Standings:
1.) Schweinfurth 22-12 (1-7 upset)
2.) Draper 21-13 (3-5 upset)
3.) Seeberg 20-14 (3-5 upset)
4.) Hoying 18-16 (1-7 upset)
Much like the Greeks spending 10 long years on the shores of the outskirts of Ilion, the Buckeyes have spent a long time waiting for the opportunity to sack the Trojans. Hopefully, for the first time in ages, they finally have the horses to do it.
Arizona Wildcats @ Texas Tech Red Raiders
Draper: Are the Wildcats for real? Did Texas Tech just drop a fluke in Cincinnati or were they exposed? I think it's a little bit of both for both teams. Arizona has quietly navigated a Big 12 schedule with only one loss (to BYU on the road). They also destroyed UC who just beat the Raiders, but their best win is....West Virginia or Cincinnati...yawn. Texas Tech had been begging for a loss and it finally caught up to them in Nippert, but I tend to think they have more 'dudes'. Their best win is in Corvallis vs the only team in the state of Oregon receiving AP votes. In a tight game like this, I'll favor the home team, but I think it's going to be a weird one. Zona: 24--TTU: 30
Hoying: We've reached the "gotta rank somebody" portion of the season (which, as far as the Big 12 is concerned may as well be the entire season) so get ready for Texas Tech to host ranked Arizona. The Wildcats' main claim to fame is obliterating the Cincinnati team that just pantsed the Red Raiders last weekend. The collapse of the new-look Red Raiders' air of Big 12 invincibility has put them into a bit of a panic mode. TTech is considering platooning the QB position now that the endless eligible/ineligible struggle between the NCAA and the American legal system has flipped back to "let 'em play" and 5th-year senior QB Thomas Castellanos (go Noles) can take the field again. Neither Tech QB is quite Brendan Soresby but at least we can expect some deep throws to left if Castellanos is behind center. I'd be inclined to pick Arizona on a neutral field, but the home team saved me in the Utah/Houston tossup last week so let's keep rolling with that logic. Zona: 17--TTU: 23
Schweinfurth: Texas Tech's defense has been enough to carry them so far this year. I don't see why that won't continue this week. Zona: 14--TTU: 21
Seeberg: Well, Texas Tech’s mediocre QB play finally caught up to them last week as Will Hammond was good for 6 yards per attempt, no TDs and a pick in their upset loss down in the 513. Now the ranked(?) Wildcats come to town, their only loss at BYU, a game they led at half. Had the Red Raiders not “got got” last week I would say they were primed to fall in this one. However, BYU shut out Arizona in the second half of their contest, and Tech has a good enough defense to emulate much of that. Should be a good one, Tech survives. Zona: 17—TTU: 20
Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs
Draper: The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party used to be must see TV....now? no one cares. I would honestly not be surprised if the Dr. Jekyll UF team showed up and beat the Dawgs, but that's not the highest of probability events. Georgia was exposed in Jordan-Hare as average like the rest of the teams in CFB since no one is good. Regardless, I expect Kirby and squad to return to power here. Fla: 13--UGA: 23
Hoying: I feel like Georgia is easy to peg as one of the best teams in college football this year: good enough to win all their games but look out for the occasional faceplant. Good luck figuring out Florida though. The offense is pretty good (unless it's blowing up against Ole Miss or stifled against Missouri), but the defense is a horror show (unless it's shutting down Texas). Back in the days of twice-in-a-lifetime coaches like Urban and Spurrier, it didn't matter how good Georgia was; they were going to lose to the Gators. But I'm not sure Jon Sumrall is that same level of elite. Lots of teams have had their moments in the sun this season, and Florida's has already come and gone, in rather ugly fashion. As a football program, Florida strikes me as consistently mediocre except when elevated by the two shining stars I already mentioned. That's where I'm going to keep them until I see something truly special from the coaching staff or a real game changer on the field. Florida doesn't have either right now. They have QB Aaron Philo back but that didn't save them against Missouri or South Carolina. Dawgs roll. Fla: 20--UGA: 31
Schweinfurth: Everyone was in love with the Gators to start this year. Now they've turned into random SEC team B. Not an elite team and not a bad team, just a mushy middle team. Georgia on the other hand is speeding (like what I did there?) their way to another SEC championship and a first round playoff bye. Yea, it's a rivalry game, but the Dawgs are the much better team here. Fla: 17--UGA: 35
Seeberg: Assuming the hangover from the Bama game is complete now, I think, offensive inconsistencies aside, UGA is just plain better. The Gators are an absolute roller coaster this year but they need four quarters of their best ball to win this one and I don’t think they’re capable. Go Dogs. Fla: 17—UGA: 27
Northwestern Wildcats @ Oregon Ducks
Draper: This is the best game of the day (outside of LA -- maybe), and I just have no good take on it. The 6-1 Northwestern Wildcats go to Eugene to face the 4-3 Oregon Ducks who are reeling like crazy...but favored! No matter the result here, the Duck faithful have to be incredibly disappointed with their season while it's pure house money for the Wildcats. Chip Kelly has the Northwestern offense flying high (why didn't we get him back again?) but this is a must win for Dan Lanning and the Ducks before their trip to <checks schedule> Columbus next week....yikes. Honestly, this feels like a return to normalcy game to me. Northwestern will scrap the hell out of it, but the Autzen Zoo will be too much. It's like when Cignetti brought the Hoosiers there last year....the difference is NW doesn't have the horses like Indiana did. NW: 24--Ore: 27
Hoying: If you're going to watch two games this weekend, make this the second one, because you'll get some great insight into what the Buckeyes will face during their upcoming home slate. This one is probably going to come down to whether Oregon can pick itself up off the mat and finish the season. Something is really rotten in Eugene, with the awful playcalling selling games the Ducks should easily win or the alcohol-induced wide receiver street racing at 7 AM (and not because they're getting up early). At least the Ducks finally fired offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer after trotting out abominations like this. Nobody tell Michigan you're allowed to do that. Northwestern's been better than anyone gave them a right to be this season, but they've been beating up on the dregs of the college football world and didn't look all that great against awful awful Michigan State. Dan Lanning may fade in the biggest matchups but I don't think he's a chump. He'll be able to put the band back together for one last hurrah before getting his doors blown off next week. NW: 20--Ore: 24
Schweinfurth: I am not sold on either team here. Oregon is getting the Dan Lanning reckoning he deserves. Northwestern has come out of nowhere to have a ridiculous running game (hello Chip Kelly). The Ducks seem to be demoralized and watching the season slipping away. Honestly, I don't think they have the heart to fight here. Northwestern's run game demoralizes another team. NW: 24--Ore: 21
Seeberg: Yet another game where any outcome feels plausible. If you had NW as the only ranked team in this one preseason, no you didn’t (or you have Marty Mcfly’s reference book). Northwestern is good. Chip can still play-call the college level with the best of them. Their TE has 11 catches all season, but had SEVEN FOR ONE FORTY in their close loss at IU. If any matchup actually favors the Wildcats, Chip will exploit it. The talent gap, however, is wide and a cross-country trip can be disorienting, though west-coast teams seem to struggle more than the other way around. Oregon should lean on the run. Their two main backs had 27 carries for 175 against Illinois and Lee Bebee went for over 200 against the Wildcats. Assuming they’re smart enough to not let Raiola beat them, the Ducks do just enough to get back on track before heading to Columbus. Yay. NW: 17—Ore: 22
THE Ohio State University Buckeyes @ University of Southern California Trojans
Draper: The Buckeyes return to action without their field general behind center. There is mass panic in the streets, but let's not pretend Sayin was lighting the scoreboard on fire last time we saw him (and no, Sayin is the starter if/when healthy you jackals). All this talk about not naming a QB until today was all smoke and mirrors getting Tavien to bring it in practice. Fahey was always the guy, but you always need to be ready for emergencies. One thing I do know, #4 will still be on the Buckeye side which provides a massive advantage. The key here is that USC's defense is just terrible. Their offense is very good, but so is our defense. I expect some points to be put up by the Trojans which will lead to all Buckeye Nation clamoring for blood, but if Timmons doesn't go, it will be tough to keep them out of the endzone. Thankfully, this is a nice ease in for Fahey defensively and there won't be any opposing fans there to cause problems. It will be a little dicey early (expect an early 3 and out or a turnover, but the Bucks will settle in and Bo will have a day. OSU: 34--USC: 20
Hoying: The Buckeyes enter a house of horrors on Halloween night. This was the matchup I was most looking forward to in the new amalgamous Big [number] due to the history between these teams, but the Buckeyes would rather leave the Los Angeles chapter out of the history books. Ohio State hasn't won at the Coliseum since 1946. They haven't scored a touchdown there since 1949. But the ghosts of John McKay and Pete Carroll are long gone from the SC sidelines. Yes, Lincoln Riley stormed into Columbus in his head coaching debuted and facilitated Baker's flag planting beatdown but his tenure with the Trojans has been disappointing at best. I mean, this year Oregon backup QB Dylan Raiola entered mid-game against the Trojans and looked like Trevor Lawrence, and that's the only time he's looked half competent all season (or maybe in his entire career). That's good news for newly minted Ohio State starting QB Luke Fahey, who probably never dreamed that his warmup game would be against one of the unquestioned blue chip programs in the history of the sport. Under other circumstances, this could have been a trap game for the Buckeyes, as the Trojans have the pieces to be dangerous despite this season's missteps. But now SC has the Buckeyes' full attention, not unlike Texas last year. And just like Texas last year, Ohio State can win even if their brand new starting QB doesn't ball out. And let's not worry too much about the rest of the season either. Julian Sayin played the worst game of his career to date (maybe his entire career period with the way things are looking), and the Buckeyes still knocked off the defending national champions on the road. The offense just needs to learn the lesson the defense took to heart after the Illinois game: do your job and don't try to play hero ball. Except Jeremiah, you do all the heroic things. Absent a lot of mistakes from behind center, this one shouldn't be a problem. Troy delenda est. OSU: 27--USC: 16
Schweinfurth: Where do we begin. USCs passing defense is bad, I mean really bad. Jeramiah could go for 300 yards this week, even with a freshman QB. This won't be the pack of wolves Fahey was thrown into at Indiana. That poor kid looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Day has had two weeks to get him prepped for this and figure out how Fahey moves the offense. The defense will get tested a bit. USC can, and will, stretch the field. Just keep it simple for Fahey and throw it to #4. He'll be open all day. OSU: 35--USC: 17
Seeberg: I…am conflicted on this one. On one hand, Day refusing to name a starting QB makes it harder for the Trojans’ semblance of a defense to game plan. However, if Day actually doesn’t know who the starter will be, that’s concerning. I’m assuming Fahey since he clearly passed St. Clair on the depth chart and his skill set seems similar to Julian’s so the plans won’t require as much tweaking. I BEG Ryan to show him Joe Germaine highlights. Phenomenal accuracy, average arm strength, but still hit deep balls in stride by getting the ball out early. Siereveld back helps, but Timmons popping up as questionable again is scary (for the love of all things holy do NOT leave Calhoun on an island). Get JJ involved in any way possible, bend but don’t break on D, and get out of Pasadena with a W. OSU: 27—USC: 20
Upset Special
Draper: North Carolina over Miami
Hoying: Cincinnati over Utah
Schweinfurth: Minnesota over Indiana
Seeberg: Virginia over Wake Forest
