Fewer games with puff competition, conference play starting. A couple of conference matchups on Friday Night Wisconsin @ Purdue Wisconsin lost their only Power 5 game to Wazzu, no doubt Fickel wants to get off to a good start in the Big 10, Purdue struggling on defense . NC State @ Virginia NC State should have no problem with a woeful UVA squad. Saturday 1. Georgia vs UAB Should be no repeat of the slow start vs So.Carolina last weekend. 2. Michigan vs Rutgers Unbeaten Rutgers! Is Harbaugh back? I think he is, but I don't think it matters. At home the Wolverines should roll'em and hang the 1st loss of the season on them. 3. Texas @ Baylor Probably the last game for a very long time vs old foe Baylor. Baylor though isn't very good this year and even if Quin Ewers plays like he did vs Wyoming the Longhorns should still win this one handily. However Texas fans will rest easier if Ewers plays like he did vs Alabama. Sark commented on the mediocre play from the QB by saying it just shows that we can win in a lot of different ways. Yeah...Arch, Arch, Arch!! 4. FSU @ Clemson Game of the year in the ACC at this point. Clemson not the same Clemson as during the Watson and Lawrence days, FSU maybe getting back to the old 'Noles. But they will still have to play much better than they did at B.C. last weekend to come away with the win on the road. 5. USC @ Arizona State Hide the women and children!! Arizona State is just horrible and USC isn't, could be 70-0 by the 3rd qtr. 6. Ohio State @ Notre Dame Huge game for both teams, maybe more so for the Irish as fans are starting to get some hope for the Freeman era. But the Buckeyes have top to bottom the better roster based on recruiting and Ryan Day is a much more experienced HC and has won games like this before. Irish will need to keep Sam Hartman upright do the opposite to Buckeye QB McCord. Buckeyes are road favorites by Las Vegas. 7. Penn State vs Iowa White out in Happy Valley. Nits have maybe their best squad in awhile and the Hawkeyes have found a QB who can actually be competent running and offense in Michigan transfer Cade McNamara. Could be a really good game. 8. Washington vs CAL Another of those probably last meetings between old rivals. Huskies have a Heisman candidate in Michael Penix and a trio of excellent WR's. CAL doesn't have either. 9. Notre Dame vs Ohio State ...Go Irish. 10. Oregon vs Colorado Oregon no doubt is salivating over getting the Buffs in Autzen Stadium. This is a very good squad. The Buffs will be without do everything Travis Hunter and he'll be missed. Ducks are healthy. The game will rest on young Sanders at QB. It gets real this weekend for Deion. Some other games to look at. Auburn @ Texas A&M Aggies knocked down a notch with that loss to Miami, but back at home they should be able to get things going in the right direction. Chronicle said this AM that the Aggies have a real shot at the SEC West. If they do it starts this weekend. UCLA @ Utah Big game in the Pac 12, both teams ranked and unbeaten. Ole Miss @ Alabama Doubt if Saban will have any problem getting the team up to play Ole Miss. Jalen Milroe back at QB, I really expect him to light it up vs Ole Miss. Ole Miss QB Jaxon Dart also a runner like Milroe. Could be another really good game or I could see the Tide putting it together and hammering them. BYU @ Kansas New Big12 mates. BYU fresh off a trip to SEC country where they upset Arkansas in Fayetteville. No easy feat. Kansas also off to a good start and is undefeated. Arkansas @ LSU Tigers looked a lot like a top 10 team last week in Starkvegas, back at home a good win over the Hogs will have the LSU fans feeling a little better. Jayden Daniels when he's on is a load and they have a WR who is hard to cover. KJ Jefferson the Hog QB is a Cam Newton clone, but hasn't translated into Cam Newton wins. Oregon State @ Washington State ...Last 2 Pac 12 teams standing, nobody knows where they'll be next year but they'll be on the Palouse Saturday night. Wazzu has an impressive start, they beat Colorado State without going to 2OT and they beat Wisconsin. Oregon State also undefeated. Enjoy the weekend, weather looks pretty good all across the country for these games. No better time to tailgate!
Shadeur Sanders has purchased a 374K Rolls Royce Cullinan. Just the kind of car your typical college kid needs.
Looks like Freeman and Day are playing things close to the vest for the upcoming game. Buckeyes are 3.5 point favorites, but it's a home game for the Irish, which almost negates the point spread. Both teams have capable QBs and can score points. Looks to me that the best defense will win this one.
I agree Don....thankfully we have a much improved and experienced defense to go against a much improved and experienced Irish offense thanks to the addition of Hartman. Marcus has made noises about wanting to control the ball, code for pounding us into submission with the big running back and then going over the top with play action. I am concerned about our ability to control a true power run game without having to add another hat in the box. I think our backend is much improved but I'd rather not have to test that more than necessary. I think the game comes down to who can do a better job controlling the run game and protecting their QB Stopping the Run, Defending Play Action Will Be Key for Ohio State Defense Against Notre Dame
I think that Rutgers will give the Wolverines a tough game Saturday. JJ struggled against a mediocre BG team and I know Greg Schiano will want to exploit those weaknesses. Rutgers is a scrappy ball team and well coached. The other game I’m intrigued over outside of ND, OSU is Ole Miss at Alabama. This is a huge game for Saban and his weary QB room. I think Lane Kiffin and the Rebels have a golden opportunity here, they’re a solid team, decent but not great qb, good defense, I can see the Rebels pulling the upset in Tuscaloosa. Thoughts?
I think OSU and ND is set up to be a great game. The key will be ND’s defensive front seven against that young OSU offensive line.
Prime is selling a character to the public. I’ve met him in person back when he use to work for NFL Network, he’s actually a wonderful and respectful human being. Very sincere and friendly. This is a show, he’s recruiting non stop. Big acts and attention attract the best players. I think it’s genius actually. Go Buffs!
Another one to watch is going to be ND's two very good OT's against our two very good DE's. Prob at least a couple of 1st rounders in that group, if not all 4. Whoever prevails in those match ups will go along way towards helping determine the game outcome
Re: Deion Sanders. Here are two tweets (or Xes if you prefer) which have me liking his character. https://x.com/espn/status/1704200661678620905?s=20 https://x.com/Jammer2233/status/1704325929307083191?s=20
I personally think Lane is about to run into a buzzsaw. There's a HUGE talent disparity in this game, and a big part of it is on the D side for Bama. Kiffin's offense uses a LOT of run from the QB, and he's not afraid to put them in harms way. I think that will bite them and he ends up with some very banged up signal callers. Nick wasn't born yesterday, he knows he doesn't have the QB play of the last 5 years and needs to put emphasis on the run and possession passing. I expect they'll come out and do that well enough to get a fairly easy W at home. (kp can now come in and say "not so fast!")
I think the key will be, can the Alabama quarterback protect the ball and score enough to help the defense win this game. If history is a guide, Kiffins offense will be prolific so we have to keep them off the field and score some. To be honest, I'm not sure if we have the quarterback necessary to do that. I'm don't know what has happened to our offense but I have not seen any direction to it. I hope Saban sees something I haven't.
"Day described the first three weeks of the season as a “gradual buildup” for the Buckeyes, and he and his players know that they need to take another step and turn up the intensity even more this week. But he says he has a better feel for what he has in this year’s team now than he did three weeks ago." Ohio State, Notre Dame Enter This Year’s Game with Better Feel for Who They Are After Time to Build Up
I hope the game is highly competitive and that the score is close. That way, the losing team, probably ND, still has a chance for a solid season.
I see the current odds are down to 2 points favoring the Buckeyes. Looking forward to the game, hope I can stay awake!
I go back and forth....feeling fairly confident one moment to grave concern the next. From thinking about the challenge of the ND secondary keeping up with Harrison Jr and Egbuka one moment to having visions of our young QB McCord running for his life and Estime bludgeoning us into submission just prior to Hartman going over the top with play action. Suggests to me it's going to be the battle that we all expect.