama doesn't have Bryce Young anymore either but there's no team in America that can reload as fast as the Tide. This should be another standard issue early nonconference Nick Saban pasting. If not, maybe there's some truth to Old Nick finally starting to lose a step. UT: 17--Bama: 34
Schweinfurth: The Longhorns were a Quinn Ewers injury away from pulling this one out last year. The thing is, you don't get a second chance against Saban. The Tide looked improved last week and it should roll over to this one. UT: 14--Bama: 28
Seeberg: We all know how last year went- Ewers stays healthy and the Longhorns looked likely to spring the monumental upset and declare themselves "back" for the millionth time. Two massive stars have exited for the NFL, however, in Bryce Young and Bijan Robinson. Texas actually has the edge at QB in this year's tilt, but Bama is superior just about everywhere else, and Saban won't be caught September snoozin' twice in a row. Tide pull away late. UT: 20--Bama: 34
Mississippi Rebels @ Tulane Green Wave
Draper: It's late and it's been a long week. No insight into this other than..the Rebels are going to Tulane?? Weird. Tulane lost Tajae Spears and while they had a magical year last year, small program rarely last more than a year. Lane does weird stuff so anything is possible, but I have to believe that the SEC talent is going to outmatch what the Green Wave puts on the field. Since it's <checks calendar> still early, the SEC teams will still 'care' so I'll roll with the Sip. Miss: 38--Tulane: 24
Hoying: This one just screams "fake ranked matchup" to the untrained eye. And by untrained, I mean mine, because I completely wrote off the Green Wave before their Cotton Bowl against USC last year, and Tulane then went on to stun the Trojans. Now, you might not think that putting up 46 points against a Lincoln Riley defense would be anything to write home about, just wait until they play a real defense like...oh, no. Ole Miss couldn't stop anybody from running the ball last year, and Tulane ripped USC apart for 305 yards on 9, yes, NINE yards per carry. The Rebs will get their points in return, of course, but I don't feel confident knowing who's going to be holding up the fiftyburger when the music stops and who'll be stuck on 49. Most of the bigtime shootouts under Lane have gone Ole Miss's way, so let's go with them to just outshoot the Wave. If your inner Chris Spielman is getting too sick watching these two sprint up and down the field, remember that you can always switch over to Iowa-Iowa State for a palate cleanser. Miss: 42--Tulane: 38
Schweinfurth: I can't really say I know anything about either team. I guess I'll take Ole' Miss, but I will laugh if they lose. Miss: 21--Tulane: 17
Seeberg: Remember when our beloved Buckeye coach said the punt was the most important play in football? He may not want to watch much of this one (a certain inter-state midwestern contest is much more to his liking). This one features Lane Kiffin scoring at will and a Tulane team that outscored supposedly all-universe- and Heisman winner- Caleb Williams last year. Even with the average of 2 lost possessions per team per game due to the new clock rules for player safety more commercials, this one should hit the over, the Kiffin special, if you will. Kudos to Ole Miss for being willing to play this one on the road too, as they should escape with an entertaining W. Miss: 42--Tulane: 31
Hoying: This one just screams "fake ranked matchup" to the untrained eye. And by untrained, I mean mine, because I completely wrote off the Green Wave before their Cotton Bowl against USC last year, and Tulane then went on to stun the Trojans. Now, you might not think that putting up 46 points against a Lincoln Riley defense would be anything to write home about, just wait until they play a real defense like...oh, no. Ole Miss couldn't stop anybody from running the ball last year, and Tulane ripped USC apart for 305 yards on 9, yes, NINE yards per carry. The Rebs will get their points in return, of course, but I don't feel confident knowing who's going to be holding up the fiftyburger when the music stops and who'll be stuck on 49. Most of the bigtime shootouts under Lane have gone Ole Miss's way, so let's go with them to just outshoot the Wave. If your inner Chris Spielman is getting too sick watching these two sprint up and down the field, remember that you can always switch over to Iowa-Iowa State for a palate cleanser. Miss: 42--Tulane: 38
Schweinfurth: I can't really say I know anything about either team. I guess I'll take Ole' Miss, but I will laugh if they lose. Miss: 21--Tulane: 17
Seeberg: Remember when our beloved Buckeye coach said the punt was the most important play in football? He may not want to watch much of this one (a certain inter-state midwestern contest is much more to his liking). This one features Lane Kiffin scoring at will and a Tulane team that outscored supposedly all-universe- and Heisman winner- Caleb Williams last year. Even with the average of 2 lost possessions per team per game due to the new clock rules for
Youngstown State Penguins @ THE Ohio State University Buckeyes
Draper: I went back and watched parts of last week's game and it honestly wasn't as bad as I remembered. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of room for improvement, but the defense was phenomenal (albeit against IU) and the offense showed sparks (START CHIP). This is a 'get right' game for the offense. It needs to be a confidence booster for McCord and what better way to accomplish that than THROWING MORE THE TO BEST WRS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL. I get that we want to 'establish it' and all that nonsense, but the training wheels need to come off. The offensive line is the current weak spot (which is an issue), but IU seemed to be selling out on most plays to exploit that. One solution: go over the top. I was ok with the whole 'we'll figure out the starter eventually' thing, but it's time to plant the flag on a guy and go. I'd give this game to McCord and let it ride. If he can't take care of the game vs. the Penguins, it's time to cut bait, but I have faith that we'll see some strides. I'm calling for the shutout. Don't play FCS teams.... YSU: 0--OSU: 55
Hoying: So, obviously, going out and scoring fewer points than Iowa on your opening weekend isn't a banner start. But we know that Ryan Day loves to tinker with his offense, so who can say what the game plan was for last week and what it otherwise could have been if the outcome seemed in doubt at any point. Probably not any more open: we've seen in every Ohio State loss that Ryan likes to turtle if the game isn't going the way he expected. But we probably would have found out who this year's security blanket is. Chip Trayanum? Forcing the ball to Marv to break his arm and hip? The QB draw, with McCord missing the hole? Somewhere on this offense is a gem just waiting to be polished, other than the usual suspects at WR. But, once again, don't expect them to be identified this week. When last year's Alumni Band Game featured long scores from Jayden Ballard and TC Caffey, and this year's opponent is even worse, it won't be long before Rudy Ruettiger, Shane Falco, and the Cheez-It who woke up feeling the cheesiest are making hero plays to whip the noon crowd into a frenzy. At least we'll probably get a chance to see if Devin Brown can really sling the rock. YSU: 0--OSU: 44
Schweinfurth: There isn't much to say about this week's game other than it needs to be a confidence builder for the offense. Yes, last week was a bit clunky, but Indiana blitzed at least 6 guys on every down it seemed. The defense didn't give up the back breaking long plays and only gave up 3 points. Give Chip more carries and get McCord comfortable. Those are the only things I ask. YSU: 7--OSU: 42
Seeberg: Week one was...*shrugs*? Defense looked remarkably stout against a Power 4 team (weird typing that). Some offensive growing pains were to be expected, but watching the two best WRs in college football all but disappear was rather disconcerting. Seems to be McCord's job to lose, and some rhythm needs to be found before the trip to South Bend in a couple weeks. Get going on offense, get nasty on defense, get everyone in (this week) and get to 2-0. Bonus pick: Pick six alert this week I'm calling it! YSU: 3--OSU: 48
Upset Special
Draper: NC State over Notre Dame
Hoying: Washington State over Wisconsin
Schweinfurth: Baylor over Utah
Seeberg: Appalachian State over North Carolina
No comments:
Post a Comment